When we left the house in Ramshorn, we just saw what the ghoul had done together with her praetorians. Injured passersby helped the mortician put dead bodies on his wagon, Druids tried to heal, gasping people on stretchers, and others repaired damaged windows and doors. I got poisonous looks thrown from many who passed me, and some of them also spat at me. Not to mention the insults I had to hear. As if I was to blame for all this. As if they wanted to see me dead again. Like that day when I arrived at Ramshorn. After a tomato hit my head, I pulled up my mask and hood and sped up my walk out of town.

It took us a few days to get through a ledge from which we could already see the Menzoberranzan prison structure. From here, it was only a 2-day walk through the canyon and past aggressive creatures. And we're already late. For an Aasimar and a Tiefling, this prison usually meant death after only a few days. I prayed to all the gods. I knew that they were both still alive.
I took a deep breath with closed eyes, enjoyed the slightly musty smells of the Underdark landscape. The sweet scent of the Zurkhwood, which rose into the air next to the ledge. A scent like the one in my childhood bedroom. Finally. I was back at the Underdark.

»We'll rest here for a few hours.« I explained to the little one after I sat down against a rock and sighed. Even if I wanted to move on as quickly as possible, I would need all my strength.
After Nimri had made himself comfortable on my lap and quickly fell asleep, I took the small box with the ring out of my pocket and opened it again. Even in the darkness at the Underdark, this small oval diamond sparkled at me, encircled by the silver-colored ring. Upon a closer look, I realized that it was made with the same metal as my dagger. Mithral. A rare raw material could only be found at the Underdark, and even fewer Dwarves could forge it. Again, I couldn't help but shed a tear. Mom and dad also had each a ring on. A symbolism of humans which father was eager to bring into the relationship with mother. It was supposed to be a symbol of loyalty, love, attachment, and permanence. As I carefully pulled it out of the box, a small engraving inside the ring caught my eye ›Qu'essan¹‹. I just held it in front of me for a while before slightly shakily tried to slip it over my left ring finger and marveling at it further.
»Wait a minute« I said, quietly surprised; what woke up Nimri, who looked first at the ring, then at me.
»Does that mean he wants to …« but before I had even uttered the question completely, I saw Nimri nodding.
›Wedding‹ I thought, slightly aroused. In a human-populated locality, a firm commitment to a single partner. Mother was scorned because she accepted this bond with dad. Even at school, the girls made fun of me because of it. They all thought they were the absolute rulers and men were just enough toys not to end up as slaves. As long as they're helpful.
My thoughts were interrupted by nearby Maurezhi grunts. I put the box away and looked down over the ledge. They seemed to have scented something, but I assumed it must have been an animal since they weren't looking up to us. Nimri just sat shakily next to me but didn't dare look over the edge. I leaned back at the rock again and stroked Nimri's back.
»We should be safe!« I whispered to him before closing my eyes.

Suddenly the weight of a naked Drow man on my lap jerked me out of my meditation. Reflexively, I pushed him away, drew my dagger, and sat on his chest with the blade at his throat.
»Who the fuck are you?« I grumbled directly.
He seemed confused, looking first at his hands and then down at himself
»It's me … Nimri?« he said, slightly intimidated
»Nimri is a small, blue lizard« I growled and lightly scratched the dagger into his throat.
»Actually, Nimri is a 143-year-old Drow mage named Randiirn Mizzrath. The lizard thing is a long story.« came a little ashamedly from him, while his initial fear had seemingly disappeared
»And who's going to tell me you're telling the truth?«
»You were killed by a ghoul. Ykril revived you with wonder. You're currently living with him and Sanise in Ramshorn, and now you're on your way to rescue them because the ghoul has kidnapped them.« came promptly
»Oh, and you can be very loud at night« he continued, after which I gave him a firm punch on his nose.

After I let go of him and got my distance, I took Ykril's clothes out of my backpack and offered them to him.
»Are you crazy? I'm not going to put on his clothes!« he directly bitched
»Anyway, you definitely won't stay naked near me!«
»Don't you like what you see?« he asked with a cheeky grin while he tried to straighten up in a heroic pose in front of me.
»No« I promptly reacted. While I held my cloak out to him, I still couldn't resist taking a closer look. Basically, a handsome young fellow.
»I'll never understand why of all an Aasimar when I've been confessing my love to you for several moons - Must be the human in you.« he murmured softly, but still understandable.
»With a Drow at your side, you could restore the reputation of your house at the Underdark« he continued in a strict voice
I considered this for, but just for a second. I loved the Underdark. The smells, the views, the tastes. And admittedly, Randiirn didn't seem like a bad catch either but absolutely no comparison to Ykril.
»No« came more firmly from me.
»You may keep this Aasimar, too. As a love slave when you're in need.«
»No« I yelled out, »What's wrong with you?«
»You're a Lolth-Drow, not a human! Monogamy shouldn't even be in your vocabulary!«
»Shut up! It's my choice!« I growled loudly, after which he quickly changed the subject without any further comment.

Wrapped in my cloak over bread and water, the short-haired Drow told me his story of how he became a lizard. He was researching shapeshifter and wanted to recreate the ability with magic. However, his experiments on himself ended with him having to live as a small lizard and losing part of his memory in a fall. Among them was how he could reverse the spell. At the end of each year, the spell would wear off for a few hours, and he would be the mage again. But when he became the little lizard again, he wouldn't know anything about what he was doing during that time. He assumed that it was because of the size of the lizard's brain and could not process the information.

While he was calmly meditating, I found no concentration at all. What did he expect from me now? And why this intrusive infatuation? I would never see the little one as the lizard as I knew again, and the thought of that I undressed in front of him several times made me more than just uncomfortable. I would have loved to sink deeply into the ground in shame. But in his lizard form, I could not leave him to himself. He always seemed so helpless.