HOME | DD

Description
Plans

When Lana awoke the next morning, Sand was already gone. She stayed in bed for a long time, lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling, thinking over her situation again and again.

The conclusion she came to was: She had to stop.

Stop running from her pain, stop running from her life, stop running from her responsibilities. Should not have started running in the first place. Because some things, you just took them with you, wherever you went.

Best to start dealing with them. Then, maybe, someday she really could be free.

She heard voices approaching and sat up, wrapping the blanket around herself.

“I can’t believe ye were not gonna tell me”, a gruff voice said. “The lass back, and ye keepin’ me in the dark. Fine sort of friend ye are, bookworm!”

Lana could not stop a huge smile appearing on her face. Of all her friends, she probably had missed Khelgar the most. The dwarf was blunt and bawdy, but so honest it bordered on brutality. Exactly her cup of tea.

She hopped out of bed and went over to the door the exact moment it opened from the outside, and Khelgar stormed in, his head turned back, still glowering at Sand, who followed him, an expression of long-suffering on his face, a stack of garments on his arms.

Before he turned around, Lana bent down and pressed a kiss on the bald top of Khelgar’s head. He gave a surprised grunt and looked up at her, a reluctant grin appearing on what was visible of his face under his thick beard.

“Well, lass, decided to pay yer old friends a visit, have ye?”, he asked, gruffly. “Very kind of ye. Not that we were worried, with that slip of paper ye left us, mind you, explainin’ that ye’d be off and all.”

She smiled down at him affectionately. “I’m sorry, Khelgar, I really am. It was very wrong of me, I know that now.”

“Hrrrrmp. Ye do, do ye? Well, that’s mighty nice of ye. And looks like ye’ve been running into mischief, as was to be expected with no one to look out fer ye. And then, coming back here and tellin’ no one aboot it but that bookworm. Caught him sneakin’ out of yer rooms with yer clothes, got him to tell me ye were back only by threatenin’ to tell Kana aboot it. All the same, sneaky spell slingers.”

Lana smiled at him again. “Well, I’m very happy you are here. We have a lot to talk about.”

Sand fastened the bold at the door and turned to her, his eyebrows raised. “Am I right thinking that you are ready to face your responsibilities at last?”

She sighed and nodded. “Yes. I can’t keep running forever, I realised that.”

Sand shot her an ironic look she chose to ignore generously. “So shall I inform Kana of your arrival at last?”

Lana shook her head. “No, not yet”, she said. “There’s the other matter to take care of first. And as soon as that is dealt with, I will return to settle matters with Kana. And Nasher. I will get everything in order, and once I did that, I will resign officially from my post. No more running away, but I still don’t think I want to be stuck here for the rest of my life. I’m just not the right person for this kind of job. And Kana would do so much better than me and be happy as a pig in the mud doing it. So why not let her have a go at it? I’m sure Nasher will see reason once I talk to him. Hells, he probably will be very happy as well, getting rid of the most inept Captain this Keep has ever seen. But the other matter... that can’t wait. I’ll have to deal with that first. And I hope you two are going to help me with it.”

Khelgar squinted up at her, a sceptical expression on his face. “That was quite the long-winded speech, lass. And what would that other matter be, if ye don’t mind me askin’?”

She nodded. “If I want your help, I have to tell you what it’s all about, won’t I?” She swallowed, suddenly not so eager to tell him anymore. Khelgar really hat not liked Bishop very much...

“But I really would like some breakfast first”, she said, smiling radiantly, knowing very well that she was just playing for time.

“Certainly, dear girl”, Sand chimed in. “I will order some breakfast to my rooms, and you can tell our dwarf here while we wait.”

Lana glowered at him, but he just opened the door and stepped outside with an innocent smile in her direction.

She shot him a withering glance he blithely ignored while he closed the door behind him. With another glittering smile at Khelgar she let herself fall on one of the chairs by the table, after putting the stack of books sitting on it down on the floor.

“And, what’s been going on around here?”, she asked airily.

Khelgar climbed the other chair, but left a few books on them so he would be level with her eyes. “Don’t ye be playin’ old Khelgar for a fool, girl”, he grumbled. “I might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, mind ye, but I’m no idiot. I know when I’m bein’ distracted. So what is it ye don’t wanna tell me?” He picked up a pitcher of water, eyed it with misgivings, but poured himself a glass. “Water! Damned bookworm!”, he grumbled, raising the glass to his mouth.

Lana sighed. Might as well take the bull by the horns.

“I want you to help me rescue Bishop”, she said bluntly.

Khelgar’s eyes seemed to want to pop out of his head and he coughed violently, choking on his water.

“I think me ears are playin’ tricks on me”, he wheezed when he could talk again. “I just thought ye were telling me ye wanted to rescue that bloody ranger.”

“That is because that was exactly what I was saying”, she said, suppressing a grin.

The dwarf put his glass down so hard the water sloshed over the rim. Lana hastily mopped it up with the sleeve of the robe before it could reach any of the books on the table. Sand would have thrown a fit if he saw...

Khelgar eyed her suspiciously. “Lass, ye would not have been hit on the head as well as in the face, would ye? Because it seems to me that somethin’s not quite right in yer skull.”

Lana opened her mouth to answer him, but in that moment the door opened again and Sand entered, carrying a large tray with several plates on them. Lana hopped from her chair to help him, glad for the distraction.

“No need, dear girl, but if you could remove the books from the table... yes, thank you very much.” Sand kicked the door closed behind him and put the tray down on the now book-free table.

“Listen, bookworm, do ye know what the lass is up to? She wants to go runnin’ after that traitorous ranger, help him out of some scrape he’s got himself into. Ye think all that hittin’ could have done some damage to her brain? Her skull’s not as thick as mine, mind ye, so maybe it shook her up good...”

But Sand seemed to be preoccupied with something very different. “You are sitting on my books!”, he said, staring at the dwarf in disbelief, sounding scandalised.

“Yes, well, not my fault that this table is not proper height for a dwarf, is it?”

“Get off them! These are priceless founts of ancient wisdom, you... you buffoon! They are not made for lifting up your behind!”

Khelgar rolled his eyes, but slid down the pile of books. “All right, all right, don’t get yer knickers in a twist, elf. See, no harm done.”

Sand snatched the books from the chair, carefully examining them for possible damage, then sniffed haughtily and put them lovingly on the floor.

Lana had followed the little interlude trying not to laugh, while she helped herself to a glass of milk and a sweet roll from the tray.

Chewing, she tried to explain the dwarf what the problem was and why she wanted to go after Bishop, only leaving some minor, completely irrelevant details out of the story. Like what really had happened between them. No need to burden Khelgar – or Sand – with those little nothingnesses, was there?

He did not seem impressed with her story at all, hrrrmping and huffing a lot while he made short work of his eggs and ham, eyeing the plate of the elf, who was picking delicately at his breakfast, with a predatory gleam in his eye. But he seemed to listen intently nonetheless, just complaining once or twice about the lack of ale on the table.

“So, ye want to run after that bugger to save him from his former girlfriend, eh? Can’t say I see why ye would want to do that. Probably betrayed her, too. Let her have ‘im, I say.”

“She is not his girlfriend, former or otherwise”, Lana said sharply, feeling incensed by the suggestion for some reason. Ignoring Sand’s amused glance, she continued: “She’s an evil bitch who loves to torture people.”

“Well, then, seems like quite the match to me”, Khelgar said placidly.

Lana scowled at him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know her. I’m not saying Bishop is Mr. Nice, but that Jaluth – she plays in a different league. Ask Sand, if you don’t believe me.”

Khelgar glanced at the elf, who just shrugged. “Our beloved Knight Captain is not wrong about this. Jaluth Alaerth is certainly one of the scarier people I’ve met in my comparatively long life. And that’s counting our dear friend Garius into the equation.”

“Hrrrmp. Didnt’t think him so scary, that one. We killed him twice, after all. So what’s so diff’rent aboot this Jaluth wench?”

“She’s just evil. Completely ruthless. Loves inflicting pain. Sees other people as toys.” Lana watched Khelgar open his mouth. “And she can kill you with a snap of her fingers”, she added.

Khelgar closed his mouth again to think for a moment. “Still can’t see why I should be risking me butt to help him.”, he said finally.

Lana sighed. “Because I ask you to?”, she said.

Khelgar shook his head. “Had to put it like that, had ye? Fine, lass, I’m in. But I’m doing that for ye, not for that blasted backstabber, mind. So, what is it ye want me to do?”

She looked at Sand. “I don’t know. Sand, do you have any ideas? You’re much better than me at stuff like this. Is there any possibility to get that Geas off him?”

Sand shrugged. “Certainly, dear girl. A Remove Curse spell works just fine, normally. But you said Jaluth modified the spell in some way. That makes things a little trickier. And I think... well, normally a Geas just compels you to do whatever it says. But in this case, she seems to be able to reach out and hurt him, even from a distance. There would have to be something... anything... he carries that acts like a beacon for her powers. Something that allows her to find him, wherever he is.”

“But... can’t she just scrye for him or something?”

“Well, yes, she could scrye for him, but that would not allow her powers to reach him. She would certainly be able to see him, and if she is lucky, she could recognise his surroundings, so she would know where he is in that moment. But since he’s a ranger, that might be hard. One tree looks much like any other. So she would need something more. Something that lets her know his exact location, any time. Or, as I said, something that lets her powers home in on him, regardless of his location.”

Khelgar grumbled and slipped from his chair. “As long as ye two are talking gibberish, might as well go and get me second helping of eggs. And some ale. It’s not a decent breakfast without ale. When ye are finished with the theory, let me know where ye want me to hit.”

He gave Lana a “tender” pat on the back. She nearly choked on her bite of the roll and coughed hard. “Anyway, good ye’re back safely”, he grumbled, and stomped out of the door.

As soon as the door had closed after the dwarf, Sand settled back in his chair, lifting his cup of herbal tea to his mouth. After taking a delicate sip, he eyed Lana and asked: “So, do you have any ideas yet, Knight Captain?”

She wrinkled her nose at the title, but did not swallow the bait. “Nothing specific yet”, she answered. “So you think you could remove the Geas, if we found Bishop?”

“Which, knowing him, could be a more difficult task than the removal of the Geas”, the wizard said dryly. “But yes, I think I could remove it, given a bit of time and study, to see which modifications Jaluth has made. So, how do you intend to find our ranger?”

Lana smiled brightly. “Oh, I don’t intend to find him”, she said. And, grinning into Sand’s frown, she added: “I think we’ll let him come to us.”

Sand’s mouth twitched slightly. “And you think he will do that, do you?”

She leaned forward. “Would you think that the Geas would force him to look for me, since it tells him to bring me to Jaluth?”

The frown was back on the elf’s face. “I would think so. If he knew where you were, he would not have a choice but to try and fetch you.”

“So”, she said. “We’ll let him know where I am. He has to come and look for me, and voilà: Ranger on a silver platter.”

Still frowning, Sand said: “Yes – but as well as it would force him to come to you, the Geas would force Bishop to try and drag you to Jaluth. And that’s not what we want – or is it?”

Lana shuddered at the thought. “Oh no, that’s definitely not what we want. But that’s where Khelgar comes into play. And you as well, I think. Somehow, we’ll have to subdue him without harming him. I’m afraid I won’t be much help, my Magic might be a little bit too... offensive for that purpose.”

“And what about the wolf?”

Lana thought for a moment. “Well, I certainly don’t want to hurt Karnwyr. Even if Bishop’s a bastard, Karnwyr is a decent... wolf. And he helped me escape. Without him, I would be looking into Jaluth’s lovely countenance right now, I’m afraid. But I hope he will let us take his master without fighting us, because I managed to convince him I wanted to help Bishop.”

Sand sighed. “I guess I better prepare Hold Animal then as well as Hold Person. Or would Hold Monster be more appropriate in the case of our ranger? Would not do to make a mistake there.”

Lana shot him a reprehensive glance but had to giggle nonetheless.

“So, how do you intend to let him know where you are? A Sending?”, the elf continued.

She nodded. “Yes. We used it to keep in contact all the time during our campaign against the King of Shadows, so Bishop will know what it is if I start talking in his head. And hopefully he’ll come to us.”

“And where would you have him go? Here?”

She thought that over for a while. “No”, she finally said. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. This is enemy territory as far as Bishop is concerned. He would expect an ambush here. He would be very, very careful. That would complicate things to no end. No, I think we better tell him to meet me at the Hart and Horn on the road from Neverwinter to Waterdeep.” Noticing Sand’s raised eyebrows she added: “That was where I met him... then. While his memory was gone.”

For a moment she sat, brooding, lost in her thoughts of that meeting and what had followed it, then resolutely shook herself out of the reverie. “How long do you think it will take, to find out what exactly that harpy did to him, and to undo it?”

Sand shrugged. “I don’t know, really. Depends how complicated the... modifications are. Hours. Maybe a day or two. Hopefully not more.”

Lana chewed her lip. “Where do we stay? We’ll have to keep him tied or something, because the Geas will force him to grab me and drag me into the Dragon’s lair if he has the opportunity. We can’t hold him prisoner in an Inn. Someone would notice for sure.”

The wizard smiled smugly. “Ah, dear girl, as always you underestimate the possibilities proper magic offers, compared to that... blundering you call casting. That won’t be a problem, believe me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Master. And what do you have in mind, wise one? Pray, enlighten this poor dabbler in all things magic.”

He looked at her down his nose. “Sarcasm can’t touch me, girl. If you had concentrated on your studies, the words Leomund’s Secure Shelter would not be totally foreign to your ears. You just show me a free spot of ground, and I show you a cottage. With beds. And a fireplace.”

Lana grinned. “Well then, that’s settled. So the only thing left to do is to lure Bishop to the Inn, catch him, find out what Jaluth has done to him and remove it.”

Sand returned her smile. “Just like that, yes? A walk in the park, as they say.”

She laughed. “Hardly. But after we dealt with the King of Shadows, we can deal with Bishop, right?”

The wizard sighed. “If you say so. Very well, we’ll go ahead and hope for the best. We’ll make preparations today, and I will write a scroll of Sending for you, since it will have to be you casting the spell. If I did it, it might raise some suspicion.”

Lana nodded in consent and started to think of the message she was going to send to the ranger.

If he wanted, he could even send her a reply.

Now, why did the thought make her heart flutter ever so slightly?

Description
Plans

When Lana awoke the next morning, Sand was already gone. She stayed in bed for a long time, lying on her back, staring up at the ceiling, thinking over her situation again and again.

The conclusion she came to was: She had to stop.

Stop running from her pain, stop running from her life, stop running from her responsibilities. Should not have started running in the first place. Because some things, you just took them with you, wherever you went.

Best to start dealing with them. Then, maybe, someday she really could be free.

She heard voices approaching and sat up, wrapping the blanket around herself.

“I can’t believe ye were not gonna tell me”, a gruff voice said. “The lass back, and ye keepin’ me in the dark. Fine sort of friend ye are, bookworm!”

Lana could not stop a huge smile appearing on her face. Of all her friends, she probably had missed Khelgar the most. The dwarf was blunt and bawdy, but so honest it bordered on brutality. Exactly her cup of tea.

She hopped out of bed and went over to the door the exact moment it opened from the outside, and Khelgar stormed in, his head turned back, still glowering at Sand, who followed him, an expression of long-suffering on his face, a stack of garments on his arms.

Before he turned around, Lana bent down and pressed a kiss on the bald top of Khelgar’s head. He gave a surprised grunt and looked up at her, a reluctant grin appearing on what was visible of his face under his thick beard.

“Well, lass, decided to pay yer old friends a visit, have ye?”, he asked, gruffly. “Very kind of ye. Not that we were worried, with that slip of paper ye left us, mind you, explainin’ that ye’d be off and all.”

She smiled down at him affectionately. “I’m sorry, Khelgar, I really am. It was very wrong of me, I know that now.”

“Hrrrrmp. Ye do, do ye? Well, that’s mighty nice of ye. And looks like ye’ve been running into mischief, as was to be expected with no one to look out fer ye. And then, coming back here and tellin’ no one aboot it but that bookworm. Caught him sneakin’ out of yer rooms with yer clothes, got him to tell me ye were back only by threatenin’ to tell Kana aboot it. All the same, sneaky spell slingers.”

Lana smiled at him again. “Well, I’m very happy you are here. We have a lot to talk about.”

Sand fastened the bold at the door and turned to her, his eyebrows raised. “Am I right thinking that you are ready to face your responsibilities at last?”

She sighed and nodded. “Yes. I can’t keep running forever, I realised that.”

Sand shot her an ironic look she chose to ignore generously. “So shall I inform Kana of your arrival at last?”

Lana shook her head. “No, not yet”, she said. “There’s the other matter to take care of first. And as soon as that is dealt with, I will return to settle matters with Kana. And Nasher. I will get everything in order, and once I did that, I will resign officially from my post. No more running away, but I still don’t think I want to be stuck here for the rest of my life. I’m just not the right person for this kind of job. And Kana would do so much better than me and be happy as a pig in the mud doing it. So why not let her have a go at it? I’m sure Nasher will see reason once I talk to him. Hells, he probably will be very happy as well, getting rid of the most inept Captain this Keep has ever seen. But the other matter... that can’t wait. I’ll have to deal with that first. And I hope you two are going to help me with it.”

Khelgar squinted up at her, a sceptical expression on his face. “That was quite the long-winded speech, lass. And what would that other matter be, if ye don’t mind me askin’?”

She nodded. “If I want your help, I have to tell you what it’s all about, won’t I?” She swallowed, suddenly not so eager to tell him anymore. Khelgar really hat not liked Bishop very much...

“But I really would like some breakfast first”, she said, smiling radiantly, knowing very well that she was just playing for time.

“Certainly, dear girl”, Sand chimed in. “I will order some breakfast to my rooms, and you can tell our dwarf here while we wait.”

Lana glowered at him, but he just opened the door and stepped outside with an innocent smile in her direction.

She shot him a withering glance he blithely ignored while he closed the door behind him. With another glittering smile at Khelgar she let herself fall on one of the chairs by the table, after putting the stack of books sitting on it down on the floor.

“And, what’s been going on around here?”, she asked airily.

Khelgar climbed the other chair, but left a few books on them so he would be level with her eyes. “Don’t ye be playin’ old Khelgar for a fool, girl”, he grumbled. “I might not be the sharpest knife in the drawer, mind ye, but I’m no idiot. I know when I’m bein’ distracted. So what is it ye don’t wanna tell me?” He picked up a pitcher of water, eyed it with misgivings, but poured himself a glass. “Water! Damned bookworm!”, he grumbled, raising the glass to his mouth.

Lana sighed. Might as well take the bull by the horns.

“I want you to help me rescue Bishop”, she said bluntly.

Khelgar’s eyes seemed to want to pop out of his head and he coughed violently, choking on his water.

“I think me ears are playin’ tricks on me”, he wheezed when he could talk again. “I just thought ye were telling me ye wanted to rescue that bloody ranger.”

“That is because that was exactly what I was saying”, she said, suppressing a grin.

The dwarf put his glass down so hard the water sloshed over the rim. Lana hastily mopped it up with the sleeve of the robe before it could reach any of the books on the table. Sand would have thrown a fit if he saw...

Khelgar eyed her suspiciously. “Lass, ye would not have been hit on the head as well as in the face, would ye? Because it seems to me that somethin’s not quite right in yer skull.”

Lana opened her mouth to answer him, but in that moment the door opened again and Sand entered, carrying a large tray with several plates on them. Lana hopped from her chair to help him, glad for the distraction.

“No need, dear girl, but if you could remove the books from the table... yes, thank you very much.” Sand kicked the door closed behind him and put the tray down on the now book-free table.

“Listen, bookworm, do ye know what the lass is up to? She wants to go runnin’ after that traitorous ranger, help him out of some scrape he’s got himself into. Ye think all that hittin’ could have done some damage to her brain? Her skull’s not as thick as mine, mind ye, so maybe it shook her up good...”

But Sand seemed to be preoccupied with something very different. “You are sitting on my books!”, he said, staring at the dwarf in disbelief, sounding scandalised.

“Yes, well, not my fault that this table is not proper height for a dwarf, is it?”

“Get off them! These are priceless founts of ancient wisdom, you... you buffoon! They are not made for lifting up your behind!”

Khelgar rolled his eyes, but slid down the pile of books. “All right, all right, don’t get yer knickers in a twist, elf. See, no harm done.”

Sand snatched the books from the chair, carefully examining them for possible damage, then sniffed haughtily and put them lovingly on the floor.

Lana had followed the little interlude trying not to laugh, while she helped herself to a glass of milk and a sweet roll from the tray.

Chewing, she tried to explain the dwarf what the problem was and why she wanted to go after Bishop, only leaving some minor, completely irrelevant details out of the story. Like what really had happened between them. No need to burden Khelgar – or Sand – with those little nothingnesses, was there?

He did not seem impressed with her story at all, hrrrmping and huffing a lot while he made short work of his eggs and ham, eyeing the plate of the elf, who was picking delicately at his breakfast, with a predatory gleam in his eye. But he seemed to listen intently nonetheless, just complaining once or twice about the lack of ale on the table.

“So, ye want to run after that bugger to save him from his former girlfriend, eh? Can’t say I see why ye would want to do that. Probably betrayed her, too. Let her have ‘im, I say.”

“She is not his girlfriend, former or otherwise”, Lana said sharply, feeling incensed by the suggestion for some reason. Ignoring Sand’s amused glance, she continued: “She’s an evil bitch who loves to torture people.”

“Well, then, seems like quite the match to me”, Khelgar said placidly.

Lana scowled at him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t know her. I’m not saying Bishop is Mr. Nice, but that Jaluth – she plays in a different league. Ask Sand, if you don’t believe me.”

Khelgar glanced at the elf, who just shrugged. “Our beloved Knight Captain is not wrong about this. Jaluth Alaerth is certainly one of the scarier people I’ve met in my comparatively long life. And that’s counting our dear friend Garius into the equation.”

“Hrrrmp. Didnt’t think him so scary, that one. We killed him twice, after all. So what’s so diff’rent aboot this Jaluth wench?”

“She’s just evil. Completely ruthless. Loves inflicting pain. Sees other people as toys.” Lana watched Khelgar open his mouth. “And she can kill you with a snap of her fingers”, she added.

Khelgar closed his mouth again to think for a moment. “Still can’t see why I should be risking me butt to help him.”, he said finally.

Lana sighed. “Because I ask you to?”, she said.

Khelgar shook his head. “Had to put it like that, had ye? Fine, lass, I’m in. But I’m doing that for ye, not for that blasted backstabber, mind. So, what is it ye want me to do?”

She looked at Sand. “I don’t know. Sand, do you have any ideas? You’re much better than me at stuff like this. Is there any possibility to get that Geas off him?”

Sand shrugged. “Certainly, dear girl. A Remove Curse spell works just fine, normally. But you said Jaluth modified the spell in some way. That makes things a little trickier. And I think... well, normally a Geas just compels you to do whatever it says. But in this case, she seems to be able to reach out and hurt him, even from a distance. There would have to be something... anything... he carries that acts like a beacon for her powers. Something that allows her to find him, wherever he is.”

“But... can’t she just scrye for him or something?”

“Well, yes, she could scrye for him, but that would not allow her powers to reach him. She would certainly be able to see him, and if she is lucky, she could recognise his surroundings, so she would know where he is in that moment. But since he’s a ranger, that might be hard. One tree looks much like any other. So she would need something more. Something that lets her know his exact location, any time. Or, as I said, something that lets her powers home in on him, regardless of his location.”

Khelgar grumbled and slipped from his chair. “As long as ye two are talking gibberish, might as well go and get me second helping of eggs. And some ale. It’s not a decent breakfast without ale. When ye are finished with the theory, let me know where ye want me to hit.”

He gave Lana a “tender” pat on the back. She nearly choked on her bite of the roll and coughed hard. “Anyway, good ye’re back safely”, he grumbled, and stomped out of the door.

As soon as the door had closed after the dwarf, Sand settled back in his chair, lifting his cup of herbal tea to his mouth. After taking a delicate sip, he eyed Lana and asked: “So, do you have any ideas yet, Knight Captain?”

She wrinkled her nose at the title, but did not swallow the bait. “Nothing specific yet”, she answered. “So you think you could remove the Geas, if we found Bishop?”

“Which, knowing him, could be a more difficult task than the removal of the Geas”, the wizard said dryly. “But yes, I think I could remove it, given a bit of time and study, to see which modifications Jaluth has made. So, how do you intend to find our ranger?”

Lana smiled brightly. “Oh, I don’t intend to find him”, she said. And, grinning into Sand’s frown, she added: “I think we’ll let him come to us.”

Sand’s mouth twitched slightly. “And you think he will do that, do you?”

She leaned forward. “Would you think that the Geas would force him to look for me, since it tells him to bring me to Jaluth?”

The frown was back on the elf’s face. “I would think so. If he knew where you were, he would not have a choice but to try and fetch you.”

“So”, she said. “We’ll let him know where I am. He has to come and look for me, and voilà: Ranger on a silver platter.”

Still frowning, Sand said: “Yes – but as well as it would force him to come to you, the Geas would force Bishop to try and drag you to Jaluth. And that’s not what we want – or is it?”

Lana shuddered at the thought. “Oh no, that’s definitely not what we want. But that’s where Khelgar comes into play. And you as well, I think. Somehow, we’ll have to subdue him without harming him. I’m afraid I won’t be much help, my Magic might be a little bit too... offensive for that purpose.”

“And what about the wolf?”

Lana thought for a moment. “Well, I certainly don’t want to hurt Karnwyr. Even if Bishop’s a bastard, Karnwyr is a decent... wolf. And he helped me escape. Without him, I would be looking into Jaluth’s lovely countenance right now, I’m afraid. But I hope he will let us take his master without fighting us, because I managed to convince him I wanted to help Bishop.”

Sand sighed. “I guess I better prepare Hold Animal then as well as Hold Person. Or would Hold Monster be more appropriate in the case of our ranger? Would not do to make a mistake there.”

Lana shot him a reprehensive glance but had to giggle nonetheless.

“So, how do you intend to let him know where you are? A Sending?”, the elf continued.

She nodded. “Yes. We used it to keep in contact all the time during our campaign against the King of Shadows, so Bishop will know what it is if I start talking in his head. And hopefully he’ll come to us.”

“And where would you have him go? Here?”

She thought that over for a while. “No”, she finally said. “I don’t think that would be a good idea. This is enemy territory as far as Bishop is concerned. He would expect an ambush here. He would be very, very careful. That would complicate things to no end. No, I think we better tell him to meet me at the Hart and Horn on the road from Neverwinter to Waterdeep.” Noticing Sand’s raised eyebrows she added: “That was where I met him... then. While his memory was gone.”

For a moment she sat, brooding, lost in her thoughts of that meeting and what had followed it, then resolutely shook herself out of the reverie. “How long do you think it will take, to find out what exactly that harpy did to him, and to undo it?”

Sand shrugged. “I don’t know, really. Depends how complicated the... modifications are. Hours. Maybe a day or two. Hopefully not more.”

Lana chewed her lip. “Where do we stay? We’ll have to keep him tied or something, because the Geas will force him to grab me and drag me into the Dragon’s lair if he has the opportunity. We can’t hold him prisoner in an Inn. Someone would notice for sure.”

The wizard smiled smugly. “Ah, dear girl, as always you underestimate the possibilities proper magic offers, compared to that... blundering you call casting. That won’t be a problem, believe me.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yes, Master. And what do you have in mind, wise one? Pray, enlighten this poor dabbler in all things magic.”

He looked at her down his nose. “Sarcasm can’t touch me, girl. If you had concentrated on your studies, the words Leomund’s Secure Shelter would not be totally foreign to your ears. You just show me a free spot of ground, and I show you a cottage. With beds. And a fireplace.”

Lana grinned. “Well then, that’s settled. So the only thing left to do is to lure Bishop to the Inn, catch him, find out what Jaluth has done to him and remove it.”

Sand returned her smile. “Just like that, yes? A walk in the park, as they say.”

She laughed. “Hardly. But after we dealt with the King of Shadows, we can deal with Bishop, right?”

The wizard sighed. “If you say so. Very well, we’ll go ahead and hope for the best. We’ll make preparations today, and I will write a scroll of Sending for you, since it will have to be you casting the spell. If I did it, it might raise some suspicion.”

Lana nodded in consent and started to think of the message she was going to send to the ranger.

If he wanted, he could even send her a reply.

Now, why did the thought make her heart flutter ever so slightly?