Chapter 302
Awareness came in a flash of light, painful in its intensity. His mouth opened, his chest swelling with a sweet flush of air even as his heart began to pound again, spreading life through his body.
Fario Ellegoth opened his eyes, blinking against the intensity of the light. The first thing he saw was a familiar face.
“Fellian,” he said, his voice weak as his body adjusted to the sudden transition back to life.
“I am here,” the golden-haired half-elf said. Like Fario, he was clad in a simple robe of soft white cloth, his body cleansed from the taint of blood and death that had clung to him when they’d taken him from the Last Laugh safehouse. Fario extended an arm toward his friend, the gesture costing him some clear effort; Fellian took it in his and held it to him. At that touch, the grief that had clenched Fario’s heart in its grasp shattered, and he finally felt truly alive once more.
“We... we were dead,” Fario said.
“Yes. But our friends brought us back, together.”
It was then that Fario realized that they were not alone. Turning, he saw Jenya Urikas, a tired look etched on her fair features, a now-empty scroll held in her slender fingers. Nearby stood Beorna and Mole. The gnome’s expression was cheerful, but the dwarf templar wore a serious frown.
“Welcome back, Fario!” Mole said.
“Thank you, all of you,” Fario said. His body was weak, incredibly weak, but he made the effort to rise up onto his arm on the padded couch where he lady. “We are in your debt.”
“I’d say so,” Beorna said. “Those scrolls cost upward of six thousand each, you know. Not to mention the drain upon the creator.”
Jenya shot a cautionary look at the templar, but Fario nodded in acknowledgement. “Yes, I know. As I said, we are in your debt... and the Striders pay their debts.”
“You are allies in our common struggle against the dark,” Jenya said. “What aid we can provide is ours to give.”
“What... what happened... after?” Fario said. Fellian brought him a cup of water, and the warrior-rogue drank gratefully, the liquid washing away the dryness that had made a desert out of his mouth and throat. He managed to pull himself up to a seated position on the edge of the couch.
“Not much to tell,” Mole said. “We had another run-in with the Watch; seems our activities at the inn stirred up a bit of a ruckus.” She grinned, recalling the event. “Dannel and Beorna handled them, well enough.”
“Bloody useless,” Beorna grumbled.
“They took our extra prisoners, the common rogues, into custody,” Mole continued. “But we brought the lead assassin back here for questioning. The guards didn’t like it, but with Beorna looking right about to chew nails, what were they going to do?”
Fario’s face darkened at the mention of the Last Laugh leader. He tried to get up, but his tired body finally rebelled, and Fellian had to help him to keep him from toppling forward onto his face.
“Your body and soul alike have been through a great ordeal,” Jenya said. “You need rest, both of you.”
“We may not have time for rest,” Fellian said. “Something big is happening, and we may not have time for hesitation.”
A clank of metal on metal announced the arrival of Arun and Hodge. The paladin nodded to see the half-elf alive again, and Fario in turn inclined his head in respect and gratitude.
“Any luck?” Mole asked.
“She’s not talking,” Arun said.
“I cannot say that I am surprised,” Beorna said. “She will likely have to be compelled.”
“If you mean what I think you mean, I’ll have no part of it,” Dannel said. “I think we’ve had enough torture for one night, don’t you think?”
Beorna’s face tightened. “That is not what I said. But there are other means of coercion besides physical force.”
“She has already resisted my charm spell,” Dannel said. “Unless you have something else...”
“Well, we still have the halfling,” Mole said. They’d brought the sorcerer—or more accurately, his corpse—back with them, so that Jenya could speak with the dead in an effort to find out what he knew. But the high priestess would have to wait until the morrow, to pray for that particular spell. For the moment, Finch was in storage, his body temporarily preserved with a gentle repose spell.
“We cannot afford to wait...” Beorna began.
“Please,” Jenya interrupted, her open hands extended in a calming gesture. “Let us find out what we do know, first. Fellian, if you would share your account?”
The half-elf nodded, his own exhaustion showing as he sat down on the couch beside Fario. When he looked up at them, however, his expression was one of grim determination.
“We’ve been monitoring the activities of some of the leading figures in Cauldron,” he began. “We... we had reason to believe, through our investigations, that some of them were involved in the troubles facing the city. With the mayor disappearing...”
“What? The mayor’s gone? I hadn’t heard that,” Beorna interjected.
“There have been rumors, but nothing specific,” Jenya said. “But it’s true that Navalant has fallen into the background of late. His circle of close advisors have all but taken over the administration of the city, in particular Lord Orbius Vhalantru.”
“That is a name we know well,” Fellian said. “We haven’t been able to find out much about him—he’s fairly secretive—but we had uncovered some suspicious behavior about one of Vhalantru’s associates... a noblewoman by the name of Thifirane Rhiavadi.”
“I know of her as well, although we haven’t met,” Jenya said. “She has a considerable estate in the southeastern quadrant of the city.”
“That’s where I was captured,” Fellian said. “I’d been watching the Rhiavadi estate for several days...”
“I should have never let Meerthan send you alone,” Fario said.
Fellian looked at his friend, and shook his head. “We all had to do what we must,” he said. “Your mission was no less important than mine...”
“Yeah, what were you doing, Fario?” Mole asked.
The half-elf’s expression suggested that he wouldn’t answer, but Fellian said, “We are fighting the same fight. We need keep no secrets from them.” Turning back to the companions, he said, “Fario was trying to break into the mayor’s residence, to find out if Navalant was truly dead, as we suspect.”
“The place was all but deserted,” Fario said. “A few guards, that’s it. Somebody cleaned it out, that much was obvious.”
“So what of Rhiavadi?” Arun asked.
“She’s a wizard, and apparently one of great skill,” Fellian began.
“Wonderful,” Hodge said.
“She’s something of a social gadfly, and spends a lot of time at various events through the city, always close to the avenues of power. From what I could gather from watching, and from a few careful questions around the neighborhood, Rhiavadi’s been having some odd guests at her estate, at some very unusual hours. Something was clearly building, there... and earlier this evening, I saw several very curious individuals arriving there. A trio of very unfriendly-looking dwarves... a very corpulent tiefling... and an armored cleric, whom I believe was a follower of Loviatar.”
“The maiden of pain,” Beorna said grimly. “This just gets better and better.”
“There may be others,” Fellian said. “While I was watching, I heard a faint noise near my position, and as I was sneaking out the Last Laugh ambushed me. I have several spells to get me out of tricky positions, but clearly they knew exactly where I was, for they didn’t even give me a chance to utter a syllable of magic.”
“So this meeting may still be going on,” Arun said.
Fellian nodded. “In any event, it’s something, and all my instincts scream something big.”
“So again we have more questions and guesses than hard information,” Dannel said.
“And there’s someone just a few paces away who has some answers,” Beorna returned.
“Then let us see if we can get them,” came a voice from behind them. Seven faces turned in that direction, where a shadowy figure draped in an enveloping body-length cloak stood framed in the outer doorway. As she stepped forward into the light, her identity was revealed, but those gathered here had known who she was from the first word spoken.
“Zenna!” Mole exclaimed.
