To catch a Weasel asleep
– to wrap a cunning man around your finger
(Ancient Glossary)
On his way to an empty warehouse that was temporarily serving as a prison, Cassius could not decide on the best course of action. His deputies were close behind him, keeping a tense silence, making Cassius feel nervous.
Continue reading… “The Lies and the Weasels – Episode 7 – Catch a Weasel”
Weasel disappeared as silently as he once appeared in Cassius’s life. The messages just stopped coming and the boy eventually cut off his visits to the old hunting hut, which felt too empty and too abandoned without the old assassin. At first, the boy greatly missed his weird acquaintance, but his uncle’s assignments soon distracted him from these uneasy thoughts. Gnaeus Aelius suddenly realized that his nephew had grown up. The fact that the boy appeared to stop investigating his mother’s death warmed their relations, so Gnaeus entrusted Cassius with a whole set of new duties regarding the family estate and political ambitions. Being too young and too focused on his own affairs, Cassius never realized before what a complex game his uncle had been playing.
Continue reading… “The Lies and the Weasels – Episode 6 – The Riot”
Although weasels can dig their own burrows quite quickly, they sometimes take over
other animals’ burrows and make them their own.
Most weasels are secretive loners that prefer to lead a nocturnal life,
but they are fully capable of hunting during the day if needed.
Since then, Cassius and the Weasel developed a strange bond. The boy could not clearly explain to himself what made him put all his plans aside and rush to the hunting hut, whenever he received a note from the old assassin. Not a single word, just a sign of the Weasel meaning that his new acquaintance was waiting for him – at the same place and the same time. Continue reading… “The Lies and the Weasels – Episode 5 – The Bond”
Weasels
Despite their size, weasels are fierce hunters and capable of
killing prey five or ten times bigger than themselves. Weasels
typically hunt undercover to avoid being seen by their enemies.
(Ancient Book of Nature)
‘’It’s always funny to see this old trick still works. Way more cautious people than you first stare at the weasel, and only then notice me.” Those words finally made Cassius turn his eyes from the weasel to the opposite side of the table. A man was sitting there. Wearing a slightly worn but clean hunter outfit, the man had graying hair that was tied neatly into a short tail, fine wrinkles, and mossy green eyes. Those eyes were now staring directly at Cassius with a twinkle. Like a loving grandfather who decided to visit his grandson. Only until one dared to look deeper into those eyes, they would soon remark that behind this put-on appearance of friendliness was the nature of a cold assassin. Continue reading… “The Lies and the Weasels – Episode 4 – Weasel hunt”
Weasels
Apart from the times when weasels are very young, they live solitary and fend for themselves in the wild.
Weasels are territorial animals and usually defend their home ranges when invaded.
(Ancient Book of Nature)
The attacks on the distant villages stopped as suddenly as they had started, yet it didn’t improve the province’s disposition, which Cassius had to bring to the Empire. Once coming to a rebellious mood, people kept gathering on the streets but immediately broke off their conversations when they saw the approaching Imperian guards. The situation was getting tenser and tenser, and something Cassius didn’t know yet how to overcome.
His local deputies, Bryden and Halen, kept relentlessly searching for any information on the mysterious Weasel, who they believed to be responsible for organizing the villages’ recent slaughtering. A copy of the Weasels’ half-burnt scroll was placed on every boundary post. All in vain. No one seemed to have seen anything or could point them in the right direction.
No one… Apart from their commander. Cassius Aelius shrugged the thought of what both Gaul deputies would think if they only suspected he withheld the truth. The revolt would be immediate, and he even knew who would lead it – Bryden and Halen.
Trying to separate himself from his anxious thoughts, Cassius Aelius remembered how he first met the Weasel. Yes, it was winter… The end of winter. Just like now.
It was one of the sporadic days of freedom for Cassius Aelius, the 15-year-old boy back then. His uncle left to visit the Emperor’s palace, the most persistent of Cassius’s overseers, who had been spying on him day and night after his little “investigation” had been revealed, abandoned the estate following their master. Cassius barely managed to wait until the last horseman disappeared before rushing outside. Finally! Alone! The whole day!
It was still early morning, and the huge silver fir trees were hiding the darkness under their thick branches. Cassius didn’t care about it. He made his way to a hunting hut that he once found during his previous excursions through the forest. The hut was in a bad state, but Cassius had put lots of effort into making sure the ceiling wouldn’t fall on his head. Still, it had a roof, walls, a fireplace, and the sense that people hadn’t visited the place for ages. It was the ideal hideout to think in silence and to keep notes that he made about his mother’s death.
Only when he came really close, he saw the footprints and, what’s worse, a light in the only tiny window of what he believed was “his” place. The boy stopped. Someone was in there!
Caught by surprise, Cassius couldn’t decide what to do next. Should he go inside? But what if there is a band of robbers? Then no one would ever find out where he had gone. Despite disconcerting thoughts, Cassius involuntarily smirked. That would mean the end of his uncle’s career. No one would believe that his uncle had anything to do with Cassius’ disappearance.
That was the boy’s last thought before someone put a dark bag over his head while tying his hands behind his back with rope. Then, someone quite harshly pulled him into the hut.
When the bag was finally taken off, and Cassius was able to see again, he gasped. All of Cassius’ notes were carelessly thrown on the table, and a small, slender animal was comfortably sitting on them. The weasel.
[TO BE CONTINUED]
