1.10

Cord raced across the roof, using all of his skill to maintain silence. The last thing he needed was someone in the palace below to hear footsteps on the roof now. He scanned the edges of the roof to see whether the other assassin had used a rope to lower himself over the parapet.
"Fool!" he thought. If he could gain access to the palace without a rope, why assume that the assassin needed one?
Cord changed direction toward the parapet on his right, and slowed down, approaching it cautiously. When he reached it he peered over the edge, checking left and right.
Nothing.
Quickly he went over to the other side of the roof and looked over. He was just in time to see a shadow disappear into a lighted window several metres to his left. He had overrun the spot where the assassin had entered the palace. Quickly he moved along the parapet to the point above where he had seen the assassin. He could not hear anything from below. That meant that the other assassin was going about his task under the assumption that his comrade had dealt with Cord, or he was waiting in ambush below.
Cord had no choice but to follow, and see which of those possibilities was true. He grabbed the parapet with both hands and swung his legs over the edge, before quietly straightening his arms and lowering himself.
The courtyard was a long way below him as he dangled in empty space. If the assassin struck now, there would be very little that Cord could do to defend himself.
No attack came, and after a small back and forward swing Cord let go and dropped onto the window sill of the open window. The passage that lead away from the window was decorated with opulent tapestries and vases almost large enough to hide a man. The floor was carpeted in rich brown carpets that would prevent even armoured feet from making a sound. Cord had a feeling it must be the a section of the King's apartments. There would be guards about.
Cord would have to find the assassin and thwart his mission quickly. And he had to do that without being discovered by the guards in the King's apartments.
"Why did I have to decide to do something this foolish?" he thought as he dropped silently into the passage.