Red Blood and Black Steel - Jeff Long Chapter 2 After what seemed like an eternity to Serin, but what must have been only a few seconds to the red-cloaked man, the young woman withdrew her hand from the firm handshake. Without pausing, the Bloodrunner Captain's voice took on a business-like tone. "Well, the first order of business is to get you some new clothes. We don't exactly have an official uniform, but we prefer our members to wear something red," the man gestured to his own clothing, "for publicity and such. After all, we have to live up to our name." From the faint smile that momentarily drifted onto the man's face, he had apparently just made some kind of inside joke. "As for your accomodations, we all have our own private rooms here at the Redguard, that are more or less permanently reserved. I'll arrange a room for you as soon as possible. Unfortunately, our group has no task at the moment, so you can take the time to get to know your team mates. A sense of unity and trust is one of the most important aspects of any group of people who are trying to work together. I'll let Kay introduce you to the rest of the group." Rale Jaiss paused for a moment. "I think that should be everything. I'll go call Kay now. Oh, and Serin," he added, a slight grin appearing on his face, "whatever you do, don't let Kay pick out any clothes for you." Serin nodded grimly, outwardly cool and impassive, but inside her head was spinning. She still was not quite sure who this Kay person was. Or why Rale Jaiss had accepted her with so few questions. And a few dozen other things that weren't even clear to her. Meanwhile, the Bloodrunner Captain had opened the door to the sitting room, and was calling out in a loud, commanding voice: "Kay, get over here now!!" With yet another flourish, the handsome red-haired man rose from the table and came a bit too quickly over to his leader's office. The black-haired man standing beside the door scowled faintly and the fire-haired man gave him a quick wink. He then turned to Rale Jaiss, flourishing his bright red cape once more. "What is thy bidding, my Captain?" Rale Jaiss seemed on the verge of scowling menacingly and laughing at the same time. Instead, he turned to Serin, who was fingering her slightly-too-large sword. "Kay, this is Serin Swandred, the newest member of our group. Serin, this is Kay Reese, my second-in-command." "Welcome, then, milady Serin." The red-haired man smiled charmingly, and bowed as if to kiss Serin's hand. The blond woman just eyed him coldly, crossing her arms in front of her. Kay coughed uncomfortably and rose to his feet. "Perhaps I shall introduce you to the rest of the team, then, milady Serin," said the red-haired man. As he turned to lead her back to the table, Rale Jaiss called from the office: "Kay, make sure to show her to the taylor's shop. Just let her do her own shopping this time, alright?" Kay scowled over his shoulder in the direction of his commander's office, but nodded sullenly. By this point, the pair had arrived at the table, and a half-dozen pairs of eyes were upon them. The red-haired man flourished again, and began in his flowery speech. "Members of the Bloodrunners, this is Serin Swandred, our newest team-member. A warrior, if I'm not mistaken." The fiery-haired man eyed her sword for a moment, before turning to address her. "I'm afraid I know little more about you, milady, so I shall introduce to you the rest of our little group. As our illustrious captain has already told you, my name is Kay Reese." A tall, muscular man with a hard face that looked like it hadn't been shaved in about three days rose from the table. "Actually, if you want to know his full name, it's Kaymarraimeides, but I don't think he can pronounce it himself, so he just goes by Kay." A grin split the man's face, and he extended a rugged hand. "I'm Delkar Irkada. A pleasure to meet you." The humor in the stubbly-faced man's brown eyes seemed genuine. Serin put forth her hand in a rough handshake, while Kay simply scowled at the tall man. Irkada continued to talk as if Kay were not a mere three feet away. "He really hates it when someone interrupts his speeches, you know. Gets him all riled up. Just don't let yourself get tripped up by his flowery tongue." Chuckling softly to himself, Delkar Irkada sat back down. "Why thank you, Delkar. Now if you're done putting in your two pence, then I'll continue with the rest of the group." Kay Reese stared icily at the dark-haired man, who was now smiling absently and apparently examining something on the ceiling. Kay snorted derisively and went on. "Over there, we have Ortheid Borosso, a woodsman from Pelranny." The red-caped man gestured to a lanky, sharp-faced man who was sitting against the wall. The man raised a hand and grinned wolfishly. Kay Reese went onto the next deftly. "Here is our ‘financial expert', so to speak, Villenev Heiguer, a former merchant from Lorainon." This time, Kay gestured to a short man with slick, oily black hair and dark, shrewd eyes. The man looked up at her sharply, his eyes weighing her as they would a fine tapestry, or gold sculpture. Serin's eyes narrowed somewhat. Already she did not especially like this man. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed that the hard-faced Delkar was no longer smiling. The red-haired Kay, however, seemed oblivious to the subtle goings-on around him. "Our companion who refuses to remove his blades even in the company of friends is Gane Yness, who considers himself a master swordsman." A tall, broad-shouldered man with shoulder-length blond hair and two long, slender swords strapped to his back, rose and came to examine Serin with his cool gaze. After a moment, he spoke. "That's quite a sword you've got there, girl. Perhaps if you show some promise, I shall teach you how to use it." With that, the man turned away and sat down again. Serin bristled angrily at the man's arrogance, but before she could retort, Kay Reese moved on. "And this lovely lady here is Elmira Selmine," said the red-haired man, pointing with just a bit too much gusto to the woman seated at the table. Elmira was tall, and had lush brown hair that fell down past her shoulders. She smiled hopelessly up at the somewhat too theatrical Kay, and the red-haired man returned her smile with a quick wink. However, as the woman's eyes fell across Serin, her gaze became a bit less than friendly. Once again, Kay Reese did not seem to notice. "And finally, old grim-face over there beside the door is Shad Vultes." The black-haired man in sombre clothing barely nodded in acknowledgement. Serin stared hard at the man, trying to read anything at all from his expression, but there was simply nothing there. No friendliness, no animosity. Serin would have liked to study that face further, but apparently Kay Reese loved the sound of his own voice too much to stop now. "I believe the captain's orders were to show you to the tailor's shop, milady Serin." A series of groans rose from the table, and Elmira Selmine's face flushed deep red, but Kay just kept smiling. "If it would please you, milady?" He extended an arm toward the young woman, which Serin promptly ignored. After muttering something unintelligeble under his breath, Kay flourished his scarlet cape and headed for the door. Serin followed right on his heels, and the heavy oak door closed with a resounding thud behind her. * * * * * "Certainly, a determined young woman," said Gane Yness, slowly sipping his mug of ale. The members of the Bloodrunners, minus their new arrival, Kay Reese and of course their captain, sat around their oak table, discussing the latest developments. "Pretty, though," Ortheid Borosso said, downing his ale in one gulp. Elmira shot the man a withering look. "Is that all you ever think about, Ortheid?" she asked flatly. "Only when I'm not working," Ortheid replied, flashing her that wolfish grin. The brown-haired woman threw up her hands in exasperation. "One thing's for sure, we have been short of manpower ever since Kradin and Chance bit it," said Delkar Irkada, scratching absently at his stubble. "The question is, can we depend on her? I'm sure we all remember Coth Tiamon . . ." The other Bloodrunners nodded grimly. "You will be able to rely on Serin Swandred." The Bloodrunners all nearly jumped out of their seats as they turned to the voice of the all-but-invisible presence of Shad Vultes. "Burn you, Shad, no matter how many times you do that, I'll never get used to it," muttered Delkar darkly. Gane Yness even had his hand half-way to one of the swords on his back. Slowly, the blond man rose to his feet and started pacing the room. "If you say we can trust her, Shad, then I believe you," mused the big man. His cloak, blue on the outside and blood-red within, swirled as he turned about. "Your judgement is always good. But nevertheless, she will have to prove herself in battle." Villenev Heiguer, silent until now, spoke in a soft, oily voice. "Perhaps the true question at hand is how long it will take her to trust us." Gane Yness nodded thoughtfully, his cloak swirling again as he turned around to continue his pacing. In a quick gulp, Delkar downed his ale. "Well, I'll guess we'll just have to wait and see how things turn out." The hard-faced man once again scratched at his stubble. "Isn't that what we always do?" asked Elmira. Delkar shrugged helplessly. "What else can one do?" he sighed. * * * * * "You can drop the ‘miladies', you know," said Serin softly as she and Kay Reese crossed the commons room of the Redguard Inn and made their way out into the street. "I am hardly of noble birth." Kay laughed softly. "As long as you promise to call me Kay, instead of some other far-fetched formal title that some have been able to dream up." Serin nodded, but did not return the man's smile. Instead, she continued speaking in her grim-set voice. "Your group is certainly an interesting one, Maste . . . Kay. It seems like half of you don't even trust the other half, and then some of you don't trust anyone at all." A resigned look appeared on Kay's voice, but he still managed to keep his voice energetic. "Ah, well, the mercenary business is a dangerous one, and the Bloodrunners have taken many casualties over the years. In fact, the only members of the original Bloodrunner group that are still alive are Rale Jaiss, myself, and Delkar." Kay and Serin paused for a moment to avoid being crushed by a passing wagon, and then continued down the street. "But don't take all the rivalry you see in our group as serious. Things in our group aren't quite as . . . hostile . . .as they might appear at first glance. Although," Kay smiled roguishly, "I'll be the first to admit that we don't all like each other. Ah, here we are." Kay stepped through the doorway of a small, colorfully painted shop, and Serin quickly followed. A silver bell above the door rung out twice, and the portly shopkeeper quickly appeared. The man, in his mid-fifties, it would appear, smiled when he saw who it was. "Hello there, Kay!" the man called in a friendly voice. "Come to do some shopping, have you?" "Yes indeed," replied the red-haired man, smiling just as broadly. He walked over to a shelf of clothing and casually started sifting through it. "Now, let's see what you've got in stock, Avin. Hmm, yes, I think this should do." The garment Kay had selected from the shelf was a short, sleaveless top made of a filmy red material through which Serin thought she could make out Kay's hand. The blond woman's gaze darkened as she stared at Kay. "Didn't your captain give you orders about this, as I recall?" Kay Reese grinned sheepishly. "Yes, of course. I . . . forgot." Turning around, Kay muttered over his shoulder. "Go ahead, do your shopping. Just don't take too long, I don't have all day you know." From what Serin had gathered, the man in fact did have all day, but she decided not to make an issue of it. After about a twenty minute period, Serin examined her new appearance in Avin Seesin's full-sized dressing mirror. Since such mirrors seemed to be rare nowadays, the man must have been doing quite well to afford one. The young woman had replaced her old, worn boots with another set, also knee-high, but trimmed with an intricate pattern of red leather. Blood-red breeches were tucked into those boots, and belted at the waist with a thick leather belt. A black tunic covered her upper body, and she had selected a pair of blood-red leather gloves that went up to her elbows. The gloves were quite thin so as not to be uncomfortable, but were tough enough to turn aside the dull blade of a cutthroat's knife. Lying on the table were two more outfits of similar style, with slightly different cuts. As she finished buckling on her dirks and her sword, Serin hesitated for a moment, and then tossed her old clothes into a corner of the room. The young woman was not sad to see her old belongings go. After all, this should be the end of one phase of her life, and the beginning of a new one. Or at least so she hoped. As she stepped outside into the front room, Kay Reese was already standing there, tapping his foot impatiently. Raising an eyebrow as she entered, he eyed her new garb critically. "Not a bad choice, but I still think I could have found something much more . . . appropriate for you," said the red-haired man, furrowing his brow. Serin glared at him, and with a swirl of his red cape, Kay turned on his heel and swept through the door. After calling out a hasty farewell to Master Seesin, Serin hurried after him. The streets of the city of Targus seemed busier than they had a mere half-hour earlier, and Kay and Serin had to push their way through the crowds as they made their way back to the Redguard Inn. Not to be put off by the rumble of voices around them, Kay resumed his flowery speech. "Now, as our captain has probably told you, the Bloodrunners are a little short on work right now, so you'll have a bit of time to learn the ropes. Naturally, you can come and go as you please from the Inn, but you will have a room reserved there, and we'd appreciate it if you used it. That way, we'll be able to contact you fairly quickly if a job does come up. Most of us tend to gather in our sitting room at about sundown, but you can usually find one or two of us there at all times of the day . . . or even night." Kay paused his speech for a moment as they pushed past a group of street vendors hawking their wares. "Now, Targus is a big city of course, and if this is your first time here, I would be more than happy to show you around." Serin shook her head in a resigned fashion. This man was certainly not easily put off. But before she could decline his offer, she saw a black-gloved hand appear on the red-haired man's shoulder. "Goodbye, Reese," hissed a mocking voice. Without a moment's notice, Kay whirled around to face the source of the voice. A dagger shot from the sleaves of his ruffled shirt, and blossomed in the chest of a plain-looking man in dark clothing and black gloves. Almost as quickly as the man fell, Kay bent down over his body, making his dagger disapear again as well. Frowning in concern, the red-haired man searched through the man's clothing hurriedly. Serin bent down next to him, her hands resting on two of her long dirks. Deftly, Kay lifted up a corner of the man's sleave and pointed to a small symbol that looked somewhat like a spiked wagon wheel. The handsome man muttered softly under his breath. "Thone again." Quickly, he straightened, his smiling face suddenly grim. Motioning for Serin, Kay took off at almost a dead run toward the Redguard Inn. Wondering what in the Darkness she had gotten herself into, the short-haired woman shoved her way through the gathering crowds to follow him.