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Author's Note: This may not deserve its rating, but I decided it was best to be on the safe side.

As he sat in his meeting chair, a throne at some level but not all that ornate, Aramil Galaedon couldn't help but wonder how he was going to pull his little stunt off. He was Daggerlord and so should be able to leave and just tell someone he trusted, if trust was possible, to take his position for a while.

Nova would argue.

He sighed. The one person he trusted to his position for any amount of time and she would argue. Just then the doors to his chamber swung wide and in she walked.

Nova was, indeed, a strange specimen. She had long white hair, although she frequently died it red, pale skin, and fairly pale blue eyes.

Aramil had to make sure that he knew where all of the emergency exits were. If she decided to throw a fit, he wanted to be out of there.

"Aramil?" Her voice was smooth and gentle. She wouldn't hurt him. Well, at least he hoped.

"Nova," he said smiling, "you are my most trusted advisor. You are so because I can trust you. I need your help."

Nova smiled. "What do you need, Aramil?"

He couldn't help but notice that she didn't pledge to do whatever he asked. "I need you to take my position for a while."

Nova stared at him. He had had these contests with her before. It was a test of authority: if he won, she would do what he asked: if not, it was up for grabs what she would do. He had yet to win.

The staring contest lasted over a minute before Aramil finally gave in. Nova smiled triumphantly and started walking out the door. Aramil sat down and sighed again: there had to be some way to get her to do this. There just had to.

11

"What a lovely day, don't you think?" Jarlaxle said with a grin that spread across his whole face.

His companion, Artemis Entreri, gave Jarlaxle a glare. He was in a foul mood at that moment. They were almost out of rations and the chances of getting into a town in the area they were in were very low. After all, the closest city of any size, and that would lead the companions north, was Evereska. Somehow Entreri doubted that a drow and a human were going to get in.

He wanted to go to the Moonwood though and that was decidedly north.

"Tell me, why are we headed north?" Jarlaxle questioned.

Entreri opened his mouth to give an answer, but then realized that he didn't have one.

"All the stupid elf's fault," he thought bitterly. Entreri stopped. He had referred to Aramil as a stupid elf. It felt even worse than it should have because of one basic fact. Aramil had loved him. "Well, it may be Aramil's fault," he thought. "I owe him a lot." Indeed, for Aramil had given the dagger that he now wore at his side. Aramil had also told him about Charon's Claw.

When he looked up, Entreri realized that Jarlaxle was looking at him. The drow even looked worried.

"We are headed for the Moonwood," he said simply.

Jarlaxle looked at him a moment then nodded just happy that nothing was truly wrong.

111

The beautiful elven maiden sat in reverie. Her silver hair lay smooth against her back.

"I shouldn't be doing this," thought Aramil Galaedon, as he looked at her, his weapons ready for the kill.

"Why do I want to kill her?" He asked himself that question before every kill. He knew why he wanted to kill her though. She had stopped him from leaving. Aramil was eighty and she was about 200. He was too young to go away on his own.

That's what the other elves said anyway.

What was more important? His life or that of his family's? At first he thought purely on the elven level. Then, he thought about his own opinions. His family, his adoptive father, was more important. With that thought in mind, he killed the elven maiden. With that thought in mind he left the Moonwood.

1111

"Let's see," Jarlaxle said as he and Entreri stopped to rest, "we could have dried and impossible to chew….something, or we could have more dried and impossible to chew something."

Entreri found a slight smile working its way onto his lips as Jarlaxle looked despairingly at what was left of their rations. It was a smile that, as usual, he quickly replaced with a scowl.

"We well find something."

Jarlaxle looked at his friend incredulously. "Where? You said yourself that there are no towns within week's travel of here."

"Then we are reduced to hunting and gathering," Entreri said simply.

Jarlaxle grinned and replied, "Like rangers would."

Entreri set Jarlaxle with a glare. He did not like it when rangers were brought up. It almost always meant that Jarlaxle was in the mood to compare him to Drizzt.

"I wonder what's edible in the area," Jarlaxle said. It was more to himself than his companion, but Entreri decided to respond anyway.

"Hare and I'm sure there are a few plants."

"You know I wasn't talking to you."

Entreri shrugged. How could Jarlaxle argue about the occasional annoyance? He annoyed the assassin far more often.

"Oh well might as well grab our stuff and go," Jarlaxle said in a very grumpy tone.

As they walked away Entreri began to seriously think about the ration problem. There was only one place that would have enough to get them going and for some reason Entreri didn't want to spend time hunting every day. As a matter of fact he felt that it was urgent for him to get to the Moonwood.

Aramil must have said something that was giving him this sense of urgency, but what? A time of the year? A day? No, Entreri decided, at least not in history and the only times Aramil had given dates was when he was telling stories and teaching history. Maybe somewhere in Aramil's stories lay the clue to his sense of urgency. Maybe Aramil had done something in the Moonwood that was about to matter.

After a few hours Entreri and Jarlaxle stopped for the night.

"Awfully barren place, isn't it?" Jarlaxle commented with a sigh. "Have you ever come this way before?" Jarlaxle looked at the assassin in hope that he had. The drow didn't like the rocky mountains and wanted to know the reason for being here. Hopefully the reason why would be revealed with whether or not Entreri had come here before. Much to his dismay the assassin just shook his head.

"Then why are we coming here?" Jarlaxle said making it clear that he didn't like this place.

"We are coming here because we are headed to the Moonwood," Entreri replied evenly.

"Why?" Jarlaxle asked, startled. In truth he was curious. The Moonwood was very close to Mithiral Hall and that worried him more than a little. If the assassin didn't give a reason that probably meant they were hunting Drizzt.

Why were they going? Again Entreri realized he didn't know. It had to do with Aramil he was certain of that, but aside from being an elf where did…Aramil was from the Moonwood! How could he have forgotten? Aramil had been banned from the Moonwood for assassinating another elf. Aramil Galaedon had killed somebody without reason.

"There's something I need to do there," he said simply. He didn't care how Jarlaxle took it. He just cared that they got there.