Sisanae's Note:
Wow, my first story in chapters. Maybe that's only impressive to me. Meh. ;)
Anyway, as per usual, none of these people, places etc etc belong to me, except for the two drow. (In this chapter, anyway...) Go Atari/Obsidian!
Only first chapter so far, the second is well and truly underway :) It's turning out much longer than I anticipated!
Love to the wonderful people who review. You may have a cookie :)
It was deathly silent. Along the corridors, light's flickered and spun golden trails into the air, because Crossroad Keep's select residents had learnt long ago what happens when they go out…
Kana gently knocked on the door of the Captain's bedroom.
"Captain?"
There was no reply. The deputy smiled to herself. Of course the Captain would be asleep. It was quite late, after all, and the little drow had so much to do; she'd probably fallen asleep at her desk again. Still grinning, Kana started to tip-toe back down the hall, avoiding all of the creaky floorboards in a way that would've made Neeshka proud. She'd give the Captain the document in the morning. Kana silently scolded herself for not giving it to her earlier. She'd been putting it off, worried about not her Captain's reaction (she would probably laugh, and sign up immediately) but rather the reaction of her travelling companions. They would either be ecstatic at such an opportunity, or, more likely, refuse to do it point-blank. It would not, the deputy decided, end well.
"Ooaaheee, yoooouuuuu aaaaarrreeeee soooooo BE-A-U-tiiiiifuuuulllll toooo….MEEEEEE…."
Kana clapped her hands over her ears in horror. Dear Gods, could it really be?! That explained where the Captain was, anyway.
"Aaaand yooouu'rrreeee everythiiiiing I neeeeeeeed….."
Kana groaned. The week was not nearly long enough.
Friday Night. It could mean only one thing.
Karaoke.
"Well…thank you, Sand. That sure was…original!" Kiadra was standing on a makeshift stage in the Phoenix Tail, trying to conceal the fact that she was removing cotton wool from her ears from the now-beaming moon elf. The audience, which included a fair number of the workers of Crossroad Keep, along with some of her travelling companions, were trying desperately to do the same, whilst at the same time clapping. It was quite humorous to watch, especially in the case of a certain paladin. Kiadra waited until the wizard had left the stage, taking up his customary seat furthest away, before continuing.
"What he may lack in size, this fellow sure makes up for in mind-blowing voice. Let's give a big, warm welcome to our very own soul singer…KHELG-!" Kiadra was distracted by the sudden appearance of Kana, who threw open the inn's door dramatically (causing Sand to roll his eyes at the pointlessness of it all) and, staggering slightly, took a few steps, before falling flat on her face. However, the deputy was by no means unpopular, and soon had a full entourage of men picking her up from the rather dirty floor, and buying her drinks. Grinning at Kana's bemused expression, Kiadra stepped down from the stage, and picked up the papers her deputy had dropped.
"Oh my, what have you done wrong this time?" drawled Sand, who had come over to see what the commotion was all about, "Flushed a toilet without her knowing?"
Kiadra looked up at the wizard, a playful gleam in her eye.
"Let's do it, Sand!" she cried.
Sand, for once, looked completely taken off guard, his face flushing.
"W…whaa?"
"Come on! It'll be fun! We could probably get some of the other guys to help as well!"
This caused Sand's eyes to grow very, very big indeed, and his face to blush a deeper shade of beetroot.
"My...my dear girl, I'm truly flattered, but really…"
"What? Is something wrong? Do I smell bad?" she smirked at him.
"No...no…it's just well…I don't think we'd…you know, us…we'd…work."
There was an awkward silence.
"What in the Hells are you talking about, Sand?"
However, before the incredibly embarrassed wizard could reply, there came a shout from the 'behind the scenes' area of the stage.
"Whaddya mean, I can't go on?! Do ye have any idea how long it took me to sew this bloody thing?! Just the sequins, the stinkin' sequins alone, took three whole, damn hours!"
Kiadra gestured towards the stage and rolled her eyes at Sand, who was still trying to make himself as small as possible.
They didn't have to wait long.
"Lass! What, by the Nine Hells, is goin' on?!" Khelgar ran out from behind the raggedy curtain, followed closely by Grobnar, who was desperately trying to tweak the angry dwarf's outfit.
And what an outfit it was. It was all Kiadra could do to stop herself laughing. Sand, however, wasn't quite so tactful.
"Dear gods. What are you wearing?!"
Khelgar shot him a look. "Don't ye recognise a minidress when ye see one?"
"If you would excuse me, my dear Captain, I must find myself a bucket to be thoroughly sick in."
"Got no taste, that's the problem with elves." huffed Khelgar as Sand scurried away to the bar, "Present company excluded, of course."
Kiadra grinned. She had known all about Khelgar's little number in advance, of course. It was a shame she hadn't been able to talk him out of the wig…
"Anyway, lass, what's all this about, ey? It'd better be good!"
Kiadra showed him and Grobnar the letter. They both beamed.
"Count us in!"
"No way."
"But...but...Bishop…we only need one more person…" Kiadra sat across the table from the surly ranger, making big puppy dog eyes and fluttering her eyelashes (causing a series of snorts and eyerolling from her nearly-complete team, who sat behind her at some of the other tables.). It wasn't working.
"I said no, okay? Make the bloody warlock do it."
"He wooon't, Bishop...he says it's a waste of valuable time…" Kiadra pouted.
"For once, old tattoo-head is right. It is a waste of time."
Kiadra sighed, and took a sip of her ale.
"Funny, that's just what Casavir said you would do." she said slyly.
Bishop went quiet for a moment.
"Fine. I'll go. That is, if you make it worth my while." he raised his eyebrows suggestively.
A certain paladin appeared and punched him in the mouth.
"My teef…"
"Yey, Sir Bishop has officially been recruited! May I sing the song I especially composed for this very occasion?" squealed Grobnar, who had drifted over to their table.
Kiadra smiled at the little gnome. "Go ahead."
"Well, you see, there's a very funny story about this one. You see, I was walking through the woods when I spied this incredibly strange-looking flower. For some bizarre reason, it reminded me of Sir Bishop here! I'm not entirely sure why though, it may have been the spikes, or the fact that although the flower looked very strong, as soon as I poked it, as you do, you know, it fell right over! That reminded me of the time when Sir Bishop here saw the Captain bathmfffmffmff…mff?" Bishop, one hand tightly clasped around the gnome's mouth, dragged him off into a corner, far out of Kiadra's hearing. The drow grinned, putting her boots up onto the table top, and took another sip of ale. Casavir simply glared in the ranger's direction.
"I'm surprised you agreed to do it, actually." she gave the paladin a thoughtful look.
"I have my reasons." he replied, staring fiercely at a beer mat, as if daring it to try anything unholy.
"Oh, really?" Kiadra raised an eyebrow, "It doesn't somehow involve beating Bishop, does it?"
Casavir appeared to think about this.
"We're on the same team, obviously. Such a thing could not occur."
"Accidents happen, you know."
"Not to me, I assure you."
"But maybe to a certain ranger?" Kiadra stared at the paladin.
Come on, come on, she thought, just a little one…
"…Are you looking forward to meeting the other Keep?"
Damn it! So close!
Kiadra snorted, "Hah. They'll be a bunch of loons, sticks right up their ar-"
"Please, Captain."
I saw that! A flicker, but it was definitely there! You finally smiled! You ARE human…Neeshka owes me fifty gold.…
"Heh, heh. Sorry. You know what I mean though, right? Probably some rich Lord, who bought his way in…"
"I could take great offence to this, my lady. You are undermining my entire loyalty system."
Kiadra stuck her tongue out at him. He stared at her.
"Aw, come on, Casavir. Lighten up. We'll need lots of – hey, Sand, what's the word? Ah yes, thanks – team spirit if we're going to beat that other Keep."
"And what exactly do we have to do?"
"Ah well, you see, that's where the letter gets a little bit sketchy…"
"Come ooon, how long are these losers going to be?"
Kiadra's assembled team stood in the Keep's courtyard, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the opposing keep. They had been doing so for a very long time.
"Patience, my dear Qara." Sand was leaning on his staff, watching the group with a very bored expression. He was currently entertaining himself by imagining the moaning sorceress bald.
"I could sing a song, you know, to pass the time…"
"Even think about opening your mouth, half-pint and I'll relocate your instrument right up your-"
"Ye got something against short people, ranger?! Maybe you'd better face my fist next, eh?!"
"Oh, hush now…Stumpy."
"Ye too, tiefling!"
Kiadra groaned, and raised her eyes to the heavens.
"Captain!" a Greycloak came running through the Keep's gate, followed by the rest of his patrol, who kept looking at the Captain and whispering to each other. Kiadra was used to this, however – there were still many who considered her heritage more important than her deeds. She'd lived with this prejudice all her life, but now revelled in the various humorous expressions that occurred during first meetings.
"Yes, Sergeant?"
"I…that is...err...we," the sergeant fiddled with the end of the cloak, "well, you see, it's a bit embarrassing, really. We were out patrolling, and well, we saw what was, I mean, what we thought was...you...Captain...and some of the men made some…remarks and-"
"Does this fascinating story actually have a point?" snapped Sand, who was irritably tapping his foot.
"Wha-? I mean, yes. Yes. Well you see Captain, the thing was…this person looked just like you, but err…it wasn't."
Kiadra raised an eyebrow.
"You see, Captain, it was a…ma-"
A loud shout echoed around the courtyard, coming from the front gates.
"Are we there yet?"
"For the last stinkin' time, elf, we are not there yet!"
"Oh really? Looks like a Keep to me, Runty."
"Stay outta this, tiefling!"
"Dear gods, will you lot stop fighting for one minute so we can actually find out where we are?"
"It does appear to be a Keep, sir."
"Well, that's step one out of the way. Do we all agree that this is, in fact, a Keep?"
The courtyard was silent, everyone staring at the gates.
"Do you think we should knock?"
"Of course not, we're adventurers! Adventurers don't knock! We pillage, and burn, and-"
"That's barbarians, you stupid ranger."
"Yeah, yeah? Want to take it outside, sorcerer?"
"We are outside, idiot."
"As much as I hate to agree with the boy, he's got you there…moron."
"Shh! Don't you all…notice something?"
"Ew, Runty hasn't let one go again, has she?"
"Shut UP, tiefling!"
"No, no, I mean, be quiet, and listen."
There was a pause.
"What are we supposed to hear?"
"Nothing!"
"…eh?"
"What our leader means, wizard, is that we can hear nothing because there are no sounds to hear."
"Will some-one please translate from paladin for me?"
"Gods…they mean there's no sound because everyone is listening."
"Listening? To…what…"
There was a silence, followed by a very gentle rapping on the gate.
"H..hello? Err…is anyone…in?"
"Oh, smooth move, Captain."
Kiadra cleared her throat. "Erm, well...yes...we are, actually."
There was another pause.
"…Good. Err."
"Would you, um, like to…come in?" Kiadra asked, moving slowly towards the gate.
There appeared to be a heated discussion on the other side.
"I know, I know, but...well…when you put it like that…"
"To the hells with this! Are we at the damnable Crossroad Keep or not?!" yelled the gate.
"Yes...you are."
"…Ah."
The two groups stood on opposite sides of the courtyard, facing each other. The leader of the second party bowed, the tip of his feathered cap just brushing the cobblestones.
"Apologies for our…awkward…entrance earlier, oh Captain of Crossroad Keep. We have been travelling for quite some time now, and have had…difficulties…reaching our destination. Let me give you a proper introduction." the male drow smiled, his purple eyes glittering. "I am Kiadran, Captain of Riverguard Keep. A bard of many names, which often include "Hey, you!" and "Buggeroff". I specialize in mind-clouding magics, in the hopes of dominating my opponents long enough for me to make off with their treasure." He grinned again. "And these are my travelling companions…"
"Grobnara-"
A little gnome curtsied, sending her crazy mass of blonde hair flying.
"Khelgrina-"
A tough looking dwarf nodded her head slightly, leaning on her battle-axe. Her face was a patchwork of scars, but her eyes…her eyes had the same friendly, battle-hungry gleam that Kiadra knew only too well.
"Sandray-"
The bored, posh-looking moon elf simply snorted, and rolled her eyes. She had long, black hair that fell down to her waist, and a deep blue robe that sparkled in the sunlight.
Kiadra saw Sand fidget uncomfortably. He'd always wanted a robe like that…
"Neeshkir-"
"Yo." a tall, brown-haired tiefling's eyes met Kiadra's, and he grinned. The drow sighed in relief. He'd been paying far too much attention to the powerful (and expensive) chain around her neck.
"Cassy-"
The paladin standing on Kiadran's left nodded at her. She was quite tall (much, much bigger than her leader) and had shoulder length wavy black hair. She stood to firm attention, not a single muscle moving, apart from her eyes – which were on the male drow constantly. She felt Casavir stiffen, and flicked him round the ear. There was going to be none of that.
"Qarat-"
Kiadra's sorceress laughed, causing the young, red-haired sorcerer on the other side to scowl profusely.
"And, last and definitely least, Bishia."
"Hey! Watch your mouth, Captain." spat a young woman on his right, who was leaning against the keep's wall. She was about average in size and build, and had very short, spiked hair. Her hands, fingernails painted black, were firmly wrapped around her bow, and her outlined eyes scanned Kiadra and her companion's faces. They lingered on Bishop for a while, who was busy cleaning the bottom of his boots. He really wasn't interested.
"You will not speak to Kiadran like that, ranger." Cassy glared at her.
"Oh, get a life, paladin. I'll say whatever I damn well please."
Cassy walked over to the smirking ranger, and slapped her round the face.
"Now where have I seen that before?" drawled Sand, smirking at Casavir and Bishop, as a fight started to break out on the other side.
"Shut up, shorty." growled Bishop.
"I'm not that sh-"
"That's it, ranger! I'll take ye to the cleaners!"
"Oh, do shut up, Khelgar."
"Shut up yourself, fire-hair!"
Kiadra groaned, and shared a look with Kiadran, who winked, and gestured towards the Phoenix Tail. Grinning appreciatively, Kiadra nodded, and the two drow slipped off into the inn, leaving their parties fighting amongst themselves.