Return to Jorgaldur Volume IV: Reunion

Ultimatum

When the man saw the hooded figure approaching, he was even pleased, just the opposite of usual. Normally, he was irritated by the arrival of the assassins to report their missions, or to request new ones. It gave him too much work, no matter how much that was precisely his role there.

In the past, he had been one of them, but age and a bad leg had forced him into retirement. Therefore, they had offered him that position. Not only because of the services provided, but because they were often shorthanded.

There weren't many assassins who would give up their job to go into paperwork. Most who left it were because they died or retired completely. Therefore, a retired assassin was more than welcome.

Perhaps, it was the fact that he had been forced to retire that made him usually grumpy. He felt worthless, and envied the assassins, what he had been before.

However, the current situation was different. He was bored to death. Many assassins had been dispatched to search for a single person, which meant that he had almost no work. There was no one to talk to, to grunt at.

"Number and reason," he received the newcomer.

What he didn't expect was that the assassin would uncover her face. It was taboo among assassins. Nobody wanted them to know who they or the others were, because it could only bring trouble. Of course, there were always cases where it happened by accident, or where the relationship got closer. On the other hand, there were even lovers who had never seen each other's faces.

Although he was more surprised that the face had distinctive red eyes, silver hair and prominent fangs. No other vampiress had eyes that blood red, at least, none he knew. Besides, that hair color was extraordinarily rare.

"Bl... Blood Queen?" he recognized her, and took a step back, scared.

He didn't know how she had gotten past the defenses without being discovered, much less how she had found the place, but he did know that he was in serious danger. Even on a normal day, assassins wouldn't have dared meet her head on. She was a legend among them. A dark legend. The number of assassins who had tried to kill her and died on her fangs was undoubtedly high.

In a situation with barely any staff, they had no chance of facing her.

Gjaki grinned menacingly, and leaned her elbow on the counter. It hadn't been difficult for her to find the place or to enter. After all, in the game, she had joined the Assassins Guild for some missions.

"I was in the dungeon with some friends, and one of yours was stalking us. One of those friends is called Eldi Hnefa. If it happens again, I'll take it personally, like you've broken your promise. I don't think you want that to happen, right?" she threatened.

"No, no, of course not..." the retired assassin assured, and took another step back.

After saying this, the vampiress covered her face again and turned around. She left the retired assassin behind, who didn't move for a few minutes. His clothes stuck to his body from sweat. He couldn't remember ever having been so scared.

When he managed to regain control of himself, he didn't hesitate to use one of the emergency communicators. They were only used if a serious threat loomed over the Guild, such as their enemies having discovered one of their bases.

None of his superiors reproached him for having used it. Rather, they panicked. They had decided to cease hostilities towards Gjaki because of the heavy losses suffered, not because they were afraid of her. They had never imagined that she would enter one of their bases as if she was taking a walk, simply because an assassin had bothered her, because she felt that they hadn't kept their word.

They couldn't help but wonder how many other bases might be compromised, or if they had a spy inside. What they didn't realize was that Gjaki herself had the identity of 43, a legendary assassin who had never failed a mission.

In fact, during the Blood Wars, she had often toured the Assassins Guilds, even when she herself was targeted by it. The vampiress chose missions that interested her, to finish off her enemies. In this way, she obtained information about them from the Guild, and their cooperation. In addition, she could know which of her allies were targeted, thus setting traps for assassins.

Most members didn't have access to as much information. Their choice of quests was limited, and they couldn't see all the available ones. They could filter by some criteria, but they weren't given information about the objective until the mission was accepted.

As they ranked up by completing missions, the access to information increased. In the case of Assassin 43, she had enough rank to become one of the Guild's leaders if she decided to retire. She had access to almost all the missions, though not the customers.

That information was available only to those who created the mission, and it was destroyed after finishing it.

It didn't take long for the high command to reach a unanimous conclusion. The operation to capture or assassinate Eldi Hnefa was canceled forever. They put him on the white list. No financial reward was worth putting the organization in jeopardy. It would have a negative impact on their reputation, but it was better than the alternative.

For some, the complete annihilation of the base in Kilthana's county was still fresh in their memory. They had nearly killed the countess, and Gjaki had made sure that didn't happen again. The Marabunta had devastated all on their path, along with a Blood Clone, some Hounds and Gjaki herself. Until now, they had believed that she had discovered it by chance, due to some negligence. They weren't so sure anymore.

The vampiress had no sympathy for the Assassins Guild. She had simply used them when it suited her, and she knew that it was an organization too big to be eliminated entirely.

The current situation, in which they feared her, and didn't dare to act against her and her family, was the most convenient for her. In addition, it wasn't her role to be a vigilante around the world. In many places, she was frowned upon or even feared.

She knew that the Guild feared her, but also that they would turn against her if she cornered them, perhaps against her people. It was better to keep the status quo.