Thia stood near the door while Jinnaari and Adam talked to Vizeran. Pan and Caelynn were nearby. Judging by the way her cousin was wincing at every sound, his hangover still raged. Jinnaari was right; Pan had to suffer the consequences of his drinking this time.

“Ideally,” the Drow mage was saying, “this should be carried by someone who’s at least part Drow.” She shifted, turning her head away and refusing to meet his gaze. After the way he’d pressed her the night before, tricked her into talking to him alone, she wanted to be gone. If it wasn’t for them needing this one bit of magic, she would’ve talked Jinnaari into leaving after dinner.

She wasn’t anxious to confront Lolth or her mother by any stretch, but she did want this all to be over and done. Think about the illusion Adam said he’d set up in your room. She closed her eyes and forced her mind to calm down. Adam had said the rooms would be ready at the Green Frog when they returned from the Underdark. Each one a small pocket dimension where they could set up the room as they wanted it, with a common room for them to all use. She’d be able to touch a wall and have it change to a balcony overlooking the sea. The sky would reflect the time of day and weather, to a point. She’d be able to change that based on how she felt.

“That’s not happening.” Jinnaari said, his voice even. She knew the tone. Either Vizeran would stop pushing, or the paladin would make him. “Adam’s carrying it, and using it. Thia’s not touching it.”

“I created it, and I’m Drow. It’s going to be more responsive to her touch than his.”

“Thia is not touching it.”

She turned her attention back to the three men. The temperature in the room was dropping fast as the tension rose. “I heard them talking this morning,” Caelynn whispered. “They think he built it to emit a beacon if you carry it, something that would make you easier to find.”

“I wish we never came here,” Thia replied.

“Which here? The tower or the Underdark?”

She kept her focus on the men, “Yes.” Turning her attention to the bard, she exhaled. “I know why we’re here. I get that. It’s just that…”

“I understand, Thia. I don’t think any of us like the situation you’re in. But Jinnaari’s got a job to do. You said it yourself, before we left. They’d come for you if you stayed behind. They even tried to poison your church. You’re safer with us than you would be anywhere else.”

“That’s it? I just keep it on me and it’ll start to glow when we’re close to the tunnel you say will get us to Lolth’s lair?” Adam asked.

“Yes,” the mage replied.

“Come on. We’re moving.” Caelynn nudged her forward.

As she walked past the men, she heard Jinnaari speak to Vizeran. “If this is a trick…if it leads to an ambush or trap of some kind to get to her…I’ll be back.”

It wasn’t a threat. The dragonborn never threatened anyone that she’d heard. He made promises he had every intention of keeping.