She keeps her mace holstered and runs forward to save him

Teysa hefted her mace in one hand, hesitated, and looked to the crowd. They were angry, jeering, volatile-- but also sickly, pale and filthy, wearing ragged clothes and brandishing rocks and bottles. She grimaced and dropped the mace into the loop at her belt, then bent forward and put her shoulder in front of her. The crowd was pressing in, and as the priestesses retreated in fear, she charged forward. Two steps took her to the edge of the mob. She could still see the fallen dwarf, but only just; his face was already covered in ugly bruises and his arm was flailing helplessly between the legs of the people in front of him.

She found herself face to face with a one-eyed drow and a dark-skinned human. Both men stopped shouting and quailed away from her. The drow tried to retreat, but the crowd behind him was pressing in too fiercely. He nearly lost his balance. Teysa's hand shot out automatically and grabbed him by the wrist to steady him. As soon as he was on his feet, she pulled hard, yanking him out of the press of bodies. He stumbled past her into the center of the cleared space, and she bulled forward before the crowd could fill up the space he left behind. She barged forward and shoulder-checked a gnome out of the way, praying for forgiveness as she did so. The dwarf was right there, lying between her legs. He looked ****. A thin trickle of blood oozed from one nostril and matted his beard. She reached down and grabbed him by the wrist, then grimaced with effort as she hauled him upright. By throwing his arm over her shoulder, she was barely able to struggle to her feet. He was heavy, and the mob was already pushing in against her. She could feel her balance shifting. She made eye contact with the human she had seen earlier. "Help me with him!" she cried. He hesitated for a moment, then reached down and grabbed the dwarf's other arm. Between them they managed to drag him out of the crowd and across the plaza to where Mish'li and her novices were standing in a frightened huddle. The novices scattered like panicking birds, but Mish'li bent over the dwarf and took his pulse.

"He's alive," she announced. "But he might be injured internally."

At the sound of her words, the anger of the mob seemed to subside. Perhaps Teysa's dive had humbled them. Perhaps they simply feared retribution. The feverish desperation that hung over them had broken; now they just looked tired. The people at the back started to drift away, and gradually the crowd broke up, leaving only a few gawkers.

"Is there a house of healing where you can take him?" Teysa asked. "The Basilica, maybe?"

Mish'li pursed her lips. "Perhaps. It would cause... unrest. There are places in the City, though, that would admit him if I asked."

Teysa didn't see where Aliara came from. She was just there, as if stepping out from a secret door. "Unrest?" she asked, her voice practically a shriek. She stabbed a finger in Mish'li's face. "This man was almost killed! Out here, in this... this **** camp, for the crime of being hungry! And you're worried that having to see him might cause unrest? Among the vultures who left him out here to die in the first place?" Her finger waved wildly. She sounded on the verge of tears. "Teysa risked her life to save him, but you'd better not lift a finger to help, yourself. Because it might be embarrassing."

"Li-" Teysa began, but the half-elf was rolling. "And all of you!" she said, turning to the novices. "You come out here for... for what? To assuage your own consciences? To convince yourselves that you're really doing good? You're giving them not quite enough food and not quite enough medicine, but that looks like a problem that's going to solve itself, isn't it?" She swept her arm to take in the entirety of the camp. "Hey, a few months from now there won't be anyone left here at all. So you won't have to do this anymore." She crossed her arms. "If you really cared about these people, you wouldn't be out here. You'd be in there, talking to the nobles, demanding that they give up a tiny fraction of their comfort and their wealth and their power to make sure these people are housed and fed. But that sounds like a lot of boring work, and you don't get to feel good while you're doing it." She trailed off, breathing hard. Everyone was staring at her. Some of the novices looked angry, some looked abashed, and a couple were crying. Mish'li herself looked grave, but nodded along.

"There is truth in what you say, Aliara," she said. "I have tried. Perhaps I have not done enough. I started this program because I wanted to feel like I was doing something. Maybe that was enough at first, but it isn't now. I see that."

Aliara was still trembling. Teysa put an arm around her shoulders. The half-elf flinched, but she did not pull away. She let Teysa lead a few steps from the crowd.

"Li," she said softly, "are you alright?"

Aliara looked up at her with red-rimmed eyes. "The hell kind of question is that, Tey?" She looked down, then said in a much quieter voice, "Anyways, I should be asking you. You're the one who dove in there."

Teysa shrugged. "I didn't think about it. I didn't have time." She paused, but Aliara said nothing. She was still staring at the ground. Teysa decided that another gentle prod was necessary. "Li, what happened to all that stuff you said when we arrived? You can't save everyone? You're always telling me that."

"I know! Don't you think I know?" Aliara's face was a picture of misery. "This is why I didn't want to get involved, Tey. I know you love helping people, but for you, it's never... it's never personal. You just help people because it's the right thing to do, and you always do the right thing. You don't know... know what it's like..." she trailed off. "I knew I couldn't be objective about this. So yeah, maybe I was a coward. Maybe I wanted to avoid thinking about it. When you see all this... all this this," she swallowed hard, "you want to feed everyone and clothe everyone and tend their wounds. Me, I want to march into the houses of the high and mighty that let this happen and burn them all to the ground."

Teysa's thoughts turned back unbidden to Lolth and their conversation below the world. She had never told Aliara the full extent of it. She had never told anyone, and probably never would. Lolth had wanted her to be the instrument of Her vengeance. She wondered, not for the first time, what would have happened if Aliara had been the one to receive the offer.

"Li, you can't say it's never personal for me. That's not fair. What about the broodmothers? That was personal. For both of us."

Aliara nodded but said nothing.

"Anyways, it doesn't have to be personal. I don't know what you've been through. I can't pretend to know. But I know you, and I love you." She took Aliara's hand and pressed it to her lips, then smiled. "I see how you've been hurt, and I don't want anyone to be hurt like that again."

Aliara shook her head gently. "You can't make that promise. You can't stop it from happening to anyone."

"It's not a promise." Teysa sighed. "It's not. I can't save the world. I can just make a nicer place, a little bit at a time. It's certainly nicer for that dwarf." She pointed at the recumbent figure, whose chest was now rising and falling visibly. One of the novices was dabbing at the blood on his face with a wet cloth. "Li, we can't save all the innocent or punish all the guilty. I wish we could. We just do the best we can every day."

Aliara sniffed and looked up. For the first time since they had left the Basilica, she smiled. "I know, Tey. You always do." She stood on tiptoes and planted a short, salty-tasting kiss on Teysa's lips. "That's the best thing about you, love."

They turned back to Mish'li, who was conferring with two of her novices. She looked up as they approached. "We will take him to the House of Crimson Sabine," she said. "It is in the inner city. They may pass comment, but... I will deal with that when I deal with it. He'll certainly live." She rested one hand on the dwarf's shoulder. "And I will send out another shipment as soon as I return. Pending discussion in the Quorum of a more permanent solution."

"You're doing Lolth's work here, Mish'li. Thank you for bringing us along." Teysa extended a hand, and Mish'li smiled and shook it.

"Thank you for coming, Teysa. You too, Aliara. And you, El'keth, it was a pleasure to meet." Mish'li bowed graciously before the drider, who stared in surprise for a moment before returning the gesture. "Thank you for showing me your city, Mish'li," she said, her voice high and formal. "I hope to visit again. May there be peace between our people."

"To peace. Have a safe trip home, my friends."