Author's Note: Yes, he's back! *grins* (Some of you will be thrilled, some of you... not so much! *smirk*) Again, this was written before I had read any of the books by R.A. Salvatore, so please be kind to Drizzt. He's having a rough day. *grins*
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Bioware, Interplay, or the Baldur's Gate series other than copies of the games themselves and an overactive imagination. Nor do I own anything related to the Forgotten Realms, including, but not limited to, Drizzt Do'Urden. Thank you. :)
Journey to the North
Chapter X
The table collapsed with a splintering crash and the harsh tinkle of a dozen shattered glasses. The soldiers closest to the destruction jumped back just in time to avoid the shattered table and the man who had shattered it. Chairs overturned, and raucous laughter echoed through the common room of the Friendly Arm Inn. Several soldiers raised their rescued glasses to the huge ranger sitting, or rather laying in the midst of the devastation.
Minsc lay there for only a moment. Then he rose to his elbows, shaking his head vigorously and raining a glittering shower of wine and glass on those around him. He looked with a dazed expression at the faces surrounding him for a long moment, then broke into an enormous grin and added his booming laugh to the others.
Imoen's lighter, musical laughter quickly followed. She fairly danced to where her fallen friend lay and extended a small hand to help Minsc to his feet. Minsc looked at the tiny hand with a rather vacant expression, then up at Imoen, wonder in his large gray eyes. A little ball of golden fur peeped nervously out of the open collar of Minsc's shirt, emitting a scathing series of chirps and squeals in Imoen's general direction before disappearing once again.
"Boo says," Minsc began, waving his head unsteadily, "that you… That…." He paused briefly, then fell silent and looked around thoughtfully, as though he had not spoken at all. He blinked his clouded eyes and rubbed a single huge hand over his bald head.
Imoen giggled and grabbed Minsc's hand from where it lay on his shaven scalp. She pulled helplessly against his enormous bulk, pleading. "C'mon, big guy, you can't just stay sitting there."
Minsc did not move so much as an inch, and Imoen laughed harder, bracing herself and tugging with all her strength. "Get up, you big… you big…."
Unfortunately, this was the moment that her hand chose to slip from Minsc's, and she stumbled backward with a startled cry, landing squarely on her rump a few feet away. At that, another cheer rose from the surrounding soldiers, and she glared at them with a smile tugging at her lips. "Thank you very much."
Then she turned her glare upon Minsc. "I swear, Minsc," she groaned, rubbing her injured behind as she got to her feet, "It would be easier to dance with Boo! You positively have two left feet!"
Minsc pondered her words for a moment and shook his head very seriously. "Well, then I have a very great problem, for I have only one left boot." He started to stand, wavering dangerously. "And Boo," he declared firmly, straightening his enormous shoulders, "is a very good dancer."
Imoen took his hand with a laugh and started pulling again. "Sure he is."
At last, Minsc made it to his feet, and yet another cheer rose from the crowd. Minsc grinned a little foolishly and waved to his unlikely public, then froze as he saw the shattered table at his feet. He stared at it for a moment, blinked, then stared some more. "Someone," he began, pointing an enormous finger at the wooden carnage, "has broken that table."
Imoen burst into another fit of giggles and started pulling him away. "No kidding, big guy!" Minsc did not move, and she pulled harder. "And Jaheira's going to have puppies if she sees it! I think she's still upset about the incident in the kitchen. Turkeys aren't supposed to fly, you know. Especially roasted ones…."
Minsc resisted, nearly pulling Imoen from her feet, and continued to gesture at the devastated table, saying in a desperate voice, "But the table! The table must be avenged!"
Imoen looked over her shoulder. Her eyes widened, and she tugged at his arm more urgently. "Come on, Minsc!"
Minsc turned to Imoen and opened his mouth to argue. "But…." He followed the little mage's gaze and his own eyes grew large. Jaheira was pushing her way through the still-laughing crowd, her steely eyes flashing angrily.
Without another word, Minsc grabbed Imoen's hand and turned, pulling her into the crowd on the side farthest from the approaching druid. Imoen let out a startled yelp, a muffled giggle, and the two disappeared.
***
Jaheira sighed and glanced over the devastation. She could see Minsc's bald head bobbing away from her in the opposite direction, easily visible over the heads of the other patrons, and from the series of muffled giggles accompanying his flight, Imoen was not far behind. Jaheira shook her head in frustration and put her hands on her hips. The child was a bad influence, there was no doubt about that, but Jaheira was fond of her all the same.
With a tired sigh, Jaheira shook her head again and reached for the small money purse at her belt. She took out a few coins, weighed them in her slender hand for a moment, and then passed them over to the small gnome who had suddenly appeared at her elbow.
Bentley Mirrorshade smiled and bowed. "My thanks, Jaheira." He counted the coins quickly and nodded.
"Just enough. Now about the kitchen window…."
Jaheira muttered under her breath and handed over a few more coins. "And the turkey… fine bird, that…. " More coins. "And the rug in the upstairs hall…." Still more coins. "And the credenza…."
Jaheira looked at him, narrowing her eyes slightly as she dropped the last of her coins into Bentley's already crowded palm. "I've told you before to water down your ale, gnome."
Bentley chuckled under his breath, then winked and pocketed the money. "Lowers the profit margins, my Lady."
Jaheira let a smile pull at her lips and returned her attention to the crowd of soldiers. There was a pleasant moment of silence while Bentley walked to the bar to retrieve a flagon of ale for himself and a glass of water for Jaheira. He returned and offered the water to Jaheira, who raised an eyebrow.
"You have the last of my coins, Bentley."
Bentley shrugged with a smile and offered the glass again. "No charge for this one, Lady Jaheira. I would offer you ale, but I know you wouldn't take it."
Jaheira laughed quietly and took the glass, nodding her thanks.
Bentley took a long pull of his ale, then nodded toward the soldiers. "So… where are they headed?"
Jaheira paused for a moment, then said, "To the Silver Mountains." She glanced over at Bentley. "There is an evil there that must be dealt with, and we are here to deal with it."
Bentley looked a little surprised. "You're with this lot, then?""
Jaheira nodded, returning her gaze to the knights as a small group began a rather enthusiastic rendition of The Maiden and the Moon. One of them was severely off-key, and Jaheira cringed slightly at the musical massacre. "We are. Myself, Minsc, Imoen, and Kaelis."
"Kaelis." The gnome nodded. "I was wondering about that, actually. Ana saw her come in earlier, after the rest of you had made yourselves… comfortable. Moved herself into a corner, she did, and ordered nothing more than a single draught of ale and a meat pie."
He shook his head a bit sadly. "I took it to her myself. Wanted to say hello. She thanked me kindly enough, she did, but that was all I could get out of her. Didn't want to talk much, I'm afraid." He looked at Jaheira. "Awfully unlike her, if you ask me."
"Did anyone ask you?"
Bentley merely shrugged off Jaheira's sharpness and glanced toward the shadowy corner where Kaelis sat alone at a small wooden table. "I just mention it, that's all. I like Kaelis, Jaheira. You know that." He let out a short sigh. "She was always a friendly little thing, even after all that's happened. Her eyes were a bit harder there at the end, but she always had a smile for a friend. She has a smile to light a moonless night, that one. I'd like to see it now. That I would."
Jaheira followed his gaze, saying nothing.
Bentley watched Kaelis thoughtfully for a moment, humming softly to himself. Then he took another pull of his ale and said, "I wonder that the group of you would involve yourself in something like this." He shrugged lightly. "I would think that a large group of well-trained Amnish knights would be able to march right over any wolves or trolls that have the lack of brains to get in their way. I doubt this lot would even have to stop to clean their boots."
Jaheira looked down at Bentley, raising an eyebrow. "You have heard something of it, then?"
Bentley's voice remained conversational, but there was a light in his eyes that spoke of more than idle curiosity. "I hear a lot of things, good lady. This is a large inn, and I will serve a hundred more drinks and hear as many tales before the last of these soldiers falls into his drunken bed."
Jaheira nodded slowly, turning her glass in her fingers. "I don't doubt that, Master Mirrorshade." She paused for a moment, then looked back toward the great room. "Tell me, have you heard anything else?"
"I have, Lady Jaheira, but I hesitate to say."
She smiled to herself. "You need keep nothing from me, old friend."
Bentley stood motionless for a moment, his sharp eyes still watching Kaelis in her dark corner. "They say," he began, "that a regiment of Amnish soldiers has been missing in the Silver Mountains for some months. Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart, if I'm not mistaken."
Jaheira took a drink. "You're not."
"I've heard that there has no word from them for some weeks now."
"There hasn't."
"And that there is a possibility that their ranks have been completely destroyed."
"There is."
"By trolls?"
"I doubt it."
Bentley nodded thoughtfully in agreement. He took another drink, hummed a few more measures of a nameless tune, and then said more quietly. "They say that the leader of the regiment is a handsome young Lord from the Amnish capitol."
"He is."
"Delryn, I think his name was."
Jaheira turned her glass again in her fingers. "That's right."
The old barkeeper was silent for a moment, then shook his head sadly and nodded toward where Kaelis was sitting. "She loves him." It wasn't a question.
Jaheira nodded slowly. "Yes, she does."
Bentley's nodded again. "And he?"
"Followed her to Hell and back, and would do so again."
"Ah…." Bentley sighed slowly, rubbing his hand over his head. "I suppose that explains it, then."
Jaheira looked down curiously. "Does it, now?"
The innkeeper smiled a little sadly. "Aye, it does." He gestured toward the soldiers. "They're searching for their brothers in the Radiant Heart, and Kaelis…" He sighed softly, shaking his head. "Well, Kaelis is searching for own heart."
They both stood in silence for quite some time, watching Kaelis. She was still staring at the table, idly flicking at a plate of food with her dagger. In shadows, the dark circles under her eyes were hidden, but the druid knew that they were there. Kaelis had not eaten more than a few mouthfuls in the past week, and she had slept only with the help of a carefully prepared sleeping draught. It was all too familiar, and Kaelis would not suffer as she had. That she swore.
Jaheira started when Bentley leaned over and spoke, his voice barely above a whisper. "A man was brought in tonight."
Jaheira's delicate ears perked up at the words. "Tell me, Bentley…."
Bentley looked up at the druid and said, "He was wounded. He had tried to come from the mountains, apparently. With a message, no doubt, though we couldn't find it on him."
Jaheira nodded for him to continue, and he did. "I'm afraid I can't tell you much more than that. He's sleeping off his injuries in an upstairs room. My darling Gellana was surprised he had made it as long as he did. It took her several healing spells to clean him up."
Jaheira frowned. "He made it here himself? Injured? From the Silver Mountains?"
Bentley's eyes were full of meaning. "No. He was carried in."
Jaheira shook her head in disbelief. "Carried in? By whom?"
Bentley glanced over at Kaelis and nodded his head in her direction. Jaheira quickly followed his gaze and saw a dark figure in worn armor walking toward Kaelis, his pale hair all but glowing in the firelight. His step was sure and strong, and even from this distance, Jaheira could see the faint smile playing on his lips. His features were sharp and elven, his skin the color of night.
Jaheira shook her head slowly, tightening her fingers around her glass.
"Silvanus save us. What is he doing here?"
***
Drizzt Do'Urden slid gracefully into the seat across from Kaelis. He said nothing. After a minute, Kaelis looked up from where she had been picking at the now-cold meat pie with her dagger, her emerald eyes widening slightly as recognition dawned within them. Her motions slowed, then stopped altogether, and a wry smile curled one corner of her mouth. Her companion watched her with laughing eyes, folding his arms over his chest and shifting his weight contentedly in his chair.
"Well, well, well… What have we here?"
Kaelis laughed softly and shook her head, looking back down at the table. She said nothing for some moments. Then she dropped her dagger to the table and looked up again. "I could ask you the same question."
Drizzt shrugged lightly, feigning deep contemplation. "I suppose you could… But I doubt you will."
Kaelis smiled and shook her head, looking back down at the table. She picked up her dagger and turned it over in her fingers. She could feel his gaze still upon her, and she looked up after a moment. There was an unreadable expression in his lavender eyes. She took a deep breath, straightened in her chair and tucked a stray curl behind her ear, returning the smile to her face "How are you, Drizzt?"
He pursed his lips thoughtfully and nodded. "Well enough."
"And Guenwhyvar?"
Drizzt smiled fondly. "Resting after a long journey, but my friend is well. And yourself?"
Kaelis let out a little sighing groan and rubbed her hands wearily over her face. "To be perfectly honest, I've had better days."
Drizzt nodded, the solemn gesture somewhat spoiled by the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I don't doubt it." He let his eyes roam over her face and hair, then laughed and said, "You look like The Abyss."
Kaelis dropped her hands and made a face. "Thank you very much."
Kaelis was trying not to smile, but Drizzt laughed again, a pleasant, almost musical sound, and she soon found herself joining him, though somewhat more quietly. It felt good to laugh. It had been too long.
She shook her head, letting out a deeply contented breath. "So what are you doing here, Drizzt?" She looked up to meet his lavender gaze. "Are you following some grand adventure? Ridding the world of evil and prejudice? Or did the wind simply tell you of my coming here, and you thought you would drop by to terrorize your favorite Child of Hell?"
Drizzt laughed again, throwing back his head. The deep rumble of his laughter rose even over the laughter of the countless soldiers milling aroud the great room. He looked back at Kaelis and shook his head, a few last chuckles breaking from his chest.
"Terrorize? Come now, Kaelis." He shifted his arms slightly into a more comfortable position, the amusement still dancing in his eyes. "I simply could not resist a glimpse of the legendary Kaelis of Candlekeep."
Kaelis rolled her eyes and he continued, his voice a bit lower. "Yes. Kaelis of Candlekeep. The stories reach even Icewind Dale. Although…." He leaned forward and took Kaelis' dagger from the table, glancing at it quickly before looking up again. "I have heard rumors that Candlekeep is no longer your home."
Kaelis looked up quickly. Drizzt's gaze was sharp and piercing, his question heavy with inference, and after a moment Kaelis found herself forced to look away. She was suddenly keenly interested in the game of dice that a few of the younger knights had started a few tables from hers.
Drizzt sighed and leaned back again, turning the dagger over in his fingers. "Kaelis…."
The deep voice drew her eyes back to his, holding them there for several minutes. There was an intensity to his gaze that made her feel somewhat uncomfortable, but she was reluctant to look away. At last she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I have been staying at the Delryn estate in Athkatla, at Anomen's… Lord Delryn's invitation."
Drizzt's jaw tightened slightly and he looked away, the impromptu game of dice now apparently the center of his attention.
Kaelis waited for a moment, then continued softly. "Are you surprised?"
Drizzt did not meet her eyes, but he shook his head. "No." He sat motionless for some time, then added, "I wish I were."
It was now Kaelis' turn to watch in silence. Neither companion moved, nor wanted to break the heavy stillness. Drizzt held his head proudly, but his face was carefully expressionless, and his amethyst eyes flashed with something that sent a cold shiver down into the pit of Kaelis' stomach.
After what seemed an eternity, Drizzt sighed and shifted in his chair. He looked at her quickly, then dropped his feet noisily to the floor and reached into his armor. He pulled out a folded piece of parchment sealed with a crumbling disk of red wax. Crumbling, but intact. He tossed it lightly onto the table in front of her. Then he leaned back in his chair again, nodding to the letter. "You'll want to see that."
Kaelis looked at Drizzt curiously for a long moment, then turned her eyes to the letter on the table. She lifted it and turned it over, bringing it close to examine the seal. As she saw the familiar figure of the Delryn eagle imprinted in the wax, her face paled. She looked up at Drizzt, her voice just above a whisper.
"Where did you get this?"
His voice was bored, his attitude nonchalant, but the intensity remained in his eyes. "On a dying man."
Kaelis' gaze faltered, and the hand holding the folded parchment began to tremble as the chill in her stomach turned completely to ice. Drizzt's eyes softened slightly and he leaned forward again, saying quietly. "Kaelis… It wasn't Delryn."
Kaelis looked at Drizzt for a long moment with a vacant expression, then nodded hesitantly and looked at the letter in her hands.
Drizzt remained low over the table, speaking in a low voice. "I found a man… a messenger for this Order, no doubt. He was carrying this letter when I found him. I recognized the seal."
Kaelis' voice had regained some of its strength, and she nodded almost imperceptibly. "The… outer seal on this letter is the Order's. They… leave a space in the center for the commander's personal insignia."
"Which in this case is Delryn's."
Kaelis glanced up. Drizzt waved off her surprised expression and said simply, "I have seen it before, Kaelis. You forget."
Kaelis shuddered slightly, her mind traveling back to a dark crypt below the graveyards of Athkatla. She could still see the dark chamber filled with fountains of blood, and the body that had lain lifeless on the floor when the other vampires had faded into mist.
Anomen had begged her to kill him, had pleaded for hers to be the sword that took the grim mockery of life that Bodhi had placed upon him. She remembered her hand shaking violently as she pulled her sword from his chest, the look of peace that shone in his sapphire eyes that even Bodhi's evil could not dim, her despair as he closed them for what she thought would be the last time. She could still hear her name on his lips, a lingering murmur on a dying breath.
Drizzt had stood behind her at a discreet distance, watching Kaelis with the same pale, brooding eyes that lingered on her now.
She looked up. "I've not forgotten."
He watched her closely, his eyes darkening slightly in their intensity. "I asked you to come with me then. Do you remember?"
Kaelis paused, then closed her eyes and nodded. "I remember, Drizzt."
It seemed an eternity before Drizzt spoke again.
"That offer still stands, Kaelis."
She shook her head. "You know I can't."
"Kaelis…."
Kaelis sighed softly, then opened her eyes and smiled in spite of herself. "There was a time, Drizzt, when I would have followed you to the end of the world, asking for nothing more than a laugh or a kind word." Drizzt's gaze finally faltered, and he looked away, but she continued.
"I remember when you used to come to Candlekeep to visit Gorion. I remember peering through the doorway with Imoen as you talked about things going on in places I had never heard of. I remember sitting in front of the fire in the kitchen, listening to your stories and songs. So many faraway places, so many strange people and…."
She laughed softly, shaking her head. "Imoen had a terrible crush on you, you know." She paused for a moment. "I suppose we both did."
Drizzt looked up. His voice was low, almost pleading for understanding. "You were a child, Kaelis. Full of life, vibrant and beautiful, but a child nonetheless." He shook his head quickly. "You had seen no more than fourteen summers when I last visited Candlekeep. How could I have known…?"
Kaelis smiled and cut him off. "I know. I don't think you recognized me when we met again, that first time south of High Hedge. Do you remember?"
Drizzt laughed in spite of himself and nodded his head. "I do, and I didn't. Not at first, I'll admit. After all, you had…" He cleared his throat softly and arched a single pale eyebrow. "grown quite a bit."
Kaelis laughed, but said nothing, and Drizzt went on. "I had only known the child. I saw a woman. Still young, but no longer the child."
Kaelis smiled a little sadly. "No, Drizzt. Still a child."
Drizzt's eyes were soft. "Perhaps, but so much more. Forgive me, my friend. I was a fool. And now I pay the price for my blindness."
Kaelis looked at Drizzt for a long moment. Neither spoke. At last Kaelis tore her eyes away and looked again at the paper in her hands.
Drizzt watched her for another moment, then sighed quietly and nodded to the letter. "I recognized Delryn's emblem on the seal and had planned to take this letter to Athkatla, and into his hands." He smiled. "Though I admit I would have preferred yours. But the man in the forest was… rather insistent that he be brought here, and so I brought him. He's upstairs, if you wish to see him."
Kaelis broke the seal and opened the letter carefully. A small note fluttered from within to rest on the worn table. Kaelis looked at it briefly, but did not pick it up. Instead, she looked back at the letter, a look of confusion crossing her eyes as she quickly scanned its contents.
"This letter is not to me," she started, shaking her head slightly. "It's a list. It looks like a list of potions, and… scrolls. Healing, Extra Healing, Superior Healing, Invisibility, Magic Resistance, Haste, Protection from Evil…."
She frowned slightly. "It is in Anomen's hand, I know, but it seems… rushed. It was written in a hurry." She looked up at Drizzt. "He's preparing. Preparing for something big."
Drizzt shook his head, frowning thoughtfully. "The man I found carried no money, nothing with which he could buy supplies. There must have been others that were lost."
Drizzt's eyes blazed with anger, and he slammed his hand down on the table, drawing confused looks from several of the soldiers. Drizzt ignored them completely, looking back at Kaelis. He pulled his hand from the table and said quietly, "I found no one else in the surrounding area. My friend must have made it a great deal further than his companions."
Kaelis nodded in agreement, then went back to reading the letter with growing interest. "He also leaves instructions to inform the Order of the regiment's situation. To let them know that…."
Her eyes widened slightly, and she read the beginning of the letter over again, noting each potion and each spell requested. They all confirmed her conclusion, and her heart sank. "He's fighting a lich, Drizzt. Or something like it, but…." Her eyes looked up at Drizzt, and found the loathing in her eyes matched only by his own. She glanced back at the middle of the letter, where she had been reading. "They didn't tell him. Damn them all, they didn't tell him!" She threw the parchment to the table in disgust.
Drizzt's eyes glittered coldly as he picked up the letter from the table and read Anomen's clear script. "I only pray that Helm will forgive you for what you have done. The men should have been informed. The blood of the fallen cries out against you already, and I do not doubt that more voices will join them before the week is through. They will be brought blameless into the Watcher's embrace. Can you say the same?'"
Drizzt looked back at Kaelis, raising an eyebrow. "I see your friend Anomen has not yet learned the subtle art of diplomacy."
Kaelis scowled and snatched the letter from his hands. She started reading again.
Drizzt looked down at the smaller paper still laying on the table and picked it up. He looked at the name written on the front in bold letters. He turned it over a few times in his fingers, then, then sighed softly and offered it to Kaelis without a word. She looked up at the movement, then took the letter. She glanced at Drizzt curiously, then opened the letter and began to read.
My dearest Kaelis,
My hands tremble as I write these words, for I fear that I now write them for the last time. These days grow dark, and my heart grows darker still, for I now know the evil that I have come here to face, and it fills me with a dread that I cannot allow. We ride to battle within the week. The men look to me with confidence, and if there is to be any measure of victory in this Helm-forsaken place, I fear it will come from their sacrifice. I wish you were at my side, my love. Together we could drive the evil from this land, as from others. I hunger for your strength in these moments, my love, and for your touch.
Forgive me, Kaelis, for not telling you the truth. I know, my love, that you could see in my eyes the deception into which I was coerced, for I could see the pain in yours, and even now it cuts my very soul. Believe me when I tell you that they gave me no choice. Duty can be a curse as well as a blessing.
I curse the fools at the Order for their fierce devotion to the appearance of perfection, and I curse myself for my own delusions when first we met. I thank Helm that I have been able to see the world through another's eyes, for there are colors that exist between black and white that are beautiful beyond description, and shadows that make one appreciate more fully the beauty of the light without extinguishing it. If only they could see, if only they could know you as I know you.
I wish that I had made you my wife, as I swore I would. I cannot tell you how many nights I listened at your door, wishing that I held you in my arms in the darkness. Wishing to hear you whisper my name as you feel asleep in my embrace. But I made you a promise. Only as your husband would I hold you thus. I would have married you at once, in any of the countless churches that we passed in our travels, but… there was so much more you deserved, my love. So much more I wanted to give, and could not.
I was a fool. Nay, love, a weak fool who promised unending devotion and could not even stand in defiance against the foolish prejudice of narrow minds. Had I the chance, I would march before them now where they stand and speak the truth in a voice that would shake the earth, until none could deny and none would dare to stand in our way. You are my life, Kaelis, my soul, my spirit, and without these, what is any man? In life or death, I am yours, and if it is only in death that I shall see you again, then I welcome it with open arms and a joyful heart.
Be well, my love. Laugh. Dance. Sing. Fill the world with the light that you offer. Helm willing, I will hold you in my arms before another moon. If I cannot, know only that I love you, and will be with you always.
Your own
Anomen
It was difficult to draw a breath through the tightness in her throat, but Kaelis attempted several and let them out slowly, trying desperately to banish the stinging tears behind her eyes. She heard in the hazy corners of her mind the laughter of soldiers, voices raised in song, the gentle tinkle of glass against glass. She ignored them all. She folded the letter again with trembling hands, then tucked it into her armor, letting her fingers linger for a moment on the worn parchment.
"Thank you, Drizzt."
Drizzt said nothing. He remained watching her, his arms still folded on his chest. Kaelis glanced at him briefly, then closed her eyes again, passing her fingertips tiredly over her forehead. She whispered to herself, "I have to find him."
Drizzt pursed his lips thoughtfully for a minute, then sat up in his chair and said simply, "I'm going with you."
Kaelis' eyes flew open. She looked at him for a long moment, then shook her head. "No. Drizzt, I won't ask you to do that."
Drizzt leaned over the table to look directly into Kaelis' face. He smiled and raised his eyebrows. "You didn't." He silenced her protests with a wave of his dark hand.
"Kaelis, there is no one in your company that has any skill in tracking. Not in the sort of terrain you will encounter. Minsc is… capable enough, but his experience is limited. You need my eyes and ears, if nothing else. And my scimitars, as always, are at your disposal."
"Drizzt…."
He waved his hand impatiently, then shook his head and continued more quietly. "Let me aid you, and I will be content." He paused for a moment, looking at Kaelis, then sighed at an unspoken thought and said simply, "Gather your things, Kaelis. We ride at dawn."
Kaelis shook her head. "Drizzt, I don't know what to say."
His voice held a note of sharpness. "Then say nothing." He dropped her dagger to the table and stood. "If your companions can keep up, they may come with us. If they cannot, then so much the better, for two will be easier to disguise than a band."
With that, he turned toward the stairs. Kaelis spoke quickly. "Drizzt…."
Drizzt stopped, paused, looked over his shoulder.
Kaelis paused, then said simply, "Thank you."
Drizzt watched Kaelis for a moment longer, then nodded faintly and turned again, quickly vanishing into the crowd of bodies. Kaelis watched him disappear, then looked back at the table. She picked up the letter to the Order, folded it, and put in in her armor next to the other letter. Then she picked up her dagger from the table and slipped it into the sheath at her thigh. We ride at dawn.
I'm coming.
