Big Trouble in Little Midkemia
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Ranma and characters used are the creation of
Rumiko Takahashi and owned by her and Shogagukan, Kitty and Viz
Communications. Magician is the work of Raymond Feist published by Bantam. I
will not make a penny of any of this.
C&C wanted


Chapter 7: Siege at Crydee Part Two.
Nabiki stood in the courtyard enjoying her brief moments of idleness.  As
always her eyes drifted towards Ranma as he was standing on the wall close
to Arutha and Fannon.  He, like almost everyone atop the wall was staring
out across the killing field at the Tsurani.  They hadn't attacked since
daybreak and the anxiety level was high.  After their first attack yesterday
they had repeated it ever couple of hours attacking  throughout the night.
The first night attack had taken the soldiers by surprise. Reinforcements
had been called as many of the soldiers had already been sent to dinner and
sleep.  The Tsurani had been successfully beaten back again but they had
stretched the defenses of the keep more than was comfortable to any around.
Nabiki had witnessed this from the relative safety of the battlements, where
she had spent a substantial amount of time with Pierce, the soldier in
charge of the catapults.  She had been further testing her Molotov cocktails
that she helped him create yesterday.  Their weren't enough materials for
her to get very creative in designing them, the main problems were that she
didn't know the proper names of materials used here and the materials
currently available to her were generally more suited for burning than
exploding.  They didn't refine oil into gas and had no gunpowder so she had
to improvise.  The results were adequate, wonderful by current standards in
the kingdom, but Nabiki had wanted better, she knew she could attain better,
even with the limited supply, but that would have to wait.
When she wasn't upon the battlements she was with Saul the head blacksmith.
He was a huge man, reminiscent of the Dojo destroyer that come a calling so
many months before they took their trip here.  After initially trying to
chase her away, Saul had relented and talked to her about her ideas.  She
described a cannon to him, and rather than scoffing at her idea he actually
was quite interested.
They talked for a while, allowing Nabiki to sketch out her needs.  He loved
the idea of a cannon and the heavy payloads it promised to deliver.
Unfortunately a cannon was useless without the explosives to fire it.  Their
discussion led to the realization that her biggest problem was the lack of
adequate exploding material.  She was continually wishing lately that she
had paid more attention to those idiots in the Chem. Club or those boys she
knew when she fourteen or fifteen who had been setting of bombs in that
abandoned lot
What she wouldn't do for a computer connection now.  She remembered some of
the more mundane ingredients for some bombs and she remembered enough that
she might be able to fashion one.  Unfortunately, she just didn't have a
place to test her ideas.  She was pretty sure that blowing up a room or two,
or taking out one of the walls by accident wouldn't be received too kindly,
maybe something would come to her later.
She was contemplating her problems with explosives when Roland approached
her.   She remembered Pierce describing Roland to her when she was asking
about the men she was watching on the wall.  He had attracted her attention
when he was speaking with Arutha at some point.  She noticed that the
soldiers in general hardly spoke unless Arutha had initiated the
conversation, with a few noticeable exceptions.  Roland had been one of the
few.
"You have to go to the safety of the cellar." , Roland Said.
Roland was the son of one of Duke Borric's vassals, sent here to squire for
the court.  From what she understood it was kind of a gopher position, the
attraction was it was a chance to witness the machinations of a higher court
and supposedly learn how to rule.  This was the first she had spoken to him
and upon closer inspection she noticed a few things that set him apart from
the most of the soldiers.  His bearing and clothing were a both a cut above
the other men standing around.
She stared at him for a moment, wondering where he got off ordering her to
do anything.  She was slightly impressed when he didn't flinch.  "I'm fine
where I am, thank you."  She spoke slowly in a low but haughty tone that
would scare away almost anyone who knew her.
He looked slightly taken aback, either because she questioned him or she
simply didn't obey immediately.  She wasn't sure which.
"It's not safe here, I must insist that you retire to the cellar
immediately."  He spoke sternly as if his tone and archaic speech would
scare her into complying.
"Listen, my safety is my concern.  Not only am I not in the way, I'm helping
out around the courtyard.  There's nothing I can do in the cellar but be
bored.  If you're so worried about safety why don't we all hide in the
cellar and maybe the Tsurani will go away?"   She realized she was being a
bitch, but the thought of someone else ordering her around infuriated her.
She was trapped in this world and trapped in this keep, she wouldn't be
trapped in some cellar because some boy thought he knew best.
"Your safety is my concern and if the Tsurani would scale the wall or a stay
arrow landed in the courtyard, you'd be killed easily.   Now, do I have to
drag you down there myself?"
Nabiki was quickly losing her patience for this conversation.  "If the
Tsurani should happen to breach the wall, I rather be here than waiting in
some cellar for them to get to me, and I'm smart enough to stay out of the
rain of arrows.  Now why don't you run along and go play soldier up on the
wall?"  She turned to walk away from him as he grabbed her arm.
"Soldier; come take this young lady to the cellar."  He spoke to a passing
soldier.
"No!  If you think I'm any less capable of taking care of myself because I'm
a woman you are sadly mistaken.  The women you're used to dealing with may
be meek, docile, and compliant, but I won't be ordered around so you can
play protector and act like you know best.  Now if you don't believe me, you
can try and make me go to the cellar.  You're a capable fighter, are you
not? If you can get me to the cellar by yourself, I'll stay there, otherwise
you'll leave me alone and do everything in your power to keep the other
soldiers from trying to do the same stupid thing."  Her voice rose as she
spoke as she let out her pent up frustration upon this boy.  She assumed a
defensive stance to emphasize her point.
"Enough of this foolishness," Roland reached out to take her arm again.  She
absently knocked his arm away trying to look as nonchalant as possible.
"You'll have to do much better than that.  Maybe you should go to the cellar
yourself if that's the best you can do."  The thought came to her that maybe
she was acting a little too much like Ranma at the moment.  The thought of
Ranma rubbing off on her troubled her for a second before she abandoned that
line of thinking to concentrate on more immediate concerns.  For some
strange reason she chose that moment to remember a training session with
Ranma back in Elvandar.

^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^-

"Come on Biki, a toddler coulda hit me by now."  Ranma taunted as he flowed
out of the way of her blows.  It was infuriating, she hated that nickname
and his mocking was getting under her skin.  They were doing a simple drill,
she didn't understand the usefulness of it but it sounded easy enough when
he proposed it.  They had taken their places about two feet apart and they
weren't allowed to move from there respective places.  She had five minutes
in which to hit him once.  The loser had to cook what the other wanted for
dinner and do the dishes.
"Why don't you stand still so I can pound on you?"  She made another
half-hearted swing at the slippery boy.  He dodged every punch and punch
combination she could through at him.  She didn't believe he had a spine the
way he was evading her attacks.
"Ah geez, and here I thought you were smart enough for this.  You make Akane
seem smart."
"Bastard."
"Ya like those soldiers are just gonna sit and let you pound on em.  If you
can't hit me when I'm not movin how ya gonna fight someone fighting back?
Maybe I should just let ya win cause your cooking stinks anyway?"
That jerk.  She redoubled her efforts throwing punches as hard as she could.
"You know, I was wrong again."  He looked a little disappointed when he said
that.
"What?"
"I thought you were the bright one of the sisters, but I guess I was wrong.
You're too stupid to learn this child's game."  He stuck out his tongue as
he dodged around another one of her punches.
"JERK!"  she screamed as she lunged at him.
He waited for her foot to touch the ground closer to his position before he
caught both her wrists and helped her gracelessly to the ground.
"You aint allowed to move closer."  His voice was level as he retook a
position about two feet from where she stood.
She took a deep breath as she stood and brushed the loose grass and leaves
from her clothing.  Alright, she needed to focus, something she had lost in
her frustrations.  There were clues she was missing that would tell her how
to succeed.  All life was a puzzle and she just needed to figure this one
out.
"So are you gonna do something or just stand there, ya only got a couple
minutes left."
"Be quiet for a minute Ranma."
"Naw you have to make me.  Or we can just give this up, I was hoping maybe
one of you Tendo's could really learn 'Anything Goes' but your all just
useless girls."
"Why was he being such a jerk?"  She wondered to herself.  Granted he was
never the most thoughtful of people but this was unprecedented.  Her anger
was getting the better of her again as she fought to control it.
"I though you were one of those can do everything themselves kind of girls,
but I guess you're just like all girls, need a man to take care of ya." She
couldn't tell if his voice was filled with disappointment, disgust, or
mocking.  Probably some combination of all three.
"How dare he judge her," she thought to herself before feeling the truth to
his words hit home.  She had been useless since this whole mess had started.
She had allowed herself to be captured.  She was the one who was injured
when they traveled to Elvandar, making them wait for her to recover.  She
had been nothing but a dead weight so far. That was intolerable.
She had no use here, at home her future was wide open, once she got away
from the Dojo, her grades were good, not as good as they could have been but
she new she'd ace her entrance exams.  She didn't have the family
connections yet, to assure herself a top job, but she would get them.  But
here all that was taken away, her bright future was cast in doubt, she was
dependent on someone else for her future, Ranma of all people.
"GRRRR," She kicked out at his shin in frustration and watched as he jumped
straight up and landed on the same spot.
"I won! You moved!"   She screamed excitedly.
"Nope, I'm still in the same spot, I never moved from it."  He spoke calmly
with a smirk on his face.
"B.." She cut herself of as she realized the truth to his words, the clue to
this game that eluded her came to her then.  She calmed, knowing her victory
would be inevitable as she kicked again.  Ranma jumped straight up again, he
only went about a foot off the ground but it was enough.  Instead of
retracting her foot she kept it there while swinging it slightly under him
waiting for him to hit the apex of his small jump and begin to descend.
When he spread his legs to avoid her foot she gave a quick double thrust
with her arms, their wasn't any force behind them as she needed to steady
herself to keep her own balance, but they did the trick as she tagged him on
his upper thighs.
"That was great, It took me a week when pop did it to me."  He smiled fondly
at her, disarming her impending tirade.  She was surprised at the pride she
felt from his simple words and also honest praise she could detect in his
voice, the complete opposite of the arrogant jerk he had been mere moments
before.
She had determined then and there that she would do everything in her power
to make sure Ranma's word about her dependence were proven false.

^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^__^_^_^_^-^

Roland was getting frustrated as Nabiki kept eluding his grasps, after each
attempt she would make sure to punch him.
She had repeated that drill with Ranma, alternating the role of attacker and
she was seeing the results now.  Ranma had explained to her that one of the
purposes of the drill was to work on her dodging abilities.  There may come
a time when she would have to fight and running wouldn't be on option.  She
would be outsized by about any opponent she faced, and without a weapon,
victory would mean she would have to be close to the opponent and take a
minimal amount of damage.
She remembered those lessons as she stood across from an opponent she had to
beat.  It wasn't a life or death struggle, thankfully, but her pride
demanded a victory.  "Come on, Roland.  I though you were better equipped to
be out here.  Maybe you should go sit in the cellar with the women and I'll
take your place on the wall."
Nabiki knew about keeping one's head in any confrontation.  She was hoping
to goad Roland into fighting.  Ranma had told her that insults could
backfire if your opponent was skilled and in control of his emotions, it was
a risk she would take with Roland.  She wanted no doubt in anyone's mind
that she could take care of herself.  She wanted to walk away from this
conflict with the respect of this and every other inhabitant of the keep.
Nabiki Tendo would not cower in fear, she would be feared, and if this world
required force to do it, she would use force.
Roland made another grab for her arm.  Instead of dodging she grabbed his
forearm and twisted it around while moving quickly behind him taking his arm
with her.  She knew it was a painful position but not all that debilitating.
"Listen, either take me seriously or leave me alone.  I don't have time to
play with you anymore."  She pushed him away and watched as he tried to
gather himself before falling.  He turned to face her with fury in his eyes.
"Gods woman, I'm only thinking of your safety."
"As I said earlier, my safety is my concern. If you doubt my ability draw
your sword, otherwise, leave me be."  Her voice rose and took a note of
steel as she finished her sentence.
"I won't fight a woman."
"Then leave this woman alone."
"What if I was a Tsurani with a sword?"
"I'd manage"
"This isn't some game."
"Never said it was.  Fight or leave."
They stared at each other for a second before he spoke.  "Have it your way.
I won't be responsible for your foolishness."
"I never asked you to be."  A small smile came to her lips as she went back
to worrying about explosives.

^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^__^_^_^__^_^_^_^__^_^_^__^_^

"You and the other woman treated the wounded in Elvandar?"  Carline
inquired.
"Yes, I helped Tathar set up a treatment area for the wounded when they
returned from fighting.  Everyone was so helpful and very nice.  Most of the
woman helped out, it really was a great experience."
"I wonder if we could do something like that here?"  Said Carline.
"I don't see why not.  It is hard work, but very beneficial."  Kasumi
replied.
"It would be better than sitting here helplessly.  Let's go talk to my
brother.  On second thought, let's go talk to father Tully"

^-^_^_^_*_*_*_*_**__^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^

"I'm surprised Father Tully was so cooperative."  Carline said as she and
Kasumi supervised the setting up of cots and placing their medical supplies
in the large hallway.  It was a large domed entrance hallway to the keep.
They were setting up about twenty cots that would be used to treat the most
seriously wounded.
"He seems like a very nice man.  I'm sure he understands that the faster the
wounded are treated the better off they'll be."  She explained with her
ever-present Kasumi smile.  Father Tully had immediately and vehemently
opposed the idea until he wilted under the nice words and smile of Kasumi
Tendo.
Carline had expected a long-winded argument from the venerable priest on the
concerns for the safety and well being of the ladies.  She had been shocked
at the ease at which Kasumi had convinced him of the feasibility and
benefits of a triage.  She then proceeded to explain how the women would be
more than capable of running it, not wanting to take away from the soldiers
or other servants' duties.
She looked at her friend and wondered if she should talk to Arutha about
setting her up with a nice man.  Nabiki had Ranma, or at least it seemed
that way, Kasumi was too good a person to be alone.  Maybe even Arutha or
Lyam would take an interest.  Kasumi as a sister in law had wonderful
merits.
Kasumi was oblivious to her friend's newfound designs on her future as she
oversaw the setting up of the towels and boiling water they would need.
Just then the sounds of battle rang out from outside.
Kasumi called everyone to attention.  She looked at the women nervously
realizing she was probably the youngest of all of them.  It went against her
upbringing to be forceful in the presence of her elders.  In Elvandar she
had slowly taken a position of importance around the medical areas, her
knowledge and skill recognized by others and deferred to.  Here she felt as
if Carline was thrusting her into the spotlight.
"The first thing to remember is that to be reassuring to all the injured.
They will need all the encouragement and support you can give them.  They
have to believe everything will be all right and that you believe they'll
get better.  They'll be looking for your support as much as medical
attention.  If you don't know what your doing, ask someone else for help, or
just watch and give support to others who do or ask the soldiers themselves.
I know you will all do you best."
She had already briefed the ladies on basic medical procedures, the best way
to properly dress the wounds.  The basics in sanitation and surgery.  She
would do the initial cutting until some of the other women felt they could
handle it.  She had also explained how to administer alcohol and the other
painkillers and sedatives available. Now all they had to do was wait for the
first casualties as they listened to the catapults, bows, and screaming
coming from just outside.

^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^_^__^_^_^^_^

Kasumi watched as the first wounded soldier limped into the entranceway.
She could see the arrow protruding from his leg as another soldier assisted
him.  She walked up to them and put on her sweetest smile. "Hello, I'm
Kasumi."
The soldiers both looked at her askance in response.
"Can you help him over to one of the cots, we should be able to treat him
easily enough."  She asked the healthy soldier.
She led the two men to one of the cots and grabbed some bandages and the
knives she needed in case the arrowhead need to be cut out.
"What's your name?"  Kasumi asked the wounded soldier.
"Gerald, miss."  The stricken soldier replied.
"You can call me Kasumi."  She smiled at the soldier noticing that Carline
had come over to her.
"OK, Kasumi."  Gerald replied.
"Carline, would you get me a mug of ale for Gerald?"  Kasumi asked the
princess.
"Sure, Kasumi."  Carline went off as Kasumi began inspecting the wound.
"How old are you Gerald?"  Kasumi proceeded to engage the soldier in small
talk as she ripped his trousers around where the arrow entered his thigh.
The wound appeared clean and the bleeding wasn't too severe.  She noted some
of the women had turned a little green.
"It may hurt a little when I remove the arrow, so be ready."  She warned the
young man as she began working the arrow out of his leg.  It had gone in
cleanly and tore his skin enough that extracting it didn't require her to
cut it out.  Unfortunately it had stuck the bone so she couldn't push the
arrow through.
Gerald gritted his teeth in obvious pain as the wound was agitated.  She
could only imagine the pain he was going through from her readings and
listening to talk among the elves and various martial artists she had grown
up around.  She almost told Gerald to go ahead and scream if he needed to,
but felt it might be taken the wrong way.  Kasumi had always felt men took
their pride too far.
Carline returned right when Kasumi finished extracting the arrow. She help
Gerald drink the small mug of ale she had brought for him.   Her face was a
strange composition of worry, revulsion, and pity.
"Carline, have you met Gerald yet?"  Kasumi asked.  Kasumi hoped that
conversation would losing the young princess up, make her more cheerful for
the wounded soldier.
"Ah, no.  It's nice to meet you Gerald."  She smiled sweetly.
"That was good, thank you Princess."
"It was my pleasure Gerald."
"The next part will sting a bit."  Kasumi said as she took the small jar
that contained what passed for an antiseptic and poured a little on the open
wound.  She was answered with a few swear words as Gerald grimaced in
obvious pain. She kept talking throughout the procedure, prompting Carline
from time to time.
"We're almost done."  Kasumi interjected brightly. "That wasn't so bad was
it?"  She hoped that her light-hearted speech was helpful to her patient.
Gerald gave an obvious sigh as she continued in the three-way conversation.
Kasumi took her needle and thread as she began to sew the wound closed.
The procedure lasted only a short time and they continued to chat for a few
minutes before one of the servants came by and helped the soldier to his
barracks.

"That was wonderful Kasumi!"  Carline exclaimed. The other women had
gathered around the oldest Tendo.  They had all watched in various states of
suprise and wonder as Kasumi had treated the soldier.  They had happily
volunteered to help but had private misgivings about the young foreign girl
who had been placed in charge.  They had been impressed with her from her
speech and ideas about how this would work, but seeing the ease that she
administered care to the young soldier had replaced all about as to her
abilities.
It was one thing for the women to see the results of the occasional injury
in the keep, their fathers, brothers, and sons, had all been bruised and
battered before, but for the most part none of them had never seen an injury
like that before.  They were also impressed with Kasumi's cheery demeanor
and calm actions.  Some of the women less experienced with blood and
injuries had butterflies in their stomachs just from watching the procedure.
Now that it was over Carline was left with a newfound exuberance and
excitement.  It was one thing to say you were going to leave the cellar and
treat the wounded soldiers but to actually have done it filled the young
princess with an excitement and exhilaration which she hadn't felt since she
had snuck into Pug's room the night before he left.  The thought of her
first love brought a damper to her spirits, but she hoped he would be proud
of her now.
The sporadic howls of pains brought Carline back to the present.
"Ladies, these men need our help."  Carline said as she led the makeshift
nurses to intercept the first of the soldiers.
Kasumi looked around the room as the last of the current wounded were being
tended to.  She was proud of the ladies, they had held up fine.  By now they
were pretty much   automated.  A few of the women had asserted themselves as
being adept at sewing or surgery as most of the wounds were from arrows.
Apparently the Tsurani had yet to make it to the top of the wall so there
were no sword wounds.
Kasumi wondered how many men didn't make it to their emergency ward. A
thought she pushed out of her head.  Kasumi watched as her friend was
chatting amiably with one the last patients.  She was especially proud of
the improvement the young princess had displayed.  Carline had developed a
rapport with the wounded, keeping them upbeat and as cheerful as could be
expected under the circumstances.

"I hear you're in charge here."
She turned to face Prince Arutha.  His face was stoic as ever, some might
call it brooding. His eyes glanced around the room before settling on her.
"Oh no, not really.  I'm just helping the ladies with a little direction.
They really are doing a wonderful job on their own."
Arutha seemed to take in her response before continuing.  "I heard you and
my sister had set up this little area to treat the wounded.  How does it
go?"
"We'll, come see for yourself.  The woman got the hang of it quickly, I
assume they had to do similar things for their husbands and children before.
It was a little hectic at first but everything is going well know."
Carline had spotted the Kasumi talking with her brother and had come to join
them.
"I see you've found a way to make yourself useful, Carline."  Arutha looked
at his sister critically as he spoke.
"Yes.  Kasumi's a wonder; she knows so much about treating wounds, even more
than Lady Marna."
"Really, Marna is known to be the authority on tending wounds among other
things.  Specking of Marna, I'm surprised she let you out of the cellar."
"I'm more than old enough to make my own decisions.  I don't need a
governess anymore."
"The lady Marna wasn't pleased with our decision."  Kasumi added.
Arutha smiled mirthfully. "I'm surprised she didn't come and complain to
Fannon or me."
"I'm sure she realizes the importance of what we're doing, and what a
benefit it will be to all concerned.  The Lady Marna did a wonderful job of
helping out."  Kasumi added. "She getting more supplies now.  I can send her
to you if you wish to speak to her?"
"That's quite alright Kasumi.  If you ladies need anything let me know."
Arutha turned and walked away.
"Wow, that went better than I expected."  Carline said as she watched her
brother return to courtyard.
"He seems like a nice man.  He should smile more."
"He's always been like that; our brother Lyam calls him a little
thundercloud, because he always looks like he's brooding."

^_^_^^_^_^_^_^_^

Author's notes:
Another chapter finished.  Actually the next two chapters are mostly
written.  I came back and added this in-between. I just felt I should spend
more with the trio's interactions with the people of Crydee.  Even though
their is almost no Ranma in this chapter as Randy complained. Hopefully
chapt 8 won't take nearly as long since it's mostly written, need to edit,
check that it flows, and add a scene or two.
I want to thank Randy Bautista for taking the time and having the patience
to help me with this chapter.
Other stories are at various stages and until work calms down I'm not
getting to spend a lot of time writing >_<;

Other chapters and stories are archived at:
http://home.att.net/~kpjam/index.html
<http://home.att.net/~kpjam/index.html> 
http://www.capeboy.com/nandr/ <http://www.capeboy.com/nandr/> 
http://tannim.anifics.com/ <http://tannim.anifics.com/> 
http://www.fanfiction.net/ <http://www.fanfiction.net/> 

E-mail me at "mailto:kpjam@worldnet.att.net <mailto:kpjam@worldnet.att.net>
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