With thanks to those who have reviewed, and are following, this story.
Evil themes ahead. ;)
Chapter 21: A Dramatic Evening
Haer'Dalis and Viconia had been eating breakfast at the round table in the central room of the Planar Sphere when Elatharia and the others arrived. It looked as if Viconia had only just dragged herself from her bed; she squinted towards them with the bleary eyes of sleep as they entered the octagonal room which had once held the Knights of Solamnia.
"Our wayward flock returns!" Haer'Dalis greeted, saluting them with a pastry he had bought not long before from a stall outside, "May we know the depths of your schemes now, my Raven, ere I flit this nest to practice my play with the Dove?"
"Now that's a terrible euphemism, if ever I heard one," Edwin commented, sparing only a cursory glance to the drow and tiefling before moving for the door behind Viconia, "If anyone has need of someone with a real intellect, I will be busy in the library and will not want to be disturbed."
With that he vanished to his chosen destination and Elatharia slid onto one of the chairs with a tired sigh. She left the recounting of most of what had happened to Yoshimo and Korgan, who joined them at the large table, but was sure to take up the tale of Rayic Gethras herself. Viconia did laugh at the thought of Edwin struggling to wrest a wand from another wizard, without the aid of magic. It was not a dignified image.
"And who was it that wants Edwin's death so badly? And why?" the drow priestess inquired, intrigue shining her blue eyes.
"I don't know," Elatharia admitted, "But I certainly intend to find out. And soon."
"If I were an author of comedies, I would include such a scene," Haer'Dalis promised, "But now, my Raven, I would like to know what it is that you could not tell us before," he leaned forward intently.
"Alright," Elatharia nodded, seeing Viconia's expectant expression. In fact, Yoshimo and Korgan looked fairly attentive as well. She stood first, however, and turned the wheel by the door which led to the entrance, shifting the room out of alignment to avoid anyone who was not welcome interrupting, "First, I need some assurances – for what they are worth…Korgan, Haer'Dalis – that the information I give you will not leave this Sphere unless explicitly stated otherwise by me."
"You wound me with your assumptions," Haer'Dalis put a hand over his heart, but inclined his head to her all the same, "The berks of this anthill are a strange and rowdy lot. I have no fondness for Athkatla, or any allegiance to those who are not of your close acquaintance, my Raven. You can trust this Doomguard with your information."
Viconia glanced at him doubtfully, and he flashed her a smile.
"I'm fer killin'," Korgan reminded Elatharia, twisting about in his seat as she returned to hers, "I'm not so bothered who for or why, but I've a feelin' me best options are tae stay with ye. Mostly 'cause ye keep throwin' yerself in plots like this one. Otherwise, ye might be makin' a big mistake in tellin' me, ha! I'd need a lot o' gold…but ye've promised me the dragon scale, and that's good enough. Fer now."
"Fair enough," the Transmuter shrugged. She glanced at Yoshimo as well, and when the bounty hunter nodded his acceptance of her request, she continued, "Alright then, it's simple. The Shadow Thieves have been competing with an even shadier group for some time now. This…group…is led by Bodhi, who makes her lair in the crypts and is most likely as much of a vampire as her minions. But she has promised to get us to Imoen – and sooner than the Shadow Thieves, who have proven just how untrustworthy they are with their recent delays."
"And this Bodhi…what has she requested from you in return?" Viconia inquired as calmly as if they were discussing a monetary transaction.
"Some deaths," Elatharia admitted. A quick glance at each of those gathered around the table proved that this was the right audience. Yoshimo's expression hardly changed; he just nodded in understanding. Korgan actively smiled, while Haer'Dalis just raised an eyebrow, keeping his intrigued smile.
"And you are sure that Bodhi can act on her promises? That she has the power, influence and resources to do this?" Viconia insisted, and Elatharia felt a moment of frustration. These were not things she had really considered…but she nodded firmly all the same. The drow seemed mollified, "Then I do not see any problems with this. People who hire work to assassinate are often an untrustworthy lot, but the same could have been said of the Shadow Thieves. If we are to demean ourselves then we may as well take the path which is most brief."
"Agreed," Elatharia smiled in relief, but seeing Haer'Dalis still smiling, so unreadable, she remembered an important point, "The others can't know about this. Not Aerie, Minsc, Mazzy, Anomen or Jaheira. Probably not Jan either, since I wouldn't trust him to keep a secret about anything from anyone. It needs to be just us."
"And how were you intending on breaking the news when it matters most?" Viconia asked dryly in that tone of hers which meant Elatharia had, for all of her intelligence, failed to notice the obvious flaw, "Jaheira will, ultimately, follow on any path to Imoen and her revenge against Irenicus. Much as you. With her properly gagged by these goals, we could probably deceive Minsc quite completely. The others will be less amenable," she glanced at Haer'Dalis warningly, "The avariel and the Helmite could betray us in their righteous fury. The halfling paladin definitely will."
"I had imagined that we would just ferry them onto the boat that takes us to Spellhold," Elatharia explained, annoyed now, "We managed to keep them out of most of what we did for the Shadow Thieves, after all."
"Very well, although this is significantly worse in their eyes," Viconia persisted, spreading her hands and shrugging when Elatharia glared, "Control yourself, khal'abbil. I am, as ever, on your side."
"Fine," the Transmuter agreed grudgingly. The words were disarming, at least.
"What follows, then, my Raven?" Haer'Dalis asked now, "When must we commit the first deed?"
"Bodhi has asked to see me tonight. To give instructions," Elatharia told them, "Viconia and Yoshimo, I'd like you to come with me. Korgan, I'll always be sure to inform you before we've been given our orders." The dwarf had been about to complain, but grunted in agreement at this.
"Very well," Haer'Dalis shrugged, "I shall work on my play while you are out. And weave some pretty tales to the others if need be."
After their meeting, Korgan had retreated to his home above the Copper Coronet, and the others had headed out to the Five Flagons Inn to watch the rehearsals of Haer'Dalis's play. However the tiefling had managed to coerce Aerie into agreeing to act with him was a mystery to Elatharia, even knowing of the avariel's rather obvious interest in him. Though the idea of Viconia being present for those rehearsals was amusing to her, the Transmuter had not gone with them initially. Still intrigued by the lure of Lavok's extensive library, she had perused the books therein for some time.
Edwin had been sitting at the table, surrounded by books and staring down at his new Nether Scroll when she arrived. He was still in that attitude, frantically scribbling notes, when she left. He seemed remarkably unbothered by the attempt on his life earlier in the day. Just as he had looked rather unsurprised when it happened. From this, Elatharia could quite readily deduce that he knew who his enemies were and may have even been expecting something of this type for some time. He was too fixated upon his work to force the information from him at that time, and her day was far too full, but she made a mental note to learn what she must from him later. It seemed too petty to be angry with him about something like this – how many assassins had he helped her fight off – and ones who had been after her head, no less?
Later, Elatharia had met with almost all of her other companions on the lower level of the Five Flagons Inn; Valygar, Korgan and Edwin were the notable exceptions. Haer'Dalis, who was after all still officially employed by the inn as the director of its new group of actors, had arranged for their dinner to be brought down to them, and they had eaten together around the table in the back room. All the new actors were absent, but the group ate surrounded by stacked props and piles of costumes.
No one was sure who had invited Jan – or indeed if anyone had – but he, Haer'Dalis and Aerie were deep in a discussion about acting. Meanwhile, Viconia and Anomen were taking it in turns to send distrustful glares the bard's way. He had an arm around the back of Aerie chair and they were laughing together freely. Elatharia found herself a little confused by the situation, but once she finished her food and her drink, a look out of the window showed that the sun was setting.
As if reading her mind, Yoshimo sent her a very subtle nod and slipped from his chair, heading up the stairs to the clamour of the tavern above. When Elatharia elbowed Viconia to get her attention, the drow did not immediately respond. Another nudge prompted her to tear her glare from the increasingly loud conversation rising up between Haer'Dalis and Jan, Aerie giggling between them.
'We need to leave,' the Transmuter reminded her, using the vast range of expression available in the drow sign language to denote her impatience.
'Of course, my friend,' Viconia agreed, standing first and speaking aloud, "We must have words about your Red Wizard's ridiculous insults earlier," she lied, an easy enough ruse to get them away from the inn without suspicion. The idea of Edwin insulting anyone was more of an expectation than a likelihood, after all.
Still, Jaheira sent Elatharia a long, searching glance from where she was sitting a little removed from the others at the far end of the table. Dressed in a simple tunic and leggings today, she was obviously at least making some attempt to blend in with the city, but she was did not seem to know what to do with herself in these situations. Mazzy, who was seated closest to her, had been trying to talk to her through their dinner – but had failed to create any lasting conversation.
There was something in that bleak look that made Elatharia pause behind her own seat while Viconia moved for the side door that would take them out onto the walkway by the river. That long, empty look in Jaheira's eyes reminded her of Khalid's torn body in Irenicus's dungeon. And of Imoen's nervous, strangely removed journal entries, of which the druid knew nothing. We have to find her. And in that one thing, if nothing else, the Transmuter and the druid were united.
"Fare thee well, my Blackbird!" Haer'Dalis called after Viconia, who did not so much as pause as she stepped through the door. He raised his cup to Elatharia as well, grinning, "My Raven."
The Transmuter followed the Sharan priestess, and they made their way up the steps outside to meet Yoshimo at the front door of the tavern, which stood on the main thoroughfare of the Bridge District. It would have seemed more suspicious if he had left through the same door as the pair; this way there was no proof that they had, ultimately, left together. He gave them a swift nod, and moved ahead of them on their pre-agreed path.
'You should have enchanted your mask for infravision, my friend,' Viconia signed when they reached the district gates and awaited the side door to be opened for them. Her own eyes would be glowing red in this dusk, but for the Transmutation that rendered her as a moon elf.
It was a wise reminder; Elatharia had once travelled with a real moon elf of some significant wizarding skill, Xan of Evereska, and he had insisted that the mask she had then worn be imbued with a number of Enchantments. Among them were the augmentations of Infravision and Mirrored Eyes. But that mask had also been more showy; embroidered with green leaves, rather than the plain black that she hid behind now. In the face of this reminder, all Elatharia could do was sigh and accede the point. Perhaps she would have a merchant imbue the same Enchantments upon this new mask…and add Detect Illusion to the list of imbuements.
"How do you know that our movements will not be tracked?" Viconia hissed in her ear as they walked the streets of the Slums, now mostly deserted but for groups of tavern-goers and -leavers.
"I would imagine that Bodhi is expecting us, Viconia," Yoshimo responded, falling back a few steps to join the pair, his smile half-seen in the darkness for the Transmuter, "I have had dealings with her in the past, and when she is expecting your presence in her lair there are far fewer Shadow Thieves to be glimpsed about the streets. None, in fact."
"Your words alone, without proof or any sense of trustworthiness at all, are not going to sway me, jaluk," Viconia told him coolly, and shooed him away. Elatharia pretended to hide her smile, glancing at the drow's frowning face.
"That was about as subtle as your glaring at Aerie earlier," the Transmuter sniggered. It sounded like Yoshimo laughed at that, but he was walking in front of them and she could not see his face to be sure, "Which brings me to a question I think I'd finally like an answer to: is it you or the avariel that Haer'Dalis wants to bed?"
Viconia's silence was hard to fathom. She just kept her eyes on the road and her lips pressed together tightly. When she wanted to be, she was impossible to read.
"And what about Anomen? I'm more than relieved that he quickly gave up on talking to me like a saviour come to sweep him off his feet…but him and Aerie. She was staring at him before we even met Haer'Dalis…"
"Shut up, khal'abbil," Viconia advised sharply, "It is irritating enough to bear witness to these things without you prattling about it like a child just out of training."
"Swaddling might have been more accurate for we pampered surface folk, oh mighty-fallen-priestess-of-Lolth," Elatharia suggested far less sweetly than a more virtuous person might have managed. She and Viconia had known each other many months. They had saved each other many times. But neither of them took criticism well.
"Do not speak that wretched name to me, Bhaalspawn," Viconia spat into the darkness, but her words held little venom towards the Transmuter. That was all spared for Lolth.
"Seriously, as the leader of our rabble, I would prefer it if this ridiculous situation with Haer'Dalis sorted itself out sooner rather than later. I'm not having Aerie throwing herself off-deck midway to Spellhold because he prefers you, and Anomen's pride can't cope with the competition."
"As much as I would like to see her do that, I shall warn you now that Haer'Dalis is doing this deliberately, khal'abbil."
"Why?" Elatharia asked immediately, and she did not need to look at Viconia to know that the drow's shoulders had slumped. She should have known better than to discuss this with a wizard, who would always want all of the facts.
"It is utterly demeaning – and, I maintain, childish – to discuss such things in the street, making one's way to a Graveyard in tow behind a bounty hunter," Viconia complained as they rounded the corner to the dark gates out of the Slums and in amongst the crypts.
"Just spit it out," Elatharia suggested, ignoring the crawling sensation that ran over her bare arms as they neared the black gates of the Graveyard. Something about the place drew in fog…and the mist was particularly dense tonight.
"He is doing it deliberately," Viconia reiterated, eyeing the Transmuter with some exasperation as Yoshimo unlatched the gate a few steps away. Eventually, she fell into sign language, 'He has made his want of me clear. I have pointed out to him that it is not his place to seek me so openly, but rather his place to give what I ask from him. He is…attempting to make me jealous, I believe. Though he also would be happy to have the avariel, regardless.'
'You…rebuffed him?' Elatharia surmised, snorting loudly enough that Yoshimo twisted about to look at them curiously as he held open the gate, 'We farming nations of the surface have a phrase for that: you reap what you sow. He loves chaos, and he'll make it. It's up to you to make a decision and either push him away for good…or accept him. Simple.'
"Leader, should we continue?" Yoshimo sounded amused rather than impatient, but Elatharia waved him to silence all the same.
When she looked back at Viconia, the drow was smiling darkly.
"Oh, Elatharia," she purred aloud now, "If only you could take your own advice and stop trying to tell me, who have seen a century more of life than you, how to conduct myself. Now, did we not have someone to see? I grow tired of such chatter."
The Transmuter gave her the sternest look she knew how to give whilst wearing a mask, and headed off without another word. She could not tell if her heart leapt in her chest at the thought of taking her own advice…or at the prospect of entering the crypts again.
Aerie had gone upstairs with Jaheira and Minsc, intending to go home and rest after a long day practicing the play with Haer'Dalis and assuming that Anomen was right behind them. She still had her misgivings about the play, not least because of the tragic ending of the story, but she also felt that it was her duty to help the group keep its spirits up while waiting for passage to Spellhold. However, since the others had come to have their evening meal at the Five Flagons Inn, the avariel had sensed the tension in the room. Even once Yoshimo left, and Elatharia was taken away by Viconia, there had been something amiss. Every time she had looked towards Anomen, she had seen a hurt, reproachful look in his eyes. And now the cleric had not followed them up, which meant that he and the tiefling were alone together in the theatre.
"Oh!" Aerie exclaimed, making a show of pausing in the doorway and rummaging through her little satchel of things. As predicted, Jaheira and Minsc paused a little ahead of her, "I've left some of my notes!" She hadn't, and lying was painful, but this was for the greater good, "I…I should go back and get them."
"We will wait here," Jaheira answered immediately, though her shoulders tightened as if at the mere mention of something as frivolous as one's lines. Minsc nodded with significantly better humour.
"No!" Aerie had to battle with controlling the momentary fright in her voice, "No, that's alright. I-I'll catch up with you…"
"Absolutely not," Jaheira disagreed immediately, her ready frown appearing, "The streets are too dangerous for one person alone at this time of night. We will wait for you here."
"…Anomen will accompany me," Aerie finished quickly, smiling as openly and innocently as she could. Minsc blinked as if dazed, before looking to Jaheira for intellectual aid.
"I…" Jaheira paused, and then her stance softened. The hint of a smile even showed on her face, "Very well. I will wait up for you at the house."
"Thank you," Aerie's smile was more genuine this time, surprised and pleased by the druid's concern.
Jaheira was hard to read at the best of times, but it seemed that behind her coldness and her impatience she did care. On impulse, the avariel stepped forward and put her arms around Jaheira for a goodbye hug. For a moment the druid tensed as if she might pull away…and then her hands patted awkwardly against Aerie's back.
"I won't be long!" the avariel promised as she stepped back, waving at the ranger and the startled druid before retreating back through the doorway of the Five Flagons Inn.
The inn was much quieter than the Copper Coronet, its tavern maybe a fifth as large and furnished with more comfortable seats around smaller tables. The barkeeper was less hassled (and actually owned his own inn), and the kitchen staff were always friendly. The floor was carpeted and clean, and a fire was crackling happily across the room, which was filled with patrons talking quietly over drinks. The stairway in the corner of the room led up to nothing more than several comfortable, merchant style rooms – one of which Mazzy rented permanently. Aerie much preferred this place to the Copper Coronet. At least she normally did, but as she moved across the room for the door leading down into the theatre…she had her misgivings. Haer'Dalis had been in a particularly irreverent mood, and Anomen had seemed tense.
Closing the door quietly behind her, Aerie crept down the little narrow stone stairs – past paintings of various landscapes and scenes from plays – and down into the lobby of the theatre. Only a few candles lit this area, and she could make out clipped men's voices coming from the darkened theatre beyond. Her heart sank, and she inched forward, leaning against the partition by the open door in order to first ascertain what the conversation might be.
"…are not yours to torment, flaunt and abandon, rake!" Anomen's voice, poorly hushed, seemed to be coming from closer at hand.
Haer'Dalis chuckled softly, but there was not much genuine mirth in the sound.
"And you believe that is how I conduct myself? I leave such behaviour to the berks of this city. But to enjoy the beauty and variety of those who are outsiders just as I…I do not deny that is a fascinating diversion," his voice deepened as if in threat, and Aerie tensed in surprise, "I leave the misogyny and prejudice to those who have learned it from birth, cleric of Helm."
"I…you…" Anomen spluttered for a moment, obviously understanding that the tiefling was implying those flaws were traits of his, "I will not be side-tracked from the truth! You must be more honourable in your intentions, or face my wrath! I see you leading on Lady Aerie, and the next moment turning to conspire with the drow!"
"You think that they do not have some part in this? I am but a humble Sparrow, flitting amongst my flock. And if beauty turns to me with hungry eyes, who am to deny them their enj…"
"You are acting without care for those you might hurt!" Anomen exploded. Aerie jumped where she leaned against the partition, "You cannot…it is immoral…to court Aerie whilst you dally with the drow. And…and vice versa."
"I find your turn of phrase fascinating, Peacock," Haer'Dalis responded – though his tone was much quieter, there was something slow and menacing in it that Aerie would never have imagined, "And I think that you will have to leave it up to the Dove to choose whether or not she prefers you, childish son of a drunken lord, over me."
"You are shallow, selfish and favour outer beauty to inner goodness! You are using her, no matter what you claim!"
"I, shallow? What of you, cleric? You who watched our leader with such fascinated eyes…until she removed her mask, and you saw how not all those born of elf kind and filled with power are also beautiful of form."
"You…you never so much as glanced at Elatharia! And I swiftly came to my senses because she does not have a good heart, no matter how much she cares about her sister."
"I know when my 'glances' would not be welcomed," Haer'Dalis corrected, "Can you say the same?"
Aerie could imagine how Anomen would be drawing himself up proudly, about to say that yes, of course he could – and that the tiefling probably could not. But the pause stretched several moments too long. From the quiet murmur of Haer'Dalis's voice, it sounded like he was adding something too quiet for her to hear.
"Scoundrel! If you go near her again I will…I will…" Anomen's irate voice was followed by the thud of heavy feet upon the wooden boards of the seating area.
Aerie rushed into the room, no longer able to hold her alarm at bay. From the way that Anomen was just stumbling forward, visibly off-balance and red-faced even in the half-light while Haer'Dalis was just shifting nimbly into a braced position a few steps away, it looked as if a fight had been about to break out.
"What are you…what are you doing?" Aerie exclaimed, and both of them looked abruptly to her. Anomen straightened immediately, flushing even more now – only this time it was embarrassment and not anger that suffused his being. Haer'Dalis, conversely, just raised his eyebrows and smiled, his hands still wresting easily on his sword pommels.
"M-my lady…"
"I heard everything!" the avariel pre-empted the cleric, knowing that her voice was shaking almost as much as her hands and not sure whether she was angry, upset or frightened by what had been about to happen, "And I…I think you should both know that I'm not your thing to…to barter over." She was fairly close to stamping her foot in annoyance. Seeing Haer'Dalis's lingering amusement, she let out a wordless snarl that somewhat startled Anomen.
"My lady," he tried again, his palms out towards her as if it were her that needed calming even as he was visibly torn between his previous frustration and his current mortification, "I was only pointing out to the tiefling that his behaviour towards you has been thoughtless and nigh on unacceptable…"
"I will be the judge of that!" Aerie insisted more furiously and forcefully than she knew the cleric would have expected from her, "And…as for you…" she turned to Haer'Dalis and felt herself blushing even as she forced out her words, "You…you have been unkind! Very unkind! You know that Viconia is a cruel and selfish creature and you make a point of flaunting your behaviour towards me in front of her like I am some toy to be used! I won't have it anymore!" she looked away from the tiefling before he could answer, and pointed at Anomen, "But I'm angry with you, too! We talked about this! You…you should trust me, a-and you can't tell me what to do, either!"
"I…my lady…forgive me…" Anomen's gaze fell to the floor at her feet, and when she gestured to the stairs he headed that way without complaint.
Only once he had gone out of sight through the lobby did Aerie look to Haer'Dalis. In the dim light his blue hair and black eyes were the same, inky shade. His skin was very pale, offset by the dark lines that curved over his chin. He was as frightening as he was beautiful; graceful and powerful in even his smallest movements. And in that moment, seeing him watching her with such faint, wistful amusement, she knew that she could not fathom him. That she never would.
"Wh-whatever it is you think that you're doing…it won't work," Aerie told him tremulously. He moved as if to approach her, opened his mouth as if to speak, but she waved him to silence hurriedly.
He paused, and she fled from him before he could see the tears in her eyes.
Elatharia's conjured lights had never been as good as Edwin's, or Imoen's for that matter. Where her sister was capable at all of the schools of magic and Edwin was a master of Conjuration, Elatharia was sadly neither. Transmutation was her school, and in her youth she had dabbled more in Invocation and Divination. Necromancy had been a fascination, but one she could never act upon whilst in Candlekeep.
All the same, her light illuminated the crossroads of the ancient pathways in the old crypts of the Graveyard district in a faint, greyish glow. Viconia's eyes were shining bright red in the gloom, her moon elf Transmutation dispelled. She was a drow, and she was more comfortable here in the dark than she ever was above ground in the city. Even her movements had changed subtlety; her footsteps were utterly silent, her sign language so fast and fluid that Elatharia could barely follow it.
Fortunately, they had not been waiting long, Yoshimo lingering in the shadows behind them, when the same vampire-lackey who had warned them of Bodhi's monster that morning approached them through the gloom. Gesturing for them to follow, blood-red smile broad and knowing, she had led them through the corridors of the crypts, far beyond the area which Elatharia had become familiar with when perusing the maps with Edwin.
When they stepped through a poorly aligned door, Elatharia had expected a crypt, or some kind of rudimentary office. She did not expect to step out into the open air to the rush of the wind and distant crashing of waves. In the faint light of the moon and her own Conjuration, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust. They were standing close to a cliff edge overlooking the sea and a broad, sandy beach. The moonlight was dancing, white and eerie, across the distant waves. Trees loomed in around the crypt they had just left, creeping down the crumbling walls behind them. A few paces away, across the short stretch of knee high grass, stood Bodhi…and in her grasp squirmed a young, wild-eyed man in the black and silver of the Shadow Thieves. The red sash at his waist denoted him as a novice.
"I am so glad that you could come," Bodhi greeted silkily as Elatharia, Viconia and Yoshimo stepped out to join her. She waved her servant away, and the vampire bowed low before flitting back into the darkness of the corridor.
"Help me! Please!" the man begged, struggling in vain against the hold Bodhi had on his wrists, which were bound behind his back.
Viconia tensed at Elatharia's side as she joined the Transmuter on the cliff edge, her hand automatically going to the handle of the Flail of the Ages at her hip. Yoshimo waited behind them both, and was silent. Elatharia just raised an eyebrow and looked into Bodhi's pale eyes. The mistress of the vampires smiled, showing long canines, and pulled at the man she held, her free hand curling slowly around the side of his neck. Feeling the long sharpness of her black nails, he stopped struggling abruptly, panting hard, panicked eyes rolling.
"You have brought some more friends for me to meet," Bodhi noted, nodding to Viconia with a curl of her lip. Her eyes skimmed over Yoshimo and her expression fell to one of blankness, "I think I preferred the Red Wizard."
Surprisingly, Viconia did not rise to this bait. She just smiled coldly, and watched.
The man continued to struggle.
"I hope my…servants…did not unsettle you too much on the way here, Elatharia," Bodhi offered when the silence had stretched, broken only by the captive Shadow Thief's pleas.
"You mean your zombies and ghouls?" Elatharia could barely contain her amusement, but just shrugged as if ambivalent.
The Transmuter could still feel the pull of her heritage distantly, and knew that some of those monsters lingered not far away. Curiously, the vampires which she had met – and Bodhi herself – did not seem to be so vulnerable to Bhaal's power. She began to wonder how weak that Netherese lich had been, and how long it had lingered in the crypts, withering, inactive and insane.
"I do hope you found whatever it is that you came for earlier," Bodhi added, as if stalling…or waiting for Elatharia's curiosity to win out. She gave another sharp tug on the captive man when he attempted to pull free again.
"Yes," Elatharia agreed distractedly, her eyes on the young man now, "And maybe you could explain what he's here for?"
He was clearly a member of the Shadow Thieves. Who had let her down. Whom she had betrayed.
"He is the reason that I called you here," Bodhi admitted, smiling widely again. She staggered slightly when he pulled harder, his eyes alighting hopefully upon Elatharia. The vampire mistress bared her teeth at him and her hand clenched tightly beneath his jaw.
Elatharia folded her arms slowly, looking to Viconia and then Yoshimo with her eyebrows raised in a show of nonchalance. In truth, she was curious. Once she might have been shocked. But this young, struggling captive represented a group who she perceived to have all but betrayed her. And she had decided to start killing things that betrayed her.
"He is just a novice, a boy who has been forced into his trade because he can do nothing else. An orphan, who lived on the streets. Now he is a ward of Renal Bloodscalp, deputy to the leader of the Shadow Thieves," Bodhi explained conversationally, "That group which you once worked for. As you know, the Shadow Thieves hold a monopoly on this town, and I intend to break it. We have been…recruiting…from their ranks where we can. Sometimes, however, they are a little too uncooperative. He has resisted the temptations we laid out for him. And now I give you a choice. Kill him…or I will release him. He will return to the Shadow Thieves and tell of how you saved him. This is all I require…a few deaths to prove your loyalty, that we see the world with the same eyes of which this will be the first. And then there will be a ship waiting for you, to take you to Spellhold."
Elatharia had the distinct feeling that Bodhi was expecting some kind of horror, or at least shock, from her. This was a helpless young man, not armed or armoured and not violent. Just afraid. But Elatharia had learned that the good way was often the easy way…and not the most economical.
A glance to Viconia showed the drow's distaste for the simple execution work, but she did not argue. Yoshimo was carefully blank, and only inclined his head when Elatharia looked towards him. Faced with such ambivalence, the Transmuter turned back to Bodhi and smiled coldly.
"Fine, if that's what you want. Although I must admit to being a little doubtful. You have few obvious reasons for aiding me – there are probably far cheaper and more efficient executioners that you could hire."
"We want the same thing," Bodhi explained, reaching into her robes and pulling out a small knife, extending it towards the slowly approaching Transmuter. The man squirmed and begged loudly in the brace of her other arm, "I too have unfinished business with Jon Irenicus and at Spellhold," her head dipped and a mischievous look crossed her broad face, "Nothing to be overly concerned about. Here, use this."
The knife that she extended towards Elatharia came into the conjured light which followed the wizard the few short steps to the vampire mistress and her captive. The white blade caught her eye, and she snatched her hand back in surprise. A bone dagger. It resembled the dagger she had dreamed of when first she had left Candlekeep. The dagger with which Bhaal would have had her kill a man in her dreams.
"I have need of no weapons," she snapped, watching Bodhi's face closely now. Was it deliberate? A trick of some sort? Her skin crawled uncomfortably. Was she being used even more than she had thought? It was demeaning enough to be acting as this woman's executioner. A flicker of anger stirred in the back of her mind.
"Of course," the vampire mistress showed no disappointment at the rejection, tucking the weapon back into her belt, "I had only thought to offer you the use of one of our daggers, lest your manner of killing be recognised by those who once called you friend."
Elatharia's smile was cold and distrustful when it turned to Bodhi.
"I don't need a dagger," she reiterated, gesturing quickly with one hand and muttering a few quick phrases.
Bodhi watched curiously, but did not appear to show recognition of her intention. Elatharia's smile only grew when she moved forward one final step, placing her palm gently against the terrified young man's cheek.
"Perhaps a simple Ghoul's Touch will be enough. Sustained, it should be," she nodded to herself, as if certain, and reached for the Weave, pronouncing the appropriate words and feeling the creeping power of one of her few Necromancy spells spreading down her arm, through her fingers, and into the man's skin. He gasped and trembled and pulled weakly and ineffectually against her arm.
"As you wish," Bodhi agreed softly, no judgement in her tone.
When the vampire mistress released him, Elatharia met her pale eyes again and shrugged.
"Or, I could just ensure that no one finds the body. Then why would I worry about whether or not it looks like I killed him or you did?"
She pushed the young man then with her free hand, a simple shove against his chest. He crumpled weakly, probably already only half conscious after the creeping influence of the spell, and slipped easily over the edge of the cliff. He did not even scream.
Elatharia watched him fall, and his landing. Her hands clenched against the flash of power that she felt. It was not real power, she reminded herself. It was Bhaal's promise, living in her blood. Murder. Murderer. Death. She hardly noticed Bodhi's sudden laugh, a harsh and hungry thing, her pale eyes fixed on the tinge of spreading blood far below them.
"I hope you weren't intending to set me up, Bodhi," the Transmuter said softly.
The vampire mistress observed her mildly when their eyes met, with just a hint of a smile on her dark red lips. She spread her hands, and the gesture almost closed the gap between them. Elatharia had to fight the urge to take a step back; there was a coldness that permeated across the gap between them.
"Or course not," Bodhi promised, with all the sincerity of one who does not mean a word they say.
"Because I still have to live in the Slums during the day," Elatharia reminded her sharply, and Bodhi just inclined her head, "When your power presumably can't protect me. I suspect the Shadow Thieves would have something to say should they learn…too soon…about my change of heart."
Bodhi peered over the edge of the cliff, the wind stirring her long black cloak. She was fearlessly close to that terribly steep drop. She eyed Elatharia with some evident amusement when she looked back at her.
"Somehow, I do not think there will be any evidence left to stir their suspicions," she promised, and the words held a measure of…respect?
Though her friends shifted uncomfortably behind her, and Viconia's hand at her shoulder suggested she back up a little, Elatharia just met Bodhi's eyes and smiled back.