Chapter 1

Gripping the dish cloth with his wet hands, Tanis Grey finished drying the last dinner plate. The center and rim of the plate that was once covered with butter and sauce, was now clean. The half elf quickly placed the plate on the wooden shelf, and then ran a hand through his flaming red hair. There are many wounded staying in the temple tonight, thought Tanis as he brushed the sweat from his forehead. Mainly peasants from the Docks and Blacklake District.

One of the priestess of Tyr walked into the kitchen, watching Tanis as he straightened his linen shirt and leather breeches. "Thank you for your help," the blond haired priestess said with a toothless grin. She was a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties. "You may go and take your dinner in your room if you like."

Tanis smiled, his sky blue eyes gazing at the woman. "You're very welcome," he said in a calm voice," but I'll be doing some research this evening."

"Always the research," the priestess commented as she put some dirty dishes in the sink. Tanis stared at the dishes. While Tanis' eyes were distracted, the priestess caught a glimpse of the young man's slanted ears.

Tanis sighed, knowing the priestess had found the evidence of his elven heritage. If you only knew, the half elf said silently, remembering how his mother had named him after Tanis Half-Elven, a famous, though reluctant hero during the War of the Lance era.

After leaving the kitchen, Tanis went to the library, grabbed a book on the various races of elves in Fauern, then found a stone bench in the lobby of the temple. He opened the book with his left hand, turning to the article on drow elves. The sapphire ring on his finger glided smoothly off of the edges of the paper, as his eyes consumed the page of text, like a thirty dwarf drinking a pint of ale.

"Good evening sir," a calm feminine voice whispered from behind Tanis, causing his eyes to stop reading. Tanis looked over his shoulder, seeing the woman who had just spoken to him. A long brown cloak covered the majority of her body. He did however discover her dark skinned face and her grey colored eyes.

"Good evening milady," Tanis greeted with a warm smile. "Is there something I can help you with?"

The woman removed her hood, exposing her elven features. Her hair was long and white and her ears were slanted like Tanis'. Getting a better look at the woman, Tanis noticed that her dark skin was shiny and scaly. Remaining calm, Tanis waited to see what the drow woman was going to do.

The woman was caught off guard at Tanis' response. Normally when people set their eyes on her, they'd turn away because of the reputation drow have earned on the surface. "I was being chased by orcs and I seemed to have lost my coin purse," she purred in a soft voice.

Tanis raised an eyebrow. This was the last question he'd ever expect to hear from a dark elf, though he began to wonder if the books the temple had were misleading. Drow were known to be sneaky, merciless, and tricky. Maybe this was all just a con by the dark elf. Yet either way, he couldn't really help the woman, for he had no money of his own.

Before Tanis was about to speak, two burly temple guards walked over to Tanis and the woman. "Something going on here?" one of the guards asked.

"Everything is fine Barlow," answered Tanis, turning his head to the guards. "I was just about to explain to this woman-" Tanis stopped as he felt a small prick on the back of his neck. Behind him, the woman held a loaded hand crossbow to where his skull connected with his spinal cord..

"I'm taking him with me," the woman hissed. "If Tyr likes his temples to be clean, I suggest you refrain from chasing us. Otherwise, there will be bloodstains all over the floor."

The men growled, but stood by as the woman wrapped her left arm around Tanis, while still keeping her crossbow pointed at him with her right hand. Together, the woman and her half elven hostage walked out of the Temple of the Just and into Neverwinter's streets. Keeping her hold on him, the woman said," I am sorry that I had to drag you out of there like that. You can return to the temple shortly."

Tanis shrugged his shoulders. "Perhaps later. I must ask. Why did you do that?"

The woman tilted her head. "It's hard for me to stay in temples very long. Whenever religious figures try to approach me, I lose it. Let's just leave it at that. As for the whole purse deal, it was a lie. What I really need is a strong arm to escort me back to my house."

Tanis nodded. He sensed that his new friend wasn't the religious type. "I didn't get your name from earlier," Tanis said softly as he and the stranger walked down a dark and empty alleyway.

The woman threw Tanis a sidelong glance. She brushed back her long white hair and answered," I didn't give it, but there will be time for introductions later. When you take me to my house in the Blacklake District, we can sit down and chat. That is, if you don't want to go back to the temple."

"My father taught me that it was rude to turn down a lady's request," Tanis replied with a smile. "But isn't that where the orcs are attacking?"

The woman nodded, then asked him," You're not afraid are you?"

Tanis shook his head. "Not at all. It's just if we do come across any orcs, I'd like to have a weapon at my side."

After successfully breaking into a closed weapon smith's shop and acquiring a weapon for her new friend, the woman led Tanis through the entrance to the Blacklake District. As they rounded the corner, she and Tanis came across four orcs wielding axes. When they noticed the young man and his dark skinned companion, the orcs growled.

This was the first time Tanis had ever seen orcs, besides the pictures in the books back at the temple. They were smaller than he'd expected, but they still slightly resembled pigs.

Two orcs charged at Tanis, causing the half elf's fighting instincts to take over. He drew the long sword the woman had stolen for him, and slashed it hard across an orc's gut. When the first orc fell, the second orc swung his axe at Tanis' face, but the half elf spun right, barely avoiding the orc's weapon.

With a quick thrust of his left hand, Tanis drove his long sword into the orc's belly.

Putting away her hand crossbow inside one of the magical pockets in her cloak, the dark skinned woman drew her repeating crossbow. She loaded the clip to her weapon and aimed it at one of the two remaining orcs. Her slender finger pulled the trigger, and three bolts flew from the crossbow, finding their way into the orc's throat.

Watching two his comrades lying dead, and other one gasping for air, the last orc turned and ran down the streets.
"The Neverwinter guards will get him," the woman said as she put her crossbow back in her cloak. "Besides orc's aren't all that tough."

That same thought about Neverwinter's guards catching the orc crossed Tanis' mind as he quickly put away his long sword. "You've got a pretty good weapon there," he commented, trying to take his mind off of the smell the of fresh orc blood that now covered his blade.

The woman blushed and walked over to a large wooden door. She reached onto her belt and drew a small set of lock picks. After finding the right pick, she went to work on the door. Five seconds later, the door opened. "There's some wine in the cupboard," she announced as she stepped inside.

Tanis hesitantly walked inside of the house. He had no idea who this woman was, except that she was skilled at firing crossbows and picking locks. The half elf wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Nevertheless, Tanis smiled as he walked inside. He quickly closed the door, then locked it.