Disclaimer: I am not Tamora Pierce, and therefore, I don't own any of the following. Well, give or take some names and places.

The room was almost completely black when the man entered. Torches scattered about seemed to cast more dark then light; shadows crawled over the stone floor, stretching and distorting the items in the room. The man suppressed a shiver. Tate was a gruff mountain man, hardly anything scared him. But this room did. Perhaps it was because he didn't know who he was meeting. Or maybe it was because he had never participated in illegal doings before- only a year long famine and concern for his family had caused him to take up the cloaked person's offer in the tavern months ago.

Taking a breath, he smoothed out his tunic and called into the darkness, "Hello? I'm here for a meeting?" His deep voice seemed to echo, distorted and mocking.

Tate heard a swishing noise from somewhere in the shadows. "Did you do it?" The voice was soft, but the man detected a sinister note.

Clearing his throat, the man replied, "Could you come out of the shadows?" The situation made him nervous.

Ignoring his words, the voice repeated, more forcefully, "Did you do it? Did you send the message to the Baron of Pirate's Swoop?"

He shuffled his feet, staring at the ground instead of the direction of the bodiless voice. "I sent the message. The Baron thinks he's to meet his agent Rinley at the Ruddy Vixen Resthouse as soon as possible. I made it sound urgent; the Baron should be leaving within the next few days."

"Excellent," the voice drawled. "Your task is done, come and I'll give you your payment." Tate started forward, relieved that his time is this room would soon be over. A pale white hand thrust out of the shadows. Dangling from it was an open purse filled with gold coins. Tate's eyes widened. It was even better than the person in the tavern had promised. As he reached out to grab the purse, a glint of silver caught his eye. "No!" he gasped as the sword came whistling through the air. The man collapsed, his throat cut, and the purse dropped from his hands.

As coins rolled everywhere, the killer smiled. Their plan had finally been set in motion successfully. They would capture the spymaster George Cooper at the Ruddy Vixen within the week. After taking care of the baron, they could finally get their revenge on the real source of their hatred- Alanna of Pirate's Swoop.

A/N: I know this is short, but it is really only a bit of prologue/background info and really not the actual story. But it is important, so keep with me. Please rate!