ortunately though, Jade regained consciousness before Kat had moved even two steps towards her - Michael hadn't hit her all that hard. She put her hand to her neck, and felt a moment of panic as she realised the talisman wasn't there. It was then that Kat knelt beside her and pressed it into her hand, folding her fingers around it, before helping her into a sitting position. Jade ran her fingers over the design, knowing each groove well. Darryl and his parents had given her the talisman soon after he'd brought her to them. Then they had explained why she must put it on and never take it off. It was a little known fact that during the war the humans had used very advanced biological warfare, creating a virus that attacked only Jade's species, through their vastly different blood stream. The talismans had been created by a human mage who had felt so guilty about the whole thing that he'd created - well, not a cure, but something that enabled them to live normal lives. The talismans were very rare, but then, so were people of her race these days. Hers said that she was a foundling, married, then widowed to Darryl, and therefore earned the respect of a wise-woman. Darryl's talisman had been returned to his parents at his death, to be cleansed and stored away, in case another of her kind were found, or one of the others suddenly became fertile. Their race was slowly dying out, and it was the quest of all of their kind to find a cure. On the other side were the human symbols for the elements and spirit. Jade had combined the adept's amulet with her protective talisman to form a single talisman - which she kept against her skin at all times - or at least most of the time. She had to, in order not to be affected.

Jade slipped her talisman back over her head, and muttered the same spell she'd used to erase Marc's memory all those weeks ago. Mark looked at her, and laughed.
"We are The Drow, Jade. That isn't going to work on us."
More surprises, thought Jade. I don't think I can take much more of this.
Mark spoke sharply to the other drow, and they vanished into the darkness, back to where ever they'd approached from.
"It's almost sunrise above," said Mark. "We may as well have breakfast here and have a little chat. Why didn't you tell me?"
"That I'm a Kyticin?" asked Jade, scathingly. "Up there, with the humans?"
"The war ended 50 years ago, Jade. They don't still kill your type on sight."
"That's what you think," Jade muttered to herself.
Mark rolled his eyes. He well understood the persecution the Kyticines had gone through, but he thought Jade's approach to be a little excessive.
"If they still killed you on sight, would the family have gone back above ground?"
Jade looked startled.
"I think it's time you explained a few things too, Mark. Why is that rock covered in Kyticin writing?"
Mark glanced at it, and began handing out strips of deer meat and bread.
"That's a long story," said Mark, then began to tell it.

***

At the start of the war, several Kyticin families, seeing where the war was going, approached the drow and begged refuge. The drow, being no lovers of the Kyticines, but loving the humans even less, agreed to harbour the Kyticines for the duration or the war. The war, unfortunately, lasted for almost 100 years, which gave the Kyticines a long period of time underground. During that period they realised that they'd been infected with the virus, and wrote the tablets depicting their language, their rank, their history, and their downfall. The tablets apparently ran for kilometres. As the war raged on, the Kyticines dwindled in numbers, until there were but a handful left underground, and almost all of the species above ground had been killed. Those still underground formed a blood oath, making them family. The last family of the Kyticines. It was those few Kyticines who received the talismans from the human mage. The talisman negated the effects of the virus, but also made them infertile. In order to propagate their species, the mother had to remove her talisman for the duration of the pregnancy - which was usually enough to kill her. In this way the species struggled to survive, drawing ever nearer to extinction. Above the war stopped, and scouting parties of the male Kyticin began venturing above grounds. The fabled Kyticin cities were nothing but rubble, and renegade Kyticin were few and far between. The males built small villages, and the Kyticines slowly began to move above ground again - leaving nothing but the tablets to remind anyone who passed that way of their history. The death rate was high, and the number of foundlings low, but the Kyticines had managed to survive for 50 years since the end of the war. Unfortunately, their only hope was to find a cure - Kyticin women birthed mainly sons, and the ratio of males to females was vastly disproportionate.
"You're the youngest one I've ever met," Mark concluded.
Kat looked to Jade, who had tears streaming down her face. Not knowing quite what to do, Kat reached over and put an arm around her, then stroked her hair and began to softly sing.
"Llentol, abbil, dalhar lu' dalninil, l'olath zhah at belbol, ulnin udos yorn tlu sreen'aur, ulnin udos yorn tlu, oloth zhah udossta abbil..."
Jade didn't understand the drow words, but the song was strangely calming and her tears soon stopped. Kat stopped her song, and moved away slightly.
"I had never heard the full story," said Jade, softly. "I am a Kyticin, and the Drow know more of my history than I do."
"Perhaps when we have finished this quest you will be allowed to come back and read the tablets. But for now, we should get moving. The sun has risen above, and we have far to go today."
They collected their packs, and Jade located her staff, and they began to walk. Jade fell in beside Kat.
"That was a beautiful song, Kat. Thank you. Where did you learn it?"
Kat looked up.
"I learned it when I was a rothe - a slave. A woman there taught me. Now I know that she must have been a drow, though I did not know it then. Perhaps she sensed my blood in me, I don't know."
"You sung it perfectly," complimented Mark, walking ahead of them without turning around.
Kat acknowledged the compliment.
"What does it mean?" asked Jade.
Kat then began to sing the song again, translating so Jade would understand.
"Hush, friend, child and sister, the dark is a gift, soon we will be safe, soon we will be escaping, darkness is our friend..."
"A fitting song, for under the mountains, and a very drow song at that," commented Mark. "Let us walk, we have far to go."
The three walked on through the mountain.

He hunted her swiftly, and caught up with her before too long. Jade was exhausted, and stumbling through the woods in what she thought was the direction of town, but was actually due east, deeper into the forest. Growing tired of the hunt, Michael stalked her silently, then, as she stumbled, grabbed her and pinned her to the ground. Jade gave a weak cry of frustration and anger, as Michael ripped her amulet off her. He carefully set it to one side. He kept all the talismans of the Kyticines he killed. He had killed many, and was owed much respect amongst the hunters. He carefully examined the talisman, then swore. She was a foundling, married to royalty. Michael swore for several moments, as Jade furiously thought of a way to escape. She didn't have anything with her, and didn't know what to do. That was what she'd hired Kat for. Michael stopped swearing and drew his sacrificial knife. Royalty or not, she was still a Kyticin. Michael muttered a swift incantation to Lloth, and then drew his knife firmly across her throat. He would have liked to toy with her a little more, but she'd already proved troublesome enough.

As Jade's blood soaked the earth, Michael picked up her amulet and moved to one side to watch her die. As Jade drew her final breath, the talisman seemed to shudder, and started to burn. Michael swore violently, and dropped it to the ground. Then the amulet turned to sand. Michael bent to pick it up, but the sand broke as he touched it, then sifted through his fingers, worth nothing to him now. Michael cursed again. She had cheated him! He should have let her suffer! Michael hadn't realised that Jade's mage amulet would destroy itself once she died, and because it was combined with her Kyticin talisman, destroyed that too. At that moment, Kat, Mark, and another person entered the clearing. Kat let out a cry of furious anger, snatched Mark's crossbow from his hands and fired it at Michael. He jumped and rolled to the side just in time to avoid being shot in the throat, but the bolt caught his shoulder. Michael bolted into the trees, leaving a trail of blood.
"Marked him," said Kat in satisfaction, a predatory gleam in her eye. "He is mine. You," she pointed at the stranger, "raise her. You," she pointed at Mark, "heal her."
"If I can," Mark promised.
He gestured to the necromancer they'd "employed" in town. Mark had said, "Pain is a crude way of obtaining obedience, but it is cheap and plentiful," and the necromancer had agreed to join them almost immediately. It had taken a little "persuasion" but he had decided to accompany them. Wasn't that nice?
"Do as you are ordered, and live," Mark said pointing to Jade.
"I can't, revered leader," said the necromancer in a quivering voice. "It has to be dark for me to do my work."
Mark smiled. "That can be arranged."

Kat reloaded Mark's crossbow. His bolts were anointed with Belbol d'Elghinn - the gift of death. Kat was well pleased, and she knew that Michael wouldn't be feeling all that well at the moment. She hunted him silently, hearing him stumble occasionally - a fatal mistake for any drow. As she neared him, she heard him muttering, staring around him into the trees.
"He who watches his back, meets death from the front," he muttered. Kat grinned as she lined up Mark's crossbow with his back - the irony was not lost on her. Michael didn't really need a 2nd dose of poison, but she wanted to make sure he wouldn't recover. She fired and the bolt hit target. Michael fell to the ground, and Kat walked forward and looked down at him.
"Save me," he pleaded. "Lloth!"
Kat smiled very slowly. If you ever see a drow smile, you're already dead. Bruises were appearing all over Michael's body. He screamed as he realised what was happening to him. She stood on his wrist, and neatly searched him as he began haemorrhaging to death. She took his knife and a pouch that he had hanging from his belt. Then, from around his neck, she took 13 Kyticin talismans, hanging on a thong. Kat scowled as she realised what they were, and kicked Michael in the side, breaking a couple of ribs. Just after that, blood gushed from his mouth, ears, nose and eyes, and he died. Kat chuckled. It was a very entertaining death, it was a pity Mark had missed it - he first kill since she'd become a drow. Everyone knew a drow female shouldn't marry until she'd killed her tenth man - Kat wasn't sure if everyone she'd killed before she'd realised she was a drow counted, so she was playing it safe. It shouldn't take too long to get up to quota, and then she would tell Mark that he was going to marry her. It was only fitting, after all.

Kat opened Michael's pouch and tipped the contents of it into her palm, then stared in astonishment.
"I'm glad that I don't need to tell you to finish the job," said Mark from a few metres away.
Kat swung around to face him.
"Although, I see I do need to caution you against becoming complacent after a kill."
Kat shook her head.
"Why are you here? You should be healing Jade."
Mark snorted.
"That damn human isn't worth the time we took to collect him. He said he needed it to be dark, so I took him to the underdark, but then he said he needed it to be midnight... Damn humans."
"Was there anything you could do for her without him?"
Mark shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Kat. He slit her throat, and his knife was lined with Haszak. Even if I could do anything, her mind would be gone."
"Sadistic bastard," Kat spat, glaring at Michael.
"He can't hear you," observed Mark.
Kat gave him a withering look.
"Where's the necromancer?"
"Running that way," Mark jerked his thumb to the South. "He'll *probably* stop when he hits the ocean."
"Good. We don't need him anyway."
"We don't?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Without answering, Kat held out her hand. Resting in her palm was a perfect purplish pink wolf.

***

Mark carried Jade's body back to the inn, and the three of them went up to Jade's room, via the back entrance. The bath was still full of cold water, so Kat and Mark bathed Jade's body and dressed her in the dress she'd worn to the King of Teknosar's ball. Luckily the high neckline covered the seam in her throat. Then Kat emptied the water, and called for the bath to be refilled. The kitchen boys who filled the bath stared at the blood splattered over Kat, but hurried from the room when Mark growled at them. Kat banished Mark from the room as she bathed. There was a reason other than false modestly though. Once she was clean, Kat went to Jade, and carefully and regretfully removed her rings. Placing them on her own fingers, she knelt by Jade's chest and placed her hands on it. The rings deactivated the enchantment, and the chest opened. The two other Jade wolves were sitting on the top, so Kat removed them and shut the chest, then put Jade's rings back on her fingers. Then she locked Jade's door, and went down to the taproom to collect Mark.

Opening a portal to the underworld in the middle of town wasn't exactly a good idea in Kat's opinion, so she and Mark had gone back out into the forest before uncovering the final wolf in the presence of the other two. Seated in the clearing, Kat unwrapped the three wolves carefully, and set them on the ground in a row.