Chapter 12: Being Someone, Having Someone

Meanwhile, as Belgrade and Darial were busy making first contact with Aergoth Xanthus, Khalid and Jaheira were perched on a low wall above the sea and the piers of the docks district, the former with a spy-glass raised to his eye, the latter holding a half-empty bottle, which they had been sharing for the past few hours.

"Is it still there?" Jaheira asked, taking a sip of the unidentified alcoholic liquid they had bought from a nearby merchant to aid the passing of the time as they searched in the docks.

Khalid nodded slowly, still peering through the spy-glass, with one hand raised to block out the sun, which was low in the sky and threatening to blind him as he scanned the horizon. "T-the Seawolf is s-still anchored offshore," he told her, squinting a little in the evening half-light. "T-the Wolf Fang is still d-docked d-down at the p-pier."

Their time that day had been well spent. A subtle and costly interrogation of the Seawolf's first mate Ramman Thorstein had given them enough information to lead them here to the docks; enough information that they had the first smidgen of information about the Seawolf and her crew. But Thorstein had not quite been intoxicated enough to give them the really vital information, and so Jaheira had dragged an unwilling Khalid down to the docks for them to find out by themselves.

"The Fang has been there for the entire day now," Jaheira mused thoughtfully, having asked around down the docks. "I would assume that Bates told Thorstein to take her to Athkatla, with a handful of the crew, for some shore leave, but why is the Seawolf still in Amn's waters anyway? Gorion said that she had departed soon after delivering the slaves to Ployer's… care."

Khalid shrugged. "I d-don't know," he confessed, lowering the glass and putting it in a small leather case he attached to his girdle. "That is s-something Thorstein w-wouldn't t-tell us, and something w-we should p-pass on t-to Gorion when we t-talk to him t-tomorrow. I'm s-sure he can f-find some answers for us."

Jaheira nodded and sighed, passing the bottle over to him considerately. "It is indeed suspicious. We would do well to try and investigate further… see if we can prove to Gorion that Bates didn't just leave something behind, or such," she pointed out, shrugging and looking mildly hopeful.

Khalid missed her expression as he took a swig from the bottle. "B-but this is n-not what we w-were supposed to do. W-we know almost n-nothing of w-what we'd be g-getting into w-with regards t-to the p-pirates. We're h-here t-to deal with Ployer, and n-nothing else. One s-step at a time."

She gave him a slightly scathing glance. "We're here to deal with slavers, Khalid, which the pirates most certainly are. What if we were to just go down to the Fang and investigate; see what we could find? Or smuggle on board so it takes us to the Seawolf herself, and work from there?" Her face was deathly serious.

Khalid stared at her incredulously. "That's c-c-c-crazy!" he stuttered heavily. "Are y-you insane? That's c-crazy!" He paused, reeling for a moment. "G-Gorion t-told us t-to stay at the C-Copper C-Coronet and f-find w-what we c-could about the p-pit fighting t-there. W-we're already b-breaking orders, j-just by b-being here!"

"Actually, we were told to stay at the Copper Coronet and become familiar faces; Gorion said nothing about finding out anything about the pit fighting, but that's besides the point," Jaheira reminded him. "But I see no reason why we can't take things to an extra step. We're Harpers; is this not what we do?"

"D-deal with t-things like s-slavery? Y-yes," Khalid stammered. "R-rush headlong into s-situations w-which k-kill us? N-no. W-we would d-do well to come back h-here later, w-when we know m-more of w-what we are f-facing." He sighed, and squinted at the distant shape of the Seawolf again. "P-pirates are t-too unpredictable f-for us to c-charge head on and f-face them."

Jaheira considered this a moment, then unfolded her long legs and hopped to her feet before striding down the street, heading towards the stairs that led to the piers of the docks district. "Very well. I suggest you cover me, then, and warn me if you see any of the pirates returning."

There was a scrabbling behind her as Khalid presumably tried to get up, then she felt her shoulders gripped firmly before she was whirled around, ending up nose to nose with the half-elven warrior.

"No," he said, his usual stutter gone as he spoke slowly and forcefully. "That's rather suicidal, don't you think? We'll stay with what we've been told, because otherwise you're just charging headfirst into disaster. Somehow I don't think that's a particularly good idea." Then Khalid released her, and as she gave him a suspicious and evaluating look, the sort of nervous and sheepish expression she had begun to expect of him crossed his face, and he was suddenly the jumpy warrior she knew once again.

"We have to do something," Jaheira said cautiously, folding her arms across her chest as she continued to stare suspiciously, wondering where this confident man had been hiding behind this jumpy shell. "We cannot simply sit here and do nothing."

Khalid looked at her, then backed off and slowly sat down again. "I d-don't see why n-not," he replied, the stammer returning as he slowly shifted back to 'normal'. "We w-wait for Gorion's orders. B-besides, why are y-you so eager to r-rush headlong into d-danger and d-death?"

Jaheira snorted as she moved over to sit next to him, the moment of rushing into action having passed. She grabbed the bottle and took a swig. "I'm not rushing into danger and death. We are Harpers. This is what we do – not sit around in taverns trying to become comfortable regulars."

Khalid sighed as he accepted the bottle. "That d-day will come," he told her gently, sipping the drink. "N-not now, n-no. B-but soon. We a-are untested. C-can you r-really blame G-Gorion?"

"No," Jaheira admitted. "Which is why I'm trying to become tested. So that we can actually help the others, instead of simply sitting here pointlessly, like dead weights which have no use."

"D-Darial and B-Belgrade will c-cope perfectly w-well on their own, w-without our help, have n-no fear." Khalid paused as he gave her a considerate look, then realisation dawned slowly, and he sighed again. "Ah. T-that is it. Y-you do n-not trust him, or h-her, or b-both."

Jaheira glared at him. "I think they are professional enough to simply go about their business when given an assignment such as this to work on. You are blowing this all out of proportion," she accused him, snatching the bottle and draining it, much to Khalid's concern.

He didn't complain, however, merely gave her an evaluating glance. "I'm n-not sure I'm the one b-blowing things out of p-proportion. As you s-said, they are b-both professionals. And y-yes, someday, s-soon, you'll b-be accompanying h-him on mission j-just as she does." He shifted, not meeting her gaze.

Jaheira glowered quietly. "You really think me as pathetic as that?" she demanded, just how ridiculous her irritability and jealousy were starting to sink in as he pointed it out to her. "It is not that. It is simply that… I am a Harper. I just wish I had the opportunity to actually act as such. I am a druid as well, but that is a role I already fulfil. I feel like… half a Harper."

"And t-that doesn't m-make things easier w-when the one p-person in your l-life is a… a f-full Harper, so to speak?" Khalid observed lightly, raising an eyebrow and looking irritatingly honest. As she opened her mouth to retort sharply, he continued. "I m-mean, I assume t-that there is n-nobody else in y-your life."

Jaheira continued to glare. "To say that there is nobody in my life is something of an exaggeration, not to mention unfair. I have druid companions. I have friends in the Harpers. I have – "

"I d-did not s-say that t-there was n-nobody in the l-life of J-Jaheira the Harper, or Jaheira the d-druid. I w-was asking if t-there was anyone in the l-life of J-Jaheira," Khalid replied quietly and frankly.

Jaheira sighed, scrubbing her face with her hands wearily. "My family were killed in the Tethyr civil war. I left my grove when I joined the Harpers will Belgrade. So no, I have nobody," she admitted, then glanced at him. "And you? What of the mysterious Harper of Calimport?"

Khalid smiled dryly. "M-my father wished I h-had never b-been born, f-for my existence d-damaged his r-reputation. A r-respectable b-businessman, with a b-bastard child. T-there was no love l-lost between m-me and my h-half-b-brothers. I g-grew up with a f-family, but r-rather alone." He glanced at her, still wearing the slightly sad smile. "S-so you see, at l-least you have s-someone."

She clapped him on the shoulder lightly. "And yet the one person I have, I have irrational fears about losing him to someone else. Place the emphasis on the irrational." She laughed humourlessly. "Aren't we a pair?"

Khalid shrugged, his smile lightening a shade. "I w-wouldn't w-worry. When I s-spoke to D-Darial as we came here, she s-seemed to suggest that it w-was well and t-truly over b-between her and B-Belgrade."

Jaheira nodded, then froze and looked slowly at him. "What did you just say?" she asked cautiously, frowning a little bit.

"As f-far as D-Darial's concerned, it's over b-between her and B-Belgrade. I'd assume B-Belgrade feels the s-same," Khalid replied, a little oblivious to her odd expression and rather shocked look.

"They… used to be together," Jaheira said slowly, carefully, rolling the words around inside her mouth.

Khalid nodded. "Y-yes." Realisation dawned eventually, and his eyes widened. "Y-you didn't k-know?" he demanded, looking shocked and utterly mortified all at once as he stared at her. "H-he didn't tell you?"

Jaheira paused for a moment, taking a few calming breaths, then stood up and started to stride back up the street the way she had come, knowing that he would follow her, wherever she was headed.

"W-where are we g-going?" Khalid asked as he stood and hurried to trot along beside her as she strode purposefully along the docks district.

"Back to the Copper Coronet," Jaheira replied morosely. "We're supposed to be regulars, after all. And what is it, above all, that makes regulars noticed in a tavern such as the Copper Coronet?"

Khalid sighed as he saw the answer, and nodded sympathetically. "D-drinking?"