1.08

Cord glanced about as he moved across the rooftop. He needed to go fast enough to find and stop the assassin, but he had to make sure he didn't raise alarm. There was also the danger of the assassin setting an ambush if he realised that he was being pursued.
Cord thought he spotted movement on the roof ahead of him and immediately stopped, ducking down behind a chimney. He scanned the darkness ahead, and made out a faint outline moving slowly across the roof. Cord slowed his breathing and continued to watch the shadow move around the roof. He could make out the assassin's shape in the dark. The assassin stopped moving and squatted down next to a chimney. Cord couldn't think why the assassin would be waiting on the roof.
Cord's neck hairs suddenly rose. He dove sideways and felt something split the air where he had been squatting an instant before. There was the sound of metal hitting stone. Cord rolled and came to his feet in a single motion, sweeping his eyes to find his attacker and bringing his cudgel into a defensive position in front of his body. There was a second assassin. The two assassins must have planned for the possibility of interference and set an ambush. Cord had charged right into it. The second assassin had recovered from his first attack, and the surprise of failing to kill with his first strike, and now padded warily toward Cord with his sword held in both hands at waist-height. Cord knew that he could not afford to spend time fighting on the roof. The first assassin was gone, no doubt on his way to complete the task they had been given. Time was running out if Cord wanted to stop it from happening. He would need to defeat his opponent quickly...