Dear reader, if you have found my journal, then that means I have failed... I'm sorry that I've failed you. Now a dark, harrowing mission has been forced upon. If you have this book in your possession, then the Flara are probably already on their way to kill you. Then they can just take the journal. Contained in these pages are my life, and I guess my death, I write this is a future tense, that way should I live I can laugh at myself for thinking I would have died after such a simple mission.

Now I know this is going to sound crazy, but I need your help. I am an assassin, and I worked for the legendary order known in certain circles as the Mantine. You like gold right, well I have a big bag of it with your name on it if you to take this journal to my masters in castle Letane. I have a collections bag for my death, and that should have almost a thousand gold pieces by now.

The gold is held inside a double-locked case that requires two keys to open successfully. If not turned at the exact same time, the box will release a bag of acid consuming the contents of the box. If Letane still holds true, then my masters will be there. I implore you to give them the book so they can protect it. They will give you the first key, only if you ask for it, and then you must find my second key. I hid it inside my room in a hollowed rock in the wall. If you are willing to go on this deathly mission, then the collections bag will be yours.

Before I go jumping to conclusions about you helping me, I should probably explain a little bit about who I am, that way you have some information as to why you should go. My name is Paul, I'm an American from the newly founded colony's. Now I have no idea where you found this journal since I have been all over the world, but I am going to assume you found it near my corpse.

Thomas pauses as he looks over a scratched over space. It hides a large portion of the next pages, but the sides were annotated by the owner, and it pointed towards the end. Carefully turning to the end of the book, the words continue, but in a frantic scribble.

He's dead! My master, I'm so sorry. We were ordered a simple job. We couldn't even perform a simple assassination. The Flara high priest has dawned the mask as head priest. We fell into his trap like mice. We were expecting little, to no resistance when we got there. This was all a setup, there were just too many at the back gate. I watched the men fire long row of guns, and I knew there was nothing I could do. My master... A man with a heart of gold saved me once again, for the last time. Not only did he teach me how to be an assassin, but how to be a man. He was my best friend, and I watched him shove me out of the way as he was riddled with bullets. There was nothing I could do but flee. I had to escape, for him...

The section ended, leaving Thomas only more confused, so he flipped back to the first few pages, and began reading after the scratched out page.

My life as an assassin started on a cold winter morning. I was running from a group of Flara recruiters I had just tried to steal from. As a poor man's son, money was always tight, and when he got sick, I knew I needed to make money somehow. Once they spotted me trying to lift a blade from the armory table, the whole group started to chase me. I was sure I could escape, I grew up in the town, I knew all the roads. I weaved in and out of the crowded, packed earth roads, as I dashed away trying to get away with my life.

Lady Luck, however, was not on my side that day. I happened to make a wrong turn and ran into the only alleyway that didn't open on the other side. Turning around, I saw the Flara recruiters. There were seven of them blocking my escape, and slowly drawing nearer. They all started laughing among themselves as they drew closer, brandishing their freshly sharpened weapons. I knew I was to die, they had caught up to me, and nobody in town would dare resist the Flara. The leader glared at me with a devilish gleam in his eye before he pulled a serrated blade from his sheath and waved it around like a toddler does a toy.

"Beg me for mercy, and I might kill you quickly!" The man threatened as I stood there, fearing for what he would do if I didn't. I was so sure I was going to die that day. It turns out that lady luck had not forsaken me however. The one who I later came to call master jumped from the rooftop landing on the ground without making a sound. He wore a long flowing robe that covered his entire body. The only thing I'd noticed other than the snow-white robe was that he had a large stash of metal on his person that clinked against each other softly as the wind in the alley blew the robe gently.

My future master stood there looking at the guards. The seven of them all watched him with a curious grin. They had all drawn their blades as he had landed, and their resolve seemed to diminish with each passing second. My master let one sentence leave his lips. "Leave, or die." The head of these guards looked at him surprised, I remember him laughing as an attempt to counter my master's bravado. "Move aside Samaritan, or be killed alongside this petty thief.

My master let out what sounded like a laugh of some kind, and put his hands into his flowing white robes. When he extended his hands from the robes, he had a little pellet in each held open for all to see. He quickly began waving them, as an exotic dancer would a fan. Once he had drawn the attention of every guard in the group. He dropped into a crouch tossing the pellets forward. They flew towards and the group who watched as they hit the ground. A bright light flashed from the pellets that was so majestic it had illuminated the entire alleyway, blinding all who watched them land. The guards began to panic, covering their eyes and swinging their swords. It was already far too late for them though.

I had been dumb enough to not cover my eyes until it was too late as well, but I heard two metal objects pulled from their sheaths. Then heard them cut through the air before they connected with their targets. Two guards cried out in pain and fell to the ground. He pulled more, making the same sound as they slid from their case and sent them flying towards their new home. Two more were cut down before the troops began to regain their sight. A soft laugh echoed through my ears as I still couldn't see. The sound of a sword loosing from its sheath startled me, and footsteps told me that he had started forward. The sound of clashing metal echoed through the alleyway as I had begun to regain my sight. Another troop was falling dead before I could start to see properly. The leader and his lackey were all that remained.

"Get him!" The head guard pointed to me, then he started for my master. The lackey raced towards me, his blade held forward like a spear. I had no weapons to speak of, so when he got to me, I dashed forward to punch him. He caught my fist as if it were a toy and yanked the muscles up, cracking the bones in my hand. I cried out in pain and used my closer leg to kick him in the groin. He keeled over in pain, and I took the opportunity to steal his dagger from his scabbard then buried it in his head. The blood that emanated from his head as I pulled the dagger free with my good hand had stunned me. I had never killed a living thing bigger than a chicken, and to watch the light fade from his eyes kept me frozen in place. The sound of ringing blades brought me back into focus as the pain in my hand throbbed. I watched as the two swung, and parried each other, all the while spinning in a small circle. Their swords continued to clang against each other in a metallic dance as the two tried to kill one another.

"Are you ok?" The robed man asked through the fight, hardly even paying attention to the guard anymore.

"My hand, is broken..." I replied numbly, as I tried not to pass out. "I'm going to die once the infection sets in though..."

My future master grumbled something under his breath, looked over at me for but a second, then returned his focus to the guard once more. The guard had become infuriated that his attacker was practically ignoring him. "Don't you disregard me, I'll kill you for that!" He screamed out as he began to blindly swing. The hooded man just let out a little smirk, then split his blade into two by clicking something near the base. He began to swing with precise strikes, using both blades in seemingly random directions. Swinging left, right, holding the blades together to block. The guard managed to cut a small slice of the fabric from my master's robe, which made the guard grin. I remember the smile quickly fading as my master began to speed up his attacks. Countering with one and striking with another, they quickly added a new step to their dance of death.

Not even a minute had passed since I had notched my first kill, and I was beginning to feel woozy from the pain in my hand. I knew I was going to die, yet I was tantalized with the man in front of me. He risked his life and killed a handful of Flara guards for me, even going so far as to fight their leader for me. I had no idea why, but I felt grateful he had tried regardless.

The blade dance had come to a bitter end as both of the hooded man's blades buried into guards chest. He pulled the blades out with disgust and kicked the man down. Leaning over him, my master wiped the blades dry of blood on his shirt. Standing back up, he ignored the pitiful cries of revenge. I was happy to see that monster had gotten what he deserved, and that's when I started to fade away. I remember hitting the ground, then the man in white turned and started towards me, dropping the blades and pulling a small vial of green liquid from his robe. He ripped a portion of my sleeve from my shirt, then and wrapped it around my hand and poured the liquid into the cloth bandage. The pain was immediate, searing hot, and ice-cold at the same time. I remember him saying something as he picked me up, but I faded into unconsciousness before I could register what it was.

I woke up in my room later with a small pouch of gold, a letter, and the empty vial from the man. They were sitting in my lap, and I tried to clear the thoughts from my head as if it were just a dream. My wool curtains had been opened and were swaying in the breeze. The door had been shut and barricaded from the inside with a chair. The fireplace had also been lit, and had a few logs burning in it. I fearfully looked down at my hand, worried that I didn't feel anything. To my amazement however, my hand had mended itself. The blood from the makeshift bandage had dried, and there wasn't even a scar. I was so surprised my hand was no longer broken, I completely overlooked the objects in my lap. I quickly stood up, sending the gold coins tumbling to the ground. The letter fluttered down beside the bag, and the empty vial stayed on the bed. I dropped to my hands and knee's picking up the coins as fast as I could. After I had gathered them all and put them back in the pouch, I opened the letter and felt my blood chill.

Thomas turned the page and a small letter fell out. He opened it carefully, then read the formal cursive letter.

To whom it may concern, this letter is our way of showing you that there is a better way than ripping off guards to resist. Meet me at the Drunken Hound if you want to see all that life has to offer.

-Your angel in white.

Thomas folded the ancient letter tenderly, and looked at the bubble around him, the timer on the machine said it still had another few minutes before it would fade. So he put the note back into the journal on the page before and started reading again, making sure to avoid looking at the corpse beside him.

I thought he probably wanted something, and I looked over to the pouch of gold coins that I had put back on the bed. I reached for it and quickly went to my satchel to hide it in the bottom before I started for the door. Moving the blockage, I quietly opened the door and saw my father laying there. He seemed to be resting and didn't seem to be in pain. I knew he would sleep for a while yet before he needed his medicine. It had only been a few hours since the encounter with the guards, as the sun had only just begun to fall. I knew it was going to be cold, so I wandered over to the hearth, and put a few longs in the fire to keep him warm before heading for the door.

The second I got out the door I started getting weird looks from the other locals. I hastily began towards the center of town where The Drunken Hound was located. I saw the sign long before I got there, and knew the smell from even further. This bar was where the lowest of the low went to get drunk. The alcohol was brewed in the worst possible conditions, it could potentially kill you with every drink. Thus the booze was so cheap, and the poorer folks flocked to it. As I wandered closer, I heard somebody call to me. I turned my head to look over towards the voice, then felt a blade against my neck. "I came alone!" I cried out as the blade pressed harder against my neck.

"I know you did." A deep silky voice replied as the pressure held firm. "I followed you from the rooftops after you left. I assume you came because of the letter? His warm breath blowing over my neck sent shivers down my spine. I tried to nod my head, but the blade cut a small portion of my neck, which made me yelp.

Another voice called out through the darkness of the alleyway and told him to let me go. The blade pulled away, and I turned around to look at the man behind me. He was wearing the same white robe as before, and he had a small cut in his cloth near his arm which gave me the impression it was the same man as before. "T-Thank you for saving my life." I shivered again as his hot breath pushed towards me.

"That wasn't a big deal. You looked like you needed a hand." His voice was curt, but it screamed desire. "I'm glad your alive, that was a bad break. I'm honestly surprised you lived-"

"No you're not!" The other voice echoed in disbelief. You gave him some of the alchemist's medicine. There's no way he would have died, even is he was on the brink of death!"

I was mesmerized by the hooded man, almost as if I were in a trance. The one behind me growled in disgust, making my master take a step back. Shaking my head, I continued to look at the darkness that hid his face. "Well, like I said before, thank you for saving me." Looking down, I noticed the shadowy man in front of me had blood drops on his outfit. I felt anxious as we stood in the open, exposed to the people nearby. "So uh, why did you save me?"

I remember his silky voice turning ice cold. "Since I knew you were a dead man if I didn't." He growled as he started forward, pulling me into the alley nearby. Before I could say anything, he pressed me up against the wall, pinning me in place. "The Flara are going to kill you for resisting, you know that right?" He paused for a moment thinking about what he wanted to say. His next words chilled me to the bone, and I will remember them for the rest of my life. "How would you like to make a martyr of your father, instead of just another casualty of the Flara's cruelty?

The timer went off, and the first layer of the shield powered down. A few seconds later, Thomas heard the beam starting to fade. He shut the journal and pressed a black button on his armor. It opened a small panel revealing an empty space. Placing the journal inside, he pressed the button again shutting it. The machine let out a small hiss as it pressurized. Thomas looked down and saw the spy again making his stomach turn. The body had paled, and the smells that were coming from him  made it clear that his body had voided its bowels. Closing his eyes, Thomas quickly reached for his trusty sidearm. Pulling it from its holster in a swift motion, he activated his visual implants and opened his eyes. Looking past all the bombed-out area, he tried to find anywhere he could take shelter. 

I need to find somewhere safe until I can establish communication with H.Q. and figure out what the hell is going on! Thomas thought as he looked around the bombed-out field. Before long he spotted a town in the far off distance. He let out a soft sigh as he closed his eyes and deactivated his implants, then quickly started running towards the small town, trying to ignore the thought of his squad looking like the spy behind him. 

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Hey there friends! I hope you are enjoying the story! If you like what you're reading, and want to make my day, maybe you can leave me a few comments and a vote? I hope you are all having a wonderful day, and I can't wait to hear your thoughts on the story so far! Don't forget to drink lots of water!

-Asted!