Shyler Benton

November 17, 2017: More than a month had gone by and Shyler was beginning to wonder if he was going to rot inside the four walls of his suite within the Dylonian City walls. It had been an advantageous time however as he was able to learn quite a bit about the plans of the Dylonian's through the listening gem he had implanted on his last visit with the Emperor.

He had not suspected this, but the Dylonian's were going to be bringing Orcs, Yeti and various other minor races into the war with them as their allies. This is something that the council had not seen coming he smiled at the thought.

It was then that Commander Skorn entered the human's chambers unannounced. He stood at attention not saying a word. Shyler could not know if this was a good thing or not, but he said nothing as he observed the Commander in the hopes of trying to ascertain any bit of information that he could. One thing that did catch his eye was the fact that the commander did have his sword and dagger on his persons.

A bit of good news was to be forthcoming or perhaps it was a poor attempt at some sort of sick joke. He could not tell; despite all of his studying of these creatures they were a very difficult race to read.

Nearly a minute had gone by when his door opened again, and Chancellor Cavacik entered the room. The chancellor held out his hands to the commander as he made his way over to him. The commander removed both the dagger and the sword that were strapped to his back and handed them to the chancellor.

"Your story checks out my friend. You will be released today so that you can help us exact revenge upon our mutual enemy, the Minlavian Council of Elders. I hope this pleases you," the chancellor said as he walked over to Mr. Benton.

"More than you could possibly know," the human said with an evil smile as he took the weapons he was handed.

"Most excellent," Chancellor Cavacik responded.

"Oh, and there is one more thing a gift of sorts," the chancellor said with a wry smile as he handed a small device to Mr. Benton.

Shyler turned the device over in his hands guessing at its nature. Shyler easily surmised the purpose for the orb but to relieve all doubt the Chancellor filled him in on the details of the device. "This is a communiqué device and a tracking device. The emperor insists on being able to find out how your plan is progressing. He wants scheduled contacts with you. He will call you to figure how these contacts will occur. That is to be the agreement if you are to be released," the chancellor stated in a very non-committal tone.

Mr. Benton nodded his understanding and agreement. Relegated to lackey he thought to himself, not an enjoyable proposition. Shyler knew all of this was necessary to attain his final objective and to fulfill his part in the upcoming war but that did not mean he had to like it.

He vowed that when this matter at hand was completed, he would settle his score with the leaders of this devious race but for now he needed them so he would follow any directives that he had been given.

"Pack your things. Commander Skorn will wait for you just outside your door. When ready knock on it and he will escort you down to the armed guard. For your own protection I would suggest you wear this," the chancellor said as he threw him a hooded sweatshirt and a synthetic material type mask.

Shyler looked curiously at the chancellor.

"The mask is a copy of a Dylonian, if you put your hood up most folks will think you are a Dylonian prisoner. This will keep you safe. If you were to go out there as a human such is the hatred between our races…."

"You would not be able to guarantee my safe passage out of your fair city," the human finished the Dylonian's statement.

"Precisely", the chancellor responded. "Oh, and one final thing we moved your horse to the Emperors private stables, it is about a twenty-minute walk from here. The guards will take you to a place just on the outskirts of the city. It happens to be very near one of our nearby penal facilities so this will further strengthen our story that you are a prisoner should any busybodies get to curious. It is nearing sunset so the darkness will help mask your departure. Good Luck to you and your plans for retribution Mr. Shyler Benton," the chancellor said with a short bow.

He then exited the room without as much as a glance over his shoulder.

"Thanks a lot," Shyler said to no one in particular being he was the only one in the room.

He packed his bags and put on his lizard mask.

The trip to Skimmer was mostly uneventful. He went out of the city in a security device of some sort and five armed guards as an escort. There were many onlookers curious to his situation but most simply watched few approached the guards and of those that did were promptly informed that interference would constitute an extreme penalty of the law. That was enough to remove even the most curious of the lizard people present.

His horse departed the Dylonian realm an hour after sunset. He was given specific plans in which to follow. He did so and another hour heading towards Wyndham in the most indirect route as possible.

He had to pay a visit to a certain member of the council. He smiled as he thought of how well his plan was coming together.

~~~~~!!!~~~~~

February 6, 2018: Shyler Benton pulls into the open fields of Syrus' forest cottage. Activating the gateway, he was immediately wooshed through the portal.

Exiting, he walked up to a tall gangly figure. It was Mecka Steel the head stable master "I need to have this serviced and fed and ready to leave by early AM tomorrow morning," he said in a serious but non-concerning sort of tone.

"Impossible, I am short staffed and you of all people should know that it takes more than three hours to fully service a horse," Mecka responded.

"Well, I am on important business for Council Leader Czelak, and I do not have any more time to give. If I am made to wait, I can promise you that neither the Council Leader nor I will be very happy about the situation. Someone may lose their job or worse," Shyler said hinting at the possible implications.

Mecka gulped at the statement from Shyler. He hated playing the heavy with one such as the Gnoll that stood before him, but he could not be delayed while they went through the systematic games as they shoed and fed his horse.

He was confident that his message was received, and he turned to go. Feeling some guilt in his actions he turned to the tall figure who now appeared quite stressed at the recent turn of events. "I can give you till 4 PM tomorrow Mecka but I cannot be delayed any longer than that. Please do not take advantage of my generous nature," Shyler said with a smile.

Shyler was not an imposing human. He was just under six feet tall with sandy brown hair that was just starting to grey. He had a very firm and tone physique but could not have weighed more than a hundred and seventy-five pounds.

Mecka knew of this man as well as any however and he knew what this man was capable of, an assassin who was unrivaled in this time period. He was as quick and deadly as a Cirius Water Viper (very fast and deadly snake virtually invisible in the cool waters in which it dwells) and more devious than any that he had the pleasure of meeting.

He smiled at Shyler. "Thank you, sir, I will talk to my guys. We will have it ready for your departure." He had just received about eight more hours to complete the job; it would be enough he thought to himself. It had to be, he shivered at the thought of the assassins horse not being ready in time.

* * * *

"You have news for me then," Councilman Chocc said as Shyler Benton entered his chambers.

"Very little," was the reply.

"I have learned beyond a shadow of a doubt that Emperor Ravacik is no longer in charge of the army. I have also learned that the Dylonian's are seeking the help of other races involvements in the war. The only races that I have heard with possible involvement are the Orcs of Dracus and I have only heard hints at this point. Unfortunately, that is all I have been able to extrapolate from my spying endeavors," Shyler said with just a hint of a smile.

"That's it. Over two years of spying on the Dylonian's has not lent itself to much information. I thought you were supposed to be the best," Chocc said snickering somewhat at his guest.

Councilman Chocc was a very large humanoid. They looked much like the Minotaur's of old Earthen Greek mythology. Only the Diplanarn's (for that is what the Councilman's race was called) did not have any horns and instead of fir their skin took on more of a rock type appearance.

He was put in charge of the investigation force for the galactic council and was therefore in charge of all of their assassins and spies and thus the reason for Shyler's conversation with him now.

In truth Shyler was not afraid of the big brute but a confrontation with his boss, even though the title was purely political, was just not in the cards. At least not at the moment he smiled to himself.

What he was going to do however, was not let Chocc get away with demeaning him in any way. "Perhaps you should choose another assassin, one more capable of gaining entrance onto a Dylonian realm without being seen. Someone who can extract some of the lizard scum torturing them until some semblance of useful information can be obtained. You, perhaps," Shyler said indicating that the Councilman should undertake this journey himself.

"No," Shyler asked sarcastically of Chocc. He could tell this upset the Councilman and he did not desire a confrontation, at least not at this point but Shyler could tell that he may end up putting Councilman Chocc on his retributions list sometime soon.

Avoiding a confrontation now was vital to the success of his operation so he decided to throw him a tidbit of information hoping it might appease his anger.

"As I have said before I have tortured many Dylonian's and none of them knew much of anything. The one thing I did get from a Seer I had managed to capture, and torture was a name," Shyler said pausing for effect.

"The name of what," Chocc asked trying not to care.

"The name of who may be ruling the Dylonian Empire," the assassin replied.

"Well, what was the name," Chocc asked utterly failing to hide his anticipation for the information.

"Muskavalcic," Shyler answered.

Chocc repeated the name to himself and turned away from Shyler to ponder the newly acquired information. He had heard the name before, but he just could not put his finger on where or what it was in reference too. He vowed to do some digging on the matter.

"Perhaps you could try and gather intel on Muskavalcic whilst I continue my pursuit on Dylonian activity," Shyler asked of Councilman Chocc.

Chocc nodded that he would.

"I will take my leave then," Shyler said in the form of a question. In truth he wanted to be rid of this entire situation.

Chocc nodded. "Please keep me apprised of any new developments," he said with a smile.

Shyler nodded as he exited the chambers. There was another member of the council for which he had to pay a visit.

A shower and a quick bite to eat first Shyler thought to himself.

* * * *

It was nearing midnight as Shyler approached Council Leader Czelak's personal chambers. She had been spending most of her time on Desmonia with the rumblings of war around every corner. Shyler hoped and not for the first time that the impending war was not taxing too heavily on the council leader. He smiled as he knocked on the door; he dismissed the thought almost as quickly as it came to him.

He knew the council leader was like him in many ways, one of those ways was a strong desire to win. She would do whatever it took to win this battle and in some weird way that comforted him.

"Enter," a small petite voice said, from within the room.

Shyler opened the door and entered the council leader's chambers.

The council leader glanced at the doorway. She knew whom she was expecting at this late hour but in these times one can never be too sure, so safety was an utmost concern.

When she noticed it was who she expected it to be, she questioned him. "So, you have done as you were instructed then," she asked.

Shyler nodded that he had.

"And you have told Councilor Chocc," she managed to ask without too much animosity in her voice, which considering their mutual feeling towards each other that was saying something.

"I have told him little other than what you requested I relay him. I did, however, divulge the name Muskavalcic. He has said he will look into finding out what this could possible mean," he replied to the council leader.

She said nothing for a minute looking at the man before her, hoping that she could perhaps make him squirm a bit from his failure to obey. She stopped almost as quickly as she started as she remembered who she was dealing with; she had chosen well with the employ of this one.

"And of course, our recent conversation in my quarters worked like a charm. Chocc no longer suspects that we are in league in this battle. Imagine him thinking he can have my apartment bugged with listening crystals I think our conversation or rather lack thereof proved to him your loyalties," the council leader said with a slight snicker in her voice.

"I believe you are correct. I noticed his manner much more his normal self when I talked to him. I am not sure if that is a good thing to be honest," Benton responded.

Both he and the council leader shared a hearty laugh.

She then smiled to no one in particular and continued. "Getting back to the topic at hand, your divulgence of information, you released more than you were supposed to divulge is there a reason for it," she asked Shyler keeping her voice in a calm cool tone.

"I think he was becoming concerned at my inability to get the job done and I was afraid that he would put another assassin on the case. I felt I had to give him something and that name was the least concerning piece of data I could think to give," Shyler replied to the council leader in an equally calm tone.

"I see, well I will not dwell on it. It would be very bad if another assassin were put on the case, then all that we have accomplished would be at risk. If you say Chocc (what Councilman Choe was sometimes called) was becoming concerned then it is so," the council leader said in a tone that spoke of finality with the topic.

Shyler nodded his agreement.

"You understand what you are to do now," she asked.

Shyler nodded that he did.

"Alright then go and let's be done with this business," the council leader said to Shyler.

Shyler stood there for a second debating on whether he should bring a certain problem up to the council leader. "I believe we may have a complication," he said to a now concerned council leader.

"Complication," she repeated as if it now were a question. "What kind of complication."

"The spell that was too be altered, well the mage doing the altering wants more gold than originally agreed upon. In addition, the Gnolls you intend on utilizing want eight thousand and five hundred gold pieces. I am not sure that the Emperor can come up with that kind of payment for services. Any ideas," Shyler asked with hope.

"So, about ten thousand gold pieces you say, well that is his burden to bear and his problem," the council leader said. Although I can say the less you talk about the Gnolls payment in all of this the better," the council leader said as she paused to observe Shyler.

She noted that the assassin was somehow either not telling her the truth or giving her all of the information. She surmised the reasons behind it and decided to let the matter go.

"For now, take him the gold request and see how he responds. If he totally rejects the offer get back to me and I will see if I can lessen the burden by talking to our mage and Gnoll counterparts. I can be quite persuasive" she replied with somewhat of a sneer in her attitude.

Assassin Benton smiled and nodded.

"Oh, and that reminds me I have a gift for you, something that may help us on our journey for information," she said as she walked over to one of her armoires and pulled out an orb looking device.

She walked over to the assassin and handed him the device. "The black button will turn it on. Your target needs to be looking at the device, it will take only a matter of seconds before the target becomes enthralled by the device. They will answer most questions or can be persuaded to do most things. There is one thing though, the hypnotic suggestions will only work for about twenty or so minutes so the tasks must be short ones. Once you are done with the subject, they may stay in a trance for a bit, but it would most likely be best if you were not around when they awake from it if you gather my meaning," she said with a slight laugh.

"Go then and see if you can gather any intel on the Dylonian's plans or on this Muskavalcic. We cannot fail in this Shyler; our plans for the future are at stake here. We need to be sure of what is going on," the Council Leader said in all sincerity.

"Understood," was his reply. He then turned and made his way back to his room by way of roundabout so that he was not discovered by Chocc or any other assassins. The last thing he needed now was questions as to why he paid the council leader a midnight visit on the only night he spent in Desmonia.

He chuckled again at the irony of all of this madness.

* * * *

It was nearing 2:00 PM when there was a knock on his door.

"Yes", he answered. He was never one to mix words.

"Mr. Benton," the small boy on the opposite side of the entryway said somewhat sheepishly. Apparently, whoever sent this boy had informed him of with whom he would be dealing.

"Yes, this is Shyler Benton, and who might this be," Shyler responded.

"I am Mecka Steels stable boy. He wanted me to alert you to the fact that Skimmer was ready," the young boy continued somewhat reluctantly.

"Relay to Mr. Steel that I said that is excellent work. I will finish preparing for my trip and I will be there within the hour," the assassin said to the small boy. He then closed the door behind the lad and finished packing.

True to his word he arrived at the stable near the gateway, ready to depart at precisely 2:45 PM.

Shyler was greeted by Mecka as he headed toward him with his horse. "She is all finished Mr. Benton." Mecka said with a short laugh.

Shyler took reigns and gave Skimmer a once over. She was a magnificent steed; he could tell that they had worked extensively on her. She had new shoes, her armor and her coat were all shiny and there was a small satchel full of carrots resting across the saddle.

"Is everything OK Mr. Benton. You did want us to do the full treatment on the old girl didn't you," Mecka asked. You could now see the sweat forming on his brows and neck.

"Everything is fine Mecka," the assassin said as he tossed him a small bag of coins. He overpaid of course but the results and the timing of the stable master were impeccable. It was money well spent.

"I will get your packs loaded onto her immediately," Mecka said with a smile as he knew too well the generous nature of Mr. Benton.

Shyler nodded "I would appreciate that," he said with a smile.

"Mr. Steel, I truly appreciate your efforts in getting my Skimmer ready. Now if you don't mind me saying so you look like hell. Maybe you should get some rest," Shyler said with a smile.

He then walked over to his horse and mounted the saddle. With a hee ya and a tug on the reigns Skimmer moved toward the now active gateway.

* * * *

May 1, 2018: Nearly three months had gone by since Shyler Benton had left Desmonia. His plan was going along as expected but now he had hit a small hiccup.

It was the same hiccup that he had told the council leader about in a conversation that occurred back February of that same year.

The contact he was going to utilize to enter the Magical Administrations facility wanted quite a bit more gold than he had originally planned on.

To further complicate things the Gnolls he intended to utilize for decoding the texts and preparing the spells for incantation were nothing short of extortionist.

In truth he would be asking for ten thousand or more gold pieces to be exact, this was five times more than he anticipated.

It was time to contact the Emperor and inform him of the news. Thankfully for the betterment of the operation he had never mentioned a price for this mission. In the grand scheme of things ten thousand gold did not seem too steep a price for the promise of conquest and the fulfillment of a dream. He could only hope the emperor would agree with him.

Taking out his Dylonian communicator device he placed the call. "Hello emperor and how are you doing this evening," Mr. Benton asked dreading the conversation that was too happen.

"I am relieved to hear from you Mr. Benton. It has been nearly a month since your last communication and I was wondering as to the status of your obtaining the plans you have promised us," Emperor Ravacik said with just a hint of disgust registering in his voice.

"The plan is well underway," the Assassin Benton responded. In truth Shyler already had ancient text and the Gnolls of Cirius were well on the way to interpreting the ancient text. It was no easy feat I can assure you but it was a Gnoll who wrote many of the Ancient Crpytex (encrypted text) utilized over the last fifteen hundred years so he was confident that a Gnoll would have the highest probability to decipher the writings.

"Unfortunately, sir as promised there are several things I will need from you," Shyler said to the Emperor.

"Yes, I recall your promise so long ago. What is it I can do for you Mr. Benton," the Emperor asked?

"Well, a human corpse is the first thing we are going to need," Shyler responded.

"A human corpse, and why do we have need of that," the emperor asked.

"I think it's time I lay my plan out for you sir," Shyler said in an almost teasing manner. "I do not however, think it wise we do this at this time as I trust no one. I will be in Chardonacic in three days' time I will see you then," he said bringing the call to an end.