"Arik?"

That was Imoen. He didn't respond.

A door opened. Arik didn't have a key to the room, just picked the first open one he could find. "It's me, Imoen," she said. "You okay?"

Arik said nothing. Just kept staring at the ceiling, lying on the bed.

She walked over to the bed and poked him in the arm. "Hey, dummy, I asked ya a question."

Arik's mind flashed back to the scene that sent him up here, the blood on his sword, the blood pouring out of the man's back.

She sighed and sat down on the chair. "I, uh, brought your sword?"

He hadn't remembered dropping it. A day ago, he would've been shocked that he could so easily forget about his father's blade.

"Okay, Kyri stripped naked and started dancing on the tables downstairs?"

Arik blinked a few times. "What?"

"Hah, figure'd that get a rise outa ya."

"You're strange."

"Same as I was yesterday."

He knew what his sister was trying to do, get him talking about simple, frivolous things, and, oh, how much did he want to. He just couldn't. "That guy down there-"

"Arik, he was trying to kill me and Kyri, wha' else could ya have done?"

"I... I don't know. Something, anything, but I killed him instead. Didn't even think about it."

"And if Ky had gotten hurt, would you still be moping up here? Or me?"

He sighed, wiping away the tears. "I know it don't make sense, I just..."

Imoen nodded. "Fine, I'll leave you alone. Remember, you saved us, Arik. I mean, this is just me, but you weren't trying to kill him, right? You were trying to save us. That's gotta be something." She stood up, leaving the sword on the table. "Kyri found Khalid and Jahiera downstairs, and it looks like we'll be spending the night before figuring out what to do next. Something about this mine down south, I dunno."

He smiled weakly, finally looking at her. "I thought she was dancing on tables naked?" He didn't feel like joking, but he needed Imoen to know he'd be okay, eventually, and maybe convince himself of that fact.

"Hey, maybe I can convince her to start if you come down soon!"

----------

"Rogue!"

Anomen's voice broke Arik out of his reverie. The lock on the trunk in the slaver's hideout had been vexing him greatly, but he wasn't one to daydream in places where enemies had been not too long ago.

Still, Arik couldn't let the helmite know that, so he replied glibly, "Sorry? I don't know anyone called 'rogue', Anomen."

"Funny, Arik, but I can tell when someone is daydreaming. Will you please keep working on that lock, I have no desire to be here for much longer."

Arik turned from the trunk, saying, "Really? Me, I could just stay here all day. It's a lovely place, really, once you get past the smell of blood. Or is it that you will be leaving our company along with Aerie?"

Anomen's eyes narrowed at the thief. "I have not decided, yet. I fear she may be right, we did not attempt to parlay with our foes here."

"Oh, by the whole damn pantheon! The slavers wouldn't parlay, they started shooting first! And, unless you've suddenly learned the Giant tongue, then you'd have been hard pressed to negotiate with the troll!"

Anomen went on, ignoring Arik's outburst. "Also, I do not think that I should be traveling with one who breaks laws so readily."

"What law was this?" Arik asked, barely restraining himself from asking which law Anomen had noticed him breaking. Somehow he figured that would not win him any points with the helmite.

"You poisoned the head slaver, Arik. Even you, new to the city as you are, must know that poisons are illegal to own or use. I have been tasked to enforce the laws-"

"And I didn't break any," Arik interrupted, sighing. "Not all poisons are illegal in Athkatla and her environs, only ones that are potentially lethal. I was very careful to buy the legal variety." At Anomen's confused look, he continued. "The poison I used is called Royalscar. It's a powerful paralytic, totally paralyzing someone within a few seconds and knocking them unconscious about a minute later. Can't kill someone with unconsciousness, unless they're walking a tightrope or something.

"It's legal mainly because it's so damn useful. It's extremely potent and can easily be delivered on weapons, and so it's quite useful in taking down someone who doesn't want to go quietly. Something the Cowled Wizards thought of, if you can believe it. Casters aren't that great at overcoming poisons." He shrugged. "I didn't tell you mainly because I didn't want a moral debate about the ethics of using poisons."

Anomen blinked, clearly having trouble taking in the explanation offered by the self-described criminal. "I am to believe that you know so much about Athkatla's laws?"

"Well, my knowledge is rather specialized. 'sides, I grew up in Candlekeep, remember? Plenty of time to learn how to cheat legally when you've got books dedicated to the subject, especially when it comes to the City of Coin." He turned back to the lock, trying again with his picks to open the damn thing. "How'd you know I poisoned that guy, anyway?"

Anomen hesitated. "Besides the obvious evidence before me? Viconia told me."

Arik blinked. "What?"

"I'm as confused as you are," he said, chuckling.

"I'm gonna have to have a chat with her. With very pointed words. At least she's a good healer," he said, pointing at Anomen's arm. The bracer was still stained red, and sported a pair of gaping holes, but at least nothing was dripping through.

Anomen shook his head. "I do not understand her. I had thought she was lying to me, as I could not believe you to be as stupid as to break the law in front of me."

"General rule I have is to not break laws in front of law-men."

He paused. "Perhaps you could avoid breaking laws entirely?"

Arik grinned. "It's always a possibility."

"You are fortunate I am an understanding man."

More like I'm fortunate you seem to be very much attracted to my sister. Arik went back to work on the lock and, after a few more careful pokes and prods, the lock snapped open. "Finally. Let's see what we- oh," he said, looking into the trunk. "Oh, wow."

"Has your avarice overcome your senses?" Anomen asked, walking over to where the rogue was crouched, gawking at what he was seeing. "Odd, I would not think three gemstones would be enough to render you speechless."

Arik gingerly picked up one of the gems, a swirling prismatic beauty of a rock. "Anomen, those are rogue stones. For all three, I could probably get a bit under five thousand gold pieces."

"Yes, impressive, I am sure that would astound many other thieves and such."

"Well, sorry for not coming from money."

"What do you mean?"

"Delryn is a noble family here in Athkatla, right? You've got an estate north of the river, not far from what must be the largest piece of green in the city, outside of the graveyard at least." At Anomen's surprised look, Arik shrugged. "People talk, and a couple silver is worth a lot to some folk, especially those who don't have much to do besides look around."

"Beggars?"

"Beggars, thieves, urchins, harlots, and then there's the loyal Watch, full of eager young men who would never even consider taking a bribe, nope, not at all."

Anomen sighed. "Very well, your point is made. Is there anything else in there?"

Arik pocketed the gems and leafed through some of the papers that had been placed beneath them. Inventory reports, payroll lists, performance evaluations, even a few letters, ciphered with what couldn't be that hard of a cipher. He shook his head, snickering to himself. "Paperwork for slavers. It looks almost innocuous, if you don't examine it closely."

"Could this mean they are part of a larger group within Athkatla?" Anomen asked, his voice almost offended that more of the villains could exist in the paragon of justice that is Athkatla.

Arik shrugged. "Maybe. Or maybe this Haegan fellow just likes keeping detailed notes. Hell, my father was pretty painstakingly careful about keeping paperwork, and he didn't work for anyone, really. Right now, all this tells us is that Haegan kept paperwork. And it's ciphered, so we can't figure it out quite yet."

Arik stood up, the parchment held gingerly in his hands. "We should show this to Ky. She loves her puzzles," he said, grinning.

He had almost left the room when Anomen blurted out, "What were you thinking about?"

"What?"

Anomen paused, clearly regretting saying anything in the first place. "When I came in, you were clearly lost in thought. What were you thinking about?"

Arik almost lied at this, just on instinct. He loved the privacy of his head, how no one could really know what was going on in there. And sharing vulnerable moments with someone who had repeatedly voiced their belief in Arik's unending wickedness was not high on his list of things to do.

Still, Arik's mind flashed back to the battle hardly twenty minutes before. His back had been, all puns aside, against the wall, and Anomen had stepped forth without hesitating. Anomen had sought Arik's advice as to how to fight the troll, regardless of how little Anomen thought of the rogue's combat abilities. And, well, if you couldn't trust a Helmite, who could you trust?

Anomen noted the rogue's hesitation, and said, "If you do not wish to say, then-"

"No, Anomen. It was more a memory than a real thought. It was from right after my first kill."

Anomen nodded. "Who?"

"No idea. Oh, don't look at me like that. I don't know his name, that's all. He was a bounty hunter in the Friendly Arms Inn, and not the fluffy kind like Yoshimo. I'd gone ahead of Ky and Im, and he attacked them, slinging spells about. I came back and stabbed him in the back." He laughed bitterly, almost a sob really. "All those books on combat and anatomy, or where to stick people, and none of them ever mentioned how much they bleed when you hit 'em right.

"Well, after desecrating his body with my last meal, I just ran. Found an empty room in the inn and cried my eyes out, after throwing off anything with a trace of blood on it, anyway. Didn't check on Im, didn't check on Ky, didn't even recover my father's old sword. Just threw up and ran and cried."

Anomen nodded. "The first time is never easy. At least I had the Order and my lord Helm to help me after I slew my first bandit. Just some scum who attacked a merchant convoy I was escorting. Still, were it not for the paladins who were with me, I do not know what I would have done. It was not easy seeing that man's dead body."

"I might not've had a large order of holy folk, but I had Imoen. She found me and talked to me, even managed to make me smile a bit. She's always good at that, you'd probably like her actually." He paused, play-acting deep thought. "Well, up until she showed how much of a vile thief she is."

Anomen sighed. "I put up with you, don't I? And Yoshimo. And, your sister, for that matter. Does she really think me a fool?"

Arik blinked. "I don't follow."

"Those magical items. The rods of light and message, the breadcrumbs, all of it? Am I to believe that she managed to purchase them all with what gold Hendak gave us earlier?"

Arik bit back a curse. "It's be easier if you did, no doubt." At Anomen's glare, Arik relented. "We're on a rather time-sensitive mission, in case you hadn't noticed, and despite Athkatla's sterling reputation, twenty thousand gold is not that easy to find. If you've known, why haven't you said anything yet?"

Anomen looked away from the rogue and sighed. "I do not know. Your sister's quest is a noble one, and hearing you two speak about Imoen I cannot help but wish to help her as well. But part of me wonders, are you lying to me? The drow, the stealing, that your mission involves the acquisition of a great deal of money, this cannot help but make me suspicious of you. All I have to go on, from outside sources at least, is from Baldur's Gate, and I do not even know why your sister acted as she did, or why she had so many bounty hunters after her."

"The why of the bounty hunters is a story for another time."

Anomen snorted. "Ah, yes, the 'long story'."

"Well, it is," Arik said, rolling his eyes. "But, more importantly, it's complicated and the kind of thing that we don't tell a lot of people about. As best I know, only seven people know the full story, me, Kyri, Imoen, Viconia, our two other companions from the Gate, and Irenicus."

"Viconia knows?" Anomen asked, incredulously.

"Part of the long story. We'll tell you when you need to know. But," Arik said, knowing that he was going to regret saying this very quickly, "how would it be if I promised to pay back any merchants we stole from once we've got coin to spare?"

Anomen gave Arik a long glare. Arik couldn't quite be sure of what the helmite was thinking, but he had a feeling it was regarding the trustworthiness of thieves. "Look," Arik said, "good thieves keep their word to people they work with. All we've got to go on is our word, and if it gets known that I cheat my friends, I won't have many friends left, now will I? Can't get much work with a reputation as a cheat."

Anomen kept giving Arik that same glare.

"Would it help if I swore on Tymora's name?" Arik said, grinning.

Anomen blinked, but kept staring, thinking over his words carefully. "The goddess of good fortune. Do you worship Tymora?" he finally said.

"Don't worship any gods, really, but Tymora's the closest I come."

"Let me guess. You pray to her quite often, say, whenever someone has a sword pointed at you."

Arik grinned. "Mostly. Sometimes it's when mages are aiming at me. I prefer to make my own luck, and Tymora favors me quite often then."

Anomen sighed. "Very well, if you swear to me that you will pay the merchants back, with interest, and swear to cease stealing from now on, then I will be understanding."

"Interest? I said nothing about interest!" he said, sputtering.

Anomen just stared, although Arik noticed that he was slowly moving his hand towards his sword. "Oh, fine! Interest it is!" he said, throwing his arms up in disgust. "I swear, Im's gonna kill me..."

"Would you rather I?"

"Arik, Anomen, what'd you find?" Kyri said, entering the room and cutting off Arik's sardonic response.

"Three rogue stones and some encrypted papers," Arik said, taking a few steps away from the triumphant, but still glowering, helmite.

"Rogue stones?" She whistled. "Do you have any idea what-"

"We're selling them, not using them for magic," Arik said, interrupting her.

"But-"

"No."

"She uses gemstones for magic?" asked Anomen.

"Sorta, more like as material for enchantments," Arik replied.

"Arik, the equipment we could get from those is-"

"Ky..." Arik almost brought up Imoen, but then he saw the look in his sister's eyes. She knew that they had to use them for gold, but she wanted to joke a little bit. "I'd say five thousand gold is a little better than a shiny glow on a quarterstaff."

She grinned. "Really? What would you do with that kind of gold?"

He shrugged. "Buy something that actually works, maybe? You keep buying magic items for things I can do with two sticks and a nail."

"You can create a fireball with two sticks and a nail?" Anomen asked, doing a very poor job of hiding a grin.

Arik grinned. "I can do a lot with those sticks, but I might need a few more things. Like maybe a few of those alchemist fire flasks. Enough of those could work."

Kyri rolled her eyes. "So you'd buy out an apothecary with all that gold?"

"At an Apothecary, five thousand gold is a fortune. At a magic shop, it's pocket change."

Anomen shook his head. "Immoral earnings buying immoral goods. There is only one noble thing to do with gold."

"Hire a 'seamstress'?" asked Kyri, who grinned at Anomen's massive blush.

"Donate it to your patron deity, of course. Any other use of excess gold is immoral in nature," he said, as stoic as he could manage.

"Hi, I'm Arik, thief and backstabber extraordinaire, have we met?" Arik replied, grinning.

"I am sure that Tymora would appreciate the gesture, perhaps she will continue to favor you in future fights."

Arik barked a laugh. "There's grisly stories about those who tried to buy luck, Anomen. Doesn't tend to end well."

"And Oghma cares more about books than coin," added Kyri.

"You worship Oghma, Kyri?" asked Anomen, a warm, almost relieved, smile on his face.

She nodded. "I was raised in Candlekeep, almost everyone there worshiped the god of knowledge. Although I might've worshipped Mystra had I been born somewhere else."

Anomen's smile drained at that, and for good reason. Myrstra, the goddess of magic, had actually been slain when she had taken mortal form during the Time of Troubles. And Mystra had been slain by none other than Helm. The old Mystra, at least, but a new one was created soon after. She meant nothing by it, Arik knew. She was just saying, basically, how much she loved magic.

And possibly messing with the Helmite's head a bit.

"Oh, Arik," she went on, ignoring Anomen's reaction. "Yoshimo found this with some of the slaver's gear. I thought you might like it," she said, flicking a coin at him.

He caught it and grinned. It was a rather large coin, slightly bigger than a gold coin, golden in color but too still and hard to be made of solid gold. Perhaps nickel with gold plating. But what got him were the symbols impressed upon the two faces. On one side a woman's face surrounded by shamrocks, the symbol of Tymora, goddess of luck. On the other, a black antler in a field, the symbol of Beshaba, the goddess is ill fortune.

"A good luck charm? Flip it and see how your luck will turn out for the day?"

"No magic, but I figured you'd know that," she said, smiling.

"I don't understand," said Anomen.

"It's a trinket sold by less than noble merchants."

"Grifters is what they're called. Con artists, in a way," said Arik.

"Ah. You have an appreciation for those who can fool good people?"

"Well, given who we took this off..." At Anomen's glare, Arik shrugged. "It's just interesting, really. An affirmation that people will buy anything if the salesman is clever enough."

"Praising the-" Anomen started, then stopped as he saw Arik's face. "Yes, alright, you're a thief. Forgive me for wishing that you were even slightly noble."

"And don't you forget it," he said, grinning.

"Arik, think you can find Viconia? Yoshimo is gathering the rest of the spoils and Aerie has shepherded the kids together, but I can't find her anywhere in here."

"It's not that big of a building, Ky."

"Just go, Arik," she said, glaring at her brother.

He grinned and left the two alone, rolling his eyes while handing her the papers. "They're coded, probably a simple cipher. Looks like paperwork of sorts, the kind that a businessman would keep. Have fun," he said, winking.

As he left the room, the last thing he heard before the door closed was Kyri saying to Anomen, "Siblings, nothing but trouble for me. How about you?"

----------

It didn't take long to find Viconia, as Kyri apparently didn't try very hard to find her. She was standing outside the front door of the building, staring out into the night. There was probably something poetic about a woman with ebon skin staring into the silent night, but there was a reason Arik was a rogue rather than a bard. "Viconia," he said as a greeting.

She started, giving Arik a dark look before turning her head back to the street. "Arik. Are we ready to leave this den of slaves behind yet?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. Ky's talking to Anomen right now, though, so we've likely got a while yet. Why are you out here?"

"Because I choose to be," she replied, spitting out the words.

Arik gave her a blank look. "I'm just curious, you don't need to bite my head off."

"Someone has to be on guard, do they not? Or would you rather we be attacked unawares again?"

"Hm," he said, thinking that over for a moment. "Tell me, do you know what happens to a rogue who can't tell when someone's lying?" He waited for a few moments before answering his own question, saying, "A long time of nothing after a short period of chaos. Why are you out here?"

She snorted in annoyance, her voice dismissive. "Do you really care, or are you so bored as to ask me foolish questions all day long?"

He shrugged. "Nothing foolish about asking the question why. The most revealing answers can be from simple questions."

"What book did you get that from?"

"Not all my words of wisdom come from books, V."

"Which book?" she repeated, smiling in a not too friendly manner.

Arik chuckled nervously. "Honest truth? No idea. Some book I read a while ago, the saying just sorta stuck. Still true, though. And your answer is...?"

She sighed, aware that the rogue would not stop until she answered the question. "It is bright out."

Arik blinked at the strange statement. True, the moon was full and the stars were lit, but the time of day was still in that strange time between the late evening and very early morning. If he had to describe his surroundings, 'bright' would not be a term he would arrive at, especially since the spell that enhanced his vision had long since worn off.

She snorted again, this time in anger, and shook her head. "You do not understand, and that is why I did not tell you. Leave me in peace."

"Why art thou so bundled up?" Dynaheir asked Arik.

It was late in the Gate, and the wind coming off the ocean was chilling him to the bone, so he threw on an extra layer of clothes so that his teeth wouldn't rattle quite so much. Why anyone would ask that, Arik did not know. "It's freezing cold out, that's why!"

She smiled. "For thou, perhaps, and that is why thou shalt not last a single hour in Rasheman. Not every city is here on the Sword Coast."

Arik blinked, the memory flashing in his head tearing open the wounds he was still trying to patch up. And, speaking of old wounds, a slice of pain cut through his chest, a long sword wound Arik remembered being from when he first met Viconia, and, as the original gash was almost enough to kill him, the replayed anguish weakened him considerably. He dropped to his knees, grunting audibly and making his vision go red for a moment before he could even try to disguise it.

"What is wrong with you now?" the priestess said, although concern did slip into her tone amongst the disgust. She moved to Arik's side, but he waved her off.

The pain faded, replaced by a dull ache as he climbed to his feet. That had been the worst of his wounds, "Nothing, just a bad memory."

"Bad memories seldom bring you to your knees, jaluk."

"Not important, I'm fine now," he said, cursing inwardly. "I think I know what you meant, though."

"Oh?" she said, eyeing him warily.

"Not many stars in the Underdark. Or moons, for that matter."

Viconia hesitated before nodding. "So, perhaps you are not as much of a fool as you seem."

Arik grinned. "High praise, although an old thief trick is to always seem less capable than you really are."

"You are an excellent actor, then," she said, smiling viciously.

"Thank you," he replied, face carefully blank. "You've been up on the surface for a while, though, I'd figure you'd be used to moonlight by now."

"I am drow, rivvil. I lived below the surface for much longer than you have been living at all." Her face did soften, however, and, to Arik's untrained eye at least, she seemed to gaze into the night sky almost wistfully. "When I have been on the surface, I seldom could afford to look up like this. I was always hurrying everywhere, my head ducked underneath a hood, and there was enough light to recognize that I was drow, even to your pathetic vision. There was very little time for stargazing, as you would say it."

"Had to throw that in, huh?"

"You would fault me for stating a fact? Truly, I do not know how you manage to walk straight in the dark with such poor eyes."

Arik smiled, saying nothing. It was a nice night, after all. Arik had warm thoughts of the moral high ground running through his head and a pouch full of valuable gems at his belt. Even the lingering trace of pain across his torso or the priestess' parting insult could not break his mood.

After a few minutes, though, he sighed and said, "I suppose we should go back inside and leave this place. The night will still be here in an hour and it'll return tomorrow. Ky better be done flirting with Anomen by now."

Viconia snorted at that. "I wonder what will happen when he finds out what she is?"

"She's an elf, Viconia, and my sister," Arik said stiffly, eyes narrowed.

"And a-"

"I know, and lets try not to say that out loud much, okay? There's lots of ears about."

Viconia shook her head in disgust. "She will need to tell Anomen, or he will find out some other way soon enough. Why does she pursue that fool, anyway?"

Arik barked a laugh. "He's a knight in shining armor. Well, a squire in shining armor, but shining armor nonetheless. I think she's read too many pretty books about princesses and the knights who come and save them."

"So, she wishes to be saved by the fool who needed rescuing twice in the last day."

"Yep, and she probably hopes that he can."

Viconia paused in thought for a moment, then nodded. "From her... divine problems."

"He is a cleric, after all."

"A paladin would be more useful for her."

"A paladin would cut you in two on sight."

"Did the helmite not attempt that?" said Viconia, a certain smile on her face.

"And didn't because Ky decked you." He sighed, and took his back from the wall. "Come on, let's go back inside. Gotta say goodbye to the holier than thou elf."

"You don't think she was correct about you?"

"She was trying to cope with killing something. We all went though that." Arik paused. "Well, almost all of us."

Viconia's eyes narrowed, and she pushed past Arik, back inside the slavers' den. "You know very little about me, jaluk. Do not presume anything."

He just sighed, and cursed at the heavens. "I was talking about Ky..."