Chapter 41 Ildraig the Assassin
The assassination of Ladris had almost failed, Ildraig thought. He did not anticipate this group would be with his mark when he arrived at the house in Hedak. Did they know of the other assassinations? Ildraig wondered. If they did, then they were careless in protecting Ladris. Yet if it were not for the cover of darkness, Ildraig would have been unable to elude them that night.
The rich man in Dormal now demanded that he eliminate this group as well. And there was also this question about the manuscript in Kestalon. This would pose a significant challenge, he told himself. The group had warriors among them and possibly a wielder of magic. But the rich man in Dormal offered him ten times more gold than what he had been paid before. And so he drew his plans towards this end. But he had to consider the fact that this group was already aware of the threat he poses to them.
Ildraig had gone to Torinth in an attempt to find and eliminate the group. He had been there before when he took out Omed. The house would be easy to find, he had told himself. But upon reaching it, he found the house abandoned. He then had no other recourse but to proceed to Kestalon. But he did not concern himself with the waiting, for Ildraig was a patient man.
When he reached Kestalon, Ildraig had to figure out where this group would go to look for this manuscript. And because Ladris, Omed and the rest were scholars, the only place he could think of was the city’s library.
He knew the group would have to stay somewhere, so he went to all the inns near the library and offered the inn keepers gold in exchange for information regarding groups of visitors who had warriors or magic wielders among them or whether they had come from Torinth.
His trap was now set.
A messenger arrived that day at the inn where he stayed. It was a boy sent by one of the inn keepers. He carried a piece of parchment and handed it to Ildraig. He then read the message that it contained.
“Visitors from Torinth,” it said.
They are here, Ildraig told himself. He took out a vial of liquid from his leather bag and began to plan his next move.