9 - Swift

The assassin tightened his grip on the sword, moonlight glinting from the polished blade. Sariel drew her dagger in front of her face in a reverse grip, but didn't move forward. No words were exchanged. There was nothing that needed saying.

Sariel sized the man up. He was larger than her, as usual, so he might try to grapple her and force her to the ground. At the same time, she noticed his stance and the design of his weapon. It was a curved blade, a design she thought was from Kara-Tur. If he had travelled all the way to Faerûn, he likely had a good measure of skill.

In a blur, the assassin leapt forward, his black cloak billowing behind him. He was fast, faster than most people could react. His blade came down on Sariel, a single lethal blow to her neck. She saw it coming, and leaned backward just enough to make the blade miss without losing her balance. All the blade cut through was a few strands of her hair. A fraction of a second slower, and she would be bleeding out on the ground.

The assassin seemed confused for a moment. He wasn't used to targets as fast as him. That gave Sariel enough time to continue her backwards motion into a handspring, deftly avoiding the following slice from the assassin's blade. Instead of closing the distance, the assassin deftly drew and aimed a hand crossbow in one swift motion. The bolt flew less than an inch from Sariel's head as she rolled backwards again. She finally had enough space to bring this to a close.

Invoking the ancient magic of the Feywild, Sariel's eyes lit up a pale blue as she cast the darkness spell. Instantly, everything around her was plunged into a darkness so thick, only magic could pierce it. Magic she had. She could see the assassin stumbling in the darkness, his aggressive dexterity turned to mere bumbling. After a moment, he suddenly stopped and stood still. He was listening for her movements. Unfortunately for him, she was a well-practiced thief. He didn't notice her blade cutting his throat until it was too late.

The assassin dropped to the ground, bleeding from his neck. Sariel took a few steps backward, slumped down against a wall, and sighed. What was she going to do with this body?