In Pursuit Of Wisdom (Book 1) by Steve M. Shoemake Read Free Book Online Page B

I’ve always preferred the designation Master, don’t you?”  He took a hearty swallow, no longer daintily sipping at his drink.
    “Yes — Master has a nice ring to it.”
    “Indeed it does.  And you’ve done exceptionally well, surpassing even my expectations.  Your first tes t, the Moral Test, seemed to be chillingly easy for you.  There are few men—and might I add, fewer women—who can pass this test.  It weeds out two-thirds of those who would seek the title of Master.  To be able to compartmentalize your emotions is an unnatural thing, Veronica.  As you know, the Moral Test requires that you kill a harmless baby.  I am not afraid to tell you that of the three, this was the hardest test for me, some 80 years ago.  Yet you showed no hesitation, exhibited no distress.  Out of curiosity, I must know.  How were you able to do that?”  Silverfist drained his glass and refilled it, listening.
    “It’s not that hard for me, Master.  Those three years I spent in the orphanage of Fostler, I saw what little monsters they were.  You see things.  Hear things.  Experience things.  If you believe that the baby will grow into either a monster or the monster’s prey, it is easy to believe that you’re doing the baby (or society) a favor.  It is a Godless World, a Dark World we live in, and the kindness of avoiding misery is more than adequate motivation.  The fact that I will soon profit from this kindness is better than…” she paused.  “…better than your wine at the end of a feast.”  She smiled and took a rather large drink herself.
    Silverfist laughed.  “Ah, the ‘you’re helping them out’ argument.  I have heard that one before.  Forty years of doing this, and you hear all the reasons repeated.  Still —you must be given full marks for execution.  Flawless.”  He swirled his wine a bit.  “Now the second test was your Technique Test.  Again, several of the Masters within our Guild have reviewed your work and found it to be exceptional.  Not only must a Master Assassin be able to accept any contract without moral entanglements, but you must have full command of multiple techniques.  Your throat slashing may have gotten you noticed as something of a signature for you, but you won’t always have that option…one can’t always get close enough to push a blade through the neck.  In addition to knife-work, darts, poisons, choking—plus advanced techniques of torture must be part of a Master’s repertoire.  You successfully eliminated all ten of your challenges using ten different techniques, extracting information from the ones you needed to.  I must say, masterful work, pun intended.  It has been more than seven years since an Apprentice went ten-for-ten on kills during the Technique Test on their first attempts.  Usually, something goes wrong and information is missed, or it takes a couple attempts to properly execute the kill with the proper technique.  I’m particularly interested in the poison you made.  What was that again?”
    Another gulp, time for round three.  Veronica smiled.  “Yes, that was one I adapted.  Using a base poison from a tree spider common to the woods of your mother’s homeland in the great forest of Filestalas , I modified it with cave fungi.  The resulting poison was superior on two counts:  it is tasteless and odorless, but perhaps most importantly—” she paused and allowed herself a wicked grin, “—it dissolves perfectly in wine.”
    Silverfist stopped himself in mid-pour, turning to face Veronica.  After an awkward pause, he pinched the stem of his wine glass, slowly rolling it slightly between his fingers.  He resumed his pour.  “How exquisite.  You truly are a gem, Veronica.  I must have your recipe, I can see how such a poison would be invaluable to our new acolytes.  But let me assure you —just in case you got any ideas—you do not want my job.  It is not unheard of for the leadership of our Guild to pass