Filtering back out into the hallway, they all looked to one another before settling their eyes on the clearly agitated prince. Everyone could tell the young catfolk was ready to be gone from the place, but since they had decided as a group to investigate a little farther, it seemed it would still be a while yet before he got his wish.
The sudden sound of footsteps brought the group out of their trance momentarily and sent their hands to their weapons, but they calmed when they realized it was only Willem rejoining them from his position near the front of the castle. Since further patrols didn't seem forthcoming, he reasoned it would be better to stay with the group, in case something more came up. After bringing him up to speed, the crusader seemed at as much of a loss as the rest of them did. Finally, Kayla decided to move things forward, since they'd been standing idle for longer than she liked.
“Do we try to go around that, or do we go back and search in the other direction?”
“I don't have another dagger to throw away,” Rel said with a shrug. Gaylia shook her head.
“My arrows had no effect.”
“No point in pushing it when we have other areas to search first,” said Elathan.
“Then let us be quick about backtracking.” The group looked at Farrln as he quickly went past and shrugged, falling in line behind. They found themselves standing back in the main hallway not too long later. As they looked down the hall and began contemplating how to approach it, though, they noticed the door they had passed before wasn't as they'd left it.
“Wasn't that closed before,” Elathan said, eying it suspiciously.
“It was.” The sorcerer ignored the drow's response and looked to Farrln, who was focusing intently on the door.
“I hear voices.”
“Take a peek and see how many?” Kayla suggested. Rel agreed and crept closer to the door, managing to push it open just a bit more to afford himself a better view. Inside, he saw a small group of vermin conversing amongst themselves, completely oblivious that they were being spied on. The drow silently flashed out eight fingers: five high for the orcs and three low for the diminutive kobolds.
“How open is the room?” Willem asked quiety, with Kayla quickly adding for him to check and see if there were any other doors that could possibly house more enemies. Rel shook his head.
“As wide as the hall above. Plenty of room to move. There are longtables, as well. It appears to be a feasting hall.”
“Either we do something or we move on,” Elathan said impatiently.
“Let us kill the beasts quickly and be done with it,” said Farrln, drawing his longswords for emphasis. The rest of the groups took up their weapons and set themselves.
“We should be fine as long as we maintain a solid front,” said Willem. Rel nodded in agreement.
“Shall we?”
“I will hold the center.”
“Then stand strong.”
“Then stand close.”
The drow flashed Willem a broad grin, then with his own blade in hand, pushed the doors open wide, allowing he and his companions access to the hall.
The room promptly erupted in terrified screams from the inhabitants. The group was startled by the open display of cowardice, but were downright confused when one of the kobolds threw down its makeshift spear.
“We no fight,” it shrieked in a high voice. The companions blinked and looked to one another as if they hadn't heard the creature properly, then looked back to see the other orcs and kobolds also throw down their weapons and hold up their hands in complete surrender.
“This is...unexpected,” Rel said in disbelief. Willem just stared at the creatures wide-eyed.
“You surrender peacefully?” said Farrln.
“No fight,” the kobold said with a nod. The party remained suspicious of its words, though, and Elathan moved to watch their rear for signs of an ambush with Gaylia's wolf. The others lowered their weapons, but kept a firm grip on them, nonetheless.
“And just why are you so eager to surrender?”
“We see bodies. You strong. No want fight.”
Farrln canted his head at that, taking the words into consideration. Willem and Gaylia, however, noted that several of the kobold's companions kept shooting furtive glances at Reldaerqel. The crusader looked between them before finally casting an eye on the drow.
“Do you have business with these creatures?” The drow looked at him plainly.
“The only business I have with them is to see if they are involved with the attacks on Silvershore and to deal with them if they are.”
“They seem very interested in you.”
“I've no idea why.”
The two shared a silent look for a moment, Willem clearly trying to dig at any hint of deception in Rel's eyes or words. When he saw none, he gave the drow an accepting nod and looked to regard the kobold.
“Why do you stare at our companion?”
“Drow are death.”
The words caused nearly everyone in the party to blink, save for Elathan, who merely snorted and went silent. Willem shook off his shock and pressed the issue.
“Explain yourself.”
“Drow capture. Drow kill. Drow are death.”
“This one, or others?”
“All drow.”
“That is not true.” The loud and firm denial from Rel drew everyone's eyes to him for a moment, but Kayla laid a steadying hand on his arm.
“What we're meaning is has this one ever harmed any of ye.” The kobold shook his head.
“No see him before.”
“But others like him have come here before?” Willem pressed.
“Pale drow come here before. Pale drow stay here.”
That made everyone draw up sharply. Audria and Kayla shot each other knowing looks while grim looks crossed the other's faces.
“What is their name,” Elathan asked evenly.
“Horndy,” came the odd reply.
“Hornydithers,” Willem quietly mumbled.
“Horendithas?” When the kobold nodded vigorously at the sorcerer's confirmation, Elathan swore loudly and seemed to seethe. Willem shot the strangely emotional elf a glance before regarding the kobold again.
“Did the pale drow ever hold counsel with other strangers?”
“Only Yrrona,” the kobold replied, shaking his head. “Always Yrrona.”
“Who is Yrrona?”
“Leader.”
“Is Yrrona a pale drow, too,” Elathan asked.
“Big orc.”
“Their leader, it seems,” said Willem. Farrln nodded in agreement.
“So it does,” he said, turning back to the kobold. “Where are the rest of your people?”
“No know. We stay here to guard.”
Rel considered the strange intelligent kobold and fixed it with an even look.
“You said the 'pale drow' stayed here. Where did he sleep?”
The kobold took a long timid look at the drow, tilting its head from side to side. It stood like that for a moment, then finally nodded silently, looking at Farrln.
“You no kill, we take you. No drow.”
The odd conditions struck the companions, not only because it was coming from a kobold, but also because the creature obviously feared Rel so much. Farrln considered the offer with a quiet frown, but eventually looked to the others.
“What say the rest of you?”
“If it helps us figure out what's going on, it's worth it,” said Kayla.
“I agree,” Audria said with a nod.
“Go. I will guard the passage with Reldaerqel.” The drow looked to Willem, who had made the offer, and gave him a thankful nod. Though the drow did not openly state it, the crusader's words had done much to ease his mind. Farrln nodded at the pair of them and turned back to the vermin.
“Fine. We'll go along with it.”
“Let's take our leave so our friends can be on their way,” Rel quietly said to Willem. The pair left the room and it wasn't until they were completely out of sight that the kobold took a step forward, nodding as though things were going exactly how he wanted them to.
“Okay. We go. No trick.”
The group nodded and the kobold led the way out of the hall, flanked by a few of his fellows. It took the group back upstairs and into the east wing, stopping in front of a wooden door.
“Pale drow always in there.”
Elathan looked over the door and cast another minor spell, revealing that this door, like the door to the treasury, had a magical lock placed upon it. Farrln sighed in an aggravated manner and looked to Kayla.
“Can you dissipate the magic like you did before?”
“No, I can't. I'd need to rest first and we don't have time for that.”
“Then we take it down by force.”
Farrln walked toward the door and began to take measure of it, but Elathan was shaking his head even before he got there.
“You can try, but that kind of lock is difficult to get around.”
Kayla waded past the both of them and took a shot at the door with her warhammer, but it didn't budge.
“Bah,” she spat. Elathan sighed and put his face in his hand. The assaults didn't stop there as everyone but the two elves tried their hand breaking the door. Eventually, the door did give way, only to reveal a small dragon statuette sitting on a pedestal just in front of it. Elathan's eyes went wide as he recognized the artifact and quickly moved to get a better look at it. The jaws of the statue began to open as he stared at the eyes and the start of a fire seemed to build there.
“The fires of the red!” Elathan finally shouted. As quickly as the fires had begun to form, they disappeared and the magic of the statue seemed to disappear, leaving it simply sitting there. The sorcerer breathed a sigh of relief and leaned lightly against the wall. The prince looked between him and the doorway, then gave a shrug and a shake of his head.
“Well. Let's investigate.”
The group made their way into the room, which happened to be a study and took a look around. It was a tidily-kept place, with small bookshelves filled with texts and scrolls stood along the walls and a simple desk was placed in the center. Candles dotted the floor, though there were several surrounding a bedroll that had been placed in a far corner. The companions immediately spread out and began a search, though with not knowing what they were searching for, it seemed all the more daunting. After a time of searching and coming up with nothing, Audria kicked the desk lightly in frustration, only to make something drop under it. She looked under it and pulled out a scroll, unrolling it to reveal a rough map of a city.
“Look at this.” The others gathered around and studied it, Farrln noting that this was indeed a map of Farrlmarr. There were small marks and arrows placed over various locations on the parchment and everyone agreed that it had to be an attack plan of some kind. Farrln looked grim for a second, but then smiled up at Audria.
“This is exactly what we needed. Thank you.” The fighter blushed deeply and smile back, only able to offer a nod in response. Farrln nodded back and collected the parchment, sticking it into his belt. “Let's return. My mother and our forces need to know of this.”
The others quickly agreed and the prince lead the way back to the others, the kobolds and orcs in tow.
“We head back,” Farrln said once they approached the two. “We have what we need.”
“And them?” asked Rel.
“It's not like they can follow us,” Elathan scoffed.
“Well, they could,” Willem said with a shrug. “But it would take them several months to catch up.”
“Leave them here while we out outside to head back?” Kayla asked.
“We said we wouldn't kill them and we shan't,” said Farrln. “So yes, we leave them.”
They all nodded and made their way outside, leaving the orcs and kobolds standing about dumbly. Willem took out the orb Caraliss had presented them with before leaving and looked at it.
“So. How does it...um. How's it work?” He turned the orb over and it fell out of the tiny stand, tumbling to the ground. It shattered as it hit, a clear liquid seeping out onto the ground, until it suddenly coming to life, snaking and spreading to form a glowing circular rune around the party. “Oh.”
The crusader quickly motioned for Rel to stand with the group of them and the drow did so, though a bit warily, and the transportation magic quickly enveloped them, sending them quickly back to the city proper. The group barely had time to orient themselves before they heard running heading away from them and turned to see Farrln making all haste to the castle. They quickly gave chase, moving through the bazaars and along the rows, their newest companion drawing several stares and gasps as they ran. Soon, a guard patrol fell in stride behind them, weapons drawn, yelling for them to stop.
“Uh, Your Highness!” Kayla shouted ahead, hefting a thumb behind them. Farrln looked over his shoulder and saw the persuing peacekeepers, then slid to a stop, causing Willem to try and manage a quick dodge to avoid crashing into the catfolk. The prince caught his arm to help steady him and waited for the others to catch up to him, though he scowled deeply when the guards surrounded Rel and pointed their swords menacingly at him.
“Hold,” he said commandingly, walking to the apparent leader of the patrol and standing at full stature in front of the man. “This is a friend of the royal family.”
The guardsman began to protest, but Farrln fixed him with a more intense glare and came very close to him.
“If you attack him, I shall see to it personally that you spend enough time in the dungeons to truly regret your error.”
The guard shrunk away from the prince's words and gave a wave of his hand. The other guards hesitated for a moment, looking from their captain to the prince to the drow and back again, then finally lowered their weapons with a frown. Rel, who had stood quietly during the entire encounter, seemed to ease the tension in his open stance, but not by much. The guardsmen broke their circle around the dark elf and he made his way back to the rest of the group, avoiding eye contact with them, but feeling their glares upon him all the same. The companions continued on their way, Willem dropping back to walk beside the drow, but in the back of their minds, they couldn't help but wonder if they wouldn't get the same reception wherever they went as long as the drow was with them.
*
“I'll go and present this to my mother and return to you,” Farrln said as they once again stood in the main foyer of the castle. “Please go and take a rest in one of the parlors and I will join you shortly.”
Everyone nodded and went off in the direction that the prince had indicated, settling into a well-furnished parlor, obviously set aside for important guests. They settled onto the plush couches, except for Willem and Rel, who found clear places to stand at ease, though the latter had a distant look of thought stamped on his features. Bramble busied himself with getting to know his new friends, sniffing around each of them, though he found himself shooed away by Elathan, who obviously wanted nothing to do with the dog.
“He doesn't mean any harm,” Rel quietly remarked, though if the sorcerer had heard him, he hid it well as he nudged the canine away with a foot. The drow gave a silent sigh and turned back to his thoughts, not bothering to press the issue further, especially since Bramble had taken the hit and moved on to Willem by that point. Gaylia found herself glancing at the dark elf more than once and finally turned to him, her curiosity gnawing at her.
“You don't behave like I've been told your kind does,” she said, canting her head to the side. “Why is that?”
The question rocked Rel back on his heels a bit. Kayla shot the ranger a scornful glance, but Gaylia's attention was focused on the drow and she didn't notice. Rel blinked a bit and looked away, seemingly to search for a response before he finally turned back to her.
“I suppose you can't believe everything you hear.”
“But there is truth to those tales, is there not?”
“I would not know,” he replied, not looking at her.
“How so?” the ranger pressed. “Are you saying you've always lived on the surface and not with your kind?”
“I am.”
“I suppose that would explain it, then.”
“I suppose.”
Off to the side, Tasha meowed dryly and her master gave a snort. Rel simply folded his arms and leaned more heavily against the wall, not looking at anyone. Gaylia frowned a bit and shifted in her seat.
“I haven't met any of your kind before, so I suppose the tales could be wrong,” she said. “Sorry for prying.”
Willem, who had been giving Bramble scratches behind the ears, stood up and leaned on the wall near the drow, forcing Rel to look up at the crusader.
“Come now, Reldaerqel. Why must you be so defensive?” The drow shifted under Willem's gaze and looked more at the floor than him.
“No one has asked me of my origins before.”
“I would hazard precious few have fought beside you before, as well.”
“More against than with.”
“Well, there you are.”
“It comes with the territory. Some people cannot look past one's appearance.”
Willem didn't miss the reference the drow was making and he shot a careful look at Elathan, who was having a glare battle of his own with Kayla, with the comment obviously being the source.
“Yes, I imagine so,” he said quietly.
Further expounding on the subject came to a halt, then, as Karrashiva entered the room with Farrln not far behind. Everyone who wasn't already standing did so and the queen gave them a nod of recognition.
“I'm glad to see that you all have returned safely, she said as she settled into a chair.
“Thank you, Your Majesty,” Willem said humbly.
“I also see that you have returned with more in tow than when you left,” she said, turning her gaze to Rel. “However, I fully welcome you as an honored companion for your efforts.”
The drow stiffened for a brief moment, then bowed his head.
“Thank you.”
“Farrln has told me the basics of what has transpired,” she continued, focusing her attention on the group as a whole. “I believe if this were to go unchecked, it would lead to a disaster. Therefore, I would ask again for your aid. With the map that you have retrieved from the keep, I would like you to work with the troops that I will dispatch into the streets to keep a watch. They may strike before the festival, they may not; we do not know. But we will try to keep the citizens safe. So I ask you: will you aid Farrlmarr again?”
“My order trains us vigorously in defensive tactics,” said Willem, standing a bit straighter. “I would be glad to aid in whatever manner I can.”
“And the rest of you as well?” Everyone in the room offered a pledge or nod in agreement and the queen gave a smile.
“Then I am in your debt. I thank you.” The queen got to her feet and gave the group another nod. “I will have my advisers meet with you shortly. In the mean time, please make any preparations you have to and should you need anything, please ask.”
She took her leave then, but Farrln stayed behind, offering the group a short bow.
“Thank you again for agreeing.”
“You're welcome, Your Highness,” Kayla said with a broad smile. “But why not try getting something to eat while we see about marking some maps with those spots we need to check?”
“I agree,” Willem said with a nod. “It is almost lunchtime, by my reckoning. May we impose on your cooks?”
“I'm sure the kitchens can make a spread for you.”
“If you have some copies of the map for here that we can have to mark accordingly, we'd appreciate that, too,” said Elathan.
“Well, the map has been handed over to our General...”
“True, which is why I want other maps. That way, we can look at the first map again briefly and mark it accordingly.”
“Actually,” Willem interjected, “it might make more sense to just have some ready at the counsel, so we can use them then. I don't believe we need any exactly now.”
“That's fine, too,” the sorcerer said with a shrug.
“All right.”
“I hate to ask,” Rel said suddenly, drawing everyone's attention, “but I would like to know if there's a shop where I can replace my lost dagger.”
“Oh right,” said the prince. “You may take one form the armory. That's the least we can do.”
“If you insist,” the drow said quietly.
“I may accompany you,” said Willem. “I have some armor things to think about.”
“I need to get some arrows as well, if that's all right with you, Your Highness,” Gaylia put in.
The prince nodded his agreement and lead the lot of them down to the armory, telling the ones that stayed behind that he would send a servant to them when the food had been prepared. He took them along many corridors and finally pushed open a pair of great wooden doors that lead into a large room filled with weapons of all kinds.
“Feel free to look around,” the prince said as he made his way to some stewards who were standing near a whetwheel.
The others quickly spread out, going down the rows of weapons and ammunition to find the things they sought. Gaylia found her arrows quickly, but both Rel and Willem spent a considerable amount of time looking over daggers and shields respectively, testing the balance and feel of several. Farrln eventually rejoined them, leaning on a shelf.
“I know that some of you were interested in the treasure back there. I feel bad that you had to leave it behind.”
“There were many magic items there,” Rel said, not looking up from studying yet another dagger. “Some of them could have been of use.”
“You seem to know a lot about them.”
“My mother was a mage.”
Farrln's ears perked at that and even Gaylia shot the drow a glance. Rel didn't look up, though, the moment passed without further mention of the subject. Willem came up then, bearing a new shield and a purse full of gold to pay for it, but Farrln held up a hand and shook his head.
“Put your purse away, friend. You've more than earned it.”
“Hm,” the warrior said with a frown, obviously uncomfortable with just accepting the item. He considered for a moment, then broke out into a devilish grin. “I'll tell you what. How about I 'earn it' later tonight?”
The prince grinned in kind. “It's a deal.”
The steward Farrln had sent away when they arrived returned and told them the kitchens had already put together a meal for the companions and it was waiting for them in the feast hall. Farrln nodded and sent the steward to collect those in the parlor and led the others down to their lunch.
Soon, they were all together again at a longtable filled to the brim with hot food and cold drinks. Kayla and Audria quickly started on mugs of ale and Elathan made a plate for Tasha, who happily sat on the table to enjoy her meal in full sight of Bramble, who took his on the floor. Farrln and Willem soon started a swordfight played out with cutlery and chicken legs, the prince giving a triumphant laugh when he managed to spear a piece of his adversary's weapon.
“So what are yer plans, Rel?” Kayla asked between draughts.
“I will help you all, since it seems that the person perpetrating these attack is going to come here.”
“What about yer own home? Don't ye need to be protecting it, too?”
“To kill a snake, you cut off its head,” the drow replied simply.
“Aye, there's truth in that,” Kayla said, mulling over the words. She gave a nod, then went back to her meal, clearly ready to focus more on her mode than the upcoming battle.
Despite the grim assessment, the jovial atmosphere continued throughout the meal, with everyone eating their fill and the dwarf and the fighter putting away several pints of liquor. Their miniature party within the feast began to show, though, when Audria began to stare intently at the prince, a smile plain on her face. Willem paused when she mumbled something, raising an eyebrow at the clearly drunk fighter. Farrln turned to regard her and tilted an ear slightly.
“Um, Audria? Is there something on my face?”
“Just the prettiness,” she replied with a grin. Several at the table moved to hide their smiles as Farrln's eyes widened and the insides of his ears turned very red. Kayla gave a hearty laugh and smiled widely.
“She's just had a bit too much, Prince. But what's the matter, no one ever told you that before?”
“Um, no,” the catfolk replied wiggling his nose, clearly embarrassed.
“I wouldn't worry about it too much, then,” the cleric said with a grin.
“We should totally travel together more, Farrlnnn...”
Willem took that moment to heartily clap the prince on the shoulder and turn him about. Farrln fixed him with a wide-eyed look that clearly called for help and the crusader gave a subtle nod.
“I believe we should go see about that counsel now, eh?”
“Yes!” Farrln said quickly. “Yes, that's a good plan. I like that plan.” He quickly got to his feet and began to lead the others to the barracks of the castle's army, even though the others were still in their seats with bemused smiles, save for Audria, who sat looking pitifully sad at her quarry's escape. With a shake of their heads, the party followed after the prince (Audria more being dragged than walking under her own power) to form a proper battle plan for the coming fight.
