Kill him.
The two of you draw your swords and circle each other. You seem evenly matched. His sword, you see, is not standard issue. A fine blade- not as good as your own, but not so far outclassed as you might hope. From the placement of his feet and the wave of his sword you can tell he knows how to fight with one.
His armour, though, is lesser. Just crimson guard leather- Zerim should slice through it like butter.
William [3hp], armed and armoured +2, skilled at swordfighting +1 VS Lonemine Assassin [2hp], armed +1, skilled at swordfighting +1
[2+3v2+2] You leap forwards, overpowering his defence. You knock his blade away, and slash at his chest.
Instead of the feel of a sword cutting flesh, however, you hear the scrape of metal on metal. The man smiles at you.
"Lonemine steel, masteri. Finest chainmail. So light you could wear it under your clothes and no one would notice."It seems this fight will be more equal than you thought.
[3+3v5+3] Taken off guard by the assassin's armour, you are driven back. The man makes a few meticulous strokes, and manages to get past your defence, and scratch your arm. You brace for the impact of poison, but feel nothing [-1 hp William]
"No need to fear, masteri. No poison for you. My name, incidentally, is confidential. But you may call me Vadudslayer."[5v5] The clash of blades resumes. The man quite happily continues talking.
"You really upset people at home, William. They miss you so. I heard even Kain was asking after you."[3v3] "And then they heard about a bright new noble in Ligoria, running around causing trouble."[5v1] You notice that as the man talks his swordplay takes on a regular pattern. One with a gap in its defence. You wait until he starts chatting again, then stab your blade past his defences. [-1 hp Vadudslayer]
"Then when they heard about polcaaaagh"[4v4] The assassin jumps back, a look of hatred on his features. He switches styles, and the clash of blades returns to a stalemate.
"Well I never! I can see why no one likes you. Stabbing a man as he talks!"[5v1] The assassin is a fool. His new style is just as predictable as the old one, and as soon as you spot its weakness, you strike. His arm; the sword goes flying. His other arm; the dagger he reaches for falls to the floor. His leg; he falls against the door.
[heads] Now, perhaps there is some useful information to be had from him, before you end his miserable life?
Enter inside the room, ready to kickass. If there is no one inside, close the door, block it with a wardrobe and get into an armor.
[6] You open the door. There is someone inside. You see them, they see you, they fire a crossbow, you jump out of the way. They promptly leap from the window, but not before kicking a can of oil over a candle, which quickly sets the entire room ablaze.
[5] It was a woman. A woman you recognize from somewhere. But where? Oh- yes. Last autumn. You bought some land from a strange young lady. And you forgot... to... pay. Actually, Kathos doesn't remember a thing.