Words Are Unnecessary

Part 3

Golodhros looked around silently. It had been a month since he had been formally accepted into the Academy, but he was still a bit nervous in the dining hall. The great cavern was tall, dark and damp, though there was some kind of magical netting that kept the mineral-rich, cold cavern water from dripping on its dwellers. It was colder in here than in the smaller chambers, perhaps because the natural hot springs that were so abundant in this area had been diverted from the dining hall into the kitchen. The hall, which was large enough to accommodate hundreds of people, was never more than a quarter full. Finding a solitary table was never a problem, but the simple proximity to all the talent in the Academy was enough to overwhelm the young man. Apparently, there were five Masters of the three Arts taught in the Academy, because at the Masters’ Table there were fifteen seats. All five of the Master thieves regularly showed up, but the Mercenaries were always coming and going. There were never more than four Assassins there at any one time. Golodhros wondered if there even were five Master Assassins.

Ever since he had been accepted, Golodhros had noticed a lack of assassins. Even as he looked around the dining hall, he knew that more than half of them were thieves and just over a third were mercenaries. He felt lucky to be an assassin. So far, his training had progressed far enough that he was getting quite used to the trademark snake-hilted daggers, and was almost comfortable wielding them in both hands. Of course, he realized that he had a long way to go before he could come close to the skill of his personal trainers, not to mention the masters, but for the first time in his life, Golodhros was enjoying what he was doing. Training to become an assassin gave him the same kind of rush he had felt when he killed his master—and if that was the only good thing the old man had ever done, then Golodhros thanked him for it.

Taking a crusty bun and a small bowl of hot stew, Golodhros returned to his room to eat. The food here was good, and there were a variety of different meals to choose from each day, but Golodhros liked the simplicity of the healthy stew. Tanle only knew he had had much less to eat almost every day of his life before…being blessed.

Yes, I suppose I am blessed. Even if most people would think of it as a curse to be talented only at killing people, it is better than my life ever was before.

Golodhros smiled as he reached his new quarters. They were much nicer than before. He had a whole suite to himself.

Yes, I am blessed.