[IRP] The First of Many

[Swift_Assassin]

"My lord, don't you think this is a terrible idea?"

Two men, one clad in tattered robes sporting a makeshift eye-patch and the other in a high-quality coat of dark purple with a hood, walked along the path. The man in the tattered robes had one question that he would repeat on a loop during their travels from Etruria to now. The man in the purple replied as he always had. "In a terrible situation, there are no terrible ideas," he had sighed. He stopped in his tracks, drawing the attention on his traveling companion. "And stop with the honorifics, Marcus. We may be in the nicer part of this damnable empire, but we can't risk blowing my cover."

"My...Shad, my apologies. I promise to resist the urge to address you as a man of your standing deserves," Marcus apologized. He lowered his hood to show the many scars that make up the left side of his face. His light blue hair blowing in the breeze.

Shad kept his hood up, however, and leaned into his 'walking stick'. He took out a map that was secured along his waist and examined the trail they had took. "We're nearing Pharae. There's a town along the way. Let's see if we can arrange some sort of lodging," the young lord said to his bodyguard.

"I'd prefer us be in Pharae. We'd be safer in case of bandits. Besides, they'd have a better selection of inns," the knight replied, rubbing the back of his head.

"Then I'll meet you there."

"What?!" Marcus yelled. The knight was getting annoyed with his lord's recklessness. He watched as Shad passed him by. "Why are you possibly considering staying here?"

The young dropped his hood and looked back at the knight. "It might be safer there, but the empire has eyes everywhere. You know what to look for. You can make sure the city is safe before I arrive. They'd expect a lord to desire a certain level of comfort you couldn't get at a small village, so they would look there for me. If I'm suspect of anything, anyway."

The robed knight grumbled with dissatisfaction and walked in the direction of Pharae proper. Shad smirked a little bit before heading towards the village. He still couldn't believe what has happened over the past months. Etruria and the Church of St. Elimine destroyed in a matter of months. He wasn't even sure if he could still be labeled a noble of Etruria, or even a noble at all under this new regime.

I wish I could have seen this coming back when I was living in Ostia. Back then I was a naive child who thought he would be welcomed back home after eight years in exile. I had to fight to get back what was mine once. I might have to fight again to reclaim a free Etruria.

He picked his head up and saw a ramshackle school. Most educated people used magic of some sort or another. Another casualty of this regime. I hope they got out.