Teaser Tuesday strives again. We've decided to write an actual fantasy/murder mystery using Shyndra, the Brethren (her two fav cousins and two childhood friends), and Alyn. Shyndra has a sordid past, of sorts that comes out in bits and pieces in the novel. The true 'mystery' doesn't occur until a few pages after this part. I'll probably post that next week, mostly 'cause it's too fun to not post. :-) If it isn't as tight as last week's, it's because I haven't edited it a million and ten times before posting. Which will come in the next week or so when I'm not writing. Feel free to tear it apart, too. :-) Without further ado.... : **** The last time, she had been returning from a contract and was waiting her turn to use the public toilet in the Thirteenth District of Fellhaven. She had been approached by Alyn and had agreed to accompany a group of other adventurers to go rid a fortress from a group that had taken it over. It turned out to be a group of kobolds that had claimed the fortress as theirs. They all had survived, but it had proven what she already knew: she was no fighter. Following the priest into the temple’s public toilet, Shyndra drew a steadying breath as she moved towards the stall where the priest was relieving his bladder. Removing a dagger from within her robes, she crept forward and drove the blade into his back, between his ribs. The priest’s arms flailed for a few heartbeats before slumping forward, his head thudding heavily against the stone wall. Pulling her dagger from the corpse, she wiped it on his robe before sliding it back into its sheath. If anyone ever said being an assassin was a glamorous job, she was going to cheerfully slit their throats. Typically, she would have agreed, but not when it came to killing someone in the bathroom while they were urinating. Of course, she was also just starting out as an assassin, having graduated from her guild only the previous year. Unlike the Guild Mistress and her husband, Shyndra did not have a powerful family to offer her better contracts. Perhaps had she been a dutiful daughter, it would have been different, but she wouldn’t have been allowed to make her own decisions, either. Shaking her traitorous and distracting thoughts away, Shyndra retreated from the bathroom, shoulders rounded and head bowed. She didn’t change her posture until she had exited the temple and was once more in the middle of the bustling bazaar. Shaking her hood back, she straightened and began looking around at the various booths surrounding her. There was so much to see and she had some extra coins she could spend frivolously. As her gaze swept through the crowd she paused in her steps. Her eyes grew wide as she noticed a man in dark brown robes moving through the crowds. It was impossible, though, she mused. There was no possible way any of them could be in Valpoor. It was simply impossible! But… if it was him, then the other three weren’t far away. She could not let any of them see her, let alone find her! Ducking her head, she chewed her lip as she crossed towards a booth selling magic supplies on the opposite side where she thought she had seen Aldryn. Any other time she would be intrigued by what the booth offered. This time, however, she was too preoccupied with trying to remember how the Brethren, as they called themselves, traversed cities. The last thing she needed to complicate her life was those four. Turning abruptly, deciding returning to Fellhaven was far better than remaining in Valpoor. She took two steps before colliding with a decidedly male chest. “Oh, excuse me!” She exclaimed in a soft, timid voice, stumbling backward only to have a pair of arms catching her. “Forgive me, good sir, for not being more aware of where I was going! My humblest apologies.” “Oh, dear lady, surely this is my clumsy error!” He lifted her chin until his eyes were looking into her own. “Now, let me take you to a wholly inappropriate tavern, dear ‘priestess,’ and make amends for my behavior.” Before she could answer, he turned smoothly on one booted heel, placed his arm intimately around her waist and began to lead her off. She had to leave, but her desire to stay with Alyn Kysis was far too tempting. Glancing around, she breathed a half-sigh of relief. Perhaps she was just being overly suspicious. “Really, sir, it was all my fault,” she assured him with a smile. “Though, if you are taking me to an inappropriate tavern, I must confess to wondering what else you have in mind.” “It is inappropriate for your guise.” Alyn winked. “As for what else I have in mind... such evil thoughts, dear lady! What you must think of me!” Shyndra laughed, her tension vanishing with his teasing. “I have a reputation to keep, good sir! As for what I think of you...” She trailed off, a smirk forming on her lips. “There are many reputations about you, the question is: are they true?” “Each of the bad reputations is correct.” Alyn sniffed, but she could swear he was repressing laughter. “Any good reputation you may have heard is a vicious lie spread by jealous competitors.” “Considering our last encounter, I’m tempted to believe that some of those ‘good’ rumors are actually true,” Shyndra countered. She glanced around quickly, not seeing anyone she recognized. “May I make a request?” Sighing, Alyn replied, “Very well, but I do not kiss women anywhere but on the lips. Not until the fourth lovemaking.”