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Barkhang Bang	By : JustS Category: +S through Z > Tomb Raider (all) > Tomb Raider (all) Views: 20249 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own any elements of the Tomb Raider franchise. I do not make money from this.

Chapter List
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Author's Note: This is an independent story from my other Tomb Raider fics. Please review and visit my official response thread on the forums if you enjoy it: www2.adult-fanfiction.org/forum/index.php/topic/59724-justs-feedback-response-thread/

Part 1 of 4: An Unexpected Guest

Lara lowered her dual smoking pistols, her chest heaving, as she surveyed the scene. Almost a dozen corpses of Fiamma Nera henchmen lay strewn across the floors of the corridors and the main hall of the Barkhang Monastery, riddled with bullet and spear wounds. The seven brawny monks who had assisted in the primary conflict in the gigantic main hall now cautiously turned to Lara. Though she had intervened to help thwart the invasion she was still an outsider whose intentions were unknown. After all, her sudden appearance during the battle meant there had been no formal communication between her and the monastery's protectors.

She slid both of her pistols into their holsters at her sides as a sign of non-aggression. Nevertheless, the assortment of similarly-clad monks slowly approached her with sharp spears raised.

'It's alright. I'm not here to steal from you.' She said, trying to speak in a calm and disarming manner.

The muscular men looked at her blankly, showing no signs of backing down or lowering their weapons. Clearly they didn't understand her.

'Does anyone here speak English... or any of the other languages I know?' Lara asked as she started to get a little concerned.

Lara turned her head to see three more monks walking through the large doorway that connected to the monastery's main corridor. Two spear-wielding ones, wearing the same uniforms of white tank tops and baggy red trousers as the other monks, flanked a third more important-looking member of the brotherhood. The silver colour of his hair and beard and the more craggy features of his face indicated that he was older than the others, perhaps aged in his 50s. He wore a light-looking floor-length robe, under which appeared to be a similar outfit to the other men. Another clear differentiator was his somewhat elegant-looking shoulder-length hair and his short beard which provided quite the visual contrast to all the other men's bald heads and smooth faces.

He one calmly but purposefully approached the semi-circle of monks surrounding Lara, moving through them to stand before her.

'You speak English?' He asked in a blunt but calm manner.

'Yes- thank goodness, you speak it too?' Lara replied.

'Our order asks that one of us must know the common languages of the outside world for when outsiders to come us. I am Zao, the most learned of all here. We ask you to explain your being here.'

Zao's English was broken and fairly basic. Lara suspected that the brotherhood didn't get many visitors here and thus he probably didn't get much chance to hear her native language from a fluent speaker.

She proceeded to explain, as plainly and simply as possible so he could understand, how her search for the means to enter the Temple of Xian, the Talion, had led her here. She also had the unenviable task of informing Zao that their brother Chan had pointed her to the monastery but had been assassinated by Fiamma Nera.

'That is... upsetting to hear about Chan.' Replied Zao, his stony features softening slightly. 'At least we know he is at rest and no longer suffers at the hands of Bartolli and his men.'

Lara proceeded to conclude her side of story:

'In truth, I started hunting the Dagger of Xian simply for curiosity's sake. However, since learning of Fiamma Nera and their intentions toward the dagger I feel that I have to claim it just to keep it safely out of their hands. I fear that many people will people will be killed, maybe even entire countries toppled, should Marco Bartolli use its powers for his own greedy ends.'

Zao thought for a few moments with a furrowed brow, as if taking in everything Lara had said.

'I must consult with my brothers. We cannot allow access to the Talion to anyone just based on their word but we will consider your... interest in it given the threat of the son of Bartolli.'

Zao turned his head to one side, calmly but commandingly speaking in Tibetan to the other monks. They responded by lowering their spears and taking a more relaxed stance. Zao then turned back to Lara.

'We must assemble in order to discuss the situation. We have a guest chamber where you can wait comfortably. Please stay there until we summon you. Brother Zan will show you the way.'

Zao motioned courteously with his hand towards the main corridor. Lara nodded at him, agreeing to respect their wishes. Zan, one of the many similar-looking burly monks, glanced at her and began leading the way.

Lara patiently waited in the guest quarters for a couple of hours. She drank the water the monks politely supplied her with and laid back on the provided bed, able to do little else until some sort of verdict came. She took to gazing out of the room's window, gradually witnessing dusk starting to roll in over the mountainous Tibetan terrain. Without any light sources her room slowly grew dimmer as the minutes ticked away.

It wasn't too long later when Zao turned up, stepping in through the door-less archway that connected the room to the corridor. He was silhouetted to her, with the passageway behind him having been seemingly been artificially lit up.

'Miss Croft. It is time for our third meal of the day. You are welcome to join us if you are hungry.'

This new development might not have been a resolution to her request but it was better than continuing to wait by herself. She didn't want to do anything that seemed in anyway disrespectful so she agreed to join them. Besides, she was starting to get hungry.

Lara stepped out into the corridor with Zao, immediately noticing how it was now bathed in a strong orangey glow thanks to a number of freshly lit ensconced torches lining the walls. As the pair walked the long winding way towards wherever this meal would be served, she also noted how the corpses of the Fiamma Nera invaders had been cleared away without a trace.

Zao explained that the brotherhood's deliberations were taking longer than expected. Lara's request and the situation surrounding it were of utmost importance to their entire way of life so they were making sure to discuss every factor in great and exacting detail. He told her that a decision would likely come down to a vote with every monk having equal say. If that happened, it would take several hours to gather the votes of the thirty members of the brotherhood, given the sheer size of the monastery grounds and the ever-rotating duties of the men.

The large dining hall was primarily comprised of three long yet low tables positioned before a large cooking fire. A large bronze funnel guided the smoke from said fire up two stories to the ceiling, presumably taking it to the outside. In addition to the roaring cooking emplacement the rest of chamber was lit up by familiar looking wall-mounted torches, giving the whole place a bright and warm orangey look. Two men who seemed to be chefs were by the fire with an assorted of food items, while six other monks were scattered about the tables, talking and drinking with each other.

Zao motioned for Lara to take a place at one of the low-to-the-ground tables. She moved to the one nearest the door and sat down cross-legged, then scooched forward so her legs were underneath it. Zao sat down next to her, explaining that food and refreshments would be on their way soon. A monk soon appeared and placed a flagon of water and two glasses on the table before them. Zao gave him some instructions and he disappeared once more, only to return with what looked like a miniature wooden barrel.

'This is something a little special.' Zao told Lara. 'Our order permits alcohol only to honoured elders like me and guests.'

He removed the barrel's lid and placed it on the table's surface. He then began to pour out some frothy translucent pale brown liquid into his glass.

'It is lager, brewed locally. Would you like to try?'

'Thank you.' Lara said, raising her glass for him to fill.

The beverage was pretty tart and not that high in alcoholic content but Lara enjoyed it all the same. She slowly sipped away at her glass over the next hour while she discussed the monastery and its secretive culture with Zao. She wanted to learn all she could while she had the chance especially since she figured that very few many outsiders had ever been given this much access before.

More monks gradually showed up and started filling up the three tables in the room. Though they were clearly very disciplined they still managed to be significantly lively when sitting and talking to one and other.

Lara couldn't help but notice many of them glancing at her from time to time. Normally this sort of behaviour would come off as creepy to her but given how she was one of the few outsiders these men had likely ever seen she cut them some slack.

However, there was one among them sitting two tables over who really unsettled her. He was slightly more tall and lean than most of the other monks and had more rigid and slanted facial features. Though he seemed to fit in here like any other monk there was something a little more cynical and mean about both his mannerisms and his demeanour, at least compared to his disciplined and good-natured brothers.

Every time Lara looked remotely in his general direction it was clear that his narrowed gaze was almost always locked onto her, no matter if he was eating, drinking or talking to other monks. Normally when someone was conspicuously shooting her filthy looks from across a room Lara would challenge them to find out what their problem with her was. However, given the current delicate situation she found herself in regarding the brotherhood's ruling on the Talion she chose not to ruffle any feathers.

Perhaps this guy was one of the monks who opposed giving her the Talion and letting her go after the Dagger of Xian. Maybe he was just a slime ball. Either way, she decided all she could do was to try her best to ignore him until she received the brotherhood's final verdict. In the meantime, she would mentally refer to him derogatorily as Creepy Face.

Whether it was the combined heat of the fire and the surrounding torches or the effects of the lager, Lara was starting to feel a little too toasty to be comfortable. She decided to slip off the warm fur-lined bomber jacket that she had 'acquired' on the plane ride to Tibet. With the overcoat removed her curvaceous physique and her ample breasts were now far more conspicuous beneath her tight-fitting mint blue tank top and sports bra.

This sight triggered several awe-filled utterances from a few of the monks, presumably ones that had been watching her perhaps a little too intently. More gasps and murmurs were then heard as almost all of the monks took another look, however brief, at the shapely woman's body.

Lara was a little alarmed by this unexpected reaction. Zao commandingly said something in Tibetan and gave a high dismissing hand motion, causing the men to settle down and return to what they had been doing.

'Do not mind them.' said Zao. 'Most of these men have lived in this monastery their whole lives and are not used to seeing women, especially such a... hmmm, how do you say... lovely-looking one.'

'Of course,' Lara replied, calmly down a little. 'I'm sorry, I didn't realise my presence would be quite this disruptive'.

'Disruptive?' Zao responded.

'Yes, like an issue, a problem.' Lara clarified.

'It is no problem,' he replied breezily with a chuckle. 'at least, not unless it starts to effect the men's duties. Even if it does, it is not your fault nor your concern.'

The evening continued on with Lara occasionally drinking sips of Zao's lager. Eventually dinner was served to everyone, with a few of the monks seemingly acting as waiters. The dish primarily compromised of what appeared to be cooked leopard and catfish, two animals that were indigenous to the local area, which Lara found surprisingly tasty.

Dinner was soon finished and its remains cleared away by the waiting monks. Many of the others present who did not have guarding, martial arts practice or other duties were seemingly allowed to stay in the relatively warm chamber to socialise before their bedtime. The cooking fire was left to gradually burn itself out and as a result likely made the warm room one of the better places to be as the cold of night drew in.

Though valuing another English-speaker in this foreign place, Lara eventually ran low on subjects to talk about with Zao. Subjects that she could get him to understand with his limited command of her mother tongue, at least. Using him to translate, she did start to converse with some of the other nearby monks, asking them simple questions and answering their own about herself and her life. They all seemed very polite and happy to be talking with her. Before long she had drank four glasses of lager and Zao had called in another barrel for them to share.

She soon became aware that some of the more rambunctious men were having arm wrestling competitions on the furthest table from her. Emboldened by the booze and her positive interactions with the other monks, she asked permission from Zao to go over and get a closer look of what was going on. He smiled and nodded in approval and she rose to her feet.

Eager to experience the might of competing monks' rippling arms, Lara sat down in front of the one that seemed to be the most eager to challenge as many people as possible. Though a little more podgy and slightly less ripped than the other monks, he had perhaps the most cheeky and likeable face out of all of them. His jolly expression transitioned slightly into a look of awe and surprise as the intrepid and comparatively small woman proceeded to sit down opposite him, place her right elbow on the table's surface and extend an open hand. Seeing the bold grin upon her features he returned an equally playful smile as he wrapped his big hand around her relatively dainty one.

Their match drew the attention of most of the room, causing excitable smiles and chatter. The competition itself was, somewhat expectedly, a bit of a farce. Lara put all of her strength behind her arm but was literally unable to move her opponent's. She could tell he was barely exerting any effort to hold her comparatively slim arm in place. After a few seconds of straining and achieving nothing, Lara took the unsporting and desperate route of bringing in her left arm to help move his single tree trunk-like arm. This outlandish move provoked light-hearted gasps and chattering amongst their audience. Still, this proved to be futile as Lara's opponent still refused to be budged. He soon started to put real effort behind his hold and seconds later the back of her hand touched the table. There were good-natured laughs and claps all around as she humbly admitted defeat. She smiled and sent her own applause towards her victorious opponent, who jokingly bowed his head and flexed his huge winning arm to those around them. Everyone was seemingly in on the comedy of her inevitable defeat to the hulk of a man, whom Lara had mentally named Smiley.

Given the amount of muscle visibly on display in the room she figured that she probably didn't have a hope of out-wrestling any of the monks. Her arms were pretty strong from all the climbing and athletic feats she'd perform on an almost daily basis but they couldn't compare to those belonging to these guys. Even Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime would've be impressed with some of them.

Though not willing to be beaten in more contests she was still feeling playful, so she decided to lean across the table and take a feel of Smiley's winning arm. She first grabbed his solid forearm with an inquisitive smile. Her fingertips were barely able to press into the hardened flesh, no matter how much force she seemed to apply, and there was no chance her whole hand would be able to close around its girth.

Apparently understanding her curious clutching, Smiley raised his arm out in front of him and flexed it once again. Lara moved her hand over to his taught bicep. This thing had more mass and girth than your average toddler and felt as hard and solid as stone.

As she dug her fingers into the bulging muscular mass in a few places she looked on with an impressed expression. Smiley had a somewhat prideful expression across his face that was befitting Lara's internal nickname for him.

'Not bad!' The brunette decreed, retrieving her hand after a few seconds of hard grabbing.

Smiley then pointed to her from across the table, then to his own flexed arm.

'You want me to do the same?' Lara asked, still fully aware none of them in the room except Zao understand her words.

Lara proceeded to raise up her right arm by her side and curl it. Her bicep bulged up but of course it couldn't compare to Smiley's or any one else's in the room. Continuing in the spirit of fun, she played it up as if it was something impressive.

Smiley then reached over and took his own feel of her muscle. His almost giant-sized hand wrapped around the span of her arm, highlighting the near-comedic difference in size. He gripped her limb tightly but not enough to be painful. Lara could sense he had the power to snap her arm like a twig if he wanted to. She couldn't help but admire that kind of finely honed strength. She also didn't mind the sensation of his coarse masculine skin upon her own smooth feminine flesh.

'Not bad!' Smiley said, doing his best to mimic Lara's earlier words.

Good-natured chuckles echoed around them. Lara looked around to take in the smiles upon everyone's faces and happened to glance down the table in Creepy Face's direction. He was still there, smiling not in a cheerful way like the others but in that leering, smirking manner of his. The sight of his dour, unflinching demeanour caused Lara's own smile to fade a little but she quickly rejoined the good-natured playing of the other monks surrounding her.
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Barkhang Bang