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HOME, BITTER HOME

You should put the dragon statuette back," Jarlaxle remarked as he and Entreri arrived at the door to their apartabalus, a modest affair set on the second story of an unre Modest from outward appearances, at least, for inside lay the spoils of the pair&039;s successful ventures before their trip north to Vaasa Entreri and Jarlaxle were very good at gathering coin, and Jarlaxle in particular was very good at spending it

"I left it in the castle," Entreri replied, an obvious lie that brought a grin to the drow Never would Entreri leave behind such a powerful tool as the statuette, which had proven instru the dracolich That tiny, silvery ite forth the various breath forons

"Perhaps I can persuade Tazmikella and Ilnezhara to provide us with another one," Jarlaxle said

"And what else ned a wounded look

"Now that you have proffered a bargaining chip, I mean," Entreri clarified

Jarlaxle&039;s expression shifted to one of confusion - again, obviously feigned

"Ions," Entreri said "The gem you took from the book - the second one, not the one fro for our dragon friends, would it not?"

"Perhaps," the drow agreed "Or perhaps they will find it revolting Perhaps they will kill me if I even mention it, or if I reveal it but do not turn it over to theed and grinned "Our dragon friends sent us to Vaasa to find just such a tome, and just such a phylactery I am duty-bound to report to them in full"

"And to turn over the spoils?"

"The phylactery?" The drow scoffed "I ons"

"And one is a fine lover That changes nothing"

Entreri shuddered at the thought, which of course only made Jarlaxle s more than information, and so infor less"

"And if they des to Urshula I a it for hiain

"They need not know - "

"They already know! They are dragons They have lived in this region for centuries They reht beside hions," Entreri said yet again "Why do you not seehthe eons They are not serving wenches or even hus or queens You play with a force you do not understand"

"I have played with greater, and won"

Entreri shook his head, certain then that they were doo his cloak on a hook, but took it back "I will settle this, and calons - yes, ons Formidable in battle, of course, but not so et how they enlisted us in the first place," said Entreri

Indeed, the dragon sisters had created an elaborate ruse to entwine the pair and to determine their intentions Tazmikella had hired them, secretly and from afar, and when they had discovered the riddle of the woon, but merely that she was the one who had hired them to acquire a certain candlestick - she had created a second ruse, clai that Ilnezhara was her bitter and hated rival and that the woed to Tazical instruiven to Entreri

But the deception hadn&039;t ended there, with a si that attempted robbery, Entreri and Jarlaxle had been shown the awful truth of Ilnezhara, revealed to theon forue, and yet another secret test, offering them their lives only on condition that they return to their former employer, Tazmikella, and kill her

By any on sisters had played theed at the painful reame they played, but one, no doubt, they had spent years perfecting In Menzoberranzan, a ruse within a ruse within a ruse is an everyday affair, and usually spontaneously generated"

"And yet you were tripped up by theirs"

"Only because I did not expect - "

"You underestimated them"

"Because I believed them to be humans, of course, and it would be hard to underestilad you feel that way"

Jarlaxle laughed "I know they are dragons now"

"This woave Jarlaxle pause "Because I love you as a brother, I pray that you will one day fathoons," Entreri muttered "And I kno love their brothers"

Jarlaxle sighed at his friend&039;s unrelenting ignorance, then offered a salute e his cloak over his shoulders "I will return after sunset Perhaps you would do well to run back to Vaasa and the castle and retrieve the statuette And if you do, pray use the powers of white or blue The fiery breath of a red dragon would not be wisely placed over our door - too much wood, of course"

The drow found his "employers" at Ilnezhara&039;s tower They always met there, rather than at the modest abode of Tazmikella Perhaps that was an indication of Ilnezhara&039;s haughtiness, her refusal to lower herself and venture to the hovel Jarlaxle, of course, saw it a bit differently Tazo to Ilnezhara&039;s fabulous abode betrayed her true feelings, he believed She pretended to care little for the niceties, but as with so many others who did likewise, it was a deception - a self-deception So ons, drow, hu that their own hearts were purer, their own designs more lofty and i that which they believed they could not attain Or if they could attain such things, they still used their "lofty" aspirations in the sailded coach: to elevate themselves above other people

That personal elevation was the true occupation of rational beings, even long-living creatures such as dragons

"It was as we expected," Ilnezhara res

That it was she who had initiated the conversation and not theTazmikella revealed the anxiety felt by both of the sisters

"Your predictions that Zhengyi&039;s library had been unearthed seem validated, yes," he answered "You said there would be more constructs, and alas, that is e found"

"One to dwarf Herminicle&039;s tower," said Tazht dwarf a huth," Ilnezhara added

Jarlaxle didn&039;t yi had enslaved dragons like Urshula the Black They understood the ic that had created Heric to reach to greater heights when fueled by a dragon

So it was

"The book was destroyed," Ilnezhara added

"Unfortunately," said the drow

"By Jarlaxle," the tall copper-haired creature said, and that put Jarlaxle back a step "Or one like him," she quickly equivocated, "fast with the blade and with the spell"

Jarlaxle started to protest, but Tazmikella cut him short "I went there," she said "I ventured into the castle and found the podium in the main keep I found the remnants of the book of creation, torn and burned"

Jarlaxle started to argue, then to deny, but he sratulations to the deductive dragon, and said, "It had to be destroyed, of course"

"And the phylactery contained within?" asked Ilnezhara

Jarlaxle&039;s eyes shifted to take in the delicate creature, his lover, and his hand casually slipped near to the belt pouch on his right hip, wherein he kept a s situation Crushing that cerah the multiverse - to where, to which plane of existence even, he could not predict

In that ured that there were few places in the ry dragons

"Zhengyi created many such phylacteries," Tazon in the Bloodstone Lands with his prouess is that the castle north of Palishchuk contained the phylactery of the dracolich Urshula the Black"

Jarlaxle shrugged "The acidic breath of the creature we battled was consistent with that"

"And the dracolich was destroyed?"

"With help froave to me"

"And the phylactery was removed," Ilnezhara said

Jarlaxle held his free hand out to the side as if he did not understand

"The phylactery that was embedded in the tome of creation, which was shredded by Jarlaxle, was, therefore, reon clarified

"By you," her sister added

The drow stepped back and brought his hand away from his pouch and up to his chin "And if what you say is true?" he asked

"Then you possess so you do not understand," Ilnezhara replied "You have ainst those you encounter Now you are playing with dragons - with dead dragons That see"

"This is no gayi wove a complicated web His temptations were" She looked to her sister

"Potent," Ilnezhara finished for her "Who would not wish immortality?"