The Azure Swords
In a land where dueling is common, the Azure Sword ply their trade. While dueling removes most of the need for assasination, there are still those who can not overcome their enemies by sword.
The Azure Swords are expert bladesmen and masters of the arts of theatre and infiltration. Their modus operandi is quite simple. One or more members establish a role for a time. Sometimes these roles are long term, for others they are just a night. They get close to the target and engage them socially. By manipulating events in a public setting, they force the target into a duel. The target either loses their honor or must face the agent. Since the agent seldom appears to be an expert swordsman, the target normally engages them in a duel. The Azure Swordsmen then cuts them down. After a while, they abandon the role (especially to avoid reprisal duels). Few are the wiser, not knowing that the target had been assassinated.
The mechanism of contact seems to vary from city to city. Somehow the Azure Swordsmen's network of contacts know when to approach people who need to challenge someone. They may use their theatre and infiltration abilities to embed themselves into noble households.
Note: The Azure Swordsmen do no use blue scabbards or blades, despite the local stories told by bards.
One persistent rumor is the Azure Swordsmen is that they are somehow connected to the King's Spies. This could color their accepting certain targets. Or maybe the whole assassination game is just a past time between their missions for the Crown.
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? Responses (4)
Simple, but nice.
I feel the same way as Iain towards this submission.
The only problem I have with this is that I can see some people trying to follow up on the Azure Blades, since the deception at the initiation of the duel is easily 'bad form'. In a way it would make for an interesting espianoge based game between rival assassination groups being played out between two players who have no idea who the other is. Imagine the surprise of the King who finds that that the villianous fiend behind the rival assassin guild is none other than a close personal friend.