N.B. -- Check out chapter 7 right here

Algus was momentarily appeased that the young lord was innocent but seemed perturbed to no end that the real assassin was still on the loose. Algus ordered the guards in question arrested until further evidence could be found and then bid me to continue investigations into finding the fugitive. Which was convenient what with me being the fugitive. I took a recess to my chamber to relax my nerves and think on what to do next.

My inevitable goal was to get away from these lands now that I had done my duty to its residents. And the plus side would be that my absence would appear as an admission of guilt and likely get the innocent guards off the hook. Sure, I'd be a fugitive. But I am already a fugitive in at least five other lands and probably my homelands too.

So I began packing my necessary belongings and preparing for my escape route. I decided to rest part way through the night and then sneak off at some point in the middle, during the darkest hours.

I didn't even need to wake myself up for my midnight flight, for I was violently awakened by a large hand around my throat, "This'll show you for throwing our fellows in the dungeon, you little booky worm!" a very gruff voice growled in my ear. "We guards watch each other's backs. So by morning you'll be nothing more than plant food!"

Seeing as how my life ended the day that my wife and children were murdered, I have stopped fearing for my life. But that doesn't mean that I will ever surrender it in situations like these. To the contrary, my lack of fear allowed me to think about my next actions. One, I could try to talk some sense into them to convince them that their fellows will be set free. Nah, they see too thick. They'd rather just kill me. That left me with the second option: Kill them.

It was nothing personal, and I would really rather have not done it, but in the next moment I kicked my right leg in the air while struggling under the choke hold of my would-be assassin. The thin dagger that I always keep sheathed in my stockings slipped out into my right hand and in a split second I had driven the dagger into his temple. Death was swift and merciful for him.

Now, I could make out from the moonlight the shapes of four more figures. Apparently my death was to be a popular event. My next move was to extract the blade from the dead man's head and toss it at the guard nearest the door. Even in the dark, my aim was fantastic. I couldn't see exactly where the blade struck, but I know I aimed at the heart and he seemed to die instantly. Two down, three to go. I rolled from under the dead man and onto my feet on the side of the bed farthest from the door. The guard standing there was ready to pounce on me, but as I completed my roll, my left hand withdrew another dagger from my right hand's wrist sheathe and plunged it into his throat. His death was most unpleasant: Three. Next, my right hand withdrew the dagger from my left wrist sheathe, and my left hand pulled the last dagger from my left stocking. I charged the remaining two guards and they charged me. The poor, dense chaps thought their swords would help. Fun fact: in the dark a dagger is far superior to a sword. I got up really close into the next guard's personal space and left a dagger buried in the side of his abdomen. While I dragged the other dagger down the last's belly, liberating his entrails.

Now I really had to leave. I made haste out of the keep and disappeared into the woods. Hopefully Charles Dolamass will be able to handle the rest without me.