Chapter 23: Could things be more confusing...



Next morning the sun was blazing from cloudless sky. Shandara woke up, sweating and feeling lousy. The bath last night hadn't washed away the memory of Kheran, and the clothes she had worn, now piled on a chair, were even harsher reminder.



"I must be getting old," she muttered and then got up, stretching her muscles. She looked at the tooth marks above her left breast, and cursed Kheran once again. She didn't want to bother Faershan because of such a small thing, but she knew that it would take few days before the marks would fade away.



"Come in," she called when there was a knock on the door. Artemis Entreri stepped in, wearing his normal black clothes that, Shandara admitted to herself, looked better on him than the complicated suit he had worn last night. He looked more dangerous, and she couldn't hide a little grin when she thought how right she was. One of the most dangerous people in Faerun.



"What is it?" he asked coldly, and Shandara looked at him more closely, noticing that the man looked a bit tired. He clearly hadn't slept much last night, and Shandara realized that it was quite surprising she could read this from his face. Usually he controlled his appearance too well for her to notice these things.



"I'm not laughing at you," she said, but then decided to go for the truth. "Well, actually you were a part of the association, but I was laughing more to myself. Did you sleep well?" she added, trying to follow Entreri's face carefully.



"Of course," he replied, and Shandara couldn't notice any kind of emotion on his face. Maybe she shouldn't have flirted with him so obviously last night. Or maybe, she pointed out to herself, that stupid Mitsu shouldn't have interrupted them. She had seen the lust in Entreri's eyes, and it had intrigued her more than anything had lately done.



"I think I need another bath," Shandara said, taking a dressing gown and putting it on over the simple white shirt she used when she slept. "You don't need t guard me there. Unless you want, of course," she added with a sly wink, and although Entreri's face remained motionless, Shandara could have sworn she saw a flash of lust in his eyes. She knew she was playing with fire, but she was willing to get burned for Entreri. The man was simply too interesting to pass by, and when she walked past him, she let her body brush gently against Entreri's, and was quite content when she heard his quiet gasp. Things were turning the right way for her.



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Entreri felt like a gaged animal. He was walking around his room, unable to sit down and relax, unable to practice his fighting skills, unable to do anything but to try to suppress his lust. The fire that he hadn't acknowledged before was now burning bright, and he couldn't take it anymore. Shandara had said she wouldn't need him, so he headed out, towards the corridor where most of the whores lived. Most of them would be around in the morning, and most of them had already made him generous offers that he was now going to take advantage of.



The girl was barely twenty, but already very experienced. She was also beautiful, with her long black hair and dark eyes. Entreri tore off her clothes, pausing only for a moment to adore her young, slender body and soft breasts. She was more than willing to sleep with him, and he knew she could have pleased him in numerous ways, but he wasn't interested in that. He simply plunged into her, took her quickly and angrily, and when it was over, he rolled on his back, staring at the ceiling.

"You know, I could..." the girl started, but Entreri silenced him with one gesture. Still the girl started to kiss his neck, moving her hands down to his groin. He felt her firm grip, she has done this so many times, he thought, and when she lowered her head and her tongue slit out to touch him, he closed his eyes and allowed himself enjoy the pleasure.



After that he got dressed and walked out, leaving the girl few coins although she had told it was free, and he realized that he had seen Shandara's face in his mind the whole time.



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"You know where your bodyguard spent his day. Or at least a small part of it?" Mitsu asked, sitting once again on Shandara's soft armchair, while the woman was trying to concentrate on a book on relations between Baldur's Gate and Amn. The tone of Mitsu's voice made her look up; she sounded like it would be interesting.



"Apparently he had a very good time with Loranna," Mitsu said, and Shandara recalled a young prostitute with beautiful black hair and a very direct way with men. But how could she have accomplished something that Shandara hadn't; she had slept with Artemis Entreri.



"You are serious," Shandara said, staring at Mitsu. "You really are. Oh my god!"



"Not good on your professional pride?" Mitsu asked grinning. "She managed to do what you couldn't."



"It's MY pride that's hurt here, forget the professional side," Shandara sighed, putting the book on the floor. "I can't believe it. But then again, men can be pretty stupid. Don't know what's good for them," she added, flashing a smile. "There's still hope."



"Aren't you the little miss optimistic," Mitsu said. "What is it about him that makes you so..."



"Stupid?" Shandara asked. "His eyes. And his hair. And his body. And there was the fact that he wasn't easy to get. I think I can cross that out from my list."



"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Mitsu said. "I mena, he just slept with her, gave her some money and left. Nothing else. But if I'm not mistaken, you're different to him. He looks at you and..."



"That's what I'm counting on," Shandara sighed. "But I think I'll leave him alone for a couple of days. He'll get a chance to think about his actions. Those he made and those he should make."



"Determination," Mitsu laughed. "Good thing. You'll need it with that one."



"I know," Shandara said. A little bit of determination and Artemis Entreri would do whatever she wanted him to. A delightful thought.



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"So this is it?" Calmira asked, turning to her brother. Elenwyd shrugged, as if to say that she wasn't responsible for the plain looking guild house of the Shadow Thieves.



"Well, I guess it'll do," Chalmira sighed, pulling her hand through her thick, purple hair. There was a complicated tattoo on her hand, curved lines swirling around her fingers and joining as one around her wrist. Her ears, which were a mark of the elven half of her heritage, were pierced and there were silver earrings dangling from them. She was wearing black trousers, a bright green shirt, and dark green boots that she loved, at least in Elenwyd's opinion, more than anything else. She was short and slim, and her dark brown eyes were big and a bit almond-shaped. Now she had drawn her blood red cloak around her and was looking bored and tired.



Her brother, who preferred a little simpler appearance, had only few red streaks in his dark brown hair. He wore simple black clothes, but his shirt was made of strange fabric that changed its colour depending on the light. He was two years older than Chalmira, and his eyes were light green. He had inherited more of their human father's appearance, but he still had much of elven grace that made many women swoon.



"Linvail is waiting for us," Elenwyd said to one of the guards on the door. There were more of them than he had expected, but then again, with what had been going on in Athkatla, Elenwyd wasn't at all surprised. He was a bard like his sister, and stories travelled fast between their kind. Although many of the stories had been clearly exaggerated, there was no doubt that the Shadow Thieves were in turmoil. And that was also why Elenwyd and Chalmira had arrived to offer their services to the Shadowmaster.



"I seriously want to meet the drow," Chalmira exclaimed when they were guarded down towards Aran Linvail's office. "Think of the stories we can make! And all those strange drow habits that..."



"Take it easy, little sister," Elenwyd said. Although he had to admit that he to was interested in this drow that Aran had hired, or at least so they had heard, he was more careful than Chalmira and knew that the drow could be trouble.



"I'm not going to challenge him to a fight or anything like that," Chalmira said calmly. "I just want to learn more about Underdark. You know how the nobles love stories of exotic and dangerous places. They're never going to visit there, but they expect us to know all the details. This is our chance!"



Elenwyd simply shook his head. When Chalmira was like this, there was nothing he could do, except to save her the last moment. He had quite a lot of experience of it. But Chalmira was also right; they could get a lot of material from the drow's stories. They had been travelling up and down the Sword Coast, and customers were expecting more and more daring and exiting stories and plays. If Underdark wouldn't please them, Elenwyd thought, he would retire and start to grow potatoes.



Potatoes and stories would have to wait, though. Aran Linvail wouldn't require their skills as actors but as spies and magic-users. And although the job would be dangerous, the pay would be good. And Elenwyd had already started to write a poem called "The fall of the Shadow thieves". Maybe he could add "and rise" to the title later on, but either way it would be a good story. He wasn't used to mediocrity.



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Hark: This chapter is dedicated to the real Elenwyd and Chalmira, although I don't think they will recognize themselves after all the changes I've made in their characters. Sorry guys. Well, at least I finally put you here. And my chapter titles don't make sense anymore. *sigh*