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Lost in Realm

14

Displacer beasts had one legendary trick: they had the ability to hop in and out between this plane and another. To anyone of this realm, it would look like they were able to vanish at the blink of an eye. No one knew when they began to demonstrate such a trait, for no one had ever seen a young cub and taken observation. At least not to anyone's knowledge. The creatures always guarded their young ones fiercely. Try going anywhere near the offspring would often mean a certain death. So when Bishop began to display that, both Nhilva and Jhalnin were very surprised.

Not to mention he was still magically injured.

"Interesting." The male Drow sprung about to look for the tiny fur ball again.

Unable to move, the Drow female could only glance around the room and hope that the wee thing stayed vanished for a very long time. Though considering his condition, she wasn't sure how long that ability would last.

"Go, Bishop," she whispered. "And stay away, so he won't get to you. Sorry, I can't heal your wounds in time. Your magical wound is going to hurt like buggery."

Her one time fellow Drow house member did not hear the murmur, fortunately. His search for the beast youngling became more frantic. It wasn't a wise idea to stay for long, for none of them knew who might be coming through that door next. It could be the City Watch, who somehow almost always smelled the scent and arrived late. It could be the other Ratfolk, if the rest of the conspirators were the same as what they have here. It could be anything neither of them planned. Drow always planned everything to the T. But sometimes, when that unexpected odds decided to play... He really did not wish to stay long.

There was a faint whoosh, and Bishop appeared at the other side of the chamber. Jhalnin reached for the kitten. Naturally, he vanished just as his fingers were about to touch his fur. The "now you see me, now you don't" went on and on for another ten minutes or so, and the Drow rogue was visibly becoming more and more frustrated. At the end, he let out a deep growl and returned to Nhilva.

"Perhaps I should just get you," said the male Drow, when he finally adjusted his breath. "You still have some use for me and I have this feeling if I take you, that little creature will follow. Should we put that theory to the test, m'dear?"

"I am not your dear," Nhilva snarled.

Jhalnin ignored her and picked her body up by grabbing her waist, hoisting her over his shoulder with a huff. Now she was hanging upside down and her vision restricted only to his backside. Dread once again rose from her chest. It was the constant sensation she associated with whenever she was near him. Decades of seeing him stretch his influence on top females of her house from a young age, with absolutely no power to stop him, had that effect on her. She did not like that, and she did not look forward to what was to come. Life as priestess that bowed to every whim of the whole house (or one self-claimed supreme deity) should have long been gone when she stepped onto the soil of the surface. Searching her brain in great panic, she could not find any way to get out of this situation.

She had the urge to weep.

The male Drow was walking toward the door where the Ratfolk kept the young dwarven lad when he heard footsteps. Actually, he already unlocked the room and was going to open the access. The sound that wasn't the Ratman's grumpy groans made him tense up. Glancing over the entrance, he awaited to see whomever, or whatever, was coming. All of them did.

When a lithe figure with a rather large hat appeared at the doorway, Nhilva swore all of them dropped their jaws.

It was Jalaxle.

Yes, the Jalaxle.

The real owner of One-Eyed Jax and many other things in Luskan, and maybe beyond.

"Jalaxle." Jhalnin sounded confused, as well as surprised. Rightfully so, for there was no reason at all for the other male to be here. Whatever job they were doing was rather small and insignificant compared to whatever he was doing.

So why was he here?

"Jhalnin," Jalaxle's voice was soft and sounded rather pleasant. It was as if they were meeting at some high society party and he was rather pleased to see the other male, not some burnt down restaurant in the middle of the Rat Alley. "Fancy seeing you here. "

"Likewise?"

"Afraid you will have to put the lady down and leave her here," drawled the flamboyant Drow male.

"What?!"

Jalaxle did not explain anything else. He merely tilted his head to one side and smiled at Jhalnin. Yes, Nhilva saw that. A little tricky, and her neck was rather sore at this point. But it was crucial she actually see the expression with her own eyes. Hey, when was the last time you saw an infamous figure whose presence at this part of the coast was almost legendary?

"There is no law in our contract saying I cannot," said the Weaponmaster after regaining his composure. Once again, he was back to his usual arrogant self. However, Nhilva could detect a hint of uncertainty in his tone. There was also fear, too. It wasn't hard to figure out why. After all, this was Jalaxle and they were in Luskan.

"And there is no law in Luskan saying I cannot." The famous rogue tossed the words right back to him. "Thought you know very well what will happen if you walk out of here with both the boy and the lady."

Though still very bewildered, Jhalnin eventually put Nhilva down with great reluctance. Not exactly gently, mind you. But she no longer cared. All the pains she experienced from her bones and muscles made her oblivious from any other ache externally. Lying on the floor, face down, she watched out of the corner of her eyes as the Drow male's boots moved back to the door where the Ratfolk had kept the young lad. In a few sound of metal scraping each other, the panel swung open and two pairs of boots walked out. Then they moved out of her visual range. Eventually she couldn't even hear the echoes.

They left.