Inside My Mind

Dream Bonds, Drow Raids, and Family Ties (4073 words) by Somariel
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Alustriel Silverhand, Drizzt Do'Urden, Original Elf Character(s), Zaknafein Do'Urden, Vierna Do'Urden
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ensemble Cast, Soul Bond
Series: Part 20 of A Crossing of the Realms
Summary:

My brain dropped on me the idea of merging the fics "Dreaming of the Other" and "Prisoner of the Drow" and the fic series "Sisters in Spirit". This is the result.

---

Dream Bonds, Drow Raids, and Family Ties

While it wasn't unheard of for Korvallen to come to visit without warning, the agitation he was displaying was.

So rather than invite him to share her breakfast once Talira had let him into her rooms, Alustriel was more direct. "It's good to see you, Kor, but if you're looking for Sharr, he's up in the Moonwood right now, leading a patrol to investigate rumored sightings of drow."

That only seemed to increase his agitation, and when he spoke, she found out why.

"The rumors are true, because Sharr's been captured by drow."

Alustriel felt the blood drain from her face even as she made herself stand straighter. "Well then. His patrol wouldn't have been considered overdue for return until the morning after tomorrow, but given you must have found out through the dream-bond," and she paused just long enough for Kor to nod sharply before continuing, "then I will go talk to Taern immediately about sending a party to find the rest of the patrol.

"And I'll reach out to the family to start assembling a rescue party while I'm heading over to the Spell Tower."

Korvallen's agitation didn't ease completely, but his shoulders relaxed noticeably as he let out a small sigh.

"Thank you, Elué," he said.

---

Alustriel had not intended to sleep, not with Sharr in drow hands, but it seemed that her worry for him, helping with organizing the party to rescue him, and starting what was needed for seeing to the aftermath for the two elven villages that had also been destroyed by raids—including prevailing on Mena to go find out if it had been some of Spirit Sanctuary's residents who had been at the one that had clearly been disturbed by other people after the raid—was more tiring than she had expected, when it was piled on top of keeping up with her usual duties.

And so, two days after Sharr's patrol would have been considered overdue, with the rescue party having set off that morning, she found herself sinking into sleep, and then into dreams.

The first dream started out in the darkness she had expected, but before she had registered more than the sense of moving quickly, light flared, and she was able to see that her dream-bonded was engaged in a fight against drow.

He had killed two opponents—and done so so swiftly that despite her faint hopes, she knew this had to be her drow dream-bonded, not Sharr—when he suddenly lunged to one side, shoving someone else... out of the path of a magic missile, she saw, as he turned to face the wizard.

A huge panther moved between him and the wizard, snarling, but not attacking, and there was a stand-off that stretched out... until her dream-bonded threw a knife at the wizard.

The wizard ducked, and her dream-bonded vaulted over the cat, quickly ending the wizard, before retrieving something from the wizard's body.

Then the light faded away, and she could only sense careful steps, with her dream-bonded's hand on the shoulder of someone ahead of him.

But soon enough, they stopped, and blue faerie fire lit up a small cave, revealing that her dream-bonded had two other drow with him, one quite young—young enough to still have traces of baby fat, in fact—and one who was visibly mature.

The mature one's face was recognizable as one she had seen several times before, so she knew he must be from the same house as her dream-bonded, but the young one was entirely unfamiliar.

The young one appeared to be rather surprised by something when he looked at her dream-bonded, but he settled down fairly quickly to clean his own weapons.

After that, he cleaned her dream-bonded's weapon, and then, after a period of silence, said in Goblin—why was a drow using Goblin with another drow?—“Name Drizzt.

Her dream-bonded wrinkled his nose, and then she was utterly surprised. Because what he said—in Goblin, like the young drow had—was "Name Sharrevaliir. Small name Sharr."

The young drow—was he her drow dream-bonded, then?—grinned and pointed at Sharr, then spoke again. "Go up, send out. You leave. You live."

Sharr nodded, but looked between the young drow—Drizzt—and the older one. "You two live, after?"

Drizzt shrugged. "Try."

The older one growled a bit and added. "Will," in Goblin.

Drizzt looked at him, and then ducked his head, before nodding. "Will," he repeated.

And when Alustriel woke, she was certain that Drizzt was her drow dream-bonded.

---

Even though he knew it had to mean that Sharr had escaped, Korvallen was not entirely pleased by the dream he had had of his heart-brother in a small cave with two drow.

But before he had decided whether or not to say anything about it to the rest of the rescue party, Laeral, Dove, and his nephews all paused in their eating with the expression that indicated they were talking over Elué's anklets.

And when the expression cleared, Laeral said, in a quiet voice, "Alustriel says that her drow dream-bonded and one other drow are aiding Sharr in escaping."

Kor kept his sigh of annoyance entirely internal, hoping that if he stayed quiet, he would be ignored, but Thyl dashed that hope by turning to him.

"Can you tell us anything else, Uncle?"

Kor deliberately took another bite of his ration bar, but the patience with which the rest of the party waited out the chewing and swallowing was enough for him to relent and give some information.

"Him being Elué's drow dream-bonded explains why the young one did a double-take upon seeing Sharr's face under the light of faerie fire.

"His name is Drizzt, and they've given Sharr a sword."

---

With last night's dream through Kor's eyes placing the rescue party as having started down, Sharr knew he needed to tell Drizzt and Zaknafein that it was coming.

So after he accepted the food that the elder drow had given him, he quietly cleared his throat to get the attention of both of them.

And when they both turned to look at him, he said, in a low voice, "Kin party coming, to bring back to Surface."

That was not in any way anything Zak had expected to hear, but before he could say anything, Drizzt asked the question he would have. "How you know that?"

Sharr tilted his head in a thoughtful manner for a moment, then said, "Sleep, see through others' eyes."

Drizzt's eyes went wide at that, but Sharr wasn't done speaking. "Human mate gave party food, shelter, plans; heart-brother in kin party."

Drizzt's expression turned thoughtful at the first part of that, but before Zak could address his suspicions as to why, he needed more information. "Who coming, how many?" he asked.

"Sons, six." Sharr replied. "Mate's sisters, two. Heart-brother. Eilistraee cleric."

That last required Zak to exert iron control to not show his surprise at how easily Sharr spoke of one of the Dark Maiden's followers being in the rescue party, but he quickly stomped it down to focus on his son.

"Drizzt," he said, "have you been seeing through another's eyes in your dreams?" It was in Drow, which excluded Sharr, but he didn't want to have to take the time to wrestle with the concepts in Goblin, so that couldn't be helped.

Drizzt gave him a considering look, then nodded sharply.

Reverting back to Goblin, Zak asked, "Seen Sharr before, through other eyes?", remembering how surprised his son had been when Zak brought up his faerie fire and they first saw the elf's face in actual light.

"Yes."

Though he wasn't looking at Sharr, Zak could still sense the other man's double-take.

But he recovered quickly and asked, "Seen much or seen little?"

"Seen much," Drizzt replied.

"Know how other person look?"

"Hair silver, round eyes, female, think tall."

Sharr nodded as if he had expected that answer. "Alustriel. Human mate."

Zak narrowed his eyes at that, not liking the idea of Drizzt being dream-bonded to a human, nor that said human was a woman who already had a mate.

But this was also the second time Sharr had specified human mate, so he decided to ask the obvious question. "How many mates you have?"

"Human mate, elf mate, heart-brother mate," Sharr answered. And then he cut right to the heart of Zak's concerns. "Drizzt young. Drizzt control how things happen."

Zak wasn't entirely sure he believed that, but it was enough to settle his concerns for now. Drizzt, however, appeared to be bristling somewhat, and Zak wasn't sure why.

"Drizzt adult," his son said stubbornly.

Oh. Well, seeing how Sharr handled this would be interesting.

"Drizzt thirty, thirty-one, yes?" Sharr said.

"Thirty," Drizzt replied.

"Sharr and Alustriel youngest son almost fifty. Drizzt young."

And that seemed like an impossibility, from all Zak knew of humans, but they really needed to get moving, so he filed it as something to ask about later.

---

Remembering that the sigil she had seen in her dreams a few months ago had been identified by Vierna as being that of Vierna's own House, Alustriel had sent to Mena to inquire as to a good time for her to come and talk with Vierna.

Mena had sent back that an hour or so before dawn would be convenient, so Alustriel had taken the opportunity to sleep again before requesting a teleport visual from Mena.

And now, as she settled into a chair in Vierna's rooms, she was glad she had, because tonight's dreams had given her a name for the other drow with Sharr.

"So what is it that you wish to speak with me about?" Vierna asked, once she, Mena, and Alustriel were all seated.

"It appears that that my drow dream-bonded and one other drow—whom I recognize as a familiar face from my dreams—have freed Sharr and are aiding him in returning to the Surface."

Vierna's eyes widened in surprise at that news, but when she spoke, there was no trace of it in her voice. "I'd have expected such from your dream-bonded," she said, "but that another of the House is also helping has me... intrigued.

"Because the only member of it whom I would have even considered such a possibility for is the Weapon Master."

Alustriel nodded her understanding, then said, "Tonight's dream let me know that the drow who is not my dream-bonded is called Zaknafein."

"Then he is indeed the Weapon Master." Vierna took a moment to think things through, then continued. "Which leaves me suspecting that your dream-bonded may well be my full brother, as I have long believed the Weapon Master to be my father, and I simply cannot see him caring enough to help with such an escape unless the instigator was his son."

Chewing on her lip as she weighed matters, Vierna decided to go ahead and see if the other connection she now suspected did, in fact, exist.

"Have you seen what color your dream-bonded's eyes are?" she asked.

Alustriel blinked in surprise at the question, but answered it readily. "They're purple. Why do you ask?"

"The younger of the two survivors we found clearly had her survival deliberately hidden," Vierna began, "because although she was found completely covered in blood, her only actual injuries were a bruise and a scratch."

"And purple eyes feature strongly in her nightmares," Mena said, picking up the explanation. "So we think that whoever it was that hid her survival must have had such."

"I see." Alustriel hummed thoughtfully for a moment, then continued. "Then it might be best for us to give some consideration now to how to handle the first meeting between her and Drizzt.

"Given that I'm rather certain he's going to join the rescue party for the return to the Surface, but it would not be a good idea for any drow to openly come to Silverymoon until the outrage over the raids has cooled somewhat."

---

Laeral was in the lead currently, though Dove was not too far from her.

They came around a bend in the corridor, and Dove suddenly reached for her arm, making her stop.

A faint sound, ahead, not behind, repeated itself, and Laeral cast arcane eye to go in that direction.

She used it to go as far as it could, determining only the expected trio were in close vicinity, then conveyed the information and her plan via the sending anklets, knowing the boys would see her words relayed to the cleric and Kor via a regular sending.

And once she had a nod from Kor to indicate that he had been told, she gently scraped her foot across the floor of the tunnel.

Sharr and both drow startled at the sound, then after a brief discussion, the younger drow pulled something out of a pouch, set it down on the floor, and spoke a single word.

Dark mist gathered around whatever it was that the drow had set down, and then it coalesced into a panther twice the normal size.

The drow scooped up the figure—for that had to be what it was, despite the oddity of how it worked—and said something to the panther, after which it started moving in their direction.

~Summoned panther coming to investigate,~ Laeral warned via the anklets.

And then the panther rounded the slight curve that separated their party from Sharr's, and gave a quiet, but pleased sounding, mrowl.

Continuing forward, it came right up to her and butted its head up against her hand in a clear plea for scratches.

Laeral duly gave some, and then it flowed past her to beg the same from Dove.

Dove kept up the scratching for longer, but by her closed eyes and the expression on her face, she was using the time to communicate with it.

Eventually, Dove opened her eyes again, and the panther sat back on its haunches, then gave a quiet 'yip'.

"She's of astral origin," Dove said in a low voice, "and recognizes the two of us for what we are.

"She's also quite emphatic that her drow is a cub to be protected."

Andy's quiet "Her drow?" overlapped with Kor's strangled "Cub?!", but before either of their questions could be addressed, faint blue and purple light was visible around the curve, drawing everyone's attention, and then Sharr and the drow came around the curve.

Sharr was walking beside the rather young looking one, with the older one a few steps behind them, and both drow had faerie fire limning their hands, which they were holding out in front of them at about mid-chest level.

Upon actually seeing the rescue party, Sharr picked up his pace a bit, to actually get ahead of Drizzt, after pressing his hand down on the young drow's arm as a signal to not match his pace.

And just a few steps later, Kor did exactly what he had been expecting, and rushed over to embrace him tightly.

"Sharr," his heart-brother breathed, and Sharr returned the hug just as fiercely, feeling the same relief that that single word expressed.

"I'm here, Kor," he said. "I'm safely back with you."

Drizzt had not been sure why Sharr had indicated he should not pick up his own pace, but when the faerie rushed over to Sharr and embraced him, Drizzt realized that Sharr must have been expecting such, and had wanted to ensure Drizzt was far enough away to avoid reacting on instinct.

Turning his attention away from Sharr and the faerie that had to be Sharr's "heart-brother", Drizzt looked over the rest of the rescue party with an assessing eye.

The two tall women with pale hair had to be the "mate's sisters" Sharr had mentioned. One was in armor, with a sword on her belt and her hair in a braid—showing the rounded ears that marked her as a human—while the other was in wizard's robes, with her hair mostly loose.

The six faerie just as tall and pale-haired as the women had to be Sharr's sons, and Drizzt was intrigued to see that though all of them wore modified wizard's robes, they all also bore swords.

And their blunted eyes and ears had to be a sign that their mother was Sharr's human mate.

Finally, at the very back of the group, there was... another drow? A brief flash of confused fear went through him before he noticed the moons and swords worked into the robes the drow wore, and he remembered the explanation Zak had given about the drow who followed Lloth's goodly daughter.

And as further reassurance, he noted that the other drow was male, which Lloth would never allow any of Her clerics to be.

Bringing his attention back to the women, Drizzt caught theirs, and then, using the lessons Sharr had been giving him and Zak when they stopped to rest, said in careful Surface Common, "Name is Drizzt Do'Urden. Not speak much Common. Goblin is better."

Using Goblin, the one with the braid said, "Well met, Drizzt Do'Urden."

Then she repeated the greeting in Surface Common, and continued in the same language. " 'My' name is Dove Silverhand."

The very first word wasn't one that Sharr had taught them yet, but based on the firm tap Dove gave her chest as she said it, Drizzt thought it was a possessive.

"My name is Drizzt Do'Urden," he said, to test his guess.

"Yes." Dove was very pleased that Drizzt had correctly picked up the meaning of 'my', and decided to see how much more he could get from simple conversation.

So she pointed to Laeral, and said, "My sister is Laeral Silverhand."

Drizzt repeated 'sister' with a faint frown, then brightened and said the Goblin word for it.

"Yes," Dove said, smiling brightly.

Zaknafein had hung back a bit as Drizzt began speaking with the women, wanting to keep an eye on Sharr and the other faerie, but when the two of them broke their embrace and stepped back towards the rest of the rescue party, Zak moved forward as well.

"My name is Zaknafein Do'Urden," he said, once he was even with Drizzt.

Surprisingly, one of the tall faerie jerked on hearing his name, and although said faerie waved off the quiet question one of the others asked him, Zak noted the reaction as something to follow up on later.

---

After he finished his portion of food that night, Zak caught the attention of the tall faerie who had been introduced as "Thyl", then tilted his head towards the edge of the camp while mouthing "Talk?" in Goblin.

Thyl nodded in reply, and when he started to move towards an out of the way pocket in the walls of the cave their party had found to camp in, Zak did the same.

Soon enough, they were settled in the niche, and Zak spoke, in Surface Common. "Why you-" and he mimed the way Thyl had startled when Zak had introduced himself, "-at my name?"

"Spell for better Surface words?" Thyl replied—surprisingly enough, in Undercommon. "Not speak much of this; Drow and Goblin bad for this talk."

Zak thought things over for a moment, then nodded sharply.

And once Thyl had cast the spell, he got straight to the point. "I was surprised by your name because I had heard of you before all of this."

That was surprising to Zak, but he controlled his expression well enough to not betray it. "Oh?"

Thyl sighed and ran a hand over his hair before speaking again. "There are two permanent settlements of Eilistraeeans on the Surface.

"And the First Sister—the leader—of the nearer of them is named Vierna Do'Urden."

Zak couldn't help the shocked "What?!" that escaped him as joy warred with suspicion, but he at least managed to still keep it quiet enough to not carry.

"She knew the temple in your city would be a death sentence for her, so she left." Thyl gave a soft smile. "She eventually led a small band to the surface, and Spirit Sanctuary has been a home for drow, and others, ever since."

---

Having been forewarned of the impending arrivals, Vierna was on hand with Mena to meet Thyl when he teleported in with Zav'ren.

"It's good to see you both again," she said, once she could see them clearly. "Is there anything you feel I should know before Sharr's rescuers arrive?"

"The younger of them is only thirty," Rafi's son said, "for all that the Lolthites have counted him as an adult for most of a year."

Well then. Telling that to Ellifain would undoubtedly help in dealing with her trauma from the raid, once they got that far.

"Drizzt is also your full brother," Thyl said. "And Zaknafein has been told that you are the leader here, though it's clear that he doesn't fully believe it yet."

"I'd be surprised if he did," Vierna replied, remembering how cautious the Weapon Master had been when she was learning from him.

Then she nodded at Thyl, and a moment later, Lin arrived with her father and brother.

Stepping forward as soon as the teleport shimmer had faded, she said, "Zaknafein, Drizzt, welcome to Spirit Sanctuary."

And when she saw the two of them clearly, she was glad for the warning about Drizzt's youth, since it let her conceal her surprise on seeing that he still had traces of baby fat on his face.

But then her attention was drawn away from him when Zaknafein stepped towards her.

"You… you can't be anyone but my student," he said softly. "Daughter."

She smiled, eyes glistening a little at that immediate claim. "Father. My teacher." She offered her hands, and he took them, squeezing gently.

Drizzt had been just half a step behind Zak, so when her father released her hands, she turned to him. "And I am pleased to meet you, little brother.

"You did very well in managing to hide the child's survival, and she will have all the help she needs to recover from her experiences."

Drizzt's eyes widened significantly, and he gaped at her for a moment before stammering "You... you know about that?"

"I do," Vierna replied. "Those moon elves were followers of my Lady Eilistraee, and She asked for whatever aid we could manage.

"So the child was found quickly, and she and the one other survivor are being cared for by the dwarves that live here."

A tension that she had not truly noticed before lifted from Drizzt as she spoke, and when she finished, she found herself having to quickly reach out to support him as he wavered on his feet and tears started leaking from his eyes.

Carefully, she pulled him into a hug, and began rubbing her hand up and down his back as she would to comfort an overwhelmed child.

"Shh, shh," she soothed. "Everything's okay. She's safe and you're safe and everything is going to be okay."

---

For all that she and Sharr were comfortably curled up together in her bed, Alustriel found herself unable to fully set aside her thoughts.

So with a purely internal sigh, she shifted to where she could see Sharr's face, and said, "What were your impressions of my other dream-bonded, love?"

"He's good," Sharr replied, without even having to think about it. "To a rather startling degree for someone who managed to survive a full thirty years in Menzoberranzan."

Turning to better face her, he added, "And given what you've told me about the child he saved, I think that even if I hadn't been captured, he would have ended up leaving fairly soon anyway."

"And his father?"

"Very firmly neutral—and I had that impression even before learning he's also Vierna's father, though that did add weight to the impression, to know he'd survived that city for so long—but fiercely devoted to his children."

"Mmm." Alustriel shifted to steal a kiss from Sharr, then rested her head on his shoulder. "And I think his children return that devotion, given how Vierna spoke of him."

"I have to agree with that," Sharr said. "Drizzt was very tense when he first appeared, but after what sounded like a brief argument—that I now think might have been over how Drizzt could help an adult faerie, after he'd killed a child—he relaxed and gave leadership to Zaknafein."

---

Justice is Served (1523 words) by Somariel
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Alustriel Silverhand, Drizzt Do'Urden, Original Elf Character(s)
Additional Tags: Ensemble Cast, Canon Typical Violence, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:

Drizzt's actions in saving Alustriel's son from Shimmergloom cause word of Silverymoon's drow ranger to spread far enough that a certain vengeful bounty hunter hears of his location.

The results are entirely predictable... for everyone except McGristle.

A continuation of Merfilly's fic Soul Trap Undone.

---

Justice is Served

Though Alustriel had received the first report of a man asking about "the drow" later in the same day as Drizzt and Sharr's warning about Sharr having tempted fate, it was not until the next day, when she received three more reports about the man before her midday break—none of them positive—that she realized his seeking Drizzt was most likely the 'something interesting' she had been warned of.

The fourth report had been sent by an off-duty member of the Silver Watch, and it was in reviewing the description of the man that had been included that she realized why she felt that was true.

And after consulting with Dove to confirm the suspicions that the description had raised in her, she sent the current page on duty off to request that Drizzt, Sharr, and Kor all meet her in her rooms once her afternoon appointments were over.

---

Of all the reasons Drizzt had considered for why Alustriel wished a private meeting with him, Sharr, and Kor, McGristle having come to Silverymoon in search of him was not one of them.

However, that was exactly what she had just told them, if in rather more words.

But though he was somewhat paralyzed by conflicting emotions, Sharr and Kor were not.

And after a quick glance between them, Sharr cut straight to the reason Alustriel had asked for him and Kor to attend the meeting.

"You want our advice on what can be done to keep Drizzt safe while McGristle is in the city," he said. "Given that the man hasn't yet done anything that would justify kicking him out."

"Yes."

"Well, the obvious first step is to issue an advisory about the man and his grudge to the Knights, the Spellguard, and the Silver Watch," Kor said. "And it would likely be wise to include the Mielikkians as well."

Drizzt made a face at that idea, but he couldn't really argue with the sense of it, no matter how much he didn't want to bother others with his problems.

However, when Sharr then suggested setting a guard roster for him personally, he put his foot down.

"No. Making sure others are aware of McGristle's presence and the likelihood of him causing trouble is one thing, but I'm not going have anyone follow me around just because of that."

Sharr sighed. He'd known that Drizzt wouldn't like the idea, but had hoped he might be talked around to it.

But the ranger's tone was uncompromising enough that it was clear he would not accept any guard, no matter how discreet.

"Then what's your plan for the swift arrival of aid if it's needed?" he asked.

"Courage," Drizzt said. "If he stays at the Harper Hall, he can reach me anywhere in the city quite fast."

Alustriel exchanged looks with both Sharr and Kor, then sighed.

"That does sound like a reasonable plan," she agreed. "But please promise us that you'll call for him at the first sign of trouble, not wait until it's clear you need help."

Drizzt looked mulish for a moment, before Sharr spoke again. "If you tell him that you only want him to intervene if you actually need help, he'll listen.

"Though he may well use his own judgment on if you do, rather that wait for a signal from you."

Drizzt considered that for a moment—he knew he was reluctant to actually hurt McGristle, so it might well be better for him to rely on Courage's assessment of the situation—then nodded.

"That works. Especially since I'm sure I can convince him to be non-lethal if I tell him I want McGristle to face two-leg justice."

---

Though notes reporting that McGristle had asked the sender about "the drow" continued to arrive, it was not until the fourth day after the meeting that any of them mentioned having actually given him a useful answer.

That note had been somewhat apologetic, saying that while the sender would have preferred to rebuff McGristle, the fact that he had actually asked about "the drow ranger" instead of "the drow" made them feel that he should be encouraged in that change with a bit of information.

And since the note then went on to say that what the sender had told McGristle was that Drizzt often passed through the Market Commons in the early afternoon, on his way from the Palace to the Moonbridge, Alustriel gave orders for a discreet increase in the Silver Watch presence in the southern part of the Market Commons.

---

Two days later

Drizzt was perhaps two-thirds of the way across the Market Commons when he knew he was being watched by unfriendly eyes.

Being careful to not show that he was aware of the watcher, he continued walking, seemingly ignoring the sounds of someone moving through the crowd behind him with little consideration for others.

It wasn't long, however, before his hackles went up, and even as shouts of warning sounded over a snapped command in McGristle's voice, he was moving to the side, turning as he did so.

When he stopped, he was a few feet from where he had started, and looking back in the direction he had been coming from.

McGristle's dog was rushing towards him, the bounty hunter close behind, so he gave his call for Courage even as he drew his blades, and as soon as the dog was close enough, he stunned it with a hilt punch behind its ears.

That produced a roar of outrage from McGristle, and then Drizzt found himself having to fend off the man's axe with his blades.

Even fighting purely defensively, Drizzt was very clearly better than McGristle, but the man was being erratic enough in his movements that he was not certain of his ability to stun him without inflicting any other injury.

Then an equine scream of fury sounded from above, immediately followed by Courage striking McGristle's right forearm from a dive.

The crack of bones breaking under the strike overlapped with McGristle's howl of pain, and his right hand dropped from the axe haft, the forearm looking almost floppy as the arm fell to the bounty hunter's side.

Then, seeing an opportunity in McGristle's distraction with the pain, Drizzt caught the axe between his scimitars and pulled it out of the man's hand.

And even as he dropped it to the ground and kicked it behind him, the Silver Watch arrived to arrest McGristle.

---

Given Dove's involvement with chasing Drizzt after the murder of the farming family, she had come up to Silverymoon after McGristle's arrest, to assist with forming a strategy for laying out the unjust nature of McGristle's continued pursuit of Drizzt.

And it was as she, Alustriel, Sharr, and Drizzt were discussing that, that Drizzt brought up a new angle to be considered.

"Though this is the first time since the chase ended that McGristle has personally attempted to kill me," he said, "it may not be the only time he has sought to kill me."

"Oh?" Dove was quite curious about what Drizzt might be referring to.

"After Montolio took me in, the orc Graul launched an attack on his grove later that spring.

"And my gut feeling is that McGristle was involved in the attack, especially since even though Montolio misdirected him when he came to the grove in search of me, the dog knew I was there."

Dove hummed thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded her head. "Then I suppose I should get in touch with Kellindil, as I know that he stayed behind after the rest of us left, to keep an eye on you with the aid of his kin."

"That does sound like a good idea," Alustriel agreed.

---

When Dove's attempt to send to Kellindil had failed in a way that told her he was dead, she had then gone to the clerics of the Seldarine to ask for their assistance in contacting his spirit.

And since doing so had revealed that McGristle was who had killed him, charges for both raiding and murder were added to the ones for assault and attempted murder that the bounty hunter was already facing over his attack on Drizzt.

Figuring out who should preside over the trial was not easy, but eventually, it was agreed that Besnell was the best choice for impartiality, and the elf somewhat reluctantly agreed to the request.

---

On the day of the trial, the court was completely packed, and as the evidence was laid out for the charges from the attack on Drizzt, the feeling of the room grew tense.

But although a disturbance at some point had been both expected and prepared for, given how well liked Drizzt was in the city, it wasn't until the prosecution turned to the charges of raiding and murder that the tension broke with a cacophony of incredulous and angry shouting.

Once order was restored, the trial resumed, and the methodical presentation of the evidence continued.

And eventually, McGristle was judged guilty on all counts, then remanded into the keeping of the clerics of the Seldarine, who had claimed the right of execution.

---

If He Was Alive… (69631 words) by Somariel
Chapters: 48/?
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series – R. A. Salvatore
Rating: Teen and Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings

Relationships: Alustriel Silverhand/Original Character(s)

Characters: Alustriel Silverhand, Original Elf Character(s), Inthylyn Aerasumé, Lilinthar Aerasumé, Drizzt Do’Urden, Ghaelryss Aerasumé, Uoundeld Aerasumé, Andelver Aerasumé, Elinthalar Aerasumé, Ellifain Tuuserail, Dove Falconhand

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, tags updated as I write things, Ensemble Cast, Implied/Referenced Human Sacrifice, Trauma, Recovery, Alternate Universe - Fusion, the Fusion tag only applies to certain chapters, Implied/Referenced Unplanned Pregnancy, that tag only applies to the Zanna‘Verse

Summary:

Inspired by "Aiding Love to Grow" and various other Legend of Drizzt AUs written by Merfilly (AO3)|Sharpest_Asp (SqWA), with or without Ilyena_Sylph, scenes and snippets from universes where the father of Alustriel's sons is alive in those AUs.

---

Fic notes

Sharr comes from Elué and Consort, where senmut fleshed out the elf father of Alustriel's sons. Aiding Love to Grow is the AU of an AU that inspired me to start playing with other AUs of AUs.

---

Chapter notes

This chapter was inspired by To Begin in Settlestone.

---

To Begin in Settlestone

A few weeks after the spring equinox, Sharr received some surprising—and mildly concerning—news from Alustriel.

~Given the locations, it didn't seem necessary to tell you without more information,~ she began, as they were talking over the anklets after she had turned in for the night, ~but two weeks ago, Besnell received reports of a drow having openly approached both Rivermoot and High Hold by day.~

~But now it does seem necessary?~ Sharr asked. Then he switched to his own sending. ~Or is it that you now have more information?~

~A bit of both, actually,~ Alustriel said. ~Besnell sent a patrol to investigate, with Kolarven as lead and Niska for the Spellguard, and they returned today.

~But despite having swept all the way to the Surbrin and arced wide to return, they found no sign of the drow.~

~Absolutely nothing at all?~ Sharr said. ~That seems... odd.~

~Maybe so,~ Alustriel replied, ~but Niska could scry nothing, and the trail from High Hold was too old to follow by the time the patrol found it.

~So Besnell is increasing patrols to the north and west as a precaution.~

---

Sharr hadn't truly forgotten about the drow that had approached Rivermoot and High Hold, but with no further word of them, even with Silverymoon's increased patrols, he had set the matter aside as a curiosity.

So the following spring, he was actually rather surprised when Alustriel told him ~I now know what happened to the drow from last year.~

~Oh?~ Sharr said, starting a new sending so she could reply sooner.

~It seems he managed to make his way to Herald's Holdfast.

~As Old Night has informed me that the drow he has been hosting and teaching for the past year is on his way to speak with me.~

~He didn't say anything more than that?~ Sharr asked.

~No, he didn't,~ Alustriel replied, after the wait needed for her anklet to recharge. ~Which does suggest that whatever this Drizzt Do'Urden wishes to speak with me about could affect realm matters.~

~True,~ Sharr agreed. ~It'd be amusing if he found Mithral Hall.

~Given that his trajectory does suggest that he came from the Frost Hills.~

~Yes it would,~ Alustriel agreed. ~And we'll know soon enough, given how close Herald's Holdfast is to Silverymoon.

~Especially since I've sent word to my secretaries to fit him into my schedule as soon as possible after he arrives.~

---

The following night, Alustriel's tone was very amused when she sent to Sharr. ~It seems that you were correct in your guess as to why Drizzt Do'Urden wished to speak with me.~

~Wait, what?!~ Sharr yelped. ~Really? I was only jesting, because of the direction he came from!~

~Really truly,~ Alustriel replied. ~It seem that the deep gnomes who gave him a map to lead him out of the Underdark were trading partners with Mithral Hall.

~As he came out near Settlestone, and had been given specific warning about danger down a different tunnel than that one.~

~Which he then chose to explore anyway?~ Sharr said, amusement in his tone.

~Yes,~ Alustriel said. ~Though only after the onset of winter had driven him back underground.

~But beyond simply desiring to see the rightful heirs returned to their Hall, the reason he came to speak with me is because of the grave danger he discovered while scouting the Hall's undercity.~

~How bad is it?~ Sharr asked, starting a new sending for a faster answer.

~The duergar and their slaves would pose little problem for a dwarven army,~ Alustriel said, ~but there are also two shadow hounds that serve some creature of the Shadowfell—called Shimmergloom—that is worshipped as a god.~

~That is very much a reason for concern,~ Sharr agreed. ~But dealing with this "Shimmergloom" will surely require knowledge of what it actually is.~

~Which is why Drizzt has agreed to do a second scouting of the Hall,~ Alustriel replied.

There was an affectionate lilt to her voice on the drow's name, and Sharr couldn't help but smile. ~You're attracted to him.~

~Yes. And I'm very pleased that Old Night took steps to encourage him in informality with me by priming him with a tease about my library.~

~Tell me about him, then?~ And as Alustriel started to do so, Sharr settled in to listen.

---

Given that Alustriel was attracted to Drizzt, Sharr likely would have gone up to Silverymoon to meet him just on general principle, once she mentioned that she had convinced the drow to delay his departure at least long enough to acquaint himself with the city and explore the truth of Old Night's impression that he was ranger-born.

But given that Drizzt was a drow, Sharr felt it was even more important to meet him—for Korvallen's peace of mind, if nothing else—especially after the mystery of Eilistraee not knowing of him was discovered.

And as he got to know the wild-called ranger—because Old Night had been correct, and Drizzt had been literally enraptured the first time he visited Mielikki's Sacred Glade—Sharr realized that Drizzt seemed to reciprocate Alustriel's growing interest.

So he started to work on subtly encouraging the other man to at least broach the idea of his attraction with her.

And while Drizzt had not done so by the time he departed to do the second scouting of the Hall, Sharr could tell that he was giving the idea some serious consideration.

---

It was nearing autumn when Alustriel reached out to Sharr with the news that Drizzt was back in Silverymoon.

~Niska's patrol brought him in yesterday,~ she said, ~though it will be some time before he's actually ready to report on what he found.~

~Oh?~ Sharr said. ~Due to injuries, or is it something else?~

~Not physical injuries,~ Alustriel said, ~but he was considerably weakened when they found him, and looked grey.

~And the note from the Ladyservant after he was taken to the Glade said that he had suffered grave damage from shades, and will be staying in the Glade until they are certain he's recovered.~

~Mmm. I suppose that's not entirely surprising, given that we already knew the true threat is of Shadowfell origin.

~But it doesn't bode well that he was unable to avoid such damage.~

~No it doesn't,~Alustriel agreed. ~But he did seem to be recovering well when I visited him this evening.~

~I'm glad to hear that,~ Sharr said. ~Though I had the impression that he is not accustomed to being idle, so it does make me wonder what they found for him to occupy himself with.~

~He was reading a large tome by the light of an enchanted stone when I arrived.

~And on another note, he pledged himself to my service so easily that I couldn't help wondering if it's something inherent in elven blood that results in either rapid decisions or centuries of deliberation, with no middle ground between them.~

Sharr had to laugh at that. ~Or maybe it's something about you that causes those of us who hold you in high esteem to be able to make decisions so swiftly.~

He had to wait for her anklet to recharge before she responded, but when she did, he could tell from her tone that she was blushing.

~You really think so?~

~I do.~

---

It was several more days before Alustriel reported that Drizzt had returned to his rooms in the Palace, and the day after that was when Drizzt finally made his report on the second scouting.

~The true threat inside the Hall is an ancient Shadow Dragon,~ Alustriel told Sharr that evening.

Sharr let out a low whistle at that news, then sighed. ~Well, that would certainly explain why the shades were so thick Drizzt couldn't avoid them.

~What's the current plan for next steps?~

~The dwarven leaders I invited to the meeting are going to conduct a discreet search of the bloodlines of the survivors to see if they can find a proper heir,~ Alustriel replied. ~And I sincerely hope they can.

~Especially since Drizzt has volunteered to lead a small party in through his access when the time comes to actually reclaim the Hall.~

~Having a proper heir to speak to the death curse that would have been laid would definitely be safer than having to rely on clerics for protection from it,~ Sharr agreed. ~On another note, how are things going between you and Drizzt?~

~They're going very well.~ Alustriel's voice was almost purring with pleasure, and her next words explained why. ~I spoke with him privately after the meeting, and he confessed his feelings to me!

~We are, however, going to move slowly in seeing if a relationship between us will actually work out.~

~I am so happy for you, my heart's star,~ Sharr said. ~And yes, going slowly is a good idea.~

---

When Sharr had gone up to Silverymoon for a couple weeks right after Drizzt's confession, one thing Alustriel had spent some time talking over with him was how to manage her friendship with Niska in light of the fact that the other elf's past experiences with drow had her rather tangled up emotionally over Drizzt's presence, and Alustriel's growing closeness to him.

So when Alustriel reached out to him, shortly after the winter solstice, with the news that Niska seemed to have finally reached an acceptance of Drizzt, he was relieved.

~So what brought her change of heart about,~ Sharr asked, after expressing his relief, ~and how did she show it?~

~The change of heart seems to have been the result of both her and Drizzt having been among those who volunteered to go deal with a threat to one of the outlying farmsteads,~ Alustriel said.

~Specifically, that it was Drizzt's tactics that Kolarven chose to use to face a full tribe of goblinoids, and that he and Guen accounted for a third of the goblinoids—an entire company's worth—all on their own.~

~Ah,~ Sharr said. ~So she got shaken out of her prejudices, then.~

There was a pause for Alustriel's anklet to recharge, and then she replied. ~Yes. As for how she showed her change of heart, a few days after the force returned, she approached Drizzt to ask if he'd help her develop a true lexicon for Drow in exchange for her teaching him Sylvan.~

~Oh, that's a very good peace overture,~ Sharr said. ~Do you think she'd mind if I joined their work?

~Though I'll be coming regardless, since Drizzt and Guen having dealt with a company all by themselves is exactly the sort of thing I've been looking for to convince Kor to agree to a spar with him.~

~I'll ask her,~ Alustriel replied. ~And if Kor doesn't agree to spar Drizzt after hearing that, I'll be very surprised.~

---

Shortly after mid-spring, Alustriel had informed Sharr that Drizzt was heading up to Luskan to follow the trail of trade goods in Mirabar bearing the Battlehammer crest, but it was not until winter was in full swing that he heard anything further about that quest.

~Given that Drizzt has not returned, I decided to ask Qilué if there was reason to be concerned for him,~ Alustriel said.

~And was—or is—there reason?~ Sharr asked. ~Though, you don't actually sound concerned, so I'm guessing not.~

~Correct. He is alive in the far north, helping a dwarven clan.

~So I have informed Fret that it is likely that Drizzt actually found more Battlehammers.~

---

While Alustriel's amusement over his knee-jerk reaction to hearing that the Battlehammer chieftain's daughter had straight-up called Drizzt an elf had been mildly annoying, Sharr had not at all been expecting an apology for it. And yet, a few weeks later, that was the very first thing she sent during their conversation after her return from the evening's festivities.

~I find I must apologize for laughing at your spluttering over the idea of Drizzt being outright called an elf,~ she said. ~Because even with Nae having told me that the man's daughter had done so, it was startling to hear Bruenor Battlehammer do so when he and Drizzt met with me today.~

~I can't really blame you for laughing,~ Sharr said, knowing that if their situations had been reversed, he likely would have dome the same, ~but your apology is accepted.

~And I am glad that... Bruenor, you said?... is so clearly able to look past Drizzt's skin.~

~Bruenor, yes,~ Alustriel replied. ~And it was very clear, just from their body language, that he has developed a genuine friendship with Drizzt, even if his words hadn't displayed it later.

~Which I am very grateful for, as it undoubtedly helped smooth things when Drizzt suggested—and offered to mediate—a compromise on my hiring wizards to him for reclaiming the Hall.~

~Well, dwarven pride was always going to be the stumbling block there,~ Sharr said, ~so I'm pleased Drizzt had a mutually acceptable solution for it.

~But how did the rest of the meeting go?~

And as Alustriel started explaining what she'd discussed with Bruenor, Sharr settled in to listen.

---

Though Sharr had gone up to Silverymoon to visit with Drizzt once the ranger finally returned there after the Hall's reclamation, he was overall relying on his nightly conversations with Alustriel to keep up-to-date on how the other man was doing with fully settling into his relationship with her.

Which meant that when Alustriel mentioned that something about the age of the child Drizzt had saved, in combination with some of the other tales of his life that he'd shared, seemed worth following up on, Sharr spent a while debating whether he should take on the task.

He still hadn't quite decided when Drizzt returned from a ranging injured, but when Alustriel complained about how difficult it had been to get the ranger to accept magical healing, and that he was being resistant to the idea of taking it easy for a few days, Sharr chose to go up with Korvallen to oversee Drizzt's recovery, and simply see if an opportunity to bring up the matter occurred.

---

As it turned out, Drizzt ended up giving Sharr the clue he needed entirely unintentionally.

One evening when the two of them and Kor were enjoying Guen's company in Sharr's rooms, the conversation turned to Drizzt's bond with her.

And in the process of explaining why the Mielikkians believed that the bond had begun even before Drizzt took possession of her figure, the ranger said, "For all that it made Masoj so angry, being able to work with Guen was the best part of the year of patrol."

"You were only on patrol for a year?" Sharr asked.

Yes?" Drizzt sound confused, but that was only noted vaguely, as the pieces of the oddity Alustriel had mentioned were starting to fall into place.

Sharr knew that Drizzt had gone straight from school to patrol, that the raid had happened during the time on patrol, and that he'd fled the city within weeks of the raid.

But up to now, no one had put that together with the fact that Ellifain had been five at the time of the raid, and was only twenty now.

Which, when combined with the fact that Drizzt had graduated from the fighters' school at thirty, made him distressingly young.

"So you're not even fifty yet?" Sharr was pretty sure he'd managed to keep his distress out of his voice, but there was nothing he could do about Kor sitting bolt upright at his words and staring at Drizzt in horrified shock.

"My thirty-first name day would have been shortly after I fled the city, not that long after the events with Ellifain," Drizzt said. "So yes, I am only forty-five."

"What?!" Kor's strangled cry caused Sharr and Drizzt to both turn and look at him.

Reaching out to wrap his arm around his pale-faced heart brother's shoulders, Sharr pulled him closer.

"Alustriel had mentioned that something seemed odd, when Ellifain's age was combined with some of the other tales of his life Drizzt had shared," he said.

"Is my age a problem?" Drizzt asked.

"No," Sharr said firmly. "It's just... shocking, given that even half-elves aren't considered adult until fifty."

"Ah. Whereas I was considered adult upon graduation."

Kor gave a heavy sigh, and Sharr shifted his arm so his heart-brother could sit back.

"Just one more reason to hate Lolthite drow," Kor said, "for forcing their children to grow up so fast."

"I am beginning to see that," Drizzt said.

---

Soul Gems and Soul Bonds (9957 words) by Somariel
Chapters: 3/3
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Alustriel Silverhand/Original Character(s), Drizzt Do'Urden/Alustriel Silverhand
Characters: Alustriel Silverhand, Drizzt Do'Urden, Original Elf Character(s)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ensemble Cast
Series: Part 19 of A Crossing of the Realms
Summary:

What if the canon divergence of the series SharrSapphire happened in the universe of Helplessly Bound?

---

Beginning notes

This fic contains a certain amount of borrowing from the second fic in the series "SharrSapphire", since some scenes from that fic are covered in this one.

If you are confused by this fic, please go read the linked inspirations, as this fic very much assumes familiarity with them.

---

Chapter 1: Reactions

For all that no one knew what had caused Sharr to just disappear from the battlefield, Alustriel did know that he was still alive, because if she focused on their soulbond, she received a sort of floaty peaceful feeling.

And she wasn't just imagining it, either, because Kor got the same results from focusing on his soulbond with Sharr.

But even so, it was something that required action on her part to sense. So she was quite surprised the first time she received a distinct feeling of unease—though oddly enough, no sense of direction—over the bond with Sharr, as she had not been focusing on it.

The feeling didn't last all that long, but talking to Kor revealed that he had felt it too, and as the years passed with no sign of Sharr, she grew to welcome the intermittent moments of unease coming over the bond.

And when, thirty years after Sharr's disappearance, she felt growing wonder turn to visceral horror, and then determination still tinged by the horror, somewhere nearby to the north, it was something of a disappointment to learn that Kor had not felt it. But as the years passed without any further connection, it seemed that whoever her new soulbond was had vanished even more completely than Sharr.

Seven years after the new soulbond had been forged, however, the intermittent sense of unease from Sharr became a constant feeling that never went away. Kor was at just as much of a loss for any explanation as she was, and soon enough, she learned to mostly tune it out.

Three years after that, the sense of wonder from her second soulbond returned, accompanied by determination, and it soon became clear that whoever it was had returned from wherever they had vanished to after the first contact.

And that was how things continued for several years—constant unease from Sharr, and normal contact with her second soulbond.

---

The sense of unease coming over her bond with Sharr had been a constant presence for so long that Alustriel was actually surprised when, ten years after it had started—and seven since her other soulbond had returned—it abruptly ceased.

Interestingly enough, the cessation occurred shortly before the end of the 'elation' part of the 'danger, plan, elation' sequence that had started coming over her second soulbond maybe half an hour earlier.

But she would have thought it no more than an odd coincidence if not for the fact that the next time she felt anything from either of them, Sharr's unease started and ended almost simultaneously with the 'threat/wrong' she intermittently sensed from her second soulbond.

And after the third such incidence of synchronization between Sharr and her other soulbond, she decided it was time to talk to Korvallen about it.

---

Of all the things Korvallen thought Alustriel might have wanted to talk with him about, an unexpected synchronicity between Sharr's unease and a specific feeling from her other soulbond was not one of them.

And once he had taken some time to mull over what she had told him, he asked, "Is there any way Sharr could have been trapped in some magical object that your other soulbond picked up and has continued to carry?"

Alustriel hummed thoughtfully. "Maybe. I'll need to do a bit of research to be sure, since I wouldn't have thought that what I'm thinking of would allow for any awareness on the part of the trapped person."

"Then please do."

---

A few days later, Alustriel settled into the divan in Kor's outer room, and smiled at him. "It seems like your idea may well be correct," she said. "As there is a particular awful spell that traps a person, body and soul, inside a gem.

"But what I had not previously known is that once the person is within the soul trap, it is common for it glow when in the presence of the alignment that is in opposition to that of the trapped soul."

"And that would even explain why your other soulbond kept the gem," Kor said. "Given that you said the feeling you get from them is 'threat/wrong'.

"Whoever it is probably has some ability to sense evil, noticed the synchronicity themself, and decided to keep the gem as an extra source of warning."

"That... would make sense," Alustriel agreed. "Which makes me inclined to think they are likely a ranger or druid.

"As one of those or a paladin seem the most likely to have such a sense, and I think a paladin would be far less likely to experience rejection as often as my other soulbond does."

"Honestly," Kor began, "I'd guess ranger. Since druids are less likely to seek the company of others."

"Good point."

---

The synchronicity of unease from Sharr and 'threat/wrong' from Alustriel's other soulbond continued, eventually becoming a pattern she was quite used to.

And then, eleven years after the synchronicity had started, she felt actual fear from Sharr at the same time her other soulbond was experiencing the great horror of their very first connection.

She couldn't do anything about it herself, of course, but since Mystra did not express disapproval of doing so, she did ask for any of her sisters or sons who were available to go to Icewind Dale.

Which turned out to have been the best thing she could have done, given what the cause of those feelings had been.

Nor was she at all surprised to find Kor waiting for her after evenfeast, as she had known he would want to know at least what her other soulbond had been feeling.

So she welcomed him into her rooms, and after changing into more casual clothing, she settled on the divan beside him, then—before he even asked—said, "Cryshal-Tirith was raised in Icewind Dale."

"What?!"

"That's what caused Sharr's fear, and the great horror I felt from my other soulbond."

"'Great horror'?" Kor repeated. "Like you felt the very first time you connected?"

"Yes. Which is why I felt it was warranted to ask anyone who could to go up there."

"And it's all taken care of now?"

"It is," Alustriel agreed. "Sharr's fear dropping to unease and then vanishing occurred simultaneously with a bone weary but vindicated elation from my other soulbond, and that came right before Elminster announced the crystal was under their control."

"Good."

---

For all that Alustriel would have preferred it if Del had not been one of the three boys who went to deal with Crenshinibon, Korvallen was privately glad for it, as between that, and the fact that Elminster, Syluné, and the boys had gone straight from that to dealing with the Cult of the Dragon taking advantage of Elminster and Syluné's absence to attack Shadowdale, Del had been convinced to come to Silverymoon for a while, so Alustriel could reassure herself as to his wellbeing.

Which meant that Korvallen now had an opportunity to ask him about possibilities for Alustriel's second soulbond.

He gave Del a few days to actually relax first, and then, on a night that neither of them had gone to evenfeast, he headed over to Del's rooms.

Del wasn't sure who might be knocking on his door at this hour, but opening it to find Korvallen definitely wasn't anything he had expected. So after they had both settled onto the divan, he said, "Not that it's not good to see you, Uncle, but what brings you to seek me out this late, and while Mom's busy elsewhere?"

"Have some questions for you related to dealing with that damned crystal," Kor replied. "Specifically, about the people you met up there."

"Can I ask why?" Del said.

"In short," Kor began, "I want to know who might be Elué's other soulbond.

"Since it was the feeling of great horror from them that let her know something had gone seriously wrong up there."

"Ah," Del said. "Did she tell you anything else that could help narrow it down?"

In answer, Kor explained Alustriel's suspicions that her other soulbond had been involved in Crenshinibon's defeat, and the reason for them, and when he finished, Del sighed.

"Great. Just great," he muttered under his breath. Because that made it abundantly clear who Mom's other soulbond was, but Kor wasn't going to like it at all.

"Well?" Kor said, choosing to ignore Del's mutter for now.

"It has to be the ranger of Mielikki who helped us," Del said.

"So what else can you tell me about them?"

"His name is Drizzt Do'Urden." Then Del sighed, and decided to just plunge ahead. "And... he's a drow."

"What?!" Kor could not possibly have heard that correctly.

"He's a drow ranger of Mielikki."

Well. He apparently had heard Del correctly, no matter how much he might wish otherwise. But that was also the second time Del had said the man was a ranger of Mielikki, so...

"You're certain he's a ranger of Mielikki?"

"Even if he hadn't introduced himself as 'Drizzt Do'Urden, ranger of Mielikki'," Del said, "he wears a unicorn head pendant that all but actually radiates goodness.

"So yes, I'm certain."

Kor sighed. "I... need some time to think about this."

Getting up, he thanked Del for his time, and headed back to his own rooms.

---

When, four days after he had started feeling unease from Sharr multiple times a day, Korvallen heard both rumors of a drow approaching the city and that Alustriel had turned her duties over to Taern indefinitely after ordering that the drow be denied entry, it was easy to guess that the drow had to be her other soulbond, so as soon as he had some free time, he sought her out to offer a sympathetic ear.

It took somewhat longer than he had expected, but eventually he found her in a corner of the Palace library, surrounded by books and scrolls.

"Elué?" he said softly, and she raised her head from the scroll she was reading to look at him.

"Yes, Kor?" she replied.

"Thought I'd see if you wanted a sympathetic ear or a shoulder to cry on," he said.

"For Nesmé's bigotry having forced me to keep a drow out of the city?"

Kor could feel his cheeks heat, but his voice was steady when he replied. "I asked Del about who might be your other soulbond, when he was here after the crystal."

Alustriel set the scroll aside and sat up straighter. "You seem... surprisingly accepting... of the idea that he's a drow."

"I've had months to get used to the idea."

"And...?"

Briefly wishing she couldn't read him so well, Kor sighed, then continued. "And Del was very firm about the drow being a ranger of Mielikki, so I went and asked Tathshandra what She thought of him."

"What is Mielikki's opinion of him, then? For that matter, do you have a name for him?"

"He's apparently one of Her favorites. And his name is Drizzt Do'Urden."

Alustriel sighed, then let her shoulders slump. "A shoulder to cry on would be nice, especially since this is going to be hitting him, as best as I can tell, just after the Riders turned him and his companions into the Evermoors."

Kor winced, even as he moved to sit down beside her and wrap an arm around her. That would certainly explain why Sharr's unease had been so frequent for the last few days, but it would definitely make Silverymoon's rejection hit harder.

Alustriel leaned her head against Kor's shoulder once his arm was wrapped around her, and let loose the tears she had been holding back.

Some time later, when Alustriel's sniffles had stopped, Kor gave her back one last rub, then said, "So what else can I do to help you right now?"

"A research assistant would be of the most use right at this moment," Alustriel said, lifting her head from his shoulder and turning to look at him.

Kor cocked an eyebrow at her, and she elaborated. "The Riders mentioned that the dwarf in the party was seeking his ancestral Hall-"

"-so you're doing advance research for them," Kor finished. "Alright, I can help with that."

---

Given his desire to not leave Alustriel alone to handle the emotional storm of Drizzt being turned away from the city, Korvallen was glad that a quiet word in Besnell's ear had been all that was needed for him to be assigned to stay at Alustriel's side until she resumed her duties.

So when she suddenly started weeping, six days after she had given the order, he was right there to hold her, and make soothing noises until the tears abated.

Soon after, the message was delivered that all of Drizzt's companions had also turned away, rather than enter without him, and Kor could see that news firming Alustriel's resolve to go to them and offer her apologies and personal aid.

Which was something that he still wasn't entirely comfortable with, but he wasn't going to even attempt to gainsay her in this.

So when the night had grown deep enough for her visit to them, he simply walked her to the nearest teleport point, hugged her, and said, "Good luck."

Alustriel returned Kor's hug fiercely, having greatly appreciated his steadfast presence over the last week, and once he had wished her luck, she pulled back and looked at him.

"You're really okay with me doing this alone?" she asked him.

"No," Kor admitted. "But the- the ranger is already hurting, so my presence could easily harm your reasons for going."

Alustriel hugged him again for that. "Thank you."

Then she let go, and vanished from his sight.

---

When Alustriel returned, Korvallen could tell that she was far more at peace with the decision she had been forced to make. But since he knew she wanted to keep the soulbond private, at least for now, he simply fell in beside her as she headed back to her rooms.

And once they were both settled on the divan in the outer room, he spoke.

"Well, I can already tell the visit went well, but I'd still like to hear the details."

"Of course," Alustriel replied. "Drizzt was... amazingly forgiving, once I had explained why I had felt it necessary to bar him from the city.

"However, something that I probably should have anticipated, but did not, is that no one had ever spoken of soulbonds to him."

"I... can see how that would be true," Kor said, "but it does leave me wondering what he believed your emotions were."

"He thought them to be a facet of Mielikki's interest in him."

"Huh. That... actually makes sense, if he's aware that She favors him."

"It does," Alustriel agreed. "I didn't feel I had the time to explain the connection to him now, but I did promise to do so—and do it here, once I have cleared out the rumors.

"And I have to admit that I am very pleased by how loyal his friends are. As the barbarian is injured, he believes the dwarf is as well, and the halfling is just as exhausted as he is, and they all still chose to turn away rather than enter without him."

"That really is impressive loyalty," Kor agreed. "As for clearing out the rumors, I bet the Mielikkians will help with that if you ask them. Given Her favoring of him.

"And on another note, did you see anything that might be the soul trap?"

"Oh, that's a very good idea," Alustriel said. "Thank you, Kor.

"As for the soul trap, it's probably the stone in a basket pendant that he was wearing as a necklace, given that I did sense some sort of magic to it."

---

Alustriel had not been concerned by the 'surprise, concern, worry' she felt from Drizzt, in the morning of the fifth day since she had met him, even when it was followed by a period of total focus during which there were a few moments of unease from Sharr, which then shifted to a sense of 'satisfaction/job well done', nor even by the unease from Sharr and 'threat/wrong' from Drizzt that started not long after the satisfaction ended, but when the unease and the 'threat/wrong' had not ended after several hours, she began to worry.

She and Kor spent a sleepless night discussing just what might be in Mithral Hall to generate such an omnipresent miasma of evil that Drizzt and Sharr were always sensing it, and in the morning, she arranged for Taern to again take her duties for the day.

Which proved to have been a very wise idea, as it was only late morning when what she was getting from Drizzt started to slowly shift from just 'threat/wrong' into 'threat/wrong/ache'.

As the hours passed, 'threat/wrong/ache' changed to 'threat/wrong/pain', and then in the early afternoon, she sensed a spike of fear that was quickly brought under strict control.

The 'threat/wrong/pain' then slowly shifted to 'threat/wrong/ache/fatigue', and perhaps an hour before sunset, she breathed a sigh of relief as both the 'threat/wrong' and Sharr's unease vanished, leaving only the 'ache/fatigue' from Drizzt.

"Well," she said to Korvallen, who had again arranged with Besnell to spend the day by her side, "I'm glad they're out of the Hall, but whatever the true threat is within it is not only severe enough to produce a spike of fear in Drizzt, getting close enough to identify it caused him actual pain."

"Odd," Kor said. "I would have thought something that bad would have caused an increase in Sharr's unease."

"If it weren't for the fact that the soul trap glows in the presence of evil, I'd agree with you," Alustriel said. "But since it does glow, I strongly suspect Drizzt left it with one of the others while he scouted the true threat."

"Good point," Kor replied. Then he sighed. "The waiting to find out what it is isn't going to be easy."

"No," Alustriel agreed, "it won't be."

---

Chapter 2: Revelations

Two days after the Companions had exited Mithral Hall, Alustriel received word from Old Night that they had returned to Herald's Holdfast, and that the clan chieftain wished to meet with her, but would prefer it if she came to the Holdfast for said meeting.

So she arranged matters for her absence of a day or two, and teleported to the Holdfast the next morning.

Drizzt was waiting for her in the clearing before the doors, accompanied by the largest panther she had ever seen, and after he had introduced her to the panther—Guenhwyvar by name—he led her into the Holdfast once Guenhwyvar had dissipated into black mist.

And as he guided her to where the others were, he said, "I offer warning that Bruenor's pride is still up, but I did manage to make him see events as a leader would.

"Though the lack of actual apology to me was a high hurdle to overcome."

"Thank you for the warning," she told him softly, "and I am glad you have such a friend and ally.

"Furthermore, I am sorry. And I have already set things in motion to counter the fear the Riders created, so I am hopeful you will be able to enter Silverymoon soon."

That last had taken her into the room, and she briefly saw a softening of the expression on the halfling's face before Old Night stepped in and smoothly began the introductions.

"Alustriel Silverhand, High Lady of Silverymoon, allow me to make you known to Bruenor Battlehammer, Chieftain of Clan Battlehammer and Eighth King of Mithral Hall; Wulfgar, son of Beornegar, former chieftain of the Tribes of the Reghedmen, Princess Catti-brie Battlehammer, and Regis, former Spokesman of Lonelywood."

"Greetings, Lady," Wulfgar said in a clear, firm voice. "We are pleased you could join us privately for this meeting, as the news must be shared, but your city is not a place we choose to be."

She could feel Drizzt's exasperation with the man for that clear dig at her decision, but it was truly no more than she had expected.

"Lady," Bruenor said gruffly, nodding to the vacant chair opposite his own place.

Drizzt unobtrusively drew it out for Alustriel, setting the dwarf to scowling beneath his beard, while the human girl—princess of dwarves?—studied them. That Drizzt chose to sit beside her only added to the contemplation.

"Lady, would you like a plate? We still have plenty," Regis offered. "Old Night is a gracious host."

Which, though still somewhat needling, was clearly less so than it might have been if he had not heard her apology.

And when Drizzt touched her arm under the table, she looked to him with a small smile, then looked to both the barbarian and the halfling in turn. "I am glad to see that you are such staunch defenders of your friend, Wulfgar, Regis. I can understand why you would not want to enter Silverymoon so long as I must ask Drizzt Do'Urden not to enter her gates. I dearly hope that that state of affairs can be ended very soon, and that I will be able to welcome all of you within.

"And yes, please. I had not yet eaten, as Old Night's hospitality is always more than generous, and welcome."

Wulfgar, son of Beornegar, was a very unusual barbarian, Alustriel thought, given the way he spoke to her respectfully, rather than as an inferior, and seemed to listen without qualm to both the dwarven king and the halfling.

But while her response to the needling had visibly soothed ruffled feathers even more than her apology, the girl's first words made it clear she was not yet fully forgiven.

"Seems a bit more than unkind, as tae bar a ranger as good as me elf," Catti-brie said, "and never catch on to an assassin and wizard of ill-intent held me there as hostage."

Alustriel went very still, and then looked to the young woman with her full attention. "What happened to you?" she asked, her blue eyes sharp with a quickly building anger, "Within my walls? Please. Tell me everything."

That was clearly not the response Catti-brie had expected, but it was only a moment before she mustered herself and answered in an even voice, Bruenor patting her shoulder as she spoke.

"An assassin named Artemis Entreri had come seeking me friend Regis. After seeing him kill two of me friends, leaders inside the clan, I made tae warn me Da and the others," Catti said. "He figured it out, and took me captive.

"In Luskan, he joined forces with the wizard, who had a guard and a construct, which lies buried near our Hall now, but me ranger says ye need tae know of it as well." Catti-brie met the woman's eyes fully. "They came tae yer city, held me there, until they had reason tae know me Da had not come within.

"And then it was back on the road, tae catch up tae me Da and party."

"Catti-brie freed herself when we were in sight," Drizzt said. "Brought us warning."

Alustriel knew her eyes were just shy of blazing silver, rather than blue. Setting aside her surprise at feeling deep love from Sharr at that moment, she took a deep and careful breath, her hands resting lightly in her lap rather than fisted—but only by dint of will. A report from a few days before, that she had paid only an exasperated, frustrated corner of her attention to, suddenly flashed back into her mind in full, as she wrenched her power under control. And as she did so, the sense of love from Sharr faded.

"You should never have been prisoner within my walls, and I think I may have some guards to speak to very sternly. And certainly I have a wizard of my Spellguard to chastise. This wizard’s—the foreigner’s—name was Sydney? I have some small knowledge of her, she could not have crafted a full construct unless she improved very rapidly in her Art.

"Did some other of the Hosttower know that she was working in concert with an assassin? More, did any other know that a destination of that assassin might be my city?"

"A wizard the name o' Dendybar ordered Sydney and Jierdan tae work with Entreri, and knew Entreri for a killing man," Catti-brie answered. "And aye, was the wizards as knew me Da had passed through somewhere called Longsaddle, headed for the city of Silverymoon," she added. "We took rides on magical not-horses and came quickly there."

"Only, our misadventure delayed us, and then you, Lady, accidentally delayed their plans further," Drizzt said.

Dendybar.

Alustriel had loathed that particular mage for a very, very long time, but she had not thought that he was stupid enough to send a construct that would assault her city. Nor had she thought that he would be foolish enough to send an assassin inside her walls, along with one of his own people.

"I know him," she said, her voice barely restrained from dripping with ice, "and the price we intended to take from the Hosttower for my broken city wall, my wounded men, and the disturbance of my peace has just risen substantially. King Bruenor," she added, turning to look at the dwarven leader, "would you like to add any demands of your own, for the harm done to your daughter, to the bill I mean to send?"

"The cost o' what yer wizards need, if'n ye mean tae help rid the Frost Hills o' the threat slumbering beneath them, then," Bruenor said. "As it will take me clan time, even once we purge the Hall, tae make goods worth the cost of such aid."

"That is the meat of what we needed to discuss, Lady," Wulfgar said. "I can entice many warriors to come, but we have as little need of magic as my friend Bruenor. And my teacher has confirmed the nature of the enemy that drove out Clan Battlehammer."

There was that calm respect for her position again, despite that he obviously still spoke for many of his people, and was—in several ways—the epitome of a Reghed barbarian. He called King Bruenor his friend, and Drizzt (a drow!) his teacher, when the barbarian disrespect for elves, mages, and all other peoples was a well-founded byword in the northlands. His story must be truly fascinating, and Alustriel hoped she got to hear it, some day soon.

For just a moment, she felt an echo of the pain Drizzt had felt while scouting the true threat, and then he took a deep breath and it faded back to just the ache and fatigue.

"The name the duergar used translates closely to Shimmergloom, and I do not recognize that name, but the dragon they worship is of the Shadowfell, Lady," Drizzt said. "With a swarm of shades and at least two shadow hounds I could make out."

Alustriel had lifted one brow slightly at the phrasing from the dwarven king—it was an interesting choice, to demand the value (or the components themselves) of spellwork for the insult to his daughter—but then Drizzt named the threat they faced, and cold slid down her spine, even as she suddenly understood the spike of fear she had felt from him.

"That," she said, "is not a neighbor I am at all pleased to have. Yes, Silverymoon will send you wizards and clerics to help reclaim your Hall." One corner of her mouth turned up, just a little, as some of her rage thawed at the thought of what would need to be done. "One of my sons might never speak to me again if I did not tell him there was a dragon--even one he must fight, rather than attempt to befriend--so near, after all. And that will bring at least two of his brothers to keep an eye on him."

"Any aid, on that front, is deeply valued," Regis said. "Because just scouting it turned Drizzt gray for most of the day."

Well. That certainly explained both the pain and the 'ache/fatigue' she had felt.

"My friend exaggerates," Drizzt demurred. "It was unnerving, though, to feel that ancient an evil when I have been dealing with Surface evils of far lesser varieties."

"It was worse than the crystal?" Wulfgar asked.

"Yes, but by the time I had to get close to the crystal, I was expecting it. There is no expecting something of the Shadowfell," Drizzt said.

Which was disturbing to hear, that the shadow dragon had been worse for Drizzt than Crenshinibon itself.

"Ye mean to aid us, and that is good," Bruenor said. "For that, once it is done, I'll negotiate a first-rights trade deal with yer people, or me girl will."

"It will be good," she said with a smile, "to have trade with Mithral Hall again. You look very much like your grandfather, did you know?"

That obviously startled him, and his beard wagged a bit as he visibly worked through the emotion. "Nae, Lady. We didnae carry much beyond the babes when we were chased away," he told her.

She reached across the table, offering him her hand in comfort for a moment. "He came to Silverymoon once, to discuss a trade matter with me, a few decades after he had taken kingship of the Hall. Your hair is a bit more coppery than his, but very similar.

"On the topic of being chased away... there are some of your kin in Felbarr, Adbar, and Sundabar, rescued by elves of the wood to our north from their confused flight. I do not remember exactly how many there were, but I have asked the Rockcrusher clan of scholar-dwarves to see about compiling a census for you."

That was far too much for the dwarf, and he squeezed at her hand once before he shifted… and Catti-brie tucked in along his side, arm around his shoulders.

"More clan, Lady, truly?" she asked, taking up the conversation. "Good, and we'll need any that will come home tae us. The last six years have seen us lose more than a handful of our fighting ones." She visibly swallowed, then continued. "Thank ye, Lady, for the news. It helps."

Drizzt paused in his eating, and looked at her, then Regis. "Would you accept Regis as our emissary, while we arrange what is needed? Catti-brie or her choice of messenger once our people have come, can bring him updates, and share what you need to with him."

Regis's eyes went big, and his expression was such that Alustriel could tell it was as much from relief as surprise. "I don't much like parting from you, but one of us should be the middle link, and that way I can help share tales of just why it's stupid to keep Drizzt out," he said for that idea.

"I am sorry for your losses," Alustriel told Catti-brie, transferring discussion to the young woman without a pause. Of course the news of more of his kin would be overwhelming... but she had needed to share it. "And yes. They were the very old and the very young, and very confused, but they were taken in by the other citadels, and dwarves are resilient folk. You are very welcome, both of you.

"As to an emissary, I have no no objections at all, if Regis is an acceptable choice to King Bruenor—and I will be very glad of someone to help me turn the tide against unreasoning and foolish prejudice, Regis, especially with your first-hand knowledge of him. I will be glad indeed."

---

The discussion wound up fairly quickly after that, and Drizzt led her to the room Old Night had set aside for him to read in.

The room, a sitting room in the way it was arranged, was a secluded space, with faint mage lights to provide a warm glow around the edge of the room. Drizzt indicated one chair, and dropped into the other, before he eyed the books in a way that made Alustriel sure he had neglected sleep last night in favor of reading them.

"I am grateful for the offers made, and apologize for the early rudeness on display," he began.

She shook her head, smiling again. "No, Drizzt. I am glad you have such loyal friends and defenders. I took no offense, I promise you. And they are offers anyone with my resources should make, against such a danger."

He inclined his head a little, but she saw the warmth of his eyes at those last words. "I find myself hopeful that you are correct, that some day I will walk freely into your city. As I would love to see if your people reflect the generosity and goodly duty of their leader so well."

Then he leaned back in his chair, looking quite comfortable to her. "I know we both have questions, but I feel I should offer you the chance to satisfy yours first."

"Actually," Alustriel said, "I was thinking that I should start with the explanation of the connection between us that I promised."

"That would be most welcome," Drizzt replied. "Bruenor told me it was called a soulbond, when I mentioned that I had been able to feel your grief over the decision to bar me from the city, but it really wasn't the right time for an explanation."

"Then I will be very glad to do so." And Alustriel began explaining.

Some time later, with all of the basics covered well enough that Drizzt clearly understood them, she moved on to the part that was less well known. "Sometimes, among the long-lived species, people will end up with more than one soulbond at the same time."

Drizzt tilted his head and looked at her like he didn't quite understand why she was bringing this up, but she had expected that, and simply continued. "And although I am human, the longevity granted to me through my service to Mystra has proved to be similar enough that my bond with you is the second one I have at this time."

"Interesting," Drizzt said. "Will you tell me about your other soulbonded?"

"Actually, I was hoping that you could help me with a mystery surrounding him."

"Oh?"

"You see," Alustriel began, "he just... disappeared, right off a battlefield, about sixty years ago.

"His other soulbonded and I both know he's still alive, partly because if we focus on our bonds with him, we get a floaty peaceful feeling, but also because we intermittently receive from him a feeling of unease without any sense of direction."

"I'm afraid I can't see how you think I can help with finding him," Drizzt said. But thankfully, he sounded curious more than upset or annoyed.

"Well, twelve years ago, that sense of unease from him became synchronized with when I sensed 'threat/wrong' from you.

"Additionally, last year I felt fear from him at the same time as your horror that had me ask any of my sisters and sons who were available to go to Icewind Dale.

"And just a little while ago, I sensed a deep love from him, when my temper broke free enough that the silverfire started sparking in my eyes."

"That's what surprised you while it was sparking?"

"Yes."

Drizzt raised a hand to touch the basket pendant, and his face took on an expression of deep thought for a moment before he spoke again.

"This sapphire has always glowed whenever I sense something evil nearby—sometimes it even starts glowing before I notice anything—and it grew warm without glowing when the silverfire was sparking, but I have no idea how he could be tied to it."

Alustriel reached out to take his free hand, smiled gently at Drizzt, and repeated the explanation she had given to Korvallen twelve years ago.

Drizzt looked horrified, and when he spoke, there was a slight waver to his voice. "I had no idea. How do we free him?"

"All that is necessary to free the trapped person is breaking the gem," Alustriel said. "But since I think it would be best to confirm that it is a soul trap before breaking it, I would like to ask my sister Laeral to come analyze it.

"She is something of an expert on magical items, and as a crafter herself, she has the tools needed to break it."

"That... sounds reasonable," Drizzt said. "Which leaves the question of where and when."

"I am certain that Old Night will give us a room to work in if I ask it of him," Alustriel said, "and if I contact Laeral tonight, she can teleport here tomorrow."

"Good. Because I don't want your other soulbonded to continue to be trapped for any longer than absolutely necessary."

Alustriel squeezed Drizzt's hand in reassurance, but before she could say anything, Bruenor stuck his head in the door and asked for Drizzt to come help the others with their planning.

---

Chapter 3: Reunions

The next morning, Laeral arrived as Bruenor, Catti-brie, and Wulfgar were readying to go back to Dwarvendarrow and start making it more habitable.

After introductions all around, Alustriel led her and Drizzt to the room Old Night had designated for their investigation. And once they were all seated around the room's table, it was Laeral who kicked things off.

"Alustriel told me exactly why she needed me to come," she said, her gaze fixed on Drizzt, "so if you'll give me the gem, I can get started."

"Of course," Drizzt replied. Then he unfastened the chain around his neck, slid the basket pendant off, and passed it to her.

Laeral carefully removed the gem from the basket, and once they were fully separated, the gem in front of her and the basket to the side, she began casting. And it wasn't very long before she sat back with a satisfied smiled. "That is a soul trap. So if you'll both come stand behind me, I'll break it."

"Of course," Alustriel said, even as she rose from her seat.

Very soon, she and Drizzt were each standing behind and to one side of Laeral, and her sister had the chisel positioned against the stone, and a small hammer raised in her other hand. "Ready?" Laeral asked.

Drizzt said "Yes", and Alustriel took a deep breath. "As much as I ever will be," she said.

Laeral brought the hammer down on the end of the chisel, but instead of splitting the stone, the blow caused a strong magical backlash, and left the stone intact.

"A spell shattering?" Alustriel asked her sister, who had set down the tools and begun to wring out her arms.

"Yes," Laeral replied. And after squeezing her hands down opposite forearms again, she picked up her tools and once again set the chisel against the stone. "Second time lucky, hopefully," she said, and swung the hammer back, then down.

This time, the stone broke, and a blue light flashed brightly, bringing the smell of a spring day in the forest. And when Alustriel's eyes cleared from the flash, Sharr was standing there in the armor he’d disappeared from that battlefield in, the proper ceremonial armor for a Lorekeeper in a ritual hunt.

Then, after a moment in which they just stared at each other, Alustriel wrestled down the flood of emotions, and all but threw herself at him.

"I… stars, you… you’re here, you…” Alustriel knew she was not really coherent as she wrapped her arms around her beloved tightly, but she couldn’t find it in her to care at the moment.

“I am, my heart's star, I am,” Sharr murmured, returning the embrace just as tightly.

Alustriel wasn't quite sure how long they had been wrapped in that embrace before a quiet cough behind her drew them out of it.

Feeling her cheeks heat faintly, she let go, and turned back to face Drizzt and Laeral.

"Drizzt," she said, "this is Sharrevaliir, my first soulbonded."

Then she turned to look at Sharr, and said, "Sharr, this is Drizzt Do'Urden, my second soulbonded."

"I am glad to finally see the warrior that has done such good in my time of imprisonment," Sharr said. "When the feeling of evil grew, it brought me something like awareness of what went on around me, but not enough to say I know you, yet. I hope to change that soon, given our shared bond with Alustriel."

"I will look forward to that," Drizzt said, "though it may not be as soon as you hope, as I have obligations to my friends to fulfill, and there is currently a bit of a problem with me coming to Silverymoon."

Sharr raised an eyebrow at her, and Alustriel sighed. "An encounter with the Riders of Nesmé resulted in them their usual bigoted selves about a drow, and they stirred the people up against him.

"I've already recruited the Mielikkians to help with calming the rumors, and we'll be returning to Silverymoon with one of his friends, but right now, it would be a political mess for him to enter the city."

At the mention of having recruited the Mielikkians, Drizzt took on an expression that made her suspect his cheeks would be flushed if his skin was light enough to show such, but she politely ignored that and waited for Sharr's response.

"Then I will be pleased to do so whenever the opportunity occurs," he said.

---

The fact that they were bringing Regis with them meant that they could not use the family teleport point, but even so, it was not long before Alustriel and Sharr were approaching her rooms—Laeral having taken charge of Regis and the arrangements that needed to be made for him.

As they walked, Alustriel had explained to Sharr how she had known Drizzt had his soul trap, and when she finished, Sharr had been silent for a long while.

In fact, it was not until they were entering her rooms that he spoke.

"That's... quite a lot to take in," he said. "Though I am definitely quite glad of it." Then a mischievous smile lit up his face, and he asked, "So how long do you think we'll have before word starts spreading of my return?"

"Not long enough to start anything," Alustriel replied, as she settled herself on the divan. "I was half-expecting Kor to be waiting for us, since he knows about the synchronicity between you and Drizzt, the likely reason, and that I was going to meet with the Companions."

Sharr sat down much more heavily than Alustriel was sure he had intended, wide-eyed relief taking over his face. "Kor's here?!?"

"Yes," Alustriel said, wrapping an arm around Sharr's shoulder to pull him closer. "He came to me, after his initial reaction, several years ago. He's Besnell's right hand, a full Knight-Captain for me."

Sharr nodded, clearly overwhelmed by the knowledge that his oldest love still lived, then nestled his head against Alustriel's shoulder.

Alustriel spent a few minutes just rubbing her hand up and down his side while he wrestled his emotions under control, and when he finally raised his head again, she smiled at him. "Feeling better now?"

"Yes," Sharr said. But before he could say anything else, there was a knock on the door.

After a brief exchange of looks with Sharr, Alustriel called, "Come in," and the door opened to reveal both Kor and Methri.

Sharr immediately stood up on seeing Kor, and the other elf all but launched himself across the room to embrace him.

Neatly avoiding the embracing pair, Methri came and sat down on Alustriel's other side, and smiled at her.

"Kor filled me in on things on the way over," he said, "so I don't need to ask how you found Dad. Nor do I blame you for not telling any of us boys about it.

"But Laeral shared her vision with all of us while the two of you were embracing, so you can expect the rest of us to show up within the next few days."

Alustriel returned the smile, then let out a sigh. "Let's hope that Del feels the same way."

"If he doesn't, I'm sure Dad and Uncle will be happy to thump him in the practice yard for it."

---

As much as Alustriel would have liked to take some time off to celebrate Sharr's return, it was the height of trading season, and she had already taken several days off very recently, so she truly didn't think it would be possible to have more than the rest of the day of his return—which was only possible due to her having already arranged for her duties to be covered that day.

Which meant she was quite surprised the next morning, to look at her schedule for the day and see that the only appointments in the afternoon were a handful of foreigners in the first few hours after her lunch break.

And when she asked Danella about it, her secretary of the day smiled brightly. "As soon as word started spreading that your Lord Consort was back with you, the people of Silverymoon started coming and asking if their appointments could be moved to later.

"So Dessa and I rearranged things for minimal afternoon appointments for the rest of the week, and have blocked off your afternoons for next week."

"Oh." Alustriel blushed for a moment at the display of just how much her people loved her, then returned the smile. "Thank you. And please pass my thanks on to Dessa as well."

"You're welcome. And of course I will."

---

Alustriel was quite pleased with the extra personal time, and would have been entirely satisfied with just that, but her people continued to surprise her further.

As on the afternoon before her rest day, all the shopkeepers closed up early, and a festival developed with such speed that Alustriel was certain people had spent the entire time since Sharr's return planning it.

But for all that she was quite touched by the further display of love from her people, she didn't fail to notice that the conversation at evenfeast both that night, and the next, indicated that Regis and Sharr, and even Dove and the Mielikkians, had taken advantage of the festival to speak to as many people as they could about Drizzt and his goodly nature.

And over the next week, as evenfeast conversations continued to feature Drizzt heavily, she noticed that there was starting to be a shift in how people spoke of him and his deeds.

That shift continued over subsequent weeks, slowly at first, then gaining speed after Catti-brie's first visit as her father's representative, and by the time fall had solidly begun, people were having open debates over whether or not it had been right for him to be barred from entering.

And by the time spring came, opinion had shifted enough for her to publicly rescind the ban.

---

For all that most of what she was feeling from Drizzt was the intense focus of fighting and the 'threat/wrong' of his sense of evil, there were enough moments of other feelings that Alustriel was really quite glad that Taern had insisted she take off the day set for reclaiming Mithral Hall, since they were distracting enough while she was just playing coroniir with Sharr that she knew it would have been difficult to remain fully focused on her duties.

After a while, the focus had gotten deeper, the 'threat/wrong' had gotten stronger, and the other emotions grew more frequent, and then, shortly after a surge of 'protect, danger, excitement, elation', she swayed in her seat as the world greyed out and it felt like she was experiencing mana drain while at the center of an explosion.

And when she could see and think again, she was on the floor beside the chair she had been sitting in, with Sharr's arms supporting her, and her head nestled against his shoulder.

She shifted, moving to sit up on her own, and Sharr gave a relieved-sounding sigh. "What happened, Elué?"

"I'm... not sure," Alustriel replied.

Then she described what she had experienced, and Sharr frowned.

"How is Drizzt?" he asked.

"He's... unconscious," she replied with a sigh. "That must have been backlash from something that happened to him."

"If whatever happened was severe enough to affect you through the bond," Sharr said, "I imagine we'll be getting a report fairly soon."

"I agree," Alustriel said. "Especially since I suspect he was fighting the dragon."

Mystery solved for now, she carefully stood up, and after a moment to make sure her balance was steady, she moved over to the divan and took a seat there.

Sharr followed her, and after he had settled with an arm around her shoulders, she sighed. "Now we just have to wait."

---

The sending from the triplets, and the details Nae had shared, had only increased Alustriel's worry about Drizzt, but the feeling of her own drained energy returning after Tathshandra cast the restoration on him reassured her even before the ashen pallor to his skin began to lift and the luster of his hair began to return.

And with the knowledge that Tathshandra was going to be arranging a pavilion for him in the Glade itself, and setting up a roster of clerics to keep an eye on him, she felt confident enough to leave.

Drizzt had still not awakened by the next morning, but Alustriel had rather expected that, and insisted on resuming her duties anyway.

So it was during her third appointment of the afternoon that she felt the sequence of 'startlement, wariness, relief' that told her he had woken up.

Which, for all that she had been reassured after the restoration took hold, was still a relief in that he had only needed a bit more than a full day to recover that far.

The confused delight she felt some time later was a further relief, and when she received the note on his status from Mielikki's clerics, she felt a weight lift from her shoulders at the knowledge that he had been convinced to take the time he needed to recover properly.

---

Once Drizzt had fully recovered, he left Silverymoon to return to the Hall, and although Alustriel had known that he would do so, given the need for his aid in ensuring every tunnel had been fully explored, she couldn't help but wish that he had been willing to stay longer.

The months seemed to drag on in his absence, but finally, in late summer, she sensed him heading towards Silverymoon.

Three days passed without her sensing any trouble from him, but on the fourth morning, before the sun had even fully risen, she was hit by a large splash of 'threat/wrong' at the same time she sensed a planar breach, which—if she was placing it correctly—was very close to him.

Even without the breach being so close to Drizzt, it would have been something that needed investigation, so she put out a call to her sons for whoever was closest to come to Silverymoon immediately, then headed for the Spell Tower to consult with Taern.

The flash of 'rage/anger/destroy' that hit her shortly after she left her rooms only increased her concern for Drizzt, especially when it then segued into an almost unthinking focus, but she managed to push it aside when she saw Taern heading towards her.

He proved to have been coming to see her for the same reason she had been going to see him, so she reversed course and accompanied him back to her rooms, where they found Rae waiting for her.

She had already summoned a phantom steed for him when she felt Drizzt's unthinking focus be replaced by satisfaction, but it didn't change her need to know what had happened, so she still sent Rae off to investigate.

And it wasn't all that long before he sent to her. ~Spider Queen sent a cambion after Drizzt. We're going to go warn Bruenor about the possibility of drow in the nearby Underdark, then Drizzt is joining my teleport back to the city.~

~What?! ...well, at least he dealt with it. And thank you for convincing him to let you do that.~

Then she let the sending go, and started to fill in Taern.

---

Once Rae and Drizzt arrived in Silverymoon, Alustriel managed to convince Drizzt to stay a while, in the name of getting to know each other better, and when Sharr heard that, he came up to the city with Korvallen, so that they could also get to know him better.

Between the lunches together—with or without Sharr and Kor—attending evenfeast and various festivities afterwards with Drizzt as her escort, and just spending some evenings in her rooms simply talking, Alustriel slowly grew to know the drow ranger better.

But one of the most significant moments in his stay in the city was when, after seeing how swiftly Drizzt managed to disarm Kolarven, Korvallen agreed to spar with him.

Even more than his sheer skill, it was Drizzt's humility when Kor defeated him that truly won over the elf, and Alustriel was quite pleased when Kor not only agreed to help Drizzt improve his single blade skills that winter, but also asked him to bring Catti-brie, so Kor could correct any bad habits she had been developing due to Drizzt's own lack of experience with single blade forms.

And although Alustriel would have liked it if Drizzt had stayed for Highharvestide, she was not truly surprised when he slipped out of the city the day before the festival, especially given that in addition to the fact that he was still acclimating to being as freely welcomed as the people were towards him, he did need to arrange for Catti-brie to come stay for a week or so before the snows came.

---

For all that she had been able to tell that Drizzt was on his way to Silverymoon, when the first true snowfall of the season arrived, Alustriel was greatly relieved when Ellorie informed her that he had arrived with it.

And as winter set in, and then continued on, she was very pleased by how much he was opening up to her and Sharr, and even Kor.

But one thing that all of them had noticed was that Drizzt's feelings about physical intimacy were rather tangled—which, she had to admit, was rather understandable, given that his only experience with it among thinking beings was what Lolthite drow had made of it.

So, between that, and the cutting insult that had been tossed at him when he intervened in a fight between restless adventurers wintering in the city, she could not truly blame him for his decision to visit the Promenade in the spring, after Catti-brie and Wulfgar were married.

---

Knowing rangers, Alustriel initially did not think much of how long it was taking Drizzt to reach the Promenade, especially as she could sense when he got detoured by something to deal with, but as it started coming up on long enough for him to have made it there twice over on a fairly uninterrupted journey, she began to grow a bit concerned.

And then, the day before she would have asked her sons to start keeping an eye out for him, she sensed a very brief moment of surprise before the silence of unconsciousness took over.

She wasn't entirely sure what to think of that, but not quite an hour and a half later, she sensed, in quick succession, 'wariness/concern, shock, suspicion, surprise, intense focus, wary hope, grief/hint of anger, humor, calm happiness'.

The happiness then faded to just a background hum, but it wasn't all that long before a flash of 'pleased shock, affection' came over the bond.

Which was when she decided that, given the overall combination of emotions, and that the sense of location was right for the Promenade, it was worth reaching out to ask Qilué if she knew what had just happened to Drizzt.

Said conversation, however, only left her more concerned, as Qilué was certain that Drizzt had not yet arrived.

But her youngest sister had pointed out that it was entirely possible that Drizzt had chosen to reach the Promenade via Undermountain, and had had something happen to him in Skullport, so Alustriel had asked Laeral to see what she could learn, and made a request of her sons for a few of them to go to Waterdeep in order to assist Bo with whatever was necessary to bring Drizzt to safety.

Four days later, she felt a massive wash of chagrin coming over the bond, though it was laced with both humor and affection.

Which was followed by Andy reaching out to her during her afternoon leisure time.

~Drizzt is at the Temple of Vhaeraun in Skullport, ~ her eldest told her. ~It seems that his sister converted, and someone else at the Temple decided to arrange a family reunion.~

~Well,~ Alustriel said, ~that's... unexpected, but it does quite nicely explain what I sensed.~ Then, switching to her own sending, she asked, ~Have you come to an agreement with him on a time for him to leave the Temple?~

~We're returning tomorrow at sundown,~ Andy replied, ~and have informed him that we're staying at the Dimmed Lantern if he needs to leave sooner.~

Since Andy had not started a new sending of his own, Alustriel had to wait for her anklet to recharge before she could reply.

But once it had, she sent, ~Thank you. Are you going to escort him to the Promenade afterwards?~

~Of course,~ Andy replied. ~And I'll even see if I can convince him to let us take him through the portal instead of traveling through Undermountain.~

Then the link dropped, and Alustriel let out a sigh of relief.

---

Andy did, in fact, manage to convince Drizzt to let them bring him to the Promenade via the portal instead of through Undermountain, so that was one less worry for Alustriel.

And as the months passed, she was very pleased to sense just how much he was enjoying his time at the Promenade.

The only actual agreement about how long Drizzt's visit would be had been that he would spend the winter in Silverymoon again, but even so, it was later in the fall than Alustriel had expected when she sensed Drizzt beginning to move north.

He still had enough time to make it back to Silverymoon before the heavy snows began, however, so she was not actually concerned... until the first one blew in while he was still a few days away from Silverymoon.

The sensible thing for him to do would have been for him to find someplace to wait out the storm, but Alustriel found she could only sigh with exasperation when she realized that he was continuing to trek towards the city through the snowstorm.

So when she had a few moments to spare, she sent to Taern, asking him to send a Spellguard to go fetch Drizzt.

The surprise and exasperated resignation she felt over the bond not long after was sufficient to let her know Drizzt was now safely within the city even before a page brought her the news, and she was pleased to hear that he had settled into his rooms with a hot bath and a hot meal.

And once her appointments were done for the day, she went to visit him.

---

Souls Afire (4119 words) by Somariel
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Alustriel Silverhand, Drizzt Do'Urden, Original Elf Character(s), Original Human Character(s)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:

When she combats magical flames, Alustriel finds a different fire building.

---

Souls Afire

As Alustriel accepted a new burn as the price of dodging the fighters attempting to pin her between them, she knew she was going to be receiving quite a few reproaches and "I told you so"s when she returned to Silverymoon, but even so, she could not have done any differently when this fire in the Silverwood proved resistant to the firefighting efforts of those she had initially sent.

And honestly, if it had been just the orc shaman she was facing, this fight would have already been over.

But this shaman had had the wits to bring six fighters with him, all of whom were more skilled than was typical for orcs.

And even with the aid of whoever it was who had taken out three of the fighters with well-placed arrows, the need to avoid both them and, as much as possible, the fire, had kept her from achieving the focus that would have ended the fight swiftly.

Another dodge—this time, of one of the shaman's spells—earned her another burn, and then she was in the position she had been maneuvering towards since the first arrow took down a fighter, with her back to whoever her ally was.

Then she threw another spell of her own at the shaman.

He dodged it and started to cast another spell, only to be interrupted by an arrow sprouting from his throat.

Without the need to keep the shaman occupied, Alustriel quickly took out the remaining three fighters, then turned to assess how bad the fire was in the direction that would lead her towards her ally.

But even as she did so, her balance wavered and her vision blurred for a moment, letting her know that she had truly pushed her body too far, and now she had to pay the price for that, no matter how necessary it had been.

However, she still needed to escape the fire before it was safe to let that happen, so she dredged up a bit more strength and started looking for a possible safe path through the fire.

She had not been doing so for very long, however, when she saw a tree toppling towards her.

Backing up to make sure it didn't hit her, she looked around warily to assess if any other trees in the area seemed likely to come down.

But when the tree hit the ground, she realized that it must have been felled deliberately, as it was only half burned.

And even as she thought that, she saw movement along the tree's line coming towards her.

The first thing to appear through the smoke was a much larger than normal panther, but the second was a cloaked figure of roughly average height for an elf.

But even as the figure came closer, her vision started to blur again, and she was barely able to keep herself conscious for long enough for the figure to get close enough to catch her as she passed out.

---

Drizzt carefully picked up his speed as the woman he had been helping wavered on her feet, and managed to get to within arm's reach of her before she fainted.

He automatically reached out to catch her, and though he briefly staggered at the sudden weight to support, he did keep her from falling to the ground.

Getting her cradled in his arms without putting pressure on any of her burns took some careful maneuvering, and even a bit of assistance from Guen, but once she was, he looked at his friend and said, "Once we're all out of the fire, I need you to go find a den close to the river for us."

He got a rumble of agreement in response, and then Guen led the way back along the young tree he had felled to give him a bridge through the fire.

The passage back out was a bit harder than the one in, given the extra weight he was carrying, but he made it without a single misstep, and as Guen headed off to do as he had requested, he carefully set the woman down.

He couldn't seriously begin treating her injuries until they were settled in whatever den Guen found, but he could at least check to make sure there was nothing that needed immediate attention, as well as get an idea of how many injuries the woman had.

---

Alustriel could not remember getting out of the fire, but the faint chill of the air around her, and the scent and sound of running water close by, told her that she was out, even if the strong scent of smoke made it clear that this place was still not far from the forest fire.

A slight scuff nearby caused her to open her eyes, and she was somewhat surprised to find that they were covered by a damp cloth—at least until a voice spoke.

"Please be still," the voice said, and Alustriel remembered her ally during the fight, as well as the figure who had been approaching when she lost the fight to remain conscious. "I have done the best I could to treat your burns and the other wounds you took, but you had many, and I have limited resources."

Deciding that her eyes ached enough that leaving the cloth in place was a good idea, she sighed. She wanted to go back and resume helping with the firefighting efforts, but now that she was fully awake, she could tell that she was in no shape to do so.

"How long was I out?" she asked.

"About a day and a half," the voice said. "And though the fire is not yet out, those fighting it have been having more success at doing so since your fight ended."

"That is good to hear," Alustriel said. "I had hoped that killing the shaman would have that effect.

"And on that subject, thank you for your assistance in that fight."

"I am a ranger, Lady. It was no more than my duty to do so."

"Be that as it may, I can still be grateful for it." Then, deciding that continuing to think of her savior only as 'the voice' would get quite tedious, she asked, "What is your name?"

"I am Drizzt Do'Urden, a ranger of Mielikki," her savior replied. "May I know yours?"

"Alustriel Silverhand."

The choice to leave off her titles was a deliberate one, to set things on a more informal footing, but it seemed that was not to be, as Drizzt immediately said, "You are the Lady of Silverymoon, then?"

Alustriel sighed. "I am."

"Then I will send a message to my Lady's Sacred Glade, to let them know that you are safe, and where you are."

"I... thank you." It wouldn't stop Korvallen from worrying, she was sure, but such a message ought to at least reduce his worries.

---

Late in the morning of the second day since Alustriel had been cut off from the rest of them by a flaring of the fire that had to have been actively controlled by someone, the sound of hoofbeats caused Niska Bentleaf to look up from the map on which those on this side of the fire were keeping track of the efforts to fight it.

And when she saw that the source of the hoofbeats was several Knights and a few squires, led by Korvallen, riding up to this northern base camp for the firefighting efforts, she excused herself from the group planning where to focus their next efforts, and went over to greet the Knights.

"Saers," she began, "have you come to assist with fighting the fire?"

"Not exactly," Korvallen replied, dismounting from his horse, "but it might be necessary in order to accomplish what we did come to do."

"Oh?"

Korvallen reached into his belt pouch, and pulled out the message that had both relieved him and provided a new reason to worry.

"Falcon brought this to the Glade late yesterday," he said as he held it out to Niska.

Niska reached out to take the folded scrap—of scraped hide, she noted upon touching it—and unfolded it.

There were words written inside, and as she read them, she let out a sigh of relief.

Alustriel Silverhand in Rauvin west riverbank den along curve to west. Burns & other wounds.

"I see," Niska said, once she had read the message. "And the location provided does mean you're going to need to help with the firefighting efforts, since we've not done much to beat back the fire on that side, given the river's presence as a natural firebreak."

Korvallen sighed heavily. He had known that was likely the case, but he had hoped it would be otherwise. "Very well. Show us how we can help."

---

Voices drifting down from somewhere above her were what woke Alustriel on the second morning since she had regained consciousness.

And though the light filtering through the cloth over her eyes was bright enough that Drizzt should have returned from his sunrise vigil by now, she could not hear the quiet movement of him preparing breakfast, though the cloth was damp enough that it couldn't have been too long ago when it was replaced.

"Drizzt?" she called softly, on the off chance that he had chosen to linger outside.

The lack of reply drew a sigh from her, but she couldn't quite say she was surprised, given how... skittish... he had been about the idea of any sort of recognition for his aid of her.

Choosing not to dwell on that, however, she listened carefully to the voices for any that she recognized.

And when she did, she called out, "Korvallen?", in a voice much louder than the one she had used to call for Drizzt.

"Uncle!" That was Kolarven's voice, quite close, and full of excitement. "Over here!"

It wasn't long before she could hear someone making their way down the riverbank to the level she was on, and soon after that, armored footsteps stopped outside the den she was in.

Then there was a shifting of armor, and Korvallen's voice cried "Elué!", immediately followed by the sound of those armored footsteps rushing towards her.

"Not so loud, Kor," she said. "My eyes ache, and that's giving me a headache."

"If you hadn't sprung the damn trap, your eyes wouldn't ache," Kor grumped. But his voice was quieter, and it was even gentle when he continued with "That the reason for the cloth over your eyes?"

"It is," Alustriel replied. "It's a damp cloth, even.

"As for springing the trap, I'd already given all three of the potions I was carrying to people who'd been badly burned by flames acting unnaturally near me, and wasn't going to let others continue to be hurt by someone who was clearly targeting me."

Kor sighed heavily. That was her stubborn tone, the one that indicated she wasn't going to accept any arguments against whatever she was saying.

So rather than start wrangling over what she could have done differently to keep herself safer, he pulled out the potion he had brought and uncapped it.

"I've got a potion for you," he said. "Do you need help taking it?"

Alustriel shifted so that her head was more upright, and held out her hand. "Not after it's uncapped."

Kor handed the potion to her, and watched carefully as she drank it, then let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh, that's much better," Alustriel said, then removed the cloth from her eyes.

And though she had to squint a bit at first, her eyes soon adjusted to the brighter light, and she could see Korvallen kneeling beside her, a concerned look on his face.

A look around the den proved that Drizzt had indeed left for good, as none of his gear was present, but given how recently he had to have left, there was still a chance that he had not done so unnoticed.

"Did anyone see the ranger?" she asked.

"The one who sent the message to the Glade?" Kor replied.

Alustriel nodded, and he continued. "No one's seen anyone who wasn't helping fight the fire.

"And we've been keeping an eye out since we found the orc corpses."

Alustriel sighed. "Botheration. I wish I'd at least managed to see him clearly enough to give a description. Because he's clearly spent far too much time alone, and I'd like to do something to repay him."

"Well, one thing that could be done is to replace the clothing he sacrificed for your bandages," Kor said. "But we can discuss that further after you've been seen to by a cleric."

"Alright."

---

Early in the morning of the day after Drizzt had watched the Lady of Silverymoon be helped out of the den and up the riverbank by a faerie, he looked up at the call of a goshawk to see one steadily descending towards him.

Instinct had him raise his arm for the bird, and shortly thereafter, it landed carefully on his upraised arm.

And it was only after that that he noticed the rolled up piece of paper tied to the bird's leg.

"Is that a message for me?" he asked the bird.

A kek-kek and a nod from the bird was his answer, so he removed the roll, and then, once he had it safely tucked into Guen's pouch, he found a piece of dried meat to offer the bird.

The bird accepted the treat gladly, then after he had thanked it for delivering the message, it flapped its wings once while tensing for takeoff.

Once again acting on instinct, Drizzt swiftly thrust that arm upward, and as it reached full extension, the bird flapped hard and took to the air.

Drizzt watched it go until it was out of his sight, noting as he did so that it was headed in the direction of Silverymoon, then took the message out of his pouch and opened it.

The writing inside was neat and elegant, confirming his suspicion as to the author of the message even before he saw the signature, but the words were nothing he had expected

Drizzt Do'Urden,

Later today, replacement clothing will be left in the den you brought me to.

Alustriel Silverhand

With a sigh, Drizzt tucked the message back into the pouch. The replacements would definitely be appreciated, but he was going to have to see if Guen could fetch them without leading others to him, as he felt it was all too likely that there would be people watching to see who came to get the clothing.

---

"What do you mean, 'the panther vanished'?!"

Even as the other two Knights who had been watching with them flinched back, Kolarven stood their ground in the face of their uncle's anger.

"Exactly what I said. The panther went down to the den, and when it hadn't come back out after several hours, we went down to check, and not only was it not in the den, there were no pawprints indicating it had left."

Korvallen sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Was there anything at all that might give a clue as to how the panther managed to vanish?"

"Not directly," Kolarven said. "But although the bundle of clothing was gone, both the salve and the potions that had been wrapped inside the bundle were still in the den."

"You think that something about however it was that the panther vanished caused the only magical items in the bundle to be left behind." It was not a question.

"Yes."

Korvallen sighed again. "Well, that at least provides an avenue for research. Thank you."

Taking that as a dismissal, Kolarven bowed their head in respect, then turned and left Korvallen's office.

---

Though Korvallen had been reluctant to admit it, with the obvious paranoia Alustriel's savior had about being seen, there wasn't much else that could be done to find him other than hope for someone to have a chance meeting with him.

And so, word was spread among all the druids who had come to aid in the Silverwood's recovery, to keep an eye out for a ranger—most likely an elf—with a panther companion.

---

In the month since Aronna Plainswind had arrived to help with the Silverwood's recovery from the terrible fire, she had seen several signs that the ranger who had saved Lady Silverhand was still in the area, helping as he could, and she knew at least some of the other druids had also seen such.

So when she followed a pull along a very faint trail leading towards the river, she was not truly surprised to hear a laughing voice saying "Guen, no. I don't need to be washed," coming from ahead of her as she got closer to the river.

And as she carefully followed the subtle trail markings down the riverbank and along the river's edge towards where she knew there was a mostly-roofless cave hollowed out by the river at some point in the past, she heard the rumbling half-purr of the big cats accompanying the laughter.

When she reached the point where she could see around the curve of the riverbank into the cave, her first impression was of a large mass of moving colors.

But as she stood there and studied it, the mass resolved into a very large panther, who was gently wrestling with... a drow?

And when the drow laughed, it was the same voice that she had heard on her approach to the river.

Well then.

---

Although Drizzt had been greatly enjoying the friendly tussle with Guen, the feeling of being watched caused him to bring it to an abrupt halt.

But before he could start on figuring out what do now that he'd been seen clearly by someone, the watcher spoke.

"Ranger Do'Urden? I mean you no harm."

Turning towards the voice, he saw an elderly human woman, dressed in greens and browns, and leaning on a smooth staff, standing at the mouth of the hollow, on the trail he had marked out to guide himself in reaching it.

How had a human managed to sneak up on him and Guen?

A nudge towards the woman from Guen, accompanied by a rumble and a lean into his side, suggested that maybe his friend had been aware of her approach, so rather than continue to reproach himself for his lack of awareness, Drizzt chose to reply to the woman's inquiry.

"I am Drizzt Do'Urden, a ranger of Mielikki," he said. "Who are you?"

"Aronna Plainswind, druid of Mielikki. And I think our shared Lady wished for us to meet, since I found you by following my feet, as I do to find wherever She wishes me to go."

Drizzt tilted his head thoughtfully. "While I am glad to meet someone willing to talk to me, rather than run away or attempt to attack me, I cannot think of any reason why She would have wanted you to meet me."

Aronna blinked several times in surprise. She could easily sense the strength of Mielikki's favor surrounding Drizzt. How could he be unaware of it?

But even as she considered how to respond, a feeling of 'caution; taming wariness' came to her as if she had asked for Mielikki's aid to understand an animal other than Gnasher.

Well. If her Lady didn't want her to say anything about that favor, she wouldn't, but she still needed to give him a reason for why Mielikki would have lead her to him.

And after another moment of thought, she had an answer.

"Perhaps She wished me to partner you, to know what areas still need the most help in the thickest part of the wood."

Drizzt shifted a little uneasily. He'd been helping as he could, but he knew he wasn't being as effective as the druids were. And he would like to do better.

But after so long being alone because of his species, he was finding it hard to believe this woman.

Turning to look at his dearest companion, he asked, "Guen?"

Guen responded by carefully pacing over to the woman and soliciting scratches from her, and Drizzt breathed a sigh of relief.

"I would appreciate the guidance," he said.

---

Alustriel couldn't truly say she was surprised to find Korvallen waiting for her when she returned from having breakfast with Tathshandra, but she really would have preferred to have a bit more time to settle her own thoughts on the news Tathshandra had had for her before she shared it with him.

"So why'd the Ladyservant ask you to have breakfast with her?" Kor asked, falling in beside her as she headed back to her rooms.

"A hawk delivered a message from one of the druids yesterday," Alustriel replied.

"And?" That was Kor's 'get on with it' tone, and she suppressed a sigh before continuing.

"Aronna Plainswind was guided to Ranger Do'Urden by Mielikki."

"Huh." Kor sounded rather bemused by that, and his next words proved it. "That's... rather more direct than Khalreshaar tends to be.

"Does Druid Plainswind have any idea why She did so?"

"Not directly stated as such," Alustriel said, "but her message mentioned both that Ranger Do'Urden has a very understandable reason for being wary of being seen, and that he is highly favored by Mielikki, though She has allowed him to remain unaware of that favor."

Kor hummed thoughtfully. "So She might be trying to get Ranger Do'Urden to look past whatever makes him so wary, at least enough to lean into the kinship of those who serve Her."

"That is the conclusion I was coming to," Alustriel agreed. "Especially since Druid Plainswind also said that she was going to attempt to coax him into at least spending the winter here."

---

As Drizzt had worked alongside her throughout the summer, Aronna had spoken to him of Silverymoon, both her own experiences and what she knew of others', and of the city's creed of welcoming all goodly folk.

He had listened to all of it eagerly, but as the weather began getting colder, her talk of the city turned more and more to what it was like to spend the winter there.

It was not that hard for him to see that she was trying to coax him into wintering there, and for all that he doubted the city's welcoming nature would actually apply to him, he was beginning to realize that Mielikki was also encouraging him to do so.

So in mid-fall, as they were settling down after the day's work, he said, "Could we, maybe... go to see the Glade tomorrow?"

Seeing the Glade was not committing to wintering in the city, after all, and if it went poorly, he would know in time to find a wintering place outside the city.

"Of course we can," Aronna replied. "I'm sure you'll love the experience."

---

Given what the most popular topic of conversation had been at evenfeast, Alustriel was not at all surprised to find Korvallen waiting for her when she returned from the evening festivities she had attended.

And once she had changed into more casual clothing and joined him on the divan, he launched right into the matter.

"So. Your savior is a drow." Kor's tone was full of gravel, and Alustriel sighed.

"I assure you," she said, "I had no more idea than you did.

"But it certainly does explain why he was so wary of being seen."

"It never crossed your mind at all?"

"I can't honestly say that it didn't, but it seemed unlikely enough to not be worth mentioning, especially since one of Qilué's people should have known I am one of her sisters."

"But he didn't." Kor sounded very suspicious, and Alustriel couldn't blame him for it. The idea of a good drow who was not one of Qilué's people was outlandish. And yet...

"He didn't," she agreed. "But it's not because he's not good.

"We don't know how or why, yet, but there is something blocking Eilistraee from perceiving him."

"Huh." Kor took a moment to think, and then sighed. "Can't say I like the idea that something—or Someone—can do that, but I do have to agree that it's a strong indicator that he's good, not merely neutral.

"Do you have any thoughts on how the block might be removed?"

"Not without looking at it first," Alustriel answered. "But it seems like I may well get that chance.

"As Tathshandra sent me a note saying that he inquired about wintering arrangements before he and Druid Plainswind left."

"Be interesting to see how the winter goes, if he does stay here for it."

"Yes it will."

---

Quests (2395 words) by Somariel
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Drizzt Do'Urden, Catti-brie (Dungeons & Dragons), Bruenor Battlehammer
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ensemble Cast
Series: Part 5 of Have Your Cake, Part 17 of A Crossing of the Realms
Summary:

While Drizzt is undertaking a ranger's quest, paths converge in such a way as to result in him providing the catalyst for an entirely different quest.

---

Beginning notes

There are no specific fics that inspired this one, but Drizzt's first meeting with Catti-brie does borrow heavily from senmut's fic "Walking His Former Path".

And this fic does assume familiarity with the previous fics in the "Have Your Cake" series

---

Quests

Given the ranging opportunities the Frost Hills offered, Drizzt had remained at Spirit Sanctuary for a few more years after the curse broke, until Zanna was a little older, sturdier, and more able to be separated from either of her parents.

But once Zanna had turned three, Drizzt had found himself becoming restless over remaining there, so a month and a half after her third birthday, the two of them had taken up residence in Silverymoon, with Drizzt contracting with the city as a weapons instructor for the Knights in Silver, and a ranger on call for them as needed.

Initially, arrangements for Zanna's care when Drizzt was out of the city, and Samiar could not take her, had been made with a married pair of Spellguards who had children of their own.

But when Niska Bentleaf had approached Drizzt about working with her to create a lexicon for Drow, she had had her heart stolen by Zanna, and soon enough, her schedule and Drizzt's were arranged to allow Zanna to stay with her whenever possible.

And that was how things continued, until Zanna was five and a half.

---

1351 DR, mid-spring

A ranger's dreams were never something to ignore, so when Drizzt had started dreaming of snow-covered mountains and cliffs of ice, accompanied by a pull to the northwest, he had made arrangements to suspend his teaching duties and on-call status with the Knights in Silver, brought Zanna to Samiar with an explanation of what was going on, and headed up to Icewind Dale.

Rather than try and find a place in the towns, he had chosen to search for a cave on Kelvin's Cairn, and soon enough, he had found one large enough to make a living space for both him and Lothalninil.

---

A few days after he had found the cave, Drizzt was brushing out Lothalninil's coat when an adolescent human girl crested the ridge near where the cave sat.

"Please don't be alarmed," he called to her, and he knew she'd only seen Lothalninil at first, from the tension that shot through her. "I am a ranger, shocking as that may seem to you, and this is my friend Lothalninil. My name is Drizzt Do'Urden."

The girl didn't run, but she didn't come any closer, either. Lothalninil snorted, tossing her head, making her forelock flip in the air.

"What be ye, and the not-horse?"

Lothalninil whickered with dismay at being named anything close to a horse, and Drizzt soothed her down before he put the currying tools aside and came to the other side of his friend to be seen more fully.

"I am a drow, a dark elf, but one who has forsaken the evils of most of that people. Lothalninil is a pegasus, and she is as intelligent, more at times, as any speaking being."

The noise said 'decidedly so' from his friend, and the girl wound up grinning, able to sense that much from the sound and posture.

"Why are ye here, then? Ne'er been a ranger that stayed, and the hunters said they been seein' light up here a few days now."

"My Lady Mielikki has drawn me up here to find something that is a threat to the wilds and their natural ways."

The girl tilted her head thoughtfully. "How'd ye know this was where She wanted ye tae come?"

"I was having dreams of snow-covered mountains and cliffs of ice, and the pull of a threat in need of dealing with that my Lady guides me with led me in this direction."

The girl frowned for a moment after he answered, then shook her head. "If'n that's good enow fer ye, I'm nae goin' tae argue."

Then a bright smile crossed her face, and she asked, "C'n I come and visit ye an' yer friend sometimes?"

"If your family has no objections to you spending time with a stranger, young one, then yes, you may."

The girl flushed, as she realized she'd had his name, but not given hers. "Catti-brie, and I'll ask me da. He'll prob'ly want tae meet ye afore he says aye or nay."

"Then I will look forward to meeting him."

---

The meeting with Catti-brie's father—a dwarf, which Drizzt had not expected despite recognizing her accent as being the same as that of Spirit Sanctuary's dwarves—had happened the next day, and it had gone well enough, largely thanks to Lothalninil's presence, that Drizzt's promise to treat Catti-brie as he would Zanna had been sufficient for Bruenor to agree that the girl could come visit him and Lothalninil as she felt like it.

With that matter settled, Drizzt had returned to the task of outfitting the cave as an actual residence, and just a week and a half later, he had it to the point where he was ready to use his sending stone to ask Samiar to bring Zanna up for a visit and a discussion of—now that Drizzt had a proper home set up—whether she would remain with Sam, or stay in Icewind Dale with him.

---

Catti-brie hurried up the Cairn towards the ranger's cave, eager to see him and Lothalninil again, and not wanting to risk missing them like she had that morning.

She was so eager, in fact, that it was not until after she had greeted Lothalninil that she noticed that there was someone other than Drizzt in the cave.

But before she could do more than shuffle her feet nervously, a young voice spoke up from the other side of the golden-skinned elf sitting on the couch Drizzt had made.

"Papa, who's this?" And then a child of about five, with skin not quite as dark as Drizzt's, hair not quite as light, and the same pointed ears as Drizzt and the strange elf, stuck her head out where Catti could see it.

"Zanna, this is Catti-brie," Drizzt said, looking straight at the little girl. "Her father is the leader of the dwarves that live in the cleft below this mountain."

Then he turned towards Catti, and said, "Catti-brie, this is my daughter, Zanna Do'Urden, and her other parent, Samiar Ravarel."

"Hi," Zanna chirped. "Lothalninil likes you, so I do too. Friends?"

"Pleased tae meet ye, Zanna," Catti-brie replied. "And if'n yer Papas are okay wi' it, I'd love tae be yer friend."

Samiar threw a look at Drizzt, and after a silent conversation held in facial movements and tilts of the head, Drizzt smiled. "It's fine with both of us."

Turning his attention back to Zanna, he continued, "However, Daddy and I do need to finish our conversation. Would you like to show Catti-brie how to groom Lothalninil?"

"Yes!" Zanna hopped off the couch, and hurried over to Catti-brie.

And as she pulled the older girl towards where Drizzt stored the currying tools, chattering away about Papa and Daddy and Cousin Ellie and Auntie Vehna and Grampa and Nana, Samiar looked after her with a soft smile.

"I think our daughter just answered our question for us," he said.

"Agreed," Drizzt replied.

---

When Bruenor had decided to offer Drizzt assistance from some of his people to improve the path up to the ranger's cave, he hadn't expected anything else to come of it other than the ranger getting a chance to prove himself to those of the clan who were still doubtful of him.

Which was why he couldn't keep his jaw from dropping when, upon being introduced to Grollo as the lead for the project, Drizzt had studied his face carefully, then asked, "Would you happen to be related to a Micken Hamur?"

Snapping his jaw shut with an effort of will, Bruenor looked at Grollo, who was staring at Drizzt in shock, and said, "Go find Auntie Eldeth, me kinsman, an' bring her tae me office. We need her knowledge o' the bloodlines."

Grollo shook himself out of his stupor at that, and nodded. "Aye, Chief, I will." And then he hurried off to do as bidden.

It didn't take long for Bruenor to bring Drizzt to his office, and Grollo arrived with Auntie Eldeth shortly thereafter, so once they were all seated, Bruenor told his aunt what Drizzt had asked Grollo.

"Was there a Micken Hamur, Auntie?"

"Aye," Auntie said, after a long moment of startled silence. "Naught but a babe of a few months, but aye, there was."

Bruenor let out a gusty sigh, then turned to Drizzt. "Sae how'd ye come tae know Micken?"

"He's one of several dwarves living in the settlement in the Frost Hills that my sister leads.

"Though only two others are survivors of whatever drove injured, elderly, and young out of their home so close to winter, with the remaining five being the survivors' spouses and children."

Bruenor could see both Auntie and Grollo shifting uncomfortably at the idea that a drow settlement might be so close to their lost Hall, and chose to preempt any hasty words from them.

"This sister o' yers is the Auntie Vehna yer lass talks about, then?"

"She is," Drizzt replied. "My sister Vierna, who has been a priestess of Eilistraee for almost two and a half centuries, and First Sister of Spirit Sanctuary for nearly as long."

"D'ye know if'n they c'n remember any more about where the Hall actually is than we can?" Auntie asked.

"They can't, but other information indicates that it is most likely somewhere in the Frost Hills."

"Aye?" Bruenor couldn't help the hopeful tone of his voice as he spoke.

"Spirit Sanctuary's scouts found the survivors between the Frost Hills and the River Surbrin to their east," Drizzt said, "and the ruins of Settlestone are not far west of Fourth Peak."

"Aye, that'd've been the trading point," Auntie agreed. "An' ye said the survivors yer sister's people found included injured and elderly, sae it's nae very likely they'd gotten far from whate'er exit they used."

Bruenor had been thinking carefully as Drizzt outlined why he believed the Hall was in the Frost Hills, and when Auntie had finished what she had to add, he spoke again.

"C'n ye get someone else tae come up here wi' a map showin' these places? Preferably someone who can back ye up on all this?"

Seeing a hint of hurt in Drizzt's expression, Bruenor explained, "It's nae that I donnae believe ye, but we've been wi'out any hope o' findin' the Hall again fer sae long, the more people who c'n repeat it, the better."

"Ah," Drizzt said. "I can understand that.

"And I can use my sending stone to ask Samiar to pass along your request to his cousin's sons—one of whom is a semi-regular visitor at Spirit Sanctuary."

"Aye, that'd do nicely."

---

In addition to a map with the relevant locations marked, Thyl had also brought both Micken himself, and news of further survivors, who had been taken to Felbarr and Adbar by his older brothers.

And when he returned south with Micken, he carried the news that Bruenor's portion of the clan would be returning to the Silver Marches the following year.

---

Given the close friendship that had sprung up between Zanna and Catti-brie, Bruenor's decision to return south had generated a strong desire in Drizzt to find whatever had drawn him up to Icewind Dale in time for him and Zanna to join the clan's migration.

But while he had mentioned that desire to Thyl, he had still not expected two other Tall Ones to arrive just a few days later, well equipped to help him conduct a concentrated search.

Despite his surprise, however, he was quite pleased to accept their help, and after settling Zanna under Catti-brie's care, the three of them headed for the Spine, Drizzt on Lothalninil and the Tall Ones on phantom steeds.

That began a regular rotation of Tall Ones coming up to assist with his search, and a bit more than two months later, just a week after the Midsummer festival, the artifact was located.

And once it had been delivered to Elminster for safekeeping until a method of destruction could be determined, Drizzt turned his efforts towards gathering and preserving food for the coming migration, both hunting and fishing for the clan's benefit, and harvesting and drying grasses to supplement whatever grazing Lothalninil might manage on the journey.

---

1352 DR

The Icewind Dale contingent of Clan Battlehammer, accompanied by Drizzt, Zanna, and Lothalninil, began their trek south as soon as they were certain that the passes in the Throat were clear enough to handle their caravan.

A stop in Mirabar to pick up a guide with knowledge of the lands between the Lurkwood and the Surbrin Hills saw them joined by one Foveni Drakebow, and by the time summer began, they had reached Settlestone, and joined in on the work of restoring it to habitability that had been begun the previous year by the clan members in the Silver Marches.

---

Bruenor had met with Vierna fairly soon after his portion of the clan had arrived, but for the most part, his initial focus was on fixing up Settlestone.

Once he was satisfied that the work was coming along well enough that it would be fully habitable by the time winter set in, however, he arranged for a meeting with Drizzt and the survivors from Spirit Sanctuary, to work on narrowing down the exact location of the Hall and probable entrances.

Keeper's Dale, and the hidden door within it, was found less than a month later, and after Bruenor had made Drizzt known as an ally to his father and grandfather's dying curse, the ranger scouted the Hall for him, to learn exactly what it was that had driven the clan from their home.

Drizzt's return, with his skin near ashen in color, bearing word of the shadow dragon and its duergar minions, set off a significant hubbub, and while he recovered in the Sacred Glade in Silverymoon, Bruenor negotiated with Alustriel for wizards to deal with the dragon, and put out a call to the Citadels for fighters to aid in defeating the duergar.

However, it was well into fall by the time all arrangements had been made, so the decision was made to postpone the campaign until the following year.

And in the spring of 1353 DR, Mithral Hall was reclaimed, and Bruenor Battlehammer was crowned as its eighth king.

---

Part I|Part II|Part III|Part IV|Part V|Part VI
*Links will work as fics are revealed

Feathered Friendship (3006 words) by Somariel
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Drizzt Do'Urden, Original Elf Character(s), Uoundeld Aerasumé
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ensemble Cast
Series: Part 3 of Have Your Cake, Part 15 of A Crossing of the Realms
Summary:

The pegasi choose to help a lost drow, with consequences.

---

Beginning notes

This fic was inspired by my fics Nestling: The Other Side and Fledgling.

It assumes familiarity with them, and with the previous fics in the Have Your Cake series.

---

Feathered Friendship

1338 DR

By the time he started to see the local pegasi, Sharr had already come to the conclusion that Norvor was, in all likelihood, bringing him to aid Drizzt Do'Urden.

So he was not surprised when Norvor began to descend towards a young drow. What was a surprise, however, was the massive panther standing protectively beside the drow.

But given the clear greetings Norvor exchanged with it as he dismounted—and the fact that he had no intention of harming the drow—he was unconcerned by the panther's presence.

Keeping in mind Zaknafein's advice regarding language, Sharr focused his attention on the drow, and greeted him in Goblin.

The drow's face lit up with pleasure, and he returned the greeting in the same language, then continued with "Name Drizzt Do'Urden. What elf name?"

"Name Sharrevaliir," Sharr replied. "Small name Sharr." Then, resting a hand on Norvor's neck to ensure his meaning was clear, he added, "Friend name Norvor," and finished with "What Drizzt friend name?"

"Friend name Guen," Drizzt replied.

---

That evening, as he watched Drizzt prepare a fire for cooking the rabbits Guen had caught for them earlier, Sharr reached out to his family over Alustriel's anklets. ~I've found Drizzt Do'Urden.~

There was a moment of excited clamor, and then Qilué's voice cut through it clearly. ~That is very good news.~

~It is,~ Dol agreed. Then he kicked off a new round with ~And while I do need a few days to wrap up my current business, I should to be ready to teleport to you in less than a week.~

~Speaking of people coming to you, Dad,~ Thyl said, ~where exactly are you and Drizzt?

~Because Vierna will want to know.~

~The Rauvin Mountains, near Maldobar,~ Sharr replied. ~And when you get to Spirit Sanctuary, would you please ask Zaknafein what, if anything, he knows about an astral panther tied to a figure of wondrous power?~

There was an overlapping chorus of surprised questions in reply, before Laeral started another round of sending. ~Please explain, Sharr.~

~When I arrived, Drizzt was accompanied by a panther twice the normal size,~ Sharr said. ~She displayed intelligence at least equal to a pegasus, but some hours later, she started acting a bit listless.

~Upon which Drizzt told her to go home, and she vanished in a cloud of black mist after circling him three times.~

~I see,~ Alustriel said. ~Oversized plus intelligent and gendered suggests astral origin, but the appearance of some sort of time limit implies a figure.~

~And Zaknafein never mentioned her, so you want to know if that was an oversight, or if Drizzt acquired her figure after escaping,~ Thyl said. ~Very well.~

---

Two weeks after Dol had joined him and Drizzt, Sharr and his son broached the subject of Eilistraee and her followers with the young drow.

That explanation went quite well, but when they then moved on to telling him about Zaknafein's return to life, and the circumstances that had brought it about, Drizzt's very obvious skepticism made Sharr very glad that they had chosen to wait on telling him until they had earned his trust.

But even with that trust, it was was very clear that Drizzt had not truly believed them until after Thyl had brought Zaknafein to join them, and the elder drow had—quite obviously correctly—answered the question Drizzt asked him in Drow.

---

Even with Zaknafein's only moderate command of Common, the arrival of someone with whom Drizzt shared a language other than Goblin saw the young drow's fluency in Common progressing in leaps and bounds, and soon enough, lessons in reading and writing Common—which Zaknafein also joined—were added to the lessons in speaking it.

And though neither Sharr nor Dol had expected it, Zaknafein's arrival also brought about a form of lessons for them, as the elder drow had brought a pair of Surface-made scimitars for Drizzt, and the sheer skill both drow displayed in sparring each other had impressed Sharr and his son enough that trading fighting tricks and techniques rapidly became the preferred way for the four of them to unwind after language lessons.

Weeks passed in this way, and then, as the summer started to wane towards fall, Zaknafein broached the idea of Drizzt coming to Spirit Sanctuary with him.

That discussion ended up proving more fraught than any of the four had expected, due to Drizzt's pent up emotions regarding the child he had spared, and their sudden release when Zaknafein informed him of her presence at Spirit Sanctuary, but in the end, Drizzt did agree to go there with his father once fall truly set in.

---

As the temperature outside steadily continued to drop, making it less and less comfortable to be outside for any significant amount of time, Drizzt was finding himself becoming more and more restless.

He didn't know why, though, until Sarilanthe said—on a day when he had been unable to go outside at all due to how cold it was, and then found himself having trouble staying focused on his lessons in Common—"The outdoors really calls to you, doesn't it?"

"I... guess so?" he replied. "I certainly like being outside much better than being under all this rock.

"Though I have no idea why I feel that way."

"Given how well you understand Guen," Sarilanthe said, "and what Thyl has said about how much the pegasi like you, you're likely a wild-called ranger.

"And rangers just don't do well with being cooped up away from nature."

"Wild-called ranger?" Drizzt repeated. "What do you mean by that?"

"A ranger is someone who is drawn to guard the wilds from that which would despoil them, and to protect the innocents traveling through the wilds from any evils that might threaten them," Sarilanthe answered.

"As for what it means to be wild-called, while most rangers need to call upon the favor of one of the nature deities for the gifts they use in following their calling, a wild-called ranger receives those same gifts from the wilds, and can use them instinctively, though training and the favor of a nature deity will sharpen and enhance them."

Drizzt hummed thoughtfully. "The- the very first time I was ever on the Surface, it felt... right. Like this was where I was supposed to be.

"And when- when the priestess commanded us to watch the sunrise before we went back below, I thought it was beautiful.

"I've made sure to watch it every day since I came to the Surface for good... until today."

As soon as Drizzt faltered for words, Sarilanthe had known that whatever he was about to say was connected to when he had come up for the raid, and had bitten her lip to keep from interrupting him.

But by the time he finished speaking, she was gaping at him in surprise.

"You connected to the wilds that strongly when you'd never been on the Surface before?" she said.

"And you've deliberately watched the sunrise every day you've been up here?!?" She was unable to keep her bewilderment out of her voice as she continued. "Even Eilistraee's drow followers don't do that!"

Taking a few deep breaths while Drizzt looked at her with surprise of his own, Sarilanthe regained her equilibrium, then spoke again.

"You are definitely a wild-called ranger. There's just no other reasonable explanation for you holding daily sunrise vigils."

Drizzt tilted his head in curiosity. "That is something that rangers commonly do, then?"

"Yes. Though it's partially because that's one of the most common times for nature deities to accept their followers' daily prayers for spells."

"Rangers are able to cast divine spells?"

"Not as many as druids are able to," Sarilanthe said, "but yes, they can."

Drizzt was silent for a while, carefully considering everything Sarilanthe had just told him, and then he gave a single sharp nod.

"So what would you recommend as a starting point, if I want to learn how to be a ranger?"

"Well, given that Thyl will be bringing me to Silverymoon soon, so I can spend the winter continuing my own ranger studies, it would make the most sense for you to tell Vierna that you want come with me, so she can arrange things with him."

---

While the adolescent moon elf who had just entered the Cloister accompanied by Thyl Aerasumé was no surprise to Horim, the drow walking between them had him rubbing his eyes to clear them.

The drow was still there after he had done so, so he gave in to his curiosity and approached the trio to find out more.

"...want to be accepted for myself, not because your family favors me," the drow was saying as Horim came within speaking distance of them.

Thyl furrowed his brow, but did not reply, so Horim took advantage of the break in their conversation to say "Hello."

Sarilanthe's "Hi" overlapped with Thyl's "Good to see you, Horim" and the drow's cautious "Hello?"

Thyl then continued with "I take you're wintering here this year?"

"I am," Horim replied. "Who's your new friend?"

"This is Drizzt Do'Urden," Thyl said. Then he turned his head towards the drow and said, "Drizzt, this is Horim Half-orc, a ranger of Mielikki."

"Pleased to meet you, Horim," Drizzt said.

"Likewise," Horim replied. "I take it you're interested in becoming a ranger?"

Drizzt shrugged. "I've been told I already am one. But it will be helpful to receive the lessons anyway."

Horim turned a puzzled look on Thyl at Drizzt's claim to already be a ranger. Not only could he see that Drizzt was even younger than Sarilanthe—really, too young to be learning a profession, by elven standards, though he knew from Vierna that the Eilistraeean drow were more flexible about such things—but he couldn't see how Drizzt could be a ranger without having been taught the ways of being one.

'Wild-called,' Thyl mouthed in reply to his look, and Horim had to keep his jaw from dropping.

Well. It would be interesting to see how Drizzt's lessons went. And on that note, he needed to reply to the boy.

"Mielikki's folk are good ones to learn from," he said. "And if you're interested, I'd be happy to show you around the city whenever you have time for it."

Drizzt turned to look at Sarilanthe, and it was only after she had given him a pleased smile and a nod that he turned back to Horim.

"I think I'd like that," he said.

---

Several weeks later, as Drizzt and Sarilanthe were leaving the archery range used by the Knights in Silver, they were approached by an unfamiliar half-elf who shared Thyl's height and silver hair.

"Hi," the half-elf said, holding out a hand to shake. "I'm Uoundeld Aerasumé. Please call me Del, though."

Giving the offered hand a brisk shake, Sarilanthe said, "You're Thyl's youngest brother, right?"

"Yes. And you must be Sarilanthe.

"Though I was actually seeking Drizzt."

"Why?" Drizzt asked, a note of both caution and surprise in his tone.

"Dad said you might be interested in a traveling companion in the spring," Del replied. "Something about protective family, and solving that problem for both of us."

Knowing what she did about Thyl's family, Sarilanthe could guess what Del was talking about, but the puzzled look on Drizzt's face made it clear he had no idea.

"I had mentioned to him that my father and sister are... not entirely happy with my desire to explore this region once spring comes," Drizzt said.

"But he never said anything about having reached out to anyone regarding the matter."

"Not sure why he didn't say anything after I agreed to come meet you, but before then, he probably didn't want to give you false hope."

"That... makes sense," Drizzt said slowly. "But what did you mean by saying that traveling together would 'solve that problem for both of us'?"

A very brief look of surprise crossed Del's face, so fast Sarilanthe almost missed it, before it was replaced with understanding. And then Del replied.

"Well, I also have overprotective family that aren't best pleased by me traveling alone.

"Even though I've been of age for a half-elf for most of a decade." Del made an annoyed face at that before continuing.

"And being of age, I'd much prefer to not travel with any of my brothers, who have a tendency to still think of me as their baby brother."

"Oh," Drizzt said. "So if we travel together, you have a traveling companion who'll see you as an equal, and our families' concerns about each of us traveling alone are solved."

"Exactly!" Del said. "Anyway, I thought it might be best if we used the winter to get to know each other, so we're not starting out as strangers in the spring."

"That's a good idea," Drizzt agreed. "Though it will have to be worked in around my lessons."

"Of course," Del said. "Maybe we could start by sparring with each other? Dad's full of praise for your blade skills."

"That sounds good to me," Drizzt replied.

"Then I'll see you in the practice yard tomorrow." Del gave a jaunty smile, clasped wrists with Drizzt, then turned and sauntered away.

And as he left, Sarilanthe stared after him wistfully, trying to think of how she could arrange to meet him again.

---

When spring came, Drizzt returned to Spirit Sanctuary for a week, to let Zak and Vierna reassure themselves that he was well after several months away.

Del even came with him, so they could meet the man he would be traveling with, and resolve any lingering concerns about his plans to explore.

And when the two of them departed, Del easily agreed to the idea of going and checking on Drizzt's nest-mate and her herd before they took up their actual travels.

---

Del had enjoyed the week with Drizzt's pegasus herd—and he knew Sairena had, too—but as he put the riding straps on Sairena, he was willing to admit—at least to himself—that he was very pleased that they were finally going to begin the exploration that was his primary reason for joining Drizzt.

After a last round of pats and scratches for his nest-mate and her parents, Drizzt headed over to Del and Sairena with a wide smile on his face.

"Ready to go?" Del asked.

"Yes."

"Then let's mount up and do so." And even as he spoke, Del put his words into action, swinging himself up onto Sairena's back.

Drizzt quickly got up behind him, and as soon as they were both settled, Sairena trotted up into the air to start their flight.

They were barely past Maldobar, however, when an annoyed whicker-snort sounded from behind them.

Sairena turned at the noise without Del even needing to signal her, and once they were facing back in the direction they had come from, Del found himself staring in surprise.

"Drizzt," he said, "am I seeing things, or is that actually your nest-mate flying as hard as she can to catch up with us?"

Drizzt shifted to look over Del's shoulder, and sighed in exasperation. "If you're seeing things, so am I, because yes, that is my nest-mate. And I have no idea why she's following us."

Del thought he might have a guess, though it was unheard of for such a thing to happen this early, but rather than saying anything about it, he patted Sairena's shoulder and said, "Take us down so we can actually talk with her, would you, lovely?"

Sairena gave a snort and a toss of her head, and then complied with his request.

Soon enough, she had landed in a clearing, and Drizzt's nest-mate landed in front of her with a defiant toss of her own head.

Drizzt had begun to dismount as soon as Sairena's feet were solidly on the ground, and turned his attention away from the mare just in time to see his nest-mate's defiant head toss.

Walking over to the filly, he began to scratch behind her ears and asked, "Why are you following us, my friend?"

Reaching out with the same sense that let him understand animals, he listened carefully for her answer.

The snort and bump of her nose against his chest that she gave in response were accompanied by a sense of belonging: she was his and he was hers, so of course she was following him.

Drizzt couldn't help but gape at her as her meaning slowly sunk in for him. "You... want to bond with me? You're so young, though."

The filly gave another snort and tossed her head again. So? He was her nest-mate. Her parents knew exactly how well he could protect her.

Del suppressed a grin as the filly responded to Drizzt's surprise, and reached out over the anklets. ~So is there anyone who wasn't expecting Drizzt to end up with his own pegasus friend?~

A wash of laughter in several voices came of the link, and then Sharr said, ~I don't think so. Though it being this early is a surprise.~

Dol started a new round with ~Is his nest-mate even fledged yet?~

~While we were visiting,~ Del said. ~And I probably ought to reassure him now that I've shared my amusement with someone other than him.~

~Of course,~ Andy said. ~But do keep us updated.~

Del let the link drop, and returned his attention to Drizzt and the filly. "What are you going to call her?"

Drizzt startled out of the near trance petting his nest-mate had drawn him into and turned his head to look at Del. "You don't mind?"

"I know better than to try and argue with a pegasus who has decided on the person they're going to bond with," Del said.

Drizzt tilted his head thoughtfully. "Then... I think I'll call her Lothalninil.

"Do you like that, little sister?"

The filly nickered happily in response, and reached out to lip at Drizzt's hair.

"I think that's a 'yes'," Del said.

---

Part I|Part II|Part III|Part IV|Part V|Part VI
*Links will work as fics are revealed

Another Survivor (2271 words) by Somariel
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Vierna Do'Urden, Original Elf Character(s), Original Dwarf Character(s), Inthylyn Aerasumé
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Series: Part 1 of Have Your Cake, Part 13 of A Crossing of the Realms
Summary:

A slightly shallower wound, at a different angle, and a different search pattern leads to the people of Spirit Sanctuary bringing home two survivors of the drow raid.

---

Beginning notes

Inspired by senmut's fic Moonstruck.

This fic assumes familiarity with the series Sisters in Spirit up through the linked inspiring fic.

---

Another Survivor

1327 DR

Vierna had not gotten very far in cleaning the blood off the child when there was an urgent call for her from one of those searching for other survivors.

Turning the cleaning over to Dhaeln, she hurried over to where Chalirnya was kneeling beside an adolescent female.

“She’s breathing, she has a pulse,” Chalirnya said, “but both are very faint.”

Dropping down beside Chalirnya, Vierna didn’t bother to respond, and simply threw herself into healing the girl, praying it was not too late to save her.

Some time later, feeling woozy from the effort, but confident that the girl would live, she sat back and looked around. Rafi was standing guard beside her, Dhaeln was sitting on the other side of the girl, holding the cleaned-up—and surprisingly uninjured—child, and the others who had come with them were carefully ranged around the clearing.

“We need to make a stretcher,” Vierna said. “There was spinal damage that I want to give time for the healing to truly settle, and healing it took enough effort that I wasn’t able to close all of the wounds.”

“First Sister, you need to rest,” Rafi said. “We will handle that.”

Vierna sighed gratefully. “Thank you.”

---

Sarilanthe shifted, and gasped at the pain that caused in her lower back. She was alive?

Which was a very significant surprise, as she had been sure she was dying when she was last aware of anything.

“Ye awake, lass?” a quiet voice asked from near her head.

Opening her eyes and turning her head towards the voice, Sarilanthe was surprised to see a dwarf sitting in a chair positioned between the bed she was in, and one on the dwarf’s far side that held a child. “How am I alive?” she asked.

“Yer Lady Eilistraee called on Her folk here for any help that could be given tae your village, and the moon-bridge She gave the First Sister got us there afore the bodies had finished coolin’.

“But even so, ye and this little girl were the only ones we could save, and the First Sister says it was a near thing for ye.”

Sarilanthe closed her eyes in grief for her family, and as she started crying, the dwarf began humming a soft tune that slowly soothed her back to sleep.

---

The next time Sarilanthe woke, the dwarf in the chair had changed to one who only had some fuzz on their cheeks, not a full beard, and they were engrossed in a book.

Aborting her attempt to actually sit up due to the flash of pain in her lower back, she sighed, and said, "Can you help me sit up?"

The dwarf looked up from the book and flushed. "Sorry," they said. "I should've been paying more attention.

"Ma said yer not s'pposed tae sit up on yer own yet."

"Did she say why?" Sarilanthe asked.

"Ye had spinal damage before the First Sister healed ye," the dwarf said, even as they put down the book and stood up.

"And apparently, even with th' healin', it needs time an' proper care tae recover."

Diesa had been moving towards the bed even as she spoke, and now picked up a pillow from the pile that had been left beside the bed.

"If'n ye're ready, we c'n start gettin' ye more upright," she said. "I'm Diesa, by the way."

"Sarilanthe," the elf replied. "And yes, I'm ready."

Carefully, Diesa slid her free hand under Sarilanthe's shoulders and lifted her just enough to slip the pillow in under them.

"Any pain?" she asked.

"Nothing new," Sarilanthe replied. "Just the ache from trying to sit up myself."

"Good," Diesa said. "Tell me if'n that changes." Then she reached down for another pillow.

Soon enough, the pile of pillows had been transferred to the bed, and Sarilanthe was propped up against them, leaning back at a bit of an angle.

"Are ye hungry?" Diesa asked.

Sarilanthe's stomach growled, and they both laughed.

"That's a yes, then," Diesa said. "Let me go get the tray our clerics prepared."

As the dwarf slipped out of the room, Sarilanthe took the opportunity to actually look around and take in the room.

It was very obviously carved out of the stone that made its walls—which made sense for dwarves, but not for the followers of Eilistraee the first dwarf had mentioned—and was simply furnished, with two beds—the other of which was now empty, she noticed—a chair and small table between them, three chairs and a larger table in a corner, and two lanterns, one hanging beside the door, and the other hanging from the wall between the beds.

Diesa returned fairly quickly, and once the legged tray had been settled on her lap and she'd eased the emptiness in her stomach, Sarilanthe asked, "Where's the little girl?"

"Ma took her tae our quarters when she started havin' nightmares," Diesa answered. "Didnae want her disturbin' ye if'n she changed from whimperin' tae screamin'."

"Ah." Sarilanthe rather suspected she'd have some nightmares of her own, and it made sense that a child's would be worse.

After that, Sarilanthe and Diesa sat in companionable silence as Sarilanthe ate and Diesa read her book, and eventually, Sarilanthe put down the fork beside the empty plate.

"Can you help me relieve myself?" she asked, feeling her cheeks heat for making the request.

But if she wasn't even supposed to sit up on her own, there was no way she should be standing up without aid, either, so the request was necessary.

"Of course," Diesa said, putting down the book.

She got up and pulled a chamberpot out from under Sarilanthe's bed, then helped the elf to take care of her business.

Once Sarilanthe was in bed again, settled back against the pile of pillows, she sighed, and said, "How long am I going to need assistance like this?"

"Only 'til Aunt Bardryn and Aunt Joylin finish the brace tae support yer back properly while yer spine recovers," Diesa said. "Ought tae be ready in a few more days."

---

Finishing the brace had turned out to first require being measured both sitting and standing, followed by two fittings after the measurements had been used to construct the brace, but just four days later, Sarilanthe found herself standing by the bed entirely on her own, though Diesa and her mother, Dhaeln, were standing nearby, ready to provide support if she needed it.

After taking a few moments to make sure her balance was steady, Sarilanthe slowly started walking towards the door, paying close attention to how her lower back felt.

She was able to walk from the head of the bed to the door and back three times before her back started to twinge with mild pain.

And although she would have liked to keep going, Dhaeln had been very clear that she needed to stop at the first hint of pain, so she reluctantly sat back down on the bed.

"That's a good start, lass," Dhaeln said. "An' once the pain goes away, I c'n show ye some stretches tae help condition the muscles."

"Thank you," Sarilanthe said. Then, deciding to take the plunge, she asked about something that had been puzzling her since she first woke up.

"You told me, the very first time I woke here, that there are followers of Eilistraee living here.

"So why have none of them been tending to me and Ellifain?"

"Because though they're elf-kin, none o' them are elves," Dhaeln replied.

Sarilanthe scrunched her face up in confusion. "Why would half-elves be avoiding us?"

"They're nae half-elves, lass," Dhaeln said.

Tilting her head thoughtfully, Sarilanthe considered that. What other elf-kin might there be, especially ones who would feel a need to avoid... the survivors of a drow raid?

"They're drow?!" she gasped.

"Aye," Dhaeln said. "All goodly people and devout followers of the Dark Maiden, but I'm sure ye c'n understand why we've been th' ones carin' for the two o' ye."

"Yes," Sarilanthe said. "I can." Then she carefully lay down and turned to face the wall.

The idea of goodly drow went against all she had ever been taught. Could Dhaeln really be telling the truth about that?

---

Sarilanthe hadn't been able to bring herself to ask further questions of Dhaeln, or the other adult dwarves, about the supposedly goodly drow, but a few tentative questions to Diesa had left her feeling very off balance.

Because even if it might be true that these drow weren't actually evil, she was still finding hard to believe that they could truly be good.

And yet, Diesa claimed that a pegasus rider visited on a semi-regular basis, and the pegasus would accept treats from the lead priestess of Eilistraee here, and even allow her to pet and scratch it.

But a bit less than a week later, she received hard proof that it was all true.

Sarilanthe was carefully doing the warming-up exercises Dhaeln had shown her—with Ellifain doing her best to copy them—and wondering which of the dwarves would be accompanying them on their daily walk around the area closest to the dwarves' quarters, when there was a knock on the door.

Which she wouldn't have considered odd at all, given the dwarves' careful respect for ensuring that she and Ellifain could truly consider this room to be theirs, except for the fact that the knock was lighter than usual.

So instead of the "Come in" that was her usual response, she called, "Who is it?"

"Thorik an' Wulgar, lass," came the response. "We've got a visitor for the two o' ye."

Sarilanthe had no idea who the visitor might be, when Ellifain had not yet been told that the dwarves were acting as proxies for drow, but since she trusted the dwarves to not spring that on the girl with a meeting, she gave permission to come in.

The first person through the door, however, was neither Thorik nor Wulgar, but a tall, silver haired half-elf, in wizard robes.

Something about that struck a chord in her memories, but before she could chase it down, the dwarves had entered, and Thorik introduced him.

"Sarilanthe, Ellifain, this is Inthylyn Aerasumé, a friend of the First Sister."

The given name was unfamiliar to Sarilanthe, but the family name was one she recognized.

"You're a Tall One," she blurted out.

"I am," the half-elf agreed. "And please, call me Thyl."

That confirmation left Sarilanthe's mind so busy making connections that she barely noticed Thyl crouch down to speak to Ellifain, but when he stood up again, she was ready with more questions.

Deliberately catching his attention, she said, "So you're the pegasus rider that Diesa told me comes to visit?"

"Yes," Thyl replied.

"An' on that note," Thorik said, "today's walk is goin' tae go outside, so the two o' ye can meet his friend."

"I'm told the walk is somewhat longer than you've been doing," Thyl said, "but Steelheart can't exactly come inside.

"And I have a couple floating disks memorized in case either of you needs to rest."

Given the rest of what Diesa had said about his visits, Sarilanthe could easily guess why they were going out to meet his pegasus, but since no one else was saying it, she wouldn't either.

And it wasn't long before the five of them were heading down the corridor, Wulgar and Ellifain in the lead, with Sarilanthe following them, flanked by Thorik and Thyl.

When the light from outside started to show ahead, Thyl moved up to take the lead, and very soon, all five of them emerged onto a broad ledge.

And after a few moments of blinking while her eyes adjusted to the brighter light, Sarilanthe looked around in amazement.

The view was incredible, stretching across a wide valley to a peak on the far side, but before she could get too lost in admiration, a nicker sounded from off to her right.

Turning, she saw a pegasus standing on the ledge, and beside the pegasus was a female drow—who was wearing robes patterned with moons and swords, and had one hand resting on the pegasus's neck.

"Sarilanthe, Ellifain, I am very pleased to finally meet both of you properly," the drow said. "My name is Vierna, and I am the First Sister of Spirit Sanctuary."

"You're... good?" Ellifain said tremulously.

Looking to her side, Sarilanthe saw that Thorik and Wulgar were standing on either side of the girl, each with an arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"I am," Vierna said, "and so are all the other residents of Spirit Sanctuary."

Turning her attention back to the cleric, Sarilanthe saw that she was now sitting cross-legged on the ledge, and the pegasus was snuffling her hair, while Thyl stroked the pegasus's neck.

Ellifain seemed to be too shocked to say anything else, so Sarilanthe took it upon herself to break the slightly awkward silence that had fallen.

"I guess I should say thank you," she said. "Because if you're the First Sister, then you're the one who healed me."

"It was the right thing to do," Vierna said, "so no thanks are necessary.

"Though now that we've actually met, I would like to check how your spine is recovering, once you return to your room."

Sarilanthe took a moment to think about it, then said, "I... think I'm okay with that."

"If you want Dhaeln or another dwarf present while I do so, that's perfectly fine with me."

"Then yes, as long as one of them is present, you can check whatever you need to."

---

Part I|Part II|Part III|Part IV|Part V|Part VI
*Links will work as fics are revealed

Three Roads to One Destination (3922 words) by Somariel
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Vierna Do'Urden & Zaknafein Do'Urden, Drizzt Do'Urden & Vierna Do'Urden, Drizzt Do'Urden & Zaknafein Do'Urden
Characters: Vierna Do'Urden, Zaknafein Do'Urden, Jarlaxle Baenre, Drizzt Do'Urden
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence
Summary:

When Drizzt does not return from the raid, Zaknafein is done with House Do'Urden and finally leaves.

Unbeknownst to him, Vierna has made the same decision.

A companion to senmut’s fic Divine Intervention, with some inspiration from peppymint’s fic Volte-Face.

---

Three Roads to One Destination

Vierna's emotions were a tangled roil as she contemplated just how thoroughly the day's events had destroyed her plans to escape Menzoberranzan with Drizzt and Zaknafein.

Even after the long errand Malice had sent Zak on removed the opportunity to leave under the cover of Drizzt's graduation, Vierna had still kept looking for new ones to take advantage of.

But now... Drizzt had not returned from the raid his patrol had been sent on, though there was at least some hope that he was still alive, since Dinin had reported that the animals that had disrupted the raid and driven them away had separated Drizzt from the rest of them and driven him in a different direction.

As for Zaknafein... when he had seen that Dinin was alone, he had not even stayed to hear the other man's report.

And when Malice had demanded his presence several hours later, not only had his rooms been empty, but his weapons and armor were missing, and the pouch with his house amulet was sitting in the center of the table in the outer room.

But even as she was pleased that both of them were free of the city now, and even somewhat relieved by how much that simplified her escape plans, she could not help but feel annoyed that she would not have the company of the two people she actually cared about, when she escaped.

Sighing, she coaxed one of her pirate spiders into a travel jar, and made sure the pack she had been keeping ready since she brought Drizzt home from the Academy had everything she would need in the event an unplanned escape proved necessary.

Which seemed entirely possible, as there was another House plotting against them, and the failed raid ensured the entire city would know House Do'Urden was currently the recipient of Lloth's displeasure.

That done, she settled down to sleep.

---

It could not possibly have been more than an hour and a half later when her Lord's mental shout of ~MY PRIESTESS, GO NOW!~ startled her awake, but even as she realized that He had wiped away her fatigue, the House shook.

Which explained why He had awakened her, as there would be no better time for her to escape than when the House was under attack. Not to mention that without Zaknafein to lead the House's defenses, they were almost certainly going to lose, which meant that she needed to escape now simply to remain alive.

Thankfully, in addition to wiping away her fatigue, her Lord had granted her spells as if she had prayed for them... including the two simplest of the spells His mastery of trickery allowed Him to grant His clerics.

After slinging on her maces, she gathered up her pack and the jar with the pirate spider and slipped out of her rooms, heading for the secret exit that would bring her out of the House near the Westwall.

---

Once he had turned his newest acquisition over to the care of one of his lieutenants, Jarlaxle headed for his rooms—and Zaknafein—with a spring in his step, quite pleased with how well the last twenty-four hours had worked out for him.

But even though Zak was sure to welcome the news he brought, he settled to a more serious attitude before actually entering, out of respect for his friend's current—though likely unnecessary—grief.

Zak was still where Jarlaxle had left him, a frozen, grief-bowed statue on the couch in the outer room, and the mercenary wasn't sure his friend had moved at all in the hours since then.

Once he had the door locked and the magical security measures reengaged, Jarlaxle moved over to the couch and sat down beside Zak, carefully wrapping an arm around his friend's shoulders. "I have some good news, my friend," he said quietly.

Zak lifted his head to look at his friend and lover, wondering what the news might be, but couldn't quite pull himself out of his grief enough to actually ask.

Recognizing that that was all the engagement Zak was going to give him right now, Jarlaxle spoke again.

"It is entirely possible that Drizzt is still alive."

A lance of startled shock shot through the frozen numbness that Zak had been wrapping around his heart, and he gave Jarlaxle a piercing look.

"What?!" How could there even be a possibility that Drizzt was alive, when the patrol had returned without him?

"According to Dinin, the raid was disrupted by animals that drove the patrol away, and Drizzt was separated from the rest and driven in a different direction."

"How do you know that?"

Jarlaxle smiled. "I rather thought it behooved me to know exactly how Bregan D'aerthe's newest member managed to lose such a skilled fighter as your son."

That it would also tell him how much Dinin could be trusted to do right by the other members went unsaid, though Jarlaxle was sure Zak would guess as much.

After a few moments of meditative breathing to steady his whipsawing emotions, Zak gave a bitter laugh. "The House has fallen, then."

He would not miss Malice in the slightest, but he was somewhat surprised to find that despite his best efforts to wall away his soft feelings about Vierna and consider her dead as his daughter, he still mourned her actual death.

"And Vierna is unaccounted for," Jarlaxle said, knowing precisely where his friend's thoughts would have gone.

Zak sighed as his emotions churned again. "Then I wish her well, wherever she's ended up."

---

Zak had still been working through his tangled emotions when Jarlaxle had had to leave to attend to other business, and had not yet returned when the exhaustion from the day's emotional turmoil had caught up with Zak, leaving him with barely enough energy to actually get in bed before he fell asleep.

So it was not until the next day that they were able to discuss things further.

After a leisurely breakfast together, Zak followed Jarlaxle to the other man's office, and once they were both seated, with glasses of wine in hand, he spoke.

"How difficult will it be for you to locate Drizzt?"

Jarlaxle hummed thoughtfully. "Depends on whether or not he's managed to find any allies on the Surface." And at Zaknafein's dubious look, he added, "Given what happened, it's actually quite likely that he has."

"Oh?"

"How often have you seen wild animals down here disrupt a fight, or even just approach people?"

Zak took some time to scour his memories, but it didn't take long before he sighed and said, "Never, and extremely rarely. Which presumably would hold true on the Surface as well.

"You think those animals were purposely sent to disrupt the raid, then?"

"I do," Jarlaxle agreed. "As while it might be possible that animals running from something else would run right through a fight, the fact that Drizzt—and Drizzt alone—was not only separated from the rest of the patrol, but driven in a different direction suggests deliberate action, even more than the fact that the animals drove the patrol away at all."

Zak was silent for a long moment, and then he said, very quietly, "I've often felt like Drizzt somehow ended up with a faerie's soul instead of a drow's. But I can't see how anyone on the Surface would be aware of his nature."

"Not even a deity?" Jarlaxle asked, equally quietly.

Zak froze at those words, beating back terror at the idea of his dancer having caught a deity's direct attention. "Who?" he breathed. "How?"

"One of the faerie deities is also worshipped by humans as a nature deity," Jarlaxle said. "And I've heard whispers that the wizard who was assigned to Drizzt's patrol hated the strong bond Drizzt had with the great cat the wizard could summon."

"So you think Drizzt would have found allies among that deity's followers," Zak said.

"The human followers, at least."

Zak sighed. "And now that he's free of this city, Drizzt would want to be sure that Malice couldn't find him again."

"Exactly," Jarlaxle said. "Which is why, as much as I'd like to keep you by my side, I think it would make more sense to put you in charge of our Skullport outpost.

"It's not a drow city, but it has a drow presence—mostly Vhaeraunite, but a nearby settlement of the Dark Maiden's followers also comes there to trade."

Zak quickly saw the trail of logic Jarlaxle was following, and found he had to agree with it.

"Very well," he said. "I accept the post."

---

Vierna had been at the Temple of Vhaeraun in Skullport for not quite two months when trouble that had long been brewing between two would-be powers in the city broke out into open fighting.

Three days later, both groups had been reduced to infighting as members of each sought to replace the leaders that had been killed.

And the main topic of conversation even within the Temple was the drow male wielding twin longswords who had easily taken on multiple opponents from both sides at the same time in order to achieve those deaths.

'Drow male wielding twin longswords' would have been enough to pique her interest all by itself, but the frequent discussion of his skill and speed truly made her wonder if this seemingly-peerless fighter might indeed be Zaknafein.

And when she heard someone mention that the fighter had had long unbound hair, she decided it was time to actively seek more information.

No one seemed to know who the fighter actually was, but Kaiyeth had been able to tell her that he had apparently been hired by the city's council to stop the fighting.

So, knowing that Natoth was the Temple's representative on the council, she arranged to speak with him after the evening service.

---

Seated in Natoth's office, Vierna wound up her explanation of why she was seeking information about the mysterious fighter with "...and so I believe that this man might well be Zaknafein."

"I see," Natoth said. "And I know our Lord would be quite pleased if such a fighter could be swayed to His service." His face took on a thoughtful expression.

Vierna waited with all the patience she could muster, and was rewarded when Natoth resumed speaking.

"I do not have a name for him, but he is the current local leader of an all-male group that is headquartered elsewhere. The group is neither Vhaeraunite nor Eilistraeean, but does not seem to be Lolthite either.

"The man in question arrived maybe four and a half months ago, and took charge of their local operations with, as best as we have been able to determine, no resistance at all.

"And while the group has overall remained uninvolved in conflicts within Skullport, they will act to protect their own interests, as this man cited the threat the fighting posed to those interests as his reason for getting involved when he offered his services to the proprietor of the Dimmed Lantern."

"Mmm," Vierna hummed. "Bregan D'aerthe is an all-male mercenary group based in Menzoberranzan, and I know Zaknafein had some sort of connection to its leader.

"And it certainly has the resources to put up portals for swift travel between their holdings, which means the timing of this man's arrival makes it even more likely that he is Zaknafein, given how close it was to the House's fall."

"How do you wish to go about contacting him, then?" Natoth asked.

---

Early on the second day after Zak had killed the leading members of the two groups that had been engaged in open fighting, a street urchin had brought a note for "the twin-bladed fighter" to Bregan D'aerthe's compound.

And although he had known his skill with his blades would draw significant attention from at least the Temple faction of Vhaeraunites, he had still been surprised when the note proved to be a request from the Temple's representative on the city council for a meeting at the Dimmed Lantern, "to discuss a matter of mutual interest".

Intrigued by the oblique approach to what he was still rather sure was an attempt to convert him, or at least secure his skills for Vhaeraun, Zak had sent the urchin back with an acceptance.

A few more notes back and forth had arranged a time, with the councilor—Natoth by name—promising to take care of arranging a private parlor for the meeting.

And now, late on the second day after he had received the request, Zaknafein walked into the common room of the Dimmed Lantern, Jornil half a pace behind him, and headed straight for the bartender.

"I'm here to meet with Natoth," he told the man. "Has he arrived yet?"

"'Bout five minutes ago," the bartender said. "He and his companion are in the parlor with bats on the door. Take the hall on the left, and it's the second door on your right."

Well. If the priest had brought a companion, Zak was very glad he'd brought someone to watch his back. "Thank you."

It didn't take long to reach the specified door, and after a sharp knock that brought a response of "It's unlocked", Zak entered, closely followed by Jornil.

Within, seated in two of the chairs that formed a conversation area on the far side of the parlor, there were two drow in cleric's robes.

One of them was wearing their mask, leaving Zak only able to tell that one was female by the way her robes draped her body.

The other, however, was an unmasked male, who rose to his feet as the door closed.

"I do apologize for the mild deception," the priest said, "but it is actually my colleague who wishes to speak with you."

And then, while Zak was still recalculating what might be wanted from him, the priest walked right past them and left the room.

That, at least, simplified things, and he signaled for Jornil to do the same—which was obeyed with only a single check if he was sure.

And once Zak had taken a seat in a chair facing the priestess, she reached up and removed her mask.

"I'm glad to see you again, Zaknafein," Vierna said.

As startled as he was by who the priestess appeared to be, Zak was still thinking rapidly.

The mask could not be faked, therefore this woman was a priestess of Vhaeraun, but was she truly Vierna?

"What was my first gift to you, priestess, and what did I name as a price for it when you asked for one?"

"The gift was a female pirate spider, with a braided charm of my hair, and what I later discovered was yours.

"As for the price, you asked me to learn from watching her as she lived and, as I could, tell you of what she taught me."

This was Vierna, then, as only the two of them knew that.

Reaching out to take her hands, he said, "I am pleased to learn that you are not truly lost to the Spider, my daughter."

---

Clearing the air between them had needed to happen before they talked of anything else, but once they had done so, Vierna shifted the subject of their conversation to one that she knew Zaknafein shared her investment in.

"You may have learned this already," she said, "but given that you left without hearing Dinin's report, I need to tell you that Drizzt is likely still alive."

"Jarlaxle told me," Zak said, "after getting Dinin's account of what happened, but thank you anyway."

Vierna couldn't say she was displeased to learn that Dinin had survived the House's fall, but he was not the brother she was concerned about, so she set her curiosity aside for later.

"I'm glad you haven't spent the time since then believing he was dead," she replied. "However, my own attempts to actually locate him have been quite unsuccessful. Have Jarlaxle's resources proved more useful?"

"They haven't," Zak admitted. "But given that the details of what happened make it quite likely that Drizzt found allies swiftly, that's not exactly a surprise."

"Oh?" Vierna was well aware that, as the leader of Bregan D'aerthe, Jarlaxle would have developed a tendency to look at events from unusual angles, simply to retain the band's independence, but she truly could not see how he would have reached that conclusion.

Zak had not expected Vierna to immediately see the logic Jarlaxle had followed—he hadn't, after all—so he responded with a rundown of how his friend had laid it out for him.

And when he finished, Vierna sighed, and said, "Well, that does make sense. And since Drizzt has no way of knowing that the House fell, he'd want to make sure he couldn't be found again."

"Exactly," Zak agreed.

"At least now I know to direct my efforts to more mundane methods of locating him."

"And that's why I'm here, instead of at Jarlaxle's side."

Vierna cocked an eyebrow in an invitation for Zak to elaborate.

"The nearby Eilistraeean settlement," he said. "As often as I've felt like Drizzt somehow ended up with a faerie's soul instead of a drow's, it will be quite surprising if he never finds his way to Her followers."

"Point," Vierna said. "And even if he never actually comes this far south, word of him is rather certain to do so, as the Promenade-" at Zak's quizzical look, she quickly explained that the settlement's formal name was 'the Promenade of the Dark Maiden', before picking the thought back up "-is where the Dark Maiden's High Priestess has chosen to live."

"Mmm," Zak hummed. "Definitely something to keep in mind."

---

One year later

Zaknafein was not yet finished negotiating with the Promenade's caravan master for a pair of throwing knives—and the enchantments he wanted them to have—when he began to feel like he was being watched.

The watcher seemed to be curious, however, not hostile or calculating, so he took the time to finish negotiating before making a very casual turn that let him sweep his gaze across the caravan in order to identify the watcher.

But he was not even halfway through when he locked eyes with a very familiar—and clearly quite surprised—young drow male.

"Weapon Master?" his dancer said.

"It's good to see you again, Drizzt," he replied.

"What are you doing here?"

Although there were two possible meanings for that question, Zak was quite sure Drizzt was not asking about his presence at the caravan, so he gave the other answer. "When you didn't return, I left the House and joined Bregan D'aerthe."

Drizzt's expression clearly showed his confusion at the idea, so Zak smiled, and added, "Would you like to come with me to the Dimmed Lantern for a private conversation?"

Drizzt was torn by Zaknafein's offer.

The four years of joy he had had under the man's tutelage left him wanting to accept, but between that odd fight before he went to Melee-Magthere, and his wariness of being found by his House, he could not help but wonder if this was a trap of some sort.

But even as he wrestled with making a decision, the caravan master spoke up.

"The Dimmed Lantern has a well-deserved reputation for neutrality and privacy, Drizzt."

That... added a strong weight to accepting, and after taking another moment to consider, he said, "I would like that very much."

---

The Dimmed Lantern was close enough to the market square that the walk there did not take very long.

A private parlor—as well as a messenger to bring a note to Vierna—was easily arranged, and once he and Drizzt were settled in the parlor, Zak cut straight to the matter that he knew would be of the greatest concern for his son.

"The House fell less than a day after the patrol returned without you. So you don't need to worry about being found by them."

Drizzt sighed in relief. "That is good to know, though I can't help but feel some regret for Vierna's death."

"As it happens," Zak said, "both she and Dinin survived the House's fall."

Though Drizzt could easily guess that Dinin survived by joining... Bregan D'aerthe..., it took him a bit to think of how Vierna might have.

"Which House was she adopted by?"

"None of them," Zak replied. "It turns out that, in truth, she has been Vhaeraun's since childhood, and with both of us gone, she took advantage of the attack on the House to make her own escape."

"What?!?" Drizzt found it hard to believe what he had just heard.

"Vierna is Vhaeraun's, not Lloth's," Zak repeated.

Drizzt's face scrunched up in thought, and a few moments later, he said, "That... would actually do a lot to explain some interactions with her that were... odd, for a cleric of Lloth."

While Zak definitely wanted to know more about the interactions that Drizzt had considered odd, that was better saved for later. So instead, he asked, "What else would you like to know?"

Drizzt leaned forward in his seat. "Well..." he began.

---

In the year since she had reunited with Zaknafein, Vierna had developed a habit, when the Promenade's trade caravan was due to arrive, of only doing things that would not suffer from a sudden interruption.

So when a note from Zak was delivered, saying that Drizzt had come with today's caravan, and Zak had engaged a parlor for them at the Dimmed Lantern, she had been able to immediately drop what she was doing, and swiftly made her way there.

And now, standing outside the door of the parlor that the bartender had directed her to, she took a deep breath to settle her nerves over finally seeing her wean-son again, then knocked in the pattern that she and Zak had agreed on.

"Come in," Zak called, so Vierna carefully opened the door and stepped into the parlor.

Zak and Drizzt were sitting in the conversation area on the far side of the room, and once she had shut the door, Vierna went straight to Drizzt and hugged him tightly.

"I am so very glad to see you again, little brother."

Drizzt had initially tensed up when she embraced him, but after a moment, he relaxed and returned the hug.

"I'm glad you're alive," he replied. Then, with a tone she could hear the mischief in, he added, "Vehna."

Vierna huffed a laugh at that, hugged him a little tighter, then released him.

"Imp," she said fondly, and took a seat of her own. "It's clear enough that Father already told you where my true loyalty lies, but what else do you want to know?"

---

Once Drizzt's curiosity had been satisfied, it was his turn to share what had happened to him since that fateful raid.

Vierna was somewhat dubious about Mielikki's focused interest in him, and Zaknafein was outright wary of it, but given how clear it was that Drizzt had thrived under Her attention, they limited themselves to expressing that She had best continue to have a positive effect on his life.

And they were both very displeased to hear about the shroud that the Spider Queen had put on him, as well as quite relieved that it had been removed.

Eventually, the conversation turned to how Drizzt could stay in touch with Zak and Vierna, and once an agreement on that had been reached, Zak escorted him back to the caravan.

---

Frying Pan; Fire; Freedom and Family (3372 words) by Somariel
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Forgotten Realms, The Legend of Drizzt Series - R. A. Salvatore
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Drizzt Do'Urden, Original Elf Character(s)
Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ensemble Cast
Summary:

In a variation on senmut's fic Soul Trap Undone, it is not Drizzt who breaks Sharr's soul trap while fighting the orc lich, but a group of bandits.

---

Frying Pan; Fire; Freedom and Family

For a single disorienting moment, Sharr could hear and see and smell again... and then everything went black.

When his senses returned, the first thing he noticed was the throbbing ache at his temple. The second thing was that he was lying on his side in the dirt, with his hands bound behind his back. And the third was voices speaking in Common.

"...with armor that fancy, there's pretty much guaranteed to be someone who'll be willing to pay for him," one of them was saying.

"We have no idea how long he was trapped like that, though," another said.

"So?" said a third. "Elves have long lives and longer memories. There's bound to at least be some people who know of him."

Suddenly, there was a loud 'pop' from the fire he could smell the smoke of, and Sharr did his best to not react to it, hoping to hear more.

"All of you need to shut up!" snapped a fourth voice. "He's awake."

"His eyes are still closed," the second voice protested.

"He's a warrior," said the fourth voice. "It'd be instinct for him to take stock of his senses before giving any sign he's aware.

"But his breathing has changed, and he twitched when the fire popped."

Apparently, he hadn't stifled his reaction as well as he had thought.

But given what he had heard before that, Sharr knew it would be to his advantage if these people thought he didn't speak Common, so he kept his eyes closed anyways.

"Bind his feet, move his hands in front of him, and then tie him to that tree," the fourth voice continued, tone full of confidence that he would be obeyed.

And it was not proven wrong, as it was not long before Sharr found himself seated on the ground with his hands bound in front of him, his legs stretched out before him, and his back pressed to a tree trunk by ropes tightly wound over his chest, around his arms, and then around the tree.

Having used the manhandling needed to accomplish the shift as a reason for him to stop shamming unconsciousness, he started to look around the camp with an assessing eye.

But before he could do more than confirm, based on the appearance of the men and their gear, that his captors were indeed bandits, one of them came over to stand at his feet.

And after studying him for a few moments, the bandit spoke, revealing himself to be the owner of the fourth voice.

"What's your name, elf?"

Sharr gave the man a coolly dismissive look and, in Sylvan, responded with "What did you say?"

The man stared at Sharr suspiciously for a moment before drawing a well-made knife. Then, twirling the knife between his fingers in an obvious threat, he repeated his question.

Sharr's only reply was a confused expression, and after locking gazes with him for a moment, the bandit cursed, put away the knife, and started pacing in a circle.

"What's wrong?" a man on the far side of the camp—not one of the other three Sharr had heard speaking—called.

"He doesn't speak Common," the one near Sharr—who was probably the leader—answered.

"Try Goblin or Orc," another new voice suggested, from off to Sharr's left.

"If he doesn't know Common, what the fuck makes you think he'd know those?" the leader snarled.

"Practicality," came the reply. "Knowing an enemy's language can help in fighting them."

The leader stopped pacing, and after a clear moment of thought, he turned to face Sharr and said, in Goblin, "What name, elf?"

Sharr wrinkled his nose, as if he found the language distasteful, and replied, as haughtily as he could manage, "What name, human?"

The ringing slap wasn't truly surprising, given the "arrogant and superior elf" act he was putting on, but the speed with which it had happened was.

And by the time his head had stopped spinning, the leader had knelt beside him, yanked his head around to face the man with a grip on his chin, and locked eyes with him from just a foot away.

"Give name or suffer," the man said, in a coldly threatening tone.

Sharr took a very brief moment to weigh things, and chose to resort to an old dodge. "Name Liir," he said.

---

Seven days after their arrival at the half-ruined small keep that the bandits used as a hideout—and ten after he had awoken as their prisoner—Sharr heard an odd commotion coming down the hall towards the room—which had clearly been used for such a purpose before—that the bandits had imprisoned him in.

The sound of something scraping along the floor was the primary component, but there were also frequent sounds of flesh hitting stone or other flesh, which were invariably followed by cursing.

And although he knew better than to let any sign of it escape, he could not help but be amused by the fact that whoever this new prisoner was, it was taking at least six of the bandits to wrangle them.

But when he heard the bandit that he had labeled 'the protester' say "Are you really sure this beast is going to be worth the trouble?", he grew concerned. How could he, unarmed as he was, defend himself from something that was giving the bandits so much trouble?

"Positive. We'll get more for it than we could ever hope to get for the elf," the leader replied.

"With Stedd and Malcer killed by the adults, and not a one of us without injuries, you'd better be right," the protester grumbled.

And then the door opened and Sharr found himself staring in horror as a yearling pegasus was dragged into the room.

Besides the rope around... her, he decided... neck, her wings were all but invisible under a coil of rope binding them to her body, her mouth was tied shut, and both her front and back legs were hobbled so tightly he wasn't sure she'd actually be able to take even the smallest of steps.

As the six bandits wrangling the filly brought her further into the room, more entered, bringing a barrow full of straw, a trough, and several obviously full buckets.

Soon enough, a corner of the room was set up as a makeshift stall, the rope around the filly's neck was removed, and the bandits began to leave the room.

When the leader was the only bandit remaining, Sharr prepared to ask how the filly was expected to eat and drink with the rope still around her mouth, but the leader spoke first.

Pinning Sharr with a fierce glare and patting his dagger in implicit threat, the man said, "Free mouth only."

Sharr returned the glare, but when the man made to actually draw the dagger, he gave a reluctant nod.

Not that he was actually going to hold to it completely, as leaving her wings bound like that ran the risk of doing permanent damage to her ability to fly.

But it was enough for the leader to leave, bolting the door behind him.

---

As Drizzt rushed down the slope leading to the river's edge, he suddenly realized why the pull he had started feeling almost two full days ago was so strong.

One of the pegasi ahead of him was very clearly dead, but the other was, somehow, still alive despite significant injuries.

Approaching the pegasus very, very carefully, he leaned into his ability to sense an animal's mind—heart of a ranger echoed in his head—as hard as he could, and set to work convincing... her, he could see now... to let him tend her wounds.

It took longer than he liked, but eventually the mare allowed him close enough, and he got to work.

---

Once he was satisfied that he had done all he could to treat the injuries—and he dearly hoped that the splints he had managed for the broken wing would be sufficient—he started a small fire, well away from the mare, and set a pot of mash to cooking.

By the time it was ready, the sun had started to set, and the scent of the cooking mash had drawn the mare closer.

And when he scooped the mash into his bowl and put it down in front of her, there was no hesitation at all before she began eating.

Once she was done, he cleaned pot and bowl both, put out the fire, and then settled himself in a spot where he had an excellent view of their surroundings.

An inquisitive nicker from the mare prompted a smile, and he told her, "I will guard you until you have recovered enough to defend yourself, lady.

"You may sleep as deeply and long as you need with no fear of any threat."

The mare gave him a considering look, then snorted and settled herself onto the ground not far from him, tucking her head under her unbroken wing.

---

The night was as peaceful as Drizzt could possibly have wished for, but when morning came, he discovered that the mare herself had no desire to take the rest that she needed to recover from her injuries.

Hoping that if he knew why, he would be able to persuade her to let him take care of it, he carefully placed a hand on her neck, leaned into his sense of her mind, and asked, "What is it that keeps you from taking the rest that you need?"

The protective fury of a parent that washed over him was almost overwhelming, but he truly could not blame her for that.

"I will help you to save your child, lady," he said, "or I will die trying."

---

Five days after the bandits had brought in the pegasus filly, Sharr noticed that they were beginning to act a little jumpy, casting furtive looks at both of them during the daily delivery of food, water, and fresh straw for the filly's bedding.

On the sixth day, the looks were openly suspicious, not furtive, and on the seventh, there were three of them for the delivery, not two. Additionally, all three of them stood with their weapons drawn while he exchanged the soiled straw for fresh, even though the only tool he was allowed for the task was a broom.

On the eighth day, he was hauled in front of the leader, and subjected to as thorough an interrogation as the use of Goblin allowed.

When it ended, he felt nearly as shaken as the bandits clearly were, but once he had been returned to the prison, he allowed himself a small smile.

Unlike the bandits, he did not believe that the sightings of an injured pegasus wreathed in purple flames were actually the ghosts of the filly's parents.

Nor did he believe that the bandits who had been found with their throats torn out after each sighting had been the victims of the parents' vengeance.

Instead, he suspected that one of the parents had survived somehow, and a druid—or maybe a ranger—was working on whittling down the bandits' numbers to a level that one person could handle alone.

Two more days passed with the bandits growing ever more jumpy, and then, on the tenth night since the filly had been brought in, things came to a head.

Sharr was woken by the sound of footsteps running down the corridor towards the prison. A low growl just outside the door of the prison brought them to an abrupt halt, however. Then there was a yelp, a thud, a scream that turned into a gurgle, and a second thud.

After that, there was only silence for what felt like an eternity. But eventually, Sharr heard another set of footsteps—ones soft enough to be an elf’s—coming down the corridor.

The footsteps stopped just short of the door, and Sharr heard a voice say, in slightly accented Common, "Thank you, Guen." The rumbling half-purr of the big cats came in response, and then the door opened.

The first to enter was what seemed to be a large shadow, but as the owner of the voice entered, the light from their lantern let Sharr see that the shadow was actually a panther twice the size of any normal one.

Then he looked to see who was carrying the lantern, and froze in shock at seeing a drow.

But when the drow placed a sword on the floor, kicked it towards him, and then started removing the hobbles on the filly, Sharr's mind reengaged.

The drow's gear was clearly of Surface make, and he spoke Common, both of which indicated that he must have left the Underdark some time ago.

When you added the facts that he had found a way to give Sharr a weapon without having to approach him, and that the pegasus filly was happily snuffling his hair as he removed the front hobbles, well... it definitely wouldn't be the worst idea to leave in his company.

And upon seeing the joyous reunion between the filly and an adult pegasus with a splinted wing and other treated injuries, once they had exited the keep, Sharr knew that this drow was someone he could trust fully.

---

Not even in her wildest imaginings had it occurred to Alustriel that the elf of the elf-and-drow pair who had arrived in Silverymoon that morning—with a pair of pegasi, even—might be Sharrevaliir.

So now that Niska had confirmed that it truly was him, and he was free of any curses or traps, she wrapped an arm around him, and prompted him to begin what was sure to be an interesting tale.

"You said earlier that Drizzt rescued you from the bandits who had found you. Do you know how the bandits came to find you?"

"It was rather awkward to get the ideas across in Goblin, but yes, I do."

Alustriel put her curiosity as to why he'd been using Goblin to communicate with the bandits aside for later, and said, "Well?"

Sharr smiled softly at her. "They were fighting an orc lich, and smashed my soul trap as a possible anchor."

"I can see how that would have required some creativity to get across in Goblin," Alustriel said.

Then, leaning forward in her seat, Niska said, "Forgive my curiosity, but why were you communicating in Goblin?"

"Nothing to forgive," Sharr said. "As for why, the bandits' immediate reaction to me being freed from the soul trap was to knock me out.

"When I regained consciousness, my hands were bound behind my back, and I could hear them discussing the likelihood, based on how fancy my armor was, of finding someone who would pay them for me."

"Ah," Niska said. "It was the tactical advantage of being believed to not speak Common."

"Exactly."

Turning her attention to Sharr's rescuer, Alustriel said, "Saer Do'Urden? Will you share with us how you came to be involved in things?

"As, no offense intended, I find it doubtful that you were actually seeking to rescue Sharr."

"None taken," Drizzt said. "And you are quite correct that that was an unexpected benefit of my true purpose."

He shifted, squaring his shoulders, and then began a patrol-professional account of his side of things.

---

Since thoroughly questioning Sharr as to the probable location of the orc lich's lair had allowed Drizzt to determine that the bandits must have succeeded in destroying the anchor—given that he had not felt a pull to deal with anything when he had passed through the area not long before the pull to help the pegasus mare started—he remained in Silverymoon until spring.

Nor did he have trouble finding things to occupy himself with during that time. Indeed, between lessons in pegasus care—and riding, once the mare's wing was deemed recovered enough—from Sharr, reading in both the Palace library and the Vault of the Sages, sparring with Korvallen and Kolarven, teaching other Knights and squires, and furthering his ranger studies at the Glade, he had a great deal to fill his days.

Once spring arrived, however, he locked up his room in the Palace, and headed out with Amilimm—as he had decided to call the mother pegasus, after she chose to bond to him—to explore this new region.

---

Between the unexpected desire for potent restorative and healing spells when she had held her sunrise vigil, and the feeling that she should spend time in the Glade that came over her after she had broken her fast, Tathana was certain that someone was going to be arriving in poor shape today.

Absent any idea of when, however, all she could do for now was to find things to occupy herself with in the Glade.

Tending the berry bushes had eaten up a significant chunk of time, and discreetly checking on the nests, burrows, and dens of those animals that lived in the Glade consumed more, but it was still only mid-morning when she found herself a quiet spot near the center of the Glade and settled down to meditate.

Some time later, she was startled out of her peaceful reverie by a loud neigh from the center of the Glade.

Certainty that this was what she had been waiting for washed over her as she got up, and she swiftly went to see who needed her aid.

Seeing a pegasus standing in the center of the Glade was only surprising for the brief moment before she noticed the rider sagged against the mare's neck.

"Drizzt!" she cried, rushing over to help the ashen-looking drow dismount in a controlled manner. "What happened to you?"

But it wasn't until after she had gotten him down and both of them were settled on the ground, with Amilimm laying where she could watch him, that he managed to respond.

"Shades," he said.

"Must have been quite a few of them," Tathana said, even as she prepared to cast the first of the restorative spells. "Or else you spent far too long in their territory."

"Both, I think," was the last thing she heard before she dove into repairing the damage done by the shades.

When she came back up from the near-trance she had fallen into, she was relieved to notice that Drizzt was soundly asleep, since it had become clear, as she worked, that it had been far too long since he last had any true rest.

A quiet nicker drew her attention further out, and she was pleased to see that someone had removed the riding straps from Amilimm, and brought her food and water.

"Leaf Tathana?" said a quiet voice from off to her right.

Tathana turned towards the voice and saw one of the older acolytes sitting just far enough away to not impinge on her awareness.

"What is it, Rowan?" she asked, after taking a brief moment to recall the acolyte's name.

"Is there anything else I can do to help you and Ranger Do'Urden?"

"Yes," Tathana replied. "A messenger needs to be sent to the Palace to inform the Lady that Ranger Do'Urden has returned with significant damage from shades, and will be staying in the Glade for a few days.

"And then I need assistance in setting up a pavilion for him in a quiet spot near the altar."

---

Drizzt's report on what he had discovered—once it was deemed safe for him to leave the Glade—set off quite a furor.

However, he had very little involvement with what was being done, at least until the following year, when a previously unknown remnant of Clan Battlehammer—led by the heir to Mithral Hall—returned to the region because of the Hall's rediscovery.

Amilimm's presence had done much to ease the way for him with Bruenor, the Battlehammer heir, and after he had guided them to the ruins of Settlestone, Drizzt brought him into the Hall via the fissure.

That scouting had gone well, and within a few months, the Hall had been successfully reclaimed, though Drizzt had once again needed to spend time in the Glade to recover from the magical damage he had taken while fighting the shadow dragon.

---