Tales of Faerûn - Part 1

You had a long journey through the freezing Earthspur Mountains and you welcome the warmth greeting you entering a small tavern. It is dark, just a big fireplace brightens up the room so your eyes need a bit to adjust. It is crushed with people sitting side by side, except one table is offering another five seats next to a small figure spooning a soup. You walk to that table and sit down and as you do so the tavern goes completely silent, you can feel everyone watching you.
As you sit down you notice that the figure is left-handed and wrapped in a black cape. It lifts it´s head and offers you a smile, not a smile one can trust, but you can see the face. It´s an elf with a smooth pale skin that has a touch of blue, long black hair and big almond-shaped eyes meet your stare hard and blue like steel. “Those humans are funny, they stare at everything they don´t know.” His tone is as cold as his eyes, but he speaks very soft and clear. “As if I am going to tell them what I am doing here.” He smiles again looking right into your eyes like he waits for you to say something, but in the moment you are about to start he continues. “I need you to help me. Those villagers are staring at me long enough, they maybe even memorize how I look and we don´t want that to happen. So you have to start a fight and draw the attention to you.”
You look at him baffled, “I´ll reward you with a lot of gold. Now do it.”
Gold is an Argument, a lot of gold is a good argument; so you stand up and turn around. As you do so, something hits you at your ankle and you stumble into the villager next to you at the bar causing him to spill his beer. You haven´t completely recovered your balance as the first blow hits you, seconds later the whole tavern is seething in fights. You get hit over and over again, your full concentration lies on staying upright just not to get trampled. You take one fatal look back to the elves seat, but the spot is empty. A second later someone screams, a high-pitched woman’s scream. The fighting slowly stops and you can see the reason of the screams: a dead body lies on a table, covered with blood and without his right hands ring finger. You get sick and manage to flee outside just in time; exhausted from your long journey, the fight and the vomiting you collapse and fall asleep.

You wake up as someone kicks you in the ribs, your body is aching. “Get up, we´re having a long journey ahead.” You recognize the elf from last night. As you slowly get up you notice that he is slightly smaller and thinner then you and the sun is not even seen over the horizon. “Why are you doing all that? Why are you waking me that early?”
“The light is good, it´s not snowing and not as cold as yesterday. And I´m doing it because I think you can be a great assassin, even though you still have to learn a lot.”
“An assassin?! I don´t want to be an assassin! I can´t kill people, I get sick when I see blood!”
“Well, I don´t think you have a choice. Here, take that.” He hands you a small package, not bigger then a finger. “What is that?”
“Open it.” He smiles.
“I can give it to the villagers and tell them my story.”
“No, you can´t. I already have talked with their new major, he is sure you did it and the finger will just prove it. How can you possibly have it without being the murderer?” He smiles again, it´s a fascinating smile you have to admit.
“Hmm, ok you won.” You sigh and follow him to his horse, a brown one equipped with a rapier and a long-bow dangling at the settle. “I don´t have a horse!”
“Then you have to walk.”
´Easy said, you have a horse´ you think as you step next to his horse, the snow scrunching beneath your boots.
“The first and most important thing is staying alert, in every situation. You´re not, you stare at you feet and complain about life. Keep your eyes wandering around so they can sense motion and change, keep your ears listening to changes and unnatural things. If you´re good you sense that every place and environment has its own rhythm, try to detect that and to look for changes. So you can develop a sense for danger.” He smiles again, but then suddenly looks concentrated, every emotion vanished from his face. He stiffens in the settle and reaches for the bow and an arrow.