Chapter Eight – New Beginnings

"Kalli? Are you up?"

Merisiel's cheerful call woke Kallian up the next morning. Blinking, she stretched and called, "I am now. You can come in." She brushed her hair out of her face as Merisiel pushed the door open and came in with an armful of clothing. Kallian blinked again and murmured, "Morning Merry."

"Good morning, Kalli," the cheerful elf greeted her, dropping the small mountain on the end of the sleep mat. "My aunt stopped by a few minutes ago with these. She went digging around to see what else my cousin and some of the other neighbours had to pass on. These are all in reasonable condition, so anything that doesn't fit we can give to storage. But most of them should be a reasonable fit." Merisiel grinned and added, "No arguments, Kalli. We can't have you having almost nothing, can we? I'm making some porridge and tea for breakfast - it's pretty much the only thing I can cook, but it's not bad I promise."

"Sounds good to me," Kallian replied with a smile. "Couldn't be worse then some of the things I've eaten in the past. All right, I'll try on some of these while you cook and then come join you in the kitchen. Why don't I make the tea, though? I can at least make a good tea, I promise."

"Sounds perfect," Merisiel replied with a sheepish grin. "My tea is barely drinkable. Zev says we should just use it to poison the drow and he may be right."

"Well I can't cook porridge so it seems like we'll be a good team for breakfast at least," Kallian laughed. As Merisiel left, she started sorting the new clothes into piles of skirts, breeches, tunics and dresses. There was even some undergarments like those Zevran had gotten her from storage. Everything that was in this collection was a great deal better then her old things and the under things were worlds beyond her old ones. Some of those were almost twenty years old and only held together by patches. She flushed at the thought of the women who took care of the laundry seeing the sorry state of her underwear. Would they even return them or just think someone had dropped cleaning rags in the laundry? Quickly, she put all the undergarments into the pile she deemed her 'definitely keep' collection. Even with the donated items, she decided she was going to have to swallow her pride and get a few more sets from the storage warehouse.

She soon decided to keep most of the tunics as well, except for a few that were too tight or bright. In the past, Kallian would have kept the bright tunics anyway. But in her current circumstances, it would be suicide to wear such things while sneaking about in a forest.

The rest of the tunics were completely suitable. Various shades of green, grey and brown with one in shade of dusky blue that suited her colouring well. She pulled that and a pair of dark grey breeches on before putting the rest of her choices away. The fullness of the closet almost took her breath away. It was hard to believe that she'd gone from nothing to all this.

"You look fantastic," Merisiel greeted her when Kallian made her way into the kitchen. "Did most of it fit all right?" she added as she set two bowls of porridge down on the table.

Kallian's nose twitched at the smell of oats, honey and fruit. Merisiel had been right when she'd said she did make a decent porridge "Most of them did, yes, and some fitted but..." She grimaced. "Well..."

"The colours," Merisiel chuckled. "I know. I think Joyance was just testing her luck there. Pretty sure she's been trying to get rid of those for awhile. I doubt anyone else will want them either, but we'll drop them off at storage anyway. Maybe someone will turn them into feed sacks or something."

Kallian laughed and got started on making the tea she'd promised.

As the weeks passed, Kallian found herself settling into the daily routine of Crying Leaf. Every morning she'd rise just before dawn to dress and eat breakfast, then report to Kaerishiel to receive her orders. Depending who he sent out to scout, she would spend the morning training with Merisiel, Caladrel or Zevran. She spent her afternoons improving her riding or on patrol in the forest around Crying Leaf with someone else in the company.

She enjoyed those afternoon patrols. They rarely ran into trouble, so it was more often then not a good time to bond with whoever she went with. Kallian no longer doubted that the group wanted to be friends with her. She was even beginning to feel a part of the unit, but she was eager for the day that she would go with the rest on a real mission.

Zevran seemed just as restless, particularly after they spent four days on afternoon and night patrol. During one of those patrols, Kallian glanced over at Zevran and spoke up. "We'll get to go out soon, I'm sure." She gave him a half smile.

"I know," sighed Zevran. "I just hate not... I just hate these long periods of idleness."

Kallian hesitated, then spoke, "Merry told me why you hate the Drow, without going into detail." She drew in a deep breath and thought for a moment about the one secret she had always kept even from her father. "I know how it feels to want to strike out at someone for justice. If you want to talk about it, well... I won't judge."

Zevran glanced over at Kallian, then looked away for a long moment in silence. Just as the silence was stretching on to the point of going past uncomfortable and into painful, he finally spoke. "You know what it is like?" he asked, his tone cold. "How?" He didn't look at her as he spoke, scanning the woods around him with a frightening intensity instead.

Kallian grimaced, but if she was going to pry into Zevran's personal business then it was only fair he do the same. She drew in a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh. "Well, I guess that's fair..." she murmured. "When I was a child, someone murdered my mother. I told you about how she'd steal to feed all the families in our area, particularly ones with children to feed. Well, one time she broke into the house of a rich merchant to raid his pantry and kitchen and he sent his guards after her." She could feel the way her face set as she remembered and knew her eyes had gone cold and hard. "I was a child, but I was the one who found her after they'd finished with her. It was years before I understood everything the bastards had done, but I was old enough to understand death. And to remember the look on my father's face when he came running up the road to see why I was screaming."

Kallian had to stop for a moment, to draw in a slow, steadying breath before she continued. She could still feel the terror, could smell the cold, sticky blood that had coated her hands and her mother's naked body. "They'd beaten her, cut her... raped her. And when they had finished ripping at her like animals, they'd slit her throat and thrown her into the gutter like garbage." She turned and looked at Zevran, her eyes afire with rage. "It took me twenty five years to learn exactly who murdered her. Another four to hunt them down. Those that killed her and the bastard who gave the order. My only regret in what followed was that I was still a child, with a child's strength. Rat poison in their wine was far too quick and clean, given what they'd done to my mother."

Zevran was silent for another long, painful stretch of time. When Kallian was starting to regret speaking up, Zevran finally began to talking. "How old were you?"

"When they murdered my mother? Around forty. Sixty-six when I started hunting down her murderers," Kallian replied.

Zevran nodded then lapsed back into silence for another long moment. Then he sighed and began to speak, "Rina was my best friend. We'd known each other since before we were able to speak. Some days I thought the only reason either of us survived our childhood was because we had each other. So when I received the chance to join the Shin'Rakorath, I resisted until my recruiter agreed to try her out too. She and I were a team. I could never have left her to end up either serving in one of the brothels or stealing to survive as we'd been doing. She and I had a similar set of skills and we were about the same age you were when you killed your mother's murders. We adapted easily enough to our new surroundings and we were certainly better cared for then we had been. It wasn't long before someone noticed we had the skills for the special company. We moved from basic training to more intense training as spies and assassins." He smiled and murmured, with no trace of humour, "She was glorious. Deadly poetry in motion, dark and beautiful. With a bright, wonderful sense of humour and a spark of life that could light up the darkest night."

"She sounds like someone I'd want to meet," Kallian murmured when Zevran paused.

"She'd have liked you," Zevran replied. "You and she have a lot in common from what I've seen." He smiled and a spark of his usual sense of humour returned to his tone and eyes. "Both beautiful and utterly deadly. Rina grew to hate the drow, in her own quiet way, and became dedicated to her duties. Particularly after we met Tidurian. The three of us were soon a team within the team. It was not that we didn't work with the rest of the group as well, but... Well, the three of us were often assigned the sort of missions that were... a little bloodier then standard, will we say?" He paused, running his fingers over a tree trunk in silence and staring at the wood with a far off look in his eyes. "I was to be with them that night."

"What happened?" Kallian asked, clasping her hands behind her back rather then give into her first urge to reach out and put a hand on his shoulder. At the moment she suspected the contact would not be welcome. "What kept you from the mission?"

"I took an arrow to the shoulder that morning in training," Zevran murmured. "Just an accident. One of the children watching us tried to imitate our style and shot without warning. Stupid boy, but he never meant to hit me. I was retrieving arrows when his shot missed the target but found my shoulder." He chuckled bitterly. "A lesson for him in range safety, and a lesson for me in not having worn my armour that morning. The wound was deep and, though it was soon healed by magic, it was stiff. The healers deemed me unfit for duty that night. So Rina and Tidurian decided to take it on as a duo rather then the planned trio. It was the sort of mission that we expected them to be out of contact for a while, so no one worried when we didn't hear from them at first. Then a week went by..."

"And you did start to worry..."

Zevran nodded. "That was when the priests and clerics started using scrying spells, only for them to fail... The more they failed, the more it sank in that something had gone terribly wrong." He leaned against the tree and closed his eyes. "The others and I, especially I, were not prepared to just leave things at that. We felt we had to search, to find our friends and, if they were dead, then to retrieve their bodies and lay them to rest." Zevran swallowed hard, once, twice, and shuddered. "It took another four days to find Tidurian. What little the Drow left. It took magic to even identify the remains as being his. They didn't even appear elven." He reached up to touch his gold earring. "Of my Rina, we found only this. The Drow had dragged her away, I assume, and I can only pray she died fast. There was no body to lay to rest at the ceremony to send her soul on, only words and a funeral pyre that had no purpose."

Now Kallian did rest a hand on Zevran's shoulder. "They'll pay, Zev," she said. "Revenge won't bring your friends back, but I promise I'll do all I can to help you find some justice for what happened to them."

Zevran looked up, his eyes bright for a moment before he blinked and gave her a half smile. "You just called me Zev."

"You said it's what your friends call you," Kallian replied, giving him a small smile in return. "I don't know a lot about friendship, but I'm guessing that it's better to seek justice with a friend then to do so alone. And you already call me Kalli."

"So I do," replied Zevran, relaxing as the dark, sad spell that had fallen over them both lifted. "And so it is. And dark memories are always best chased away with fine wine and a good friend. My place, after patrol?"

"Your wine, or the captain's?" asked Kallian with a chuckle.

"Well, it is in my procession now, is it not? And is not procession nine tenths of the law or some such?" laughed Zevran.

"I've heard something like that. Fine, your place, after I've stopped by mine to clean up."

"As you wish," agreed Zevran, then reached out to take Kallian's hand. "Kalli?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Zev."

They didn't talk again for the rest of their patrol of the forest. It was only the amused looks of their replacements alerted the pair to the fact they were still holding hands at the end of it.

"Good thing all's quiet," laughed one of the two elves.

"Maybe you should learn to shoot with each of you having one hand on the bow," teased the other as they headed into the forest.

Not meeting each other's eyes, Zevran and Kallian released their joined hands.

"So..." Zevran coughed. "Wine at my cottage tonight still on?"

Kallian nodded, feeling grateful that her skin tone didn't show her blush. "Yes," she murmured. "Just give me a candle mark... Or, make that a candle mark and a half, if that's all right with you?"

"That's fine with me," agreed Zevran with a smile. He paused, giving her a strange look that Kallian couldn't read, then hurried off towards the complex of their company.

Kallian followed more slowly, her mind racing as her feet made their own way home without mental prodding. Her hands felt clammy and chilled without the warmth of Zevran's palm against hers. "Merry!" she called as soon as she got inside, hoping her friend was home. "Merry? Are you here?" She kept calling as she headed to her bedroom. Opening her wardrobe, she stared in despair at her new collection of clothing. At least with her old rags, there'd never been any need to chose an outfit.

"Kalli?" Merisiel stepped into Kallian's bedroom. "What is it? What's happened?" She gave Kallian a concerned stare. "Did something happen while you were on patrol?"

"Zevran and I talked about some things," Kallian murmured, still staring into her wardrobe. "And, well, we ended up holding hands a bit and he asked me to come over for a drink in a bit over a candle mark."

Merisiel blinked, then started to grin. "Oh? Is Zev's charm wearing you down, Kalli?"

"It's just a friendly drink," Kallian murmured. "How can I have all these clothes and yet still have nothing to wear?"

"A friendly drink and yet you're panicking over your wardrobe," laughed Merisiel "If you say so. Come on Kalli, step aside and let me take a good look at what you have. Planning to head to the baths or just splash your face a bit?"

"I'm pretty sweaty, so I was thinking of a proper bath at the bathes," Kallian replied, stepping back from the wardrobe.

"Good idea," Merisiel murmured, shifting through the clothes. "Go have your soak. I'll bring you an outfit over. And I've got a nice scent collection too, if you're interested. And how about just a little touch of face paints? Nothing over the top, just a little to enhance your features a bit?"

"It's not... It's a friendly drink, Merry!" Kallian protested, but it came out weaker then she'd intended.

Merisiel grinned more, her eyes bright with amusement. "Think about it Kalli. You could consider it beating Zev at his own game. See if you can't take his breath away."

Kallian was quiet for a moment, then murmured, "I've never used face paints anyway..."

"Oh that's no problem," Merisiel laughed. "I can help you with that. So, is that an agreement I hear?"

"Well, I guess it is," replied Kallian with a grin. "But only because it will be amusing to give Mister Too-Good-Looking-To-Be-True a taste of his own medicine for a change. I'll go wash and let you pick out an outfit then." Chuckling, she left the room.

Alone, Merisiel waited until she heard the front door closing before she burst out laughing. "Oh Kalli," she murmured. "You have no idea how much you're smitten, my dear. I just hope you both realise it before you hurt each other." Sighing, she turned back to the task of picking out an outfit suitable for getting her friends together.

Just under a candle mark and a half later, Kallian was on the doorstep to Zevran's cottage. Tugging on her tunic, she wished Merisiel hadn't picked out one that was this tight, even if it did highlight what few curves she had. The look on Zevran's face would be worth all this fuss, though. Kallian resisted the urge to rub a hand over her eyes and knocked on the door. Merisiel had been firm in her warnings that the eye-liner would make her look like someone had punched her in both eyes if she smudged it.

Zevran opened the door and his welcoming smile vanished into jaw dropping shock for a moment. Then he recovered himself enough to grin at her, but Kallian noticed his eyes kept drifting away from her face.

"You said you wanted to scrub up a bit, but I was not expecting this gem," he commented as he stepped aside. "You honour me, my dear lady. Please, come in. I hope you don't mind that I took the liberty of arranging a small meal for us as well as our drink? It's never wise to drink on an empty stomach, after all." Particularly when you arrive looking like that, he thought with a trace of something like awe.

Zevran had told himself that his offer of dinner and a drink had been just a friendly act to get to know the newest member of his little 'family'. Now, he had to admit there was nothing brotherly about his thoughts. But there was something other then lust there as well. And that was terrifying. Lust was normal, safe and comfortable. Other things... Well other things were a weaknesses and a dangerous distraction.

"Wise," Kallian murmured, startling Zevran out of his thoughts.

"What? Oh, yes. The food." Zevran took a deep breath and fought not to wince at the amusement in his companion's eyes. Let her think he was just distracted by her appearance if that was what she thought. He knew a woman didn't go to so much trouble unless she wanted to throw a man off balance. Which, he had to admit, Kallian had done. But she didn't need the face paints or the outfit to do that, as pretty as she looked in them. She'd been throwing him off since he'd first laid eyes on her, and she refused to have the decency to get out of his head ever since. He knew he could play her at the game she'd started. He could even get her into his bed if he turned up the charm, but... That was pure lust and something told him it wouldn't be enough to settle the strange feelings he had whenever he saw her. He'd been doing too much lurking in the shadows for just such opportunities to see her. Which was not only obsessive, but also creepy. Perhaps he shouldn't have allowed himself to think of Rina around a woman that could have been her sister.

That was it. He'd loved Rina and Kallian had that similarity in general appearance and personality. If he got to know Kallian better, on a friendship only basis, then he would soon see the differences. This blurring of emotions would then settle into something more logical. That was all he'd have to do. Just be friends. He could do that. And now you are rambling in your own head and Kalli is all but laughing openly at you. Focus Zevran. Wine, dinner and then you see her home in a gentleman-like fashion.

"Show me through to the kitchen?" Kallian asked, slipping her hand into Zevran's and feeling a tingle race up her spine.

Zevran swallowed, then smiled. "This way," he told her, leading her into the kitchen. He'd set out the small meal of dips, crackers and a nice green salad that he'd begged from an amused Oparal.

"This looks like you went to a lot of trouble Zevran," Kallian told him. "You didn't need to."

"I thought you had decided to call me Zev from now on," Zevran teased. "It was no trouble. I just had to go over to Opal's to beg supplies from her. I can hardly send a friend home with an aching head, can I now? And I would prefer not to wake up with one either. So it's a double win for me."

"If you say so," Kallian replied and winked. "Though I would include getting to have dinner with a pretty girl in there and make it a triple win."

"Ah, but I'm not having dinner with a pretty girl," Zevran teased. At the look on Kallian's face he went on before she slapped him. "I am having dinner with a beautiful woman."

"Nice save," Kallian laughed and sat down at the chair Zevran pulled out for her. "All joking aside, this looks lovely Zev. Just what I needed after a long patrol."

"Indeed," Zevran murmured, pouring the wine for the both of them. He elected not to mention that the wait for her to arrive had felt a good deal longer then their patrol had seemed. "Good wine, good food and charming company. What better way to spend an evening?"

"I know I can't think of one," Kallian replied. "It beats stale bread and dirty water, though my father was always good company."

"Bards usually are," replied Zevran with a grin, relaxing as they seemed to be settling on safe ground now. "Have you heard from him yet?"

"A messenger brought me a letter yesterday in fact," Kallian replied. "He sounds well and the house he describes sounds as nice as the houses here. He even mentioned considering trying to take on a few students for music lessons. Though for most of the letter he just asked, repeatedly, how I was doing here. And kept reminding me to be careful and that I could always come home. Standard fatherly things. I'm glad he's doing well, though. One more thing I owe Kaerishiel for."

"Mmm hmm," murmured Zevran, sipping his wine. "Your father sounds like a good man. A father should worry for his child, I think. Particularly when he's raised a beautiful and good woman." He inwardly winced and glanced at his wine glass. The drink was going to his head a good deal faster then usual if he was making comments like that. Resolving to eat more, he set the glass aside and took a slice of bread and cheese to nibble despite his fluttery stomach and clammy hands. Like a virgin bride on her wedding night, he thought with scorn. What was it about this girl that twisted him up so?

Kallian, luckily, didn't seem to notice Zevran's unusual nerves. "He is a good man," she agreed, smiling wistfully. "I do miss him, even if I am happy here."

"You seem to have settled in well," Zevran replied, grinning. "Jath was just saying the other day that it seems like you have been here forever, you've taken to all this so well."

"Sometimes I feel like I have," Kallian admitted. "It's strange, but all this feels right, like I am meant to be here."

You were, thought Zevran, considering what he knew of Kallian's family history. But Kaerishiel had made an oath to say nothing of it to Kallian and he had extracted the same oath from Zevran. So instead of voicing his thought, Zevran replied, "I have heard some people feel that way when they've found their path in life. It could be destiny." Chuckling, he winked and added, "Or it could be just having found some good friends."

"Having friends is wonderful," Kallian agreed. "Gods know I'd be lost without you all."

Zevran reached for his wine glass to take a deep swallow. Was it another product of whatever it was that kept him so twisted up around her or had Kallian put an odd stress on the word 'you' in that comment? He tried to read her expression, but she avoided making eye contact and took her own deep drink of wine. "Well," he murmured after an uncomfortable pause. "I am glad... That we're making you comfortable."

For a long time they ate and drank in silence, trying to ignore the way their pulses raced and their skin tingled. Then Kallian finally broke the silence. "I don't think I ever thanked you for all the help you gave me when we first met."

"There's nothing to thank me for," Zevran replied. "We are all brothers and sisters of the Shin'Rakorath, are we not? I would do as much for any sister." Even if I want you to be more then a sister.

"Well, thank you anyway," Kallian murmured, looking away and draining her third glass of wine. "I'd have been completely out of my depth without you."

"A man likes to know he's appreciated," Zevran murmured, shifting to glance out the window. "It's gotten dark," he noted with mild surprise. He hadn't noticed time flying by so fast. Another side effect of being around Kallian that he was beginning to notice. A candle-mark flew by like a mere minute when she was around, yet felt like a day when she wasn't there.

Kallian glanced out the window as well and sighed. "So it has," she murmured. "I suppose I should be going home then." She shifted, but didn't move to rise from the table yet.

"Well... It's not as though you have far to go," commented Zevran. "If you want to stay for a bit longer... Then you are most welcome." He glanced at the wine then, with a smile that felt more shy then it did charming, added, "We do still have half a bottle left."

"And it would be a shame to waste good wine," Kallian agreed with a grin.

"And an equal crime to leave a friend to drink alone," Zevran laughed, rising from his chair. "Well, if you're willing to keep me company, then I more then welcome it Kalli. But if we have finished eating, why don't we move to a more comfortable setting to drink and talk? I have a small, but nice sitting room and the nights are cool still. It would take no time to get a small fire going and we can enjoy each other's company. The kitchen is fine for a meal, but not so suited to comfortable chatter, or so I have found."

"That sounds good to me," Kallian murmured, giving Zevran a quiet stare that somehow sent shivers down his spine. There was something in her eyes that was both intense and fascinating all at once. "Let me help you tidy up a bit and then you can lead the way." She started to gather up the plates, but paused when Zevran put a hand on hers.

"No need," Zevran murmured in her ear and it was Kallian's turn to feel shivers at his nearness. "That's the host's job, not the guest's. Leave it for me to worry about later." He gave her a smile that seemed strained at the edges then, to the surprise of the both of them, he brushed her hair out of her face again. At once he jerked his hand away, leaving Kallian with a sudden sense of loss. "I apologise. I gave you my word I wouldn't touch you without your permission and I-"

Kallian silenced him by pressing a finger to his lips. "You have it," she said. "So don't apologise"

Zevran looked at her for a long moment, then his lips twisted into a half smile. "I think, Kalli, you might have had enough wine after all. Come, I will walk you home." Wanting to show her there was no hard feelings or rejection, he moved to give her a kiss of the brotherly sort. Or at least that was what he'd intended.

Kallian had other ideas, moving to catch his lips in a manner that was hot and almost angry but was anything but sisterly. "I am not drunk, Zevran," she said, her voice intent, clear and focused. "If you're not interested after all, then say so and we'll go on as friends. But I am /beyond/ tired of trying to tell myself that I'm not attracted to you."

Zevran swallowed hard for a moment, then set the bottle of wine on the counter to buy himself a moment to study Kallian and think. Or as much as he could when her kiss had left him breathless and dizzy from the sudden rush of blood from his head. She did look to be sober, or at least sober enough to know what she was saying, so he forced himself to put that concern from his mind. The bigger concern was his own feelings, he decided. He didn't want this to be the usual tumble, then friends in the morning, but he wasn't sure why that was. He hadn't been lying when he'd thought that Kallian could have been Rina's younger sister. There was a certain similarity in personality. And he'd loved Rina. He could admit that to himself at least. Was he only feeling the way he did for Kallian because of that resemblance?

Kallian waited for a moment, then sighed and nodded at his silence. "Understood," she murmured with a nod and a gentle smile. "We're still friends, Zev, if you're willing to be... But I think I'll walk myself home. Good night."

"Kalli," Zevran began. "It's not-"

"No," Kallian cut him off as she started towards the door. "Don't explain, please," she added, pausing in the doorway to look back over her shoulder. "It only draws things out more then they need to be." Then the door closed and she was gone.

Zevran sank to the floor and buried his face in his knees. "That's not what I meant," he whispered to the lingering trace of her perfume on the air. "I just... I needed time. I want to do what's right, not what's easy for once." But now she was gone and he couldn't even hear the sounds of her fleeing footfall any more. So he sat on the floor of his hallway and hid his frustrated tears in the cloth of his tunic sleeves instead.

He couldn't have said how long he'd sat there and cursed. He couldn't even have said if he was cursing himself, her or Kaerishiel for bringing her into his life. when an all too familiar horn blast rang through the night air and made his head snap up on sheer reflex. The guard alarm! They were under attack.

Pushing his tangled mix of emotion aside, Zevran sprinted for his bedroom and the weapon racks there. Well, well. What timing the Drow have. If there was ever a night when he wanted to shed blood, it would be tonight. Dragging on his armour over his clothes, he sheathed his daggers and clipped on the little pouch he stored poison vials in. Then he looked outside and smiled as his eyes hardened and cooled. This was going to be a bad night for the Drow.

Not bothering with the door, he vaulted out the window and sprinted across the courtyard towards the sound of battle. He was halfway across when he saw Merisiel, with Kallian's bow in her hand.

Staring at each other, they spoke the same horrified question. "Where's Kalli? I thought she was with you!"

"We had a... misunderstanding," Zevran explained. His voice sounded strained as he looked around, desperate to spot Kallian. "She said she was going home."

Merisiel swore. "She never came in. I bet she went for a walk or something rather then have to talk to me while upset. I told her I'd wait up a bit." She shook her head and shoved Kallian's bow into Zevran's arms. "Stealth and start looking for her. I'll alert Opal and have her send a Sending to her to find out where she is."

Zevran nodded, clutching Kallian's bow in a tight fist as he drew in a breath. It was difficult to focus with the fear and guilt flooding through him, but damn it, he was not losing another to the drow. It would not happen. Gritting his teeth, Zevran managed to focus enough to mask himself in the shadows. Once hidden, he raced though Crying Leaf, looking this way and that for any sign of Kallian and praying she'd found a safe place to wait.

Kallian wasn't a fool, he told himself. Even if she didn't recognise the alarm for what it was, she would realise it meant trouble from the reactions of those around her. Surely she would have the sense to get herself out of harm's way? No matter how much he attempted to reassure himself, it didn't quell the gut wrenching fear. /Where is she?/ he asked himself, trying not to picture what the Drow could do to a young, unarmed and unarmoured woman if they found her.

As if in answer to his prayers, Zevran heard a second voice in the back of his head. ~Zev! She's stealthed in the back of the armoury. Clever girl got herself some armour at least. Get the bow to her.~

~Good. Thank you Opal. I'll get over there now. Tell Kallian to stay there and stealthed until I arrive.~ As a reply would need a second casting of the spell he neither got nor expected one. Oparal wouldn't waste magic just to agree. At least he now knew where Kallian was and that she was safe. The next step was to reach her without either the Drow or his own people bumping into him. Either group would shoot or stab at him without wasting time on questions.

As the area near the north gates was getting thick with combatants, he knew he couldn't take the most direct route to the armoury. Instead Zevran forced himself to move westwards and away from the thickest area of fighting.

Even with taking the long and careful route, Zevran was twice discovered. Luckily though it was by single drow who he took down with relative swiftness. Still it took far longer then he'd have liked to reach the armoury and push his way inside. Closing the door behind him, he searched the dim room. For a heart stopping moment he was certain that Kallian had either left or that the Drow had found her.

Then Kallian dropped her cloak of shadow and stood beside him. "How bad is it out there?" she asked, taking her bow.

"Bad enough, but we will push them back," Zevran replied. "Did you get hurt at all?" he asked, searching her for any trace of pain or wounds.

"No," replied Kallian. "I cloaked and hurried here as soon as I realised what the alarm was."

"Thank the gods," breathed Zevran. "When I realised you hadn't gone home and weren't armed..."

"Yes... Well... Hadn't we better get out there?" Kallian asked, not looking at Zevran. "Thanks for bringing me my bow." Even if I wish you had been anyone else.

"Kali..." Zevran took a deep breath and swore. Then he yanked Kallian towards him and kissed her with all the strength, passion and anger she'd used on him before. Then he stepped back. "I'm not ready yet, Kalli," he said, looking her in her stunned eyes. "Not for what I think I feel for you. But if you can give me time..."

~Zev! Kalli! If you're together, stay there. We're coming to you. We have a new mission.~

~Understood,~ Zevran replied. He was careful not to curse the timing until /after/ he'd felt the spell fade. "You heard that?" he asked Kallian, now all business. Affairs of the heart took second place to a new assignment.

"I heard," Kallian replied, her tone and body both tense. "Looks like I'm getting my first real mission."

He gave her a grim smile. "Looks like. Just follow our lead and your instincts and you'll do just fine, I promise."

"Zev?" Kallian glanced towards the door then spat out the next words in a rush. "When you're ready, I'll be waiting."

Zevran had no time to speak before the rest of their group stepped out of the shadows and Jathel took control.

"Good, you're both safe. Captain Kaerishiel sent orders while you were looking for Kallian, Zevran. We're not to join the fighting, but instead to make our way into Celwynvian. This attack should weaken their defenses and give us the opportunity to get inside. Our primary orders are to gather information and intelligence about their commanders and numbers. Secondary orders are to do whatever it takes to sew chaos in their command structure. That will be your area, Zev, Opal. Kalli, you'll be with Cal and Merry. Follow their lead. You two ready?" He directed the question to Caladrel and Merisiel, who nodded.

"We're shadow jumping us out of Crying Leaf," Merisiel told Kallian and Zevran. "So focus on what you feel when we do, Kalli. You can consider it your first lesson on how to shadow jump."

Kallian nodded and opened up her senses as she and Zevran moved to be in contact with Merisiel and Caladrel. It was an odd feeling when they Jumped, with the world seeming to darken and blur all at once. There was a strange sense of lifting and twisting in the back of her mind, then an almost audible snapping. Then they were in the shadows of a large cluster of trees and Crying Leaf was about two hundred feat in the distance.

"Everyone use their best stealth method and keep moving north," hissed Jathal. "Opal, telepathic link please, so we don't lose each other. Quickly now! We can't afford the Drow seeing us."

Oparal nodded and began casting her spell, her expression grim.

Much like the Sending spell Kallian had experienced earlier, there was a tickling sensation in the back of her mind. She forced herself to relax, then heard Oparal's voice in her mind.

~Good, Kalli. That's perfect. We're all linked now, but don't worry, we can't hear your thoughts unless you think at us, like with the Sending spell.~

~Like this?~ Kallian asked, trying to 'push' the thought at her friend.

~Exactly right,~ Oparal approved. ~All right then. Let's get moving. Jath, when will we break for a rest?~

~The moon should reach it's peak in about five candle marks. We'll make a cold camp for the night then,~ Jathal replied.

As the rest of the group thought their agreement to the plan, Kallian turned to look back at Crying Leaf. ~Will they be all right?~

~Crying Leaf has stood for hundreds of years and will continue to stand for as long as the town needs to be here,~ Zevran assured her. ~Our role in this fight is not to be here, no matter how we might dislike the fact. Come Kalli. It is time to show you why the Shadow company exists.~

~All right,~ murmured Kalli, though she prayed her new home would be safe as she darted into the woods with her friends. They had a fair distance to travel and little time to do so.

~When I tell you to, summon your Shadow Companion,~ Merisiel whispered into Kallian's mind. ~The Shadows are particularly useful for this sort of mission and we could use the extra bodies. Enough time's past since your first summoning that you should have no problems. And it's best our Companions meet outside of battle.~

~All right,~ Kallian agreed. She'd be glad of her Companion's presence, for both protection and guidance. ~Just tell me when.~

~Either when we stop for the night, or sooner if we run into serious trouble,~ Merisiel replied. ~I don't expect us to run into any. We know how to run an infiltration mission without getting caught on the way there and you've got enough sense not to do anything rash. We should all be fine.~

Kallian nodded and turned her attention back to scanning the forest for any signs of drow, demons or other trouble. They encountered a few Drow patrols and, although Zevran grumbled about it, they were careful to sneak by them unseen. As frustrating as it was, it wasn't their duty to take out these Drow. It was more important they make their way into the enemy's lines undiscovered then it was to take down a dozen Drow.

So they bypassed the groups they encountered and thus avoided any trouble. After candle marks of sneaking and running, they stopped spotting drow. And, even more reassuring, the animal life of the woods started to return to normal. Even so, they kept themselves hidden and ran as quietly as possible, freezing whenever they heard a noise.

~At least we haven't seen any driders, yet,~ murmured Caladrel.

~Driders?~ asked Kallian, her tone curious at the unfamiliar word.

~You could call them the drow's shock troops,~ Jathal replied. ~They're hideous. Mutilated mixture of drow and monster. No one I know of is sure of how the drow create them. Though most think they have some way of mutilating their own people into even greater monsters.~

~The drider seem to hate their drow masters as much as we do,~ Zevran added. ~But that doesn't stop them serving and they are powerful monsters. Arrows pretty much just bounce off them unless you get lucky and find one of their few vulnerable spots, such as the eyes. A single drider is a difficult foe to beat. More then one is almost impossible. In that case, you are far better off finding a way to sneak past them or trap them.~

~I see. Sounds like a nightmare,~ Kallian murmured.

~You have no idea,~ Merisiel muttered. ~Trust me, Kalli, they are worse then a nightmare. You'll see that when you see them. And I promise, you will see them at some point on this mission.~

~Great,~ murmured Kallian.

~Sorry,~ replied Merisiel. ~But that's how it goes. You're one of us now, Kalli.~

Somehow, that didn't make Kallian as happy as it would have done a week earlier.