Mistaken Identity

The chill night air bit at Valna’s face as she waited. It was still Highsun, but the nights were starting to get colder. The tavern before her buzzed with voices and light, and a number of strong scents wafted from the open windows. She and Sariel had gone out for drinks at the tavern, but Valna was done for the evening. Clearly, Sariel wasn’t.
A few moments later, her friend stumbled out of the door. Her hand trailed along a man’s arm, before she blew him a kiss goodbye. To Valna’s eye, she didn’t look overly drunk. That was a good sign, at least.
“So,” Sariel began, “are you sure you want to go home?”
Valna nodded sharply. “I promised Caelynn I’d help her clean out the stables.”
Sariel tilted her head slightly, responding to Valna’s rather matter-of-fact statement. The half-elf’s shoulders dipped slightly.
“I suppose that’s a good enough reason to head back.” Sariel said.
The silence between them was noticeably awkward. Valna felt like she should say something, but she didn’t know what.
“Okay!” Valna cheerfully replied with a smile.
Sariel looked confused for a moment, then smiled herself. Social crisis averted, at least for now.
The streets of Waterdeep, unlike most cities, were well-lit at night.by streetlamps. The main streets were well-traveled by other tavern-goers and carts laden with goods, even deep into the evening. Still, Valna couldn’t put aside a sense of uneasiness she could feel in the pit of her stomach. Something was off, but she couldn’t tell what.
The walk from the Sea Ward back to the Southern Ward would be long, and Sariel always insisted on taking shortcuts through back alleyways to speed it up. As the two walked through one of these alleys, Valna spied a disheveled man sitting on the ground before them. From her limited view of Sariel’s face, she assumed her friend flashed a quick smile at the man, like she always did.
“Spare a few coins for a poor man?” He asked in a graveled voice.
Sariel smiled again, and reached for her coin purse. As she did so, Valna’s ears perked up. Between the sound of carts on cobblestone,voices in taverns, and Sariel’s rustling fabrics, she heard heavy footsteps behind her. A classic ambush.
“Um, I think-” Valna began, but was cut off by the man on the ground lunging at Sariel.
Sariel reacted instantly, slipping to the side and causing him to crash into a stone foundation. Valna reflexively drew her dagger, and noticed Sariel had done the same. There were two people in the alley behind them - a male and female human - and a new human man who blocked the alley before them. The poor man had apparently knocked himself out on the stones, and was laying on the cobbles beneath them.
The man ahead of them spoke, in a tone that oozed self-importance. “Wasn’t expectin’ two of ya’s, but it ain’t so bad. You’s, grab little Lady Firehair there, and deal with the elf if she tries an’ stops ya.” With his commands given, he slipped back around the corner and out of sight.
Valna thought it was some kind of Dock Ward accent, but she wasn’t sure. Two more villains took the place of the man in front of them: another human man, and a bearded dwarf. Valna was pretty sure the dwarf was male, but she couldn’t quite tell.
“Lady Firehair, huh?” Sariel asked, scanning her opponents. “Maybe I could’ve made it in the clergy.”
Surprisingly, Sariel’s idle quip had an effect on the faces of their opponents. They looked confused for a moment, before settling into combat stances. They all appeared to be armed with clubs, rather than any kind of bladed weapon. Probably non-lethal, she reckoned.
The first attacker came for Valna. She ran down the alleyway, club raised, just about yelling a war cry. Valna focused her magic for a moment, then stepped between the planes. When she came out, she was behind her bewildered attacker. She kicked him in the back of the knee, then used her momentum to flip backwards. Another moment later, and she was once again behind the second attacker. A swift pommel strike to the face sent the villain reeling, scrambling towards the first.
Behind them, Valna could see Sariel in her own two-on-one. A club nearly connected with her head, but a brief shimmering field deflected it. Sariel’s own magic, of course. Neither of the two were particularly accomplished mages, but they were still more than a match for some street thugs who’d failed to conduct a proper ambush.
The female attacker rushed back towards Valna, who responded by teleport-tackling the male. They tumbled to the ground, but Valna continued rolling into an upright stance. A sudden blow into her back sent her reeling, as one of Sariel’s attackers connected their club with her abdomen. It knocked the wind from her, and she narrowly evaded the male attacker’s swing once again. Ducking under his wild slam, she cut sharply into his chest with her blade.
The female attacker pulled him back, then shouted “This is too much! Let’s get outta here!”
Valna was satisfied with her opponents fleeing, and had no desire to pursue. She tucked her dagger away, then turned around to see Sariel straddling one of the attackers. She had her dagger to his throat, and was leaning in. Not exactly the best way to conduct an impromptu interrogation, Valna figured, but Sariel was Sariel.
The half-elf leaned in a bit more as Valna watched. “That was fun.” She stated, nearly too cheerfully. “But I’m going to have to know why I was being abducted this time.”
“I, uh…” the man stammered, but Sariel pulled on his shirt’s collar. “Fine, alright! We got hired to take some Suneite girl, looks a lot like you!”
That would explain a few things. They were fairly close to the Temple of Beauty, and Sariel had been mistaken for a priestess of Sune at least once before - that Valna knew of.
“I’m more of a Hanali Celanil kind of girl myself, but I appreciate the Lady of Love as well.” Sariel said, looking up while talking.
The man almost looked like he was going to try something, before Sariel looked back down at him. Valna could hear the rapidly approaching footsteps of the Watch. “Alright, where’s your boss?”
“I ain’t tellin’ you nothin’!” The man spat at her.
Sariel scowled at him, pressing the blade towards his neck. “What you tell me now determines what I tell the Watch. Understand?”
He blinked, then nodded. “Run-down place up in Boltspring Alley.”
Sariel smiled, closing her eyes and tilting her head. “Thanks!”
Explaining the situation to the guards had taken a while, but Sariel had just explained the man was trying to rob them. The knocked-out beggar was his accomplice. Valna didn’t think the Watch was going to believe Sariel, but in the end they did. There was a reason she left all the talking to her friend.
“Valna?” Sariel inquired as the two left the Watch behind.
“Mmm?” She responded.
“Do you want to go get your bow from the tavern first, or head straight there?”
Valna briefly considered the advantages of her bow and armour, but ultimately decided that walking across the city twice would take too long.
“No, I’m alright!” She replied, in her usual cheer.
Sariel smiled and nodded sharply. “Alright, let’s go get this guy.”
The Field Ward wasn’t an official ward of Waterdeep. The Watch didn’t patrol it, and the guilds didn’t erect or maintain street lamps there. Valna felt uneasy walking there at night, in a way she didn’t elsewhere in the city. The smell was particularly bad too. The target house was a typical poorly-built Field Ward townhouse, with no light coming from any windows. Valna stood guard while Sariel inspected the door for traps, but she didn’t suspect these thugs would have anything set up.
Sariel tapped Valna on the shoulder, and Valna could see the telltale sign of a plan on Sariel’s face. Sariel motioned for Valna to join her around a corner, then whispered her plan. It was fairly straightforward. Valna drew her dagger as Sariel cast a cantrip, imitating the sound of a knock on the front door. Several seconds later, one of the bruised attackers from earlier poked her head through the door. She looked around, and Valna made her move. She rushed to within range, then teleported behind her. The villain was knocked out by a single blow from Valna’s pommel, and she opened the door for Sariel.
The interior of the townhouse was clearly abandoned. Dust covered the few bits of furniture that remained, and Valna struggled to see in the pitch darkness. Still, she could make out enough detail with her elven eyes to move and fight safely. The creaking of planks above her tracked the movements of someone pacing back and forth. She and Sariel, daggers drawn, carefully stalked up the stairs, taking care to avoid making any noise.
Valna placed her ear against the door at the end of the hallway. She could hear three voices speaking in hushed tones, and the occasional grunts from a fourth. She indicated that to Sariel, who nodded. Sariel stood in front of the door, and, taking a chance, tried to kick it in. It didn’t quite come off the hinges like Valna was hoping - it simply swung open - but it did surprise the occupants of the room. The two remaining attackers, their leader, and a woman tied to a chair.
In the moments their enemies were stunned, Sariel quickly spoke the words for a spell. Two of the three enemies froze in place, held by Sariel’s magic. The third was no match for Valna’s rapid teleportation and dagger strikes. Within seconds, he was down, and the other two were unable to resist a simple knockout strike. With their foes taken care of, Valna lit a nearby lantern while Sariel undid the bonds tying the human woman to the chair. In the light, Valna could see that the woman had red hair, just like Sariel.
“Oh, thank you!” She said with a smile. “How did you know I was here?”
Valna managed to speak before Sariel did. “That guy tried to abduct my friend. He thought she was you!”
They did kind of look similar. If Valna squinted. Sariel blushed ever so slightly in response.
“My name is Andra.” The woman said, brushing some hair from her face. It was a gesture Valna often noticed Sariel performing.
“I’m Sariel, and this is Valna.” Sariel said, motion to Valna. Valna waved and smiled.
“I’m honoured to be rescued by such lovely people.” Andra said, blushing slightly. “I’m a priestess at the Temple of Beauty.”
“Oh, it was nothing.” Sariel replied. She appeared to be quite enamoured by the priestess. “Anything to help a Suneite in need.”
Valna figured this was probably the start of a flirting match between the two. She decided to sit it out, and rifle through the unconscious humans’ pockets.
“Well, I’m not just a priestess.” the Suneite said. “I’m a Heartwarder in training.”
In the pocket of the leader, Valna found a note. It appeared to be written in Common, though encoded in Thieves’ Cant. Valna could easily read both.
“I don’t want to interrupt,” Valna interrupted, “but I think I know why they abducted you. This man wrote down some ‘business strategies’.”
That was something Emmy liked to talk about. Valna didn’t pay much attention to them, since she figured everyone else was better with money.
“His plan was to abduct you, then sell you to one of your church’s enemies.”
Andra frowned. “The Temple of Beauty has no enemies.”
“I guess he didn’t do his research.” Valna said. “He got both of you mixed up.”
“Well,” Sariel began, “the Temple can count on one more ally from now.”
“Two!” Valna added with a cheer.