Assassin's Chronicle - Chapter 144

Chapter 144
It took Anfey a minute to process what he was seeing when he first saw Moramatch . It was a large town with a lot of houses, but the houses were all of different sizes . Some houses were short and small, barely seven feet tall, while others were tall . The difference was striking and made the city looked very ugly .


This, however, did not come as a surprise . A human of normal height would build taller, bigger houses . Dwarves and gnomes, who were generally less than three foot tall, built the smaller, shorter houses .
Anfey remembered listening to a traveling minstrel’s songs when he was still in Sacred City . The main character of the story was a human hero who was well liked by every race . He was welcomed by the dwarves, who gave the hero one of their best weapons . The hero commented on how well made the weapon was and waved the weapon around . The dwarves lauded the hero for his work for the world . The hero lounged in the home of the dwarf leader and was treated like a royalty . There was a fruitless love story, as well .
He had to admit, though, there was a huge difference between the story and real life . The house was too low for a man to straighten his back in, let along wave around a weapon . Even though the dwarves were well known for crafting weapons, Anfey had never actually seen a dwarf-made weapon . Stories tended to use humans as their focus, and all the other races existed to serve and assist the human hero . That was likely why dwarves would waste precious materials to craft weapons suitable for humans, then hide the weapon away until a certain hero appeared . They wasted precious materials and countless hours just so they could wait for the human hero .
Staying with the dwarves must have been even more boring . The dwarves must have small beds, and it must have taken half a dozen beds to make one bed suitable for a human . Having a love affair with a dwarf woman was even more unthinkable . Anfey imagined himself holding Shally, and shuddered at the thought .
"What’s wrong?" Suzanna asked him .
Thank god she couldn’t read his mind! Thankfully everyone had the right to keep their thoughts away from the world . If Suzanna learned what Anfey was thinking, she would not waste time asking him what was wrong .
"Nothing," Anfey said . "I just thought about how much work we have to do . "
"What are you worrying about? You won’t actually have to work . " Suzanna grinned at him .
Steel was forged under pressure . Experience, strength, and wits came from practice and time . Insensitivity was something that came with time, as well . The first time Suzanna held hands with Anfey, she was blushing and flustered . Later, when they were talking and stargazing, Suzanna found herself stumbling over her own words . Now they were holding hands, but Suzanna was acting much more natural .
Suzanna also could feel that Anfey would often stare at her feet . That was why Suzanna took off her boots after the two of them went to Anfey’s carriage . Women would not only dress to impress their lovers, sometimes they would undress to impress them .
"There are a lot of things other than physical work," Anfey said . Suzanna’s hand was soft and gentle in his hand . It was hard to imagine such a gentle hand could bring about so much destruction .
"Anfey, can I come in?" Christian knocked on the carriage and asked .
"No," Anfey said .
"What are you doing?" Suzanna asked hurriedly . She rolled her eyes at Anfey . Not letting Christian inside right now meant that there would be rumors saying they were doing something inappropriate . "Christian, come in," Suzanna called . She drew her hand back and covered her feet with her dress .
"What should I do about you two?" Christian asked, smiling . "Anfey, we’re about to enter the town . "
"Wait in here, Suzanna," Anfey said . "You’re our trump card . "
Suzanna nodded and smiled sweetly . She did not care for other’s adoration, but Anfey wasn't just anyone .
Anfey climbed out of the carriage . Feller, who was driving the carriage, moved over to make space for him . Anfey observed the town carefully . Perhaps it was because the caravan was too large, no one tried to stop them . There were shadows in the houses, as if the residents were observing them .
"Christian, tell Black Eleven to keep his men outside of the city . We’re going in by ourselves," Anfey said .
Christian nodded in response .


The caravan split into two . Half a dozen carriages entered the city, while the rest stayed behind . They found a clearing not far from the town . Under an old tree was a large bell . Clearly this was where the leader of the town called the residents together for meetings .
"Feller, sound the bell," Anfey ordered .
"No one would reply," Feller argued .

"Try it anyway . "
Feller nodded . However, before he could get off of his horse, he heard a loud thud coming from a large house to the right . The door was pushed open and a woman dashed out .
The woman wasn’t two feet away from the house when a werewolf chased out after her and grabbed her by her hair . The woman grunted in pain, and her head was drawn back . Anfey’s eyes flashed with strange emotions . He recognized the woman .
"Barak! Let her go! She saved my life," a few other werewolves jumped out of a nearby alleyway and called .
The werewolf in the lead was wounded, his left arm was covered with different colored fabrics, and he limped as he walked . He was with two other werewolves, and stared at the first werewolf angrily .
The werewolf called Barak shook his head and said slowly, "She is my slave now . "
"What do you mean? Are you trying to shame me?" the other werewolf barked .


Barak smirked but did not say anything . He turned his head and glanced at Anfey .
"Are they acting?" Feller leaned over and asked .
"I don’t know, but I know the woman isn't acting," Anfey said . "Go sound the bells . "
Feller walked over to the bell . He grabbed the large wood stake that hung next to the bell and began hitting it . The bell made a deep sound that could be heard throughout the town .
The werewolves were well aware of the bell’s sound, but they did not even turn their heads . None of the townspeople came, either .
The werewolf called Barak snorted and turned, dragging the woman behind .
"Barak, this is my last warning . Let her go," the other werewolf growled .
"Bergman, I want you to remember . I am in charge now," Barak said coldly .
"You were in charge . Not anymore," Anfey said slowly . He walked over and said, "I am in charge now . Let her go . "
The woman noticed Anfey, and her eyes were filled with joy . However, her hands were still bound and her mouth was gagged . The only thing she could do was struggle and try to catch his attention .
"Who in hell are you?" Barak turned and looked at Anfey . His eyes narrowed dangerously . He was going to wait a bit then decide what he would do . However, he could not tolerate anyone who challenge him openly .
"Get away, human . This is none of your business," Bergman growled as well . Even though Anfey had asked Barak to let the woman go, it was clear that Bergman did not want to befriend a human .
Anfey hesitated, then said quietly, "I rented this town for several hundred gold coins, but I didn’t know I would have to take care of beasts who don’t even know how to speak properly . " He had made several plans beforehand, but plans must vary according to the situation . Seeing that the werewolves were clearly respected here, he wanted to try and befriend one side . He didn’t know both sides would express enmity toward him . He had to take a stand, else his time in Moramatch would be very difficult .
"What did you just say?" Barak barked angrily . He pointed at Anfey and looked like he was ready to fight him at any time . However, he was worried about Christian, who was standing by a carriage, not Anfey .
"I don't like people pointing at me," Anfey said .
"So what if I do?" Barak asked, provoking him .
Anfey shook his head . His eyes moved away from the werewolf and glanced upwards . This was an elementary trick, and Anfey didn’t care if Barak fell for it . Though it seemed like the werewolf wasn’t too bright . His gaze followed Anfey’s .
Just as Barak looked up, Anfey grabbed the werewolf’s hand . Barak knew he had fell for a trap when pain shot up from his hand . When he was about to fight back, Anfey’s fist struck his nose . Barak yelped in pain and stumbled back .
"Dirty beasts," Anfey spat . He felt something wet on his hands . He found a handkerchief and cleaned his hand, then he dropped the handkerchief on the ground .
Barak jumped up, his eyes were blood red and his furs were standing on its ends . He was getting taller and stronger . A werewolf’s nose is more fragile than a human’s . Barak’s nose did not break after taking a hit like that, and that showed how strong he must have been .