1.11

It was obvious that the assassin knew exactly where he was going. There was no hesitation as he approached a door in the first passage he turned into. The door looked to be a solid piece of oak, hardened and darkened by age. It appeared out of place when viewed alongside the rest of the palace decorations. No doubt it was one of the original fittings, from a time where the bedroom door might be a last defense against enemies of a political nature. Assassination had often been a quick path to ascension on the throne.
The assassin was once again avoiding making any noise. The passages may have been cleared for him, but whoever was behind the door was not privy to those arrangements. Slowly the assassin twisted the door's handle, and slowly Cord approached him from behind.
The handle stopped turning and the assassin pushed against the wood. Nothing happened.
It seemed that the assassin had expected the door to be unlocked. But, a locked door was not any real impediment. Quickly the assassin rextracted two wire instruments from a pouch on his arm, crouched down and set to work on the door-lock.
Cord was now directly behind the assassin, crouching in the opposite door-arch's little bit of shadow. He squinted his eyes, blocking out as much light as he could.
There was a very faint sound of metal grating, and the assassin put away his lock-picks. From his boot he pulled a long stilleto with a green stone in the pommel.
Cord tensed and waited for the assassin to start moving. The assassin rose and slowly pushed open the door, taking his first step into the room beyond. Cord launched himself from his position across the hallway and was across the gap in an instant. The assassin became aware of the attack, but it was too late.
Cord had known that the doorway would limit his attack, but also that it would hinder the assassin's defense if he saw or heard the attack.
The assassin had just enough time to half turn his head, and so doing present a better target to Cord's attack.
Charging Panther took the assassin in the temple and the Bull's Horn slammed into his ribs. The speed of Cord's attack kept him close to the assassin as he was thrown into the room by the strikes, and Cord was able to grab the hand that held the dagger before they were enveloped by the darkness of the room's interior...