Moments later, the four figures emerged carrying an extra burden wrapped in a blanket. Inside, a horse neighed and stamped. A voice whispered urgently and the four moved quickly to the rear of the small tower. A female voice spoke words of power, a gate appeared, and all but one of the dark figures disappeared through it. The remaining shadowed form spoke again, dispelling the gate. She glanced about furtively in the shadows assuring that no one else was in the area, and then she too quickly vanished.

“Bel’la dos, dos all did well.” Vaerlyr’ra told the group once they had all gathered again inside their dark tower. “Go upstairs and refresh yourselves, udos zhal deal with this darthiir from here.”

“Xas mistress, bel’la..” Four drow bowed and removed themselves quickly from the presence of the others and headed up the stairs.

When they had gone, Vaerlyr’ra reached between her breasts and pulled out a small crystal pendant speaking softly. The crystal pulsed and was answered in turn by a glowing rune on the floor, previously unseen until that moment. Drax’l picked up the blanketed form and stepped on the rune, followed closely by his two sisters…

----------

The next morning, Faelen awoke and wished he hadn’t. His right arm was twisted back unnaturally, broken. A seering pain from his left hand made him look, he groaned as he saw his little finger was missing. For some reason his legs didn’t work quite right. These were the least of what really bothered him however, for he was lying in the middle of the front lawn of the Silver Arrow, and atop the corpse of someone he barely recognized; Moira, the missing barmaid. Her flesh was pale, her face bruised and battered, and as he painfully rolled off of her, saw also the gaping wound in her left chest. Tears streamed down his cheeks as he lay there helplessly, anger, sorrow, all welling up inside him. And, the knowledge of what he had been forced to tell those bastard drow..

----------

“Usstan saw in his mind where the blade is.” Makhila stated. Her powers as a Veldriss enabled her to see into Faelen’s thoughts, even tho he would not speak of it. “Perhaps a scry of the area…. Xas.. that’s it..”

She removed a golden bowl of blood from its niche and set it reverently on the altar. She closed her eyes and began to chant. The blood in the bowl began to slowly bubble, a misty red vapor rising from its surface, then she stopped and the surface became as glass. In the reflection the three drow watching could see the Silver Arrow. Willing the image to change, Makhila pulled back until the whole of the village could be seen, then further..

“Stop!”

There it was, north of the Justice shrine. The image matched precisely what she had seen in Faelen’s thoughts. The lake. The island. The falls. The island was not large. It wouldn’t take long to search it entirely.

“I’ve been there..” Drax’l muttered under his breath.

“What? Dos have been to that island?? When?” Makhila rounded on him. “Speak!”

“Nau nau!” Drax’l said hurriedly, “Naut to the island, the falls.. but.. Usstan saw the island when Usstan was there..”

Makhila frowned and narrowed her eyes. “And when was this dalnanuk?!”

“Two nights ago, Usstan was patrolling.. looking for an Outcast Usstan had encountered earlier.. but Usstan never saw him again, only Ssunv..” Drax’l’s voice trailed off abruptly.

“Only what? What else did dos see?” Makhila asked, her suspicions aroused.

“Naubol important… just a darthiiri..” he said in a low voice. “The one named Sunveil..”

“How convenient...” Makhila stated caustically. “And what was she doing there?”

Drax’l shifted uncomfortably and answered, “Singing.. and..” he cleared his throat, then muttered, “Bathing..”

Makhila growled and spoke, her voice full of venom, “Udos zhal speak of this later…. Dos know how Usstan feel about.. that one … For now, dos need to go, before the darthiir discover the bodies.”

Drax’l sighed, “Xas…. Mistress…”

----------

The elves had mustered quickly after finding Faelen and Moira’s corpse. They took him and made him as comfortable as they could upstairs in the inn, and Faelen told them what had happened. Drow, dressed all in black, captured and tortured him, and now knew generally where the sword was. After caring for Moira's body, the party went immediately to the island, but they were too late.

Wrath was gone.