Hearing the tumult from within, Phaedra immediately gives chase. When the cleric appears, she see her sister running towards the river and also heads in that direction, followed on her heels by the male Xaniqos. A lot of splashing indicates where Theo entered the river.

He’s getting away! Phaedra alerts the others in sign language. The wizard casts one of his spells, dispelling the male’s magic, and a shape becomes visible in the swift current. The scout jumps after him and swims to the other shore, while Lilith loads her crossbow.

When Theo’s outline is lightened by Alvra’s fairy fire, he realizes he’s been spotted. And if he was still in doubt, that hope vaporizes quickly when two earth elementals materialize behind him. The monsters grapple him, but Theo is a tough cookie. It takes four more small elementals to finally pummel him unconscious. Phaedra binds his wrists and feet, and with a long rope Lilith and Alvra pull the drow back towards their side of the river, the scout supporting his head to keep him from drowning.

They move him to the bushes, where Lilith starts her interrogation. Luckily the curious spectators from the inn have gone back inside.

“Why did you run?”

The drow doesn’t say anything. He seems to be more scared of his boss than of the Xaniqos siblings.

“OK, Alvra, cut off his finger.”, Lilith orders. Theo gives her a calculated stare.
“What’s in it for me?”
“How about a slow or a quick death?”

When Alvra puts his rapier under the dark elf’s fingernail, he gets ready to talk.

“Last chance,”, the cleric repeats, “what’s your name and why did you run? Why are you really here?”
“My name is Vaarz, and we live here with a large group for profit. There’s lots of gold to be plundered from passing caravans. Our leader is a drow cleric, and we live about 6 or 7 miles south of the inn. We live a rather good life. The two women in our company have killed everyone and put a curse on the humans, so they take excellent care of us. You are the first drow we have seen in a long, long time.”
“What does your leader look like, what is her name?”
“That I don’t know, but she is an older priestess,” Vaarz says, hesitating slightly. “I can show you the way to the Hidden Dell though.” Lilith arches her eyebrow.
“And why are two men guarding that tower over there?”, Phaedra pits in.
“They’re guarding the former church of Pelinor.”

Alvra searches Theo’s piwafwi for hidden treasures and weapons. The cloak is magical, and the rapier is of a good quality. A small crossbow and a quiver with darts, plus a healing potion are also among his possessions. Lilith finds a wand, an antitoxin, a tanglefoot bag, a thunder stone plus a small, very thin arcane spellbook.

“If you want to get back to the Underdark, you will have to go to the Hidden Dell, since the mistress has the key to open the portal. But if they attack, I suggest you run! There are twenty drow and four of you. And you are in no shape to run.”

Vaarz has a point: the Xaniqos are exhausted and hurt. Phaedra manages to find boards for a make-shift bridge across the river. They make camp in bushes, away from the road, where Lilith heals those who need it. During her watch, Phaedra sees a flock of ugly ravens fly before the moon. They keep circling, like they are searching the lands, and she can only hope they haven’t seen her. She wakes her brother.

“I’m not really used to surface birds, but I saw ravens who didn’t act like ravens should.”

Alvra notices them too and calls forth a globe of darkness to disguise their whereabouts. In the middle of the night, again the flock of birds patrols the skies, after which they seem to return to the village. They make a lot of noise, but stay out of range. The night is full of unknown sounds anyhow, but despite the chirping, rustling, and the ever-present wind, they manage to sleep a bit.