Intimancer

“So why’d ya really bring me along?  I think we’ve established yer more than capable of punching someone’s face in.”

Sade gave a mild sigh.  “I was mostly serious about you coming along for deterrence.”

“Deterrence?”

Sade gave her friend a side eye and gestured toward the elf’s imposing figure before pointing back at herself.  “Even taking my status as a mage out of the equation, my… proportions are not the best in convincing random strangers that I am capable of defending myself.  You, however, do not possess this problem in the slightest.”

She giggled as a man nearly dove out of Tyr’s path when he finally looked where he was going and saw just who he would collide with.  It was a perfect example of the point she was trying to make.  “Few people would ever want to accost a forest elf.  Fewer still would ever wish to become an enemy of someone of your size and apparent strength my love.  Thus, you are the perfect deterrence from potential trouble for as long as you are by my side.”  She grabbed the elf’s arm and leaned up against it for emphasis.

Tyr let out a booming laugh.  “Aye, fair enough.”  She looked down at the human beside her, her mouth twisting up into a fanged grin.  “And the other reason?  Also, ‘my love’?”

Sade tisked in mild annoyance.  She really did need to stop underestimating how observant the brutish ranger could truly be.  “I suppose the two answers are somewhat one and the same.”  She looked up into those enchanting emerald eyes.  “You are just as important to me as Rick is and… I feel I should outwardly show those feelings in an effort to be more honest with all of you… and myself.”

Tyr was silent at the heartelf confession, no doubt trying to parse through her own feelings on the matter, so she continued.  “I know you like to act aloof and detached most of the time.  Probably in an effort to spare yourself when the day we pass on eventually comes, leaving you behind.  I do not blame you for it.  It is just one of the issues that arise from interacting with us ‘mayflies’.”

The elf couldn’t help but let out a snort when one of her favorite words to describe non-elves was thrown back at her.  Her expression quickly sobered and she opened and closed her mouth several times as if the words she wished to say were stuck in her throat.  Just before it would seem she could get the words out, there came an unexpected interruption.

“My, my, you two are just muy lindo together, but I’m going to insist I step in for the moment.”

The two turned to see a dwarven woman staring back at them with her hands on her hips.  While she wore a long coat that was popular with higher ranked officers on ships, it did nothing to hide her broad and muscular features.  She brushed a lock of dirty blond hair out of her sun tanned face and fixed them a piercing look with her bright blue eyes.

 

 

“Well, well… It’s nice to finally talk, Sade of house Fulani.”  The newcomer said with a smirk.

Sade’s eyes narrowed but otherwise kept up a calm and peaceful facade.  “Oh, and wherever did you hear a name like that?”

Tyr looked between the human, the dwarf, and back again.  “Ya have a family name?”

Sade hugged the elf’s arm tighter.  “No, I do not.  I have never in my life possessed any name other than Sade of Kanho Village.”

That seemed to have amused the short woman.  “Si, that’s technically correct.”  She chucked then bobbed her head towards the side of the street.  “While I don’t really give a shit, I believe you and el toro grande next to you would prefer we have this conversation in a bit more private setting, si?”

Sade gave a slight nod of ascension and the dwarf led the two other women into a shaded courtyard just off the busy street they previously occupied.  Even with the bustle of the market still in view, the noise of the crowd had died down to a dull murmur, making it considerably easier to have a quiet conversation.  The blond woman turned around and took a seat on a bench located on the far wall.

“I believe we should start with who you are and why you used that name to get my attention.”  Sade said, crossing her arms.

“Hey, whatever works, right?”  The short woman snickered.  “But it’s not every day one finds a noble masquerading as a plebeya.”

Sade glared at the stranger.  “That does not answer my question.  And there is nothing in my background that would suggest I belong to a noble house.”

“True, true.”  The dwarf admitted.  “But it's written all over you in other ways.  The way you talk, politely concealing the truth without ever outright lying.  The way you sit all prim and proper like you had a spear shoved up your culo since birth.  Us bluebloods can always smell the reek of our own kind, and you my dear, definitely have that unique stench about you.”

“And what does an imperial scion from across the sea want with me?”  Sade repeated, getting more and more annoyed with the conversation with each new sentence she heard.

“Ah!  My apologies, I suppose I should still show basic courtesy, even if those present couldn’t care less.”  The blond woman stood up on her stout legs and gave a graceful bow.  “I am Daniela Mayte Graciela de Montoya.  I’ve come to this kingdom in hopes of settling a grudge my family has held for generations.”  She flashed the most wicked and bloodthirsty grin Sade had ever seen on anyone aside from an elf.  “And I hope that you, my dear, have the means to help me do so.”

“And how would ya be settling things?”  Tyr asked, speaking up for the first time since the conversation started.

Daniela’s cruel smile never wavered.  “With a knife between the fucker’s ribs, how else?”

While the elf scoffed at the statement, something else stuck in Sade’s mind.  Suddenly, the pieces fell in place.  “You were the one who shadowed me from the antique dealer.”

The dwarf clapped her hands together.  “Si, muy bien!  Sure caught me by surprise when you found me that first time.  Had to be extra careful after that.  Especially when around the knife ear.”

“I would refrain from insulting my love that way if I were you.”  Sade snapped coolly.  “Especially if you wish to keep your arms attached to your body.”  Behind her, Tyr briefly flexed her muscles and flashed her fangs to emphasize Sade’s warning.

Daniela raised her hands up in surrender.  “Hey, hey!  No need for that.  I’m here to have a nice chat, so let’s all keep it that way.”

“Get to the point.”  Sade growled.  She didn’t like this woman.  She knew far too much than she should have.  To top it all off, ever since the conversation had started, she had not once dropped her easy going smile.  That kind of confidence in the face of certain danger frankly unnerved Sade.  Either the dwarf was incredibly stupid, dangerously suicidal, or she had some sort of plan to get out of danger if things went south.  All three of those options were troublesome in their own right.

Daniela gave a mild pout.  “Fine… I want to join your little group.”

“The fuck!?”

“Excuse me?”

Both of them let out their own exclamations of surprise at the unexpected request.  Out of all the things the dwarf could have asked for, neither of them would have guessed she wanted to join them.  Thankfully Daniela proceeded to clarify her reasoning somewhat.

“Look, those coins you found are the first clue me or me familia has had in decades.  I need information only you have and I’m willing to work to get it.”  Her familiar grin bloomed once more on her tan face.  “Plus, the next time you four stumble upon something valuable, I want to be right there when it happens.”

Sade was the first to break out of her shock.  She crossed her arms under her sizable chest.  “And why should we agree to bring you on?  What would you bring to the table?  If you have watched us for any length of time, you should know just how capable we are.”

“I’m glad you asked!”  Daniela exclaimed and withdrew a small bag from somewhere.  “I’m an expert in sneaking and information gathering, as I have already demonstrated.  I am also very proficient in trap detection, wards, and moving objects from one location to another without anyone being the wiser.”  She jiggled the small pouch in her hand while talking about that last qualification.  The faint sounds of clinking could be heard from within.

Recognition bloomed in Sade’s mind, she knew that bag.  She quickly searched her person for her purse, not the decoy purse she had on her hip, but the real one she usually hid under her clothes to hold enough coin for major purchases.  It was nowhere to be found.

“How did you-”  She started to ask before the dwarven woman tossed the small bag of coins to her.  Checking inside she found nothing missing, but her blood ran cold at the implications.  Sade, as a habit, rarely ever paid anything less than her full attention to her surroundings at all times.  And she was still blindsided by an unknown party, seemingly on a whim.

Tyr snorted in derision.  “So yer a thief.  I doubt that little trick of yers would work on me.”

Daniela’s smile grew wicked.  “Oh, but it already has gigante.  Would you care to play a little game with me?”  She placed a hand into her pant pocket and wiggled it around inside the fabric.  “I’ll give the two of you three chances to guess what item of the elf’s is in my pocket.”

“Beside yer hand?”  Tyr shot back, but Daniela was faster in extracting her appendage from her pants before the guess had finished being uttered.

“Oh, so close!  But that is not the answer!”  She taunted.

Tyr growled slightly at the provocation, but otherwise went into thought on what the answer could be.  Sade’s own mind was whirling around like a cyclone on the myriad of possibilities.  Her large lover rarely carried anything of value on her person other than a few coins for drinks and a few hidden weapons when not actively on a hunt.  But coins were already stolen previously, and even the smallest of Tyr’s weapons would be quite oversized when shoved into the dwarf’s pants.

“Is it our house key?”  The elf asked.

“Nope!  That’s still tucked away in the left breast pocket on the inside of your vest.”

Tyr’s hand unconsciously traveled to the spot indicated and her eyes grew wide in surprise.  That emotion almost immediately morphed into anger.  Her lips pulled back to expose her fangs and her hulking body crouched low into an aggressive stance.  The fact that the dwarf even knew where the key was hidden and just didn’t bother taking it made her dangerous.  And a danger like that, Sade knew, was something Tyr would never allow to live.

“Calm down my love, she has not truly harmed us yet.”  Sade cooed softly while slipping between the wild woman and her would-be prey.  Her voice seemed to work in calming the elf down, Tyr’s hackles no longer raised, but she still let out a low, threatening growl rumble from deep in her chest.

Sade turned towards the thief, who still had not moved from where she stood, nor had that infuriating smile even once left her lips.  “I have to admit, your fearlessness is almost admirable.”

“Why thank you.”  She said while bowing at the compliment.  “And your next guess?”

“I guess the reverse fertility pills Tyr has not been taking as of late.”

The smile on Daniela’s face bloomed into a full on grin.  She reached down and extracted several small medicinal pills that Sade and her lovers had become incredibly familiar with over the past few months.

“Well done!  I wasn’t expecting you to be the one to figure it out.  She was hiding these after all.”

Tyr stiffened at the sight.  She looked down to Sade with an expression that was a mix of guilt and shame.  “Sade I-”

“Shhhhhhh….”  Sade silenced her lover softly with a gentle finger to her lips before bringing the large woman in for a soft and sensual kiss filled with passion.  “I am sure you have your reasons.  We can sit down and discuss everything later if you wish.  I trust you my love.”

She then turned towards the Dwarf.  “You have indeed shown some impressive skills, but the decision to add you to the group is not entirely up to me.  I will give you an opportunity to talk with the others and then we shall decide.  Understood?”

The other woman nodded her agreement.

“Good.”  Sade said.  “And if you fail, I will let Tyr maul you.”

At those words, the dwarf nearly tripped and a look of utter horror flashed across her face.  Tyr merely grinned at the prospect.