Chaos and Entropy

Chapter 5…A Shopping Trip

I trudged back into Mekrath’s lair tired, dirty, and foul of temper. Mekrath had given me a fat purse and a long shopping list and told me to make myself useful. I should have realized when he offered me alchemy lessons, without my having to prod or pester him, that there was a catch.

Gods, I am such a lack-wit.

Most of the oils, essences and herbs weren’t hard to find, except for the vexation of trotting to six different vendors. Two of them spoke some strange Amnish dialect I could barely make out. One creepy old lady got pissed the third time I asked her to repeat herself and I’m sure she overcharged me. Well, overcharged Mekrath, heh heh.

Finding the metal shavings and gemstones of the proper size and color required even more legwork, although visiting jewelers to poke through their reject bins and trays of uncut stones was rather fun. Juggling the basket of duck eggs without breaking any (well, not too many) was aggravating. By the time I realized I should have hired a porter, it was too late to bother with one.

Then I had to trudge all the way to the docks to find a Shadow Thief who would give me a decent price on a bit of black lotus. If I found out Mekrath wanted this for recreational usage instead of potion-making, I was going to do something nefarious.

On top of everything else, I had to slog through countless leagues of stinking sewers to hunt a carrion crawler for its blood. And just as I’d finally cornered one, the damned thing oozed through a crack so narrow that I couldn’t squeeze in after it. It took forever to find another.

And that wasn’t even the worst thing that happened.

Mekrath was lounging in his sitting room when I stormed in. He had his feet propped up on a stool and a bottle of ale at his elbow. He looked up from his book when I slammed the door behind me.

“I hope you’re not planning on sitting on my cushions until you’ve changed clothes.” The carrion crawler had slimed me good. The glare I gave the mage should have blistered the whitewash off the wall but he merely raised his eyebrows. “Get everything?”

“Yes!” I barely kept myself from slamming my pack on the table. Since it was full of breakables that I’d have to clean up and replace, that didn’t seem wise. I set it gently on the floor instead.

“Where are the eggs?”

I glared harder.

“And here I thought all girls loved to go shopping.”

“Rrrr…” I ground my teeth. It felt like my eyeballs were on fire.

“Whoa! Rein it in there, Bhaalspawn, and tell me what’s wrong.”

I hoped my eyes weren’t doing that Sarevok thing again.

“Mekrath! You’ve got to do something about Draug Fea and the lowlifes who follow him or I swear that I will!”

“Hey now, don’t slaughter my outer defenses.”

“Your what? Damn it, Mekrath, don’t tell me you’re encouraging those outlaws to hang around.”

“Of course I am. They help keep some of the riffraff out. Not only do I not have to fork over a single copper for the service, they actually give me a share of their take.”

“You’re getting tribute from those idiots? You twisty little…” Actually, I kind of admired him. Not that I’d tell him that.

“Why so irate? They didn’t pester you, did they? I specifically told them you were under my protection.”

“Rrrrr…”

Mekrath was alarmed enough to set his book aside.

“And what exactly did you tell them?” I asked, once my voice was under control.

“Well…”

“Did you happen to mention anything of a personal nature about me? Anything at all?”

“And violate the master/apprentice relationship? Certainly not.”

“Indeed. So it must have been some other mage who said his new apprentice was like an illithid who sucks men’s brains out through their ‘serpent’ instead of their nose.”

“Well…”

“And I suppose it was some other mage who made disparaging comments about my breasts.”

“Disparaging comments? My dear girl, you should watch this little tendency towards hyper-sensitivity; it could become quite a character flaw. Your breasts may be unexpectedly human in appearance on an otherwise reasonably graceful elven frame but that shouldn’t be taken as a slur. You should learn to be happy with the hand fate has dealt you. I think your tits are charming, especially the way they jiggle when you’re upset.”

My hand, in a totally involuntary motion, settled on the hilt of my dagger. I took a breath and clasped my hands behind my back. I was almost certain I’d lose my mage’s license if I dismembered my master.

“And I suppose it never occurred to you, while you were ‘not’ violating the master/apprentice relationship, that those delightful outlaw friends of yours might demand a sample of my so-called charms? That each of them might demand a sample? That they might consider themselves entitled to such?”

“Oh, dear.”

“OH, DEAR? Is that all you have to say?”

“Sorry?”

“That’s not nearly good enough.”

“Were you obliged to…ahem…come across with the goods?”

My lip curled up in a sneer.

“I told them you’d taught me a spell to make men’s ‘serpents’ wither and die.” Mekrath looked relieved. I could feel my glare intensify. “Your pal Draug Fea replied that if he gagged me with his, I couldn’t cast any spells. Do you know how low to the ground you have to get to give a dwarf a blow job?”

“Oh, dear. Er, sorry.”

“There was no way I was going to lay down in that dirty sewer. So I jabbed my dagger into his balls, and while he was hollering about that, I ran off. But in the process, I dropped the basket of duck eggs. Feel free to go fetch them yourself. If any survived, which I doubt.”

“Pity, but that’s not a big problem. They were for breakfast. I suppose you can make toast instead and fry up the rest of the ham.”

“Rrrr…”

“Ah, what I meant to say was, how can I make this up to you?”

“You can start by drawing me a bath.”

“Certainly, I’d be delighted.”

When he first took over his keep in the ruins, Mekrath had hired a team of gnomish plumbers to pipe in fresh water and to install one of the fanciest indoor privies I’d ever seen. He also had a work gang of half-tamed mephits to heat the bathwater for his huge tub, so this wasn’t as impressive an offer as it might have sounded. Still, it was a start.

The hot bath, clean clothes and the big mug of wine Mekrath had thoughtfully left for me in the bathing chamber went a long way towards improving my mood. He didn’t even hang around to watch me in the tub, which was good, for I definitely wasn’t in the mood for that kind of nonsense. But he wasn’t off the hook yet.

“I’ve got another bone to pick with you,” I informed him. He was back in his chair, with a different book this time. I curled up on the couch and started cleaning my weapons. No, I don’t usually oil my blades in the sitting room. I was being subtle and menacing.

“Pick away.”

Generous permission, as if I needed it.

“It’s about Haer’Dalis. I saw him today.”

“Yes? How’s the play going?”

“Very funny.”

“They’re doing a comedy now? That would make a pleasant change from that dreary melodrama they’ve been performing.”

I gave him a look.

“Oh, you mean me. When I attempt humor, I’ll be sure to inform you first so you can laugh at the appropriate bits. That was merely a polite query. What, Haer’Dalis is not holding a grudge, is he? I don’t think he has much to complain about. I didn’t do anything to him that he didn’t do to me first. Much.”

“You’ll have to ask him about that. But listen, don’t you think the prank has gone on long enough?”

“What are you talking about?”

“I know you’re pissed about what he did, but you can hardly blame him for trying.”

“I can and I do.”

“But it’s not just about him, you know. Raelis and the rest of the troupe are really upset. No, that’s not the word. They’re scared. Someone’s after them, Mekrath.”

“I had no idea acting was such a perilous profession. Is it a crime in Amn to foist bad drama on an unsuspecting audience? Or did they rough up a critic in some back alley?”

“It’s not funny. Haer’Dalis told me they’ve got a bounty on their heads and they’re being hunted across the planes.”

“Too bad. Guess they’ll be moving on then.”

“That’s all you’ve got to say? Don’t you think it’s time you gave them their gem back?”

Mekrath (who had still been reading while I tried to talk to him, the cur) let his book drop into his lap.

“Their gem?”

“The gem you took from them. The gem that lets them travel the planes. When are you going to give it back, Mekrath?”

“My dear girl, you are under a misapprehension. That gem is mine. It was always mine. It will always be mine, if I have any say in the matter. Haer’Dalis sought me out and tried to buy it from me. As if I’d sell a planar gem! Do you have any idea how rare they are or what I had to do to obtain this one?”

Judging by the tieflings’ desperation, I had a fair idea of the rarity, at least.

“When I refused to sell it, he tried to seduce it off me. How do you think he ended up in my bed? Did you think I pursued him?”

Actually, that was exactly what Raelis Shai had told me when she sent me here in the first place.

“When seduction didn’t work, he tried to steal it. And fell afoul of my traps. I still don’t know why I allowed you to talk me into releasing him.”

I think the look he shot me was meant to intimidate. I don’t intimidate all that easily anymore. Once you’ve faced up to Sarevok, everyone else is pretty much downhill, with a few exceptions.

“I must be getting soft,” he muttered. “Should have kept you both or thrown you both out. Thieves and trespassers. Why do I put up with this? Must have had my brain sucked out my serpent.”

“I…” I would have liked to say ‘I don’t believe you’. But unfortunately, I did. “I’ve been had.”

“Well, you’ve certainly been deceived. No shame in that, dear girl. Happens to the best of us. They are actors, you know.”

Well, okay, I’d been lied to. That didn’t make the plight of the tieflings any less desperate. Far from it.

“They really need that gem,” I said.

“So do I.” Mekrath picked up his book, marking the end of the conversation.

xxx

Of course, I couldn’t leave it at that. Mekrath knew it, too, and watched me while pretending to attend to my education. The next day, we made potions. The process was interesting—for the first part of the morning. As soon as the job got tedious, Mekrath started thinking of other urgent tasks he had to do. I was pretty sure ‘taking a nap’ was one of them.

“Can’t you just use a golem to do all this stirring?” I complained.

“I should waste a spell and components when I have an apprentice? Discipline, my dear girl, discipline.” He slapped my rear and sauntered out.

I gave him a good head start and then soft-footed after him. As I suspected, the door to his bed chamber was closed. I put my ear to the door and was almost immediately rewarded by the sound of the whoosh of wind that came when he cast his Dimension Gate spell. Of course I had no way of knowing how long he’d be gone but that didn’t really matter.

I set a couple of imps to watch the potions, telling them that if they did a good job I’d be able to talk Mekrath out of harvesting their organs for spell ingredients. That got them stirring like mad. Then I grabbed my dark cloak and my sewer shoes—an ugly old pair of boots I didn’t mind ruining—and slipped out the front door. Mekrath wouldn’t teach me to teleport yet, damn him, so I was still stuck with the sewers.

It was past midday when I walked into the Five Flagons Inn. The common room hadn’t begun to fill up yet. The innkeeper, Samuel, gave me a wink and jerked his head towards the back stairs. I was starving so before I went up I had the bargirl toast me some bread and cheese. She wrapped the gooey sandwich in a napkin and handed me a mug as well. Thus fortified, I trudged up the stairs and knocked on the frame of the half-open door to the actor’s sitting room.

“Come in,” Raelis said.

I pushed the door wider. What a dingy and depressing room. The Five Flagons had a fabulous bar but the inn itself was definitely low rent—highly reminiscent of the Copper Coronet, in fact. Most of the troupe were lounging on the ratty sofas or sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall. A few of them were tieflings from the original Sigil Troupe but most were locals Raelis had picked up.

Only Raelis, who had a bound script in her lap, seemed alert; the others looked half asleep or heavily hung over. I know actors keep late hours but I also thought I caught the scent of black lotus. Tsk tsk. Jaheira told me smoking that stuff would rot your brain.

Raelis gave me a hopeful look that my words dashed from her face.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “Mekrath will not give up the gem.”

My eyes went to Haer’Dalis, who was curled up at Raelis’s feet. Despite her bird metaphors, he reminded me more of a cat. Not a tame housecat, of course, but a half-feral tom, lean and battered, afraid of little and impressed by less.

“Then we are doomed,” he said simply. Raelis stroked his hair.

“No, my sparrow, I refuse to give up so easily. There must be a way we can reason with the mage.”

“He sounded adamant,” I said. Raelis lifted her head. Something passed between her and the others. Except for Haer’Dalis, they rose to their feet and shuffled out, closing the door behind them.

“Sit beside me,” she invited and patted the couch. Haer’Dalis shifted to make room. Once I was settled, he leaned back against me. He radiated heat like a stove, making my feet and legs feel as warm as the meal I’d just scarfed down.

“Tell me of this wizard,” Raelis said. “Surely he has some need, some weakness we can exploit to make him return our gem.” She fixed her large eyes on my face. “Forgive me for speaking so frankly but our need is great. It is not merely our freedom we fight for but our very lives themselves. Our enemies are more persistent than I dreamed possible when…when we ran afoul of them.”

“I don’t really know Mekrath all that well. He doesn’t give much away.”

“Yet you are in a greater position than any of us to learn more. You have the freedom of his keep, which we do not. If we cannot move him with pity, is there not some other lever we can use?”

Raelis took my hand and pressed it. Like Haer’Dalis, her fingers were feverishly warm. She stroked my palm in an abstracted way.

“We had heard…we had thought that sensuality might be the key.” She blinked and smiled at me. “We are but poor actors, but the pleasures of the body—those we know well enough.” When she released my hand, her own hand fell, as if by accident, on my thigh. “It is said that Mekrath walks the tantric path.”

“Yes, he does,” I said slowly. “That’s one of his interests anyway. You know, I always thought a tantric mage would be as randy as a weasel. Well, he is, but he has tremendous self-control. Mekrath says that abstinence is the key to building sexual power. He is less susceptible to seduction than other men I know.”

Haer’Dalis had turned so he was looking up at me. I could feel his warm breath on my knee through my breeches.

“Sorry, Haer’Dalis,” I said. “Your plan to seduce his gem away was doomed to fail.”

He blinked up at me with no sign of embarrassment. I gave Raelis a look. She spread her hands in a placating gesture.

“These lies are my responsibility but I cannot apologize for them,” she said. Her hand dropped back to my thigh. I had noticed that the tieflings touched each other frequently and she seemed unconscious that she was treating me the same way. “Our need is most desperate. My dear Doomguard here may be prepared to embrace oblivion but I am not.”

Well, I couldn’t blame her for that. Avoiding oblivion was pretty damned high on my personal priority list. Besides, it’s not like I’ve never lied to get my way.

“We had not meant to steal the gem but merely to borrow it,” she said. “Once I summon a young conduit, we can leave the Prime. Once in the Astral Plane, I feel certain we can work our way back to Sigil. And there we have friends who may help us settle our…misunderstanding.”

The hopeful look was back on her face. Her hand tightened on my thigh.

“Since you have free access to the wizard’s home, is it not possible…”

Haer’Dalis came to his feet with feline swiftness.

“No, Miss Raelis,” he said. “You are asking Minette to take a greater risk than you know. The gem is protected with spells and deadly traps. I have already failed to retrieve it. She is not one of us and it is unfair to ask her to face the wizard’s wrath.”

“Sit down,” she told him. The couch dipped as he lowered himself beside me. “Very well, my Doomguard, I hear your objection.” She raised her delicate brows. “You have a champion, I see,” she told me, with a touch of tartness.

“It is possible that the Lady of Pain sent us to the Material Plane for a purpose,” he said. “Perhaps the factol’s long arm cannot reach us here.”

“And you would gamble all our lives on that hope? No. We must not be trapped here. Our safety lies in flight.” She pursed her lips. Haer’Dalis, who had taken breath to speak, hesitated. “We have both spoken these lines before, dear sparrow, and have no need to bore our guest with a stale repetition.”

“I am guided by you as always, Miss Raelis.” If there was an edge of irony in his tone, she did not remark upon it.

She leaned forward, now with both hands on my thighs, closing the space between us. I leaned back and bumped into Haer’Dalis’s chest. Raelis’s eyes were brown with a blood-like tinge to them. Her avid gaze made me uncomfortable but her partner’s slow steady breaths were an invitation to relax. He put his hands on my shoulders. I let a little more of my weight sag against him. Taking that as assent, he dug his fingers into my tight muscles.

Raelis rose and took a few restless paces across the room. She moved to the table while Haer’Dalis began working the tension out of my neck. His fingers were very strong. They were the hands of a musician or a swordsman, and I wasn’t sure which.

Raelis lifted the glass shade from the lamp and used its flame to light her pipe. The sweet smell of black lotus filled the room. She took a deep hit from the pipe. I could practically see the wave of relaxation ripple through her body. She sat beside me again and offered it to me.

“No thanks.”

She took my hand and closed it around the stem.

“Please, I insist,” she said. “You have rescued my dear Haer’Dalis and we have so little with which to repay you. Come, let me show you what hospitality I can offer.”

When I continued to hesitate, Haer’Dalis reached around me and took the pipe. He sucked in the smoke and then held the pipe to my mouth. I took a small hit. The smoke tickled my throat but I managed not to cough. I’ve tried tobacco before and found it foul but the lotus wasn’t as harsh as I’d expected. I handed the pipe to Raelis but she gestured for me to try it again. So I did.

Oh, my.

Sometime later, but probably not as long as it felt, I giggled as Raelis unhooked the fastenings to my vest. Haer’Dalis slipped it off my shoulders and then pulled my linen shirt loose from my breeches. His hands slipped underneath and clasped me by the waist. Raelis took my face in her hands and kissed me. I opened my lips to her probing tongue. Her mouth tasted like lotus.

I thought I was content with long languid kisses but when Haer’Dalis’s hands moved up my ribs and then higher, to cup my breasts, I needed more.

“Hot,” I murmured against Raelis’s lips. She smiled and withdrew a bit so I could loosen the ties to my shirt. She pulled it over my head. The cool air of the room washed over me but I was still hot. My face felt flushed. Raelis traced a line from my collarbone to my breast, circling my nipple lightly. Despite the heat, I shivered. From behind me, Haer’Dalis nudged me, encouraging me to arch my back. I let my head fall back against his chest as Raelis knelt on the couch and lowered her face to my breast.

She sucked and licked at my tits until I was ready to come right then and there. The couch was awfully crowded for what I had in mind.

“Sweet Sharess,” I moaned. “Where’s your bedchamber?”

But we didn’t make it there. Between them, they got my breeches off and then I was lying on the Five Flagon’s cheap thin carpet with my head in Haer’Dalis’s lap and Miss Raelis crouched between my legs. I could feel his erection pressed up against my ear. I turned my head to mouth at the front of his breeches like a hungry puppy.

“Gently, gently,” he said, with dark laughter in his voice. “There will be time for that later, if you so wish.” He took a long draw on the refilled pipe and then leaned over so he could breathe the smoke into my mouth. Raelis had been teasing my clit with her tongue. Now her lips closed around it and she took a long sucking bite.

“Ah!” I threw back my head and let the orgasm take me. “Enough, enough,” I begged and she took her mouth away. She smiled at my shuddering groan.

Hospitality or no hospitality, the tieflings both had way too many clothes on. I squirmed to my knees and faced Raelis, who rocked back on her heels. Her dress buttoned down the front and I got busy.

“Tell me,” I said. “Do you have the same delightful markings that Haer’Dalis has?”

“See for yourself,” she invited. Once the dress was open to her waist, I was able to push it down her slim hips. She stood and stepped out of it. I looked up.

“Gorgeous.”

Spots like dark thumbprints decorated her shoulders and belly in a symmetrical pattern. Smiling, she turned so that I could see how the pattern swirled around her hips and marched in a fluid line up her spine, to disappear into her scalp. She turned back to face me. I was still on my knees. When I put my hands on her thighs, she let me part her legs. There were more spots along her inner thighs, leading up to her thatch of pubic hair.

Like many of my heritage, I have almost no pubic hair myself. Perhaps that’s why it fascinates me so. I ran my hand over hers, letting her hair tickle my palm. She had a strong musky scent, with that same odd metallic note that Haer’Dalis shared. I wondered if I would get aroused any time I entered a smithy from now on.

Her cunt was dripping wet. I could certainly sympathize. After a bit of an awkward experiment with positions, she sprawled in an armchair, with one leg over the arm.

“A fine sight that is,” Haer’Dalis said in my ear. I had to agree. She moaned as my mouth began an eager exploration. I was aware when he stood and walked around us slowly. Taking in the sights, I supposed, but then I heard the rustle of cloth. Ah, getting undressed at last and not a moment too soon. I raised my face to take in the sights myself. I rubbed her clit with my fingers so it wouldn’t feel lonesome or neglected.

Haer’Dalis stalked toward us, lithe as a panther. My head was more than a little muzzy but one thing I knew: I wanted him.

“Perhaps you’d yield your spot to me?” His smile twisted up on one side. When I moved, he stepped between Raelis’s legs. He grabbed her by the hips and she wrapped her legs around his waist. A deep thrust and he was in. Soon she cried out in ecstasy and thrust herself against him again and again.

“Ah, my sweet sparrow,” she said. She slid off his still-hard cock. “But we must not neglect our guest.”

Oh, no, we couldn’t have that. I was already flat on the carpet with my knees up. For a moment I regretted we hadn’t taken the time to move to the bedchamber, but it was down the hall, impossibly far away. Haer’Dalis stretched out beside me. He was long and lean, with his thick cock jutting out like a handle. I wrapped my hand around it in a firm grip and pumped my hand up and down to see how he’d like it. His cock was slick with the tiefling’s juices. I could not resist licking them off.

He didn’t push me away but he groaned and said, “Ah, raven, you’re going to unman me.”

“I doubt that.” I grinned up at him. He laughed and rolled me on my back. He paused a moment, staring down at me with his drowning deep dark eyes. Then he eased himself on top of me, holding his cock in his hand and teasing me with it. He rubbed up and down my clit, dipping into my cunt no more than head deep and pulling out again. When I raised my hips, he pulled away.

Raelis’s musical laugh came from behind us.

“Don’t torture the poor girl,” she said. “Give her what she wants.”

“Yes, listen to her. Give me what I want.”

He smiled and then he plunged deep. His cock was a tight fit; probably would have been an uncomfortable fit if I hadn’t been so sopping wet and ready. His slow deep strokes were amazing. So slow, so controlled. His expression was intent yet remote, like a scarred angel dreaming of redemption. Did he dream of losing himself to oblivion instead?

His long hair hung down over his face. I don’t know if it was the lotus or just the fact that this felt so wonderful but where I had been frantic for release, now a great peace flowed over me. Like a bird, my spirit spread its wings. Intense as they were, I began to feel detached from the sensations in my own body. If oblivion could be found in passion, I was willing to seek it with him.

I shut my eyes but what I saw was not the darkness of my eyelids but a shimmer of energy, all green and white and gold like a shining net, like sunshine through the forest canopy. I’ve visualized the Weave most of my life but now it felt like I saw it for the first time.

I opened my eyes and the web was gone, yet its afterimage was burned upon my sight.

“My dove,” Haer’Dalis said. His eyes studied me. I don’t know if he felt what I felt—how could he?—but the awareness behind those dark eyes told me he felt something. In that moment, my heart went out to him on a great wave of longing. “Is this what you want?”

I couldn’t speak but I tightened my arms around him. His face was grave, all laughter gone. With no more words, he increased the rhythm until he pounded into me. The stronger his exertions, the more passive I became. For this moment, I wanted to become the vessel for his passion. He read my mood as if I had put it in words.

His fingers dug hard into my shoulders, painfully hard, and with a groan that could have held agony as easily as ecstasy, he came. When I felt him let go, so did I, in silence, with light flashing in my eyes and blinding me.