FARHAYVEN: VENGEANCE (98 page)

     “Next time, you keep your mouth shut, Miss Smarty-pants
!
” said Flutter as she came up to Dawn and Joy.

     “What’s bugging you this time
!?
” asked Dawn.

     “Yes, why are you here, Flutter
!?
” added Joy.

     “What’s that nonsense about that concealed fire thing
?
My father hasn’t taught me anything about it
!
You’re making me look stupid in front of Hay
!
” said Flutter.

     “How can you look any more stupid in front of Hay than you already have
!?
” asked Joy.

     “He mentioned some details about concealed fires which I didn’t understand, and I pretended that I did; but I think he knew... Hey
!
What’s that supposed to mean
!?
” said Flutter.

     “Exactly what it was
supposed
to mean. It meant that you’re stupid
!
  Now, go away and stop bugging us
!
” said Joy.

     “I’ll make you two pay for this
!
” promised Flutter as she walked away.

     A quarter of an hour later, the group was on the move again. Joy noticed that Flutter was not sitting next to Hay anymore. She was seated at the back of the cart, skulking. This brought a slight sense of joy to Joy. Joy told Dawn about it, but Dawn was not too interested. Flutter meant nothing to Dawn, and Dawn did not want to spend time thinking about nothing.

     The sun was more than halfway down the horizon when the caravan pulled up at a little farming village. To keep with their disguise, Venom, Eclipse and Hay tried to express as much calmness in their facial expression as they could, while the trainees tried to look as sad and pitiful as they could. Venom was fairly confident that their disguise would work, for prior to this outing, he had sent members of the clan to reconnoitre the village. They had reported to him, amongst other information, the fact that the people in this village were not followers of the Receivers of Light. Therefore, they would not be able to tell a genuine Receiver of Light from a fake one.

     Venom got down from his cart and greeted the village headmen. He then asked permission for the group to camp out at the village hall. The headmen gave his permission freely, not suspecting at all that Venom and his group were actually deadly assassins. As planned, the trainees began wondering around the village, pretending to be curious orphans. The trainees noted that most of the villagers looked tanned. This was because they spent a lot of time out in the sun. Their clothes were always muddy and sweat-stained due to the intense physical labour that they undertook. They walked slowly, and took their time in doing everything. This was because village life was lived at a slow pace. Dawn and her batchmates went up to some of the villagers to ask about the crops that they were planting. They asked about planting seasons, crop diseases and such. They had even tried their hands at planting and volunteered to do some of the villagers’ chores. The answers to their questions which they had received, together with what they had observed and experienced, were all deeply etched into their minds. In one afternoon, they had learnt a lifetime’s worth of village life.

     Late next morning, Venom thanked the village headman for his hospitality and the caravan got moving again. They even received some donation of food supplies to help them in their journey. The village headman thought that he was doing a good deed. Little did he realise that he had shown hospitality and kindness to a group of assassins who would not hesitate to kill him and his family if the price was right.

     Eight hours later, the sky began to darken. The sun was getting low on the horizon. Venom pulled his cart to the side of the road. Hay and Eclipse did the same with theirs. Everyone got off the carts and set up camp for the evening. As they sat around the campfire eating their meals, Venom stood up and addressed them.

     “The purpose of disguise, as you all know, is to allow one to travel and move with minimum conflict or resistance, as well as to allow one to spy on others. Imagine if we had travelled as who we truly are, and we came across a roadblock set up by either the government or by bandits; then instead of just passing through these roadblocks, we would’ve had to engage them in battle. We would’ve gotten injured or be killed. We definitely would’ve wasted a lot of time. But with the right disguises and the perfection of these disguises, we could just simply pass through all these unnecessary trouble. So remember
!
Always strive to perfect your disguise
!
And keep cool under pressure
!
The slightest sense of panic would destroy your disguise completely
!
Is that clear
?
” said Venom.

     “Yes, Clanmaster
!
” responded the trainees.

    A question occurred to Dawn. She raised her hand to ask it.

     “Clanmaster, why would robbers stop us if they knew we were assassins
?
” she asked.

     “Good question, Dawn. Robbers would stop us to try to rob us, or kill us to claim rewards; or in this case, kidnap you children and sell you to the Serpentians. You see, the government doesn’t care about criminals. So if one criminal kills another, or kidnaps their children, the government wouldn’t be bothered. They would just pretend that nothing had happened. So the robbers can rob us and kill us and not worry about being hunted down by the government. They would then sell you to Smugglin’ Sam, who would then sell you to the Serpentians. The Serpentians are crueller than the government is, or will ever be. The Serpentians value slave labour. And children make good slave labour
!
This is because they can shape and mould you when you’re young, and train you to become the perfect slave. An adult, such as a prisoner of war, will be resistant to their ‘brain-washing’, but not so a child. There’s a good market in selling children to the Serpentians. There are a number of criminals who’ve gotten rich from this business. Smugglin’ Sam is one of them. You’ll meet him later at Fallsene City,” answered Venom.

     All of the trainees gasped in horror. Why would the clan be dealing with these type of monstrous, evil scum
?
Why would they be meeting a horrible criminal who victimises children
?
Would they be sold to the Serpentians later
?

     “Don’t panic
.
We’re not selling you to Smugglin’ Sam. But he’s a good supplier of weapons and poisons; and a good provider of many special services. He has got agents everywhere. He can smuggle you into or out of any city in Free Falls and Serpentia. In our profession, we need people like him. So that’s why we deal with him,” said Venom, much to the relief of the trainees.

     “Will we kill him
?
” asked Dawn, much to everyone’s surprise.

     “Say again, Dawn
?
” responded Venom, who seemed to be quite shocked himself.

     “Clanmaster, I asked if we would kill him one day, when he’s of no more use to us
?
” clarified Dawn.

     “When he’s of no more use to us, we
will not
kill him, unless somebody pays us at least 400 gold coins to do so. However, if any of you should wish to kill him for your own satisfaction, the clan wouldn’t be bothered by it,” answered Venom.

     Dawn nodded to show that she understood. Most of the other trainees nodded as well. But some had confused looks on their faces.

     “Clanmaster, if he’s an ally, shouldn’t we protect him
?
” asked Flutter, after raising her hand and getting permission to ask her question.

     “He’s not an ally, merely a business contact and a service provider. There are a few others who could take his place if he’s dead. The clan wouldn’t lose any sleep over Smugglin’ Sam’s death,” explained Venom.

     “Excuse me, clanmaster
!
So you mean to say that if Smugglin’ Sam is dead, we could just go to someone else; so he’s not really that important to us
?
” asked Dart.

     “Correct, Dart
!
” answered Venom

     “All right. I understand now, clanmaster,” said Dart.

     Venom excused the trainees and they broke into their own groups and continued chatting. As usual, Dawn was with Joy, Dart, Stack and Grain. Flutter, as usual, tried to engage Hay in a conversation. Hay, as usual, tried politely to turn her away. And Joy, as usual, found the entire Hay-Flutter situation most entertaining.

     “When will Flutter ever learn
?
And when will Hay ever put his foot down
?
” commented Joy.

     “Why do you care, Joy
?
” asked Stack.

     “It’s entertaining
!
” answered Joy.

     “You call this entertainment
?
You’re pathetic
!
” said Stack.

     “What do you call it then, Stack
?
” asked Joy.

     “I call this ‘none of my business’
!
” answered Stack.

     “I agree with Stack, Joy
!
Flutter is an annoyance
!
Why would you want to pay any more attention to her than what you absolutely have to
?
” said Grain.

     “Because …,” said Joy.

     “Because you like Hay, too
!
Hah
!
I knew it
!
I’m not as dim as you think I am, Joy
!
” accused Dart.

     “I, what
?
No, that’s not what I mean
!
” denied Joy.

     “Yes, that’s what you meant
!
” added Stack.

     “No
!
I … Ya-di-da, ya-di-da, da
!
” said Joy as she got up and walked away.

     Dawn gave Stack and Dart a furious look. Grain turned his head and pretended that he was looking at something else.

     “Now you’ve done it
!
Since when did you get so smart, Dart
!
” said Dawn.

     “I was always smart
!
I just didn’t choose to show it, that’s all
!
” countered Dart.

     “Well, even if you’re smart, why did you have to go and upset Joy like that
!?
And you
!
Stack
!
What did you snap at her for
?
And you
!
Grain
!
Why did you support Stack
!?
” said Dawn angrily.

     “I didn’t snap at her, Dawn,” insisted Stack.

     “Wha… I… I… supported… ummm,” expressed Grain.

    “Don’t mind Dawn, guys
!
Have you all forgotten that she, too, is interested in Hay
?
” said Dart.

    “Dart
!
” said Dawn.

    “Dawn
!
” said Dart, Stack and Grain.

    “Oh
!
Let me guess
!
Ya-di-da, ya-di-da, da
!
Is that right, Dawn
?
” said Dart.

     Dawn was so furious that she grabbed a fistful of earth and threw it at Dart’s face. Dart dived out of the way, putting his assassin’s training to good use. Dawn got up and walked away.

     “Dart, how did you know that the both of them were interested in Hay
?
” asked Stack after a while.

     “He’s the most eligible bachelor in the clan. Every girl in the clan is interested in Hay Collart
!
It doesn’t take a genius to guess that
!
” answered Dart.

     “Oh
!
So, that’s it
!
It makes sense
!
” said Stack.

     “Yes, it does make sense
!
You’re really not as dumb as what most people think you are, Dart
!
” added Grain.

     “Why you skinny little …,” reacted Dart as he closed his fists to punch Grain.

     “All right
!
I’m sorry
!
I’m sorry
!
” apologised Grain.