It was shortly before dusk when the outline of Sarenthill greeted us in the distance. We took our previous experience with the Knight into consideration and opted not to rest for the night and pushed our band further to seek out the safety behind Sarenthill’s walls.

Sarenthill stood at the curve of a meander, its ports almost aligned with the curvature of the river while in the background loomed a giant mountain range. Sarenthill was definitely larger than Westerleygates but its outskirts were thinly populated. Evenly spaced out Villas with orchards stood on the borders of the city. On the main road connecting to the entrance of the city stood an array of small buildings. The city itself was surrounded in part by small communities but there were clearly areas that hosted only a row of trees as if someone attempted to build an artificial wood close to the city.

“Ever been here before?” Vitalia threw a casual question.

I was about to answer when I realised that the target of the question was her mentee.

“No, First time this far,” answered the half-elf, “though it feels different from Westerleygates.”

“That is because both the cities serve different reasons,” acknowledged the fae. “I cannot recall exactly but the city started as a trading outpost. The high elves patronised the growth because of its strategic location. Westerleygates on the contrary serves as a marketplace and support for the outlying villages.”

“You really believe that?” Arlene had disagreement painted all over her face,” From what I see, they just exist to exploit farms of their resources. To consolidate their power over hard-working peasants.”

“I would say this again, you still need to learn to view things from multiple perspectives,” the fae had her stern teacher tone.

I cut in immediately to prevent another battle of wills between the two of them.

“So why do you think the high elves allowed Sarenthill, the status as a free city?” I posed the question diverting their attention.

“If I were to guess, too much hassle and not worth the effort. But something tells me that I am about to receive another lesson.” The ranger answered with a grin.

Her mentor smiled at her attitude and took upon the task on herself.

“You are on the way but not close enough to the answer. The high elves let it have a free city status because it benefits them that way. If it were to be a part of their glorious empire or dominion or whatever they are calling it now, then they would be forced to uphold it to the same standards as the rest of their cities. No concessions. By giving the status of a free city, they have free rein at plausible deniability should scandals occur. The huge justiciar presence on the other hand still provides the stability that they need.”

“Not to mention, it provided them a buffer zone for their own xenophobia,” I added for my part.

“Xenophobia is not the word I would use nor would it go well with the high elves,” cautioned the fae, “But the Magistra is right, with regards to her comment on the isolationist attitude of the high elves.”

“But weren’t they always about enlightening the world and leading the other races?” the ranger seemed perplexed with the new information delivered to her.

The fae obviously knew that I would have a better answer to provide.

“Not so much as isolationism, but rather, they would phrase it as integrating with their high elven values. At least that is how they see it.” I laid the facts flat for the ranger.

“Magistra, something tells me that you bore no love for the Altmer.” I cringed at Vitalia’s attempt at stating the obvious.

“I am a drow. even shorned I am still a drow. Not going to lie, we have drawn enough innocent blood throughout our history. We did it out of necessity or for survival. we know what we did was unethical and there is no excuse for it. Those high nosed clowns, on the contrary, would probably find some obscure reason to justify their acts, and after a generation of repeating their lies, they will start believing in their own lies. Need I say more.” I retorted.

Now it was Arlene’s turn to change the topic.

“So what do you think about our current employer? He even managed to banish all those entities without lifting a finger.”

“He did not banish them. I can say that for certain. Banishing extraplanar entities usually involve cancelling the contract or binding terms or whatever caused the creature to be bound.” the fae fluttered about and turned in the direction of the carriage as if she was afraid that the mage would overhear her.

“What he did was meddle in things that should have been left alone. That is the best explanation I can provide you with.” finished the fae.

“But you explained nothing,” exclaimed an annoyed Arlene.

“In that case, why don’t we ask him ourselves.” I volunteered and despite the protest from both the mentor and the mentee, I ended up knocking on the doors of his carriage.

*****

Syrune emerged from his carriage like a butterfly from a cocoon or in his present state it was more like a moth would be an appropriate term. He lost most of his previous composure. His eyes were puffed and his bright emerald green eyes were bloodshot. His lips pulled back as he gave a wry smile. He appeared as a skeleton of the person that we met a few days ago. It was an unsubstantiated feeling but something made me believe that his present state is not solely attributable to his recent spell casting.

“Master Mage, if we may intrude, my mentee was interested in the manner in which you solved our previous problem.” Vitalia made the first move and she selected Arlene as a scapegoat.

“It is nothing worth bragging about. Nothing that competent planesbender cannot accomplish,” said Syrune offhandedly.

Syrune turned to return back to his carriage before he cast a glance in my direction. He held my gaze for a moment and considered otherwise.

“But if you are interested in the details, the best way I could put it is, that I untied the knots,” offered Syrune as an explanation. “Ever wondered why most denizens of other planes are effectively immortal? Even if you slay one, they would just reform in their original plane after sufficient time.”

Arlene on her part just shook her head. I, for once, have no doubt that he was trained by Vangere.

“We were hoping that you would enlighten us,” I answered his question while openly proclaiming my ignorance on the subject.

“That is the thing. Even when summoned there is always an element of association with their prime plane. I just loosened that which binds them to our realm and let their natural association do the rest.”

“But isn't that exactly banishing?” I pondered loudly.

“Actually not. Think of banishment spells as cancelling a force with a bigger force. What I attempted would be more akin to knocking an axle in a piece of complex machinery.”

“One that would require a tremendous amount of planning and precise work nevertheless,” uttered the fae with her usual venomous undertone.

Now, the reason for Vitalia’s unease became apparent. The mage maintained his silence. For a moment, it appeared as if the mage wanted to say something but in the end, withheld himself and then without a warning the mage took his leave from our company.

“What was that about? He seems weirder than normal.” Arlene was the first one to remark once the mage was out of hearing range.

“Something is bothering him,” I replied to her.

“I think he is still processing.” the fae for her part added.

We were finally close to the main entrance gate of Sarenthill.

“We should look for a cheaper inn. I will enter the city alone,” I shared my idea with Arlene. The half-elf was wide-eyed with the view of the city and simply nodded.

Even without entering, it was evident that Sarenthill lived up to its name as a free city with multiple cultures co-existing. The travellers on the road ranged from the aristocrats in their fancier carriages to simple workers carrying their tasks. There were a heterogeneous mixture, elves, humans, dwarves, gnomes and even some orcs. Even Arlene and the goblins did not draw much attention. The occasional dark elves that I passed through ignored my presence as if it were a normal everyday occurrence and I was glad to blend in. Attention is the last thing I needed.

Finally making sure that we have arrived at our destination and that we were safe, I knocked on the carriage of Syrune. He stepped out.

“We are in Sarenthill and with that our contract ends.” I gave my most congenial smile.

“Ah yes, The time did fly fast,” responded the mage. It seemed as if he did not bother to recall the last fight.

“So where do you plan to go now? I mean not that it is any of my business, I was just hoping, given our adventure, we all could do well with a toast.”

It was clear from Syrune behaviour that he had an ulterior motive for suggesting the toast. Not the usual sort of ulterior motive when a lad suggests taking a girl to a bar, but something else.

“Sure, it would be our pleasure but please the cheapest inn in town,” I added.

Syrune lead us through a side street and after a few paces, our odd procession stopped in front of an inn with a sign which read the plump goose. Upon entering the inn, I found the whole ground floor of the inn served as a bar while the upper floor was for guests. The inn was not packed and had a few regulars enjoying their drinks in their own company. While Arlene stayed outside with the dire boars, I approached the lanky man with an apron behind the bar.

“Good Tidings, barkeep. May I enquire if you have any rooms for our company?”

The man behind the bar had a huge smile and greeted me politely.

“Yes, ma’am. We have a few rooms but,” I interrupted the barkeep.

“Oh please, they mostly sleep in the same room,” I said pointing to the goblins.

“I think three big rooms and two small ones is all we need. And please remove the beds from the bigger rooms. They don’t like beds.”

The barkeep did not flinch at this odd request. Probably he was used to receiving such requests all the time.

“Also we have dire boars. tamed ones but they still need their handling. So five of the goblins would sleep in the stables. Could you arrange something? We would naturally bear the cost.”

“I will see what we can do,” saying that the barkeep promptly knocked on a small door nearby and barked the name of someone. A youth much younger than the barkeep appeared. The youth seemed to be the groom. He exchanged some words with the groom.

“Arlene, that is our ranger, is with our dire boars outside. She usually handles them. Please find her and lead her to the stables. She is a half-elf, not hard to miss.” I gave some instructions on my part. Not that I had to provide any descriptions for Arlene, after all how many tamed dire boars would be in Sarenthill.

The groom quickly nodded and left.

The barkeep turned to me and with the same polite gesture replied, “The rooms will take a bit more time to be cleaned up. In the meantime please feel free to wait or order some drinks.”

“We definitely will. But a slight request,” I leaned towards the barkeep and lowered my voice, “Please water down the drinks for the goblins. You don’t want them drunk believe me.”

“Do they turn rowdy?” There was concern in the barkeep’s voice.

“No. They don’t but when they are drunk they don’t bother finding the restroom if you know what I mean.” I winked.

I expected the barkeep to have a look of disgust on his face but he kept his professional attitude.

“Ah, I understand.”

With that, I left the barkeep to his usual duties and turned towards the goblins.

I made sure that the goblins were seated in three groups and assigned Maapu, Theko and Taltil to each of the groups. I left them explicit instructions to prevent them from getting rowdy.

I finally made my way toward the empty table where Syrune waited.

Our drinks arrived soon after and the mage kept the conversation to a minimum. He slowly sipped the contents of his mug though the mage clearly did not enjoy it. He ordered the drink more as a sort of formality and as a means to occupy the table.

“So what is your plan next?” asked Syrune.

“I would be meeting our next would-be client. I am expecting a lot of negotiation and hopefully, we land a deal.” I answered.

“I see, I would probably first finish the minor errand with Mages Collective and then it is off for my own research,” he volunteered and explained on his own.

I waited for a few moments, basked in the sounds of the inn, took a few mouthfuls of the ale and waited for the mage to continue. Syrune remained silent again.

“Something tells me that this is not why you offered to buy us a drink. You have some issue you wanted to talk about right? I am all here to listen.” I finally broke the silent spell.

Syrune considered me for a moment before dropping his head back to his mug. He stirred his mug a bit and focussed on the miniature whirlpool that the fluid in his mug made. He then slowly returned his attention towards me.

“Do you think the same? about what they say about me?” he posed the question with a quivering voice.

“Do you feel the same? Do I come out as such a person?”

“If you ask my opinion Syrune,” I tried to sound reassuring as possible,” Mages are often the most misunderstood group and you are better than the rest of the mages. So it is natural that people would wrongly interpret your action.”

“But do my actions really give out that sort of impression?” the mage persisted in his questioning.

“I am probably not the best person to ask this question. My perspective is different from most. But if you want my honest answer, yes, I did hear things about you even before we met.” I laid the truth out in the open.

“And .... You still took the contract?”

I did not feel like revealing it to the mage that we did it out of necessity and we needed his coins.

“As I said, I do not solely place my decisions based on what I hear and it is my opinion that most rumours about you don’t do any justice to the person that you really are.”

Syrune brightened as he listened to my words.

“But people’s opinion about you is not the only thing that is bothering you, isn’t it? “ I pushed my advantage.

Syrune simply nodded and a moment later as if clarity returned to him, the feeble weak Syrune disappeared only to be replaced with his arrogant and contemptuous counterpart.

“I thank you for the wonderful experience on the road and I wish you good luck with your negotiation,” he proclaimed loudly and drowned the remaining contents of his mug in a single gulp.

The mage then stood up and gave an elegant bow to all the Aberrant Irregulars, the sort of bow a grand orchestra conductor would deliver to his august crowd. He made an additional small wave with his hand in the direction of Theko. Finally, the pouch filled with coins and a signed contract of completion exchanged hands.

Syrune, true to his words, paid for our drinks before exiting the inn.

Just as Syrune left, Arlene approached me with eager questions. I stopped her before she could begin.

“I have some important errand at Leyandur’s. So please make sure the goblins are well settled. We can discuss things later when I return.”

I rummaged through our measly belongings and found the unmarked package. Taltil quickly realised that I was about to leave alone, hopped towards me.

“I have to do this alone. I am faster this way. Furthermore, I need you to watch the other goblins for me.” I quickly dismissed Taltil with those words.

Another idea struck me and I beckoned Theko to my side. I took the marked package and tied it to Theko’s waist. I then called Arlene and Maapu closer.

“Listen, I have a sneaky feeling that someone might try to rob us. Guard this package till I get back.”

I received an affirmative reply from all three and finally, once I was pleased with my additional preventive measure, I exited the inn.

*****

I moved towards the city entrance gate. The stars were out in the night sky and the moon just rose above. Even though it was late in the evening, the streets were not deserted. On the contrary, there were still people going on about their daily jobs. Sarenthill might be one of those cities that never sleeps. I finally arrived at the entrance gate to Sarenthill and approached the sentries posted there.

“Greetings guardsmen,”

“Greetings drow,” replied one of them in a monotone.

“Could you please point me in the direction of Leyandur and Associates? I was told they have their offices around Ascension square.” I requested assistance while drawing my memory from what little information I could recall from Nemeash.

“Wait here for a moment,” said one of the sentries as he turned and shouted to someone inside.

After a narrow elapse of time, a young boy strode in. His features definitely half-elven, though his unwashed face and slightly soiled garments revealed a street-rat lifestyle.

The sentry spoke again, “The lad will lead you to your required location. Just pass a few cent souverain for his efforts. If he demands a crown regales, box his ears. He is trying to rip you.”

I thanked the sentry for his effort and let the lad lead the way.

The fledgling walked faster motivated with the prospect of a few coins. He did not bother to stop to read the signs or to orient himself. It was apparent that the errand boy knew his way around the city like a forge master who know his way around his own forge.

“First time in the Sarenthill, ma’am?” the boy asked.

“Yes. But won’t be the last.” I added.

“May I know which house you are with?” the boy asked timidly. He uttered the word “House” with a bit of reverence.

I let his assumption pass by, instead, I was amazed that the youngster already knew about drow houses.

“I am unaligned,” I declared, “my skills are only for those who I deem worthy these days.”

“Understood ma’am, I am just like you. Our life decisions are in our own hands.” proudly declared the boy.

The youngster is blessed with a silver tongue.

Since it appeared that we would have to walk for a bit more and in order to break the silence, I engaged the youngster.

“So what is your story? you born here or just moved?”

“Oh, I was born here, Ma was a seamstress.”

At his use of past tense for his mother, it was clear which one of his parents was human.

“I am sorry, about your mother,”

“No need to be sorry ma’am, She lived a happy life and died of old age. The guild tried to train me.”

“The guild?”

“The weaver’s guild. Ma was a seamstress so guild looks out but I did not have any talent for it.” Shrugged the boy.

“Your other side of the family?”

“Pa’s family were all killed during the verdant hegemony purge, I think. Some colluding with daemons and accusations. So only Pa and Pa sort of fell in with the wrong crowd and there was an accident.”

“Did they catch the perpetrators?”

“They said it was an accident. Gnomes, Ma’am. I keep away from them. Always bad company.”

It was the gnome sort of an accident and not the dark elf sort of accident. When a gnome has an accident, it is really an accident. I should learn to stop viewing the world through drow perspective.

“So you are now bravely facing the wide world alone?”

“na, pa is still alive ma’am. Just not the same after the accident. Pa is crippled. Ma used to say that Pa had a serene voice and he was good with his fingers, ma’am”

Wait. Just wait. what. did I hear it properly? I took a small pause to process what I heard. Though I realise that parenting would be different for different cultures and not to mention between different races. But it was a piece of new information to know that human women would be so open to sharing these details. Nonetheless with her son. The youngster is probably still a child going by his racial heritage. Which made me wonder, for all the sexual liberation that we drows are proud of. should Lyria were to be by my side all these years, would we share such details with our daughter? No with my daughter. Not ours.

“When he plucked the lute strings, the sylphs themselves would come to his call, ma said.”

That kind of “good with fingers”. The thoughts of Lyria is definitely messing with my clarity to think. probably subconsciously.

“Pa now does not hear well. His hands tremble, ma’am. Pa cannot hold even food. By fair weather, Pa still sometimes play. We make some small coins in the sylvan square. You should come if you have time ma’am.”

Somehow the youngster grew up on me. In spite of his past, he still managed to maintain a positive outlook for himself. If I think of him in elven years he might be just a bit younger than my own daughter and yet he matured a lot.

“And your destination Ma’am”

The boy stopped in front of a multi-storeyed building. A simple but sturdy door blocked the only visible entrance. A crimson runic symbol with the sign of a small bell stood anchored to the wall close to the door. If it was placed to attract the attention of the guest, the runic symbol did it’s job perfectly. Above it stood the small handle with a circular ring hanging. On close examination, there were runes etched on the ring as well.

Everything about the exterior of Leyandur and associates spoke of a simple but elegant design. There was nothing extravagant like golden handles on the door or silver panes on the borders. The stones of the exterior walls were made of whitesmoke marble, an expensive but not an extravagant choice.

“Ma’am, May I leave?” the youngster finally spoke after waiting.

I dug into the coin pouch and handed him a few cents soverain and after looking at his expectant eyes, I decided to add a crown regales to his earning. His face lit up.

“Thanks ma’am. Me and Pa will dine well. Maybe will take the next two days, spent time with Pa. Thank you ma’am.”

The boy did not attempt to control his enthusiasm and thanked me a few more times before leaving.

*****

I gripped the rune etched ring between my index finger and thumb and gingerly pushed it towards the other runic symbol. The effect was better than my expectations. Though it was quiet on the outside, on sharpening my hearing I would hear a loud chiming of bells inside. Soon the sturdy door moved and a human appeared and beckoned me inside.

The inside betrayed the exterior. The room behind the entrance door was well lit with carpeted floors. Tapestry with intricate geometric designs adorned the walls. Velvet curtain rich in cerulean blue hung over a counter on one side which during day times would have served as a cloakroom. The man opened the next door and lead me to the next room.

A quick look at the layout of this room indicated that it was meant to serve as a reception. The room was wide with cushioned chairs placed around small tables. The floor was not carpeted like the previous one but rather was made of some sort of polished marble. The walls were filled with portraits of supposedly important figures and landscape paintings. The frames of the paintings were gilded. So Leyandur indeed likes to flaunt just not immediately.

I turned my attention to the man who received me. He seemed to be of medium build with broad shoulders and was dressed conservatively by High-elven standards. A neon blue tunic and viridian coloured trousers.

“I would normally offer you a place to sit and wait but I hope you understand, this is not our working time.”

“Yes, I understand. But this is urgent.”

“Perhaps, do you know the name of the partner who handles your case?”

“I am not your client, but I have a message to be delivered from one of your clients,” saying that I took the package out.

“I will be here tomorrow during your business hours. One of the senior partners would receive me. I will deliver the exact message to them directly.”

The man took the package that I handed over.

“I will pass the package but I cannot promise if they choose to meet with you in person.”

“It is alright. They will and if not, their loss.”

“What should I announce your name as? For the meeting, under what name should we expect you at the reception?”

I did not want to give my name for that would bring another sort of misunderstanding. An exiled matriarch knocking on a solicitors door.

“Just name me as the leader of Aberrant Irregulars. That should be sufficient.”

The man politely nodded.

I thanked him and left the empty offices of Leyandur and associates.

*****

Thanks to the high elven influence in city planning, it was easy to find my way back to the entrance gate. As I passed by the gate, one of the sentries identified me and gave a shout.

“Did you finish your task? Must be pretty darned important if you had to run at this hour”

“Yes, it was indeed. Hopefully, I would be compensated well for the effort and the trip. I even paid the errand boy a crown regales over the cents souverain. The poor boy had a tough life going for him.”

At my mention of paying the errand boy, the sentry stopped paying attention to my statement and looked around and once he was certain that I finished my statement, he shouted to another sentry on the other side.

“Daelir, you are not going to believe this. She gave a crown regales in addition to a few cents souverain.”

And then they both burst out laughing.

“The poor half-elven boy has a really difficult time. I know you cautioned against giving him more, but it was difficult not to be moved.”

The other sentry from opposite the road screamed, “He ain’t no half-elven boy, he is fully grown adult halfling. He did it again.”

The night was disturbed by the sounds of my loud swearing and the rumbling laughter of two gate sentries.