Shortly after, having assured herself that Aribeth rested, Arwen met K'arla on the bridge. Although she was not yet sure of the drow's loyalty, she was happy to team with her. She needed action to drive out the black thoughts which clouded her mind.
Luskan was more dangerous and dull at night. The darkness served only to increase the city's unreassuring atmosphere. Soldiers of the two factions wandered in the streets and plundered the houses. When the two factions met they began a merciless combat. Worse, some of the soldiers then transformed into wild beasts.
"Wererats! One does not know from where they come. " K'arla had told her.
Arwen was filled with wonder to see the capacity of the drow to envisage the danger and to avoid it. Sometimes she seemed to be melting into the shadows. It made Arwen worry what would happen if the drow turned against her; so, in spite of the sympathy she felt, Arwen was not at ease.
When they arrived in front of the city's main gate, they had to hide in a recess to avoid a brawl involving a great number of soldiers from the two high captains.
Concealed in the shadows, they were waiting for the end of engagement. Arwen took advantage of the occasion to learn more about her partner. "Why didn't you unsheath your sword when Ari threatened you?"
K'arla laughed. "Because it would have ruined my mission. Tina wanted so badly that I bring you to the boat. And without wanting to disparage your friend, I think that I would have had time to take my weapons if it had been necessary."
Ignoring the sarcastic remark, Arwen insisted. "Do you always follow Tina's orders to the letter?"
"Yes!" The answer had been fast and without hesitation.
Both impressed and anxious of what the words of the drow implied, Arwen inquired, "If she asked you to kill me, would you do it?"
K'arla shook her head. "Little elf, this sort of question leads to nothing. For the moment we have the same objective, it is quite enough for me." Then noting that the brawl had finished, she added, "Come, the way is clear."
While passing the former battlefield she collected the scraping-knife and wraps of one of Kurth's dead men, leaving Arwen pensive.
Shortly after they arrived at the inn, Arwen noted that, in spite of the advanced hour of the night, the main room was as noisy and animated as the day before when she first entered it. The inn seemed to be the meeting place of all traffics.
The guard at the entrance door required their weapons. K'arla removed her hood. "You dare try to take them to me, mal'ai jaluk?"
"Oh, K'arla, excuse me, I had not recognized you. You can pass. "The guard pushed himself aside respectfully to let her pass, before barring the way to Arwen. "Your weapons please, miss!"
K'arla turned around, with an exceptionally angry look. "She is with me, stupid male!"
The guard lamely babbled excuses one after another while returning to his place.
K'arla moved directly towards the bar and hailed the Innkeeper. "Aruph, my dear, how are you?"
The man left the customer with whom he was discussing and came towards them, "K'arla what brings you here? Business or leisure? May I offer a drink to you and your friend?"
K'arla laughed. "Not now, thank you, I am on duty!"
Aruph leaned over the bar and started to speak in a low voice with K'arla about trade in goods. Arwen listened with an inattentive ear. She had her back to the bar and observed the common room. The refugees invaded all open spaces and Arwen was astonished by their presence in the middle of the smugglers and traffickers of all sorts who populated the place. Continuing her inspection, her glance was attracted by a hooded silhouette. She would have sworn to have seen this same silhouette behind them in Luskan's streets. 'Who is it? Bah, nobody knows that I am here... probably a crew member from Tina, sent to cover our backs... or to supervise me.' The man, or the woman, had probably noticed that he was discovered. He threaded among the crowd. Arwen tried to follow him with her glance, but lost sight when a man, built like a cupboard with ice (In French armoire à glace: very strong man), came to the bar, thus barring Arwen's sight.
Thinking, Arwen approached K'arla who finished her talk with Aruph, "Indeed I will try to find covers... but let's return to my problem. I want to see Inther. Is he here?"
Aruph sighed, "He is in his office... but I told you nothing."
"Naturally my dear. Is he alone?"
"No. He has two men with him. His bodyguards. And be prudent. I can see some of his men in the common room."
"G' rftte abbil! "She took Arwen by the elbow and moved towards Inther's room. "Come, Arwen! You will stay at the door, covering my back. Inther is dangerous."
The door opened on a small room where a man was sitting behind a wooden desk. With his cinnamon skin and catlike yellow eyes, the man looked rather disturbing. K'arla had told Arwen he was a fence for stolen goods, and above all, the largest slave trader North of Amn. There were also two large half orcs - guards in the room, one behind his boss, and the other near the door. The latter blocked their way.
"Boss doesn't like morons, go out!"
"Inther! I am K'arla, I must speak to you!"
The man lifted his head and answered in a not very pleasing tone, "What makes you think that I want to speak to a dreadful shrew masked drow?"
K'arla had to exert a great effort to ignore the insult and to keep her calm. Placed behind her, Arwen could see her tightened fists. Before she could respond, Inther had noticed Arwen's presence. "Who is this young lady, K'arla? Can you introduce her to me?"
Surprised by the request, Arwen was going to answer, but with a pressing gesture of her hand, concealed behind her back, K'arla commanded her to stay quiet. Then, ignoring the question, the drow threw Aribeth's potion to Inther, "I need an antidote for this s..."
Inther caught the bottle on the flight and examined it. "Oh, nice potion! You disappoint me K'arla. I believed you wise enough to avoid drinking such things, my dear ugly drow. Anyway, I do not have any more antidote here, but come with your friend to my house, I will see what I can do."
K'arla had smelled the trap. She pretended to mistake the meaning of the request. "My friend is not interested in your turpitudes!"
Inther answered in a scorning tone. "Bah, it was only pure charity. I can find easily some prettier and less savage chicks. That said, if you want the potion, you must come to my house. I have nothing here."
"I will see. Thank you for your assistance, and you should do something for your liver, you have a yellow tint and you smell like rotted fish when you speak." K'arla dodged the bottle of potion that Inther launched at her and left the room. "Come, Arwen!"
Arwen was astonished, "You do not insist K'arla? He lies. I am certain that we should search his office!"
"Patience, little elf. Inther is a tough adversary and has many allies in this place. Attacking him openly would not be a wise idea. We will sit down at a table and wait until they leave."
"Why did he want to invite me to his place? Who does he think I am, this ugly man?"
K'arla raised an eyebrow. She would have laughed at the innocence of her new friend if the matter had not been so serious. "Arwen, although Inther is far from a saint, it is not what you think. I am afraid that he only wanted to snare you in a trap. And it worries me. Did you notice the man who followed us in the streets? We will have to be careful!"
Without waiting for a reply, K'arla went to a table located in a corner of the common room and sat down. It was the ideal place to supervise the comings and goings in the Inn.
Arwen followed her. She was concerned. She had the unpleasant impression of being the toy of forces too powerful for her. She wondered what the real objective of Tina was. There were too many coincidences. Something was hidden to her. She did not know what to do, and it irritated her. Without Aribeth, her guide, she felt like a small lost girl. If Aribeth was with her she would know what to do. During the search for the creatures or the hunt for the cult, Aribeth had always directed her in the right direction. As if these problems were not big enough, now, apparently, she was being spied upon. It reinforced her feeling of discomfort. Like K'arla, she had noticed that they were followed during their crossing of the city. It could not be an agent of Tina, as she initially thought; otherwise K'arla would have said so. But had K'arla told her all the truth? Lost in her thoughts she muttered to K'arla who asked what she wanted to drink. "Tea!"
K'arla ordered a pear brandy and a tea, then turned towards her. "You, little girl, you are concerned... and not only for the health of your friend. Am I wrong?"
Arwen had the feeling that the drow was reading her thoughts. She answered in a sulky manner. "I have the impression of advancing in a fog and it irritates me"
K'arla drank a mouthful of the alcohol which the waitress had just brought to her. "Hum! Excellent!" She fixed her eyes on Arwen, "I understand your doubts, little elf. Mistrust is an essential quality to survive. But too much mistrust darkens the judgment."
Arwen lost her temper. "Too much mistrust! What would you do in my place?"
K'arla joked, "In your place? I would have ordered a beer instead of a tea."
In spite of her joke, Arwen could not retain a smile, "I did not speak about that..."
Putting a hand on Arwen's forearm the drow responded gently. "Please be reassured... I can ensure you that our intentions are not very different from yours. And I must add that I find you rather sympathetic." Noticing that Arwen brightened up a bit, the drow started to smile, then added. "Unfortunately, I cannot tell you more. We, too, must be cautious... I hope you understand..."
Not convinced, Arwen nodded sadly.
Throughout their conversation, K'arla had kept an eye on the door of Inther's room. It allowed her to note the exit of the two guards. She rose, "We will continue this discussion later. Follow me, the way is clear!"
Arwen, too, had noticed the exit of the guards. "Wait. K'arla! Inther is not yet outside!"
"You did not locate the secret door in his room, little elf? I am sure he is no longer there."
Arwen rose and followed the drow, 'the secret door. Pfff. Another thing I missed. I must be more attentive in the future.'
They had arrived at the door. After having assured herself that nobody paid attention to them, K'arla listened at the door, and shook her head, "Cool, the room is empty." She took a set of master keys and opened the door easily. "Arwen, can you search the desk while I disarm the trap of this cursed secret door?"
Arwen agreed and started to search in the drawers of the desk. Among many papers she found a diary which she started to read. Inther noted his transactions in it. Suddenly she stopped, shocked. "Oh no!"
Alarmed, K'arla came beside her. "You found something?"
« L... Loo... look at that!"
"What did you find which put you in such a state, little elf?"
On the verge of tears, she handed the diary to K'arla. "Look at the diary... It indicates that Inther had sold the potion to Fenthick!"
K'arla had understood. "It means that Aribeth was betrayed by her betrothed!"
Arwen nodded. With a shaking voice she begged, "K'arla, promise me to not tell it to Aribeth! Promise me, please."
Putting one arm around her shoulders, the drow assured her, "Do not worry. I know that such a revelation would kill the last hopes of your friend. I will be dumb! I promise it to you, Arwen!" She briefly held Arwen against her before continuing. "Courage little friend! I have succeeded at opening the secret door. Forget your sorrow and follow me. We must find this antidote. Come... "
The door hid a long and narrow passage. Water oozed from the vault and the uneven ground rendered the progression difficult. Without the keen senses of K'arla, they would have triggered two traps. In normal circumstances Arwen would probably have detected them, but she was in such a state of mind that she could barely follow the drow. After a curve, the corridor widened. A dim light came from the place where the corridor seemed to emerge in a cave.
K'arla put her finger in front of her mouth and whispered, "Sshh! Can you see these three men in the cave?" Arwen nodded and the drow continued. "I can approach them unperceived, but I will not be able to neutralize the three before they can ring the alarm."
"K'arla, I can kill two with my bow, before they react."
"Are you certain little elf? The range is extreme and the light is dim, and above all, you actually seem a bit shaken."
Arwen responded calmly and firmly. "I can do it."
K'arla weighed their chances of success. They had not many other possibilities and she decided to trust Arwen's skills. "Right, I believe you. Count slowly up to hundred, before firing. It gives me enough time to sneak up near to them. I will take the one located to the extreme left." She struck Arwen's hand with hers and disappeared into the corridor.
Arwen started to count, while taking her bow and aiming at one of the guards. "One... two..." K'arla had been right in judging her a bit shaken, but Arwen didn't want to fail. She started exercises to calm her breathing and to lower her heartbeat's rate. "Twenty..." She concentrated on her target and nothing else mattered. "Ninety... hundred..." She shouted, "For Ari!" and released the arrow which transpierced the forehead of the first guard. While she reloaded and aimed at another guard, Arwen noted that K'arla had stepped out of the shadow and had sliced the throat of the second guard. The third was running towards the gong to sound alarm. "Slash!" He collapsed on the ground made up of irregular flagstones, his heart pieced from behind by an arrow.
Arwen stood up, sweating. She wiped her front with her forearm. She realized that she had practically acted in a second state and mentally thanked her mother who had taught her how to use a bow under the worst conditions. This training had just helped her to surmount her disorder. Relieved, she moved resolutely towards the cave where the drow awaited.
"Well done, little elf! You succeeded in spite of your trouble; it is the indication of a great moral strength."
"Thank you, K'arla! It's rather the result of years of training with my mother."
