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Red on Red	By : Sylviana_of_Qualinost Category: A through F > Dragonlance Views: 4499 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragonlance or any of the characters. DL belongs to Wizards of the Coast and Weis and Hickman. No money is made from these installments.

Chapter List
- 8
- 9
- 10
Chapter 8: Surrounded. A Desperate Plan.

Their issues forgotten in the face of impeding danger, Raistlin and Caramon fell into their natural battle stance, back to back. Caramon's broad sword was out, the big man adjusting his grip on the massive handle. Raistlin's hand sought out his belt pouch, instinctively rummaging through his magical components, the words to a dozen spells coming to his head, waiting to be summoned. To Caramon's left, Silviana hooked an arrow to her short bow, drawing the string tight and ready to shoot within a second should it be necessary. Not wasting time, Scrounger pulled out two long daggers to have them at the ready, having learned a while back that a sword was too awkward and unwieldy for his small frame.
Tension mounted as the four waited for an attack to be launched against them, but the bandits just watched them wearily, some holding bared swords and knives, others pointing drawn arrows and crossbows in their direction. There must have been well over fifty men there, all gruff and dangerous looking. Several moments of dense stillness passed before someone came forward. The man who stepped out into the clearing was tall and lanky, but no less imposing for it. He was covered in lean sculpted muscle and dressed in a strange assortment of baggy, miss-matched clothing. Shoulder length iron gray hair was held back by a black bandanna and his face, adorned by a neatly trimmed beard, was open and easy to smile. The man greeted them with a mock salute of his bastard sword.
“Gentlemen,” he greeted them, “and lady,” a small nod in Silviana's direction. “I am Terris Loft and these are my men,” He indicated the unsavory individuals gathered around him. “It appears that we have a bit of a problem.”
“I'd say,” Caramon growled, readjusting his grip on his sword.
“I consider myself a sensible man,” Terris continued ignoring Caramon's comment. “I don't know what that mad mage wanted with the four of you, but his business is not mine. I gotta say- I am impressed. I sent some men to check on the prisoners only to find the guards disposed of and the mage out of commission. Bravo.”
Terris walked bravely further out into the clearing, nonchalantly walking closer to the four friends, who wearily kept their guard up.
“What I think,” the bandit was saying, “is that there is no reason for us to fight. I could use the likes of you. The armies of the north are growing, ready to bring in a new era of domination. It is time for people to band together, so that we can carve ourselves a slice of the new world order.”
“And what can you tell us of this new world order?” Raistlin asked, thinking all the while that all this talk of eggs and armies and Kitiara had something in common. There was a linking thread in there somewhere but he had to hear more in order to figure out the connection.
“Raist, you don't actually...” Caramon started, but was cut off by Raistlin's heel stepping down hard on his own foot.
“Not now, brother,” the mage hissed.
“Ah, I see you are smart- which saves us trouble,” Terris was smiling broadly, pacing back and forth in front of them. “Because if you weren't, I would quite literally have to kill you. My position here is precarious. We mean to take Hope's End before winter, for as you can tell, it might be a little too cold for outdoor living by that point in time. Unfortunately, it means that anyone that could possibly get in the way and do something silly like... oh, inform legal authorities and get an assembled army to rout us out, can't be allowed to leave alive.”
“And seeing as there is so many of you and so little of us,” Silviana concluded, “You think it wise that we join you willingly.”
“Exactly, bright eyes,” Terris gave her a broad wink. “I tell you, I do not mind replacing old Blacksworth over there with two reds, especially when one of them is so pretty. Personally those blackrobes give me the creeps.”
Silviana started. She has taken to wearing gray and green ranger garb as a habit, with only a red sash to indicate her status as a mage. Not everyone caught on to the truth, although she did not hide it on purpose, but rather chose her clothing for comfort. Nevertheless, Terris noticing it so quickly unnerved her.
“We will not sell out our honor,” Caramon spat, “We will stand and fight-”
“What of the others?” Raistlin raised his voice to purposefully cut off his brother once more.
“The rest of your group,” Terris raised an eyebrow, “is back in the main encampment. Believe me when I say they did not choose the option where they all died. And please spare me the crap about honor. You are mercenaries for the sake of the Abyss.”
Caramon was about to reply. Silviana and Scrounger felt uncertain, lowering their weapons but keeping a tight hold on them just in case swift action was necessary. It was Raistlin who took control of the situation. He dropped his defensive posture and stepped forward slowly.
“We too shall take the option where no one dies,” he said in his quiet, venomous voice. His companions looked on at him in utter disbelief. Scrounger's mouth was hanging open.
“Raist...” Caramon began weakly but a deadly look from his twin made the big man go silent.
“We will go with you,” Raistlin came face to face with Terris, his golden eyes holding those of the outlaw leader intently.
“Good call, mage,” Terris' broad smile made an appearance once more, “I think this could be the beginnings of a great friendship.”
Together, the mage and the bandit made their way out of the clearing.

Lost for words, the rest of the group followed after Raistlin and Terris.
At the last moment, Silviana thought to look back to where she had last seen the unconscious black-robe and stifled a gasp. The mage was no longer there.
***

Raislin was getting increasingly more agitated and excited. The things he heard today from Blacksworth and Terris Loft were swarming around in his head, trying to fit together in a clear pattern. It was evident to him now that the entire siege of Hope's End was some sort of a cover, a distraction from a motive far deeper and darker than a rebelling township. Somewhere in the North there were armies amassing, presumably lead by someone named Ariakas. If Terris were to be believed, which was debatable, then these armies aimed for nothing less than the complete domination of Krynn. Somewhere in their midst was Kitiara, something Raistlin found plausible for he knew his sister had gone North to look for work. And most importantly, there was something located in the vicinity of Hope's End, in the mountains, that the Northern leader wanted desperately enough to have send two powerful wizards to claim in.
But what was it? Surely, there could not possibly be dragon-eggs. Everyone was taught that dragons never existed. Yet, Raistlin wasn't so sure about this. The implications were huge and he had to find out more. Which meant for the moment trying to get as much information from Terris and his deserter force as he could muster. He almost regretted Scrounger disposing of Blacksworth at the time that he did, for it stopped the black-robe from inadvertently giving Raistlin more clues as to what was happening. No matter, thought the young mage, given enough time I will learn what I want to learn- and come up with a plan to get us out of this situation.
“I want to hear more about what is going on in the North,” Raistlin told Terris while they were walking towards the main encampment, going deeper and deeper into the woods. He felt there was no particular reason to try and ferret out information with manipulation in this case and that straight forwardness would serve him better.
“Tsk tsk,” Terris threw him a curious look, eyebrows lifting, “does no one know anything in the East?”
“I suppose we have been regrettably oblivious.”
“Well, that is for the best, my dear mage,” Terris shook a finger at Raistlin, “it would be hard to take over the world if everyone knew what you were up too. But don't fear- I will tell you what I know when I feel that I can trust you and yours.”
Thus Terris effectively terminated the conversation and a frustrated Raistlin was left thinking that perhaps straight forwardness was not the best approach after all.
When the four friends finally reached the main encampment of the bandits, they had to admit that they were impressed. Sturdy wooden shelters had sprung up in a perfectly placed little vale in the deepest part of the forest. A lively stream ran through the vale, providing a convenient source of drinking water. Most importantly, the vegetation around the area was so thick that it was impossible for any but the best woodsmen to easily locate a passage to the vale. It seemed unlikely that such a large force could be so easily hidden, but as Terris explained, there were a few dozen trained trackers among his group who were on constant duty to cover all signs of his men coming and going from their chosen place. As a diversion, a smaller camp was set up in another location, the very same Scrounger had stumbled upon, which acted as a decoy for anyone that may wish to find the culprits who have had Hope's End's supply trains ransacked and seized.
Raistlin had to admit it was all very clever.
And it made getting out of there that much harder.
“The rest of your friends are over there,” Terris pointed to the spot squarely in the center of the camp, “which is where you will join them. The arrangement is a necessary precaution. Until all of you have proven yourselves trustworthy, you will remain where it is easiest to keep an eye on you and should you need to leave the main encampment you will be given an escort.”
With that he left the four to rejoin the rest of their mercenary troop.
Rudd and the rest of the company were sullen but otherwise unharmed. As soon as the magical darkness passed and they found themselves outnumbered and surrounded by the enemy they surrendered smartly. Although it chaffed at their nerves, none of them were willing to sacrifice their lives for this mission when there was no obvious way out.
“Well then it seems we all got out alive and unhurt,” Rudd spat at the ground disdainfully once the other four came over. A couple of the mercs eyed Raistlin and the rest with open suspicion. Were you in on this from the get go? Their eyes seemed to say.
“For all that's worth,” Raistlin said sardonically and sat down heavily, his back to a tree, eyes closed against the fading sunlight.
“Oh it's worth a great deal,” the one-eyed merc retorted with equal venom.
“Yes, I suppose so long as we are alive there is always a chance to extricate ourselves from this mess,” Raistlin's voice was necessarily quiet. He did not want the surrounding bandits to hear what he said, but at the same time wanted to give the others a hint as to what he was thinking.
The surrounding company at once became serious, all suspicion gone from their eyes. Caramon sighed in obvious relief, glad that his brother had something up his sleeve. Silviana exchanged dubious glances with Scrounger.
“And what is it you are implying, mage?” Rudd dropped his voice an octave, glancing around casually to make sure no one was paying any attention to their conversation.
“Just wait and see,” Raistlin retorted. “For now we need to buy time.”
“Hey you newbies over there- no whispering,” one of their captors circled over to their huddled group.
“Apologies,” Raistlin offered to the man, rising from the ground and looking over at Silviana. He extended a hand to her and gave her an expectant look.
Play along, it seemed to say. The elf-woman grabbed hold of Raistlin's slender hand and rose from where she sat cross legged on the ground.
“My colleague and I require a replenishment of herbs for our magic components,” he told the bandit, “if you would be so kind as to give us an escort?” Raistlin said the last word with obvious sarcasm and distaste.
“Yeah, right, herbs,” the gaunt man snickered, “I doubt that's what you want to do out there with the likes of her, but I won't question.” He motioned over three stocky individuals with the outward appearance of neanderthals, who bore an assortment of crude weapons ranging from maces to clubs and morning stars. “Stepin, Carfus, Troth- you go gander around in the woods with these two while they pick their herbs.”
It was then that Raistlin's cough decided to strike with a vengeance, making the sickly young man double over in pain. Silviana caught him around the waist, steadying him while the spasm wracked his body. Once it passed, Raistin took a step back, not entirely disentangling himself from Silviana's supportive grip. One hand came up to slowly wipe off the trickle of blood from the corners of his mouth.
“I feel weak,” Raistlin rasped breathlessly, “let me lean on you while we walk.”
“Of course,” Silviana was startled by this request, realizing immediately that the mage was up to something. Twining her arm through his and offering her shoulder for support, Silviana began to walk down a barely noticeable path into the thick of the woods. Their armed escort followed closely on their heels.

***
“You see the properties of marjoram are peculiar,” Raistlin was saying whilst he was rotating the herb in question between his delicate fingers. They sat cross legged side by side in a tiny clearing some twenty minute walk from the main encampment. Their three guards were leaning up against the surrounding trees, spread out some forty feet away from where Raistlin and Silviana examined wild herbs. “It is both a mild sedative when mixed with morning glory seeds and a stimulant when mixed with night shade. The former elixir is optimal for inducing visionary dreams and the latter for inducing energy and sustaining alertness for days.”
Silviana knew all this and her patience was slowly waning. By the gods, Raistlin knew that she knew and yet he insisted on giving a full account of every herb and flower in painfully meticulous detail. She stifled a yawn, noticing Stepin, Carfus and Troth doing the same thing at the edge of the clearing. Raistlin had been going on like this for the better part of an hour and it occurred to Silviana that if he kept it up in same manner he would be putting them all to sleep.
To sleep! Of course, he wants them to grow weary and bored and stop paying us any heed! The realization swept through her like wildfire and Silviana ordered herself to remain focused, at once watching Raistlin's hands as they handled the herbs and plants and keeping an eye on the increasingly drowsy guardsmen.
Another quarter of an hour passed before the eyelids of the three surrounding them began to droop steadily, and one of the party began to snore peacefully.
“And then of course we have rosemary,” Raistlin grasped Silviana's hand making her look up into his eyes, he took that moment to lean over closer, lips nearly brushing the elf-woman's ear. “There is no sedative quite like boredom," Raistlin breathed, "I will talk quickly. Our only way out is to wait for the next robbery back on the highway. We must all go with the company and participate in the ambush." His words were barely audible and from the side it looked awfully like Raistlin was trying to playfully nuzzle her neck.
One of the guards, Carfus opened his eyes and regarded them with renewed suspicion.
“In large quantities and mixed with a strong dose of saffron and dragon's eye it becomes one of the most powerful aphrodisiacs known to man.” Raistlin said aloud to appease to wary bandit.
“Master Majere, are you proposing we attempt to make this concoction?” Silviana played along, making her voice easily heard and laced it with non-to-fake excitement. As much as she detested their current predicament, she enjoyed that it created the necessity for the two of them to be this close together.
Carfus smirked loudly, his suspicion momentarily alleviated.
“I do,” Raistlin's voice took on an unfamiliar, purring note, “I believe we are about to have weeks of tedium on our hands with nothing but experimentation with various... herbs to look forward too.”
Following that statement, Raistlin promptly grabbed her about the waist and pulled her unto his lap, making Silviana gasp in amazement. One of his hands pulled her head down against his, making her abundant hair fall forward hiding their faces from view. At once he began whispering frantically again with Silviana trying hard to pay attention to his words and not the heat of his breath on her skin.
In seconds he told her the rest of his plan, quick words hissed into her ear beneath the cover of their twined hair.
“Oh, Raistlin! Not here,” Silviana squealed for added effect.
“That's it that's it,” came Stepin's gruff voice and the guard came over to them, placing a rough palm on Silviana's shoulder and pulling her off of Raistlin. “It seems you have gathered enough herbs. If you want to play you can do it back at camp. I'll even show you the good spots myself,” he gave Raistlin a wink.
The mage got to his feet and glared at Stepin hard enough to make the man take an involuntary step back.
“I suppose you are right,” Raistlin gave an exasperated sigh. He put his hand on the small of Silviana's back and gave her a light push ahead. “We will finish our talk of herb lore somewhere more comfortable.”
Raistlin and Silviana exchanged one more brief glance of acknowledgement, the elf-woman giving a barely noticeable nod to show that she knew what was expected of her from here on.
Their escorts once more at their backs, the two made their way slowly back to Terris' camp.
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Red on Red