Valen watched Shara with some concern as they followed a particularly narrow and twisty passage. She was so absorbed in her thoughts, that she wasn't giving her full attention to where they were going. Admittedly, even when distracted the shadowdancer was a far better scout than he, but it still worried him. By now he would have thought that she realized just how dangerous the Underdark was. He was going to have to make sure that they stopped to rest as soon as possible; they just couldn't afford either of them to be in less than top form.
That opportunity came soon enough, as the path they were on opened up into a large cavern. The ceiling was lost in the darkness far above, an occasional stalactite emerging from the gloom the only sign that there actually was anything above them. Well, that and the ever oppressive feeling that seemed to permeate the Underdark. Valen thought he saw a deep chasm in the distance, and possibly a bridge spanning it, but couldn't be sure from this far away. Nearby, there was a small alcove that would serve well enough as a campsite. It was only a slight hollow in the wall of the cavern, but it would afford them some small amount of protection, and allowed a full view of anything that might approach.
"Shara," Valen said, turning to the half-elf, "it might be a good idea to stop and rest for a bit. We may not get another chance anytime soon."
She looked at him incredulously. "You want to stop and rest? The Valsharess' army is getting closer to Lith My'athar every day and you've decided that we need to sit and twiddle our thumbs for a few hours!" Her voice was rising to dangerous levels. If she kept this up, they were going to bring half the Underdark down on them. "If we are to have any chance of stopping her, we can't afford to waste any time."
Valen just stood there, stunned motionless by her outburst. Even his tail had stopped moving, which rarely ever happened. What in the nine hells was eating at the woman? He may not have known her for very long, but he was fairly sure that lashing out at him like this was not what she would consider normal behavior.
By now, Shara was pacing back and forth in clear agitation, oblivious to his shock. "I thought you cared what happened to the Seer and her people." she said, pinning him with an accusing glare.
Rage washed over Valen so quickly, he barely restrained himself from knocking her flat on the ground. His demonic blood was screaming at him to make her pay for her words, to make her beg to take them back as he broke every one of those slender little fingers… He pushed those urges back violently, trying to calm himself enough to get a rational word out.
Two quick steps put him squarely in front of her, stopping her in her tracks. He reached out and trapped her chin between his fingers, forcing her to look at him, before speaking. "Shara, if you keep this up, you're going to get us both killed. I may not believe in prophesy, but I do know that you are our best chance of getting out of this alive." She winced as he tightened his grip. "I for one do not wish to die, so if you will just calm down and think before you do anything else foolish, I would appreciate it."
"Valen," Shara said, her green eyes never leaving the tiefling, "let go, please. You're hurting me."
He swore softly as he dropped his hand from her face. Small spots of red were blooming where his fingers had just been. It seemed that no matter how hard he tried, he could never completely control his temper.
She eyed him cautiously as she gingerly touched her jaw, assessing the damage his grip had done. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern evident on his face. He honestly hadn't meant to hurt her.
Shara carefully touched a particularly livid spot before nodding. "I'm fine, Valen." She started to say something more, but stopped herself, staring off at nothing for a long moment. She frowned as she turned back to him, shaking her head slightly before speaking what was on her mind.
"No, I'm not fine. As much as I hate to admit it, you're right." She turned away again and walked over to the path they had just left. Sighing, she leaned her head against the rough stone of the wall. "I know we just walked down that path, but I couldn't tell you half of what we passed by in there. Normally, I'd be able to retrace it with my eyes closed, but I just can't seem to keep focused on anything lately!" Shara kicked at the ground in frustration, sending a small flurry of pebbles chasing each other as they tumbled away.
"Maybe I do need to stop for a while… I guess it can't hurt." She glanced around for a moment before spotting the alcove he had noticed earlier. "That looks as good a place as any to set up camp, though I don't think a fire would be too smart. I've probably already attracted too much attention as is."
Shara was quiet as she walked over to their chosen campsite. Valen could hardly believe the speed with which the change had come over her. The sheer unpredictability of her current mood just served to confirm his belief that she needed some time to rest and get a hold of herself. He just hoped it would be enough to keep another outburst like the last at bay.
Valen dropped his pack next to hers and pulled out his bedroll. Even though he didn't expect to get any sleep, Shara needed it far more than he did, he figured that he might as well be as comfortable as possible. He watched her as he settled himself against the wall. She was frowning a bit as she pushed her pack into the corner and laid her sword within easy reach. He could clearly tell that something was troubling her, though anyone who had witnessed the last few minutes would have come to the same conclusion. She had calmed down considerably, but even so, she did not seem to be trying to hide her feelings anymore.
He thought about this for a moment before realizing that he had been able to read her without too much difficulty since their conversation the previous day. Valen began to wonder if he had pushed her too far then, reawakening something in her that would have been better to leave alone, at least until they had dealt with their current problems. He hadn't realized at the time just how fragile she was, but it was becoming all too apparent that underneath the façade of strength she projected was someone in danger of shattering at the slightest touch.
The problem was that every time he warned himself to be careful around her, he found himself ignoring his own advice. Right now was a perfect example. As she wrapped her cloak around herself and settled down to sleep, all Valen could think about was discovering just what it was that was bothering her so much. To be completely honest, it wasn't just the fact that it threatened their chances of success that this troubled him. He just couldn't stand to see her so clearly miserable, something that he found rather surprising when he took some time to think about it.
He watched her for a long time, once she finally fell asleep, lost in his own thoughts. He wasn't sure how long he had been sitting there, a fair bit longer than he had meant to, he was sure, when a faint sound startled him to attention. It took him a moment to realize that it was Shara, murmuring in her sleep. No longer did she seem to be resting peacefully. Her hands were clenched tightly, and her expression was strained. Whatever she was dreaming was definitely not pleasant. He debated waking her up, finally deciding it was best to do so when she began to sound distinctly frightened.
"Shara…" he said, reaching out to shake her gently awake. He didn't get any farther than that. At the slightest touch to her shoulder, she shot awake and stumbled back against the wall. The look on her face was one of pure terror. There was absolutely no recognition in her eyes, just the panicked look of a cornered animal. Valen most definitely had not been prepared to deal with this.
Instinct told him to leave her be until she woke up enough to realize where she was, and for once, he made himself do just that. Luckily, it wasn't long before he saw a flicker of recognition cross her face. Before he could do anything though, she had turned away, wrapping her arms tightly around her knees. She wasn't making this easy for him.
It seemed like an eternity to Valen, as he sat there, eyes fixed on Shara's back. At some point, she had rested her forehead on her knees and was gently rocking back and forth. It was almost hypnotic, watching her lithe form swaying in front of him, so much so that it was a moment before he realized she had begun to cry. Her whole body trembled as she fought back the tears, immersed in whatever memories the dream had brought back.
"Shara, are you alright?" He knew damn well it was a stupid question, but he couldn't think of anything else to say. She just ignored him, wrapping her arms tighter about herself.
For all that he wanted to let her deal with this at her own pace, Valen knew they didn't have the time to indulge her. They had already spent longer than he had intended resting, so unfortunately, she needed to come back to the present now. He wasn't quite sure how she was going to react to being disturbed, so it was with some trepidation that he reached out to her.
He should have just left well enough alone. She spun around, knocking his hand away with surprising force. Rage was now blazing from her tear-streaked face. "Can't you bloody well tell when someone wants to be left alone?"
She pointedly turned her back to him and began to repack her bedroll. Her motions were a far cry from the grace she usually exhibited, anger making her uncharacteristically clumsy. She tied her bedroll to her pack with one final violent jerk and slung it over her shoulder, walking off without a word.
Valen's eyes narrowed has he watched her go, packing his own things as quickly as he could. This day certainly had gone from bad to worse, and unfortunately, there would be ample opportunity for the situation to deteriorate even further. He set off at a trot, intent on catching up with her before she got too far ahead.
By the time he had done so, Shara was standing at the edge of the chasm examining what appeared to be a control panel, though not like any he had ever seen before, which stood near the shadowy outline of a bridge. Well, at least he had been right about the bridge, even if he seemed to be fouling everything else up. She was pressing controls seemingly at random, but it didn't appear to be getting her very far. Suddenly, she screamed in frustration, slamming her fist down on the display, making the image shift slightly.
"If you can make any sense of this damned thing, be my guest. I just don't have the patience to deal with it right now." With that she stormed off, viciously kicking stones out of her way as she went.
Valen sighed in resignation, turning his attention to the device in front of him. He wasn't sure that he would be any better than Shara at figuring this out, but she hadn't left him much choice. It took some time, but eventually he saw a pattern in how the controls worked. He held his breath as her pressed what he hoped would be the final button, and was relieved when a bright flash of light revealed a now substantial bridge across the deep rift.
He turned to see if Shara had noticed the sudden appearance of a bridge out of thin air, only to have his heart leap in his chest. She was standing at the very edge of the chasm, staring down into its black depths! All it would take was one wrong move and she would plummet to her death. Valen restrained himself from calling out to her, despite his panic. The last thing he wanted to do was explain to the Seer that her prophetical savior had died when he had startled her into falling down a bottomless pit.
"Shara," he said, his voice tense, "could you move a little farther away from the edge, please." She shrugged as she looked over at him, but thankfully took a few steps backwards.
"I see you figured out how to make that damn thing work." She stared at the bridge for a moment, her expression unreadable once again. "It looks safe enough, so I guess we should get going." She set off at once, leaving him once again to trail behind in her wake.
This had to be one of the more miserable journeys Valen had experienced recently. Shara walked just a few paces ahead of him, but it might as well have been a few miles. She was absolutely closed to him. The stiff set of her shoulders told him that she was still furious, but whether it was at him or herself he couldn't tell. At this point though, it didn't much matter. They were once again walking blind through the Underdark, and it was just a matter of time before something nasty found them. He just hoped it wouldn't be more than they could handle.
What was worse was that even he was finding it difficult to concentrate on where they were going. Despite the fact that he was well aware of the danger of such inattention, his mind couldn't help but dwell upon the events of the past day. He picked apart every last detail of their conversations. Could he have done something different, said something more… or less. It was maddening, but he just couldn't stop himself. He was like a child with a fresh wound, unable to cease prodding it to see if it still hurt.
A flicker of movement in the corner of his eye was all the warning he had. Suddenly, a drow materialized from the shadows ahead of them. The soft scuffing of feet behind him told him that there were more at his back. They had been surrounded without ever having been aware of the danger. The vile curses flowing from Shara's lips made it clear that she had been just as surprised as he.
Valen looked about him, assessing their situation. A good half dozen drow encircled them, most with crossbows trained upon the pair in their midst, but a few looked to be skilled in the arcane arts. Normally these odds would not have bothered him, but the drow at the forefront changed everything. He held his weapon, a sinister looking two bladed sword, with an ease that spoke of years, most likely decades, of training. There was a coldness in his eyes, a single-mindedness that couldn't be argued with. This man's whole purpose for existing was to kill at his mistress' order, a mindset that was all too familiar to Valen. There would be no negotiation, of that he was certain.
The leader's gaze flickered briefly across Valen, before finally coming to rest on Shara. "So, what have we here? None other than the very woman who hampered the attack efforts in Undermountain, it appears." He circled about them, regarding the half-elf with an avaricious gleam in his eyes. "We have been looking for you for quite some time, but I certainly did not expect you to fall right into my hands."
"Who in all hells are you?" Shara snarled at the drow. He sighed in mock regret, ignoring her question, as his violet eyes continued to follow the curves of her body. Valen felt a tide of anger rising inside him. If that bloody drow even laid one finger on her… he shook the thought off with some trouble. This most certainly was not the time to let his temper get the better of him.
The drow didn't miss the look in his eyes, smiling cruelly as he continued. "It's a pity the Valsharess has ordered your death, tu'rilthiir. You are quite lovely… for a surfacer."
Shara's eyes narrowed dangerously as she took a menacing step forward. "I damn well don't have time for this." Without further warning, she vanished from sight, blending effortlessly into the shadows.
Valen was thankful for the brief chaos that her disappearance caused, since it gave him just enough time to prepare himself for the inevitable onslaught, as the drow focused in on the only remaining target. Devil's Bane in hand, he cautiously circled the drow weapon master, using the moment to take the measure of his opponent. The other man was balanced lightly on his feet, pivoting gracefully as he followed Valen's movements. The drow's blade flashed out, barely grazing the tiefling's jaw as he dodged out of its way. That single blow was all it took; it was as if a whirlwind had been let loose in the cavern. The clash of arms filled the air, as the two spun about each other in a deadly dance
Valen was hard pressed to find an opening in the drow's defenses. More often than not, it was he who felt the cut of a blade against his skin. His focus became such that all else fell away, only those icy violet eyes and that deadly sword mattered. Somewhere in the distance the barrage of crossbows ended, as Shara's blade slipped out from the shadows to take the life of the last drow. Well… the next to last, since the final one was proving particularly difficult to kill. His ability to evade even the most well placed of Valen's blows was truly uncanny.
As he evaded yet another sweep of his enemy's blade, Valen sensed Shara slip up beside him. He shifted a step further to the left, drawing the drow's attention away from her, allowing the half-elf to dart in unseen at their opponent's back before letting the shadows envelop her once more. The distraction served its purpose, as the drow turned to meet the new threat, momentarily leaving his right side unguarded. Valen was able to land a solid blow, but even this seemed to have little effect.
He and Shara quickly developed a rhythm to their attacks. She was the veritable fly in the ointment as she slipped in and out of the shadows, the bite of her blade distracting the drow. Valen took advantage of this, finally landing more blows than he received. Ever so slowly, this ploy worked to weaken their enemy, until a particularly vicious blow sent him staggering. Before he could regain his balance, Shara drove her rapier deep into a gap in his armor. A look of disbelief crossed the drow's face as he fell to the ground, his life flowing swiftly from the gash in his side.
With the battle over, Valen finally had a chance to take a good look around himself. The region they were in was riddled with chasms, so much so that it was a wonder that no one had slipped over the edge amidst all the fighting. Steam was rising in delicate wisps from some unseen source in the depths, twining with the shadows as it disappeared into the darkness above. All this combined to create an aura of oppression reminiscent of certain parts of the Abyss. The fact that he was surrounded by corpses only served to enhance the effect. He shuddered, not wishing to dwell on the memories that were far too close to the surface at the moment. Shara wasn't the only one with things in her past better left forgotten.
He turned away from the rift in front of him to face the task of dealing with the dead, only to find that Shara was well ahead of him. She was methodically stripping the slain drow of anything useful or particularly valuable. He watched with some surprise as she slipped a slender gold chain from the neck of one of the mages, seemingly unfazed that the neck in question was slit from edge to edge and still oozing blood onto her hands, darkening the leather of her gloves. Well, Shara definitely wasn't squeamish, that was for certain, though he guessed she was probably used to dealing with her own handiwork by now.
As she reached back to set down the chain, she grazed her forearm against her hip, wincing as she did so. She shifted slightly as she started searching through the drow's pockets, allowing Valen to see the deep cut that spanned the length of her forearm. It looked to be a particularly nasty wound, starting at her wrist and curving around the underside of her arm to end near her elbow. The bleeding has slowed, but not stopped entirely, mingling with the blood of those she had slain, making a particularly gruesome sight of her hands.
As Valen made his way over to her side, Shara finally stopped to tend to her arm. He was actually a little surprised to see her do so without prompting. She was proving particularly stubborn about acknowledging when she was hurt. Of course, he shouldn't be too critical, considering he was probably far worse off than she was and not doing a thing about it. No matter, he deal with that after making sure Shara was all right.
She was fumbling awkwardly with her pack, her injured arm hurting her too much to be of much use. "Here," Valen said, kneeling down beside her, "let me help you with that" He quickly found the bandages and a small pot of salve that she always kept on hand. Since it wasn't her sword arm that was injured, these would do for now. Better to save the rest for when they truly needed it.
Setting them aside for a moment, he reached out to take her hand, turning it palm up to get a better view of the wound. It was deep but clean, and luckily it hadn't cut too the bone, so it could have been worse. The blade had sliced through the top of her glove, so he needed to get it off before he could actually do anything more. He carefully slipped it from her hand, doing his best not to cause her any more pain.
When he finally had gotten the glove off, it wasn't her wound that drew his attention. Rather, it was the thick silver scar the encircled her wrist. Before he realized what he was doing, Valen found himself tracing the line of the scar with his finger. He had a funny feeling that he knew how she had gotten it, especially if its twin could be found on her other wrist, which he suspected was the case.
Shara's hand had begun to tremble violently at his touch. His hand stopped its circuit of her wrist, and he could feel her pulse racing as his fingertips rested lightly against her skin. He looked up at her only to see that it wasn't just her hand that was shaking, it was her entire body. Her eyes were closed and her breath ragged with panic.
"Valen," she began, her eyes still firmly closed, "p… please stop."
Not wanting to cause her further distress, Valen took his fingers from her wrist and settled them against the palm of her hand. Shara took a few calming breaths before finally opening her eyes and looking at him. He started to speak, only to have her press her fingers against his lips, effectively silencing him.
"Don't ask, Valen." She dropped her hand from his face, but continued to hold his gaze. "This isn't something I want to talk about, not here… not now."
He simply nodded his agreement, which seemed to be enough for her. There still was the matter of gash on her arm to deal with, so Valen focused on that, rather than the myriad questions running through his head. With a little direction from Shara, he got her arm cleaned and bound quickly enough, leaving her free to turn a critical eye to his own injuries.
"You know," she said after a moment, "you're a mess." She waved her good hand at him absently. "We really should have taken care of these first."
He glanced down at himself and shrugged. "I've had worse."
Shara sighed, rolling her eyes at this comment. "I'm sure you have, but that doesn't mean I'm going to let you sit here and bleed to death. It's bad enough that my stupidity nearly got us killed."
She reached out towards him, stopping herself as she looked at her remaining glove in distaste. She gingerly slipped it from her hand and, as expected, the mate to the scar on her other wrist wound its way around this one. When she noticed him staring at it, Shara pinned him with a hard stare, challenging him to say anything. By now though, he knew when to keep his mouth shut.
She grabbed a waterskin she had taken from one of the fallen drow, and tore off the bottom of the tunic another wore. Dampening the cloth, Shara began carefully cleaning the blood away from the cut on his face. Her touch was delicate yet efficient, as she methodically tended his wounds. She was silent as she did so, her expression getting more and more pensive the longer she worked. When she finally finished, she just sat there for a time, absently rolling the pot of salve in her hands. It was some time before she finally set the pot aside and looked up at him.
"I… I'm sorry for how I acted earlier." Shara stopped for a moment, gazing off into the distance as she ran her fingers through her hair. When she turned her attention back to Valen, she seemed a bit more sure of herself. "My behavior was completely inexcusable. I know better than to let my emotions control me like that."
"What's done is done, Shara. We survived, and there is no lasting damage." She eyed his wounds skeptically at this. "I said no lasting damage. You and I both are going to have a few scars to remember today by."
"Scars to remember the day Shara was an idiot… just lovely." She muttered this under her breath as she stared into her lap, still clearly upset with herself.
"Let it be, Shara. It's not going to do you any good to dwell upon this." He reached out and tipped her chin up so she was looking at him again. "You already seem to have enough on your mind as it is. No need to add to the burden."
Valen's hand lingered on her cheek as he watched her face, which was awash in so many emotions he couldn't even begin to sort them out. How she managing to deal with it all right now was a mystery to him. He started to pull his hand away, but she reached up to take it, drawing it down towards her lap.
"I know." she said at last, as she idly traced the lines on his palm, sending a shiver down his spine. "I'm just afraid that I won't be able to keep myself from doing it again. We just can't afford another day like today."
He watched her in fascination as she ran her fingers along the calluses long years of fighting had formed on his hands. Her face was thoughtful, and he didn't think she was quite aware of what she was doing. The motion of her fingers stopped, and she pursed her lips as she stared at their hands for a long moment.
"Umm, Shara…" She glanced up at him suddenly, and then back down at their hands, her eyes going wide. A furious blush crept up her face, and she quickly snatched her hands away. No, she certainly had not known what she had been doing.
Still smiling from her reaction, Valen continued with what he had been about to say. "There is one thing you can do, you know." She looked at him questioningly, her cheeks still a brilliant red. "Talk to the Seer when we get back to Lith My'athar. She's rather good at helping people deal with their problems, whatever they are. I should know."
She nodded her response. "That might just be a good idea." she said softly. "I won't pretend that the thought of doing so doesn't terrify me, though. This just isn't something that is easy for me to talk about with anyone."
"Well, you don't have to worry about that just yet. There are still a few dozen beholders between us and our goal." She just about jumped out her skin as he said this. It was only after she looked frantically around them for a moment that he realized why she had reacted this way. She really was on edge!
Once she realized that there was no immediate danger, she turned towards Valen, glaring at him. "You did that on purpose!"
He couldn't help himself; the look on her face was just too much. He burst out laughing, which only served to deepen her glare, of course. It was a few moments before he could compose himself enough to speak without starting to laugh again. "Honest Shara, I didn't realize you'd react that way. But you do have to admit that it was pretty damn funny."
Valen watch as her expression softened, and her lips twitched in a repressed smile. Finally, she gave in, a grin spreading across her face. "See," he said, "smiling isn't that hard, is it?"
She growled in mock threat, and threw the bandages that had been sitting beside her at him, which he dodged easily. "Let's just go and kill some beholders, alright?"
"As you wish… my lady." She just rolled her eyes, and started repacking her bag. At least this time they would be setting out with Shara in a good mood.