Serena knew that she had been stuck in that hole for hours, but she was still surprised to walk out of the jail to face the chill of the night. Equally surprising was the emptiness of the city; not a soul seemed to be out, the street and sidewalks eerily empty, buildings devoid of lights and life. Such a small section would have made Waterdeep seem utterly abandoned, save for the sight of Werond’s bodyguard, Damian, leaning against a streetlight.

Even in the soft glow of that light, his golden armor glinted far more than it should have, a beacon in the dark. The two horses that he and Werond had arrived on earlier were tired to the pole behind him, somehow looking bored.

Damian straightened up as they approached and uncrossed his large, gauntleted arms. Behind him, the horses perked up.

“Leaving with company, sir?” He asked, nodding to Serena.

“Yes. She will accompany us to Castle Waterdeep.” Werond’s distorted voice echoed into the street. “Once we arrive, you will be excused for the night.”

“Of course. Your will be done.”

Damian turned and undid the ropes holding the smaller of the black horses to the pole, before leading it towards Werond. It was a beautiful horse, well kept, but with an odd saddle on its back; a protrusion jutted from it towards the horse’s neck, and as Damian helped Werond up, she adjusted her robe and turned forward, slightly, to wrap her leg around it.

Before Serena could wonder what kind of saddle it was, Damian gestured for her to approach; he helped Serena onto the horse, seating her directly behind Werond, turned sideways. She wrapped her arms around Werond’s waist the moment Damian turned to untie his own horse.

“I uh…” Werond looked down as Serena signed. “I thought they’d fight you a bit more over me leaving.”

“I wished they had.” Werond growled. “I would have relished the opportunity to correct them after having wronged you so.”

Serena grinned and began to reply, only for their horse to suddenly take off after Damian’s, already cantering into the street. She tightened her grip around Werond as the hoofbeats echoed into the night.

Though she had no idea where they were, it still seemed odd for everything to be so empty; Waterdeep was a city that never slept, business and trade booming well into the night, and to see everything so deserted sent a shiver down Serena’s spine. She couldn’t blame anyone for not wanting to be out though, not after the day’s events.

Still, it did allow her one comfort; a pang of guilt in her chest, Serena pulled herself closer and laid her head against Werond’s back, burying her face into the folds of her robes. They were warm, smelled vaguely of soot, but altogether eased the anxieties that danced about her mind.

She closed her eyes and sighed; for perhaps the first time today, she felt a little better.

“Ma’am.” Came Werond’s distorted voice.

Serena shook her head against Werond’s back and tightened her grip. After a moment, a distorted sigh slipped from Werond’s helmet, and she reached back to squeeze Serena’s leg. Burying a smile into the robes, Serena reveled in the tiny spark of triumph she felt in her chest.

Only to jolt awake at the clatter of hooves on wood. She blinked, shook her head, then jumped again as the massive towers of Castle Waterdeep suddenly loomed over them.

Built of gray stone, the two towers jutted into the air, massive pillars that seemed to hold up the sparkling sky above them. Equally thick walls sprang out and away from the towers, one side built towards the city, the other built away. And in between those towers stood an impressively thick wall, a tall archway built into the center. The portcullis – Serena remembered the word from the stories Mom used to read to her – stood open at the front, though the thick wooden gates behind it seemed shut tight.

Serena glanced down to find that they rode atop a large wooden drawbridge, perhaps three wagons wide and very long. Despite the darkness that encroached the entire bridge, she could barely make out Damian ahead of them, still leading the way.

“When did we get here?!” Serena signed at Werond’s waist.

“You fell asleep.” Werond replied; she laid a gentle hand on top Serena’s as she tried to reply. “Be quiet for a moment.”

They reached the top of the drawbridge a heartbeat after she spoke; four guards, decked in intricate silver plate armor, chest bearing a symbol that Serena couldn’t make out, stood at attention within the archway. Lantern light bounced off their silver helmets, looking rather dull compared to their armor, and each saluted with their spears as their tiny entourage came to a halt.

Damian hopped off his horse and quickly helped Werond and Serena from theirs, before handing off the reins to both horses to one of the guards. That guard guided the two away and through a smaller door built into the main gate of the archway.

“Though I am aware that I am excused,” Damian said. “would you like me to escort you up to your office, sir? Or do you have other plans?”

“Other plans.” Werond replied. “I must leave quicky. You will take my helm and robes up to my office and place them in their usual spot. Then you will be excused.”

“Your will be done.”

Werond nodded, then turned towards the remaining guards.

“I have urgent business to attend to outside of my duties and will need to change in one of the guardrooms. See to it that one is properly vacated for me.”

Serena raised a brow as the guards leapt up to follow orders, the remaining three marching and disappearing into the side of the left tower. Damian followed on their heels, and with the slamming of the door, Werond and Serena stood alone at the foot of the archway.

“I uh…thought there’d be a little more…secrecy? When you change, I guess?” Serena signed as Werond turned to face her.

“This happens more than you’d believe.” Werond’s distorted voice came out as a low rumble – a poor attempt at a whisper. “Anyone stationed at the gate knows what to do in a situation like this.” She gestured at the drawbridge behind Serena and spoke normally. “And while I enjoy conversing with you, this is where we will part ways, I’m afraid. I am thankful that you seem to be alright, but you’d be remiss to leave your friend on the street waiting.”

“Ah,” Serena couldn’t help but smile. “you’re right. Thank you for helping me out today, I appreciate it.”

Werond nodded, then turned on her heel and marched towards the same door that everyone else had filed into. Within a few heartbeats, she had disappeared, leaving Serena alone. Though she understood Werond’s words, Serena still felt a pang in her chest upon seeing her go. Unwilling to wait any longer than she had to, she flipped around and began to make her way back down the drawbridge.

Oddly enough, it seemed longer than it did when she first ascended it; even stranger, further down, a large square had been laid out at the foot of the drawbridge, ensuring a large empty space existed right in front of the castle. Buildings and homes stood on the other side of the square, hundreds of feet away, where the rest of the city continued outwards. In fact, from however high up she was, Serena could easily see a large swath of the city expanding out in front of her, sparkling with lights of all kinds.

She frowned, boots thudding loudly against the wood. It would have been a beautiful sight, one that she would have stopped to admire, had…well, the entirety of the day not occurred. With Werond gone, too many thoughts bounced around her mind for Serena to enjoy herself.

Before long, she arrived at the bottom of the drawbridge, and with nowhere to sit, she decided to stand a few feet away from the base and wait. A cold breeze meandered through the city, sending goosebumps over Serena, though she decided against her usual method of warming up. It didn’t seem like a good idea to draw attention to herself.

Thus, Serena stood alone, arms wrapped about her to ward off the chill, cloaked in the shadows of the night with nothing to keep her occupied save the anxieties that began to surface within her once more. Try as she might, she was unable to banish them entirely, and so, heart pounding, Serena turned to face the drawbridge, trying to direct her thoughts to how happy she’d be when Werond finally came back down.

And after a while – a long awhile – she did; a lone figure appeared at the top of the bridge and slowly descended, the echo of their boots growing louder with each step. After what felt like an hour, Werond jogged the last stretch of bridge and stepped off onto the stone square, dressed in her usual purple tunic and dark pants. Her diamond necklace sparkled in the streetlight as she made her way over to Serena, who met her halfway.

Serena quickly fell into Werond’s arms, though their embrace didn’t last half as long as she wished it would. When Werond pulled away, she cocked her head at what Serena knew to be a forced smile.

“That’s an odd look.” She said, hands dropping to Serena’s waist.

“Ah, sorry I…” Serena swallowed. “I’m just nervous about everything. Feels like there’s so much to do still and we still haven’t talked to Pavel and Jo and Cruck’aa yet.”

“I know. And for what it’s worth, I’m nervous too. I think as long as we get Pavel and Jo to understand everything…” Werond’s voice trailed off as she scrunched her eyes shut. “Let’s just get back, darling. I’m tired of waiting and thinking about what could happen. May as well get it all over with.”

Before Serena could respond, Werond pulled her hands away and gestured for her to walk; she fell in alongside Serena and slipped her arm through hers, tugging her along a little bit faster towards one of the northern exits of the square. Anxiety still prickling her skin, Serena allowed herself to be led without complaint.

It didn’t take long for them to enter back into the typical corridor of Waterdeep houses and buildings; Serena was glad that Werond seemed to know where they were at, as nothing looked familiar to her. In fact, Werond seemed to be leading them without looking, so often did she glance around them. She couldn’t understand why though, considering that the city still seemed completely empty.

In the middle of trying to read a street sign, Werond suddenly tugged them into a side street, craning her head to look behind them. But by the time they exited and returned to the main road, no one had shown up to follow them – at least, that was what Serena assumed Werond was looking for.

“Hey,” Serena signed anxiously, heat leaping as Werond sped up. “you’re really making me worried, what’s wrong?”

“I just want to make sure no one’s on us.” Werond said; she glanced down a side street but squeezed Serena’s arm.

“You think we’d be followed?”

“Oh absolutely.”

“But there’s no one around. We haven’t seen anyone.”

“And that’s what worries me. I know everyone started to clear out after the explosion but the whole city is like a ghost town now. It’s not normally like this.”

“But that’s a good thing, right? Don’t you want people back at home after something like that?”

“Serena.” Werond’s voice dropped to a whisper. “It doesn’t normally get this empty. People get afraid to come out after an accident, sure, but not like this. I was too preoccupied with the cleaning detail and getting you out to notice anything, but…” She grimaced. “This seems purposeful. Almost like an order had been given out for people to stay inside. And I know for a fact that I didn’t, nor did any of my colleagues, give such order.”

“Oh.” Serena’s heart shot into her throat. “Do you think that –”

“Jarlaxle is trying to do something? Yes, I do. I think whatever you did is taking him a long time to recover from, and in the meantime, he’s gotten the Guild to clear off the streets. For what, I don’t know, but…” She cursed and glanced over her shoulder. “Fuck, we should have taken the horses.”

Serena grimaced and rubbed her chest, heart beginning to thud. She’d been so worried about how the others would take the news that the thought of Jarlaxle had almost slipped her mind. Bahamut’s Teeth, there was just too many details to worry about tonight.

They fell into silence as they continued for another block, arriving at a T-section between the buildings. As Werond quickly pulled Serena to the left, she realized that they had stepped back onto Waterdeep Way, and were now only a ten-minute walk from Werond’s house. Serena couldn’t help but blink in surprise at just how quickly Werond had managed to lead them back to the main street.

That also meant, however, that the scene of the explosion wasn’t too far behind them.

Serena craned her neck around and squinted down the road; her chest grew tight as she barely made out a line of wooden blockades that sectioned off access to the intersection. Without any functioning streetlamps, however, the crossroads looked as black as the inside of her cell.

“We had to leave it laying like that.” Werond said, ripping Serena from her thoughts; when she turned back around, a distant look filled Werond’s eyes. “Combed through all of it, sure, but by the time we were done, it was too late to start clearing the rubble away. I…” She sighed. “I still haven’t seen anything like that. Last time we had an incident like this, the explosion wasn’t even remotely the same size. It’s just…all too much.”

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Heat blossomed in Serena’s chest and quickly burned through her body; she ducked her head and looked away, fingers curling into fists. Where her arm was linked with Werond’s, a thin sheen of sweat began to build.

Werond reached over and squeezed Serena’s arm.

“I’m not trying to blame you.” She said quietly, as they passed under a streetlight. “But I can’t sugarcoat it either. It’s bad. But I know it wasn’t your fault.”

“I…I know.” Serena whispered, eyes beginning to sting. “It’s just hard to think that way.”

“I understand. If you need to discuss it more, my ears are always open.”

Serena nodded and pulled her head back up; though the incident still pained her, there was more pressing matters for her to attend to, and with great difficulty, she shoved her guilt to the back of her mind. She knew it wouldn’t stay there for long though.

Silence enveloped them once more as they crossed the last of the blocks towards Werond’s house, the tip of its roof slowly coming into view. Despite her anxieties, a bit of relief crept into Serena’s chest from the sight.

“You never told me why your hair was white.” Werond said suddenly.

Serena jerked, hard enough that Werond glanced at her.

“I did not.” Serena said stiffly.

“Yeah. I forgot about it all in the commotion, but they said they fished a Drow out of the rubble, and you don’t pass as a Drow at all. You look like any other elf. But when I saw you right after, your hair was white, and they made mention of you hiding –”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Why not? I just –”

“Werond,” Serena signed, gritting her teeth. “this isn’t something I want to talk about.”

“Alright. I don’t mean to push any buttons. I’m just worried, that’s all.”

“I know. I know. But it’s nothing to be worried about.”

“Okay.”

Finally arriving at Werond’s house, they halted before the courtyard gate, a small wave of relief washing over Serena at the sight. All the upper story windows were dark, but Serena doubted anyone was truly asleep.

Werond slipped out of Serena’s arm and pulled the gate key from out of somewhere in her boot; before she could open it, however, she laid a hand on Serena’s shoulder and met her gaze. The glint of her diamond necklace caught Serena’s eye, holding her gaze for a heartbeat.

“I really do hope everything is alright with you.” Werond said. “I won’t push the issue if you don’t want to talk about it, but I just…after all that stuff with the choker and now this…well, I get worried Serena.”

“I know, and everything is alright, I promise.” Serena thought for a moment. “I’m not trying to keep things a secret from you though. It’s just more of a personal matter, I guess. Uhm…very personal. It’s…” She bit her lip. “Complicated. And again, really not anything to be worried about. It’s just a side effect of magic, honestly.”

“Alright.” Werond replied instantly. “I trust you. Sorry to bring it up.”

“Don’t be. It’s okay.”

Werond nodded; she turned back towards the gate, paused, then sucked in a deep breath. Without another word, she unlocked it and pushed through, Serena right behind her.

Lights blazed in the first-floor windows of Werond’s house, confirming Serena’s doubts. As they crossed the courtyard and towards the front door, Serena swore that, ever so faintly, she could make out raised voices emanating from the house.

“Oh, that’s just lovely.” Werond muttered, unlocking the front door.

Those voices exploded into a maelstrom as they pushed into the foyer, the magical light above almost hurting Serena’s eyes. She grimaced while Werond muttered a curse under her breath and rubbed her face, eyes darkening; before Serena could finish closing the door behind them, Graham came running down the hall from the living room, a panicked look in his eyes.

“Ma’am, Miss Lash.” He said, wringing his hands. “I hate to be the bearer of terrible news, especially on this horrible day but –” Graham jerked. “Ah, where are my manners, are you both well? I haven’t seen either of you in quite some time, I –”

“We’re fine Graham, honest.” Werond waved away his question; she glanced down the hallway as the arguing flared. “We can discuss that later. What’s going on?”

At the question, all the color drained from of Graham’s face.

“Ma’am, I haven’t a clue as to how they discovered it, but…your friends and Cruck’aa have found out that you are one of the current Masked Lords. I have stayed out of the conversation as best I could, alas –” He flinched as Cruck’aa screeched something unintelligible. “It’s been difficult.”

“I imagine. Serena told me everything though, I’m already aware.”

Graham shot Serena a look that caused her to immediately throw her hands up and sign, “I didn’t tell them, I swear! Cruck’aa figured it out himself.”

“How did –”

“That’s not important right now.” Werond reached out and grabbed Graham by the shoulders, locking eyes with the older man. “Jarlaxle went after Serena today, but she fended him off. I’m not sure what happened or where he is right now though, and it’s entirely possible he’s preparing something. I need to talk to the rest of them so we can figure out…h-how to deal with him. If that’s even possible. I…can you go around and lock up the house? And maybe watch the outside? I don’t know if –”

Graham suddenly clasped Werond’s shoulders, startling her into silence; the pair looked odd, hands on each other shoulders, but that didn’t deter the steel that now filled Graham’s eyes.

“I will see to it that this house is as impenetrable as I can make it, you have my word on that.” He said. “You’ll hear from me should something happen. Good luck.”

And without waiting for a reply, Graham untangled himself from Werond, nodded to Serena, and pushed past them, bounding up the stairs faster than Serena thought he could. She glanced at Werond as Graham disappeared, only to find her with a ghost of a smile on her face.

“I feel like he’s had a plan for something like this for a long time.” The smile dropped as they heard Pavel fling some choice words at Cruck’aa. “Come on, don’t want to keep them waiting.”

And without any hesitation in her step, Werond moved towards the living room; heart in her throat, Serena followed her into hell.

While only Pavel, Cruck’aa, and Jo were in the living room, their whirlwind of an argument seemed to fill the walls with a tension ready to burst. Jo sat on the couch closest to the kitchen, face in her hands, back hunched like a lead weight pulled her down. Cruck’aa, back towards Serena and Werond, stood in front of the love seat facing away from them, hurling accusations and Bahamut only knew what at Pavel. Meanwhile, Pavel seemed to mirror Cruck’aa, standing behind the couch across the way from Jo’s, pointing a finger at the aarakocra, eyes wide with fury. A cold meal of sandwiches lay forgotten on the chunk of black rock in the middle of the room, Jo and Pavel’s weapons laying discarded next to them.

Despite being in the middle of shouting, the moment Serena and Werond stepped into the room – halting just beyond the hallway threshold – Pavel’s head flicked towards them, his mouth snapping shut, his eyes going wide.

“Serena! Werond! When –” Pavel began.

Cruck’aa whirled around, beady eyes now wide with fury; Jo’s head shot up from her hands, a look of shock etched across her face.

“Um –” Werond said.

Cruck’aa screeched and flung himself at her.

Serena leapt in front of a frozen Werond and caught Cruck’aa as he collided into her; the Aarakocra tried to shove off Serena, still screeching wildly, only for Pavel to leap over the couch and loop his arms under Cruck’aa’s shoulders, dragging him off to the side.

Cruck’aa’s shrill voice grew louder as Pavel and Jo both began to yell, their voices resuming that unintelligible cacophony that Serena had heard earlier. It wasn’t until Jo leapt up from the couch and slapped Cruck’aa did he finally fall quiet.

She sighed as he glared at everyone in the room; her shoulders still drooped, and when she looked up, the creases in her eyes suggested that she’d been worrying all day.

“Sorry.” Jo said, voice raw. “We’ve been in a rather…civil debate waiting for you two to get back.”

“I can tell.” Werond said.

“And what I can tell,” Cruck’aa spat. “is that you’ve been lying to us for gods know how long! I’ve been right this whole time!” He writhed in Pavel’s grip. “You should have been helping me! We need to get rid of her!”

“I don’t know why you’re still on that.” Pavel said, looking as exhausted as Jo.

“Because you know I’m right!”

“You keep saying that and I’m not sure you’re understanding yourself properly.”

“Okay!” Werond clapped her hands together before Cruck’aa could start up again. “Alright, please, enough. We don’t have a lot of time. I have a lot that I need to explain to all of you, and I would be happy to do so, but only if you promise to contain yourself, Cruck’aa.”

“And why should I?!” He screeched.

“Because you’ve misunderstood so much already. Serena told me everything that you figured out, and quite honestly, you’re off on multiple points.” Werond gestured towards the couch. “So please, if you’d all have a seat and cool down for a moment, I can clear up these misunderstandings.”

All eyes landed on Cruck’aa, still struggling in Pavel’s grasp. After a moment, the Aarakocra sighed, then glared at Werond.

“And what reassurance do I have that you aren’t trying to stall for time?”

“If I wanted you three gone,” Werond said quietly. “I wouldn’t show up to see it unfold in person.”

Cruck’aa’s face scrunched up; after a moment, however, he nodded, looking none too pleased at the situation. Pavel released him but kept his hands ready in case Cruck’aa tried something else. Thankfully, he didn’t, and as everyone moved back towards the couches, he remained where he stood behind the loveseat.

“Serena already told you everything?” Jo asked as she and Pavel sat down on one couch; Werond and Serena sat together on the one across from them.

“Yes, she did.” Werond nodded. “And I have a lot to clarify. But,” she spread her hands. “we also have a bigger issue at play here. My boss went after Serena today, and I have a feeling he’s not going to just sit by and let us talk like this.” At the confused looks shot her way, Werond grinned sheepishly. “It’s a lot. I’ll try to make it quick though.”

“Alright.” Jo nodded at Serena. “How much do you know of what she’s about to say though?”

“Uhm…probably all of it.” She signed.

“What I thought. Okay.” Jo gestured at Werond. “The floor is yours.”

And with that, Werond, meeting each of their gazes in turn, laid bare everything she had already revealed to Serena, leaving nothing out. She explained that she was a Masked Lord, her responsibilities that came with the position, and all of the power that it granted her; that each time she had left the house, it was to assume another identify and run her portion of the city; that the reason why none of them could know this was due to the strict laws and bindings that surrounded her, endangering her and any who knew of her true profession; this, of course, bled into her explanation of her connection, or lack thereof, to the Thief’s Guild, assuring them that what Cruck’aa had witnessed truly was a misunderstanding. The one thing that Werond did confirm, however, was that Jarlaxle was indeed the one pulling everyone’s strings, hers and, to her surprise, Simon as well.

Despite how easy it seemed for Werond to explain everything to her captivated audience, sharing the subject of Jarlaxle shook her worse than Serena believed it would. Only a short time ago did she speak about him with no issue, but now, it was all she could do not to collapse into a trembling heap.

It didn’t help that she was entirely truthful with Pavel, Jo, and Cruck’aa. Werond spared them no details, discussing in depth the thinly veiled threats, the gaslighting, physical assaults inflicted upon her by a Drow who saw her as nothing but a tool, and finally, the situation they now found themselves in. As the explanation grew longer, Werond appearing to be on the edge, Serena slipped her hand into hers; Werond didn’t react to the gesture, so caught up was she in her story, but a tight squeeze told Serena everything she needed to know.

Thankfully, Werond refrained from discussing anything about Tai; even then, by the time her words trailed off, it was a wonder she could still speak. Her eyes had turned glassy halfway through her explanation and sweat stuck Serena’s hand to Werond’s. Although her trembling had stopped, her shoulders had slumped with an exhaustion that was all too prevalent within the room.

To everyone’s credit, no one interrupted her; Cruck’aa continued to grip the back of the loveseat, head bowed, while Jo and Pavel sat stock still, both having listened with rapt attention. While Pavel’s eyes had softened within sympathy, Jo’s had never lost their focus.

“I just…” Pavel slowly said, breaking the silence that clung to the air. “I’m sorry all this happened to you Werond, I truly am. But I don’t understand why you didn’t tell us earlier. We could have avoided all of this had you just told us everything from the beginning.”

“P-Pavel,” Werond said; she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I don’t know how I can reiterate this enough. My identity as a Masked Lord is a state secret. Legally, I can’t tell a soul. In practice, only a Lord’s inner circle will ever be privy to the information. I couldn’t just go and tell everyone because if it ever got out that I did, both myself and you all would’ve be in serious trouble.”

“And yet you told Serena.” Cruck’aa said plainly.

Werond sucked in a breath and glared at Cruck’aa, who met her gaze evenly.

“And as I said, only a Lord’s inner circle will ever know. Serena became privy to my profession as our relationship deemed it necessary. I have no issues with saying that I wanted our relationship to extend beyond what we had during the caravan trip, and if that was going to happen, Serena needed to know.” Serena glanced away, heat beginning to blossom in her cheeks. “Believe me, the back and forth I had with myself about telling her almost killed me. Telling someone your identity as a Lord always drags them into issues that you never want them a part of. And so much friction was created between us because of my struggles to inform Serena about all of this, and quite honestly, I believe that friction is still there to some degree. We still have issues to work on that stem mainly from me. But…”

Werond fell silent for a heartbeat, wetting her lips. When she met each of their gazes in turn, Serena witnessed a flash of steel that she had believed only existed when Werond had donned her mask.

“Of everyone, I’m glad I told her. She’s helped me in ways that none of you could ever come close to. That’s not an insult, but a genuine fact. I’m not sure what I’d do with myself had she not been there for me.”

Serena felt the blood rush to her cheeks and ears, but she did not look away when Werond smiled warmly at her. Cruck’aa, however, rolled his eyes and looked away with a disgusted sigh. Pavel smiled and nodded, while Jo simply nodded.

“I understand.” Pavel said. “I still can’t say I didn’t wish you told us anyways, but I understand.”

“My sympathies to you as well Werond,” Jo said, voice even. “but what I got out of all of that was the fact that we’re now all embroiled in whatever you boss wants with Serena. Do I have that right?”

“I…” Werond nodded. “Yes, yes you do. I can’t see Jarlaxle leaving you three alone when you’re connected with me and Serena.”

“And you have no clue why this guy is after you?” Jo directed her question at Serena.

“Well, he mentioned my dad.” Serena signed, untangling her hand from Werond’s. “I don’t know how he knows him though. But whatever the connection is, it’s enough for him to attack me in the street in broad daylight. I’m lucky –” Serena grimaced. “I mean…it’s not a good thing, but I’m lucky my choker got me out of there.”

“See, that’s another part I don’t get, how did your choker make that explosion?”

“Yeah,” Pavel echoed Jo. “how in the Nine Hells did it do that?” He blinked. “Also, why was your hair white when we saw you? Did you change it?”

“I – it – honestly it doesn’t matter right now.” Serena signed.

“No, I think it does matter.” Jo said. “Serena, we were under the impression you had nothing to do with the explosion and now Werond tells us you were the source of it. You didn’t do it, but you were the origin of it, and that warrants explanation.”

“Jo, I don’t know what happened! Honestly! It just…exploded. I don’t know what else to say.”

“We already discussed this,” Werond said. “and Serena told me everything she’s telling you now. I believe her. And while I too want to understand how it happened, we have more pressing matters to deal with right now. I have no clue where Jarlaxle is or what he’s doing and –”

“And what do you expect us to do?” Cruck’aa interjected, narrowing his eyes. “If this Drow is as scary as you make him out to be, then there’s nothing we can do. I haven’t a clue what you expected thinking we could help.”

“Well, hold on,” Pavel began as Werond sighed in frustration. “why can’t we just leave? If he’s so scary and powerful and there’s nothing we could do, why don’t we just leave through the tunnel we found? Run off and let things cool down, you know?”

“I’m not leaving Werond alone. Not now.” Serena instantly signed. “You all can leave if you want, but I won’t be going with you.”

As Serena expected, Cruck’aa threw up his arms and let loose a sound of frustration from the back of his throat; Pavel grimaced at Serena’s words while, unexpectedly, Jo nodded.

“I had a feeling you were going to say that.” She said. “Had that been an option, Werond would have already gotten us a way out, regardless of that tunnel. If that’s the case then, what do we do, stay and fight? Doesn’t sound like we can.”

“No, we really can’t.” Werond echoed her. “I…I was honestly hoping you all would have some suggestions because…I don’t have anything.”

“For good reason.” Came a familiar voice from the foyer.

Serena’s heart rocketed into her throat; Werond startled violently, her eyes going wide; Jo and Pavel shot off the couch, snatching their weapons, as Cruck’aa flipped to face the front of the room.

Standing in the door frame, lit by the dim light of the foyer, hand resting on the pommel of a rapier strapped to his belt, anger smoldering in his eyes, mouth twisted into a scowl, large purple hat pulled back ever so slightly, stood the most powerful Drow in Waterdeep.