22 and 23 Mirtul, 1373 DR

Tazi sat in shocked silence. She let her hands rest on her knees, and she looked at the nearby wall with a blank expression on her face. Her mind, though, was far from blank, as she turned over the recent events in her head. Her brain was like a dog worrying a bone; she kept playing the words over again and again, trying to make sense of them, looking at them from every angle. Tazi wasn't even aware of the close scrutiny her sullen companion gave her.

"What is it?" demanded the duergar. It was first time he had had spoken to her since they had been taken from the auction square. Tazi barely heard him.

"Hmm…" she vaguely replied.

"What do they want?" he asked her again.

The dwarf was standing only a few feet from her. She suspected he had also taken advantage of the bath water as even his gray skin looked less grimy. Tazi also detected the faintest whiff of the sandalwood soap. Nothing could be done for his dirty pants and tunic, though the drab colors of the material muted the stains. She looked closely at him, taking his measure, and she weighed her options carefully. She decided to risk a chance and take the duergar into her confidence.

"What's your name?" she asked him. Tazi could see he was surprised by her question.

"Why?" he countered.

"Because I'd like to call you something besides 'dwarf,'" she snapped. "And because it looks like we're stuck in this together, that's why."

"Justikar Stoneblood," he eventually told her, and Tazi thought fleetingly that he might be lying.

"Good," she replied. "I'm Tazi."

He looked at her. "I know. You announce yourself everywhere we go. How could I miss it?" he quipped and finally demanded, "Now what is it? " Tazi motioned for him to draw up a chair, but Justikar shook his head in refusal, signaling he preferred to stand.

"Have it your way," she said. "I've met our new owner. It turns out that this woman is someone who has ties to my homeland. In a roundabout sort of way, I know her. Or, to be more precise, I knew of her." Tazi paused to see Justikar's reaction. He barely batted an eye. "She has been posing as a curio merchant in my city, but she is much more than that. She alluded to the fact that she works for the Red Wizards as some kind of recruiter." Tazi saw that the duergar was unmoved at the mention of Naglatha's employers.

"As you've already guessed, I'm sure, she wants me to acquire something for her. But, I don't know what it is. Naglatha's given me the night to consider my options. If I accept, she has promised to repay me by granting me my freedom and returning my gold to me."

"And if you refuse?" Justikar asked with a grim expression.

"My continued servitude was implied," Tazi explained. She hesitated to say anything else, but the dwarf's unmoved expression prompted her to tell him more. "And harm to my family was more than implied." Tazi watched the dwarf's face to see if her words had had any effect on him.

"That's it?" he asked brusquely.

"Yes," Tazi said, "whatever It' is."

"So you're going to do it then, aren't you?" he questioned, and Tazi could hear the undisguised disgust in his voice. Until he had asked the question, she had not fully realized she had already made up her mind.

"Yes, I am. There really was no choice."

The dwarf snorted at her answer. "And folk say my people are greedy. Humph…People should look to their own houses for cleaning before they look to others." With that, he turned abruptly from her and walked toward one of the small cots against the wall. But, before Tazi could say anything in response, the dwarf turned again and marched back to her.

"Are you a coward?" he demanded in his gravelly voice. "Is that it? Are you afraid to try and take back your own freedom?" Tazi was shocked silent at Justi-kar's suddenly impassioned accusations. He put his fists on his hips and moved in closer. "Or is it greed, human? Is that crimson gold that glows so red too beautiful to resist? You'd sell out for a few lumps of metal?" he finished. When Tazi didn't immediately answer him, he continued on his tirade.

"It's true," he admitted grudgingly, "I owe you." The words seemed to stick in his throat. "And I hate debts." He slammed his fist on the table where the tub of water rested. Soapy suds splashed onto the floor with the force of his blow. He faced Tazi again with a severe look fixed on his face. "I especially hate debts to humans." She was amazed how filthy he made the last word sound.

"Aye, there is a debt between us," he growled. "But debt or not, I am not going to stick this out with you. Whatever is between you and this woman is between the two of you. I'll have no part in it. And that's final." His face was so close to Tazi's that she could count the number of earrings that studded his left ear. After counting four of them, Tazi exploded.

"How dare you?" she shouted. "Don't stand there and think to tell me who I am. You don't know a thing about me, little man." She rose to her feet slowly in an attempt to tower over the dwarf, and she could see he bridled at her last remark.

"Have I asked anything of you?" she demanded, and now it was she who stood defiant with her hands on her hips. "Have I?" she said down to him.

Justikar simply glowered back at her defiantly.

"There's the door," she continued and pointed to it. "If you see a chance to flee, then I suggest you take it. I wish you the best, but I won't go with you. I have to stay here." Tazi took a deep breath and tried to control her anger.

"My family means everything to me. You can believe that or not; that's your choice. But it doesn't change the fact that it is the truth. I wouldn't do anything to knowingly jeopardize their safety." She paused and walked away a few feet before turning to look at the dwarf.

He crossed his arms over his chest and simply kept his expression skeptical.

"I've seen something that makes me think Naglatha is more than just a recruiter for the Red Wizards," she continued more calmly. "I think she is one of them. And this woman has ties to my family. I can't risk it. Their safety means everything to me. I would walk through fire for them, and so I have to stay regardless. Even if I was to escape tonight, there is no way I could return to my home before she could have someone or something there. And I couldn't protect them. Maybe this way I can."

Justikar snortea at her explanation but regarded her briefly. "I understand a bit about family," was all he eventually said. Like the veracity of his name, Tazi didn't know whether to believe him or not.

She went over to one of the two cots against the wall and sank down wearily. "I meant it, you know," she told the dwarf. "If you see an opening, take it. I can't help you, but I promise I won't do anything to slow you down. That's the best I can offer." And she smiled ruefully. "But I'm staying." Without waiting for a reply, Tazi stretched out on the cot and closed her eyes.

Justikar hardly breathed as he sat cross-legged with his back to the wall on the small cot. The dwarf had held the same position for the last few hours as he strained to hear the sounds around him. The most obvious one that nearly drowned out the others was the soft snoring of the human who shared his incarceration. He shook his head slightly and was disgusted by how soundly the black-haired human slept. Not ten minutes after she had closed her eyes, her breathing had grown heavy. And now, the woman was making enough noise to rouse the dead. Humans!

He waited a bit longer, just to be certain she was not trying to deceive him, before he made his next move. When he was sure she was asleep, he uncrossed his legs and let them silently dangle over the side of his bed. He braced his hands on the wall behind him and slowly pushed against it. When his feet touched the floor, he firmly but cautiously raised his body off of the cot with excruciating care, fearful of any old or rusted bedsprings that might signal an alarm even though the furnishings seemed new and well made.