22: Skirina

[Start from the beginning]

Skirina awoke slowly, her head feeling muggy. She was lying on a hard surface, not her usual pallet, and it took a few moments for her to gather her thoughts. The last thing she remembered was taking a drink from her canteen… she had felt woozy, stumbled a short distance, and then collapsed. Somebody had poisoned her canteen? Yes, that had to be it, and now she had woken up somewhere else.

The shocking realisation brought her fully awake, and she tried to struggle upright. No sooner did she do so than she realised that her hands were bound in front of her, tied together with some thick cord. She had been captured! But how, and by whom?

None of it made any sense. Why would anyone want to imprison her, and how could anyone have possibly drugged her water supply? Nobody else should have had access to it, except possibly the other members of her warren, and they were hardly likely to do such a thing.

21: Break-in

[Start from the beginning]

Zarenis tightened the cords on the leather jerkin she had put on over her regular clothes. If she got into a fight with the adventurers, it would make very little difference, but against anyone else it might at least help a little. And hopefully, she would not be facing the adventurers themselves at all. In and out, as quickly as possible, while they were away from the villa – that was the plan.

She pulled a chest out from under her bed. Made of a plain dark wood, it was exceptionally sturdy, the place to keep her most important possessions. It took a little while to disarm the traps and open the locks she kept on it, but soon she opened it and removed the items she would need for the mission.

First came a pair of boots made from a pure black, felt-like material. She pulled them on, savouring the softness against her skin, wiggling her toes against the fabric for a second. Comfort was not the purpose of the boots, of course… but that didn’t stop them from feeling good. She pulled a pair of fingerless gloves on next; they were made of especially supple leather, and their contact made her fingers tingle for a moment as they adapted to her hands, working their magic.

Then there were two rings, looking much like regular jewellery, although they were anything but. Onto her right ring finger went a band of silver clasping a small sapphire, and onto the other hand a plain, but slightly heavier, golden ring. A small ceramic vial went into a pouch at her belt, along with the greyish wand that she had recently bought from Nyvara. Neither was a regular part of her equipment, but both would be needed for the approach she had in mind.

20: Jiranda or Ravette?

[Start from the beginning]

The temple to Sarlene was by no means the largest in the district; the minarets of the temple of the Sun God cast their shadows over it during the morning. But it was one of the more beautiful, at least if you preferred graceful lines over austere majesty. Green vines ran across the outer walls, twining between the bas-relief carvings. The carvings were not, as in some other parts of the world, openly erotic; they showed scenes of marriage and demure affection, all of which were, of course, well within the goddess’s purview.

It was not the common reputation that the temple had, of course. Many assumed that it was a place of debauchery, at least when regular marriage services were not being conducted there. But that view was mistaken, for while Sarlene was, among other things, a goddess of passionate sexuality, such things were not a part of her regular worship services. Impromptu, private, worship services, though… well, that was a different matter.

It was the last free day before the exploratory mission into the subterranean caverns beneath the city. Tomorrow, the adventurers would make their final plans, have a good night’s rest, and then, perhaps, finally learn what was really going on under their feet. Dolrim and Vardala were staying at the villa, while Calleslyn paid a visit to her friend Messandra – Almandar wondered how many of the others had worked out the truth of their relationship, but had no intention of talking about it himself.

19: Messandra (2)

[Start from the beginning]

Messandra glanced around as she allowed Calleslyn into her home, and swiftly closed the door behind them. The human woman was still shy about their relationship, nervous about what her neighbours would think, although Calleslyn suspected that none of them even guessed anything was occurring. Thankfully, her partner’s shyness was not at all apparent when they were alone together. But human cultural mores were what they were, and she supposed that they had to be respected here, in a human city.

“What do you think?” asked Messandra, raising her arms and giving a twirl to show off her new dress.

It was sky blue in colour, clinging tightly to her curves, sleeveless and almost backless, held up only by straps around the back of her neck. Calleslyn’s eyes were first drawn to the long flowing skirts, swishing around as Messandra moved, and deeply slit up the right side to expose half of one shapely leg. Unbidden, a vision of those thighs tangled in her own leapt to her mind. The truth was that she had been looking forward to this evening all day, fantasising about what they would do together in bed, aching for her lover’s touch.

“It looks lovely,” she said, honestly, “you make me feel plain.”

“You could never be plain,” replied Messandra, “trust me. But I am glad you like it. Oh, and you are exactly on time – dinner is just about ready.” They kissed, gentle and affectionate, even though Calleslyn’s body was already demanding much more than that. She would just have to wait.

18: Ashabi

[Start from the beginning]

Almandar pushed open the door to the shop, taking a step down into the cool interior. The windows were small and high up, letting light into the room but not too much heat. It would not do for the stock to spoil, after all.

Remkar was an alchemist, a man who made his living selling magical potions to those who could afford them. Naturally enough, the adventurers had, over the years, been regular customers, although his clientele also included the local military and aristocracy. Tonight, they would be planning the full details of their intended explorations beneath the city, which made this one of the last opportunities to buy some healing potions, among other supplies.

The contents of the sales room looked impressive, although Almandar was aware that they were largely for show; most of the genuinely good material was kept somewhere out back, behind locked and magically protected doors. To anyone less aware of those realities, however, this room certainly looked the part. The shelves and cabinets were stacked with bottles of all shapes and sizes, some empty, but others full of brightly coloured liquids, some of which swirled or bubbled, seemingly of their own accord. Alchemical apparatus adorned the benches on either side, stills and retorts, crucibles and braziers, and strange items of glassware whose function Almandar could only begin to guess at.

17: Preparations

[Start from the beginning]

The little alley was always quiet, and was even more so at this hour of the early morning, after the last of the prostitutes and drug peddlers had departed. Above, the sky was a clear dark blue, already lightening on the eastern horizon. The lesser moon was just visible above the rooftops, a small, baleful, yellowish half-disc, insignificant in the pre-dawn twilight.

Only creatures of the night were active at such a time, but Zarenis was hardly the only such person in the city. Another was the woman she had come here to meet, Nyvara. Even so, the tiefling hoped that she had not arrived too late, for Nyvara was human, and even she had to sleep at some time.

There was only one other person in the alley, a skinny and sallow-looking woman sitting hunched on a doorstep, lank and unwashed hair framing her thin face. The stranger did not acknowledge Zarenis’ presence, looking away with disinterest. It was always unwise to pay too much visible attention to passers-by in this part of the city, for few people here wanted attention.

16: Ansreal (2)

[Start from the beginning]

“I heard you were looking for Lady Tarissa?” asked Callelsyn, “I am afraid she is not in at the moment.”

Horvan had told her of the arrival of the visitor at the villa, and was now standing a discrete distance away as she invited Ansreal inside. She had met the young elf not so long ago, of course, for a meal in the courtyard with Tarissa’s other paladin friends. She herself had invited Messandra, but that had made her human lover uncomfortable. The cleric and paladin would most likely not have approved of their relationship, and Messandra has not wanted to give them any reason to suspect it, which had made things awkward. At least Ansreal would have understood… although, as a paladin in training herself, who knew what her actual attitude was?

And now here she was, stepping into the foyer of the villa, holding what appeared to be a sealed letter. She looked a little uncertain, glancing around as if looking for someone. “Is… uh…” she began, “I mean… are you on your own?”