Disclaimers: I do not own the Total Drama franchise nor any of its characters. I do not own Dungeons and Dragons and it's under an Open Gaming License but even without that, I'm not making any profit from its concepts and characters. This is all done for fun and enjoyment.
A/N: This fic heavily borrows from Dungeons and Dragons and the concepts and skills D&D establishes but I will be putting my own spin to them. This is my first fic for the Total Drama franchise so I welcome comments and suggestions. And just to be clear: I am a Duncney shipper who isn't adverse to pairing Courtney with other characters (someday, I will write that JustinxCourtney fic). What that means for the fic will hopefully be self-evident.
Part One: The Fall
Chapter One: The Adventure Begins
The throne room was filled with an unfamiliar sense of tension that day. The normally jovial King of Goephr was beside himself with worry, adding a few more strands of white hair to his strawberry blond head. He had not heard word from his dear daughter, the Princess Lindsay, and it has been over two months since she left for the Kingdom of Basse.
"She should have reached her destination by now!" the king bemoaned to his most trusted advisor, wringing his hands in consternation as he paced in a well-worn circle. "Something must have happened to her! She could have been taken! Noah! You told me our neighboring kingdoms recently suffered from a rash of fiendish rituals!" The King sank to this throne, burying his face in his ring-adorned hands, continuing to moan, "Isn't it possible that my poor, sweet Lindsay was chosen as a sacrifice for who knows what twisted and evil plan?"
The advisor refrained from rolling his eyes at his liege's behavior, an act that's almost become second nature to him. Because like the missing princess the King was prone to bouts of overreaction. Instead, Noah tried to calm his liege down. "Your Highness, there was just the one unexplained ritual three kingdoms away. Which was probably just some children's prank," Noah muttered beneath his breath while brushing stray strands of his brown hair out of his eyes.
"And if she has been abducted, we should have received a ransom notice by now. A princess is a very valuable bargaining chip after all. It's highly likely that Princess Lindsay decided to take the scenic route at the last minute. I'm sure we'll hear word soon enough from-"
"NO!" the King bellowed, slamming a meaty fist on the throne's armrest and causing Noah to visibly flinch. "We've waited long enough! We must send a search party to find her!"
"Are you absolutely certain your Highness?" Noah asked, barely managing to keep his usual annoyed drawl in check. The furious shade of scarlet spreading across the King's face made it clear to Noah that his liege's mind was made up on the matter. The long-suffering advisor held back a resigned sigh as he bowed, knowing there was nothing else he could do except acquiesce to his ruler's will. "As you wish, your Highness."
"Send word for the Captain and his best men to search at once! Send envoys announcing that my daughter is missing!"
Noah remained where he stood, his face grim with disapproval for the briefest of moments before he schooled his features into a neutral mask. "Your Highness, as your advisor, I must advise you that this is the sort of situation where we must practice a sense of subtlety."
"What does tea have anything to do with my missing daughter?"
Noah's eye twitched ever so slightly, "Not tea, your Highness, subtle-ty. As in, we have to be careful that the other kingdoms aren't made aware." The blank look on his liege's face forced him to continue, "That our alliance with the Kingdom of Basse, along with Princess Lindsay's life, is possibly at risk?"
The King's brows simply furrowed in deepening confusion at Noah's words.
The advisor pressed his hand to his face and pulled down. Slowly. "Sending out the Captain of the Royal Guards as well as envoys would be basically announcing to everyone interested in overthrowing you that you're vulnerable."
Noah gave the King some time to digest his words. It was several moments later before the King paled in understanding and demanded, "Then what do you suggest?"
"We carry on like everything is normal while we send a smaller group to go search for Princess Lindsay and her entourage." Had Noah been explaining his plan to anyone else, and not the King, he would have finished with a resounding Duh.
The King leaned back on his throne as he mulled his decision over. Seconds passed before he asked, "Do you have a group in mind?"
Noah gave his liege an assuring smile, "Of course, your Highness. I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't."
That same morning, three women were summoned to a private audience with the King. The first to arrive, a full hour before the appointed time, was a paladin. A servant greeted her before escorting her to an antechamber to wait. She bowed in thanks at the retreating servant, brushing the bob of brown hair back into place as she righted herself. Rather than sitting down on any of the numerous plush seats, she remained on her feet, posture ramrod straight. Her dark eyes were closed in meditation as she waited for the appointed time.
Not half an hour later, the door opened but the paladin's eyes remained closed. The only change to her serene expression was the quirk of a smile on her lips. "Bridgette," the paladin greeted cordially, peering through her lashes at the blonde cleric.
"Courtney," the woman that entered returned cheerfully before throwing her arms around the heavily armored paladin. When gauntleted arms finished returning the embrace, Bridgette beamed, "I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you about to have a private audience with the King."
"Well, I am a Captain in Training," Courtney stated in complete confidence. A beat. Then both women began to laugh. "It's great to see you again, Bridgette," the paladin grinned with a flash of white teeth.
"Likewise," the blonde nodded as she settled down on a cushioned couch, placing her mace and large shield by her feet. As they began to catch up, the sound of approaching footsteps gave both women pause, alerting them that a third person would be entering. When the door opened, Bridgette brightened at the rustle of robes.
"Gwen?" Courtney sounded concerned at the sight of the pale woman. "What happened to your hair?"
"Let me guess: A spell went wrong?" Bridgette queried, pursing lips as she tapped a finger against her cheek.
"More like the price I had to pay," the sorcerer huffed, running her pale fingers through her green-streaked dark hair.
With a quirked brow, Courtney asked, "You never tried to change it back?"
"To be honest, I kind of like it this way," Gwen shrugged, taking a seat beside Bridgette.
The cleric stretched out as she reclined into the plush upholstery, idly remarking, "It does suit you, but only you could pull that look off."
"I can give you two matching streaks for your hair," the pale woman offered, green eyes glinting in mischief.
Courtney looked aghast, "I'm perfectly fine with the way my hair looks, thank you very much."
"Somehow, I knew you'd say that," Gwen snickered before turning serious. "I'm guessing Noah came to see you two this morning too, huh?"
"Yes. Do either of you have any idea why we're here, though? He wouldn't say when he told me the King wanted to see me," the blonde cleric chewed her lower lip in slight concern.
"This is Noah we're talking about," Courtney frowned, brows furrowing pensively, "He's not exactly the hands-on type. If he came to us personally, we can be sure secrecy is of the utmost importance."
"Am I really that obvious, Courtney?" Noah drawled as he entered the antechamber.
"It's more like drawing from experience," the paladin clarified as she crossed her arms, dark eyes narrowing suspiciously at the advisor. "Are we even going to meet the King?"
Noah nodded, looking mildly affronted, "I'd never make such claims without being able to back it up. But I do need to brief you three before your audience. As everyone knows, Princess Lindsay is enroute to Basse to meet her betrothed, Prince Tyler."
"Whether or not they're compatible never seems to come up," Gwen muttered as she rolled her eyes. The sorcerer never regarded arranged marriages, especially political ones, with favor.
"Be as it may," the advisor cleared his throat, wisely avoiding the topic altogether, "Everyone in the kingdom, not to mention our neighbors, still thinks the Princess is enroute to Basse." He left it at that, pulling his arms behind him while staring at the three women expectantly.
Realization dawned on Courtney first and the paladin's eyes widened, "The Princess hasn't arrived but she hasn't been kidnapped, has she?"
Bridgette tilted her head, "And you came to this conclusion how?"
"If she has been kidnapped, Sir Josh of the Royal Guards would have ridden out to rescue her," Gwen supplied.
"While drumming up all the pomp and fanfare this kingdom can muster," Noah grumbled, rubbing his temples and shaking his head. "Not exactly the picture of discretion."
"And you expect the three of us will be able to do the job?" Courtney grinned, barely able to contain her excitement at the opportunity to prove her worth.
"Quietly," the advisor warned as he adjusted the hem of his silken sleeves. "You don't even need to bring the Princess back here. Just return with something to assure the King that his precious Lindsay's safe and not a sacrificial bride to some netherworld being. I don't have to tell you how this could make or break your futures in the kingdom."
While Courtney wasn't about to question Noah's decision, she couldn't help but side-eye him. "How does this benefit you?"
Noah's gaze darted to Gwen, "You know me, I pay my debts," then to Bridgette, "And I have a back-up plan," and finally to Courtney, "And I always like to have an ace up my sleeve."
The three women exchanged knowing looks, satisfied with his answer.
"Going on an adventure with just the three of us? It's going to be like old times, huh?" Bridgette grinned, happily nudging Gwen with her elbow.
The sorcerer tried to look unconcerned, as if this quest didn't matter but the corner of her painted lips curled up. Scratching the back of her nape, she shrugged, "It's not like I'm making any headway in deciphering that old spell. I guess a change in my routine couldn't hurt."
"Good, now that that's settled, I'll send you three to meet the King. He'll tell you everything I just said but with an excessive amount detail and go off on unrelated tangents more times than necessary. By the time he's finished, I'll have sent a messenger to each of your guild master how the King sent you on a wild goose chase."
"Seriously?" Bridgette blinked in disbelief.
"Last month the King did send Sir Josh and his men on a wild rabbit chase," Courtney sighed, "His Majesty hasn't been the same since the Queen died. If it weren't for Noah and the other advisors, this land would have fallen to complete chaos."
"Nothing wrong with a little chaos now and again," the sorcerer declared cheekily as she drew a long, oak staff out of her sleeves. Gingerly, she rapped the butt of the wooden rod against the carpeted floor, the strike sparking a green flash that set the carpeted alight. It took a mere snap of her fingers to extinguish the flames. "Keeps things interesting."
"I'd rather have things boring but stable," the paladin sniffed, her heavy armor barely making a sound as she marched towards a table where a claymore sword most men needed two arms to lift rested. With one hand, she sheathed the blade in the scabbard strapped to her hip while the other retrieved her helmet to cradle it against her side.
"But whatever happens, we know how to deal," the cleric beamed and swiftly jumped to her feet, the movement sent her mace and shield spinning into the air. But while both her arms were outstretched in anticipation, she only managed to catch the blunt weapon. It was the advisor standing beside her that caught the shield. With his head.
"Oh, sorry about that Noah," Bridgette winced, kneeling down to free the pinned advisor as well as to heal the beginnings of a concussion.
"Don't make me regret this, you three. My neck is on the line just as much as yours," Noah glared in spite of the soothing sensation of the cleric's magic.
"Stop worrying, Noah, what's the worse that could happen?" Gwen smirked.
An unnatural chill fell upon the four and departed so quickly it was almost as if they imagined it. While Noah easily shrugged it off, the three magically attuned women remained on edge.
Elsewhere...
"Really? Out of all the things you could possibly dream up in that sad, twisted little head of yours, you pick that?"
"Either that or you endow the Princess Lindsay with wisdom beyond her years."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Chaos is one thing, complete and utter annihilation of all the nine realms is another."
"So what you're saying is you can't?"
"Did I say that? No. No, I didn't! I just meant you could have maybe picked something that would pose more of a challenge."
"Bring it, we'll see how far you go without my help and expertise!"
"Oh I've brought it! Then we'll see who has the last laugh!"