Zal'Nir and Rizzen sat at the table. The twin brothers hadn't been on a raid for tendays and boredom had crept over them like a specter vying on their souls. Under Jezz's orders, they were to stay in the outpost and wait for his arrival. Their uncle had told them that, thirty days ago. Zal'Nir's arms were itching for a good fight, and everyone knew it was a matter of time until someone would end up on the wrong side of his sword. But for now, Zal'Nir contained his bloodlust; well he had to, otherwise, gods know what Jezz might do to him.
It was a different story for Rizzen, to him patience was a virtue. Especially considering that elves had long lives. There would be time for everything. The master poison maker eyed his brother mockingly. Unlike his brother, Rizzen hid behind a mask of deceptive indifference. Nothing seemed to irk him. Oh, but many things annoyed him. Those were often quickly and quietly eliminated. He didn't have that compulsive urge to kill, although he did commit his share of murders; none were ever linked to him. In drow justice, if you could get away with a crime, you were automatically acquitted of it. That made the assassin ever so powerful. Simply put, he could dispose of anyone and never be caught.
Zal'Nir sighed, caressing the hilt of his dark sword.
"Let me guess, you're bored." A melodious voice came from behind them. A graceful female figure stalked up to the brothers. It was Meliadoul; they're older sister. Like Rizzen, she also bore a mask, though this one was a real mask, a mask of faith, Vhaeraun's mask. The priestess true feelings were rarely known, her facial expressions masked by heir deity's holy symbol. Even without the mask, her face always bore a cold stern expression.
As most drow, she had a share of kills, however it was very small. Others killed for her, unknowingly. Skilled manipulation of others her method to further her own desires. Her best tool was Zal'Nir, who never backed down from any confrontation. None in this outpost could even dream of defeating him.
"Sit straight, dolts! We've got a visitor." She said imperiously. Meliadoul's was a commanding figure, and she kept or tried to keep her little brothers in check. She set her mask upon the table, knowing that the visitor hated speaking to a blank face. The outpost's inhabitants, who had languished in boredom for the last few days, suddenly sprang to life. The guards started scrambling about, taking their sentry posts. The two brothers eyed her questioningly.
"Jezz is here." At those words, the two brothers gathered their things and sprang up as well. The doors to the room swung open and their uncle strode in, with the usual thumping of his wooden leg. Right behind him a very nervous wizard only known as the Neuromancer followed. None really knew who this slight figure was, besides that he was a mage of considerable power. Meliadoul had always thought that his title was ridiculous.
"We've got a problem", Jezz said. "Drow are raiding the Daggerdale and we don't know who they are. We've come to the conclusion that they are not spiderkisser nor members of the Auzkvyn clan. The bodies were savagely mutilated which not the way any of the cormanthor drow raid. Except you, Zal'Nir."
He made a derisive smirk at his nephew and continued on. "You will head into Daggerdale, find those murderers and slay them. The Neuromancer will accompany you, as you might need some magic. You will do this efficiently and most of all quietly." The last word was again aimed at the bloodthirsty twin.
All four gathered around the table, as Jezz explained the plan. They were to sneak into Daggerhills at night and find the Dordrien crypts. The drow were last seen there. It is also rumored among Dalesmen that there is an entrance to the Underdark in those crypts. House Jaerle knew of that entrance, but had never taken control of it. Rumors of ghosts haunting the crypts discouraged them and for good reason. Restless spirits are very disturbing when trying to conduct a raid and incredibly bad for morale. They also knew that the other drow weren't foolish enough to go confront the ghosts.
They set out to the Daggerhills that very same evening.
Finding the crypts was an easy task. An hour long trek brought them before two old buildings, mausoleums and a large stone double door in the hillsides. They sneaked to the mausoleums. They were of no interest to them, although the Neuromancer did pause for a moment. Each of the buildings bore inscription in a foreign language that none of them knew. Shrugging slightly, he turned to join the others who were already examining the crypts main entrance. The door was flanked by two huge statues of skeleton dressed in full plate armor, their leering skulls staring blankly at the dark elves. As expected, the entrance was locked from the inside. Not much of problem though, Rizzen touched his house insigna and whispered a small word after which he disappeared. And reappeared. And disappeared again. He flashed in and out of existence for bit then walked right into the doors. A few seconds later, the stone doors swung open but Rizzen was nowhere to be seen.
"Fool." Meliadoul muttered. Of course, all were aware of Rizzen's tactics. Going invisible was something Rizzen always did, no matter how mundane and common a situation was. Coward, Zal'Nir thought. The still visible ones stepped in and, to there unpleasant surprise, found the bodies of five dead drow. Two females and three males, all stripped of valuables but still wearing their bloodied tabards on which was emblazoned a silver spider.
"How surprising, Spider kissers." Meliadoul said. Zal'Nir sighed and sheathed his sword. He wasn't going to quench his bloodthirst after all. Zal'Nir glanced to the ground and noticed tracks in the thick dust that covered the crypts floor.
There were more than ten people here. Two of the bodies had seemingly been dragged here. The tell-tale signs of drow crossbow bolts covered the corpses. Perhaps we should investigate further, he thought. At the same time, they heard Rizzen whisper to go deeper into the crypts. Further down the hall, a door opened. It was empty; apparently those who built the crypts didn't have enough dead to fill its halls. Looking deeper, the hall made a sharp turn to the right. It ended with a staircase that went even deeper underground. Two doors flanked this section of the corridor.
Rizzen laid his ear on the first one as precaution. If he heard something, they weren't going to open it. Happily, everything was still. Satisfied, he open the door to a room lined with sarcophagi. Meliadoul stepped confidently but as her right foot landed beyond the door, a bright glyph lit at her feet. A loud roar sounded before her and as she lifted her head, she found two enormous golden lions staring at her, showing their teeth. Before the priestess could even react, Zal'Nir was already charging into the creatures. The lions pounced onto the fighter but the elf managed to push them away. He slashed at the ribs of the first lion slaying it instantly, while his sister was lashing out at second beast with her whip. The Neuromancer leveled a wand at one of them and snarled a word. A bunch of imps swarmed out of the wand and flew to the lion but immediately vanished. As Zal'Nir turned to face other one, a black dagger materialized behind the lion and bit into the beast's flesh. The lion gave great cry and collapsed to the ground. Rizzen appeared as he pulled his assassin's dagger out of the tough skin, a wry grin on his face.
"Coward." Zal'Nir muttered under his breath. Meliadoul was already despoiling the sarcophagi when the males sheathed their weapons.
"To the next room," Rizzen called. As the others headed to next door of the hallway, Rizzen skittered back, his face pale. "I hear moaning from the other side", he squealed.
"Nonsense, it's some wind from the down below." His sister replied as she pushed the door open, but as she stepped into the room, her heart suddenly exploded in cold pain, as if thousands of arrows were piercing her black heart. The priestess stood there momentarily gripping her chest. The others eyed her curiously. She stumbled in and caught her breath as her heart starting beat again and the pain slowly receded. Rizzen glanced at the door and smiled.
"The door was trapped. A ward geared to slay any living creature that crossed its threshold. Thanks, sister, for pointing out where it was. I myself would have trouble finding it." Her sister made no reply, though she shot him one of those looks that would put shivers down anyone's spin.
Rizzen simply chuckled and quickly went to work, removing the glyph carefully.
"Ah! Done!" As soon as the elf stood up Zal'Nir shoved him aside and rushed into the room. Before him loomed the statue of regal woman whose elegant features caught the fighter's eye. Those eyes flared with crimson light a misty face sprung out of the statue. The dark elf yelped and scrambled out. A hazy white figure flowed out of the sculpture in pursuit, although it didn't leave the room.
"What?" The Neuromancer asked.
"Ha! Told you! The moaning was no wind!" Rizzen cried in triumph, he was right for once!
Zal'Nir was whimpering for the first time in ages.
"Dolts! I'll take of it for you. It's just a ghost."
The priestess stalked in, her Vhaerun's mask covering her face. Meliadoul glowered at the moaning spirit. The ghost of the very same woman depicted in the statue stared at her with red frightened eyes. It shrieked and vanished.
"Quick, check the rooms, now!" The priestess commanded her brothers. "She'll be back in a matter of minutes!"
Rizzen refused to budge. He wasn't going to walk into that damn chamber, what with all the death traps and a restless poltergeist! Zal'Nir stalked in grunting "coward" under his breath. The wizard followed. This chamber had four rooms and only one held anything of value. The skeleton of that room wore a golden pectoral. They also found a golden ring on his finger. As Zal'Nir reached for the ring, a voice boomed: "Whomsoever despoils my tomb shall be devoured by demons seven days hence!" The fighter hesitated just a second before his greed overcame his fear. He popped both items into his bag of holding.
"We'll see about that in seven days!" he yelled back. In truth, he gripped a sword a little harder from then on.
The group swiftly left the room, heading down the stairs. It led them into a series of caverns where more dead lay. Though here, the bones were strewn unceremoniously in alcoves carved into the walls and on the floor. They continued deeper into the darkness. The next cavern was similar to the first save that the statue of some alien creature with bulbous eyes stood in the middle. The drow avoided this statue. Rizzen had the feeling that all immobile things made of rock were dangerous. The cave ended in a narrow corridor. As they crept through a raspy voice whispered.
"What is your business here?" The Neuromancer jolted and grabbed his wand. Rizzen glanced around him and noticed the talking stalagmite.
"Just passing through." Meliadoul replied. "You wouldn't have seen a another group of drow coming through here?"
"Drow've been passing through here since they lost Shadowdale to the humans and to answer your question: yes, I have seen many group of your kind here." The thing growled.
The Neuromancer had no idea what the rock was babbling about. Perhaps he'd have to pour through his history books when he got back to the outpost. Shadowdale belonged to the drow? The priestess bade the roper adieu and the group trudged on.
The corridor widened into another cavern. Zal'Nir exploded ub laughter when he saw a bunch of skeletons standing idly in the middle of the cave.
to be continued...
It was a different story for Rizzen, to him patience was a virtue. Especially considering that elves had long lives. There would be time for everything. The master poison maker eyed his brother mockingly. Unlike his brother, Rizzen hid behind a mask of deceptive indifference. Nothing seemed to irk him. Oh, but many things annoyed him. Those were often quickly and quietly eliminated. He didn't have that compulsive urge to kill, although he did commit his share of murders; none were ever linked to him. In drow justice, if you could get away with a crime, you were automatically acquitted of it. That made the assassin ever so powerful. Simply put, he could dispose of anyone and never be caught.
Zal'Nir sighed, caressing the hilt of his dark sword.
"Let me guess, you're bored." A melodious voice came from behind them. A graceful female figure stalked up to the brothers. It was Meliadoul; they're older sister. Like Rizzen, she also bore a mask, though this one was a real mask, a mask of faith, Vhaeraun's mask. The priestess true feelings were rarely known, her facial expressions masked by heir deity's holy symbol. Even without the mask, her face always bore a cold stern expression.
As most drow, she had a share of kills, however it was very small. Others killed for her, unknowingly. Skilled manipulation of others her method to further her own desires. Her best tool was Zal'Nir, who never backed down from any confrontation. None in this outpost could even dream of defeating him.
"Sit straight, dolts! We've got a visitor." She said imperiously. Meliadoul's was a commanding figure, and she kept or tried to keep her little brothers in check. She set her mask upon the table, knowing that the visitor hated speaking to a blank face. The outpost's inhabitants, who had languished in boredom for the last few days, suddenly sprang to life. The guards started scrambling about, taking their sentry posts. The two brothers eyed her questioningly.
"Jezz is here." At those words, the two brothers gathered their things and sprang up as well. The doors to the room swung open and their uncle strode in, with the usual thumping of his wooden leg. Right behind him a very nervous wizard only known as the Neuromancer followed. None really knew who this slight figure was, besides that he was a mage of considerable power. Meliadoul had always thought that his title was ridiculous.
"We've got a problem", Jezz said. "Drow are raiding the Daggerdale and we don't know who they are. We've come to the conclusion that they are not spiderkisser nor members of the Auzkvyn clan. The bodies were savagely mutilated which not the way any of the cormanthor drow raid. Except you, Zal'Nir."
He made a derisive smirk at his nephew and continued on. "You will head into Daggerdale, find those murderers and slay them. The Neuromancer will accompany you, as you might need some magic. You will do this efficiently and most of all quietly." The last word was again aimed at the bloodthirsty twin.
All four gathered around the table, as Jezz explained the plan. They were to sneak into Daggerhills at night and find the Dordrien crypts. The drow were last seen there. It is also rumored among Dalesmen that there is an entrance to the Underdark in those crypts. House Jaerle knew of that entrance, but had never taken control of it. Rumors of ghosts haunting the crypts discouraged them and for good reason. Restless spirits are very disturbing when trying to conduct a raid and incredibly bad for morale. They also knew that the other drow weren't foolish enough to go confront the ghosts.
They set out to the Daggerhills that very same evening.
Finding the crypts was an easy task. An hour long trek brought them before two old buildings, mausoleums and a large stone double door in the hillsides. They sneaked to the mausoleums. They were of no interest to them, although the Neuromancer did pause for a moment. Each of the buildings bore inscription in a foreign language that none of them knew. Shrugging slightly, he turned to join the others who were already examining the crypts main entrance. The door was flanked by two huge statues of skeleton dressed in full plate armor, their leering skulls staring blankly at the dark elves. As expected, the entrance was locked from the inside. Not much of problem though, Rizzen touched his house insigna and whispered a small word after which he disappeared. And reappeared. And disappeared again. He flashed in and out of existence for bit then walked right into the doors. A few seconds later, the stone doors swung open but Rizzen was nowhere to be seen.
"Fool." Meliadoul muttered. Of course, all were aware of Rizzen's tactics. Going invisible was something Rizzen always did, no matter how mundane and common a situation was. Coward, Zal'Nir thought. The still visible ones stepped in and, to there unpleasant surprise, found the bodies of five dead drow. Two females and three males, all stripped of valuables but still wearing their bloodied tabards on which was emblazoned a silver spider.
"How surprising, Spider kissers." Meliadoul said. Zal'Nir sighed and sheathed his sword. He wasn't going to quench his bloodthirst after all. Zal'Nir glanced to the ground and noticed tracks in the thick dust that covered the crypts floor.
There were more than ten people here. Two of the bodies had seemingly been dragged here. The tell-tale signs of drow crossbow bolts covered the corpses. Perhaps we should investigate further, he thought. At the same time, they heard Rizzen whisper to go deeper into the crypts. Further down the hall, a door opened. It was empty; apparently those who built the crypts didn't have enough dead to fill its halls. Looking deeper, the hall made a sharp turn to the right. It ended with a staircase that went even deeper underground. Two doors flanked this section of the corridor.
Rizzen laid his ear on the first one as precaution. If he heard something, they weren't going to open it. Happily, everything was still. Satisfied, he open the door to a room lined with sarcophagi. Meliadoul stepped confidently but as her right foot landed beyond the door, a bright glyph lit at her feet. A loud roar sounded before her and as she lifted her head, she found two enormous golden lions staring at her, showing their teeth. Before the priestess could even react, Zal'Nir was already charging into the creatures. The lions pounced onto the fighter but the elf managed to push them away. He slashed at the ribs of the first lion slaying it instantly, while his sister was lashing out at second beast with her whip. The Neuromancer leveled a wand at one of them and snarled a word. A bunch of imps swarmed out of the wand and flew to the lion but immediately vanished. As Zal'Nir turned to face other one, a black dagger materialized behind the lion and bit into the beast's flesh. The lion gave great cry and collapsed to the ground. Rizzen appeared as he pulled his assassin's dagger out of the tough skin, a wry grin on his face.
"Coward." Zal'Nir muttered under his breath. Meliadoul was already despoiling the sarcophagi when the males sheathed their weapons.
"To the next room," Rizzen called. As the others headed to next door of the hallway, Rizzen skittered back, his face pale. "I hear moaning from the other side", he squealed.
"Nonsense, it's some wind from the down below." His sister replied as she pushed the door open, but as she stepped into the room, her heart suddenly exploded in cold pain, as if thousands of arrows were piercing her black heart. The priestess stood there momentarily gripping her chest. The others eyed her curiously. She stumbled in and caught her breath as her heart starting beat again and the pain slowly receded. Rizzen glanced at the door and smiled.
"The door was trapped. A ward geared to slay any living creature that crossed its threshold. Thanks, sister, for pointing out where it was. I myself would have trouble finding it." Her sister made no reply, though she shot him one of those looks that would put shivers down anyone's spin.
Rizzen simply chuckled and quickly went to work, removing the glyph carefully.
"Ah! Done!" As soon as the elf stood up Zal'Nir shoved him aside and rushed into the room. Before him loomed the statue of regal woman whose elegant features caught the fighter's eye. Those eyes flared with crimson light a misty face sprung out of the statue. The dark elf yelped and scrambled out. A hazy white figure flowed out of the sculpture in pursuit, although it didn't leave the room.
"What?" The Neuromancer asked.
"Ha! Told you! The moaning was no wind!" Rizzen cried in triumph, he was right for once!
Zal'Nir was whimpering for the first time in ages.
"Dolts! I'll take of it for you. It's just a ghost."
The priestess stalked in, her Vhaerun's mask covering her face. Meliadoul glowered at the moaning spirit. The ghost of the very same woman depicted in the statue stared at her with red frightened eyes. It shrieked and vanished.
"Quick, check the rooms, now!" The priestess commanded her brothers. "She'll be back in a matter of minutes!"
Rizzen refused to budge. He wasn't going to walk into that damn chamber, what with all the death traps and a restless poltergeist! Zal'Nir stalked in grunting "coward" under his breath. The wizard followed. This chamber had four rooms and only one held anything of value. The skeleton of that room wore a golden pectoral. They also found a golden ring on his finger. As Zal'Nir reached for the ring, a voice boomed: "Whomsoever despoils my tomb shall be devoured by demons seven days hence!" The fighter hesitated just a second before his greed overcame his fear. He popped both items into his bag of holding.
"We'll see about that in seven days!" he yelled back. In truth, he gripped a sword a little harder from then on.
The group swiftly left the room, heading down the stairs. It led them into a series of caverns where more dead lay. Though here, the bones were strewn unceremoniously in alcoves carved into the walls and on the floor. They continued deeper into the darkness. The next cavern was similar to the first save that the statue of some alien creature with bulbous eyes stood in the middle. The drow avoided this statue. Rizzen had the feeling that all immobile things made of rock were dangerous. The cave ended in a narrow corridor. As they crept through a raspy voice whispered.
"What is your business here?" The Neuromancer jolted and grabbed his wand. Rizzen glanced around him and noticed the talking stalagmite.
"Just passing through." Meliadoul replied. "You wouldn't have seen a another group of drow coming through here?"
"Drow've been passing through here since they lost Shadowdale to the humans and to answer your question: yes, I have seen many group of your kind here." The thing growled.
The Neuromancer had no idea what the rock was babbling about. Perhaps he'd have to pour through his history books when he got back to the outpost. Shadowdale belonged to the drow? The priestess bade the roper adieu and the group trudged on.
The corridor widened into another cavern. Zal'Nir exploded ub laughter when he saw a bunch of skeletons standing idly in the middle of the cave.
to be continued...
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