The Killing Stroke

"In my old age I find that nothing last forever." Says Vazzo, the founder of the School of Six Hundred Killing Strokes to Esar-Haden, the dark elf rogue. Vazzo is an assassin, yet he's hiring an assassin. "When the alpha wolf weakens," says Vazzo, "his infirmity threatens the survival of the pack. In such a situation the pack attacks him. He knows this act comes and it is his final duty to fight them and to die with honor. In this way the pack remains strong. They do not conspire behind his back, weaken him, and finally tear his throat while he sleeps."

It's the school, his legacy, that is under threat of being torn apart. He needs Esar-Haden to save it. He can't do it himself. But Vazzo is misguided. His proposed solution is as miserable as suicide. Only he can't see it. Esar-Haden can.

Will Esar-Haden defy the master assassin's wishes and risk his own life in order to bring about an honorable end-honorable to two assassins, that is? Or is it too late to save Vazzo's legacy?