...and find a place for Rakkec

Finding a cave for Rakkec was easy enough. Lil’esh did not seem to want him near her own apartment, but the warren was large, and the casualties they had suffered had left several rooms free. In the end they picked a small cave near the Matron’s audience chamber.

“What should I do?” Rakkec asked. Aliara looked at him curiously.

“Do? Just stay there. I’ll send a drider in to set you up with a hammock.”

He twiddled his thumbs nervously. “Well, beg pardon, milady, but am I still a prisoner?”

Aliara had to think about that one. “Sort of,” she said. “The Matron will want to talk to you, I’m sure. But we don’t have to seal you into that room, if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“Well...” he looked down at her feet. “Is there a job or something you want me to do? To help out around the place? Just sitting in a room like that... it’s sort of boring, you know?”

Aliara opened her mouth to say “Deal with it,” but something stopped her. She thought back to her time hanging on the wall. The blindness had been bad, the grotesque feeling of violation worse. But all she had been able to think of at the time was how _bored _she was. Boredom was a killer. It had sapped her motivation and driven Tivya and Rhuti to catatonia. If Rakkec wasn’t a prisoner, then there was no reason to inflict that fate on him as well.

“Well, what do you do?” she asked. He shuffled his feet a little.

“I’m a miner, milady,” he said, his voice growing more animated as he spoke. “Or, I was. Down there, in the... infirmary, I saw traceries in the wall. Azurite, I think, maybe rutikite. That means there’s probably a vein below, maybe even a lode. You could drive a drift there and see what other deposits you can find...” he trailed off, looking embarrassed. “Or, you know, whatever you want to do.”

Aliara stared at him while she pulled her thoughts together. She knew, vaguely, that some of the driders’ wealth came from precious minerals unearthed during their excavation, but she’d never really thought about it. Gold was gold. By the time it made it into her hands, it had been dug up, milled and stamped into high-denomination coinage. Listening to Rakkec speak was like peeking under a rock and seeing a whole unexpected world of tiny life.

“I’ll talk to the driders,” she said, and shooed him into the room. “Someone will be along to see you in a little bit. Rest and reflect, maybe. Don’t go wandering.”

He gave her a **** nod and sat down against the floor. Aliara stepped out of the room and beckoned Lil’esh over.

“Can you find a drider and ask her to spin the poor guy some furniture?” she asked. Lil’esh’s lip curled in distaste. Aliara let out an exasperated sigh and planted her hands on her hips. “Look, I’m not asking you to marry him. You don’t even have to look at him if you find him so unpleasant. Just talk to Jez’ria or someone. And ask about the mining thing, too. At the very least it’ll keep him busy, right? And out of your way.”

After a brief pause, Lil’esh nodded. “I’m sorry, Aliara,” she said. “I’ll do it, but I still don’t trust him. He could be a spy.”

“If you see him skulking around where he’s not supposed to be, you can have at him,” Aliara said. “I don’t think he’s all that tough.” And I’ve seen you fight, she added mentally. If it came to that, she felt a little bad for Rakkec. There was something sharper than usual about Lil’esh. She seemed to vibrate with barely controlled tension. Perhaps it was just the shock of seeing her friend die and experiencing her first taste of combat.

All of a sudden Aliara felt terribly tired. A wave of greyness washed over her vision. It was hard to believe that Teysa’s “hatching” had been less than a day ago. The memory of that familiar face tinged ashy grey hurt almost too much to bear. Right now, all she wanted to do was lie down and sleep forever.

“I’m going back to my room,” she said, fighting to keep the pain out of her voice. “If anything comes up, I leave it to your discretion. Alright?”

“Alright,” Lil’esh said. She sounded worried. “But what if—“

“You can handle it!” Aliara snapped. She hadn’t signed up for this. Babysitting Lil’esh and her companions wasn’t her responsibility. She turned on her heel before the drow could voice another objection and stormed off towards her room, her head hanging so nobody could see her tears.