Tales of Crossroad Keep: Storming Vengeance I

Torio's Just Deserts, Qara's Bitter Tears

Chapter One: Moon Elf's lowlight vision

Perhaps it was but an exaggeration that moon elves such as him required not as that much rest at night as humans did, but he didn't completely agree on that. He was, after all, a wizard, and spell-memorizing each day was a must for him, not to mention he loved sleeping. It was not that he loved to lie down on his bed and snore like that large pink-skinned creature with that curly tail of Orlen's, but it was just that before he was mashed in between two Shadow Reavers, he definitely would put that time to good use, doing something he actually liked to do, instead of wasting away those good years.

He wondered if it was a release from his mundane tasks for Nasher that he actually volunteered to help that Suki girl, who was just like a niece to him, she happening to be the niece of his elf innkeeper buddy. When he had first inserted his presence among the others, that short plump axe-wielding dwarf from the Ironfist Clan, that big mass of muscle wielding a hammer who wouldn't just give him a break from the good and evil of law, and the two who claimed they could read the True Name Ritual Scroll once they got hold of it, the human warlock with the rune-embedded face who had clearly his age hidden right from anyone who knew him, and the veiled green-skinned woman who was simply stubborn enough to aggravate any living person with her frequenting of the two words "know" and "that" pasted in every beginning of each sentence she mentioned without the use of "I" before "know".

As if those were not enough trouble, he had to have the little mongrel, tailed brat who wouldn't keep her naughty fingers away from a lock, the ranger with a venomous tongue and two menacing eyes that once haunted Suki until Duncan and Daeghun had to get involved in the mess, that bard who used to follow Shandra around, and whom never went anywhere without his bedtime stories and lullabies, which, instead of putting others to sleep, drove people's heads into the walls of Crossroad Keep (perhaps he was fired from a previous job in a nursery), and lastly to say, that madgirl of a disowned brat. Yes, she was another brat like that lock-picking tailed little brat of demonic roots, but he preferred over a hundred such brats than that fire-spreading madgirl whose chaotic actions had resulted in every single employed Greycloak having to go on patrols to quench every single fire, and they had to monitor each area so Qara wouldn't burn it down again. Maybe she had something to do with the burning down of Shandra's barn and home.

He would agree that the tree elf, Elanee was unlike the others. She was a druid, one with a pure heart and was devoted towards preserving nature, somehow surprising if you actually compared her with the other druids of the Mere. She had helped defend Suki and the others during the Ambush, despite that the 

corrupted druids were her friends; moreover she had not expected them to actually try to end Suki's life. All the while, had she just been a little tool for them to get to kill Suki? He shuddered at the thought of corruption. First, he hated politics; despite the fact that he knew bits and chunks of certain events. He sure wasn't into diplomacy. Secondly, he found corruption to be a horrible poison spreading throughout the body, leaving the person not much of a choice to live. Perhaps Elanee was the key to neutralizing all the conflicts within the Keep, a smile from her and everyone would just forget they were arguing earlier. Small wonder why Nevalle always happened to forget what was on the top of his head when he encountered Elanee in the hallway or at the door of the Keep; he was most likely smitten by her.

Jaral? Jaral... He quietly whispered. It was past midnight now, and he didn't want to bother all those who were asleep. Where in the nine hells, could his familiar had snuck off to, he wondered. His eyes wandered towards the pool, encountering two mounds of flesh as his perfect lowlight vision made sense of what was before him. A feminine body was there bathing before him, humming short tunes to herself as she splashed around joyously in the pool, as if she never had to worry. Where had the girl had come from, he wondered, at a time like this? Was it a succubus sent by Black Garius? Without wasting any time, he quickly cast Greater Stoneskin and Haste on himself, and then armed himself with his Wand of Missiles. Before he could cast any Missiles though, he recognized that face, which had, more than once, smirked at him.

She was a child prodigy. Eight years ago, which, to a moon elf with a lifespan of hundreds of years, seemed like the blink of an eye, she had, at eleven, been in action in the courts of Luskan. How she had obtained the title of Ambassador at such a young agewas no big surprise for a person like her. She probably had people running around, spies for her, not to say she was working for Garius all the while she was in the courts of castle Never. And she had just been a tool to Garius, as Suki and the others knew.

He had told Suki, who originally wanted to go with Nasher's plans to give her a lawful execution, brainwashed by Nevalle and Casavir, but what he told her had changed her mind. "Why let such a powerful woman's skills go to waste down the gallows? Since Garius saw her as a tool, you can too. Use her skills, then. She must know which powerful associates and allies are out there who you can seek for help. Remember, her life is on the line, I assume everyone is fearful of death, not to say a nineteen year old woman corrupted by Garius and Luskan. But one thing you have to do for the safety of us all," he told Suki, "is to fake her death." And the gallows had hanged another, guilty of treason, under their orders, while dressing her up with makeup to look exactly like Torio.

Gasping, Sand turned away. As if it had not mattered to her that she was in the nude, Torio stepped out from the pool, lunging at him. "Aha, Sand, Sand. What 

brings you here at a time like this? Come to join me in the bath?" Sand gulped, and tried to regain his composure.

"There might be Greycloaks around…"

She twisted his arm. "Do you really think I'm really looking forward to a bath with a person like you, Betrayer?"

"Betrayer should be a name for you actually, I suppose." Sand placed his hands on his hips, smiling. "After how you escaped Garius' claws with a faked death, I suspect the person you owe a big thanks to... is no other than m...my old friend's niece, our Captain."

Torio smirked again. "Don't think I don't know anything of you being involved in faking my death, sweet Sand. Your beloved paladin friend has told me everything. You were the one, Sand, who came up with the idea of faking my death. Hanging that guilty noble, disguising her as me that even the executioner and the judge were fooled by the disguise… and the only people knowing that I am alive are those in the Keep, and Nasher himself. Sand, no other people can compare with your wits. But I am conscious that you have motives for doing something, don't you."

Sand paused. She was right; he had an intelligence surpassing Suki and the others, but he wasn't as charismatic as Suki or the paladin. He returned her menacing glare with an even more menacing stare into her almond eyes, and almost immediately moved a hand up her velvet hair. He surely could take more advice from Bishop. "I really loved that kiss the other day, didn't you?" He rendered her speechless, and a naughty grin began to widen over his face. He casted Otiluke's Resilient Sphere on Torio and in less than a second later, whisked both of them into his room with a Teleport spell.

What magic had he done to her, Torio wondered, acknowledging the fact that she could not move within the sphere. "Release me, you filthy elf!" she yelled, but Sand calmly said, "If you would love to torment the whole Keep with your screams, I wouldn't mind Greycloaks entering the room and feasting their eyes on your-" he pointed, "nakedness. Or anyway, I can always cast Silence and you wouldn't be able to say a single sentence.

Torio obeyed and in less than a minute, he had dispelled the sphere around her. "Are you going to run out the room without any clothes?" he mocked, his eyes looking away from her. "You wouldn't be able to get to any of my clothes either, Ambassador. I've casted warding spells on each of my drawers, so fear not." And with that, he began removing his robe. "Yawn, it's really late. I should be getting some appreciated beauty-sleep."

Torio's heartbeat began to quicken for a moment or so. What is this piece of filth going to do, she thought. She was nothing, powerless in his grasp, and she knew not a word of arcane magic as compared to him. He could polymorph her 

into even a snail, the creature she feared most. Lorne had used such ways to annoy her in their earlier days of courtship, which had ended with a third party, Alaine. Lorne, Lorne. He was gone forever from the Planes now, was he not? She felt a pang of guilt for forcing the idea of a Trial by Combat. And she was seeing his brother in the Keep day after day, as if her guilt wasn't enough.

"Wait, Sand. My letters, where are they?"

In my head, Sand thought, wrapping himself up in a blanket. He wondered if he had been wrong in reading all her personal letters. He had no idea she was after all, an innocent daughter of a family of eight siblings and a single ailing mother. "Was that why you joined Garius in the first place?"

I can't beg, Torio told herself. Whatever I do, I can't beg my old nemesis…

Although she had not said anything, Sand knew what she was thinking. "Have you spared a thought for your actions?" he asked her. "All Garius sees you is a mere pawn, and he would have shrugged you off all the same when you are of no use. I may have saved you, but that does not imply I am seeking for something in return. You have, in fact, done us a big favor in locating Guyven of the Road, told Suki necessary information in defeating Sydney Natale, helped in recruiting allies for the Keep while being in undercover, and not to mention, your efforts in combating Qara's fires have not gone to waste. But, nevertheless, I will not and never will, forgive you for Ember. Yes, and I know you're about to say, Lorne had a part in it, and he hurt Alaine…"

Torio paused. He knew everything…

"Yes, I do. I know. Why do you think I've been living almost a hundred Elven years for, my dear Ambassador?"

He walked over with a cloak, and handed it to her. "This is so that the Keep will not be responsible should you fall sick. And please, do give me a piece of your mind; not doing so would prove harmful for your health."

Sand looked at her. Somehow, she didn't look… or seem like the Torio who had almost caused Suki's execution, and why was that? He recalled what Lorne had last said. "Please… tell Nasher…she has nothing to do with all this. It's… me, me alone…" and Garius' assassin had jumped from the crowd and stabbed him to death. Neeshka had killed her then, with a fatal stab with her twin rapiers, but did it matter or not that the assassin had died? Garius should have hundreds more assassins, perhaps undead ones. Torio was indeed lucky to have escaped his talons like some lucky little lamb. Yes, she did owe Sand… but Sand was never going to admit that, with the fact they were, and always would be, nemeses. He knew nothing would ever change that, simply because she was Torio Claven.