As I stared, trying to figure out how he'd gotten to this place before us, a light step began behind me. I turned just in time to see Silveredge sprint to my side, her makeshift green dress swirling around her as beautifully as though it had been made for her by a caring mother.
"Bahlzair!" she said warmly, coming to a stop just a few steps behind me. It struck me that although she was clearly more than a little relieved to see him, and might even have run up to embrace him, she was still somehow feeling some sort of subservience that stayed her feet.
And the Drow responded by reaching behind him and pulling out the silver blade that was etched with glowing sapphire-blue runes.
"Get back!" I hollered, thinking that perhaps we had either mistaken this male for the one we knew or that Bahlzair had decided that he worked alone in this new town. But just as I reached forward to get hold of Silveredge, something else got hold of me. I dropped to one knee and forced my elbow backward, only to hear the disgusted grunt of a female. She still had tight hold of both arms, so I twisted myself to try to wrench them out of her grasp. It wasn't easy, and I wound up bringing her down to the ground with me. I smacked her in the face with my tail, and whipped away a mask whose pins jabbed into me mercilessly. I was greeted with the oddly pale face of a Human- one with extensive tattoo work on one side of her face. I didn't have a lot of time to look at it, since she pulled daggers and dove after me. I laid flat as she came forward, intending to simply lift her over my back, but she got wise just one second before that, and one of her daggers put a good slice in my battered leather armor. Now immediately behind me, she scrambled to get a position on my throat, but I turned and got a dagger of my own across her throat first. Not willing to just leave it at that, I surged forward and buried the dagger into her shoulders and her neck as quickly as possible, struggling a little at the beginning, but finding very little contest by the end. Her blood spattered my face and flowed over my hand, and I took a few moments to shake some of it off as I looked around for any more attackers. When I'd turned enough to see how Silveredge and Bahlzair were doing, I found that they were still fighting.
When Bahlzair tore a new hole into his attacker, however, he didn't turn to help Silveredge. He squatted on the ground, put a well-placed foot underneath her swirling double-dagger attacks and watched as she fell gracelessly to the ground. The attacker dropped his defense for a few moments, just as surprised at Bahlzair's actions as I was, but the Drow never stopped moving for a second. Those precious, fleeting thoughts of "What?" were rewarded with a wicked burst of magic energy that knocked the man or woman to the ground and that silver dagger, easily pushed through both eye sockets. Silveredge, unfazed, simply rolled out of his way and stood up, turning to look at me with a weary smirk.
"More," she said breathlessly and simply- for a few seconds, I didn't know whether she meant more attackers or that she wanted to go on fighting with me. The clue came when I heard footsteps behind me that could no longer be hers.
I turned to see a masked someone getting ready to put a club into my ribs, and dove down to slide between their legs. I used my tail to grab at one leg, which hurt me terribly, but at least put the person on their face. I sprung up and turned to bury a dagger in him, but spied a pair of somethings- low to the ground and furry- messing with Silveredge.
"Hey!" I hollered. "Rats?"
"Rats!" she shrieked, getting rid of one of them with a kick and a dagger but having her clothing tugged at by another. "Why are there-"
But I figured I knew. Clever bandits, these, to work with an animal tamer to distract their prey. The club wielder took less work than the first female had, but it was work nonetheless. I was fairly caught up in it when I noticed the warm and sticky smell of a meadery- and turned from the two-legged rat whose spine I was severing to see Aleksei, hair bound loosely back, lopping the head right off of a bandit. There were only a few more bandits and rats that could stand up to his intoxicated rampage, and he made enough noise at it- partially because his kilij wasn't light, but mostly because he was singing some strange shanty whose lines were punctuated by severed limbs and spattering blood- to alert the armed guard rather quickly. Not a man in the attacking party was left alive by the time they arrived, however, a fact that the leading guard clapped at, once he sheathed his weapon.
And again, we looked a sight.
My armor, the only clothing I owned, was all but destroyed.
Silveredge's make-shift dress now had slashes torn through it, although thankfully, she didn't seem to be bleeding.
Aleksei, after turning almost comically around to see if the two of us were alright, gave in to the effects of whatever brewery vat he'd suckled at and sat down with a thud.
Bahlzair was gone.
"Welcome to Urmlaspyr," the guard said after he'd finished clapping. He waved the three other guards behind him away, and they moved off slowly, clanking and creaking in their plate armor. "You seem to have met the Rattail Clan- what was left of them when the Firebirds moved in on them, anyway."
"You don't mean to tell me that some idiots have trained a phoenix to fight for them, do you?" I asked, wiping other people's blood off my cheeks.
"No, no, they're just a bunch of angry mages. No phoenix here," the guard responded with a grim smile. "First of all, thank you for cleaning up this lot. My men and I have been trying to put an end to their dock raids for a while now."
"A pleasure to do your job," I retorted. "When do we get paid?"
"I can spare you a trip to the dungeons, your friend a one way ticket back to the shadow-worshippers and this big guy a visit to the drunkard's cell; how's that?" the guard snarled. "I'm captain around here, and I won't stand for any guff-"
"You put up with this lot well enough, I'd say," I spat back. "Thanks for the pass, I'll go back to the inn."
"You came looking for that ship that was docked here, didn't you?" the captain pressed, stepping toward me without fear. "What did you know about it?"
Aleksei looked up, a sharp and familiar look in his eyes. "You are maybe coming too near the ladies," he warned.
"Easy, Aleksei," I said, moving over to stand by him. I found a sword at my right shoulder, and I looked up to the captain of the guard with a raised eyebrow. "You don't think you're helping, do you, separating me from the male who just got through warning you to stay away from me with a blade?"
"He's drunk, you're not," he explained. "You're a lot more dangerous than he is."
"And then you offend his ability, after having witnessed at least part of it first hand. Well done, sir, I think you've made two enemies so far. Now, I will warn you, the Shadar-Kai behind me is the most difficult to irritate. Good luck with that one."
"What do you know about that ship, I said," the captain said again, sliding his sword up my arm ever so slowly. "You're pirates, for all I know. Give me a reason not to use this blade."
But it seemed someone else was all too willing to give him a reason, for a few seconds later, the captain's eyes bulged as though he'd been choked. He dropped the sword and fell forward, gagging and grabbing his throat. I moved so that he would fall on his face, and watched as he crawled forward a few inches, grabbing at my feet. In the back of his neck, a silver dagger gleamed, rimmed by an inky black substance.
"Don't touch it," I warned Aleksei and Silveredge. "He'll get it back himself."
"Of course," Aleksei smiled blearily. "I am waiting here until he is coming to get it."
"Aleksei, he can just summon it out of the body, it'll fly to him like his only child, now come on, get up," I crabbed, moving over to try to help pick him up. He sat still, chuckling at my attempts for a few moments, sighed out a deep belch, then got himself up slowly.
"You are good woman- much mistaken about yourself," he said, a full laugh not far from his voice. "You are thinking you are bad, tough, but this is not true, no. You are good friend- maybe one day, good wife, good mother. There is no need to carry me; I am much too heavy, yes?"
"Whoever cut you off and sent you out was doing you a favor," I grunted, watching him carefully pick up his kilij and step over a body. "Another one of whatever you were drinking, and you wouldn't understand good Common. Me, somebody's mother. Sure."
"But it's possible," Silveredge suggested in a paper-thin, hopeful tone. I turned back to look at her, and her eyes gleamed in the rising sun. "You'd never spoil the child with much indulgence."
"I don't know who would ever raise a child with me, of all the women on earth," I laughed awkwardly, strangely uncomfortable. I brushed at my cheek again, to find crusted blood now crumbling away from my touch.
Aleksei stopped, perhaps noticing this, and stood up to his full height, wavering only slightly as he did. "You go on, yes? You go, quickly, and wash. It is morning now, time for market."
"Come, it's not much farther-" Silveredge began good naturedly, but I pursed my lips and took her arm.
"He'll catch up," I encouraged softly. "Don't worry about him, he's a big guy, like the guard said. He can handle himself."
"Okay, but-"
But I didn't listen to whatever else she had to say. With her arm firmly in my own, I all but ran back to the tavern. Whether Bahlzair came to get his blade or not, I didn't know. Whether Aleksei did end up in the drunkard's cell or not, I didn't know. What I did know is that we would wind up having to answer some serious questions if we didn't get out of the path of some strolling guard.
When we made it back to the tavern, I found a Dwarf, alone, lying on top of the bar. I wondered at it, but Silveredge stood absolutely still.
"Are you alright?" she ventured in a wavering voice.
What an altruist! I thought, rolling my eyes. She wants to save everybody.
"There's a lizard around here," the Dwarf muttered angrily, rolling over slowly to sit up on one elbow. " 'Sa biggun too. Useful. Put out some scruff."
"I don't know if we know the one," I sighed, moving toward the stairs again.
"I might," Silveredge replied, not minding or responding to my statement at all.
"Big drinker. 'Bout put me un'er, but don't tell 'im. 'Smy tavern, yeah? And I wake up un'er the bar. Dunno what 'appened. So don't tell 'im. Promised 'im free board, if 'e could drink me un'er."
I shook my head. "If it'd been anyone else, you'd've won. Secret's safe- we won't tell. Come on, Silveredge, look at what we look like."
"Gorgeous," the Dwarf burbled gallantly. "I'd marry you both, teach you a thing'er two."
"See?" Silveredge giggled happily, turning to me with a brilliant smile.
"I'd make a terrible wife," I said, turning my back and walking up the stairs. "I don't take orders well."
"That's easy, when you have the right master," Silveredge replied knowingly, walking quietly behind me up the stairs. "I'm doing it right now."
And having gotten part way down the hall toward the room, I turned to look at her wise smile, and could say nothing. Below us, the Dwarf laughed. When she'd gotten as far down the hall as I was, she meekly reached for my hand, and I, obeying the only command that she then knew how to give, simply took it.
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