Disclaimer: Not mine

C

Planning

C

Once we're out on the street another problem occurs to me. When I notice people staring at us I realize that even though I'm more or less used to Andy's company by now others will only see a dangerous Drow. And what's worse they'll certainly remember us, which in turn will make it far too easy to find out where we are going. We need a disguise and we need it fast, but for the moment we only have my cloak which doesn't cover enough of the black skin and white hair to make us look inconspicuous. Andy unfortunately does have neither weapons nor any traveling gear, since everything got confiscated when they locked him up. This really isn't going too well. To escape general scrutiny I pull him into a dark and narrow side street.

We should make plans while we can. Where do we find the other wizard for instance?

"So, tell me. What's his name then, the guy who killed your Master? I think we'd better find out where he lives, before we decide anything else."

Andy nods. "Maybe you do already know him. He's called Giciel, Giciel the green by some. As far as I know he's a half elf."

"What do you mean as far as you know? Haven't you seen him?"

Andy rolls his big red eyes. "Of course I've seen him darling. From far away while he and my Master were fighting. I only meant that he could be more than half elfish maybe three quarters or something like that. It doesn't matter anyway. To me his whole behavior is very confusing though. I don't understand his motives at all. He could have killed me after my Master was dead. It would have been the most sensible thing to do, instead he didn't. He just made me go into the cell where we met and never came back again."

"And that made you think it'd be a good idea to chase after him?" My carefully suppressed doubts are threatening to take over. He answers me with an irritated frown.

"No you idiot. I know very well that this plan doesn't exactly have a huge chance of success. If you can come up with something more intelligent I'll be overjoyed to follow your lead!"

And of course I still don't have a better idea, so all I can do is sigh and move on to the more immediate problem.

"Ok, back to business. You were right. I know where he's supposed to live so that's one thing we don't have to worry about. He's actually quite famous, great hero of the people and all that. And by the way, could you please not call me darling."

"Does it annoy you when I do that?" Oh no! I anticipate terrible things when I see him smirking while he asks that. I think I just accidentally invited him to call me all sorts of embarrassing pet names.

"Yes." I hiss trying to fend off the inevitable.

"Good! I never was allowed to annoy anybody before. I think I should enjoy it while I still can daaaarling."

I look at my newfound companion with narrowed eyes. He should know that two people can play this game.

"Andy, honey." I say with a voice that's positively dripping with sweetness. "You have no idea how much you will regret starting this."

I have had five decades of practice in how to irritate the hell out of everybody near me and I'm really, really good at it! Ayren could confirm that, if she was still here. My certainty wavers a bit when I see the delighted expression on his face, but I'm still convinced that I'll win our little contest.

"We'll see about that sweetie pie." He purrs and just when I'm about to give a witty retort we're interrupted by a low rumbling voice that's calling out rather loudly: "There he is! I've found the bastard! Come on guys let's get him!"

Shit, a voice like that can only belong to a dwarf. We both turn around to confirm the suspicion and are greeted by the sight of about fifteen heavily armed dwarfs who are advancing far too swiftly to still have friendly intentions. I still don't really believe the guards story about my fighting skills, so I give Andy a quick panicked glance and tell him to run like hell. Damn, it's not like I don't have enough problems without a bunch of those smelly, hairy, vindictive, unpleasant…I could probably go on for hours, pity that I don't have the time for it right now. Wonder what I did to make them so mad, must be something that happened in the Bloody Axe. Now I wish for the first time I could remember that night.

"We have to get up there!"

Andy is pointing towards a house. Oh I get it! The rooftops are not easily accessible for someone without our agility, someone like a dwarf for example. I hope we'll be able to lose them there. They are wasting what precious little time we have to get out of the city. Desperation gets us to the top in record time and from there we take a crisscrossing path that leads us through at least half of the city. Eventually we end up in some dirty backyard, panting from exhaustion. But at least there are no dwarfs around here. I'm surprised when I hear Andy's soft laugh. What's so funny about this?

"Is this what your life is usually like?" He asks me.

"Yea, kind of." I have to admit. "Take away the bloodthirsty Drow and you have the general picture. I hang around in prison, drink a lot and pick unhealthy fights with smelly people. Want to lecture me about my lifestyle now?"

"No, it sounds like fun. I never did any of that before honey bunny."

And that statement, combined with ridiculous endearments, comes out of the mouth of a Drow ex-slave. Will wonders never cease? His life must have been quite dull if he thinks of this as fun.

"Well, I guess we'll have to go on a serious drinking spree then, once things have calmed down a bit."

The enthusiastic nod which follows after my suggestion makes me smile maliciously. I bet he's never had a hangover before. Should be fun to watch him try and cope with the spinning sensation and all the other nasty after effects. Somehow I don't think Drow would be the kind of people who drink a lot, with all the backstabbing and assassinating they continuously engage in. Oh yes, prejudice I know, but since at least some of them seem to be true I don't think it'll do any harm if I hold onto this one. This brings me back to the situation at hand.

"We should better go and get a horse for each of us. Even with that it'll take at least three days to reach Giciel's tower. Do you think we have enough time to get there before he finds out where we are?"

When I mention Enzageyn Andy's face immediately moulds into an expressionless mask and all traces of laughter are gone. I find I'm actually regretting my words. To see him like this is like watching a totally different person.

"I can't say for sure, but if he's able to get hold of any personal items, such as clothing worn for more than one occasion or jewelry he'll find us in less than three days. I don't think there's much left though. My Master and I left the house about five or six months ago and I'm fairly certain that we took nearly everything that would enable anybody to trace us."

I wonder why they left. I guess that's beside the point though. "But you're not completely sure?"

Shrugging he replies: "No, of course not. How could I? A single hair would be enough for a talented mage to cast at least a general tracking spell. I think it depends more on his resources. If he's out of the house he probably can't afford to waste anything too valuable on trivial matters like chasing slaves."

So basically we have no way of knowing when the bastard will show up. Great! I hope Andy's timing is better than mine, because I'm mostly at the wrong place in the wrong time.

"I see. We should probably just get the horses and hope for the best."

"Yes, but how are we going to do that? As far as I remember neither of us has any money and I doubt we would find someone willing to sell me anything at all."

How can a member of a race feared by most of the surface population be so naïve? It's almost sweet in itself, it actually makes me laugh again.

"Who said we were going to buy them?" I underline my question with a wicked grin. Let's see if he gets to the right conclusion on his own, shouldn't be too hard for him. He seems to be intelligent enough.

"You mean…oh."

"You're so cute when you're embarrassed." I'd love to be able to see if he's blushing, but I'm afraid the dark skin prevents me from doing that.

Yes, I know. Not enough action and they're still in the city, but somehow I can't make it go faster. Want to help me with some constructive criticism?

The next update might take a little longer than usual. My social life demands attention, which means I have to leave my computer at home and go traveling.