"I'm only a kid
In a funny red sheet,
Looking for special things
Inside of me."
"Andra. It's time to get up."
Ugh…Again with this?
Once again, Andra found herself being pulled out of a deep sleep that she'd much rather stay lost in. Someone's hand shook her gently by the shoulder, though, defeating her hopes of ignoring them. She stirred with an annoyed groan, swatting at them blindly. "Drizzt, no…" she whined into the pillow.
"…Drizzt!" the voice protested indignantly. It didn't sound like Drizzt, and that was confusing, so Andra opened her eyes. Wulfgar was there instead, gaping in shock. "Such insult…That was hardly called for."
A bright grin broke over Andra's face. She sat up in bed, suddenly more willing to wake up. "Wulfgar," she corrected with a laugh.
"Thank you." The barbarian stood up, turning around to retrieve a plate of food off her nightstand. "Really, kid, I think if it wasn't for us, you'd sleep until you starved to death."
She took the plate with a smile. This was new; usually it was Drizzt who made sure she woke up for meals and such. But he usually left soon after. Over the past three days they'd stayed in Lomund, most of the time it was Wulfgar who stayed around to at least keep her occupied and entertained. She hardly saw Cattie-Brie around; apparently most of the "errands" fell to her. From what Andra saw of her, though, she was nice. Her first impression of the woman had been less than complimentary, but Andra was never one to hold on to first impressions. They were nonsense. Catt was a strong woman with a strong heart, and kindness dwelled there as well.
And Wulfgar…he wasn't at all the intimidating stand-offish barbarian from the books. She'd come very close to hating him in The Spine of the World. But he was nothing like that now. Granted, though, he didn't see very deep into her thoughts. He was sensitive to feelings, but not deeply. He tried to help, though, as much as he could.
And, more importantly: he answered her questions. "Another day in Lomund?" she asked, digging into the food as Wulfgar pulled up his chair beside her bed. Compared to his giant size, the chair looked almost miniature.
"Yep." He draped his arm over the back of the chair, reclining comfortably with his ankle on his knee. "But if all looks well by tomorrow, we may yet be on our way."
"Finally," Andra muttered, to Wulfgar's amusement. They'd decided to stay here a while and rest, since Drizzt was a shoot-out victim and Andra apparently was 'taxed of spirit and strength.' She didn't see what the deal was; her fever had broken two days ago. Probably it was because she still slept so much all the time. Andy could see how that would be a problem while traveling. Anyway, the Breylan's Inn was as nice a place as any.
"Alright," Wulfgar began. Andra smiled, knowing what was next. "What was I going to tell you about today?"
"Raylin," Andra answered immediately. As Andy had quickly found out, Wulfgar was willing to answer nearly anything she asked about. Yesterday she'd learned who Cedric was. The father of another cosain: Raylin Casting. Wulfgar had told her how the girl was tragically killed before her guardian could get her to Mithral Hall. But by the time he got to that point, it'd been late, and she'd fallen asleep again before she could hear the rest.
"Right. I believe you fell asleep on me right after Raylin was found dead." In reply, Andra only nodded, stuffing another forkful of eggs into her mouth. Apparently, that was his cue to start. He shook his head slightly. "Hate this part. But here we go…" Without any more annoying delay, Wulfgar launched into the tale, picking up where he'd left off. Raylin's guardian, a nymph warrior called Orpheus, was in the midst of finding his cosain's body in the forest where the assassins had left her.
"Alone in the desolate forest, in failure and sorrow, Orpheus knelt with his cosain. He knew before he touched her that his hope had been vain. The hour was late, but death had come soon, and Raylin was long gone from the world." Wulfgar was an excellent storyteller; she could nearly feel Orpheus's anguish. She'd completely forgotten about eating; she listened intently as the story went on.
"As he knelt with Raylin's body, consumed by his sorrow, another appeared behind. When he came into the clearing, Cedric saw nothing of reason, nothing of circumstances. He had only eyes for his lost daughter. And along with the loss, rage found a home in Cedric's heart."
Andra's eyes widened. She knew this part—this was the shift. All downhill from here. Geeze. There had to be rage, didn't there? Stupid Cedric…
Wulfgar resisted the urge to chuckle at her—wouldn't do to spoil the mood of the story. "In every loss…there is a need to blame. In hearts as wounded and tired as Cedric's, the need must be filled immediately. Here before him was his world's light extinguished—along with the one who was charged to keep her alive."
"Aw, crap no!" Andra groaned. Wulfgar had to laugh, but underneath, he wondered if she remembered that this was more than a story. These were real people's lives, real people's tragedy.
"As he held the lost child, Orpheus perhaps didn't know that her father approach from behind, sword drawn, his dark eyes burning tears. But—but the more I tell this, the more I think…maybe he did know." Wulfgar shook his head, eyes far away. "Maybe he knew."
Andra was silent. The look in his eyes—it was like he knew them. And then she realized: it wasn't impossible that he did. …She hated this part, too.
"Guardian and cosain together were slain." Wulfgar went on, resigned and quiet. "Days later, when they were missed at the Halls, Bruenor sent people looking. The truth was discovered soon. Mourned appropriately. But they now needed a replacement for the pair. They took Orpheus's guardian pendant, as asked Cedric for his daughter's cúram.
…But Cedric, he didn't want to give it up. Maybe because he'd feel like he was giving his daughter up. Instead of face the truth, he took Raylin's cúram and hid himself away in a large city—by name of Iasair." Andra suddenly looked up at him with widened eyes. Wulfgar nodded. "Yes. Your stories are linked."
Andra caught herself fiddling with the jeweled pendant she still wore. She didn't like that. Raylin's story was horribly sad; she didn't want it linked with her own. "…Linked how?"
Wulfgar shifted forward in his seat, resting his elbows on his knees. "Well…on your way through Iasair, we had Drizzt…retrieve it." That obviously shocked her, so the next part he wasn't sure about telling her. But she'd have to know eventually, and…knowledge was power, after all.
Hesitating, Wulfgar finally said gently, "Raylin's cúram…is yours."
Andra was sure her jaw dropped to the floor.
A long and very awkward moment of silence ensued. Wulfgar was more than a bit uncomfortable under her incredulous eyes. "Uh…Andra? Could you maybe say something, instead of stare at me like a zombie?"
"…What?" Andy mumbled, snapping out of it. She stuttered awkwardly, turning her eyes down. "Oh I—sorry, I was just… It's just a little…" She couldn't say "disappointing," because suddenly that seemed like the most selfish thing she could possibly say. 'I'm…a freakin backup plan...'
Finally, Andra shook her head, turning down her eyes. "Heh…Just a surprise, you know."
Half to her dismay, Wulfgar seemed to buy it. He smiled crookedly. "That's to be expected. But it'll be boring old news in time," he assured. Then he stood up, his height alone drawing back Andra's attention. "I'll have to tell you the rest later. I actually have jobs today. I'm supposed to stock us up for travel, if we're to set out tomorrow."
Wulfgar offered her a smile, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'll be back later, kid."
Andra watched him go and shut the door behind him. Her room suddenly seemed very strange and lonely. As if to enforce that feeling, she caught sight of the empty chair that still sat beside her bed. Andy threw aside her blankets and got out of bed to get dressed—but first she set the chair back where it belonged in the corner.
She dressed in clothes from Earth, just because they were the first clothes she found in her bag. The hasty ponytail let her side-swept bangs hang in her eyes, but she didn't have the time to fix it. Drizzt's room was right next door, and she needed to talk to someone now, before she fell asleep again. She didn't feel like putting up with another one of those stupid nightmares.
Over the past few days, the hospital of her dreams had been filled with no one but doctors and, occasionally, her parents. Drizzt no longer appeared there. She had to see him here, because soon, he'd leave again, off on some "errand" which could really be…anything at all. Anything but known.
….
"Who cares if you disagree?
You are not me.
Who died and made you
King of anything?"
"You're leaving again?"
Standing at his doorway, Andra stared incredulously at Drizzt, who was busy rummaging around in his knapsack, looking for his coinpurse somewhere in the disorganized mess. She'd only just got there and already she found out he was leaving her again. The only reason they were still staying in Lomund was so that she and Drizzt could rest. Well, she was plenty rested enough. But he was never around.
Andra narrowed her eyes in a glare. Drizzt hadn't answered, but he did finally find his stupid coinpurse. He left it laying on the bed while he went to get his weapon belt from the bedpost.
Andra had asked no questions. She'd been patient; she'd dealt with being left out and in the dark. She'd put up with it for three days. No more. "Drizzt? Where are you going?"
He glanced up briefly, but was preoccupied looking for his coinpurse which seemed to have disappeared again. "Mm? Oh, I've…I've work to get done," he answered vaguely.
Yeah. Work. She waited for him to elaborate, but he didn't seem to be paying her much attention. His money-pouch was missing, after all. Stupid. It was right there on the bed. "What kind of work?" she pressed, grinding her teeth, as her voice strove to continue sounding innocent.
"Work for…errands, and…Now where the—Did you see where I put that pouch?"
"Drizzt!" she snapped suddenly, finally stealing his full attention. She stared at him hard, unrelenting. That little crease was back between her eyebrows. "I am not blind. Neither am I stupid."
Drizzt blinked, staring at her blankly. "Of course you're not…?"
Andra groaned, stalking across the room. She sat down on his bed and snatched up the coinpurse, glaring as she held it out to him.
He took it wordlessly, still just staring at her. He had to say something…It was so hard to know what she wanted to hear. What was she mad about now—just his being gone?
"Andra, I'm sorry… I have to be gone so much. There are many things we need to take care of on our trips through other cities." That was true. Being so close to Bruenor, Catt and Wulfgar very often acted as his representatives. And though Drizzt met with people of a different sort, his statement still held true.
Andra huffed a sigh. He was sincere, but he misunderstood. "I know there's more to it than that, and I'm pretty sure you're not saying because it's shady. Tell me where you guys go all the time!"
"Magga cam—nowhere!" Shady? Where was all this coming from? Not ten minutes into the day, hardly enough time for him to do anything wrong, yet he was already under attack. "Errands to be run, people to talk to. Bruenor wants us to talk to Lomund representatives about trade. Food for mithral and whatever."
Lies, all. Andra crossed her arms, lowering her eyelids. He was babbling nonsense, trying to bore her into dropping it. It wouldn't work, man; she was focused. Suddenly, her eyes brightened with an idea. Andra smiled brightly and asked, "Can I come then?"
Drizzt stared at her, and the wariness in his eyes told her she was winning. But then, he only shook his head, snatching his coinpurse off the bed as he turned away. "No."
He ignored her indignant expression as he tied the pouch onto his belt. At this point, with so much controversy surrounding her, he couldn't take her to see the order. The cosain order—part of the real reason they stayed in Lomund—was an organization arranged by Bruenor and planned out by Regis so that guardians may more easily be paired with their cosain. This is where cosain were supposed to go if their guardian didn't retrieve them from their own homes. Unfortunately for Drizzt, the order also maintained the flow of war-pairs into Mithral Hall and into the war. He was meeting with them every day on Andra's behalf, trying to gain favor for her. Many of them rejected her already for the entire nonsense about Raylin—and having a drow guardian didn't much help her case.
Andra huffed an angry sigh. "What is it with you and straight answers? You know, this morning Wulfgar told me exactly what he was going out to do."
Drizzt ground his teeth and replied steadily, "I do far more for your good than Wulfgar."
"How? You're never here." He didn't answer, so Andra decided to play her ace. "…He also told me where my cúram came from."
"He was supposed to. What'd you think—I was keeping it secret from you?"
…You mean he wasn't? Andra looked away, refusing to acknowledge that she'd been wrong. It didn't matter. If he wasn't keeping it secret, it just meant he was too much of a coward to tell her himself and had to get Wulfgar to do it.
Tired of being attacked out of nowhere, and anxious to get today's round of pointless debate over with, Drizzt swept across the room, grabbing his cloak from a hook by the door. "I should be back in a few hours. Wulfgar and Catt aren't here, so I'll be as quick as I can."
Andra growled and threw aside her blankets, storming up to him. Enough of this crap—this was getting nowhere. Andy snatched him by the arm before he could get out the door, yanking hard even though she couldn't move him an inch. "Stop! I'm sick of you dodging everything I ask. I'm not an idiot, Drizzit! Sooner or later you'll have to stop lying—because I'm gonna stop believing you." …She was pretty sure she'd mispronounced his name in the heated rush of words, but she hardly cared at this point.
Drizzt's jaw clenched as he ground his teeth. His eyes seethed in dark silence. With carefully controlled words, he replied, "Liar…is not a label I easily tolerate." He jerked his arm away roughly, drawing a slight gasp from Andra, and turned his back to her.
"…Stay here, Cosain. You cannot go out alone."
The door shut, and she was alone once more. Andy glared hatefully at the door, balling her fists at her sides. "Course I can. I'm a backup plan."
She didn't see what the big deal was about just telling her things. What could it hurt? It's like she was some delicate piece of glass that had to be handled just right. The more she got of protection, the more she was sure she hated it. She didn't need it. What did he know what she "cannot" do?
Andra stormed to the window and tore aside the curtains. Drizzt finally appeared out of the stables, once again in the guise of his wood-elf persona, and rode down the wide street. He disappeared around a bend. But Andy still didn't move, watching intently the place where he'd left.
She stood there like a guarding statue as long minutes ticked by, until finally she figured at least a half-hour had passed. She spun away from the window and went to her bag at the foot of the bed. Tearing through it, she gathered a change of clothes and her deer-furred cloak, as well as the belt and dagger Drizzt had given her.
Andra Riley was not made of glass.
She would not stay in this room one second longer. She was fine. She needed no more stupid rest. And whatever the heck Drizzt was so scared of out there, she could handle just fine. It was just a town.
….
He would be furious.
As she leaned close to the mirror, fingers prodding the giant purple bruise, she knew there was no way she'd be able to hide it. It was nearly two inches long, and it would only get bigger in the time before it healed. Drizzt would be furious. No way she could hide that. Ah, crap, he'd be furious.
He told her specifically not to go out alone. His talk of danger had seemed no more than his own paranoid strictness. But now, she'd met with it first-hand, and it was real, and she was a stupid idiot. And man…was it ever real. She'd been right there in the danger, stuck in that place and time, and there was no Drizzt to protect her and no magic portal to take her to safety. She only escaped because the storeowner from next door saw the erupting fight and broke it up by swatting everyone with an old broom.
Well. Lomund had been brilliant for the first five minutes. It was thrilling and liberating being on her own, if a little nervous…But then she ran into them. Just a drunk group of teenagers hanging around in an unused land plot. The only drunk person she'd ever been in the same room with was her uncle Carl, and all he did was (stupidly) call her aunt a cow and then pass out under the coffee table. But these guys weren't just stupid-drunk, they were mean-drunk. Andra had no idea how they recognized her, or why they hated her so much. All she knew was that brunette girl was one heck of a good hitter.
The girl. She'd been the least drunk, yet she was the one who'd been angriest. She made it clear that Raylin was—emphasis on the past tense—her friend. She also made it clear that Andra was a thief and a weak coward that could never hope to replace her. Andy had been completely helpless—useless. She'd lost her cúram. That was the worst. Oh, boy, was it ever the worst… She didn't even know why the brunette took it from her. Raylin—stealing Raylin's life? What was she even talking about, and how was it supposed to be Andy's fault? She wished she could get her hands on the retard...all those retards.
...But then what the heck would she do? She was nothing without the cúram. She was nothing with it, apparently.
She poked the bruise again, as if that could possibly tell her how bad it was. Sucker freakin hurt. Drizzt would be furious…
Andra turned away from the mirror, knowing that there was nothing she could heal by messing with it. All the poking would only make it worse. She slammed the bathroom door and dragged herself to the bed, drawing one knee up to her chest so she could rest her head on it. She couldn't get rid of a hollowed-out feeling of fear that came from her heart sinking lower and lower. She had nothing left to do but wait for him to get back. Wonderful: waiting. It was going to take forever.
Andra suppressed the despicable urge to cry. He'd be so mad at her…
….
Despite having come from a long hour of debating with the cosain order, Drizzt returned to the Breylans' place in good spirits. His work was done, his business settled, and now there was nothing left to do but get back to Andra and relax the rest of the day. And he was really looking forward to rest. The wounds hurt less now, but his head had maintained a dull pain as the day progressed. He'd like to get out of the streets awhile.
He left his horse with the stablehands and went into the inn, mildly annoyed when he had to climb the stairs. At the door, he took out the key to their room—but when he put his hand on the knob, it was unlocked. Drizzt froze, staring at the knob. He was sure he'd locked it…
He shoved the door open immediately. When he saw Andra was still there, though, he wasn't sure weather to be relieved or more worried. She was sitting on the bed with her head resting on her knee, a golden curtain of hair obscuring her face. She didn't look up when he came in, though she surely must have heard the door when it hit against the wall.
"Andra?" He crossed the room, sitting on the edge of the bed opposite her. When she still didn't look up, he knew for sure there was something wrong. "What is it? …Look at me, Cosain. What's wrong?"
Andy heard him alright. For several seconds she couldn't bring herself to look up, to let him see. But the conflict wasn't going to leave just because she hid from it. She had no choice now. Andra lifted her head, not bothering to push the hair out of her face. She couldn't look at him right away, but after a moment of silence, curiosity got her. Andra turned up her eyes timidly to his face.
Drizzt's mouth hung slightly open and his eyes locked on the giant, yellowing bruise running along her cheekbone. He reached out gently and brushed back her hair, tilting up her chin so that he could see the whole bruise. He looked into her scared, silent eyes, anger quickly filling his own.
Andra cringed and felt the wretched tears finally sliding down her face. He was mad. She knew he'd be mad. He was furious. She had to tell him the rest; he needed to know about the cúram…but she couldn't possibly bring herself to speak.
Drizzt looked straight into her eyes, voice trembling dangerously as he murmured, "Who did it?"
….
Drizzt pulled sharply on the horse's reins, dismounting immediately. He held out a hand for Andra, who took it silently and climbed down. Both looked out to the clear plot of land before them. They were here, alright. The plot was bordered on three sides by buildings, and across the bare patch of ground, several young men and two girls were lounging around in the corner between two of those walls.
"Oh, yes," he confirmed casually, hooking his thumbs in his belt. "I know these. Way to pick a fight, Andy."
He motioned to Andra and started towards the group, who were carrying on and roughing around as drunk people are known to do. Andra gaped at his back in shock, but he wasn't stopping, so she had no choice but to follow or be left alone. She scurried close behind, making sure to keep Drizzt between her and the bunch of clichés.
One of the youths saw the pair as they got closer, quickly pointing them out to the rest of the group. They rest stood up and crowded around each other, all eyes shooting challenge-daggers at Andra. She cowered further behind Drizzt, one hand grabbing a fistful of his cloak.
"They're the ones that took it," she whispered fearfully as they drew closer. Drizzt nodded to show he heard, but his eyes never wavered from his targets and his stride never slowed. When they'd reached talking distance, Drizzt came to a stop. Five feet or so separated them from the booze-guzzling hoard.
Anxious seconds passed like hours. Andra glanced up at Drizzt in confusion, waiting for him to do something already if he was going to. Man…man, this was such a train wreck. She should've stayed at the inn. Or with the horse. Or anywhere but here. But just before the point where one of the teenagers would speak up and challenge them, Drizzt finally did something. He reached up, placed a hand on his forehead, and—to Andra's utter amazement—pulled the magical mask away from his face.
Shock and terror replaced the angry scowls of the group as each watched the transformation. There before them now stood the terror of all nightmares, the incomprehensible shadow of highest evil—an Underdark drow. Drizzt stared them down, his seething lavender eyes scanning over each individual face to keep them paralyzed in fear.
Drizzt cracked his knuckles, slowly and deliberately on each hand. "Alright, Cosain," he announced loudly. "Which is the one that hit you?"
Andra managed to tear her eyes away from Drizzt, looking over the horrified teenagers. Her gaze settled on the tall brunette girl, who was busy backing into the corner with an expression of absolute horror on her face. "That one." Andra's voice may as well have been a doom sentence.
Drizzt strode forward.
The boys ran first, trying to forsake their doomed friend as a distraction for their escape. As one went past, Drizzt's hand shot out like an arrow. He shoved backwards on the kid's shoulder and, at the same time, his foot swept in from behind to kick at the back of his knee. That one fell to the ground, not hurt, but screaming bloody murder as he crawled away.
Drizzt immediately spun around to catch another boy by the back of his shirt. He was already running forward, so all Drizzt had to do was pull back and down sharply—the kid's feet ran right out from under him and he fell flat on his back, squealing like a stuck pig.
Drizzt left him there. By now, all the others had run away screaming, and the only one left was the brunette girl in the corner. She had sunk to the ground, sobbing and pleading hysterically, "I'm sorry—I'll leave her alone!"
Crouching in front of her, Drizzt forced the girl to look at him. "You have something that belongs to my cosain."
The girl gaped at him numbly for a moment as her terrified mind tried to think. "It…it doesn't belong to her…"
Drizzt's eyes narrowed dangerously. He snatched the girl by her shirt and yanked her forward, scowling in her face. "You punched her and stole it," he corrected, his voice a dark murmur.
The girl squealed in fright and started tearing at her pockets. She finally found the cúram and desperately thrust it at him. "Here! Here I'm givin it back! I'm sorry, please, I'll do anything you want!"
The drow sighed and rolled his eyes, shaking his head. "Ah, the future of Faerun…"
Shoving the girl onto her back, Drizzt snatched the necklace away and stood up. Handing the necklace back to Andra, he glanced back at the girl on the ground. "Wantcha to quit stealin. Sever your 'friendship' with those deadbeat morons and stop drinking booze. Raylin would hate who you've become." With that, Drizzt turned away, sparing not another thought for the weak-hearted child.
Walking back to the horse, he replaced his mask, transforming back into his wood-elf guise. As he passed Andra, he turned her around gently, leaving his arm around her shoulders to pull her along. She still craned her neck to look back at the young woman, who was staring after them in equal disbelief. The brunette met her eyes, and Andra couldn't help but sneer at her triumphantly.
….
"I'm searching for answers
Not given for free.
It's hidden inside—is there life within me?
You're holding my hand,
But you don't understand."
As soon as they got back to the room, the first and only thing Drizzt did was go to the window, propping his hands on the sill, and stared out. Andra stared at his turned back, dread and panic budding inside her. Her hands fidgeted with each other nervously. She waited and waited, but he didn't say anything. Finally, she felt like one more second of silence would make her explode.
"Drizzt?" she asked, nearly whispering.
"You lied to me, Andra."
The words were chilling, but his voice wasn't cold, or angry. It was light. Like he couldn't believe it. He even laughed a little. Andra took a step backwards, pressing her back against the wall. She didn't like this…What even was this?
"I'm sor—" she started, but cut herself off short as Drizzt turned around. He was…smiling. He was grinning ear to ear.
"You…lied to me! You had to have been furious with me!" he laughed, perfectly delighted. She recoiled as he suddenly crossed the room, in less than two strides, snatching her by the shoulders. "Andy!…That's marvelous!"
Andra stared at him with eyebrows raised, her lip curling up, as if he were absolutely crazy. "Um…okay…how's that, now?"
Drizzt laughed wildly and suddenly yanked her into a hug. She squealed as he suddenly lifted her from her feet, spinning around once before dropping her onto the bed. "Ow!" he shouted, as apparently his wounded arm protested at lifting her, but it only seemed to brighten his crazy mood.
"You. You snuck out! Hah! You were so angry at me…that you ran away, Andra!" Beaming, he reached up to throw aside his cloak, which he only just seemed to remember he was still wearing. "Do you know what this means, Cosain?"
"Grounded for a month," she answered immediately. "Bed with no supper. Forty lashes with a wet squirrel—anything but another one of your mood swings!"
Drizzt only threw back his head and laughed. "No! Five days ago, you never would have dreamed of doing anything like this. It means…you're not a child, Andra! I mean, you are a child—because that's the only way you'd do something so awfully stupid. By the way, don't you dare ever do anything like it again. But!" He flopped down on the bed beside her, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "It means: You're not my servant. You're nobody's servant, Andra, and you know it."
He stood up again, swinging the chair in the corner around so that he could sit on it—backwards. "And…it means you are willing to fight for your own rights and your own answers. Which also means you won't have to now." He propped his arms on the back of the chair and announced, "So! What would you like to know, my Cosain?"
For a moment, Andra could only stare at him in blank amazement. And then, all at once a rush of excitement and relief and delight washed over her face. A million questions and she finally could get them answered.
"Who were those kids? How'd that girl know Raylin? How did the dílse find me all the way across the astral plane? Where did you go today?"
Drizzt cut her off with a laugh. "Ok stop, stop. Give me a minute. Ok…what now? Wait no, I got it. That girl was Jonni Rivers, and she was Raylin's childhood friend. She came here through the cosain order. And that is where I was today."
"There's an order?" Andy asked, to Drizzt's nod.
"Regis and Bruenor—and about a million other people—set it up. It helps guardians find their cosain and organizes when and where they go into the war."
"Oh. That doesn't seem too big of a secret," she mumbled. "Why couldn't you all just tell me this in the first place?"
Drizzt gave a slight wince. "I don't like it either, but I'm not allowed. This is very big, very overwhelming story. We can't give it to you all at once." He gave a mischievous smile and shrugged. "Apparently your head will explode or something, I dunno…"
Andra snorted and rolled her eyes. "Fine. I guess. What about the dílse?"
Drizzt paused to bite his lip, losing a good deal of his mirth. "…Full truth?"
She glared dully at him. "No. I only want half of the story, and I want most of it to be fake."
He nodded, accepting that. He deserved sarcasm. "Alright. Astral travel was first discovered by a band of gnome wizards—Bruenor's hired them as engineers for the war. Only they know how to switch between here and Earth, and gnomes guard secrets well, so the knowledge is contained safely. You can only travel the tunnel with the gnomes' preparation. Anyway, through this link, the dílse's search was expanded to Earth. Hence, you. This isn't the first time something like this has happened. Though I do think we're the only pair ever with a drow and an Earthling…"
Andra smiled absently at that. But something was still weird. "How'd I get through, then? If you need the gnomes to 'prepare' you."
Drizzt hesitated for a moment, searching for words. "Alright…alright. This one is really… You know. Brace yourself." Andra nodded, so he continued, "You didn't actually come through the tunnel. The gnomes, when they built the portal…also installed a kind of…well. You would call it a cloning machine. Is that the right word? Clone?"
Andra couldn't answer him. She was busy gaping. She stuttered over an answer, trying to form a coherent sentence in her stunned brain. "A…a what now…?"
Drizzt winced with a groan. "You asked. I told you. The portal made an exact copy of your body—I don't know how, only that it worked. The only thing of yours that was transported was…your essence, I suppose you'd call it. Your thoughts, your personality."
Ok…so not only was she a replacement, and an alien, but now she was…a clone. She was clone. Gross…
"It takes a great deal of strength for your 'spirit' to…hold on, to the new form. Across the large distance. So…you see now, why we were all so worried. Even cosain from Faerun don't wear the cúram until after weeks of training, after they are strong enough for the transformation. You're already on tentative ground with the body-link—Oh, c'mon, don't look so worried. There have been at least seventeen other cosain from Earth and nothing untoward has happened to them because of the link."
She didn't miss how he specifically mentioned "because of the link." But she didn't press it. "Has…has anyone else used the cúram early?"
No. You're the first." He released a low sigh, turning his eyes down. "I…suppose I'm to blame for that. I'm sorry. That doesn't fix much, but…well."
Andra chewed her lip for a minute, trying to think to how to respond. Maybe it'd be best just to change the subject. "Kay, I got another one."
Drizzt looked relieved. "Shoot."
"How…Well, what's gonna happen when we get to Mithral Hall?"
"Training. I'd start to teach you. You've got to learn how to fight if you're going to go through with this nonsense. But," he continued, "it will go a lot easier for you if I can convince the order to back you."
"Back me?"
"Eh…They don't like us. Of course, they have no say over Bruenor's word, and he will doubtless give us all the resources we need. But the order can provide you what he cannot: connections to other cosain."
Andra made a face, clearly uneasy with that. "Do I really need that?"
His expression was serious. "You'll be fighting alongside them. They are to be your comrades. Hear this, cosain. You cannot hope to win any war alone. Battle is as much about allies and resources as your own strength."
Andra's wince faded. She nodded silently, though she absentmindedly raised a hand to the bruise on her cheek.
"Either way you'll be able to get in, but…" Drizzt paused, shrugging resignedly. "No king's order can force the others to accept and trust you. If that worked, there would be no war to win."
"But I have to go either way. Whether they accept me or not."
Drizzt finally seemed to realize what it was she was really worried about. "Oh—they wouldn't hurt you. No. Nothing like that. None of the idiots you met today are in the order—and if they were, I'd not stop until they were thrown out into the gutter where they belong."
She didn't doubt that a bit. He'd kick them out it himself if the order wouldn't. Picturing the scene, Andra couldn't help but smile.
"Besides," he went on, flashing his crooked grin. "What's to worry about when you've got me at your side? I'm a literature legend."
Andra laughed genuinely, causing Drizzt's smile to widen. "No," she corrected. "Drizzt Do'Urden is a literature legend. He's the flawless copy."
At that, the smile all but flew off his face. But Andra didn't seem perturbed, as if she'd expected his reaction. That was new. She'd never seemed to expect anything up until now. Still. Those were sore nerves she was hitting. "Then…who am I?"
"You're the original." With eyes like an innocent faun, Andra smiled, beaming with quiet joy. "The original is always best."
Drizzt couldn't bring himself to answer, to defeat such pure and innocent belief. Belief in him... He couldn't defeat it. Because, in the sight of those bright amber eyes, maybe he could start to fool himself into believing it as well.
"Well," Drizzt announced suddenly, standing up from the chair. "Since you're well enough to go out getting into street brawls, I suppose you'll be able to manage traveling. That right?"
With a joyous squeal, Andy leapt off the bed, pushing past Drizzt to get to her bag on the floor behind him. Then she pushed past him again to get back to the bed. He had to spin a full circle just to get out of her way.
Laughing, Drizzt went to the doorway and called, "Wulfgar! Are you or Catt here?"
Wulfgar's voice answered from down the hall. "…You're happy. What disaster has happened now?"
Drizzt rolled his eyes at Andra, who was holding back laughter. "Shut up," he mumbled, leaving the doorway. A few steps took him to Wulfgar's room.
"Well?"
Hands in his pockets, Drizzt shrugged. "Andra snuck out. Ran into some drunks who punched her, robbed her, and sent her running home." Lightly, he added, "I took care of it."
Wulfgar was incredulous first. But then he realized enough to be suspicious. "…Took care of it how?"
"With heritage." When Wulfgar's expression didn't change, he lifted a hand dismissively. "Ah, hush. I did nothing that will cause a political incident or some such idiocy. More importantly, this means Andra is healthy and there's no more reason for us to stay here."
Wulfgar smirked. "You only want to weasel out of meeting with the order."
"Very true." Drizzt crossed the room, placing a hand on Wulfgar's shoulder. "Please. Don't make me return to that bickering henhouse."
Wulfgar shook his head. Finally, he laughed and turned away, grabbing his bag from the floor. "Cattie-Brie returns in an hour or two. We can leave in three."
"Beautiful." Drizzt smirked, quite pleased with himself. "And just in time. One more hour stuck in Lomund and my cosain is like to run off and join the gypsies."
"Sure it's not yourself you mean?"
Drizzt shrugged, walking out of the room. "Tried that once. They're not as open-minded as they're supposed to be."
….
"Oh, this has gotta be the good life.
It's this feeling that you can't fight.
This could really be the good life.
A good, good life."
They stopped as dusk was falling, picking out a campsite a little ways off the road. The terrain on the way over had consisted largely of boring flat land, farmhouses, and the occasional brave tree. But now they were back into the forest, which grew over hilly land strewn with rocks.
They dismounted—which by now Andra was proud to need no help with at all. Her three older companions went about the business of setting up camp, while she just stood awkwardly in the middle of things and did her best to keep out of the way. Wulfgar immediately ran off with claims of "firewood" and left in a big hurry.
"Hey!" Drizzt called after him, but Wulfgar was fast for his size, and was far enough away to pretend he hadn't heard. Drizzt exaggerated a groan, tilting back his head dramatically. "He's left us for the boring work…"
Cattie-Brie laughed lightly, pulling him to the horses. "You're only mad because he beat you to it."
Drizzt smiled and didn't deny it.
Watching from the side, Andra smiled to herself. New lights were being flipped on every day. These small things, the little in-betweens and tiny bits of personality, were never mentioned in the books.
While they started unpacking, Andy sat apart from them, needing some time to think things over. Well. She had wanted answers, hadn't she? But man…another body. Send in the clones… She was a mad-science experiment. She didn't even have a body of her own. And another thing worried her. The cúram. The other cosain had apparently had no health problems with the body links—ugh, would you listen to the connotation of that?—but none of them had ever put on their cúram this early. What would it do to her? She picked up the pendant and rubbed it between her fingers, staring into the amber-colored jewel.
Soon she got tired with the troubling thoughts. She couldn't deal with this chaos right now; she needed a distraction. Andy went back over to the others, hanging around petting the horses. As Drizzt was unpacking her bag from their shared horse, she noticed something falling out of the front pocket. With a frightened squeal, she pointed it out. "Drizzt! Catch it, catch it!"
"Ah!—What!" By reflex alone, he was able to snatch the small object before it could fall. He held it up, observing it with confusion. It was small and rectangular, part metal and part glass. He knew enough of Earth to recognize it as technology, but he'd never seen one before.
"Oh, good grief…" Andra groaned, holding a hand to her heart. She took the device from him. "It'd crack the screen…and I'm pretty sure there's no Apple store in Faerun."
"…Andy. That is no apple," Drizzt muttered. By now Catt was curious, too, glancing up rom what she'd been doing to examine the weird device.
"It's an iPod. Apple's the company that makes it." Greeted by confused silence, she realized they obviously had no idea about iPods. Poor souls… "Oh—it plays music. Hold on." Andra kneeled to where he'd dropped her bag, rifling around until she found her headphones.
She hooked them up to the iPod and held out one of the earbuds to Drizzt. He raised an eyebrow. "A mechanical pebble on a rubber string. Of course..."
Andy laughed. "Ok, copy me." She stuck a bud in her ear and left it, holding the other out to Drizzt. He did what he said and felt ridiculous for it. It was uncomfortable, too.
Andy switched the iPod on and flipped through the song list, scrolling along the touch screen as Drizzt watched in surprised fascination. She randomly tapped "The Outsiders" by NeedtoBreathe and the iPod obeyed, playing the song at nearly full blast.
"Oh what the—!" Drizzt jumped with a startled shout, yanking the string on his headphone. He clapped a hand over his ear. "Magga cammara, it's loud…"
Startled, Andra stuttered over an apology. But Cattie-Brie's laugher interrupted her. "Black powder, what'd ye do to him? I haven't seen a rabbit that could jump higher."
Realizing what the problem was, Andra smiled at herself. Duh, stupid. He was drow. Elven ears were sensitive. "Sorry. I forgot you have super-ears."
Drizzt had one finger stuck in his ear, wincing. "…I'm sorry, what? I'm deaf now, you see."
"Here," she showed him the screen. "This is to turn the volume down. The song list is back here…"
She spent the next five minutes showing him the basics of iPod use, and then it was as good as gone. Drizzt loved the thing. He could only ever turn the volume up to halfway, but he carried it around in his pocket the entire time they were setting up camp. Cattie-Brie wanted to see what the big deal was, but he wouldn't give it up for more than two minutes. Andra wondered if she should tell him that the battery would eventually run down.
As the last rays of sunlight were receding behind the treeline, Catt sat down beside Andra, who was perched on a stump by the fireside. She huffed a sigh, raising her eyebrows with a small smile. "You'll never see it again."
Andy followed her gaze to Drizzt, who was spreading out his bedroll beside Andra's sleeping bag. Both of her headphones were plugging up his ears. Andy smiled as well. "I'm just scared of what he'll do when the batteries run out."
"Batteries?"
Andy explained, "The battery gives it power and makes it work. It usually lasts me three days."
Catt nodded, pausing a moment to watch Drizzt. He stretched out on his bed, crossing his ankles, one arm behind his head. Andy's iPod illuminated his face with white light, battling with the fire for illumination control.
"He's always loved his music," she mumbled. Andra looked her way, but Cattie-Brie was still staring at Drizzt. The look in her eye brought a smile to both their faces. She glanced at Andra briefly to ask, "Have you heard him sing yet?"
She smiled but shook her head. "No. I want to. I bet it's beautiful."
Cattie-Brie's smile widened. She turned back to gaze at Drizzt. "Mm. More so than the minstrels."
Andra hesitated. Finally she mustered up the courage to ask. "Has...has he always… What's he like?"
Catt looked at her curiously. For a moment, Andra was scared she'd screwed up somehow, but then Catt nodded, seeming satisfied. She answered, "It gets better. I promise. First impressions never do Drizzt any justice."
Andy nodded, looking into the fire silently. Catt stared at the girl, watching her eyes, as if that could tell her what went on inside. Poor girl had probably been through so much confusion. Catt really would have preferred that Drizzt wasn't the first to meet her. He was a personality that needed a cushion. One of those people that it's easier to meet when they're introduced by…normal people.
"I promise. It gets so muchbetter," Cattie-Brie repeated, her tone assuring. Then she smirked mischievously. "Do you think I'd still be with him if it didn't?"
Andy glanced over as Catt leaned forward, reaching out to stir the pot that now hung above the fire. The firelight illuminated a strong, beautiful woman who was not at all the young maiden from Salvatore's books. Well. Not completely. There was a subtle softness about her, and a gentle brightness to her voice. There were two women here: Catt, and Cattie-Brie. Catt was the one whose sleeveless leather vest revealed muscled arms with tanned skin, wearing thick boots and two daggers at her belt. Cattie-Brie was the one stirring soup and giving her advice.
"Thanks," Andra murmured. Catt only nodded, raising the full spoon to her lips. Andra was glad for the small reaction. A mushy "you're welcome" would've been awkward and uncomfortable. She knew that wouldn't be a problem with Cattie-Brie.
They both looked up as footsteps crashed through the underbrush of the forest. Wulfgar had returned, arms full of dry wood. He was greeted by Drizzt first, taking one headphone out of his ear. "Well there you are. You've managed to miss all the hard work."
Wulfgar knelt to drop the wood in a pile beside the fire. "Wasn't work what I was doing?" he replied, sitting back
"Well yeah, the fun part. I think the ranger of us should be assigned the jobs that require frolicking through the forest."
"I'm sorry, were you there? Then how would you know? I think that pile of firewood can attest to my work ethic just fine."
Cattie-Brie groaned, cutting them off. She motioned to Andra and pointed at the knapsack on her other side. "Andra, get me the bowls? If we feed them, they'll shut up."
Both Wulfgar and Drizzt grinned, casting each other a smirk.
Andy laughed and dug around in the bag, bringing out four wooden bowls. They all served themselves out of the pot over the fire—and it was hot and among the most wonderful things she'd ever tasted. The sun faded in the sky, the fire burned golden and sent up its rugged smoke, and Andra listened to the three comrades trading talk and laughter.
After enough time had passed, there was an unspoken consent that it was time for sleep. But Drizzt didn't; he quickly volunteered to take first watch and disappeared into the forest before anyone could protest. It was weird, because the area hadn't been dangerous, and on top of that he was still injured. And he took the iPod. Andra—and the others, she was pretty sure—suspected that it was more that he wanted to be alone. It unsettled her…but she remembered what Cattie-Brie said. When Andra climbed into her sleeping bag, she found peace easily.
From the minute she got here, Andra couldn't remember a time she'd felt complete. Even now, there were things missing. But she was happy. She was warm and secure and safe. And tomorrow they would reach Mithral Hall. She'd forgotten all about clones and cúrams and empty shoes, and now there was nothing to do but sleep and watch the last few embers in the fire pit flicker out. There was no better way or place to fall asleep.
Tomorrow they would reach the Halls.