Two weeks later, as promised, Tiene was as good as new. Fyn's healing touch had undoubtedly made a tremendous difference; her arm and shoulder had healed as if they had never been broken or dislocated in the first place.

Communication between her and Sauren, however, had not mended so quickly. He was away mostly, but when he was in the grounds, although he was always polite and pleasant, it seemed strained somehow. He no longer snuck up on her and her group now and again, giving them frights or testing how long it took for them to detect his presence. She missed that.

It was now a couple of months further down the line and Tiene regretted ever having been privy to what Lexie confided. Her so-called friend had not even kept in touch like she said she would. Further proof that her story had been nothing but an attempt to unsettle Tiene and undermine her opinion of Sauren.

Oddly, and she knew not why, she found herself lying awake some nights, listening to see if footsteps passed her door, or sighs and moans could be heard from across the hall. Daft, she supposed, considering he was mostly out of the grounds anyway.

Training continued with her team. They learned how to dodge and parry with super efficiency. The art of bluffing, which turned out to be great fun, often resulted in shrieks of laughter within the team, but Ylwen stressed it could mean the difference between giving or receiving a death blow in the field.

Obstacle courses improved skills on so many levels. From stealth, litheness, stamina, an aptitude for puzzle-solving to lock-picking - nothing should stand in the way of a rogue achieving their goal.

Some of the tests ventured outwith the grounds. In the woods, students learned how to shimmy up trees in the blink of an eye using the surrounding flora for camouflage. Likewise, in the city, they climbed buildings and scuttled across rooftops. Occasionally, this was executed during the evenings - thus giving students a feel for working under cover of night. The team worked well together, and also on an individual basis.

Many new strikes and abilities were taught and practised. 'Exsanguinate'; a twisting of blades in your victim, resulting in massive blood loss. 'Sap' - which rendered the target immobilised for a short time. 'Distract'; the art of hoodwinking the target, enabling a surprise attack or the chance to reach another goal.

Fan of Knives, however, was Tiene's favourite manoeuvre. Students were issued a collection of throwing knives which they stored on wrist, ankle and thigh wraps. Each little blade had its slot, and Tiene thought she looked very good with all that metal glinting on her. Well, she did until Ylwen pointed out that those little glints could give away her position to the enemy - so camouflage was pertinent.

Tiene practised religiously with her little blades, even into the night when others were sleeping. She would end up repeatedly sharpening and throwing all her knives at the hapless target dummies, honing her skill. It also helped to cap her frustration for not being assigned to missions.

Often she sat quietly in the middle of the courtyard, thinking fondly of her beloved Camnath. But, she was a little envious of him too. His letters enthused about missions he had carried out with his guild - although certain details were not to be divulged. He had been on five now. Granted he explained some were only small affairs, collecting documents, plans and such, but still -.

And sometimes she thought of Sauren. He was gone for long spells, but when he came back, he did not spend as much time with the group or offer words of encouragement as he did in the beginning. All praise came from the trainers, which was good, but he was the one whose approval everyone wanted. His opinion was what mattered to them. She was sure he still avoided her because of that day in the library. She could not deny, the situation made her sad.

One night while she sat sharpening her blades and throwing them at the dummies, things finally looked like they might get back on track.

"You are improving with those." Sauren's voice came, unexpectedly, from behind her. "Although, if you keep sharpening them after every other throw, you will have no steel left."

She turned, surprised and apprehensive. Sauren was in full battle gear, bladed to the teeth, his hair pulled back tight under a black bandanna, the majority hidden beneath a cloak. He looked – lethal.

"Thank you," she said, continuing to sharpen a blade regardless. "I wasn't aware you had noticed. You're always away." She scrunched her eyes shut for a second. That had come out a little more bitter than she'd intended.

He sat down beside her, clasping his hands over his knees.

She huffed. "On your way out again - on another mission?"

"Yes. Soon." He nodded, looking askance at her.

"Good! I mean, good for you..." She groaned; this wasn't going well at all. She sounded angry and petty. "I mean..."

"I know what you meant, Tiene. Look - I'm sorry for the way things have been. I do not want you disheartened. You are a formidable rogue, potentially one of the best we have ever developed, and that includes your parents."

"Doesn't feel like it. Training has been great, don't get me wrong, but - " Tiene sighed again, flustered because she could not explain what she was trying to relate. "I know my father said there was a lot of training which would be tedious maybe even boring... Forgive me, I am not criticising your trainers, nor your schedules it's just -"

Sauren remained silent. It wasn't an awkward silence; it was a polite one. He was waiting for her to finish saying her piece.

Tiene bolstered herself with a deep breath. "I feel I am suffocating here. I want to get out, do missions; like Camnath."

Sauren's jaw tightened, but she didn't see that. She threw a blade. It hit the dummy smack in the middle of the head.

The Guild Master's eyes stared at the knife as it vibrated in the target. "I'm glad I didn't approach you from the front," he said, turning to her, a glint in his eyes. She held his gaze, then looked back at the blade. Both started to laugh. Finally, the tension lifted; it was good to laugh together again.

"I know you're frustrated," Sauren began. "I promised to take you on missions once you were better, and I haven't done so yet. I'd be annoyed too - if it were me."

She smiled. "Yes. Well..." She threw another blade. It shaved the edge of the first one, making the metal sing.

Sauren raised his eyebrows; he was impressed. "In two days, I will take you and your team on an assignment. It will just be a 'search and find' one, but good practice for your skills in stealth and agility. After that, they will be regular." He stood up and dusted down his britches.

"Promise?" She felt her spirits rise.

"Yes. I promise. You are past ready, especially going by that last throw." With a smile, he nodded towards the dummy. "We will make an excellent team, I promise you."

She smiled. Things were looking better; she felt encouraged, hopeful.

"Goodnight, Tiene." Before she could respond, he ran forward, scaled the walls of the courtyard and disappeared into the night.

"Show off!" she muttered with a smile. Gathering her little blades, she made her way to her rooms. That night, for the first time in a while, she slept soundly.

Next morning, she felt exhilarated, even more so when a letter arrived from Camnath. He let her into a secret. He told her that still, very few rogues practised the magic form of stealth which she had mastered, and taught him.

This skill turned out to be extremely advantageous when infiltrating enemy rogue camps, as it ensured they would be undetectable by the other rogues. The only snag was enemies who specialised in the magic arts could locate you, as the magic contained a pungency known only to spell-wielders.

Tiene found this interesting. It was something she should have realised though, with Inaris being a warlock. It explained how he always had the upper hand when she engaged the stealth. A mental note was duly made to use it if a mission so required. She had - wisely perhaps - never used it inside the Crimson Blades grounds, nor had she told anyone in the complex about it. She was now glad she'd kept it a secret. It could give her an edge when she needed it most.

But, for now, she was most excited to tell her team about the pending mission on which Sauren promised to take them. It gave them all a boost. They executed their chores, tasks and studies with vigour the next couple of days.

*****

Having just bathed after returning from his most recent assignment, Sauren leaned, shirtless, on the railings above the courtyard. His eyes focused on Tiene; like a cat following a mouse. She is coming along very nicely indeed, he mused. Her movements were lithe, fluent, with swift strikes; she was potentially lethal but still in need of a little fine-tuning. His eyes moved across her team. Every one of them had massively improved and were inclined to follow Tiene's lead, he noticed. "Interesting," he said under his breath.

Brett stood silently to his right. The older man watched his master's face - a feeling of dread returned as he followed his gaze. Brett saw, rather than heard his Guild Master utter something. "Sorry, Sauren, what did you say?" he asked.

The half-elf glanced at his right-hand man, then pointed to the trainees. "Look, Brett. They follow her; they have elected her as their leader."

Brett looked down into the courtyard. Sauren was right enough; the others did look to Tiene for leadership - they seemed to hang on her every word. No other teams had done this - students just followed the example of their trainers, not each other, at least not to this degree. He turned back to Sauren and noted the half-elf was pleased by this development.

"Tomorrow shall be good," Sauren said, a smile playing on his lips.

*****

Tishleen wiped her brow, the last bout of duelling had been quite arduous. Tiene was super quick, and although Tishleen was also light on her feet, she had still been bested three out of four bouts by the blonde, High elf. As she tugged back her hair which was adhered to her face by sweat, she glanced upward. "Oh my!" she gasped.

Tiene followed her gaze. Sauren stood watching them, shirtless, a subtle sheen on his skin as if he had just stepped out of a bathtub.

Tiene grinned at Tishleen as the dwarf started fanning herself. "Down, Tish!" She laughed. "You'll do yourself an injury."

Emmek looked up to see what caught his cousin's attention. He sounded disgusted and grumbled under his breath, "Harlot! Keep yer eyes off the man and focus on yer training."

"Whae are ye callin' a harlot!" Tishleen spat back, bristling as if she had feathers ruffled.

"Him! Rumour hus it he dips it in onything that walks past him withoot drawers on."

"You had better not lose your britches on any iron poles again then, Emmek," Thil'las said with a smirk as he came into the duelling arena to challenge Tiene. The other team members tried to stifle their laughter.

"Och, ye dirty long-eared git," Emmek growled, shuddering at the thought.

Laughter erupted until they saw Ylwen scowling at them. The trainer glared at every team member until they all resumed a serious disposition and continued with their training. She turned away after, to look across the courtyard. It had been difficult to stem her laughter too, but she daren't let the trainees see that side of her.

Before the duel began between Tiene and Thil'las, her eyes drifted up to the walkway once more. Their half-naked leader had disappeared.

The following morning, the team were taken into a room off from the library; one which none of them had been aware even existed. It was a relatively basic room, the walls made of wooden panels and the flooring too, all polished to a high-quality sheen. A large, heavy table sat at the top end of the room, with one or two chairs dotted against the walls. The window had been blacked out, preventing any inquisitive eyes from spying. Lighting in the room came from four large free-standing, oil-filled lanterns and an ornate chandelier.

Sauren was already waiting for the team. He stood looking over something on the table as they waited at the far end of the room. "Good morning," he said, without lifting his eyes.

"Morning, Guild Master," they all replied in unison.

He remained quiet, still studying what was on the desk, his long hair brushing whatever it was that had his interest. The team stood, uncertain, glancing at Tiene, wondering what was going on. She shrugged but indicated they all look forward and wait.

Finally, Sauren spoke. "The Crimson Blade is approached by considerably wealthy clients who require particular tasks to be carried out. Our clientele, however, must remain strictly confidential, known only to the team leader or, obviously should there be no team involvement, the lone rogue."

The group stood, riveted.

Sauren continued. "Tasks can range from finding war plans, blueprints for buildings, or weapons of war, artefacts of great value, and some merely sentimental. Sometimes, it requires us to very discreetly, dispose of some - shall we say - troublesome individuals."

The team shifted on uneasy feet — all except Tiene. Sauren's eyes peered at her from between his platinum plaits; she was attentive, focused. He lifted his head and looked out over the entire team. "An assassination, however, is a very different operation from one which requires you to kill for survival. I hope you are all at least confident that you can do the latter?"

There was a hesitant nodding of heads. Sauren smiled. "Good. It is also immeasurably easier, if the potential 'killer' is a creature, as opposed to a man, be he elf, human, dwarf - or orc."

A shiver ran through the team.

"What about trolls?" Keeaen asked.

Sauren looked at the young elf, his lips tight. "They are problematic, as Tiene will attest. Two of her brothers battle them daily."

Everyone looked at Tiene, and she nodded agreement.

"But," Sauren continued, his voice pensive as if lost in a memory. "Killing them gives the best adrenalin rush you will ever know."

The team quietened, sensing something intensely personal lay behind his words.

Tiene watched him closely as he moved out from behind the desk and stepped down in front of them. He was dressed as she had seen him the other night, in full battle gear; black leather, hidden compartments with deadly blades and poisons as well as two ornate daggers were sheathed at his hips. He was quite something to behold.

Tiene suppressed a grin as she noted Tish's eyes widen when he neared the team. His leather-clad frame did not escape Shenyssea's attention either. Tiene rolled her eyes.

The guild leader carried on. "We are heading out to Deadwind Pass where we will encounter, amongst other things, spiders the likes of which most of you may not have seen before. They are large, ferocious, and they will not stop coming at you until they are dead."

"I hate spiders," groaned Zachery.

The guild leader laughed menacingly. "Not as much as they will hate you, Zach."

"I mean, they scare me." The lad shuddered, his face contorted in disgust.

"Then I suggest you get over your fear boy, or you will end up as spider food!" Brown eyes flashed hotly at the human trainee. The whole group tensed.

"Y – yes, Guild Master," Zach said, feeling foolish.

"I take it we are not just killing spiders though, so what or who is our actual target?" Tiene asked, trying to take attention away from the embarrassed Zach.

Sauren turned to her, smiling warmly, impressed. She was astute - as always. "What gave it away, Tiene?" he asked.

The team all stared at her, expectant. "The fact you were studying something on that table at length when we came in. Also, your introductory speech was far too detailed for us simply to be going out bug-stomping."

Sauren's teeth flashed in a smile. "Clever girl," he said and turned to the rest of the group. "Follow Tiene's example, be observant, listen, assess. It's not all slice and dice which deems you a good rogue."

He moved back behind the table. Leaning his palms on the surface, he told them what the assignment entailed. "We will be trying to locate evidence of a library in the vicinity. It was believed to have crumbled when the boy wonder, a young mage named Khadgar, defeated Medivh, the Last Guardian, during the First War."

"Wait! We are looking for books - ten years after the library was declared destroyed?" Keeaen asked, surprised.

"Yes. Our client suspects it is merely hidden, by magic, as opposed to being razed." Sauren explained, his tone measured. "It will no doubt be guarded, possibly by wards, which we are not qualified to breach. But, if we can mark its location, our client will be able to access what they need."

"Surely warlocks and mages would be better qualified at finding it then? Why waste rogues' time on such a mission?" Keeaen asked.

Tiene thought Keeaen's comment was impertinent, and she tensed, thinking he may be reprimanded as Zach had been over his phobia.

Sauren lowered his head, strands of hair concealing his eyes. When he faced the group again, he focused on Tiene. "Someone once implied that training could be tedious and boring, perhaps wondering what its purpose was at times..."

Tiene's mouth twitched as she recalled the conversation to which he referred.

"Well," he continued, looking back at the rest of the team. "its purpose is this; to hone your skills, even those you may not see as particularly important. I can assure you every trick of the trade is vital to your success, and one day, ultimately, could mean your survival. That is why sometimes we do what may appear to be menial assignments. But all have a purpose. All can shape your future."

The recruits nodded, their enthusiasm fuelled; they were hyped.

"A portal awaits," Sauren said leading the way to the door. "Let's get going. The place we go to, by the way, is huge - a maze within a maze, it will be easy to lose each other. Therefore we must stick together unless I direct you otherwise. The location - is a place called Karazhan."

Thank you for reading!!!

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