Ymra, 2

(Part one can be read here)

The two cloaked figures had climbed up and into an old tower that overlooked the expanse of roofs below. The tower could, at some point in the past, have been a watchtower or guardpost at the edge of the city or faction territory, before it would have been left behind by expanding borders and faction progress. The figures sat crouching atop the wide stone railing circling the top of the tower, scouting in the same direction. They sat in silence as they waited. From the skies in front of them a dark spot descended, a twisting and flowing shape trailing behind it. The dark spot, which was an eagle, dove down and then pulled up into a straight glide away from the old tower. After it had travelled a very specific distance, it suddenly dropped something from its claws, as it had been trained to do, and climbed back up into the night sky. The small pouch that the eagle had dropped landed on the edge of a roof, and as it did it suddenly lit up, the fuses sticking out from its top burning quickly and bright. The light only lasted for a second, but that was enough.

"What do you think?" asked the biggest of the figures to the other. It was a woman's voice.

The other figure quickly licked the tip of a finger and held it up while the other hand got a small metal device out from a pocket. The figure opened the device and held it up  with a flat hand.

"Well, the mark is about halfway to the target, and there ain't much wind..." the other figure began, its voice also being female, but younger and higher pitched, "...I'd say the number 2 or 3?"

The big figure nodded slowly.

"Yeah, they're both usable. But it's gonna be harder to get the angle right with the 3, 'cause of the extra power. Besides, no point in using more effort than ya need."

The smaller figure had a big, oblong bag slung across her back, and she lowered it so that it stood on the tower roof and rested against the stone railing. She opened it to reveal the tips of several bows and picked up the bow second from the left. She handed it to the larger figure who had sat down, one leg on each side of the railing. Then she found an arrow from the same bag and handed this to the larger figure as well.

The larger figure brought a gloved hand up to remove the hood covering her head. She squinted at something beyond the place where the eagle had dropped the pouch, and nocked the arrow.

Again waiting in silence, they sat at the top of the tower for a few minutes before movement in the distance alerted them.  The movement was a small group of three men on horseback, very slowly making their way across a tiny square where two streets crossed. This was exactly what they had been waiting for, and the woman's grip on the bow tightened slightly. However, the riders were not the only things moving in the area. There were things moving across the rooftops as well – one on the far side of the riders, and one about halfway between them and the tower.

"Look – that one might just stumble upon our mark" the large figure said as the closest moving shape made its way towards the roof where the burnt out pouch remained.

"Is there time?" the smaller figure asked.

The woman with the bow answered by raising the bow and drawing the string back, aiming towards the riders on the square. As she took a deep breath, the man on the roof had arrived by the pouch and crouched down to investigate. The woman exhaled and, holding her breath, released the string. The man by the pouch heard a faint swoosh overhead and immediately recognised it. He stood up to shout, but his warning only came as the arrow found its target and pierced the middle rider's throat at its base. He grasped his throat as he fell off the horse.

The woman handed the bow over to the girl, who put it back in its slot in the bag. Then they got off the railing and the woman took the bag. She grabbed the girl's shoulder reassuringly, although she wasn't sure whether it was mostly for the girl or herself.

"You know the drill", she said, and the girl nodded.

They made their way down the tower and then separated, running in different directions into the night.

As the cloaked woman ran away from the scene, she was joined by the eagle, flying overhead. She smiled a little to herself. She hadn't known why the middle rider had to die, and barely even knew who he had been. The important thing wasn't why – the important thing was that her boss wanted it that way. The job had gone well, so she was pleased with herself, for the moment.  In truth, she enjoyed it when her job took her into other factions' territory. It was far more dangerous than performing tasks within her employer's boundaries, and she reveled in the  challenge of circumventing guards and escaping through enemy lines. She tried to keep her thoughts lingering on that subject for as long as she could, for although she kept her concentration up until she was in the clear and back on familiar ground, the nagging sensation that unpleasant duties awaited her at home was always in the back of her mind.