Out of the Shadows, Part 10
You meet Verika's incisive gaze, her dark eyes searching yours. She's trying to take your true measure, trying to discern how you saved Belan from so many skilled warriors. Finally, you respond. "I drove them all off," you say. "Last I saw, they were fleeing into the woods. They shouldn't be a problem any more."
Of course, that just raises even more questions, prompting Verika to frown in perplexity. "Drow elites aren't usually known for running," she observes.
You offer her a faint smile. "I've... picked up a few tricks of my own, on my journeys," you tell her. "They can be somewhat... circumstantial. And someone in my position can't make a habit of advertising them. But... given there was a life at stake, I felt there was no other choice."
Her frown deepens at your second vague non-answer. She's clearly wracking her brain, trying to puzzle out what a mere courier could possibly have up his sleeve that would set an encampment of hardened warriors to flight. "Surely you can trust us with what you did?" she says. "I have no reason to give away any of your secrets."
"Perhaps not," you say. "But that isn't my risk alone to take. Those kind of secrets involve more than just me They entail obligations to others as well. My employer, for example. And her trust in me is something I do not intend to abuse."
Verika's incomprehension only grows, the more you spin your vague hints and allusions. You could go on and on like that. But given how you've crafted the situation, you know that in order to be most effective the next strike should come from someone else.
And so—at the exact point you coached him to interject—Belan speaks up. "Please, Verika!" the boy says. "Don't make us give away the secret to what he did. It was for my sake that he used it at all. If he hadn't... I might not be alive."
It's a simple request. But that's all it needs to be. You don't want to tell Verika the full truth just yet. And while a lie or a half-truth might have satisfied her more in the short term, it would also have added the risk that you or Belan might trip over the deception later.
But there's nothing to trip over for those who simply admit not wanting to speak. More to the point, even if she doesn't know what you did, if her own kinsman Belan saw it, and yet he agrees with keeping the matter silent, then that will lend credence to the idea that there's some reason behind it all. Even if Verika herself can't make heads or tails out of it.
Nor is the young elf your only character witness. Khaytala steps in, laying a reassuring hand on Verika's shoulder. "Don't worry," she says gently. "Talavar will tell us more if it ever becomes necessary."
Verika looks over at her friend, looking more puzzled and lost than ever. "This really makes sense to you, Khay?" she asks, mystified. "You trust him that much?"
And Khaytala—honest Khaytala—doesn't hesitate. "I do," she says, giving Verika a warm smile. "I trust him with all my heart."
A shiver runs down your spine at the terrifying genuineness on display, though you don't let it show. Khaytala couldn't lie convincingly to save her life. You knew from the beginning that any attempt on her part to deceive Verika would have ended in ignominious failure.
But when she believes something... she believes in it with an earnest conviction that's almost impossible to deny. Verika exhales, frustrated, caught between the urging of her friends and her suspicious sense that something isn't right about all this.
But your evasions have blunted her inquiry enough for you to sweep past her doubts, without her being able to mount much protest. "At any rate," you say. "If we're going to rescue the other three captives, then we should get moving. We can raid their camp for supplies, since we don't know how long this will take."
Now that surprises Verika, momentarily distracting her from her earlier concerns. "You're... willing to chase them into the Underworld with me?" she asks. "You have to understand, we'll be heading right into the heart of the drow dominion! This will be... dangerous isn't even the word for it."
"I know," you say. "And I'm in. If you want to steal your friends back, you're going to need a good crew. I've already proven I can handle myself. And... well, look at it this way. It'll give you even more chances to figure out for yourself just how it is I'm doing it."
You grin cheekily at her, to which she responds with an annoyed stare. But she is in a desperate position, and she needs all the help she can get if she really wants to save the other three elves, even if that help doesn't come in an ideal form.
Besides... you can detect a hint of gnawing curiosity lurking under that annoyance. The stubborn desire to rise to your challenge, and figure out just what the Hell is going on with you.
"I'm coming too!" Belan speaks up, determination burning in his eyes. "I can't just run back home, not when my teacher and my friends are in so much danger! Whatever you end up doing, you might need magical assistance to pull it off. And there's no time to waste!"
Verika frowns, glancing over at Khaytala, who just shrugs. "The kid has guts," she says. "I'm not saying we take him into battle... but having a healer to patch us up afterward could be the difference between one of us making it out alive or not. I say we give him the chance to help save them."
It's clear Verika isn't enthusiastic about putting him in any kind of risk, but she sees Khaytala's point. Next the drow turns to Relis, who cuts her off before she can even speak. "I'm coming, Verika," she says quietly. "Even if I can't measure up to you... I can still help." Her words draw a pained flinch from the drow, and she nods wordlessly.
Without any further delay you set out, moving back through the forest until you reach the drow encampment. You find enough rations and other supplies abandoned in their haste to keep you supplied for some time, stuffing them into some packs that Khaytala finds. Belan also carries the two staves of his missing teacher and friend resting across his left shoulder, with his own held in his right hand.
You also spend some time poking at the shadowgate, trying to figure out how to operate it. But you don't meet with any success. "Don't bother," comes Verika's voice from behind you. "It won't open for you, no matter what you do. They were created so only a drow descended from a high noble house can use them."
"Mmmm, that could be a problem," You glance down at the wrought-iron circle. In your experience no lock is completely unpickable... but your mediocre awareness of arcane matters certainly isn't up to the task. "To guard against enemies like us getting hold of it?"
"That... and also to guard against mutiny," Verika explains. "If you always ensure there's only one person in every mission to the surface who can bring the group back home again, the theory is that your subordinates will think twice before stabbing you in the back."
"I see..." you muse. "Well, we could chase after the drow who fled, and try to find the noble among them and convince them to open the gate for us." But even though you offer the suggestion as though you were genuinely considering it, you actually have the distinct suspicion it won't be necessary.
Verika sighs, and she holds out her hand wordlessly. You give her the shadowgate, which she promptly tosses forward with a flick of her wrist. The metal circle flies through the air, its spin not slowing, but rather gaining in speed. Verika's hands move in slow circles, palms outward, and the shadowgate twists in sync with those motions. The sections of its jagged frame disconnect from each other, its circumference expanding, while the shadows flickering about its edges flow to fill the interior completely.
When Verika finishes the shadowy portal is about the size of an average doorway. She glances over to you, as though daring you to say something. But you don't pry, your only response a mild one. "Everyone has their secrets."
You don't know what in Verika's past has caused this attempt on her life, but it implies that someone down there finds Verika important. That didn't necessarily translate to nobility... but it wasn't a bad bet either, and it seems you were on the money. Whatever lies in her past, though, it's clear that Verika does not enjoy talking about it.
"We shouldn't just go through from here, though," Verika says, as she collapses the shadowgate back into her hand. "Where the portal leads to depends on where you open it from. And it doesn't just take you straight down, either. The magic winds through the Shadow Realm, and paths in that place are usually... complicated. But I do know somewhere we can go. A shadowpath that no one but me knows. It'll take us somewhere we can hide and prepare."
Soon you depart from the clearing, your small band setting out at a rapid clip, following close behind Verika. It's clear that she knows these woods like the back of her hand, as she guides you on barely-visible trails that nevertheless provide the best passage as you wind through the dense forest.
Even as she leads you, you can feel that Verika is keeping her awareness constantly on you, watching for any slip, any clue that might help her figure out the maddening, suspicious puzzle that you've foisted upon her. It could be trouble if you ever need to do anything discreetly... but there are worse problems to have than the woman you're trying to seduce studying your every movement. For now, though, you play it innocent, keeping up light, friendly conversation with everyone else.
Finally, you arrive at your destination, a small glen with a shallow brook bubbling along its length. Verika moves to at a certain bend in the flow of water, then looks back at the rest of you. "This is the place," she says simply.
None of your motley little group show any sign of wanting to turn back, from Khaytala's seasoned confidence to Relis' focused determination to Belan's nervous excitement. You yourself project a calm, focused attitude as Verika opens the shadowgate once more, and you all step through.
The transit is less disorienting than you expected, though there is a moment of vertigo as your reality distorts into a darkness so profound that not even your nightvision can discern anythign within it. The supernatural blackness of the Shadow Realm fades, however, replaces with the much more ordinary darkness of the Underworld, the immense cavern system stretching deep beneath the earth.
It isn't necessary for you, but Belan whispers an incantation, causing a dim point of light to glow at the tip of his staff, its paltry radiance flickering along the edges of the small, narrow, out-of-the-way tunnel you find yourselves in.
Verika steps forward. "This place is a safe distance from the main thoroughfares," she explains. "There's a cave nearby where can set up camp with little risk of being discovered. And once we've done that, I'll head out for the more populated areas to get the lay of the land."
The five of you carefully move your way through the cramped, winding tunnel. Unlike the forest, the single, constrained route allows for much less in the way of detours, so Verika doesn't need to lead from the front. Instead, she drifts back toward you, eventually maneuvering herself so that you're walking alongside each other.
"So..." she says, giving you an evaluating look. "This... 'employer' of yours that you mentioned before... you seem to hold her in high regard. How did the two of you meet? If you don't mind sharing that, of course."
She's not making much of a secret of her intent to pry into the mysteries surrounding you as much as she can, fixing you with a challenging look as you match wills. You've definitely caught her interest, and now she's on the hunt for you. The question becomes, how will you respond? And what line of questioning will you pursue in turn, as you begin your first verbal fencing match?
