OK, first, thanks for correcting me on the sword's name Silverbane…Kitten, Tyr is a Human god of justice, and most elves don't follow Human Gods for the most part….
Chapter 11--Deadly Dance
Darkness fell and Shandra reined in Titan. "Time to set up camp," she said. She waited for Drizzt to dismount then did so herself. "Would you gather firewood and start a fire while I tend to Titan?" she asked.
"Of course," Drizzt said and walked off. He had gathered the firewood and was heading back when he heard a noise behind him.
A muted sneeze then a curse and a whispered order to be silent. Drizzt smirked to himself. Clumsy, he thought. He walked casually back to camp as if nothing was wrong.
Shandra was just finishing feeding Titan when he returned. She looked up. "Good, we're all set," she said.
Drizzt put the wood down and dropped the cowl of his clock onto his shoulders. "We're being watched," he said calmly.
"What? By who?" Shandra asked, startled.
"Bandits, I think. They're hiding in the trees," Drizzt said.
Shandra nodded and patted Titan's neck then picked up her pack before walking over to Drizzt. She put down the pack and rummaged through it.
Drizzt started the fire then sat back on his heels. "So who's cooking dinner?" he asked.
"I'll take care of it tonight then tomorrow night it's your turn," Shandra said. She went to work.
They ate dinner and cleaned up, still no attack. "They're waiting for us to fall asleep," Shandra muttered. "Slinking cowards."
Drizzt smiled wickedly. "Want me to go in after them?" he asked.
"We can wait. We aren't in a hurry to be attacked," Shandra said. No sooner then the words left her mouth seven men rushed from the trees, waving bared weapons.
Drizzt drew his scimitars and leaped forward to engage the first one.
Shandra drew her own weapon and struck at another.
The bandit stabbed at Shandra's stomach, but the blade was stopped by her plate armor. Her return blow cleaved the bandit's skull. She looked towards Drizzt to see if he needed help then stared.
Three bandits surrounded the Drow, but he was having no trouble. He dodged the bandits' blows and returned them with deadly precision.
A bandit stumbled back, clutching his stomach to keep his guts in then another fell with his throat cut.
Like a dance, a deadly dance, Shandra thought. She pulled her attention back to the fight just as another bandit lunged at her.
Finally the fight was over. Four bandits were dead and the surviving three had fled.
Drizzt cleaned his blades. When he was finished he looked up and saw Shandra looking at him. "Is something the matter?" he asked.
"You could have done horrible things to those guards when they led you to the stake. Why didn't you fight back?" Shandra asked.
Drizzt just shrugged. "We should bury these bodies, so they won't attract company during the night," he said.
Shandra frowned then decided to forget it, since it seemed she wasn't going to get an answer. She helped Drizzt drag the dead bandit's away from camp and bury them. The rest of the night passed peacefully. At dawn they had a quick breakfast then continued on their way.
"How old are you?" Shandra asked.
"One hundred and ninety," Drizzt said.
"You're still very young, but you fight like a veteran," Shandra said.
"I began my training when I was sixteen," Drizzt said.
"Sixteen, so very young," Shandra said, "I'm three hundred and fifty. Of course the differences in our age are not so much."
"No, I suppose not," Drizzt said.
"Are you from here?" Shandra asked.
"No, I'm from Icewind Dale," Drizzt said.
"Don't know where that is. Did you come by ship?" she asked.
"Yes," Drizzt said.
Shandra nodded then suddenly Titan reared violently.
Drizzt was forced to grab Shandra around the waist to keep from falling off.
"Whoa, easy! What's wrong, boy?" Shandra asked, trying to calm the stallion.
The stallion snorted and tossed his head, still struggling against her control.
"Get down, something's upsetting Titan," Shandra said.
Drizzt dismounted then moved out of the stallion's reach. He looked around; listening for any sounds that would tell him what was going on. He heard nothing.
Shandra had dismounted as well. She held the reins tightly while she rubbed the stallion's neck and talked to him, trying to sooth the animal.
It was then that Drizzt realized all was silent, including the birds. That was a bad sign. He put his hands on his scimitars, looking around warily.
Shandra noticed how alert Drizzt was and tethered Titan. She noticed the unnatural silence as well. She came to his side and drew her own blade. "Something's out there," she muttered.
They saw shadowy figures moving about in the trees then there was a horrible shout and the intruders charged at them.
"Orcs!" Drizzt snarled, cutting one down as it reached them.
Shandra knocked one down with her shield and skewered it through the chest before it could get up.
Drizzt killed another then he heard chanting from the area where the Orcs had come from. "There's a mage with them," he warned. He started towards the chanting, but then the spell went off.
Shandra jerked and went flying, slamming into a tree with a sickening thud and sliding limply to the ground. The Orcs laughed and moved in to finish her off.
Drizzt lunged at them as the chanting started again behind him…..
I'm trying to lengthen my chapters a little, so bear with me! R/R please!