Author's Note: This is something that I decided to do. I have recently began to read The War of the Spider Queen, Book One, Dissolution, I have not yet finished the book, but I have found an interest in only a few pages. Mainly, the place called The Jewel Box in the Menzoberrenzin Bazaar. It seemed an ok place to take some short stories too, telling the story of its occupants. This wont be but a few pages long. Probably. Sometimes I get carried away. Anyways, lets go.
Tales of the Jewel Box: The Friendly Ear
The male was rather unimpressive. He wasn't scarred, but at the same time, he seemed to be of normal appearance as everyone else that surrounded him with the exception that he was a bit smaller then the rest, but everyone knew height didn't matter that much. Afterall, there had been many a Drow who's size never really showed their true strength. Again, he was unimpressive to everyone else, with the only exception being that he was a regular to The Jewel Box. He drank, gambled, fought, and talked his troubles away, and he had many of them. But his most frequent way was to go to the one person who seemed to truly care how he felt. A whore in one of the many underground rooms, this woman had always listened to everything he had to say, touched him softly with her fingers, had even offered advice to him. The two, shared a relationship it had seemed. Thus, it starts here. A normal day, as the male entered the room. The female, who was on the bed, slowly looked up, but seeing that it was her friend, she instantly leaped from her bed, arms spread wide. "Shalgur" she cried out happily. She had meant to wrap her arms around him, but fell short, the chains on her limbs stopping her. The impact and speed at reach she had been traveling almost tore the bones for her sockets, and began to throw her back, but Shalgur was a bit to fast. Quickly he stepped in, placing his arms around her, stopping her decent. He smiled.
"You ought to be a bit more careful Clarice. One of these days, I am going to find you on the floor dead" He said to her, gently placing her back ontop of the bed, sitting on the edge himself.
"I am sure you would not overly worry about me, after all, I am just a simple whore it would seem, born a commoner, made into what I am today, while you are of Noble blood" She said, wrapping her arms around the male, chains still getting in the way though. Shalgur simply shook his head, smiling as he went to work, taking the cuffs off, as it always seemed to be. He turned fully to her, and she could see that, despite all of his levity, his mood was in the pits it had seemed. Taking this into account, Clarice reached behind him, her fingers rubbing along his back. She herself frowned now.
"Your so tense" She began. "Something is bothering you. What is it?" Shalgur's shift in weight told her that whatever it was, was something very important. She prodded her fingers deeper into his back in an attempt to use some force to take the tenseness away. It succeeded but only a little bit. "Tell me"
Shalgur closed his eyes. "I have fallen from my status. From both my Matron, and possibly, from Lolth" The girls eyes went wide.
"How?" She demanded at once. She knew it was not her place, and looked down some. Lifting the shirt from his body, he laid down on his stomach, awaiting for Clarice to begin one of her back rubs. The whore obliged him, rubbing her fingers along his stiff shoulders. She knew them instantly to be the stiffness of someone who has just came from fighting. "Tell me. Please" She said softer this time.
Shalgus nodded. "You know that I was to be apart of a surface raid against those damned Sun Dwellers. Right?" Clarice nodded, remembering him saying something about that. "We did as such. When we were finally at the surface, we found a band of other Drow. Forgive me for saying, but watching them dance out there in the moonlight...they were some of the most beautiful creatures I had ever witnessed." He smiled to her, turning his head to look at Clarice "I could easily have seen you among them"
Clarice in response, held a small giggle in. Leaning forward, she gave him a small kiss on the neck, still rubbing his shoulders down. He stopped for the moment, enjoying the touch as she massaged his back. Her fingers were like silk on his back, very soft and soothing, only her fingers were smarter then silk.
"In any case. Our Caption knew who they were. Apparently they were worshipers of some Goddess named Eilistraee. Are orders were deftly clear. Kill them all. Our party rushed them. Most were taken by surprise, easy kills there, but there were still those who either had a weapon on them still, or was quick of wit enough to grab for a weapon. Though we were still able to slaughter a score, there had been many of them all the same. In the confusion of the battle, my opponent and I actually fought our way away from the rest." He stopped, making a motion like he was strangling someone. "And then the advantage finally came my way. She was younger then I, while still taller I could tell, but she was not as well trained as I am sure she would have liked. I lifted my sword, ready to strike."
Clarice stopped her massaging and laid next to Shalgus, caught up in this tale. "And then what happened?" She asked.
"I don't know." He said to her. "For the first time, something other then instinct took over, and I know it was not magic, but something inside me that made me feel...like I was wrong. It was a small pain, I am not sure what it was. She looked up at me, fully expecting me to spear her, ready to die. In my hesitance, she said something that made little sense in our situation"
"What did she say?"
"It was strange...She said that a rightful place awaits me in the realms above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace and live beneath the Sun again, where trees and flowers grow"
"Whats a tree?"
Shalgus shrugged. "Im not totally sure really. I didn't really get a chance to ask myself. I was actually going to let her go, but as I was getting up, an arrow from the left of me suddenly shot out and pierced the womans temple, killing her"
"Oh my. What did you do?"
"What I did next? More then anything, I was angry. I charged the shooter, not caring that I was about to slaughter our Captain.
"You killed your own Captain? Surely must have made some excuse"
"I did" he told her, turning her fully to take a hold of her and bring her into his arms. "I told them that the Eilistraee Worshiper slew her, and I in return, shot her. Everyone believed me, and I was going to let go at that. But someone must have thought that taking a prisoner with us to be sacrificed to the Spider Queen.
"Something tells me that it did not sit well with you. Surely you didn't slaughter your whole team?" Clarice said, cuddling into him.
"No" Shalgus said, shaking his head. "I am good as you have seen, but I am not that good. All the same, I found it hard to just let this be. They had bound the girls hands painfully behind her back, using more rope on her chest. That with the gag, I knew she would suffer from the long trip. I had to plan out what I had to do.
"Uh oh" She said, wincing "You planning something is always a disaster"
"Hey, that's not very nice you know!" He complained, Clarice giggling. He frown though, nodding "Actually, it did turn very sour. I was caught while freeing the prisoner by one of our scouts. A crossbow to his neck made him silent, but he had already alerted everyone else. We found ourselves fleeing and killing anyone who got in our way. Luckily, once we made it back above, the Eilistraee Worshiper could find hiding places. Once everyone thought that they could no longer find us or figured we were long gone, they left"
"But you are here? Why? Do you hope for forgiveness? Im sure that the other members in the party knew it was you"
"They do, and I do not plan to stay. You see, during our escape" He held out a large bag he took from his pocket and left it dangling "I thought it would be a good idea to take some...currency. Im here to buy your freedom. Today!" He exclaimed, extremely happy.
"You...came for me?" She stammered, her eyes wide. She gave Shalgus a big hug. She turned away to pick up a few things scattered around. Pointing to one of the corners, she said "Could you please grab some of my perfume from that desk? It's a blue one." Shalgur nodded and easily went to go do her bidding.
He didn't find it right away. It was just long enough. A sharp pain suddenly shot through his back, all the way into his lungs. He knew. Knew that he had just been betrayed. That the woman he loved and just stabbed him in the back, probably from a knife hidden under a pillow. Slowly, turning around, his eyes met Clarice's. There was no hate, satisfaction, or anything of that sort, but a pleading, sorry look. He wanted to open his mouth, to ask her why, but only a gargling sound came from his throat.
The door suddenly flew open and he knew, that she was set up by his own family to kill him. They had probably threatened the girl to torture. In that last moment, he didn't feel hate of any kind, but for the first time, he felt what pity for someone else was like, and then he thought no more.
For a moment, Clarice watched him. Was she sad to see him go? Yes. She fully regretted it, but if she didn't, she would be put to a far worse fate then simply being a slave, and also, Shalgurs family had promised that they would buy her freedom, where she could escape from Menzoberranzan, free to do as she pleased. She then turned around, to see a smiling, taller male, two more flanking him.
"I have to admit, at first, I did not think that you would do it. But, you have surprised me, and you did what you have been told." She motioned for one of the other males to take the bag from his little brother and instructed him to use it to purchase Clarice's freedom.
"I am now free to go? No one would question?" She said
"Yes, I always keep my word my dear. It is my way you see"
At first, Clarice was reluctant. But the outside now called for her. She would find some way to atone for what she did to Shalgur later, but now, her freedom was at hand. She walked to the door, past Shalgur's brother. She was now taking long strides, sure that she was free. She had paid no attention to the remaining male who was at the door who had come with them. He suddenly whirled around, and Clarice could feel cold steel dig into her guts, twisting to the right, and then suddenly jerking upwards. The pain was so powerful, that she had actually lost her sight. She felt a hand on her shoulder.
"I have purchased your freedom from this whore house. You will never have to endure a beating...Ever again"
She felt another knife dig into her back. She died from the shock right there, her body hanging limp. The two drow then departed, leaving the bodies to be cleaned up by the slaves.