"Then why don't you have an entire battalion of troops?" Thorgrimm questioned
"That probably would have been a good idea, but you and I both know that Kai and her pride wouldn't allow that," Rykar replied.
"Damn that woman and her pride," the dwarf growled.
"Sure, you tell her that. She won't see a few troops as much of a difference. She possesses the power to take all three of us out without much effort, after all," the man said, gesturing between himself, Nadia, and Thorgrimm.
"Hmph... I suppose that you're right," Thorgrimm grumbled.
"Don't worry so much, old dwarf. You'll give yourself a heart attack," Rykar teased.
"Blast you, Rykar! I'm not that damned old!" Thorgrimm snarled and slammed his fist down on the bar top. Rykar just laughed and Nadia snickered. The lord leaned over the bar a bit, gesturing to one of the rather lovely bartenders. The woman stepped over and smiled a sweet smile.
"Could I get another mug of ale, Dearheart?" Rykar asked politely, flashing a charming smile of his own while holding up a gold coin... far more than the ale cost. She smiled again, took the coin, nodded, and walked off, hips swaying an extra bit. Nadia rolled her eyes for the third time that night and sighed.
"I am going up to the room for the night," she said as she grabbed up the key that Thorgrimm had dropped on the bar top awhile ago.
"Upstairs, straight to the back, last room, the only one with the double doors. You can't miss 'em," Thorgrimm instructed as Nadia stood up and grabbed up her saddle bags and her pack.
"Thanks. Could you have some water sent to the room so I can wash up a bit?" The younger Valengaard asked.
"Of course," the dwarf nodded.
"Sleep tight," Rykar said with a wave of his hand.
"We'll see," Nadia said before heading upstairs. Once in the room, Nadia tossed her bags onto the bed furthest from the door and sat down on the edge of it, sighing. It'd been a long day and she was glad for the fire that was cheerily burning in the grate of the fireplace, lighting the room. The fire was apparently magical because Nadia felt no heat. It was warm enough during the summer nights as it was.
It didn't take long for one of the barmaids to bring up a pitcher of water, which she sat on the table that held a wash basin.
"Anything else, Ma'am?" the girl asked politely.
"No, thank you," Nadia replied with a warm smile. The girl nodded and left. Nadia stood up and walked to the basin. She poured some water out into the basin and then dipped her hands into it. She splashed some water onto her face and proceeded to scrub her hands, face, arms, and neck clean with the cool water. As the water in the basin stilled, she glanced to her own reflection. She appeared as weary as she felt. She looked away and grabbed up one of the small towels and used it to dry herself.
She walked over to the door and locked it, figuring Rykar would get another key from Thorgrimm or just pound on the door until she opened it in the middle of the night. Nadia pushed her saddle bags and her pack off the bed and onto the floor, and then sat down on the edge of said bed once more. The young woman kicked her boots off onto the floor before unbuckling her armor and slipping it off. She then pulled her tunic off over her head before standing and sliding her leather pants down and off. She piled her clothing on the floor. Next, she tugged the covers back on her bed and lay down, and then pulled the covers up over herself. She'd left her undergarments on just in case she'd kicked off the covers by the time Rykar came in. A little modesty was better than none at all, though she seriously doubted that the man would be phased at all if he saw her naked. No, he'd probably just crack one of his damned grins and make an embarrassing, if flattering comment.
She huffed to herself at that thought, jerked her covers up, rolled onto her side, and nodded off, more tired than she had thought herself to be.
* * *
In the captain's quarters aboard the Blade Maiden, Eris and Kaidia had made themselves quite comfortable in bed, every stitch of clothing and armor tossed to the floor. Their modesty, not that the two women really had any where the other was concerned, was protected by the blanket that mostly covered them both. Glasses of wine in hand, the two were laying on their sides, facing one another, catching up, and talking animatedly about the recent events in their lives. Their legs tangled together under the blanket as the two conversed.
"I do believe you're the first god I've had on my ship," Eris speculated.
"How does everyone know about that?" Kai asked with a grumble.
"I heard it from some pilgrim on his way to the temple in Sarkos," Eris replied with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Of course you did," Kaidia said, giving a roll of her eyes.
"Oh don't whine about it. The position gives you even more influence than you already had. If you choose to wield it, that is," Eris admonished lightly, tapping Kaidia on the nose with a finger.
"I won't use it until I have to. I mean, I will eventually have to go back to Vortha, at least part of the time, to attend to noble duties there. I will split it up with Nadia, of course," the mercenary explained.
"You don't plan on getting married again?" the mariner asked, her free hand playing with Kaidia's hair.
"Not unless someone truly amazing comes along," Kai responded.
"Well now that I know where I stand with you..." Eris said teasingly.
"Shut up. You don't have that sort of interest in me anyway," Kaidia retorted with a playful flick of the other woman's nose.
"True for now, but time can change anyone's opinion," Eris muttered whilst rubbing her nose with the back of her hand.
"I suppose I'll keep a look out for you in the future then," the mercenary chuckled.
"So why are you heading to Niercess?" Eris asked.
"To right a wrong. Or, in terms that are more fitting to my nature, I'm going to kill some people who tried to have me killed," Kaidia answered.
"I see. They brought it on themselves. Considering who you are... god or not... trying to kill you is a dumb move," the half elf asserted.
"Unless they were trying to bait me. Which is a possibility that has not escaped consideration," Kai replied.
"Why would they bait you?" Eris questioned with an arched brow.
"Well, I killed their god. I didn't know Adathir was their god at the time nor did I realize that killing him would somehow catapult me to godhood, but it seems they want revenge. The only way that makes sense, however, is if they have some secret weapon to use against me. Hence, I have my sister and Rykar along for assistance," the mercenary explained, then sipped her wine.
"Hm. Well, you can count on me to back you up if you need another sword. My ship also has a dwarven cannon on board if you need to knock down walls or buildings," Eris said with a smirk.
"I don't even want to know how you got your hands on that, but it could prove useful. However, we have to get there first," Kai pointed out.
"Right. Which reminds me. I was thinking three gold each for you and your comrades. As well as a couple of silver for each meal," Eris offered.
"Three gold a piece is fine, but we'll have our own food. We'll pay another three gold a piece for you to bring us back to Black Sand though. Assuming we live," Kai countered.
"Deal. You'll live. It'll take more than a bunch of religious zealots to kill my Kaidia," Eris said confidently.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence," the warrior chuckled.
"Of course," the mariner returned, sipping from her glass.
"Also... your Kaidia?" Kai inquired, a brow arched.
"Term of endearment," Eris said with a wink and a smirk.
"Uh huh," Kaidia muttered with good-natured sarcasm before wrapping her arm around Eris, pulling the woman against her, and kissing her firmly.
* * *
The next morning, Nadia found herself being prodded awake with a finger between her shoulder blades. When she rolled over, she saw that it was Rykar, up and armored, smiling down at her.
"Wake up, Nadia," he coaxed.
"Nn... up... quit." the young woman muttered groggily, still caught in that hazy place between deep sleep and being conscious.
"Hm. Nice to see you work those leg muscles," Rykar quipped with a smirk. It took a moment for it to sink in, but Nadia soon realized that she'd kicked her covers off in the night and was laying there in just her underwear, which left her legs entirely bare. Once this realization burned through her mind, she blushed scarlet, sat up, grabbed her covers, and promptly tossed them over Rykar's head.
"Ass!" she shouted, embarrassed.
"I saw that last night when I came in and covered you up. Quite lovely, really," Rykar commented, muffled by the blanket. Nadia blinked as that registered, then frowned, and threw her pillow at the man's head. Somehow, he ducked it, and then tugged the blanket off of himself.
"You aren't supposed to gawk," Nadia huffed, glaring at him, sans pants or not.
"Hard not to do when you're all curled up and uncovered. We're both adults, nothing to be embarrassed about. Besides, I gave you compliments. So be happy," he scolded, albeit playfully.
"Just... just give me my pants," Nadia requested, hand held out. Rykar just smirked, then bent to pick them up and dropped them into the dark haired woman's hand. Nadia took them and stood up, quickly sliding them on and fastening them before bending to scoop up her tunic. She tugged it on and then sat back down.
"I think I'm going to head downstairs for breakfast," Rykar said as he picked up his pack and saddle bags.
"Meet you down there. I assume Kai will be along shortly," Nadia replied.
"She should be. No telling how late those two stayed up," Rykar said, giving a wink before he slipped out the door, closing it behind him. Nadia chuckled to herself and reached for her boots.
* * *
Nadia came downstairs to find the inn nearly deserted aside from Thorgrimm, Rykar, and two mages sitting off at a table by themselves. The two mages were playing a card game with strangely illustrated cards, each one peering at the other, as if trying to discern the next move his opponent would make. A few steel coins lay on the table, a couple of silver coins lying with them. It seemed a bit early to be gambling to Nadia, but she supposed it wasn't any of her business.
Meanwhile, Rykar had said something to cause Thorgrimm to laugh so hard that the dwarf had to hang on to the bar to keep from falling over. Rykar was just grinning, watching the spectacle. Nadia settled herself onto a stool next to Rykar.
"What'd you do?"
"Told him a joke."
"Which one?"
"One about three monks and a succubus."
"Oh, I've heard that one."
Nadia couldn't help but chuckle as Thorgrimm slowly regained control of himself. As the dwarf finally caught his breath, the door opened and admitted Kaidia and Eris. The pair came and sat down to Nadia's right on their own stools.
"I assume you're all here because you expect breakfast." Thorgrimm surmised. There was a general murmur of confirmation as well as nodding. The dwarf nodded and walked off to the kitchen.
* * *
One of the serving girls carried away empty plates and mugs after the companions finished their breakfast. Rykar turned to Kaidia.
"I thought you were supposed to wake me up this morning?" he asked, playfully accusing.
"I slept in," was the mercenary's short reply.
"Late night, eh?" Thorgrimm asked with a wiggle of his brows.
"Shut it," Kai responded and elbowed a happily nodding Eris in the ribs. Rykar and Thorgrimm chuckled at the pair. After the moment of levity, Thorgrimm looked at the group of four with a serious expression on his normally jovial features.
"Will all of you be off soon?" the dwarf asked.
"Yes. My crew are loading the last of the cargo we need to transport onto the ship as we speak," Eris answered.
"Time is a bit of a factor," Kaidia added.
"Right. Well, you lot be careful. I like ya. Even Rykar. Don't need to be goin' to any damn funerals 'cause ya went and got yourselves dead," Thorgrimm growled.
"Aw, you care about me after all, you hairy little man," Rykar said with a grin.
"Blast ya to hell, ya smart ass bastard!" the dwarf shouted, but couldn't contain a grin of his own.
"We will be careful, Thorgrimm," Kai said with a nod.
"Good to hear," Thorgrimm said with a smile.
"Oh, that reminds me, Niercess has gotten strange lately," Eris commented, eyes on Kaidia.
"How so?" the mercenary asked. Nadia, Thorgrimm, and Rykar turned their eyes to Eris.
"Well, I used to see children playing on and around the docks a lot. On the last few trips, I haven't seen anyone but a few dock workers. The last time I was there, the dock workers weren't even there. Also, they don't export anything anymore. We never have cargo to take back with us," Eris explained.
"That's... odd," Nadia remarked.
"Aye, I've heard of weird things. All the business that used to go through Neircess goes through here and Priosk now. It's why everything has been fancied up around here and everywhere else in the city. Priosk is the same, I hear," Thorgrimm added, gesturing around himself.
"I was wondering about that," Rykar muttered.
"I suppose we'll find out what's going on when we get there," Kaidia said with a shrug.
"Make sure you stop by here on the way back," Thorgrimm requested.
"That's the plan," Eris responded. The dwarf nodded in return.
The group of four stood up and started for the door. They had only taken a step before the door slammed open and four figures in grey armor marched inside. The final one in line slammed the door closed and stood in front of it. The other three moved to surround the four companions - one with his back to the bar, one with his back to the wall opposite the bar, and one facing toward his comrade guarding the door. They were more of Adathir's soldiers and they had the four companions, who were now standing back to back, surrounded on all four sides.
"We are here for three criminals who are wanted for violating the authority and law of the Lord God Adathir. Namely the murder of the Champion of Adathir, Claire Moxen. As well as the murder of one paladin and the assault of several others," the man at the door announced. All four soldiers were looking over Kai, Eris, and Nadia with less than savory looks and every one of the three women knew it and was immediately irritated by it.
"Claire Moxen attacked me. It's not my fault she couldn't win the fight," Kaidia retorted.
"Paladins? Seriously? That's funny," Rykar mocked without humor.
"The armored men with Claire attacked us after seeing Claire lost the fight. It's their own damn fault they got hurt," Nadia growled.
All four companions had drawn their swords. Eris felt a bit vulnerable, being the only one of the four without armor. The armored men drew their swords as well, ready for the imminent fight. Before the companions could square off against the grey armored soldiers, there was a shout of "Hoo-ha!" from the bar. Everyone turned to look. The poor soldier who had his back to the bar turned just in time to have an axe blade buried between his eyes. Thorgrimm jerked said axe from the man's face with a foot planted on the soldier's breastplate. The body fell to the ground with a wet thump, blood splattering the floor. Apparently, Thorgrimm had jumped up onto the bar when no one had been paying him any mind.
"There shan’t be any more of your damned shenanigans in my establishment!" the dwarf roared, standing atop the bar, bloody battleaxe in his hands, glowering at the soldiers who'd come tromping into his inn. Nadia leaned over to her sister and whispered.
"You were right, he is a bad ass."
"Told you."
"Now get the hell out before I see fit to chop the lot of ya up like firewood!" Thorgrimm snarled at the soldiers. The remaining three soldiers glanced at each other, then charged at the group. In what seemed like a split second, Eris had run one of the men through and Rykar had cut down the second. The third man, the leader, tried to skid to a stop, but couldn't get out of the way before Kaidia
hammered him with a fireball that exploded on contact and sent the soldier crashing through the door and onto the flagstones outside.
"Damn, Kai. Didja have to rip the door off the hinges?" Thorgrimm asked.
"Sorry about that," the god said with a little smile.
"Eh, I can get it fixed quickly enough," the dwarf replied with a wave of his hand.
"More to the point... what are we going to do about all of them?" Nadia questioned, jerking a thumb to the now very open doorway. Past the threshold, the group could see what looked to be at least thirty of the grey armored soldiers. Kaidia smirked and leaned over to her sister.
"I have an idea."
* * *
Outside, the troops eyed the smoldering remains of the man who had been blasted through the door, but kept their distance, swords drawn. Soon enough, they were all looking up to the open doorway, listening and watching, quiet as the grave. Given the bright, morning sun in their eyes, they couldn't see inside. All they could see was a cold darkness.
A blur came flying out of the darkness. No one had time to react and the single soldier directly across from the open doorway paid the price as the blade of Nadia's one-handed axe cleaved his head in two like a ripe melon. His body dropped with the force of the blow, blood and brains spilling out onto the stone beneath him.
As the body hit the ground, Kaidia and her companions rushed out, weapons ready to strike. The soldiers nearest the door on both sides fell before many of Adathir's so-called paladins could react. Kai, Nadia, Rykar, Eris, and Thorgrimm all charged into the stunned group of men and women clad in grey armor.
Thorgrimm's axe severed someone's leg at the knee, and then cut through the armor and chest of another soldier before he slid between the next man's legs, on his back, and drove the spike atop his axe up into the man's crotch. There was hell to pay for messing with the dwarf's inn or friends. In that order.
Kaidia used her black sword to slash more than anything else. The blithsite blade easily cut through the steel plate armor of Adathir's troops, slicing through the softer flesh and bone beneath. Soldier after soldier fell around the woman, man or woman, it didn't matter to her. What few blows that managed to hit her glanced off her black armor, nothing seemed to even scratch it, let alone pierce it and wound its owner.
Realms of Valen - Dragon in the Dark (War of the Gods Book 1) Page 10