“Just try it. I promise it tastes better than it looks.”

“You said that about the last one!”

“Yes, but I mean it this time.”

“You said that too!”

Werond lowered the spoonful of spinach; the light of the setting sun, filtering in over the windows at the front of the kitchen, lit up the green mush like some awful thing from the heavens. At the washbasin under the windows, Graham toiled away, cleaning up the dishes from dinner – grilled chicken breast topped with goat cheese, unfortunately paired with a massive helping of spinach.

“Serena,” Werond said, voice thick with exhaustion; water dripped onto her palm, held under the spoon. “for Deneir’s sake, just try it. It’s good for you! Besides, it’s not healthy to only eat red meat.”

Serena leaned off the side of the island as Werond shoved the spoon closer to her, bile rising in her throat.

No amount of convincing or threatening had been able to convince Werond that Serena wanted nothing to do with…whatever that was. Of course, she had no help on the matter; Jo, on the other side of Werond, sat with her head leaned against her hand, watching the debacle with a knowing grin. And Pavel, on the other side of her, hadn’t looked up at all since Werond mentioned the idea.

“I don’t care, I don’t need that stuff!” Serena signed. “That doesn’t even look safe to eat in the first place!”

“Oh my…” Werond sighed, eyes almost rolling into her head, as Jo laughed, finding far too much enjoyment out of the entire predicament. Pavel, however, still refused to look up, ignoring everyone. He ate slowly, shoulders slumped, lips drawn in a long frown.

He’d been like that ever since the tournament, a gloomy cloud following him wherever he went. And try as she did, Serena couldn’t get him to explain why. She was beginning to worry.

“With all due respect ma’am,” Graham said, tearing Serena from her thoughts. “that is a bit silly. I’d never prepare something for you – for anyone – if it had the potential to harm you.” He twisted around and smiled at her. “You have my word on that.”

Serena glared at the kindly servant, who chuckled and turned back to the wash basin. It was amazing just how quickly she’d been abandoned.

Werond’s hand shot out and seized Serena by her wrist, scaring her. She yanked Serena closer, almost pulling her off the barstool, and shoved the spoon into her face, the nauseating green stench smacking her upside the head.

“Eat the damn spinach darling.” Werond growled, her eyes hard, her grin wide.

Serena’s heart leapt into her throat; she recognized that devilish look.

The fight disappearing from her body, Serena opened her mouth just enough for Werond to shove the spoon in. She silently gagged and shivered as the wet leaves turned to mush in her mouth, and she had to swallow twice as the green pulp threatened to come back up.

Werond rolled her eyes again; she handed her glass of water to Serena and shook her head as it was snatched from her.

“It’s not the bad.” She said.

“It’s horrible!” Serena yelled after she slammed the now empty glass onto the table. “How do you eat that stuff?!”

“Our taste tends to change as we get older. Now that I’m an adult, I have no problem eating most things.”

“She’s right.” Jo said, straighten up behind Werond. “Maybe once you get older, you’ll understand what she means.”

Werond chuckled as heat blossomed across Serena’s face and ears. Before she could raise her hands to retort, however, the front door of the house slammed opened, sending a jolt through everyone at the island – save Pavel. After a moment, the door slammed closed.

The stomping of footsteps started in the foyer and gradually grew until Cruck’aa marched through archway that separated the kitchen from the living room. His feathers were ruffled, his eyes dark, and when he halted at the end of the island in front of Serena, the light from the sun illuminated him like an angry angel.

Serena frowned. The sight would have been funny, had the Aarakocra not looked more frustrated than he normally looked.

“Would you not slam my doors?” Werond asked, glaring at Cruck’aa. “We just had the damn thing fixed.”

“I will when you all stop being so damned lazy!” Cruck’aa yelled back.

Werond shook her head and turned back to her plate, Jo letting out a guffaw behind her.

“We haven’t seen you all day, and now you just decide to come stomping back in here to yell at us?” Serena signed. “What’s gotten into you now?”

“What’s gotten into me, Serena, is the same thing that’s irritated me since we got here.” Cruck’aa narrowed his eyes. “And it’s maddening that you have no idea what that is.”

“I can’t read your mind Cruck’aa. Not that I’d want to.”

“I wish you could. Maybe then you’d remember the damn job we’re supposed to be doing.”

Serena blinked as a faint wave of embarrassment washed over her, uncomfortably warming her body. She’d forgotten about that. And from the sighs behind her, so too had everyone else.

“Yes, that tiny little thing we were supposed to be investigating the moment we stepped foot in this damned city.” Cruck’aa shook his head. “It’s only slightly important.”

“Yeah, it slipped my mind.” Werond mumbled.

“Well, considering you weren’t hired for it, I’m not surprised.” Cruck’aa said. Serena glanced back at Werond, worried, although she dismissed the comment with a handwave. “Regardless, we need to discuss this now.”

“Now?” Jo asked flatly.

“Now.” Cruck’aa echoed. He glanced over at Graham, who had turned around to listen to Cruck’aa. Without a word, he wiped his hands on a towel and strode out of the kitchen.

After waiting a moment, Cruck’aa sighed, put his hands on the island, and leaned forward, suddenly exhausted. His shoulders slumped as though they were being pulled down, and when he looked up, he did so without the usual annoyance that normally filled his eyes.

“We have had plenty of time to enjoy ourselves in this damned city – too much time, I might add. And because of all that goofing around, we have yet to find any leads on the Cult or what they’re doing or how they get into the city. I’ve been working by myself for days and have found nothing, and I’m sure that had I help from any of you,” he pointed a talon at Serena, Pavel, and Jo. “we would have found something. But right now, I have nothing. So, we need to decide now, before anyone leaves this room, how we plan on going about finding even a crumb of evidence. And I will personally make sure that no one leaves if I must, because…” Cruck’aa shook his head, his eyes alight with that familiar look of frustration. “we need something.”

Serena grimaced; the threat didn’t bother her – she was sure it was empty – but she couldn’t argue with Cruck’aa. Serena hadn’t given their job a single thought since they arrived in Waterdeep. She wanted to blame the city itself, with all its distractions, but that wouldn’t have been right. In truth, she had simply forgotten.

When she glanced back, it seemed everyone felt the same. Werond’s mouth had twisted in annoyance, yet she remained silent at Cruck’aa’s words. Pavel had pushed his plate away and straightened up, arms crossed, looking more alive than he had been these past few days. Jo, however, stared at Cruck’aa with a small smile.

“I agree with just about everything you said, though I’m sorry you feel so…exhausted with everything.” Jo began. “But we actually do have a lead. I managed to find something. Been sitting on it for a bit, and I meant to talk to you all about it but…the tournament hit the next day and everything after has been crazy, so –”

“What?!” Cruck’aa roared, feathers standing up on end; Serena and Werond jumped, Serena almost falling off her barstool.

“Please don’t yell!” Graham called from the foyer.

“What did you –” Cruck’aa began, only to snap his beak shut when Jo raised a hand.

“You heard him, no yelling.” She said, standing up from the island to take her plate to the wash basin. “But the gist of it is that I think I found a place where that tunnel in the walls might be – or at least, a tunnel into the city. Place called Cliffwatch Inn, eastern side of the city. In the North Ward. It’s a run-down little spot, but it’s situated extremely close to the edge of the plateau. If a tunnel to the outside exists, I bet it’s in there.” She turned back around and began to dry her hands off with a towel. “Didn’t help that it was the only place with people around late at night.”

“There’s people around everywhere at night.” Pavel said.

Serena glanced backwards; it was the first time Pavel had spoken since he’d sat down.

“Well,” Jo continued, unphased. “the North Ward isn’t like everywhere else. It gets pretty dead at night. Seems like a giant curfew or something. Regardless, no one was around, except for two guys in the alleyway next to the inn, loading up a wagon with a bunch of crates. They seemed sketchy from the start, and one of them kept talking about the Watch finding them, though they never did. I tried to follow them once they left but lost them when they turned onto the main road.” She crossed her arms. “The whole thing seemed odd to me, but quite honestly, I think it’s our best bet. Could be nothing, could be something. Doesn’t hurt to check.”

Serena nodded, taking in what Jo said. Having done nothing on her own, she was forced to agree that it did seem like their best option at the moment. Even if it did end up being unrelated, like Jo said, maybe it would give them a different lead to go from. It couldn’t hurt.

“How did you even find this place?” Cruck’aa asked, eyes narrowed. “I’ve been looking everywhere, and you just happen to stumble on this place?”

Serena blinked; she hadn’t thought about that. It did seem odd that Jo had managed to find a lead over Cruck’aa, although it was possible that Jo just knew where to look. She seemed a bit more competent than Cruck’aa in that regard.

Jo, however, remained silent. She drew her lips back and flicked her eyes towards the ceiling, lost in thought. Before any of them could ask, however, she looked back to Cruck’aa and shrugged.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Cruck’aa threw up his hands and let out a guttural noise. Much to Serena’s surprise, however, he didn’t push the issue. Instead, he leaned back on the island and stared at Jo.

“Fine. Keep your secrets.” He said. “When do we head over to check this place out then?”

Jo glanced at the window behind her. By now, the sun had sunk below the horizon, twilight quickly falling over the city.

“Honestly?” She said. “Why don’t we go now? Everyone can get their stuff together and we can head over when it gets dark.” Jo looked over at Serena. “Plus, if we take the right roads, we shouldn’t run into anyone.”

Serena grimaced and looked away. She knew Jo meant well, but a part of her still hated how much the last incident still weighed on her mind.

Before she could respond, however, Pavel shot up from the island, almost knocking his barstool over.

“Sounds like a plan.” He shoved the barstool back in, flipped on his heel, and made his way out of the kitchen. “I’ll get my things together, shouldn’t take long.” He called.

After a moment, Cruck’aa followed him, looking as though he actually agreed with Pavel. When Serena looked back to Jo, she too looked somewhat surprised.

“That seemed a little too easy.” she said, pushing off the counter and walking around the island. “Works for me though. Guess we’re going out tonight.” She halted beside Serena. “You going to be okay to head out? Don’t think anyone blames you if you said no. We’d miss you though.”

“I should be okay.” Serena said. “If we’re going out at night, then I doubt we’ll be mobbed. Besides, I need to get over all of it at some point, right?”

“Sure. Glad to hear it.” She patted Serena on the shoulder before exiting the kitchen, her bootsteps slowly fading.

Serena slid around on her barstool, back to the island, and leaned her arms on her legs. Truth be told, anxiety still burned within her chest; she hadn’t been out of the house since the last incident, and just the thought of leaving made her want to curl up on the couch. She wasn’t the kind of person to feel such a level of anxiety, and Serena truly didn’t know how to deal with it.

She needed to go out though. She couldn’t hide away anymore, it wasn’t healthy. Though Serena was lucky that everyone seemed to be supportive, Werond most of all, she knew that enough was enough.

Serena hopped off the barstool and looked over to Werond. She hadn’t said a word during the entire conversation, and even now she remained quiet, staring out the windows, a worried look painted across her dark face. When Serena tapped her on the shoulder, she blinked and looked over, the golden light framing her body. Like she’d come from heaven itself.

“You okay?” Serena signed. “Been really quiet.”

“Honestly?” Werond said. “I don’t know. All of this seems sudden, and I’m still worried about you.”

“I think I’ll be okay.”

“If you think so, then I trust you.” Werond replied; though she spoke truthfully, she still wore a deep frown.

“And?”

Werond smiled in embarrassment and turned to face her fully; it had been getting easier to talk about the thoughts that weighed on their minds. Ever since the tournament, Serena felt as though they could finally be more open with one another, each fully accepting the others help.

And it only made her love Werond more.

“I think,” Werond whispered. “That I’m just…” her voice trailed off as Graham appeared in the threshold of the kitchen, before leaving again without a word. “I’m just worried about how dangerous this could be. You can handle yourself, I know, but I still worry.”

“Well, we’ll all go together. We’ll watch each other’s backs, it’ll be fine.”

“I know darling, I know. You’ve all proven just how capable each of you are. But…” Werond sighed. “just be careful. I don’t know where Jo got this from, and god knows what will be over there, if anything. Just…” Werond paused, her face scrunching up. “If it is the Thieves Guild, look out for something they could use to signal others with. If this place really is the tunnel, I’d have to imagine they’d have something like that.”

Serena frowned; that was specific. “Okay. I’ll try to keep an eye out.”

“Good. Makes me feel a little better.” Werond stood up and gestured towards the living room. “You’d better start getting ready.”

“What do you plan on doing while we’re gone?” Serena asked as they walked through the living room. She couldn’t imagine Werond trying to sleep.

“I…I think I’ll head into the office.” She said as they passed Graham in the foyer. From above, Pavel’s muffled voice drifted down, the slamming of a door accompanying it. “I’ve got some work I need to get done. May as well do it now. Free up tomorrow.”

“Okay. You want me to walk you over first?”

“Uh…” Werond said, halting at the foot of the stairs. “Nah, I’ll be okay, I think. Thanks though.” She snapped her fingers. “Actually, I know I’ll be okay if you promise me that you’ll be careful.”

Serena grinned and shook her head. “Fine. I promise.”

“Good.” Werond leaned in. “For luck, then.”

Serena closed her eyes, savoring the way Werond’s lips felt against her own; that familiar heat began to flood her body, easing her fears, and burning away any trace of anxiety. When Werond pulled away, Serena couldn’t help but to yearn for more.