Chapter Two
Jarlaxle woke slowly. Without one thought of what the other males thought of him, a lazy grin spread across his face as he stretched just as lazily. He felt better than he had in a long time, his muscles thrumming with energy he had been lacking for days.
There was a strange taste in his mouth. It wasn't the same taste he usually had after taking that awful concoction. He pondered this for a few seconds before shrugging and sitting up. He looked over to Zaknafein and saw the other asleep. He grinned wickedly, before shaking the older drow awake.
"Mmmpph, go 'way." Came the mumbled reply.
Jarlaxle chuckled. "Not this day. Come on. I would like to be doing something today, but first I am having a bath."
"You woke me for that?" An angry Zak asked as he opened his eyes to glare at Jarlaxle.
At that, Jarlaxle laughed, feeling extremely happy this day. "No. I woke you for a little role reversal." At saying this, he jumped off the bed and back on to his own, bouncing on it like a child before quietly sitting down.
"What is wrong with you?" Zak asked, sitting up and grabbing a pair of clean clothes from the trunk at the end of his bed that held his possessions. He got up and headed for the direction of the bath house.
"Nothing." Replied the younger of the two, before quickly grabbing his own clothes and following after Zaknafein.
Today was one of the rare days that no classes were held, which also meant no chores. It was also the first of these free days the first year students would have.
After bathing and wandering about for a few meaningless minutes, they decided to go waste the rest of the day in the Bazaar. Jarlaxle practically dragged Zaknafein there in excited energy.
Both had tied their white hair into loose pony tails at the napes of their necks, trying to keep it out of ever alert eyes. Still, that didn't stop Jarlaxle's hair from flopping directly into his line of vision, his hair having a natural curve to it that annoyed him greatly.
"I swear one day I will cut all this off..." He mumbled as he once again pushed his hair behind one of his pointed ears.
Zaknafein laughed. "Cut it off? Why not go that extra step and shave it off?"
At that, both the males had a good laugh and turned on to a street only the most depraved or desperate of drow males goes down. The courtesans were now out and about, trying to sell their bodies.
"Well, well, a couple of young ones come my way." A female commoner stated as she spotted them. She was dressed so gaudily, it was a wonder to the males that she was able to get any clients at all.
They kept walking, hastening their steps to get out of the street they were on as fast as possible. Soon they had reached their destination and went into the nearest inn.
"Have you ever been in one of these places before?" Zaknafein asked Jarlaxle, seeing the younger shake his head, no.
"I haven't gotten around much of the town...a sheltered life I've lead." Jarlaxle stated, looking about himself in awe. He vowed that one day he would get to know the city he lived in from the outside in.
Zak chuckled. "You are noble are you not? Aren't you supposed to know these kinds of places?"
Jarlaxle shrugged, not really caring. "Haven't thought too much about it." He stated, going over to a seat and flopping himself into it with all the grace of a kobold slave.
Zaknafein followed and took the seat across from the suddenly sad-looking drow. "Are you sure there is nothing wrong?"
Jarlaxle shrugged. "Yes. I have a headache, but that is natural after having that god-awful stuff they are making me drink. It'll go away soon."
Zaknafein stared, then shrugged, not truly knowing what to say. "Are these...moods you keep on going through normal too?"
"What moods? You are making me sound like a female at that time."
"You are acting like it."
Jarlaxle slammed his palm against the table between them. "Don't tell me what I am supposed to be feeling. You know, I actually liked you...now I think I might have been suffering from sleep deprived madness." With that said, he got up and stormed out of the inn, not once looking back.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------
Zak glared angrily down at the table he was sitting at, before he ordered a drink. He was not about to go running after Jarlaxle, not while he was in this mood.
He did not understand that one at all! He had been put out a bit by the happy mood the other had been in this morning, but his mood had been changing continuously since then.
Shaking his head Zak finished his drink before making his way slowly back to the Academy. He was upset and didn't understand why. Sighing, he made it to the pyramidal building and took off towards his cot. Not to sleep, but to think. It was the only place deemed quiet enough for such an act.
Falling on to the bed he rolled onto his back and rested his head on his hands. His thoughts turned immediately to the fight he had just had. There was something wrong with Jarlaxle, he could tell. The younger drow not telling him what was wrong didn't surprise him as he never seemed to talk about his problems.
Growling softly, he sat back up and took a look around the deserted room. It was then his eyes came to rest on the empty bottle that had held whatever it was Jarlaxle had drank to stop his nightmares. Picking it up, he sniffed at it, quickly pulling it out from under his nose, suddenly pitying the younger drow. At the bottom of the phial was a few drops of yellow liquid left.
Taking the bottle and placing it carefully in a pocket of his pants, he once again left the bunk room and went back outside, this time turning towards the building across the way. Sorcere, the training school for wizards, where someone was bound to be able to tell him the ingredients of the potion.
He walked up to the doors, but paused to think about what he was doing before knocking softly. The door opened slowly and a student wizard poked out his head.
Frowning, the wizard-in-traing glared down at the boy at the door. "What do you want?!" He barked, taller and older and therefore more powerful than the small one in front of him, he felt it his duty to fry the brat if he tried anything.
Zak shifted from foot to foot nervously, before reaching into his pocket and drawing out the phial. "Are you good with potions?" He asked quietly, wincing at the sudden anger of the older drow.
"Of course! I am in my final year, if I didn't by now, I wouldn't be here would I?!" The wizard shouted.
Zak gulped, and held forth the phial. "Would you be able to tell me the ingredients that make this potion?" He asked, seeing a glimmer of interest spring into the wizards eyes.
"I do not know, but I could try. Come back in a few days and ask for me...my name is Rizzen."
Zak nodded, handed the phial over and watched as Rizzen put it safely away.
Having done that, Zak was feeling a little better. If he knew what it was that was making his friend act all strange he would be able to help and that dreaded potion was the only clue he had.
Making his way back to the inn he was at earlier, he kept an eye out for Jarlaxle and for anyone willing to stab him. Going inside he found that it now held two others of his class, he joined them and ordered a drink. While having his fun there, he forgot about Jarlaxle completely.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------
Jarlaxle had taken off in the direction of the clawrift. Not knowing why, he used his innate gift for levitation to drop down to the nearest ledge. At least down here he knew he could be alone.
He shouldn't have yelled at Zaknafein, but couldn't help it. A sudden wave of anger had taken him over that he couldn't stop. Sighing, he levitated down even further, stopping on a ledge just before the spell ran out.
Looking about him, he noticed some caves that looked good enough to walk into and explore. The only things that lived down here being small bats and kobolds. Curiosity tugged at him and he was soon at the mouth of the nearest entrance, staring into the blackness. No heat signatures meant that nothing lived in this cave.
Putting his hand onto the left side of the wall, he followed it through twists and turns, before heading back the way he had come, swearing to himself that he would come back down here again with a source of light. Maybe he would bring Zak along with him...Zak.
"What did I say?" Jarlaxle whispered to himself, not too sure of the answer. All of a sudden he felt restless, but yet again he didn't know why.
Sighing, he made his way out of the cave and back up to solid ground, before making his way back to the academy. He looked over to Narbondel, the huge clock of glowing light and rock, and saw that he had lost time while exploring. Shrugging, he made it back to the first year bunk room to see the other seven students already in there, chatting companionably for once, about their day.
"Where did you go?" Asked one. "Do anything interesting?" Another asked, before the questions came thick and fast. He stopped them quickly with a withering glare when he was asked if he had taken part in anything to do with the pleasures of the flesh.
"I explored the city." He stated, his anger clearly coming through not in voice, but in the sudden red glow of his face.
The other males left him alone at that. He was tired suddenly and thought that had something to do with his body's needs to catch up on lost sleep. He grabbed at the tiny, full phial holding the damnable stuff he was forced to take, downed it all in one gulp and immediately felt better.
Not caring of anything at that moment, he closed his eyes and was almost instantly asleep.
A/N - Yes, I do know that this sucks a little, but I am having fun writing it...I am overwhelmed that the first chapter got 11 reviews...I was expecting anything between 4-6...ah well, hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as the first. Lol, I couldn't help but add in Rizzen. He always struck me as older than Zak, so he is in this story. Sorry if I got anything wrong.I do not know the city as well as some others might. Sorry also if the review part is in a larger script size than the rest...in fact, if you know where I went wrong, can you please tell me?
Like always thanks to these people for reviewing: Ivar, She-Cat, DragonEyeZ, LunaLillium, Sylvan, Oracle10, RealmWriters.
Some answers to questions some people posed, or comments said.
IceBlade740 - Yes, I am aware of the hardened nature of drow.It just didn't seem to fit in with the story itself, though little snippets of it will be put in here.hehe, I agree that there are too few stories of these two, who are my two favourite characters.
Singvogel - What he dreams about you will learn later.as to him being sacrificed? Yes that will come up in the story, but later on.
Linn-Minmay - Trust me when I say that the last paragraph of Servant of the Shard had me speechless. Jarlaxle is cool, hehe! He is my favourite..ask DragonEyeZ.I am obsessed with him.
Elycee - Wow! Glad that this is one of your favourite stories on this site. I give you permission to steal my idea of the nightmares. I'll be waiting to see what you do with the idea!
Jarlaxle woke slowly. Without one thought of what the other males thought of him, a lazy grin spread across his face as he stretched just as lazily. He felt better than he had in a long time, his muscles thrumming with energy he had been lacking for days.
There was a strange taste in his mouth. It wasn't the same taste he usually had after taking that awful concoction. He pondered this for a few seconds before shrugging and sitting up. He looked over to Zaknafein and saw the other asleep. He grinned wickedly, before shaking the older drow awake.
"Mmmpph, go 'way." Came the mumbled reply.
Jarlaxle chuckled. "Not this day. Come on. I would like to be doing something today, but first I am having a bath."
"You woke me for that?" An angry Zak asked as he opened his eyes to glare at Jarlaxle.
At that, Jarlaxle laughed, feeling extremely happy this day. "No. I woke you for a little role reversal." At saying this, he jumped off the bed and back on to his own, bouncing on it like a child before quietly sitting down.
"What is wrong with you?" Zak asked, sitting up and grabbing a pair of clean clothes from the trunk at the end of his bed that held his possessions. He got up and headed for the direction of the bath house.
"Nothing." Replied the younger of the two, before quickly grabbing his own clothes and following after Zaknafein.
Today was one of the rare days that no classes were held, which also meant no chores. It was also the first of these free days the first year students would have.
After bathing and wandering about for a few meaningless minutes, they decided to go waste the rest of the day in the Bazaar. Jarlaxle practically dragged Zaknafein there in excited energy.
Both had tied their white hair into loose pony tails at the napes of their necks, trying to keep it out of ever alert eyes. Still, that didn't stop Jarlaxle's hair from flopping directly into his line of vision, his hair having a natural curve to it that annoyed him greatly.
"I swear one day I will cut all this off..." He mumbled as he once again pushed his hair behind one of his pointed ears.
Zaknafein laughed. "Cut it off? Why not go that extra step and shave it off?"
At that, both the males had a good laugh and turned on to a street only the most depraved or desperate of drow males goes down. The courtesans were now out and about, trying to sell their bodies.
"Well, well, a couple of young ones come my way." A female commoner stated as she spotted them. She was dressed so gaudily, it was a wonder to the males that she was able to get any clients at all.
They kept walking, hastening their steps to get out of the street they were on as fast as possible. Soon they had reached their destination and went into the nearest inn.
"Have you ever been in one of these places before?" Zaknafein asked Jarlaxle, seeing the younger shake his head, no.
"I haven't gotten around much of the town...a sheltered life I've lead." Jarlaxle stated, looking about himself in awe. He vowed that one day he would get to know the city he lived in from the outside in.
Zak chuckled. "You are noble are you not? Aren't you supposed to know these kinds of places?"
Jarlaxle shrugged, not really caring. "Haven't thought too much about it." He stated, going over to a seat and flopping himself into it with all the grace of a kobold slave.
Zaknafein followed and took the seat across from the suddenly sad-looking drow. "Are you sure there is nothing wrong?"
Jarlaxle shrugged. "Yes. I have a headache, but that is natural after having that god-awful stuff they are making me drink. It'll go away soon."
Zaknafein stared, then shrugged, not truly knowing what to say. "Are these...moods you keep on going through normal too?"
"What moods? You are making me sound like a female at that time."
"You are acting like it."
Jarlaxle slammed his palm against the table between them. "Don't tell me what I am supposed to be feeling. You know, I actually liked you...now I think I might have been suffering from sleep deprived madness." With that said, he got up and stormed out of the inn, not once looking back.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------
Zak glared angrily down at the table he was sitting at, before he ordered a drink. He was not about to go running after Jarlaxle, not while he was in this mood.
He did not understand that one at all! He had been put out a bit by the happy mood the other had been in this morning, but his mood had been changing continuously since then.
Shaking his head Zak finished his drink before making his way slowly back to the Academy. He was upset and didn't understand why. Sighing, he made it to the pyramidal building and took off towards his cot. Not to sleep, but to think. It was the only place deemed quiet enough for such an act.
Falling on to the bed he rolled onto his back and rested his head on his hands. His thoughts turned immediately to the fight he had just had. There was something wrong with Jarlaxle, he could tell. The younger drow not telling him what was wrong didn't surprise him as he never seemed to talk about his problems.
Growling softly, he sat back up and took a look around the deserted room. It was then his eyes came to rest on the empty bottle that had held whatever it was Jarlaxle had drank to stop his nightmares. Picking it up, he sniffed at it, quickly pulling it out from under his nose, suddenly pitying the younger drow. At the bottom of the phial was a few drops of yellow liquid left.
Taking the bottle and placing it carefully in a pocket of his pants, he once again left the bunk room and went back outside, this time turning towards the building across the way. Sorcere, the training school for wizards, where someone was bound to be able to tell him the ingredients of the potion.
He walked up to the doors, but paused to think about what he was doing before knocking softly. The door opened slowly and a student wizard poked out his head.
Frowning, the wizard-in-traing glared down at the boy at the door. "What do you want?!" He barked, taller and older and therefore more powerful than the small one in front of him, he felt it his duty to fry the brat if he tried anything.
Zak shifted from foot to foot nervously, before reaching into his pocket and drawing out the phial. "Are you good with potions?" He asked quietly, wincing at the sudden anger of the older drow.
"Of course! I am in my final year, if I didn't by now, I wouldn't be here would I?!" The wizard shouted.
Zak gulped, and held forth the phial. "Would you be able to tell me the ingredients that make this potion?" He asked, seeing a glimmer of interest spring into the wizards eyes.
"I do not know, but I could try. Come back in a few days and ask for me...my name is Rizzen."
Zak nodded, handed the phial over and watched as Rizzen put it safely away.
Having done that, Zak was feeling a little better. If he knew what it was that was making his friend act all strange he would be able to help and that dreaded potion was the only clue he had.
Making his way back to the inn he was at earlier, he kept an eye out for Jarlaxle and for anyone willing to stab him. Going inside he found that it now held two others of his class, he joined them and ordered a drink. While having his fun there, he forgot about Jarlaxle completely.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------
Jarlaxle had taken off in the direction of the clawrift. Not knowing why, he used his innate gift for levitation to drop down to the nearest ledge. At least down here he knew he could be alone.
He shouldn't have yelled at Zaknafein, but couldn't help it. A sudden wave of anger had taken him over that he couldn't stop. Sighing, he levitated down even further, stopping on a ledge just before the spell ran out.
Looking about him, he noticed some caves that looked good enough to walk into and explore. The only things that lived down here being small bats and kobolds. Curiosity tugged at him and he was soon at the mouth of the nearest entrance, staring into the blackness. No heat signatures meant that nothing lived in this cave.
Putting his hand onto the left side of the wall, he followed it through twists and turns, before heading back the way he had come, swearing to himself that he would come back down here again with a source of light. Maybe he would bring Zak along with him...Zak.
"What did I say?" Jarlaxle whispered to himself, not too sure of the answer. All of a sudden he felt restless, but yet again he didn't know why.
Sighing, he made his way out of the cave and back up to solid ground, before making his way back to the academy. He looked over to Narbondel, the huge clock of glowing light and rock, and saw that he had lost time while exploring. Shrugging, he made it back to the first year bunk room to see the other seven students already in there, chatting companionably for once, about their day.
"Where did you go?" Asked one. "Do anything interesting?" Another asked, before the questions came thick and fast. He stopped them quickly with a withering glare when he was asked if he had taken part in anything to do with the pleasures of the flesh.
"I explored the city." He stated, his anger clearly coming through not in voice, but in the sudden red glow of his face.
The other males left him alone at that. He was tired suddenly and thought that had something to do with his body's needs to catch up on lost sleep. He grabbed at the tiny, full phial holding the damnable stuff he was forced to take, downed it all in one gulp and immediately felt better.
Not caring of anything at that moment, he closed his eyes and was almost instantly asleep.
A/N - Yes, I do know that this sucks a little, but I am having fun writing it...I am overwhelmed that the first chapter got 11 reviews...I was expecting anything between 4-6...ah well, hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as the first. Lol, I couldn't help but add in Rizzen. He always struck me as older than Zak, so he is in this story. Sorry if I got anything wrong.I do not know the city as well as some others might. Sorry also if the review part is in a larger script size than the rest...in fact, if you know where I went wrong, can you please tell me?
Like always thanks to these people for reviewing: Ivar, She-Cat, DragonEyeZ, LunaLillium, Sylvan, Oracle10, RealmWriters.
Some answers to questions some people posed, or comments said.
IceBlade740 - Yes, I am aware of the hardened nature of drow.It just didn't seem to fit in with the story itself, though little snippets of it will be put in here.hehe, I agree that there are too few stories of these two, who are my two favourite characters.
Singvogel - What he dreams about you will learn later.as to him being sacrificed? Yes that will come up in the story, but later on.
Linn-Minmay - Trust me when I say that the last paragraph of Servant of the Shard had me speechless. Jarlaxle is cool, hehe! He is my favourite..ask DragonEyeZ.I am obsessed with him.
Elycee - Wow! Glad that this is one of your favourite stories on this site. I give you permission to steal my idea of the nightmares. I'll be waiting to see what you do with the idea!