Wow, it's been a long time! Glad to finally get to finish this story! :) Now, I'm not good at the whole neat, tidy structure thing like Zad does, so my comments on characterization and plot and other stuff are kind of spread throughout the review, but hopefully I touched on enough of each to be helpful. :)

Wow, Mouser and Fafhrd left no detail unaccounted for! I like how I got to see how each of the items they stole earlier was used; that was kind of fun to look for as I read.

Something about the section where Mouser goes to scope out the place feels off, and I'm having a hard time figuring out exactly what it is. Theoretically, it should be an interesting section, since we're finally getting a glimpse into Mouser's feelings about Altienna now and how they've changed in five years, which I've been wondering. But it all felt very distant somehow, like Mouser himself is just going through the motions and doesn't really care, so why should the reader? I think it might help if we could kind of see Mouser wrestling with figuring out what he feels in real time, maybe with something along these lines:

"As they moved on, their talk made Mouser think of his own situation. In the last few weeks, he'd focused only on how they were to rescue Altienna, but now, he found himself wondering what they would do with her once they did. He'd once cared deeply for her, but now he wasn't so sure. And did he really want to be saddled with the responsibility of being tied to and taking care of a princess for the rest of his life?"

And so on. Just so that it seems like he's wrestling with this in real time and not just relating things he's already thought. That could also make the impact of having to move up the schedule a little stronger. On a related note "His nagging doubts persisted" is also a very telling type of sentence, and I really don't think it's necessary since there you are showing some questions running through his mind.

Lol, I love how setting a fire seems to be Fafhrd and Mouser's go-to diversion. Need to steal a ship? A fire might help! Need to steal a princess? How about a fire?!

Altienna's greeting is certainly effusive! The little "my Mouser" was quite cute. :) I find it hilariously in character for Altienna that she managed to cause havoc to her own rescue by sending for two rival rescue teams who happen to end up trying it at the same time and getting into a fight with each other. Obviously, it was smart for her to have a backup plan, but she's just generally so hapless that it seems natural that this would happen to her.

Ugh, now I get where the character development thing comes in! I had to go back and refresh my memory of who Von was from "The Princess and the Hand Glass," and I was thinking, "Hold up, isn't he a bad guy?" But then he seemed really sweet as the grandfather and also when he declares his love for Altienna and says that he'll be able to care for her when Mouser can't. (I'm not sure how exactly he knew that, though, since he seems to have known almost nothing about Mouser. Or was he just taking a gamble that ended up working?) And then in the end it turns out he was still a devious schemer all along! Man, I hate that Altienna's life had to end that way. She was such a bright, spirited person, and yet she spent so much of her life as a pawn in somebody else's game. It's particularly despicable how Von tells Dascha that her grandmother would have been proud of her for joining the guild when he killed her because that WASN'T what she wanted for Dascha. Ugh.

SPAG:
- "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser set at the table" - "Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser sat at the table"

So yeah, this was brilliant. You completely reeled me in with all the sweet old grandfather stuff and the professions of undying love, and then you turned everything upside down on me in the end. Great job. Now I need someone to come assassinate this assassin king, right now... ;)

Okay, so this is where I started to figure it out: "Unfortunately, she'd just married the crown prince of another land..." I'm immediately intrigued, because it doesn't sound like this grandfather is the Mouser based on the circumstances, but also Altienna evidently didn't end up staying with the prince she married. And small wonder! I hate to think of her being abused like that, and I know Mouser would have been outraged. I had to smile at the grandfather's description of the pair: "a scrawny little man and his giant friend." Leave it to Altienna to have a backup plan in case one of the two men wasn't able to get to her. She'll have them fighting over her soon enough, though, if I'm not mistaken...

While for the most part I think you set the opening scene very well, there were a couple things about the descriptions I found distracting. The first one was the little girl "wearing a black mourning dress." Where that phrase is set, it sounds like it should be describing how she spoke or what she's doing as she speaks, an active phrase rather than just a descriptor of what she's wearing. Looking at it, I'm not sure if you really need to tell us that detail at all. Her age is important, as is her hair color, as it hints at who her grandmother was, but what she's wearing can probably be inferred, and I think the paragraph would be tighter without it. The description of the grandfather seemed oddly placed, too, or maybe just wordy, particularly the bit about the "short but matching beard." It is nice to be able to visualize the people in a scene, but sometimes it isn't necessary to use that level of detail, particularly at the expense of flow.

I love Fafhrd. Obviously he's concerned, but he's unfailingly blunt: "What do you want to do? Brave all odds to storm the castle and rescue her again or leave her there to rot?" Neither option is a good one, which he captures very succinctly. But of course, the second option just isn't an option, so Mouser starts making plans. And once again, the ungrateful Overlord is just going to have to foot the bill. I love the way you tell about the thefts in objective POV, starting with fairly basic stuff like one might expect the guys to steal and then becoming increasingly bizarre. Great way to pique your reader's curiosity! (And add some lovely bits of humor in on the side.)

Hahaha, I like this plan already. Mouser must have rehearsed that little speech to be able to get it out without stumbling. :P Fafhrd cuts an impressive figure (btw, this was a great time to use that detailed description like you did, as we needed to know what he looks like in his disguise). I like that there are enough kernels of truth in their new identities to make it easy for them to remember what role they're supposed to be playing, like Fafhrd's origin. Also, their new names are similar enough that they can easily cover for mistakes: "Mouse- I mean, Manse" or "Fafhr- I mean, Fafnor." Also, maybe just close enough to tip off Altienna? Who knows...

SPAG and other nitpicks:
- "Everyone else had paid their condolences..." - I don't know for sure that this is wrong, but it sounded off to me. I think you "give condolences" and "pay respects." I'm not sure you can mix the two phrases like that.
- "nearly 40 year ago" - "nearly 40 years ago"
- "Mouser hung his forehead on his hand" - This is kind of odd phrasing. Maybe try something like "kneaded his forehead with his hand" or just "laid his forehead on his hand"?

I'm going to leave off before the transition back to modern day Choloquio, as that seems to be both a good stopping point and about halfway through. As always, your writing is excellent and enjoyable to read. You balance action, emotion, and humor very well, and the result, as usual, is delightful. :)

Hi, here from the WA forum. I read a bunch of the F&GM books back in the day, but it's been awhile so my memories are rather vague. But since you have OCs and an original city, it shouldn't matter too much what I remember! :)

Vivid, dramatic description for the opening. I like how you quickly set the scene and establish the characters and situation.

"The greater good" - that's always an ominous phrase. :)

And a flashback to F&GM... I take it the reference to the mirror is to your other story? Aaaand... they have a plan! Always a delight to see how their plans unfold. :) (When in doubt, set something on fire? LOL.) I like your action scenes: they flow well without getting bogged down in extraneous details. The stakes are established, the tension is there, and then the results are clear. And the suspense as we watch the two sets of rescuers about to collide/colliding works well, too.

Ha ha, I love F&tGM living it up at the King's expense afterwards.

And then we have the reveal with the grandfather...

Assassins guild, huh? It wasn't in the canon? I guess the AG became a staple of the genre from other books, then.. (Or was that just AD&D? Memory like a sieve... I get these things mixed up. Though I'm sure I saw F&tGM D&D character writeups before!)

So, very much the type of twisty sneaky characters (ruthless and yet sometimes sentimental) in the style of those in the canon, ha ha!

Well done! Good luck with the challenge. :)

Finally got around to reading this, but I'm still behind on getting through challenge entries. Right away, I'm taken back to a world you've so wonderfully created. It immediately feels reminiscent of Arthurian legends, Norse myths, and so many fairy tales. And it's all in Hero's Journey fashion on top of that! In short, it's a well put together story, and I've decided I'm just going to have to read these stories myself.

And that's not even scratching the surface on the challenge itself. Talk about an ending! You waited until the very last to really turn it around for us, and I didn't see it coming. Cruel, twisted, and sad all at the same time. And to think, the narrative of himself and his organization he's building for his granddaughter.

I would honestly say good luck in the challenge, but quite frankly, you don't need luck!

Best,
Zad

When reading the story, I was quite impressed by how well it was written. The grammar (as I expected from you) is seemingly flawless with good word choices.

What I love about this story:

The characters we follow are clear and defined. I love how even though I do not know them, their quirks and actions actually brought me to laugh out loud while reading. In particular “Fafnor the ambassador’s” mannerisms. It tells quite a lot about the person with very little.

The ending where the shoe drops is well done and not rushed at all. I personally was waiting for it to drop, and when it did I indeed felt less sympathetic to the story teller. I also like that it didn’t instill direct hatred towards him, because it was apparent he is more a victim of upbringing than one of complete lack of morals. It is unjustifiable enough to elicit anger, but not void of reasoning that I lose the ability to understand the character. It is hard to toe this line, and this here, is an exemplary example.

What I had trouble with:

The story itself, to be honest had me confused a number of times. The beginning of the story is intentionally vague in order to attempt to be surprising later. What I mean is, when I first read the beginning, I thought it was the title characters in the story F or GM, but quickly became confused when it was apparent that the story is from another perspective.

To me, what makes it confusing is the fact that this person is clearly telling this story to his granddaughter from his own perspective, yet he knows every intimate detail of F & GM’s perspective. I understand it is in flashback narrative, but if he is telling a story it really confused me as to why he knew these details/we are following their perspective and not his. I am not saying change it or that it is wrong, this was just my immediate reaction when reading it.

Another thing that made it hard to follow was the confusing number of perspective/time switches. For example, when you had the perspective switch to Fafhrd fighting with heart seeker. It initially confused me and I had to re-read the shift to make sure I knew who was fighting.

Speaking of that scene, I personally feel like it is entirely unnecessary, and can be cut entirely. Not only would it make one less confusing switch, but it would free up a ton of words to expand the next scene between Mouser/Altennia/Grandfather.

An example of what I mean would be to maybe cut the fighting scene shift, and instead have Mouser come out in the middle of the conflict (since everything is already chaotic.) With all those extra words, you could then flesh out the conversation between the Grandfather/Altennia, and perhaps create tension between Mouser and the Grandfather. (I feel the part between Altennia/Grandfather/Mouser felt like it happened and was over with far too quick.)

I felt for a story from the perspective of the grandfather, it had very little of the grandfather’s perspective, since for most of the story we follow Fafhrd and Mouser. The only thing i feel the grandfather really does in the flashback/story he is telling, is attack Fafhrd and show up to declare his love to the princess.

I understand being confused just might be a problem for me (because I am dumb lol,) but in general it was how I felt when I read it. It is an engaging story, and defiantly brings out emotions, but at times I felt it was confusing in its many shifts.

(Sorry, but even by the end I don't know the Grandfathers name, I must have missed it lol.)

Hi, VST! Since you mention that this is set after Hand Glass, most of the scenes now make me feel nostalgic about that. :) Still fandom blind.

The beginning is pretty grim and sad as it details about the funeral of Dascha's grandma. It's really lovely to read through the moment between a grandpa and his granddaughter. Of course, Dascha is too young to understand about death, and her grandpa just explains the sad fact about death.

When Dascha's grandfather says that he loves her grandma from the very start and starts mentioning the princess of Lankhmar, I start to wonder if this grandpa is Mouser. But then the mention of [scrawny little man] at the end proves me wrong. XD Anyhow, I just love how this explains what happens after Hand Glass. Altennia doesn't have a happy ending; she's married to Sarheenmar and she doesn't truly love him. Neither does Sarheenmar. Not only Altennia ends up as just part of his harem; she also ends up at the bottom of the harem. And she's mistreated. Ow. :(

And here we are, going back to how Fafhrd and Mouser journey to rescue Altennia. The mention of Mouser feeling cheated with the reward for saving Altennia is a nice call back to Hand Glass. Heh, so he's on it partially for revenge!

Lol at the thefts and break-ins. The way this part is told is pretty hilarious, because everything is just so weird. XD The missing clothes are either really big or really small, meaning that it's Fafhrd's and Mouser's job! And they never steal the most valuable stuff. Understandable, because they're working to save the princess, not for riches.

Typo: [was bady damaged] - "badly" damaged?

Also, I find that the guise to infiltrate Sahreenmar is pretty hilarious. I don't know if Hrogen is canon or made up, but this still gives me a good chuckle. Fafhrd is the funniest one, because it's clear that he's enjoying his role as an Ambassador.

Another funny part is how their arrival is unexpected, resulting in them getting a not-so-classy treatment. Well, at least for Fafhrd. The comparison to the broom closet is pretty funny.

Back to the present, I think there's something I recognize from the grandpa: the scar. Then he also mentions that Fafhrd killed a few of his men... I guess I'll read on to see if my guess is right.

Another nice call back to Hand Glass: when Mouser wonders if he still cares for Altennia. Right now, he's wondering if he'll still be willing to protect Altennia like he did in Hand Glass, but now, he'll do it for a lifetime. Luckily, he eventually thinks that he'll save her, but he just can't possibly protect her forever.

When Fafhrd brings up about the scar, I think the grandpa may just be the man who has been in my mind: Vondahgzhio. Oops, Fafhrd. There's such a thing as coincidences. ;)

The tension sure rises during the rescue. First, there's Mouser who's attacked by doubts again. Him doubting whether he would end up taking care of the princess for a lifetime seems to bring troubles right now. Next up, there's Fafhrd fighting the scarred man's minions.

The climax is when the king sees the chaotic situation. However, nothing is more heartbreaking than Mouser's decision. He decides to leave Altennia, and he just flatly tells it to her. :( It's touching that he tells her to go with the scarred man (definitely the bad guy Von) if that'll make her happy.

Back to the present, I really like the conclusion of the rescue. Altennia is safe; Mouser and Fafhrd are safe, too. And those two even get a reward. However, it gets touching again when the grandpa acknowledges that he and his men themselves may not have been able to rescue Altennia. It's like Von actually respects Fafhrd and Mouser.

But is Von really that good? The last scene shows that he's not really a good guy. The Trade Guild is apparently an assassin guild, and Von wants Dascha to enter it and be an assassin. And wow, he actually murdered Altennia (and the story about her sickness is all just a lie)! Just for the sake of his guild! It's a fantastic twist.

A very enthralling read. Well done, and good luck on the contest. :)

Oops, sorry, the site cut me off. Here's the rest of your review:

Quite curious, but in crimes where one spouse kills another, a lot of times, the murderer says they still love their spouse, so it makes sense.

I'd love to know if Dascha ever finds out what her grandfather did and if she'll ever live long enough to save the kingdom, but that's another story for another time.

I really enjoyed this story. I thought it had a little bit of The Princess Bride feel to it in some ways, so that was exciting. Again, I really loved that twist ending. I thought it was great. Good luck in the challenge, VST! SPAG/suggestions below. Well done! :)

SPAG/suggestions:

asked the girl wearing her black mourning dress.-asked the girl, wearing her black mourning dress.

a comforting arm back around the girl—The word 'back' seems out of place here. I don't think you need it.

gray haired man-gray-haired man

one of the guards who had been preassigned the duty.-one of the guards, who had been preassigned the duty.

up the steps holding her granddad's hand.-up the steps, holding her granddad's hand.

another land so I didn't see-another land, so I didn't see

"Our condolences, Sir.-I don't think 'sir' needs capitalization here.

"Thank you, Brother,"-Seems to me 'Brother' doesn't need capitalization.

goes to bed so I'll see-goes to bed, so I'll see

never done, Sir."-Again, I don't think this needs capitalization.

much abuse, from the evil man.-This comma seems to be unneeded. If you want it set apart by both commas, then it seems to be you should change 'from' to 'by' since that would make it clearer that it's a continuation of the first part of the sentence. But here, the 'from' makes it seem like a continuation of the phrase ending with 'abuse' and so, the comma seems awkward.

his harem so she became-his harem, so she became

once before you but she wouldn't-once before you, but she wouldn't

He smiled as he recalled.-I feel like you should tack on 'the memory' at the end here, as this sentence seems unfinished.

asked the blonde giant—You might want to consider changing this to 'blond'. Blond usually refers to men with blond hair while blonde is used to refer to females with blonde hair. So at first, I wondered if the adjective was referring to a female and found that wasn't the case.

had to trust me since she-had to trust me, since she

be flogged or worse for being—Seems to be 'or worse' should be set off by commas. Or since there are a lot of commas in this sentence already, perhaps hyphens.-be flogged – or worse – for being

but she said something about the princess really loved having her mirror fixed."-Seems to me there's a missing word here.-but she said something about how the princess really loved having her mirror fixed."

The tall man who approached from the back of the boat-The tall man, who approached from the back of the boat

to a head of longish blonde hair—As above, you may want to change this to 'blond'.

from your land despite the amount-from your land, despite the amount

Ambassadorial quarters—Does this need capitalization?

more of my Brothers."-Does this need capitalization?

two of our Brothers—As above, does this need to be capitalized?

to slump to the floor so Fafhrd pushed-to slump to the floor, so Fafhrd pushed

palace said Mouser and 'Ambassador Fafnor' were standing—palace, said Mouser and 'Ambassador Fafnor', were standing

daring-do—Did you mean daring-duo?

the King-I'm not sure this needs capitalization (and all instances after).

if she was still alive."-if she were still alive."

"Dear, your Grandmother-"Dear, your grandmother

Hi, VST! Just a quick fandom blind disclaimer here, but the info you gave helped.

I really enjoyed the opening. I got a clear picture of the setting without it being too overwhelming, and I instantly fell in love with the grandfather and his granddaughter. Sad that this opens in the wake of a death, but just like in real life, that often comes with sharing memories of our past loved ones and young ones asking questions about the person's life (I did the same when my grandmother passed away, so I could relate). I will say from the opening, I'm not quite sure which character I should be focusing on for the requirements (in other words, who's being presented one way and will change by the end?), but I know that will come out.

As an aside, Dascha is at that age (nine or ten, as you say) where she's starting to think for herself, so I was a little surprised she'd take her grandfather's word at face value when she tells him her grandmother's wishes for her and he says she told him otherwise. While that could be true, I was surprised Dascha just accepted that and didn't question it. The grandfather seems like a trustworthy guy, but since he seems more intent on her going to the school, how does she not know he could be lying? I just expected a little more reaction from her. A younger child would definitely just accept this, but at her age, I still think she'd question it somewhat.

The tavern scene was quite mysterious. I suspect that the man asking for information may be the grandfather himself, but since no names are really mentioned, I can't be positive. I think you were going for mystery here (and this may be in-line with the fandom you're writing for), but I found the lack of names a little frustrating. It might help to add a name (or even mention that the grandfather is indeed the man asking). I also found the end line to be a little intriguing, as the sailor mentions how kind he is, but he says, no, that's not the case. I did wonder if that was a little untrue. I'm sure he's got a kind side (especially if he is indeed our grandfather), but I like how this shows that he's a man on a mission and he won't take any crap from anyone. I also think he wants himself to appear more fierce than he is so that it gets back to the castle (seems to me that gossip would travel back there) and to the crown prince. So I think he's actually smarter and wiser rather than unkind, but I suppose we'll see there.

Oh, no, maybe I was wrong. It seems to me 'Mouser' is our grandfather and the other man is Fafhrd? I think I've got that right (hopefully, lol)? Fafhrd is just his friend, but that makes sense he'd be worried about him. I thought that really showed their friendship early on, so well done there. I do love the little plan they come up with, and I also love the dynamics between these two men. This short little scene actually shows us a lot about these two. Mouser is obviously willing to do anything for love, and he can't imagine leaving his princess to live in such dire conditions for the rest of her life, and Fafhrd is willing to do anything to ensure his friend's happiness. I like these two men a lot.

And lol, it took them a little while to implement their plan (with the boat problems and such), but once they got started, they really sold their roles well. I love how they trick the others...so much so that the wind up getting an ambassadorial room. That was awesome! They're great actors and know enough about sailing that they can pull this off. I'm so glad, too, because if anything went wrong, then the princess would never be rescued.

I quite enjoyed you breaking up the past scenes with those from the present. However, since you had a scene heading when you first went to the past, I didn't see one for bring us back to the present (or pulling us back to the past yet again) until much later in the story. I'd personally suggest adding those in. Since those would be scene headings, those wouldn't count towards your challenge word count, so there would be no worry there. ;)

I do love how Dascha focuses on how pretty the scenery must have been and doesn't really focus on the danger her grandfather had to face. This, I felt was very age-appropriate. She's never had to deal with such a situation, so she probably cannot comprehend how it wasn't really a walk in the park for her grandfather. I also love how he does his best to explain so she can understand. Also, I do love how the men who killed some of Mouser's men were held in high regard by Tennie. I think that must have been difficult for him to accept at first, but I love how he says that changed his opinion slightly of these guys over the years. I think that shows how much he loved and trusted her and that he's a very compassionate (and forgiving) man. I just really liked that, as it shows us some insight to his character.

I was surprised that once Mouser got inside the palace that he had some doubts, unsure if he really wanted to deal with taking care of a princess for the rest of his life. While I might suspect such thoughts from anyone, it made me take pause. I'd assumed he was a man so completely in love that he'd do anything for her. But once he was so close, this changed? Didn't expect that. Granted, it seems the doubts were fleeting, and we already know he did rescue and marry her, but I still found it a little shocking.

Therefore, I was surprised when Fafhrd was actually the one to suggest they move their plans up a night. Understandably, Mouser wasn't the one to see the man who attempted the kidnapping, so I'm glad that Fafhrd gave him that information, but at this point, it almost seems like Fafhrd is more into this rescue than Mouser. I'm sure that will change, and perhaps this is the changing opinion you're trying to satisfy for the challenge. Time will tell there.

Or maybe it's Mouser's attitude, since he's still having these doubts about Tennie. I suppose maybe it's not love that he's doubting but rather the fact that he's doubting himself. She's a princess and he's not royalty; he's probably thinking she expects more than he can give her, and that I can understand. Ah, but the moment he actually gets Tennie, it seems to me these doubts are squelched? At least for the time being, and lol about the fire situation. Kind of a drastic measure, but I suppose that they were willing to do anything to get her.

Oh, no, poor Fafhrd, though! I love how you show how chaotic things were, and I hope he doesn't end up getting hurt (or worse) in all this. I agree with him, that I hope that Mouser hears and comes to his aid very soon. But I really enjoyed these dueling scenes. They were short and quick, but they worked well and weren't too long and drawn-out.

Oh, it wasn't until the next scene that I realize Mouser is NOT the grandfather. Sorry for the confusion, and perhaps this is the reaction you intended for readers to have and the reason for the vagueness on mentioning the grandfather's name in the first place. You know, at first, I was thinking that Tennie should say no and go with Mouser, but since he had all those doubts, I think it's for the best it went the other way. I think Mouser was doing this out of obligation more than love, and I think he just needed to know Tennie would be taken care of by someone who truly loved her. I also didn't realize that there was more than one party trying to rescue Tennie until now. Oops, sorry for the confusion, but now it's very clear. That makes more sense now. I also enjoyed the magic portals and such. I really thought the description of that was well done, and I love the magic aspect. I wonder why, if they could use magic, they didn't use it to rescue Tennie, but I don't know the limits of what they can do, so maybe it wouldn't have served them after all.

I do love how Dascha asks what happens to these men after that. I'm really glad to know that Mouser and Fafhrd provided a distraction and were able to tell enough lies so Tennie and the grandfather could make a clean getaway. Also, I found it very amusing the king was actually happy to get rid of his troublemaker and wasn't too put out about losing her. That meant he probably wasn't going to go after her, which was a relief to both of them.

Curious Tennie never wanted her husband to have any further contact with them, but I suppose that might have been her way of breaking ties with her old life. Still, it's apparent he (the grandfather) never forgot the service these two did for him, and it sounds like he is and will continue to be forever grateful. I also really loved Dascha's vow to do well so her grandmother will be proud. I love that the grandfather assures her her grandmother will always be, no matter what. Tennie sounds like quite a woman here.

Ah, so I was right earlier. The grandfather did tell a bit of a fib...that Tennie doesn't want Dascha to go the the school...and for good reason. A bit of a shock she allowed her son to go, considering what happened to him, but she explains how she was a young princess then and has been trained to do whatever her husband says. Now, she's a bit older and a bit wiser, and isn't about to make the same mistake again. And perhaps the grandfather is the one we're supposed to be wary of. You presented him as a good, kind man in the beginning (and he still might be), but the fact he'd go against his wife's wishes, that shows maybe he's not quite as good as we might think. I'm hoping to see a turnaround as I read the final scene. We'll see.

Oh, lol, gosh that's not the case. So Von was kind of a bad guy after all. Dang it. That was a nice twist, but I really liked it. You really had us fooled! I do love how he mentions he loved his wife, but the good of the kingdom was more important...and he could still do such an evil act and love her at the same time. Quite curious, but in crimes where one spouse kills another, a lot of times, the

Perfect follow-on for Handglass. All the sneaky greatness of F&GM along with the obligatory sword fight. Love it! I really need to reread Lieber. This fits so well I would not have remembered there was no Assassins Guild. My good luck to drop in and see this posted. Mark me down as one happy reader (TwoDonkeys, aka RK4SL).

This seems to be a pretty good story. I thought it was an interesting read here.