small-town tomboy, getting into trouble, embarrassing my parents, the usual stuff. My parents didn't really mind. They knew I would outgrow it eventually. They were the best parents a girl could ever hope for.'
'I know the kind of whom you speak,' Volo offered, striving for a closer affinity with this bold adventurer.
'One day that all changed. I don't remember what it was I noticed first. All I knew was that there was something odd about my mother. I asked my father about it, but he laughed it off, figuring it was all just part of a girl's growing up. You know, a daughter feeling herself to be the rival of her mother for her father's affections.'
'Sure,' said Volo, not really understanding but willing to write it off as one of those tricky differences between men and women, and quickly noting that perhaps he should ask his mother about it at some later date.
'I persisted, and Father eventually lost his temper and locked me in the cellar. That's what he used to do whenever I used to throw a tantrum: lock me in the cellar and let me cool off. He was a loving father, and never struck me.'
'I'm sure,' said Volo, intrigued to see where this story was going.
'There in the basement, I found my mother's body.'
Volo stifled a gasp.
Cat continued her tale in an emotionless monotone.
'You see, the thing that I had thought was my mother acting strangely, wasn't really my mother at all, but a doppelganger who had killed her and insinuated itself into our family.'
'So what did you do?' Volo asked, still not aware what this had to do with the mysterious common goal that supposedly he and she shared.
'I escaped from the cellar and killed it before it could murder my father or me.'
Cat paused for a moment to look in the flames of the campfire, then continued with the story, eyes still focused on the dancing flashes of red, yellow, and orange.
'Unfortunately, my father couldn't handle it. The death of his wife, his not recognizing her murderer's insinuation into their marriage bed. He went insane, cut himself off from the entire world, and retreated into his own little world. A friend of the family who was a cleric offered to take care of him. He's in a monastery now, still cut off in his own world, never making contact with anyone. I continue to send money to them, and they care for him as best they can.'
'I'm sorry for your loss,' Volo offered.
'Oh. others have had it worse. That which doesn't kill you usually makes you stronger,' Cat said, trying to sound as matter-of-fact as possible. 'Anyway, ever since then I've had this thing against doppelgangers.'
'Well that's understandable,' Volo agreed, still trying to figure out what all of this had to do with him.
'And when I heard about a certain travel author exposing an entire ring of murderous doppelgangers in Waterdeep, well, I knew I had to meet him.'
'Who did that?' Passepout inquired.
'Why, Volo, of course,' she replied.
'You did?' Passepout inquired of his shocked master.
'Well, I, uh… ' Volo fumbled.
'Of course he did,' insisted the company leader, who began to relate this tale of bravery previously unknown to Volo himself. 'You see,' she persisted, 'there was a conspiracy in Waterdeep led by an evil doppelganger by the name of Hlaavin, His group called itself the Unseen. They were a consortium of shapechangers, thieves, illusionists, and assassins who had originally come from the Rat Hills to Waterdeep with a plan to gain control of the city by supplanting all of the most powerful people within Waterdeep society. At first their infiltration began slowly, taking more than ten years to maneuver impostors of a few minor functionaries in place, and then Hlaavin hatched an ingenious plan of setting up a high-class festhall to cater to just the types of society members that they wanted to supplant.'
Volo finally saw where she was headed, and stated, 'The Hanging Lantern.'
'The Hanging Lantern?' Passepout questioned.
'Of course, the Hanging Lantern,' Cat assured, 'and you exposed it seven years ago.'
'You did?' Passepout asked of his master incredulously.
'All I did was to say in my guide to Waterdeep that the Hanging Lantern was a festhall run by doppelgangers,' Volo offered, trying to put his alleged heroic deed into the proper perspective.
Cat would not hear of it. 'Oh, you are much too modest,' she insisted. 'That subtle little entry brought down the entire villainous plot without panicking the entire city. You were a genius.'
'Well, I…'
'Unfortunately, they never caught Hlaavin,' she continued, bringing the tale to an end, 'but the Hanging Lantern was shut down, and you can't have everything, I guess… but anyway, any enemy of a doppelganger is a friend of mine.'
Volo, glad that the story was over, changed the subject. 'But that was seven years ago. We have new, more pressing matters at hand.'
'Oh,' said Cat with a gleam in her eye, 'you're after the Bleth reward, too.'
'The Bleth reward?' Passepout inquired, his eyes immediately seeing gold pieces.
Cat turned to Volo and, indicating the thespian at his side, stated, 'I take it he's not too bright.'
'I'm afraid that neither of us are,' Volo replied. 'This is the first I've ever heard of the Bleth reward.'
'Oh, well, I guess I'm one up on you then,' Cat conceded. 'Lord Gruen Bleth of the Seven Suns Trading Company has offered a huge reward for the safe return of his daughter, who was part of a caravan that was abducted while she was traveling through Thay. That's where we're bound, as a sort of general objective. Of course, if we don't find her, well find something to keep us busy. Still, the reward would be nice. Care to join us?'
Volo considered the offer carefully and graciously declined.
'Thank you, my fair lady, but I'm afraid we will have to decline due to prior commitments.'
'Prior commitments can usually wait,' Cat offered flirtatiously.
'If only they could,' Volo countered, 'but my word is my bond, and the matter is completely out of my control.'
Cat sighed. 'A man of bravery, and a man of honor,' she said wistfully. 'I had hoped to share your company longer, but I respect your commitments. Perhaps we can travel together for a few days-say, until the road that leads to your destination diverges from the one that leads to ours. Which reminds me, if I might be so bold as to inquire, where are you and your roly-poly actor heading?'
'Shadowdale,' Volo stated.
'Shadowdale?' Passepout questioned.
'Why Shadowdale?' the gracious hostess pressed.
'Because something has gone wrong with my magics, and I must have it corrected as soon as possible,' he answered.
'Well, toward the Dalelands it shall he then,' she stated, adding, 'and then on to Thay. The hour is late, digestion complete, and time for sleep. Tomorrow, Shadowdale bound so shall we be.'
A few hours later, still in the dead of night, Volo heard footsteps approaching, and mindful of their earlier midnight encounter, he quickly braced himself, dagger in hand beneath his blanket, and inquired, 'Who goes there?'
A sheepish voice broke through the silence of the darkness.
'It is only I, Master Volo,' said Passepout.
'Is everything all right?' Volo inquired.
'Sure,' the thespian replied with all the enthusiasm of a slave bound for the block.
'All right, then,' Volo answered, adding, 'Get some sleep. The open road beckons us for an early departure.'
'Great,' said Passepout, with his usual lack of zeal.
Rosy-fingered dawn saw the Company of the Catlash, and their two new companions, ready for the road.
