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Chapter Nine:

Pain

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It was mid morning and there was a strange fog about the forest floor, creating a hazy and somewhat eerie atmosphere around the trio as they strode through the thick brush. They were led by a ghostly figure, an apparition in the form of a male drow who went by the name of Gulaonar. Behind them, a small, furry creature followed along, trying to keep in stride with the female drow among them.

The living triad was quiet, their attentions focused either on their surroundings or their thoughts. They had been mostly silent all morning; well, except the halfling, who'd awoken in a slightly more perky mood than usual, due to all the sleep he'd gotten the night before. They had all gotten a good rest, but it seemed the only one it had a positive effect on was Quin. He'd been whistling the tune of The Sun Comes Up Again since he'd awoken and had yet to quit despite the fact that he'd whistled it twenty times, much to the annoyance of his companions. There was nothing worse than getting a song stuck in your head, especially a song you didn't care for.

Jaelyn was still in a quieter mood than usual, lost in her own private world. Even Bishop was caught in some kind of inner dimension, though he was slightly more aware of the outside world while inside the gray walls of his mind. The drow seemed consumed by her own. He kept risking glances at her to find her staring at the ground, unblinking. She was far from reality. If he wanted to, he could put a dagger between her shoulder blades and she probably wouldn't even realize it until it was too late.

He shook his head in exasperation; he'd warned her about not paying attention to her surroundings, but it seemed like she wasn't one for listening to other people's advice. Whatever, it was her problem.

Apparently, the ranger should've been heeding his own advice; he was not as aware of his surroundings as he'd first thought.

He'd walked under the branch of a nearby tree and something dropped down from the branches right in front of him. That something turned out to be a mischievously smirking drow, wielding a knife.

Despite his uncanny reflexes, Bishop couldn't recover from his startlement in time.

The dagger in the upside down drow's hand sank home, embedding itself just below and slightly to the right of the ranger's left shoulder, a bit too close to his heart for comfort.

Bishop tried his best to ignore the white hot pain. He backed up and drew his sword in retaliation. He didn't get a chance to use it, for an arrow whizzed by within an inch of his face (he'd actually felt the wind of its passage) and struck the hanging drow right between the eyes. The drow died with a surprised look on his face and his body hung limply from the tree, refusing gravity. Bishop craned his head to see that the drow's legs and feet were hooked around sturdy limbs to keep him upside down, and now that his legs were no longer operational, the tree limbs had taken over the job of keeping him in that position.

Meanwhile, at the same time one drow was attacking the ranger, another in a tree on the opposite side of the group where Quin was standing took advantage of the distraction and dropped down, grabbing the halfling underneath his arms and hauling him up into the tree. Quin was able to get off a yelp before he disappeared among the leaves and branches.

Jaelyn spun and aimed her bow, an arrow already nocked in record time. Her sharp eyes scanned the foliage and though much of the tree was moving about, Jaelyn couldn't see who was causing it.

"You bastard!" Gulaonar yelled from somewhere at her right, and then his ghostly form began to grow dark and sinister.

The kidnapping drow, keeping a firm hold of the halfling, slipped out of the tree, and landed agilely on his feet before taking off into the forest, a hail of arrows, one shot directly right after the other, following after him, thunking into numerous tree trunks. Woody groans followed each arrow that struck into bark and limbs flailed angrily. Jaelyn wondered briefly why the damn plants didn't attack the drow that had been hiding among their foliage. Apparently, they were of a neutral alignment; as long as you didn't attack them, they didn't mind you.

Feral, with a surprisingly intimidating growl, darted off after the drow. Jaelyn wasted no time in throwing down her bow and rushing off after them as well. Gulaonar's form wavered in the midst of his transformation into shadow and then faded back to his ghostly shape. It seemed his transformation had failed. He stood there, staring in the direction Jaelyn and Feral had run off to and slowly shook his head.

"She won't catch him."

"Probably not." the ranger remarked, pressing a hand to his wound with a hiss of pain. "You might have caught him."

Gulaonar shook his head again as he looked down at himself. "No, not in my condition. I haven't the strength yet to change forms. It takes a lot out of me and I haven't yet recovered from the last time."

He sighed and it was accompanied by a sound that reminded the ranger of wind blowing through a window that hasn't been shut all the way. "I should have expected an ambush by them. There is another way into their stronghold, the ruined temple they have called home. It's around here somewhere, but I have never been able to locate it and I'm sure it's probably protected against the likes of me. That's likely where they came from and that's where the one who kidnapped your friend will be returning."

"He's not my friend." Bishop replied callously as he grabbed the hilt sticking out of his shoulder and gave it a yank, releasing a grunt of pain when the blade came out.

"Your wound?" the ghost inquired, watching him.

The blade hadn't gone too deep, only a few inches but the wound was bleeding kind of heavy and most likely it was going to need to be sutured.

"I've had worse."

Bishop held the blade up and studied it. There was some kind of gooey-looking blue stuff near the point, mixed in with his own blood. He didn't much care for the sight of it, feeling a little twinge of panic in his gut as he realized what it might be. When he reached an experimental finger toward it, Gulaonar confirmed it.

"Don't touch it." he warned, urgently, drawing the ranger's gaze. "That substance...I know it."

"It better not be what I think it is."

Their gazes met. Gulaonar nodded regretfully, much to the ranger's irritation.

"Poison."

"Well, that's just fucking great." Bishop grumbled angrily. He had the worst luck in the world. Sometimes he seriously wondered if there truly were gods and if they were all just out to get him. Surely, he hadn't made such a terrible impact on them that they'd devote their precious time to torture him in cruel and unusual ways. There had to be people out there worse than him. If the gods were real, he wished those bastards up there would just leave him alone every once in a while.

"Right," he went on in a bitter tone. "So what kind of poison is it? Fatal?"

"Luckily for you, no." Gulaonar replied. "Um...not as such, I mean. As long as you're conscious and have a high pain threshold, you'll be fine. Er...that is, you won't die. Although, some have been known to die from the pain."

"Oh, good. I thought it was going to be something bad."

"However," the ghost continued, ignoring the ranger's blatant sarcasm and then paused, nervously. Ghosts usually weren't nervous about much, mostly because there was nothing that could really harm them, but something about this man's quickness to anger unsettled him. It probably had a lot to do with the fact that the man was unpredictable and a bit mentally unstable, therefore, there was no telling when he could snap. That made for a very dangerous person, and there were the lives of Jaelyn and Quin to consider.

Bishop scowled at him and inwardly cursed the gods.

"Out with it already."

"The poison is a drow specialty." Gulaonar explained. "It was created purposely as a form of torture, mostly used to make someone give up information or sometimes to send a message to someone. It never failed to get results. I've seen it used many times, and I've been victim to it as well. It feels as if acid is running through every vein, as if thousands of burning knives are being thrust under your skin. It starts out as an unpleasant tingle at first, but gradually it grows worse. There are moments when the pain subsides, only for it to start again, ten times more painful than the last round. You convulse violently under the torture simply because your body can't help it. I've seen victims bludgeon themselves to death under their own agonized throes. The onset usually occurs within ten minutes from the moment you were inflicted with it."

The ranger looked positively murderous.

"Tell me there's a godsdamned cure for this."

"Actually, there is-"

"Good, then-"

"Unfortunately," Gulaonar cut in firmly. "It's at the drow's stronghold."

"Now that figures."

"And I'm afraid we cannot create a cure, either. It's made from ingredients found only in the Underdark. However, there is a plus side."

"Is there?" Bishop snapped. "I don't see a plus side within a hundred mile radius of this situation, but, by all means, continue."

"The poison is not permanent and it will cause no damage to your body. And...it'll only last two hours."

"Oh, good. Only two hours." Bishop replied caustically. "And I'll probably only wish I was dead within one hour."

The ghost shrugged. "I would travel to the temple and retrieve the cure, but the drow have put up some kind of device that I cannot bypass, some kind of orbs that repel me. It wouldn't matter, anyway. By the time I'd return, the poison would have left your system."

Bishop gave the ghost a look that was by far the most unpleasant thing Gulaonar had ever seen, and he came from the Underdark, so that was saying a lot.

"There's going to be a lot of dead drow around here after this." the ranger growled furiously. "They're going to wish they'd never left the Underdark."

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Back in the depths of the forest, Jaelyn and Feral chased the fleeing drow, who held Quin over his shoulder. The halfling was unconscious, had been clubbed over the head by his drow kidnapper so he'd quit squirming in the drow's grip. Once he'd almost gotten free, and it was then that the drow clonked him.

Jaelyn had outrun Feral, so she was in front, while the cat-bear struggled to keep pace behind her. She was gaining on the drow, she realized, and so she pushed herself harder, willed her legs to move faster.

They flew across the forest floor at a speed that should've been impossible. If anyone had been watching this from a distance, they might have seen two blurs and one tiny blur go past, and if they'd blinked, they would've missed it. They wouldn't have even been able to tell what they were, anyway.

Jaelyn's lungs were burning, her chest was tight, her legs were beginning to feel like lead, and there was a most painful stitch in her side below her ribs, but she wasn't giving up; she couldn't give up. This was her friend being kidnapped, her best friend, the only one she'd ever had in life, besides Elegy, who didn't really count because he was family.

Angry, Jaelyn swallowed a gulp of air and exhaled in a yell "Let him go, you son of a bitch!"

The drow treated her to an amused laugh and a vulgar suggestion spoken in their language, which only proved to fuel her momentum...and her anger.

It didn't matter.

She followed him for a few moments longer and then the drow shouted a command in their language to seemingly no one in particular, or at least no one that Jaelyn could see, and then suddenly her feet struck something (or technically, this something struck her feet) and she went down. She landed in a side roll, tumbling through the brush, getting side-swiped by branches in numerous exposed places on her person as she went.

When she finally came to a halt, her face and arms were covered in small scratches and she had the misfortune of landing on a conveniently placed rock, which had done a fine job of prodding itself into her ribs and knocking her breath out for a second.

Jaelyn lay there for a moment, wincing and gasping for air. Tears stung her eyes, but they were not tears of pain.

She had failed her friend. The drow had gotten away with Quin. Her Quin...

Feral came sliding to a stop near her and nudged her urgently with one paw, giving a small whine that translated to Come on, he's getting away, damn it!.

Jaelyn moved to get up, but a bolt whooshed by, actually nicking her cheek before it embedded itself in a nearby tree. As an adept archer herself, she knew that particular move for what it was. The ol' Trick shot, made for the sole purpose of sending a message to an enemy; either that or it was a narrowly missed shot, but Jaelyn was betting on the Trick shot.

She wasn't worried about the message at the moment. The bolt had hit a tree, so she had to throw herself back down again when a branch swung down at her. She then rolled away, scrambled to her feet, and then rushed behind a nearby tree trunk (she made sure it wasn't the same one that had just tried to branch her) and then cautiously peered around it just in time to see a dark, thin shape move against the trees some fifty yards away, stirring up the ground fog. It didn't get far. She watched it move into position and then a small furry shape shot out of the fog and attached itself to the dark shape. The attack was aptly followed by a scream of surprise, horror and pain.

Jaelyn didn't need to be told what was happening. She'd seen that particular attack maneuver before and didn't care to see its end results.

She turned away just in time to avoid seeing the rain of blood and guts, and the body parts that went flying in eight different directions.

Feral may have been a small creature, but he had the bear strength to rip arms out of sockets.

While the cat-bear went about munching on the former drow's intestines, Jaelyn removed herself from behind the tree trunk and began searching the ground for the tracks of the drow that got away with Quin. If she could follow them, then she could find the halfling.

Unfortunately, there was far too much ground fog, so much that she couldn't even see her feet. There was no way she could track anyone in this.

"Damn it!" she swore.

She caught movement out of the corner of her eyes and saw the fog parting behind the cat-bear as he made his way over.

"Are you quite finished now?" she snapped at him.

Feral stood up on his hind legs and looked up at her with a wounded expression, his large, yellow eyes gleaming. The effect was completely devastated by the amount of gore that covered his beige-striped fur (and the bits of intestine hanging out of his mouth). However, Jaelyn had felt bad for snapping at him the moment she'd done it.

"Sorry." she said with a sigh. "I'm just worried. I've heard the things the drow do to their captives. We have to get Quin back."

Feral pawed her leg softly, looked back in the direction they had come, and made a sound that was something between a growl and a chirp. Such a sound should have been impossible, but the cat-bear was pulling it off. Then again, when it came to Feral, things that were supposed to be impossible were quite possible.

Jaelyn's animal empathy translated the sound as 'We should probably head back. Maybe that pale two-leg thing and the grumpy two-leg will have an idea of what to do.'

At the mention of 'grumpy two-leg', Jaelyn remembered the ranger being stabbed. She felt a twinge of concern and wondered if he was alright.

"Let's hurry."

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She heard the masculine cries of agony when she got within two hundred yards of where she'd left the ghost and the human ranger.

Jaelyn's feet moved swiftly across the ground and she didn't care that she might be trampling possible 'living' plants. Her concern was the agonized cries, which sounded very much like someone being tortured to death.

Feral kept a steady pace behind her, still covered in the blood of yet another ill-fated drow. The cat-bear seemed to have a unique taste for dark elves. Hopefully, it was only full drow that appealed to his stomach.

Jaelyn came to an abrupt halt when her remaining companions came into view, her heart hammering from exertion, but then it sped up even more by what her pale green eyes fell upon.

Bishop was sitting in a slouched position against a tree, convulsing in excruciating pain. Gulaonar was hovering nearby, looking on helplessly.

Jaelyn hurried over to the ranger, kneeling on the ground beside him. His face was contorted in an expression of utmost torment as he writhed against the intense discomfort afflicting him. He was sweating and trembling continually. But even through the torture, Jaelyn saw a familiar fire beginning to blaze in the depths of those golden eyes. The pain was making him angry.

Jaelyn looked over the wound just below his shoulder, noting that it was still bleeding, but not very much. She reached out to undo the fastenings, clasps, and things on his leather armor to access the injury, but even in his state, he wasn't having it.

His hand wrapped around her wrist and tightened on her with a strength that should have been impossible for someone in his current condition. It was a vise grip that hurt and when she tried to pull back in alarm, he shoved her away, setting a furious glare on her.

Jaelyn sent the look right back.

"I'm trying to help you!" she shouted at him, frustrated with his stubbornness when it came to people helping him. He needed it more now than ever, as it appeared.

He opened his mouth, tried to speak, but the only thing he could manage was a furious yell of defiance when the next wave of pain intensified. He flailed about, as if he could physically ward off the agony. Leave it to him to think violence could solve anything, even the intangible.

The angry fire in his eyes was nearly extinguished by the pain. The natural luster in them dulled and for one horrified moment, Jaelyn feared he would give in to it, the sweet darkness that must be hanging tantalizingly over him. His eyes were threatening to close, and though she had no idea what was wrong with him, she somehow knew that if he shut his eyes, they were never going to open again.

Not presently caring for what consequences might arise in the future, Jaelyn reached out and smacked him in the face, hard and back-handed.

Bishop's eyes grew wide and the angry fire was rekindled. In fact, he looked positively peeved, despite the presence of the painful poison inside him. He had no idea how he even felt it over the acid in his veins, but his body had somehow registered the sudden violence on his person. If he dared to move, he might have smacked her right back.

Jaelyn leaned close to him, a stone-hard expression on her face as she stared deep into his.

"Stay awake, you miserable bastard." she hissed at him. "You're not dying yet."

A hand reached out and snatched the front of her leather armor, yanking her within an inch of his face.

"Bitch." he was able to get out through clenched teeth and then he let her go, arrested again by another wave of searing acid.

He groaned as Jaelyn turned and looked at Gulaonar, her face becoming an expression of concern.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked. "The wound isn't bad, so I know it isn't that."

Gulaonar looked at her for a long time, wondering where her concern was coming from, why it should be there in the first place, or why she should even feel it at all for someone like Bishop, who wouldn't have cared if it were her in his position and probably wished it was.

"He's been poisoned." the former drow said at last.

Jaelyn's green eyes grew wide. "Poison? How? What is it? Is it fatal? Is there a cure? Wha-"

Gulaonar put his ghostly hands up in the air. "Slow down. The poison isn't very fatal. It's just something my people-our people-use as a form of torture or to send a message. There's a cure, but it's at the temple and that is a place I cannot go. The drow have put up some kind of magic field I dare not go near. And before you even think it, for I already see the look in your eyes, you cannot go yourself. You'll never make it passed their defenses and even if you did, you'd never get out in time, the poison will have worn off and you will have wasted a trip and put your life in danger for nothing."

"So, just leave him like this? Let him suffer?" she demanded in outrage.

Gulaonar shrugged. "There is not much else that can be done."

"There has to be something!"

"There isn't."

Jaelyn sighed heavily.

"How long will it affect him?"

"Two hours."

"Two hours! Gods..."

"What you did a moment ago was correct." Gulaonar went on, solemnly. "You must keep him conscious. Many have never come back from the darkness once they've fallen to it. As of this moment, his will and your interference are the only things guaranteed to keep him alive through this."

"What about a Neutralize Poison spell? I know one. Would that work?"

If anyone had been paying him attention, they might have seen a grudgingly placed look of very (very) slight gratitude on Bishop's face as he looked on Jaelyn. Neutralize Poison spell...even he hadn't thought of that.

Gulaonar gave her a look. "Do you truly think the drow would create a poison that could be that easily countered?"

Her faced showed much of her dejection. "Oh..."

Jaelyn sighed and sat back beside Bishop, giving his leg a comforting pat. "Hang in there."

An hour later, she was the one sitting with her back against the tree, her arms around the terribly convulsing ranger. She had no choice in the matter, despite her reluctance of being within his reach (or having any physical contact with him at all). Those convulsions had gotten so bad that she feared he'd harm himself and so she was forced to hold him down, or technically to hold him back, for that was the position they were in. Admittedly, she felt sorry for him. In fact, she'd probably never felt more sorry for anyone in her life and seeing him like this, in this much agony, saddened her. He may have been a terrible bastard, but not even terrible bastards deserved to be in this much pain. With this deep pity came that maternal need to comfort, though it actually went a little more deeper than that and had a lot more to do with instinctual desires and emotions. And maybe she was stupid and naive enough to think that her deed might affect him some how. But it all made her realize something as well, something that should've been obvious to her. It made her realize that even though he didn't normally act like a decent human being, seeing him in pain was proof that there was actually something that could be considered human underneath all the cold, hard armor and general darkness, albeit a very small something. Still, if it was there, perhaps there might be hope.

Jaelyn held him back against her with one becalming hand running through his damp hair. Her soft face was pressed close as she whispered soothing words in his ear.

What else could be done? She was doing the only thing she knew to do.

It was something no one had ever done for him before. She might have thought she was helping, that she was trying to lessen the pain or keep his mind off of it, but she was doing no such thing. In fact, she was making his battle that much more difficult, for now he was not only fighting the pain, but her as well, her and all the unwanted thoughts barreling in on him in his moment of weakness. They were thoughts of desire, thoughts with the sole intent of getting him into trouble, thoughts that had him considering her under softer lights and not those harsh ones he considered all people under.

He forced them away, successfully.

Who cares what she was doing for him? Who cares if she was trying to help? He hadn't asked for it. He didn't want it. If she was expecting something of him for it, expecting him to be affected by it, or touched by it, she was going to be sorely disappointed. Such things were wasted on him and she was a fool to even try.

Jaelyn pressed her face against his while her hand made a soft, caressing motion against his opposite cheek. She did this with the back of her hand, for the tips of her fingers were covered in callouses and they would've definitely ruined the moment.

"Strange. I actually feel sorry for you." she spoke and he vaguely felt her mouth curve into a smile against his cheek. "I didn't think such a thing was possible. I had always assumed something bad like this happening to you would be well-deserved, but I don't think it is. No one deserves this, not even you."

There was a moment of silence on his part, much to Jaelyn's slightly disturbed surprise; she was expecting some biting remark as if it were a reflex, for such things ran like clockwork where Bishop was concerned. It just went to show you that he truly was more unpredictable than she had first thought.

He had to gather the strength to speak. The pain was still present but it was lessening very slowly.

"Touching." he finally replied in a tone dribbling with his trademark sarcasm.

It was a bit relieving to hear. Jaelyn had almost been worried that something might be wrong with him...you know, mentally. Well, one could fill a text book with all his many emotional issues and personality disorders, but Jaelyn wasn't exactly feeling analytic at the moment.

"You should be touched." she replied. "Not many people would hold such an opinion about you."

"Like I care."

"Is that how you show gratitude?"

"I didn't ask for your help." he growled.

"No, you didn't." she conceded. "But that's what a selfless act is, Bishop. You do something for someone without being asked and without expecting something in return."

"There are no selfless acts." he replied, bitterly. "Anything anyone does, they're always expecting something in return."

"Well, I'm not." Jaelyn said, firmly.

"Oh, no? You're not expecting me to be grateful about it?"

"Well, that's diff-"

"No, it isn't. It's all the same." he snapped. "You did something 'nice' because you expected something in return. So don't try to pawn it off to me as some selfless act, because they don't exist."

Jaelyn sat there a moment, unable to believe her ears. Then she couldn't believe all that time she'd wasted, sitting there with him through the pain. Now she was starting to see how someone could deserve it.

She moved away from him, disgusted, and got to her feet, thinking angrily of all she'd wasted on him when she could've been out finding Quin, her true friend, her only friend. There was no friend there, not in Bishop and not in Gulaonar. She just wanted Quin back.

She stood there rigidly for a few moments, the ranger watching her closely, watching the anger unfold itself, and then she whirled and gave him a cold look. It was by far the coldest look she'd ever given him, or anyone for that matter.

"The next time something like this happens," she said, that ice on her face now in her voice as well. Icebergs weren't even this cold. "You can suffer it alone."

"Fine with me."

He didn't even hesitate, which only infuriated her the more.

Glowering at him, she stomped away to her pack and yanked her canteen out, and then gave it a rough shake. It figured; the damn thing was empty.

Jaelyn stood up and went out into the woods, making her way toward the stream that she knew was close by. To her surprise, Gulaonar was following along behind her.

"Shouldn't you stay with...him?" she said over her shoulder and with a disgusted face. "If any drow happen by, they might..."

She trailed off, shaking her head at her own words. Why was she even bothering? Why did she even care what happened to him?

"He doesn't deserve this," the ghost said. "This kindness you show him. He isn't worthy of it, not of your concern, nor of the kindness of your heart."

Jaelyn walked on toward the stream, frowning. She remained silent.

"No matter what you do to show him your concern, he will never return those feelings. He doesn't care about anything. Surely, you see this."

She did; she understood that her concern for him would never be returned, but sometimes, you just couldn't help what was in your heart, nor the path it chose, no matter if you could see where it was leading or not.

"You have a good heart, Jaelyn." Gulaonar went on. "A heart very rarely found in any drow and a heart very different from his, so why, my child, do you waste it on him? Why do you care for him?"

Jaelyn sighed wretchedly. "Because...Because...I don't know! It's obvious by the way he is and the way he acts that no one has ever cared about him."

The ghost gave her a weird look. "And so you feel it is your obligation, your responsibility to care about him?"

She shook her head with a frown. "No. I just know the feeling when the whole world hates you. It's awful. Everyone just seems to expect the worst out of him. Even me sometimes."

"Perhaps that is because he only allows his worst parts to show through. Or maybe that's all that's left of him."

She looked at the ghost seriously. "There's more to him than what he shows; I know it, I feel it."

"Did it ever occur to you that he might actually deserve all the hate?"

Jaelyn frowned. "I can't see anyone deserving of it."

"Then it's a good thing you aren't able to see his memories as I do. You would change your mind in a heartbeat."

"Why? Because of the violence and bloodshed you mentioned to me before?" she replied, very surprised by her own words. Was she seriously defending this lunatic? "Look, whatever he's done, it's the past and no ones' is perfect."

"Perhaps not," Gulaonar replied. "But he doesn't exactly have a perfect present, and his future doesn't look too bright, either. It sounds to me like you're trying to make up excuses for him, for how he is, or maybe you do realize someone like that doesn't change and you're just trying to make up excuses for your feelings for him."

"I'm not trying to do anything." she shot back defensively.

The stream came into view and so Jaelyn hurried toward it, but the ghost was behind her every step.

"Do not waste yourself on him." he said, trying to get through to her. "He will destroy that good heart of yours if you let him."

Jaelyn knelt on the bank, trying desperately to ignore him while she filled her canteen. Tears blurred her eyes and she hastily blinked them away. Her chest was hurting.

"I hope you will heed my advice." Gulaonar went on. "I'd hate to see you get hurt."

"What do you care?" she snapped. "You don't even know me."

"Perhaps not, my child," he replied softly. "But we are alike, you and I. More than you know."

Jaelyn was sick of hearing that. The ranger kept saying it and now this damn ghost was saying it.

She turned to give Gulaonar a stern talking-to, but he was gone.

When she returned from the stream, she saw him hovering near Bishop, who was giving the ghost an expression that said he wished he'd go away.

Jaelyn strode up to the ranger, a glare firmly set in place and dropped her canteen in his lap.

"Drink it," she said roughly. "Hopefully, you'll choke on it."

He gave her a winning smile, twisted the cap off the canteen and took a long, refreshing drink from it. Jaelyn then turned to Gulaonar. It was time they came up with a plan to get Quin back.

"They got away with Quin." she said, angrily. "Why did they take him? What do they want with him?"

"I cannot say."

"Can't say or won't?" she demanded, stealing the ranger's words right out of his mouth before he even had a chance.

"Cannot." Gulaonar said firmly. "I could speculate, however, though I doubt it would help in getting your friend back. Drow don't usually take captives, at least not without a good reason. We usually just kill. So, if they took him, they must want him for something. This, to me, makes absolutely no sense, for they would have no use for the halfling that I can think of. They wouldn't even bother enslaving him; it would be a waste of time. It could be that they may try breaking him to their will and perhaps use him to infiltrate the native's camp, given the halfling's affiliation with the Shadow Thief organization, though I don't know how they'd know this unless they were eavesdropping on one of your conversations, which isn't at all impossible."

"How do we get him back?" Jaelyn inquired, crossing her arms over her chest.

Gulaonar shrugged. "As of the moment, we can't. We must get to the native's camp and train them."

"I don't care about them!" Jaelyn shouted angrily. "I want my friend back!"

"You don't seem to understand." the ghost replied in a tone that suggested he might be talking to a child. "You are heavily out-numbered. You can't expect to charge into their temple stronghold and get your friend back. Do so and you'll be dead within seconds. These are drow. They have survived the worst climate in Toril and they will survive you without much effort. However, if you can train over a hundred people to fight like the both of you, you stand a chance."

"But we can't just leave Quin to them."

"There's not much else that can be done." Gulaonar replied gently. "So long as he remains useful to them, he will live."

Jaelyn scoffed. "Yes, but broken to them. He will no longer be Quin."

An expression of sadness and regret passed over Gulaonar's ghostly visage. Slowly, he shook his head as he looked on Jaelyn.

"I'm sorry, my child."