EPISODE 4
Rose, Ka and Zojikoe stood on the lip of the ledge overlooking the city of Ched Nasad with mixed emotions. Ka was excited, Zoe mildly intrigued, and Rose apprehensive. The priestess pulled the cowl of her robes up over her hair and hid her face in its shadows.
"The city's likely to be in a semi-uproar," she warned them. "Or not. Depending . . ."
"On what?" Zoe asked. Rose frowned.
"On a few things," she answered vaguely. "I left just before things got out of control, so I'm not sure how everything worked out, but . . . maybe it's best if you two aren't seen with me while we're in there."
"Why not?" Ka asked curiously. "What did you do anyway?"
"It's not important," Rose snapped, then softened. "I'll tell you if and when it is. And stop that!" She whirled around and glared at Ka. "Stay out of my head!" Ka painted an innocent expression on her face and smiled.
"Well," she said simply, breezing past Rose and starting down the hill, "if we're going to be on our way, let's get moving!" Muttering to themselves, Zojikoe and Rose started down after her.
"Is she always like that?" Rose demanded irritably, slipping on a loose rock. Zoe caught her and steadied her.
"Well," he said, "it's not really my place to say but . . . yeah, I'd have to say so." Rose grinned crookedly at him from under her hood as they reached the bottom of the hill and entered into the city of Ched Nasad.
"I'll catch up with you guys in a bit," Rose said suddenly, once they were past the border of the city. "I've got some things I have to do." That said she turned and disappeared into the crowd in a swirl of black robes.
"She's weird," Ka decided, turning and threading her own way through the crowd, dragging Zojikoe with her.
Rose watched them go from a shaded corner and shook her head. What am I getting myself into with these two? She wondered silently. She had spent the last two weeks with the pair. Long enough to figure out that Ka had absolutely no scruples when it came to picking at other people's thoughts with her powers, and Zoe was somehow condescending towards her some of the time, though Rose couldn't even begin to imagine why, since he was the male sibling. Not that Ka wasn't condescending either . . .
Rose finally pulled her eyes away from the retreating Venorik'Z'ress siblings and headed, more from force of habit than anything else, towards House Velve'Pa'Das. She was so absorbed in her thoughts she didn't even notice the man ahead of her until she was almost on top of him.
"Hey!" He said, snapping her back to the present. "Careful!" She glared at him, though its effect was marred slightly by her hood.
"Watch your tone," she snapped, then winced as she recognized the drow. She turned around in an effort to get away before he realized who she was but didn't succeed.
"Hey! I know that voice!" He said. "You're . . . Rose aren't you? Rose Velve'Pa'Das! I . . . hey!" He gasped as Rose grabbed the back of his cloak and dragged him into a deserted alley. She slammed him into a wall and snapped her knife out of her sleeve and prepared to cut his throat.
"No wait!" He cried as started to bring the knife down. "I know something you don't! About Kirisstind!" Rose stopped her knife a quarter of an inch from his throat and narrowed her eyes.
"What?" She hissed. "What about Kirisstind?"
"Nothing much," replied the drow with a twisted smile. He drove his knee upwards into her gut and she gasped and stumbled backwards, dropping her knife with a clatter to the ground. Rose stared at him, startled that he would strike out at a female.
"What can I say?" He asked with the same twisted grin, interpreting her look correctly. "I've always been a rebel."
"You've always been a reject, Dil'andau!" She responded caustically, drawing her sword and straightening. "The candle counter of House Streeka'Xukuth!"
"I am not!" Dil'andau cried angrily clenching his fists. "Not anymore! I've got a half decent assignment this year!" Rose rolled her eyes.
"Yeah right," she said. "Anyway, you're not going to live long enough to complete it. I don't need anyone knowing I'm still alive, so . . ." She dove forward and Dil'andau pulled a long halberd off his back and blocked her attack.
"Well, it's a little late for that," he said simply. "Kirisstind seems convinced you're still alive and she's determined to remedy that."
"What?!" Rose gasped, her eyes widening. "Kirisstind's alive?!"
"Oh yeah," the drow jabbed viciously at her with his halberd but the narrowness of the alleyway made it difficult for him to get in a decent shot. "She's my new baby sister!" His tone suggested he wasn't all that happy about that. "House Streeka'Xukuth adopted her after she survived the raid on House Velve'Pa'Das." Rose swung her blade down towards the top of his head and he brought the staff of his halberd up in a block. "The ruins of the House that destroyed yours are just across the street if you don't believe me." Rose snarled furiously and made a wild slash for Dil'andau, which the trained fighter blocked easily. He dropped to the ground and swept Rose's ankles out from under her and she fell roughly to the ground, her hood falling back off her head. He brought his Halberd down an inch from her face and stopped it. His eyes shone with a sudden remembered excitement.
"And, man, was it a show!! The best I've seen to date!! All the screaming and demons and blood and . . ." He stopped and shook his head. "But anyway, that was a week ago." He grinned down at her. "Sorry priestess, but you're just not a fighter." He sighed then. "And now I'm torn. I know I should kill you . . . since, a, my new baby sister hates your guts, and b, you're going to kill me if I let you live. But on the other hand, my new baby sister hates you. Which means I like you." He frowned and tilted his head in thought.
"Let me make the decision easier for you," sneered a voice from behind Rose as Zojikoe suddenly teleported into existence. He extended his hands towards Dil'andau and muttered a brief incantation. The fighter swore violently at the unexpected opposition as he was thrown backwards by an unseen wind into the wall. Rose stared up at Zoe in shock.
"You're a mage?!" She demanded incredulously. "I didn't know that! Why didn't you tell me?!"
"I . . . well . . . you never asked . . ." Zoe said, slightly flustered at her reaction to his rescue.
"Oh!" Dil'andau fumed, climbing to his feet. "You are so going to pay for that!" He started looking around for his Halberd. "Where . . ."
"Looking for this?" Demanded a familiar voice from the front of the alleyway. All eyes turned to where Ka stood, awkwardly holding the halberd. Dil'andau stared at her in surprise for a moment and then started laughing.
"She can't even hold it right!" He laughed. "What a . . ." He didn't go much farther than that when Ka picked up the halberd and smacked him in the middle of the forehead with the blunt end. Dil'andau crumpled to the ground in an unconscious heap, with Ka standing triumphantly over him.
"Oh brilliant Ka," Zoe said, rolling his eyes and helping Rose back to her feet. "That's the wrong end! You're supposed to use the sharp one!" Ka glared at him and stuck her tongue out.
"It worked, didn't it?" She demanded, then glared at him. "So is that how you caught up to me so fast before?" She asked suddenly. "You teleported?" Zoe rolled his eyes again.
"I thought that was fairly obvious," he muttered. "To those of us with an at least average intelligence." Ka wielded the upside down halberd dangerously and Zoe took a step back behind Rose.
"So . . . uh . . . what was that all about?" He asked, trying to shift Ka's attention away from him. He gestured down at Dil'andau. Rose sighed and muttered something neither of them could make out.
"It has to do with that family trouble I mentioned earlier," she said, hoping that would satisfy them. It didn't. Ka glared flatly at her and Rose could see her start to focus. A second later she felt the now familiar tugging at her mind. "Stop it Ka," she growled. Ka tugged harder. "Stop it!" Ka grinned evilly but before she could do any more Rose threw her hands up in the air and growled in frustration. "Fine!" She shouted. "Fine! I'll tell you! Just . . . get out of my head!" Grinning triumphantly Ka removed her hold on Rose's mind.
"I knew you'd give in," the shorter drowess said smugly. Rose glared at her.
"But not here if you don't mind. Let's find somewhere to sit down at least." She tugged her hood irritably back up over her hair and face and stormed out of the alley.
"Ka, you are such a . . ."
"Say it," Ka said, still clutching the halberd, "and I bash your face in with my new stick." She whirled around and stormed out after Rose. Zojikoe glared after her and followed her out, pausing to kick Dil'andau once for good measure before leaving the alleyway behind.
***
" . . . so Slayer and I left, and that's the whole story," Rose finished up, leaning back and watching the other two's reactions.
"Where's Slayer now?" Zojikoe asked curiously. "We haven't seen him." Rose shrugged.
"He's around here someplace," she said. "He went on a hunting trip a day or two before I ran into you two and he's probably looking for me. We'll meet up with him sooner or later. He's a much better tracker than any of us." Ka adjusted the straps she'd bought for the halberd across her back and glanced at Rose.
"Who was that guy then?" She asked. "That you were fighting with."
"That," Rose said, "was Dil'andau Streeka'Xukuth. He's a rebellious, excitable, childish drow, who has no respect for anything but his weapons." She nodded towards Ka's new toy. "And that one happens to be his favorite. He's going to be furious when he wakes up and it's not there anymore."
"Why was he fighting you?" Zoe asked, interrupting Ka in the middle of a sharp reply.
"Because I attacked him when recognized me," Rose answered simply. "I would have killed him too, if he hadn't mentioned that Kirisstind was still alive. Kirisstind Streeka'Xukuth . . . I hope she brings as much disaster on their House as she did on mine." She was silent for a moment, then shook her head. "But anyway, did you two get all the supplies you needed?"
"Pretty much," Zoe answered, "no thanks to Ka." Ka glared at him and Rose quickly got to her feet before they could start bickering again.
"Then maybe we should go before someone else recognizes me," the drowess suggested. The Venorik'Z'ress siblings nodded their agreement and got to their feet, Ka a little unsteadily due to the extra weight on her back, and started off through the streets of the city, making their way for the exit. Rose breathed a sigh of relief once they were out of Ched Nasad.
***
Later that night, Zoe rolled his eyes as Ka and Rose started arguing over who should take first watch, as they had every night since they'd first met. And as he had, every night since they'd first met, he turned around and ended their fight.
"Fine!" He shouted. "I'll take the first watch again if you two would just shut up!" Ka and Rose snickered and grinned at each other and Zoe was hit by the sudden suspicion that he'd been had . . . again.
He had just settled into a spot to watch, and the women were wrapped up in their blankets almost asleep, when Ka suddenly sat straight up in her make-shift bed.
"Something's coming," she hissed. Zoe sat up straight and Rose threw of her blankets, getting to her feet and drawing her sword.
"What is it?" She whispered. Ka frowned and concentrated.
"A . . . an animal. A panther . . ." Rose relaxed and fell back into her blankets.
"Ka, you knob, it's just Slayer!"
"And a drow," Ka added suddenly. "He's got a drow with him!"
"What?!" Rose got up again. "A drow? Why . . ."
"We're about to find out," Zoe said, calling to mind a few spells and dousing the fire with one of them. The small group crouched in silence as the minutes ticked by.
"Ka are you sure . . ." Zoe started to say.
"Zoe, shut up. I'm sure. They're still there . . . but one of them's reluctant. The drow." Rose laughed quietly.
"Slayer must be having fun," she remarked.
"Here they come," Ka hissed suddenly. Within moments an irate drow's voice was audible to the group.
"Stupid cat," it muttered. "Let me go!" Rose groaned and fell back over on to her blankets.
"It's that fool, Dil'andau!" She muttered. "Zoe, light the fire again." Zoe whispered an incantation and light filled the small camp just as a sleek black panther appeared, dragging an extremely reluctant Dil'andau along behind it.
"Slayer!" Rose cried delightedly.
"Rose!" Dil'andau cried not so delightedly. "And . . . you other people!" Rose frowned down at him, suddenly noticed the reason why Slayer had dragged the drow as far as he did with Dil'andau attempting to attack him.
"What did you do to your leg?" She asked, dropping to her knees beside her panther and stroking it's head. She eyed Dil'andau's bloodied leg.
"Your stupid panther jumped me in the dark and tried to eat me," Dil'andau said. "And if you don't mind it really, really hurts. So you know, you're a priestess, could you do me a favor and heal me up or something?"
"Oh Slayer! You hurt your paw!" Rose exclaimed in exaggeration, ignoring Dil'andau and focusing on her cat. Dil'andau opened his mouth to say something but suddenly noticed the weapon that Ka was holding.
"Hey!" He shouted. "You stole my halberd!" Ka grinned at him.
"What are you going to do about it, cripple?" She demanded with a grin.
"Why you little . . . agh!" He started to move towards her, forgetting in his anger his wounded leg. He fell to the ground with a cry. Zoe turned to Dil'andau.
"What are you doing here?" He demanded. "Why are you following us?"
"Following you?!" Dil'andau cried. "That stupid cat dragged me here after it tried to eat me! Speaking of which," he turned back to Rose. "Can you heal me now? Please?"
"I'm still debating whether or not to kill you," Rose replied, still focusing on Slayer. Dil'andau groaned and fell back on the ground.
"Hey!" Ka cried. "You're bleeding all over my blankets!" She ripped her blankets out from under him. "Jerk!"
"Ka," Rose said suddenly, "why not see if you can't figure out what our little tag along here is really after." Ka's eyes brightened and the prospect and she grinned eagerly.
"Finally," she muttered. "Something I'm good at . . ." Dil'andau regarded her nervously.
"What is she . . . hey!" He gasped as he felt the tugging at his mind. Ka's eyes widened suddenly.
"He's after the Kyrashar Rose too!" She cried angrily. "Well he can't have it! It's mine!" An evil grin suddenly lit her face. "His matron is busy training Kirisstind, so she sent him out after it because she didn't want to have to deal with him." Zoe snickered.
"Sounds like someone else I know," he said. Ka glared at him.
"At least I wasn't assigned inventory," she shot back.
"Hey! Drow in pain over here!" Dil'andau called. "Somebody? Anybody? Rose! Please!"
"Fine," Rose muttered. While Ka and Zoe bickered back and forth about who was more important in their House, Rose murmured a few prayers to Lloth and set to work on healing Dil'andau's leg. Once that was done he stood up and gingerly put his weight on it.
"Good as new!" He declared. "Well, if that's everything," he casually reached down and picked up his halberd, "I'll be off now." He turned and started off into the darkness.
"Slayer," Rose said simply. "Sic 'im." The panther bounded forward with a roar and Dil'andau stopped dead in his tracks, sagging in defeat.
"Oh come on Rose!" He pleaded. "Let me go! I have to get the Kyrashar Rose!"
"So do we," Rose pointed out. "Well, they do. And we don't have a fighter in the group yet."
"Is this an invitation?" Dil'andau asked with a grin.
"It's an abduction," Rose corrected. "You're coming with us whether you like it or not."
"Oh," Dil'andau said, "and what makes you think you can keep me here?" Slayer growled low in his throat and Dil'andau blanched slightly.
I knew you'd see it my way," Rose said smugly.
"Hey!" Ka said suddenly, looking up from her fight with Zoe. "He's got my stick!"
"It's a halberd!" Dil'andau corrected her. "And it's not yours it's mine." Ka stalked up to him and poked him in the chest.
"Give me back my stick," she snarled. "I didn't spend my good money on these straps for it just so you could steal it."
"But it's not . . ."
"Dil'andau," Rose said wearily, fixing up her blankets. "Just give her the stick back."
"It's not a stick!" He said. "And it's not . . ."
"Yoink!" Ka cried, grabbing the halberd before he realized what she was doing.
"Hey! That's my sti . . . my halberd!"
"Not anymore," Ka said, crawling under her blankets with the halberd. Dil'andau started towards her malevolently, but Slayer looked up from where he lay beside Rose and growled at him. He paused and stared from the panther to Ka to his halberd and back again.
"But . . . I . . ."
"Just go to sleep, Dil'andau," Zoe advised him sagely. "There's no point in arguing with those two." The frustrated drow continued to stare for a moment, then finally lay down on the hard ground and muttered until he fell asleep.