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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 1809883" data-attributes="member: 143">The Shackled CityBook VI: "Secrets of the Soul Pillars"* * * * * Chapter 244Two men met in a darkened room.  The only illumination came from a struggling candle in a golden censer laid atop a small stone table decorated with a rich red velvet cloth.  The light was not strong enough to reveal more of the chamber, but neither of the two men required additional light to see.  They knew each other, that was clear by the way they carried themselves, but there was also a tension between them.  Each man radiated power, but otherwise they seemed total opposites.  One was tall, broad of shoulder and muscular, if somewhat bulging about his gut.  He was clad in plate armor that was clearly well-crafted, by the way it fit about him like a second skin.  The other was slight and was clad in very expensively cut fabrics, and there was at least a pound of gold laid about him as decoration, and the stones on the rings he wore on his fingers were the kind that could feed and house a man comfortably for a year.  He looked to be of half-elvish ancestry, and he moved with a subtle grace, as if each step he took had been thought over and prepared at some earlier time in advance. The armored man overwhelmed the other fellow in physical presence, but the faint light caused the beads of sweat on his brow to glisten, and when the dandy turned, the pale light seemed to catch in his eyes, glimmering as ten tiny motes that danced merrily within those cold orbs. “Those troublesome adventurers have returned to Cauldron,” the half-elf said. “Yes... yes, I had heard that,” the armored man replied.  “They have active dealings with Urikas at the Temple of Helm, and we have been watching them for some time.”“They have grown beyond themselves, too quickly,” the other replied.  “Matters rapidly approach a critical phase.  They must be dealt with, now.” The armored man seemed to stumble over his words slightly.  “But... Embril Aloustinai, she is not here...”The half-elf pursed his lips slightly.  “Yes, I know that.  In her absence, you will have to provide leadership, Ike Iverson.”“Yes, of course, my lord Vhalantru... but...”The smaller man strode around the armored figure, almost casually.  “Your organization has benefited greatly from our arrangement, cleric.  This does not seem like too much to ask... is it?”He’d suddenly come to a stop behind the armored man, but Iverson did not turn.  “No, my lord.  I will see to it personally.”“Excellent.”  The half-elf resumed his strides and soon faced the other again.  “I knew those fools would be trouble, when I first saw them in Kazmojen’s bazaar.”The other man did not respond. The half-elf laughed.  “They have come far fast, those outlanders.  But it is time for their adventuring careers to come to a sudden, and painful, end...”</blockquote>

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