Disclaimer--I do not own the forgotten realms setting, but I do own the characters used within the story. In other words, DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT TOUCHING THEM! I SWEAR I'LL SIT ON YOU!

AIDEN'S FLAME

Chapter 4

When Aiden arrived back at the inn, he found Zenalic awake and waiting for him.

"What is wrong?" he asked her, as he saw the troubled look upon her beautiful face.

"We must find them," she said. "I have to kill him."

"Who, milady?" he asked, slightly bewildered.

"I was on a quest for one of the secret lords of Waterdeep when they attacked me. It was six drow, lead by a man they called Zul. I fought with all my might, but Zul was a wizard of at least as much skill as I, and he had three other wizards who fought beside him. The warriors only watched the fight, fearful to get in the path of the spells being thrown.

"I feel that I must apologize for lying to you, before, but I was afraid."

"Do not worry, Zen. I understand. Please, milady, continue."

"I almost died then, and indeed would have, had he not had their priests of Vhaerun heal me. He waited until I was fully healed before they started. I came to wish they had let me die, as they … did things to me." Her eyes began to tear as Aiden crossed the room and held her head to his shoulder.

"It is alright, Zen, you needn't talk of it," he said as calmingly as he could while she cried on his shoulder.

"Yes, I do," she said, wiping away the tears on his shoulder, but not pulling back from him. "They kept me there for a tenday or more…I lost track of time. Each day, Zul's methods intensified. He tortured me, and worse… He wanted to know why I had been in the Underdark, as well as things about Waterdeep's defenses. I told him nothing. Not because I believed it would matter, but because I knew that the moment I told him I would be killed.

"When he grew tired of my screams and knew that I would not break, he ordered me killed by the four drow you caught the first night we met. They took me to Skullport to kill me, and when I understood what was happening, I put up the best fight I could. I had few spells left, and I used them. But they were little use against the drow.

"I fainted when the wizard struck me with his magic dart spell. When I woke, I was here," she finished, pulling away from him as more tears poured from her.

"We must kill him," she repeated when she finally managed to stop crying.

"And we shall, milady," Aiden said softly. "But first, I must ask what, precisely, your mission was?"

"I was to search the region of the Underdark from which stems Skullport for signs of the clan Zul belongs to," she replied. "They are known as 'The Exiles' and were once part of Menzoberrazen. The Lords believed that they might seek to attack Waterdeep, and requested that I substantiate their thoughts."

"And what did you find?"

"Oh, they are coming. Not for another hundred years, but they will come."

Aiden nodded. A hundred years was a long time, but not for an elf, nor a drow. They were likely attacking to probe the land and see if they could take on the people of Waterdeep.

"Zul was bald, I take it?" Aiden asked.

"Yes, he was," she responded, raising an eyebrow.

"The man the clerk spoke of," he responded to her unspoken question. "He is planning on buying the resources to take the city, from the city."

She nodded slowly as she understood what he was thinking. Why bother scavenging supplies when you could just buy them, and from your enemy? "So he is an illusionist as well," she stated. "Tomorrow, I will seek out the Lords."

"Will they go to war for this, now?" Aiden asked doubtfully.

"I do not know, but I must try," she responded.

"I will speak with the Guard about the matter when we meet," he said. "If both the Lords and the Guard refuse, I assume we shall be waging a two-person war?" Aiden asked.

"I must kill him," she said. "I must."

"So be it."

A.N.--I just love a girl who knows what she wants and how to get it.