The Adventures of Lita Pt. 02

Lita Cassalanter crept quietly around the warehouse. Lukan was a few feet ahead of her, and looked back to catch her eye, pointing up at the window on the second story. She nodded and slowly padded back to where the rest of her companions waited.

"There's a window, but will mean scaling the wall to the second story. Otherwise the only entrance is the front door. There's noises within, but nothing to indicate our man is inside, no screaming or fighting. Lukan thinks we should attempt the window, get the jump on them."

Itri and Beatriss nodded, and the three of them headed back to the side of the building where Lukan waited. The halfling swiftly scaled the building, and opened the window, slipping inside. Lita watched him with admiration, before attempting the climb herself.

The group had been hired by the famed author Volo to rescue his friend Floon Blagmaar. It hadn't been hard to track him, a few silvers loosened the tongues of the patrons in the run down tavern he'd last been seen in. Floon had left the tavern in the company of another young nobleman. The two of them had drawn attention, they weren't the usual clientele of the rough tavern in the Dock Ward. Fortunately this meant that they'd been seen as they were grabbed by a gang of humans dressed in black, and taken into this warehouse.

Lita carefully climbed the wall, taking her time and looking for careful footholds before moving. Itri and Beatriss both passed her, climbing with greater ease, though Lita winced slightly at the noise they were making. Distracted, her hand slipped and she narrowly avoided falling. Taking a breath, she resumed climbing slower than before, and eventually made it to the window and climbed inside where the others were waiting for her.

"Thanks for joining us milady. Two rooms up here, no people, I already looted them of valuables while waiting for you to get here." Lukan spoke in a low, sarcastic voice, and Lita flushed in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry my childhood wasn't spent breaking and entering, I was being given an education." Lita retorted.

The halfling raised one eyebrow. "You were sent to a school for sucking cock then? I assume you were top of the class?"

"No, I was terrible at my lessons, that's why I became a paladin instead of a cleric." Lita replied instinctively before she registered what he said.

"Wait.. I mean... I AM good at sucking cock. I mean. No, I didn't... Oh, Siamorphe's tits! You know what I meant Lukan!"

"Lita! Mind the blasphemy!" Beatriss interjected through her barely concealed laughter. As a cleric of Siamorphe, the goddess of nobility, Beatriss took a dim view of her cousin's irreverence. Lita didn't really think that her goddess would mind the odd curse word, as long as she was doing Her work. Siamorphe was the goddess of 'Noblesse Oblige', the duty and responsibility of nobility, and Lita took that seriously.

Itri leant against the wall, arms crossed and spoke dryly. "Have you cock-suckers finished fucking about? In case you forgot we got a guy to save, 200 gold to collect and most likely a gang of thugs waiting for us below. So unless you're going to distract them all with your oral skills, can we please focus on the job at hand?"

Lita flushed red at her party leader's scolding. Itri was her best friend, and she hated letting him down. She just couldn't prevent Lukan getting under her skin with his taunts. Most people liked Lita, her guileless charm winning them over quickly, but Lukan seemed to blame her entirely for her being born into wealth and position compared to his own lowly beginnings. However Itri liked the young halfling, and so Lita endured him being part of their adventuring group.

Tonight was their first real adventure. If Lita was honest, they got lucky in the Yawning Portal defeating a troll that had climbed up from the Undermountain below. That had drawn the attention of the famous author Volothamp Geddarm, who had hired them. It would be terribly embarrassing to fail on their first real adventure.

Lukan opened the door, and they all slipped out into the hallway. The floor opened up into a gallery looking down over the interior of the warehouse, with a set of steps leading down. From this vantage point they could see four kenku - raven like humanoids - wearing dark clothes, their beaks peeking out from their hoods . Around them were scattered humanoid bodies.

"Xanathar sends its regards." One of the Kenku spoke, in a deep voice with an orcish accent. Lita was confused that a bird like creature could sound orcish, but she had no time to ponder.

Lukan and Lita took the lead, stealthily sneaking down the stairs, until they were close enough to act. A blast of green light burst from Itri's hand, striking a kenku from behind. The bird creature spun around to come face to face with Lita's piercing rapier.

The battle was short and fierce, two of the kenku fighting with a pair of daggers, while the other two stepped back and used short bows. Lita and Lukan took the most damage from the scrap, but the kenku were no real challenge for the adventurers, with three of them lying dead and the fourth taken captive.

Itri took charge of interrogation while Beatriss bandaged her cousin's bleeding arm.

"Xanathar sends its regards." The kenku repeated in the same orcish voice, before switching to a nasally voice. "Tie up the pretty one."

"I'm confused. Why is it speaking so oddly?" Lita asked.

Beatriss smiled at her confused cousin. "It's a kenku, Lita. They can only mimic sounds they've overheard."

"Stupid to use them as henchmen, they'll give away all your plans." Itri added. "But then the Xanathar's guild isn't known for its smarts."

"Maybe you should apply to join them Lita? You'd fit right in." Lukan smirked as he searched the various bodies on the floor. "Anyone recognise this tattoo? All the humans have them."

Lita looked at the winged snake tattoo and felt a vague sense of recognition, but she couldn't quite place it. Itri however had no hesitation. "Zhentarim. The Black Network. Mercenaries, not always on the right side of the law. Here in Waterdeep the Zhent's tend to be mostly law abiding, they want to make money anyway they can. More like organised crime than street thugs like the Xanathar's guild. Can't think why they'd kidnap Volo's friend, but it looks like they did, and then the Xanathar's Guild attacked them and took their prisoner. See that other tattoo on that one? Circle with the radiating spokes, symbol of the Xanathar."

Itri kicked the kenku and the bird spoke again. "Follow the yellow signs in the sewers. Tie up the pretty one in the backroom."

Lita looked to the back of the warehouse where a broken door led to a storage closet. The door itself was almost falling off its hinges, and as Lita pushed it open it squeaked loudly. The closet was filled with broken barrels and old tarpaulins. Listening, Lita could hear ragged breathing coming from underneath one of the tarps. She stepped over to it and lifted it up.

Suddenly she was slammed to the ground by the man hiding beneath, as he launched himself at her. She managed to grab the man as she fell, pulling him back with her.

Lita looked up at the man lying atop her, his blue eyes gazing back at her in shock. He was covered in dirt and his red hair was a mess, but she could see beneath the grime he had handsome, distinguished features. This man could definitely be described as "the pretty one".

"Well, hello handsome! I don't object to you on top of me but you could at least introduce yourself first." Lita drawled. "Floon Blagmaar, I hope?"

The man blushed a bright red, and scrambled to his feet, offering her a hand up. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were one of those awful kidnappers! I'm not Floon. They took him! I'm Renaer Neverember."

"Delighted to meet you Renaer. I'm Lita Cassalanter." She replied and his face lit up in recognition.

"Oh Cassalanter! Your father was Open-Lord before mine! But I don't believe we've ever had the pleasure before? I have met your brother however."

Waterdeep nobility was exclusive, only around seventy-five families held noble titles, and they almost at least knew of each other, and importantly, they knew where their family stood in relation to the others. The nobility did not rule Waterdeep, that was reserved for the Lords of Waterdeep, an anonymous council whose identities were not even known by each other, only to the Open-Lord. The nobility however held extensive privileges.

Even as a younger daughter who would not inherit, Lita was expected to know the basics of the other noble families of Waterdeep. Even had that not been the case, as Open-Lord for a decade, Dagult Neverember had made an impression on the city. Three years ago he had been ousted from power by the current Open-Lord, Laeral Silverhand. Lord Dagult was disliked by the nobility of the city in general for many reasons, not least that he allowed impoverished noble families to sell their noble titles to wealthy commoners, considered to be a pollution of their ranks.

Before Lita could respond to Renaer, Lukan interrupted poking his head in the room. "Hey! If you two have finished hob-nobbing about, get out here. I found a secret room full of silver. So let's grab the silver and Volo's friend here, and leave before either the Watch or more thugs show up."

As if summoned by his words, there was a loud knock at the door. "Open up in the name of the Watch!"

"Hrast!" Lukan cursed, and finished grabbing the silver, then ran up the stairs to escape the way they came in. "I'll meet you back at the Yawning Portal first thing in the morning!" he yelled behind him as he fled.

"Wait!" called out Renaer, but Lukan didn't stop.

"They took Floon! They must have thought he was me. You see, they're after the Stone of Golorr, and the fortune that my father embezzled while he was Open-Lord. Poor Floon! He doesn't know anything, and they'll kill him once they realise they have the wrong man!"

Itri's ears perked up at the mention of a fortune. "Don't worry, we'll help, but first we need to deal with the Watch."

The officers of the Watch were suspicious of the adventurers at first, filling their notebooks with all the information provided. Lita saw no reason to lie, explaining why they were there and what they found with ease, only omitting the silver Lukan stole. Renaer backed them up, and begged the Watch to help find Floon.

"They won't though." Beatriss stated matter of factly after the Watch had left. "The Watch couldn't find a beer in a brewery. They'll make their report and that's that."

Lita nodded in agreement. "So keep looking for him now?"

"We wait until morning. Lukan's gone. Beatriss is out of healing. It's late, a few more hours won't make a difference." Itri said decisively.

Lita looked at Renaer's distressed expression. "But, but, they could kill him before morning."

"They won't. And we won't be able to rescue him if we go up against the Xanathar's Guild ill prepared."

Beatriss nodded her agreement. Lita was uneasy at the delay, but it seemed there was nothing more to be done tonight.

Renaer bowed towards Lita. "May I escort you home Lady Cassalanter? It's the least I can do for the one who rescued me."

Lita ignored the smirks of Itri and Beatriss as she smiled in agreement.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Renaer and Lita walked along the streets of Waterdeep, heading north from the Dock Ward towards the Sea Ward. The well lit streets were quiet, only a few people hurrying along their way. Lita glanced over at her companion assessingly. Despite his dishevelled appearance she found him very attractive, his long blond-red hair, still damp from sweat from earlier that evening, hanging down unkempt. His flowing white shirt was torn, as was his tight brown pants. As Lita's gaze lingered on his pants she felt a stirring between her thighs.

Renaer ran his hand through his hair, and turned towards Lita smiling. "Thanks again for saving me!"

Lita beamed back. "You're very welcome. I'm glad we met. I'm surprised we've never met before, both being children of ex Open-Lords. But now we have! Siamorphe must be smiling on us! Don't you think?"

"Yeah! My father has a lot of enemies and well my mother died when I was young... so I've been out of the public eye a lot. You're pretty good with a blade, are you normally out adventuring like this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. My mother left when I was young, and daddy died when I was a teenager. So I understand a bit. But they shouldn't be blaming you for your daddy. You're not responsible for his mistakes." Lita gave him a sympathetic smile before turning to happier subjects.

"Not really, this is sort of my first night out as an adventurer. Daddy was an adventurer first too, so I always wanted to be, I'm the younger child so I don't inherit, so I didn't want to just be a parasite. But Beatriss, my cousin, she's just finished her priest training. So I was waiting for her. But I train a lot. You fought well too. Do you adventure?"

"Yeah I do a bit of adventuring work now and then when I'm not busy managing my mothers... my estates. She left the all of the Brandath family holdings to me when she died." Renaer attempted to tidy his clothes a bit as he walked. "I'm always trying to escape my father's long shadow. Even though I haven't seen him in years I always feel his presence..."

Lita reached out to brush some of his hair back from his face. "That's the curse of being a noble. Even in the best of situations we're judged by our parents. And when it's not good... " Her voice trailed off awkwardly.

Renaer looked over his shoulder for a moment, as if looking for something, and then changed the subject. "I hope Floon is OK. I don't think I'll be able to sleep thinking about what they must be doing to him... it should have been me."

Lita took Renaer by his hand and squeezed it. "It's not your fault. And they'll realise they made a mistake. They might even let him go. And if not, we'll rescue him. And if you can't sleep, then stay with me. I could help keep your mind off it?"

Squeezing her hand back, Renaer managed a smile. "Thank you Lita, that is most kind. Do you play dragon-chess? I played it with Floon all the time. He was never very good at it though."

"Not very well, I'm afraid. I always get confused by which pieces are which. I'm willing to try for you though. I'm better at cards, Three Dragon Ante. Not that I'm very good at that either! I lose a lot."

Renaer let out a small chuckle then pulled his hand back, raising them both to playfully surrender.

"That's alright, I'm not going to force you to play games with me you don't enjoy. It would be good to keep my mind off Floon though. He isn't built for this sort of dangerous business you know? Poor Floon... "

Renaer looked down at his clothes then back up again. "Ahhh do you mind if we stop in at my place to get changed?"

At her nod of agreement, Renaer changed direction, leading them towards his estate.

"So is it a life of a noble lady you are after Lita?"

Lita tilted her head as she considered. "Not really. I mean, I follow Siamorphe, goddess of noble duty. Noblesse Oblige. Oh, of course you know that, sorry! But still, as a noble, and Her paladin, it's my duty to do what I can to help people. And I want to do that. But I don't want to be just, a lady. I don't want to be useless. I want to.. Do something. I thought about joining the city watch. Maybe one day joining Force Grey. Or working for the Lord's Alliance! I don't really know. I just want to do something!"

He nodded, seeming pleased. "Your talents would be wasted in the Watch. I know a lot of people. I tell you what, if you like I could put your name forward to Vajra?"

"Really? That would be great!" Lita replied with enthusiasm. "Who's Vajra?"

Renaer gave Lita an odd look. "Vajra Safahr... you know, the Blackstaff. Head of Force Grey. But only If that is the line of work you are interested in."

"Oh! Yes! Of course, that Vajra... Well actually no, I didn't know that. You must think I'm an idiot. But yes, I'm very interested! Are you part of Force Grey? Or just friends?"

"We used to adventure together a bit before she became the Blackstaff. Ah no, I'm not part of that organisation." He awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Ah here is my place!"

Lita looked over the medium sized villa, nowhere near as big and impressive as the Cassalanter estate, but well built, and in a good location. It was desperately in need of some upkeep, the weeds nearly taken over the garden completely.

"Oh, it's lovely." Lita said with sincerity. "So you adventured for a while then? And Vajra... Is your.. friend?" She asks with added emphasis on the last word.

"Sure I guess you could call us friends, just don't tell her I said that." Renaer headed up to the front door, and then patted his pockets for a bit before sighing and pulling out a set of thieves tools. He then bent down in front of the lock and starts to work on it.

"Why wouldn't I tell her that?" she asked, as confused by his words as she was by him lock picking his own house.

With a click, the door swung open, and Renaer looked up at Lita and winked.

"You'll know when you meet her. Alright my room is just up here."

He gestured towards the stairs leading to the second floor and led them to the master bedroom. Removing his belt and dirty, torn shirt, he tossed them onto a chair, then sat on the bed to remove his boots.

Lita leaned back against the wall, to eye him appreciatively. Though lean, his chest and arms rippled with muscle. "You definitely look like an adventurer more than a nobleman."

Renaer blushed. "Oh I ahh yeah I guess you could say I get around I suppose."

After a bit of struggling he removed his boots, the momentum forcing him backwards onto the bed.

"Do you need a hand there? After everything you've been through, I wouldn't want you to wear yourself out just getting undressed." Lita walked over to the bed and looked at him with what she thought was a seductive smile, and so she was disconcerted to see his face blush as red as his hair, and flip himself back to his feet.

"Ahh, no I'm fine. I got this."

Unused to such reticence, Lita decided to try again, giving him a cheeky smile. "Impressive. Got any other tricks you like to do in a bedroom?"

"Oh, ah sure, I train a lot." He stretched his arms up, and then backflipped across the room.

"You continue to impress me more and more. Maybe I can impress you too?" Lita purred.

"Sure, show me what you got. More I can tell Vajra about."

"I was thinking more something that you wouldn't be sharing with Vajra. Something like this." Lita removed her shirt, revealing her ample breasts.

Renaer's eyes widened, then his eyes start darting around the room, then he bent over to look under the bed,

Lita watched him with bemusement. "Well that wasn't quite the reaction I was expecting."

Renaer stood up, his eyes averted from the beautiful blonde in his room.

"I'm sorry. My father often has spies watching me constantly. Although I have not seen them around of late. Look, you are a very beautiful woman, but we have just met. You don't know anything about me. Being associated with me is dangerous. It will put your life in peril... just like Floon."

Lita stepped close to him, touching her hand softly to his cheek. "I don't think there are spies hiding under the bed. I'm not scared of your father, or anyone else. I know enough of you to like what I see. If you're not attracted to me, you just need to say so. But if you are, then you shouldn't let your father, or anyone else stop you."

Renaer took both Lita's hands in his, holding them gently.

"You are brave, but I'm not just talking about dangers that attack head on with swords. There is a spider's web of intrigue out there. You will become entangled! They may even target your family to get to you to get me. It is all rather complicated."