Jess Lebow - Obsidian Ridge

"How are we supposed to operate with your thugs roaming between the stalls, looking into every alleyway, and scaring our customers?"

"Your customers have nothing to fear from the Magistrates, and neither do you. That is, unless what you are selling is illegal. Tell me Lady Herrin. Are you trying to sell illegal goods? Elixir perhaps?"

"You listen to me, Korox. You need us, and you-know it. And we won't stand for you telling us what we can and cannot sell. So you just keep your Magistrates out of our marketplace, or you will get no favors from us." She turned her horse around. "Keep your nose out of our business, or you will be sorry."

She gave her mount a nudge. "We're leaving," she said to the other merchants. Each member of her contingent took their turn riding up to the wall of soldiers, glaring at the king, then riding off.

"Rumor is that Clusterfang was an ally of the Twisted Rune," explained Evelyne, crawling along in the tunnel behind the Claw. "There should be an opening to your right. Check first to make sure nothing's there before you go in."

"That thing? In with the most secretive organization in all of Faerun?" Ahead and to his right, just as the half-elf had said, was an opening. Palm first, he poked his head inside and looked around. "All clear," he said, and he pulled himself into a small chamber with nothing in it except a heavy wooden door.

"That's the rumor I heard," said Evelyne, coming out of the tunnel into the cramped room. "Then again, I suppose information in this place is not the most reliable."

"Where did you hear this rumor?"

"A little gnome told me."

"A gnome?"

"Yeah, a gnome," she said, stretching her limbs. "He showed up here a few months ago." "And where is this gnome now?" Evelyne shrugged. "Dead."

He'd only known her for a short time, but the Claw was already realizing that Evelyne had a bad habit of leaving out the tantalizing details from her stories.

Finishing her stretches and dusting herself off, Evelyne said, "Well, it's been a pleasure. See you around some time, if you don't get killed."

"Wait," said the Claw. "I need your help."

"Uh, no thanks." Slapping him on the arm, she turned and headed for the door.

"No really," pleaded the Claw. "I need to find something, and you're my only hope."

"Now why would I want to go and do a fool thing like help you?"

The Claw was at a loss for reasons. "Well… because I asked?"

"Yeah, right." She pulled on the door.

"Wait. Wait. What is it you want?"

Evelyne stopped, the door cracked open. "You mean other than to get out?" She thought for a moment. "I guess that's it really. Just get out. And as long as we're day-dreaming, I don't ever want to get sent back here. Never ever."

"How did you get put here? The king doesn't hand out sentences to the Cellar lightly."

Evelyne shifted her weight. "That's no business of yours. Let's just say I deserved it."

"How long have you been here?"

"A year," she said. "Give or take a few months. It's hard to tell time in a place like this." "That's a long time."

"I'm a patient woman," she said. She pulled the door open wide. "I'll be seeing you."

"What if I told you I could get you out of here?" Evelyne stopped. "I'm listening."

"What if I could not only get you out of here, but I could also get you a full pardon-get you cleared completely. That you could go back to your old life, no longer a criminal."

"You could do that?"

"Only if you help me."

She rubbed her chin, considering his offer. "What is it you're searching for anyway?"

"The woman I love," said the Claw. -

Evelyne shook her head. "You came down here to find your woman." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, still thinking. Then she threw her hands in the air. "Hells, what else have I got to do? Very well. You've got a deal. Escape from this place and a full pardon." She put her hand out. "Shake on it."

The Claw put out his hand, but Evelyne pulled away.

"On second thought," she said, looking at his bladed gauntlets, "maybe it's safer to make this a verbal agreement."

"That'll teach you."

Mariko looked out through blurry eyes. She blinked. "Where am I?"

"You're in the Cellar, and you're lucky to be alive."

The princess shook her head. It felt thick, full of liquid, and there was a dull throbbing in her temple. "The Cellar?" It was hard to think with all the cobwebs in her brain.

A sudden chill ran down her spine. It was starting to all come back. "The spiders?"

"They would have eaten you, had we not arrived when we did."

Mariko sat up on the hard stone. Her head spun, and her stomach lurched. Before she could do anything about it, her innards revolted, and she vomited all over the ground.

"You might want to try moving a little slower. You got a pretty big dose of venom from that spider."

Mariko laid herself back down on the cold stone and closed her eyes. The violent revolt inside her body slowly subsided, but the throbbing in her head was now worse, and she did still feel a little queasy.

"What happened?" she asked.

"You don't remember?"

She tried to think back on the last thing she remembered. She could hear the clicking noises, and see the spider clinging to the pillar. After that it was hazy.

"Not… not really."

"It'll come to you."

The princess felt a heavy hand on her shoulder. "You need to drink this." The hand gently rolled her to her side, and she felt the edge of a vial touch her lips.

Opening her eyes again, she looked down on the milky liquid. "What is it?"

"It's more anti-venom. You've been drinking it in small doses for almost a full day now."

The princess nodded and took the vial, drinking the potion inside. When she finished, she wiped her dry lips on the back of her hand and looked up at her caregiver. As her vision came into focus, Jallal Tasca's distorted face came into view.

"I never thought I'd see you trying to keep me alive."

Jallal chuckled. "Let's just say you are more valuable to us alive as a bargaining chip than as a dead adversary." He stood up from where he was crouching beside Mariko. "But don't let it go to your head, Princess. You're still going to die. Just not yet."

Jallal turned and walked away, his hoofed feet clicking on the stone floor. "Come get me when she can stand without vomiting," he said to the two nearby guards. "And keep your eyes open for any unwanted guests. Who knows what could be wandering these halls?"

In the dying rays of the sun's light, a burly half-ore lifted a crate of Elixir and carried it to the end of the dock. He handed it to a dark-skinned human.

"Start a new row," growled the half-ore.

The dark-skinned man grunted as he took the heavy crate and placed it on the floor of the boat, next to another stack of crates. "How many more are there?"

The half-ore turned around and knelt on the dock, taking a breather to count the remaining crates. "A lot," he said.

" A lot' doesn't tell me very much, Kleegor."

The half-ore wiped the sweat off of his face with his hairy forearm. "It's more than we've loaded already, Talish."

"That is a lot," replied the dark-skinned man.

Kleegor got back to his feet and retrieved another crate. Then he returned to hand it to Talish. "Did you get one of those letters?"

"You mean the ones from the king? Yeah, I got one."

"What did you do with it?" asked Kleegor.

"What do you think I did with it?" said Talish, straining to talk as he put the crate in its place. "I made a show of tearing it up in front of the messenger, then I took it to the Matron. How 'bout you? You get one?"

"Yep."

"Did you read it first?"

"Yep."

"Yeah," said Talish, "so did I."