I stealthily made my way toward the split in the hall. Left or right?

I chose left. I walked quickly, torches lighting the whole way. Light was an unwanted element here, naturally. If only there was water around, I could put some of it out.

I turned around a corner, right into a very dark corridor. Two torches had been put out. Something on the ground caught my eye. It was an arrow with no arrowhead on it. It seemed like the arrow had hit its target, burst or exploded into something on impact, and dropped here. I noticed some blue coloring towards the tip where the arrowhead should have been. I shrugged, baffled, and kept going.

I walked down the corridor, and it came to an end. One door was at the end of the corridor, and one door was to the left of it. I crept up to the left door and was startled by a muffled sound…it sounded like a woman’s voice. Suddenly it was interrupted by a man’s voice.

I thought through my options. I could keep going and ignore this room, or open the door slightly and hope they wouldn’t here me, then hear the conversation, or I could wait and see what happened.

I decided to keep going. I remembered that my prime objective was to eliminate Garrett. I had to keep up with him.

I quietly opened the other door, and entered into a large room. Two feasting tables with chairs sat in the center of the room. Two guards and a servant were eating there. There was a fireplace to the right side of the room, set ablaze. There were only two torches lit. One was afire above my head to my right. The other was in the same spot, just situated on the wall across the room.

The most discouraging factor on the room in front of my eyes was that it was mostly tiled floor: extremely loud, and definitely not ideal for a stealthy approach to anywhere or anything. The room had a carpeted border, and rugs neatly placed throughout different floor locations.

The guards had not noticed by entrance. If they had, I would have been impressed.

I was standing on the checkered tile. I was probably not visible from their position, for I was quite a distance away from the nearest torch. I carefully put my foot in front of me for the first step. Heel first, then toes. The painstaking process took a few minutes to reach a dark corner. It was so dim, I almost stumbled over the table and chair that were there. My keen eyes picked out the outline of a rectangular object…a book. I opened it to the first page, which read:

My good friend Eustace,

We have a little problem on our hands. Some certain individuals around here are getting interested about the Archer’s Own. I need to know how they heard about it. There is the possibility that you might have revealed it to them, but I am dismissing that thought.

After you find how the treasure came to their knowledge and/or by whom, please report anyone whom are conversing about this matter, servants and guards. Remove them by any means necessary…kill them if you must. Set them out on the streets. Anything! I do not want the Archer’s Own to be sought after, especially as I am about to close a deal with an associate of mine who is going to purchase this treasure. That means gold, Eustace, and lots of it. Who knows…perhaps there will be enough to pass on to your possession? Keep that in mind.

If anyone finds out about our little secret, I shall have you executed. You are the Captain of the Guard, and you are well respected. That puts more responsibility onto you. View this as an assignment to test your loyalty and worth. Don’t think that just because you are the Captain and my friend means that you can still be careless.

Once again, if anyone is searching for the Archer’s Own or conspiring against me, I trust that you will inform me of such atrocities.

-The Honorable Lord Eisley

This little letter seemed out of place. Why was it in plain view out in the dining hall? It seemed like a careless location to place such an item.

Then the thought dawned on me that maybe Captain Eustace himself was searching for the Archer’s Own, also! The thought almost made me pity Lord Eisley for the corruption surrounding him.

The loud sound of a chair leg scraping against tile made me jump.

“Oy, I’ll bet some taffer just made up the whole thing. There probably ain’t even a treasure called the Archer’s Own.”

“You’re the taffer, Abram. There’s gotta be somethin’ o’ value here in the manor. Lord Eisley can’t be this rich and not have any treasure.”

I looked around the corner. The three had stood up, and were obviously finished and about to leave. The servant spoke.

“I agree with Isaac. Notice how the Lord doesn’t have any treasure on display? Anywhere? No scepters, no gold-plated armor, or jeweled sword, nothing! The Lord must be hiding it out of our reach somewhere.”

I was surprised that the servant dared to speak of his master like that. I myself agreed with the servant and the guard Isaac. There were probably many secrets within the walls of Lord Eisley’s Manor. Either the guard Abram really didn’t bleieve it, or he was bluffing, planning on stealing the treasure for himself. So many betrayals and plots…I had only read and heard of such matters.

They left the room through an opening in the wall. From my safe “perch” I could see it led into an elegant room with purple carpets and royal blue tapestries…most likely a room of value.

Perhaps Garrett had avoided that room, due to its richness? Perhaps he had thought it would be too risky or too well guarded, or that too many patrols ran through that room.

I decided I should try it. The loot would come in handy on the streets if I got out of here alive.

Always a risky “if” in this business.

I edged toward the opening, pressing myself against the stone wall, stepping carefully. I reached about an inch from the door when I realized that there was no way to tell who or what was in the room. I decided I should have a better look before I entered.

So, I silently and stealthily began circling around the room’s shadowy borders. Was I worried about time? No, because I knew various annoyances and situations like this one would hinder Garrett as he spent his time here in the manor. I wondered where Garrett was at that very moment?

Chapter 2