Dagger and Crystal

"Ladies, make nice," Leo cut in. Both women shot him an annoyed look. "We have more pressing matters to discuss than who's the first woman in Declan's life."

* * * *

Around breakfast, they filled me in. Last night, Arach had gone out to fetch some salt from another drow household in Storm Harbour, a trek which should have taken only minutes. When she failed to appear again after a few hours, Tear had contacted the other dark elves to find out if Arach had been sidetracked, only to learn that she had never reached them. On the verge of panic, Tear had retraced Arach's steps and had happened upon the scene of a battle, where she found irrefutable proof that Arach had indeed been abducted by other dark elves.

"We wondered if you could aid us in finding her," Leo said, putting down his tea mug.

"I am no magician," I said, looking at Shilana.

"I've used Arach's ring and finger to scry for her," she said. Next to her, Tear shivered and dabbed at her eyes. "We can trace her approximate location but it's the Depths we're talking about. They have taken her below ground and are headed in this general direction but that's all we know. A skilled tracker like yourself, one who can effortlessly see down there, would be a major asset. Besides, we could spend some time together, mother and son."

"If you need more persuasive arguments," Tear whispered, placing a clinking leather bag on the table.

I shook my head "no." "Keep your gold. If it's against the Chaos Queen's faithful, I'm in."

Krejula sighed. "So much for our wonderful morning. When will you be off?"

"The sooner the better," Shilana said. "We saved a lot of time teleporting here and, depending on how twisted the tunnels are below here, we could reach Arach's last known position in a few days, before any serious harm could befall her."

Krejula rose and began collecting things around the room. "What are we waiting for then?"

... to be continued in "The Dark Pathways"

I hope you enjoyed this twisted fantasy of mine. If you did, let me know. Vote and/or comment. It's the only way for me to know if and how you liked this. Thanks for your time.

Blind_Justice