FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (94 page)

     “I said I need you to
kill
the mayor for me,” said the stranger calmly.

     Venom just stood there, stunned and confused. This was a total surprise to him. He did not know how or even where to begin processing this new development.

     “Why do you want the mayor dead
?
” he asked after a long pause, not sure if the answer would make any difference.

     “He slept with my wife. That low down garbage of a human being used his power and influences to get her in bed
!
Can’t you see that I’m a victim, just like you
?
Please help me
!
” said the stranger.

     “I don’t understand
!
Why do you ask me for this ‘favour’
?
Why don’t you kill him yourself
?
That’s what I’d do,” said Venom.

     “Of course, I would if I could. But his bodyguards were briefed to look out for me. I can’t get close enough to kill him. But a total stranger like you could. They wouldn’t suspect you. You can ask to see him about the crisis that you’re facing. You can tell his secretary that you just want to see him to hand over a letter of protest, and then when you get close enough to him you can kill him,” said the stranger.

     That sounded like a ridiculous plan. How would he escape
?

     “But then wouldn’t his bodyguards try to kill me after that
?
” questioned Venom.

     “Yes, they would. But it’ll be too late. The mayor would be dead, irrespective of whether they kill you or not
!
Firstly, there are fewer soldiers guarding him because they’re being diverted to protect Governor Sheppal while he’s here. Secondly, the mayor never sympathised with you, you know that
!
He was absolutely silent throughout this crisis of yours
!
He could’ve helped you if he’d wanted to, but he didn’t. He just wanted to stay in the good books of the governor so that when the deputy governor gets promoted to governor, he gets promoted to deputy governor. Then he can victimise some other poor villager just like how Greel victimised you
!
Look, I’m sure you can come up with a feasible escape plan. Think about it, I’m offering you 200 gold coins. As a matter of fact I’ll double it
!
400 gold coins
!
That’s a lot of money
!
You can buy yourself a small piece of land, build a new home and start all over again with 400 gold coins
!
Come on, help me out, will you
?
” persuaded the stranger, offering a deadly looking sheathed dagger and a pouch which Venom assumed contained a lot of gold coins.

     Venom stared blankly at the stranger for a long time. The stranger stared back. Finally, Venom took the dagger, but when he reached for the pouch, the stranger did not let go.

     “This is half of what I’ve promised you. Meet me here at dusk on the same day next week to get the other half. That’s how much time you have. But remember this
!
Betray me and I’ll hire someone else to kill you, and unlike the mayor, you don’t have any bodyguards to protect you,” said the stranger as he finally released his grip on the pouch.

     “It’ll be done,” said Venom.

     And with that, both of them walked away in different directions and disappeared into a crowd of people.

     The protestors made their gloom march back towards the mountains that served as their temporary home. Tiller Breven lead the way while Eclipse Menox tended to the wounded who were being transported on horse-drawn carts. The Swerrell brothers came out of that incident unharmed, but Oak Nomell sustained a deep cut on his forearm. Venom Collart, however, was not with them. As the villagers passed by their own villages and homes, to their horror they saw that some of these homes already had new occupants. A few emotionally overwhelmed villagers could not help themselves but to scream and yell at these new occupants to tell them to get out. These new occupants, in return, looked at them as though they were confused and deranged. In the end, it took both Tiller and the Swerrell brothers to calm their fellow villagers down and get them moving again.

     Venom Collart sat alone in a dark alley in Southverge Town. His mind was preoccupied with solving a puzzle. This was a puzzle he was unfamiliar with. It was the puzzle of how to kill a man and get away with it. There was no doubt in his mind about the decision that he had made, only the means to carry it out. He knew the stranger was right. A good word from the mayor could have helped them a lot. Instead, he had just hid in the background and did nothing. Venom had every reason to hate him as much as Deputy Governor Greel.
And
400 gold coins
was
a lot of money
!

     A week later there was a knock on the door of the Southverge mayor’s office. The office was on the first floor of a building in a busy part of town. The secretary came in and told the mayor that there was a farmer from one of the ten ‘problem’ villages who wanted to see him to hand a letter of protest. The mayor broke out in a loud chuckle. He whispered to himself something about futile causes and stupid people who did not know that they were doomed. Finally, he asked his secretary to show the farmer in.

     Venom Collart walks past two mean-looking soldiers and steps into the mayor’s office. He is careful to bolt the office door when he closes it, but does it ever so subtly that the mayor does not realise it. He then proceeds to exchange pleasantries with the mayor, culminating in handing him an envelope. As the mayor sits down to open the envelope, Venom casually puts his right hand into his pants pocket, where he places a firm grip on the dagger’s handle. He scans the mayor’s desk to check for sharp objects and finds none. The mayor looks up in curiosity as he finally opens the envelope and gets to the letter within, only to find that it is a blank piece of paper.

     At this point, Venom pulls out the dagger from the right pocket of his pants, and with his left hand, pulls its sheath away. Then Venom dives across the desk, and places his left hand on the back of the mayor’s neck, securing him in position while he thrusts his right arm and the dagger that he is holding, straight into the mayor’s heart. With all his anger and hate, he twists the handle of the dagger. The mayor offers no cry for help. The pain and the shock totally consume him. He sits frozen with a gaping mouth and bulging eyes; drawing short, hurried breaths as Venom manipulates the dagger and delivers unimaginable pain. The mayor’s vision begins to blur. The pain begins to subside. Everything turns white, then dark….

     Venom’s hands were trembling. His breaths were short and hurried. He found no satisfaction whatsoever in the killing, which surprised him a little. But he knew that if the situation presented itself all over again, he would have made the same choices. The essence of his hatred was towards Deputy Governor Greel and none other than his death could quench the fire of anger and hatred that burned within him. The mayor’s death was just an ineffective appetiser. It was absolutely clear in Venom’s mind, this kill was purely for the money. 400 gold coins was a lot of money
!

     Venom drew out the blood-soaked dagger and looked at it. He knew from that moment on that he had crossed a line from which there was no return. He wiped the blood off the dagger, sheathed it and returned it to his pocket. He then went to the window ledge and jumped out the window with one arm still holding on, letting go only at the last moment after his body had straightened out. He landed on his feet and made it a point to blend in with the crowd as soon as possible. Although he attracted a few curious stares, but these faded away within moments. Strangely, no one was bothered about the blood on his right arm and shirt. Or was it that they chose not to be bothered
?
So he walked away casually, just as one would if he were to take a stroll down the park.

     That very evening Venom collected the final instalment of his payment. The stranger then left without saying a word, but with a very obvious smile on his face. Venom left without saying anything as well, but he did not smile.

     What was he going to do with the 400 gold coins
?
Buy a piece of land and build a home
?
Whilst his fellow villagers scrape a living in the mountains
?
No
!
How can he
?
Besides, what guarantee had he that the same thing would not happen to him again
?
He knew he needed a proper ending to this problem. This only meant one thing, Deputy Governor Greel in a coffin
!
And it had to be done in a way that sent a message to the other government bureaucrats. ‘What goes around comes around
!
’ This was not something that he could do alone, but it was something that the ten villages could do, if they worked together as one. But he needed to control them. This was his plan and only he knew how to carry it out. He could not afford to let anyone interfere with its execution. So he needed to be their leader. He needed absolute control, or the plan would not work. He was going to need support. He was going to need help to get him elected as leader
!
Then it dawned on him. Rake Breven was still in prison at the local garrison. Rake was a fairly respected headman. His support would increase Venom’s chances tremendously.

     It was approximately midnight when two soldiers dragged a weakened but conscious Rake to the front gate of the local garrison. Venom was waiting for him with two horses. The soldiers mounted Rake on one of these horses. Then the garrison commander, a minvian by rank, stepped out towards Venom. Venom handed him a pouch containing 100 gold coins. This was the agreed price of the bribe. 100 gold coins for the minvian to ‘accidentally’ lose the report containing Rake’s alleged transgression; because the man with 10 children sells his soul to the highest bidder on a daily basis and the highest bidder for this day was Venom Collart and not the Kingdom of Free Falls. As it was with the stranger earlier on, the minvian walked away smiling while Venom did not. He merely mounted the other horse, told Rake to follow him and rode off towards the mountains.

     They rode at a moderate pace under the illumination of moonlight. Venom was in the lead while Rake followed closely behind. Then Rake sped up to come alongside Venom when they were a fair distance away from the garrison.

     “Thanks for getting me out. How did you manage to do it
?
” asked Rake.

     “You’re welcome. I got you out with blood money. Someone hired me to kill the mayor, which I did,” answered Venom.

     Rake was silent, still trying to digest what Venom had said.

     “Did you hear about what happened at the protest rally
?
” asked Venom.

     “Yes, I did. My jailers were quite talkative. Is my brother all right
?
” asked Rake.

     “Don’t worry
!
He’s fine. But all of us aren’t
!
I need your help
!
” answered Venom.

     “How can I help
?
” asked Rake.

     “I’m going to call for a rebellion. I expect that the others will agree. And I have a plan, but it may not sit well with them. I need you to support me. I need to be the leader. I need for you to help me be the leader
!
The others lack the iron will to see this through, you know this
!
I’m the only one brutal enough, cruel enough to do what’s needed to be done; but I can’t do anything without their support, and yours
!
Will you help me
?
” said Venom.

     “Guess I’ve no choice
!
I’ll support you, only so long as what you do is in the best interest of all of us and not for your personal gain,” said Rake.

     “Fair enough
!
” said Venom.

     “Then my support is yours
!
” declared Rake.

     Two nights later, Venom Collart called for an emergency meeting. Once again, in the dark caves of the mountains, citizens and headpersons of the ten villages gathered under the chairmanship of Tiller Breven. His brother, Rake, represented their village of Wheatparadise. Headman Oak Nomell represented Whiterapids Village. Headman Bud Swerrell and Assistant Headman Root Swerrell represented the combined villages of Greensoil, Sunbright and Leafdreams. Headperson Aroma Bronnell represented Farmhaven. Headman Speck Pitten represented Gentlefalls. Headperson Eclipse Menox represented Forkwater. Headperson Blue Groven represented Greenflow. And finally, Headman Venom Collart himself represented Hopecreek. These ten people were the future Ten Founders of the Shadow Deathmerchant Clan.