Where in the World is Karyn Strongblood?

Kai yawned as she awoke, her head pounding like a bar room brawl.  Wait, that was not really befitting of her station.  Hmm. Pounding like a prancing princess?  Aching like an ailing artisan? What was the most appropriate way to describe a violent hangover when your were royalty? Kai pondered this thoughtfully, then proceeded to find her cloths.  This was not as easy as she had expected, as they were strewn all about the study she had woken up in, and she had no idea how her tights had ended up hanging from the chandelier.  Actually she did, but she figured it would be safer to plead ignorance if anyone later asked.

Kai ran a hand through her spiky red hair as she finished getting dressed, her assemble consisting of cotton tights, a silk blouse and a woollen doublet, all dyed in various shades of green.  This helped her figure on her identity for the day, as she was many things to many people.  The daughter of the elven empress named Kaimela Aran; a cheeky rogue and adventurer named Kaimela Wethrin; a notorious outlaw and seducer of women named the Crimson Fox; and soon, she would form another identity, that of Princess Kaimela, wife of Queen Lisbeth of Sapphira.  And quite frankly, it all did her head in, especially since the previous night's debauchery had left her mind feeling like it was packed with cotton wool.

And speaking of the previous night, Kai could not help but feel she was missing something.  And not a small thing.  Pondering as she walked about the study, trying to figure out what was absent.  Something tall, muscular, heroic and oh so handsome.  Kai stopped, having an epiphany.

“Karyn!” she exclaimed.  Kai was currently missing Karyn Strongblood!

Kai searched the room again just to be sure.  She checked under the cushions, beneath the sofa, behind the fireplace, and even investigated the chandelier again.  But no, Karyn was not there.  Some how, Kai had managed to misplace the woman who, despite her impending marriage, she still loved with all her heart. The woman who was the most famous heroine in all the land. And, Kai admitted to herself with much amusement, the woman who seemed to have a near-supernatural ability to get herself tied up. 

“A mystery!” Kai exclaimed, rubbing her hands together.  She quickly went to the wardrobe and took out a cape and a deer stalker hat, putting them on.  She then set out to find Karyn, heading off into the city of Virago, determined to solve whatever nefarious crime that had taken place.

Kai's first stop was the Strongblood Guild for Young Adventurers, where Karyn's proteges trained and learned to become the next generation of heroines.  Though she asked about the entire school to see if anyone had seen Karyn that morning, her attention was focused on three students in particular.  Ladra, a luckless human girl; Shadi, a cunning and shameless dwarf; and Nadyra, an elven berserker who was a sandwich short of a picnic. 

This trio were, oddly enough, three of Karyn best students, but also the most troublesome and prone to getting into mischief.  At first, they denied having anything to do with Karyn's disappearance.  But after a long, detailed interrogation where Kai delved into their deepest, darkest secrets, the trio relented and admitted the really did have nothing to do with her disappearance.  Perplexed, Kai moved on.

Next Kai went to the Walking Wounded, a popular tavern run by Kai's good friend, the former smuggler Abigail Stormweather.  As expected, it was full with the local denizens, though a quick look around confirmed that Karyn was not amongst them.  Not letting that dissuade her, Kai sauntered up to the bar and was greeted by Abigail.

“Come to pay off the tab?” Abigail said, hobbling along on her wooden right leg.  “I have no idea how someone so thin can drink so much!”

“Pure talent,” Kai said, winking slyly.  “And, er, I settle up later.  But regarding last night's bender, have you seen Karyn? She's gone missing.”

“No, haven't laid eyes on her since she carried you out last night,” Abigail said.  “Let me check around the bar.  Hey, Rheka, have you seen Karyn?”

Kai turned and saw the large, muscular orcish woman named Rheka Bearclaw.  She was leaning back against the sturdy door she carried around with her, and trapped between the door and the tavern wall was another orc and a dark elf, both of whom were struggling to get out as Rheka applied her weight to the door.

“Haven't seen her,” Rheka grunted.  “Oi, you two.  You seen Strongblood?”

“No,” wheezed the orcess Jorja De Garou, trying to push back against the door.

“I hate you all,” said Poison the dark elf, who looked like she truly meant it.

“Oh well,” Kai sighed, disappointed.  “The search continues.  If she comes in, let her know I am looking for her.”

Abigail agreed to, and so Kai left the bar.  She headed to the noble district, and into the tower belong to Lillian Lighstrom.  The beautiful and bald sorceress was sitting in a large comfy chair in the tower's library, reading a thick tome about the history of piracy in Sapphira.  She raised an eyebrow as Kai stuck in her head. 

“Hey Lillian, have you seen Karyn?” Kai asked.

“No,” Lillian replied, returning her attention to her book.

“Lillian, continuity!” Kai hissed.

“What? Oh right.”  Lillian shook her head, put on a blond wig and put a pair of fangs into her mouth.  “Rawr, I'm a vampire.  Satisfied?”

Kai gave her the thumbs up, then left to continue her search.

Kai continued her investigation, stopping into the home of the dwarven captain Rune Ironcliff and her human wife Juliet.  Both of them objected loudly to Kai just bursting in, and did not appreciate her toughtful critique of their positions, so she quietly went outside and waited for them to get dressed before querying if they had seen Karyn.

“No we haven't,” Rune said, fuming at the roguish elf.  “And for the Goddess's sake, learn to knock!”

“Okay, but if you do see her, etcetera etcetera,” Kai said, before running off as Rune and Juliet looked for things to throw at her.

Kai pondered what to do next, having exhausted the usual suspects. So she went further afield, heading to the land of M'kanea and bursting into the office of the infamous warden Nalen Abayo Kara. The stern woman glared at Kai, their dislike for each other self-evident.

“This is a gratuitous cameo,” Nalen sighed with disgust.

“So is this!” declared Jakki Kahalle, sticking in her head through the window.

“Well, until next time!” Kai said, waving good bye and heading off back to Virago to continue her search.  She moved through the city, exploring every street, every hidey hole, looking for any sign of her beloved.  Abandon houses, secret caves, all were searched, with no sign of Karyn.  Kai got excited at one point, when searching a secluded alleyway, she was confronted by a small, scrawny goblin with a perpetually dejected frown, holding a coil of rope and a bottle of sleeping potion.

“Who are you?” Kai asked, confused by the strange interloper.

“I'm Steve,” the Goblin said.  “I am here to kidnap you.”

Kai shrugged, kicked him swiftly between the thighs, then continued on her way, leaving Steve withering in pain in the mud.

Eventually, after turning the city upside down, Kai returned to the Walking Wounded, feeling dejected that she had not found Karyn.  She sauntered up to the bar, and let out a long winded sigh, and asked Abigail for a drink.

“Where is she?” Kai lamented.  “I have looked everywhere.”

“Everywhere?” Abigail asked. 

“Everywhere!” Kai exclaimed in reply.  “I have searched high, low and everywhere in between.  Whoever has snatched her from me, they are obviously some nefarious mastermind to evade me so well.  I still have no idea how they abducted her from our home.”

“Were any of the upstairs windows open?” Abigail pondered. “Maybe they slipped in from the roof.”

“Upstairs...?” Kai said, suddenly feeling sheepish as a certain memory came back to her.

“You didn't check upstairs, did you?”

“Of course I did,” Kai lied.  “Be right back!”

Kai sprinted home, rushing back into her home and upstairs to the bedroom.  And there, right where Kai had left her the previous night, was Karyn Strongblood.  She lay on the bed, her muscular limbs lashed tightly to the sturdy bedposts, a pair of Kai's panties bound tightly in her mouth.  She glared at Kai, grumbling what sounded like annoyed curses at her beloved elven rogue. 

“Oops,” Kai giggled.  “Sorry about this. Er, how about I make up to you? I mean, I know I could untie you, but it would be a shame not to take advantage of you right now.  What do you say?”

The gagged Karyn rolled her eyes, but nodded anyway.  After such a silly story, they both deserved a happy ending...