By the time he allowed himself to rest the next night, Holo honestly wasn't sure who he was more frustrated with: the fools running the prison or Valen himself.

The stubborn tiefling refused to tell him how he could contact Angeline or even where she was. He seemed to think the half drow would be imprisoned the second she stepped into the village. Holo tried again and again to make him see how unreasonable that was but Valen refused to listen. The gnome cleric had finally let him be after a while, stalking away from the cells muttering to himself about stubborn demons.

The gnome paused at the end of the hall, chewing on one of his nails. Mywiewen trailed behind him silently….she'd been awful silent throughout this whole thing….as he left the prison once again, trying to decide what to do.

Mywiewen was in a state of shock to be honest. She'd spent most of her life training as a paladin within the stronghold of her order, which meant seeing people in authority shouted at and scolded like children was something she had not come across before. Holo had torn into anyone who had been sent to find out what was holding up the execution, threatening to bring in knights and paladins and clerics from everywhere, which had cowed several of the officials enough they'd backed off. Then Holo had gone to Lord Sven himself and hit the first major roadblock. The implacable Lord was not swayed by Holo's threats, accusing the gnome of putting his ideals in front of justice for a young girl, which had made Mywiewen speak up in Holo's defense for the first time, not that he needed it. If Lord Sven thought he was going to beat down the little gnome with pretty words, as he was obviously used to doing, he was sadly mistaken. Holo insisted over and over that he knew the tiefling and knew for a fact he was incapable of doing such a thing, which had even less of an effect on the Lord than his threats.

That was the one thing she and the Lord were in agreement with. She knew Holo tried to see the best in people but she was hard pressed to believe that someone of such evil decent didn't have…urges…that he couldn't control. It was in his nature after all.

Despite that, she didn't like Lord Sven. There was a smug arrogance to the man that Mywiewen didn't appreciate at all, especially directed at the cleric who was under her protection. So it had been a pleasure to see that smug, confident smile vanish when Holo had finally come forward with a threat that she knew he could actually follow through with: he threatened to call in the Harpers.

It was a good idea; she wasn't sure why he hadn't brought them up before. She didn't entirely approve of Holo's affiliation with the questionable group but she did know they had influence...unofficially…in this area. Holo had pointedly mentioned that the prisoner had a connection to the Harper's as well, mainly that his mother in law was one, and mentioning to them the fact he'd had no trial and no real investigation into whether he was guilty or not before they'd set up an execution would look awfully dodgy. If mentioned with the right words it might even seem like a cover up…perhaps something that might warrant deeper inspection from a group of outsiders…

Oh, Lord Sven hadn't liked that, Mywiewen reflected as she and Holo returned to the inn they'd set up in. He hadn't liked it enough to finally placate Holo by promising there would be an inquiry with one of their magistrates, but Mywiewen had noticed that smug confidence creeping back in even while he said it. She couldn't blame him. Any evidence in Valen's defense besides his own claims of innocence and refusal to confess would be outweighed by prejudice and rage at the crime, Holo was only delaying the inevitable and putting himself in harm's way in the process. She could already see angry glares and muttering aimed in his direction.

Not that that had ever stopped him before, she thought with a sigh.

For his part, Holo seemed satisfied with his temporary victory, at least he had until he and Valen had bumped heads on the issue of how to contact Valen's wife. Now Holo was muttering to himself and pacing about the room that was adjoined with hers, shuffling through some of this things until he'd found a small mirror and some kind of fancy looking quill. She watched with a mixture of curiosity and unease. "Holo…you aren't really going to call the Harpers in on this, are you?"

"Not unless I have to," he replied absently, writing busily on the mirror with the fancy quill. It wasn't exactly a lie, he told himself, hoping to put aside Wie's worries for the moment. He glanced up to smile at her a bit distractedly. "Not to worry, my dear."

I'm not calling in Evelain because she's a Harper; I'm calling her in because her daughter is in love with the man they want to kill…


Evelain stood quietly in the center of the balcony overlooking Haven's gardens. Her eyes were open but not focused on anything in particular. She saw nothing and was yet aware of anything, all of her considerable powers of concentration lifting her from a normal state to one of almost total focus, part of everything and yet part of nothing.

The monk had shut herself away for a long meditation session, trying to put a finger on what had been bothering her lately and now that she'd cleared her mind she could let her thoughts drift without distraction. There was nothing with the Harpers that was out of the ordinary, no assignments that particularly troubled her. There was no threat to the library here at the moment. Angeline then? Was there something wrong with her daughter…?

The scent of smoke was all the warning Evelain had before an explosion from below rocked the entire frame of the library and brought her back into awareness with a jarring sensation that was almost physical. Only her reflexes and keen sense of balance saved her from being thrown to the floor. She stepped to the railing and looked to the left, alarmed by the amount of smoke pouring out of the windows from the smaller building off the gardens, set a prudent distance away from the rest of the main library.

And Raal had been surprised, she thought, when she'd insisted that lab not be part of the main building.

The monk turned away from the balcony and strode out of the room, trying to tamp down on her annoyance, her lips pressed in a tight line. It was a male thing, she decided as she stalked down the stairs. Only a man would think that building a lab where any wizard or spell slinger could just waltz right in and practice absolutely any spell they wished was a good idea.

The idiot man in this case was, in fact, on his way out to check the explosion himself but paused when he heard her coming. Raal turned, leaning on his staff, and watched his wife stride towards him. The set expression on her face and the way her eyes flashed made him fire off words in his defense before she'd even come near; "The spells we put around it held it all in…"

"I was meditating," she said shortly, striding past him and shoving through the door into the gardens.

Raal winced and walked in the wake of her anger, leaning on his staff to keep weight off his crippled leg. Her meditation times were times when Evelain was not to be disturbed upon pain of death. While he was glad he wasn't about to take the brunt of his wife's anger he felt rather sorry for whoever had fired off that spell.

But not sorry enough to stand in between them.

The drow smiled wryly as he followed Evelain out to what had formerly been the house assigned to the acolytes of the monastery as dorms and was now a building more heavily protected than any building within miles where wizards visiting the library could put the knowledge they'd gleaned to good use. It made for some wondrous moments and helped uphold the library's reputation for being a place people could escape to, but it also meant explosions at odd hours and some rather interesting mistakes.

A small crowd had gathered around the smaller building but parted hastily when Evelain stalked through them, staying where they were to let Raal come through as well. Evelain was cursing as she shoved the door open, which made Raal flinch and hurry forward, afraid some wayward bolt of magic might hit her.

While nothing around the building had been hurt, the inside of it was chaos. Several of the wizards, Raal recognized them as the group of young students that had arrived a few days before, were milling about and chattering excitedly. Apparently the explosion hadn't been a mistake after all, because the three young men were patting themselves on the backs and congratulating each other up until the point they noticed the angry monk bearing down on them. And by then it was too late. Raal stopped in the doorway and leaned against the doorframe, taking the time to look around the lab critically as his wife laid into the three young men. Nothing appeared damaged. The boys' robes were a bit singed but that was only to be expected. They'd done a good job of making sure they laid out protection spells, he noted with approval.

When he turned to reassure the people outside that no one was dead and send them back to their tasks one of the students gathered up the courage to speak out against Evelain's onslaught, protesting the scolding. "It is daylight and we knew what we were doing!" He declared.

Foolish boy, drawing her attention like that. He should have stayed quiet and let her rant at all three of them together. Raal shook his head in amused despair and stepped out of the building, strolling towards the pond that took up part of the gardens. He was interested in knowing what they'd intended to do but now was not the time to ask, better to just stay out of the way and let Evelain put the fear of the gods into them. The gods knew she could use the stress reliever. She'd been tense and agitated lately and that was very out of character for Evelain. Raal frowned as he gazed into the water. She couldn't tell him what was wrong, not because she didn't want to but because he didn't think she knew. And that lack of control over her own thoughts and emotions, he knew, was enough to drive his wife to distraction. She liked things to be in neat, orderly control and was very good at getting things to be so, so when she failed to do it, it was like a thorn in her side.

Raal stirred as he heard her footsteps behind him, not turning around. She wasn't muttering under her breath anymore, which was always a good sign. Angeline did the exact same thing when she was angry, the only exception being that when she was muttering she was usually stalking back and forth and throwing things at the same time. He hid a smile and kept his eyes on the water as Evelain stopped beside him. "Did you get any of them to cry this time, my love?"

Evelain felt her lips twitch before she could stop them. "No."

Raal clicked his tongue in mock regret. "Ah, well. Maybe next time."

She felt the last of her anger seep out of her in the face of Raal's humor. As usual, damn him. But once it did the worry started to creep back into her mind and heart. She stood silently at her husband's side for a long time, gazing out over the low wall that surrounded the garden and out to the hills and miles of forest beyond. Raal kept silent, letting her think before she broached the subject of what was troubling her.

"I think something is wrong with Angeline," she said finally.

Now that got Raal's attention. The drow's head came up and he looked sharply at her. "What makes you say that?"

"I don't know." Frustrated, Evelain turned and started to pace. Raal stepped forward and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders, turning her to face him, his dark eyes looking into hers. Evelain calmed slightly, Raal's steady patience helping her focus. "I don't know, but…."

"Evelain!" Both of them turned, startled. Evelain squinted at the man running towards them and stepped away from Raal to meet him, a faint look of impatience on her face. Raal was confused at first until he saw the silver harp pin the man wore. He scowled slightly and turned back toward the water. He knew her work with the Harpers was important but in this case with their daughter possibly in danger he hoped her superiors would understand if she declined any assignment they wanted her to gallop off to do this time.

His hand tightened on his staff as he looked down into the water. What could Angeline be getting herself into now? Not that it was a stretch; she seemed to have a talent for getting herself into situations she had no business coming out of alive.

It was Evelain's fault. That was his considered opinion. They should have known Angeline was headed for a life of trouble when she hadn't even gotten out of Drogan's school without getting into trouble and it was her mother's idea to send her off in the first place. And it had only gotten worse from there. She could have stayed and helped do the myriad of things that were needed to run the huge library he and Evelain and a handful of others had worked hard to create. It was a place where anyone could seek out without worry of prejudice and hatred, a place where his daughter had grown up and could have stayed without ever having to face the same troubles he had because of her half drow heritage. Instead she'd run off into the wilds and learned how to be a druid (and he had no clue where that particular line of talent of hers had come from, certainly not from him and he couldn't imagine it had come from Evelain's side of the family), getting herself into adventure after adventure. Waltzing into Undermountain with that idiotic little kobold bard, getting involved in a war in the Underdark and then heading into the damned Hells of all places.

And then she'd had to go and fall in love with the tiefling, Raal thought sourly, ensuring she wasn't going to be able to go anywhere without being glared at or spat on or…

Arms came around him from behind him, startling him out of his ranting thoughts. Evelain's lips brushed his ear lightly. "What would you have done, Raal, broken both her legs to ensure she couldn't leave here?" Able to pick up on his thoughts as usual, his ability to keep his thoughts and feelings from his face and eyes, an ability every drow male knew in the Underdark, seemed to have faded over the years. He pressed his lips into a thin line and refused to answer. Evelain tightened her hold on him. "We both knew she needed a wide path open before her, my love. You knew as well as I did that keeping her here like a falcon with its wings clipped would have kept her safe but miserable the rest of her days."

He knew. Raal closed his eyes and his breath came out in a long sigh. And despite his doubts about Valen, he also happened to know what it was like to overcome odds for love. He glanced slightly over his shoulder. "Are the Harpers calling you out on assignment again?"

Now that he saw her eyes, he could see how serious and worried she looked, and his heart sank. She released him and stepped back, letting her fear show clearly now. "No, Raal, it was Holo sending me a message."

It took Raal a moment to place the name, and then it clicked with a face. The gnome cleric who Angeline and Evelain were both fond of. "What did he want?"

Evelain's brief hesitation had him looking at her sharply. She met his gaze and shook her head slowly. "Raal, we have a very serious problem. We have to find Angeline."