<===={--STORY 5--}====>
A small figure darts through the darkness. He wears plainclothes, no weapon, nor pouches. He hops over crates with great agility and speed. He's holding something very close to his body.
Suddenly, he speeds up. He notices something watching him. He doesn't turn around to look but grips the object closer. He spots a puddle up ahead. It hasn't rained in days in this usually overcast city. His sharp eyes note the deep purple color.
What do I do? He thinks.
His pointed ears hear a noise behind him. Whatever is chasing him is getting closer. He starts running faster.
Dodge or dive? He can feel the chaser's presence in throwing range.
Damn it, I don't have the time or a choice.
"DOWN I GO!!!" He screams as he puts the small object into his mouth and lunges for the puddle as its' color turns to a tinged pink.
He reaches the bottom of the shallow pool. He opens his eyes despite the stinging of the water. He sees two lights, leading back to the surface. One is ahead of him and the other is to his left.
That one there is closer and I can't hold my breath forever. Here we go.
He began to swim towards the light to the left. He was running out of breath. Just as he neared the light, he swam for one last burst and passed out as the light surrounded him.
"Hello? Wake up! Sir, wake up!" The frantic voice became more clear as he came to consciousness. "AH! You're awake! Can you tell me your name?"
He looked around. He was laying on a table surrounded by chairs. The high ceiling and tapestries around the walls most likely suggested a dining hall. He heard clanging and looked towards his right. There was a propped-open doorway leading into a kitchen. On the floor in the back, there was a purple puddle.
He still had the object in his mouth. He took it out and sat up.
"Um. My name is, my name is Swift. How long have I been out." He looked to the creature. It was a stout dwarf with unusually black hair. He wore the clothing of a slave, plain brown tunic and black trousers with a red piece of cloth on his neck. But it couldn't be. His long beard and stout appearance was truly that of a dwarf but no dwarf would ever accept slavery. The dwarf-like creature didn't even have the accent or the rough voice of a mountain-dwelling, ore-mining, masterpiece-crafting dwarf.
"By the look you're giving me, sir, I assume you do not understand what I'm doing here. Yes, I am a dwarf, I'm an
ager, the Chief
Ager, in fact. We
ager are slave dwarves. Though slave is an awfully cruel word. We're more like servants. We are born and raised here to serve our Master. And to answer you're question, you've only been out a few hours, sir. Our Master Ajirla was kind enough to allow us to help you. We tried to give you healing potion but your mouth was clamped shut. Even my strongest
ager wasn't able to pry open your mouth. Excuse my observation but that must be an important trinket."
Swift looked around. A couple of the other dwarves had come out from the kitchen to see how their guest was doing.
"Would you like anything, sir. Food, maybe some ale?" One of the other
agers asked.
"No, no thanks. Um, may I meet your master so that I can give him my appreciations?" Swift asked.
"No, allow me to come here." The voice was surpisingly serene and light for the figure that appeared in the far doorway. "Do get off of the table, though, now that you're up and moving."
The Master was tall and graceful. However, he had the ugly appearance of an orc. Like the
ager, he was what he appeared to be but then again...
"My apologies, Mister Ajirla. Thank you for giving me rest and helping me. I don't quite know how to repay you, except to offer my services. Other than that, I do believe I'll be on my way, with your permission of course." Swift said, bowing.
"Please, no mister, just Ajirla. And what services would those be?" He walked over toward Swift, towering over the small human.
Swift did not back down. He stood as tall as his small stature would allow and looked the orc directly in the eyes.
"Ajirla, I am an acquirer. I come upon objects of all shapes and sizes, money of all amounts, and locks of various eras. Should you need me, I am at your service and in your debt for your hospitality."
The orc took a step back and looked Swift up and down.
"Hmm. I think I might actually have a job for you, little one. However, with the magnitude of it, I don't know if just a few hours stay will make up for it. While I give you the specifics, why don't you stay a few days and prepare yourself. Any food you need will be provided." Ajirla started to walk away. He suddenly stopped and turned around. "Ah, I will also provide for you a certain tool you will need. And one more thing, should anything go amiss, you will immediately be missing your theiving little hands. Understood?"
Swift smiled and nodded.
"Good. Meet me here in the morning for breakfast." He pointed to the
ager. "One of you show him to the guest room on the east wing."
"Good night, Ajirla." Swift bowed.
The Chief
Ager came over to Swift.
"This way, sir."
The next day, Swift was awake and already at the dining hall table as the
ager came into the kitchen to begin cooking.
"Morning!" He said cheerfully.
They greeted him in turn and starting prepping. Ajirla walked into the dining hall. He noted that Swift was at the far end of the table.
"Come, little one. Sit over here next to the head of the table, so that we may speak of your commission."
Swift shrugged and walked toward the head of the table. He sat on the left side of the large orc. The slave dwarves began to bring out food.
As they were eating, Ajirla summoned an
ager.
"Go and get my tools."
The dwarf left the room and came back heaving a large sack.
"Now, before I give you your job, I'm going to give you these. I understand that every theif has his own set of tools, the ones they put their absolute trust in. But with this job, your tools won't work."
He reached into the sack and pulled out a roll, two knives, and a block of metal.
"I know I said last night that I'd only give you one necessary tool, and that's this block right here. However, the more and more I think it over, the more I really don't want you to fail this job." He handed him the roll. "In there are all the basic tools you will need."
Swift unrolled the fabric and found all the tools of his trade. He looked at the block.
"So what is that block?"
"This block. This is your ultimate tool. If at anypoint during your job, you are stuck, use this."
"So is it some kind of magic?"
Aljira handed Swift the block.
"No, no it isn't. It's just a piece of metal."
"So, when I'm in a life or death situation, you want me to depend on your average, everyday doorstop?"
Aljira smiled.
"Well when you put it that way, you make it sound like I'm throwing you to the wolves. But, to be honest, yes."
"And the knives, anything special with them?"
"No, they're your basic meat-stabbers. Orc-made but they are pretty sturdy."
Swift took the sack and put all of the items back into it and set it aside.
"Alright, onto the job. What do you need me to do?"
Aljira's smile left his face. As he began to explain, the
ager cleaned the table.
"I may be an orc, but I am quite refined. I'm not like my savage brethren. I like to collect rare objects and masterpieces. In the richer circles, there is speak of two ceremonial weapons of the Mastercraftsman Red Blazenale. Story goes that he created them as his last hurrah, and died in the forge afterwards. They are worth more than all of the gold in this realm. The only way the current owner acquired them was because he ordered them. They are now so rare, that he has Algernia's greatest security guarding it."
"So what do I have to do to get these weapons?"
"Well, there is a black elf outpost,
Malagjss, guarding their canyon fortress,
Ulviraste. Once at the outpost, you must trip a lever inside of it that opens a hidden gate towards the bottom of the canyon. There is a small lever next to this one which magically activates a chute next to the outpost. Get to
Malagjss and get this done. Once inside the fortress, you need to get to the back of it to their dungeon. Hidden in the dungeon is where these ceremonial weapons are supposedly kept."
"Amazing. So where is this
Ulviraste?" It's located in the
Duraghar Forest."
"A canyon in a forest?" This seemed very odd until Aljira explained.
"In commontongue,
Duraghar means Cold Death. The forest is a forest of dead trees. Accompanied by the chill in the air, it's named was rightly earned. About a league into the forest there is a sheer dropoff. It goes down for about just under a third of a league. Across the way the same distance is the other side. On the other side of this chasm is
Malagjss. Do you have any questions?"
Swift took in all the information like dry bread in a bowl of water.
"Not that I can think of. Well, won't the Drow already be watching me once I step into the regular forest? Also, do you have a map of this fortress?"
Aljira smiled again.
"No, they aren't allowed outside of
Duraghar. And as for the map, I've already sent for it. As soon as we get it, I'll send you off. Until then, I've had the
ager set up a training room. A few of my magical friends have agreed to come over and supervise over the next few days as you train. One of them even specializes in Drow magic."
The next four days were rough as Swift picked hundreds of locks and disamred deadly traps. He even picked up a few spells he could use on Drow seals. Then the messenger came holding a black, wooden scroll case. It contained a detailed map of the fortress.
It seemed simple enough. Two floors and a dungeon. It was a 10 minute walk from one side to the other. An easy job. That is, it seemed like one until Aljira pulled out a second scroll. This one contained the security detail in the
Duraghar Forest. The security spanned the entire forest to the outreaches where the regular forest appeared.
Swift rolled up the scrolls and put them back in their casing. He put the case in the sack and put it on his back.
"Thank you for everything Aljira. I should be back by tomorrow evening."
"Swift, young one, listen to me. If you're not back by the end of a week, I will have your head propped on those knives, understood?"
Swift couldn't resist a look of being intimidated.
"Understood."
And with that, Swift left. It was midday when he reached the
Duraghar Forest. According to the maps, there was a clear path through the traps. However, it was most likely guarded by drow. Despite all of his skill, it is still quite hard to be able to hide and be unnoticed amongst standing twigs. And yet, the drow have mastered the art of stealth.
Now I'm stuck. Hmm, maybe that block will help. I could use it to trip any traps. No, with the way that Drow wizard was talking, the block wouldn't last very long. He did give me something I could use, that wierd looking amulet.
"To trick the Drow is nigh impossible. However, they rely on all of their senses. If you can make yourself unnoticable to their senses, then you have a chance. This amulet will make you invisible, even with their darkvision which allows them to see heat signatures. It will also create a sound barrier around you that blocks any sound you make. Should you step on a twig, the Drow won't even hear the leaf that twig then moves. When it comes to your scent, however, you are on your own. Oh, and a warning, the Drow can also get your scent by tasting the air, so when you hide your scent, don't do it by overpowering it with another scent." The mage handed him the amulet and and wished him luck.
Swift got into his pack and pulled out the amulet and put it on. For the past two days, he did his best to keep to the forest to hide his scent. As far as he could tell, it worked. He'd find out soon enough. He began down the path and no sooner had he done so, he heard a scream from afar.
Well, the Drow know I'm here. Apparently, they don't know where. That mage said they'd try stuff like that. Just remain calm, S. It's ok. They don't know where you are.
Swift calmed himself and continued walking as quiet as possible.
"So if they can't hear me with this sound barrier, can I hear them?" Swift asked after the mage gave him the amulet.
"Yes, it's only a one-way barrier. Supposedly, it even amplifies the sound coming in due to the fact that even you won't hear the sounds you are making. This way, your sense of hearing focuses more on whats incoming since theres no outgoing." The mage assured.
Swift kept going when he noticed a tree that didn't really look like it should. He walked around it and once he had passed, turned around to look at it. He was shocked to see a Drow just waiting for something to walk by. It's hands were locked together in some magical form that modified the air in front of him to blend in with the tree. He had something in his mouth. It looked a little bit like a dart.
"No matter what, never, ever, get hit with their darts. With your small body, you'd be dead in an instant. I repeat, do anything you can to avoid their darts." The mage had a frantic look on his face. "The Drow's poison is deadly, deadlier than any creature's natural poison in this realm."
Swift shivered and shook his head. He turned around and kept walking.
It was almost evening when the little human reached the ridge. He was mostly unscathed. His worst injury was tripping over some hidden roots and rubbing skin off his hand as he landed. He looked out across the gorge and spotted
Malagjss.
He remembered that object he had stolen before he got this job. He pulled it out of his sack.
"Can any of you tell me what this is?" Swift asked the mages and pulled out the object.
The mages all looked at it and looked at each other.
One of them stepped forward and motioned for the object.
"This appears to be just a small talisman. A rock that brings good luck is what it seems. However, it's actually a
Gid Rock. It's dwarven for want. Though they are few and far between, there are dwarven mages. They specialize in enchantment. This is one of the specialties of the Badren Mountain Clan. Basically, this rock can be anything you want or need."
Swift held up the rock. There was no incantation, no spell, no ritual necessary to use this rock. He just needed to think of what he needed.
I need something to get me across. I need a grappling hook!
Before his eyes, the rock turned to a dark gray color, like the sky with a terrible storm coming in. It transformed into the hook he needed. He grabbed some spiderwire out of his sack. This was a risky move but he'd rather die trying than by the hand of that "refined" orc. It was measured out to be a mile, almost the whole length of the gorge. He would have to throw it out as hard as possible and then jump.
He tied one end to the hook and the other end to his belt. He held the hook up and summoned all his strength to his arm as he backed up a few steps. He charged forward and just as he reached the edge, he leapt into the air and slung the hook with all of his might to the other side.
Everything went into slow-motion. For a few seconds, nothing happened. The hook just sat in the air as Swift flew forwards. Then the hook started going down. He prayed to Kurell, Olidammara, and Norebo, all gods of the rogue and thieves. He especially counted on Norebo, who loved gambling. For this is one of Swift's most important gamble of all.
The hook reached the other side, just a few metres from the top and started to bounce off. And as Swift's heart began to hang low, the hook swung back to the wall and stuck onto it, withouth hooking anything. The wall seemed to have attracted the hook back to itself and held onto it.
Swift smiled and gave a quick thanks as he swung toward the wall. He then realized he'd never done this before. He'd heard stories of people who tried this stunt but slammed so hard into the wall, they dropped to their deaths. He instinctively brought his feet up. Hopefully, he could land on the wall like one would land from a long fall, and just coil up as he landed.
Sure enough, as his extended feet touched the wall, he swung in and coiled his lower body together. There was still a major shock, but he stayed conscious and held on.
He looked up and around to see if anyone had seen him. He heard no voices nor audible signals. But then again, the Drow didn't need them with their sign language. He'd have to hurry.
He scurried up the wall, wrapping up the spiderwire and grabbing the rock along the way. When the
Gid transformed back to it's original form, it kept the end of spiderwire inside. Swift just shrugged and put it all away when he reached the top.
His amulet was still working. He had confirmed this as he climbed up past a Drow looking for what caused the clang of the hook hitting the wall. He looked around and spotted
Malagjss again. He began walking towards it and decided to wait. The moon was rising and he'd already gotten this far. He walked along the ridge and found a small cave just below. He climbed down into the cave and slept.
The sun filled the cave as Swift was waking up and gathering his sack. He ate some dried meat and drank from his waterskin. He climbed back up onto the ridge after making sure he had his amulet on.
He walked back towards the outpost. As he reached it, he began to circle it, looking for how many Drow there were, how tight the security was, and for any entrances and exits he could use. He knew it was too risky to just walk on into the outpost with how small it was. And then, Swift went and sat down to look at the
Malagjss itself.
It was a post of very sturdy construction. It was three levels high with a room on each of the top two. On the bottom level, there was a horse tied up and several weapons racks. The whole outpost was about 7 metres by 9 metres. There was at least two brave Drow outside at all times. Though the skies were all overcast, the sun could peek through the clouds at any time. If Swift remembered correctly, the sun didn't really hurt the Drow, just their eyes.
The middle level of this building was closed in. There were glyphs all over it. They glowed with many colors and shades, altering from one hue to the next. He couldn't read all of them but they appeared to be protective. There must be something important inside it. Then there was the top level. It was open about halfway up the level. He spotted three Drow in there. Two were using spyglasses, searching the landscape, while the third held what looked like a slimmed down crossbow. From what his sharp eyes could see, it had another of those cursed Drow darts in it.
"OH! One more thing before you leave, young one! Be careful about using magic around the Drow. Of all the elves and faerie, they are the most sensitive to magic." The mage had a worried look in his eye. "You do know that you're almost guaranteed to die on this job, correct?"
Swift just smiled and nodded.
"Norebo should be proud of me."
He started walking towards the outpost. His amulet gave off very little magical aura, so it wasn't very disturbing to the Drow's senses. However, using the
Gid was risky. He walked to the back of the outpost and pulled out the metal block. He was stuck and this was the perfect chance to use it.
All the Drow were currently facing the ridge when he launched it. They didn't know it came from behind but they noticed something moving. The rifle-bearer commanded the ground guards to go find out what it was while the two lookers tried to spot it. Swift quickly ran to the weapons racks and knocked them over. The lookers were forced to climb down to find out what happened as Swift scurried up the back.
He reached the top and saw the two levers he needed to trip. He waited til the lookers found his trail leading to the cave and followed it. Once they were gone and the ground scouts were still out and searching, Swift pulled out a knife. He climbed over the half-wall and snuck up to the Drow. He put the knife into his neck and put his hand around the Drow's mouth to muffle it's cries. He took the knife back out and put it away.
He tripped the levers and heard a noise to his right. He looked over the rail. There was a hole in the ground, the chute that Aljira was talking about. It appeared to go straight down for a couple of metres then angled off. He figured he might as well jump for it rather than chance crawling down and and the chute closing before he got to it.
He hopped over the rail aiming for the chute. He pulled his pack around and hugged it as he balled up and went down the slide. It was dark and rough, leaving him with a few bruises along the way. Towards the end he saw the exit leading to a couple of guard Drow. Above the exit, there was a small hole leading into the ceiling. Just as he was about to drop out of the exit, he uncurled and leapt into the hole, rolling into the ceiling above the guards.
He stretched out and looked around. He was in a small intersection with 5 more chutes. He went for the one in front of him.
If my sense of direction hasn't failed me, this should lead to the back of the fortress to where I can access the dungeon. I wonder how far down I have to go though?
By his sense of time, it was near evening when he reached near the end of the chute. He could also smell dinner being prepared through out the fortress.
He stopped above a kitchen. There was a hole just above it for the smoke to come out and the hole lead all the way up through the ceiling towards the surface. The Drow were in the far corner of the room, huddled up and talking. There was some freshly prepared and wrapped meat on a table just below him.
He reached to his sack and pulled out the
Gid Rock and spiderwire. He imagined the shape of a slender arrow. the rock transformed to a rock with the spiderwire embedded into where the "fletching" would be.
The Drow started moving around again and he backed away from the hole. They left the kitchen, probably to get food orders. Swift flung the dart into the meat and pulled it up through the hole. He put it in his sack and with the
Gid and spiderwire and continued crawling along.
He could see the end of the chute. He could smell the blood and rotting flesh of the dungeon. He shook his head and decided to call it a night. The next morning would start day three.
He woke up to the smell of breakfast flowing through the chutes. He pulled the package of meat out of his sack and ate it. He took out his waterskin and took a long draw.
Damn. Here we go. I should've been back by now. I need to get back by nightfall in four days.
Swift shook his head again and continued on. He needed to get down to the dungeon and soon. He reached the end of the chute within a few minutes and started examining the entry. He looked down and saw a hallway. It was quite a nice dungeon despite the Drow's way of keeping a dungeon. They were notorious for their torture techniques and ways of killing. It was said that the Drow knew over 1000 ways to kill a creature and held contests to see who could exact them all before their victim died.
He heard no Drow in the hallway but wasn't going to risk it. He looked around the entry and found a crack in the hole heading to the surface about a foot up. He retrieved the
Gid and imagined a smaller rock. The
Gid suddenly became smaller, but only held until he inserted it into the crack. Then the rock seemed to exhale as it fit itself to the crack. He grabbed onto the spiderwire and lowered himself, headfirst, into the hallway. He got a good look at the passage. There were only two doors, one at each end. He spoke a despell cantrip that the mages had given him. He then saw that it was not in fact a hallway, but a room of jail cells. Apparently even the Drow grow tired of watching creautres suffer.
Cells were all empty but blood stained the walls and even some small bones were scattered among them Swift shivered at the thought of those bones being his.
He heard talking and pulled himself back up as two Drow entered the area.
"Curse that Elaugran. His spell doesn't last very long." One Drow said to the other. The other one laughed.
"Well, what do you expect? His name is the Lesser Mage. So is it our turn to guard the daggers?"
"Aye. We got it for the next 8 hours. Then those shi'near get to guard it next."
"Why call the fresh meat by name?"
The first Drow laughed as they exited into the other room. Swift looked around to find another chute. He felt along the walls and found a small hole to his right, the direction to where the Drow went. He took a knife from his pack and dug it into the hole. It crumbled around the knife with ease and soon he dug into the wall about a foot. He removed the
Gid and put it away to continue digging. He dug on into the night and the next morning. When he finally took a break, he judged he had about another foot and he would be in the room the Drow were in. If he remembered correctly, the young guards were in their now.
Even at a young age though, Drow are still deadly to the inexperienced. Their favorite spell is actually in innate ability which creates this darkness around them. If you were to walk into this darkness, you would see absolutely nothing, not even the Drow's weapon coming for your throat.
Swift shivered at the thought and tried to remember the anti-spell that the mages had given him. It converts the darkness into light. This light then blinds the Drow and gives the user the advantage.
He'd have to be quick. He grabbed a knife out and the pulled the
Gid rock back out from his sack. He imagined the rock to be a slender throwing dart. The
Gid transformed, with the spiderwire still attatched. He readied the spell's verses in his head then jumped into the room. He had two days to get this done.
He landed, throwing both the knife and the throwing dart at the Drow. The knife went through the neck of the Drow on the left as the dart stuck into the chest of the other. He yanked the throwing dart back and tucked backwards as the living Drow shot a poisoned bolt at him. The Drow then grabbed his chest and went to his knees, feinting death. As Swift readied the dart to throw at him again, the Drow casted the room into complete darkness. As soon as Swift saw the room going dark, he rolled to his left while casting the anti-spell. As the darkness turned to light, Swift saw the Drow lunging for where he was. Swift launched the dart into the Drow's neck as he landed.
With both Drow quickly dispatched, Swift figured he had about a half an hour until he would be captured. He looked around the room. It looked like an artifact museum. He cast his own trap-finding spell. Surprisingly there were none. He decided to cast the Drow dispell but all this magic was causing a drain on his strength. He remembered the dried beef he had left and sat down to eat it.
The dried beef wouldn't do much but it was what he had. And he had survived on less before. He finished about five minutes later and got back up. He still heard no commotion. He casted the dispell and it appeared that nothing happened. He cast the trap-finder again and there was still nothing. So he began walking around looking for the daggers.
As he looked at the displays, he was tempted to grab some other objects, like a steel wand with gold engravings and a rare blue amber stone in it. He knew he had a mission to complete though. He looked through the displays and found nothing that resembled a dagger.
After about ten minutes of searching, he started walking around the rest of the room. He headed to the door and picked the Drow for any weapons. Their miniature crossbows were useless to him. He found nothing else of use to him either. He looked to the door to listen for any footsteps. There was still no noise. As he looked at the door, he noticed a small weapons rack next to it. He then looked around the room. There were stacks of bolts, crossbows, and small knives and daggers ready to be used on any intruders such as him.
It was then that he noticed two very good-looking daggers in particular. He walked over to them on the other side of the room. They both looked very different. But he knew they were the ceremonial daggers he was searching for. He grabbed them and put them into his sack.
He ran to the door and grabbed his knife out of the wall and held the
Gid in his hand. He imagined a rock that started out light as a feather but then increased in density. He threw it up into the chute as fast as he could. It landed in the chute with a very faint tap but after a few seconds, he tugged on the spiderwire without it giving in. He pulled himself up into the chute, transformed the rock back to it's natural state and put it away.
As he crawled back through the network of chutes, he heard alarms and footsteps. He had hidden his escape through the chute but nonetheless, he crawled with all the speed and quiet he could muster. He judged it was getting close to nightfall. He had to hurry.
He continued without stopping on into the early morning until he reached the vertical chute at the entrance. He had no choice but to scale the almost completely smooth walls. The climb would be almost 150 metres but he knew it would take much longer.
He looked around. The Drow seemed to not examine the network because he was still alive. As soon as he got out to the surface, he knew it would much tougher from there. He began climbing the chute upwards.
He continued running the landscape through his mind trying to find the best plan for ecscape. He had until sundown tonight to get out of
Ulviraste, past
Malagjss, out of the
Duraghar Forest, and back into Aljira's mansion.
He then remembered his amulet. He had taken it off when he was digging into the treasure room. He stopped climbing and put it back on. That should get him safely back. He just had to hurry.
He pulled the
Gid back out again. He imagined the rock sticking to the side of the wall and threw it up as far as he could. It went up about 30 metres in the air and fell only 4 metres until it clasped to a wall and stuck there. He shimmied up the rope as fast as he could. Once he got up to the rock, he unattatched and threw it up further. He continued to do this until he reached the surface.
It was midday when he got to the top. He didn't stop, he imagined the rock sticking to the other side of the ridge, at the top of it, and took off running. He ran with every ounce of energy he had and jumped off the edge, launching the
Gid. He was amazed. It stuck to the top of the other side of the ridge while he still had the other end of the spiderwire. He pulled on it as he swung down. He landed with a bounce and began climbing again, never looking back.
He judged that he had about five hours until sunset. This wasn't going to be a leisurely walk. He scurried up the ridge going faster than he ever had. His life depended on it. He threw up prayers to Norebo as he ran through the non-trapped trail of the
Duraghar Forest. He ran as if he had two dragons, three platoons of Drow and two platoons of Orcs were all on him. In two hours, he had gotten from the surface of the chute to the end of the dead forest. But he took no breaks, he had to keep going.
<=={- -}==>
By this time, Aljira was in his dining hall with two young female humans. He gave them a description of Swift and offered food as he awaited to give them the order. They were about one and a half metres high each. The stood nonchalantly sharpening metal objects.
<=={- -}==>
Swift had three hours to get back to the mansion. He ran with half the speed of the deadly, poisoned Drow dart.
After another hour, he had almost made it out of the forest when he felt a weird aura. It surrounded him and made his body tingle. He looked around as he ran and saw no one. He kept running.
<=={- -}==>
"Do it. If he's not out of that forest in another hour, find him and kill him on the spot. Give me his head and the pack on his back." Aljira looked absolutely enraged. The two girls nodded and left.
<=={- -}==>
As Swift continued to run, he noticed he started to glow. He was shining a greenish hue. He ignored it. He had to keep going. Suddenly, he tripped and landed face-first on the ground. He was knocked out instantly.
Later, he was awoken by what felt like a pail of cold water to his face. But as he examined himself and his surroundings, he wasn't wet at all.
"That was some fall you had there, young one."
Swift looked over to see an old man sitting at the base of a tree.
"Sir, you saw me fall? How long has it been?"
"Well, 'saw' isn't quite what I did but it's been about an hour or so."
Swift seemed confused at what the old man meant. But he had no time, he would have killers after him soon. He started to get up, but the old man stopped him.
"You had a deadline didn't you, small one? Sunset has already passed, look around you."
Swift did so and realized it was too late. He would die before midnight. He had no way to protect himself. Aljira was a very rich man. He would hire only the best. A feeling of immense dread at the thought of his inescapable doom fell upon him. He sat down, his mind racing.
<=={- -}==>
The two assassins placed themselves at the edge of the forest, just inside.
"Sharp, you do realize what we are about to do?" one asked the other.
"Yes, my sister, I know."
"But, should we really kill him?"
Sharp glared at her sister.
"Strike, you know we must never ask that question. We are deadly assassins. We should be willing to even kill each other should the hit go out."
Strike looked apalled. Her sister smiled.
"Do not look so shocked, my sister. We are heartless killing machines. Even if it means we kill our own brother."
<=={- -}==>
Swift looked to the old man.
"Is there anything you can do to help me. No, I didn't make my deadline. And now there are going to be assassins after me. Please, there's got to be something."
"Young one. There is only one thing I can do. I can guarantee you another life. If what you're saying is true, I can help you to live after they kill you." The old man stood. He pulled out a small staff from under his cloak. "I am a sorcerer."
"What?? That's not gonna help me at all!! I want to live, not become some undead thing!!!!"
"Calm, little one. It's ok. Here." The sorcerer walked over to him and held out his staff. "Before I do anything, answer me this: What is your best quality?"
Swift looked stupified.
"How can you ask me such an irrelevant question at a time like this????"
The old man gave a stern look and gestured for an answer.
"Oi, fine. My best quality is actually two qualities. I have a fast mind and fast reflexes to match."
The old man nodded and pointed the staff at him. Two sorcerer's circles appeard on Swift, one on his forehead, and the other on the back of his neck. They began glowing, and then rotating. The old man spoke a spell in a language the small human couldn't understand. The sorcerer then lowered his staff and stepped back.
"There we go, young one. I have applied an attatchment spell. It will block most weapons. Also, If you are to die, should this shield not work, you will not completely die. You're spirit will be set free. It will most likely attatch to a weapon. Don't worry. Everything shall be fine."
And with that, the sorcerer disappeared, leaving a stunned and confounded Swift behind.
What do I do? This spell should block weapon attacks, but why did he do that spirit spell bit?? Well, hopefully I can sneak to Aljira's mansion before any of those assassins find me.
And with that, he snuck off towards the mansion.
<=={- -}==>
"He should've passed here by now." Sharp sneered.
"Calm, sister. He'll be here. There's no doubt that stubborn boy would keep going."
"So do we know why that ugly orc put a hit on Swift?"
Strike thought to herself. After a few moments, she looked back to Sharp and shook her head.
"Well, we know that he needs whatever Swift has in his backpack. Maybe our 'refined' orc friend hired him to steal something." Sharp smiled.
"What if Aljira thinks Swift kept the item to himself, that he double-crossed him."
Sharp shook her head.
"Stupid thieves honor would prevent him from doing that. But I doubt Aljira understands that."
Strike suddenly cupped her hand over her sisters' mouth.
"Shhh. I think he's here." She whispered.
They readied their weapons. Strike wielded assassin's needles while Sharp preferred a small, twin daggers. Strike backed away to the other side of the trail's entrance. They hid and waited for Swift.
<=={- -}==>
Swift stopped just short of the dirt road. He didn't want to leave the forest just yet. He spotted a good lookout tree near the edge. He climbed the one next to him and agilely leapt from tree to tree with as much silence as he could muster. As he reached the lookout tree, he spotted the assassins at the trail's entrance. They were quietly awaiting his appearance. As he looked closer, he saw that they were the greatest assassins in the region, his two older sisters. He knew they wouldn't even flinch in killing him. There was no chance of him living.
He thought about ways to get around them. He reached into his pack and pulled out his knives. If they taught him anything, it was how to kill quickly and accurately with small blades. But from his position, he only had a good line of sight with the younger of the two, Sharp. Then he pulled out his
Gid. If he could time it just right, he could put the two knives into Sharp and tie up Strike to the tree she was hiding behind. He had only one chance and the running he did before would pale in comparison to the dash he would have to do to get away from his sisters and to the mansion.
He sighed and readied himself. He sat in wait for another five minutes. When he felt ready, he put the two knives in his right hand and imagined the rock to be an increasingly heavy hook that would continue wrapping around Strike and the tree and then latch onto itslef as it ran out of spiderwire. He had to be just as heartless as his sister's would be when they would try to kill him.
He steadied his heart and calmed himself. He watched the girls making sure they wouldn't move. And when he was ready to strike, he prepared his attack, running it through his mind one last time.
Now.
He threw the knives into the neck of Sharp and launched the
Gid around Strike. As he did so, he flung himself off the tree and landed on the dirt road running. He didn't look back to see if he was successful, he didn't even try to listen, he just kept running. His life truly depended on it.
The two knives went through Sharp's neck much like the Drow. The rock, however, left Strike's lower arm free while it almost completely wrapped herself to the tree. With an assassin's accuracy and strength, she flung the needles into Swift as he ran for the mansion.
They struck the back of his neck, paralyzing him instantly. As he fell to the ground and stopped breathing, he knew he had failed. His last thought was of how amazing his last quest was and how proud his gods would be of him.
<=={- -}==>
As Sharp lay dead by her tree and Strike constricted to hers, Aljira heard the commotion and came outside. He saw Swift, dead on the ground ahead and rushed to him. Aljira opened the sack, still attatched to Swift and pulled out the wrap containing the ceremonial daggers. He walked over to the girls and smiled.
"As refined as I may be, I am still an orc and you still failed me."
He walked over to Sharp and pulled the knives out of the ground next to her. He kicked her over so she faced the ground. He then walked over to Strike.
"Orcs don't take well to failure from their subordinates. Keep this in mind, young one."
She smiled and nodded with as much range of motion as she could. Then, she spoke with as much strength as she could muster with her lungs so constricted.
"Would you please free me from this, Boss."
Aljira nodded. He walked over to her and pressed one hand to her back. He thrust the dagger in his other hand into her neck, twisting it, and killing her.
"You are free, young one." He said with a smile. He then walked around the tree to the
Gid. "I quite admired this when Swift showed it to the mages. How does it work again? Oh, yes."
He touched the rock and imagined it to be just a regular rock. It unlatched itself and released the spiderwire.
"Hm. One more thing."
He walked over to Swift and with the last knife, he decapitated him and mounted his head on the knife and walked back inside.
<=={- -}==>
When Swift woke up again, he looked around. He was in a vast plane. There were other creatures but they didn't pay any attention to his arrival. He heard voices, lots of them. But one stuck out.
"And with this I pray, bless this weapon with your holiness and allow it to protect this young elf. There you go young man. Be careful with it, would you?"
Another voice appeared, this one much closer.
"Thank you, sir. And I promise." The voice said and laughed. "Hm, now what to call you? What is your name?"
Swift had no idea why, but he answered.
"My name is Swift."
"What?!? D-d-did you just speak??" The voice seemed very confused.
"Um, yes I did."
Swift wished he could see who the voice was. He wished it with all he had. And suddenly, the plane disappeared. He looked around. He was outside. He appeared to be on the edge of a city. He saw the young elf who was the owner of the voice.
"Well, hello there. My name is Swift. What is yours?"
The elf looked shocked. He stuttered out an answer.
"M-my name is, is uh." He cleared his throat. "My name is Fenix. Fenix Shimian."
