Neeshka was intrigued. In her travels around Neverwinter and as far north as Luskan, she had never encountered a door like this one. It was a mechanical marvel. Her interest in things mechanical went far beyond the workings of locks and traps. She believed that Neverwinter's future was bright and that machines would be part of that future. Maybe that was why she was one of the few who got along well with Grobnar. Once you got past his endless, insecure chatter, you realized that he was very bright and had something useful to offer.
She'd found the door in a far corner, under a tapestry of blue with gold brocade. Its outline was barely visible even when she looked closely. That had been two days earlier, when Nasher had first confined her to this gilded cage. The tiefling was itching to be free. After she'd tried everything she knew, the door simply refused to open.
Opening that door had finally proved more than easy. She was moving a heavy chair into the corner when, off balance, she leaned against the wall. Feeling something behind the wall covering shift, she set the chair down and carefully examined behind the tapestry.
When she pushed a stone carved into the shape of a lion's head that was set into the wall panel, the section of wall moved back a few inches and stopped. Apparently the stone section of wall was jammed. When released, it returned to its closed position. With one hand on each side of the lion's head, she managed to push the secret door back fully and swing it aside.
She was mystified that such a large heavy section of wall would move with such little effort. She could not see or hear any counter-weights or chains that were normally associated with a door like this. Maybe Grobnar had seen one like it and could explain how it worked.
The sound of the bar across the Throne Room door being removed interrupted her exploration. It was still bolted from the inside though. Neeshka managed to pull the secret panel back into place just as a tentative knock sounded on the door to her cell.
"Here, let me help you with that." Neeshka took the tray from the overloaded serving girl, who smiled her gratitude. Cabin fever was setting in, so any company was welcome. Up to this point, there hadn't been any news about the Knight-Captain.
She hadn't made up her mind about leaving. Finding that secret door made escaping a possibility, but she knew that running away would not solve her problems, they would only get worse. Still, the longer she waited, the less sure she was of a favorable outcome. She decided to wait for a few more days before making a decision.
"I bring you good news," the girl announced with a formality that made the tiefling smile. "The Knight-Captain is awake and on the mend." She took a long moment to dig around in a large leather bag. "It was right here... damn it." she looked up with a shocked expression. That broke the ice. They both burst out laughing. "Ah, here it is; A note from the Knight-Captain. I just left her room," she said. Some of Neeshka's cheerfulness was returning.
Her chores were finished, so the serving girl hefted the chamber pot and promised to return in the evening. Also, she would be glad to carry any messages, verbal or written, to the Knight-Captain.
"I'll write a reply," the rogue promised. "But for now, tell her I'll see her soon."
"Yes Mi'Lady," she replied with a radiant smile that warmed Neeshka's heart. Thanking the tiefling for opening the door, the serving girl managed to curtsey gracefully, even with her hands full and left the room.
Not knowing what to expect, Neeshka broke the seal on the note with trembling hands. She could deal easily with any decision Nasher could come up with, but her friend's regard was something too valuable to lose.
She unfolded the note and read its short message; Come see me. I need you. T.L.
The rogue pulled out a sheet of note paper, opened the ink bottle, and wrote; Is that you? Prove it with this statement; Hey... Sundo... N.O'N. She sealed the folded request by tilting a candle over it and embossing the cooling wax with her signet ring.
True to her word, the serving girl returned with dinner and took the note away with her. She seemed to be preoccupied. They're working this poor child to death, Neeshka thought with regret; After leaving Helm's Hold, she'd always valued her freedom.
Less than a half-hour later a note slid under the door, accompanied by a quiet tap at the door.
Tie's answer to her query was a bit longer; It's me gigi, Captain Edgewater's little boy, Rolan, saved your neck by leading a Luskan pirate to his death by saying, "Hey...Sundo en roch... Ilorna gurthcoiasira!. That means; Hey... horse's bottom... Wake up, time to die!
Be here tonight after lights out. T.L.
That's her, the rogue was sure. That stuffy moon elf wouldn't say horse's ass even if one was in her face. That was Tie for you. Neeshka set about planning tonight's foray to the guard-room.
The sand in the twelve-hour glass the serving girl, Aelicia, had given to her was about to run out. It was time to go.
Neeshka opened her new shoulder bag and took stock of its contents; Along with two invisibility potions, a bottle of healing draught, and a spare candle for her hooded watchman's lantern, there was also a set of lock picks, and a sharpened butcher knife-the only weapon she could find. She wasn't looking for a fight.
The bag reminded her that Moonbow was still missing. After murmuring a prayer to Tymora for her little friend's safekeeping, Neeshka lit the lantern, turned the hour glass over, and opened the secret door.
When closed, the back side of that marvelous door showed her nothing of its function. The beam from her lantern revealed two stout iron arches that were hinged to the side wall. A long radius arm ran from the top arch through a slot cut into the stone wall. Grobnar has got to see this, she breathed in admiration, I wonder who could have built it? Her thoughts turned dark, Are they friend? Or are they foe? She looked down into the darkness. The Drow?
She stood on the narrow ledge with her back to the door to get oriented. The focused beam of light from her lantern would penetrate only so far. Small iron rungs set into the rock wall gave her some idea of how far down the shaft went.
Neeshka descended into the darkness, feeling along with her toes at each step. The bore of the shaft flared slightly where it joined a gallery cut into the native bedrock. Dropping to the floor, she quickly set off to her left, in the direction of the guardroom.
At a fork in the tunnel, she took the left path and made her way, listening carefully, to the end, where another air shaft was cut through the ceiling. She climbed the shaft to find a small room with slots, cut at eye level, in all four walls. Dust on the floor in layers spoke of many years of disuse.
The guardroom door was visible through a slot in the left wall. There was no guard posted outside. A lamp hanging outside the door indicated the room was occupied.
A ladder on the wall to her right led to a trap door in the ceiling. After adjusting the shutter on her lantern to dim its light, the rogue mounted the ladder and carefully opened the trap, wary of guards who might be watching.
On the roof was an archer's balcony that commanded a view of the guardroom door and much of the main hallway. To the right, an iron ladder leading to the floor of the hall was in plain view of the room where the Knight-Captain rested.
Neeshka was about to take the ladder down, when the door to the guardroom rattled and swung open. Nevalle and the leading priest of the Temple of Tyr, Prior Hlam, stepped into the hall, engaged in a quiet discussion.
"Her recovery is going slower than expected, Prior, is there anything else that would help?" Nevalle's concern was strong.
"Elven resistance to necromancy is a new course of study for us," the priest explained. "A Seldarine Cleric, specifically, one devoted to Sehanine Moonbow, would help us immensely. Two brothers were sent yesterday to petition for aid..." the Prior held out his hands. "She may get better before they return. It is only a matter of time before she completely recovers."
"Time is what we do have," Nevalle agreed. "About the Tomb of the Betrayers..." Their voices faded as they left the hall.
The invisibility potion she'd taken a few minutes ago left a nasty aftertaste that a swallow of water wouldn't touch. The rogue sighed in resignation, descended the ladder, and watched the knight and priest retreat. When sure they were gone, she paused with her hand on the door and scanned the hall. The castle was quiet, she turned the knob and entered the room.
The Knight-Captain was not in this room. Racks of weapons and armor stands lined the walls. Here's where the king's levy went, Neeshka thought, fingering some of the items stored here. None of this stuff is cheap.
There was a door at the far side of this room that stood ajar. A pale glow illuminated a bed and several chairs arranged to face it. A small table beside the bed held a guttering candle and two bottles. The rogue stepped up to the bed and almost moaned out loud.
The occupant had fallen asleep while reading. The book lay across her chest, tented open to the last page she read. Tie's head had been shaved. Under the fine down of dark hair that had begun to grow back was a row of sutures that trailed around behind her right ear. She had lost weight and dark circles under her eyes spoke of ill health. In spite of her appearance, she was resting quietly.
"Oh Tie, what have these bastards done to you?" Neeshka whispered. "Don't they know what they're doing? Why isn't someone here to watch you?"
I only gave her a knock on the head, her guilty conscience protested. They can't dispel a simple charm spell without almost killing her? She gently picked up the book, marked the page, and laid it on the side table. She searched the room and came up with a candle to replace the one that was about to go out.
The rogue sat in a chair beside the bed to collect her thoughts. She didn't want to awaken the sleeping Knight-Captain, but time was running out. Why had Tie asked her to come here? She'd said she needed her.
She was caught flat-footed. The door was pulled open and a cloaked figure entered the room and walked briskly to the bed side. Sit still, dummy, Neeshka chastised herself. You're invisible, remember?
Aelicia bent over the bed and spoke quietly to its occupant. Although she got no response, a quick look at the moon elf under the cover satisfied her and she turned to the door. The serving girl paused as if trying to make a decision, shook her head and left the room.
"She didn't see you," a voice from the bed informed the tiefling. "She probably smelled something different. But I can see that you've put on a pound or two." Tie was now sitting up in bed. She didn't look so bad awake, she just looked tired.
"Ahh, the queen of sensitivity," the rogue was put out. "I need a bath and I'm getting fat. Anything else I need to work on?"
"Loosen up on the gold you spend for potions; Are you trying to be invisible?" the moon elf knew the barb would miss, but threw it any way. She held out her arms and beckoned to her friend.
Neeshka stood a step from the bed, unsure of what to do next. "A lot has happened," she said slowly. "You have every reason to tell me to leave." Her voice broke on the last word.
Tiernah patted the bed and sat back against the pillows. "We need to sort this out. I have to find out what happened before I can tell you that I hate you and never want to see you again." Her smile told the tiefling not to take her seriously. "Come on... sit."
It all came out in a rush. "What was I supposed to do? I woke up and that shadow priest was going to get you, and you didn't care. He would have killed us, and then went after Nasher. He could get Nevalle for all I care, but you were out somewhere picking daisies. What was I supposed to do?" she finally wound down. "I didn't want to hit you... I didn't know what else to do." she said through her tears.
"Here, your eyes are leaking," the moon elf passed her a handkerchief. "The last thing I remember was staking those blademasters. You were out cold after the wraiths fell. What happened after that? I really don't remember. Nevalle has come up with a lot of half-baked nonsense. I need you to tell me the truth."
With a sense of relief, Neeshka picked up the story. When she got to the part about the confrontation with Nevalle, Tie's face was thunderous. Now the Knight-Captain understood why she had been deceived. Nevalle's loyalty was now in question, but she would have to tread lightly.
The rogue finished her tale with her trip to the guard room. The references to her friendship with Grobnar and how he would react to the door mechanism made Tie smile. Here were two lonely souls that were bound together by a common interest. A Githzerai aphorism came to mind; There is strength in unity. Together, Neeshka and Grobnar were a valuable asset.
"Our mighty Captain Nevalle should be ashamed of himself," Tie began. "He's of the opinion that you knocked a loyal member of the nobility in the head to plunder the riches of Castle Never. He's set the Nine on Axle's organization to prove it's true."
"When I gave the scepter and the greatsword to Lord Nasher, Nevalle almost had a fit. That knocked his conspiracy theory on its butt," Neeshka had to smile. "Does he hate tieflings so much that he'd throw it all away just to get me? That doesn't make any sense."
"I really don't know," the Knight-Captain replied. "But it all bears watching. There's more to it than we see right now. We better wrap it up, your potion's wearing off." She picked up her friend's hands and squeezed them. "Let's just sit back and wait for Nevalle's next move."
The rogue squeezed back. "No hard feelings?" The light was returning to her mood.
"Are you kidding?" the moon elf was serious. "I'd be mad if you ran away. Thanks for hanging in there."
Neeshka turned back from the door. "Oh, Sundo en roch, I want my stuff back, especially my sword."
"Done and done, You Baatezu, devil-spawn, half-breed witch," the Knight-Captain returned the courtesy.
The rogue smiled. "Huh, you didn't call me goat-girl," she said, closing the door.
Disclaimer; The elven translations used by the Knight-Captain were taken from the Grey Company's excellent Elven Dictionary, however, Neeshka's interpretation of Sundo en roch was the author's.
A/N Thanks again, Wyl. C.