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[Mistress Elysia]

I know it's not BG (I've got my mod for that!), but nevermind... I've been writing this for a while - had to give it up while I was pregnant, unfortunately (nothing defeats the creative process more than constantly being sick!) and now that little one is here, I'm trying to get back into writing in all its forms.

Rated M for violence and sexual themes. You know, the good stuff...

I'm posting this story as a series of links to each chapter (if I do get time, I'll try to format them and post them properly), simply because posting them individually here equates to literally days of formatting. I hope this is an acceptable way of posting the story - if not, let me know and I'll amend it asap

Chapter One - The Seer
Chapter Two ? The City of Lith My?athar
Chapter Three ? Beggars Are Rarely Also Choosers
Chapter Four ? Introductions
Chapter Five ? Into the Zhasen
Chapter Six ? Silence is Golden
Chapter Seven ? Waterfall
Chapter Eight ? The Battle Continues
Chapter Nine ? Lost...
Chapter Ten ? Tensions
Chapter Eleven - ? And Found
Chapter Twelve ? Reunion
Chapter Thirteen ? A Silent Reprieve
Chapter Fourteen ? Bridges
Chapter Fifteen - Comfort
Chapter Sixteen ? Claustrophobia
Chapter Seventeen ? Allegiances
Chapter Eighteen ? Shades of Grey
Chapter Nineteen ? A Many Splintered Thing
Chapter Twenty ? You Reap What You Sow
Chapter Twenty One ? A Demon's Fury
Chapter Twenty Two ? Zorvak'Mur
Chapter Twenty Three ? Slaves
Chapter Twenty Four ? Ixenthraxsis
Chapter Twenty Five ? From Grace She Will Fall
Chapter Twenty Six ? Crossroads
Chapter Twenty Seven ? Awakening
Chapter Twenty Eight ? Turmoil
Chapter Twenty Nine ? Duel
Chapter Thirty ? A Brief Candle
Chapter Thirty One ? Back to Lith My'athar
Chapter Thirty Two ? Don't Fear the Reaper
Chapter Thirty Three ? Rebirth
Chapter Thirty Four ? Desire, Treason and Plot
Chapter Thirty Five - Revelations
Chapter Thirty Six ? A Time to Breathe
Chapter Thirty Seven ? A Call to Arms

[Mistress Elysia]

Hordes of the Underdark: Where Darkness Resides.

I?ve never written ?serious? fanfic before (unless you count my Baldur?s Gate mod!) ? I normally either stick to my own stories or write parodies / silliness. I decided to write this because a) I thought it would be good practise b) it?s a break from my own mammoth story that is getting far too big and confusing for its own good and c) Valen? (yeah, I admit it; I?m a bit of Valen fangirl?).

I started writing notes for this a couple of years ago, but never actually bothered to do anything with them - hence the reason this is so late in terms of the game?s release date. It?s really just a bit of self indulgence ? the plot is basically the same, but I?ve decided to completely re-write dialogues and add in scenarios of my own invention (mainly because I?m too lazy to open up the dialogues in the game and re-write them here ? the basic gist is the same, though). The main protagonist is a half elven rogue / sorcerer called Jenalil ?Jen? Allomann, and I?ve decided to start the story near the beginning of Chapter 2 of the game ? mainly because Chapter 1 in the game is simply a dungeon crawl and therefore not that interesting to write (although I may go back to it eventually ? we?ll see how far I get with this!).

As for copyright ? the plot and characters (apart from Jen) belong to Bioware and all that jazz.

Chapter One ? The Seer

Such an insignificant thing. Tiny; unassuming. Who would?ve thought it would turn out to be so important?

Jen sighed to herself as she laid the small amulet upon the sheets of a borrowed bed, tracing the swirls that adorned it with a gentle finger. The relic was a small disc of gold; it looked as if it had once been part of something larger - a hilt of a sword, maybe. She knew the truth of it, however, and consequently she?d lost count the amount of times she?d try to be rid of it; each time, it had come back to her.

To haunt her?

Shaking her head, the half elf studied the room she had been given for this brief interlude. To the casual observer her general demeanour might have come across as merely curious, but her darting eyes and the imperceptible shaking of her hands betrayed the uncomfortable nervousness accompanied by fleeting periods of acute anxiety she was currently experiencing.

She must be wrong. She has to be wrong?

?Boss??

Jen near jumped at the high-pitched, slightly rasping voice that intruded upon her introspection. She had forgotten that Deekin had accompanied her to her room; truth was, she could have done with this time to herself, but there was no subtle way to discourage the little kobold bard from following her and sitting himself upon one of the spider-adorned chairs in the corner of the rather grandiose room she had been granted; hints just slid off his scales like water, and Jen didn?t have the heart to have him forcefully removed from her room.

?Don?t call me boss, Deekin. I?ve asked you before.?

Deekin nodded as he swung his clawed feet back and forth, an endearing, if slightly annoying, sight.

?Yes, boss. Deekin was just wondering: why is we sitting in this room??

Jen sighed again, mentally cringing at the deference he always showered her with and shrugged her shoulders.

?I thought we needed a few minutes to gather our thoughts,? she answered carefully; for some reason, she was unwilling to admit that she needed some time to herself, as if it was some kind of dire weakness in this most dangerous of places. She smiled weakly at the kobold. ?I thought they were going to throw us out immediately after charging us with this godsforsaken quest; I suppose we should be grateful that they?ve granted us this time to sort our heads out.?

Deekin cocked his head to one side and looked away from Jen for a moment, strumming a few soft chords upon his curiously shaped lyre, as if the action aided his concentration. After a moment?s pause, he looked back to the half elf.

??Suppose so. Deekin thoughts the big goatman was going to chuck Deekin and boss out for sure.?

Despite herself, Jen couldn?t help but grin at the little kobold?s unerring ability to hit the nail right upon the head. Their arrival to the Underdark hadn?t been particularly pleasant or successful; placed under a geas by a mad wizard to defeat a drow queen calling herself the Valsharess, only to be greeted by a drow priestess who claimed that she knew of Jen and that she was there as some kind of saviour of her visions. Upon seeing the drow collective in the audience chamber, Jen had thought them dead for sure ? it was truly ironic, then, that the assembled drow had been almost accepting of them once their Seer ? the priestess - had vouched for her; it had been the odd-looking man ? the only non-drow in the room (and possibly the whole city, Jen mused) beside herself and her kobold bard companion - who had stood so protectively to the right of the Seer that had been the most negative and aggressive towards her. Although she had seen drow before, she had never seen his like in all her extensive travels; with his curled, goat-like horns upon his head, cruel, ice blue eyes and long, sinewy tail he both piqued her curiosity and frightened her in equal measure. Beside him, the drow assassin Nathyrra?s cautiously cordial attitude towards her seemed almost obscenely welcoming, and the Seer? well?

Jen pursed her lips and, locking her hands behind her head, lay back upon the silken covers of the bed as she thought of the Priestess of Eilistraee: hauntingly beautiful and ageless in appearance, her eyes the only thing betraying the wisdom of many centuries. Wriggling a little, Jen mused on how the bed was surprisingly comfortable; for some reason, she had always imagined drow life to be one of hardship and torture, and so she had never considered such simple things as beds in connection with them before. The spider motif that dominated the room did not surprise her, however; even if the Seer did proclaim to follow Eilistraee, the room was located in what was first and foremost a temple of Lolth, the Spider Queen.

Odd how things work out?

Jen?s private reflection was cut short by a short, sharp rap upon the door to her chamber. Deekin, startled, stopped his strumming and looked apprehensively to his half elven comrade. Shaking her head at him, Jen sat up, leant across to the bedside table where her sword, Enserric, lay in its scabbard and crisply bade the knocker enter.

She knew it was Valen before his features became apparent in the dim light of the room by his sheer size; no drow could ever hope to match his height. Glowering a little, the be-horned man regarded her with a stony, measured gaze that bordered upon insolence; a silent challenge if she had even seen one.

?The Seer wishes to know if you are rested enough.?

Clutching Enserric, Jen stood up and matched his stare, refusing to be intimidated by him. In the corner of her eye, she saw Deekin stand up and clutch his lyre to himself defensively; she knew the gesture and felt a small flare of satisfaction that, despite his small stature compared with the warrior that stood between them, the little kobold bard wasn?t afraid to stand by her if things turned ugly.

?I am,? she replied eventually, keeping her tone as flat as possible as she buckled her sword to her hip and snatched up the Relic of the Reaper from the bedcovers.

?Then the Seer wishes to speak with you again.?

With that, Valen turned tersely upon one heel and near marched out of the room without a backward glance.

o0o

Feeling decidedly apprehensive, Jen attempted to straighten the overlapping plates of the simple black leather armour she habitually wore and tucked a rather unruly lock of chestnut brown hair behind one sharp ear. She didn?t know why she felt she had to present herself in such a manner; after all, according to the Seer, she was the Saviour - the defeater of the Valsharess or some such nonsense, but the calm authority that the Seer seemed to exude reminded Jen a little too sharply of the classroom and therefore of Drogan, her dwarven mentor, and so the desire to present herself in a good light to the drow priestess was more an ingrained response than anything else. Behind her, Deekin followed meekly, his claws clacking lightly upon the highly polished marble floor. Taking a deep breath and expelling it slowly, Jen opened the door that lead to the Seer?s audience chamber and tried to ignore the score of dark elven eyes that followed her progress as she made her way to ornately decorated central dais where the Seer stood, a welcoming smile touching her lips.

Extending a hand, the Seer invited Jen to sit upon the dais with her and offered her a small cup which she filled with a sweet smelling red liquid.

?I do hope you were not roused from your rest too early; if so, I apologise,? she tilted her head towards Jen in a gesture of regret. The half elf offered the beautiful drow a hesitant smile and a small, half-shrug, to which the drow smiled warmly.

?I wish I could allow you to relax to your heart?s content, Jen, but as you are well aware, time is a simple pleasure that we simply do not have right now.? The Seer?s countenance grew grave as a shadow passed briefly across her ancient eyes. ?The Valsharess moves swiftly against us; we must be prepared. As I said before, she has powerful alliances ? alliances that we need to be broken,? she gave Jen a significant look. ?Alliances that you need to break.?

At this, Jen swallowed hard and nodded dumbly, her mouth suddenly dry. She knew she had agreed to this, but it didn?t stop her being plagued with self doubt. Seeing her discomfiture, the Seer gestured to the forgotten cup in the half elf?s hand and offered her a munificent smile. Unconsciously, Jen smiled back and took a sip of the fragrant liquid; for a short moment, she was back upon the surface enjoying the sun on a summer?s day and not in the claustrophobic confines of the hostile Underdark. Surprised, she looked quizzically down at the cup and then at the Seer, whose smile simply widened for the briefest of moments before settling back to her previous benign countenance.

?You are the one of my visions, Jenalil? of that I am certain,? she glanced briefly to one side, where the warrior Valen stood in the shadows. ?I know not everyone believes in my visions...? the Seer raised a delicate ebon hand to forestall Valen as he made to step forward and interrupt her; snorting irritably, the horned man stepped back into the shadows and took up his customary spot once more, offering Jen a flat, hard stare ??but you must believe me when I say that I would not send anyone into the wilds of the Underdark without good cause,? the Seer sighed as a look of resigned sorrow settled upon her fair features. ?The Underdark is a dangerous place; if it were possible, I would send you back from whence you came? but it isn?t; Halaster has seen to it that even had you not been the one of my visions, you would have to face the Valsharess anyway, and for that, I am sorry.? Before Jen could comment, the drow priestess continued. ?However, I am not proposing you go alone. Nathyrra has petitioned me personally to allow her to accompany you, if you should wish her help?? At the offer, Nathyrra stepped forward, seeming to coalesce out of the very shadows themselves and nodded towards Jen, a slight smile upon her obsidian lips ?? and Valen has also pledged his sword-arm to you, should you accept it,? Jen couldn?t help but glance with a flicker of surprise towards where the surly warrior stood with his arms folded over his chest, a stoic look upon his face, his gaze fixed unblinkingly upon a point just above where the meeting was taking place.

?And Deekin, boss! Don?t forget Deekin! Deekin is coming, too! Deekin must continue to write the story of brave boss and her adventures in Underdark!?

Jumping a little, Jen turned to regard her kobold companion, having forgotten that he was present during this meeting - and by the look on the Seer?s face, so had she. The priestess quirked an eyebrow and gave Jen a quizzical look. Blushing slightly, Jen glanced up at Valen and Nathyrra as they exchanged a slightly horrified look before remembering themselves and forcing their faces back to their former, carefully contrived masks.

?Uh, Deekin? it?ll be dangerous?? Jen started, unsure of what to say.

?Deekin will be safe; he is with boss!? Deekin interrupted. Jen winced slightly.

?Yeah, umm, okay? but the Underdark? are you sure you wouldn?t be happier, well, here? I?m sure you?d be? a? great?.help?..? she trailed off as Deekin?s face fell with abject disappointment.

?But? Boss? we does these things together? how can Deekin write saga of brave boss if Deekin is here?? Deekin almost whispered, a husky edge to his voice. Closing her eyes, Jen sighed and patted the kobold upon his shoulder. Truth was that Deekin had proved himself to her on more than one occasion, which, when all was said and done, was more than could be said of Nathyrra and Valen.

?Okay, Deekin? if that?s what you want, you can come.? Jen heard a snort of derisive astonishment from behind her; to her surprise, she felt her hackles rise a little in response to it. Deekin, however, had obviously not heard it.

?YAY! BOSS! Deekin and Boss, together again!? the kobold trilled ecstatically, strumming an upbeat chord upon his lyre. Wincing visibly now, Jen shrugged helplessly towards the assembled audience; the drow that had before been pretending not to listen to the exchange between the rogue and the priestess had all turned towards the kobold?s enthusiastic reaction and watched with raised eyebrows and perplexed looks, making Jen squirm uncomfortably inside.

?Yeah, okay, come on, Deekin? that?s, err, enough now?? she mumbled, going an impressive shade of deep crimson as the kobold beamed happily at her. ?Everyone is watching??

?Then it is settled,? the Seer interjected smoothly. ?You will not be fulfilling your destiny alone,? she smiled again, this time her attention fixed upon Deekin: ?Not that I thought you would be??

Standing up, the Seer smoothed the creases out of her silken dress and reached for a small box that stood upon a filigreed side table. Not sure if the meeting had come to an end or not, Jen followed the Seer?s lead and stood up awkwardly, running a hand apprehensively through her hair. Just as she was about to lower it again, the Seer caught it tenderly and studied the ring that was glowing gently in the half-light of the audience chamber.

?You wear this so you can see?? she asked softly. Before Jen could answer with anything more than a nod, the Seer held the small box up and offered it to her. ?External light will be your enemy down here, Jen; it makes you a target. You need to see as we, the drow, do.? Opening the box, the Seer drew out a delicately wrought silver circlet with a small, highly polished moonstone set within it; after holding it up for Jen to inspect it, she presented to her.

?If you would allow me?? the Seer gestured for Jen to be seated once more. Slightly nervously, Jen complied. The Seer then carefully fitted the circlet so that the moonstone sat snugly upon her forehead: gasping, Jen surveyed the room.

No longer was it filled with murky shadow illuminated solely by bursts of lilac and green faerie fire; it was as if the entire room had been bathed in the bright moonlight of Midsummer?s Eve. Colours that were once muted and distorted now became brighter and more apparent, and everything was suffused with an almost eerie silvery sheen. Turning once again to the Seer, Jen blinked furiously, unsure of how to thank the priestess for such a princely gift. As if able to read her mind, the Seer inclined her head towards the rogue and caught Jen?s cheeks between her cool, ebon hands

?This is the least I can offer you, Saviour. Take it with my thanks; with the thanks of all my people. May Eilistraee smile upon you.?

o0o

After Jen had accepted her gift, the Seer left the audience chamber with a couple of her drow entourage in tow. The remaining drow slowly turned their attention back to their own occupations, and so it was that the only remaining people left near the dais were Jen, Deekin, Nathyrra and Valen.

Deekin was the first to break the silence.

?Deekin thinks the drow lady wants us to work, now,? he said thoughtfully, turning towards the doors that lead to the drow city of Lith My?athar. ?We shoulds be going, Deekin thinks.?

?On your own?? Nathyrra interjected, speaking up for the first time since Jen had entered the audience chamber. ?My offer still stands. I am more than willing to accompany you.?

Jen smiled gratefully at the drow and nodded appreciatively at her offer.

?In truth, I?m grateful. I wouldn?t want to have to muddle my way through this on my own? Jen replied.

After a moment?s hesitation, Nathyrra smiled back.

?I am knowledgeable enough with regards to the local environs; I can help you locate the allies of the Valsharess easily enough??

?And I can help you defeat them,? Valen interrupted and stepped forward to stand beside Nathyrra, dwarfing the drowess.

Surprised, Jen nodded slowly. Although the Seer had said he was willing to help, the half elf hadn?t quite believed her. Seeing her doubt, Valen quirked one crimson brow at her in obvious annoyance.

?So? you?re willing to help, too?? Jen said carefully.

?The Seer wouldn?t have extended my offer if I wasn?t willing to help,? Valen replied, his tone clipped.

?But you don?t believe in the Seer?s visions. Why offer to help in the first place?? As soon as the question left her lips, Jen regretted asking it; the last thing she needed to do was make an enemy of the one man who looked like he could level an entire battlefield on his own.

Valen folded his arms once again over his chest and glowered down at Jen, his ice blue eyes colder than ever.

?If you do not wish my help, just say so. There are other things I can be doing.?

?No, no! I mean, yes. I? I mean, yes, I do want your help, and no, you don?t have to do other things. Unless you want to, of course,? Jen stammered, trying to recover herself, bullying herself not to be cowed by him. From the corner of her eye she saw Nathyrra raise her eyebrows in a slightly incredulous way, but decided to ignore her.

After giving her an appraising look, Valen reached back and picked up his weapon of choice: a massive tangle of heavy spiked balls made of a cold, black bone fixed by chains to an ornately crafted handle. Goggling slightly, Jen watched as he wound the heavy flail?s chains around its own handle and then slid it home into a complicated leather harness with practised ease that allowed him to keep his hands free. ?Well? Where to??

Nathyrra broke in, giving Jen an odd look

?I suggest we talk with Imloth; he knows a good deal about the various enemies we?ll be facing.?

Valen snorted. ?Beholders, Illithid, undead? we already know how to fight these foes, Nathyrra.?

Nathyrra frowned. ?That may be the case, but I doubt Jen does. She needs advice, and I know I am not best person to give it.?

Valen?s countenance hardened again.

?And neither am I, I suppose? You forget; all the time you?ve been skulking in the shadows, I?ve been leading your troops and fighting skirmishes in your name for a long time now.?

?I am aware of that, Valen,? Nathyrra snapped back. ?But Imloth is the Master at Arms in Lith My?athar ? not only is he trained in fighting these foes, he knows how to train others to fight them!?

Glancing nervously from the warrior to the assassin, Jen was grateful when Deekin seemingly innocently broke the tension.

?Deekin knows of Mindflayers, also known as Illithid. They like to eat brains. Deekin recommends a helmet,? the kobold commented, his reptilian face the perfect picture of earnest sincerity.

Unable to stop herself at the absurdity of the statement with regards to the seriousness of the rest of the conversation, Jen couldn?t help but stifle a giggle behind one hand. Both Nathyrra and Valen rounded upon her with narrowed eyes.

?Well, Deekin has a point?? she said a little sheepishly, waiting to be chastised. At that, Nathyrra rolled her crimson eyes and grinned and much to Jen?s surprise, a fleeting ghost of a smile touched Valen?s lips for a mere second.

?Whatever we do next, we should get going,? he commented, the usual gruff edge to his voice firmly back in place. ?Time is not on our side.?

Despite their differences, Jen couldn?t have agreed more with him.

[Mistress Elysia]

Chapter Two ? The City of Lith My?athar

Leaving the relative safe confines of the temple, Jen hadn?t known what to expect from the drow city; one thing for certain was she hadn?t expected it to be so beautiful. Despite being half elven, she had had little to do with the elven way of life; her birthmother had died in bringing her into the world and so she had been brought up by her human father (joined later by her human stepmother) in a very much human dominated society. It was this largely untapped elven side, however, that appreciated the delicate filigreed buildings that towered above her and the exquisitely carven statues that were dotted around the square in front of the temple. Both were largely constructed out of a shining black marble veined with glittering lilac crystals, garlanded with almost floral-like bursts of purple, blue and red faerie fire and spoke of a deeply ingrained appreciation of aesthetics and need to create beauty ? although Jen?s own appreciation was tinged with a slight, jarring feeling of horror when she focused upon the smaller details adorning the gracefully constructed buildings: the spires that ended in cruel spikes, soft curves intermingled with jagged barbed designs and the abundant proliferation of the spider motif, either depicting fierce arachnids themselves or huge replica cobwebs that spanned windows and balconies. Shuddering slightly at this conflict between beauty and cruelty, Jen forced herself to turn her attention away from the spiders; be they real or simply renditions, she had always been a little afraid of the eight legged creatures after she and her half-brother Renlan had been attacked by a giant specimen in the forest local to their village. Renlan had been bitten and consequently had been ill for some time after; in the end, the local druid had been the only one who could neutralise the poison that the massive arachnid had pumped into his system. Consequently, she had had nightmares for months afterwards, and whilst she was confident that she had mastered her fear enough to tackle the creatures by herself if there was no other option, she would rather avoid them if she could.

Unfortunately, it looked like that wasn?t going to be entirely possible here.

A slight breeze danced pleasantly over her, lifting the strands of hair that framed her face, having escaped from the braid she habitually wore; another surprise, since she had thought the Underdark would simply have been an extension of Undermountain, claustrophobic and still. As it was, Lith My?athar buzzed with life: merchants hawked their wares from market stalls to the right of them, their customers strolling from booth to booth, sampling a wide range of goods ranging from the decidedly exotic to the everyday mundane; hammers rung upon anvils located in a huge forge just beyond the market stalls; battalions of dark elven soldiers sparred together in small groups, honing their already impressive skills; and from the faint smell of river mud and fish that was carried upon the breeze, Jen guessed that there must be some kind of water course nearby. Looking up, Jen found that she could not see the ceiling of the massive cave the city was located in; instead, she could see hundreds of tiny points of faint light that eerily resembled a twinkling star-scape. This did not alleviate the foreboding feeling of being buried deep within the earth, however; the fact that this place could live and thrive hundreds of feet beneath her world without the inhabitants of the surface ever knowing about it in any way other than through dark rumour and old wives tales disturbed her more than would be willing to openly admit. Jen shivered a little and drew her arms around herself; even with the relative familiarity of people going about their everyday business, this place, with its pervading sense of tension and subtle undercurrent of malice that seemed woven into the very fabric of the rock the city was constructed on, was more alien to her than she could ever have imagined.

Noticing her shiver, Valen glanced down at the uneasy half elf for a split second before looking up again, his face carefully impassive. The look did not go unnoticed, however, and after waiting a few moments to see whether the tall warrior was going to say a few words of comfort, Nathyrra shook her head imperceptibly, rolling her eyes a little as she did in silent chastisement of Valen?s rather callous demeanour.

?This place can be a little unsettling for surfacers at first,? she commented in a low voice, a reassuring smile upon her lips. ?If you have any questions, I?d be more than happy to answer them.?

Jen nodded unconsciously, chewing a little upon her bottom lip. She knew what she wanted to ask, but didn?t want anyone to know of her weaknesses quite yet.

?Uh, how long has the city been here?? she asked eventually, trying to infuse her voice with an air of confidence she did not particularly feel.

Recognising her need for inconsequential small talk, Nathyrra inclined her head towards Jen, indicating she was willing to discuss such things with her; in complete contrast, a flash of impatient irritation flickered momentarily across Valen?s face, his jaw tightening as he clamped down upon the retort that was obviously attempting to fight its way out of him.

?The city has been here for many centuries,? Nathyrra began, gesturing around herself ?although more as an outpost than an actual city. It is the haven of House Maeviir, once a powerful House in their own right, but now the last refuge for a mere handful of survivors and rebels. Once upon a time, other, lesser drow Houses also inhabited the walls of the city, but they have either been destroyed by, or joined with, the Valsharess.? Nathyrra shook her head sadly. ?We truly are the last stand against her. If we fall, all is lost; no one will be able to halt her rise to ultimate power.?

?Hence the importance of having allies we can trust implicitly not to fail or betray us,? Valen broke in, his intense cerulean eyes boring accusingly into Jen.

At that, Jen felt a small flame of furious irritation of her own ignite deep with in her at the warrior?s continued negativity and flagrant, mocking mistrust of her.

?I never asked for this, you know,? she snapped back, her voice suddenly tight with suppressed anger. ?I didn?t just stroll down here and demand to be charged with this task. Maybe you?d like to take me to get another wizard and have yet another geas placed upon me, just to make sure there is absolutely no way I can betray you? Or maybe you?d like me to pledge some kind of oath in front of a deity of your choice? Or how about a potion of truth - maybe even a nice Discern Lies spell as well, just for good measure - so you can grill me to your heart?s content with the knowledge that I can?t actually lie to you? Would that suffice, Valen? Or do you want more?? she glared back at the horned man, her own soft hazel-green eyes now taking on the coldly glittering cast of well-cut emeralds.

For a second, Valen?s eyes narrowed and one gauntleted hand hovered over the handle of his massive flail; the colour drained a little from Jen?s face as she wondered in slight panic if he had taken her little frustrated outburst as a direct challenge. Even though she had some pretty devastating spells at her disposal and knew exactly where to stick a dagger into a man to bring him down with one hit, her strength lay in the element of surprise or, failing that, in distance; in a straight fight, Valen would beat her into mulch without so much as breaking a sweat. Fortunately, the moment passed as the warrior dropped his hand back down to his side and gave her a slightly appraising look, almost as if she had passed some kind of test. Folding his arms over his chest in a gesture that Jen was now beginning to recognise as one of intimidation as much as one of defence, Valen glowered down at her, the tip of his sinewy tail flicking from side to side. From out of the corner of her eye, Jen saw Nathyrra?s hand drop from the hilt of her rapier; the gesture did not comfort her however, for as friendly as the drow assassin was towards her, the rogue did not think she would raise a blade against Valen in her defence if he did decide to take matters into his own hands.

?There will be no need for that, Jenalil Allomann,? Valen replied eventually, his voice deep and slightly threatening. ?I will be watching you closely; that is enough for me. Just know that if you make one false move,? he held up his index finger to emphasise his point, ?I will not hesitate in cutting you down. I will not have these people harmed.?

?I can appreciate that,? Jen answered curtly, hoping that her voice sounded cool and collected rather than harried and nervous, ?I have no intention of betraying anyone.?

?There is no need to qualify yourself in front of us, Jen,? interjected Nathyrra, throwing Valen a decidedly withering look. ?That the Seer believes in you is enough for me.? She smiled again, softening her angular elven features once more; Valen just snorted derisively.

?Imloth,? he near growled as he strode away, leaving the two females upon the temple steps.

?Why is goatman so nasty, boss?? Deekin asked quietly once the rest of the little party had left the steps to follow Valen. The little kobold had watched the entire exchange with huge eyes, clutching his lyre to his thin, scaly chest defensively. ?Deekin knows boss wouldn?t betray the drow lady??

Jen smiled ruefully at her stalwart companion and patted him lightly upon the shoulder.

?I know you do, Deek, and I?m grateful for that? we?ll just ride it out for now, huh? He?ll either come around or decide he can?t stand to be with us; whatever the case, it?ll sort itself out in the end. These things inevitably do.?

Deekin looked up, his expression decidedly sceptical. Jen knew exactly how he felt.

o0o

Following Valen?s purposeful lead, Jen found it quite hard to take in everything around her, but even from her rapid trip across the city she could see that there were clearly two factions of drow at work there. First of all, there were the remaining members of House Maeviir, obvious in their sneering, disdainful and above all suspicious looks towards her; then there were the followers of Eilistraee, their looks less disdainful, but no less suspicious. Feeling rather conspicuous as yet another pair of dark elven eyes turned to watch her passage, Jen wished that she wore a cloak so she could draw the hood up and become just another anonymous figure going about their daily business. Not that that would work in this situation she thought ruefully, looking ahead of her to the almost predatory form of Valen as he stalked ahead of them, playing the alpha male for all it was worth. Ironically, Nathyrra was nowhere to be seen; she was too practised in skulking in the shadows for Jen, with her newly enhanced ability to see in the dark, to spot her if she didn?t want to be seen quite yet.

It took them a good half an hour to reach their destination; on Jen?s part, it was a good half an hour of uncomfortable silences and feeling rather like a carnival sideshow exhibit. About halfway through their journey, after realising that Valen was indeed going to ignore her completely, Nathyrra had relinquished the shadows and come to walk beside Jen, offering her titbits of information about the buildings they passed: their history, who had once owned them, the crimes committed in them. After the fourth story of grisly murder on the same street, the half elf had become to feel rather sickened by it all, and felt a deep yearning to be out of this dark place and back upon the surface once again. Sure, such crimes were committed there too, but they weren?t spoken of so candidly, as if they were rather cleverly pulled off japes rather than scenes of twisted murder, rape and torture. It didn?t help that all the way through it, Valen kept up a punishing pace, obviously determined to show Jen that although he had agreed to help her, he was firmly in charge.

They eventually came to a section of the city that rang with the sound of steel against steel and the shouts of commanding officers drilling their troops in a language Jen didn?t understand. Although close up it seemed a lot of people, she could see that their forces were pitifully few; a couple of battalions, no more. Upon seeing their arrival, the nearest Sergeant at Arms turned and offered Valen a sharp salute; Valen then strode over to join him, and after exchanging a few words with the drow, beckoned the rest of them over.

?Imloth is with Naldrin?s squad, to the east of the encampment,? he informed them. ?Tatholaer has sent a runner ahead of us to notify him of our arrival.? The drow Sergeant standing next to him nodded. Unsure of what to do considering she had not been properly introduced, Jen smiled at Tatholaer.

He did not return the gesture.

Allowing her smile to slide off her face, Jen crossed her arms over her chest, looked at the floor and wondered if anyone in this godsforsaken place apart from Nathyrra was going to respond to her in any way other than with barely veiled contempt.

It only took Imloth a short while to arrive. As Master at Arms, Imloth bore the rank of Training Commander and consequently, Jen was expecting to be treated in much the same vein as Valen. It therefore came as a great surprise when, after saluting to the much larger warrior, he also saluted her.

?Ussta Jallil Jenalil. The Seer said you might stop by for intelligence regarding the allies of the Valsharess. Is this the case?? he asked in heavily accented Common.

Completely taken aback, Jen just nodded dumbly at first. At that, Valen rolled his eyes and Nathyrra jabbed her surreptitiously in the ribs, encouraging her to speak up.

?Uh, yes, yes, that is the case, Commander. I, err, need to know about tactics; how to fight them and the like,? Jen near stammered, unused not only to the subject matter, but also the deference one of such importance as Imloth was showing her.

A fleeting look of confusion crossed Imloth?s onyx face before he answered her. ?Of course, Jabbress. What would you like to know??

?I?ve been told that the Valsharess has made allies of the beholders and the illithid and that a cult of necromancers are raising undead for her. Can you?add anything to this??

Jen couldn?t help but notice that Imloth glanced incredulously towards Valen before answering her.

?Not a great deal? We have spies posted around, but there is little to tell, to be honest. The Valsharess is hardly being subtle about things; it is simply a case of ?join or die?.?

?Where are these allies located??

?Mainly to the east of Lith My?athar; they have outposts in the Zhasen - the Wilds. Each outpost is located within a few days trek of each other, as the Imp flies. However, you?ll need to give yourself a few days grace to take marauding bands of Umber Hulks, Koa-toas and Grimlocks into consideration,? Imloth offered Jen a rather ironic smile that had nothing to do with amusement. ?Although, saying that, not many of the local inhabitants have been seen around recently. It seems the Valsharess has been good for something after all. But, there again, she has also done an admirable job of replacing the local inhabitants with Duergar raiding parties ? these are usually led by a drow Commander and up to four Lieutenants,? his countenance took on its former, rather grim cast, ?if I?m honest, I?d much rather face the Koa-toa.?

Jen nodded thoughtfully. ?I see. So we?re going to need to take a good tendays worth of supplies with us, just to make sure we reach each outpost sufficiently prepared.?

?At least, I would say.?

?Any other information you can give me? Numbers, maybe??

Imloth stroked his chin with one long, obsidian finger and looked towards Valen. ?I don?t know? I would say that the Illithid Conclave is, what, about fifty strong, give or take a few??

?At least,? replied the warrior tersely. ?You?re looking at hundreds if you include their thralls.?

Imloth nodded in agreement. ?As for the Beholders; who knows. A normal Hive can support anything from thirty to a hundred Eye Tyrants at a time. It depends how strong their Hive Mother is. I would hope that it is one of the smaller Hives, though; if not, then the Valsharess has grown stronger than we had imagined.?

Valen snorted sardonically. ?The fact that she has enslaved an Archdevil to her service should speak of her strength, Imloth.?

Imloth grinned. ?Watch it, Sut'rinos Shadowbreath. You almost sound like you admire her.?

At that remark, Jen held her breath; she had barely known Valen for an hour, and yet she knew that such a comment could stoke his irascible temper. Thankfully, it seemed that Valen held Imloth in much higher regard than he did her, and rather than beat him to a pulp, a small but decidedly evil grin touched his lips.

?In that case, I do so hope I get to admire her up close, especially with Devils? Bane close to hand,? he quipped, patting the hilt of his flail to accentuate his point.

?Ahhh, I would so love to see the consummation of that meeting, abbil?? smirked Imloth with obvious callous mirth.

At this exchange, Nathyrra rolled her eyes in mock exasperation. ?Jalukul?? she whispered to Jen, tutting under her breath, and although she didn?t know the direct translation of the word, she understood exactly what she meant by her intonation alone: Men?

?What of the undead, Imloth?? Nathyrra broke in, trying to steer the conversation back.

Imloth shrugged. ?Of that, we haven?t been so successful in our endeavours. There seems to be some kind of? village near the source of the undead, but in fear of revealing our hand, we haven?t been able to ask too many questions. We?re mainly guessing that a cult of necromancers is responsible for it all, but we really don?t have any solid evidence that that actually is the case,? he gave Jen a rueful look. ?There, I really have to apologise and say you?re on your own.?

Swallowing hard, Jen pinched the bridge of her nose between two gloved fingers and closed her eyes.

A good fifty Illithid, plus hundreds of thralls, a Hive full of nightmarish aberrations that might number anything up to a hundred strong AND a whole enclave of might-be-necromancers with a possibly unending supply of bodies to resurrect? and they?re expecting you to do this with no knowledge of the terrain, little to no experience of fighting half the foes mentioned and all with the sole help of one drow assassin, one bad tempered fighter and one kobold bard? fantastic. They?re all insane. There is no way we can do this on our own ? visions or not, it?s madness. Pure lunacy.

?Okay? so we have a rough idea of what we might be facing,? said Jen eventually. ?What about resources at our disposal? Weapons, healing? troops??

At the mention of troops, it was Imloth?s turn to close his eyes in rueful resignation. ?Rizolvir ? the local Weapons Smith ? can help you on that front. There are a few merchants around hawking magical goods for S'pdonen ? spellcasters, that is ? for being a completely unscrupulous bastard, Obok Faern Gulhyrs sells the best equipment this side of the River,? he took a deep breath and carried on. ?Healing isn?t as simple; we face major casualties every day, and so need as much of our healing capacity within the walls of the city as possible. Potions, wands, healing packs and scrolls have been made available for you to purchase, and if you come back to the city injured, just speak to any of the Seer?s priestesses ? they will probably heal you for free,? he sighed ruefully. ?I know it sounds callous to make you pay for your equipment, considering all you are doing for us, but it isn?t profiteering; we simply need a way to cover base expenses, mainly spell components. As a spell caster yourself, you must be aware that they aren?t always the cheapest of things to obtain.?

At that, Jen could do nothing else but nod. ?And, dare I ask, what about troops? Or are we to do this mammoth task alone??

Imloth glanced once again to Valen and visibly winced, as if Jen?s question has touched a nerve. ?As much as I would love to be able to offer you a battalion, Jenalil, I simply cannot. You have eyes; you can see how few we are. I need as many troops as I can muster here, in defence of Lith My?athar. If this outpost fails, then all is lost.?

?So all of this is up to me, Nathyrra, Valen and Deekin. Four against hundreds,? Jen said, her tone flat.

?Not quite. I said I couldn?t spare a battalion; I can, however, spare an elite vzahaz ? a small troop of well trained soldiers.?

Valen?s scarlet eyebrows shot up his forehead.

?Has the Seer sanctioned this?? he asked, his tone angry as he stepped forward threateningly, his tail beginning to twitch.

?Not explicitly, no,? replied the drow Commander defensively. ?But she has left training duties to me??

?? And directing the troops to me! You know this, Imloth ? why seek to directly undermine me?? There was no mistaking the malevolent note to Valen?s voice now.

?Not undermine, Sut'rinos ? to help! As powerful as you are, can you truly think of facing a whole Hive of Eye Tyrants on your own? I know I can?t! And that is what we are essentially asking Jen to do!? he shook his head. ?It?s? it?s not fair, Valen. This is no way intended as an insult to you ? it?s just good sense.?

Hearing Imloth?s justification, Jen felt a rush of gratitude towards the drow; Valen stepped back away from him, the look upon his face both hostile and mollified. ?I? suppose I can see your point,? he answered eventually as he folded his arms over his chest once more. ?But that does not mean I agree with you making such decisions without consulting me first.?

?When you?re travelling with Jen, I?ll have to make decisions like this all the time. You won?t be here,? stated Imloth matter-of-factly.

Both Jen and Nathyrra flinched slightly at this rather uncomfortable home truth and glanced at Valen, readying themselves for a violent outburst. The warrior didn?t comply, however; instead his face simply froze, his previous good rapport with the drow Commander now completely evaporated away, like morning dew in hot noonday sun.

?Who are you sending to help us?? Nathyrra asked eventually, hoping to diffuse the oppressive atmosphere that had settled upon them.

Imloth?s eyes flickered towards Valen for a fleeting moment before refocusing again upon the drow and half elven females.

?Come with me, ? he answered. ?It would be simpler if you just met them.?

[Mistress Elysia]

Chapter Three ? Beggars Are Rarely Also Choosers.

At his offer, Jen followed Imloth wordlessly. She felt surprisingly grateful towards him; as far as she was concerned, he was really sticking his neck out for her, no matter what the others thought. Fair enough; in supplying her with allies, he was increasing her chance of breaking the alliances the Valsharess had formed and therefore ultimately serving the Seer and Lith My?athar, but these little details didn?t bother her one bit ? more allies on her side meant there was a greater chance that she and Deekin might actually survive this madness, which was, considering the way she had been drafted into this war, her main goal.

Picking their way through the ordered chaos of sparring dark elves, Jen wondered exactly who had been assigned to her cause, and whether they were going to be as happy about it as Valen seemed to be. The thought made her stomach flip unhappily; the last thing she needed was a whole bunch of surly, petulant, emasculated males to resent her ? it was bad enough having one. Still, Imloth had reassured her that they were field veterans - survivors of past engagements whose comrades-in-arms had been killed and were therefore technically without troops of their own and in need of a new assignment. The fact that they had survived what were undoubtedly bloody battles was both a comfort and a worry for Jen; on one hand, it meant that they knew how to take care of themselves, but on the other, it meant that they had probably lived by leaving dying comrades on the battlefield ? something Jen knew was necessary, but it didn?t mean that she had to like it. Sighing inwardly, she supposed this was the way of war and something soldiers were used to? and she wasn?t a soldier by any stretch of the imagination.

Just before the small group emerged from the tangle of militia honing their skills, Nathyrra touched Jen lightly upon her arm and leaned in close so she could whisper in her ear.

?Do not show any weakness. You are being given drow soldiers; they respect strength. And if you do not have their respect, you have nothing.? She gave Jen a significant look.

?Right. Hard-hearted bitch it is, then,? Jen quipped, trying to inject an element of levity into the situation.

?I?m not joking, Jen,? Nathyrra replied, a serious look upon her face. ?Whoever they are ? followers of Eilistraee or Maeviir rebels ? they are still drow, and we are a proud race that responds to strong leaders.? She gestured surreptitiously with her eyes towards Valen. ?You wouldn?t believe the hard time some of the Maeviir rebels gave him at first.? Seeing Jen?s eyebrows raise incredulously, Nathyrra nodded. ?Yes ? Valen had to earn the right to command them in battle as well,? she then smiled reassuringly, aware that her words might not be the most comforting ones to be given at this time. ?Luckily, you only have to win over a handful of soldiers, and if they give you too hard a time, I will be there to snap at their heels in your name.? She looked up. ?It seems that Imloth and Valen have stopped. We are here.?

After briefly touching the drow female?s arm in thanks, Jen felt the swooping, sinking feeling returning at Nathyrra?s last comment. She then nodded to Imloth?s beckon; before she left, she ducked her head and whispered to Deekin, who has remained uncharacteristically quiet through the recent exchanges - although she could easily guess the reasons for this. If it had been up to her, she would rather liked to have kept quiet, too.

?Stay here, Deek, with Nathyrra. Don?t get involved if things go a bit wrong ? not that I think they will,? she added quickly, not wanting to worry the little kobold unnecessarily. ?I?m sure everything will be okay.?

Deekin looked up at her, his trusting reptilian eyes almost pleading in their desire to believe her.

?Don?t worry, boss; Deekin will stay here. Deekin stay with Nathyrra.? He offered her a wide, toothy smile that was meant, Jen knew, to reassure.

She had to admit to herself that she was grateful for it.

o0o

Leaving Nathyrra, Jen made her way towards Imloth and Valen; the former inclining his head towards her upon her approach, whilst the latter scowled slightly and once again indulged in his habit for arm-crossing. Whether this was for her benefit or for the small group of drow males located behind them that were lounging nonchalantly against some rocks that marked the border of the training grounds, each one weighing her up in his own mind as she approached, she did not know; nevertheless, she strived to make herself appear as relaxed and aloof as possible.

No females. Interesting. I wonder why that is?

From behind her, she heard a sharp intake of breath and sensed Nathyrra quickly close the distance between them. Jen didn?t dare glance behind her to see what had made the drow female hurry towards her in case the males in front of her saw it as seeking solace from another female, and so instead just stopped silently in front of Imloth, awaiting an introduction.

Nathyrra was not nearly so restrained.

?Imloth!? she hissed, her fury plain. ?Ele ph' udos ghil? Zhaunyl dos xun naut talinth nindel udos zhal'la malar reztorm suul nindolen... glennen??

I really need to learn some drow, Jen thought ruefully to herself. It?d make this so much easier?

Imloth?s expression was one of stone.

?Because I know they are the best, Nathyrra. They may not be the strict followers of Eilistraee you would wish them to be, but they have sworn their allegiance to me.? He inclined his head to Jen. ?And to you.?

Jen took a moment to study the small group in front of her before commenting. Nathyrra, on the other hand, hissed under her breath.

The group numbered five in total; she guessed that one was a mage by his robed attire, the others fighters of some kind since they all had swords of varying sizes strapped to hip and - in the case of the one that carried a greatsword ? back. They all wore their delicately boned faces as impassive masks - something the half elf was rather getting used to - and said nothing to her during her short scrutiny of them.

Rather than beat around the proverbial bush, Jen decided to get straight to business.

?Who are they, then, and why does Nathyrra seem less than pleased to see them??

Imloth seemed a little taken aback at the directness of her question; in contrast, the slight smile that touched the corners of Valen?s lips indicated that he appreciated it ? at last, it seemed she had done something right in the dour fighter?s eyes. Rather than allow Imloth to answer the question, Nathyrra interrupted.

?They are rebels ? and suspected devotees of The Masked Lord!? she near barked.

?And that?s bad how?? Jen?s brow wrinkled a little in confusion.

?Vhaeraun is just as bad as Lolth!? exclaimed the drow assassin, her usual calm demeanour lost. ?The Masked Lord is the drow god of thieves and trickery, Jen. He might oppose The Spider Queen, but that does not mean we want his followers to be the ones guarding our backs.? She gave Jen a significant look. ?It makes you wonder in what exact circumstances the rest of their units died.?

At that, one of the drow males kicked himself casually off the rock he was leaning against and sauntered insolently over to join in the conversation, a look of faint amusement upon his face.

?Ussta Jallil, you do us a disservice. We pledged our allegiances, just as everyone has here; we have no wish to see the Valsharess succeed.? He spoke in the same, heavily accented Common as Imloth, but his voice was richer and more fluid somehow. Despite herself, Jen couldn?t help but notice that he was also incredibly handsome in a cold, almost dangerous way. Quite why she had noticed this, though, Jen couldn't say. He turned to the half elf and inclined his head towards her, fixing her with curiously jade green eyes. ?We also pledge our allegiances to you, Jallil d' Ssussun. I am Xen?shai Aleanath, once a Deathsinger to Matron Mother Chesriina of House Aleanath, now a Houseless rogue.? He smiled, a mischievous twinkle dancing in his eyes. ?Those who follow the Dark Maiden of Stars label any male who refuses to join in their worship as a devotee of the Masked Lord. Especially those converts with the most to hide? eh, Nathyrra??

At that, Nathyrra balled her fists as if fighting the urge to draw her rapier and tossed her head back in a blatant gesture of assumed superiority. ?I know of your exploits, Xen?shai,? she spat back, obviously incensed. ?You defied your Matron from within and have consorted with known clerics of Masked Lord.? She gestured towards the other four males. ?You count Tsabandiir Hla?aneld as one of your number and everyone knows whom he draws his spells from!?

Rather than being intimidated, the Deathsinger simply smiled again, looking faintly amused.

?And what of it? My Matron joined the Valsharess ? I had no desire whatsoever to be involved in such an alliance. So I simply decided to take matters into my own hands to ensure things turned out the way I wanted them to. As for Tsabandiir; he is the nearest thing to a cleric that is allowed out of Lith My?athar ? you should be grateful. You know the saying: L' ogglinn d'lil ogglinn zhah ussta abbil ? the enemy of my enemy is my friend?? he quirked an eyebrow. ?I am sure you have. This is one of those situations, d'anthe jallil.?

?And I am sure you have heard of another saying, Elghinnsunduiri: Er'griff natha wael gultahen ukt rath xuileb erg'les ulu natha velve!?

In response, Xen?shai laughed. ?Ahhh, but you will not be offering your back willingly to us, will you, Jallil?? He turned to Jen and winked roguishly. ?And why would I wish to harm such a pretty back anyway?? He then gestured towards Valen, leaving Jen to fight back a blush that was threatening to crawl up her neck and lay siege to her face. ?Especially one that has the Errdegah-chath at her beck and call. We are not stupid; we wish to see the Valsharess stopped as much as you do. I give you my word ? even though we are not followers of your Dark Lady of the Stars, we will fight by your side as comrades in arms.?

The four other drow nodded in agreement, their demeanour solemn.

Nathrrya?s eyes narrowed, her stance now tense and guarded. Before she could voice any more reservations, Imloth spoke up.

?I would not offer you assistance that I do not trust myself, Jen. Most of these males have fought at my side in the past ? if you had seen the fervour in which they dispatched our enemies, you would not be in any doubt of their sincerity with regards to defeating the Valsharess.? He glanced towards Nathyrra, and for the first time Jen saw something approaching contempt within his calm, crimson eyes. ?I have noticed that it is sometimes? hard for females that once held positions of power such as yourself, Nathyrra, to accept this.? He refocused upon Jen. ?It is up to you as to whether you accept the assistance that is being offered you, however ? but, please, just remember: L'uss xuileb kestal vel'uss jorosen shlu'ta'naut mziln tlu l' uss vel'uss detholare.

At that, Xen?shai snorted in amusement, covering his smile with a gloved hand; Nathyrra, on the other hand, sighed angrily and Valen ? who had been unusually quiet throughout the whole meeting ? raised a single crimson brow quizzically. Jen, feeling a little confused and more than annoyed at the feeling that she had been excluded from some kind of private joke, just wished she understood what Imloth had said.

Determined not to show that she was irritated, Jen turned her attention back to the four drow who remained by the rocks. She hadn?t forgotten that Nathyrra had implied that one of them might be a cleric of some kind? and equated to at least some kind of healing, which was something their little party sorely lacked. Studying the males, she had to admit that they did indeed look competent; each one seemed comfortable to be scrutinised and wore their various weapons with easy confidence, leaving no doubt in Jen?s mind that they were not there for show and knew exactly how to use them.

Seeing her interest, Xen?shai leaned in behind her, keeping just enough distance to stop himself from being seen as impolite, but close enough to make the half elf feel slightly uncomfortable as his hair tickled the back of her arms, making her shiver.

?An impressive sight, aren?t they?? he murmured softly.

Jen glanced nervously towards him and shrugged her shoulders slightly in an evasive, non-committed way.

?They?re ? we?re ? willing to fight by your side, Jabbress. Imloth has explained your need. You have had far too much responsibility piled up upon your shoulders,? to emphasise his point, the drow laid a light hand upon her shoulder, the corner of his lips lifting in a small, secret smile as he felt Jen tense up. ?We can? ease the burden of some of that responsibility.?

?I? appreciate that,? Jen replied quietly, unsure of what else to say. To her relief, she then felt a larger, much more uncompromising figure stand beside her and pull the drow away from her wordlessly. For the first time since she had met him, Jen felt thankful for Valen?s intervention as he took Xen?shai?s place behind her.

?What do you think?? she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

It took Valen so long to reply that the half elf physically turned her head to look up at him, wondering if he had actually heard her.

?Imloth has a point,? he replied eventually. ?Beggars can rarely also be choosers. And whether I trust them or not-? he gestured at the four drow he could see with his eyes ?- isn?t the issue; I trust Imloth. And I trust myself. They have sworn fealty to the Seer and therefore will not betray you, especially whilst I am around ? I will see to that.?

?He called you the... Errdegah-chath,? Jen said quietly, trying to repeat the unfamiliar syllables as correctly as she could. ?What does that mean??

She felt Valen stiffen slightly behind her. ?That is not important now. What is important is that you make a decision. All of this hesitation is making you look weak.? He then stood back from her, as if to emphasise his point.

Taking one last look at the assembled drow, Jen turned back to Imloth and the others.

?Thank you, Imloth. I am grateful for the offer.? She inclined her head to the drow commander with a smile and then focused her attention upon Xen?shai. ?When can you be ready??

Realising that Jen meant to accept the offer of help, Nathyrra?s brows knitted together in furious disagreement, obviously deeply unhappy regarding the half elf?s choice. In contrast, Xen?shai smiled and touched his brow lightly with the index and middle finger of his left hand in a lazy, rather louche salute.

?We can be ready whenever you need us, Jallil d' Ssussun. Just give us the word.?

?Then give us an hour and meet us at the city gates,? said Jen. She looked back to Nathyrra. ?Or will we need more time??

Nathyrra didn?t bother to answer her.

?An hour should suffice,? Valen replied gruffly after Nathyrra remained silent. ?All we need to do is gather our supplies, and that shouldn?t take long.?

[Mistress Elysia]

Four ? Introductions

It took the small group just over half an hour to gather the supplies they needed for their first foray out into the wild Underdark beyond Lith My?athar. During their spree, Valen had left them to collect his own backpack that he had left in his quarters, arranging to meet them alongside the drow once they had finished; this wouldn?t have bothered Jen much if it hadn?t been for the fact that Nathyrra was still largely ignoring her for her decision to allow Imloth?s recruits to join them.

After visiting her third merchant in a row, Jen was grateful she had decided to spend what, at the time, had seemed to be a vast sum of gold on a Bag of Holding; without it, she doubted she could have carried what appeared to be some kind of mountain comprised of dry rations and other mundane items, let alone the rest of her equipment. She was also pleased ? and more than a little relieved ? to find that the city was not besieged by spiders; although the décor would suggest that the creatures were popular amongst the drow, Nathyrra rather stiffly explained that they were the sole preserve of the Spider Queen, and that since she held no sway in the city anymore, they were no longer welcome there.

Once the had finished with their third and final merchant, Jen looked around herself, trying to see if she could judge how long they had spent shopping; she simply had no idea how much time they had before they needed to meet up with the Valen and the drow recruits. Turning to Nathyrra, she steeled herself for another curt, uncomfortable exchange.

?How much time do you think we have? Before we have to meet up with Valen, that is,? Jen asked, carefully ensuring her voice sounded light and non confrontational and deciding not to mention Xen?shai at all.

Nathyrra turned a cool crimson gaze upon the half elf. ?Not long. Perhaps half an hour, if that.?

?How do you tell??

?You get used to the passage of time here. ?She then pointed to the temple of Lolth that dominated the city from the square. ?That and the main spire of the temple glows brightest during what would be moon-time upon the surface. The Seer enchanted it so that the Dark Maiden may be worshipped properly.?

?Oh.? Jen couldn?t think of anything else to add.

Deekin peered up at the Spire, eager to help.

?So it?s? halfway to brighttime, boss.? A small look of confusion mingled with disappointment crossed his face. ?Deekin doesn?t know what that means.?

Giving Deekin a slightly condescending look, Nathyrra turned away from them again.

Jen shared a significant look with the kobold and sighed. ?Nathyrra? I know you?re not happy with regards to the decision I have made??

?You are right ? I am not happy. But not for the reasons you might think,? Nathyrra interrupted. ?You do not know how things work in the Underdark. The politics of it all.?

Jen shook her head. ?You?re right ? I don?t. But I do know that we have been sent out to deal with dangerous?? she paused and shrugged ?? people, creatures, beings - see, I don?t even really know what I?m facing half the time! ? and so I figure that if someone who does know is offering to help, then grab it with both hands.? The half elf gave the drow a weary, resigned smile.

With a resigned smile of her own, Nathyrra nodded. ?I? guess I can appreciate that sentiment, Jen,? she replied eventually. ?I just wish that we had been offered rather more trustworthy people to guard our backs.?

?What is it about Xen?shai you don?t like?? Jen asked, curiously.

Nathyrra gave her a guarded look. ?Xen?shai has been associated with? rebel activities for a long time, although whether he really is a devotee of the Masked Lord, he?s not about to admit it publicly and it?s never actually been publicly proven.?

?In that case, maybe he just isn?t what you think he is,? Jen reasoned. ?Maybe he is innocent.? She thought back to the Deathsinger. ?Well, as innocent as he can be.?

?Xen?shai? Innocent?? Nathyrra raised a snowy eyebrow and chuckled. ?Hardly. No ? for a drow male without a House, he is far too confident. He has support elsewhere ? be it from the Masked Lord?s clergy or the Masked Lord himself, I am not sure? but he managed to band together those males we have now recruited rather too quickly for there not to be a reason.?

Jen?s brow furrowed. ?So he?s a lone male with the?? Jen hesitated ? she was going to say ?charisma?, but for some reason decided she did not want to use the word ?? ability to draw others to him?why is that so bad? Why does he have to be affiliated with a House??

Nathyrra shook her head. ?Jen? if I had the time, I would explain all drow customs and politics to you, but, as you are aware, I don?t. Basically, we live in a matriarchy, with the Matron Mothers in charge.?

?Yeah, I got that. It still doesn?t explain why opting out of that system is so bad.?

?Because it just isn?t the done thing, Jen,? Nathyrra explained with an emphatic hand gesture to the heavens. ?Males have no status in drow society without the support of the females. Whether you are male or female, to have no House is to have nothing; is to be nothing. And in such a hostile place as the Underdark, to give up any position you have ? no matter what it is ? is tantamount to suicide.?

?Like kobold without master,? Deekin commented. ?Kobold need master to protect kobold clan, whether master is nice or not. Apart from Deekin, of course.? He gave Jen a loyal look. ?Deekin have boss.?

Jen smiled at Deekin, noticing once again the slightly confused look that crossed Nathyrra?s face each time the kobold made his undivided allegiance to the half elf plain. She then nodded slowly, her attention focused back on Nathyrra, a thoughtful look upon her face. ?And so for a male to do that to himself??

?? yes, I see you?re beginning to understand now, ?Nathyrra nodded. ?It either takes a lot of guts, a lot of stupidity or a lot of confidence that there is something out there to help you to do what Xen?shai and his cronies did.?

?What about the other males? Are they all in the service of this ?Masked Lord???

?No,? smiled Nathyrra. ?Most of them are open devotees of Eilistraee, the Dark Maiden. Some have come from one of the few drow enclaves that are found on the surface ? this one located near Waterdeep; others the Seer has rescued and converted.? She frowned. ?What worries me is that usually the followers of the Masked Lord will have nothing to do with those of us that worship the Dark Maiden; in fact, they traditionally cause us nothing but grief. For them to join us willingly? it is disturbing, to say the least.?

?Maybe it is just a case of ?needs must in times of strife?,? said Jen in a reassuring manner. ?The Valsharess is as much a threat to them as she is to you. It?s times like these when people do put aside their differences and work together towards a common goal ? they simply don?t have any other choice at their disposal. Work together, or face the consequences.?

At that, Nathyrra grinned widely, and Jen could see that she had been truly forgiven. ?Ahhh, Jenalil? you are such an optimist; always trying to see the best in people.? She laid a hand upon Jen?s forearm and squeezed it gently in a spontaneous gesture of unity. ?Once I would have seen it as a weakness, but now? now I can see that it is your strength.?

At the gesture, Jen grinned gratefully.

?You know, I?m really glad to have you on my side, Nathyrra. If it was just Valen?? She allowed the sentence to trail off with a shrug.

The drow nodded ruefully. ?He is being? difficult, I know, but in a way, I can understand it. Before you came here, he was our main line of defence; he?s kept us safe, and he hasn?t done this by being open and friendly to strangers.? She smiled. ?Don?t worry ? he will come round. It?ll just take time.? She then looked up towards the Spire and sighed. ?And talking of time??

?Time to go?? Jen asked.

?Indeed.?

o0o

The small group of drow recruits were already waiting by the city gates by the time Jen, Nathyrra and Deekin arrived. Valen, on the other hand, was conspicuous by his absence and was nowhere to be seen.

Upon seeing the two females? approach, Xen?shai straightened himself up from the nonchalant slouch he had positioned himself in and offered them both a lazy salute and roguish smile. Nathyrra?s stance grew guarded again, and her face became as an obsidian mask, cool and expressionless. Jen, however, had never been able to perfect such a cold demeanour, and so decided to stick with what she knew and smiled back.

?Jallil d' Ssussun!? the Deathsinger near purred as he approached, and by way of greeting, took Jen?s hand and raised it to his lips briefly, causing the half elf to fight a blush once again. ?Jabbress Jenalil, we have waited patiently for your arrival. For a little while, we worried you might not come?? he raised an eyebrow pointedly as he let go of Jen?s hand and then turned his attention to Nathyrra. ?And you, Nathyrra. I take it you have informed Jen of everything she needs to know?? His tone was one of pure innocence, but there was a flicker of challenge deep within his eyes.

Nathyrra answered his question with a withering glare.

?Siyo,? she answered abruptly.

?Good? good? we should all be informed as to what we are getting ourselves into, don?t you agree, Jenalil??

Glancing at Nathyrra, Jen nodded dumbly.

?Speaking of being informed? where is the Errdegah-chath? We thought he would be with you?? Xen?shai asked, his face now a picture of concern.

?Uh, Valen?s okay? he went to get things. Supplies and the like. For the journey. Well, that?s what he said. He?s going to meet us here?? Jen trailed off under the Deathsinger?s scrutiny, painfully aware that she sounded like a stuttering fool.

?I see. We shall wait for him here??

?That is what we agreed,? snapped Nathyrra

Xen?shai turned his attention to the other female for a moment, his face carefully blank, before refocusing back on Jen. The gesture was pure insolence, and upon seeing the furious tic that flitted across Nathyrra?s face, the half elf had no doubts in her mind that had he acted like this in front of a female in normal drow society, he would have been in a lot of trouble indeed.

?Maybe it is time for you to meet the others that will be fighting by your side?? he smiled, gesturing with one delicate ebon hand towards the other four drow that lounged by the gate and taking the half elf gently by the arm with the other.

Allowing herself to be propelled forward, Jen stole a last backwards glance towards Nathyrra, whose jaw had now tightened, a small furrow upon her brow. Seeing Jen?s glance, she gave a small, curt shake of her head, indicating that Jen should not let the Deathsinger take the upper hand in the situation.

Deciding to take the assassin?s mute advice, Jen shook Xen?shai?s hand from her arm and squared her shoulders, preparing herself to meet the others; in response, the Deathsinger gave her a fleeting, slightly calculating look from the corner of his eye, giving Jen the impression that this was all just an amusing game to him.

Unfortunately, it was a game that Jen didn?t currently know the rules for.

She wondered if she ever would.

o0o

Nathyrra looked on warily whilst Jen was introduced to the rest of the drow troop, barely noticing the tall figure of Valen approach her. Seeing the serious look upon her face, the horned warrior frowned and dropped his pack by his feet.

?What?s going on?? he asked quietly.

?Xen?shai is introducing Jen to his cronies,? replied Nathyrra, not taking her eyes off the exchange.

?How well is it going??

?Not well.? Nathyrra turned a grim face to him. ?Xen?shai is totally dominating her.?

Valen shrugged. ?He?ll do that if she lets him.?

?I don?t think she?s used to dealing with people like Xen?shai and his brother, Valen,? the drow chastised softly.

?Then it begs the question: why is she here?? The warrior?s face was impassive, but there was a definite, tight edge to his voice.

Nathyrra rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her stomach. ?Valen, she is not here to usurp you. She is here to help us.?

?So says the Seer.?

The assassin looked at him incredulously. ?Is that why you went back? To again try to convince Mother Seer that she is wrong??

?I went to collect my pack.?

Nathyrra?s eyes narrowed as she studied the warrior?s face for any sign of emotion, but the shutters had well and truly been thrown up; if he was lying to her, he wasn?t giving away any clues. Shaking her head, the drow female decided to change tack and refocused her attention upon the meeting.

?I don?t trust him,? she commented between gritted teeth after a short while.

?I don?t trust her,? Valen deadpanned by way of response.

o0o

Upon the half elf?s approach, the other drow males didn?t bother to straighten up; they just gazed impassively at her, each one surrounded by a palpable air of self confidence that Jen found just a little unsettling.

Gesturing to the first dark elf, Xen?shai began to make his introductions.

?This is Szinaufein,? he said, motioning the fighter with twin blades strapped to his hips. ?He is the nearest thing to what you on the surface might call a Ranger, and the youngest amongst us.?

Szinaufein inclined his head towards Jen. ?It? pleasure,? he commented eventually in broken Common. ?I fight with you. Fight against Valsharess.? As if to emphasise his point, he smiled; this only emphasised his youth, and due to this Jen couldn?t help but smile back.

The Deathsinger continued with his introductions with a slightly pointed cough.

?Next, we have Tsabandiir.? From behind her, Jen heard a derisive snort, obviously coming from Nathyrra; the half elf was positive that Xen?shai heard it, but chose to ignore it. ?He is, like you, a rogue. Isn?t it good to have something in common??

Jen stole a sideways glance at that decided odd and slightly condescending question, trying to discern exactly why Xen?shai had asked it? and, upon seeing the scowl that now sat upon Tsabandiir?s face, who it was actually aimed at.

?Kyorl dosst ooble', Elghinnsunduiri?? the drow rogue hissed in a low voice.

Xen?shai raised a silvery eyebrow and pursed his lips in disapproval for a mere second before reverting back to his habitual half-smile.

?Tsabandiir extends his welcome. Please excuse him; he understands your surfacer tongue, but does not speak it well. Hopefully that will be remedied in time.?

Tsabandiir?s scowl deepened.

?Nathyrra said he can cast spells, too?? Jen asked hesitantly.

Xen?shai?s almost shark-like smile widened again.

?Ahhh, you were listening before.? His eyes slid to where Nathyrra was standing. ?Or maybe dear Nathyrra has given you more information? No matter; you are correct. Tsabandiir has the ability to cast some healing spells. Useful, no??

Again, Xen?shai?s odd question and rather condescending tone made Jen feel rather like she was playing a somewhat complicated, uncomfortable game.

?Well, healing?s always a bonus...? she replied, unsure of what else to say.

?Indeed it is, Jallil d' Ssussun. Having Tsabandiir with us gives us a clear advantage, does it not??

?Yes? I suppose so?? Jen hazarded guardedly.

This time, it was the drow rogue?s turn to snort.

Ignoring this, Xen?shai indicated towards the next drow. She had noticed before that he was the tallest of the group, but upon seeing him up close, Jen paled a little and had to hold in a gasp; every piece of exposed skin apart from his face was covered in scars, carven images of spiders and cobwebs. She couldn?t imagine why anyone would want to do that to himself.

?Next is Rizonym, a fearsome fighter who has paid the price for defying his Matron.? Xen?shai made a show of shaking his head sadly. ?Normally, he would have paid with his life... but, despite his rebellious tendencies, Rizonym was still one of his Mistress?? ah, favourites, and so she decided to torture him instead.? Xen?shai winked mischievously at Jen, as if sharing a rather amusing secret. ?She did cast a permanent spell of silence upon him as well as painting his body to remind him where his loyalties should lie. ?Xen?shai leaned a little closer towards Jen so he could whisper in her ear and gave her a significant look. ?His Mistress did not want to cut out his tongue.?

Jen?s brow wrinkled for a moment as she puzzled out why that would be the case. ?Why didn?t she want to do that? A permanency spell is expensive?

At that, Xen?shai glanced over to the drow Jen guessed might be a mage with a slyly wicked smile touching his lips ? a smile that the other drow, rather worryingly, returned.

?Folt biu vassnti...? he murmured, his voice like silk. ?It would be wise if you thought before you spoke. Take a moment to think about it.?

Taking his advice, Jen did just that. When it eventually dawned upon her what he might be alluding to she went an impressive shade of crimson and now feeling embarrassed as well as uncomfortable, Jen leaned away from the Deathsinger a little.

?C? can he talk now??

It was Rizonym that answered, his voice slow and ponderous.

?Yes. The Seer broke the enchantment for me. I am grateful.?

?Oh. I see.?

The scarred drow did not reply and just regarded her silently.

?He does not speak much; a century or more of silence will do that to you,? Xen?shai broke in. ?But you would want no other at your back.? The Deathsinger raised an eyebrow and then moved on to the last drow in the group, the one who wore the attire of a mage.

?And last, but by no means least, this is my half brother, Jehk?ril,? Xen?shai grinned broadly at the drow he had shared the sly smile with, clapping him lightly upon the back. Jehk?ril grinned back.

Oh great. Two of them? thought Jen with an internal sigh.

?It is an honour to fight by your side,? Jehk?ril offered, the sentiment of his words not quite matching his tone.

Having been taught not to lie, Jen did not answer him; this, however, just seemed to amuse both the mage and the Deathsinger alike.

o0o

Valen and Nathyrra continued to observe the introductions: the drow with a sense of cold anger, the horned warrior with an air carefully contrived detachment. However, if someone had studied his eyes closely they would have seen the obvious flicker of fury deep within them.

After the exchange between Jen, Xen?shai and Rizonym, Valen balled his hands into fists. ?Trust or not; some lines aren?t crossed,? he muttered under his breath. Upon hearing those words, Nathyrra glanced up at him.

?See how she handles it,? the drow murmured in a quietly mollifying voice .

?They?re toying with her,? Valen said, his voice a low growl.

?I know. It angers me too. If things get out of hand then step in by all means? but just bear in mind that if you charge to her side like some knight of legend, they will never respect her.?

At that, Valen?s jaw tightened, but he did not respond

o0o

?You?re brothers??

Jehk?ril inclined his head. ?Half brothers, Jallil d?Ssussun. We share the same mother. Normally family plays little part in drow society, but we are not part of normal drow society, and so we value each other highly.?

Jen thought of her own half brother, and the simple love she felt for him. Somehow, she couldn?t see Xen?shai and Jehk?ril feeling the same way about each other as she did about Renlan.

?I can appreciate that, I suppose.?

Jehk?ril then looked past her, his gaze falling upon Deekin. ?Is that your familiar?? he asked a little disdainfully.

?No,? replied Jen, matching his scathing tone. ?His name is Deekin.?

?So, a pet, then??

Jen gave Jehk?ril a cool look. ?No. He?s a bard.?

Jehk?ril offered her an incredulous look. ?Truly? A kobold bard? I have never heard of such a thing before.?

Aware that he was being spoken about, Deekin strummed his lyre self consciously. ?Deekin is bard - not usual for kobolds, but Deekin very rare, very different. Still a bard, though. Boss made it so. It why Deekin travels with boss a long time.?

?Boss?? Jehk?ril commented faintly. ?How? quaint.? He turned to his half brother, smirking a little. ?Dalninuk, it looks like you have competition??

For the first time since she had met him, Xen?shai did not look pleased.

?There is a world of difference between a Deathsinger and just being a bard, Jehk?ril,? he said, a slightly icy edge to his voice.

Jehk?ril?s amusement deepened at his brother?s displeasure. ?But do you not both sing songs in battle, Xen?shai?? He gave Jen a conspiratorial wink. ?I prefer to rain down death from above? but each to their own, I suppose.?

?Tlu suust lu' vrine'winith galla ulu toun l' jalil,? Xen?shai responded in a low voice. ?Usstan zhaun ol uriu tlus fol draeval, drill dosst brou'ka xo'an ulu morfeth uns'aa lor myar uns'aa orn naut morfeth ilta nuor wun ulu dosst orlingg jala qeeh.?

Jen had no idea what Xen?shai had just said, but it sounded for all the world like a reprimand. Jehk?ril on the other hand, just raised his eyebrows and smirked. ?We shall see??

Seeing Jen?s confusion, Xen?shai softened his expression. ?We should not speak drow around Jenalil. It is unfair.?

?Maybe we could? teach her?? offered Jehk?ril, the smirk still firmly in place.

Before Xen?shai could answer, one large, gauntleted hand descended down and came to rest upon the Deathsinger?s shoulder; the other did the same, with Jehk?ril as its target, pulling the two of them far apart.

?That?s enough,? growled Valen, his visage, if anything, sterner than ever. ?There will be time for? small talk later.? He gave both the drow males a slightly distasteful look. ?Now, we have to get going.?

Xen?shai and Jehk?ril both returned the large warrior?s look with one that promised violence, then, remembering themselves, backed up as graciously as they could without losing any more face.

Surprised as she was, Jen gave the warrior a grateful look.

It was a look that Valen did not return as he turned to face the city gates.

[Mistress Elysia]

Chapter Five ? Into the Zhasen

The gates to Lith My?athar were large, iron wrought affairs that gave any potential visitor no doubt as to whom the inhabitants of the city were; adamantite spiders festooned every square inch of the barbed portal, filigreed with delicately spun threads of silver that represented the cobwebs upon which actual arachnids lived. As with the city, there was a shocking conflict between violence and beauty to the gates that unnerved Jen more than she would ever admit ? not that she really needed anything more to unnerve her at that current moment.

Looking around herself, the half elf?s anxiety only increased when she saw how seemingly relaxed the rest of her ragtag group of allies was. They all exuded the air of the veteran soldier; experienced hands at this type of thing. Whilst Jen was no amateur upon the battlefield and had plenty of hard won victories under her belt, the fact that she had been told that ? whether they believed it or not ? she would lead a miscellaneous collection of idealists and rebels to triumph weighed heavily upon her shoulders.

A survivor ? a fighter, in more ways than one ? she may be. An intentional hero, however?

For the first time in what seemed an age, she thought briefly back to the time she had fought Heurodis and her subsequent time upon the Plane of Shadow. Deekin had been with her, as had Dorna and Xanos.

Dorna and Xanos? I wonder what they are doing now?

Jen snorted a little, smiling to herself. Whatever they were doing, it was bound to be better ? and safer- than what she was up to now.

How was that time different to now, I wonder? I suppose then I had no choice: fight or die? there was no thinking involved. Just action. Now?

Her train of thought was broken with the softest of coughs, its purpose to get attention rather than clear the throat. Jen?s head snapped up, her hand instinctively going for the sword strapped to her hip before she remembered exactly where she was and who she was with.

?I said, what do you think??

It had been Nathyrra who had coughed, but Valen who had asked her the question. He was standing to the left of her with an expression of impatient irritation upon his face.

?Uh, sorry? can you ride that by me again??

For a second, Jen thought she could actually see his right eye tic with suppressed anger.

?We have been discussing tactics whilst you have been?daydreaming,? he said, his deep voice noticeably clipped, no more than a growl.

?Valen?? said Nathyrra softly with the slightest undercurrent of warning in her tone.

The horned man ignored the drow, his intense, accusing stare still fixed upon Jen, making her squirm uncomfortably and wish fervently that she had been listening instead of trying to order events in her head.

Rescue came from the unlikeliest of sources.

?Now, now, Errdegah-chath? do not be so unreasonable. Jenalil has been through much in the past few days; she is bound to be preoccupied.? Xen?shai stepped up beside Jen and offered her the sincerest of looks before turning back to Valen, whereupon his expression took on the perfect appearance of righteous indignation. ?That she has not had time to sort through, and come to terms with, what she has been asked ? nay, forced ? to do is tantamount to a crime. Are you so surprised that she does not have her full attention upon us??

Jen didn?t think it was possible, but Valen?s expression hardened even further.

?Whether she has had ?time to sort through what she has been forced to do? or not is none of my concern, Deathsinger. My concern is the protection of the Seer and of the people of Lith My?athar. The Valsharess won?t give a damn as to whether the half elf is mentally ready to accept to the reality of what is going on around her; she will strike regardless, and strike with a full compliment of allies if we do not act soon.? He then took a step forward so that he towered over the shorter male; at first it looked like Xen?shai was going to square up to the warrior, but then took a small step backwards with an acquiescing inclination of his head.

Jen let go of her breath in a slow, steady stream, completely unaware of when she had been holding it.

?I am aware of our situation, Shadowbreath,? Xen?shai replied, the usual silky edge to his voice firmly back in place. ?I have lost many comrades in arms to this war, as have we all. That does not change the fact that getting angry with Jenalil solves nothing.?

Even though the drow disturbed her in more ways than one, at that moment in time Jen felt thankful that the Deathsinger was there to help her. The fact that Valen had referred to her as ?the half elf? stung, and so to have seemingly wholehearted support from such an improbable source was actually a comfort. This feeling increased when Nathyrra joined in and supported Xen?shai, something that Jen knew galled the other female more than anything.

?Xen?shai has a point, Valen? I know you are keen to get this over and done with, but it is not Jen?s fault.? She laid a placating hand upon the warrior?s forearm; he shook it off angrily, and after shooting Jen a look of pure venom, stalked away from the group.

o0o

It was Szinaufein that broke the silence that had descended upon the small group after Valen had left. The ranger had been hovering on the edge of the exchange; now it was over, he stepped lightly over with the grace of a dancer and smiled at Jen. Again, she was caught by how young he looked; she guessed that had he been human, he would have been no older than sixteen.

?Errdegah-chath? he have avuna? fury,? he said, concentrating hard upon the unfamiliar syllables he was speaking. ?Not you. He have fury. Worry no. He come back, fight with you not as enemy. As abban ? as ally.? Szinaufein gave her an encouraging nod.

?Szinaufein is right,? Nathyrra added. ?Valen is a man of action? ultimately, he just wants the best for the Seer, and therefore for all of us.?

?That still doesn?t give him the right to play the bully,? Xen?shai said softly, his comment aimed at Nathyrra but his attention fixed firmly upon Jen.

?Zu'tour phor, Xen'shai,? Nathyrra snapped in drow. ?Vrine'winith galla ulu morfeth klezn medose taga nind zhal'la tlu.?

?I am just pointing out the truth??

Nathyrra snorted. ?When you have any inkling of what the truth is, then you can comment. Until then: hold your tongue!?

Xen?shai?s attention slid towards the assassin.

?Asanque? Ilharess?

Jen had no idea what the Deathsinger had said to Nathyrra, but whatever it was, it made the colour drain from the assassin?s face, turning her obsidian face an ashen shade of grey. Looking stricken, Nathyrra took a step back, her former aggression all but lost, only to be replaced with what Jen could only describe as fear. Fear of what, though, the half elf did not know.

?Do? do not call me that!? Nathyrra stammered. ?I only meant we should work together!?

Xen?shai said nothing; her just quirked an eyebrow with a faintly smug air, glancing towards his brother. Jehk?ril mirrored his brother?s look for a second, before smoothing his face back to one of blank impassivity.

?Look? maybe I should go and apologise to Valen. Try to smooth things over,? Jen said, hoping to lighten the atmosphere. She had thought it thick and oppressive when the warrior had stormed off, but that was nothing compared to what hung over the small group of drow now.

?That may be unwise, Jen,? replied Nathyrra, obviously relieved for any change in subject, no matter how slight. ?It wasn?t just your inattentiveness earlier that angered him; he has been angry for some time now. I shall go.?

Jen shook her head. ?No,? she said, her tone final. ?I appreciate that you?re trying to help me and everything, but if he?s going to travel with us, I need to be able to talk to him.?

Nathyrra gave Jen a slightly apprehensive look. ?I know what you are trying to do, Jen? and with time, it may work. But Valen? Valen is not like other men. He needs to come to terms with things in his own time. To force him can be? dangerous.?

?We do not call him Errdegah-chath for nothing,? added Rizonym in his deep, ponderous voice.

Jen took a moment to study each drow face in front of her before making her mind up.

?I don?t care. I?m not going to go through this each time we speak. At the end of the day, we have to work together ? all of us, whether we like it or not ? if we?re going to succeed.?

Without waiting for any of the others to respond, the half elf then turned on one heel and left.

o0o

?Was that wise??

Nathyrra watched as the petite half elven woman she had been told would be the downfall of the Valsharess stalked away from them in pursuit of a man who could pick her up and snap her in half as if she were so much dry kindling if he wanted to.

The drow surrounding her either shrugged or shook their heads.

?She will do what she sees fit,? Xen?shai answered her as he crossed his arms over his chest, his shrewd expression the complete opposite to Nathyrra?s confused one.

?If the Seer is correct, she is the one to lead us in conquering many mighty foes,? added Tsabandiir in his breathy, almost whispery voice. ?If she is indeed the one, then one tiefling should not give her any bother.?

At that, Nathyrra nodded, her attention still focused upon Jen?s retreating figure.

?I hope you are right. For all of our sakes.?

o0o

Stalking away, Valen had to rein in the urge to slam his flail into the rock wall that bordered the wide path outside the city gates; not only would it have been a childish thing to do, but it would also have highlighted just how angry this would situation made him, making him vulnerable.

Even he admitted to himself that it wasn?t so much the half elven female that annoyed him ? she seemed inoffensive enough in a slightly awkward, out-of-her-depth kind of way ? what really irritated him was what she was being trusted to do, all on the strength of a vision.

It irritated him even more that she was being trusted over him.

It had taken him months to gain the trust of the inhabitants of Lith My?athar. Of course, the Seer had been the exception, trusting him straight away; she had, after all, been his saviour and had seen into his soul, so there was no way this side of the Abyss he could lie to her even if he wanted to ? but the others?

Sitting upon one of the many pillow lavas that dotted the pathway, the tiefling drew one knee to his chest and hugged it to him with one well muscled arm, closed his eyes and tried to allow some of the fury that always seemed to boil just below the surface of his soul drain away.

? The other inhabitants of Lith My?athar had been suspicious ? disdainful, even ? of him when he first arrived. He had fought endlessly to escape the Abyss, ransoming his body and soul more times that he would ever admit just to be free; just to see if the woman who had stripped away every last piece of the mindless, malevolent armour he wrapped himself in to glimpse momentarily into his heart - and more importantly, to allow him to do the same ? was real and not the dream he feared she would turn out to be. And after all of this? they doubted him. Even worse, in the case of the rebels who did not hold Eilistraee dear to their hearts, they sneered at him; to them, he was nothing more than a tool to be called upon at will, a puppet whose strings could be pulled by those strong enough to cast the spells needed to summon his like from their Abyssal home plane.

So he had fought again. Fought for the Seer; fought the legions of the Valsharess; fought to prove himself.

Fought to be the man the Seer had shown him he could be if he was only given the chance.

The female Prime would never understand this. She would never appreciate what the Seer had done for him. She would step up, take her place at the head of the army he had struggled to hold together and take from him everything he had striven for without a second thought.

It?s not jealousy, he thought as he stared moodily into the darkness. A small, wry smile touching his lips for a second as he realised there was no point lying to himself. ?Well, okay, maybe a little bit of it is. More that she has no idea what she is doing. What this all means. If she walks away?

He left the thought hanging; even in the confines of his own head, the tiefling didn?t want to contemplate the consequences of their failure. That was why he had volunteered, even though he did not believe in the Seer?s visions nor believe that Jenalil could even begin to do what the Seer had prophesised she would. That was why, no matter how much it galled him, no matter how much it enraged the demon inside, he would help her in any way he could.

o0o

Even though she was still well within sight of the gates to Lith My?athar, each step that took Jen away from the drow group seemed to take her further from civilisation. The stone outside the city was largely unworked and rose in great hexagonal pillars of basalt and immense plumes of pillow lava, lending the landscape an eerie, alien feel ? one that the half elf was finding hard to reconcile.

She found the warrior sitting atop a pillow lava, one knee drawn to his chest with one arm encircling it and an air that she could only describe as ?petulant? surrounding him. Valen hadn?t moved far from the group; just enough to be outside of the enchantment of her circlet, but close enough to be within charging distance if anything decided to ambush them from the shadows. He did not look up when she approached, and since she was not trying to be quiet in any way, she doubted that he wasn?t aware of her presence ? and that meant, as a flare annoyance ignited within her, that he was deliberately ignoring her.

Nurturing the small flame that burned within her, Jen steeled herself for an argument as she approached the odd looking warrior. He seemed deep within thought, but she did not let that fool her; the tension evident in his well-made frame left her in no doubt that he not only knew she was there, but that he was waiting for her to speak first.

She stopped a foot or so from him, one hand resting upon Enserric?s pommel. Even sheathed, the sword still whispered to her, but his voice was muffled and indistinct; this was, considering the insatiable appetite for blood that the blade had, probably a good thing ? the last thing she needed was for Enserric to take advantage of this situation for his own, bloody gain.

After a prolonged and decidedly uncomfortable moment, the horned warrior looked up at her, tilting his head sideways in a way that might have been considered endearingly quizzical if it had not been for the scowl.

?What do you want??

Jen swallowed, all of a sudden not feeling quite so cocky. Angry at herself that he could intimidate her with a simple question, the half elf concentrated hard upon the small flame of anger that had ignited earlier, willing it take hold and spread through out her body and tried to match his intensely icy gaze.

?We need to get going.?

In response, Valen stood up. ?I know,? he growled, intentionally towering over her.

?That is what I was trying to organise.?

Jen fought back the urge to take a step backwards. ?I know? I?m sorry I wasn?t listening, but so much has happened recently??

?More is going to happen,? the warrior interrupted. ?You?ve got to learn to deal with it.?

At that, the half elf couldn?t help but laugh derisively.

?You just don?t let up, do you? I?m trying to apologise ? for something, might I add, that any reasonable person would understand - and you?re still determined to make me feel like some erring child.? She threw her hands up in exasperation. ?I am sorry I got roped into this. I am sorry I took over your coveted position as resident hero. I am sorry I?ve been dubbed ?the saviour? over you. I. Am. Sorry. Okay? Believe me, if I could hand it all over to you and leave this godsforsaken hellhole, I would. But I can?t. I?m stuck here, and if you really want to help me, you?re going to have to learn to live with that!?

For a moment, the warrior just stared at her.

?And that is supposed to make everything all right, is it?? Valen sneered in response. ?Let?s forget that the fate of hundreds, if not thousands, of people depends upon our success; don?t worry, I can just flutter my eyelashes, say I?m not ready and I?m sure that the battle for survival will be delayed until I?ve had a nice hot bath and a few days to scrutinise all my options so that I know exactly what is being asked of me.? The warrior took another step forward so that the rogue had to crane her head up to continue looking at his face. ?This WAR, Jenalil, not some silly skirmish against orcs and kobolds in an airy wood somewhere, where we all have access to true-blue allies and everyone gets to go home early for dinner. Whether you want to fight - whether you are sorry for what has happened ? has nothing to do with anything right now. If we fail, then all is lost. If the Valsharess wins, then say goodbye to your comfortable little surface world way of life, because it simply won?t exist anymore. It is as simple as that.?

For a second, Jen stood, dumbfounded, unable to comprehend the warrior?s arrogance. ?And you honestly believe that I don?t know this?!? she answered incredulously, raising her voice. ?Of course I know! For one, you?ve made sure that I can?t forget it! Even by volunteering for this, you?ve made it quite plain you don?t think I can cope on my own; that I?m just some silly girl who likes to think she can play with swords??

?Oh, don?t give me that!? Valen exploded. ?Don?t twist my words and give me the ?you?re a misogynistic bastard and that?s why you don?t think I can cope? routine - I know you?re capable, Jenalil; you got through Undermountain with less allies than you have now, and that?s no mean feat. But you have to believe me when I say that I will not allow the Seer to be betrayed by anyone ? and that is the reason why I am here. Not that I think you are incapable; nothing so self indulgent. Just that, until you give me a reason to think otherwise, I do not trust you.?

At his outburst, Jen reeled back a little as if she?d been slapped. Upon seeing this, the warrior at least had the decency to step back a little and look to the floor. They stood for a moment, both averting their gazes, caught halfway between facing off and being contrite. It was Jen who broke the silence.

?I know you don?t like me, Valen, but??

?That?s not true,? the horned man interrupted quietly, still looking towards the ground.

Surprised by his interruption, Jen looked up.

?Then why are you so adamant that I?m going to fail?? she asked.

It took Valen a moment to answer the rogue?s question.

?Because I don?t trust you. Whether or not I like you doesn?t come into it ? I hardly know you, so it would be stupid for me to make any such assumptions - and it?s also not that I don?t think you?re capable; it?s just that you haven?t been around. You haven?t seen the carnage that the Valsharess? troops are capable of.? He looked away from her. ?And you can?t possibly have any idea how important the Seer is to me and to these people. We are essentially placing our lives in your hands ? and that doesn?t come easily to me.? He looked back. ?Put yourself in my position for a moment. A stranger with no knowledge of your situation turns up and is put in charge of your future and the future of those you are close to ? and to make it even more difficult to swallow, it?s all on a vision. How would you feel? Happy? Confident? I doubt it.?

It was Jen?s turn to look away. ?And it doesn?t help when it?s all based on a vision you don?t believe in, does it.?

?No.?

She looked back. ?I suppose I can appreciate your position, Valen ? and yes, in your situation, I?d probably feel the same... but, whether you like it or not, this is the position we are in. We have to work together.?

?I know.?

Jen sighed. ?Let me guess. That doesn?t make it any easier.?

Valen gave her a measured look. ?No.?

?So what do you suggest we do??

He shrugged. ?We do our best and go and break some alliances.?

At that, Jen couldn?t help but nod.

But whose alliances will we be breaking, I wonder?

Edited by Mistress Elysia, 28 May 2009 - 11:21 PM.

[Mistress Elysia]

Chapter Six ? Silence is Golden

The half elf made a slow and thoughtful way back to the assembled drow, attempting to sort out everything she had been told ? and everything she had been accused of - in her mind. She now had an inkling as to why Valen had been so negative with regards to her arrival as well as to why he had agreed to join her; the Seer was obviously important to him in some way, although in exactly what way and why, she wasn?t sure. For reasons she would never be able to fathom, this bothered her slightly, and for a moment, she entertained the notion that they might be lovers ? would certainly explain his devotion to her ? but if that was the case, Jen couldn?t see how their relationship could be a healthy one; it seemed that the warrior owed the Seer something, and such relationships built on debt were rarely pure. One thing was certain; he was still definitely holding something back, and even though he had admitted it wasn?t so much her as a person he had a problem with, she still got the distinct impression that she hadn?t won? not that there seemed to be anything worth winning in the first place.

Taking a moment to glance back she saw that the warrior was following a few steps behind her, his expression a curious mixture of sour animosity and dour determination ? in other words, no change from his previous demeanour. Fixing her attention back to the direction in which she was walking, the rogue squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head slightly; some things were probably left alone, she decided. There were far greater things to worry about than whether every single person who fought by her side was her best friend ? as long as she could trust them not to stick a dagger in her back at the first given opportunity, then that was enough.

Ironically, in that respect, she trusted the irascible fighter rather more than the more charming members of the drow band she had so recently allied herself with.

o0o

It was Nathyrra who greeted Jen with a smile; the rest of the drow band were either frowning or looking nervously around themselves, hands hovering over various weapon hilts. Not understanding why, the half elf gave the drow assassin a questioning look; one that was replied not with words, but with an obsidian finger help over polished black lips ? the universal sign for quiet.

Stepping lightly over to Jen, it became apparent that Nathyrra?s smile was a tense one, with her eyes darting to the left and right of her, as if she was expecting to be ambushed at any moment.

?Is everything all right?? she asked as soon as she was within whispering distance. ?I heard raised voices? shouting really isn?t a good idea in the Underdark. Most creatures hunt by their sense of hearing over other sight or smell, and so loud altercations are definitely discouraged??

There was a slightly reproving tinge to Nathyrra?s tone that made Jen cringe a little in shame; whether she had meant to imply it or not, the message was clear: If you had let me go and calm him down, we wouldn?t be in this situation?

As Valen came to a standstill next to Jen, there was no mistaking the drow?s disapproving tone.

?You should know better, Valen. You have been down here long enough to know the tactics our enemies and those who would call us prey use.?

Rather than be abashed, however, the warrior just snorted in contempt.

?I have fought countless devils in the endless wastes of the Abyss and on the plains of Baator, Assassin? there is nothing that inhabits Underdark that frightens me. We will be attacked whether we keep our voices down or not; it is inevitable.?

At Valen?s description of his previous engagements, Jen frowned in confusion, not quite knowing what he meant; towards the back of her mind a little flag rose, but at that precise moment it was too elusive to capture and analyse. Nathyrra, however, did not seem to be at all nonplussed by what the warrior had said, and they continued to bicker regarding the inevitability of the dangers they were facing versus the need for caution, mirroring beautifully their two different mindsets with regards to how to deal with enemies.

They continued to quarrel for the few moments it took the three of them to join the rest of their party; it was Nathyrra who stopped first, obviously wanting to make sure she did not lose any face with the other drow. Once he realised the assassin was no longer playing along, Valen fell silent with an air of sullen arrogance about him; at that point, Jen felt an unexpected and surprisingly sharp urge to slap him ? instead, she gritted her teeth and forced a smile onto her face.

?Jallil d?Ssussun? is everything all right?? asked Xen?shai, the smug look of understanding on his face contradicting his question completely. ?Is there anything I? that is, we, can do for you??

?No, everything?s fine?? Jen mumbled in return, carefully making sure she did not meet his deep green eyes as the Deathsinger moved closer to her.

?You are sure?? he near murmured, his proximity a little too close for comfort. Leaning away slightly, Jen wondered if the drow bard had any concept of personal space, reasoning pretty quickly that he probably did and that in getting up close and personal with people was his way of ensuring he had the upper hand in any given situation.

It certainly was an effective strategy.

Deciding not to answer Xen?shai?s rather loaded question, Jen decided to fix her attention upon their current circumstance.

?Right? so, where do we go now?? she said, rather too brightly as she looked around herself. ?Everywhere kind of looks the same??

?The illithid enclave of Zovak?Mur is the closest to us,? replied Jehk?ril, glancing towards his brother, a hint of a sly smile touching his lips. ?About 3 days travel west from here. Maybe that would be a good place to start??

?The Eye Tyrant Hive is not so far from there,? added Rizonym with a slow nod. ?Two imps with one arrow.?

Jen returned the nod with one of her own. ?Imloth said the enclaves weren?t too far away from each other ? a few days at the most? if things go well, we could have this whole thing tied up within a couple of tendays.?

At that, the drow exchanged rather incredulous glances and then looked away from each other as if embarrassed. Valen was not so restrained.

?And by that comment, you only confirm our suspicions; that you truly have no idea what you are facing,? the warrior said, his tone disparaging. ?I suppose optimism always was the sole domain of the foolish.?

Not wanting to get into another argument, Jen gritted her teeth and fought to keep her own voice steady.

?If you can?t be optimistic, you may as well give up before you even start,? she replied. ?And we need to start somewhere.? She focused her attention back to the ensembled drow. ?Are we in agreement ? we go to the Illithid enclave first??

At her apparent dismissal of his rather barbed comment, Valen grunted under his breath and folded his arms over his chest. Without looking to her warrior comrade, Nathyrra nodded in agreement.

?It seems to be as good a plan as any,? she conceded. ?Although from now on in, I recommend that we keep as quiet as possible.? She looked around herself and suppressed a shiver. ?I fear we may already have alerted the local wildlife to our presence in a way we may later regret; let us ensure we do not attract anymore attention to ourselves unnecessarily.?

Despite their apparent differences, no one disagreed with her.

o0o

Sorting out their marching order turned out to be less painful than Jen thought it would be. Being a ranger, Szinaufein volunteered to take point, with Nathyrra as his go-between betwixt himself and the rest of the party. Then came Rizonym and Tsabandiir; the two of them refused to be separated for reasons Jen did not know, and at that precise moment, did not trust. Xen?shai and Jehk?ril then offered to accompany Jen next, their reasoning being that they knew the area well enough to keep the half elf informed as to what was going on, but at the same time, they were near enough to the back not to be in the front line. Deekin faithfully followed Jen, and no amount of arguing would convince him to take up any other position. Finally, Valen brought up the rear. This has surprised Jen at first - she had figured he would have wanted too be near the front, leading them, but instead he seemed content to follow everyone and protect their backs ? when questioned if he was all right with the arrangement, he simply stated that he had the best vantage point for any potential treachery, an answer that made Jen sigh inwardly.

Jen had felt okay upon setting off; not particularly buoyant, but at the same time cautiously optimistic. The small group had walked through small checkpoints manned by rebels faithful to the Seer; each one had saluted them as they passed, some with smiles, others with looks of grim determination ? nonetheless, the presence of the small companies had been a comfort to Jen in that they were a kind of reminder that civilisation of a sort wasn?t so far away. This had all changed once they had passed the last checkpoint; the open cavern had narrowed down to a tunnel in which they could only walk two abreast, the unworked stone making even that difficult. In Jen?s experience, caves tended to be damp affairs, but in the depths of the Underdark there was no extraneous moisture; they were simply too deep for surface moisture to be a problem. This little fact made the half elf feel decidedly uncomfortable, and rather than worry about the politics of her little band, she spent most of her time fighting off waves of claustrophobia that threatened to overwhelm her and send her back screaming to Lith My?athar.

?Boss??

Deekin?s familiar croak broke Jen?s rather panicky train of thought.

?Keep it down, Deek,? muttered the half elf as Jekh?ril glanced round at them reprovingly. He made a hand gesture that she didn?t understand at her, but the look on his face made it clear that talking loudly was not a good option.

Deekin looked suitably abashed. ?Oh, okay. Sorry, boss. Boss??

Although it was obvious that the kobold was trying to whisper, his rasping voice still seemed to echo around the heights of the narrow corridor.

?What?? replied Jen through gritted teeth.

?We go now to talk to Mind flayers known as Illithid who likes to eat brains??

Jen closed her eyes for a brief second and counted to ten in her head.

?Yes.?

?Talk or fight?? the kobold asked.

?What??

?Talk or fight??

?Will you make him shut up before I am forced to?? interrupted Valen from behind, his whisper more of an angry rumble.

?Don?t talk to him like that,? Jen snapped back, her nerves getting the better of her.

?Then get him to shut up!? hissed the warrior.

?He?s not a pet! If you want him to be quiet, tell him yourself!?

?You allowed him to come along ? he?s your responsibility!?

Deekin followed the argument that was blossoming over his head with seemingly innocent interest before turning around and, walking backwards, looked thoughtfully up at Valen.

?Now Goatman louder than Deekin. Deekin have moral victory, Deekin thinks.?

At that, Jen had to stifle a snicker.

?What did you call me?? demanded Valen, his hand hovering over the handle of his weapon.

?Goatman. Because you got goat horns.? Deekin peered up at the much larger man. ?Deekin wonders how you gots them. Cursed??

?No! I wasn?t cursed! I?ve always had them; I was born with them,? Valen answered furiously.

?Is that why Goatman down here and not up on surface??

?What?? The warrior looked both outraged and confused.

Deekin grinned widely, showing many pointed teeth. Not for the first time Jen found herself respecting the little kobold; many people underestimated him due to what he was, and much to their embarrassment, often found themselves on the wrong side of a well placed and rather accurate insult.

?Deekin can only imagine that mans with goat horns might have hard times, if goatman gets what Deekin is saying.?

Glancing around, Jen guessed that Valen did get what Deekin was saying considering the way his face hardened as he glared at the kobold bard; there was also a flicker of something the half elf couldn?t quite put her finger on behind those ice blue eyes that made her intervene.

?Okay, Deek, you?ve made your point. That?s enough,? she said quietly. She turned back around to see Jekh?ril and Xen?shai doing the same after sharing a single, knowing look.

?But?? Deekin began.

?I said that?s enough, Deekin. Concentrate on what is going on around us.?

?Boss wants Deekin to sing??

Jen sighed. ?Exactly how is that supposed to help us concentrate?? she asked, unable to stop herself from smiling. ?No, Deekin, I don?t want you to sing.?

?Okay. Deekin watches out for bad peoples.? The kobold nodded decisively, clutching his lyre to his thin, scaled chest.

?Yeah? you do that,? Jen replied, bemused and shaking her head slightly.

o0o

They had been walking in silence for what seemed an age before the narrow corridor widened out, alleviating slightly the oppressive claustrophobia that Jen was still experiencing. Deekin had thankfully decided to keep his thoughts to himself after his little altercation with Valen; the warrior had likewise kept silent, his ostensibly heavy footfalls being the only thing Jen could hear above the beat of her own heart. Conversely, the drow were like graceful shadows, and even though the half elf knew they were in front of her, she had difficulty in spotting where they all were at any one time.

What had surprised Jen the most was the lack of enemies; she had been under the impression that they would be attacked at all turns, but apart from the odd bat sculling unseen air currents towards the cavern roof, they hadn?t seen anything. This, however, wasn?t much of a comfort ? she was well aware that just because you could neither see nor hear your enemy didn?t mean they weren?t there?

For the first time since they had set off, Nathyrra moved her way to the back of the group, her welcoming smile at odds with the obvious tension that sang through her body.

?We should be able to find a place to stop soon,? she said quietly. ?Szinaufein says he knows of a sheltered spot that is easily defensible not far from here.? She then paused. her smile was replaced by a look of apprehensive concern. ?I also came back here to warn you that the terrain here becomes a little bit more? difficult.?

?Define ?difficult?,? Jen said suspiciously.

?Well? for drow it is not much of a problem, but? well, have you engaged in any rock climbing recently?? Nathyrra asked carefully.

?Rock climbing?!? Jen answered, now more than slightly alarmed.

Nathyrra grinned.

?Don?t worry; it?s nothing too dangerous. We just need to climb down by the waterfall, and it gets a bit slippery.?

?Okay ? that doesn?t sound too bad,? conceded the half elf.

?Well? not just that. Any source of water is a drawing point for all Underdark denizens; if we are to come across anything, it will be there,? said Nathyrra ruefully.

?Oh,? sighed Jen. ?So, slippery rocks, danger of falling and a higher chance of being attacked. Thanks for the warning.?

?Forewarned is forearmed? just make sure you keep your eyes open. We?ll have your back as much as possible, but you never know.? The drow gave the half elf a significant look.

To that, Jen raised an eyebrow and nodded thoughtfully.

?Thanks for the heads up. I?ll watch where I put my feet.?

After nodding back, Nathyrra made her nimble way back to her position, melting back into the shadows until she disappeared from Jen?s sight.

After walking for a short while, the waterfall that Nathyrra had mentioned began to make its presence known as the sound of rushing water became apparent; the surrounding air also began to grow cooler and the ever-present fungus that seemed endemic to the Underdark grew in even greater numbers and varieties, some of which glowed, giving off an eerie luminescence that bathed everything in a sickly, greenish light that only made the shadows seem deeper, making the surroundings feel even more strange and alien to the half elf.

Resting a hand upon Enserric?s pommel, Jen peered into the half light ahead of her, trying without any luck to strain her ears to pick out any other sounds other than dim roar of the waterfall in the distance. Feeling unnerved, she tightened her fingers around her sword?s hilt and felt the familiar, gnawing pull of the insatiable weapon as it tried to coax her into drawing it from it?s scabbard and bury it in soft, unwilling flesh.

Taking a deep breath, Jen steeled herself into dealing with the sword she had forged such a schizophrenic relationship with. On one hand, it frightened her with its bloodlust and love of slaughter, but on the other, it gave her an undeniable edge in battle and, for some unknown reason, seemed to enhance her own not inconsiderable magical abilities. This might have been because the sentient consciousness that inhabited the sword had once been a mage of significant power, but Jen sensed that it was something deeper than that ? something more fundamental and personal between herself and whatever dwelt within the blade.

Slowly, she unsheathed the sword from its scabbard, its own dull red glow intermingling with the wan green fluorescence.

?Ahhhh! At last! Free from that filthy scabbard,? sighed the sword in the confines of her mind, its cultured tones tinged with an icy metallic edge that always reminded the rogue of a whetstone being drawn along the edge of a knife. ?Do I sense elves? Drow?? It sneered evilly. ?You might think that I have had drunk enough from the dark elven cup recently, but you?d be wrong??

?They?re not enemies,? Jen whispered. ?They?re allies.?

?What ? all of them? Are you sure? Since when did that happen?? the sword asked, its tone a mixture of shock and annoyance.

?Since we fought Halaster? it really is best not to ask.?

?Jallil d?Ssussun? who are you speaking to?? Xen?shai?s whisper cut across the partially telepathic conversation Jen was engaged in.

?Uh, no one in particular?? Jen began, a blush creeping up her neck at being caught conversing with her weapon.

?One draws closer?? Enserric whispered with barely contained excitement.

?I know,? Jen hissed from between her teeth. ?Shut up!?

?I am sorry, Jabbress?? replied Xen?shai, his face the picture of hurt.

?No, no, not you,? stuttered the half elf. ?I wasn?t referring to you; I was talking to? uh?? She held Enserric up for inspection.

?Ahhh? yes, closer? his blood will be sweet! Let us slit him open had have a taste??

?No!? Jen exclaimed as she felt the hand that clutched Enserric?s hilt being drawn forward towards the Deathsinger.

?No?? asked Xen?shai, obviously confused.

?Not you?? Jen smiled brightly and lowered Enserric. ?Just pack it in or I lose you over the edge of the waterfall ? got it?? she continued, scolding the sword; seeing Xen?shai?s bewildered look, she shrugged helplessly and began to try to explain.

?It?s the sword? its called Enserric and it, well, it? talks.?

The light or realisation dawned upon the drow?s face. ?I see; a sentient sword. Such things are known to us ? we prize them highly. It has been speaking to you, yes??

?In a manner of speaking? yes.?

?It taunts us! Kill it!? Enserric near shrieked in Jen?s head.

?If you don?t shut up, you?re going back into the scabbard for good,? hissed Jen whilst Xen?shai smirked to her left. ?I?ve got other, rather less talkative weapons you know??

The sword fell silent, but the hunger remained.

?Now, other than my travelling companions, do you sense anything that might be a threat to us?? the rogue continued, using the blade?s own bloodlust to sense for hidden enemies.

?Yes,? replied Enserric eventually, its tone sulky.

Jen?s heart leapt to her throat.

?What?? whispered Jen, giving Xen?shai a slightly panicked look. In response, the Deathsinger unsheathed his own rapier and signalled to his brother.

?An Outsider. Watch them? they can be tricky.?

?An Outsider? What are you on about??

?From another Plane,? sighed the sword. ?For a manipulator of the arcane arts, you are woefully ill-informed??

?Did the sword mention an Outsider?? interrupted Xen?shai.

Jen nodded. ?Yes? it said that they can be tricky and are from another plane ? we should watch ourselves...?

Xen?shai smiled knowingly and, without warning, placed a casual arm around Jen?s shoulders, his smile broadening for a second as he felt her stiffen involuntarily and move away from him.

?I feel it is referring to the Errdegahr-chath,? he said silkily, squeezing Jen?s upper arm in a way that could be construed as comforting before letting her go. ?Ask if there is anything else.?

Rubbing her arm unconsciously to settle the goosebumps that prickled her skin under the leather of her armour and willing her heart to settle back into her chest, Jen nodded dumbly and mumbled the question to the sword.

?Hmmmm,? it replied, as if it was savouring the air around them. ?There are other things around, but being surrounded already by so much? potential means it is hard to decipher anything of threat.?

?There?s nothing in particular that stands out,? the half elf translated, wishing fervently that the Deathsinger would leave her be as he leant closer towards her once again.

?But that does not mean there is nothing out there. I would keep your weapon naked if I were you, Jallil d?Ssussun ? you never know when you will need it?? he murmured; at his decidedly odd turn of phrase, Jen felt her heart creep back into her throat, a flush of colour following it.

Seemingly relishing her discomfiture, Xen?shai then left her side with a wink and went to rejoin his brother.

[Mistress Elysia]

Chapter Seven ? Waterfall

The rocks grew steadily wetter and more treacherous underfoot as the small band approached the waterfall, making the non-drow members slow their pace; conversely, the dark elves seemed the simply glide over the lichen encrusted outcrops, never once slipping nor stumbling. After catching herself for the third time and scraping her knee rather painfully upon a particularly jagged piece of rock, Jen felt rather jealous of their preternatural sense of poise and balance and was hoping against all hope that they wouldn?t have to come back this way, thus avoiding what would be a rather unpleasant climb.

At last, the small group crested the main ridge and were presented with what was probably once an active lava field that was now dominated by a large, fast flowing river. The roar of the water was almost deafening at first, and as Jen approached the river?s edge to peer carefully into its inky black depths, she felt a hand enclose lightly over her arm. Jumping a little, she whirled around, only to be faced with a very earnest looking Szinaufein.

?Not go near edge. Bad. Elggin rein? Sreenath. Danger-full.? He smiled encouragingly as he gestured for Jen to come with him, away from the edge and back to the group. Glancing back once more at the hypnotic swirl of water, Jen absent-mindedly took Szinaufein?s proffered hand and allowed him to lead her back to the others.

Once they were a safe enough distance away, the young dark elf let go of Jen?s hand and joined his comrades, who were now quite a way ahead of them, inspecting the edge of the plateau near the head of the falls.

?They?re trying to secure the best path down for us,? said Nathyrra by way of explanation, having to raise her voice above the rushing clamour of the waters. ?We drow do not find such things to be an obstacle, but you, Valen and Deekin do not have our abilities when it comes to dealing with such terrain.?

?Abilities?? Jen remarked suspiciously. ?Exactly what do you mean by that??

Nathyrra just smiled and turned to regard the group of drow males.

?Watch.?

To Jen?s absolute horror, Tsabandiir leant over the edge, and without a word, stepped off. A stab of panic welled up within the rogue as she stumbled forward, one hand outstretched in a last ditch attempt to grab him, hoping to drag him from the edge and stop him plunging to his death on the rocks below. Much to her confusion, the other drow did not move to help; they in fact moved in front of her, and from behind, someone grabbed her to stop her from reaching him.

?Are you lot mad?? she screamed, struggling a little. ?Tsabandiir just jumped!?

?Calm down, Jen!? exclaimed Nathyrra, caught between shock and amusement at her reaction as she trapped either side of the rogue?s head in between her hands, making the half elf focus upon her obsidian features. ?Tsabandiir is all right; he did not jump, nor fall! He is just checking the way forward for you.?

?What?? Jen asked, bewildered and a little breathless, her nerves twanging once more. ?But I saw him; he just stepped off??

Nathyrra smiled gently and shook her head. ?No? that isn?t what happened. We should have told you before, I suppose; although, in our defence, I didn?t realise that you literally knew nothing about this facet of drow abilities. One of the reasons dark elves are so capable when it comes to ambush is because we can hide in the shadows - above our enemies if necessary.? She pointed to the cavern ceiling.

The half elf?s face morphed from one of bewilderment to sheer incredulity. ?Don?t tell me you can fly??

?No? not in the classic sense,? answered the assassin, her smile turning mischievously rueful. ?But all the time we are underground, we can float.? She gestured to the edge. ?Go and see. Valen will make sure you don?t fall if you are worried.?

Jen?s initial panic and surprise gave way to the realisation that it had been Valen who had grabbed her, and that his hands still held her wrists, preventing her from moving away. All of a sudden feeling incredibly uncomfortable at his close proximity, the half elf shook her wrists free from the warrior?s grasp; for a moment, she wondered if he would actually let her go, but after what seemed to be an almost indecent pause, he dropped her wrists without a word. Swallowing hard, she wondered why Valen had refused to let her go as soon as Nathyrra had calmed her down; it was probably some kind of test, she reasoned ? or, more likely, yet another excuse to remind her whom he thought should really be in charge.

Gathering her nerves, the half elf crept carefully towards the edge and peered down through the spray of the waterfall and into the darkness beyond. Squinting slightly, she could just make out the silhouette of dark figure clambering gracefully over the slick rocks below, making hand gestures that she could quite make out nor understand. Sitting back on her haunches, she looked up a little sheepishly at the others, fervently wishing that she had not made such a scene before.

?He says the way down is easier than it looks,? rumbled Rizonym, ?For you, the Errdegah-chath and the pet, that is.?

A scowl replaced the sheepish look. ?Don?t call Deekin that,? she said reprovingly.

?Asanque, Jallil d?Ssussun,? the scarred drow replied, his voice as expressionless as ever.

Peering back over the edge, the half elf tried to see if she could pick out a safe route from above, but it was proving difficult by the magically enhanced sight her circlet provided ? the rocks were simply too dark and glistened too wetly, giving them confusing angles that Jen couldn?t fathom from her position as to whether they were true surfaces or optical illusions. Shaking her head a little, she straightened up and ignoring its protests, slid Enserric back into its scabbard.

?Long way down?? commented Deekin as he copied Jen and peered over the edge.

?Yes, it is,? replied Jen flatly, her attention upon Nathyrra. ?Are you sure there isn?t another way down??

The drow shook her head. ?Like I said, this is not an obstacle for drow? in a way it acts as a natural barrier in the protection on Lith My?athar. Any enemy that is not drow coming this way would have to scale this cliff face, which in turn acts as a deterrent against casual attacks.?

?That?s all well and good, but it?s not really helping now??Jen sighed. ?According to Rizonym, Tsabandiir says it?s not as hard a climb as it looks.?

The assassin cocked a sceptical eyebrow. ?And you trust Tsabandiir??

Jen gave the other female a rueful look. ?Good point.? She sighed again. ?Still, we have to do this, so we may as well start now.? She looked back over the edge. ?Uh, where do we start??

Nathyrra stepped off the edge and floated down a few feet and even though she knew that she was going to do it, Jen?s heart still leapt to her throat again. Studying the rock face for a moment, the drow called to the half elf, indicating to an area that, to all intents and purposes, looked exactly the same as the rest of the outcrop.

?Start here,? she said encouragingly. ?The ledges are quite close together; even Deekin will not find this too hard.?

?Deekin doesn?t want to speak badly of Nathyrra, boss, but Deekin thinks she is talking rubbish,? the kobold commented quietly, his copper eyes huge in his head.

Jen patted her companion on the shoulder sympathetically.

?I know how you feel, Deekin, I truly do.?

o0o

In the end, Valen lead the three non drow in finding a way down the cliff face, growling a little in annoyance at the others? hesitation as he holstered his flail and swung himself over the edge. Deekin then followed with Jen steadying him as Valen helped him scramble down; being much shorter than the warrior, the kobold had to be physically lowered into Valen?s arms and placed upon the floor, much to fighter?s disgust. Lastly, Jen sat on the edge and, twisting her body, lowered herself over the cliff face gingerly with both Xen?shai and Nathyrra giving her words of encouragement, indicating where she should place her feet. To her surprise, Valen also helped by lightly grasping her feet and guiding them to safe footholds within the pitted rocks until all three of them stood in relative safety upon a wide ledge just under half a dragon?s length from the top.

The roar of the waterfall was now deafening, and the party could only communicate via hand signals and facial expressions, and even these were hampered by the ever present spray that the crashing waters produced. Pushing her wet hair out of her face, Jen carefully paced the perimeter of the ledge, trying to ascertain their next route, an equally damp Valen following her, whilst Deekin huddled himself against a large boulder.

Feeling a tap upon her shoulder, the half elf looked around, blowing water from the tip of her nose.

?Way down!? yelled Valen, pointing to a cleft in the rocks. Jen had noticed it earlier, and whilst she could see its possibilities, it still looked rather dangerous.

?Could be dangerous!? she yelled back, pointing to Deekin, hoping the warrior understood her point. By the rolling of his eyes, she guessed he had.

?No choice!? he indicted with his hands that he could hoist the kobold onto his back and carry him down. ?Carry! Wait here!?

Nodding in agreement, the two climbers made their way back over to Deekin.

?Deek!? Jen called, tapping the bard upon the shoulder. Shivering a little, Deekin looked up expectantly.

?Boss?? he croaked.

?Valen will carry you down the next bit,? she explained, pointing to the warrior.

Deekin gave Valen a decidedly sceptical look.

?Boss sure??

Jen nodded. ?Yes.? She then beckoned to Valen, indicating that she wanted to speak to him, but his attention was fixed over the edge of the falls, near the base of the cliff.

When tapping him on the shoulder yielded no response, Jen frowned.

?Hey!! Valen!? she yelled, hoping to attract his attention. ?Deekin is??

Her sentence was cut off as the warrior leapt backwards, grabbing her as he went, near throwing her against the back wall.

As Jen felt a jagged piece of rock grind against her spine through her armour, she yelped involuntarily, causing Deekin to leap up from his huddled position by the boulder.

?Why the hell did you do that?!? she exclaimed, clouting Valen on the arm impulsively and rubbing her back.

Ignoring that she had just hit him, Valen held a gloved finger to his lips for a second, and then dropping to a crawl, slithered on his belly to the edge of the ledge and peered over it, his features fiercely intent as if he was scanning for something.

Now feeling more than a little alarmed, Jen gestured for Deekin to stay put, dropped into a crouch and carefully made her way to the warrior?s side, trying to ignore the chill as the icy water from the falls seeped into the joints of her armour and attempted to figure out what had he had spotted. Valen did not acknowledge her arrival at his side and continued to scan the area near the plunge pool of the waterfall.

?There!? the warrior hissed all of a sudden and grabbed Jen by the back of her neck, dragging her face so close next to his that their cheeks touched, forcing her to sight along his outstretched arm. ?Movement!?

Shocked at first at being seized in such an intimate way, Jen?s first instinct was to pull back; she sublimated this impulse however, and focused her attention upon the point the warrior was pointing at. For a long moment she saw nothing, but just as she was about to give up, the shadows seemed to shift on their own and the slightest of movements caught her eye; something was indeed down there?

?You see it too,? breathed Valen, remaining as still the rock he was laying on.

Jen nodded imperceptibly. ?Drow??

?Valen shook his head. ?No. Too big. Moves wrong, too.?

Jen squinted, trying to relocate the mystery creature. Again, she wondered if her eyes had been playing tricks on her, but just as suddenly as before, something indistinct but definitely larger than a drow shifted jerkily in the shadows.

Only the softest whisper of movement behind the two prone adventurers heralded the arrival of Nathyrra as she joined them on the ledge.

?I take it you?ve seen it too,? she said as quietly as possible as she joined them in their observations. ?The others have gone ahead to assess the situation.?

?Could it just be something harmless coming to get a drink?? asked Jen.

Nathyrra shook her head. ?I doubt it. Even if it isn?t here to hunt us specifically, it?ll be dangerous; inhabitants of the Underdark invariably are.?

?But we could still just avoid it, couldn?t we? Why go looking for a fight??

?Because whatever it is, it?s setting up an ambush,? replied Valen. ?It knows we?re here. And that can only mean one thing...?

??it?s looking to attack us, it?s probably got friends and it?s been observing us,? finished Nathyrra.

That little revelation made Jen stare from the drow to the warrior and back again.

?Something has been watching us? From where?!? The half elf tried to keep a note of panic from creeping into her voice, but it was hard.

?Who knows? It?s supremely camouflaged ? hence the reason we?ve only just noticed it,? replied Valen. He then turned his attention to Nathyrra. ?Any guesses??

?Umberhulk,? answered the drow. ?They?ve been seen around here before; they take advantage of the terrain for ambush.?

To this, Valen nodded. ?Makes sense. They probably had a scout somewhere? just our luck.? He slithered back from the edge and raised himself up to a crouch, unsheathing his weapon from its leather harness and testing its weight in his hands. ?I say we meet them full on.?

Nathyrra snorted. ?That?s your strategy for everything, Valen.?

The warrior smiled grimly. ?It?s a strategy that gets results.? With that, he near launched himself off the edge of the precipice.

?Wait!? Jen tried to halt the warrior?s charge, failing miserably as she watched him with mounting incredulity has he jumped nimbly from rock ledge to rock ledge with a grace that belied his size. ?What in the hells is an umberhulk??

It was Nathyrra?s turn to stand and leap from the ledge.

?An enemy,? she replied, an almost mischievous grin upon her face. ?Hit hard, hit true, and one piece of advice ? don?t look into its eyes!?

And with that, she disappeared from view.

?Damn!? exclaimed Jen as she quickly stood up and made her way back to Deekin. ?Deek ? there?s something down by the plunge pool. Something nasty. Be prepared and keep yourself safe, okay??

Wide eyed, the little kobold nodded but said nothing.

With a nod, Jen left her stalwart companion and went back to the edge of the ledge, drawing Enserric as she went.

?Battle?? asked the sword, sensing the tension that ran through her body.

?Battle,? answered the half elf grimly.

Upon hearing a roar that could only have come from Valen above the crashing concerto of the waterfall, Jen reached inside to where her arcane self dwelt and pulled forth a spell that would allow her to leap from the cliff side and float to the cavern floor as gently as a feather. Even with this knowledge, however, she still hesitated before she took the final plunge; she still did not completely trust her seemingly innate magical abilities even after all this time, probably because she still didn?t completely understand them.

?What are you hesitating for?? Enserric cried in her head. ?Quickly! Before they are all gone!?

Throwing all of its will at Jen, the half elf suddenly found herself leaping in mid air. For a moment she was terrified, until she muttered the arcane words that activated the spell.

?Austrat hysvear??

After the words had left her lips, she felt the usual feeling of dread as she wondered whether the spell has indeed worked; thankfully the spell caught hold and the inexorable draw of gravity suddenly became much less - rather than drop like a stone, Jen floated slowly and harmlessly down to the floor of the cavern below, her sword leading.

o0o

Landing lightly near the edge of the plunge pool, Jen had to immediately bring Enserric up to protect her face as a huge, insect-like appendage whipped out from the shadows and slashed at her. With a grunt of surprise, she whirled around to face whatever had been laying in wait for her, cursing herself that she had not thought to at least attempt to turn herself invisible. The creature that lunged again at her was a monstrosity indeed; a good half her height again taller than she was, heavily built and looking like a curious ? and hideous ? hybrid of ape and insect with a sturdy looking carapace that Jen knew straight away she wouldn?t be able to pierce with her sword, meaning that she would have to look for chinks in its natural armour if she wanted to bring it down as quickly as possible.

With Enserric howling battle cries in her head that she knew she would soon be echoing out loud, the half elf parried another shell-encased limb, and with a curious leaping pirouette, Jen slashed across the creature?s front, using her own body weight and momentum to add power to the attack, hoping that even if the metal would not bite, some of Enserric?s enchantments would.

To her dismay, but not to her surprise, the umberhulk backed up slightly but did not seem to be harmed. Dodging another incoming attack, Jen kept her weight upon the balls of her feet, trying desperately to think of a strategy that she could employ against such a creature; quite a feat in itself with her sword yelling bloodthirsty taunts at her enemy from within the confines of her mind in between wondering vaguely where the others might be.

A slashing pain to her left arm brought the half elf out of the curious trance she had almost found herself in, bringing her back down to earth with a bump; this was no time for thinking things through, but for action.

Tucking Enserric safely underneath her, Jen dove into a roll that would bring her in between the umberhulk and the cliff wall; a move that, upon the surface, seemed foolish, and probably would turn out to be if her ill-conceived plan failed. The roll brought a gasp to her lips as she landed upon her slashed left arm, but rather than distracting her, the pain only causing her to focus even more. Finding her feet once again, the half elf then jumped up, and using the wall as leverage to gain height, kicked off savagely, aiming for the broad expanse of carapace that made up the umberhulk?s back.

With one arm outstretched, the rogue scrabbled slightly to catch the lip of the monstrous creature?s shell, screaming a she did as a blast of pain ripped up her left arm from the wound she had already received, nearly making her let go. However, be it luck, skill or a curious mixture of the two, Jen managed to keep hold of the umberhulk, and dragged herself forward to plunge Enserric as deeply as she could into the soft flesh situated in the joint where the monster?s head connected to its shoulders.

All of a sudden, a hot, pleasurable fire coursed up Jen?s arms as Enserric fed upon the umberhulk?s life, causing her to laugh as she felt the wound upon her shoulder begin to knit together and heal. With a screech, the insect-like creature reared, throwing it?s heavily clawed forearms into the air, knocking Jen from her precarious position upon its back. Landing heavily, the half elf had to roll desperately to one side of avoid the counterattack of smashing claws which, much to her consternation, bit easily into the rock of the cavern floor as if it were nothing but loose soil. Finding her feet again, it was the rogue's turn to screech as the umberhulk charged and tackled her painfully into the cliff wall, using its strength and body weight to crush her against the rock, feeling the red hot, sickening snap of her ribs as it did so.

Fearing that this time she had bitten off rather more than she could chew and desperately fighting off the welcoming arms of unconsciousness, Jen suddenly heard a roar and a massive, armour clad form seemingly constructed from pure rage exploded from above, throwing itself with wild abandonment upon the creature, pummelling it repeatedly with a weapon constructed from a wild tangle of chains and heavy orbs carved from cold black bone, causing the umberhulk to back away from her, allowing her to sink to the floor and attempt to clear the little black and purple spots of hypoxia that danced in front of her eyes

If Jen had thought Valen frightening before, it was nothing compared to the spectacle in front of her. She had seen barbarian rages in the past, but they seemed like mild fits of annoyance compared to the red-hot fury that the horned warrior attacked with. Clutching her ribs momentarily and gritting her teeth against the pain Jen, raised her arms shakily above her head, calling deep within herself to the well of magical fire she had stored there. Upon hearing another stomach-churning crack and resulting shout of exaltation from Valen, the rogue guessed that the fighter had finally pummelled the umberhulk enough for its carapace to finally give way: Good, thought Jen as she felt arcane power rise from her deep within her and flow almost seductively up her arms to her hands which she then held out wide and, after shouting the command word, brought together in an immense, ear-splitting clap above her head before literally hurling the power out of the palms of her hands at her enemy.

Electrical fire spat from her hands and arced dangerously close to Valen as Jen fought to maintain control of the energy, directing it towards her massive foe. Finally, the spell exploded against the side of the umberhulk, burying itself into the cracks of its shell, causing the monster to scream; an unearthly, foul noise that reverberated around her skull painfully as the stench of cooked flesh sought out her nostrils. Grimacing, the half elf watched the umberhulk stagger sideways under her magical onslaught and, bringing her arms up again, she readied herself to call another volley, but before she could prime the attack, Valen brought his flail viciously down upon the umberhulk?s head, splitting its exoskeleton and staving in its brains in one foul swoop. With a colossal shudder, the creature fell heavily forwards as Valen ripped his weapon from its head, only to smack it down again with a wet thud, ensuring that the monster was indeed dead. This time he had slightly more trouble in extricating his weapon from the cavity he had caused, and the force he employed in retrieving his weapon caused lumps of ichor and brain matter to be wrenched free from the creature?s skull, splattering over himself and Jen with a nauseating squelch. Recoiling slightly in disgust at being covered in umberhulk viscera, Jen quickly retrieved Enserric from where she had dropped him at her feet and ran to where a triumphantly grinning Valen was disentangling himself from the remains of the monster. After clapping Jen on the shoulder and making her wince at the resulting pain from her half healed wounds and crushed ribs, Valen dashed forward with a yell.

?One down - four to go!?