Chapter Nine

During the day the Keep was a mess. The sunlight picked out every scorch mark on the yellow earth, every brick reduced to crumbling dust, even the buildings had their roofs all but caved in. It was the same thing that had loomed up before us just a few days ago, but this time it looked somewhat less daunting and more…collapsible.

Crossroad Keep was run-down and completely neglected, but I saw hope there. It hadn't, in fact, buckled down on us as we fled from the ritual chamber, so that was a definite plus. It looked quite sturdy, actually, just a little, well… worse for wear. That, and I could see right to the front door through the outer three walls.

"I know what you're thinking." Said Nevalle in that practised, easy tone of his. "It's certainly seen better days…and it will again."

"What happened to it?" I asked, picking my way over the fallen debris as he brought me through the large gate leading to the outer courtyard. I was greeted with patches of dead grass littered like hair on a balding man, what was almost an entire village-full of dilapidated buildings, and one hell of a job ahead of me. I had been too focused on completing the task at hand that I'd barely noticed the buildings and the sheer size of the place before. And, as usual, no one would tell me what was going on. I heard Neeshka sigh expansively behind me and didn't blame her in the slightest. Being dragged up here for a second time just to take in the sights wasn't quite what we'd had in mind after our recent heroics. I was surprised Bishop had even bothered to come, what with his snide objections to anything the Nine had in store for us. But there he was, barely a few paces behind and watchful as ever.

"The Keep was destroyed during the first war with the King of Shadows many years ago." Nevalle started again as if reading from a book. "It was where the central battle was fought, and, after a brave effort, was eventually taken. It was a dark time for Neverwinter…but we persevered. As you have, and will have to in the future." I didn't much like the sound of that. Perseverance was what we Harbourmen were all about, but I was just about reaching the end of my tether what with being jerked around by Neverwinter. If they had dragged me here just for a history lesson or to tell me that I was being shuffled under someone else's command I would start throwing things at him right there and then, because he was the personification of everything I couldn't let myself be. I'd rot in jail before I became a bootlicking servant to any Lord. Alright, Nasher was pretty special as Lords went, and I did owe them for the trial, but…damn it all, it just wasn't fair. It felt like I was being blackmailed, forced into this thing because fate felt like whoring around a little and was using me as currency.

I took a deep breath to calm myself down, reminding my inner child that jumping to these sorts of random conclusions was always what got me into trouble as I raved everything about nothing. I'd wait and hear his offer like the reasonable adult I was supposed to be before getting myself worked up.

A tall, broad man walked past us, apparently oblivious to the gathering and shouldering a thick plank of wood while wiping off the sheen of sweat from his forehead that glistened in the sun. As I scanned the place, I saw that there were more of them dotted around the area, some clearing away ancient rubble, some putting up new supports for roofs and second stories, some bent over scrolls with an array of measuring instruments.

"It's being rebuilt, then…" I said slowly, more to myself than anyone else. Possibilities opened up in front of me like the fruits of a blossoming tree and I saw this place in its former, idyllic glory, with flags flying, chimneys smoking, and soldiers arming the battlements.

"Aye, it is." He cleared his throat purposefully and began to speak to me in a proud, authoritative voice. "I have brought you back here under orders, Evelyn Ashcroft. Lord Nasher has a new task for you." I suspected I knew already. Normally being asked something as big as this would have annoyed me to no end, particularly given the forced nature of my allegiance with them, but now, as all thoughts of grudging duty and scraping to fools flew out the window, I couldn't stop the smile that pricked at the corners of my mouth as I thought how surreal this all was. There had always been an element of none of this being quite genuine, like at any second now I'd wake up and find I'd just fallen asleep again after reading for too long, and I'd be back in my tiny bedroom in my blissfully warm half-underground house and none of this would have happened.

A flash of platemail made me look to my left, only to see Casavir standing there as still as always. His arms were folded and his face was solemn as he regarded what I supposed was to be our home from now on. I wondered how he felt about that, following me around wherever I went. I supposed he didn't really have anywhere else, not really feeling comfortable back in Neverwinter and never speaking of his family, if indeed he had one at all.

Perhaps once things got underway I'd pay a visit to the Well, and see if they still needed his old soldiers now that there was almost no threat from the orcs there. Maybe even ask Katriona, his impeccable sergeant, if she wanted to give us a hand. The thought was an entirely innocent and offhanded one, but something about it I just didn't like, though I couldn't for the life of me think why. She looked a little like Shandra, I remembered, despite the fact that I could see little of my companion's outspoken vivacity in the spotless soldier I'd met before. But I was getting ahead of myself, of course. Nevalle hadn't even told me what my mission was yet.

"These people, they are now yours to command as you see fit." He continued. "You are now their Captain, in the service of Neverwinter." A pang shot through me as that final clarification reminded me that I still wasn't my own. I'd always wanted to be a Captain, be in charge and get things done my way, but…not in the service of some city I'd only sort-of lived in for barely four, five months. No matter, I'd do what they said...for now. This kind of overbearing authority always left a bad taste in my mouth but I knew that if I wanted to do what needed to be done to resolve this, I'd have to bow and scrape and do everything I hated. Besides, part of me was still buzzing with the idea that this place was mine. Mine. When I looked back on this in a few days' time I'd curse myself for being such an easily manipulated fool and I'd start looking for an escape from this new life, but for now…I was rather enjoying it, actually. I was a Captain. It would have been unbelievable if Nevalle hadn't spelt it out so perfectly.

"Make this Keep ready for war, gather troops to your service, and, most importantly, be prepared to strike when this enemy finally reveals itself. The threat is far from gone, Captain Ashcroft, and this is only the beginning."

It felt like the first time Georg sent out a patrol and somehow thought it would be a great idea to put me in charge. But I did it, and I did it well. I was doing it now, in fact, leading around my little band of recruits like real adventurers. Now I had a whole Keep full of them. It would take more than a few days to get used to that idea. Back then it had been about something I really cared about – the safety of my village. Selfishly, I cared rather less for the safety of Neverwinter, but was smart enough to know that whatever this threat turned out to be, it wouldn't stop there, and had to be taken out as soon as possible. And…if they thought it was right to put me in charge of that, then…so be it.

He led us around the curve of the path through the courtyard and a woman walked stiffly into view. Her hair was pulled back into an iron-cast bun and her face was similarly schooled. "To help you manage the Keep, you have been assigned an officer by Lord Nasher. This is Kana."

Kana's uniform was so starched that it didn't so much fold as crack at the edges and the contours of her body like a piece of paper as she nodded at me clinically. This was going to be less than pleasant, I imagined.

"Good morning, Captain!" Said an enthusiastic and breathless voice from behind me that certainly wasn't from the thin-lipped officer I'd been leant for the time being. Suddenly, my hand was claimed hastily and a short, fat arrangement of lenses and toolbelts came into view. I'm sure there was a face somewhere underneath those huge spectacles but couldn't think where it would fit. "Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Veedle and I'm in charge of rebuilding this beautiful place!" I really, really hoped him and Grobnar never met. I wouldn't get a second's rest. "And it will be such a pleasure, too, just look at the potential here! All that is required, of course, is a little funding here and there but a fine lady like you shouldn't have any trouble at all what with—"

"And Master Veedle has been contracted to help you rebuild the Keep and its surrounding lands." Nevalle interrupted smoothly, shooting a look at Veedle that made him bow quickly and scuttle off back to his table, laden with parchment and an assortment of measuring devices that probably exceeded the hundreds mark. Nevalle stood in front of me, Kana positioned perfectly just to one side, and spoke in that booming, official voice to the assembled crowd but looked specifically at me. "You are this Keep's Master, Evelyn. You have earned it – through service and blood, you have earned my trust...and that of Lord Nasher." Even if he was telling the truth, they hadn't yet earned mine. I didn't think they ever would, completely. "This is your land now. Defend it, for the sake of your people, and the sake of Neverwinter." Oh Gods, I had people. My people. This was wrong. My people lived in a swamp to the south. I didn't know any of the men and women that now looked at me expectantly.

Everyone else was, too, and I realised why as my eyes turned back to Nevalle and saw he was saluting, as was Kana. This was too much...

"Good luck, Captain." He said rapidly, his face so serious it was like a parody of procedure. I saluted back as quickly and as discretely as I could to make them stop, hearing a snort from behind me indicate that Bishop also thought I looked a fool. If I'd seen myself from a year ago, even six months ago, I would have laughed out loud. Sure, I'd been a militawoman, but that was different, somehow. We didn't have to salute, for one thing.

That githzerai moved from behind me to stand next to Kana, her veil still covering the leathery, greenish skin that stretched over a sawn-off face. It was still difficult to look at any gith and not instinctively go for the weak spots. But I trusted her, even as she looked at me with those penetrating amber eyes that said she knew more about me and the state of the world than I ever would. Aye, I'd trust her and her motives, but never a city. Never a crown or a flag or a noble that thought they could command me. But here the two intertwined, and I'd have to at least accept Neverwinter's intentions for the time being. The sad thing was that until I could afford a Keep of my own I'd have to rely on the charity of my now-commanders. We all had the same enemy, the same goals, and I wasn't above gritting my teeth and getting on with it in order to do what was right.

For now.

The others dissipated around me, until there was only Zhjaeve and Kana before me. I dismissed the officer, telling her to return to her duties, whatever they were, and turned to the cleric. Well, this was it. And, from the looks of her, it would take a while.

-+-+-+-

I stepped inside the 'inn' with a little trepidation, uncertain of what I'd see considering the Keep had been all but abandoned a few days ago. To my immense surprise, it had been cleared out, the stairs were being repaired even now, and Sal waved at me from over his bar made of crates and planks of wood. A scattering of empty ale kegs stood in as stools, and, to my total lack of surprise, on the farthest, drink in hand, sat Bishop.

"Hullo, Evie!" The barman greeted cheerily, though he stood up a little straighter as I approached and continued, more seriously. "I mean, uh…Captain Ashcroft." I shook my head at him as I leaned on the bar, which creaked ominously.

"Evelyn'll do, Sal." I said dryly. My conversations with Kana and Zhjaeve had drained me clean of laughter as I realised the magnitude of the task ahead of me. "Usual, if you've got it."

"Ah, at least yer taste ain't changed, Evelyn." He winked as he disappeared beneath the bar.

"So…how are you here, exactly? Not that I'm not overjoyed, just…I thought you worked for Duncan."

"Aye, that I did." His voice was muffled over the sounds of bottles clinking together as he rummaged in carefully packed crates and scanned the array of liquids under the bar. "But, you know, always wanted a place of my own. And though Duncan might have wanted to there's no way he'd give up the best inn that side of the city for somewhere like this." He reappeared, the same scarlet, misty drink I loved in hand. "Not that the Keep won't be a thing of real beauty once you're done with it, I'm sure. I've got big plans for the inn, make it somewhere people'll really want to go, bring some merchants, get the rooms looking nice…" he folded his arms and smiled wistfully. "With yer leave, of course. Was told I couldn't do a thing without yer approval. By that lady, whassername, Kar…"

"Kana?"

"That's the one. Real strict about it, too."

"Well, Sal, tell her you have my approval for whatever you want to do. This place is yours as far as I'm concerned. Just find me a place to sleep for the night and I'll be happy." He grinned.

"Thanks so much, Evelyn. Knew I could count on you. Must be a great reward, eh? A whole Keep like this, especially after everything you've done. Heck, I'd be surprised if they didn't knight you soon enough." A snort of laughter to my right didn't go unnoticed. I felt the red creeping up my face.

"I think I'll outstay my welcome soon enough. For now…I'm just relieved to be alive."

"Aye, well take care of yourself, will you?" I nodded with a smile, feeling a little more at home. Grabbing my drink, I made my way over to where Bishop sat, not looking at me but his mouth, twisted into a smirk, told me he was very much aware of my presence.

"Something you want, milady?" A treacherous part of my brain immediately came up with several very unsuitable replies as the low, temptation-riddled voice sent shivers down my spine. I took a deep, steady breath to respond, but he looked up and spoke first, those amber-flecked eyes blisteringly intense. "Or should that be the great Captain of Crossroad Keep? What could she possibly want with her humble tracker?" He shook his head, chuckling as he took a swig of his drink.

"Humble? Bishop you're about as meek as I am." I shot back, rolling my eyes. He shoved out a barrel with his foot from under the makeshift table, which I took as a signal to sit.

"It's a simple question, Captain." Somehow he injected enough malice into the title to make me feel suitably stupid. I hated that he could do that.

"Stop that." I said in a low, unsteady voice.

"Why? There's no mockery here, just addressing you with your new title."

"Captain?"

"A lapdog for Nasher, more like." He knew he was getting to me. That last comment made my nails dig into my palms.

"Stop it."

"Is that a command? Or are we just in a bad mood this morning?" He sneered, his eyebrows following his mocking expression entirely on their own. "Maybe the promotion wasn't big enough…"

"Bishop—"

"…Hard to tell, now, what with you being a noble and all."

"I'm common as muck and you know it, all right?" I barely managed to get in. "Just because I'm a Captain doesn't mean I'm any different. I'm the same person I was before."

"Oh really? Then how is it you're now clawing up the ranks of the Neverwinter aristocracy like those harpies in the court? Is that what you want for the rest of your life? A squire by your side, a flag that's not your own, and some code of chivalric honour to live up to?"

"Is that what you think of me, then?"

"Don't want to, understand. Not that nice thinking that the woman I'm taking orders from isn't any better than those Knights you salute or that idiot Paladin."

"Would it kill you to leave Casavir out of this for once?" I said exasperatedly. I'd been wrong about him, I knew. Just like I'd been wrong about so many things.

"Since when do you care what holier-than-thou thinks? Hells, I still think you should leave him stuck in a forest somewhere with only his lies and self-righteousness to keep him company…but of course as always, I'll leave that up to your sound judgement, Captain. Or whatever that frigid officer of yours thinks would be respectable enough for the nobles..."

"Oh Gods, Bishop, do you really think I care for Neverwinter or the nobility beyond the pay package? I mean…look around, I have my own castle. I've always wanted one of these. Sure I'd have ridiculed myself if I thought this was how I got it but, if you'll recall, there was never much of a choice with any of it."

"You always had a choice. You still do, in fact. No one says you have to be here. You're one to talk about breaking the rules when you fall in line at the first possible chance. No one's making you be here but yourself." It hit me suddenly that he was right. Fate wasn't so overpowering. I was just agreeing like a good little servant…

"I have to." I replied suddenly and without thinking. It was painfully true, though, and I had to face up to it. "I don't know what it is I have to do, but the Gith seems to, and for now I'm trusting her because she's the only one that knows how to stop this thing. I've got the shard inside me, and so like it or not I'm part of it."

"That offer still stands, you know." He said after a while in that low, hushed voice of his that always took me off guard. He didn't even need to say what he meant, the tone said everything for him. And oh gods how I wanted to give in. It would be so much easier – and, I concluded, a lot more enjoyable – than resisting. "If this King of Shadows is so powerful what makes you think you've got a chance in the Hells? Eventually it'll kill you if you keep going. That's how it works. If you order me to do anything, ask me to take you out of this place and to somewhere this enemy has never heard of. It's the only way that makes sense."

"I…I can't. You know that. I just got here." I said quietly, not able to meet his eyes in case I regretted my words.

"Of course, of course. Hate to see you abandon everything you've worked so hard for, Captain." And in an instance he was mocking again, and I was left to wonder if that had been him or not.

"Stop it. I mean it, Bishop. I'm still the same person I was when you met me, I can't have changed that much."

"People only insult you if you let them, and right now you're looking pretty damn insulted so I'm guessing you know I'm right." I was thrown again, and for once I didn't have a cutting reply because he was completely right. What's more, he evidently knew it.

"Yes, I do. And I'm not happy with how things have turned out, but I'm not leaving. Other than that the best course of action is to pay a few salutes and get a Keep out of it. You've known me for long enough, I'd hope, to realise that I'm not like those Knights, and I'm not about to change. I'm still just me, alright? Is that so hard to believe?" I wasn't sure if that was true, though I really, really hoped it was. If not for my sake than for the sake of the rebellious little child inside of me that I wouldn't let die any time soon.

"Maybe not, but sometimes…it gets difficult to tell past those words of yours. Makes me suspicious, that's all." He replied, calculating and guarded again.

"I'd ask you to kill me before I swore allegiance to anyone but myself if I didn't have to. It's better than mindlessly following what someone else thinks is right. That good enough for you?"

"Believable, I suppose…" He sat forward suddenly, a threat in his tone that didn't so much put me on edge as fascinate that same, pushy voice that told me to take what I wanted and take it now, "But I'm telling you, you treat me like one of your soldiers or your lackeys and you'll regret it. And Gods help you if you try to order me about like one. I'm my own man, got it? Don't even know why I'm still here, must just be more interesting than anything else that's come up."

"Really?" The question came unbidden, and from the hardening of his eyes it wasn't particularly welcome. He looked at me for a long, curious moment then shook his head slowly, his jaw tight and a warning in his voice.

"Don't start that. If you want me to stay here, don't bring it up. That, or your uncle, or whatever the hells you think it is you're doing." He took one last swig of his drink and drained it. "Now that it? Or you got some orders for me?" And then as if nothing had happened he was the same man I'd met in the Flagon, closed-off and entirely indifferent.

"Nothing this time. Don't want to have to think about much else but getting the Keep to look like it hasn't been abandoned for the past twenty years." I smirked, trying to lighten the mood but he would have none of it.

"Well good luck with that, Captain. Just don't give me an excuse to put you out of your misery. You're far more interesting alive."

"I'll…bear that in mind." I didn't know if heard me as he walked away, though he probably did what with those ranger ears of his. I was beginning to think that maybe having my very own tracker was becoming more trouble than it was worth, but I knew that it was something I'd very happily put up with.

I hated that I missed the sound of his voice once it was gone. I probably should have thought him as repulsive as the others, but I couldn't. It was a complete mess, just like I was. Men like him were always the ones I fell for, and it never ended well because they didn't stick around to fall for me. But I knew I wouldn't let anything happen. I liked to think I was smarter than that, at the very least. I had a mission to do. A job. And even though I might have convinced myself I'd be as dispassionate as he was if I took him up on that tantalising offer I knew was always open, it would never happen. I couldn't even think of it for fear of it looking like a good idea. And right about now...it was pretty inviting. How long had it been since I was with a man I actually desperately wanted...

I tallied up the months, and as the figure grew larger and larger the wistful little smile on my face melted into horrified shock.

'Far, far too long.'

Well, that was depressing. But still. It didn't matter how desperate I was, I wasn't that person anymore, and I wouldn't let something so silly get in the way of what I had to do. Hells, I had a real job now, I was in charge of people and it seemed like most of Neverwinter were counting on me to sort this threat out...and however much I didn't want to be the one in charge, better that than answer to someone else. At least this way I was the one in charge of the Keep, and the only people I had to answer to essentially wanted the same thing as I did. And I was right. I couldn't just run off with him, I was as much a part of this as the Keep itself, what with the shard lodged in my chest like a birthmark from the abyss.

That shard...I didn't know how I felt about it anymore. At first it had been such a shock, and then it all started to make sense. That was why I had to be the one to leave, that was why all these things kept happening to me...so I could be the one to end it, like I was doing now. I was like one of those people whose lives were to be documented along with what incredible thing they did and all the oblivious citizens whose lives they saved. Those people fortune chose and placed neatly onto a chessboard along with impossible odds and the even more impossible means to overcome them. It was fun for a while, thinking that I could be a great hero like the ones I always read about. But I wasn't a hero - not even close. I was one of the most selfish, egoistical, and all around not very praiseworthy people I knew. Sure, I could take the West Harbour militia on a patrol, but...Gods, lead an army? I didn't know who Nasher thought I was, but he was clearly wrong.

And barely a few hours ago I'd been grinning at the possibility of having my very own Keep and my very own men and my very own personal town to take care of. I didn't even know what I wanted. Even that was a lie, because I knew exactly what it was I wanted at that moment and he had just walked out of the door. I shook my head and reminded myself of all the hundreds of very valid reasons why that was an atrocious idea. Still, it spoke volumes about what kind of a leader I was that I sat in a bar, drinking and thinking about bedding one of my companions when I had several thousand Captain-ish tasks waiting for me back inside the main walls.

'Yes. Clearly a terrible mistake on Nasher's part. I'll make sure to tell him after I'm done with all this…if I'm alive that is.'

Well, I'd deal with that issue another time. I didn't know when, but just…not now.