Up In Arms
"You'll be safe here with us until we return to Neverwinter, Marcus." Kaede ushered the boy into the Alliance Arms Inn and the remainder of her troupe filed in behind. As always Bishop lurked at the rear of the party and he slumped against the wall, watching the others as they milled in the foyer.
"I will need some time to examine the evidence we have gathered and start building your defence, Kaede." Sand announced. "It's best that we highlight any weaknesses in the case before we return to Neverwinter. Otherwise we'll have to come back to this reeking cess pool to search for additional clues." Sand made no effort to hide his disgust, everyone knew of his poor opinion of Port Llast.
"Take whatever time you need Sand. I can't say I'm in a hurry to return to Neverwinter." Kaede scratched absentmindedly at her forearm. The healing scar itched terribly and irritated her to no end. Kaede moved toward the common room, leaving Elanee and Casavir to arrange accommodation for the party as she settled herself near the fireplace. Bishop followed Khelgar to the bar, the dwarf ordering three drinks.
"Gonna behave yeself tonight Ranger?" Khelgar asked as he handed a drink to Bishop.
"I don't know what you mean." Bishop replied and Khelgar frowned.
"Of course yeh do." Khelgar looked meaningfully at Kaede and Bishop scowled.
"Don't worry about me, she's the one you should watch out for." Bishop turned on his heel and settled himself where he could keep an eye and ear on Kaede. Khelgar plonked down at Kaede's table, handing her a drink. Kaede sniffed at the liquor before taking a tentative sip.
"Agh, how can they even call this ale?" Kaede remarked in disgust. "Say what you will about Duncan's brew, it doesn't hold a candle to this awful swill." Bishop tasted his own drink and grudgingly he had to agree with her. Though if he never again tasted Duncan's ale it would be no great loss.
"Ha! When did yeh develop such refined tastes lass? Been hangin' round with Sand too long." Khelgar threw his head back and downed his drink, slapping the empty tankard on the table as he gasped for air. He wiped away the ale that had trailed down into his beard and burped. "Tastes fine ta me!"
"Hmm, I'll get you some West Harbour Red, Khelgar. Then you'll know what a proper drink tastes like."
"Psssht! All these man-made beers pale in comparison ta good Dwarven stout! One sippa that lass an you'll be under the table." Khelgar returned to the bar to fetch himself another drink. Shandra settled into the seat next to Kaede as Neeshka eased onto Kaede's armrest and swiped her drink.
"Help yourself." Kaede remarked indifferently as Neeshka guzzled down her ale.
"I hate to admit it, but Khelgar's right, there's nothing wrong with this ale. You're getting too snobby, Kaede. Though I suppose you are part of the nobility now, Squire." Neeshka teased Kaede and the moon elf sighed in frustration.
"I've not changed, Neeshka." Kaede replied tersely. Bishop scoffed into his tankard at her words. He didn't know if it was due to her elevation to nobility, but it seemed to him that Kaede was a little bit different each day. She was more serious than before, more solemn. The wicked, teasing spark had slowly faded from her eyes and she had withdrawn more into herself. Bishop wondered if her other companions had noticed that when she spoke, her words were hollow. Kaede had never given much of herself to anyone to begin with, but even Bishop could see the vast difference lately. It was as if she was just drifting on the course laid out before her, she went through the motions required, but her heart had fled.
"I can't remember the last time you spent a night drinking with us." Neeshka pouted.
"She won't be any time soon either." Sand interjected as he approached the fireplace. "You mustn't neglect your studies Kaede. I don't think it's wise for you to sit here all night drinking." Sand scolded her and Kaede forced a compliant smile to her lips.
"Alright Sand, I'll just have one drink then hit the books." Kaede promised.
"Good. If you need to borrow Markham's treatise on evocation I have it in my pack." Sand frowned at Neeshka and retired to his room upstairs.
"Our room is second on the left, Kaede." Elanee mimicked Sand's look of disapproval as her eyes swept over Neeshka and Shandra. "I will take your gear upstairs if you like." Elanee held out her arms and Kaede handed over her hat, back pack and blades. She kept her spell book firmly secured to her hip.
"Would you mind?" Neeskha asked pertly as she held up her own gear and drew a dirty look from Elanee. "Just thought I'd ask." The tiefling muttered as Elanee strode away without Neeshka's belongings.
"Here lass, their mead's too sweet for my taste, but yeh might like it." Khelgar put a new drink in front of Kaede. She took a sip and nodded appreciatively.
"Khelgar, when was the last time Kaede drank with us?" Neeshka shifted on the armrest, trying to find a more comfortable position.
"Eh, not since Highcliff! When those damn lizards kept sinkin' the ships, so yeh didn't have anythin' ta do but drink with us."
"I seem to recall you busied yourself enough to get my barn burned down." Shandra grumbled.
"Are you still upset about that?" Neeshka asked incredulously. "It wasn't Kaede's fault, the lizards burned your barn down!"
"Well it doesn't really matter anymore since the Gith came along and finished my house off too." Despite her words to the contrary there was clearly an edge of resentment in Shandra's voice. "You never did mention how you managed to get the Lizard folk to stop sinking the ships." She asked Kaede to turn the subject from her ravaged farm. Neeshka interjected before Kaede could reply.
"Kaede told them that they had only two options. She recommended they choose the first option and live peacefully with the villagers."
"Really?" Shandra's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "I've never heard of lizard men listening to outsiders before."
"They didn't this time either." Kaede replied tersely.
"So Kaede demonstrated their second option," Neeshka held up two fingers and then brought her hands together with a sharp clap, "total annihilation."
"You killed them all!?" Shandra gasped.
"Down ta the last stinkin' egg!" Khelgar growled. "They made their choice."
"I can't believe it's been so long, you don't spend any time with us anymore Kaede." Neeshka whined, her shrill voice sending shivers down Bishop's spine.
"Neeshka we've spent time together nearly every day." Kaede replied wearily.
"I don't mean travelling, or fighting for our lives. I mean just hanging out." Neeshka's tail whipped and curled animatedly behind her.
"I've been rather busy you know."
"Yeah, yeah." Neeshka waved away Kaede's excuses. "So are you gonna hang with us tonight or be a good little girl and go read your books?"
"Well… I rather like the taste of this mead." Kaede replied quietly, a small smile twitching at her lips.
"Tha's what I wanna hear!" Khelgar bellowed as he returned from the bar with his third drink and a fresh round for the three women.
"What's the occasion then?" Shandra asked Kaede.
"Occasion?!" Neeshka laughed scornfully at Shandra. It seemed the tiefling believed one never needed a reason to drink oneself into oblivion.
"Well you said you're too busy, so what's changed?"
"I don't know." Kaede replied earnestly and pondered Shandra's question for a moment. "I guess maybe I'm celebrating that I think I've got a pretty good case against Luskan. And if I'm wrong, then at least I'll have had one more good time before I'm executed." A mirthless laugh emerged from Kaede's lips, silencing the small troupe.
Bishop could imagine what they were thinking. All three of her companions had momentarily forgotten that a death sentence hung over Kaede's head. While they could relax and enjoy themselves, Kaede had no such reprieve. This realisation was no doubt the cause for the identical looks of guilt plastered on their faces at this moment.
"Hey, you said yourself, you think you've got a pretty good case. Sand might be a complete pain, but he seems to know what he's doing." The words rolled unconvincingly off Neeshka's tongue.
"Neeshka's right, you've got a good case. I'm not even sure it was necessary to bully Alaine into testifying for you." Shandra added and Bishop saw the dark cloud gathering over Kaede's features. He smirked and silently urged Shandra on, hoping the girl's stupidity could bring him a glimpse of the Kaede he had been missing. "I mean she's been through so much, losing her home and watching her friends being killed."
Neeshka glared meaningfully at Shandra, trying to send her a signal to stop talking. Khelgar just rolled his eyes and downed his latest drink. Bishop couldn't detect any further changes in Kaede's demeanour. No tell-tale clenching of her jaw or tightening around her eyes. Shandra plunged on relentlessly.
"I just feel like you shouldn't have been so callous with her, is her testimony really going to make that much difference? You could have been a little more sympathetic." Shandra admonished Kaede.
"Shandra…" There was a note of warning in Kaede's soft voice. "She cowered in her home, while the Githyanki dragged you kicking and screaming through Ember." As Kaede locked her eyes on Shandra, Bishop spied a spark of rage simmering in their grey depths and his pulse quickened at the sight of it. "For all she knew they were taking you to your death, or worse. Alaine and the rest of the village did nothing. Not a one had the courage to stand up for you. She doesn't deserve your sympathy."
"Casavir would disagree." Shandra rebutted, drawing a look of scorn from Kaede. A taunting voice from behind him drew Bishop's attention away from the tense plateau.
"Hmph, I thought I could smell something." The unkempt woman wrinkled her nose as Bishop turned in his seat to face her.
"Malin." Bishop drawled with displeasure.
"You've got some nerve showing your face here Bishop." The half-elf hissed.
"Why is that?" Bishop scoffed as he eyed the scout up and down. Malin hadn't changed much since last he had seen her, though she seemed more bitter, if that was even possible. "If my presence bothers you, then leave. You think I'd be ashamed to come back here… because of you?" Malin bristled at his words and Bishop sneered gleefully.
'She always was easy to rile.'His sneer turned to a snigger as Malin's face flushed red. He could see her mind working to produce a biting reply but she had never possessed enough wit to compete with Bishop.
"It makes no difference to me." Malin protested with a shrug of her shoulders. She couldn't hide her agitation from Bishop however. "What brings you crawling back here anyway? Burnt all your bridges down south already?" Malin jeered and crossed her arms. "Stab too many backs?"
"That's all I do, huh?"
"It's what your best at." Malin snarled. "And yeah, I don't think you're capable of much else." He saw her eyes flicker away from him as someone approached, her anger ebbing to surprise.
Bishop's breath caught in his throat when he felt a slender arm brush behind his neck, fingers curling possessively over his shoulder. Contempt now crept into Malin's features as Kaede sidled up next to Bishop.
"I didn't know he was travelling with you." Malin eyed Kaede suspiciously.
"I sent him ahead to scout Ember while I made my enquiries here. You're acquainted with the best Ranger on the Sword Coast?" Kaede's tone was innocent, sweeter than honey; but even Malin could not miss the snide insult. Bishop didn't know what Kaede was playing at but he certainly enjoyed watching Malin's fragile ego being crushed.
"We used to be partners." The half-elf ground out through her teeth and Bishop could sense a twinge of jealousy beneath Malin's anger.
"Ah..." Kaede smiled smugly. "Bishop you dog, you never mentioned her." Kaede scolded playfully as her eyes slowly raked up and down Malin. Bishop had felt that belittling gaze often enough himself. Kaede had mastered the art of making people feel like a speck of dirt with a single glance. Malin shifted uneasily under the scrutiny and Kaede's eyes gleamed triumphantly. "Though I can see why." Kaede's mock pity pushed Malin over the edge.
"You'll get what's coming." Malin hissed, her cheeks burning with shame. "Just remember that I warned you, though you don't deserve it. You can't trust him, he's a wild beast!"
"Maybe you just didn't know how to tame him." Kaede purred as her other hand slid down Bishop's chest. Malin's chin jerked as though Kaede had physically slapped her. She gifted the pair with one final glare before she stormed out of the common room. Kaede watched her go, a self-satisfied smirk spreading across her lips. Bishop caught hold of her hand before she could withdraw it from his chest.
"Sorry if I scared your lover off." Kaede did not sound contrite at all. "I had no idea you were into scruffy little boys. I'd better keep a close eye on Marcus." She tried to pull free but Bishop jerked her back against him.
"Oh you're very funny tonight." There was not an ounce of amusement in Bishop's tone. "I didn't think you'd ever be jealous of Malin."
"Don't be absurd!" Kaede looked away from him, unable to maintain eye contact. "She seemed pretty hung up on you, despite what she was saying. I thought it inevitable she'd end up in your bed." Bishop blinked in surprise.
"And why should that matter to you?" Bishop caught hold of her chin and turned her face to meet his.
"I couldn't bear the thought of you," Kaede's eyes burned with emotion, her voice waspish, "having a single happy moment in your vile… little… life." She snatched her hand from his and rose to her feet.
"Well aren't you a piece of work." Bishop muttered as Kaede sauntered back to her table. He couldn't fathom what he had done to turn her against him so viciously. He'd always felt that Kaede found him amusing to a degree. That as terrible and cruel as his behaviour had been toward her companions she hadn't truly cared for them, aside from Dax. All he had done of late was save her life.
'That's some gratitude for you.'Bishop shook his head, he was beginning to wonder if he could ever figure out what made Kaede tick. 'Why is she trying to make me miserable? Is she trying to drive me away?'He downed the last of his ale and made his way out onto the streets of Port Llast. 'Hmph, not a decent brothel in this place, but I bet I know where I can find Malin.' A wolfish grin crept onto his face. 'Now wouldn't that stick in Kaede's throat.'