1 Bonjour! Yes, it's me again. So to make up for my horrendous writer's block on my other fic, I have started another one...which will hopefully last longer, but I can't promise anything. So this is my first Dragonlance fanfic...so please bear with me! It takes place before Dragons of Autumn Twilight, when Tanis and his friends are adventuring around before they separated for five years, mmmkay? Oh, I don't own anything Dragonlance related...just my (so far)nameless attacker, so don't sue me.
Tanis Half-Elven stood just outside of the ring of light provided by the fire. This way, he was nearly invisible in the dark night, but was freezing cold on account of the lack of the fire's warmth and excess of early winter chill. Shivering, he let his eyes slide over the prone shapes of his friends. Caramon Majere lay snoring in front of the fire, next to his twin brother Raistlin Majere. On the opposite side of the fire lay Tasslehoff Burrfoot and Flint Fireforge. The kender was sleeping like a baby (no surprise there), while the dwarf twitched an muttered in his sleep. Sturm Brightblade lay propped against a nearby tree, his long sword still clutched in one gauntleted hand. Underneath another tree lay Kitiara Uth Matar, a fiery warrior-woman that made Tanis's blood burn just looking at her. She was the older half-sister of Caramon and Raistlin.
Tanis sighed, and turned back to face the forest. He still had a while before his watch was over, and wasn't looking forward to the long, cold wait before he could return to his bedroll and fall asleep. Looking up at the silver moon Solinari, and the red moon Lunitari, just a crimson slit in the sky, her let his eyes drift about the stars. He could pick out the constellations of Paladine, the Platinum dragon, and Takhis, the five-headed dragon; forgotten and abandoned gods.
Tanis frowned, his gaze returning to earth. Was that a rustle in the bushes he had just heard? Probably a deer, he thought. Then he heard it again...it was definitely a footstep this time. He scanned the forest with his elven infra vision, while slowly drawing his sword. He heard footsteps again, much closer to him this time, and picked up a faint trace of heat near him. Making his way slowly towards the figure, his feet making no noise at all on the forest floor, he prepared to attack. But just as he was about to leap at the figure, a rabbit burst out of the bushes near his feet. Seeing the person whirl about, he swore, and tackled them. His advantage of surprise, however, was gone now, and the person dodged out of the way easily, drawing a wickedly curved short sword. Rolling as he hit the ground, Tanis sprang up and turned just in time to block a swing of the short sword. Drawing back, the two circled each other, waiting for an opportunity to attack.
From what Tanis could see of his opponent, they were short and skinny, too skinny. They wore a think black cloak with the hood pulled up, so he couldn't see much of them. They did, however, hold their short sword with ease and professionalism. Seeing an opening, the figure leapt at him with a slicing horizontal blow. Tanis moved to the side, blocking the stroke, and used the person's own momentum to send them flying. They twisted in the air, though, and rolled backwards when they hit the ground, to come springing up to face him. The half-elf strode forwards with a series of downward chopping blows. The figure blocked them, but the force of the strokes forced them to their knees. Tanis's sword snaked forward to rest at their throat.
"Drop your weapon," he murmured, keeping his sword locked at his opponent's throat. They did so, their sword falling to the ground with a soft thud.
"Tanis, what ha-"Caramon started to say as he came to stand next to the half elf, his sword in his hand. "Who...or what is that?"
"I don't know...they tried to sneak into our camp while I was on watch," the half-elf replied, rubbing his chin absently. "Did I wake anyone else?"
"Yeah, Sturm and Kit, but they stayed back at camp," the big man replied, looking curiously at the person kneeling in front of Tanis. "So what are we going to do about them?"
"We can't exactly let them go, but I'd like to have a look at them before we decide anything." Tanis reached forward, and pulled back the figure's hood. He caught a glance of an elven woman's face as she snarled and leapt at him. Knocking him to the ground, the elf was about to run him through with a long-bladed dagger, when Caramon grabbed her from behind. Wrapping a large hand around her waist, he deftly plucked the dagger from her grip, and tossed it to rest on the ground near the short sword. Tanis sat up, gasping for breath; she had knocked the wind out of him. The woman began to struggle fiercely in Caramon's grip.
"Who are you?" he asked in elven, when he had began to breathe evenly again. The elf's response was to kick him hard in the side.
"Right. Why don't we continue this discussion around the fire," Caramon suggested, starting to pull the woman in that direction. She reached back with a foot, and pulled one of the man's legs out from under him. The big man swore, and released her while attempting to stop himself from falling, with no avail. The elf grabbed another dagger from her boot, and sprang at Tanis for the second time as Caramon fell to the ground with a loud thump. Her sword was inches away from the half-elf's throat when she stopped, and became as still as a statue. Raistlin walked out of the darkness, leaning against a worn staff as he walked.
"Isn't it interesting how neither of you can handle a scrawny elf woman by yourselves?" he remarked coldly. Caramon stood up hurriedly, his face red, and tried to stammer a response. He was cut off, though, when Raistlin continued to speak. "I would suggest you take her," he inclined his head towards the elf woman frozen in front of Tanis, "back to camp before my spell wears off." With that, he walked back to the camp, his robes rustling around him. Caramon easily lifted the woman up, and she went limp in his arms, her dagger dropping to the ground. Her face relaxed, and her eyes closed, making it look like she was sleeping. Tanis picked up her sword and daggers, and they walked back to the camp.
When the two men returned, they found all of the companions to be awake and sitting around the fire, save Tasslehoff, who still slept soundly. They looked up curiously as Tanis and Caramon came to stand near the fire, the latter with a prone elf woman in his arms. Dumping the attacker to the ground, the big man fumbled around in his nearby pack for rope. Finding some, he then proceeded to bind the woman's hands and feet. After a moment's hesitation, Caramon also gagged her with a strip of fabric torn from her cloak. Tanis sat near her, massaging his side and examining the prisoner.
She was an elf, there was no doubt about that, but one the likes of which he had never seen before. Her face was gaunt, along with the rest of her; he assumed from little food for a few months at least. Her hair was shoulder length, dark, tangled, and dirty. Her skin was also dirty, and somewhat...dull looking. Frowning, he brushed back her hair, and gasped when he saw scars in the shape of flames around either eye. One eyebrow sported a gold ring; her long ears had five rings each, two on each ear where connected by a fine silver chain. Tanis realized that she was missing the healthy lustre and feeling of life that seemed to emanate from other elves. Then he knew what they were dealing with.
"This is a dark elf," he said hoarsely.
There. I know it's short, but I needed to get this out of my system. So now that you've read...REVIEW! I need to know if I should continue or not. I'll try my best not to make the nameless dark elf chick a stereotypical dark loner person, mmkay?
Ooooooo! A bit off subject, but I have to tell someone. I was on a Raistlin fansite coughcough, and did you know that (according to them)Caramon and Raist's birthday is June 17th? Why the hell is that important, I can hear you asking. Well, that just happens to be my birthday too! There's my claim to fame...I share my birthday with Caramon and Raistlin.
Lol...so why haven't you reviewed yet?