[The Stranger]

The Stranger dropped not-too-gently to the ground in front of the old building. The door was closed, but short mental pull yanked it off of its hinges and sent if flying out into the street. He entered, and paused to let his eyes adjust to the darkness. The two remaining hellhounds that accompanied him trotted past and began sniffing out the traces of the building's occupants. There weren't any, the building was deserted.

Perfect, he thought. He walked to the flight of stairs and ascended to the second level. There was a short hallway with rooms on either side. He entered one, and lay down in a dusty corner.

Must rest... he thought. ... just a few minutes. Then I will continue. With the women gone, and a rested mind, I shall complete the search with no further problems.

He took a deep breath and sent a last command to the Hellhounds.

Protect.

The growled acknowledgment and began patrolling the interior of the building. Meanwhile, the Stranger slipped into a meditative state that quickly deteriorated into a deep slumber.

---

[Val'keth]

As the pair of women wearily made their way through the streets of Montfort, Val'keth started to recognize familiar details around her. One road led to the next, until they were approaching the street her rooms overlooked. Was it prudent to let Zade know where she was currently living? Probably not, she decided, but her body ached, her hair was matted with filth, and she was fed up with being chased by smelly dogs and their irate master.

"Down here," she said quietly, leading Zade over to the small wooden door. She listened for a moment, then pulled out a small key and unlocked the door. It opened without a sound, and she pulled Zade inside. Great rolls of fabric were laid out on long tables, and to one side an elegant gown hung, pins sticking out from the hem.

"Sssshh," she whispered, frowning at the dirt they were leaving on the woman's rug. The key clicked in the lock as she bolted the door behind them, then Val'keth ushered Zade through the shop, and up the narrow stairs toward her rooms. With deft fingers she ran her hands around the perimeter of the door, then reached down and turned the handle. The door opened out into a narrow corridor, and Val'keth led Zade toward the door at the end.

"Start getting out of those clothes and cleaned up - then I'll take a look at your wounds," she said, leaving to find some clean clothes.

[Zade]

"I can tend to my own, thanks." said Zade with more than a little sarcasm. She wiggled out of her filthy armor, revealing her equally-filthy skin coated with drying sewage and bits of the waste-monster they'd fought not long ago.

Her wounds weren't as bad as she'd thought... but there were still numerous nick-marks on her skin from that sewer-creature's mouths. The marks themselves were painful, but were surrounded by an area of numbness. The thing's poison was still in her body... but she was fighting it. Her skin would flash hot and then cold every few seconds, and every muscle in her body ached painfully. The walk in the fresh air had cleared most of the dizziness from her head, but sudden movements still made the room spin. The huge gash in her leg was closed and looked almost as if the wound had been made weeks ago. It would still need to be treated, though.

When Val-keth brought water and clean rags, Zade made scrubbed as much of her skin as she could reach without causing pain to her sore muscles. The water was cold, and it made her skin draw up into goosebumps. After a few minutes of cleaning, she was still hideously filthy, but the water and rags were now greenish brown.

"We're gonna need a damned river..." said Zade. She hadn't even TOUCHED her hair yet... and her clothes were still as slimy as they were when she took them off. The entire room reeked of sewer waste.

[Val'keth]

"I think you're right. You finish up with that one, and I'll bring another bucket."

Val'keth left the room once more, eyeing Zade's leg curiously.

[Zade]

Zade reached for her clothes and retrieved a small pouch that been tucked under her belt. The water-proof pouch had kept the contents... a cache of medicinal roots... dry. Well,

MOSTLY dry.

Zade put the end of one root into her mouth and bit it off. The plant oozed a thick, pungent sap, which she rubbed into her wounds. The medicine in the sap stung horribly... Zade hissed as it soaked in, then sighed.

[Val'keth]

The door opened, a cold draft whistling through into the room before she set down two more pails of water and kicked the door shut behind her. She started to strip out of her clothes, peeling off layer after layer, and wrinkling her nose in disgust as flakes of dried muck fell around her. She carefully propped her boots next to the clothes, but left the tiny dagger strapped to her thigh.

Val'keth felt the chill cold of the tiles on the floor through her feet, and shivered as she reached for a cloth. Wetting it in the water, she scrubbed herself from top to toe, working carefully around her injured arm and ribs. She loosened as much dirt as she could, then grabbed another cloth and repeated the process before finally hefting the bucket up over her head and squealing as the cold water slucied over her.

[Zade]

"Disinfectant," said Zade. She tossed the root to Val-keth, then pulled a few tiny, dried leaves from the pouch. She placed a few in her mouth and chewed them... wincing at the sharp, acrid taste. It mixed with her saliva and formed thick paste, which she smeared on her wounds and allowed to dry. It formed a medicinal sealant that would keep disease out, but would still allow the wound to get the air it needed to heal. There were some leaves left so she placed them where the elf could have them if she wanted them.

Finally, she retrieved a piece of tree-bark. She cracked it in half and placed part of it in her mouth, between her cheek and her gum. She sucked on it, and the juice oozed down her throat.

"Painkiller," she said, pointing to the remaining piece of bark. "Might help with the poison as well, if any of it got in you."

[Val'keth]

"Thanks," Val'keth replied, her teeth chattering quietly. Her hair hung down, horribly matted still with bits of clinging gunk, but she decided it would be best to leave that until it was dry and could be combed out.

She followed Zade's example with the leaves and roots, sniffing and tasting them carefully. She'd remember the leaves and bark, but the roots would be hard to find. Even though the poison hadn't affected her, her ribs and arm still throbbed, and she knew her arm needed the attention of a healer to set it properly. She threw her clothes into the clean pail of water, and did the same with Zade's.

"Leave them to soak for a while, we need to warm up."

She padded out of the room, water still glistening on her dark skin as she pushed open another door. A small iron stove flickered in one corner of the room, casting an amber glow over the rugs and furs that lay on the floor. An ornate table stood between two plush chairs, and Val'keth picked up a woolen blanket from the bed and handed it to Zade.

"Warm up by the stove," she said, wrapping one around herself as she turned away to rummage in a chest. She held up various tunics and leggings, dismissing most as too small for the human. Finally, she found a long plain

robe, belted at the waist, that looked as if it might work.

"Try this - it'll be short, but better than nothing."

She pulled on a pair of black velvet breeches, and a blue silken shirt, careful not to knock her still bruised and painful arm.

[Zade]

Zade donned the robe and sat by the stove. She let the fire warm her skin. She looked around at her surroundings, and wondered if Val-keth really lived her, or if she had 'liberated' the place from some unsuspecting tenant. Probably the latter, not that it was any of her concern.

"Nice place," she said curtly. She didn't want to get too friendly... this wasn't even a business relationship. The fight they'd started hours ago seemed so distant now... and silly. They had bigger things to worry about than each other, but that didn't mean Zade was going to let the elf just walk away when this was over.

If either of them were still ABLE to walk when this was over.

Zade leaned back and tried to clean the last of the gunk out of her hair. They were both still going to smell none-too-pleasant for a while, but they were alive for now. How long would that last. No doubt, the Stranger thought they were both dead. That gave them a slight advantage if they still chose to pursue this foolish task. Zade was unsure whether it was worthwhile. There was a lot to be said for vengeance and for keeping the streets safe, thus bolstering her employer's good image... but against a man who could topple buildings just by looking at them? She wondered what the elf thought about the matter...

"He probably thinks we're both dead, you know." said Zade. "Wouldn't blame you if you wanted to let him keep thinking it."

[Val'keth]

"No, I don't suppose you would. But he'll pay for tonight. Somehow, I'll find a way." Val'keth's voice was muffled suddenly as she rummaged around in another cupboard, pulling out another blanket.

"I'm not going to spend the rest of my life here looking over my shoulder, wondering when those dogs are going to leap on me again."

[Zade]

"Yep," said Zade. "You've got a point."

[Val'keth]

She pulled a comb from a small drawer, and began pulling it through her hair. It caught on the matted parts, and she was sorely tempted to just cut them out, but sighed and carried on teasing the tangles apart. Her arms ached, and she gave up halfway through, padding back out to the washroom with the blanket.

The stench hit her as she opened the door, and she held her breath while she tipped the water out onto the tiled floor, watching as it sluiced the remaining slime away. She picked up her weapons and armour, bundling them into the blanket, and returned to her room.

"It's going to take a lot of work to get that stink out of the clothes - more work than they are worth, I should think."

[Zade]

"Speak for your own clothes... quality armor is hard to come by. Especially when it's tailor made. Once I clean off the sewage I'm sure I can get Lovvorn to lift the scent out. He might do yours, too for a price... if you can stand to be around him long enough to negotiate."

[Val-keth]

Val'keth dumped the bundle on the bed, pulled her armour out and started to check the tiny black links over for damage. An occasional nick was the only sign of the many years service it had given her so far, and tonight hadn't looked to have inflicted any more serious damage.

Tiredness overcame her, and she yawned, glancing over at Zade. She wondered if she could trust the human not to try and kill her if she slept. Perhaps, perhaps not. Her whole body ached, and she just wanted to curl up into her bed and sleep until the pain went away.

"Pull some fur skins over if you're going to stay, I'm assuming you aren't going to walk the streets dressed in just that tonight?"

[Zade]

"I've walked meaner streets wearing less," said Zade. "Though nakedness does tend to restrict your options for hiding weapons."

[Val'keth]

She smiled at Zade's comment, then clambered off the bed and went to a glass fronted cabinet, returning with two crystal goblets, and a decanter of wine. She set them down on a small table, pouring a generous amount into each, then handed one to Zade before sipping at her own.

"So Lovvorn would do something like that? Lift smell out of clothes?" She had never heard of Mages that performed such mundane tasks - certainly none of them in her homeland did. A shadow crossed her face as she remembered her desperate flight from the city, and she suddenly felt very alone in Montfort once more. Zade's preference for whips sent a shiver up her spine, and she knew she had to ask.

[Zade]

"Of course," said Zade "He's got a dirt-repellent spell he uses on the carpet at the store. Works on clothes... though the most I've had him do for me it get the blood-stains outta my whip."

Zade sighed. Her whip was buried in the rubble on the other side of town. She felt naked without it. But then... she WAS naked...

[Val'keth]

"In my people, the Priestesses are the only people with the right to wield whips, and they wield them with pleasure..."

Val'keth asked the question guardedly. She wasn't aware that the Goddesses influence extended to the surface world, but she didn't want to make assumptions.

[Zade]

"And I wield mine with pleasure, too," replied Zade. "And with much more skill than the slavemasters who first used them on me. Never heard of priestesses carrying whips, though... must be a rough place."

[Val'keth]

"A rough place? Dangerous, certainly, especially if a Priestess disapproves of something you've done." Val'keth thought back to the times she had been nearly flayed alive by the fanged tips of their whips. She turned around, lifting her shirt, and showed Zade her back. The dark skin was criss-crossed with a multitude of deep scars, crisscrossing back and forth.

"You die first, then they might think to ask questions afterwards..."

She looked around nervously, remembering the less than ideal circumstances in which she had fled her world.

"But you - you said you were a slave?" Val'keth was flabbergasted.

[Zade]

"Was. I was born a slave, along with the rest of my family. When it became obvious that I'd be more desirable in the bedroom than out in the field, I ran away. One of only two who ever got away with it. Most of slave-trackers and dogs they sent to hunt me never made it back. Seeing someone you cared about being whipped to death was an every-day occurrence... so when I got the change to return the favor, I didn't hesitate. I still don't."

[Val'keth]

She sympathized with Zade's feelings. She would gladly mete out the same to any Priestess she ran across these days. She dragged her thoughts back to the present, and sighed.

"Enough of the past, we still have to deal with this stranger and his dogs. He can't be invulnerable, but those shields of his stop me getting to him with dart or dagger. If we could get past those, then a fast acting toxin might slow him down enough for us to deal with him."

Val'keth looked at Zade, curiosity in her eyes. "I would like to know WHY he is after these women, but it may be easier just to kill him... we would find out soon enough if he is working for someone or on his own."

She sipped her wine, relaxing in the steady heat from the stove.

[Zade]

Zade nodded.

"Poison. That's just what we need... something to weaken him while WE keep our distance. But if we use an arrow or a dart, he'll block it..."

Zade mused silently for a few moments, letting the fire's warmth relax her. The heat also brought out the lingering scent of sewer from her skin. Zade sniffed, and winced; her sensitive nose picked up the scent loud and clear. They'd both been soaked good, and... barring some magic... it would take a few days for the smell to wear off.

Smell, she thought. ...scent...

"Hey elf," she said. "What are the chances that our boy still needs to BREATH under all that telekinetic shielding of his?"

[Val'keth]

Val'keth ground her teeth in annoyance.

"Well, HUMAN, I'd imagine if he couldn't breathe, then he'd be dead by now. So, I think if we can shower him in some sort of poisonous fog, he'd have to breathe - and it would get into his system. Even better if he doesn't realize it."

She ran through the list of substances she had, trying to find one that would produce results quickly, yet could somehow be dispersed into the air. Only two were swift and deadly enough, and of those, one needed to be concentrated to function properly. That left only one - Yssuanth. The thready fungus was a delicacy amongst elves, but only before it matured. Once the fruits had pushed outwards from the black laces, the spores the heads released were deadly. Yssuanth was usually used in traps, where it could be dispersed with ease and without risk of it reaching others than its intended targets.

To collect such spores was risky, even to the elves that inhabited the same underworld. But that, she reflected, was the reason why slaves were used. Val'keth wondered if Zade had escaped from the underdark - her story certainly bore a resemblance to the life of the slaves she had seen. But dogs? That didn't fit. Escaped prisoners and slaves were hunted with driders - half man, half spider - run to death in the tunnels beneath the surface.

Val'keth sipped at her wine again, and said casually, "I have a small amount of something that would probably do what we need. But it would be as deadly to you, and even I, as to him. We need a windless night, and some way to get it close to him, whilst we stay out of sight and out of range of the spores."

[Zade]

Poisoning was nasty business, and Zade rarely dealt in it... but it certainly had its place in a mercenary's work. Zade thought for a few moments, and then an idea occurred to her... a method she'd used a few times in the past, though with varying degrees of success.

"What about a ranged weapon? A bow, with your poison as a payload. If we can get ahold of some black powder, we can make an explosive tip... not powerful enough to damage anything, but enough to spread a mist or powder over a small area. Of course, using it would give away the archer's position, and spreading the poison would also dilute it. Could give the Stranger the few moments he needs to make red paste out of whoever shoots the arrow."

[Val'keth]

Zade's idea was a good one - but it would take time to alter the bolts used in Drow crossbows, and hers had ended up in the maw of one of the first hounds they had run across. Her skills didn't extend to the long surface bows, but she supposed she would have to replace her favored small crossbow at some point.

"If we aimed not AT the Stranger, but something close to him, it might take him a few seconds longer to work out where the shot came from - and by then the poison should have taken effect."

"Can you use a bow? If not, I'll need to find a bow to replace the one that splintered while I was saving you earlier tonight," Val'keth asked Zade.

"I guess we could always hire someone, and let the Stranger splatter them over the city instead of us..."

[Zade]

"No time to look for someone to take the fall, and I can use a bow..."

Zade thought about the few seconds between the time she shot the arrow and the time Val-keth's poison would take effect. What would those few seconds be like? She didn't really want to find out, but she didn't want the Stranger walking around Montfort either. Especially after the whipping he had earned for himself.

"All right," Zade yawned. "Your poison. I can find some black power and make a proper tip for the arrow. I've done it before; it won't take long."

[Val'keth]

"Okay, well that sounds fine. But I think we should rest up for a day or two before we start out after him again. Like you said, he is liable to splatter you while the poison takes effect." Val'keth allowed herself a smile, the notion providing a small measure of amusement. There was precious little she could do to protect Zade - other than perhaps launching a counter attack to distract their target.

"We ought to decide where the best place would be to get rid of him. Don't want anywhere too visible, but it needs to be somewhere that we can conceal ourselves and be able to run from."

Val'keth didn't say it, but she wasn't going to assume Zade's shot would be successful first time.

"And we shouldn't rely on a single arrow, either."

[Zade]

"Day or two? If we can get away without actually having to FIGHT this guy, then we should take him out as soon as possible. If he finds what he wants while we're napping, he's likely to vanish... or decide to trash the whole town to cover his tracks. Either way we won't find out who sent him or have the pleasure of kicking his severed head down the street. As soon as we're able to move, we should move."

[Val'keth]

The woman had a point, she supposed. But she would be pushing her body while it should be healing - which meant she wouldn't be as fast as she should be.

"I guess so. But you'd better hit home first shot, because I'm not going to run through the town again with him caving building in around us. We could both use some sleep before we go after him, but if you really think we should try and get him tonight... though we need to do it before the sun rises."

[Zade]

"I'll hit it," growled Zade. How dare this elf question her marksmanship.

Zade looked around for a window, but found that they were all neatly covered.

Hmmm...

"Last time we were out it looked like we had a good while until dawn. We can rest a while, then we've got to get busy finding what we need. I'd like to think the Stranger is resting too, after his little show earlier... but somehow I doubt it."

[Val'keth]

"Yeah, you're probably right about that. Well, if we are agreed, I'm going to curl up and get some sleep. I'll wake you in an hour or two."

Val'keth slipped underneath the bedclothes, glancing once more at Zade before her eyes closed. She would sleep only lightly with a comparative stranger in her room, but even dozing her body would be able to recuperate...

[To Be Continued]