Cunning Ritual

They finally reached the mountaintop at sunset and arrived at the mouth of a cave. Liam lit a torch and cautiously peered inside. Only when he spotted a metal chest sitting strangely in the otherwise empty cave did a knowing smile appear on his face. He was sure he'd come to the right place.

"Looks like this is it—the legendary Ravenholdt Manor."

Ravenholdt Manor was a small estate built in a mountain hollow. Unless you could fly, the cave before them was the manor's only entrance. The chest was part of Ravenholdt Manor's initiation ritual, and only those who passed the trial were allowed to enter.

Liam knew what the ritual involved, of course, but he wasn't going to attempt it the usual way. He wasn't a professional rogue, and he didn't know a thing about detecting traps or disarming mechanisms. There was no chance he could take the conventional route. Besides, even if he did make it inside, he still wouldn't be one of them.

"Sir, why don't you come out? This clumsy trick isn't fit for testing a true assassin."

The moment Liam finished speaking, a dagger suddenly emerged from thin air and came to rest against his neck. Wilton hadn't made a sound, which surprised Liam. With the blade at his throat, he didn't dare move, so he could only roll his eyes as far as he could to look to the side. To his dismay, Wilton was already lying flat on the ground. It seemed someone had knocked him out with a special technique.

Liam had only a moment to glance over before a sinister voice suddenly rang out.

"Kid, you haven't seen me at all! Now tell me who let word of this place get out. If you help me deal with the traitor, I can make sure you two don't die too painfully."

The voice echoed right beside his ear, but no matter how Liam tried, he couldn't see the person behind him. Even when he concentrated with all his might, he could sense only himself and Wilton in the cave. Still, if his memory served him, the man in charge of this initiation trial, the "Cunning Ritual," ten years from now would be a middle-aged man named Hilton. The voice he was hearing now sounded young, so it had to be him.

But Liam didn't dare take that chance. Hilton was a vicious killer, and countless greedy young thieves had died at his hands. Liam still remembered the graveyard that had sprung up beside the iron chest. Until he was completely certain of the man's identity, it was best not to say anything rash.

"So this is how professional rogues do it?" Liam couldn't sense the man's presence, no matter how hard he tried. The technique opened his eyes. But this man clearly wasn't easy to fool. Any sign of hesitation would arouse his suspicions, so Liam forced himself to stay calm and act as though nothing was wrong.

"Hello, sir. I came here to meet Duke Jorach Ravenholdt. My companion and I hope to join the Assassin League with his recommendation."

Liam had mentioned "assassins" rather than "thieves" earlier to lay the groundwork for this. Thanks to that hint, bringing up the Assassin League now wouldn't seem so out of place. Otherwise, he might provoke the man into attacking. One slash of the dagger, and Liam's dream of sailing the seas would end in this little mountain hollow.

The Cunning Ritual had already been seen through, and now the name of the Assassin League had come from the boy's mouth. "Hilton" no longer seemed inclined to attack outright. The boy knew too much; if Hilton didn't find out where he'd come from, there might be trouble later.

"You two ordinary people aren't even apprentices, and you think you can join the Assassin League? Explain yourselves first. The duke doesn't have time to deal with every little matter."

"Then kill me. Why waste so many words? Oh, you don't kill people lightly, right? No problem. Go ahead, kill me. You've already taken out plenty of Syndicate members who call themselves nobles these past few days. A few commoners shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Since the man had asked questions, it was clear he wouldn't kill them until he learned the truth. Liam pressed his luck and needled Hilton, then slipped two fingers under the dagger and slowly pushed it away from his neck. Only then did he take two steps and turn to look behind him.

Sure enough, whether the man's Stealth was still unpracticed or there was some other reason, when Liam turned around and focused all his attention behind him, he could make out a faint figure in the darkness. But when he shifted his gaze to Wilton, the figure seemed to disappear again, and that same feeling returned—that there was no one else nearby.

"Is that what Stealth is? Using a shift in attention to make your presence disappear? No, it can't be that simple. There must be something else to it."

Liam's thoughts wandered, and Hilton had already lost patience. He appeared right in front of Liam. "Stop staring. With your abilities, you're nowhere near good enough to figure out how I do it."

"Fine. I'll have to learn it sooner or later, so there's no need to figure it out now." Liam said it casually, as if the other man had already agreed to take them in.

Even his rigorous assassin training couldn't stop Hilton from getting furious. During his training at the manor, he'd shown some talent only in combat. He'd often failed his interrogation classes, too. Now he had to pry the truth from Liam, who was tight-lipped. He knew it was practically impossible.

And Hilton's temper was his greatest weakness. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been assigned to guard the initiation ritual. Seeing Liam act as if he had the upper hand, Hilton knew that even if he beat the boy up, it wouldn't do him any good. He could only swallow his anger and hand Liam over to someone else to be "questioned."

At that thought, Hilton ignored Liam, who was still studying him curiously, and took out a whistle. He blew a peculiar rhythm. Before long, two men dressed in tight black leather armor appeared on the other side of the cave. They looked to Hilton, silently asking why he'd summoned them.

"I have to keep running the trial. Take these two to see the duke. Tell him they..." He stopped. "Never mind. Don't tell him anything. Just say someone wants to see him."

It was embarrassing enough that Liam had needled him into calling for help. Hilton wasn't about to bring it up himself. Besides, once the two boys were inside, they probably wouldn't mention what had happened here. So he'd let bygones be bygones. With the duke there, they'd have no choice but to reveal everything.

Liam followed the two guards into the manor, unaware of Hilton's tangled thoughts. He didn't even have time to check on Wilton, who was carried in over someone's shoulder. The scenery inside the manor had completely captured his attention, and he looked around, eager to see it all.