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The Game	By : RTietjen Category: A through F > Dragonlance Views: 1956 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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
- 6
- 7
- 8
I know its taking a long time to get to the good stuff, but we'll get there soon. Reviews are always appreciated.
Chapter 7

“She sleeps. She’s been through a terrible shock already. I though it best to leave her be. I can wake her if you wish.”
“No need. I have seen what I need to see,” Ariakan turned and strode out of the small room. The black robed cleric doused the oil lamp and followed him out of the room, locking the door behind him.
Ariakan returned to where Krell and the two who had arrested the girl waited to make their report.
“Leir is to be stripped of his armor and sword immediately. A thousand whores in this city and he does something like this. It is disgraceful.”
All three chorused, “Yes, milord,” and started out the door.
“Lord Ausric, I desire a word with you. Alone.”
Krell returned to his place. Ariakan waited for the other two to leave, then turned to the shorter man. “Are you certain she’s the one?”
“I am, milord..”
Ariakan studied his friend for a few long moments. Is spite of his apparent memory lossa, Krell claimed to have recognized the girl the moment he saw her.
This morning, Ariakan wouldn’t have wagered on the girl surviving an encounter with the still fuming Lord Ausric. Now that they had her in custody, Lord Krell seemed far too interested in seeing her attacker punished. It was a strange turn around, and very unlike Krell.
“She’s recovering well.”
Ausric grunted.
“I’m having her moved to the prison in the morning. Give her a few days in the dark to loosen her tongue before I decide what to do with her.”
Another grunt.
Ariakan sighed. “Say what is on your mind, Ausric.”
Krell hesitated a moment before saying, “I think the girl’s been punished quite enough, milord.”
“That’s not for you to decide, Ausric,” Ariakan said, noting the clenched muscles along the other man’s jaw. “She has put several of my knights in serious danger, as well as herself. However, my interest in the girl goes farther than pure punishment. If my suspicions are correct, and we both know they usually are, then she is playing a far more dangerous game than she realizes.”
“You believe she’s connected to what’s been going on in the city.”
“I do, and I intend to see that this nonsense stops. As entertaining as the reports are, we are in the middle of a war. I don’t have men or resources to waste on cleaning up after these clowns. Return to your duties, and don’t worry yourself any further over the girl.”
“As you command, milord,” the knight saluted Ariakan sharply and walked out of the hall. Ariakan waited until his footfalls on stone faded, then walked over to his desk and lit an extra oil lamp. He pulled a small slip of paper from a pouch at his belt and bent over to read it.
The paper was covered with marks. Letters and numbers, but nothing which made sense. Along the right side were four columns with numbers which got larger towards the bottom. Some of the addition was wrong, but he knew it was some sort of tally. At the top of each column were two letters. The rest of the page made no sense at all. It seemed to be in some sort of code.
He recognized the handwriting, of course. He’d seen it all over the city of Palanthas, posted where his edicts should be, chalked on the sidewalks, scribbled on the doors of notable lords, and most recently, of course, written across the face of his second in command. The note had been found in the belt pouch of the girl Ausric had arrested
Ariakan drummed his fingers against the desk, irritated. He set the paper aside and returned to his work, but his gaze kept drifting to the strange note. He felt he was being played with and it was a feeling he didn’t particularly care for. He was accustomed to being in control. Now, for the first time since their game had started, the pieces were on his side of the board. He flly intended for things to stay that way.
If the girl wanted to play games, he would be more than happy to teach her how to play by his rules.
~ ~ ~
Rae woke in a darkened room, with a pounding headache. A few minutes after she’d regained consciousness, a black robed woman entered the room, looked her over and ordered two knights to haul her away.
Now, she curled into a fetal position in the far corner of her cell, chilled to the bone, unable to control her shivering. Her teeth chattered in the darkness. The room was bare, except for a small chamber pot. There were no windows, only a heavy wooden door with bars covering a slit at the top.
Her torn clothes had been replaced with a floor length moth eaten wool robe. The robe offered almost no protection against the chill that seeped in through the stone walls. She had no idea how long she’d been here. Twice, the door opened and an armored knight dropped bread, a few bits of meat, and a cup of water on the floor. She thought of refusing the food, but knew it would be an empty gesture.
Better to conserve what strength she could for... what. Nothing. There would be no escape from here. She had killed a man. A knight. She shuddered and wiped her hands on the robe. She could still feel his blood splashing over her hands. Nausea threatened and she forced the memory away. She couldn’t afford to be sick here. Could not show weakness.
She fought her tears for hours before finally giving into them. She lay in the corner and sobbed as quietly as she could trying to picture the grinning face of the man behind the door, mocking her fear. Anger came in the wake of the tears, and she threw herself against the door, pounding on it with her fists until they bled. She cursed the guards, Ariakan, Krell, and the gods in every language she knew, falling finally to the stone.
When they came to get her, she sat in the corner, silent and bitter. The knight who entered had to duck his head to keep from hitting it on the door frame.
“Come.”
Rae didn’t move. She glared up at him and remained silent.
He hauled her to her feet and shoved her into the hallway. Rae blinked as the torchlight stung her eyes. She barely had time to adjust to the change in lighting before he was pushing her down the hallway. They left the prison and crossed three streets to the manor house. Rae searched desperately for any chance to run, but she was surrounded by three fully armored knights, and she was weakened from her stay in the dungeon room.
The knights brought her to the main entrance hall of the manor house. Outside, a large crowd of people waited to gain audience. The crowd parted at the order of her escort, and she was led up a small flight of stairs to the audience hall.
The room could have served as a ballroom. Two large mirrors hung on the walls, one on each side of the room. The only furniture was a large wooden desk. On each side of the desk stood an armored knight holding a pike. The man seated at the desk didn’t even glance up when she entered.
She took a deep breath and walked forward to stand before the Lord of the Night, Ariakan Ariakas, chosen of Takhisis.
Did he expect her to beg for her life? She kept her hands at her sides.
She watched him in silence as he worked. He had two books open on the table before him. As she watched, he would read a passage from the one on the left, then transcribe it into the book on his right. Occasionally, he would take up a clean sheet of parchment and make a few notes on it, then hand it off to a scribe who stood at his shoulder.
Her foot began to itch as she stood there. Rae cast a glance at her escorts. All three had remained by the door. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, trying to quell the itch without reaching down.
“Your name.”
Rae looked up, startled. Another man had joined Ariakan at the table, a stern faced man in the gray robes that marked him as a wizard-knight.
“Rae.”
“Surname.”
“Don’t have one.”
“Very well. You stand accused of interfering in the duty of a Knight of Takhisis, breaking standing curfew laws, trespassing on state property, destruction of state property, use of an unauthorized magical item, and attempted murder. Do you have anything to say in your defense?”
Rae listened to the list of crimes with no small astonishment. She struggled to put the rush of words together, and then it hit her. “He’s not dead?”
“Excuse me?”
“He’s not dead. The knight I stabbed. You said ‘attempted murder’.”
The man at the table spoke for the first time, fixing her with a piercing gaze. “Actually he is dead, but not at your hand. Leir Jarethsin was executed this morning by my orders.”
Rae swallowed hard. She hadn’t killed him. “I was just trying to get away from him,” she said, quietly. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone.” She raised her eyes to meet his.
His eyes were gray, cold. She could read nothing in those eyes. Rae shivered. The man at the table inclined his head just a bit, not even a nod, and one of the scribes handed her a cloak. It did nothing to relieve the chill.
She wondered if the guards at the door could hear her heart pounding against her ribcage. She finally dropped her eyes and stared at the floor between her feet.
After a time, he spoke again, “Jarethsin’s behavior was unacceptable. In view of the situation I will drop the attempted murder charge. For the rest...” he trailed off, awaiting an explanation.
Rae waited a moment to make sure she wouldn’t interrupt him, then asked, “I understand the curfew thing, but where did the rest of it come from?”
“A week ago, one of my knights was drugged in the tavern district. We have several witnesses who place you at the scene...”
“Witnesses, my ass, no one saw ...” She stopped.
A ghost of a smile crossed his lips.
Rae cursed loudly. “Fine. I did it, OK. All I did was slip the guy some sleepy juice. I wasn’t in the mood! If he hadn’t been such a prick about the whole thing ... oh, screw it, just cut my head off, hang me or whatever you’re planning on doing and be done with it! This is bullshit.”
He was staring at her again, eyes narrowed slightly. Rae clamped her mouth shut and dropped her eyes to the floor again.
“As I have reason to believe that you are connected to other acts of terrorism in the city, I am unable to grant your request. Therefore, I shall withhold my final judgement until after we have had time to properly question you. Return the prisoner to her cell.”
- 6
- 7
- 8
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The Game