After the first week of travel, Storunn started to relax. Sabal was thawing a little and becoming more tolerable to be around, even if she was still snappish and cold as ice the moment someone pressed too hard on a boundary. Alystin was the glue that held the three of them together, keeping the peace. The dwarf was impressed by her control over the scarred warrior. The amber-eyed drowess kept her distance from the other members of the caravan, but plenty of people engaged Aly in conversation. She was pretty for a human, the barest hints of elven beauty hidden in her face, and she seemed nice enough despite her true nature. Aly was a drow who knew intimidation was not her strong suit, so she aimed for charm. There was only one other human that they'd seen with the caravan, and he almost immediately gravitated towards Aly. The pair chatted for much of the week and were well on their way to at least a friendly acquaintanceship. Storunn had explained the holy symbol the man carried to his companions: Sune, goddess of love. The lad was certainly amiable, a welcome trait even if an unsettling one here in the Night Beneath.
"So what brings ye down to the depths, priest?" Storunn asked as they sat around a small, enchanted campfire that Aly had summoned up. Sabal was sitting up above and a short distance away on a rock ledge, both to save her eyes and to keep watch.
Camran's vocation had stunned Aly and Sabal. He seemed so...gentle, for a cleric. And he was male, something Alystin had only heard of among the clergy of Eilistraee and Vhaeraun. Even then, she had never actually seen it herself. She just knew that it was possible. It was unsettling. She didn't know how to address him—she was not going to be deferrential to a male—and she certainly didn't know what to expect. She settled for a friendly charm, or at least as friendly as drow got with outlanders. Sabal actually seemed to be handling it better, or at least her rules were more clear-cut: she treated him like she would any male and watched him like a hawk.
"A vision," the priest admitted. He was probably in his early twenties if Storunn had to guess. Camran was a plain young man with friendly hazel eyes and short sandy hair, a neatly trimmed beard showing his age as an adult. He dressed in a plain brown robe and seemed completely without duplicity. It was unnerving to the drow, but to the dwarf it was a breath of fresh air. The boy reminded him a bit of his old friend Galen.
"A vision?" Aly said curiously.
Camran nodded. "I saw a beautiful garden destroyed completely, burned with brimstone and wreathed in foul smoke," he said, looking troubled. "There were horrible creatures running around me and I could hear a woman begging for help. They were fiends, I am sure of it. I think...I hope I am wrong, but I think the woman was Lady Firehair. Sune. Ever since then, I have seen visions of the darkness and the city shrouded in shadow—Menzoberranzan. I recognized it once I laid eyes on it. I was told there would be allies here, but so far I have found none."
"You are fortunate that the drow did not kill you on sight," Alystin said. She offered him a small smile. "But I think we might be able to help each other, Camran. We are hunting devils ourselves, or at least their servants."
His whole aspect brightened. "Truly?" he said, sounding relieved. They were a ways away from the other campfires, so there was little danger of being overheard. "You and your friends seem capable, Aly. Would you permit me to travel with you?"
"We'e be delighted to have you," Aly said before standing up. "I'm going to go check on our silent sentinel."
"Of course," Camran said. He had barely exchanged two words with the hooded woman, but he had been around her enough to get a sense for her manner. Every movement and motion was purposeful and graceful. Every word, no matter how brief and clipped, was clear despite an exotic accent that he had heard before: Menzoberranzan's. He was not certain if she was a former slave, a mercenary, or a drow, but she had spent much time in the city to have acquired their way of speaking. Alystin had it too, but in a much milder way, which suggested that the wizard had been down her a while. A few times he had caught glimpse of narrowed amber eyes beneath the woman's hood. She was watching him, of that he could be certain. Her scrutiny only intensified every time he was around the wizard. He had told Aly once in the week that she was fortunate to have someone watching over her so intently. It made the mage laugh.
"Sabal has always been overprotective," the wizard said with amusement. "She worries so."
Camran watched as their mage approached the figure in armor perched on the rock ledge. "Have they known each other long?" he asked Storunn.
"Aye," the dwarf said. That much he had picked up on. "Since Aly was just a gel, I'd wager. Reckon she's the only one who can talk to Sabal without getting pricked by those thorns."
Camran frowned a little. "I haven't been cruel to her, have I?" he asked.
"Nah," Storunn said with a shake of his head. "Like that with everyone."
At the vantage point, Aly sat down next to Sabal, their shoulders almost touching. Nothing would have made the wilder happier than being able to put an arm around her lover and kiss her forehead. Unfortunately, they had an audience. Instead, the drowess reached out subtly and found the mage's hand, covering it with her own. "I take it you made the offer," Sabal murmured.
"Actually, he asked. Your thoughts on the matter?"
The inquisitor shifted slightly, turning just a touch to regard Alystin. The shrouding around her face was pulled down, revealing her sharp features. "I have felt no malice or deception from him in all the time he has been in my presence," Sabal said reluctantly. She tipped her head back, looking up at the cavern ceiling. "Were he to learn of our true motives, he might turn upon us. Short of that, however, I do not see him attempting to do harm."
"Wonderful," Aly said, moving as if to stand.
She was stopped by a slight tightening of Sabal's grip and an almost sorrowful, "Aly." When the wizard looked over, she could see loneliness etched into Sabal's features. Their separation was not easy on the inquisitor. It might have been less painful if Aly weren't there at all, because then she could harden her heart to the notion of being alone. Here, seeing Aly always just out of reach? It stung. There was no chance that it would ease, either, not when they were headed into what was very much enemy territory.
"I know. We'll be at an inn soon, Sabal. Just one more week to Gracklstugh," Aly said reassuringly. It was easy to forget how strongly the wilder was affected by her own emotions. In all of this uncertainty, of course she wanted to find security in her lover. It was either that or cling to the duties of an inquisitor, which would probably be slightly problematic with their new addition to the group. No wonder the mage's lover had been so prickly since they left Menzoberranzan.
"Of course," Sabal said in an even tone, as if she had never been troubled. She let go of Aly's hand. "Sorry."
The wizard flashed her a quick smile before standing up and returning to the others. The words of their conversation were a bit indistinct by the time the sound reached Sabal, but the tone was easily readable for someone as adept as the inquisitor. The amber-eyed drowess brooded silently up on her perch, eyes narrowed as she hunted for any sign of movement in the darkness. This cavern was a barren one, broken only by the flow of a small stream as it tunneled through the rock in one wall, flowed open through its channel, and vanished into a crack in the wall on the other side. After a long half hour, her intense vigilance was rewarded by a barely perceptible movement. Something was trying to watch the camp, but it had not spotted the drowess where she blended into shadow.
Sabal rose to her feet as quietly as possible and began a slow, circuitous approach to the flash of movement she had seen. She crouched down and moved so quietly that it was almost soundless, the whispering of her armor the only thing that might give her away...provided it could be distinguished from the sound of the rushing water. Minutes dragged by with an agonizing slowness as she crept along the wall. Finally, she could see it with a clear line of view. An imp, a lesser devil. The spindly, small, red-skinned figure crouched on a rock with its horned head ducked low and its leathery wings furled. The stinger looked threatening, but she was confident that she could handle it without a problem. Sabal waited until its attention was focused on the small group by the fire. Then, she sprang.
The creature let out a shrill little shriek—albeit a muffled one—the moment her gauntleted hand seized it by its face, holding its jaw so it couldn't bite. Her other hand seized its stinger by the segment of tail just beneath the bulb. It flailed, claws scratching across armor without doing any actual damage. It struggled fiercely, but ultimately very much in vain.
She might have asked it who sent it if she didn't think the creature would lie through its teeth. So instead of politely conversing, she drove straight into its mind without a second thought. The bitterness and evil rolled off her defenses and she was granted visions even as the creature let out those muffled shrieks and struggled more intensely.
...the smell of pine...a great dome of azure above broken up by wisps of white...fire, smoke, blood, steel...the screaming never ends..."Find them!" in a commanding baritone voice...a giant city on the sea...bright blue, beautiful eyes...a hawkish face with dark eyebrows and an expressive mouth...frustration and anger born of being bound and compelled...
Sabal blinked, coming back to herself. She slammed the imp hard against the rock a few times until it stopped moving, then drew her dagger and plunged it through the creature's head. She dared not interrogate the creature, lest it have time to warn its master. She had a face now. A human man, perhaps not their thief, but certainly someone associated with him. She wrenched her dagger free and rinsed it off in the stream. The spatters of devil blood were easy to wipe off her armor.
"Sabal!" Storunn bellowed from the camp. "It's my watch, lass. Where be ye?"
The inquisitor pulled up the shrouding over her face and sauntered out of the darkness. "Here," she said with a hint of boredom in her tone that she didn't really feel. Her mind was whirring as she tried to process all of those fragmented thoughts. If she saw this dark-haired man, she would know him. Finding him would be the trick. She thought about snapping at Storunn for calling her 'lass', but decided it wasn't worth it. The dwarf was tolerable for the most part, even if he clearly didn't trust her. The feeling was mutual.
Alystin could hear something thoughtful in that tone, but she didn't say anything as Sabal prowled over to her bedroll and started slowly stripping off her armor. The mage wanted to go help her, but that might have prompted questions better left unanswered, particularly since Aly knew her hands had a tendency to wander across Sabal's body every time she helped. "Ye ought to be sleepin'," Storunn said as he walked past Aly. "Yer watch is last, but it's still a watch."
She sighed, but nodded and lay down on her bedroll. It felt altogether too empty. She turned her head to watch Sabal finish taking off her armor. With a careful attentiveness, Sabal checked her armor for any sign of damage or rust despite the fact that there had been no combat through the day. The wizard closed her eyes and tried to focus her thoughts. Her native curiosity arose as she contemplated their situation. What, exactly, had been stolen from Lloth? Why did the Lady of Sacrifice care? Who were these followers of Asmodeus? What was Waterdeep even like? She had a feeling that the surface's civilian denizens would be as dangerous as their foes themselves.
Aly fell asleep in only a few minutes despite the slight chill that settled in her body. Her thoughts could wait until they were on the move again.
She was still asleep when Camran approached Sabal cautiously, not wanting to provoke the woman by startling her. His concern was unfounded. There was no way he could walk quietly enough to surprise the perceptive drowess. "I wanted to speak with you," the priest said softly. He was keeping his voice low so he didn't startle Alystin.
"Speak, then," Sabal said in a neutral tone. It wasn't hostile or irritated, so he'd apparently gotten her at the right time. She seemed more focused on her armor than on him as she carefully oiled the joints so they would continue to make no sound when they bent.
"We seem to have gotten off on the wrong foot. I am sorry if I have given you offense," Camran said, sitting down on an outcropping of stone near her. For the first time, he got a glimpse of her face in the firelight. There was no mistaking that ebony skin: a drow. Camran had only spent a day in Menzoberranzan and never had he been given the opportunity to speak to one of them. He knew them solely by their reputation, which was probably why he flinched. "You are a dark elf!"
Sabal pulled back her hood, revealing her scarred face. White hair fell into the way of one amber eye, but the other was focused on him intently. "Yes," she said. "Will that be a problem, human?"
He shook his head. "No," he said quickly. "I had just thought...well...you are so friendly with Aly and she is a human, so I assumed you might have been of another race. Drow did not strike me as a people inclined to be charitable towards humans."
The inquisitor laughed. "There is no charity to it," she said with amusement. "Alystin is a very capable mage. We have a mutually beneficial relationship."
"Ah," Camran said, relieved that he had not offended the prickly drowess. Her race explained a great deal of her temperament, at least in his mind. Those scars too spoke of a life of combat and conflict. Perhaps she had even raided the surface world. He tried not to think about that. Her gaze was not what he would call friendly, though it was at present amused. "I had hoped that we could be friends, as we are going to be traveling companions."
"Look to the dwarf if you would like a friend," Sabal said bluntly. She rarely extended any amount of trust to any cleric and she certainly wasn't going to put her faith in some rivvil boy who bumbled through the world throwing friendship blindly to everyone he met. "I am not here to be sociable."
Camran was taken aback a little by being so casually rebuffed. Alystin's bodyguard was not nearly as pleasant as her mistress, though she was not being actively nasty. He already considered the human woman to be a friend. Her drow was apparently not so amiable. Perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise, though, considering the aloof nature of the drow. He had never heard them described as being warm. Bloodthirsty, arrogant, cruel, treacherous, and evil were the more usual terms. It surprised him that Aly trusted this one. Perhaps she had saved the drow's life, if the creature even appreciated that much. "We should at least be tolerable to each other if we are going to travel together," he said, trying to repeat the sentiment. He didn't want to be given the cold shoulder if he could avoid it.
"And I am tolerating your presence," Sabal said, her amber eyes studying him fiercely. They reminded him of animal eyes, predatory eyes. It was as much the way they examined him as if hunting for a weakness as it was the color. "I am, for the moment, your ally. Be content with this."
The words that stuck out in Camran's mind were 'for the moment'. His stomach churned uneasily at the knowledge that the drowess considered such a thing so...temporary. Still, he held out hope that he could perhaps change her mind with time. All the same, when he returned to his bedroll, he did not sleep easily.
Gracklstugh was filthy, as far as Sabal was concerned. The air reeked of coal and hot metal as the great infernal forges belched smoke into the cacophonous air, the ringing of hammers and grind of machinery broken up only by the begging and screaming of slaves. Crippled creatures cast to the wayside now begged in the street for survival, but they recieved no coin and no attention from the stone-faced duergar who tromped down avenues encrusted with a layer of grime and soot deposited over the course of centuries. The drowess's lip curled with contempt. She was not hooded here, if only because the duergar were not likely to care. The surface would likely be a different story.
"This is an evil place," Camran murmured. The parts of Menzoberranzan he had seen were better than this, though he felt that way only because he did not know that the population of beggars and homeless was kept down by the drow who hunted them for sport. Nor had he seen the handiwork displayed in the studios of torturers or the remains of sacrifices from the Fane fed to beasts of all varieties...including the humanoid kind.
"Aye," Storunn said. He had a better grasp of Menzoberranzan's true nature, but he wasn't about to bring it up. "Plenty o' 'em down in the real deep."
"The dwarves are not—"
"They're duergar, lad," Storunn said with a shrug. He looked over at Aly as they started through the streets. Sabal was busy keeping an eye out for threats as they moved through streets that were not friendly to them. Humans were potential slaves, shield dwarves were hated foes, and a drow was a danger of the utmost variety, even a non-hostile one. "What's the plan, lass?"
"After we find an inn? I intended to visit the prison. We cannot expect the average duergar to aid us, but a renegade might be more inclined towards the light. Or we could find another outlander. We need someone who is skilled in a more shadowy way: a thief, a rogue," Alystin said. She gave them a small smile. "I am not exactly a dab hand with a lock."
"I am not sure I find this idea particularly wise," Camran said a bit uncomfortably. "Wouldn't the duergar object to us liberating their prisoner?"
"Liberating, certainly," Sabal said from his other side, adjusting her sword when she saw a duergar paying too close of attention. He found something else to look at remarkably quickly. "But the duergar are not averse to selling their captives and criminals alike."
"A slave?" Camran said, swallowing uncomfortably. He wasn't exactly scandalized by Sabal's comment. It sounded like something a drowess would say. The drow were easily as bad as the duergar in that respect, if not worse. He just hadn't thought that Alystin would allow it.
"An ally," Alystin said firmly. She knew that owning a slave would not secure the aid of the creature in any way, shape, or form. Not without a lot of breaking that they really didn't have the time for. She knew she would much rather deal with them on a level playing field, as alien as that was to many drow. Sabal would likely have no objections, considering her own experience with being bound. "I have no intention of keeping them in servitude."
Camran relaxed a little, relieved that his assessment of the wizard's character had not been incorrect. He glanced over at Sabal to gauge her reaction to this information, but she seemed as impassive as ever. It frustrated the priest a little. He was normally good at reading faces, but that scarred, immobile one refused to give any hints of what went on behind those amber eyes. Almost as if she was aware of his scrutiny—and she likely was—Sabal glanced over at him. The drowess seemed in a surprisingly good mood now that they were in a city, though it was barely noticeable.
It took them only a little while to find an inn, a small place called the Red Earth. The walls inside were lined with a reddish-brown clay and the floor was covered in sawdust to keep people from slipping. The light was very dim, but present, so Camran could see somewhat with the aid of a silver ring that granted him only lowlight vision. He had been relying on a conjured light out in the wilds, but Gracklstugh was at least lit somewhat by the great forges. The place smelled like stale ale and smoke, but it was reasonably clean for a wayfarer's inn. It was not to the quality that Aly was accustomed to, but she didn't say anything even though her nose wrinkled slightly at the odor of one of the customers who wafted too close.
The quality of the rooms was a pleasant surprise. They were simple, but they were clean and there was hot water for baths. Camran took the opportunity to trim his beard and emerged again from his room looking neat and civilized. Storunn waited downstairs with Sabal, who had conjured up about five feet of space on all sides among the crowd, just with her mere presence. Once Alystin had deposited her supplies in her room—they would be doubling up, which no one had bothered to raise objection to—she rejoined them. "Shall we?" she said once the group had reassembled.
The only thing grimmer and darker than the city proper was their prison. Storunn followed Alystin and Sabal down dark steps almost an hour later, looking uncomfortably over his shoulder at the duergar guards. Camran seemed just as uncomfortable, staying very close to his conjured light. The duergar weren't happy about the glow, but they had not voiced their displeasure. The grey dwarf leading them was Thangardt Firehand, a wizard of all things. His many rings glimmered in the dimness, catching the light.
"We do have a thief," Thangardt was explaining to Aly. The two of them had chatted about arcane principles most of the way here, seeming almost amiable and certainly polite. "A wretched little halfling we managed to track down after he and his partner stole from Laird Durna. From what I understand, Weltha—our head jailor—had to break his leg to stop him from running. He made quick work of the locks, but not of Weltha. It takes more than a dagger to render a woman of her caliber helpless."
"How unpleasant," Aly said with a frown. "Is it still broken?"
"I would assume so," Thangardt said with a shrug. He opened the last door. "Weltha, I have visitors for you! They're here to buy the halfling."
"Right enough," a coarse voice called up from the bottom of the stairs. "Off with ya, Firehand. I'm sure the laird has other things what need doing. Come on down, the four of ya. Bit pastier than I reckoned, 'cept for the drow."
As he descended, Storunn recieved a murderous glare from a large, bald duergar woman in unpolished armor, a wicked looking scourge looped around her over her belt. It had burrs of metal and pieces of broken glass braided into it along with the typical knots in the leather. This was clearly Weltha. He didn't react, knowing that doing anything would only infuriate her further. Weltha's dark, bird-like eyes flickered over to Sabal. Her scrutiny of the drow made Camran nervous. There was something else to that look. When Weltha turned around, he looked over at Sabal as nonchalantly as he could. Amber eyes met his and then she inclined her head in the tiniest of nods. He wasn't certain what that meant, but he assumed it was a sign that she'd noticed too.
"Lot o' coin comes in this way," Weltha said. "Though wouldn't have pegged ya as slavers. 'Specially not with one o' them shield dwarves." She chuckled a little and shrugged as she looked at Storunn. "Guess ya lot ain't as good as ya think."
Storunn glared back.
Aly didn't seem troubled at all as they rounded the corner and started moving down the rows of cells. Guards were everywhere down here, all of them watching with unconcealed interest as their little group moved through. Some of the brutes were duergar, but a large number were hobgoblins or orcs. They were powerful figures in rough armor whose eyes lingered long on Aly with a sort of lewd attentiveness. If they were similarly oggling Sabal, they were doing so furtively. Clearly they at least respected the reputation of the drow. The drowess seemed disinterested and untroubled by their audience, though her lips had thinned into an expression of annoyance. Camran guessed that their little errand was taking longer than the drow woman had expected.
Weltha unlocked a cell and vanished into it. She dragged out a scruffy-looking halfling with a leg bent at an unnatural angle and dropped him unceremoniously in front of Aly. He appeared quite unconscious. The wizard crouched down and carefully straightened the leg with an unpleasant snapping noise. "Camran, if you would?" Alystin said even though she could heal just fine. She was saving those spells in case something went wrong, which might not be far in the future, judging from Sabal's expression.
The priest knelt down and wove a healing spell over the unconscious halfling. The thief's eyes snapped open immediately and he stared up at Camran with surprise. "A human?" he said in Common, eyes wide in surprise. The halfling looked very close to a human child, his face round with soft cheeks and an unassuming jaw. His hair was dark, complementing green eyes. He certainly didn't look like a dangerous fighter. No wonder he had been captured.
"I am Camran Daley," the priest said with a small smile. "Who might you be?"
"Linnan Leafrunner," he said, easing himself up into a sitting position. "Where's Nendir?"
The priest was puzzled. "Your partner?" he guessed.
"Yep," the halfling said. He squinted at Camran. "Minaithelan Nendir. Pointy ears. Makes him real easy to recognize down here. Not leaving without him." He turned his head to look at the rest of the group and froze, staring at Sabal like a frightened rabbit. "Shit!"
"That's an elvish name," Sabal said darkly.
Alystin sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose between thumb and forefinger. She didn't want to take an elf either, if only because of future problems with Sabal. He would be useful on the surface, though, and if it bought the halfling's loyalty...it was something she could live with, certainly. "Where's the elf?" she asked Weltha. "We'll pay you for him as well."
"We've already got a buyer for him lined up," the duergar said, leaning against a wall and crossing her ankles as she tucked her thumbs behind her thick rothé-hide belt. "Five hundred gold. Ya got better than that?"
"I do," Aly said with a faint smile.
Weltha chuckled. "Grand," she said, waving them deeper into the dungeon. "Mind, he's a bit of a mess. Got into a scrap with some of the guards. Beat him down good."
Aly heard her lover murmur an indistinct approval and shot a hard look back over her shoulder at an unrepentant Sabal. The wilder just shrugged.
The moment Weltha opened up that door and dragged out a limp body, Aly winced. She could barely tell that his skin was fair, he had so many dark bruises. His face was a bloody, swollen mess and his torso had been shredded by lashes like the one Weltha carried. It was not a pretty picture. Camran looked like he was going to be sick and Linnan wasn't much better.
"Now what to do about ya," Weltha said, rounding on the group. That was the moment where Aly realized there were suddenly far more guards than she'd been expecting. "Got some enemies that'd pay real well to have that pretty head, A'Daragon."
"And you intend to collect it?" Sabal said with a sudden grin. Weltha was making her day.
A sick wave of dread crashed over the other members of her group.
"Nah, just stop ya," Weltha said. "Laird don't know ya came, A'Daragon. She won't have ta explain nothin' to ya'r folks. Give up easy, and nobody else gets hurt. Wouldn't want these friends of ya getting all roughed up. 'Specially not the girl. Boys like ta play."
It was a phrase Weltha would regret uttering, but not for long. Sabal's sword came out of its scabbard so fast that the blade hissed through the air, the draw turning into a vicious cut that rendered one of the female duergar's arms unusable as Weltha threw it up to block. The blade cracked down on the forearm, snapping both bones and opening up a bloody laceration like a yawning crimson mouth. Before Weltha could bark an order, the drowess's sword pierced her throat.
There was a yowl that rose up from the guards. Immediately, the assembled gangs of goblinoids and duergar started to advance on the group. "Storunn, grab the elf," Aly ordered.
"Can't fight with me hands full, lass," the dwarf groused even as he hauled up their bloody wreck of an elf.
Linnan grabbed a long, wicked looking knife from Weltha's belt and darted off ahead. He was at the perfect height to cripple the powerful orcs and hobgoblins by slashing at their knees. "This way!" he shouted, heading for the exit.
Storunn had expected to be the bull-rusher, not the one carrying their downed elf. Drow were not known as frontline fighters. Perhaps that was why he was so surprised to see Sabal stepping up and clashing blades. She caught an orc's swing from high and lashed out with a front snap kick that hit him in the groin like she was trying to kick past him. He staggered back, only to have her drive her sword through his chest. The next one coming from the side was hit with a vicious elbow and then a powerful cut. The drowess was smiling...sort of. Her teeth were bared in a wicked grin that made the shield dwarf shudder on the inside. That was the face of someone enjoying mayhem.
"Eyes!" Aly shouted, giving her companions less than half a second to close their eyes before she let loose with a powerful bolt of chain lightning that arced between their foes, leaping from armored body to armored body and narrowly missing Sabal. The smell of ozone and burning hair filled their senses. The combination of the two made the guards hesitate, which was enough to let the small group run out for the streets.
"When I find Firehand..." Sabal growled out as they passed the last threshold. Her delight faded the moment they were out of combat.
"I doubt he knew what Weltha intended," Aly said, attempting to calm her lover just a touch. She knew the idea of the guards laying hands on her would still be bothering Sabal. "Thangardt is many things, but stupid he is not. He would have remained behind and lobbed fireballs at you if he were part of it."
Sabal made a noise of displeasure, but dropped the matter. She knew there would be no point in chasing Thangardt. Aly had a good point and the real reason for her ire was a lack of things to vent on. This whole adventure had her disoriented and that made for a very unhappy drowess.
"Will they send more people after us?" Camran asked nervously. "We did kill an officer of the law. And you didn't pay them for the elf."
"Not out in plain sight," Aly said. "We should be careful and stick together, but they know better than to attack a drow where representatives from Menzoberranzan might hear. They need trade with the City of Spiders a lot more than they need Sabal dead. I doubt Durna will be angry once she investigates the matter. We may have to answer questions, of course."
"He needs extensive healing," Camran said, looking over at the elf. "I'm not very experienced with herbs in the Underdark. Is there anything you know, Aly?"
"I can help," she assured him with a small smile. "I've been down here long enough to know a great deal about the local flora and fauna."
"She's a good healer," Sabal said as they approached the inn. People looked over at them as they passed through the streets with a limping halfling and a badly beaten man, but not for long.
Camran smiled widely. "Then I would be delighted to learn. Do you have everything you need?"
Aly studied the elf's wounds as best she could with Storunn carrying him. "I should," she said with confidence. She had become much more sure of herself over the past few decades, particularly in regards to her healing abilities. Sabal's encouragement had gone a long way, helped along by Nedelyne's praise. "Linnan, what did you say his name was?"
"Minaithelan Nendir," the halfling said as he followed behind Sabal. "I usually call him Nendir. You folks can sure handle yourselves in a fight."
"That was not a fight," Sabal said with just a hint of amusement. "That was exercise."
Storunn laughed. "Now I remember why I like ye," the dwarf said. Camran opened the door for the group, who immediately headed up to the rooms. "Where do ye want to put the elf?"
"Our room," Aly said, noting the irritation that flashed across Sabal's face. Their time alone was going to be ruined, but that was just the way of things. "I need to be able to keep an eye on him through the night. Camran, if you want to help?"
"Of course," the young man said with enthusiasm.
"Does this mean I'm sleepin' with the drow?" Storunn asked a little uneasily.
"Near," Sabal said flatly, massaging her temples as the headache that had started when Aly was threatened continued to rage. "Not with. You're not my type, dwarf."
Aly smothered a laugh with one hand even though she knew Sabal was in a mood. The tightness in her jaw and the narrowing of her eyes gave that much away. Still, she had an eager pupil to instruct and a patient to see to. That would keep her busy for the night. "Come on," she said to Camran after Storunn had passed the elf off to him. "Nendir will be fine with us, Linnan. Why don't you get acquainted with Sabal and Storunn?"
Linnan gave the drowess a cautious look. She didn't exactly appear thrilled with the idea either, but she shrugged. "I'll buy," the amber-eyed drowess said.
It was at that moment that Linnan decided he could learn to like her after all. It wasn't hard to make him happy and it was the first bit of generosity he'd seen in the Underdark, no matter how small. "So what's the story with the humans?" he asked as she sat down at a table near the wall and ordered them drinks.
"I've known Aly for a while," Sabal said, knowing it was time to be vague. She didn't lie often or well, but she did know how to leave important details out when she needed to. Omission was so much easier than fabrication. "She and I are partners. Storunn is a new acquaintance and Camran even newer than him."
"Bit of an odd group," Linnan said, beaming at the barmaid who brought them their drinks even though she was a half orc with a face like a fist. She smiled back, showing off yellowed tusks. "What brings you all together?"
"We're hunting devils," Sabal said. "A task which I believe you've just been enlisted to aid in."
"If your friends manage to save Nendir, I'll armwrestle a dragon for you," Linnan said honestly. "Nendir's my best mate. Has been since I was a little tyke. He's out proving himself, and I figured I'd better follow."
"He must be young for an elf, then," Sabal said. She was well aware that surface elves matured much more slowly and generally lived for much longer than their drow cousins, though that was more of a factor of lifestyle than superior blood on either side. Drow had to grow much more quickly and their lives were often shortened prematurely. Yvonnel Baenre was proof that drow could live just as long as any surface elf if cunning and lucky enough. Halflings could live a fair while—not long in the eyes of an elf, of course—but Linnan didn't look very old.
"Yeah, a bit," Linnan admitted. "About a century."
"What brought you into the depths?" Sabal asked, curious despite herself now. It was strange to hear of an elf so young—just barely an adult for his kind—making his way in the Underdark. She doubted he was an avenger of Shevarash or anything of that nature.
The halfling smiled wryly. "Run of bad luck. Law was chasing us through the woods, bounty hunters. We were running, and this sinkhole opened up in front of us. Weren't a far fall, but it looked like it was. Instead of climbing out, Nendir decided to follow the tunnel so they would have a hell of a time finding us. Got us lost something terrible—some ranger he is—and now we're here."
"Consider yerself lucky now," Storunn said after a healthy swig of his ale. "Got some new friends, a fixed leg, and Nendir's in good hands."
Upstairs, Camran sat next to Aly and watched as she turned mashed mushroom into a poultice that she applied to the elf's damaged face. "So what's your story, Aly?" the priest asked as he turned his eyes back to his task, which was cutting bandages from his supply of linen.
"Hmm?" the wizard hummed.
"You're a human in the depths, and you've got a drow bodyguard. I can't say that of...anyone else I've ever met," Camran said. He looked over to see a pensive look on her face, as if she was deep in memory.
In reality, Aly was busy constructing her story. She needed to keep it close to the truth. A bit of vagueness never hurt. "Let's see...I've been in Menzoberranzan as long as I can remember. My family was there. Dead and gone now, but I don't really miss them. I never knew them very well," Alystin said as she worked. Whatever she was doing took quick effect, considering Camran could see some of the swelling starting to go down around his puffy cuts that had been an angry red.
"Were you a slave?" Camran asked quietly. He knew that was probably the only way the drow would have kept a human around, but he hadn't seen any marks of a lash. More disturbing talks with some of the caravan guards had informed him that there were certain slaves that the drow kept undamaged whenever possible, and they were not the kind used for harsh labor. Comfort slaves, he'd heard them called, playthings for their drow masters when the mood took them. He wasn't certain if it was true or not, but he hated to think of such a terrible thing happening to a woman who seemed so thoughtful and pleasant.
Alystin reflected on the ugliness that had been her childhood for a moment. "Of a sort," she said with a sigh. "My prison was not barred, but it was a prison nonetheless. My arcane inclinations set me apart too, despite the best efforts of House Kenafin's noble daughters to beat it out of me. I met Sabal when I was young, studying as a wizard. She has been very good to me. I know it's hard to see it with her attitude."
"How did you free yourself?" Camran asked.
"When House Kenafin was wiped out, Sabal secured me a position with another house. This time, I served willingly and without the invisible chains that Kenafin had placed on me. And that's the story. It was more exciting than it sounds, yes, but I prefer the boring and simple version," she said, turning her attention to unconscious elf's broken ribs. She started murmuring soft incantations as she wove her hands through the air over his side. Camran heard a series of quiet cracks as the ribs snapped back into place. He was impressed. He'd never heard of wizards healing before.
There was a nagging question on his mind, though, and he saw this as a good opportunity to ask. "Why did Sabal help you? She doesn't seem like a terribly selfless person."
Aly laughed. "She might surprise you, Camran. She's sacrificed a great deal over the course of her life. Not always by choice, but she operates under the assumption that there are things in the world much larger and more worthwhile than her own happiness or survival," the wizard said. Her face softened slightly as she thought about her lover. She couldn't explain what it was that made Sabal care for her as much as she did. Aly had never considered herself particularly special or attractive or powerful. And yet, there the inquisitor was, saying things like, you'll always have me. Even when it was foolish and difficult, she stayed. "I don't know why she helped me. I like to think it's because she sees something in me that's worth saving. I've repaid the favor many times over, but we never split off to go our separate ways. I'm glad we haven't. It's rare to find anyone as loyal and protective as Sabal in the Underdark, particularly among the drow. Better to hold on to such people tightly."
"That's surprisingly sweet," Camran said with a smile.
"Yes, well, better keep that between the two of us, yes? The last thing I need is her growling at me because I hinted that she might not always be a bitch," the wizard said with amusement.
"Do you know much about Sabal?" the priest of Sune asked as he handed over his freshly made bandages. Aly applied a dark green salve to them and started binding up the wounds to the elf's arms.
"Not as much as I'd like to," she said. Now she was going to have to start lying. If Sabal's calling was revealed, they would have a lot of explaining to do and probably a fight. Better not to let the boy know that he was working alongside an agent of Lloth. "Sabal is very...closed off. I know that she came from nothing. No house, no family, no friends. She was rescued by a woman who taught her everything she knows. I think she tries to follow that example when she can. Anyway, now she's with me, doing her best to ensure that I live to a ripe old age and killing anything that tries to prevent that. We make a good team. She carves things apart and soaks up damage, I heal her and blow things up."
"Hopefully we'll all make a good team," Camran said warmly.
"I think we're off to a surprisingly good start. Here's hoping it will last when this one wakes up," Aly said, looking down at the elf thoughtfully.
