Disclaimer: The recognisable characters appearing in this story are © Wizards of the Coast, Inc., all rights reserved. They are used without permission and for entertainment purposes only. No profit is being made by the author for writing this story. No infringement upon nor challenge to the rights of the copyright holders is intended; nor should any be inferred.

A/N: Since it took me so awfully long to write it at all, I'll put this up unedited and replace it later. Hope there are still some people reading... I will end this story. I tell you now. It might take me absurdly long, but I will.

Don't know where your boundaries lie, but I think in this chapter we might have some borderline slash... not explicit at all, rather only the possibility of it.

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First contact

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After they had bathed and rested for a few hours on the uncomfortably narrow, lumpy bed, the inn slowly started to fill with travellers wishing to spend the night here before going on their way across the Stone bridge or elsewhere. These were mostly humans, but Tezan had already spotted the occasional dwarf or gnome and was wary of a lone, ragged looking half elf sitting at a small table in a quiet corner. Dinin had opted to stay in the small and slightly damp smelling room, claiming he needed more rest, which was probably due to the fact that he had barely been able to close an eye while Tezan was in touching distance, but the priest felt the need for some company besides that of the prickly warrior anyway. He had been cautious enough to keep up the hood of his increasingly tattered cloak though. No need to shout out his racial heritage to the world, whether it be real or not.

Hesitant at first he decided to keep watching the crowd before making any other moves, even though the game, which a noisy group of three humans had started two tables to his left, did look quite interesting. It involved dice, money and apparently also a lot of swearing, two of those were things which he could possibly bend to his will without them noticing. After he had watched silently and carefully for an hour Tezan knew the simple rules by heart and was quickly becoming bored enough to test his luck by trying to join them.

In this case, he surmised, a slightly helpless attitude would even be beneficial, which was good, because it was probably the only thing he could currently pull off with any amount of conviction. The opportunity came when one of the men stood up to get more of the same foamy, yellowish and obviously alcoholic beverage he and his friends had already been consuming steadily all evening. From there it was just a simple matter of joining him at the bar, professing a casual amount of interest in this very new and unknown game and flash a bit of his money to awaken enough greed to be invited for a "beginners round".

Really, thought Tezan, his wide grin hidden behind an artfully crafted mask of innocent concentration as he listened to the rules he had already figured out, greedy idiots are just the same everywhere you go, whether they have black skin or this awful shade of dirty pink.

It was of course quite a bit riskier to cheat a habitually paranoid dark elf than a half drunk human, as he discovered during the next hour. The hardest thing for him was probably the conversation, which was so shallow that he, more used to the subtle double meanings and word play the Drow liked to indulge in, suspected to have missed something crucial more than once, only to discover shortly afterwards that indeed there was nothing more behind the words than the initial, very straightforward meaning. Normally Tezan would rapidly have grown even more bored in such undemanding company, but the remaining danger of discovery added a fine edge of excitement to his little venture into the simple world of human dice games.

He took care not to win too often and it all went so well until there sounded an accusing voice from the next table.

"You stupid morons can't you see that the bleeding elf is fucking cheating?"

Maybe he had grown a bit too complacent during the last hour. With this rather open accusation Tezan found himself facing three suddenly very much distrustful faces. The stocky, bearded human from the other table, who had spoken the damning words also glared at him drunkenly. He was wearing a stained robe, which indicated that he was some kind of spell caster. A good clue as to why he had been able to detect Tezan's little piece of trickery.

"I don't know what he means." The Drow claimed with wide green eyes, faking complete surprise. "Honestly, as if I would ever engage in such loathsome deceit! The mere idea!" He continued, working himself into a show of rightful anger, while looking for the best escape route to take in case things became ugly.

"You are questioning my honour!"

He glared aggressively at the robed man, hoping to scare him off, but the other merely glared back in drunken stubbornness.

"You are questo... questioning my ability!"

"You are under the influence of far too much alcohol. Of course I question your ability."

The priest tried to put as much unconcerned arrogance in his words as possible to make the accusations sound as ridiculous as possible. His three victims were still looking a bit undecided about whom to believe, but during the night he had found out about a sure way to placate them.

"You seem unsettled," the Drow addressed them cheerily "How about I get you another round?"

The promise of more drinks seemed to settle most of their concerns and before anybody could raise a protest Tezan had gone, sweeping his winnings into a wide sleeve as he stood, while casting a quick illusion to make it seem as if he had left all coin on the table, ready to be won back in the next game. He did in fact order an harassed looking maid to bring some more of this terrible drink called beer to their table, but had no intention of going back. Instead he moved on and had just spotted a nice dark corner when a soft musical voice, filled with quiet amusement, reached his ears from behind.

"You did cheat. And Erevan knows, you became terribly sloppy near the end."

The first thing he saw upon turning was the cowl of a deep green cloak. But it was immediately drawn back to reveal something even more horrible. A curly mass of hazel hair framing a delicate face with bronzed skin of a slightly reddish hue. Out of this face to very sharp and slanted grey eyes looked at him. A wood elf.

For a second Tezan had to fight hard against a sudden urge to run very fast. His next instinct was to attack, but that was repressed just as quickly. Trying to contain the bubble of hysteria welling up in his stomach he grinned with all audacity he could muster on such short notice and said: "Well they were boring and boring company tends to dull the mind, don't you think?"

The pearly laughter which followed his statement did much to alleviate his initial concerns. He was worried though by the name she had tossed out so casually. Erevan Ilesere, the unseen trickster, an elven deity that despised Vhaeraun with passion. He'd have to tread carefully here. Very carefully. Was she alone or with others? He was unsure if he could get away with killing her in this rather public place, so it was probably his best bet to try and play along as well as he could manage under the circumstances and seize the first chance to disappear quietly.

"I'm Daleenis," she introduced herself. "How about you get us some drinks then and in turn I'll show you a better technique?"

She was smiling and obviously flirting with him! The distinct beginnings of pure, icy horror crept down Tezan's back. Having grown up in Menzoberranzan, where women reigned supreme, the cleric was not accustomed to outright deny any female in such a situation, no matter how much he might despise them. Only someone with a serious deathwish would have dared to do that and even though this was no priestess, the conditioning of long years in his hometown still held true. He was aware that he was walking headlong into danger, but at the same time the almost instinctual superficial obedience towards women took over and he found himself nodding before he could think better of it, wishing in the same moment that he could just run away or throw some kind of bloody curse at her.

That kind of behaviour is what I am supposed to have left behind now, the Drow chided himself as he made his way towards the bar, finally pulling himself together. Although angry at having been drawn into this so easily he resolved to make the best of it and simply turn the other Elf into a tool of practise. One day he'd have to be able to play his current role to perfection and now there was a chance to try things without too much danger and learn from her responses. If she found out about his heritage, he could always try to kill her discreetly afterwards. With two glasses of dark red wine he returned to the table where she had settled herself and forced out a charming smile. This would be so exhausting!

To his amazement she didn't even wait until he had drunk himself before briefly raising and then taking a first tentative sip from one of the two glasses he had placed in the middle of their little table, indicating free pick for either of them, as was customary in his hometown to show that no poisoning was intended.

To Tezan her initiative was an unexpected show of trust. Maybe this would not be so bad after all, he mused. With such an unconcerned attitude in his new acquaintance he felt a bit more positive that he would be able to slip around or talk his way out of any difficulties that might arise. At least until he perceived the other young elf coming towards them with a stance clearly indicating that he knew the woman on the other side of the table.

The boys hair was a bit lighter in colour, but when he drew nearer Tezan could see that his eyes were of the same bright grey as Daleenis'. His happy grin filled them with a compelling sparkle that was totally alien to anything the priest had ever seen in a Drow that age. He had to work very hard to avoid licking his lips at the sight, but couldn't totally suppress a slight twitch of his fingers, which he fervently hoped went unnoticed by his current company.

"Ah my brother ," Daleenis announced helpfully just as Tezan wrested his gaze back to her. So that boy was obviously going to come over and try his patience it seemed. If he had to put up with that walking temptation he had better start working on his self control right now. He could imagine far too well how those captivating eyes might look when glazed with need or pain. Not a picture which was inclined to improve his concentration in any way.

"I see," he said carefully, trying to put all distracting thoughts aside for the moment and drown his sudden urges in a show of politeness. "The resemblance is quite stunning."

She smiled, obviously deciding to take that as a compliment of sorts.

"It is his first trip to a big city, so everything still has the air of adventure and excitement for him."

"A big city?" Tezan inquired innocently.

"Waterdeep. We've got relatives there."

That news had the Drow cursing internally even while he nodded with feigned interest. Of course they just had to be travelling in the same direction. Well that made matters a bit more delicate. It also meant that he'd have to get away from them as fast as it was possible without arousing suspicion. There was no margin for stupid mistakes any longer.

"I've heard it said that the city is quite impressive," he said, hoping to extract a bit of general information that could later be of use to them, so that this evening would not turn out to be totally wasted. Daleenis looked surprised though.

"You haven't been there?"

"Not yet," he smiled brightly, wondering why that would seem to unusual "but with you two there to show me around I might consider a quick visit sometime soon. Will you be staying for long?"

She shook her head with a sigh of slight regret.

"No not me, but Jiqael, my brother, will. He is to be trained in the art of healing for a few years. Our relatives are working at a hospital in Waterdeep and agreed to help tutor him."

While she was speaking said brother had finally managed to push his way though the crowd and arrive at their table.

"Are you picking up mysterious strangers again Dal?" He asked grinning mischievously, which evoked some tempting thoughts in Tezan and caused a small surge of arousal that was rather inconvenient at the moment. That boy way just too fascinating for his own good. He tried thinking hard about Dinin and his sour faced revulsion at the mere idea of bedding a male, but it wasn't much help. At least he wasn't the only one with issues here, because Daleenis blushed at her brother's statement and mumbled something which sounded suspiciously like "cheeky little pest", before trying to cover up her embarrassment by saying sternly: "Sit down Jiqael and be nice to..."

Here she gave the priest a helpless look realizing only now that she had never gotten his name.

"Nalen," he threw in quickly, picking the name of some elven slave he remembered from the baths back at the academy, mainly because that particular individual had had it screamed at himself by the overseer, frequently enough that Tezan could actually remember it without much effort.

"Hello Nalen. How nice to meet you," Jiqael said with a quick look to his sister, which clearly indicated amusement, but also some doubt about his word being actually true.

"Oh the pleasure's all mine." Tezan replied, unable to fully keep a purr out of his voice as he gifted Jiqael with a smile that verged on predatory, startling the boy into a nervous, slightly wide eyed grin. A reaction which made the Drow simultaneously want to slap and congratulate himself. He abruptly turned his attention back to Daleenis. Much safer for everybody involved, he decided. Not trusting himself enough to stay much longer he gave a quick excuse, about having arranged to meet with someone, after some light small talk about Waterdeep's more outstanding features and departed through the front door, relieved to leave the strange situation behind, but also elated at the quality of his acting skills.

Dinin wasn't very happy to find the priest climbing into their room through a small window later on. In fact, being startled from his rest in such a suspicious fashion, he came very near slitting his companion's throat.

"The next time you creep up on me when I'm sleeping I'll really kill you!" The warrior growled, pushing his dagger back into the sheath under the pillow with hard, angry motions. "What have you done anyway that prevented you from using the door like everybody else?" he wanted to know irritably, but Tezan merely shrugged, grinning perfectly unconcerned.

"What!" Dinin pressed, not at all convinced by this show of happy indifference.

"Don't worry. We're not in any trouble. I just played cards with a few humans and got drawn into a conversation about Waterdeep, which I had to end by leaving, after that I naturally couldn't walk back in without looking a bit strange. You see, there's nothing to worry about so stop fretting."

With an indignant look at being accused of fretting Dinin decided to let it go. As long as they were not in any immediate danger he was more or less content to leave the other to his exploration of human behaviour, though how the priest bore it he couldn't really comprehend. Humans were supposed to be such filthy, brutish creatures after all that any more contact with them than was strictly necessary seemed hardly a desirable option.

He tensed up briefly as he felt Tezan slide under the covers next to him, but relaxed a little as the priest did nothing more than curl up to sleep and kept his hands to himself.