Back in his chamber, Baeloth hummed a little tune to himself while he changed into his best robe - finest silver spidersilk. The surface wasn't entirely bad, as a place, but the goods weren't a patch on the goods back home, and the people... He wondered if they even understood how inferior they were. Probably not. Some of them even had some strange delusions of grandeur, like that bloated blackguard. Will he be trying his luck with Jade tonight? Baeloth hoped he would. It would be amusing.
His questions were answered almost immediately: as he stepped out into the living room, the other door creaked and Dorn appeared. His intent was clear as a surface day, plastered all over his face, his stance and of course his clothing, or rather lack thereof. At the sight of the drow, his wary, careful expression reverted to the usual one of barely contained anger.
Baeloth flashed him his most charming smile, striding towards the table and checking on the wine bottles very theatrically. Dorn opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, yet another door burst open.
Baeloth half-turned, very much expecting Eldoth to join their happy hopeful team, but instead of the drunken bard, he saw Shar-Teel, this time not even wearing the leather straps. She was, however, holding onto her two swords very firmly. Both were dripping something black and slimy.
Dorn had already darted back to reach for his sword, and Baeloth's hand formed the first gestures of a spell when she barked, "Shapeshifter. In my room."
Baeloth kept the spell aloft, his eyes not leaving her face. There were no other sounds of fight, no soft shuffling of feet, only Dorn moving past the warrior woman and peering into the gloom behind her, critically.
"Hrmm," was all he said.
"Well?" Baeloth's spell was still churning, ready to launch.
"One dead shapeshifter, pool of ichor, nothing else," barked the half-orc. "We need to check on Jade." He made a move towards the other side of the room.
"Wait. How are we to know this really is Shar-Teel?"
Dorn rolled his eyes, and Shar-Teel laughed a short, contemptuous laugh. "This is what happens when men try to think. I'm going to see someone smart," she said.
"Sounds like her to me," grumbled Dorn. He opened the next door and peered inside, but saw only Xzar, sleeping quite peacefully despite the restraints. The knots looked absolutely the same as the ones he made himself.
"A shifter, spying on us, would pick up such generic remarks. If you are Shar-Teel, prove it," said Baeloth doggedly, pointing his fingers at her. Magic sizzled between them.
"Oh very well. Four days ago, you convinced me to enter the arena wearing those ridiculous outfits. The conversation took place here, at this table, and we drank Westgate red wine. You laughed at me behind my back ever since, and - as far as I know - never once wondered what am I doing with all that money. You just assumed I'm stupid enough to be fooled by you. Also, when we were in the Firewine dungeon, you were ambushed by three skeleton warriors, set your robe on fire with a miscast spell and ran towards me, screaming 'get them off me get them off me now.' Enough?"
Baeloth could not see the half-breed's face now but was sure he was smirking. Well, he couldn't allow that - let's fry the brute first and ask questions later...
And things could get very bad indeed for everyone involved, but once again, they were interrupted. There was commotion outside and Eldoth's voice could be heard. Moving swiftly and completely unconcerned by her own nakedness, Shar-Teel ran to the corridor, closely followed by the two men. Even drunk, Eldoth could more or less stand his ground, but his efforts were hindered by the fact that he was being attacked by Jade, and actually trying to talk his way out.
Shar-Teel rushed at the other woman, but the slim assassin evaded the blow easily. Baeloth launched the overdue spell, closely followed by another, relishing in the opportunity to work out his anger with it. Dorn grabbed the drunk bard by the collar and dragged him away as the dark-haired woman before him burst into flames, screaming and trashing wildly. Eldoth got to his feet.
"What the fuck do you lot think you are doing?" he screamed. But the flaming figure blurred before their eyes and became the gray, shapeless body of a doppelganger, unable to keep up the alien form anymore. Shar-Teel swung her sword and the fanged head rolled over the floor with a sickening sound.
"What's going on?"
They turned to see the same woman they have just killed, standing in the doorway. In her black bathrobe, hands ready to launch daggers at the first opportunity, this Jade didn't look like someone who'd bull rush a drunk man in the corridor. She was a calm piece of goods, not in the slightest concerned about seeing herself set on fire and decapitated by her own companions.
"Jade? Bu... but I... gah, my head..." Eldoth's babbling was overtaken by Dorn's booming voice.
"We've been attacked by shifters," he announced.
"Yes. And I see you had no qualms in decapitating your leader," said Jade, flicking the dagger up and down. She always did that when she was irritated.
"Oh, come on, the situation was perfectly clear! Eldoth, get your sleazy ass off the floor and let me pass. I need to put something on."
"No." It was Baeloth's voice, strangely calm.
"Do you want to taste my steel, drow?"
"I do not wish to taste anything of yours, woman. But I don't think we should leave each other's sight."
"He's right," mumbled Eldoth. "They can't fool us if we can see them coming."
"Think of the fun it will be! Spending the night watching each other, very, very closely! Speaking of which..." Baeloth moved his hand so fast it was nearly invisible. The purple haze of magic surrounded his fingers again, the light dancing on Jade's pale face. "If you really are Jade, prove it."
"How the hell am I supposed to do that?"
"Just tell him how you met or something like that," barked Shar-Teel. "The idiot drow thinks suspicious is the same as smart. I'm going to bed."
"No, you will stay where we can see you," Dorn insisted.
"Back off, half-breed. I'm taking a bath and going to bed and I wish to see none of you till evening. If you see "me" before that, attack."
And she was gone. The four of them stayed behind, watchful, magic still sizzling in the drow's hand, wondering who will be the first to go for the throat of another. But after a moment Jade had clearly decided that enough was enough. She put the dagger down and turned around. "You are all paranoid. By now we've met so many of those disgusting things you should be able to recognize them by smell. I'm going to bed, too."
"Oh no you're not."
The attack came from an unexpected direction - Eldoth caught her hand behind her back, and her hair in his other palm, pulling her head backwards. She raised the dagger to stab him, but the wrist was caught by Dorn's steel grip.
"Don't be foolish. The bard was attacked by one like you, he's got the right to be suspicious," said the half-orc. He tried to be calm and collected, but his eyes slid down to her chest, partly exposed by the struggle. And her struggling was an interesting sight to him in itself, Baeloth was prepared to bet.
"Ooh I like where this is going! Well, Jade, do you enjoy being manhandled by your own subordinates? I bet you do." Baeloth wound the magic down and grinned broadly.
"Get off me!"
"Oh, you don't after all. Too bad! Just tell the nice bard- all right, tell the bard what he wants to hear, then."
"You are all insane! Very well, just get off me. Eldoth, your sleazy little extortion hinged on Skie wanting to stay with you, so treating her like shit was the most idiotic thing you could have done. So when she came crying to me that you "don't love her anymore" I persuaded her to go home. I then escorted her back to the mansion and took the ransom for myself, and she never even knew."
"You... you did that?"
"Of course I did that. She was useless and slowed us down. You literally can't keep a woman for love nor money."
"You... you double-crossing bitch!"
"Well, you know who I am now."
The bard stormed off, banging the door.
"That was... impressively cold, Jade," Dorn rumbled. Baeloth noticed the half-orc stood under a lamp in such a way as to get the light to accentuate his muscles.
"What, you believe me now? Don't you want to hear what I think of you?"
"Very much, but... maybe over a drink?"
Jade laughed, but threw her head back proudly. "I'm not drinking with you. You'd better come up with something good to make up for this stunt just now. And this means you too, trigger-happy drow." Then she took her turn to go, leaving the men staring each other down like two old, experienced cats. Each of them took a breath a few times, but in the end they said nothing. They returned to their respective rooms, watching each other shut the door.