"So you are saying that you saw your sister, Vierna, in a dream calling for help?" Wulfgar asked Drizzt, the young man gave the Drow a confused look, "You said that your family wanted you dead, so why her calling for you?"
"I don't know, but she is alive, even though my family, and mother are all wanting me dead." Drizzt said standing at the window sill of a room in Ten Towns, "When I was growing up, I was given into Vierna's charge until I came of age, as is the Drow Ways. When I fled, she wanted to flee with me in the night, unseen, yet I left without her, not wanting to be backstabbed by her in my sleep."
"Yet she is contacting you through your dreams, why?" Wulfgar asked, the pair had gone through enough to kill a man, yet now they had reserved themselves to stay in Ten Towns as a pair of friends to make money by doing on jobs, and bounty hunting. "Why can't this be a normal job? The Inkeeper said something of a Dark Elf being in the Moonwood."
"When was the sighting?" Drizzt asked.
"Two dawns and a half ago, a Dark Elf female was seen, badly wounded, alone in the wood, looked as if she had been burned by something. why?" Wulfgar then noticed Drizzt had gone to the door.
"That was time my dreams started, it is Vierna, she fled my family just like I did long ago, yet now, if she is wounded then our house fell to another. See to the horses, we leave in ten minutes, I'll tell the inkeeper that we'll take the job." With that Drizzt left, leaving Wulfgar alone, the young man did as told, and met Drizzt out in front of the Inn and the pair set off.
Soon they crossed into the hillcountry of Smyrna to the south, the area werein Drizzt learned under the Blind Hunter for seven years. after stopping briefly to pay respecs to the long dead ranger the pair headed for the Moonwood.
Three days before, during the fall of House Do'Urden...
The jig was up, and it was time to go, Vierna knew it, seeing her sisters, Briza, and Maya, both dead, she took what little she had of her own, her armor, whip, her father Zak's sword left to her care, and her set of daggers, along with a cloak, and fled before she was seen within the deathly halls of House Do'Urden. Only she didn't flee the grounds fast enough.
A shot of pain laced through her leg as she was shot from a sniper from behind, she collapsed to the hard rock ground, two Drow soldiers, the last to make sure everyone was dead in the house, apporached Vierna, who faked being dead. "What do you think she is? A slave girl in the house?" one of them asked. Clearly Dinin.
"By the looks of her, I'd say she was a vistor or a thief from another house to take things from the empty place." Said the other, who was clearly Jarlaxle, "At least none within are alive still, come, let us hide the body, then leave here." The pair picked up Vierna, none to nicely, and with the things she had taken, all but tossed her down a small hill outside the city of the Drow.
Vierna stifled making a sound until she knew it was safe to so much as move. Reached down to the arrow, she pulled it out, then made a healing spell to get back on her feet, yet she knew it would last only so long before it failed, but there was one she knew who would help her or kill her, her brother.
Drizzt. She had raised him bby her mothers order, and learned from him compassion for anothers life, she was different from Briza, and of Maya, yet, things worked out she thought, she was still alive, though her family, save for Dinin and Drizzt, were dead. She herself had watched as her true father Zaknefien was killed, then used by her mother Matron Malice in the act of Zin-Carla.
But now, she was alone, and wounded, and tired. She camed to the same cave that her brother had used to leave the Underdark behind, thankfully, either by cast of fate or luck. She was coming out of the darkness into the evening hours of daylight of the surface world. She made her way towards a stream, and began to wash the wound to bind it more cleanly, before her tiredness took over, and she blacked out, nearly drowning in the small stream had it not been for a pair of Moon Elves that had watched her since she had arrived.
One of the two Elves however was Dove Falconhand, who had been visiting with the Elves of the Moonwood of the wereabouts of new Drow raiding parties, and had gone to the cave to those watching it, and both she and one other Elf had seen Vierna come limping out of the cave. Dove was the first to move.
Pulling Vierna out of the water without thinking of what she was doing nor of who she was helping the other Elf stood watching, slack jawed at what his friend was doing. "You do relize that she is a Drow, and that she'll most likely wake up and kill you."
"I will not let one so tired die in the water after being wounded, you saw how she came out of the cave yourself Nigrodu, let us take her, and her few belongings to Sliverstar, handmadien to Alustriel Silverhand." With that she picked up Viernas very few (and rather torn up) belongs, the cloak was all but usefull in the sunlight, and the sword was no doubt going to rust the instant the sunlight hit it, but then the Adamainte swords of the Drow were more then a match for the weaopons of the surface world.
After handing the few belongings of Vierna to Nigrodu, Dove picked up the fallen Drow and put her on her horse, then she herself got onto the horse and the pair of Elves headed for the Moonwood. All the time however, nither Dove nor Nigrodu felt the call that Vierna was sending out, the call for help, to her brother Drizzt.
Two days passed, and Vierna was well cared for by Alustriel herself, the Drow was badly wounded from a fight with another house, both mentally and bodily. Finally after two full ays Vierna slowly woke up, and found herself staring into the eyes of a surface Elf. She stiffened then, unsure of what to do, she was hurt, and the Elf clearly showed compassion to her.
Alustriel smiled, "It is good to see you waken, you have been sleeping for two days, had my sister not brought you to me two days ago, or had they not watched you come from the Underdark, you would be near death now. Tell me, what is your name?"
Vierna said nothing, but she inquired, "Is my brother here?"
"That depends, on whom you are, and whom you are related towards here on the surface world." Alustriel said, placing a cloth against the armored Elf's forhead, where a good sized cut was freshing bleeding.
"My brother is called, Drizzt." Vierna said, she said nothing more as she couldn't since she had passed out from a bad headache.
Luckly Alsutriel hadn't the need for worry or wonder as that night Drizzt Do'Urden himself arrived with Wulfgar, But when they arrived the first person they met with was Alustriel herself. "Drizzt Do'Urden, welcome to Silverymoon, perhaps you can shed some light on a problem we are having."
"It is I that comes with a problem of myself to figure out, but you speak of a problem, when I myself have been plauged by dreams of my sister." Drizzt said giving a small bow towards Alustriel.
"She is here, only she is asleep, From the look of things, you have sovled our problem, and your own, come, she is within my own rooms now." Alustriel then lead the way to her rooms, wherein Vierna was alseep on the bed in the sleeping chamber of Alustriel. "Do you know this one? She claims to be the sister of you." Alustriel said. She pointed to the very few things that Vierna had with her when she fled her home, "she was carrying only these things."
After about a miinute Drizzt said simply, "Leave me with her for a few moments." When they had left Drizzt took a chair and placed it near the bedside, then sat in the chair, laying his twin swords, Icingdeath and Twinkle next to his sisters weapons. He traced a finger over his sisters face. A tear ran down hi face as he remembered her face when he fled, Wishing him luck on his journey.
Drizt then stood and went to the window, it was near full dark, as he stood by the window Vierna woke up, "Drizzt?" she called in a quiet voice, "Is that you?" She sat up in the bed with a slight hiss of pain, she looked around, "Where am I?"
"It is me, you are in Silverymoon, in the home of Alustriel Silverhand, leader of the Moonwood, but you confuse me, Why are you here? To take me back to the Underdark and to Mother?" Drizzt gave his sister a look.
She caught the look and shook her head, "Mother is dead, Briza killed her when Father fell, shortly afterwards House Be'naer attacked and killed those of us within the house, Maya was first to die, I faked being dead, Dinin turned against us when Jarlaxle arrived, I watched from a corner, not moving as Briza fell at jarlaxles blade, then when everything was quiet I went to fathers room, took one of his blades, my cloak, and daggers, as well as my whip. then tried to flee... only, Dinin saw me fleeing and fired a arrow at me, thinking me dead he and another threw me into a ditch outside the city. from there I came out to this world. I guess I lost too much blood because of the fact that I had passed out, from what i know face down in a stream."
"Why did you come?" Drizzt asked.
It was hard for Vierna to speak, but when she did she said simply, "Word reached those of us within the Underdark of a Drow that follows a surface goddess, working and living alone at times yet strong and good in battle with others. I knew right away that it was you that the rumors spoke of."
"And you wanted to be with me because?" Drizzt prodded.
"Because you found a way that is peaceful, and calming. Which is what Father would have wanted, for both of us." She had yet to tell her full blooded brother that Zaknefien was their father.
"What do you mean, Vierna? Are you saying that if you come with me, you will be a part of me? and not be lording over me and my doings? is that it?" Drizzt was not convinced.
"Zak would have wanted for the three of us to flee to the surface soon as we could, yet Malice had me kill him so you could get away. I guess Malice paid the price for that." Vierna said, She looked to Drizzt, "Drizzt, Brother, i look to you as my elder because of your skill with your weapons, and magic, and love for life. I too have a love for life yet... I do not know now of where I can be without feeling hunted." She then explained of feeling search parties looking for her body as they thought her dead.
"Let it wait until morning, then I will make my choice of if I should send you out alobne into the surface world of which you have never seen, or take you with me. But be warned, I travel in daylight now, however, if the time is pressing, I can ride in the night." Driztt said closing the window, then blowing out the candle, "Good night dear sister."
Morning dawned bright and clear, though it hurt Vierna's eyes, she was starting to get used to it, and had been given some newer amror to replace that which was burned away from the sunlight, she however turned down the offer. Then Dirrzt arrived in the room, "Did you sleep well Vierna?"
"I did, what do you chose?" Vierna asked looking towards Drizzt.
"Welcome home, we leave soon as you are ready." Drizzt said handing his sister something she'd though she would never again see. Drizzt had gone back to the Underdark to their home, and brought back her cloak, and Maya's armor, (which alarmingly fit Vierna perfectly), ten minutes later and the three were ready to leave for Ten Towns.
After they had left Silverymoon Dove asked her sister, "Do you think the pair will work together? Has the girl redeemed herself from her people the same way Drizzt has?"
"She is still undergoing her redemption, After all, Drow do not take kindly to sunlight." Alustriel said watching the three riders until they were out of view.
A few days passed at the three returned to Ten Towns, it was there then that Vierna was accepted by her brother fully when the pair hugged for the first time in thier life, "Vierna, when you raised me you were not as harsh as you thought,you were kind, Briza had no right to treat you nor I the way she did, yet she was the oldest of the family. But now you are. What do you tihnk of yourself now?"
"I think" Vierna started to say, before she stopped and looked into her brothers eyes, "I think I am redeemed from what I had done, becaue of you, you gace me the redemption i needed to live, as well as the will to survive, looking for you. Thanks." She hugged Drizzt once more, She some times looked back on her past, rasingher brother, and would try to apologize to Drizzt, but he told her each time, "What is past is past, you had your redemption, and that is what makes what happened between us long ago, noting but the past."
And Vierna knew he was right, Drizzt Do'Urden was normally in her eyes, right.
The End