A year had past and spring had finally returned to the Silver Marches. The ground was still crisp beneath one's foot but the flora had begun to develop a green mist of the leaves budding. The birds called to one another in an expression of love, Nikeisha animal empathy made her understand that in reality the males were making promises to the females; promises that they don't intend to keep.
She lay on her bed with her eyes closed listen to the bird's songs, her dark, blood red hair fanned out across the pillow. Life at Drogan's had settled into a routine; boring and predictable. Drogan's reserved the mornings for Dorna's training, while between lunch and dinner he spent time with Xanos. Nikeisha's own time with Master Drogan was after dinner, before she went to bed. This didn't mean that the times that Master Drogan was with one of the other students Nikeisha had nothing else to do; in fact, quite the opposite was true.
Master Drogan expected that, while he taught one of the other pupils, the students would either study or do their chores. If they did find themselves with nothing to do, Drogan was sure to find something, if he caught one doing nothing. Both Dorna and Nikeisha overcame Drogan catching them when they had nothing to do by simply leaving Drogan's home and going down into the village. In truth, Nikeisha would have loved to leave the village and explore the village surrounding, but Drogan would come looking for her before she could even get out of the gate.
In time, Dorna and Nikeisha made their soiree into the village a little girl's thing while Xanos was in training. They only did it about once a week but each time they returned Master Drogan would reminded them not to leave the village. Nikeisha had a sneaking feeling that Ashuador would often leave the village, which was why Master Drogan was always one-step ahead of her in preventing her from leaving. These outings bought the two of them together and, although they weren't best friends, Nikeisha became to consider the cynical little dwarf as a good friend.
Nikeisha opened her eyes as she heard the half-orc heading down stairs, but continued to lay there. Xanos had taking it to his own accord to make breakfast every morning. The way he could think, with single mindlessness, of only his stomach surprised Nikeisha. She was certain that Xanos volunteering to cook breakfast each morning was due to the fact that both Dorna and she enjoyed lying in each morning, and he just couldn't wait for them to get up, and cook breakfast for him
Nonetheless, he made considerable amount of noise as he prepared breakfast, ensuring to wake up the whole house. The two girls learn quickly that if they wanted breakfast, lying in was not an option, as, should they sleep in, Xanos was sure to eat all of breakfast.
Nikeisha finally got up as she heard him in the dining room, dressing quickly as she considered her relationship with the half-orc. Much had changed between them over the last year or so. Although she still considered him a loud mouth lout, she had grown to like him, not that she would let anyone know that. She would still constantly bait Xanos into telling his long winded story of how he is destined for greatness, only to patronize him. This was a game to them, as he would make similar remakes about how she was Drogan's favorite student and that she was quite the teacher's pet. Dorna, whom was quite older than both Xanos and Nikeisha, simply watched their sparring, although she wasn't one to miss an opportunity to say something cynical to Xanos.
Nikeisha enter the dining room to see the beautiful prepared meal that Xanos, who was already eating, had made. Nikeisha was force to admit that Xanos was a good cook, at least he was after Master Drogan took him aside and gave him a few cooking lessons, his first week of cooking had produced only burnt lumpy porridge.
"Xanos has been thinking about what you said at dinner last night." Xanos mumbled with a mouth full of scrambled eggs, as Nikeisha and Dorna, who had been silently following her, sat down. Nikeisha was aware of Dorna following her, but her ability at walking quietly still amazed her, and she was even startled that Dorna was there at times.
"One is honored that the Great Xanos found ones words worthy of contemplation." Nikeisha said mockingly as she helped herself to some pancakes. Master Drogan hadn't joined them as of yet, which was unusual.
"Mock me if you will but Xanos will show you, Xanos is destined for greatness."
"You know after all this time I still haven't met this Xanos you keep talking about. He sounds like such a great man." She continued to tease him. Xanos spluttered for a moment unable to come up with a response, or, perhaps, just couldn't speak.
"So what did Nikki say that got you thinking?" Dorna asked, more to stop their sparring then out of any real curious.
Xanos lean closer to the girls in a conspiratorial fashion. "Xanos was thinking about the idea of magically enhancing our weapons. Xanos thinks that if we use the right spells it will work."
"Xanos, you heard Master Drogan last night. He told us not to try it on our own." Nikeisha said. "He said that if we do well on our next tests he might show us some ways to do it."
"All this bootlicking teacher's pet, I don't see it making you graduate any fasted." Xanos patronized her. "What the little dwarf don't know, won't hurt him." He stated, pushing away his empty plate.
"Nikki is right Xanos. Besides, even if we knew the proper spells, we wouldn't have time to do it before Master Drogan caught us."
"Any other day we might not have time. But Drogan has left for the day."
"What do you mean?" Dorna asked, startled.
"When Xanos got up this morning, Drogan was speaking to someone at the door. When Drogan saw Xanos, he told me that he had to go out, would be out all day. I also notice that Drogan didn't lock his room door this morning, which is good because I think that we need to use an alchemist's apparatus, and the only one we have is in Drogan's room"
Nikeisha and Dorna looked at one another, Nikeisha noticed that Dorna's dull green eyes were sparkling with excitement, then they looked back at Xanos; quickly they wolfed down the remains of their breakfast excitedly. When they finished, they all got up to begin their experiment, but Nikeisha hesitated.
"I think we should get our chores done first," she said, as she noted the mess still in the dining room.
"Is someone getting cold feet?" Xanos taunted her.
"No. It's just I was thinking that we are going to do this in Drogan's room, if we get caught in his room, we can say that we are creating some focus crystals. But if we haven't done our chores, he will be suspicious of what we have done all day. Besides Dorna can search through some books to see if she can find the proper way to do it, while you and I do the chores."
"Why does Dorna get to do the reading?" Xanos pouted.
"She reads the fastest." Nikeisha shrugged.
It was near noon when Xanos and Nikeisha joint Dorna in Drogan's room. She was sitting in a chair, near Drogan's bed, reading a thick book while running a hand through her auburn hair.
"We do need to use an alchemist's apparatus, but I can't find the proper spells." Dorna informed them as they enter. She got up and put the book back on Drogan's book shelf.
"I suppose we should get started on this." Nikeisha said a bit apprehensively about not knowing what spells to use. They had already bought the weapons they wanted to enhance into the room.
All afternoon they cast spells upon the weapons, but finally they worked out how to do it. Dorna worked hers out first; however, her spells were divine based while the other two were arcane. Eventually Nikeisha was able to enhance her dagger with fire.
As Xanos was doing his, they heard the sound of Drogan arriving home. In his panic Xanos said the incantation wrong, his axe glowed, and a ringing sound like that of a tuning fork hovered in the air, then they hear Drogan entered the house.
Quickly they left Drogan's room and put their weapons into their own rooms. Then they, as calmly as they could went down stairs to see Drogan. Xanos was the first to come down the stairs to greet him, but before anything could be said there came a female squeal from behind Master Drogan followed by the words; "It's an orc! A vile, evil creature!"
Nikeisha groaned inwards while Dorna said a brief prayer under her breath. Xanos deep brown eyes flashed with anger, it was then that they notice the young human girl. Her hair was the colour of honey, while her eyes were aquamarine. She was young, perhaps sixteen years old, and there was youthful enthusiasm in her face.
Nikeisha move quickly before Xanos exploded with an outburst that could, in all probability, upset this innocent seeming girl.
"Hello, I'm Nikeisha Darkfury, a student of Master Drogan." She said, stepping in front of Xanos.
"Oh. Hello," the girl said, regaining her demeanor, "I'm Mischa Waymeet a Paladin of Mystra. Well I want to be a Paladin of Mystra; Master Drogan has just taken me on as a student so that I can become one."
"Oh goodie." Nikeisha heard Dorna say under her breath, cynically.
"Well, how about I take you to your room so you can unpack?" Nikeisha asked, forcing a smile onto her face, her own sentiments echoed Dorna's. She knew that this young enthusiast would be trying.
She led Mischa upstairs, placing her own body between the fuming Xanos and the new student as they went upstairs. As they walked the down the hallway Nikeisha pointed out the rooms of the others. Finally, she stopped in front of her own room, which was adjacent to Master Drogan's room. "This is my room here," she said pointing to the door on her left, "and this will be your room here." She pointed to her right.
"What's in that room?" Mischa asked, pointed at the door in front of them.
Nikeisha stared at Master Drogan's half closed door, realizing that in their rush they hadn't shut the door. "This is my room Mischa." Drogan answered her questioned. Nikeisha felt the colour begin to drain from her face. "I must have forgotten to close it when I left this morning." He mused shutting and locking it. "Oh well, I'm sure that Nikki can tell you how you are not to go in there unless I say so." He said giving Nikeisha a stern look, as if he knew that they had been in there, and then he continued to tell Mischa about his room. "The grinder for making focus crystals is in there, but if you need any come and see me, I'll let you in so that you can make them."
"Focus crystals?" Mischa asked in confusion, as she stowed her belongings into her new room.
"They're to power the ring I gave you. The ring can automatically teleport you to my side if you get too overwhelmed with the test I set you, or you can do it voluntarily." Drogan explained as they walked back down stairs, where Dorna had pacified Xanos and was now making dinner.
Nikeisha left Mischa with Drogan and went over to where Xanos was sulking in the study corner, obviously avoiding Mischa. "What spell did you cast on your weapon?" she whispered to him.
"I'm not sure." He replied.
"I think it might of being a sonic spell."
"Bah! Who knows, it probably didn't work anyway."
"This here is Xanos Messarmos." Drogan had come over to where they were standing. Obviously, he was introducing Mischa around.
"Bah! The little strumpet doesn't want to meet the Great Xanos! She thinks he is vile and evil."
"Please forgive my outburst." Mischa said in a contritely little voice. "The village I was from had been attacked by orcs in the past and I was bought up to believe that all orcs are evil creatures. I guess that the human in you would show you the ways of goodness." She almost seemed to be preaching to him.
"Ah." Drogan ventured, seeing Xanos nostrils beginning to flare, "How about I introduce you to Dorna now." And with that, he took her to the kitchen leaving Xanos spluttering in the corner.
"'The human in you would show you the ways of goodness'" Xanos mocked her in outrage, disbelieve. "Bah!"
Nikeisha nodded her sentiments, knowing that Xanos didn't hold his human half in high esteem, and in fact, she partially agreed with him knowing full well that humans were capable of evil just like everything else. Privately she had to admit that she was in awe of the way Mischa left Xanos speechless, perhaps she might not be so trying after all.
The next morning, before the sun had fully risen above the terrain, Nikeisha awoke with the sound of Xanos voice in full rage. Quickly she rolled out of bed, her hand grabbing the hilt of her dagger as she done so. As she left her room, she saw Dorna come out of her room, which was next to Nikeisha's, on the right.
"Xanos will not train with her!" Xanos voice filtered up through the floorboards.
Dorna look at Nikeisha, puzzled. Then Nikeisha noticed that Mischa wasn't in her room. They headed down stairs; all the while Xanos continued his fit of rage. As they entered the common room, they saw Drogan there trying to calm the enrage Xanos and off to one side was Mischa, looking like one whom had been rebuked.
"Why can't Dorna or Nikeisha do it?" Xanos demanded, seeing them enter.
"Because I said that you are to do it." Drogan answered sternly, with note finality to it.
"What's that smell?" Dorna asked suddenly. Then Xanos noticed the smoke coming from the kitchen, he raced in, just in time to douse the breakfast he was cooking, which had caught fire. In a huff, he threw out the food and began cooking a new lot, while ignoring the request of Nikeisha and Dorna on why he and Master Drogan were arguing about.
As the morning progressed, it became evident what the argument was about, as Master Drogan told Dorna that he would teach her after lunch, instead of in the morning. He was going to start training Mischa, and Xanos was going to help.
After breakfast, when the sun was clearly in the sky, Drogan took Mischa and the reluctant Xanos outside and around to the back of the house. Quickly Dorna and Nikeisha clear the dishes than headed up to their own rooms, where they could watch what was happening from their windows.
"You want me to attack her." Xanos asked incredibly, a slight eagerness was in his voice.
"No, my dear boy, you just need to block her attacks." Drogan said. "I want to see how she handles her sword."
"Alright." Xanos said slightly disappointed, readying himself with his axe.
"Are you ready?" Mischa asked timidly.
"The Great Xanos was born ready." He replied.
With that, she began her attack. Xanos easily parried her strokes. "Ah, our little Mischa seems to be lacking is skill." Xanos taunted her, with that; she made a defiant swing at him. Xanos had to move quickly to block her. As their weapons clashed there was a ringing sound of steel meeting steel, but overlaying it was a ringing that emanated from Xanos' axe, then Mischa sword broke in half.
Everyone stood where they were, dumbfounded, then Drogan seem to realize something. He took the axe from Xanos and swung in at an inoffensive crate that was at the back of the house, again, there was the ringing sound.
Cold fury entered his eyes, making them seem greyer than usual, and then he saw Nikeisha and Dorna at the windows. "You two down here now!" he bellowed at them. "And bring your own weapons!"
Guilty, they trooped outside and over to where Master Drogan was. He didn't say a word to them, but disappointment could be clearly read upon his face, as he took the weapons off them.
"Nikeisha, take Mischa down to Fiona and get her a new sword." He finally said. "You better get yourself and the others new weapons too, ones without magical enhancements. Tell her I'll fix her up with the money later." Nikeisha nodded and then led Mischa into the village.
She was greatly upset about Drogan taking her dagger. The dagger had been a gift from her grandfather, before he had died. Nikeisha knew that Dorna would be upset too; her battleaxe was special to her, having something to do with her heritage.
"What's going on Nikeisha? Why is Master Drogan so angry?" Mischa asked as they past Drogan's barn. She seemed apprehensive even frighten by Drogan's anger.
"We did something that Master Drogan told us not to do. We didn't think he'll find out." She replied abruptly. "I guess we didn't think about what we were doing."
"Oh." Mischa said her bottom lip quivering in respond to Nikeisha sudden curt manner.
"I'm sorry Mischa." She apologized gently placing an arm around Mischa's slim shoulders. "I didn't mean to take my annoyance out on you. It just my dagger is special to me I don't like it being taken from me. Besides with me being the longest student here, I expected that I'll be in more trouble than the others."
"It's alright," Mischa said with a small smile, "and I'm sure Master Drogan will be reasonable in his punishment." Nikeisha smiled weakly at her, but didn't say anything else about it.
They walked wordlessly through the village. The village was silent, with the bitter cold air keeping everyone indoors. The silence was broken by the sounds of children's voice coming from the community hall, a large building in the center of the village used for many things, as for today it was used as the local school. The noise level indicated that lessons had not yet began.
"If you want your sword fix, Fiona will be able to fix it." Nikeisha offered leading the way to a building somewhat diagonal to the hall.
"No, it's alright. It was merely the only sword I could afford." She said looking ashamed.
"It's alright Mischa." She told the younger girl gently. "All of us came here with not much more than the clothes on our backs."
"Oh, but you have such nice clothes." Mischa said admiring the clothes she wore and the thick black velvet cloak that was beautifully embroidered around the collar and the edge of the hood.
"I make them myself." She told her smiling, pleased at Mischa's comment. "My mother was a dressmaker." She said sadden at the memory of her mother.
"Oh, I love to sew too." Mischa stated enthusiastic, not noticing Nikeisha's pain. "Perhaps you could help me make some clothes?"
"Of course." Nikeisha agreed smiling through her sorrow.
"Who is this Fiona?" Mischa asked.
"The village blacksmith."
"A woman is the blacksmith?" Mischa asked in amazement.
"Yes. She's an odd woman with an odd sense of humor. Don't take what she says personally, she's always joking about." Nikeisha cautioned as she walked into the smithery. Nikeisha rather like Fiona, she was one of the few villages of Hilltop that didn't judge Nikeisha for being half elf.
"Ah, another person wanting my skills?" A large, tall woman asked as they approached her. "I wonder who this person is." The woman had light brown hair with golden brown eyes.
"Hello Fiona, how has your day been?" Nikeisha asked politely
"And she even knows my name" Fiona said in mock surprise. "I am just kidding Nikki, no need for a long face." She hastened, seeing the look on the red head's face.
"I'm sorry; it hasn't been a good day."
"Oh?" She asked curious
"This is Mischa." Nikeisha introduced the newest student, ignoring Fiona's curiosity.
"Another one of Drogan's little pests." Fiona teased, "I'm only playing with you," she quickly explain, noted Mischa look of righteous outrage. "People here say I have an odd humor."
"Master Drogan sent us here to get Mischa a sword and a new dagger for myself and battleaxes for the other two."
"Alright then," she said going and getting the weapons. "So what types do you want?"
"You better make it without enhancements."
"Oh?"
"Master Drogan confiscated our old weapons because we added enhancements."
"Oh my," Fiona said in dismay handing the weapons to Nikeisha and Mischa. "I can't believe he took them of you for adding enhancement. He should be proud of you all."
"Well, Xanos kind of broke Mischa's sword because of the enhancement."
"It was only a cheap sword." Mischa interjected
"Oh, I see."
"Thank you for these, Master Drogan said he would fix you up with the money."
"Alrighty, you keep out of trouble now." Fiona said as they left.
Xanos was cleaning out the barn as they went back to Drogan's home. He seemed very disgruntled about cleaning up after cows. "Be wary Nikeisha, Drogan is very discombobulated with us; He has degraded the Great Xanos down to a stable hand." Xanos informed them in disgust. Dorna was in the kitchen scrubbing the floor as they entered the house. "He is in his room." Dorna said without looking up.
Drogan was sitting quietly in the same chair that Dorna had been sitting in the previous day; he looked up at Nikeisha as they entered the room. A great sadness was in his face, but his eyes were still frosty with anger.
"Mischa, will you leave us" Drogan said to her. It wasn't a question.
"Of course. I'll put these weapons into everyone's room, and then I'll go outside and read my prayer book to Mystra." She said, as she turned to leave she whisper to Nikeisha "Gook luck." Then she left.
Drogan continue to sit quietly in his chair, listen to Mischa move about, and then they heard her go down stairs. Finally, he got up and headed towards the alchemist's apparatus, signaling for Nikeisha to follow. It wasn't unto he was standing in front of the alchemist's apparatus that he spoke.
"I must say I am proud of you, Nikeisha." He said in his gruff voice. Nikeisha stood next to him, stunned by his words. "Proud that you didn't destroy a single thing." He continued bitterly. "Do you think that I place rules for no reason?" Before she could answer that, he began to cast a spell, ray of enfeeblement, Nikeisha easily identified. He released the spell upon a dagger that was on the alchemist's apparatus, there was a loud bang followed but a great deal of smoke, Nikeisha jumped in surprise.
"That is but one on the dangers." He said looking sternly at her. "Can you imagine what might happen if cast a really improper spell." Nikeisha nodded, swallowing hard. "Good, because of have heard of towers being destroyed because a mage got careless." The smoke had evaporated by now and Drogan picked up the now frail looking dagger, the blade was pitted with rust, looked as if it would disintegrate, as did the hilt.
"This is the second danger." Drogan said handing the dagger to her, as she took it by the hilt, the blade broke off, falling to the floor into a crumble mass of rust. "I know how much both you and Dorna value your weapons; they have important significance to you. You would be greatly upset if they were ruin. But the spell can do this to other things than what was the target." He pointed to a piece of metal that had been on a table to the side, what the metal had been, Nikeisha could not tell.
"The other danger was; what would have happened had Xanos aim being lower?" He looked at her intensely, and she writhed beneath his look. "It could have killed Mischa." He answered for her in a deadly voice. "Do you know what disappoints me the most?"
"What?" Nikeisha said flatly, feeling her temper rise at being held responsible.
"Mischa sees that the others look up to you. She is young and impressionable, it's already evident that she too is looking up to you, and this is the impression you set for her on only her second day."
"Well, we didn't know that she was coming!" She almost yelled at him.
"Neither did I, until I got the message yesterday morning, saying that she was on her way and needed to be picked up at Blumberg." He said, "Oh, I knew she was coming eventually, but I wasn't going to take her on as a student until you and the others had finished. But there were circumstances and she had no where else to go. You know all about that, of course your circumstance is far different than hers." He told her bluntly. "But would it have changed things had you known? Perhaps things might have been more thought out, but you still would have done it."
"I'm not a child!" she yelled, stamping her foot in anger.
"Well, stop acting like one then!" He yelled back, finally raising his voice.
Nikeisha looked at him defiantly. "And what is to be my punishment?"
"I'm going to give back your dagger; I have already giving back Xanos and Dorna's weapons, but you are not to use it in training. As for a punishment, I think this knowledge is punishment enough, but you will also share the same fate as the other two."
"Which is?
"No training for a week. Instead you will do chores?"
"Chores!" Nikeisha yelled incredibly. "Like scrubbing the floors and cleaning the barn?"
"Yes. I think you can start with chopping logs for the fire, at least you can take your temper out on the logs." Petulantly she when off to begin her punishment. "Don't break anything on your way to the logs." Drogan called after her, the only answer he got was the loud slam of his room door followed a few moments later by an even louder slam at the front door.
