Yasha slid the last piece of glass against the others and sat on a nearby rock, chin on her fists, to examine her handiwork. The merchant, after some odd negotiations, had agreed to trade the ruined book for his piece. The fourth shard they had gleaned from a raid of a mage's tower, though the mage had given up magic and his shiftless apprentice took his place at its top. The four shards fit together perfectly, without even splinters of glass missing between them, perhaps due to their magical nature. There was only one gaping hole in the reconstruction, about the size of the other shards. It was the fifth hole for the fifth piece.
It was the piece the queen had already given to Sabal.
Yasha scowled down at her reflection, unable to decide on a course of action. Her hair fell in ragged strands around her face, turned from brown to ashen by the same soot from the library that smeared her skin. The paladin huffed, blowing one of the errant strands away from her eyes. She looked just as worn and tired as she felt.
Deekin's reptilian face appeared in the mirror beside hers. "You thinks she'll trade for it, boss?"
Yasha sighed, tapping her foot thoughtfully. "I can think of no trade she can offer, Deekin, that would be acceptable. She would only trade if I gave her something of equal value to the shard she now holds. I have no intention of handing over any power to the Valsharess' forces, if I can at all help it."
After a moment, she quirked one side of her mouth up at Deekin. "Unless you think she'll just surrender it. Ah, Sabal," Yasha said, sitting back and spreading her arms in mock welcome, "I see you realized we have won the day. Just give us the shard and go in peace. Oh! While you're at it, you should just renounce your wicked ways and join with the Seer's forces, because being Good is great and being Evil is stupid."
She laughed at herself weakly, pressing the heels of her gloved hands over her eyes. Her headache was getting worse, and she found herself wishing for a nice, soft bed; preferably one in the Yawning Portal. Just the vague yearning to return to the surface brought the ache of the geas back in full force, however. Silently berating the magic for not being able to recognize mere wishful thinking when it saw it, she groaned and stretched. Leaning forward again, elbows on knees, she looked to Valen.
"What do you think?"
He returned her look coolly for a moment, before the hint of a smile tugged the edge of his lips. "Somehow, I do not think that argument will work with her, my lady."
"Alas." Yasha quietly laughed again, shaking her head. Peeling the gauntlet off of her right hand, she rubbed the bridge of her nose. "What do you suggest we do instead?"
"If we wait long enough," he began, his tone turning serious, "then she will eventually attack us and try to take the shards we have. Even if we had the time to play waiting games, however, I do not relish the idea of allowing her to chose the time and place of that battle."
Yasha nodded, looking up at him. "Agreed."
"When we have attempted to attack her, however, she has proven to be...elusive," he added.
Yasha wrinkled her nose with disgust. The few instances when they had encountered Sabal in Shaori's Fell, she had disappeared in a flash of magic, leaving her minions to die in her stead. She nodded once again, motioning for Valen to continue.
He looked down at the shards thoughtfully for a moment, then back up at her. "I suggest we return to the castle, my lady," he said, motioning towards the distant building. "She will not be able to take the risk that we will find some use for the rest of the shards or conclude a deal with Elicid. She cannot return to the Valsharess empty handed. Therefore, she will either attack us while we travel there, or shortly after we arrive."
Yasha rubbed her chin with the gloveless hand. "You don't believe there can be a peaceful resolution, then?"
His brow furrowed as he tilted his head at her. "I am somewhat surprised you think to seek one. From my experience with the Valsharess' forces, however, I can guarantee Sabal will not."
Yasha felt her jaw tighten, and forced herself to stop gritting her teeth. He was almost certainly right. There would be more bloodshed before this was over, and there was little she could do to stop it, with her opponent so willing to throw away her peoples' lives. She forced herself to instead focus on Valen's suggestion for how to bring Sabal to them.
"We will need to make sure we have her attention when we approach the castle, then," she finally said. She reached down and began carefully wrapping the glass pieces back up. She smiled grimly up at Valen and Deekin as she did so. "That's fine. I'm pretty good at being obvious."
It was only a little while later that for the first time in a long time, Yasha wished she had a horse. A paladin's traditional mount would have been nice, but she would have settled for a palfrey as well. Something large and flashy. Of course, she had no horse, so she had to make do with what she had. She marched resolutely through the middle of the village, confidence and purpose in every step. She quite likely looked stupid, but, judging from the odd looks from the avariel she passed, at least it was likely to get attention.
She headed unerringly towards one of the ridges near the edge of Shaori Fell's town square, and plowed right up its side. She was nearly halfway up before Valen caught her arm and firmly pulled her to a stop.
"Where do you intend on going?" he asked incredulously.
She pointed to the flattened ledge at the top of the ravine. "Up there."
"I understand the point is to invite attack, but this is foolish. You will be exposed on all sides," he added, waving his other hand to encompass the rest of the cavern. "and we have no idea where Sabal's forces might be."
Yasha smiled wryly. That was the point, after all. She grabbed Valen's wrist and pulled until he relinquished his grip on her arm. "Then I'll have to depend on you two to watch my back, won't I?"
She regained her momentum as best she could, though she drew farther and farther from the lights of the town itself as she climbed higher. The top of the ravine was bathed in shadow, and she tripped a couple of times before drawing Duty in frustration.
"Enough stumbling around in the dark," she growled. In response, the runes on Duty's blade blazed. The sword's magic shed light at all times, but this time the answering flare of light lit the stone around her like a brilliant patch of daylight. She blinked a few times before striding up to what looked like the highest point that overlooked the village.
"Sabal!" she called, though not nearly loud enough for her liking. She sucked in a deep breath and tried again, "Sabal!"
This time she thought she heard the faint echoes of her voice off of the distant walls of the cavern. Good. She pulled a cloth bundle from her belt with her off hand and held it aloft, while still holding Duty high as well.
"I have the rest of the mirror shards, Sabal," she continued at the top of her voice. Below her, the town's inhabitants began to turn and stare up at her. "I am heading towards the castle, now."
Yasha paused. Her heart beat fiercely in her chest, and her fingers tingled with nervous tension. She strained to hear the first hints of an incoming attack, whether the tingle of destructive spell in the air or the faint whistle of a crossbow bolt. For several tense moments she waited, but there was nothing. Finally she dropped her arm. "I thought you might like to know," she yelled.
Below her, the avariel stared up at her with varying degrees of confusion and consternation. She grinned and saluted them with Duty before turning from the ledge.
"Think she heard you, boss?" Deekin asked curiously.
Yasha shrugged, tucking the mirror shards back into her belt pouch. "I don't know. I certainly feel better, though." She looked around once more, squinting into the darkness outside the ring of light. "Stay back from me a bit," she continued quietly to both Deekin and Valen, "out of the light so your dark vision won't get ruined. Let me know if you see anything."
They both nodded, Deekin enthusiastically and Valen comparatively curtly. With that she led them back down the slope, dislodging pebbles and small rocks that clattered around her feet as she slid to the bottom. She paused for a moment to get her bearings, and then marched off towards the castle, head high and shoulders squared.
The rocks and ledges of the ravine around her stood out in sharp relief as Duty's passing bathed everything briefly in a fierce glow. It was a struggle to keep her eyes forward and on the castle instead of on the shadows that flickered between the rocks at every step. Her blood was singing in her ears from the tension by the time the castle walls finally loomed before her. She paused once more, looking up at the narrow windows for a telltale shine of an arrowhead or flicker of magic. There was still nothing. The sound of Valen's armored footfalls on the castle steps prompted her on, so she pushed her way through the main doors and into the entry hall.
The tattered remains of huge spider webs still hung from every corner and fixture in the room. They shuddered as she barged through the doorway, and the light she brought with her made their shadows flutter across the room. She glanced up at the vaulted ceiling, and noted with a mixture of relief and surprise that the drow had not brought in more driders to hold the castle. Peering around suspiciously, she continued her march to the throne room, bounding up and over the dry, cobweb-strewn fountain that dominated the hall rather than deviate from her path and go around it. She only came to a stop when she stood before the grand double doors of the throne room itself.
She felt the muscles in her body tremble, struggling between exhaustion and pre-battle tension. Frowning, she turned back to her companions. Valen was not far behind, much closer than she had suggested actually, and well within the light Duty was throwing. He had his weapon at the ready, and looked tensely down the hallways before frowning at her and shaking his head. Behind him, Deekin cautiously approached as well, apparently trying to look everywhere at once.
Yasha felt worry gnaw at her. She had done everything but paint a bull's-eye on her chest, but Sabal had still not shown herself. "And I gave her such a nice invitation too," she grumbled, pulling open the throne room doors. It took her only a moment to take in the scene in the throne room before speaking.
"Ah. There she is."
Sure enough, Sabal and several drow waited at the far end of the hall, near where Elicid stood. Yasha felt their eyes on her as she led the way down the center of the hall. As she approached the waiting band, Duty began to chime, first softly, and then with a low urgency as the sword started to burn with divine white fire. Yasha didn't need the sword's warning, nor even the prickling of her paladin sense, to see the dark purpose and evil intent in the drow leader's eyes. The woman's red glare held death. Yasha returned the stare evenly. If it was death she craved, it was death she would have. She turned grimly to the avariel before the throne.
"Elicid. I believe we have a deal to conclude."
The red light in Sabal's eyes had flickered and died as she collapsed, sliding off of Duty's blade to lie in a heap on the castle's marble floor. Sabal had fought viciously, unwilling to return empty handed to her mistress. In the end, she had received the death she had so desired to deal out. Yasha could still vividly remember how her blood had stained the white stone and magnificent rug at their feet. Shaking her head, she gripped her side and winced. Leaning slightly against a rocky wall she bowed to the exhaustion that forced her to stop. The completed Mirror of Seeing was wrapped snuggly in her pack, and the cave around them stood chillingly empty, the entirety of Shaori's Fell having wrenched free of its dank prison and returned to its proper mountaintop perch with a roar of magic.
Valen walked past her slowly, looking about the quiet cavern. "And so the settlement has returned whence it came. Hopefully its people will find peace, now that their ordeal is over."
Yasha couldn't help but smile at the proud way that he surveyed the cave and the very pleased tone in his voice. She was always happy to see that she was not alone in feeling that warm tingle of satisfaction when a good deed had been done. However much he felt the need to distrust her, she found she was growing to truly like this fellow. She closed her eyes, and allowed herself to bask in the same satisfaction, putting aside her memories of the grisly deaths it cost.
Deekin padded past her as well, his lighter, quicker steps easy to discern. "Everybody gone, now? Back to home? Awwww. Deekin wanted to shop, first. Deekin need a new pair of shoes."
Yasha chuckled, and pushed herself away from the wall. "We'll see what we can do when we get back to the Seer's encampment."
Their footsteps were swallowed up by the silence as they made their way out of the cavern and towards the sandy bend where the Boatman would be waiting. Yasha paused briefly and looked down at the ground. Though sore and aching, she leaned down and plucked a white feather from the ground. It was somewhat grimy from its time on the Underdark's cavern floor, but it was whole, for the most part. With some delicate cleaning, she thought it could be return to its white, pristine state once more.
"Something wrong boss?" Deekin called from ahead of her.
Yasha looked up at them. Both Deekin and Valen had stopped, and looked back at her questioningly. She shook her head and tucked the feather gently into her belt pouch.
"No. Nothing's wrong. Let's go."