“What do you know of Eilistraee?” Taenya inquired, stunned by both the beautiful bard’s sudden appearance and the fact that she’d recognized her as a cleric of the little known drow goddess, even knowing the common epithet of her priestesses. “I’m from Harrowdale,” Mistale replied casually, motioning to the serving maid to bring her an ale of her own. “I’ve met a couple of your sister priestesses on their Runs over the years. That is why you’re here isn’t it?” “Yes,” the drow replied with an honest smile, but then continued with a regretful sigh; “I was.” “You ‘were’ on a Run?” Coran questioned in a concerned tone, snapping his attention back to the gorgeous dark elf. “My intention was to see the Standing Stone… I have,” Taenya admitted in a resolved tone. “My Run is finished, it’s time I returned to the Velarswood and my duties at the temple.” “So, will you go back the way you came, the Moonsea Ride to the Halfaxe Trail?” he asked with a curious smirk. “Is there a better way?” she inquired. She had a basic understanding of the dalelands geography, but only knew the major trade routes, there where undoubtedly dozens of lesser trails and paths through the forest that would be more direct that he might know from his years of traveling. “There might be,” he offered thoughtfully. “There’s a little used trail called the Dark Road to leads to Essembra north of Battledale, from there we could take Rauthauvyr’s road south to Hap and then skirt the Cold Fields north to Harrowdale. It might be a little quicker, but its also somewhere else you have never been.” “If you don’t mind restless spirits nipping at your heals,” Mistale interjected with a concerned tone. “There’s a reason they call it the Dark Road… it comes uncomfortably close to the Vale of Lost Voices… which isn’t someplace you want to be after nightfall, and the Cold Fields aren’t much more hospitable. The elven spirits of the Vale don’t take kindly to humans who venture too close to their resting place… but they’re downright hostile to drow!” “Well right now, there is someplace I do need to be,” Taenya announced, having noticed that the moon had risen outside the window. “I need to go pray to Eilistraee.” Taenya had assumed that Coran would accompany her to find a secluded place amongst the thick grove of trees by the river, as Willow had suggested, but she was surprised when Mistale declared that she was coming along as well. It wasn’t difficult to find a fairly well hidden location up-stream from the mill on the other side of the river, where the stunningly beautiful drow priestess proceeded to strip naked in preparation for her nightly Circle Dance, only to have the gorgeous half-elven bard do the same, prompting Coran to demand; “What are you doing?” “I’m joining her,” Mistale proclaimed, as if it was the most natural thing to do. “Aren’t you… or are you just going to stand there and gawk at us?” “I guess I’m going to just stand here and gawk,” Coran shot back, leaning back against a tree, as the two stunningly beautiful women took up positions on opposite sides of Taenya’s bastard sword, and began to circle it in a twisting, twirling dance of near erotic sensuality, while harmonizing a wordless melody. As mesmerizing as the nearly inhumanly alluring drow priestess was when she performed her naked dance alone, the addition of the stunningly beautiful half-elf, had Coran absolutely mystified, staring dumbfounded, while they feed off each other’s energy to reach new heights of wanton abandon, before finally collapsing opposite of one another.