my short story (the journal of higlath the ex-assassin)

this is going to be an on going story im going to tell .... its about an ex-assassin whom retires and starts writing a journal about his life. i wont spend much time on the first segment but if ppl like the first segment then ima continue it and make it more detailed >

june,2 winter harvest: I dont really know how to write a journal, so im just going to open it up by telling alittle about my life and what has happend to me so far. my name is Higlath and i am an retired assassin. Ever since i was a young boy i have been a great lock picker, from picking locks to break into someones house or picking locks to help an old woman get into her house because she forgot to get her house key's. when i was 24 i was put in jail for stealing from the imperial castle. the guards whom caught me wanted to kill me, but when the king heard of someone breaking into his castle he saw opportunity in me. the king (whom's name i cant remember) had me trained in the art of assassination. by the age of 30 i was the top assassin in the entire imperial army, till one day i was captured on a mission and was held in a dungeon for 3 years. i could not stand the smell of decomposing corpses so i made 3 excape attempts, which the third one succeeded. when i went back to the imperial castle and asked the king for my job back he refused to give me it back because he thought i could be a spy. so for then next 10 years i spent my time working on farms and maby pickpocketing a few rich folk every now and then. this went on till one day i was approached by a rebel leader (yet again i can not remember their name). the rebel leader wished to over throw the imperial army and take the land. at first i refused to help them until the king got word of me being offered to join the rebel's whom threatened to over throw him. i barely escaped and after that i knew what i needed to do. my job in the rebellion was to assassinate key targets, my skill had never faded since my old days as a assassin for the imperial army which i now threatened to destroy. i was given one last assignment by the rebel leader and it was to kill the king him self. i did so with out question remembering of how the king turned on one of his most loyal members. when the rebellion was won and i had my vengeance i settled in a small town called oakton. and now here i am today at age 60 retired from my old days as an assassin. i still keep my old assassin gear as a reminder of my old days as an assassin. now that i am retired i have plenty of time to wander around the town and listen to all the rumors. a rumor has been going around that there is a killer on the loose in the town. i of course was not afraid of the rumor because if it came down to it i could take down any foe that threatened me. the only odd thing is that a strange man named warfgon has been staying at the inn in town. some say it is him who is commiting the murders, but i am still alittle skeptical of the whole rumor of murder in this peaceful town.

ok that is all for now ... i enjoyed writing this lol .... please give me some constructive criticism on how i can make the story alittle better ...

june 3rd winter harvest: talk among the towns people of a murderer in the town is starting to reach a high point as another 2 people in the village have been murdered. the town is afraid to sleep and no one dares venture out of there house any more. i on the other hand have not been worried at all because i have already figured out the killers pattern. the killer seems to target females with blond hair. the man whom is staying at the inn is being questioned day and night about were he is from and what he does for a living. my long time friend kane has had his sister murdered by the killer. kane approached me today asking me to find the killer, he asked me because he is one of the few in the village whom know of my assassin career. i havent decided weather or not i should get involved because if i get involved i might become a target for the killer.

june 10th winter harvest: its been a while since i have written in my journal but alot has happened since then and i havent had time to write it down. first of all the pattern i thought the killer was using is no longer possible because since then he has killed 1 male guard 2 children (one male and the other female) and my best friend kane has been murdered as well. the man at the inn denies the accusations of murder twords him. i am now taking a personal interest in this matter due to the fact that my best friend has been murdered and anyone in the town could be next. the town guard is helpless to stop this man for some reason.

june 15th winter harvest: the man in the inn has fled the town and is rumored to be hiding in the forest around the village. i went to find this man out in the forest and found out that he had been camping in a cave for the past 5 days. the man named warfgon was hostile to me at first but when he saw that i was harmless he calmed down and i started to question him. the next day he was taken to the castle jail were he was to be tried and sentenced. i begged the king to let him go because he wasnt the murderer but he didnt care. i have another suspect in this murder case and if i said it out loud i would be thrown in jail for it but i must say it or atleast write it down. the man whom i suspect to be the murderer is captain of the guard burd. i will look into burd in a day or two but i think im right because he is the only one whom could control the investigations and keep evidence from being known and he is also the only one whom could slip past the guard at night.

june 17th winter harvest: i am right about captain burd being the murderer now that i have the proof to show for it. when i was wandering around the village at night i decided to check out captain burds house for clues while he was away on duty. upon investigation i found his journal which he wrote in all the time. the journal explained how burd killed each victim and were he killed them. the only think in the journal i couldnt find was why he was doing it? i have taken the journal and shown it to the king. the king released warfgon from the jail and placed a bounty on burd's head. burd unfortunatly could not be found in the village. some of the towns people are rumoring that he ran for his life when he heard of him being wanted. well i guess this is enough for tonight im going to bed now and will write some more tomorrow.

june 18th winter harvest: as i suspected captain burd came to me in my sleep last night and tried to murder me. me and captain burd wrestled for a while until he pulled a dagger on me. i pulled out my old assassins dagger to defend my self with. me and burd stood there for a few minutes until i got the courage to ask him why he commited so many murders on the people whom he swore to protect. captain burd stood there for awhile puzzled at me. he finally came up with an answer and said "i have no reason for killing these innocent people.". after he said that he lunged at me with his dagger and attempted to stab me. i dodged the dagger and was able to land a killing stab to his neck. i went out of my house and the guards were standing there and questioned me. i told them what had happened and they couldn't believe that i managed to kill him at my old age. i went home later that day after telling the king what had happened. i still wonder why he did it? i guess there are just some people whom do not kill for money or for vengeance but for the shear fun of it. i dont personally understand how taking an innocent live can be fun. i have taken more lives from this earth than burd ever did in his whole life. and i still dont see how taking any life can be fun. i must rest now for the whole ordeal has gotten me all exited and now i am tired.

june 20th winter harvest: Its been awhile since the night i confronted captain burd. The towns people are able to sleep safe at night once again. The town has proclaimed me a hero among the village. there is talk about a statue being built for my courageous defeat of captain burd. It seems as if people are starting to ask questions on how a man of my age can take down a man whom has been said to be as strong as a ogre. Apparently people are starting to notice my name is the same name of the hero of the rebellion. People are starting to say i am the hero of the rebellion. I have tried to keep the rumors down and have been denying my past, mainly because i dont want to draw attention to my self. The king made a public announcement that june 18th would be a holiday celebrating me. I am flattered by this gesture and i somewhat like the attention i am getting, but i still deny all rumors of me being the hero of the rebellion.

june 30th winter harvest: Apparently it is harder than i thought to dismiss the rumors of me being the hero of the rebellion. The king has made an alliance with a few other kingdoms to ban together and overthrow the now corrupted empire which i helped create. When the king heard of the rumors of me being an ex-assassin for the rebellion he started to dig up evidence to support these rumors. He eventually found the proof he needed and thus i was exposed. He called me to his throne room to discuss a matter of the utmost importance with him. When i arrived he presented the evidence of me being an ex-assassin and then asked me to join him in his fight against the corrupted empire. When i heard this i told him "i am retired now, i do not do that any more" i went home and thought about it, and came up with the decision that it is my duty to bring down the abomination that i helped create. I went back to the king to tell him of my decision and when i told him i said on one condition. i said "if you and your alliance are planning on forming another empire then count me out". the king then told me that the alliance he has does not want another empire to become corrupt and have to be over thrown but that they wanted a republic to be formed. I then agreed to help them in there fight. And just today i was given my first assignment. I am supposed to find and kill a corrupted general named Gathorn. I have spent all my day preparing for the mission ahead of me. After checking with the king i found out that Gathorn has been staying at an inn a few miles away from the village. My only fear is that i have lost my skill over the years and have become rusty. I must sleep now and will begin my journey before dawn to avoid any alert to the towns people that i am up to something.

july 1st spring begins: i have noticed that the snow is starting to melt and its getting warmer. But right now i am focused on my mission ahead and its to late for me to turn back and go home. I am just a few miles away from the inn the king was talking about and i am struck with fear of being taken down due to my rusty skills. All i can hope for now is that my skills are as good as they were when i last assassinated someone. I have been informed that Gathorn my target loves to drink. My best ticket to complete my mission is to get him drunk and assassinate him in his sleep or poisoning him. It is most likely that he will have atleast 2 guards with him so im hoping that they love to drink as much as he does. I must be on my way to the inn so i may have time to get him drunk before he goes to sleep.

july 2nd spring begins: I have completed my mission i was assigned. As i was informed Gathorn was a heavy drinker as were his guards. I got Gathorn so drunk that he had to be carried up stares to his bed. During the night i sneaked into his room and got out my old assassins dagger which i had put some poison on. I did a clean cut over his throat but he unfortunatly yelled alittle. His guards were drunk and were easy to kill. I killed one of them with a clean slash of the throat and the other ran at me with a sword and i slit open his stomach. I sat there or a minute astonished that my skills were as sharp as ever. I soon cleaned up my blade and ran down stairs and payed my rent because i didnt want to be rude and leave without paying. I got to the castle and informed the king of my success and i was payed handsomely for my services. I am alittle glad that my skills have not been dulled down by my age. When i got back the rumors of me being the rebellions hero were at a high point and others were saying i have gotten out of retirement and am now working to destroy the corrupt empire that i helped create. To keep attention away from my self i have denied all accusations as before. If the empire finds out that i am back and am working against them they might try to kill me! so im keeping the rumors down for now and when the king and his alliance finally launch there war on a full scale i might openly admit to coming out of retirement. Well im off to sleep its been a long day and im ready for some shut eye.

july 10th spring begins: I have been neglecting to write in my journal lately because of all the missions I have been assigned already. Most of my missions have been low ranking generals and other solders. I have been using my dagger to assassinate them rather than using my katana. I am planning on saving my katana for a real assignment rather than wasting it on the low level generals i have been assigned to kill. I think the king does not want to use me to my full potential yet. I think i am going to receive a big assignment soon. I have also decided i will not have them pay for my services because i am the second richest person in town and I helped create the empire today which is now corrupted. I have a strong fear that someone within the alliance is an informant for the empire. I have yet to confirm this but if there is one i will slit his throat as i have done to many other traitors to me in the past. I have had much work lately and people are starting to wonder if the empire will hear of these rumors and come and take me away. well its getting late and i need to rest for tomorrow.

july 12th spring begins: the king has given me a big mission finally. I spent all yesterday getting ready for it. The mission is for me to assassinate a member of the Elder council. For this mission i will bring my katana to use instead of the dagger which I have been using for all my assassinations lately. I must cut this entry in my journal short for i must leave now to the imperial city. I will rent a room in the imperial city inn and will not be writing in my journal till I get to the Imperial city. Good bye for now.

july 13th spring begins: I have rented a room and scouted the city from top to bottom. The trip hear was simple and didnt really take to long. I have concluded that my best way to gain access into the imperial palace is threw the sewers which run all under the city. Surprisingly the Guards here are more lazy than i though. Well tomorrow is the big day and i must get some sleep before I attempt this.

july 15th spring begins: I just escaped from the imperial city and am now hiding in a cave just a few miles away from the imperial city. When i went threw the sewers there was no trouble, but when i got inside the imperial palace there were guards everywhere. I took out one guard and stole his armor and made my way to the Elder council's bed chamber. As i unsheathed my katana the guards rushed in and surrounded me. I had picked the Elder council member up and had my katana up to his neck and the guards sat silently there waiting for me to make a move. I edged my way to the window and looked down. The guards started to move in so i told them to stand down or i would slit his throat. I had luckily brought my grappling hook and quickly before the guards could react threw it up at the chandelier and put my katana threw the chest of the Elder council member and jumped out of the window with my katana in my hand. I survived the fall but was extremely exhausted from the effort it took to stop my fall. I sneaked out of the palace with the disguise i had taken earlier. I got back to my room and took the armor off and packed up my stuff and went out the door of the inn. outside of the inn were at least 10 heavly armed guards ready to slit my throat. I tried to play it off as if i was an old man but one of them grabbed my arm and tried to take me away. I broke free from is grip and put my dagger in his back. The other guards tried to stop me but i was able to take out them only suffering a stab to my shoulder. I made it out of the city surprisingly with such ease. And here i am now in this cave. I now have the proof that someone within the alliance was corrupted and now an informant for the Empire. I am going to go back to my house to pick up some supplies and money then i am going to stay in secret for awhile till i figure out whom the informant is. I must go quick now before the guards start checking the caves for me!

july 16th spring begins: I have been badly wounded and am now running for my life. I have figured out that the king is the traitor to the alliance. I figured this out when I went into my house and the king was there searching threw my stuff. I asked him what he was doing but then i looked to the right and there were 2 imperial solders standing there staring at me! I quickly got out 2 throwing knives and threw them at the king and one of the guards. The king suffered a small blow to the shoulder but the other was not so fortunate as the knife hit him in the throat and he died trying to scream for help as he bleed on my floor. The other guard came at me with his sword and stabbed me in the stomach. I managed to take him out and gathered some stuff and ran from the town. I didnt realize how badly injured i was till i got about a mile away from the town. I am staying in a small inn now as my wounds heal up. The inn keeper has agreed to keep me staying at the inn a secret because he is part of the rebellion as well. I must rest now for my wounds hurt badly and at my old age I can't be taking this much abuse like i used to when i was a young man.

July 17th spring begins: I have taken refugee with a fellow rebellion supporter and he is now hiding me in his basement in his inn. At first I didnt know the mans name all I did was tell him I was working for the alliance and he took me in and bandaged me up. Now I know that his name is John Summer. He has agreed to keep me away from any and all imperial solders that come to his inn. So far my wounds have been slowly healing. I have been rubbing some herbs around the wound to keep it from getting infected and also helping it heal up. I spent my first night here wondering if the king was going to walk down the stairs into the basement and take me off to the imperial jail. I have taken it into my hands to deliver the information of the king being a traitor to the alliance and is now working for the Empire. When I told John about what had happened he didn't believe me at first, he eventually took my word for it. I must stay in bed for a few days till my wounds have healed at least enough that I can travel to the next town and inform the others in the alliance that there is a traitor amongst them. I can hear John coming down the stair now with my dinner. I will write more later when I have had some sleep and had my dinner.

July 18th spring begins: Last night after I at my dinner John came down the stair and told me to hide somewhere. He helped me up and took me to a secret room in the basement which he opened by pushing in a stone block on the wall. I stayed in the room for almost 5 hours till I got the courage to go out of the safety of the secret room. When I went up the stairs to the wooden door I cracked it open just alittle so I could see if he was still there. When I opened the door I saw the king sitting at the table with John and then the king looked at the door so I shut it quickly and ran back to the room before he could come down and investigate. I didnt wake up till the next morning when John woke me up and gave me my breakfast. I checked my wounds and the herbs I put on them had made the healing process go by much faster and I am now able to walk around without much pain. I asked John what happened last night and he was silent. I took a look at his hand and his pinky finger was missing. When I asked him about it he said when I peeked threw the door the king ran after me but couldn't find me. The king apparently had cut off his finger because he wouldn't give him the whereabouts of me. The king eventually became bored he said and left with the finger in his pocket. When I tried to tell John that I was sorry he told me that this was the price he has to pay for his freedom. I am now more motivated to take down the evil Empire I helped create more than ever! I will stay here for one more day so that tomorrow I may start on my journey to the next town. I just hope no one else comes by the inn looking for me.

July 19th spring begins: I stand here outside of the inn that is now but a pile of ash that lay on the ground were it once stood. What had happened was the king came back that night with 2 other solders and they must have set fire to the place when I was asleep. I woke up with flames surrounding me and John in the door way telling me to get up and get out! I got up only to be toppled by some falling burning wood. I sat there helpless as John tried to lift the burning wood. John eventually got me free and I started to run to the door when I looked back to see John caught on fire. I tried to run back and save him but the flames kept me from entering the room. Johns last words were “I die today but you must live now go tell the others of the traitor within the alliance”. I ran out of the building coughing and I looked around and saw the king and his men riding off down the road. I saw the king turn around and so I jumped into the bushes. I was only able to save some of my assassins gear from the flames and my dagger and katana. I must now make the journy to the next town. I fear the king may still be looking for me so I am going to stay off the roads and travel threw the woods.

shouldn't this be in the off-topic forums like the other short stories?

(meh to late now lol)

July 21st spring begins: I have been traveling threw the great forest for 2 days now and still have not reached the next town. There is not an hour that goes by that I do not think of the sacrifice that John had made so that I may help take down the evil Empire. I have been traveling along the roads so I know were I am going somewhat. It appears that the king has had his men along with a good number of Imperial solders try to block my way to the next town. I think the king may know that I am alive so I have been very cautious in how far I stay away from the road that leads to the next town. I have found a cave that I am going to rest in for the night. I have heard some strange noises inside of the cave so I dare not go any further, but I should be safe at the enterance because I would hear anything that would try to sneak up on me and I could defend my self. It's probably just a mountain lion or something like that. Just to be safe im going to keep my dagger and katana close to me while I sleep tonight. The cave floor is damp but better than sleeping on the grass. I must go to sleep now for its getting dark and I must start my journey up again at dawn.

July 23rd spring begins: I am still in the cave I talked about in my last entry and I haven't left because I was captured. The noises I heard in the cave before I went to sleep was no mountain lion nor was it a bear or wolf. No the noises were from a much deadlier and more aggressive beast. The noises woke me up in the middle of the night. The noises were louder this time. I decided that what ever was lurking down there must be killed so I could get a good nights sleep. When I went further into the cave there was blood on the ground and the strong stench of human corpses made me nauseous. I worked my way down the cave some more and I could see a small candle light in the cave. I got closer to get a better look at what was up there. When I got closer I saw a man as pale as milk and his eyes were as red as blood. The man had blood all over his face and I saw a man tied to a chair and he was wearing a suit of armor that imperial solders wore. I looked around the cave and saw the lifeless bodies of at least 4 Imperial solders. The man with the blood on his face smiled and started to lean in at the Imperial solder. The solder started to freak out and scream for help. I jumped out from the shadows with my katana and decided that no man deserves a death like that. The pale man turned around with a curious look on his face. I shouted at the man and told him “let that man go or I shall be forced to kill you demon”. The pale man smiled and laughed a little. He stopped laughing and me and him stared eachother down for a good ten minutes. The pale man said to me “and whom might you be?”. I told him that was non of his concern and that if he planned on feasting on that man he would die for it. The pale man laughed and said to me “and what are you going to do about it old man. Your to old and weak to even match my lightning fast speed and superior strength.”. The pale man rushed twords me with his razor sharp claws. I was alittle slow to react because I didn't expect him to be that fast. I managed to dodge his attack and he turned to me and the smile he once had was no longer there. He stared at me for awhile until he final said “It would appear as if I have underestimated you old timer.” And I replied back “I've dealt with your kind before vampire!” he came at me one more time but this time he didn't get as close as he did the last time. When I dodged him I was able to make a slash across his face and I turned to look at him to see how much damaged that slash did. He turned and looked at me and blood was dripping from the gapping wound and I smiled alittle. The smile on my face turned to a frown as his wound healed up in a matter of minutes and he laughed at me. I knew the only way to kill him was to either pierce his heart or hit him with holy water but I don't carry holy water on me ever so I only had the one option. I rushed at and he rushed at me and we both passed each other and had our backs turned to one an other. We turned at the same time and I sat there with a smile and so did he. His smile was not a long one as he looked at his chest and realized he had been pierced in the heart by my dagger which was still in his body. He looked up and his body started to burn away. I picked up my dagger from the ashes of his body and looked at the solder whom had been watching this all and was awe struck. I cut him free and I asked him his name and he said he was Ralin and he was an imperial solder. He asked me whom I was and I turned and told him “im the man you've been ordered to kill on sight.” he picked up his sword and ran in front of me in battle stance. I gave him a curious look and said “you've seen what I can do to a soulless flesh eating beast so what makes you think you can stop me from leaving this cave alive.” he lowered his sword and said “you will live this time Higlath but next time I wont let you live. I left the cave and he went out into the forest to rejoin his fellow solders. I wonder if he will ever tell the story of how he was captured by a vampire and saved by an old man. He would probably say he killed the vampire and saved himself or something so it would make him seem less like a weakling. Well I must be on my way once more and I hope that Ralin and I meet again but under different circumstances.