Assassin
#2 of Short Practice Pieces
A short piece I was inspired to do after playing some Assassin's Creed.
~April 2011~
Quietly he strode towards a gate guard with his blade drawn but concealed, hooded head bowed to hide his face. Without warning the guard's conversation with another was cut short. The assassin's blade driven through his chest, blood running thick down the steel that glinted in the sunlight. The guard opposite the deceased stood horrified but quickly drew his sword as endless drilling had taught him.
The assassin withdrew his blade quickly, pushing the lifeless body forward to crumple at the other's feet. With lightening speed he swung at the other guard but his blow was blocked. The assassin's unnatural precision deflected the guards counter attack and he spun under the guard's free arm and slashed the backs of his knees. A scream pierced the small courtyard as the guard fell to his knees. Before he could even fall forward onto his hands the assassin wielded his blade with both hands for a crushing blow aimed between the guard's shoulder and neck angled toward the spine. Blood sprayed freely from the severed arteries as the razor steel cleaved easily through nearly seven inches of bone, muscle and flesh. In one fluid motion he placed his leather boot on the back of the guard's neck and shoved the body off his sword.
Nearby civilians that hadn't already fled in terror did so as freshly spilled blood filled the cracks in the cobblestone road. Pounding feet echoed down a nearby passageway heading towards the courtyard and the sound of the commotion. The first guard's legs met an untimely end as soon as they came through the last archway. Still in shock and not yet aware that his legs had just been cleanly amputated he lay on the ground no more than a second before the assassin's blade pierced his heart. The three remaining guards wasted no time in surrounding the white robed assassin.
One guard swung his massive claymore, stupidly forgetting that his target was probably faster than he could manipulate the heavy blade for the assassin appeared to wear no armor. The assassin easily dodged the strike towards the guard's side, removing his dagger from its sheath on his back with his free hand and stabbing it through the guard's undefended neck. He twisted his wrist and cut out the side of the guard's throat for maximum blood and affect, blood gushing into open air as the body fell in a heap. The assassin could almost feel the fear emanating from the remaining two guards.
One of the two guards rushed the assassin, wielding a much quicker blade. Two blows the assassin parried before locking blades with the guard. The guard was unnerved that he still couldn't see who the assailer was and didn't notice the assassin shift his footing to put all his remaining strength behind a punch into the guard's gut. The guard nearly vomited from the force and gasped for air. Unable to remain standing he dropped to his hands and knees, chest heaving. The assassin spun and side stepped, swinging his blade in a wide arc, landing precisely between two vertebrate of the guard's exposed neck. The guard's severed head left a trail of blood across the stone as it rolled away.
With his comrades all dead and his bravery in shambles the last remaining guard turned tail and ran as fast the way he had come as he was able but, he was not as skilled at maneuvering through the bustling streets as the assassin that easily kept pace with him. The guard eventually slowed, lost in a crowd and amazed that he was still alive and feeling better thinking he had lost the white robed killer. His ease didn't last long when he soon realized that there were quite a few hooded civilians in white robes wandering the street. Now he was paranoid that they were all assassins, scared for his life and shaking uncontrollably. He milled around the crowd for a bit before regaining his sense of direction and headed towards the nearest guard post that he knew of. He and his three comrades had only been a city patrol.
Unaware to the guard the assassin had been stalking him from the rooftops, a bow and arrow in his hands. When the assassin decided that the risk of collateral damage had reached a low point, the crows thinning, he notched the arrow in his compact bow. Perched precariously on a ledge the assassin took aim, breathing in one final time and holding it before releasing the arrow. The bow made nearly no sound and neither did the guard, an arrow lodged in his throat and windpipe. All the guard could manage was a gurgle as he began to drown in his own blood but even that was drowned out by the panicking crowd. If any one were to think of looking towards the rooftops the assassin would be nowhere to be seen.