David Silberstein <davids at kithrup.com> writes: > Vlad was probably chosen to take out Mellar for various > reasons, including his friendship with Morrolan, And being an Easterner; the Demon explicitly suspects that Mellar is in the East. > not because he was the "best". And Vlad's assessment of > Mario being the "best" may not be 100% accurate. And > Istvan may have simply been the one that accepted the > contract on Vlad, after better assassins refused for > various reasons. I don't think that's how its working in Vlad's case. I think its a matter of the Council giving lots of money to whoever shows up with Vlad's head. Istvan saw an opportunity, and took it. Ditto for Stony (unless you want to name him one of the best). Vlad himself probably isn't even in the top rank (though he may deserve it). IIRC, we're told that the Sword and the Dagger weren't the best, and they were too expensive for Vlad, indicating that his fees are much lower. --KG