Serena Lash

Pavel informed me that you won’t be coming back tonight. It saddens me that I won’t get a chance to say goodbye, but I suppose this will have to do. I cannot begin to express my thanks for releasing me from that hideous woman I called a wife. Without you, I’d still be under her thumb.

You should know, I do indeed plan on traveling to Mirabar. My brother, your father, promised me that he’d be there. I know Vorn’s a good man, and that he’ll stay true to his word.

I suppose that must be a shock to you, if you even believe it, but we are family. I knew the very day you confronted me when I saw that pendant around your neck. I can hazard a guess that it’s your fathers. He always was sentimental like that. As for mine, I must keep it stowed away. SHE told me to smash and discard it, but I’ve managed to keep it hidden away in our carriage, in my chest, of all things. I doubt she’d ever find it.

Stay safe Serena. I hope that we’ll see one another again soon.

Vanet Lash

By now, the words were seared into Serena’s mind. She had read and reread the letter enough for Werond to grow concerned, asking for the letter so she could hold onto it. When Serena made known that not a soul would touch the letter, Werond had simply nodded, touched the small of her back, and murmured an apology.

Serena was grateful for it.

After finding the pendant, now tucked safely away in its chest, the rest of the night had felt like a whirlwind. Issues had come to light soon after the departure of the Daggerford guards, fleeing from Jo’s ire. As the gate was open, all six of the caravan’s guards came pouring out from the city, in various states of undress or inebriation. From their reports, the Zultan’s teamsters, the two men in black that Serena had frantically talked with, had gone to every one of the guards and convinced them that a night on the town was better for them than mindless guard work. To Pavel’s astonishment, and frustration, each one had fallen for their honied words, and by the time Lady Zultan had made her move, there was no one there to help. Pavel sent them all away, back into the city to find the two Zultan teamsters, but so far that night, not a sign of them remained.

Jo had sworn loudly at the news; she had noticed no one else was around but thought nothing of it. The anger towards herself seemed greater than her anger at the guards.

And yet Serena still felt as though she felt the brunt of the night. The news of Lord Zultan – Vanet’s sudden connection to her had jolted Serena, sending waves of grief crashing upon her. It had taken a long time her tears to stop, for Werond, her own eyes glassy, to release her. Even still, Serena had been barely able to keep herself together to help start the bonfire for Lady Zultan.

Jo had suggested it with a hard look in her eye. She made no attempt to hide her disgust towards the woman, evident by her jumping to collect something flammable. Pavel had decreed that, with the two now gone and Serena being the now sudden next of kin, that she had final say over the contents of the Drows’ carriage. She didn’t care for most of it. And with her permission, Jo ripped out each and every possession from the carriage – from hauntingly beautiful dresses to all manner of religious icons - laid them out in a neat pile, flung Lady Zultan’s managed body into the center, and politely asked Serena to set it ablaze.

She was happy to oblige.

The same ceremony had not been done for Vanet; upon Serena’s persistence, she and Werond wrapped him in the largest piece of still intact canvas and carried his body to the edge of the woods outside the city. There, with borrowed shovels, she and Werond dug a modest grave into the dirt, before gently lowering the Drow in.

It was at Werond’s question of final words for Vanet did Serena break down again, the weight of the night suddenly too heavy to shoulder. By the time the grave was covered and Werond had pulled Serena to her feet, the bonfire in front of Daggerford had already consumed the body of Lady Zultan, filling the air with the stench of burning flesh.

The chest containing Vanet’s possessions sat away from the bonfire and Serena, exhausted, planted herself on top of its wooden frame, hunched forward, to watch the bonfire die out. Werond, after a moment of hesitation, sat down next to her, knees tucked against her chest. Upon their arrival, Cruck’aa had flapped out from his wagon to join them, followed closely behind by Pavel and Jo, who had been talking outside of his wagon. Cruck’aa landed next to Serena and Werond, with Pavel and Jo walking to the other side, forming a semi-circle around the fire.

The Aarockra let out a low trill. “This shouldn’t have happened.”

“Cruck’aa!” Werond said, as Serena’s shoulder’s slumped. “We all know that!”

“No, not what I mean.” Cruck’aa said. “It shouldn’t have happened, as now we’ve blown ourselves wide open. Well, Pavel and I have.”

“What makes you say that?” Pavel asked, standing with his arms crossed.

“And why wouldn’t that involve me?” Jo asked, irritation in her voice.

Serena glanced over at Cruck’aa; his eyes were narrowed, his beak opening and closing as he struggled to find the words. She knew what he was trying to say, trying to phrase, so that Jo wouldn’t ask any further questions. The numbness in her chest faded, replaced with thinly veiled annoyance. She straightened up so everyone could see her signs.

“We blew our cover towards the Dragon Cult.” Serena signed; Cruck’aa’s eyes snapped open as she continued. “It’s why we signed on. We got a report that someone on the train was fishy. We tried to pass off as normal guards, didn’t want to draw attention. Kind of…not happening now.” Serena turned her head towards Werond. “It was supposed to be a secret.”

Werond’s eyes had widened at the name, but Jo only nodded in response, her eyes narrowed.

“Serena!” Cruck’aa squawked. “What –”

“I don’t care Cruck’aa. Not tonight. Jo deserved to know; she risked her life.”

“And her?!” Cruck’aa replied, gesturing a talon towards Werond.

“I trust her, that should be enough.” Serena replied, struggling to keep her voice steady at the tone of his voice. She glanced at Werond, who had looked back towards the fire, a faint flush in her cheeks.

“Been awhile since I’ve heard that name.” Jo said, crossing her arms. “You think there’s members on the caravan?”

“Don’t think,” Pavel said, causing Cruck’aa to flip his hard stare to him. “we know. Got a report about it. But so far, we haven’t been able to investigate. We’ve gotten…complacent.”

Cruck’aa sputtered. “Don’t tell her –”

“And now you’re worried about them seeing you as a threat.” Jo continued. Pavel nodded.

“Yup.” He replied. “I hadn’t thought about it until Cruck’aa mentioned it, but the cult has connections. If we know they’re on the caravan, I must imagine they know that a faction directly opposed to them is also on it. And with what happened tonight…well, we’re at a disadvantage.”

“Any idea what they’re doing?”

“No.”

“Any suspects of late?”

“One. Haven’t pursued it yet.”

“And the caravan disbands in Waterdeep?”

“Correct. Which isn’t too far from here.”

“Well,” Jo laughed humorlessly. “Sounds like you’ve all fucked that one.”

“Pavel said it best.” Serena signed. “We got lazy.”

“And now that you both know all this,” Cruck’aa hissed, casting beady eyes towards Jo and Werond. “You should forget what you’ve heard, we have the situation under control.”

Jo let out a pfft.

“Oh, I’m sure.” She raised a hand as Cruck’aa puffed up. “Listen Polly, before you explode. I want to help if you’ll have me.”

Serena glanced over at Jo, who wore a stone-cold expression.

“I’ve never dealt with them before, but I’ve heard of them.” She continued. “If you know for sure they’re on the caravan, I want to rip them out just as much as you do. From the stories…they sound like some of the worst on the Coast.”

“I’d be fine with that.” Pavel said. “After all that, we’d need another pair of hands.”

“If Pavel trusts you, that’s fine with me.” Serena mumbled.

“What?!” Cruck’aa chirped. “I – fine! I don’t have the energy to argue with you anyways.”

“Well, if Jo is jumping on,” Werond said, turning to face the others. “I can throw my hat into the ring. I’m not talented like you three but…” She paused for a moment, face scrunched in thought. “I doubt the problem will go away once we hit Waterdeep. I know some people who could help you guys out. Give you a foothold into the city.” Werond shrugged. “It’s not much right now but…thought I’d offer.”

“You have contacts?” Cruck’aa asked, narrowing his eyes. “How does a professional teamster have contacts that could help us?”

Werond turned and stared at the Aarakocra, the look in her eyes sending a shiver down Serena’s spine.

“I’ve been in the business for a while.” She said. “You’d be surprised at what I have.”

“That would be lovely Werond,” Serena signed, before Cruck’aa could continue. “I think we’d all like that.”

“Agreed.” Jo said. “Suppose that means I’m stuck with all you for a while then. Well, one person is a suspect, right? Pavel, why don’t you fill me in tomorrow as we move, and I can relay the info to Serena and Werond. Shouldn’t look too suspicious if we do it right.”

Pavel pursed his lips, before nodding.

“Sounds like a plan.”

“If we’re just talking about it like this,” Cruck’aa chimed in. “then we should just discuss it now, so –”

“No.” Serena said forcefully; her skin prickled as the group stared at her. “Just…can we call it tonight?”

“I think that’s a good idea.” Pavel said. “We’re all pretty tired.”

“Sure,” Jo said, turning on her heel. “see you all in the morning.”

Pavel blinked at Jo’s sudden departure towards the Zultan’s carriage. As he turned back towards the fire, Cruck’aa leapt up and flew back to his wagon, quickly climbing inside.

“Huh.” He said. “Guess everyone really is tired. Well…don’t stay up too late then you two. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight Pavel.” Werond said, as Serena waved.

The pair sat in silence, as they listened to Pavel’s footsteps grow quieter, watching the fire die down. After a moment, Serena sighed, and scooted off the chest so that it lay in between her legs.

“I…don’t feel like sleeping right now.” She signed towards Werond. “You can head back to the wagon if you want. I’ll be fine.”

Werond looked back towards Serena, the light reflecting from her amber eyes. She smiled, though there was no joy behind it.

“I’m fine. I don’t feel like sleeping either.”

Serena nodded, and turned back towards the fire. Werond held her gaze on Serena, before scooting back and pressing herself against her. She felt cold, despite the heat from the flames.

“Hey,” Werond whispered. “do you…want to talk about…”

“I…I don’t know.” Serena replied, her chest tightening. “It feels…different from Bo. Worse, I think. I just…” She sighed in frustration. “I don’t know how to say it. Can we, I, not talk about it?”

Werond nodded once, before wrapping an arm around Serena.

For a while, the only sound that filled the night was the crackling of the dying fire, now almost burned to its embers. Serena’s thoughts kept threatening to drift back to the events that night, and each time, she struggled to force them away. She did not want to think about them, to process them, to come to terms with them. All Serena cared for was the numbness to remain, to keep her distracted, keep her sane. She could deal with it tomorrow, or the day after, anytime but now. Not now. Later. She couldn’t do it now. Maybe later. Maybe –

Werond’s arm tightened suddenly around her.

“I’m sorry.” She whispered.

The tears Serena were holding back came to the surface. She squeezed her eyes shut, desperately trying to stem the flow. But she couldn’t.

Not anymore.

Serena leaned her head against Werond’s shoulder and cried until the fire finally snuffed itself out.