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<blockquote data-quote="Cerulean_Wings" data-source="post: 5194379" data-attributes="member: 55060"><p>It happened in an instant. The driders, including Enizu, fired their crossbows, their aim impeccable. Not that I was a particularly hard target to hit, but they wouldn't have missed even if I had been the size of a cockroach. So I reached for my stone table and swung it around one-handed over my head, sending the dead lizard flying away, and turning the table into a shield that deflected all the bolts. </p><p></p><p>Well. That's what I had hoped for, but only most were blocked, and a pair sneaked in, biting me like steel-edged bugs, and delivering their dreadful poison. It would take a matter of seconds for it to start acting, and that left me with very little time to bring the encounter to an end.</p><p></p><p>So I grasped the table with my other hand as well, and launched it towards the ceiling, where most of the driders were grouped. It exploded, leaving a crater where it hit, but no squashed driders, for they had all jumped down to the ground. Suddenly I was surrounded by the twelve assassins, all wielding their wicked blades in both hands, their expressions a mixture of hatred and cold-blooded stares. Thankfully I had kept my front to Enizu; the drider leader launched his rope dart at me, even though I had a living shield of half a dozen driders between us. He didn't even nick one of his subordinates, and the poisoned dart-head went straight for my throat, fast as a snake.</p><p></p><p>I grabbed the thing by the rope before it could get to me, and I yanked. Hard. Enizu didn't see the catch nor the pull coming, and he came along with his weapon, crashing into the driders in a spidery mess, swearing all the way. The other side of the circle attacked then, weapons flashing in the darkness, thrusting at my exposed back. Unfortunately for them, I wasn't done with their leader's weapon. Still holding on to the rope, I swung it as I turned around half-circle, bringing with me its owner, who stubbornly held on to it, and knocking the six driders in a row from the side. They went sprawling against a wall, more stunned than injured, knocking a bunch of my skulls in the process.</p><p></p><p>Enizu wasn't pleased at all by this. "Get. Him!" he shouted while pointing at me, his face a bloody mess, for his nose had been broken in the first or second impact. The driders didn't have to be told - the first half that I had knocked down were ready again, and this time I had no counter for their assault. The blades attacked in from all directions, their wielders dancing around me, coming in and out, too quickly for me to possibly stop of all of them. Most of the slices weren't strong enough to pierce through my skin, but a few did, and I was already having trouble breathing. It was the poison, and I had seen the aftermath of its victims: they looked fine on the outside, even though their lungs had exploded. It only took a minute for most beings to take full effect, I had been told, and I was lucky to have not one, but two heritages that had a tough immune system. </p><p></p><p>That only bought me five minutes or so. Enizu made an intricate hand gesture and said a code word, making the driders stop their attack and get ready to leave. The driders could leave and let time kill me, with no loss of their own. As for me, I did the one thing I could do to avoid certain death, and lunged for the drider closest to me, grasping his throat in my clawed hand.</p><p></p><p>Or at least I tried, for the bastard dodged, and I only got his arm. The drider cried out, stopping his teammates from leaving, for they understood what I was after. My captive struggled, but couldn't break free of my iron grip, and so resorted to stabbing my arm repeatedly with his remaining weapon. It stung more than anything, and potentially made the poison act faster, but I didn't care. When the other assassins dashed back to me I turned in a tight circle, swinging their companion about. They had adapted to my tactics, so they avoided another embarrassing collision. I had expected this, so I finished my swing by making the drider's body meet the ground full-force.</p><p></p><p><em>Crunch</em>. That sound never gets old or less satisfying. I was panting, with the poison coursing strongly through my veins, but feeling victorious. Now that I had a limp drider, I dug my hand into his satchel and ripped it open, making two tiny vials fly out, one gray, one yellow. I didn't have time before I was attacked once more, and bit the yellow vial as it flew in mid-air. I broke the glass with my teeth and swallowed the whole thing. Enizu and his driders considered me with caution, forming a space semi-circle in front of me, no longer feeling confident of an easy kill.</p><p></p><p>I suppose this is one of those times that having an imp as a friend/informant comes in handy; Durzil once told me that the driders' poison had an antitoxin, and each squad member that carried the poison also carried the antidote as well, just in case they accidentally got poisoned with it. Their paranoia had allowed me to overcome their only real threat against me, and I was already recovering from the stuff in my system.</p><p></p><p>"You can't run, can you, Enizu?" I asked, wiping my mouth with an arm, then spitting some pieces of glass. "Unless you return with your target dead, my sister will have you tortured, then slaughtered like goblin cattle. Are you going to fight me to the death, or maybe try your luck with another faction, one that can protect a failed assassin from my sister?" </p><p></p><p>If a glare could injure people, Enizu's look would have destroyed me in an instant. He swung his rope dart over his head, forming a wheel, and snarled at me. </p><p></p><p>"I won't be humiliated by a brute like you! We will bring you down, even if it takes a million cuts and slices!" His followers imitated him and banged their blades together and filled my home with battle cries and curses. As one they rushed me, violent murder in their eyes, faster than lightning, and just as deadly.</p><p></p><p>A minute later I stomped over the head of the last drider alive, no other than Enizu. He kept spattering curses at me, his pride wounded more than his body, until my foot put an end to his life. I looked around: my house was a bloody mess, even worse than usual. It would take me a while to fix things, including the stone table. First things first, however: I took the dozen satchels from the corpses, and found to my dismay that only two of them had vials left intact from the battle. Oh well, something is better than nothing, so I took them with me. </p><p></p><p>The next step was gathering my things. I went to my room, which consisted of many rags and skins to serve as a bed, and a hidden cache of personal items. I checked the cache behind a loose stone the size of my fist, and sighed in relief; the driders hadn't touched it. Taking the small bag that lay there, I opened it and looked inside. There lain an old golden coin, my most valuable possession. Deciding I didn't want to risk another group of assassin's coming by, I rushed through the steps I had outlined weeks ago in my head if it came to leaving my home. First came finding my traveling sack, made of giant lizard skin, big and sturdy enough to carry everything I needed. Then I had to fill it, mostly with some meat of the other lizard I had, and some leather skins, in case the surface proved colder than I had guessed. The pouches from the driders and the one holding my gold coin came in last, of course, for I didn't want them crushed by the other things or lost in the mess. </p><p></p><p>I double checked everything, and once I was satisfied I went to the entrance tunnel. The place had served me well for my time underground, there was no denying that. But now I had to take measures against others coming in and taking my treasure and trophies. There was no trusting other denizens of the underground complex, and who knew who would be the place's new owner in a matter of days, or even hours. I dropped my traveling sack nearby and stretched my arms and hands. They were a bit painful to move from all the wounds the driders had delivered, but they would heal. Taking a deep breath, I clasped my hands and smashed the rock above the entrance tunnel with all my might.</p><p></p><p>It would have been undoubtedly more dramatic had I managed to bring the earth down in one blow, but alas, it took me five such strikes to collapse the roof, sealing my home for good. Even if some creature who knew where I had lived came by, they would need to dig through several feet of hard stone, and then remove all of it to even get close to my loot. In short, it wasn't worth anyone's time, and that was what I wanted. </p><p></p><p>One half of my heritage made me feel guilty for leaving my loot behind, all the treasure that I had accumulated over the years, but I did my best to disregard my instincts. There was no way in hell I would be able to take any wealth with me, and even if I managed, what good would it do me on the surface? I had no dreams of going to a human city, let alone purchasing goods there. All I would need was surviving in the wild, and I knew enough of the surface thanks to Durzil and his friends to manage. Or at least I thought I did.</p><p></p><p>"Time to go, Aghemer," I said to myself, for there was no one else to do so. And so I left my home, now a huge rock tomb. I headed straight for the exit tunnel, as quickly as I could, while trying to keep a low profile; one team of assassins was more than enough for one day - or a lifetime. Knowing my sister, she would send someone to look for Enizu if he didn't report in time, and Irmella wasn't known for her patience. </p><p></p><p>There was also the matter of my half-brother. He lead his own faction, like Irmella, and while my sister's involved stealthy murders, his was centered on the subtlety of destroying all opposition with brute force and nothing else. Karg'un had never bothered to go after me, as an ally or foe, and that was due to his great arrogance; he thought me so beneath him that he probably had forgotten all about me. </p><p></p><p>Still, there was no telling if he had realized he had a blood-kin running to the surface, and would come to personally rip my head from my shoulders. </p><p></p><p>"To rid the world of your shame," he would say coldly, and then leave me to rot without another word.</p><p></p><p>Suppressing a shudder at the vivid mental image I had conjured, I focused back on the last leg of my journey. No one had challenged me on my way thus far, and I was minutes away from the exit tunnel. Was I lucky, or had my quake sent a warning message to everyone in the radius of a mile? I wondered idly what Durzil and his buddies would do if their lava bath were interrupted by falling rocks, and found myself chuckling. </p><p></p><p>"Aw, hell's bells, that <em>had </em>to be Aghemer!" he would probably say.</p><p></p><p>Well. I never had any true, lasting friends here, only allies, and those were as elusive as underground light. Durzil's band would miss the benefits of my presence, but eventually they would find another tough creature to hide behind, of that I was sure. While I couldn't say I'd miss those imps, I felt no relief either. The rest of the creatures I had sided with were of little relevance to me, and I had forgotten their names with the passage of time.</p><p></p><p>The intersection was finally within sight, and there was no one blocking it. Now I had no choice: staying underground meant death, whereas going up meant... something else, which I would have to discover. Thus filled with excitement and adrenaline, I took my first real steps to freedom.</p><p></p><p>"Well, well, well. It seems my guess was more than accurate, dear brother," said a voice from behind that I thought I wouldn't have to hear ever again. My half-sister Irmella leaned against the corner between two tunnels, her slender and beautiful dark body covered partly by a pair of bat wings that acted as a cape, along with exotic clothes that revealed more flesh than they hid. I couldn't see any weapons on her, but then again, she didn't need any inducements, since for all purposes she <em>was</em> a weapon.</p><p></p><p>"You guessed that I had killed Enizu's squad, and would be leaving this place right now?" I asked conversationally. I can be really good at hiding my overwhelming sense of dread when I'm pushed to it. I even turned around and leaned against a wall to pretend I was in no hurry. I was nearly at the top of the food chain in the underground, so if I say I wouldn't wish to fight my sister, that speaks volumes of just how powerful she is - and thus I didn't want to give her any reasons to attack me. If she had intended to finish Enizu's job by herself, she would've done so already. Why she didn't was a mystery that I actually managed to solve before leaving.</p><p></p><p>Irmella smirked and folded her arms. "Yes. I've got eyes and ears in more places than you can imagine, Aghemer, and with that information I can reach some conclusions. Right now, the information in front of me lets me reach the conclusion that a valuable asset is fleeing my reach, and I'm very much curious to try to find the answer to that fascinating question." Her crimson orbs were half-hidden by a frown. "Why?"</p><p></p><p>I could've lied. Poorly, but at least it would've been a simple straight answer. Instead, I told her exactly what I was thinking. "I don't know. I'm leaving to find out." </p><p></p><p>My half-sister stared at me, and after what seemed like an eternity, stretched her arms to the sides lazily, and turned her back on me as she started to walk away. </p><p>"You know," I couldn't hold back in saying, "for a master of subtlety, you seem very relaxed right now, coming all by yourself, and even leaving your body open to attack."</p><p></p><p>That stopped her in her tracks. Irmella looked over her shoulder and smiled impishly, something I had never seen her do, or imagined her capable of. It was far more disturbing than seeing her in a murderous fury. "Oh, Big One, how silly you are sometimes!" she exclaimed, giggled, and turned around the corner of the tunnel, her shape distorting like a shadow.</p><p></p><p>I remained where I was, my eyes set on nothing in particular. How had I fallen for such a cheap trick by the likes of Maehnu? Part of me reasoned that the shape shifter had had plenty of practice to mimic Irmella's appearance and demeanor, but still... the sting of shame and embarrassment I felt didn't diminish in the slightest. </p><p></p><p>"She must have been checking on me by Irmella's orders," I thought aloud, shaking my head, and grabbed my traveling sack. It was time to go. It didn't matter what my manipulative half-sister wanted from me. Whatever Irmella had in mind couldn't possibly affect me once I left the underground, I had to believe that. </p><p></p><p>By leaving I wasn't just letting go of the physical place that had been my life, but also leaving behind the warring, intrigue, assassination, and constant strife. I didn't know it then, but the surface world of humans had those things as well. Cynics would argue that all I had done was change the scenery for the same play, but I disagree. There was something in the land above that I could never find in my home. </p><p></p><p>Hope. For what, I didn't know, but it was a start. And so I moved towards the surface. Thankfully, I was alone. </p><p></p><p>I wouldn't have wanted a single soul witnessing big and tough Aghemer's legs shaking on the way on every step.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Cerulean_Wings, post: 5194379, member: 55060"] It happened in an instant. The driders, including Enizu, fired their crossbows, their aim impeccable. Not that I was a particularly hard target to hit, but they wouldn't have missed even if I had been the size of a cockroach. So I reached for my stone table and swung it around one-handed over my head, sending the dead lizard flying away, and turning the table into a shield that deflected all the bolts. Well. That's what I had hoped for, but only most were blocked, and a pair sneaked in, biting me like steel-edged bugs, and delivering their dreadful poison. It would take a matter of seconds for it to start acting, and that left me with very little time to bring the encounter to an end. So I grasped the table with my other hand as well, and launched it towards the ceiling, where most of the driders were grouped. It exploded, leaving a crater where it hit, but no squashed driders, for they had all jumped down to the ground. Suddenly I was surrounded by the twelve assassins, all wielding their wicked blades in both hands, their expressions a mixture of hatred and cold-blooded stares. Thankfully I had kept my front to Enizu; the drider leader launched his rope dart at me, even though I had a living shield of half a dozen driders between us. He didn't even nick one of his subordinates, and the poisoned dart-head went straight for my throat, fast as a snake. I grabbed the thing by the rope before it could get to me, and I yanked. Hard. Enizu didn't see the catch nor the pull coming, and he came along with his weapon, crashing into the driders in a spidery mess, swearing all the way. The other side of the circle attacked then, weapons flashing in the darkness, thrusting at my exposed back. Unfortunately for them, I wasn't done with their leader's weapon. Still holding on to the rope, I swung it as I turned around half-circle, bringing with me its owner, who stubbornly held on to it, and knocking the six driders in a row from the side. They went sprawling against a wall, more stunned than injured, knocking a bunch of my skulls in the process. Enizu wasn't pleased at all by this. "Get. Him!" he shouted while pointing at me, his face a bloody mess, for his nose had been broken in the first or second impact. The driders didn't have to be told - the first half that I had knocked down were ready again, and this time I had no counter for their assault. The blades attacked in from all directions, their wielders dancing around me, coming in and out, too quickly for me to possibly stop of all of them. Most of the slices weren't strong enough to pierce through my skin, but a few did, and I was already having trouble breathing. It was the poison, and I had seen the aftermath of its victims: they looked fine on the outside, even though their lungs had exploded. It only took a minute for most beings to take full effect, I had been told, and I was lucky to have not one, but two heritages that had a tough immune system. That only bought me five minutes or so. Enizu made an intricate hand gesture and said a code word, making the driders stop their attack and get ready to leave. The driders could leave and let time kill me, with no loss of their own. As for me, I did the one thing I could do to avoid certain death, and lunged for the drider closest to me, grasping his throat in my clawed hand. Or at least I tried, for the bastard dodged, and I only got his arm. The drider cried out, stopping his teammates from leaving, for they understood what I was after. My captive struggled, but couldn't break free of my iron grip, and so resorted to stabbing my arm repeatedly with his remaining weapon. It stung more than anything, and potentially made the poison act faster, but I didn't care. When the other assassins dashed back to me I turned in a tight circle, swinging their companion about. They had adapted to my tactics, so they avoided another embarrassing collision. I had expected this, so I finished my swing by making the drider's body meet the ground full-force. [I]Crunch[/I]. That sound never gets old or less satisfying. I was panting, with the poison coursing strongly through my veins, but feeling victorious. Now that I had a limp drider, I dug my hand into his satchel and ripped it open, making two tiny vials fly out, one gray, one yellow. I didn't have time before I was attacked once more, and bit the yellow vial as it flew in mid-air. I broke the glass with my teeth and swallowed the whole thing. Enizu and his driders considered me with caution, forming a space semi-circle in front of me, no longer feeling confident of an easy kill. I suppose this is one of those times that having an imp as a friend/informant comes in handy; Durzil once told me that the driders' poison had an antitoxin, and each squad member that carried the poison also carried the antidote as well, just in case they accidentally got poisoned with it. Their paranoia had allowed me to overcome their only real threat against me, and I was already recovering from the stuff in my system. "You can't run, can you, Enizu?" I asked, wiping my mouth with an arm, then spitting some pieces of glass. "Unless you return with your target dead, my sister will have you tortured, then slaughtered like goblin cattle. Are you going to fight me to the death, or maybe try your luck with another faction, one that can protect a failed assassin from my sister?" If a glare could injure people, Enizu's look would have destroyed me in an instant. He swung his rope dart over his head, forming a wheel, and snarled at me. "I won't be humiliated by a brute like you! We will bring you down, even if it takes a million cuts and slices!" His followers imitated him and banged their blades together and filled my home with battle cries and curses. As one they rushed me, violent murder in their eyes, faster than lightning, and just as deadly. A minute later I stomped over the head of the last drider alive, no other than Enizu. He kept spattering curses at me, his pride wounded more than his body, until my foot put an end to his life. I looked around: my house was a bloody mess, even worse than usual. It would take me a while to fix things, including the stone table. First things first, however: I took the dozen satchels from the corpses, and found to my dismay that only two of them had vials left intact from the battle. Oh well, something is better than nothing, so I took them with me. The next step was gathering my things. I went to my room, which consisted of many rags and skins to serve as a bed, and a hidden cache of personal items. I checked the cache behind a loose stone the size of my fist, and sighed in relief; the driders hadn't touched it. Taking the small bag that lay there, I opened it and looked inside. There lain an old golden coin, my most valuable possession. Deciding I didn't want to risk another group of assassin's coming by, I rushed through the steps I had outlined weeks ago in my head if it came to leaving my home. First came finding my traveling sack, made of giant lizard skin, big and sturdy enough to carry everything I needed. Then I had to fill it, mostly with some meat of the other lizard I had, and some leather skins, in case the surface proved colder than I had guessed. The pouches from the driders and the one holding my gold coin came in last, of course, for I didn't want them crushed by the other things or lost in the mess. I double checked everything, and once I was satisfied I went to the entrance tunnel. The place had served me well for my time underground, there was no denying that. But now I had to take measures against others coming in and taking my treasure and trophies. There was no trusting other denizens of the underground complex, and who knew who would be the place's new owner in a matter of days, or even hours. I dropped my traveling sack nearby and stretched my arms and hands. They were a bit painful to move from all the wounds the driders had delivered, but they would heal. Taking a deep breath, I clasped my hands and smashed the rock above the entrance tunnel with all my might. It would have been undoubtedly more dramatic had I managed to bring the earth down in one blow, but alas, it took me five such strikes to collapse the roof, sealing my home for good. Even if some creature who knew where I had lived came by, they would need to dig through several feet of hard stone, and then remove all of it to even get close to my loot. In short, it wasn't worth anyone's time, and that was what I wanted. One half of my heritage made me feel guilty for leaving my loot behind, all the treasure that I had accumulated over the years, but I did my best to disregard my instincts. There was no way in hell I would be able to take any wealth with me, and even if I managed, what good would it do me on the surface? I had no dreams of going to a human city, let alone purchasing goods there. All I would need was surviving in the wild, and I knew enough of the surface thanks to Durzil and his friends to manage. Or at least I thought I did. "Time to go, Aghemer," I said to myself, for there was no one else to do so. And so I left my home, now a huge rock tomb. I headed straight for the exit tunnel, as quickly as I could, while trying to keep a low profile; one team of assassins was more than enough for one day - or a lifetime. Knowing my sister, she would send someone to look for Enizu if he didn't report in time, and Irmella wasn't known for her patience. There was also the matter of my half-brother. He lead his own faction, like Irmella, and while my sister's involved stealthy murders, his was centered on the subtlety of destroying all opposition with brute force and nothing else. Karg'un had never bothered to go after me, as an ally or foe, and that was due to his great arrogance; he thought me so beneath him that he probably had forgotten all about me. Still, there was no telling if he had realized he had a blood-kin running to the surface, and would come to personally rip my head from my shoulders. "To rid the world of your shame," he would say coldly, and then leave me to rot without another word. Suppressing a shudder at the vivid mental image I had conjured, I focused back on the last leg of my journey. No one had challenged me on my way thus far, and I was minutes away from the exit tunnel. Was I lucky, or had my quake sent a warning message to everyone in the radius of a mile? I wondered idly what Durzil and his buddies would do if their lava bath were interrupted by falling rocks, and found myself chuckling. "Aw, hell's bells, that [I]had [/I]to be Aghemer!" he would probably say. Well. I never had any true, lasting friends here, only allies, and those were as elusive as underground light. Durzil's band would miss the benefits of my presence, but eventually they would find another tough creature to hide behind, of that I was sure. While I couldn't say I'd miss those imps, I felt no relief either. The rest of the creatures I had sided with were of little relevance to me, and I had forgotten their names with the passage of time. The intersection was finally within sight, and there was no one blocking it. Now I had no choice: staying underground meant death, whereas going up meant... something else, which I would have to discover. Thus filled with excitement and adrenaline, I took my first real steps to freedom. "Well, well, well. It seems my guess was more than accurate, dear brother," said a voice from behind that I thought I wouldn't have to hear ever again. My half-sister Irmella leaned against the corner between two tunnels, her slender and beautiful dark body covered partly by a pair of bat wings that acted as a cape, along with exotic clothes that revealed more flesh than they hid. I couldn't see any weapons on her, but then again, she didn't need any inducements, since for all purposes she [I]was[/I] a weapon. "You guessed that I had killed Enizu's squad, and would be leaving this place right now?" I asked conversationally. I can be really good at hiding my overwhelming sense of dread when I'm pushed to it. I even turned around and leaned against a wall to pretend I was in no hurry. I was nearly at the top of the food chain in the underground, so if I say I wouldn't wish to fight my sister, that speaks volumes of just how powerful she is - and thus I didn't want to give her any reasons to attack me. If she had intended to finish Enizu's job by herself, she would've done so already. Why she didn't was a mystery that I actually managed to solve before leaving. Irmella smirked and folded her arms. "Yes. I've got eyes and ears in more places than you can imagine, Aghemer, and with that information I can reach some conclusions. Right now, the information in front of me lets me reach the conclusion that a valuable asset is fleeing my reach, and I'm very much curious to try to find the answer to that fascinating question." Her crimson orbs were half-hidden by a frown. "Why?" I could've lied. Poorly, but at least it would've been a simple straight answer. Instead, I told her exactly what I was thinking. "I don't know. I'm leaving to find out." My half-sister stared at me, and after what seemed like an eternity, stretched her arms to the sides lazily, and turned her back on me as she started to walk away. "You know," I couldn't hold back in saying, "for a master of subtlety, you seem very relaxed right now, coming all by yourself, and even leaving your body open to attack." That stopped her in her tracks. Irmella looked over her shoulder and smiled impishly, something I had never seen her do, or imagined her capable of. It was far more disturbing than seeing her in a murderous fury. "Oh, Big One, how silly you are sometimes!" she exclaimed, giggled, and turned around the corner of the tunnel, her shape distorting like a shadow. I remained where I was, my eyes set on nothing in particular. How had I fallen for such a cheap trick by the likes of Maehnu? Part of me reasoned that the shape shifter had had plenty of practice to mimic Irmella's appearance and demeanor, but still... the sting of shame and embarrassment I felt didn't diminish in the slightest. "She must have been checking on me by Irmella's orders," I thought aloud, shaking my head, and grabbed my traveling sack. It was time to go. It didn't matter what my manipulative half-sister wanted from me. Whatever Irmella had in mind couldn't possibly affect me once I left the underground, I had to believe that. By leaving I wasn't just letting go of the physical place that had been my life, but also leaving behind the warring, intrigue, assassination, and constant strife. I didn't know it then, but the surface world of humans had those things as well. Cynics would argue that all I had done was change the scenery for the same play, but I disagree. There was something in the land above that I could never find in my home. Hope. For what, I didn't know, but it was a start. And so I moved towards the surface. Thankfully, I was alone. I wouldn't have wanted a single soul witnessing big and tough Aghemer's legs shaking on the way on every step. [/QUOTE]
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