Baldur's gate II_ throne of Bhaal - Drew Karpyshyn [76]
There Bhaal's Anointed had found her and offered her the chance to join the Five. The opportunity seemed like a task worthy of Sendai's considerable skill-slay the Bhaalspawn, assassinate the offspring of a god, but the idea was far more grand than the actual act. Most of Sendai's targets were not even aware of their immortal heritage. They lived petty, pointless lives. Ending their existence was almost a favor. Even the nobles and powerful merchants in the surface dwellers' society were easy prey and did little to sate her lust for a challenge.
Sendai fought a never-ending battle against complacency, fearing her skills would atrophy or her technique would become sloppy. She needed to stay in top form, for once the Five had eliminated the last of the Bhaalspawn, she intended to turn her poisoned blade on her co-conspirators. There was a challenge worthy of her, a true test of her abilities. Every assassination until then was nothing but a pale imitation of the artistry she knew she was capable of.
The drow, her dark skin and clothes virtually invisible atop the monastery wall, shook her head in disgust. In the past she would have never let her mind wander while in the middle of a job. More proof she was losing her edge. She refocused on the task at hand and leaped from the wall.
She landed softly on the ground, absorbing the impact by tucking into a ball and rolling through the momentum of the thirty-foot fall. She sprang to her feet to see if any of the guards had heard the faint noise of her unorthodox entrance. For several seconds she stood still, her keen drow ears straining to pick up the sound of an alarm or feet rushing over to investigate.
Hearing nothing, she approached the tower. Sticking to the shadows and dark corners, she crossed the courtyard right beneath the noses of the monks standing guard, invisible as a ghost. She couldn't help but laugh silently at their earnest, ineffective vigilance.
The two monks by the tower's only door were more problematic. Their deaths had to be quick and silent, lest they alert the others. The hooded lanterns the sentries held in each hand complicated her task. Twin beams of light shot out from the burning lanterns, cutting across the courtyard and clearly visible to all the other guards patrolling the area. If anything happened to those beams of light-if one of the lanterns was dropped, even for an instant-someone was sure to notice and come over to investigate.
Standing motionless in a dark shadow not ten feet from the tower entrance, Sendai briefly considered the best way to eliminate the monks without alerting the entire order to her presence.
Moving slowly so as not to reveal herself, she drew two tiny feathered needles from her belt. From another hidden pouch she produced a small crystal vial. She removed the stopper and cautiously dipped the tip of each needle into the clear liquid. Taking great care to not accidentally prick herself with the poisoned darts, she placed the first needle in her open palm. She brought her hand up to her lips and gave a single soft puff of air, sending the dart silently on its way toward the closest monk.
Another gentle breath sent the next dart on its way toward the second target. Sendai waited for a few seconds to give the poison time to work, then slipped from the concealment of the cloaking shadows and made a quick dash to the cover of the tower door.
Safely hidden from sight once again, she paused and listened. There were no cries of surprise, no shouts of "intruder," nothing to indicate anyone had noticed the slim figure that had infiltrated the monastery. Confident she had not been seen, Sendai turned her attention to the guards standing motionless next to her. This close, she could see her darts had both found their marks. She deftly plucked the tiny weapons from the necks of the paralyzed guards and replaced them in her belt.
The eyes of the monks followed her motions, but every other muscle in their bodies was rigidly locked in position.