Pathway

The yaomo smiled. 

"True. Come now, if you don't tell me, I'll simply hang about your elbow, whispering, until your nerves won't let you concentrate. You're already hopelessly distracted."

Damn him, but he was right. Chang Chang sighed. 

"I am bloodscarred."

She said, hoping that a small piece of the truth would satisfy him. After a second, she continued. 

"The affliction is slowly killing me. The sphere contains a piece of Mystra's essence, so I hope the artifact's power may be able to prolong my life."

Surprise touched Gallazza's features. And something else—a hint of consternation? He asked.

"The sphere contains a piece of the divine?"

"According to the records, yes." 

Chang Chang cocked her head. 

"You also came here looking for the sphere, though not for the same reasons, I assume. Why do you want it?"

Gallazza stared hard at her, and Chang Chang knew he wasn't fooled by her casual tone. 

"Who are you? Why did king Laggsrma send you here? You're innocent enough looking, but there's more to you. I can sense it."

Chang Chang took a chance—again, the truth, or at least part of it. 

"He wants me to learn your secrets."

Gallazza scoffed at that. 

"He thought I'd tell you?"

Now it was Chang Chang's turn to smile, though her heart pounded. 

"You've already told me things. For instance, you don't know everything about the artifact you're seeking. You didn't know that it contains a piece of Mystra."

She'd expected anger from him, but he merely regarded her with a tight, calculating expression. 

"Well, well. You do have some small talent for interrogation. Perhaps it's your beautiful, innocent face, so pure and sweet."

"You're trying to intimidate me again."

"I can't help it. I can't find the sphere, and the dwarf won't have left anything else of value here to interest me. This is just another cage, except—" he lifted a hand and touched a strand of her hair with the tips of his fingers—"he's left a pretty little bird here to entertain me."

Gallazza replied, forcing Chang Chang to jerk away from him then, and he smiled, which infuriated her. 

"So that's all that's left for you?" she said.

"You'll stay in this room and taunt me until the yaomo march on, myria?"

"Or until king Laggarma decides I'm no longer of any use to him. You must forgive me a few petty pleasures."

Gallazza said. The color of his red eyes deepened, betraying his anger.

"The Lochall said you were missing pieces of yourself. What does that mean?"

"It means exactly that. Memories that I should have are gone. Most of my life is a hazy shadow in my mind. Somehow, I never questioned it, not until Mith Barak laid my mind bare. I didn't even know there was an emptiness inside me. I only ever desired a purpose—what the universe wants for me."

"What the universe wants?" 

Chang Chang held her scroll against her chest and replied. She gritted her teeth at the faint amusement that flitted across his features. 

"Isn't that just as futile as pacing this cage? I've read about your kind. Of course the dwarves have written about you. They've chronicled their constant war with your race. They talk about your people too. What has your ancestors ever done for you? What has your divine goddess done to earn your reverence?"

Far from being provoked, the yaomo actually chuckled. 

"What a question, especially coming from you. I never expected it."

"You're mocking me. I should have known better than to expect plain speaking with you."

Chang Chang said, crossing the room to sit beside the fire. 

"Oh, but my surprise is genuine." 

Gallazza said, coming to stand with his back to the fire. Once again, he was too close. Chang Chang felt the unease coming from the yaomo. It had to be an artifact or a mystical art. The pressure was making her whole body tense, but she tried not to show it. She knew he was doing it on purpose. Everything the drow did was calculated to put his opponents off balance. How could a race live like that? Her thought was interrupted by the voice of the yaomo.

"I wasn't being boorish when I told you that you have an interesting smell. I was referring to the magic on you. The Art is so strong. It must be terribly hard for you, being bloodscarred."

"I don't know what you're talking about." 

Chang Chang said. She flipped open the scroll and stared at the writing without seeing it.

Gallazza's soft chuckle mingled with the cracks and pops of the fire. 

"Of course you do. You think you have people, but deep down you know how alone you are in the world. The divine Xian Xia, or simply Mystra, who might once have steered your course in life, the guiding force behind all wielders of the blood arcane, is lost to you. In fact, you dont know much about her at all, do you? Very pathetic. My divine, Lolith, may be a divine, but at least I know that when I cry out in the night, someone hears me. You cry out alone. It's no wonder you seek the Arcane Script Sphere. Even a scrap of a divine is better than none."

"I'm not alone." 

Chang Chang said before continuing. 

"I walk with companions who would give their lives to keep me safe. We adventure in the world together, embracing life. Does your divine care when you cry out in the night? Is she there to give comfort? Can you understand that kind of devotion?"

"Ah, your divine beast." 

Gallazza said. His smile turned cruel. He took a step toward her.

"A beast protects its companion with an equal fervor. I can train beasts to answer my command, so yes, child, I understand the devotion you speak of. Of course, a beast is usually willing to offer affection to its master in addition to service. Does your beast fulfill this role as well?"

"That's enough."

"But why?" 

The yaomo crouched in front of her. 

"In your eyes, I'm just a worthless yaomo that could be killed without second thoughts. But to me your existence shares as many echoes of tragedy as you see in mine. You stand on the edge of oblivion, spellscarred, victim of a lost goddess's power. So you adventure in the world, embracing life, as you call it, even taking on the dwarves' burden as your own—whatever it is that will fulfill you, ease the emptiness inside. All this I understand. We all do what we have to do to survive the darkness. I am surprised because you are what we have to do to survive the darkness. I am surprised because you are the last person in Wujin who should pity me for my existence. Pity yourself."

He left the fire, retreating to the other side of the room. Chang Chang felt the heat burning into one side of her face, but she couldn't move. If she moved, she could either attack the yaomo or leave the room.

"What troubles you?" 

The Lochal asked. She'd remained silent during Chang Chang's exchange with Gallazza, but now she came to stand beside her. She looked at Chang Chang and further asked.

"Can I help?"

"I don't think anyone on this plane can. For now, I need enlightenment and a clear head." 

Chang Chang said. She tried to push the drow's taunts from her mind, but they lingered like a poison. 

"The latter can easily be remedied. You've not been outside this room in many hours. Walk about and clear your mind. As for enlightenment …"

"What is it? You have a book to recommend?"

Chang Chang asked eagerly.

"Perhaps. It might aid both of you, in fact. Or it might drive you mad."

The Lochal said as she glanced uneasily between Chang Chans and Gallazza. 

Gallazza was the first to respond. 

"You have my attention, spirit. Speak."

"Don't be so eager." 

The seneschal cautioned him. She held her hands palms up in front of her. A black leather-bound tome appeared, heavy and intimidating, with two brass locks to secure it. 

"If enlightenment is what you seek, this tome may provide the answer."

"What is its power?" 

Chang Chang asked. A faint reddish aura surrounded the book, which intensified the longer she stared at it. Power—barely contained, Icelin thought. Whatever knowledge was stored within, it must be significant.

"Enlightenment to the discerning hearts." 

The Lochal said enigmatically and continued. 

"The book itself contains no words."

"Then what purpose does it serve?" 

Gallazza asked the dwarven spirit who shook her head and answered..

"For clouded thoughts, it brings clarity. For troubled minds, certainty."

"Clarity and certainty are two friends I don't often converse with. But why are they dangerous?"

Chang Chang asked curiously.

"Because of the ways used to arrive at them." 

Said the dwarf woman as she continued. 

"The tome delves into the deepest parts of your mind, draws out secrets, confronts truths you may be unable—or unwilling—to see. By facing your own truth can you discover the true enlightement." 

Saying this last, the Lochal looked pointedly at Gallazza who laughed scornfully, but Chang Chang thought she detected a spark of eagerness in his eyes before the yaomo replied. 

"You cannot frighten me, spirit. Let your tome work its magic. I'll master it."

The Lochal inclined her head, seemingly unsurprised at Gallazza's bravado. She turned to Chang Chang. 

"What say you?"

Chang Chang raised her hands in a defensive gesture. 

"I think you're right. I need to walk outside and clear my head. When I return, I'll make my decision."

"A wise choice." 

The Lochal smiled at her.

"Go, then. All will be ready when you return."