Ajax circled in a wide arc high above the valley of the Nether Mountains, gliding on the winds that danced in the sky. The falcon's eyes did not miss much and soon the majestic bird spotted an elven rider picking his way through a wooded trail far to the south. The bird did another circuit of a figure eight as it memorized the rider's location and then broke off toward the rocky slopes of the nearest mountain.
Tris saw Ajax approach and extended her arm, the one that wore a falconer's heavy glove, to offer a perch for the oncoming bird. Ajax slowed his descent by shifting his wings and as he came in on top of her outstretched arm his talons firmly gripped her wrist and he came to a rest folding his wings at his sides.
Tris stroked his breast with the back of her index finger, admiring her feathered friend. She looked into his chestnut colored eyes and emphatically projected her thoughts to him.
"What have you spied for me friend?" she murmured softly knowing that the bird understood her perfectly.
Ajax let out a short squawk, playfully snapping his beak at her finger. Visitor, she felt the bird project, and in her mind's eye she saw the memory of the elven rider picking his way through the wooded trail. She recognized the face and sighed wistfully "I guess there is no place on Toril that would shelter me if the Harpers really needed to find me." She extended her arm out again and let Ajax fly off and do Ajax things. She had a visitor after all, and needed time to prepare a welcome.
She heard his footsteps on the gravel below her campsite some time later that day. He made no effort to mask his approach for he knew she was aware of his presence long before he started his ascent up the mountain. He pushed aside the thick brush that hid the lofty sanctuary away from prying eyes to reveal the campsite.
A shallow cave, serving as shelter, looked out over the valley. Alpine firs flanked the clearing in front of the cave and a jackrabbit was roasting over a small fire out front. The young woman he came here looking for stood by the cliff side with her back towards him, arms folded in front of her, looking out towards the valley below. She wore a fine woodsman's leather armor that complimented her feminine features nicely. A heavy cloak was draped over her shoulders to keep out the chill of the alpine air. Her golden-blond locks, which she kept trimmed shoulder length, were neatly gathered in a braid behind her and held fast by a simple leather strap. He noted too that a full traveling pack was resting by one of the fireside stumps. Her longsword, sheathed in a simple scabbard, and longbow were resting beside it. It was obvious that the woman was ready to leave this sanctuary.
"You are a hard woman to find Tristin Falke." he said as he entered the campsite.
She turned her head to regard him and met his gaze with her icy blue, almost gray, eyes; eyes that masked behind them great wisdom, uncharacteristic of a woman only twenty three winters old. "Yet here you are Leland." she answered with a hint of a mischievous smile forming on her thin lips. She wasn't beautiful but her olive-shaped face was well proportioned; high cheekbones complimented a noble nose that sloped in a straight line. Her deep set eyes were framed by a set of voluminous long lashes and high arching brows. A finely chiseled jaw-line and her stoic look gave her an air of determination. The way she carried herself gave a hint to her noble parentage. He approached her then and she fully turned and closed the distance between them. They clasped their arms in friendship and shared an embrace of companions that have not seen each other in a long while.
She pulled back at arms length and examined him fully again. The elf wore his black hair long, as most elves do, he was shorter than her by a full head. He wore leather armor on his slender form and his well-worn boots have seen much travel. His cloak was held together by a harp-shaped pin, a telltale sign that he was a Harper.
There was a time when Tristin considered joining the ranks of the Harpers and perhaps would have made a fine addition to the organization. That desire greatly diminished following the events in the Anauroch Desert. When the Harpers offered her a seat on their council she respectfully declined, she had decided that for all the good the Harpers had done for the world, in the end they were just delaying the inevitable - all the goodly races of Toril were headed for the same chaotic end as the Netheril Empire. She had read the history books in Drogan's library - riddled with stories of ambitious men falling to their hubris, and had seen the effects of unchecked ambition within the ruins of Undertide. She has had enough of trying to change the world (or was she trying to keep it the same?) and she paid dearly for her efforts four years ago - Master Drogan was gone, and so was Dorna and Xanos. She missed them all, she admitted, even Xanos and his bullheaded arrogance.
She kept in contact with the Harpers nonetheless, occasionally taking on various tracking commissions. The Harpers paid well for her work, the ever practical Dorna would have been proud of her.
After a moment of silent regard Tris motioned to the campfire and the jackrabbit roasting above it. "Will you join me?" she asked.
Leland nodded his thanks and moved to follow her. They sat in silence for a while enjoying the meal, finally Leland grew restless and wanted get to the purpose of his visit. He broke the silence with an innocent query "How's Ajax?"
As if on cue, the bird in question appeared from the western sky, carrying a large field rodent in his talons. He landed on top of the flat boulder that served as the roof of the shallow cave and promptly began dismembering his meal with great skill. Tris smirked at her feathered friend "He's getting fat." She remarked. The bird gave her an indignant look and then resumed picking at his meal. She hated the small talk and wished that the elf would get to the heart of the matter.
"And the kobold?"
Tris noticed the elf's purposeful omission of her friend's name and bristled inwardly. "Deekin and I parted ways in Silverymoon."
Leland's sensitive elven ears picked up on the agitation in her voice at the mention of the kobold. He saw that she was annoyed with him and he immediately realized his error, though she continued speaking and he lost the moment for an apology.
"I haven't seen him since" she continued, "Though I know he followed me shortly after I left. I picked up on it when Ajax started eating bigger game I know he can't hunt on his own." The bird looked at them again at the mention of its own name, realized that the topic wasn't him and brought his attentions back on the dead rodent beneath him.
"It puzzles me why he won't show his face though" she mused, creasing her brow "perhaps he feels I won't accept him for lack of his resolve. He was adamant about staying in the city and learning more of humans and other races when I left, despite the dangers of being a kobold in a human settlement..."
She suddenly realized that the mention of Deekin made her wistfully veer off course and she decided to change the subject and bring the conversation back on its intended track.
"What brings you here Leland?" she asked looking at him. "Surely you're not here to satisfy your own curiosity about my well-being, and that of the company that I keep."
Leland, suddenly his expression grim, nodded. "A mage is missing in Waterdeep - the mad kind, and we have had scarce communication from our agents in the city. You're the only ranger within reach with enough tracking skill to find him."
"Not the only one." she remarked and pointedly looked at him.
He smiled and nodded to concede the point. "I will accompany you, after all two rangers are better than one."
"Tell me about the mage." she prodded.
"Halaster is his name and he has built a massive laboratory complex underneath Waterdeep. Undermountain, it is called." For the next hour or so Leland spent the time to relay what he knew of the mage, his dungeon and the dangers involved in the mission.
When he was done, he helped Tris put out the fire and bury the remains of their dinner. Tris fastened her sword belt across her back and slung her bow over her shoulder. She picked up her pack and they started the descent down the mountain to where Leland left his gelding. They traveled on foot through the woods for a time with the horse burdened with their packs. When they came to a farmstead, not far to the southwest of the mountain forest, the farmer gladly offered Tris one of his horses for he felt greatly indebted to her after she drove a band of ornery trolls off his land the winter prior.
They set out on the western road after that, traveling in the direction of the setting sun, towards the Sword Coast and the city of Waterdeep. They set an easy pace for themselves and counted on arriving at the city gates within ten-day's time. Ajax always flew in the sky in front of them acting as their eyes ahead.
At the start of the tenth day as they were gathering their camp, Tris saw that Ajax flew in a tight pattern above them and his excited keening indicated that he saw something. She called to him and the bird descended to her arm. She linked her mind with his again and asked "What have you seen?" Black smoke, the bird projected, and a picture of the black smoke clouds, barely visible over the western horizon formed in Tris's mind.
"What is it?" Leland asked.
"Black smoke on the horizon" she relayed, "burning buildings?" She looked puzzled.
"We shall know soon enough, come; Waterdeep is a half-day's journey from here."
They mounted their horses and started on the western road again. Soon enough they saw what Ajax saw - stacks of black smoke pooling in dark clouds on the horizon. The coastal wind carried with it the unmistakable smell of burning wood and mortar. When they reached the apex of the last hill before the road descended to the shoreline they knew immediately the source of the smoke. Below them stood the city of Waterdeep, columns of black smoke rose above its protective walls as if the city was besieged by an invisible enemy. The angry glow of raging fires was seen just above the rise of the walls. Tris and Leland looked at each other exchanging looks of concern; they spurned their horses and raced down the hill to the city gates, each of them anxious to find out the source of the great fire.