Entreri ran to Jori's room at full speed, which happened to be much faster than most people can run. At some level, he wanted to be right and for her to be the target, then he might stop this. However, he didn't want her to be harmed.

Entreri opened the door in time to see Marilak's sword over her heart and ready to plunge. For a moment, he was caught up in the past. He remembered when he had first seen Marilak--in this exact position.

Jori was lucky. Jarlaxle had seen Entreri running to Jori's room and had followed. The drow came up behind the stunned man and threw a dagger at Marilak.

The drow screamed in pain and ended up out of position. Hearing the scream, Jori awoke and rolled out of bed. Cursing, Marilak looked around the room and realized that he'd have to escape. He flung himself out of the window and started running away.

"Are you alright?" Entreri finally managed to ask.

Jori looked at him, wondering why he hadn't been able to act.

"I'm fine," she said quietly. "May I ask?"

Entreri closed his eyes and turned away. He wasn't ready to talk about that scenario, and especially not in front of Jarlaxle.

Jori looked at Jarlaxle. "Thank you."

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"He was stunned," said Jarlaxle. He sounded worried.

Jori decided not to press the point and smiled. Then, her eyes widened in panic.

"We're now at war!"

"What?" Jarlaxle asked.

"A Sharite tried to assassinate me!"

"What makes this war?" Jarlaxle asked.

"You start a war by killing someone important," she said worriedly.

"No offense, but I would've aimed for someone a little higher up the chain then," Jarlaxle said impatiently.

Jori looked at him. "You don't understand. I'm the daughter of the Daggerlord, thereby I'm the perfect target."

Jarlaxle just looked at her for a moment.

A trumpet blared, and Jori looked at him. "The meeting is about to begin."

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When Jori and Jarlaxle got to the meeting hall, they were both amazed by the crowd. Almost everyone who followed Mask was in the same room. At the front of the room were three thrones, Entreri sitting in the middle one.

"The Sharites have declared war upon us. They will probably attack here, and we must be ready. I want some of each rank to see me after the meeting for training against fighting undead." When Entreri finished he sat back down, and Cletran rose.

"Daggerlord Entreri is right. If they bring in undead, we will be destroyed. We cannot allow that to happen. We all have known that this war would come, and it has. We will be victorious!" Cletran sat down, and Avariel stood.

"I agree with both of them, and I am sure that some of you remember the last war with Aramil and the Dread Lord. We cannot be taken unawares. We will not be taken unawares." She then sat down, and it was signaled that the meeting was over.

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"They believe in quick meetings, don't they?" Jarlaxle said teasingly to Jori. She just looked at him. She didn't like the implications. More needed to be discovered, but the Citadel was so isolated.

"I don't like the number of probabilities," she said simply.

"Indeed," Jarlaxle said, nodding his head. Jori looked at him, a sudden question erupting in her mind.

"How'd you meet Fa..Art…" she smiled at her own slip. "Daggerlord Artemis Entreri?"

"A persistent drow female," Jarlaxle said simply. He was trying to think of how many words started with "Fa," then it hit him. He looked at Jori. He had guessed from her earlier words but had hoped she was talking about a past Daggerlord. "Father and daughter?" he asked.

Jori's eyes widened. Jarlaxle noted that they were definitely Entreri's eyes.

She nodded slowly. Jarlaxle just looked at her in disbelief. "May I ask how that came about?"

"No," Jori said quickly. Jarlaxle just shrugged his shoulders. He'd figure it out eventually.

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"You seem to know quite a bit about this little war," Entreri stated calmly. He was seated right across from Nova, who was fidgeting.

"I do try to learn what is going on around me," she replied.

"What was your source of information?"

"Zaknafein," she said quietly.

Entreri looked at her. He had heard of Zak, of course he had, but how had she used him as a source of information? He was dead.

Reading his face, Nova decided to answer the question.

"His soul's in the Demonweb Pits," she said quietly. Entreri seemed to approve even less. "He was a friend of Aramil!" she blurted out. She couldn't lose this chance to save Zak's soul. The only question was how this would affect Entreri.

"Aramil went to Menzoberranzan," he said in disbelief.

Nova could see the confusion on his face and the fire in his eyes and took her cue to leave.

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Jarlaxle looked at Jori. "I didn't get to look around last time," he said casually as he wandered around her room. After the conversation about Entreri he had left for a little while to give her some time. After that he had gone about spending the night in her room. It was usually the best way to figure things out. She liked his company though and had let him come in.

"There's not much. After all you can only bring so much with you when traveling over a long distance."

Jarlaxle looked at her. "How exactly did you get here?"

"Teleportation," Jori said simply.

"Teleportation?" Jarlaxle questioned raising his brow.

"I learn quickly," Jori replied.

"Clearly. May I ask how old you are?"

"Eighty seasons," Jori replied smiling.

"Twenty years upon Toril and you are already capable of teleportation!" Jarlaxle said happily.

"Yes. Does it surprise you?" Jori asked, smiling.

"It proves that you are a quick learner and have quite an amount of potential," Jarlaxle replied.

"I am like my father."

Jarlaxle just stood there, thinking about the statement. She was, indeed, like her father. He had already seen her stubbornness. She had great potential. From what he had seen of Artemis, Jarlaxle had to agree that being a quick learner was also a trait they both shared.

"How are you different?" Jarlaxle asked.

Jori looked at him. She had been sitting at her dresser brushing her hair, and had been so lost in thought that she was somewhat surprised to hear him speak.

"Emotionally, very different. I have been loved my whole life while my father could not even fully trust those who loved him." Jori was silent for a moment, and Jarlaxle respected that. Not only was she trying to figure out what to say, but she was clearly sad by it all.

When Jori remained silent Jarlaxle went up to her and put his hands on her shoulders. She looked up at him and smiled. Things had just gotten better.

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She didn't care that they were going to war. She didn't care what her father would think. All she knew was that she felt great. At least, that was until the dream.

She was wandering in heat and…sand. Jori looked around; she was in the Calim desert. She tripped and fell. There was a sharp burst of pain as sand made and entered a new wound. She bled, he drank. The heat engulfed her. She had never felt a burn before. He appeared: Memnon. Jori screamed.

"Jori, wake up!" Jarlaxle shouted at her, urgently. She bolted up, knocking him off the bed. "Jori, what is it?"

Jori looked down at him, she was crying. Only then, Jarlaxle notice the blood seeping through the sheets. He looked at her.

"You're hurt," he said standing up. Jori silently clambered out of bed and rested her head on his shoulder. Jarlaxle didn't say anything, just embraced her as her hot blood touched his skin.

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Entreri hadn't gotten any sleep. He was too busy preparing for the upcoming war.

"We're going to need some help," Cletran observed. Entreri nodded then smiled. For a high-up job, he knew who would be perfect.

"I have an idea," he said. Cletran watched him as he walked away. This would either be very bad or very good.

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"Jori, what happened?" asked a distressed Jarlaxle.

She looked at him, her eyes filled with terror. "He's in my dreams, in my mind," she said, voice trembling.

"Jori, what you say doesn't make sense," Jarlaxle said in a comforting tone.

She looked at him, her eyes brimming with tears, but before she could reply, someone knocked on the door.