The Nameless Brothers
Prologue
He awoke to the sound of a barking dog. Rising groggily from his bed, he glanced around him but had trouble recognising his surroundings. Shaking his head he remembered riding through the dark and coming across the inn. Drauk then realised the dog had suddenly stopped and alertness hit him like a smiths hammer.
Launching himself out of the bed, he cleared he room in 2 giant steps and peered around the curtain. He caught a glimpse a silver cloak heading into the inn. Outside there were two Imperial Guardsmen lying dead, their head nearly severed from their shoulders. In the time it would take for this to register to a normal man, Drauk was already on the move.
He knew instantly his time was limited. The brotherhood always have at least three people in a team and only saw the last one. The other two would have already been moving through the inn trying to locate his room. He heard footsteps on the stairs, it was now or never.
Snatching up his sword, bow and saddlebag, he moved towards the window. The warm air blew against his face as he opened it and slid out onto the roof. Sliding it shut behind him, he glided across the roof, barely making a sound. Dropping off the end of the building onto the ground, he started to move for the stables to get his horse. They would have gotten to his room by now, hopefully they would not realise it was his and keep searching,. All he needed was time to get his horse, even without a saddle he was still the fastest rider in the realm.
Reaching the stables, he went straight for his horse. Nevarra was a chestnut mare with a white chest, she was the fastest he had ever ridden. She could run for the rest of the night and the following day and still maintain her pace. In one smooth movement he was mounted and wheeled her around, digging in his heels she took off through the stables and out into the night. He took to the road and glanced back over his shoulder to see the brothers coming from the inn, but he knew hew was safe for now. The brotherhood did not use bows and they would have left their horses several miles away, preferring to sneak up to the inn on foot to maintain silence.
Fortunately for him this was one of very few missions that the Brotherhood had failed on. There would be no payment for the Brotherhood and the repercussions would be severe. No one attacked the nephew of the king and expected to get away with it.
