At Taelan's retort, a chilling gleam flashed in Isillien's eyes, and he slammed the staff in his hand against the ground.
"Enough! Taelan Fordring, you are the Highlord of the Scarlet Crusade. You bear the expectations and hopes of this land. How can you abandon your duties so casually? Come back with me! And this messenger-hmph, an impostor. Arrest him and put him on trial!"
The four towering Scarlet officers behind Isillien gripped their weapons and surrounded me. I flexed my fingers, and two daggers danced in my palms like swimming fish.
These were spoils from my adventures in the Burning Steppes, extraordinary weapons I had taken from the Blackrock Orcs who had submitted to the Black Dragons' rule. Well, that was a slight exaggeration, but these two daggers were genuine magical weapons. Though I always used them to knock my opponents unconscious, that did not mean they had never tasted blood.
Frankly, I was not afraid of these four. If I wanted to leave, no one could stop me. But Taelan-I could not leave him here, especially when he was just one step away from seeing his father. I could not.
Everything I had worked for had been for this moment. Though I had already become a rich man... at least for now, I was still a Rogue.
The best gift anyone who underestimated a Rogue would receive was...
Squelch.
The Scarlet officer who raised his weapon first tried to lunge at me. The consequence of that reckless move was a wound across his neck, one that severed his windpipe completely. With a leap through the shadows, I slipped behind him with ease. Just as I had done countless times on the battlefield, a light slash ended a life.
Yes, death.
The best gift anyone who underestimated a Rogue