“I understand why the thief and the wood elf joined you… they both wanted something from the manor… but why did those two? It doesn’t seem like they had anything to gain,” Ryllae mused quietly to her sister as she watched Coran settle down next to Kara, who sat with her back against a tree, idly petting her cougar companion. “They came because it was the right thing to do,” Siril enlightened her, turning her eyes on the couple with a coy smile as she added; “and we’ve become… quite friendly.” “I’m sure,” Ryllae snarked, knowing all too well just what her sister meant by ‘friendly’, visibly shuttering at the thought of intimate contact due to her recent traumatic experiences, but that reaction wasn’t caused by revulsion alone; her innocence hadn’t survived long in the hands of the drow… awaking a side of her she never knew she had. Several more hours of trekking through the trackless forest, with another night spend under Coran’s magical shelter, and the companions found their way back to the Dancing Dryad, where Aesar left them to report back to the watch commander with the intelligence he had collected. Since arriving in Tangled Trees months earlier, Siril had stayed at the watch barracks, when not being entertained elsewhere, but now with Ryllae to look after she know she would have to find a different living arrangement. However, for the moment, a room at the inn, where Coran, Kara and Sheera, and Malark, had rented separate accommodations, would have to do; it also allowed them to stay close to their father’s spell books, which they still hoped would be return to them. Although reluctant to leave her sister while still unsure about her emotional state, Siril knew she would have to return to sentry duty, especially in lite of the increase in expenses renting a room entailed, but having Coran and Kara close at hand help to set her mind at ease. Still she wasn’t happy when Aesar appeared at their door the next morning to summoned her to meet with the watch commander. When Siril turned away from the door following a muffled conversation that she obviously didn’t want her to overhear with a concerned look to face, Ryllae told her flatly; “You knew you would have to return to duty sooner or later… you can’t just sit here with me… and I don’t need you to. Believe me, I’ve learned to take care of myself.” “Alright,” Siril pouted reluctantly. “You know Coran and Kara are just down the hall if you need anything… and I’ll be back as soon as I can.” “I’ll be fine,” Ryllae reassured her, as she guided her toward the door and her waiting escort. She knew that her sister was concerned for her wellbeing, but her constant hovering had become stifling, and there was something she needed to do that she couldn’t with Siril there. Waiting by the window she watched her disappear into the maze of massive trees the supported most of the town, then slipped from her room and down the hall to pause before the door of another rented room, taking a deep breath to steel herself for what she was about to do, before knocking. Malark’s annoyance at being interrupted instantly turned to shock when he opened the door to find Ryllae, his eyes roaming hungrily over her wonderful figure still garbed only in the brief halter and skirt she had worn during their escape, as she provocatively leaned on the door frame; a coy smile growing on her succulent lips as she drank in his reaction before asking with feigned innocence; “Well, aren’t you going to invite me in?” “Of course,” he stammered as he ushered her in, scanning the hallway to assure that her sister and the other killjoys weren’t about, then secured the door behind her and inquired, trying not to sound as off balance as her surprised appearance made him; “What can I do for you?” “The question is, what do I have to do for you to get my father’s spell books back?” she solicited in a seductive purr as she draped her arms around his shoulders.