Adult-FanFiction.org : Books

Ice and Steel	By : Skullbearer Category: A through F > Dragonlance Views: 3083 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own the book(s) that this fanfiction is written for, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
Showing the newest developments in Solace through the eyes of Tanis Half-Elven. Featuring Depressed!Caramon, Stunned!Tanis, Hyper!Tasslehoff, Enraged!Flint and a plan that can only lead to disaster. Mild comic relief and an introduction to a main plot in the story.
Sorry if I get characterisations wrong, I've hated Tanis ever since he threatened to wring Raistlin's neck in the Legends trilogy.
As always, I own nothing but the wefts and warps I have built into the original storyline, everything else belongs to Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman except for the lyrics, which belong to Kovenant.
And as always, thanks and praises be to Kady Mae for beta-ing this.
Ice and Steel
Chapter three- Friends and trouble
I can't come down when your around
I lose control and hit the ground
So everything must change
and all remains the same
This is a stillborn universe
-Kovenant, Stillborn Universe.

Caramon looked miserable, Tanis thought, the big man was clearly glad to see them but it was easy to see that something was bothering him.
"Hey Caramon! Oh, what's the matter? You don't look so good." Tasslehoff chirped up. Typical Kender.
"Oh, well, it's nothing really." As a lie, it was pathetic.
"You can tell us." Tas promised, "I won't tell anyone, honest Caramon! Well, I'll tell Flint of course, but he's my friend! Oh, and you Tanis; I wouldn't not tell you that, and anyway you'll hear it what he tells me, and Strum; but he's your friend too
Caramon! And Raistlin-"
At the mention of his twin's name, Caramon sighed.
"- and Otik; but he always hears all the gossip anyway, and the nice guard who's always offering me a room in the guardhouse; funny, I thought he'd worked out by now I'm living with Flint-"
"Has this something to do with Raistlin?" Tanis asked under the Kender's inane babbling.
"Yeah."
"-and that girl you like; what's-her-name, she'd be worried about you, and-"
"Will you shut up, you doorknob!" Flint roared.
"What's he done now?" Sometimes Tanis had no idea why Caramon put up with his irritable brother.
"But I was just-"
"Can't you just keep your mouth shut?"
"Oh nothing," Caramon looked even more despondent that ever. "I just practically don't see him anymore."
Tanis blinked, "You don't see him?" He'd always thought Raistlin as being very much dependent on Caramon. Behind him, Flint and Tasslehoff stopped their argument to listen.
"No." The big man kicked moodily at an exposed tree root.
"Why?" Tanis coaxed, this was a sore point, he could tell.
"Because he, um, well, he found someone."

"Oh." Tanis was stunned. "What, romantically?" This was not what he'd expected. Raistlin? In love? Krynn had clearly stopped turning.
"Yeah." Caramon looked embarrassed and reddened.
"Oh." Tanis repeated, still in shock.
"Oh wow!" Tasslehoff grinned. "That's great! Who is it? Is it
someone we know?"
He shook his head. "No, it's some Dark elf he met a few months ago, a black robe called Dalamar."
"Wow!" Tasslehoff all but bounced in excitement, "I've never even seen a Dark elf before, even though I've been to loads of places. This is so great! Is he living with you? When's the marriage?"
Flint clamped his hand over the Kender’s mouth, clearly now the only possible way to keep Tas quiet. "Can't you see he's upset?" The dwarf snarled.
"Is he?" Tas pulled Flint's hand away from his mouth, still oblivious with excitement. "Why? I'd have thought it'd be great, you know Caramon, you're always going on about how you want Raist to be happy, so what's the matter?"
"You're an idiot." Flint spoke with great dignity, an effect put off by his red face.
"A Dark elf?" Tanis felt himself lagging behind in this conversation. Talk about a match made in the Abyss...
"Dalamar, yeah. I don't know why Raist trusts him."
Birds of a feather then, "Dalamar?"
"You've heard of him?" Caramon looked surprised.
"No, but I, um, I never thought your brother went that way for, um, companionship." Tanis felt his cheeks hot up.
Caramon shrugged, "He does now."
"Oh." The world has officially gone insane.
"But why're you upset?" Tasslehoff chirped again. "If he's happy, why aren't you? You're always saying-"
"Because that elf's using him!" The floodgates were broken, Caramon was shouting. "I'm sure that's it! I don't trust him at all, but Raist won't believe me, love-blind for Dalamar, I suppose! I'm really worried but he won't listen-"
This day keeps on getting weirder. I've never seen Caramon shout before.
"-And I don't see him anymore!" Caramon clenched his fist angrily, "It's not meant to be like that! We're twins! We're meant to stay together! Raistlin's always needed my help, he'll get hurt if I'm not there to help him-"
Clearly Raistlin doesn't think so. Tanis thought.
"- He doesn't want me around, he doesn't even want to see me! I miss him and I'm really scared for him! I just know he's going to get badly hurt-" Caramon seemed to be desperate to get everything off his chest, to unburden himself to someone that could help.
"Calm down Caramon." Tanis spoke as soothingly as he could.
Caramon rubbed one hand over his face and gave a small, broken sigh. "I just want things to go back to the way they were," No anger now, all his previous energy gone, Caramon just looked defeated. "Just back to normal. Me and Raist, he can't manage without me."
Yet he seems to be doing very well. Tanis wondered if he'd been wrong in believing Raistlin to be the dependant one, Caramon was the one having a nervous breakdown, not him.
Tanis sighed, he had to say something to comfort the big man but there really wasn't anything to be done. Best just to put it down as it was and help Caramon come to terms with the changes.
"If your brother doesn't want you around, Caramon, there's nothing you can do about it-"
"But you will, won't you?" The human's face held a looked of hopeful desperation. "Raist's going to get hurt by that Dark elf, we have to do something to help him!"
Tanis had a very bad feeling about where this was heading. If Caramon was asking for them to break up his twin's relationship, then it was the worst idea Tanis could imagine. His thoughts drifted to his own lover, Kitiara, how would he feel if someone tried to keep him away from her permanently?
He wouldn't like it at all.
Tanis was just about to politely refuse Caramon's plea, tell him that they really had no place in meddling with Raistlin's life, telling him what to do or who to love, not to mention that he would never believe them or care what they thought. What Caramon should do is try and accept what was happening and let Raistlin pay for his own mistakes.
He would have said all this, only he was beaten to it.
"Sure Caramon." Tasslehoff was clearly trying to look as if heappreciated the gravity of his friend's situation. "Raist would be so pleased knowing we stopped him getting hurt! He's my friend too and I stand up for my friends." If the Kender hadn't been bouncing around as he usually did at the promise of excitement, the speech would have seemed much more poignant.
"Come on Flint! Didn't you say that dwarves always look out for their kin? And Caramon's almost kin, isn't he? And Tanis, you'll help won't you? Caramon and Raist are our friends, you said you'd always help a friend."
Flint growled, angry at having his own words thrown back at him.
"Fine! I don't like the sound of this Dalamar either, one thing you can trust even less than an elf is a Dark elf."
Tanis sighed, "I'll help," he said quietly, "but I want all of you to know that I think this is not a good idea at all. Raistlin is not going to like this and I have a very bad feeling about this, Caramon, I just want you to know that."
There was a brief pause while two fundamental rules of Caramon's universe fought it out, love for his brother combating his absolute trust in Tanis.
Trust lost.
"This is a good idea Tanis." He insisted. "Raistlin needs us."
"But what are we meant to do?" Tanis demanded. "Just go up to Raistlin and tell him of our suspicions?"
"Of course not." Flint snorted and the pointlessness of that idea.
"No, I've already tried." Caramon sighed. "I thought you might have some ideas."
Resigning himself to playing a part in this insane and probably disastrous drama, Tanis tried to think.
"Well," He said, "You say Raistlin doesn't believe us, right?"
Caramon nodded.
"Then what we need is proof we can show to Raistlin that Dalamar has dishonest intentions. No one can cover their tracks perfectly, even a Dark elf, so we'll be bound to find something if we look hard enough."
"That's a good idea." Caramon looked relieved. "What should we look for?"
"Anything, everything we can find out about Dalamar to show Raistlin that he's either manipulating him, untrustworthy or both." It wasn't a brilliant plan by any means, but it was the best he could come up with.
The other three nodded, Tasslehoff excited, Caramon relieved and Flint determined.

So, Tanis thought, looking over his friends and reviewing his plans, I'm trying to save someone I don't like, from someone I don't know, with a plan I don't trust.

Oh dear, does anyone else feel that 'disaster waiting to happen' sensation? More soon. Please review, I need reviews.
Oh yes, and I would like to know if you think I should write a smutty interlude to this.
- 2
- 3
- 4
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Ice and Steel