"That's it?" he asked brusquely.
"Yes," Tazi said, "whatever It' is."
"So you're going to do it then, aren't you?" he questioned, and Tazi could hear the undisguised disgust in his voice. Until he had asked the question, she had not fully realized she had already made up her mind.
"Yes, I am. There really was no choice."
The dwarf snorted at her answer. "And folk say my people are greedy. Humph…People should look to their own houses for cleaning before they look to others." With that, he turned abruptly from her and walked toward one of the small cots against the wall. But, before Tazi could say anything in response, the dwarf turned again and marched back to her.
"Are you a coward?" he demanded in his gravelly voice. "Is that it? Are you afraid to try and take back your own freedom?" Tazi was shocked silent at Justi-kar's suddenly impassioned accusations. He put his fists on his hips and moved in closer. "Or is it greed, human? Is that crimson gold that glows so red too beautiful to resist? You'd sell out for a few lumps of metal?" he finished. When Tazi didn't immediately answer him, he continued on his tirade.
"It's true," he admitted grudgingly, "I owe you." The words seemed to stick in his throat. "And I hate debts." He slammed his fist on the table where the tub of water rested. Soapy suds splashed onto the floor with the force of his blow. He faced Tazi again with a severe look fixed on his face. "I especially hate debts to humans." She was amazed how filthy he made the last word sound.
"Aye, there is a debt between us," he growled. "But debt or not, I am not going to stick this out with you. Whatever is between you and this woman is between the two of you. I'll have no part in it. And that's final." His face was so close to Tazi's that she could count the number of earrings that studded his left ear. After counting four of them, Tazi exploded.
"How dare you?" she shouted. "Don't stand there and think to tell me who I am. You don't know a thing about me, little man." She rose to her feet slowly in an attempt to tower over the dwarf, and she could see he bridled at her last remark.
"Have I asked anything of you?" she demanded, and now it was she who stood defiant with her hands on her hips. "Have I?" she said down to him.
Justikar simply glowered back at her defiantly.
"There's the door," she continued and pointed to it. "If you see a chance to flee, then I suggest you take it. I wish you the best, but I won't go with you. I have to stay here." Tazi took a deep breath and tried to control her anger.
"My family means everything to me. You can believe that or not; that's your choice. But it doesn't change the fact that it is the truth. I wouldn't do anything to knowingly jeopardize their safety." She paused and walked away a few feet before turning to look at the dwarf.
He crossed his arms over his chest and simply kept his expression skeptical.
"I've seen something that makes me think Naglatha is more than just a recruiter for the Red Wizards," she continued more calmly. "I think she is one of them. And this woman has ties to my family. I can't risk it. Their safety means everything to me. I would walk through fire for them, and so I have to stay regardless. Even if I was to escape tonight, there is no way I could return to my home before she could have someone or something there. And I couldn't protect them. Maybe this way I can."
Justikar snortea at her explanation but regarded her briefly. "I understand a bit about family," was all he eventually said. Like the veracity of his name, Tazi didn't know whether to believe him or not.
She went over to one of the two cots against the wall and sank down wearily. "I meant it, you know," she told the dwarf. "If you see an opening, take it. I can't help you, but I promise I won't do anything to slow you down. That's the best I can offer." And she smiled ruefully. "But I'm staying." Without waiting for a reply, Tazi stretched out on the cot and closed her eyes.
Justikar hardly breathed as he sat cross-legged with his back to the wall on the small cot. The dwarf had held the same position for the last few hours as he strained to hear the sounds around him. The most obvious one that nearly drowned out the others was the soft snoring of the human who shared his incarceration. He shook his head slightly and was disgusted by how soundly the black-haired human slept. Not ten minutes after she had closed her eyes, her breathing had grown heavy. And now, the woman was making enough noise to rouse the dead. Humans!
He waited a bit longer, just to be certain she was not trying to deceive him, before he made his next move. When he was sure she was asleep, he uncrossed his legs and let them silently dangle over the side of his bed. He braced his hands on the wall behind him and slowly pushed against it. When his feet touched the floor, he firmly but cautiously raised his body off of the cot with excruciating care, fearful of any old or rusted bedsprings that might signal an alarm even though the furnishings seemed new and well made.
As soon as he was upright, Justikar stood motionless. With his eyes closed, he willed the blood in his veins to flow more freely through the various limbs that had stiffened up as he had kept his silent vigil waiting for the woman to doze off. He bit his lip in discomfort as the daggers and needles tingling within his muscles told him in no uncertain terms that he had restored his circulation.
Opening his eyes, he took a deep, silent breath. The duergar regarded his roommate for a moment longer. She continued to slumber undisturbed, and he wondered about her briefly and if he should do anything. If she wasn't being duplicitous about her family and her obligation to their safety, then she wouldn't leave and there was no point in rousing her. If she had lied and was in it for her treasure, or was simply inept, that was even more reason to let her bluster away and give him some cover. The fact that he owed her a debt gnawed at him, but he shrugged his shoulders. He owed someone else a larger one, and he could live with his discomfort at welshing on a human. He was a pragmatic dwarf, after all, and had his priorities.
When he was resolved to desert Tazi, the duergar moved stealthily across the comfortable room to stand near the only door in the chamber. He rubbed his thumbs againsthis fingers like one readying himself to tackle a difficult lock. Glancing back a final time at Tazi, the dwarf shrugged his shoulders again and abandoned her to her fate. He turned back toward the door and delicately placed both of his hands to the right of it, along the wall. And he closed his eyes once more.
It was simple enough for Justikar to clear his mind even in his present situation. After years of conditioning in the Underdark where he felt little confusion and suffered from few distractions, he had almost no difficulty slipping into a light, meditative trance. Much in the same way that he could let his senses slip along rock or stone to search out their inherent weaknesses and faults, the duergar could also, to a limited extent, let his mind slip along the boundaries of other minds. Years of subjugation to illithids had left Justikar's people with certain abilities that came in very handy from time to time against others with weaker minds. He found the bodyguards easily enough.
Cautiously at first, Justikar moved along the edge of their awareness, testing to see if their wizard master had shielded their minds or laid down any wards. He couldn't feel anything other than their random thoughts, no matter how he probed them. He unconsciously shifted his hands' positions and turned his focus toward the younger man.
The bodyguard's mind was full of chatter, which surprised Justikar because he had carried himself with so much outward silence. Obviously, his master had trained his body well enough, but she couldn't stop the noise inside his head. He would be a simple enough matter, the dwarf decided. He planted the straightforward, but effective, idea in the bodyguard's head that his bladder was full. It was so full, in fact that it was close to bursting. With every passing moment, that discomfort grew. Justikar allowed himself a small smile when he actually heard Heraclos shift his weight from one foot to the other.