Rise of the Horde

328 Chapter 32In an old warehouse which stored most of his supplies, Apis had everything prepared for the gathering. The mysterious figure that visited is one of the Mouths of the Shadows whose task was to inform people like them, the shadows of what was going on.

The mysterious organization that instilled fear among the nobles and merchants because of their shady deeds which couldn’t be brought to light or else it would the end of them. A lot of Ereians feared the organization that always lurked in the dark corners of the kingdom, far from scrutinizing eyes but they seem to be everywhere at the same time since everything that happens around the kingdom never escaped their observation, hearing and sometimes meddling.

The Eye in the Shadows is an organization that had a hierarchy like that of a pyramid, at the top of it is the hidden boss or the one that actually founded the organization and the one that the organization actually serves. Only few of the higher ups in the organization knew of the identity of the hidden boss.

At the top of pyramid among those who are members of the organization is the Eye in the Shadows or just plainly referred to as ‘The Eye’ who seemed to know everything that is going on. The Eye is the most elusive member of the organization that gave a lot of headaches to their enemies because of its ability to disappear in right in front of its pursuers every single time that it is cornered or so their enemies thought.

Many times, their enemies had thought that they have killed The Eye only for it to disappear right in front of their eyes after they thought they had killed it. Almost everyone thought that The Eye is not a human being because of its ability to evade death and capture. Whenever they try to kill it, with swords, spears and other weapons, The Eye would just vanish in the form of a smoke after receiving fatal damage from its own hands or from the hands of its foes after a pained groan, others also tried using magic to no effect and some even employed the help of a priest which had the same result.

Not a single soul knows of the identity of The Eye except for itself and even their hidden boss didn’t know who the current Eye is.

Apis was one of the most basic members of the organization and he is only but one of the thousands who are referred to as the shadows. Right above them would be the Ears who work in the same area as them, gathering information from interacting with the people of the kingdom except that they have already gained the trust of the organization.

Next would be the Legs and the Mouths, the Legs are responsible for delivering precious items such as sensitive messages and other important items while the Mouth would be the ones to scout and recruit new members of the organization and deliver notifications to the members of the organization while also the liaison or the ones that provides missions and directions to the The Hands, the two work hand in hand with each other.

Then there is the ones referred to as The Hands who are just as elusive as The Eye who are responsible for assassination and sabotages or to just plainly threaten their enemies with death. They are the executioners of the organization who deal with anything that is bloody or involves life and death.

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Among the higher ups of the organization is the Elder Mouth who actually runs the organization and is in frequent contact with its members unlike their organization’s leader who is almost always not around

The patrons of Apis grumbled in annoyance after seeing that The Hissing Rope Tavern had its doors still firmly shut even though the sun had already sunken long ago and darkness was starting to engulf the world. Seeing that their usual hang out place wasn’t open, many decided to just go home while those who had a lot of coins to spare headed to the other pub in the town.

The Hissing Rope Tavern was more popular than the other pub because of the prices alone, while the two serve almost the same kind of drinks, the other one was finely decorated and well lit which was a dark contrast to the one that Apis’ runs but despite that, no drunkard would spend more coins than necessary just to see flowers and the face of those who are in the tavern with him.

Another selling point of the other pub was that it has beautiful ladies to tend to the needs of its customers whether it be a one long night for those poor s*ckers who wants to enjoy their coins for every grain of sand that drops or just some lonely wealthy individual who needs some comforting because of the little bit of ongoing that they had with their life. To the ladies that works in this kind of industry, they didn’t personally care, for as long as you have the coins to spend, they can be anything and anyone you want them to be, they can be a co forting friend, a one night stand, a loving sibling or a caring mother, they didn’t care because what they care about is if you are worth their time and effort.

Deep into the night, Apis noticed people hiding among the shadows and are observing the surroundings. He wanted to go and perhaps have a few words with them since he was so bored in waiting for the others to show up but his gut was telling him that if he wants to continue living then he must stay away from them.

His senses informed him that those people were a dangerous bunch that the even the likes of him who had a lot of experience with fighting would be taken down in an instant.

“The Hands… They are making sure that the place is safe.” A voice suddenly sounded right beside Apis which nearly caused him to throw a punch at the origin of the voice because of fright. After a few moments, Apis finally managed to calm down his racing heart and turned towards the person who appeared beside him without any kind of notice with an annoyed look on his face.

“Would you stop doing that… I think I might just die in your hands from heart attack rather than from our foes if you continue with that way of greeting of yours.”

A light chuckle from the person further annoyed Apis.

“But… it’s fun—- specially with that reaction from you.” The person in front of Apis smiled at him. Even though the person was wearing a hood over his head, the white set of teeth that were displayed was enough for Apis to know that the person was smiling at him.

“After a long period of hiding… Is the organization planning to stir some trouble again?” Apis turned towards his friend or he might just consider him a personal enemy of his because of the way that he just shows up.

“Don’t know and don’t care… I just relay what I was ordered… And keep your curiosity in check or one of them might just visit you.” The figure turned his gaze towards The Hands who were using signals with their fellows to communicate.

Apis followed the gaze of his fellow member and unconsciously gulped after meeting the gaze of one of them. The pair of eyes that had met his gaze was without emotion.

“I think one of them is contemplating if he should eliminate you or not.”

“Don’t jinx it!” Apis quickly covered his mouth with his hands after realizing that his voice was a bit too loud.

A few moments later, The Hands began to retreat away from their sights but every member of the organization knows that they are still there, just not in plain sight since they are the ones responsible for the security of the gathering.

“Heads up… I think the Elder Mouth would be one of participants of the gathering since he was the one that called for it.” The fellow that stood beside Apis patted him on the shoulder then turned around and headed towards the warehouse.

The Hands were always outside the venue of the gathering but they are always there, in places that no one would least expected. Many have tried to infiltrate or try to catch the members during gatherings but none succeeded so far. Many were the members of the organization but there were many more who work with them who are not part of it, they just provide some bits of information and it is up to the shadows and ears whether the things provided were useful or not.

The organization might have gone idle due to what happened to the house that they served but now… they are ready to shake the kingdom once again with their influence and capability. Many who wants their secrets to be not come to light were weary, those who dealt with shady businesses to further increase their wealth, those who have eliminated their foes and gained prestige and fortune through underhanded means all the way to secret mistresses and such, many were weary and rattled of the sudden reemergence of the organization that they thought to have been destroyed.

Most of those who were guarded against the organization suspected that the organization belongs and was being run by the House of Darkhariss which was strengthened when the house fell and the organization went into hiding but they were right and wrong at the same time. The organization do belong to the House of Darkhariss but it is a separate entity from the house which could function by itself unless The Eye mandates so.