Chapter 7

The Mask


They reached the other end of the pass without difficulty. Without monsters, the mountain pass was beautiful. The mountains were not that tall, or steep, so they weren't particularly dangerous on their own. The path that curved and dipped on its way to the shimmering green-gold grasslands below offered plenty of vistas.

As they came out the other side of the mountain pass, a vast plain opened itself to them, bathed in late morning sun. Jarlaxle paused in awe. The ground was flat, covered in waving grass. Jarlaxle felt as though he could see to the end of the world. In the distance he could see a herd of furry, ox-like creatures running across the plain. "This must be the Shaar," he murmured.

They would have to rest in the middle of the day. He could already feel the heat rising.

Entreri nodded. He couldn't understand Jarlaxle's fascination, but he supposed if he'd always lived underground, he might react similarly.

The trade road was clearly marked by the trampled grass and threadbare patches where too many creatures had passed for the grass to regrow. Jarlaxle could tell that Naim and Aazim were affected by the bright open space as well. At the slightest urging their Calishite steeds galloped over the terrain, enjoying themselves. It had probably been a long time since they had this much space to explore.

Jarlaxle found himself laughing at the horses' excitement. At least someone shares my passion for beauty.

Far off in the distance was a cluster of short, broad trees, and the pale strip of road winding into nothing held a caravan so far away that Jarlaxle daydreamed of holding the merchants up on the tip of his finger. He had never experienced such vast, clear distances before.

Entreri's horse was about a stride behind Jarlaxle's, and he suspected the horses were playfully racing. He hunkered down, letting the air whip over him, and enjoyed the gallop. Sometimes letting his horse cut loose like this brought a rush like nothing else.

The horses slowed down after a mile and a half. They'd drained their excess energy and traded off the lead several times. Now they were content. Jarlaxle could once more hope to speak to Artemis and be heard. "You must admit, my friend, that allowing Naim and Aazim to run free brought you some measure of enjoyment."

Entreri gave him a crooked smile. "Horsemenship and horses should never be taken lightly. A good ride with a good horse is usually a pleasure."

Jarlaxle grinned. "Someday we should invest in proper horses instead of merely borrowing a rich client's."

"Indeed." It wasn't something Entreri could say no to.

"After this job, we may have the funds to take care of such creatures," Jarlaxle said. He could imagine all sorts of wonderful things to do with their profit; he easily added in a horse stable and ample room for the horses to run. Anything that made Artemis Entreri happy was a worthwhile investment.

Artemis' casual admission gave Jarlaxle another piece of the assassin's puzzle overall. The man might be opposed to spending time with most people, but Entreri held nothing against animals.

"I should say so," Entreri drawled. They were being paid an obscene amount of gold for the mission.

Jarlaxle's amusement was cut off by a flicker of movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head and saw a battle in progress. It was difficult to gauge the distance, but Jarlaxle thought they were within minutes of the battle's location. A band of adventurers fought large monsters Jarlaxle had never seen before. The monsters appeared to be giant, bipedal insects of some sort.

Entreri followed Jarlaxle's gaze, saw an unfamiliar monster he had no interest in ever fighting, and frowned.

One of the adventurers was a female elf, judging by her spindly appearance and fine clothing. She cried out and launched a glowing blue attack at the insects. The spell appeared to bounce off. The insect in the lead pounced like a mantis on the companion at her right, biting his head off. Her scream cut the air.

Jarlaxle urged Naim into a gallop before he made a conscious decision. They plowed through the tall grass towards the battlefield. But the adventurers would never accept his help, particularly not the female elf who had moved him to intervene.

With one hand tight on the reins, Jarlaxle reached into his hat and pulled out a plain white mask. He fitted it to his face with a frown.

In the blink of an eye, Jarlaxle disappeared, replaced by a gold elf in similar clothes. His cape was dusty blue and he wore a white shirt with an open collar underneath his vest. Long, curly blonde hair streamed out behind him as he and Naim raced to the adventuring party's aid.

"Godsdamnit." Entreri had half a mind to let Jarlaxle been the lone hero. Aazim danced back and forth, tossing his head as Entreri considered his options. Since he had no desire to get his head bitten off, he gave serious thought to staying put. However...

Even as Entreri flicked the reins and urged Aazim back into a gallop, he wasn't sure why he felt compelled to stay with Jarlaxle. Whatever had made him pull Jarlaxle to safety at Crenshinibon's tower was a work again.

Jarlaxle whipped out his wand of goo as soon as he was in range and let out a yell to distract the giant preying mantis creatures.

One of them leapt straight into the air towards him. He fired on it and captured it in an enormous wad of green goo. It plopped to the ground, chittering pitifully. Jarlaxle steered Naim around it and fired again, just as another of the insects moved in on the female elf.

She beat at it with her staff and struck one of its antennae by chance, stunning it long enough for Jarlaxle to capture it in goo.

Unfortunately, his arrival stunned the other two human companions into freezing on the spot.

Jarlaxle hailed daggers on the remaining three mantis monsters, shouting as he did. Many of his daggers rattled off of their exoskeletons, but there were a few lucky hits. One dagger went straight through a mantis' eye, another slicing an arm off, and a third puncturing an abdomen.

"Fight!" the female elf yelled.

That revitalized the group's efforts. The half-blind mantis went down first, and the other two were beaten back to a standstill. Their antennae waved furiously.

Entreri charged right into the fray, swinging Charon's Claw. He decapitated the remaining two mantis monsters on the first pass, not even breaking a sweat. He brought Aazim to a standstill, then turned him around to trot back over to the group.

When he caught sight of Jarlaxle, he unconsciously drew Aazim up short and simply stared.

Jarlaxle grinned at him, relieved that Artemis had seen fit to help. "It seems your sword is a tailor-made bug killer," he drawled. He slipped off of his horse and led Naim over to the female elf.

She stood staring at her dead companion in shock. At his approach, her head snapped up, and some color came back to her pale face. "I wish to thank you for your assistance," she said.

Jarlaxle bowed deeply, sweeping off his hat. "I am only glad my companion and I happened along in time to give assistance."

She struggled with a wince and nodded. Her gaze was drawn back to the dead man. "We are fortunate to be alive."

"Tell me, my dear, what are you doing here?" Jarlaxle asked gently.

She looked at him in surprise. Then her shoulders slumped. "I am so rude. Forgive me. My name is Luirellen."

Jarlaxle bowed again. "Mine is Thurinon."

Thurinon meant 'secret male'. He couldn't resist the joke.

Luirellen gave him a wan smile. "Who is your companion?"

Jarlaxle glanced at Entreri with a smile of amusement and gestured the assassin's way. "This is Artemis."

Entreri watched what he could only surmise was flirting and wondered if Jarlaxle's libido was why they'd been dragged over to help these people. He just stared down at the two elves, unamused. Given that Jarlaxle was currently the most beautiful creature Entreri had laid eyes on, given his sudden disguise, Entreri didn't doubt that sex might actually be forthcoming.

The bearded man with brown hair came over. "Luire, are you alright?"

The elf nodded.

The man looked down at their dead companion. "We'll bury Cory here, I wager."

Jarlaxle detected a Dalelands accent. "Do you wish an escort to the nearest town? My companion and I are traveling to Shaarmid."

"Aye, that would be the nearest town," the bearded man agreed without enthusiasm.

"We work for the outpost," Luirellen said. "Tagdar Outpost." She pointed in its general direction, west.

"We are travelers in this land, coming from the North," Jarlaxle said. "I am afraid I am not familiar with any outposts in this area. My only knowledge is what my map tells me."

"Fear not, gentle Thurinon," Luirellen said softly. "We will return to the outpost. We were on our way there when we were ambushed. Thri-Kreen are impossible to negotiate with. These allied themselves with local brigands, whom we are contracted to clear out. Thri-Kreen ally themselves with the strongest creatures in the area, regardless of alignment."

That made the Thri-Kreen sound like drow. Jarlaxle frowned. "Disgusting creatures."

"Fear not," she repeated. "Thri-Kreen never attack a group of survivors. Though we will never smell it, we have been scent-marked."

"Scent-marked?" Jarlaxle was surprised. "Do you mean to tell me that my companion and I have also been marked?"

Luirellen nodded. "It is fortunate for you. Thri-Kreen will not attack you on your way to Shaarmid."

At least there is a benefit here Artemis can appreciate, Jarlaxle thought.

The bearded man and a young man who could be his son started using their weapons to dig up the ground.

Jarlaxle shook his head. "Allow me, please." He pulled out his earth wand and displaced a neatly grave-sized amount of soil.

The young man had tears in his eyes. "Thank ye, good elf."

Jarlaxle inwardly sighed. Would it be so difficult to give me the same chances if you knew my true appearance? But he knew it would be. Especially with everyone's nerves jangling from a battle.

He simply bowed.

The two men laid their friend to rest and packed dirt in, replacing the grass over the top of the grave. They said some near-silent prayers, Luirellen included.

Aazim danced under Entreri again, sensing his impatience. By this point, he had several clashing emotions which included discomfort at burials. It wasn't anything he understood. He'd buried some of his victims, and he'd dumped others. He himself expected to be either left in open air to rot or to be dumped somewhere. He'd always maintained that it didn't matter because a body was just a container for the person's essence. That attitude could not explain, however, why he hated funerals and burials, avoiding them at all costs.

Jarlaxle exchanged forearm clasps, the gesture of friendship from the north, and bade farewells. He watched them turn their backs on the battle site and continue on their way. Then he sighed and mounted Naim. He looked to Artemis. "Hopefully we have not been too much delayed on our journey."

He nudged Naim back towards the trade road.

Entreri didn't offer a comment. He simply followed Jarlaxle, still a bit off-balance from his sudden change in appearance. He thought it was a wonder that Luirellen hadn't been literally knocked off her feet.

Jarlaxle turned his head and looked at the assassin with a small smile. "No scolding?"

"Scolding?" Entreri snorted. "If you'd gotten your head bitten off, that would have been a lesson, I assume."

Jarlaxle laughed. "Instead, we have been blessed with some mysterious scent marker that will allow us to travel through the Shaar without being bothered by the Thri-Kreen. Is that not fortunate?"

"In a dumb luck kind of way," Entreri muttered. Leave it to Jarlaxle to find the silver lining in every cloud.

Jarlaxle burst out laughing again. "Luck is luck. It is neither clever nor stupid."

Entreri didn't reply. He was too busy scanning Jarlaxle's new appearance. The curly, golden hair was quite complimentary, but he had to wonder why Jarlaxle had chosen curly hair. "Agatha's Mask?"

Jarlaxle smirked. "Did you think I would allow those with no imagination to keep such a useful item?"

Entreri wondered if he were implicated in that statement. Certainly Jarlaxle had said before that he had no imagination. He glanced out over the plains, silent.

"But I forgot," Jarlaxle said lightly. "I was to never mention them again."

He looked at Artemis shrewdly. "You have imagination, khal abbil. Your tactics in a challenging battle have always proven that. My complaints arise from the wish that you would access your imagination more readily outside of battle."

Entreri smirked, nearly retorted without thinking about it, then detected the nature of his thought and cut it off before it could fully form. Two seconds later, he'd managed to repress the entire near-blunder. "Do take off the mask before we enter the village," he said instead. "You're likely to be mobbed." He considered his statement. "Then again, you might be mobbed either way. Never mind."

Jarlaxle raised his eyebrows. "Mobbed? The intention of appearing as a light elf is to avoid the mobbing. What is so objectionable about this appearance?" He stroked his hair with one hand. "I always thought curls to be appealing."

Entreri quirked an eyebrow. "I mean mobbed by women."

Jarlaxle took the mask off and put it in his hat. His appearance immediately reverted to its true form.

Entreri watched him for a moment, realizing that despite the sudden shift, he was still seeing Jarlaxle differently than before. He didn't usually bother to note if people were attractive or not, but the disguise had enabled him to assess Jarlaxle like he would a stranger. And somehow that gave him a perspective he hadn't had before.

A weird perspective. He brushed it away and turned his attention to the road.