Yu Lin Bloodhawk nodded, giving his consent.
The five Rogues jumped out of the carriage and slipped into the woods, quickly disappearing from sight.
"We should hurry. We'll be safe once we reach somewhere with people," Dirithis said.
"You seem scared," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said curiously. "Aren't those five high-ranking Rogues? Do you have that little confidence in them?"
"Of course they're high-ranking, but the Earl knows that too. Would he send low-ranking professionals to hunt them down?" Dirithis said. "To be safe, we should hurry to the harbor. They won't dare act there."
"Aren't you worried about them?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked.
"They're yours now," Dirithis said. "I'm not giving you back the gold."
"I didn't ask you to," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.
Despite their words, the two still urged the carriage on faster. Did Yu Lin Bloodhawk care about these five new subordinates? Honestly, not all that much. He had only known them for half a day, after all. It would have been a lie to say he trusted them deeply, but it would also have been a lie to say he didn't feel the loss of those 150 gold coins. Still, however much losing the money hurt, it couldn't matter more than his own life.
Once they reached the docks, Dirithis helped him hire a ship back to Quel'Thalas. They agreed on the delivery location and time, and Yu Lin Bloodhawk waited for his five Rogue subordinates to arrive.
If they hadn't returned before nightfall, he wouldn't wait any longer. If they couldn't make it back, that spoke to their ability. If they died, they died; there wasn't much to regret. It would be better if they returned, since that would prove they had some skill.
Just as night was about to fall, all five Rogues returned. Every one of them was wounded and staggering, with thick bandages wrapped around their bodies, blood still seeping through.
Yu Lin Bloodhawk asked no questions and told them to go straight into the cabin. Then he left each of them a large bottle of health recovery potion, commonly known as a large red.
These were military medicines, and only the High Elves of Quel'Thalas were lavish enough to place no limit on how many their soldiers could carry. However, only someone like him, both an officer and a noble, was entitled to draw these large reds. Ordinary soldiers could obtain medium reds at most.
Under their astonished, openmouthed gazes, Yu Lin Bloodhawk left the cabin. The ship slowly pulled away from the harbor and sailed into the night.
The five Rogues exchanged looks in the cabin, holding their large bottles of health potion, unsure whether they should use them. To commoner Rogues, anything associated with magic was extremely valuable.
Most human Spellcasters were concentrated in Dalaran. Many held noble titles and rarely ventured out. As a result, even human nobles elsewhere considered magical items extremely precious. The High Elves of Quel'Thalas, renowned for their Spellcasters, appeared in public even less often. They maintained only a small permanent presence even in Dalaran, and that number seemed to be dwindling.
For ordinary professionals, having a few low- or medium-grade health recovery potions on hand for emergencies was already quite a luxury. When would they ever get to use such a large bottle? A large red like this would fetch at least one to three gold coins at auction. After all, at a critical moment, it could be worth a life.
When Yu Lin Bloodhawk returned with the Young Treant, he found the five Rogues still standing there dumbly, holding their large reds. He couldn't help asking, "Why aren't you taking the potions?"
"Master, are these for us to heal our wounds?" one of the female Rogues asked.
"Of course they're for healing. What else would they be for?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said. He felt that the Rogue was asking a completely pointless question.
"Thank you, Master!" All five Rogues suddenly dropped to their knees, giving Yu Lin Bloodhawk a fright.
"What's gotten into you? Get up, get up, and take the potions. If your wounds don't heal, we still have a long journey ahead!" Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.
"Our wounds have almost healed already. There's no need to waste such precious potions," the Rogue said.
"Almost healed?" Yu Lin Bloodhawk looked at them in puzzlement. "Then why do I still see blood seeping through?"
"They really are almost healed, Master!" the Rogue insisted. "They're all just flesh wounds."
"Oh. Suit yourselves, then," Yu Lin Bloodhawk said.
Pitter-patter. No sooner had Yu Lin Bloodhawk finished speaking than Little Locust Tree, standing beside him, toddled over to the Rogues on short little legs. Two small hands waved, and beams of green light descended onto the five of them. In a single instant, all their bleeding stopped.
Yu Lin Bloodhawk froze. The five Rogues were stunned too.
What was going on? Little Locust Tree knew healing magic too? Yu Lin Bloodhawk stared at Little Locust Tree with a strange look, a torrent of incredulous curses racing through his mind. He could stumble across a treasure just like that?
After finishing, Little Locust Tree pattered back behind Yu Lin Bloodhawk on short legs, clutching the hem of his clothes with little wooden hands like a child. Only then did Yu Lin Bloodhawk remember that many of the Young Treants on Sunstrider Isle had seemed to know a few minor healing spells too.
He turned around and stroked the Young Treant's head. "Little Locust Tree, once we get home, I'll take you to find some little friends to play with. How does that sound?"
Little Locust Tree was still too young to speak, but the leaves overhead rustled and quivered, expressing delight at the prospect of having companions.
The Rogues now looked at Yu Lin Bloodhawk differently. Just look at him. That old locust tree had stood there for hundreds of years, if not a thousand, yet no one had ever experienced anything so miraculous. Their master had merely happened to pass by and picked up a healer. How lucky did someone have to be for that to happen? They couldn't help marveling again.
At that moment, one of the Rogues unwound a bandage. The wound had already healed, leaving a large scarlet scar along the arm like a long earthworm. The sight was shocking.
Yu Lin Bloodhawk looked at that ugly earthworm and thought, This counts as a minor wound? What would they call a serious one? His gaze shifted to the two female Rogues. Would their wounds leave huge earthworms like that too? If so, they probably wouldn't be able to marry for the rest of their lives.
He drew the Young Treant out from behind him and pointed at the scar. "Little Locust Tree, could you see if you can remove that scar?"
Little Locust Tree nodded, but when Yu Lin Bloodhawk nudged the little treant forward to try, Little Locust Tree stubbornly refused.
Was there not enough mana?
Considering that possibility, Yu Lin Bloodhawk took a medium blue from his belongings and held it out to Little Locust Tree. "Give it a try, and this is yours. Little Locust Tree, look, there are two lovely young ladies over there too. Just think how ugly it would be if they were left with long scars like that! Help them out. It wouldn't be good if they couldn't get married later."
Yu Lin Bloodhawk's gentle coaxing made the two young female Rogues blush bright red. All the Rogues thought their master was truly peculiar. Did he even care whether they had scars?
If that was truly the case, they would willingly brave fire and boiling water for him.
These were peaceful times, after all. In reality, the Rogue profession was nowhere near as popular as it was in games. It wasn't as simple or as dashing as declaring, "I am the blade in the shadows."
Real Rogues had only a few paths open to them. The best was to become a kingdom's secret agent. The second was to become a noble's personal follower. The third was to serve certain nobles or organizations, doing their dirty work. The fourth was to become an independent thief.
Put plainly, the first meant public service, the second meant guarding prominent people, the third meant working as an assassin, and the fourth usually meant being a criminal. Whichever path they took, once age weakened them, they would be abandoned. Very few Rogues met a good end. These five belonged to the third category: private assassins.
But Rogues did have one advantage over other professions. While they were young and at the peak of their abilities, they earned money many times faster than other professionals. They could enjoy the best entertainment, eat the best food, and live in the best lodgings, so the profession still drew plenty of young people.
Rogues went by several names. What ordinary people called Rogues were actually low-ranking professionals. Stealth operatives were mid-ranking, while assassins were high-ranking. Once someone's strength surpassed the high ranks of the profession, people rarely called them a Rogue anymore. They would acquire a grand, respectable identity.
In this profession, those below the high ranks feared fame most of all. A Rogue or assassin who became famous had only one end waiting for them: death. The best Rogues were unremarkable; the best assassins were nameless.
Only then would others fail to guard against them, allowing them to strike with ease. The shadows were their best protection. Once they became famous, that veil of shadow was as good as pierced by sunlight. They themselves would be like a young woman wandering naked through a marketplace in broad daylight, with nowhere to hide, drawing countless professionals to hunt them down.
Unlike other professionals, Rogues had no respectable public identity. If they could show themselves openly, why would they need to operate in the shadows? For legitimate matters, there were Knights, Warriors, Mages, and even armies to arrest and eliminate offenders under the kingdom's laws. Who could withstand the might of the state hunting them down? Only when something couldn't bear the light of day did people think of hiring Rogues.
Where there were people, there were rivalries; where there were people, there was sordid business. And the sordid dealings between those in power were bloodier still. Thus the Rogue profession had arisen to meet that need. It was an ancient profession. No one could trace its origins, nor could anyone predict when it would disappear.
The five of them were unfortunate because they had become famous. Or perhaps famous wasn't the right word, since they had no names to begin with. They had only code numbers. Orphans from childhood, they had been trained as assassins by Marquis Diritis since they were young. Their numerical code names were 13, 14, 15, 16, and 17.
They were said to have become famous because their movements had been detected during an operation that offended the Earl. The other side had recorded their faces and later uncovered the faction they belonged to. That meant certain death for them.
Yet the Marquis had extraordinary means. Not only had he made them followers of a High Elf Baron, but this Baron also seemed to be kindhearted.
"Be good, Little Locust Tree..." Yu Lin Bloodhawk coaxed the Young Treant like a child, waving the blue potion in front of Little Locust Tree. He looked utterly ridiculous.
Yet none of the five Rogues could laugh. Instead, their hearts were filled with gratitude.
Before you continue