20- Locating the Target
Vixen understood the point of these trials, the first the participants ability to escape and adapt to unforeseen circumstances to survive. The second was to test the participants ability to improvise as well as kill a target in a way that could not definitively be pointed to an assassin, a scorned lover, political struggle, etc. This time it was a full determination of the assassin's ability. By nature an assassin is supposed to strike critical points as hard as they can and remain unseen as much as possible.
In this trial if you're discovered, you're open combat may be tested. She has to be able to find gather Intel to find the target while also being targeted. She had no doubt that if another participant discovered her, they wouldn't be able to help themselves she would become their target. For her, she'd rather just leave the targets alone, she had no idea how many enemies there were but she didn't like the idea of fighting an army.
She was brought out of her thoughts by the drow, "The targets name is Alfonso, he has a scar on his left leg in the shape of a hook and lives in the nearby city. That is all the information you'll be getting. You have a month to complete the assignment, starting now."
Vixen stepped out of the wooden cabin, the design eerily similar to the last. Surrounded by woods, she needed to gather her bearings. Using the grappling hook, she climbed the tree towards the top and was stunned to see a beautiful city, but it was definitely not a human made city. She was very far from the capital.
She stayed near the road but off it, she only knew a couple things about her target so she felt she had plenty of time to gather information. She was looking travelers of any kind. If she was going to do this thing, she wasn't going to go dress as someone who looks up to no good. The travel to the city was three days long, she assumed that each participant had the same distance to travel.
She finally found people about a mile outside the city walking up as a caravan, there were at least thirty people in the caravan though only about ten women. She had to act fast, they'd clearly make it to the city before nightfall. Utilizing shroud she snuck into the group, the women near the back. One of the women, her target, was quiet and looked more isolated than the other women. It seemed she wasn't well liked because no one tried talking to her.
She had found an opportunity when the woman's shoe broke and she had stopped to fix it but no one waited for her, they continued on. Using the rope from the grappling hook, she choked the woman till she passed out, dragging her into the woods.
'I'm not just going to blindly kill, though I'd have to if she saw me.' Vixen thought as she undressed the woman and studded her other clothes into the woman's napsack she eas carrying after emptying it. Vixen then fixed her hair and sundress the woman she just pilfered using the mirror found in the discarded pile of the woman's things.
Vixen waited an hour or so after the caravan of people made it into the city before approaching the gate. Dressed much more like a civilian woman, the guards to the city asked no questions upon permitting her entry into the city. She was relieved she chose to enter this way when she saw another participant try to sneak in using a similar ability to her shroud. When the man got within fifteen feet of the city walls, his ability got dispelled and was instantly captured by guards.
The man put up quite the fight and tried to escape like a greased pig, but the guards swarmed him and eventually knocked him unconscious and was dragged off to the dungeons after being clamped in irons.
Once she entered she was again impressed by the architecture, she wasn't well versed in other races' culture, but it seemed to be either elvish or some other fae design. Whomever built it though, no longer had those occupants, humans had taken the city over so only remnants of the original race remained. The buildings were sleek and mostly white, ladened with golden, designs were painted in giant swirls.
Vixen walked through the city searching for a place to stay, she wanted to find a decent place to gather information, but wasn't sure where to go. She entered the bustling market square which was far more grand then either Runeford or Haulsten. She looked through various foreign monster parts and alchemical plants, unique fruits and meats that she was unaccustomed to seeing.
The road she was on forked, one went east where buildings and homes seem to gradually increase in size. The other way led out of the busy city life and up a huge hill where a large multifloor building resided. If she had a guess, she'd say it was an inn of some kind, but having no where to stay, she thought it a place as good as any to start. She also considered that her increased smell and hearing would be a lot more useful there since it was so far removed from all the city traffic. Too many scents and sounds blended together for her to get anything useful out of the abilities.
The dirt road was winding switchbacks upward. It was ladened with flora and beautifully colored plants on either side giving it a very serene feeling. The road was much longer than it appeared which also made the inn significantly bigger the closer to it she got. From the main part of the city to the inn was a two hour walk, but she also didn't rush it and took her time to actually enjoy the travel.
Her trip here had been one crazy thing after the next so she just wanted to slow it down some. Once she got to the entrance of the inn, she was greeted by quite the sight. The dirt road went in a circle to provide carriages an easy way to turn around, in the center of the circle was a peaceful resting place. It had benches with overhangs that prevented visitors from being rained on. The tops were, of course, covered in beautiful flowers.
'That's cute,' she thought, 'cute...what the hell.' She rolled her eyes and shook her head but continued walking towards the front. There were five wooden steps leading to a patio with more chairs, the patio looked like it went around the whole building. Giant stone dragons sat on either side of the entrance, the sculptures gave off a more graceful presence rather than an imposing one.
When she entered there were people of all races and shapes lounging in bath robes, she was taken aback from the stark contrast to her expectation. She walked up to the front counter where a drow woman stood waiting to receive her with a warm smile.
"Hello! Welcome to the Balmy Lagoon, the best hot spring resort in the Arcadic region."
'I really am quite the distance from home.' Vixen thought, the Arcadic region was on a different continent. How'd she get here so fast?