Rutabaga gave himself a silent chuckle, as he decided to head home.
Padding down an area filled with homes of the Wealthy and Nobility, most homes had, basically, a Private Guard, who would do what the homeowner told them to do, although most had learned why it was a bad idea to interfere in City Guard business, and Rutabaga's rank as, as much as he hated to say it, a Knight, and a Baron, tended to open doors that the feet of trolls and golems would otherwise break down. After all, being polite to a Noble was cheap, whereas doors cost money, and kept the carpet from getting dirty.
Soon, Rutabaga came to a home which had a rather nice yard, and garden, not to mention a small forest, filled with plenty of game for him to hunt, although it needed fresh stock every so often. There was no gate on the pathway, although there was a "Beware of Dog" sign, which he always chuckled at, when he was human. He walked up to the door, and stopped before it. He sniffed, and caught a scent around the doggy-door. With a silent laugh, he went through the door, and shifted into his human form. He walked over to the robe rack, took one off, and quickly turned around, tossed the robe at the black figure that had tried to sneak up on him, and shoved them up against the wall.
"Hold still," he said, forcing his fingers into the figure's mouth. He soon pulled out a vial, and looked at it. He looked at the person. "This isn't the usual stuff you guys carry when you try to kill me."
"It's aniseed oil," the figure said, in a young woman's voice. "I came here for a test, to see if I could get close enough to do the deed."
"This would have stuffed my nose up for a week. Dry run, or Guild exam?" Rutabaga asked.
"Guild exam," the figure said.
Rutabaga chuckled. He then carefully removed the cloth that hid all but the person's eyes and mouth, revealing a rather lovely face. "Well, you'd put a smile on someone as they died."
The person chuckled nervously. "I say it's a curse. No one takes me seriously."
"I can understand that," Rutabaga said, as he carefully started to disarm, and in the process, disrobe, the woman. "That being said, you do know the guild rules are that, if you fail, you have to suffer the penalty; you failed to hit me with this, so, I get to punish you."
"Do you think that you could do it another time?" the woman asked. "I'm going to get married next month, and I've been saving myself for my husband-to-be."
Rutabaga chuckled. "I'd love to, but as you know, I have a reputation to uphold." He lifted her hand, and looked at her ring. "Who is the husband-to-be?"
"Lord Greasy Bum, son of Lord Wet Bum."
"Unfortunate family name, but a very good family, with plenty of money, and they donate to the hospital," said Rutabaga. He looked at the woman. "You look familiar; any relation to Ripper Blood?"
The woman grinned. "That's my uncle."
"I remember him; he had some rather unique knives," said Rutabaga. "Smashed his nose and broke his left leg. That means that you're the daughter of Cyan Blood; she tried to poison me."
"It's Cyan Tanner now," the woman said "I'm Slippery Tanner, soon to be Slippery Bum."
Rutabaga chuckled. "It's a small world; your mother and uncle both tried to kill me, and here you are coming after me for a Guild test. Now, I'm sure your mother told you what I did to her."
By this time, Slippery was disrobed, and, more embarrassingly, mostly disarmed. "Yes," Slippery said. "And I did prepare for that possibility; I have some Zonkiers in my robe."
Rutabaga grinned. "Nice try, but we'll use mine; I don't feel like scratching myself in Public too much, like what happened a few years back." He opened a drawer, and pulled out a small packet. "Always useful at preventing unwanted pregnancies." He then removed her hairpin, causing her hair to fall to her shoulders. Pressing a button, he saw a hypodermic needle come out of the end of the hairpin. "Good way to keep me from moving." He tossed it to the floor, along with her other weapons, and clothes. "Now, there is a question I have to ask you....."
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