Stones continue falling from the ridge as a silver-haired young adult elf man emerges along the southern road. One red eye and one jade eye fix on the surrendered drow; blood darkens his side, and a sealed message rests in his hand.
Airexal Svon
Airexal Svon. I took this from a courier who never reached Waterdeep. It says another force is already moving toward the Blackthorn Steps.
The disarmed swordsmen remain beneath Kynes’s loosened violet barrier. Mara turns toward the southern road, while Kynes watches Airexal’s wound and the message with equal caution.
Kynes
Another force? Whose allegiance does the message name?
Airexal Svon
None. That is the danger. The courier had no answer, only this seal and a warning that they seek the ledger before Vhalzren can burn it.
Mara
Then the steps have become a meeting place for enemies who may not share a master. We should not assume the first force we find serves Domini.
A fresh tremor shakes the valley. The sealed message bears a black thorn pressed into red wax, while beyond the eastern ridge, distant horns answer one another. Every surrendered drow looks toward the sound.