Authors' note:
This Volume 2 picks up from where Volume 1 "In Vino Veritas" leaves off but can be read as a book on its own. The occasional references to Volume 1 are made but will not impact the overall story arc.
We apologize for the mangled languages.
We used several different translators and dialects and pieced them together as best we could.
The story is put together from individual Sand and Torio posts hence the unique back and forth style. While each author has a general idea of where the storyline is going, each post and response is entirely a surprise to the receiving writer in an attempt to give the story a realistic unpredictable flow while maintaining the nature of the characters.
Volume 2, Part I: Will or Action, Word or Deed
"Do you need help finding your way, my lord?"
Vale waved a hand at the young Greycloak that solicited him as he walked through the gate. "No, young man, I can find my way." He'd been here before, after all... "But, if you could direct me to where the wizard Sand might be, at this hour?"
The Greycloak scratched his head quizzically. "I think the Library or the basement, my lord."
Vale smiled slightly. "My thanks." He turned and strode up to the Keep's doors, breezing past the guards standing there; the last time he had come through the doors had been magically barred shut, and some of his mages had died. Now the doors had been repaired and were intricately carved and polished, gleaming in the dull evening air. He turned down a side hallway and took the steps leading to the basement, calling as he walked downwards, "Wizard!"
Sand looked up from the book he was reading while leaning against his bench. The voice hailing him was familiar. He took a tentative step towards the stairs and recognized Vale. He put the book down. "Ah, my lord. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"
A routine inspection of all magical goods and wares? He was fairly certain he had paid the yearly tax on all magic users in the city... A little part of him wondered if they had discovered he had been suppressing the bracelet's enchantments but he kept his face impassively polite.
Vale nodded courteously at him. "It is Sand, isn't it? You worked in the Docks." His voice was flat, no indication of his personal opinion on Sand's recent occupation evident in his voice. "Lord Nasher has sent me here to...escort the former Luskan Ambassador to Neverwinter." His clear eyes regarded Sand coolly. "And yourself, as well."
He glanced around the basement for a moment, empty except for himself and the other elf. "I shall wait for you to prepare for departure; a teleport spell should get us back to Neverwinter quickly enough, but I must dispel most of the Ambassador's enchantment before we leave, in order to bring her as well." He nodded at Sand. "I shall wait for you and the woman here." So saying, the elf folded his arms into the wide sleeves of his robes and shut his eyes, leaning back against the wall.
Sand's heart gave a skip.
Gods be damned.
We've been found out.
They're going to hang us.
He merely nodded at Vale and left the basement of the Keep. When he was out of view from the other mage Sand bolted towards the Library. Bursting in, he spotted Torio at her usual spot at the table (the table) and Aldanon speaking to one of the many rats that occasionally raided the pantries.
"Torio! Vale - here!" He dispelled his dampening spells, sending the enchantments back to her. "He wants to take us to see Nasher in Neverwinter." He could barely keep the panic out of his voice.
Torio looked up in surprise, blinking rapidly from staring down at the tome in front of her for the last few hours; the spells were dispelled so quickly she let out an undignified gasp as they thudded back into her body, and she took a few moments to register was Sand was saying.
Vale.
She remembered him; he'd been the only calm, dispassionate voice in the myriad of unhappy, vindictive faces when they had brought her chained and shackled to the Cloaktower. The bracelet had been in his hand when she had first seen him...
"He's...here?" She hissed, her face paling rapidly. Then, "Neverwinter?" She stood slowly, gripping the edge of the table for a moment. It was bound to happen, they'd been sneaking around for so long; someone had to notice something sooner or later...that assassin...Her eyes darted to Sand's face. "He didn't say whywe need to leave?"
Sand shook his head. "No - just that we were to prepare our things and meet him in the basement." His mind was racing. "Here's what I'll say. Since the attack on the Keep, we realized that you not being able to leave meant that any attack here would essentially trap you to your own doom. So I came up with the dispelling methods simply as a method to provide you with a means of escaping another attack on the Keep."
He glanced at Aldanon, who was speaking to a second rat that had joined the first one; he lowered his voice in any case. "Bring anything you need to defend yourself, just in case... I'll meet at the top of the stairs and we'll go downstairs together."
Torio glanced behind her to where Aldanon was talking amiably to a pair of rather fiendish looking rats, and then nodded, her mouth tightening slightly. She turned and brushed past Sand, barely touching her fingertips to his palm to steady herself as she strode out of the Library door.
In her room, she looked around wildly; what in gods name could Nasher want with them? Besides hanging us for treasonous acts, of course. She slid the bootknife into a garter and pulled it up around her thigh, then took down a long, elegant looking travel cloak from her bureau. She shoved the stack of parchments on her desk down into the drawers before locking them shut, and picked up the folded note from Kurth...
They were the last friendly Luskan words she had, but if someone came looking through her room while she was gone...and in Nevalle's current state of mind she could almost guarantee someone would...
She cursed as she held it over the flickering lamp flame on her desk, watching the parchment curl in on itself and burn into dust. Blowing out the light, she pulled the cloak around her shoulders and slipped out of her door, hurrying towards the basement.
Sand ran as quickly as was dignified to his room. He tossed his traveling pack on his bed and began throwing in every potion, wand, scroll he had in the room. He quickly changed into his traveling clothes, hiding the locket with the ariik gem underneath his undershirt. He picked up Jaral and stroked him behind the ears for a moment. "Elanee will feed you, boy."
He slung the pack over his shoulder, listening to the glassware clinking and left his room, locking it and casting a protective glyph on the door. He ran into Torio at the top of the basement stairs. "Wait." He glanced around and without further word, kissed her fully on the mouth. For all he knew, that would be the last act they would have together...
"Mmmph.." Sand's kiss was brief, and hard; her fingers twitched forward, clenching in his robes and gripping the fabric tightly for a moment as his mouth pressed against hers... Then they were standing apart again, and she swallowed hard past the constriction that tightened her throat. She stared at him for a long moment...
"Ladies first," she said hoarsely, and swept down the stairs, her heart sinking with every step.
Sand opened his mouth - was about to call out "Wait!" again and...
...and what?
Detail a poorly thought-out and tremendously risky escape plan?
Ask for another kiss? A quick love session behind some tapestry?
Tell her something else, something important, something utterly foolish?
Instead, he followed her silently down the stairs, back to where Vale was waiting. "We're ready."
Vale opened one eye as Torio appeared, Sand following quickly on her heels. "Very well." He straightened and stepped out into the room, gesturing to the elf and the human. "Stand by me, please."
As they neared him, he reached out, taking Torio's braceletted hand. "Hold still please, Ambassador," he said evenly, and shut his eyes, incanting...
Torio's throat was dry; she wanted to rather illogically reach out and clasp Sand's hand. Was he going to torture her, right here, right now? What was...
POP!
She let out a startled cry as a huge, heavy weight was lifted off of her body, and drew in a deep, surprised breath.
Vale nodded at her. "You are now able to leave the keep. However, there are still...other enchantments, that will remain for the time being." He released Torio's hand, and, shutting his eyes, began casting...
When Sand realized Vale was casting a Teleport spell, he reached out and grasped Torio's hand lest he accidentally get left behind or worst - misteleporting and ending up some place unpleasant like Icewind Dale...
The spell sucked the trio through a strange spinning tunnel and Sand closed his eyes, feeling thoroughly nauseated. Torio's hand was warm in his and he squeezed it reassuringly. They landed with a hard thump on a cold stone floor.
Torio swayed dizzily as the Cloaktower's interior materialized around them, her feet stinging slightly from the impact on stone. She was clutching at Sand's hand almost painfully, but instantly released it once she realized where they were.
The last time she'd been here...
She schooled her face into some semblance of calm as Vale turned to them.
The mage said flatly, "You will have to cover your face, Ambassador. Your hood, please? It would be difficult to protect you if the citizens of this city knew you as yourself in the streets." He watched as Torio pulled the hood of her cloak up around her face, and then nodded to her and Sand. "Follow me." He turned and led them through the winding passage that spilled them out into the Blacklake District, walking swiftly towards the Castle.
Sand followed Vale through the city. "Would it be possible to know what this is about? Do the Knight Captains know we're here?" He realized he hadn't even notified anybody, including Nevalle, where the two of them were off to.
Vale glanced back at Sand as they walked. "Your Knight Captains and Sir Nevalle have been informed that you and the Ambassador are here; do not worry yourself over that." The large gates to Castle Never were opened, and he gestured for them to enter ahead of him, following after as the doors shut behind them once more with a CLANG! of finality.
Torio's breath caught nervously in her throat as they walked down the long, long entrance hall; once they were away from the open streets of Neverwinter she pulled her hood back, her face pale and drawn in the torchlight. She remained silent as they entered the throne room without the usual grand announcement from the page boy; a shifting glance told her the lad wasn't there.
There was no one in the throne room at all, in fact, except for her, Sand, Vale...and Lord Nasher, sitting on the dais in front of them.
Sand glanced around, noting the eerie silence of the throne room. He inhaled deeply and followed Vale to the throne, bowing low. "My lord, Nasher."
Lord Nasher nodded at Vale. "You may go. I will send them to you and Gend when I have finished with them." He sat back in his throne and eyed the two before him. Two of among the least trustworthy people in his service and yet he was going to give them a task that required the utmost trust.
"Sand. Your continued vigilance and work at Crossroad Keep deserves to be commended. On behalf of the people of Neverwinter, I thank you."
He paused when he turned to Torio. "Torio. You will excuse me for not using your former title of Ambassador as you no longer represent Luskan. I never expected to see you here again but it appears Neverwinter is in need of you. And the wizard here as well. You have little choice in the matter but you will have help."
Torio bowed stiffly. "Lord Nasher," she said evenly. Her spirits practically soared as she realized that they weren't going to be hanged. Immediately. But...the tone of his voice didn't warrant a complete lack of suspicion. "What would you have of your humbleservant?"
Nasher let Torio's impertinent remark slide by. The Luskan had her uses and in this aspect, for this task, part of her use was that she was expendable. "There is an artifact in Luskan which we require you to retrieve or destroy. Have you heard of the Scales of the Sphinx? It is a map, drawn or enchanted on the hides of a sphinx, capable of revealing a person's identity and location. A Luskan, by the name of Orban Asrar, has enchanted it to reveal the identities and locations of all of Neverwinter's spies." He stopped, letting the information sink in.
"We also need you to dispose of Orban Asrar. It poses a significant threat to our operations. You - Torio - will go because you are familiar with the Hosttower, the Arcane Brotherhood - the ways of Luskan. Sand, you are also familiar with Luskan - you will go to aid and protect Torio but also because the map requires the touch of a mage to be discerned and activated. I cannot spare any one of the Cloaktower mages on this task."
He stood. "Vale and Aarin Gend will provide you with goods, equipment and more specific information. Do not fail in this task; if you are discovered - we will deny all knowledge of you and will publicly declare your actions as treasonous, against the good policies of Neverwinter's peace treaties with Luskan. You will be buried in the Tomb of the Betrayers. If you succeed then I am not averse to giving you both a fair reward."
Nasher held up a jeweled hand. "Sand, Torio - approach me and swear fealty and allegiance to me and my Neverwinter in this task and be bound to it under penalty of death." He chuckled. "And swear allegiance to each other, Counselors, though I am certain you loath to do so - that you will protect each other as best as possible for the duration of the task."
Sand was beginning to realize that because caught tampering with Torio's bracelet and then being hanged was going to be a more pleasant death than the one he was likely going to encounter on this mission.
But it looked like he had no other choice.
Under penalty of death.
How often had he joked about this?
The gods were surely laughing.
He approached Nasher and kneeled, saying the oath every citizen of Neverwinter had memorized. "I trust the judgment of my King and Lord Nasher Alagondar and will show this trust by performing those duties that my King and Lord commands in order to further the goals of Neverwinter with alacrity and obedience." He kissed the rings on Nasher's fingers. "I place my life, body, mind and heart at the defense of Neverwinter." He kissed the rings again. "I solemnly swear this oath, until my King and Lord Nasher Alagondar releases me, or death takes me, or the world ends." There was a bitter taste in the back of his mouth.
Nasher answered Sand's oath, "Sand of Neverwinter, I accept your service. In return I swear to send protection, succor and aid in times of misfortune, to extend this aid to any members of your family residing in Neverwinter or its surrounding lands, to equip you with the means to effectively protect and defend Neverwinter and her people and to use always my best judgment in matters concerning the well-being of the kingdom. I swear to treat you with honor, respect, fairness and justice. I swear to grant those boons that are within my power and that do no interfere with the goals of Neverwinter." He eyed the moon elf kneeling at his feet.
"I swear, Sand, to reward hard work with abundance, loyalty with love, skill with respect, and oath-breaking with death. I do solemnly swear to honor this oath until I choose to release you from it, or until I die, or until the world end." He pulled his hand away from the wizard. "You may stand now, Sand. Torio Claven, approach me and swear your oath. And then when that is done, swear an oath of protection and loyalty to each other."
Torio tasted ashes on her tongue. An oath. It was to be expected, when dealing with espionage; to swear loyalty, to bind one's self, heart and mind and soul; and to be shucked conveniently if the enemy finds you out.
She walked forward, her cloak rustling against her skirts, and knelt, her mouth drawn in a taught line. "I trust the judgment of my King and Lord Nasher Alagondar and will show this trust by performing those duties that my King and Lord commands in order to further the goals of Neverwinter with alacrity and obedience." Her voice was hollow, but steady; Nasher's fingers were cool as she pressed her lips around the ring on his hand. "I place my life, body, mind and heart at the defense of Neverwinter." Her body had been her tool for so long, it was of little consequence pledging it to anyone's service, let alone Neverwinter's; and her mind would always be her own, regardless of words spoken.
Her heart...
You don't have one. The words are meaningless.
And yet they settled on her, heavy and firm, as she spoke. "I solemnly swear this oath, until my King and Lord Nasher Alagondar releases me, or death takes me, or the world ends." Maybe you do have a heart, Claven. She refused to let her eyes dart to Sand's form next to her. Maybe you simply no longer possess it.
She released Nasher's hand, and stood, turning to face Sand expectantly, her face calm and schooled, hiding the turbulence behind her eyes.
Nasher studied Torio critically. "Torio Claven, now of Neverwinter, I accept your service. In return I swear to send protection, succor and aid in times of misfortune, to extend this aid to any members of your family residing in Neverwinter or its surrounding lands, to equip you with the means to effectively protect and defend Neverwinter and her people and to use always my best judgment in matters concerning the well-being of the kingdom. I swear to treat you with honor, respect, fairness and justice. I swear to grant those boons that are within my power and that do no interfere with the goals of Neverwinter."
"I swear to reward hard work with abundance, loyalty with love, skill with respect, and oath-breaking with death. I do solemnly swear to honor this oath until I choose to release you from it, or until I die, or until the world end."
"There are magics in this room which make your words binding, Sand, Torio." The King then softened his expression. "But I hope you will find service in Neverwinter rewarding. Consider it for the long term, both of you, if you survive the current mission."
He waved his hand at them. "Your oaths, to each other, Counselors."
Sand took Torio's left hand in his, placing his right hand over her heart and motioned for her to mimic his posture. He could feel the warmth of her skin and the beginning of the slight swell of her breast.
It was funny and ironic. He never thought he'd be swearing an oath of loyalty, saying secret vows to Torio Claven (in front of Nasher no less), to promise to protect her, to treat her life as his own, before a dangerous mission that would likely claim both their lives and reputation...
It was funny - because the vows he had toyed with saying to her were similar in their ilk and intention, but was born out of...
His heart gave a little squeeze.
...affection, rather than ruthless necessity. Sand looked deep into her gray eyes, a part of him realizing that perhaps these would be the only vows he would ever get to exchange with hers.
"I, Sand of Neverwinter, do solemnly swear in the presence of my King and Lord Nasher Alagondar, that from this hour in the future, Torio Claven, now of Neverwinter, I will be true and faithful to you with regard to your life and property, in good faith and without deception. I will help you hold, have and defend against all men and women who might wish to seize or deprive you of body, mind, spirit, freedom or property. I will love all that you love, shun all that you shun, according to the laws of our gods, the laws of Neverwinter and the order of the world."
He inhaled deeply. "Nor will I ever with will or action, through word or deed, do anything which is unpleasing to you, on condition that you will hold to me as I shall deserve it, and that you will perform everything as it was in our exchange when I submitted myself to you and your protection. I do solemnly swear to honor this oath until my Lord and King commands release, or until you choose to release me from it, or until I die, or until you die, or until the world end." Sand found himself nearly clenching Torio's hand painfully as he spoke the final vow, his heart thudding in his chest.
The words chipped at her like tiny, sharp spikes as she stared into the face of her love and nemesis. His fingers were cool and smooth against her skin, a slight warmth building in the palm of his hand from the contact with her body.
This was madness.
Did she have a choice? The bracelet still clung to her wrist like a limpet. Her only other choice was death.
That is still a choice. The dead assassin's words still echoed in her ears."Weak...pathetic..." She should have been willing to die for her cause...the girl certainly had been.
...it was never your cause...
She had acted as Garius' servant because it had been advantageous for her to do so, not because the powerful mage had inspired any sort of loyalty in her. And Nasher was no fool; he had used the bracelet because he knew that even with her defection to their side, her loyalties did not suddenly and automatically lie with Neverwinter. She wasn't even positive herself where exactly her loyalties lay, at the moment.
Except with him...
Her fingers pressed against his chest as she spoke; somewhere in the back of her mind she realized wryly this would make plotting against the wizard's life a bit difficult from now on. "I, Torio Claven of...of Neverwinter, do solemnly swear in the presence of my King and Lord Nasher Alagondar, that from this hour in the future, Sand of Neverwinter, I will be true and faithful to you with regard to your life and property, in good faith and without deception. I will help you hold, have and defend against all men and women who might wish to seize or deprive you of body, mind, spirit, freedom or property. I will love all that you love, shun all that you shun, according to the laws of our gods, the laws of Neverwinter and the order of the world."
Her voice became quiet...she was having a hard time meeting his eyes, attempting to keep her face smooth of all expression; she wanted rather irrationally to curl her fingers into the robe they pressed against and pull him to her fiercely. An exchanging of oaths that Lord Nasher would be hard pressed to forget, most likely. "Nor will I ever with will or action, through word or deed, do anything which is unpleasing to you, on condition that you will hold to me as I shall deserve it, and that you will perform everything as it was in our exchange when I submitted myself to you and your protection. I do solemnly swear to honor this oath until my Lord and King commands release, or until you choose to release me from it, or until I die, or until you...die, or until the world end." In a perfect world, death would still darken her doorstep sooner than his, but with the mission they were about to go on...she released her breath once she finished speaking, her chest tight.
Sand watched her face carefully as she repeated the sacred oaths to him. How would she feel - being bound to him like this?
How did he feel - being bound to her?
He mulled it over. Not too badly actually; in a strange way, it felt oddly right. At least now he would be incapable of activating the Torture spell.
When she finished reciting the oath, he let his fingers linger on her skin for a moment and then took a quick step away, his face cold. No need to give away their secret just because they were now bound to each other. Plenty of time to talk later.
After all - it now appeared they would be traveling alone together, outside of the Keep, away from watchful prying eyes. It was almost like a holiday. A holiday straight into death and doom - but a holiday nevertheless. Sand barely suppressed a bitter chuckle and bowed low at Nasher.
Nasher stood and gestured to a side door. "Vale will be waiting there with supplies for you. He does not know details about your mission and I would advise you keep it that way. Sand, Torio - good luck. The people of Neverwinter - I ...am counting on you."
Torio bowed shortly, and turned, walking swiftly towards the side door leading out of the throne room, hearing Sand's footsteps behind her.