They walked away from the courtyard and headed toward a dark alley that was wedged tightly between two squat brick inlayed buildings. Cockroaches scurried over their boots and squeezed through a small crack in one of the buildings. The smell of death and rot hit Karth strong on this side of the city but he didn't falter. He had been on this forgotten side of the city many times on missions and was used to all the smells and death that it brought. Well as used to as one can get.
Karth knew Bytan was miserable walking through this area of the city. Mostly from the fact that he was holding his nose and side stepping over every odd color or shape on the ground. It made Karth smile knowing that Bytan was struggling so much.
Karth didn't know why Bytan insisted on escorting him to Solitude. The assassin knew the way but he said nothing as he followed Bytan through the back alleys as the rain continued to steadily fall, their boots sinking into the puddles that formed quickly on the bedrock.
The dark clouds provided no light as the pair scurried deeper into the back alleys as rotting wood and abandoned buildings surrounded them. Karth paid no heed to Bytan as he fell back and the assassin took the lead.
"Gods you are a weak bitch Bytan," Karth said as he gave him an obscene gesture.
"Just get us out of here," Bytan ignored the gesture and kept as close to Karth as he could.
Karth didn't need light. He knew where he was going as he had made the trek dozens of times and often times by himself. He scurried along the back alleys until he came to a wooden house or at least it had been at one time. Wooden beams lay cracked and splintered in a jumbled mess. Karth ducked and weaved around the falling wood until he came to a small brick panel that lay on the floor near the back.
He pushed the bricks away revealing an open tunnel that ran into the ground. Broken concrete blocks comprised the tunnel as old sewer waste stuck to the jagged sides of the blocks while maggots and flies were feasting on the many numbers of dead and dying that tried to take refuge in the tunnel.
The assassin shimmied along the fallen concrete blocks before dropping into the tunnel. His boots echoed throughout the empty tunnel when he landed. Black water dripped slowly down the sides of the tunnel as he trekked deeper down the tunnel.
Moss started to find a home deep in the wet concrete walls that surrounded him while rats scurried over his boots. The darkness was easy on his eyes as he let his feet guide him to his destination. Karth didn't look back to check on Bytan, if he couldn't keep up then that was one less problem he had to deal with.
After a quarter of an hour, Karth slowed down as the tunnel sloped. He slid for a few minutes before reaching a small metal door. He pushed the door outward and jumped down into a pile of dead rats that cushioned his fall.
He had made it home as conversation and the clashing of metal filled the air. A young man almost into manhood approached Karth. His red hair was sticking up in the back as he kept pushing his glasses onto his skinny face. "Karth, Miken is waiting for you in his office."
"Thanks Victor I'll go to him now," Karth left the young man behind as he made his way to Solitude wondering what his superiors wanted with him.
The drainage tunnels dumped into a vast cavern that at one time housed rats and sewage water. Thick black concrete walls were enclosed by a large dome at the top of the cavern. Now that it was cleaned up recruits trained with seasoned fighters on weapons and grappling techniques.
Karth took the only set of stairs that led him to the top floor. He passed a makeshift barracks just past the landing of the stairs. The barracks was cut into the concrete as bunks were lined against the cold walls and wooden square chests sat at the end of the bunks. Recruits didn't stay long. Most died while on missions. There were three recruits laying on their thin mattresses as the assassin continued through Solitude to Miken's office.
He passed a series of small storage rooms to his left while he glanced down over the short metal railing as he observed the recruits spending more time on their backs than on their feet. Karth shook his head. Even if the recruits were ready or not, they would be sent on missions.
The assassin turned down a small narrow hallway that cut its way down a slight slope. After a few paces down through the concrete wall, he arrived in a small office. It was dimly lit by one lantern and small as he slid off his hood to let his blue hair dry from the rain. It sat stuck to his face and neck as he waited to be summoned.
He didn't wait long as the near wall shifted aside revealing a large hole. Bright light escaped as it filled the small room Karth stood in. Once the wall was released into the ground, he stepped forward through the hole. A large square office greeted him as a man waited for him. Lanterns bounced off the gray rock walls while blueprints and maps were strewn across the floor.
"Karth I must say that I never get used to your violent yet effective methods." A tall skinny man with a bald head and a scar that ran down the left side of his face motioned for Karth to stand in the center.
The assassin obliged as he watched the skinny man sit down at a large wooden desk that sat against the far wall. Seconds later Bytan burst through the room out of breath and stumbling over Karth.
"Master Miken," Bytan whined. "He just left me behind."
"Control your lap dog Miken," Karth said nonchalantly. "I don't need supervision especially from someone who can't even keep up."
Miken held up a hand. "Bytan, you need to learn how to navigate the tunnels by yourself and Karth he is just there to make sure that you don't go overboard with your killing."
"You want the targets eliminated then you need to let me do what I do best," Karth was agitated.
"Yes, you are right," Miken brought them back on topic. "Excellent work eliminating the target but the Black Vices aren't hurting yet financially but we have one more target for you."
"When this target falls then the Black Vices will feel the hit," Bytan said.
Karth ignored him. Bytan thought of himself as some second in command of Solitude but he was merely Miken's lackey. "What is the target?"
"Jurden," Miken rose from his chair. "He is a noble in the city of Grunden and he has fat pockets. Jurden thinks that he is above the king's power and he is helping with the fueling of the Black Vices and it needs to stop."
"Consider it done," Karth said emptily. The assassinations were nothing but empty targets to him. Karth had been assassinating targets since he was a child. He was one of the few lucky ones who survived and now was free to come and go throughout the tunnels as he liked. Solitude did not feel like home to him. They just provided Karth with food and weapons to do his job. Being an assassin was the only life that he knew. "I will leave tomorrow at first light."
Miken and Bytan watched the assassin exit the office. It was Bytan who spoke first. "Can we trust him to do what you have asked?"
"Killing is all that he knows," Miken spoke with ease. "He will assassinate the target and I want you to do what you have always done Bytan."
Bytan bowed. "It will be done. I will follow him to make sure the target is assassinated."
Karth exited Miken's office and made his way down the hallway. Miken was the unspoken leader of Solitude and took in orphans from the streets to work for him and in return they received a safe place to stay and some food. For most of the orphans that are taken in, the decision is easy to join Miken. If they stayed on the streets of Calgarra then they would be hungry and would have to work doing some unsavory jobs.
The sounds of wooden weapons striking against each other filled his ears but Karth paid the training no heed on this side of the tunnel as he approached his destination and a smile crept over his hard features.
The food pantry was rarely this full and Karth made sure to take advantage of its supplies. The pantry rested inside one of the larger storage rooms and consisted of three shelves that housed dried rat meat and flasks of water. The pantry was open to anyone in Solitude and was restocked whenever a recruit was able to acquire the items. Karth hadn't seen a promising recruit in some time and he wondered who was able to restock the pantry.
"Isn't it great Karth?" a voice squeaked behind him.
Karth spun around to see Victor standing in the stone doorway of the storage room. "What is great Victor?"
"The pantry is restocked after so many months," excitement filled his voice as he made his way next to Karth and grabbed a couple of strips of dried rat meat and a flask of water. "I wonder who was able to gather so many supplies for us."
Karth said nothing on the subject. The assassin did not care who it was that was the savior of Solitude. The people here did not matter to Karth. They were just people who he passed by on occasion. By tomorrow he would be gone.
During every mission, he contemplated leaving Solitude and risking survival by himself but after every target was assassinated, Bytan was there to reel him in. It irritated him and he wondered how long it would be before he snapped and assassinated the man himself.
Karth made his way through the narrow hallway past the barracks rooms. He turned right into a small cutaway storage bunker. The gray concrete was cool to the touch as Karth sank into his makeshift bed of used leather armor that no longer served its purpose. The tunnels were hot and humid so Karth did his best to not stick to the armor when he slept.
The assassin ate the strips of rat meat slowly as he savored the water that quenched his dry throat. Tomorrow would be a new day and another of the same mission. Maybe this time he would be able to leave Solitude for good. They need him more than he needs them. He let that thought put his mind at ease as he closed his heavy eyes.