The last passage

The second door of the north door gad just before the change of guard. The mercenaries rushed into the vestibule. Brakka and his defenders held the line long enough for the families to reach the east staircase.

The first wave did not carry shields. She advanced with hooks and ropes, trying to pull the defenders out of the door. Brakka made them throw bags of mushroom dust. The powder ignited on contact with the lanterns and filled the vestibule with a green glow.

The first mercenary who crossed the threshold slid over the damp dust. Brakka disarmed him without hitting him in the head, then rolled him behind the defense line.

"Why are you keeping him alive?" asked a young guard.

"Because he can tell us how many they are."

"What if he lies?"

"Then he will have taught us that he is lying."

The guard had a look at Zaelyra, as if he was waiting for her to decide. She instead pointed to the hook that had fallen near his boots.

"Give it to Nym. He may know how to use it to block the door."

The boy obeys. Nym fixed the hook in the hinge; the bat slows down enough to gain a few breaths. Brakka and Zaelyra did not command the same thing, but each task now passed from one person to another without the group having to wait for a single order.

"Don't shoot at the silhouettes," Vhaelyn shouted from the courtyard. "Wait for them to cross the threshold!"

The House guards heard him. The mercenaries too. The green light revealed the gray armbands, but hid the faces.

Zaelyra joined the door with the last rolled map. A young guard held his crossbow towards the entrance, his hands trembling.

"Is this the first time? She asked.

"The first time someone can answer me."

"So don't shoot until you hear his answer."

A silhouette crosses the threshold. The guard did not shoot. Brakka hit her on the shoulder with the plate of his axe and disarmed her.

"You see?" says Zaelyra.

"I don't know if it was the right decision."

"Me neither. But he is alive."

Zaelyra stayed at the table to finish the maps. Ithryl's hands trembled; Vhaelyn continued to trace with cold precision.

"You should leave," she said to her sister.

"Not until I'm done."

"If you are taken, the House will know where to look."

"She already knows it."

Vhaelyn handed him a folded map. It was the route to the next stop, with a detour added to the silver ink.

"I made a copy for you."

"And you?"

"I'll stay with the patrol."

"You're going back to Menzoberranzan?"

"I command the mission. If I leave with you now, the guards who remained on the ridge will be abandoned."

Zaelyra understood that she could not ask him to make the same choice as her. "You've decided?"

"Not yet. But I won't let the House decide for me."

In the vestibule, a shock caused dust to fall from the ceiling. Rhylor joined Zaelyra, his arm bandaged and Dhal's plate around his neck.

"The door is lost," he says. "Brakka holds the corridor."

"What about civilians?"

"They are moving forward. Nym is with them."

"Kethra is missing."

As in response, the merchant appeared in the doorway, dragging a bag of ropes. "I opened access to the old freight elevator. You can thank me afterwards."

"I won't thank you for repairing some of what you broke," says Zaelyra.

"I didn't expect it."

They left through the service corridor. Vhaelyn stayed at the last branch with his soldiers. Before Zaelyra disappeared, she removed her priestess badge and slipped it into her pocket.

"If you come back, don't come alone," she says.

"If I come back, I won't come to save you."

"So much the better. I don't want to be saved."

The freight elevator descended along a wet well. The platform creaked with every movement. Nym, Sszindi and the families had already engaged in the lower passage. Fighting noises were approaching above.

Brakka appeared, covered with dust. "I stay. The relay will not defend itself."

Zaelyra wanted to protest.

"I chose," said Brakka. Don't take that away from me."

She closed the grid. The platform went down.

Before the gate closed, Vhaelyn put her fist against the metal. Zaelyra did the same on the other side.

"I didn't choose the House," says Vhaelyn. "Not yet."

"You chose what you were doing today."

"It may not be enough."

"This is what we have."

Vhaelyn nodded, then stepped back. She didn't ask them to wait for her.

In the well, Tazri held the box of maps against her. Rhylor kept his eyes fixed on his son's plate. Kethra watched the rope, without trying to hide it.

Below, the darkness opened in several galleries. Zaelyra had traced three possible routes. None guaranteed survival.

She showed them the maps and explained the risks of each.

This time, the group chooses together.