Jarlaxle hummed quietly to himself as he padded quietly through the forest. He had one of his many magical daggers in his hand, as he kept note of the goblin band he was pursuing. A rustle in the brush told him exactly where they were. He wasn't worried though, he knew they would be taken care of. Not far behind, his partner was perched on a cliff, scouting out just how screwed Jarlaxle was.
Soon there were five goblins around him, grinning wickedly. His dagger was impaled in one of the creature's arms, and his sword lay forgotten on the ground ten feet away. The goblins inched closer, all of them chanting in their rough tongue. Jarlaxle risked a look to his left, where he knew his partner was now ducked behind a bush, waiting for the right moment to intervene.
"All right, you've got me!" Jarlaxle exclaimed, feigning a look of surprise. He slowly put his hands up in an attempt to look as non-threatening as possible. The goblins looked taken aback, and slowly began inching towards him. The biggest one, presumably the leader barked at a smaller one and it scurried up to him. He let it put its claws on his arm before he exploded into action, drawing another dagger and twisting the wretched thing's arm. His partner shot out of the brush, taking two of the things down almost immediately.
Jarlaxle rushed towards the big one, jumping over onto its back. He slit its throat before it even realized what happened. He looked back and there was a pile at his partner's feet. He smiled and pulled a jewel out of the leader's pocket. Mission accomplished.
"Did you have to use all the theatrics?" His companion's gravelly voice never failed to bring a bubble of excitement to Jarlaxle, even if he could never show it. After the disaster with the Crystal Shard, his partner had refused to trust him as much as he used to. Jarlaxle would never admit it, but he missed his partner's smiles, however short they always seemed to be.
"What's life without a little excitement?" He replied quickly. "It's good to throw a little surprise in the mix every once in a while. Jarlaxle smiled as he watched his companions slender form weave through the pile of bodies. He picked up a few golden coins, then motioned for Jarlaxle to follow him back to the trail. They reached the clearing where their horses were tied up, and took off for Waterdeep.
Jarlaxle chattered throughout the whole ride, about their employers latest lover, and about what other employer's he had found. They arrived back at their room in the inn, and Jarlaxle didn't hesitate to shed his bloodstained shirt.
"Artemis. You have to clean yourself after a fight. Who knows where that blood has been!" Entreri scowled at him, before reluctantly shrugging the garment off over his head. "We had best get this to Aeravin quickly. We don't want him to throw a temper tantrum." Entreri chuckled at that.
"If he throws just one more, I think I might just have to put him out of his misery." They both laughed at that. The young lord of Waterdeep was small, but had his whole staff wrapped around his finger. All of Waterdeep loathed him, but were too scared to do anything about it. Jarlaxle snuck a look at Entreri. No smile. It made him sad, that Entreri was so cut off from the world that even a small smile was difficult to procure. And he wasn't talking about the fake ones. Those were all over when talking to their employer. Aeravin was quick to threaten anyone who wasn't happy to be in his presence.
"Well you might just get your chance tonight," Jarlaxle muttered as he picked up a small envelope. It had the seal of Agrivar on it. He heard Entreri approach him from behind, frowning at the small piece of parchment. "Why would Kyriani Agrivar be contacting us?" He speculated. He tore open the seal, skimming the letter.
"A ball?" Entreri snorted, a scowl on his face. Jarlaxle knew he had no love for the noble life, he thought they were for the snobbish rich. Of course, he wasn't wrong. Jarlaxle, however, was eager to jump on an opportunity to get dirt on all of the lords. "It says here it is for the masked lords, and our presence is requested." A masked lord. This finalized Jarlaxle's decision.
"We have to go." Jarlaxle almost laughed at the way Artemis expectedly whirled around, looking like he wanted to pull out his dagger. "This could be good for us, my Abbil. If we have caught the attention of a masked lord, then we are on our way to some more money." Entreri snorted.
"Or it is a trap, and we will be dead by the end of the evening." Entreri sighed. Jarlaxle knew from the look in his eyes that the battle was won, however. Entreri knew that this was the way to climbing the political ladder. They had not the influence they had in Calimport, and no Bregan D'Aerthe to back them. This was necessary to ensure that they were needed along the streets of Waterdeep.
"We shall discuss this further later. For now, however, our lovely employer will surely grow tired of waiting for us. We had best get on our way. Entreri sighed, before pulling on a clean shirt and following Jarlaxle out the door, making sure to reset all of their traps.
They walked along the streets, up to Aeravin Cassalanter's giant home. The guards nodded to them as they entered. A boy of about sixteen sat upon a chair resembling a throne.
"Ah good. Jarlaxle and Entreri. You have the jewel?" Aeravin wasted no time with pleasantries. Jarlaxle tipped his wide brimmed hat before procuring the item from his belt.
"As long as Cassalanter has the promised money." Jarlaxle smirked. He saw Entreri wince out of the corner of his eye, not addressing his lordship with the proper terms was enough to get you thrown in a dungeon around here.
Cassalanter narrowed his eyes. "I would watch how you address a lord of Waterdeep, sellsword." Jarlaxle tipped his hat again.
"Of course your lordship. I was merely inquiring to the question of the payment offered. I remember 2'000 golden coins for the jewel and for the effort we went to get it?" Jarlaxle smiled. He knew they would be lucky to get out of there with half of that. To his surprise, however, Cassalanter merely pulled a large bag out from behind his throne. Jarlaxle tossed him the jewel, and he and Artemis each grabbed a side of the bag. "Thank you, your lordship." Jarlaxle said.
"I expect less negotiation from here on out." Cassalanter snarled. It was true, he did tend to argue with the young boy. It typically ended in his benefit, however, and he was sure that this was not the only thing Cassalanter would want from him eventually. When they were out on the lawn, they heaved the bag into Jarlaxle's bag of holding and began the walk back to their room silently.
When they got back in, Entreri immediately dropped onto his bed. Jarlaxle chuckled and shook his head. The assassin hadn't been getting nearly enough sleep recently, and while he didn't want to say anything until necessary, he wanted what was best for his companion.
"Jarlaxle?" Entreri's rough voice came from behind his mountain of pillows and blankets. Jarlaxle fought to keep a straight face as Entreri's head popped up from behind them.
"Yes, Abbil?" Jarlaxle smiled at him widely.
"Why do you let your guard down with me? I thought drow didn't trust anyone." Jarlaxle paused for a moment. He had never really stopped to think about it. It was true, of course. Drow rarely had true trust, only alliances that could be broken at any given moment by one small move. However, with Entreri, it was somewhat different. Of course, it helped that he was a human. The reputation of his kin didn't help among surface dwellers, and it didn't help among other drow.
But it was more than that, wasn't it? Of course, he didn't trust him completely. There wasn't any time for that. A simple falling out could lead to your destruction if one knew all of your secrets. However, Jarlaxle realized, his guard was down with Entreri. Maybe because he knew he could hold his own? Or because they had shared some of their worst experiences together.
"Well Abbil, I think perhaps it is your charming personality." Jarlaxle easily dodged the dagger thrown at him. It stuck into the wall behind him, and he rolled his eyes as he approached Entreri's bed. "Really? We're throwing daggers now?"
"I want a real answer. I don't trust you, as much as I know you want me to. Why did trust come so easily from you to me" Jarlaxle wasn't expecting him to put it so bluntly. He felt a stab of pain in his heart, but he pushed it down.
"Well. I suppose because we have shared some of the worst experiences together. Even in Menzoberranzan, I kept out of trouble. Here, trouble seems to find me. Partially because of my race, and partially because of the work I pursue. You have yet to betray me. However, you have made one mistake. You do not have my complete trust. While I do let my guard down, I will not let it down completely." He walked back over to his own bed.
"Oh," Was Entreri's only response. Jarlaxle shed his shirt and climbed into the bed. He rolled over, blowing out the candle. He closed his eyes and sank into reverie, hoping only that his human companion would also find rest.