Link to IC Thread: https://forum.nationstates.net/viewtopic.php?ns=1&f=31&t=416450
Kretzbühlen Mountains, Östreik, 22nd July, 1810
The cold morning sun glared with fierce intensity off the sharp, snow-capped peaks of Östreik's formidable mountain range, casting dappled shadows which danced across the harsh beauty of the landscape like waves in a gentle breeze. Below, great forests of pine stretched for miles, dark emerald monoliths swaying back and forth, growing sparser as they climbed the rocky slopes until a few hardy specimens stood in solitude close to the summit. A thin scar wound its way across the idyllic scene, the narrow bends and slopes of a well-travelled roadway weaving their way past jutting cliffs and over trickling streams of melted snow that flowed through natural channels down to the valley below.
Racing along the mountain pass, a black landau rattled as its wheels struck the small bumps and stones that marred the road's surface, a team of six horses towing the carriage onward without the slightest hesitation, droplets of sweat glistening in the sunlight on their groomed hides. In spite of the awe-inspiring views, the landau's windows remained firmly shut, curtains drawn tightly across, leaving not even the tiniest of chinks for the outside world to penetrate. Inside, past the sheets of dark velvet, four figures set a solemn scene. Kaiser Franz von Augustenburg, the ruler of Östreik, slowly clenched and unclenched his fists, blinking back a single tear, his infant son Prinz Leopold burying his face in the man's thick coat, averting his eyes from the other two occupants. The Kaiser's wife, Alexandra, lay sprawled across a stretcher that had been crammed into the interior of the vehicle, her delicate features pale and trembling, the silence punctuated by an occasional sickly groan as a white-aproned doctor pressed a damp cloth against her fevered head. She had taken ill only days ago, yet at the rate she had deteriorated, she would surely die if the carriage did not make it to Kremstadt before the day was out. The sharp crack of a whip sounded outside as the driver spurred his horses on as if on cue, taking another series of sharp corners at breakneck speed.
Suddenly, the horses reared and drew to an abrupt halt, the landau skidding for a short distance before it came to rest. Furious, the Kaiser uttered a short barrage of vulgarities before hurling open the carriage door and leaping down onto the stone road surface. "Driver, what is the meaning of this?!" he bellowed, marching around to the front of the vehicle. He stopped, swearing again, when he saw the cause of the delay. A rockfall had blocked the road, a wall of huge grey boulders resting in their path, impassable except on foot. Franz strode over, beckoning the driver to follow, and began to strain against one of the heavy rocks, sliding it inch by inch towards the cliff edge that plunged down to the forests below.
Watching from the shadows, the orchestrator of the rockfall could not help but smile as her plan fell perfectly into place. This shadowy figure was none other than the infamous Orlesian assassin known only as La Panthère, and she had accepted a contract to murder the Kaiser of Östreik and his family. She did not know where the contract came from, but for the amount of money that she was offered, she could hardly say no. Silently, she approached the vulnerable carriage, careful not to make a single sound and keeping her eye on the Kaiser as she neared her targets. Hugging the sides of the black carriage whilst remaining out of view, she made her way around to the side facing towards the cliff and knocked on the carriage door. As expected, the door opened and the doctor stepped out. When the doctor turned to see that both the Kaiser and the driver where still attempting to shift the boulders that blocked their path, La Panthère struck, covering his mouth, slitting his throat with her dagger, and dragging his corpse behind the carriage. Checking that her cover had not been blown, the assassin continued with her mission and entered the carriage with the Kaiser’s petrified heir and the boy's gravely ill mother, quietly closing the door behind her. With her dagger in hand, she did what she had to do.
Her mission almost complete, La Panthère carefully stepped out of the landau to face the Kaiser, still furiously attempting to clear the road with his driver. Taking out a pre-loaded double-barrel pistol, the assassin took aim at the carriage driver. Slamming the carriage door closed to get their attention, she pulled the first trigger the second their eyes met. The thunderous sound of the shot echoed through the mountains, causing nesting birds to flee their treetop homes. The last thing that unfortunate man would see was a strange hooded woman, followed by a flash, and then darkness. He died the instant the bullet hit right between his eyes, collapsing onto the ground next to the disoriented Kaiser of Östreik. La Panthère immediately switched her aim towards the Kaiser, her main target, with her finger resting on the pistol’s second trigger. She slowly approached the man, who, upon seeing the woman’s blood-soaked dagger and realising what had happened, fell to the ground, kneeling.
“Someone paid me a considerable amount of money to have you killed and your family killed, Estrichien,” the assassin began, her thick Orlesian accent readily apparent to the Kaiser. “It is such a shame that I had to kill your doctor and driver. They were not my original targets, but alas, no witnesses. I’m going to pull this trigger in a moment, and after that I will throw your body over that cliff. I don’t suppose you have any last words to say before I send you to meet with your Almighty God?”
Franz glared fiercely at the Orlesian. "I am the Kaiser! I will not die to some frog whore!" he spat, rage-filled eyes still fixed resolutely on the assassin. Suddenly, he leapt up, hand reaching into the dead driver's coat as he rose to bring out a worn, stubby coach gun, raising the weapon towards his would-be killer. As his finger began to tighten on the trigger, he quickly found himself in the same situation as his carriage driver; lying dead on the ground, with blood gushing from the centre of his face. The assassin could not contain her laughter. “Did you really think that would work, Estrichien?! Stupid southerners, they always have to take the fun out of a kill...” La Panthère immediately set about looting the Kaiser’s corpse, taking the many medals that adorned his uniform as proof of her successful mission and as trophies, before she rolled his corpse over the edge of the cliff. She did the same to the other corpses, looting them of any valuables before they too joined the Kaiser. With the corpses disposed of, she unharnessed the horses from the carriage and allowed all but one to roam freely, taking the last horse for herself. Her mission complete, she rode off to meet with the agent who offered her the contract, leaving naught behind but an empty carriage and a few bloodstains.
Intro post co-written with Grande Orlais.
