System Change

“The Black Ledger?” Vanessa said from Derek’s side. “You

“Yes, Vanessa, I have,” Nyx said. “I did this long ago… actually… just after you returned from that raid dungeon. I was already keeping an eye out. Then Mr. Hunt and his… companion showed up to the battlefield and flipped the Astrus and Indria war effort upside down in moments. That was when I did it. It wasn’t hard to know and see the potential.”

“I’m missing something,” Derek said. “What is the ‘Black Ledger?’”

“Vanessa, you may give the explanation,” Nyx said, letting the woman speak freely about the ledger without any negative effects happening because of any contracts or oaths.

The Shadow Witch nodded at the Guild Leader, then said, “It’s a list of untouchables,” Vanessa explained. “Very few names have ever been placed in the ledger. No assassin would ever dare accept a mission to assassinate one of those names.”

“Not only that,” Nyx said. “But our assassins are bound by oath to report anyone believed to be trying to assassinate one on that list. After that, measures will be taken.”

“Oh…” Derek said. “Which of my friends are on this list?”

“That would be a Ms. Malorie Fields and her daughter, Mr. Thomas Stewart, Ms. Rayna West and her husband Jackson Herrett, along with their future child, a Mr. Rudolph Mckinney, and a Ms. Clare Searidge,” Nyx explained.

“Hmm…” Derek rubbed his chin. “No Avery, Stella, Shae, Edgar, Alanah, or Walter?”

“I’m afraid not,” Nyx replied. “It was a stretch, allowing so many names on the ledger as it is. But, as I said before, Maven’s threat was hollow and he knew it. All in here know the names on that ledger by heart, and he knew that he would never be allowed to attack any of them. The threat was empty. And the others that you mentioned… they are almost untouchable by association.”“I see…”

“Fine,” Maven finally said. “We’ll release those whelps from any and all obligations, oaths, and contracts with the Assassin’s Guild. It’s not like they contributed much anyway. Maybe in a decade or two… I just don’t want any current members getting ideas…”

“And, while we are not able to add their names to the ledger, we will make them known to all as unofficial untouchables,” Nyx said. “Is there anything else we can do for you?”

“Yes,” Derek said. “I want you to do the same with Vanessa here.”

“What!?” Maven spat. “But you never…”

“I didn’t plan on it,” Derek said. “But you can consider it a bonus for wasting my time.”

“Very well,” Nyx said before Maven could say anything else. “For Bones and Ogre, it shall be done within the week. As for Vanessa…” Nyx looked over at Maven and glared at the man with his single eye.

“Fine!” Maven finally ceded. With a flick of his wrist, he pulled out multiple contracts and ripped them up in front of Derek and Vanessa. Mana shot out of the contracts and entered both the Shadow Witch and Maven. After that, Maven said, “As the current Guild Leader of the Cydarian Branch of the Assassin’s Guild, and holder of your oath, I release you, Vanessa Hodges, from any and all oats made to me or the guild.”

Beside Derek, Vanessa took a deep breath in and let it out. Derek looked at the woman and saw that she was actually holding back tears. It wasn’t something that he had planned on doing when he went to the Assassin’s Guild, but the woman had been helpful, and not being bound to the guild would help her serve Cydaria better.

“You will know when the other oaths are released, we will want to release them from their contracts first, and as lower former members of the guild, we do not keep those contracts on hand,” Nyx said.

“Good,” Derek said, and pulled his feet off the table before standing up. Vanessa stood up beside him. After that, he stored his chair. “It was a pleasure doing business with you.” Derek turned and was about to make a tear in space, but was interrupted by Nyx.

“Vanessa,” Nyx said. “Please, wait.”

“What is it?” the former guild member asked.

“You are no longer bound by oath or contract, but you would have my gratitude if you didn’t give away all the secrets you know of the guild,” Nyx said.

“I won’t,” Vanessa said. “I at least owe some parts of the guild that much. Much of the time I spent at the guild, I was treated well. I was just never able to find the freedom I wished for. But if it is relevant to something that I must help the kingdom with…”

“That is understandable… thank you,” Nyx said. Then he shifted his attention to Derek. “And Mr. Hunt…”

“Yes?” Derek looked at the disfigured man. “What do you need?”

“About that chair you were just sitting in,” Nyx started. “I have been wanting to get myself one after reading the reports. What do you…”

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Just talk to Geoffrey Tate of Alabaster Homes,” Derek said. “I’m sure he’ll be happy to sell you one.”

“I will do just that,” Nyx said.

“No discounts, though,” Derek said.

“I would never dream of it.”

“If there is nothing else, then we will take our leave,” Derek said. He placed his hand on Vanessa’s back, covered the woman in a thin layer of void, then stepped inside his portal. After, he closed the entrance and brought the woman back with him to his shop. Derek opened the portal, and they both walked out of it and into his Void Travel room.

“That…” Vanessa looked at Derek in a new light. “That was unexpected. I don’t know why you did it, other than to spite my uncle, but thank you.”

“That was exactly why I did it,” Derek said with a laugh. “I don’t really like him,” he said. “I’m still thinking about paying that ‘Maven’ another visit one day. I don’t take kindly to threats… Black Ledger or not.”

“I understand,” Vanessa said. “And for what it’s worth, I would not lose one bit of sleep if I learned one day that my uncle suddenly disappeared.”

“Well… he just might. We’ll have to wait and see,” Derek said. “Now, there are a couple of questions about the Assassin’s Guild that I would like to ask you if that is okay.”

“That is completely fine,” Vanessa said with a smile. “I can literally be an open book after everything you just did for me. If I can answer it, I will.”

“That Nyx fellow,” Derek said. “What is his deal? It looked like his words held a lot of weight to the other two leaders.”

“Nyx would be the closest thing to the guild having a head. He is the head of the Indrian Branch of the Assassin’s Guild, but he is also the information master—or Spy Master,” Vanessa explained.

“So… he is an elf?” Derek asked.

“Yes, he is,” Vanessa replied.

“His face and…”

“Yes…” Vanessa nodded solemnly. “When he was younger, he was tortured. It is a story known throughout the guild. His elven ears were cut off, then healed so they could never be reattached or regrown. The same is true of his eye and nose, as well.”

“How old was he?” Derek asked. “You said young…”

“Yes… he was a child when it happened. As far as I know, he was an orphan and was caught stealing by some rather… disgusting people.”

“I hope they got what was coming to them,” Derek couldn’t help but say.

“Oh… they did,” Vanessa replied.

“Apparently, there was a contract out on the leader of the group, and the former Indarian Branch Leader took the job on himself. I guess he had some kind of history with the clients and promised to do the job personally,” she explained. “After accomplishing the mission, the former leader found a beaten and almost dead boy who was still struggling to survive. He took a liking to him, gave him a name, and brought him into the guild. As Nyx like to say it… that was the day he was truly born.”

“I see…” Derek muttered. “I can’t imagine the ridicule he had to put up with as he worked his way up the ranks.”

“Much less than you would expect,” Vanessa said. “In the Assassin’s Guild, strength and achievement are revered above all else. I’m sure he had it rough in the beginning, but his rise to power is something of a legend in the guild. The man piled on achievement after achievement at a young age, and the respect he garnered by doing so skyrocketed—even when he was so young. And all because the former Guild Leader took him in and gave him a home and purpose. Nyx was the former Guild Leader’s greatest achievement.”

“Interesting…” Derek said. “And what happened to the former Guild Leader?” he asked.

“The former Nyx was one of the few members of the Assassin’s Guild to do the unthinkable… die because of old age. And because he was an elf… you can imagine how old he was,” Vanessa said.

“Huh…” Derek muttered. “I didn’t think that would be the case. I would figure that the position of Guild Leader would have quite the turnover rate.”

“It usually does,” Vanessa agreed.

“So, speaking of Guild Leaders,” Derek said. “What about the other two?”

“Mara and Maven?” Vanessa asked, to which Derek nodded. “Mara is the Guild Leader of the Astr… Indaria branch, and Maven is the Guild Leader of the Cydarian branch.”

“Then the missing one…” Derek said.

“Vallum Branch’s Guild Leader,” Vanessa answered.

“Nobody knows much about Mara, actually,” Vanessa said. “She became a Guild Leader around the same time that I made my way to Vice Leader. So, she is the newest member. My focus was mostly on Cydaria, so I never learned too much about the woman either. All I know is that she is cutthroat, but fair… and quiet.”

“Then Maven?”

“Maven is my uncle. I say that I never had the choice to be in the guild because I was born into it. Both my father and mother were members of the Cydarian Branch. When my father and Maven were making their way up, my father was always just that one tiny step ahead of Maven. As the former leader was dying from a poison, my father and mother mysteriously died on what should have been a simple mission. I have no proof, but I believe that my uncle had them killed—if he didn’t do it himself,” Vanessa explained.

“Hmm… the more we talk about him, the more I think it would be a good idea to pay that man another visit,” Derek said. “He doesn’t seem to be the kind to let something go.”

“No, he isn’t,” Vanessa said. “But, because of the sacredness of the Black Ledger, I will say that you don’t have to worry about any of your friends being harmed by him. Not even he and his pettiness would commit such a taboo.”

“I’ll have to think about it,” Derek said. “Also, was I correct in assuming that we were in Vallum?”

“You were,” Vanessa said with a nod. “The base is an underground headquarters in the western part of the kingdom, and it is only accessible through a series of teleporers. There is no way aboveground without the use of a teleporter.”

“That would explain why it hasn’t been discovered,” Derek said.

“Yes,” Vanessa agreed.

“Well, thank you for the help,” Derek said. “It’s time to get you back to your kingdomly duties.”

“My babysitting duties, you mean?” Vanessa deadpanned.

“They are one and the same,” Derek replied. “Come on.”

Vanessa stepped forward next to Derek before he opened the portal, then said, “Derek… if you do choose that Maven’s life isn’t worth him living… would you please bring me with you? Or better yet… if you can get me alone with him… I’ll do it myself.”

“We’ll see…” Derek looked the woman in the eyes. “But I will make sure to inform you of any decisions I make about it. We can go from there…” Vanessa nodded her head, then Derek turned back around to look in front of them.

He then opened another portal, and within moments, the two were standing back in the Throne Room of Cydaria. Vanessa looked at Derek one more time, gave him a quick nod, then moved back to her normal position at the side.

“Derek, I assume you accomplished your task?” King Edward asked.

“I did,” Derek said. “And then some…”

“Good, good,” Edward said. “May I ask what it was that you needed Vanessa’s help with?”

“Sure,” Derek said. “I just needed to go threaten the Assassin’s Guild and make sure they never touch any of my people. It went well.”

“It… went well?” Edward’s eyes widened.

“Brother,” Edgar said from the side. “I don’t even know why you’re surprised anymore. Just accept it, it will make things much less stressful.” The prince walked over to Derek and slapped him on the back. “I can’t believe you paid a visit to the Assassin’s Guild and didn’t invite me.”

“Maybe next time,” Derek said with a shrug.

“There’s going to be a next time?” Edgar asked with a spark in his eyes.

“Who knows?” Derek said. “Anything can happen.”