***

Chapter 7: Confessions of a Knight Errant

***

Above the wooden door into the upper rooms of the Copper Coronet hung the head of a Shadow Dragon. This grisly ornament marked the headquarters of the Blades of Honor, the newest, and most successful adventuring company Amn had seen in years. The leader of the Blades was Brynn Trueblade, a petite half-elven Kensai of remarkable skill and charismatic beauty, and her followers were an eclectic bunch of men and women to be sure. Though their ultimate goals were unknown in the last three months following the debacle at Waukeen's Promenade the Blades of Honor had begun to carve out a niche in Athkatla and the rest of Amn, first by ending a series of murders in the Athkatla Bridge District, then by exposing a band of slavers that had been operating out of the Copper Coronet. For their part in his rescue, Hendak, once a slave who had been forced to fight as a Gladiator in the back rooms of the Copper Coronet and now the inn's new owner, gave the Blades part of the upper floor as a base for their operations, though Brynn Trueblade had insisted upon paying at least a nominal fee for the space. A week after that news came from the town of Trademeet that the Blades had not only removed a group of Shadow Druids, but had also rid the town of a number of troublesome Djinni and peacefully solved a dispute between two rival families. Not long after that the Blades had arrived in the sleepy village of Imnesville and destroyed a the shade lord that had set up in an abandoned temple and whose minions had been killing the farmers in Imnseville. On a side note that was where they got the dragon head to go over the door to their headquarters. The Blades returned to Athkatla with the halfling warrior Mazzy Fentan among their number, having rescued her from the clutches of the Shade Lord. Enlisted by the Temple of Helm, the Blades helped the Paladin Keldorn Firecam to clean a beholder cult out of the sewers. It wasn't too long after that that one of the Blades, Anomen Delryn, was knighted by the Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart.

Which isn't to say that the Blades never dealt with the less than savory members on Athkatla society. It was rumored that Brynn Trueblade's right hand man, a bounty hunter from far away Kara-Tur Yoshimo, had dealings with the Shadow Thieves, and more than once Brynn herself and several of her companions had been seen entering the Shadow Thieves' base in the Docks District. It was also a well known fact that the Blades had freed a female drow that had been caught within the city, preventing her execution. They had also at various times counted among their number Jan Jansen, a gnomish inventor and peddler with a bit of a record for illegally selling his various creations.

The more generous members of society, and the many folk whom the Blades had assisted during their time in Athkatla, simply overlooked these transgressions. After all, everyone knew that the government itself had a noninterference policy regarding the Shadow Thieves, and more often than not more could be accomplished through unofficial and occasionally illegal channels than through the government. As for the drow elf and the gnome... well, rumor had it that after one got to know them they weren't so bad.

***

Brynn scratched her chin and eyed the chess board with the sort of ferocious intensity she usually reserved for battle. Across the table from her Anomen sat back in his chair, confident of his victory. Smiling tightly Brynn moved her bishop forward. "Checkmate," she said.

Anomen sat forward and examined the pieces with a startled look. "Verily," he said, sounding a little put off, "I think I have met my match."

"Don't sweat it, Anomen," Brynn told him. "Strategy games were a hobby of mine back at Candlekeep, that is when Master Touga wasn't training me and drilling me without mercy." She smiled ruefully. "Those were the days. Do you want another game or are you going to pack it in for the night?" She reached across the chess board for her pieces that Anomen had captured, but Anomen surprised her by clasping her hand in both of his. "I need that back," she said, raising an eyebrow at him. "I can't play chess very well if you've got my hand, and I don't even want to go into how difficult it would be to bathe..."

Anomen smiled a little, but his eyes were serious. "My lady, my heart is bursting with words that have gone to long unsaid. Prithee, let me tell you what I long to say."

Brynn kept a straight face, but she felt a little uncomfortable. This had been building for a while now. As near as she could tell Anomen had been showing signs of a sort of un-platonic fondness for her ever since she had managed to convince him not to go and slay his sister's killer. At first she thought it was just his attempts to find someone stable to anchor him firmly since his father had officially disowned him in a drunken fit and he had yet to be accepted as a Knight of the Order, but in the week since he had been knighted Anomen was beginning to be more... attentive... to her than ever before. She didn't really mind it so much, she was fond enough of Anomen, he was handsome certainly, and really a sweet man when he wasn't putting his foot in his mouth because of his self-righteous attitude, or about to get in a brawl with Haer'Dalis or Yoshimo. Sure he could be really aggravating sometimes, like when he leapt to judgment before all the facts were in, and it did get on her nerves when he just sort of assumed that she would agree with him, but she was slowly curing him of both of those habits.

"What do you want to say?" Brynn asked, already knowing the answer.

Anomen smiled again, a touch more broadly this time. "My lady, for some time I have been growing ever more fond of you. Before my Test I could not afford the distractions that a more... romantic relationship with you would create, but now that I am Knight I felt it imperative that I tell you how I feel. I love you, my lady, I dare say I have since I met you, and it would please me to no end if you were to say you feel for me even a fraction of the love I bear for you."

Brynn gave mental whistle of wonderment. "I can see why your heart was bursting," she said. "That's some sentiment."

"It is more than just sentiment, my lady," Anomen insisted. "I mean every word of it."

"I believe you," Brynn assured him, feeling decidedly put on the spot. "I know that you never say anything unless you really mean it. It's just that it's a lot for me to think about all at once. I admit that I am fond of you, but I don't know if I can even begin to match the sort of love you're feeling. I'm going to need a little time to figure things out."

Anomen looked a little disappointed, but resolute nonetheless. "I have waited this long, my lady, and I would wait to the end of the time for you if need be," he said, raising her hand to his lips and kissing it with his usual chivalrous charm. Brynn felt her cheeks heat up a bit as she blushed, embarrassed by his earnestness. Men didn't usually act this way toward her, in fact she couldn't name one that ever had, up until now every man she had known had considered her a friend and nothing more and she had to admit that the sudden attention Anomen was giving her made her a little light headed and giddy. It really was very sweet.

The door to the Blade's headquarters swung open, letting the sounds of the tavern common room below drift in. With a bright smile and merry eyes Yoshimo came through the door, followed closely by Minsc and Jaheira.

"Good eve..." Yoshimo began. He stopped mid-word as soon as he saw Brynn and Anomen. "Pardon," he said somewhat stiffly. "I did not know you were busy. We will be out of your hair in a moment."

Brynn snatched her hand back from Anomen, her blush turning up a few notches. "We weren't busy," she lied. Behind Yoshimo and Minsc, Jaheira was giving her an 'Oh really?' look.

Minsc scratched his bald, tattooed head. "I don't know what is going on, and Boo says not to ask, so I will go to bed now and see you in the morning. Nighty-night, Brynn." With that he disappeared into the hall that lead to their rooms.

Jaheira just raised an eyebrow and said, "It is late, and we all should get some rest." She gave Brynn a significant glance before she too retreated to her room to sleep.

"Ah... well, my lady," Anomen said, obviously as embarrassed as Brynn was, "I ask that you ah... think about what I have said. I bid you good night for now and wish you the sweetest of dreams." And then he left for his room, probably anxious to go hide his head under his pillow and wait for things to die down.

Brynn really didn't blame him. She laughed a little uncomfortably and said to Yoshimo, who was still standing by the doorway, "You up for a game of chess?"

"No," he replied. "I was just going out for some air. Good night." He turned around and went right back the way he had come, shutting the door behind him.

Sighing, Brynn packed up the chess set and tucked it underneath the table. She felt like she'd been caught with her hand in the cookie jar or something. She hadn't expected anyone to come up the stairs right then, nor had she expected them to be so uncomfortable. Then again she hadn't expected Anomen to profess his undying love either. Well, there was nothing she could do about it after the fact, and she couldn't be certain yet that she wanted to do anything about it at all. It might just turn out that the others would have to get used to her being snuggly with Anomen, if she ever managed to figure out how she felt about him. She shook her head, foreseeing all sorts of complications in her near future, and decided to follow the example her friends had set and turn in for the night. She fell asleep quickly, and her dreams were as sweet as Anomen had wished.

***

Morning came and Brynn dressed and went down into the common room, joining the rest of her eclectic group of companions at one of the large tables near the bar. Aerie, Nalia, Mazzy and Haer'Dalis were all grouped together at one end, and Minsc and Anomen flanked Jaheira near the middle. There was a great deal of room at the table because depending on what was going on the Blade's numbers could increase dramatically. Brynn had acquired a good deal of allies while collecting money around Athkatla and at various times any number of those allies might drop in and see if they might lend a hand in the Blade's latest mission. Jan Jansen, the gnomish inventor and illusionist was known to frequent their headquarters if only for meals and to tell stories, and every so often Viconia would sneak in at night to grab a decent meal and report strange goings-on in the graveyard. Such reports had been coming more and more frequently since Brynn had refused the offer made by Bodhi, head of the guild that had been warring with the Shadow Thieves, something that made Brynn a little uncomfortable.

This morning however there were fewer people at the table than usual. When Brynn sat down at her usual place opposite Jaheira she noticed that Yoshimo, who always sat on her right, was missing. She wondered briefly where he had gone and whether he had even come in last night at all. More and more often Yoshimo had been cutting himself off from the group, keeping odd hours and avoiding her when he had the chance. She had been planning on talking to him about it for the past week, but with everything that had been going on and him being increasingly hard to track down she hadn't had the chance. She was quite frankly a little worried about him despite his assurances that he just simply wanted to be alone.

Brynn was relieved when halfway through breakfast the door near the bar opened and Yoshimo walked in, but her relief was short-lived. A little red-eyed from lack of sleep Yoshimo didn't even stop to grab a bite to eat or even say hello before he went upstairs.

"Well, something took the 'good' out of his 'good morning,'" said Haer'Dalis grinning lopsidedly, "He's not his usual merry self at all." He turned to Brynn, still smiling. "My raven, last night I had a stroke of genius and penned out a marvelous little ballad for you, perchance do you care to listen to it?"

Brynn shrugged. "Sure, if you like," she said.

Haer'Dalis pulled a few neatly folded sheets of paper from his pocket and cleared his throat. "I am as of yet unsure of the title, my raven, but 'Dragon Slayer' comes to mind as a possibility."

"That sounds nice, Haer'Dalis," Brynn told him. "Go ahead and read it too me... or sing it if there's a melody."

"'Tis yet without a melody, but it will not be that way for long," Haer'Dalis replied. He began to recite the ballad, an account of the battle with the shadow dragon and the Shade Lord in the abandoned temple of Amaunator. It was really very good, one of his better ballads so far, even if he did exaggerate a little bit. It probably would have been even nicer had Brynn been able to concentrate on it more fully.

"That was lovely, Haer'Dalis," she said when he was done. "I especially liked the way you described the death of the dragon."

"Thank you, my raven," Haer'Dalis said to her. "I dare say it will be even better when I put it to a tune."

Brynn nodded. She finished up her breakfast quickly, hoping to get out early and poke around town for a bit to see if there was any heroics to be performed and whether or not there would be a reward. She was close to having the money to pay the Shadow Thieves for their help, just over a thousand gold shy, and she was anxious to be on her way to rescue Imoen. Anomen followed her up the stairs, probably eager to speak with her alone after last night's little fiasco. The door closed behind them and he turned to her with an earnest expression.

"So, my lady, have you had time enough to consider my words?" he asked.

"Well yes but..." Brynn began uncertainly.

"Forgive me," Anomen said, "I know I must seem overeager, but truly it is the fervor of love that spurs me onward."

"Well, pretty words like that should come with pretty gifts." Brynn turned her head and spotted Yoshimo standing in the doorway to his room. He gave Anomen a derisive smile and reached into his pocket and pulled out a gold necklace studded with sparkling gems, sapphires, Brynn thought. "Here, catch," he added, tossing the necklace to Anomen. "It even matches her eyes."

"Silence, cur!" Anomen snapped, snatching the necklace as it sailed toward him. "The day I take advice from you on how to treat a lady is the day the world ends!"

"What a shame, and I went to all the trouble of going out and... acquiring... that bauble all for your benefit," Yoshimo mocked.

Anomen gave a short bark of laughter. "As if you would ever do anything for another if it meant taking money from your own pocket!"

"Who said I paid for it, priest?" Yoshimo returned.

Brynn could see Anomen's knuckles turn white as he clenched his hand around the necklace. "Thieving dog!" he snarled, his voice dangerously quiet. "I have endured your insolence and your lawlessness this long only because Brynn counted you as a friend, but this is too much! How dare you dishonor both her and me with this?" He tossed the necklace to the ground.

"What do you know about honor?" Yoshimo demanded, his hand going to the hilt of his katana. "I could ask you the same question," Anomen returned, reaching for his mace.

Brynn's stomach lurched as she realized that things were getting out of hand. After she had worked so hard to keep them all safe from their enemies for so long, after she had stayed up nights sick with worry that she might lose one of her friends in battle with some monster, after all that the threat of death was coming from within her party. Anomen and Yoshimo would kill each other right then if she gave them the chance, she knew it. She couldn't let them, not after all they had been through. "Anomen, Yoshimo, stop this right now!"

"Nay, my lady, I've let this scum live for far too long," Anomen said quietly as he drew his mace.

Yoshimo drew his katana, the sound of the metal sliding against its wooden scabbard terrible to Brynn's ears. "You could never even hit me, boy," he snarled, his fingers tightening around the katana's hilt.

The two men charged at one another, and Brynn jumped forward, interposing herself between them. Anomen stopped just in time to avoid smashing her in the ribs with his mace, and Yoshimo barely missed slicing her arm off.

"Stop it!" she shouted, "both of you stop it right now!" Her throat tightened up making her voice crack. "Stop it! Don't do this to me! Don't!"

"My lady step aside..." Anomen began

"No!" Brynn snapped. "No! I don't care if you think he ought to die, Anomen, I don't care! Yoshimo is my friend! You can hate him all you want, but if you kill him I... I... I don't know what I'll do, but I swear, no matter how I feel about you now, I'll forget it all in half of a heartbeat!"

Anomen took a step back, a shocked expression on his face.

"And you!" Brynn continued, turning on Yoshimo, "What were you thinking? Why provoke him?"

Yoshimo looked down, his dark eyes full of shame. "I am sorry," he murmured.

"You're sorry?" Brynn demanded. "Do you think that's good enough?"

"I..." Yoshimo began.

The door to the Blades' headquarters swung open and in walked Jaheira, Minsc and a well-dressed man Brynn did not recognize.

Brynn willed the flush of anger in her cheeks to go away and said to Yoshimo and Anomen in a collected voice, "I'll talk to both of you later." Chastised, both men left, Anomen to the common room and Yoshimo to his quarters.

Brynn pasted a smile on her face and turned to her guest. "Hello," she said cheerfully. "I'm sorry about that, I had some... routine problems to resolve. Might I inquire as to your name?" She took a moment to look the stranger up and down, noting the fine gold embroidery on his red silk jacket and the aristocratic way he held himself. He was handsome, his features slender and his dark eyes beneath red brows full of spirit and perhaps a little arrogance.

The stranger smiled back coolly. "I am Lord Jierdan Firkaag," he said, his voice deep and distant without sounding unpleasant. "I assume you are Lady Brynn Trueblade, leader of the Blades of Honor?"

"That I am," Brynn replied, "how can I help you?"

Lord Firkaag's smile faded. "I have a job for you," he said. "My lands have been invaded by a group of ogres, vicious ones, and I would request your assistance in... removing them. The reward will be well worth your efforts I assure you."

"How much?" Brynn asked, skipping further pleasantries.

"Fifty thousand gold," Lord Firkaag replied without missing a beat.

Minsc whistled and even Jaheira seemed taken aback at the sum Lord Firkaag had named, but Brynn kept her cool. "Those must be some ogres," she said straight-faced. "Still, so long as you're paying, I'm willing to lend a hand in dealing with them."

"Excellent," Lord Firkaag said. "Excellent indeed. If you have a map around I will mark the locations of my holdings for you, and you can leave at your earliest convenience."

Brynn went to a table that stood against one of the walls and rifled through some of the papers on it. She found the map she was looking for, a precise rendering of Amn that she used when getting down important locations and put it down on the table in the center of the room for Lord Firkaag to see before snagging a pen and an inkwell for him to use. Lord Firkaag marked the place on the map that indicated his lands, and recapped the inkwell while Brynn studied the map.

"Windspear Hills, huh?" she asked aloud. "No wonder I haven't heard of you, that's on the other side of Amn from here. Don't worry though, it shouldn't take to long for us to get out there and get rid of your ogre problem." She left the map out so that the ink could dry.

Brynn and Lord Firkaag shook hands to close the deal and then he left, rather quickly she thought, but then again a member of the upper crust like Firkaag probably didn't want to spend too much time in a slums district inn like the Copper Coronet.

"All right, get everyone together and tell them we'll be moving out before midday," Brynn said to Jaheira and Minsc. "We'll make a stop over at the keep on the way to check up on things, but then we'll be walking all the way to Windspear Hills."

Jaheira sort of smiled. "As you wish, oh fearless leader," she said.

She and Minsc left, and Brynn sat down heavily on in a chair near the map. Fearless leader, she thought sourly, fearless my right arm! I just hope I can keep Anomen and Yoshimo off each other's throats until I can sort out what's wrong with them both.

***

To Be Continued