Disclaimer: The characters of Jarlaxle, Entreri, the Underdark, Faerûn, the drow, and other aspects of Forgotten Realms are the creations of R.A. Salvatore. I seek not to steal from his creation but only to humbly expand. The character of Jarian however is my creation.

Weapons. . .check.

Currency. . .check.

Traveling essentials. . .check.

Appropriate documents. . .check.

Mobile tailoring room, outfitted with splendid array of fashion. . .

"That would be a check," a voice said over Artemis Entreri's shoulder.

The assassin didn't bother to turn when he heard Jarlaxle's voice. The drow had the eyes of a predatory bird, without his infrared vision. Entreri was trying to inventory all of their supplies for the Surface venture. Placing the quill back into the container of ink at his side, he read through the list a second time.

"I have it right here Artemis!"

Now Entreri had no desire to turn as he heard the next voice. That meant Jarian was standing next to Jarlaxle. So, if he didn't turn, maybe they would go away. Unfortunately for Entreri, he was not so lucky and turned to face his fates.

Jarlaxle displayed the mobile tailoring room as Jarian held it out proudly in his hands. A few servants clapped, obviously entranced by the bejeweled chest that shined like mithril in the moonlight.

Entreri stared. "Your tailoring room looks like a jewelry chest."

"That is the beauty of it, my most treasured assassin," Jarian said as he set it down before Entreri. "I trigger the magical sigils on the side and it transforms into a room filled with all of my tailoring desires." Quietly to Entreri, "I can also modify it to be a room to fulfill other aspects of my desires."

"Now now Jarian," Jarlaxle said with an almost paternal tone, "what have I told you about this Surface trip?"

Jarian sighed. "I know, business first and play later."

Entreri had since taken several steps back. He had no intention of fulfilling any desires. And he was not the 'play' for later. "If you two are finished with your unsubtle insinuations; it would be conducive to depart for the Surface now. The Waterdeep guards will not view our entrance at the gate as suspicious by the time we arrive and we can set a security perimeter in the trading sector to safeguard our assets."

Jarlaxle nodded. "See Jarian, a man who knows about business first." Walking past Entreri, he said in a low voice so only the assassin could hear, "but really needs to know about 'play' later."

A glare worthy of a demon from the hells met Jarlaxle's back. The mercenary leader approached a stone archway, with various runes etched on its rocky exterior. It was hidden on the outskirts of Menzoberranzan, unbeknownst to those of the city, save for the members of Bregan D'aerthe who utilized it for various trading ventures.

Entreri forced his glare to lessen so he wouldn't do anything rash and his gaze settled on the drow that flanked Jarian. They did not appear to be guards because of their unusual dress. In fact, they almost seemed to match Jarian's turquoise outfit, with much less clothing.

Jarian, whose eyes had barely left Entreri since his arrival, noticed Entreri surveying the drow about him. "Observant as always Artemis," Jarian said with pleasure in his voice. "These are my personal servants. They will be modeling my outfits for the fashion display."

The three drow behind Jarian bowed their heads simultaneous as their master referred to them. They each wore linen loincloths that wrapped around their legs, between their knees and waist. The loincloth appeared to be secured only by a tucked in twist, perhaps implying that the outfit was easy to remove if need be. Jarian's needs implied such a convenient outlet of removal. The half-drow were all strikingly attractive and their bodies were chiseled statues of muscle, shining from freshly rubbed oil.

Entreri hated it when he was far too observant for his own good.

Jarian smiled to his servants. "Well, go on and introduce yourselves to Artemis. He's the one I've told you so much about."

"Entreri, not Artemis," the assassin said darkly.

The drow to Entreri's left walked over to Entreri. He positioned his left arm behind his back as he bowed to the assassin, leading the bow with his right hand. "Well met Master Entreri, I am Kaifas. Master Jarian has told us much about you. I am interested to see if what he says is true." His peridot eyes sparkled as he glanced southerly to Entreri.

Entreri shifted. "Greetings Kaifas."

The drow to the right stepped forward, his sapphire eyes shining. "We shall just have to see for ourselves. While I do not doubt our Master's words, a mere human cannot match the expertise of the drow."

The drow from the middle gave the drow a stern look. "Now Shytolin, Master Entreri's state as a human does not make him lesser than us. You are just jealous." The drow turned to Entreri, his silver eyes filled with sympathy, unusual for a half-drow. "Forgive the envious Shytolin, he guards Master Jarian's well being as well as he does his own bedroom secrets."

Entreri fought the urge for his jaw to drop. He didn't want to know what kind of servants these half-drow were or what they modeled for Jarian. Composing himself, "it's all right. I have encountered worse."

The drow bowed his head. "I am Maskah, at your service."

Entreri didn't like the way he said service, but he bowed his head. The way Jarian was eyeing the four of them together was making him uncomfortable. "Greetings." He looked around quickly and spotted Jarlaxle preparing their traveling method. "I'm going to assist Jarlaxle."

Jarlaxle suppressed a laugh as Entreri walked quickly over to him. He ignored the assassin as he reached into a pouch at his belt. He sprinkled soil from the Surface about the archway and then placed black gloves on his hands. He traced the runes on the archway, his fingers extending into shadowy tendrils as he levitated to reach the runes on the uppermost part of the arch. When his boots hit the ground he clapped his hands together and chanted, each rune glowing the various colors of a spectrum. After a few moments the interior of the archway emitted a burst of cold air, filling with a soft blue light that rippled like water as Jarlaxle ran his fingers through it.

"Your transportation is ready," Jarlaxle said, turning to see Entreri, having no doubt the assassin memorized every aspect of what he had just done. "It will take you to the outskirts of Waterdeep. From there you have the map of where you are to stay. Scouts have already been sent ahead and I will arrive in due time. Protecting Jarian and his assets is your main priority."

"Of course, I will do what is necessary to protect him," Entreri said with a bow of his head.

"I have no doubt of that," Jarlaxle said. He then handed Entreri a silver ring, laden with a small inscription.

"What is this for?"

"It provides a disguise," Jarlaxle said. "The infamous Artemis Entreri at a fashion display would be rather suspicious. I wouldn't want to ruin your reputation. It will provide an illusion to those who are not members of Bregan D'aerthe."

Entreri hesitated for a moment, but placed the band around his right index finger. "What exactly will I look like?"

Jarlaxle just smirked.

"Jarlaxle. . ."

"Have a nice journey!" He walked away waving.

Entreri mumbled, "He avoided answering my question. This doesn't bode well at all."

With a wave of his hand the group went through the archway. Entreri leading the way, Bregan D'aerthe soldiers at his sides. Jarian attempted to loop his arm around Entreri's, but the assassin shrugged him off, so the tailor decided to walk arm in arm with his two servants, the third one stroking his head from behind as Jarian pouted about Entreri's serious demeanor.

Author's Note: Well, one month for an update is much better than several. It was all a matter of waiting for inspiration to strike and it did. . .in the shape of Jarian's servants/models. There's more to them than meets the eye. As for their outfits, I describe them as. . . 'Egyptian, but Jarian.' The pieces are set on the sava board and they're off to Waterdeep. I've done some research on the city, so hopefully in the chapters to follow it'll be relatively accurate. More of Jarian's past and personality will be unveiled soon. I'll also go more in depth on his half-elf servants, but their names fit their personalities.

Maskah: drow name referring to beauty, silver, hair, and style

Kaifas: an Arabic name, meaning high spirits and pleasure

Shytolin: drow name referring to being skilled and lustful

So for those of you wondering, 'why hasn't Jarian gotten Entreri into his bed yet?' well, let's just say his 'servants' do more than 'model' outfits. . .so our Jarian is quite the happy drow.

As for Entreri's disguise, you'll just have to wait and see about that. :wink:

Entreri :groans: That doesn't reassure me!

Jarlaxle :looks hurt: What? You don't trust me!

Entreri :glares at Jarlaxle: No.

Jarian :gazes in rapture at Entreri:

Authoress :chuckles and smiles slyly, pointing to the review button:

:Maskah, Kaifas, and Shytolin pose, 'Charlie's Angels style' near the review button:

:Jarlaxle and Jarian clap, while Entreri shakes his head muttering "drow":

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has reviewed!

Just for that, a reviewer mailbag has been a long time in coming! So here it is:

(Feel free to check back on your reviews to see what in the nine hells I'm referring to, lol. Hopefully I'll be able to do this more often. For now I'll limit the responses to chapter 10)

Becky: Mission accomplished. . .erm, nothing. As for icing on the cake, Jarian asks, "can Entreri be the icing and myself the cake? It'd make a delicious dessert!"

:whispers: Personally, I'd be more worried about Jarian jumping out of a cake. . .

Oracle 10: I've registered; all I need to do now is create a character sheet for Jarian. All in due time for that though.

Ariel D: That's one of my favorite quotes too from that chapter, lol. :hands over more flowers:

Tiggermyk: No worries, I won't give up on this story. . .mostly because Jarian has decide to become a muse of sorts, along with Jarlaxle. So with both of them on my back, it's hard not to continue. :pause: Wow that sounds wrong. . .:gives both drow a dark look as they snicker:

Spider: Thanks for the encouragement. I've been asked repeatedly to mention Jarian to RAS, but I think I'll hold off for a bit, lol.

Lessiehanamoray: Entreri needs all the pity he can get right now. And I'll try my hardest to update more.

Liriel:wink: Glad I could provide you with the yummy image. If only someone could draw that. . .

Euphorbic: :returns bow: Jarian is highly pleased, lol. As for groans and laughs, I'll second that. I feel so bad about what I do to Entreri, but it's far too much fun for its own good. :whispers: Don't tell Entreri I said that. . .he'll kill me for sure and then I wouldn't be able to update! Well, unless I was resurrected or something.

Lena Silverwing:waves to Kellindil and Drizzt: Careful that Jarian doesn't see you. . .but oh yes, Jarian is cooking up ideas as we speak. And with the added help of his three servants, well things may get interesting.

Altebar: Gracias por sus palabras sobre mi cuento. :grin: I also like the short translations for comrades of mine who don't understand Spanish.

LPdarkstorm: Yeah, it just didn't seem right without Jarlaxle coming to the Surface. He has to personally represent Bregan D'aerthe of course and stop Jarian from doing anything rash. And yes, the mobile tailoring room was surprise, but it seemed so. . .right for Jarian.

Psyco101:Entreri tries to run off to hide with the nice reviewer, but the authoress restrains him, until he promises to return for the next update: Oh all right Entreri, but you're lucky I'm in a nice mood. :he responds that she's lucky to be alive: Good point. . .

Jack: Glad you've enjoyed the story so far. Entreri and Jarlaxle are such intriguing characters.