Volume 2, Part II: So Long as They Both Exist

Vale stood as they entered a small, side antechamber. "Lord Nasher has ordered these things to be prepared for you," he said evenly. He pulled back a long, obscuring piece of cloth, revealing a stretch of items on the table. "He has ordered that you take what you think you need, and suggested that you might need all of it." He gestured; across the table were various small vials filled with many different colored liquids, scrawls of parchment...

"Then all of it we shall take." Sand picked up the different rings and amulets, examining each in turn. Rings of protection, resistance, bracers, necklaces, amulets of health, nearly every scroll or potion imaginable... He swept it all into his sack. He would sort through it later.

Nasher really was concerned about this map.

As Torio walked closer, she saw a forged, familiar Luskan seal embossed in their centers. "Identification papers..." She said mutedly. "Letters of writ, introduction..." Despite her sense of foreboding, her voice took on an impressed inflection. "These are well done."And they'll get us through the gates... But anyone even remotely connected to the Host Tower would recognize her instantly...

She caught sight of two furled scrolls close to Vale's hand. He smiled slightly at her glance. "I am to disguise you properly," he said, touching the scrolls lightly with a finger. "Simply let me know when you are ready to leave, and I shall cast."

Sand looked at Torio then to Vale. "Disguises? My - this will be...interesting. I'm ready whenever you are, girl."

Torio nodded firmly at Vale. "Let's get this over with, then."

The wizard arched a brow at them, but merely picked up the first scroll. "If you could please stand a bit apart from the Ambassador, wizard...that's good, thank you." He started reading off the scroll, his voice carrying a vibrating edge to it as the arcane words were spoken aloud, and then as he finished the parchment flashed brightly and dissipated, an aura of light surrounding Sand...

When it faded, he had to look up into the newly polymorphed man's face; Sand now resembled a human. He nodded, satisfied. "Ambassador, if you could walk forward, now, please?" He began reading the second scroll before Torio could say anything, and in another bright flash of light, it was done.

Sand was suddenly taller. Much taller. He had to look down at Vale and Torio. His arms and legs were longer and they felt awkward, almost gangly. He made his way carefully to a mirror and stared into the glass.

By Mystra...

He was human. Human...Human!

He gaped at his appearance a moment. Gone were his pointed ears (and probably the pleasure derived from it as well...); his hair was short, spiky and black and his neck felt terribly exposed to the elements. His eyes were still blue but the familiar slant to them were gone - instead they were round and large and stared back at him incredulously.

But...he felt stronger. Feeling foolish, he flexed the muscles of his arms and felt a satisfying bunching of muscle and power.

He turned back to the other two. "Well - this will certainly work."

Torio winced against the bright flash of the spell, and then blinked in the almost black aftermath as her eyes adjusted. She glanced down; she could see long folds of pale, almost white hair tumbling down the front of her; her skin was much paler, as well, a translucent, pinkish glow permeating the creamy flesh. She followed Sand to the mirror...

Ironically enough, her eyes were still their own gray. She arched one pale eyebrow, eyeing Sand in the mirror; his face looked remarkably feral as a human, the shrewd light still glimmering in his eyes. He was flexing, of all things...She suppressed a laugh. Her fingers were practically twitching from the desire to stroke a finger across one bulging arm...

"It will suffice," she said cautiously, keeping her voice cool for Vale's benefit.

Sand watched him and Torio in the mirror for a moment. He was now a good foot and a half taller than her, probably nearly as tall as the ranger though not quite as tall as the Knight Captain or the paladin. He ran his hands through his hair, feeling the coarse short hairs. He touched his ears - the (ugly) rounded tips. He lifted a pant leg cautiously... hair! He rolled up his sleeves - hair! Feeling totally foolish now, he pulled the neckline of his tunic out and peeked in - hair! He resisted pulling his pants open - but just barely. Would he need more sleep as a human? Would he be able to see in the dark? He flexed his arms again and his eyes darted over to the slight, blonde Torio beside him.

He looked at Vale again. "Anything else, my lord?"

Vale reached into his robes, pulling out a small, leather pouch and holding it out to them; Torio was closest, and she took the pouch gently, almost immediately knowing what it was.

"I do not know your mission," said the wizard quietly. "But should you fail in it, Nasher has impressed upon me that it would be most dire for both of you. I have taken the liberty of...concocting a few tablets that will offer you a method of escape, should you be caught."

He then presented a polished, silver ring, holding it out to Sand. "This is for you; it shall allow you to control the Ambassador's bracelet in its entirety, at least for now; she will not be able to stray far from you, but far enough that you should be able to conduct whatever business you might have to, should the situation come up." He gave Sand a long look. "I expect the item returned to either myself or the Cloaktower upon the success of your mission."

He bowed to them shortly. "I shall take my leave now. The spymaster, Aarin Gend, should be waiting to speak with you before you leave the palace. You should find him in the first chamber off the entry hall; his door should be unlocked for you."

With that, the elf took his leave, his robes swishing off into the distance as he disappeared down Castle Never's long hallways.

Sand took the ring silently, feeling the spark of electricity when it touched his fingers and waited a moment while Vale left. He so desperately wanted to reach out and pull Torio in a long embrace - but that would have to wait until they were safely outside the boundaries of Neverwinter.

He raised an eyebrow. "A method of escape? A euphemism if ever I heard one. But I suppose it would be more merciful than the low justice Luskan would surely offer us. Let us hope though, girl, our exit from Luskan is not in the shape of a wooden box."

He slipped the ring onto his finger and watched the woman before him. He was slowly realizing that half the time Torio wasn't even Torio around him - she was either invisible, Kelia, the Luskan and now this woman... "The papers - who are we? What do they say?"

Torio turned from Sand and bent over the papers absently, her eyes scouring the writing... "Tanith, a human merchant-wizard from Waterdeep, and his..." She stared down at the paper for a moment, her mouth twitching. "...his wife, Nagendra." She frowned thoughtfully. "The letter of introduction claims that you're attempting to establish a reputation with the Hosttower; but what does that have to do with this map?"

She looked up at Sand, still bent over the table. "Gend should probably know more." There was a faint furrow between her brows as she mulled it over.

"My wife." His mouth quirked at the corners. "Then...you need a ring." He rummaged through his pack until he found a large jeweled ring, a ring of protection. He kneeled at her feet, taking her left hand and slipped the ring on. "'Tanith' vows to love and protect and be faithful to 'Nagendra' so long as they both exist." He kissed the ring and then laughed at the words; in a way, they felt hollow compared to the oaths they had taken earlier in front of Nasher and at the same time there was an uncanny ring of simple truth. He looked up at her. "I suppose we won't be able to speak Elvish to each other anymore..."

Torio's mentally clamped down on the fluttering of her heart as Sands fingers pushed the ring onto her hand. Stop acting the fool, Torio. "Let's hope both them andus manage to exist past this mission," she said shortly, but her mouth relaxed in a wry smile as he kissed her hand.

She turned to walk through the door, and then stopped. "No more Elvish," she said thoughtfully. "That might prove to be a problem; even if you knew another language, the multi-linguistic capacities of Luskans tend to overshadow those of Neverwinter." She frowned at him. "There's a chance we'd be overheard and understood. What if we need to converse privately?"

"Well, dear girl..." He pulled out two of the many scrolls Vale and Nasher had thoughtfully provided. "Rary's Telepathic Bond...and I can make it permanent for the duration of our mission..." He raised an eyebrow. "It's up to you. I doubt it would make me privilege to all your thoughts so you don't have to worry about me probing your deepest, darkest Luskan secrets..."

Torio eyed him shrewdly, her mouth quirking in a slight smile. "Well, as you've sworn so valiantlynot to use such Luskan secrets against me..." She nodded, once. "I suppose we have little alternative. I would much prefer to communicate with you somehow than be left in the dark."

Sand picked up the scroll and began reciting the spell, his left hand making long sweeping strokes between him and Torio. As the spell began to take shape, there was an uncomfortable feeling - like the top of his skull had been removed and his mind was now floating in the air between him and the woman - and gradually there was another presence, like an itch, in the back of his mind. Torio.

Torio. Dear girl...can you understand me?

Torio's spine crawled slightly as the very slight presence at the back of her mind, like a dull, painless ache. Sand's voice whispered though her skull, and she nodded at him slightly. I can hear you, Bodaes.

She suddenly wondered what else the elf could hear, a slow blush creeping into her face. Needs must, of course, but there were some things that Sand didn't exactly need to hear at the moment. She carefully thought very pointedly about their mission as she touched his arm. "Well, now that we're truly prepared, let us see if we can find the Spymaster."

Sand watched her blush and could only imagine what she was thinking...

Actually...

He brought to the forefront of his mind the first night they had spent together, in the Library...

He gave her a sly smile. "Before we go, I just have to make this spell permanent. Hopefully reading it off a scroll won't make me utterly exhausted." He cast the now familiar Permanency spell, a latent tiredness settling on his body. "Well...not too bad... Lead the way, dear girl."

Torio felt her skin prickle heatedly as the images flashed in her head; the wine bottle shattering, the scraping of a wooden table against his back, the table legs gouging across the stone floor...crying out ragged Elven love poetry to the rafters...

She narrowed her eyes at him, realizing her pulse had skyrocketed in a matter of seconds. "Underhanded, Counselor," she said, her voice low in the back of her throat. Her lips curled into a coy smile. "And in the palace, too?" She swished by him, pushing the door to the antechamber open and leaning a hip against it languidly, waiting for him to follow after her.

Sand chuckled and followed her, pausing along the way give her bottom a quick pinch. "Wife."

Torio squeaked in a rather undignified manner, and slapped at his hand, trying to scowl horribly...while smothering a riot of snickering. "Blast you, elf," she muttered quietly as she lead the way back down the long entrance hallway. The door at the end of it was slightly ajar, light creeping out from the crack. She glanced at him archly as they neared it. "Do not think your sudden increase in size and strength will save you."

"Isn't there something in marriage vows about wifely duties? Come now, Claven, play your part. Practice with me, dear girl." He stepped in front of her, using his new size to push her back against the stone wall of the palace. He glanced left and right. They were alone for now. He bent down (down!) and pressed his lips against her neck, rubbing his stubbled face against her cheek. Stubble!

"Sand!" She hissed indignantly, and then choked on a laugh, squirming against the rough, scratchy feeling. She pushed her hands against him, the wall at her back cold and hard. "You ingrate...stop it!" She wriggled a hand up his side and pinched his ribs mercilessly, her fingers meeting with some very hard, muscled resistance. "I'm not quite familiar with how the elvesrun things, but human husbands do notbully their wives." She turned her head slightly, wincing as she got a long, rough surface rubbed against her cheek; but she still managed to nip his lower lip between hers in mock reproach, finding it odd to have to crane her neck upwardsfor once in order to do so.

"Wife - you do protest too much." Sand laughed when she pinched him. "No bullying? I'd always assume humans were so...coarse and unrefined. You'll have to teach me the proper way to act as a human husband." He paused, his eyes twinkling. "Not that I have had any experience as an Elven husband." He placed a hand on either side of her blonde head and lowered his body slightly, pressing against her. He inhaled - still books and candlewax, although it was muted now.

Torio's mind was very quickly becoming clouded with thoughts completely unrelated to their mission; she felt engulfed, Sand's larger frame pressing full length against her, the wall at her back giving nary an inch as he held her head steady with his hands. "Humans, coarse and unrefined? Don't give me that, Bodaes... I know a few elves who quite enjoy the more uncivilized aspects of certain activities." She brought an image to the forefront of her mind, her eyes glinting slyly, of her on all fours, with Sand behind her on her bed at the Keep...

Ah, so we're going to play this game, are we, dear girl? He felt himself flushing at the memory of that afternoon on her bed. The image of her arched back, her shoulder blades and arms holding her up... He gently wandered her mind - What other fantasies do you have about me?

Torio's glance flicked downwards, away from his eyes...as if that would keep him out. An image had sprung unbidden to her mind before she could help it, and she tried desperately to smother it down again...

...both of them stripped and invisible and passionately intertwined on the very throne erected in the Throne Room at Crossroad Keep...

She gave him a mental shove, her cheeks burning, and the image disappeared. Investigative today, are we?

Sand burst out laughing and took a step back from Torio. "Why, dear girl, I had no idea." His voice was soft, his lips twisted up in a small, seductive smile. "If we return, successful, I promise you - we'll do that to celebrate. Maybe with Kana at her desk too, if we're feeling brave. I do hope she won't give us paperwork to fill out."

He nodded in the direction of the open door. "We mustn't keep our friend spymaster waiting..." He walked in the direction of Aarin Gend's door.

Torio smoothed down her hair and followed him wordlessly, her cheeks still flushed. They pushed open the door and together, entered the spymaster's chambers.