Lamentation of Lolth - Chapter X

[Ayden]

Ayden only felt an hand on his shoulder. It was calm and gentle. "Welcome back, friend." tells the archer. As Ayden turned around, he could almost swear he has seen a smile on the ranger's face... or was it his imagination?

The archer had always been quiet, but Ayden could not help but jump slightly as the hand was placed upon his shoulder. The fleeting image of what might have been a smile, something Ayden could count upon one hand for the number of times he had seen such a thing from the ranger, was gone before his mind could firmly register it.

~They both want him back...they want the man they knew...they want to believe that their eyes deceived them and that it was merely stress which drove you away. They want to have the lie...~

Knowing that Sielwoodan would not take silence in a negative way, Ayden turned back to face the priestess and Lord Morn.

~If you only knew how crimson my hands were, you would not be so quick with your forgiveness.~

"It is not our past that Lord Morn has called us to hear, but to speak of his present."

 

[Majin]

~Daggerdale~

Morn stands patiently, watching the exchange between old friends. He nods at Ayden's acceptance of the task and smiles warmly as he waits for word from the others.

~The Underdark~

Irae sipped the last of her captor's sanguine nectar from the goblet in her hands as she sat upright in a throne near the back of the chamber. Her eyes looked over the cup at the man laid out at her feet, a trail of blood drying on his neck. A regally-clad female approached from not far away, the tiny white tips of fangs protruding over her bottom lip. She eyed the cup in Irae's hand sardonically.

"You would enjoy the taste much better if you were turned Mother," she spoke, wryly, a certain glimmer in her eye.

Irae stared down at the girl, a smirk appearing on her lips as she licked the last drop from them. "Foolish girl. I command legions of the undead in Kiaransalee's name, I do not expose myself to their shortcomings and weaknesses. Now why have you saw fit to interrupt me Dorina? Can't you see I'm conducting an audience?"

It was obvious the girl did not appreciate the slight against her kind. Dorina preferred her unlife to a normal one. If only her mother could see the benefits of such an existence. Not to mention the notion of having the opportunity to sire her own mother would bring. Fantasies only, as Dorina knew her mother would never relent; certainly never put such power in her daughters hands even if she were interested.

"Things are prospering well in Szith Morcane, Mother. Raids are taking place as scheduled, and we now have trophies of Lolth's priestesses on display about the area, as a warning to any others that might seek to disrupt our plans." Irae's eyes narrowed almost immediately and Dorina noticed her mistake of mentioning the spider-bitch in her mother's presence. Unabated, she continued, "Once ready, your spell will reach out from Maerimydra and encompass Szith Morcane in only a few short months, will it not?" she asked, hoping the thought of such an event would quell her mother's temper.

"Indeed it will, Dorina. Indeed it will..." Irae answered, a wicked glimmer in her own eyes now.

 

[hippocrachus]

~ Memento ~

Calenthang walked along beside his former elven companion and his mule to Daggerdale in silence. The ranger always liked silence and Calenthang could relate, so not a word was spoken between them; all they needed to know of each other in the past years was visible in their fighting abilities.
When the two elves made it past the guardhouses of the small dale, Calenthang nodded his goodbye and made sure to pick a route in the opposite direction of Sielwoodan. Whatever his business there, it was his, and Calenthang had his own goals to attend to.

~ Punctual ~

The dark hunter was sure to be there before the meeting was to take place. There is no better advantage than the advantage of preparedness; being on time was engraved in Calenthang's bones.
He stood outside of the rustic abode the lord of Daggerdale called "home" and waited, shoulders squared. A servant stepped out to see what he was about, to make sure he wasn't some loiterer, and Calenthang gave him a contrite dismissal. He was asked to come and Calenthang let the toady believe that was his only reason for being there.
Then the party started to arrive.
First an apparition from the past; a skeleton better left buried.
"Ayden," was Calenthang's simple greeting. He doesn't consider the soulless friends. Certainly not revered.
With two guests now outside, the servant returned and showed them into the main foyer, where they waited on the others and waited for Lord Morn to welcome them.

~ Briefing ~

"I will eliminate the drow threat here alone or with aide," Calenthang answered to the lord's request. If the others wanted to join him, so be it; he didn't need help killing a few dark elves.

 

[Velmont]

Sielwoodan havn't told another word. He has waited in silence until Morn makes his request to the group. His answers has been short and straigth as usual. "Yes" After that, he left the details to the others. He never really concerned with such matter. His mind was alreday trying to gather all he knew about teh underground world, as the path of the drows always lead there.

 

[kirinke]

"If you remember my lord, I was there. Helping with the wounded and keeping them safe." she said dryly, knowing she was earning a reputation as a fairly good fighter and an even better booster to those who fought, even though she wasn't precisely a front-liner. She smiled, but it was sad, without humour. "I will aid as well."

 

[Wilphe]

Prologue:

"Once I trod on stage before an audience of hundreds,
The cream of Waterdeep would scrum for admission then,
Sit patiently in awe devoting to me the whole of their attention
I alone for but a brief span was the centre of their universe,
Greatest wonder in a City not short of wonders,
Some Great, Some Terrible, Some Horrible"

"Now I ply before farmers and peddlers in many a rude tavern,
Yet that is not my love. I dedicate my art to the open spaces,
To the Meadows, Streams and Woods. Where once fine decked ladies,
Simpered and Applauded my art is now oft greated by the lowing
Of Bemused Cattle and the scurrying of Berrygobblers. And I have finer
backdrops than any Waterdhavian Artist could e'er paint"

 

[Wilphe]

Laurent arrives at the meeting quietly and unannounced. Those who knew him, knew him. Those who did not, should, and would too, in time but he was not prepared to rush the issue. Nor is it generally considered a good idea to upstage the local lord, this was Randal Morn's show and Laurent was content to leave him top billing.

Instead he sat silently throughout the breifing. Ayden's prescence did not unnerve him, but as he barely knew the man - if that is what he truly was these days - he was content to let his companions of old do the talking. However with neither Calenthang or Sielwoden being the conversational type that really meant listening to Teleri talk. There would be time for light banter later, but now was not it.

 

[Wilphe]

"Your Lordship amy count upon the aid of Laurent de Laurentis in this matter," he states, matter-of-factly, "However, one would like further information on the strength, type and direction of these raids"

 

[kirinke]

Teleri glanced sideways at the bard. "The drow's path always lead underground. All one has to do is follow in the wake of their destruction." she told the bard calmly. "They always attack in small bands, to better conceal themselves. When attacking in force, they always use their slaves and hirelings first. Orcs, goblins, kobolds, dueger."

 

[hippocrachus]

~ Reincarnation: Two Years Ago ~

Calenthang's eyes widened in elation when at first they laid on Ayden returned, revered, and all thoughts of Andreas were forgotten; the wizard had chosen his fate. But Ayden was different. It seemed there was no fire in his eyes as he played his beloved violin. No passion to beget the fury in which he laid the bow down on shrieking strings. Calenthang ignored those observations at first, too caught-up in the moment to consider their worth.
In the short days to come, the elven warrior forgot his hatred for the tome Broddy grasped so tightly; Ayden had returned afterall. But Ayden was different.
Calenthang paid no mind to the mental health of Chastity because his revered friend was paying no mind to him. Calenthang was willing to die for the priest, to mete revenge on whatever power had taken him away, but Finder's standard-bearer devoted all his efforts to the soul-scarred paladin. Efforts that, in the end, couldn't save her.
So Ayden turned his friends aside, turned away from Calenthang, and the elven warrior understood. In his blackening heart, Calenthang imagined Ayden was not Ayden at all. The compassionate friend he once knew was lost to him. The book had taken him utterly and with it's sinister magic crafted some being of Evil. Using Ayden's lifeless shell, the abomination incarnated at a time when it knew the group would be vulnerable. Vulnerable to believing the unbelievable.
With Chastity dead, a doppelganger Ayden, and Broddy allowed to worship the very text that killed him, unabated, Calenthang separated himself from the others. He no longer had a reason to be amongst "friends."

~ The Orator ~

Calenthang grinned at Laurent. They at least had parted on better terms. The bard had proved his mettle and Calenthang couldn't help but accept Laurent de Laurentis' benevolent intentions. Of the half of the group Calenthang didn't mind seeing again, Laurent ranked highest.
The dark hunter had a few questions to ask the bard who often had access to knowledge few others did.
"You have had many dealings with drow legions, Teleri?" Calenthang asked the priestess, bemused. Laurent's question was wisely asked and she didn't need to belittle him. That was his job.