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Posted: Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:59 am
Here buried deep beneath a glacier is the frozen city of Menzoberranzan. It is a small and little known settlement of drow who have been banished or have escaped death at the hands of their clan. Knowing that they can never return to civilisation but preferring not to take their chances in the unknown brightness of the Surface World, the Drow of Menzoberranzan have managed to create their own township. However they are careful to remain hidden and do not trust strangers, lest the spies of Lloth be among them.
((Note - If you're drow shows any renegade tendancies they will most likely have to find sanctuary here.))
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Posted: Tue May 27, 2008 3:02 pm
It was cold. Too cold, and barely anyone was seen walking about the tiny city market. The chill and the lack of other beings made Jiv'unda exceptionally grumpy, which was a feat for a woman like her as she was always angry. Not much could make the woman more upset than she perpetually was, but this Goddess forsaken place had managed it. She wanted to go home.
Her matron had sent her on a 'task' to the small city, full of heretics, and had also given her a strict deadline. Jiv was not to kill the b*****d renegade, and thus go home, for another three days. Of course, the job would never be finished due to unforseen circumstances. What the matron would never know is that those circumstances were Jiv's doing, and that her target was now her very own spy among the ranks of Vhearun's followers. Smiling evily to herself, she scanned the very few drow moving about for someone suitable enough to be her next toy.
Jiv'Unda was bored.
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 11:08 am
Haeldril scowled as he shouldered his way through the marketplace of Menzoberranzan, not looking as he pushed passed the few drow who had chosen to brave the cold and take a look at the wares of the bazaar. None of those he bumped into chose to cry out; one look at the towering male was enough to stifle their tongues. Here there were no priestesses of Lolth that would be so arrogant as to stand against him, to attempt to cow him into submission with their ugly whips. And yet despite the relative safety of the city, Haeldril hated it more than any other in the Underdark. The drow here were pathetic, more than anything else. Hael had made a point of coming here as rarely as possible; he kept no contact with the so called priests of Vhaerun here- they paid only lip service to the masked god, and although they rejected the religion of Lolth, they were too cowardly to truly join the fold of the Thief Lord. Hael had chosen not to wear his mask to the marketplace for exactly this reason, he did not want to be approached by their kind. His personal doctrine called on all rengades to be strong, not to take arms against the Spider Queen directly, but to waylay her plans, and to create bonds with the surface. This required a certain boldness, not of a warrior, but of the brazen thief who steals into the home even though he knows the master is within. A small female stumbled into him and he pushed her away, snatching his coin purse back from her celver fingers. "Go find an easier mark, thief. And spread the word that Haeldril Claddep is in town, will not take kindly to any who attempt such a foolish act again." The female paled, looking up at him in terror, before quickly scuttling away. Hael slipped on his kidskin gloves, muttering darkly. A decent thief would have attempted to knife him, if this were a decent city. Instead they ran scared. All in all, this errand was making him cranky.
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 7:29 pm
Cold and calculating eyes froze as they fell upon the flash of the blue tattoos of Haeldril's body, tattoos that appeared to glow in the very faint light that existed in the market. Following the trailing tendrils of the inking downwards, Jiv'unda's lips curled into a smile that could almost be mistaken as happiness. The smile got even wider, enough to show her teeth, as he pushed the pitiful excuse for a woman off of him and saw right through her sad attempts of slight-of-hand. Her bosom swelled as she watched him continue on his path, directly to her it seemed.
As he got near, she stood and placed one hand on the small dagger on her side. With the other hand she flipped her hair and smoothed it into place. With those minor gestures seen to, she moved like a panther on the hunt and intercepted the males path to come up beside him.
"Is this so pathetic a city that a specimen like you can walk the streets unafraid?" She asked it casually, but still walked far enough from his side that he couldn't easily reach out at her. He may be handome but that meant he was just as deadly, and she knew it.
As much as the young priestess would have loved to strike out with a poisoned needle, or paralyzing spell, and just have him whenever she liked; Jiv'unda knew that with this one it would be much more rewarding for him to come to her.
... Seemingly of his own free will.
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 9:03 pm
Hael quirked an eyebrow at the sudden appearance of the female, his lips tightening as he surveyed her with an appraising glance. It was foolish that he had not picked this drowess from the crowd; her stature alone held her apart from any other in the godsforsaken town. She held herself like the incarnation of Lolth herself, and Hael could almost smell the raw power of the Spider Queen emenating from her. It was difficult to keep his upper lip from curling, from baring his teeth like an animal backed into a corner. Instead he managed a wry smile, and met her eyes with his; that transgression alone was enough to sentence him to death in any other city. "Unafraid? My dear lady, I have no idea what you mean." He continued to push through the slowly growing crowd, shouldering his way, but had slowed his pace to allow her to keep pace with his longer strides. She may have been an enemy, but within this city she had suddenly become the only drow for miles that Hael could call his equal. If anything, their conversation could prove stimulating. "If anyone should be afraid within a city of the renegades of Lolth, I would think it would be one such as yourself. However, you are right to say that this city is pathetic. I think that none here besides you and myself have maintained any vestige of pride. It's disgusting. They cannot stomach the surface so they squat here like vermin; waiting for their inevitable extinction." Hael brow furrowed as he spoke, disdain dripping off his tongue like poison. A renegade he was indeed; but these people had no ambition, had no courage, and for them Hael maintained no respect.
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Posted: Wed May 28, 2008 11:41 pm
What boldness! The priestess-to-be grinned wickedly when his gaze met her own, and were he any less than what he appeared to be she'd have killed him on the spot for it. But as it was, he was beautiful and clearly very intelligent. The first for his kind as far as Jiv'unda was concerned. The twitch of his upper lip as he looked at her was more intriguing to her than the eye contact in reality. Was that contempt for her, her obvious power, or where her power came from? Deep, deep down the drowess hoped it was the latter. He'd be a whole new kind of fun if that were the case...
His tone as he spoke of the vermin that infected Menzoberranzan eased the increasing tension she was starting to feel in her chest at the sight of the male, and it made her laugh. It was a naturally cruel laugh that came from the depths of her stomach, but still it was femine and soft.
"It seems we have a very similiar veiw of the filth that reside here," she stated casually after ending her laugh. "Drow without pride are no better than the weaker fools we prey upon for sport." Her tone wasn't quite as venemous as his, but it was not pretty either. She hated heretics, and the city was crawling with them. Lloth willing, the tall woman would come through and end their miserable lives with joyful abandon. For now, she was content just to learn more about her unwitting new plaything.
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Posted: Tue Sep 09, 2008 5:45 pm
Divintra hefted the box in his arms. The weight was dragging on his shoulders and he could feel a uncomfortable pinch in his back. This was one job he should have just passed up, but the few coppers and the fish promised to him had been very tempting. It would mean he could keep his coins saved up for something else later. A drink of ale maybe? Not because he had a desire for the drink though. Divintra had been having such little success with his visions that he was desperate enough to try using alcohol once again to create the fuzzy detachment that was thus far proving to be the most effective in opening his Sight. As Divintra edged around a cart, his destination was revealed to him. A corner store with a giant image of a frothy mug swinging above it's doorway. Well, if he couldn't read that sign pretty much declared his destination. Shifting his grip on the box, the white drow made his way over to the door and shouldered his way in.
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 10:50 am
Shrisin hated Menzoberranzan. The natives were the first people she'd ever encountered who treated her with scorn and derision, the temple she was living at was a pile of rubble held together with spells and spit, and it was bloody freezing. As someone who had spent most of her life in Llurth Dreir, home to volcanoes, geysers, and hot springs, where the air was either hot and arid or hot and humid, but always hot. The biting winds which blew down through crack in the glacier above cut through Shri and chilled her to her very bones, despite the layers of warm spidersilk and fur-lined robes she wore between her tender flesh and the frigid air.
It was such a wonderful reward for scoring high on her first set of exams, being sent here to play Let's Pretend to Run a Temple. Logically she knew it was an excellent learning experience, and she was unlikely to ever encounter any situation more trying than this one. She wondered if this was another part of the testing process. A month was a long time, and the temple was hardly able to sustain itself as well a temple ought to be able to. Or, at all, really, unless she and her companions resorted to cannibalism.
She'd been sent out in search of livestock which was good for more than just the slaughter and something which laid edible eggs. Her experience with livestock was extraordinarily limited, and she had no idea how to go about choosing good stock. So it was, she supposed, fortunate that no one had been interested in selling her anything. She had, in fact, been laughed at and called "little priestess" no less than four times already that morning. She was considering testing her bond with the Goddess on the next one, and seeing what would happen if she cursed him.
Mostly it was the cold making her irritable, but it was doing a good job of it. She missed being able to dress in her usual, casually revealing manner and flirt shamelessly with whomever caught her eye. Oh, she supposed she could flirt with the ruffians who lived in Menzoberranzan, but there were probably bad consequences for doing so. They were, after all, not followers of the true path of wisdom (or however her last instructor had put it). Lloth might take offense.
She stood, shivering, for a few moments longer before her gaze flickered briefly over a pale figure struggling to carry a large box. His pallor was very odd, but she'd seen albinos before. One of the people she trained with had an albino sister who was, to be honest, kind of terrifying. The pair was actually pretty terrifying. But that was not what she was looking at here. Here she was looking at something interesting.
Shri watched as he finished making his delivery to a tavern, resisting the urge to go inside and avail herself of the warmth radiating from the door. She had another idea, having gotten the impression he was a messenger or errand-runner of some sort. So she placed herself in his path with a pouch of coin in her hand and looked at him expectantly. If he tried anything...Well. She'd learned enough from Val to gut him, if he was careless enough.
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 12:25 pm
With the delivery made, Divintra was a few coins richer, and quite happily gnawing on the promised fish. It was little more then a slip of fish jerky, but it still tasted wonderful! His mood improved with the absence of his burden. These last few weeks had given him a great deal better results then any others since he began to live alone. Though Divintra was not too much of a fool to take this all for granted. Oh no! He was well aware that any good fortune he had now would eventually run dry. He had to be careful with what he earned now...and besides... Divintra cast his gaze downwards at his feet as he chewed thoughtfully on his strip of fish. He could use a new pair of boots. Something that might last him longer and perhaps were not previously owned?
His happy inner planning tapered off as Divintra neared the position Shri had taken up, and he noticed she was not moving as most others on the street. Blinking his pruple eyes, he looked carefully over the female. His attention was caught most effectively by the purse she held. Yes, that certainly caught the boys eyes. But what also caught his eyes was her posture. She didn't have the typical lounge to her that most drow folk wandering the streets currently had. She was waiting...for him?
Divintra was almost embaressed as he paused to look over his shoulder. He simply did not want to assume she was looking at just him. Though his skin clashed terribly in a crowd, he felt he kept a low enough of a profile that most drow would simply ignore him. Unless they wanted something from him. Something they were willing to pay for? There was also the manner the others in the crowd seemed to swing a bit wide around her.
Divintra was neither a genius, nor a dunce. He could guess why the female was being avoided, but he would not assume much of anything just yet. 'Caution Dictates the Length of a drows life;' this is something his mother very often told him and he clung to that lesson. After all, he had managed to survive this long hadn't he? That there was proof enough for him of her wisdom.
"Lady?" Divintra formed the word as both a greeting and a question. Obviously she wished to speak to him, and he did rather like the look of that coin purse....
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 12:47 pm
Shock registered on Shri's face for a moment. It was the first respectful word she had heard addressed to her all morning. The shock was quickly replaced with one of her more beguiling smiles as she gave a slight nod, indicating that the purple-eyed male might come closer. He wasn't unattractive, if one could look past the unusual coloration, she supposed. Shri's tastes had never really run toward the exotic, but she was usually willing to try new things. At least once.
"How refreshing to hear that title," she said, very conscious of the slight lilt in her speech.
She hadn't really even realized that she had an accent until coming to the Northdark, for Gallidurth was so full of people from all over the Underdark that it had never registered to her that one from Llurth Dreir might form her words differently. Here, in Menzoberranzan, it was very obvious. She'd been teased about that, too, this morning, and it had not struck her as particularly amusing, though she reminded herself that no one had tried to do her physical harm. At least, not yet. Waving a pouch of coins around was a good way to change that.
"I was wondering if you know anything about livestock. Where to purchase it? What it's worth?" She glanced casually at her pouch and then back at the fair-skinned drow.
"You see, I'm absolutely frozen, but I still have errands to run which include the purchase of livestock. I've so far had no luck. I thought you might be more successful than I in this instance. I would leave your purchases up to your discretion, so long as they were sufficient to feed, say, ten people for a month. Anything left over in the pouch would be yours to keep."
She pretended to consider for a moment and then remarked off-handedly, "Of course, you'd also have to take your purchases to the temple of Lloth in the back of Bloodbane Alley. They'd probably tip you for delivery, too, if you told them you work for whatever place you bought the animals from."
There was a risk here. He might be a worshipper of one of the Goddess' enemies and decide to slay her on the spot, but somehow she doubted that would be effectively done with the dried fish she'd noticed in his hands. She still kept her other hand, the one not holding the pouch, ready to grab at a stiletto. She hadn't much weaponry training, but the principles were simple: the pointy end goes into the other person.
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 1:17 pm
Hnn. Wasn't he the one that was supposed to look surprised? It was a change to see the look on anothers face. The female caught herself quickly and resumed her controlled expression again. Her first words to him sounded...pleasent. In that odd manner that listening to a forigner speak could sound. It was a interesting sound to hear that odd accent o words you heard spoken in one specific way for your entier life. Did that mean she might find the way he and everyone else spoke to be accented and different too?
Divintra lifted the remainder of his fish to his lips and popped the piece in. His purple eyes remaining fixed on the female as she spoke and he chewed. He had never been asked such a job before. Usually it was a Point A to Point B with Cargo C in arms. This was completely different from his usual jobs.
So was the pay. Divintra's eyes lingered more on the womans coin purse then on anything else for the next few moments. Imagin! With that amount of money he could actually afford to move himself into a respectable building. Ditch the hut entierly, reguardless of it's waning sentimental meaning.
Ten people for a month... A small part of him nudged for him to accept the coin purse and just vanish. Leave the accented female to deal with the anger of those other nine people over trusting a street urchin. On the other hand though... How long would he honestly be able to avoid a pissed off female looking for a white drow with purple eyes?
His blighted skin was what kept him so very honest, really.
"I have some reliable contacts I could visit." Divintra replied with a slight nodding of his head. "I am known pretty well in some merchant circles, so I could get ahold of livestock easily enough." The price would depend though. Divintra was not so well liked that anyone would take a loss simply because they knew him.
It astounded Divintra to a small degree all this wonderful fortune. If that was a bag of silver he knew he'd be able to get enough livestock as was required by the female, and there would be so much left over! How was she going to take care of it all though? There would be feedings and waterings and cleaning of the animals. Perhaps she already had that part figured out? --- Ah...there it was...
Divintra could not stop the widening of his eyes at the brazen declaration of religious loyalty by the female. While yes, he was certain Llothites still roamed the city in strong enough numbers, he did not think they openly declared themselves now that the city was no longer iron locked into just Her worship. Plus...the delivery point was not one he cared to even approch. He did not doubt she had no idea where his loyalty laid...but still...
Maybe this was some sort of test? A means of service somehow,in return for all the good things that had been happening? Perhaps, if he figured out how to make the most of this situation...he'd gain some sort of insight concerning his Sight?
"I suppose I could do that...though it will take a few deliveries to get all you need. I will have to go to different merchants for what your asking Lady." What were they doing in that old building anyways? He supposed he'd just have to go and find out..."
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 2:05 pm
Shri widened her eyes and looked impressed. She was, in fact, impressed that someone who looked so unusual coudl manage to establish any sort of relationship with anyone that wasn't based on intimidation. In the Southdark such a drow would be scorned and driven out. Perhaps that was why he lived in this armpit of the Abyss. Not that it was really any of her business, but she was a naturally curious person. Nevertheless, she did not ask. The results here could be unpleasant, and she couldn't rely on the protection of her office.
"I would be much obliged to you," she said, "If you would visit those contacts on my behalf. I've been having some difficulties dealing with the merchants here."
She wondered how much he guessed of her reason for being in the city. Certainly telling him where to take the animals should have clued him in as to her alliegences, though he might have been foolish enough not to notice. Somehow she doubted that. She hoped, however, that she could trust him with the task. In Gallidurth or Llurth Dreir it would have been a different matter. She'd've simply found a messenger service and hired one of its messengers for the same task, knowing that their performance would be reliable because it would be in everyone's interests that it was so. But this was Menzoberranzan, a cold, alien place with different rules she would have to learn if she was to survive a month here.
To be quite honest, she didn't care if he worshipped Lloth or not, as long as he did as she asked. She knew it was sometimes necessary to have dealings with other cults. A fine example being that canny merchant Claddep, who was known even in Llurth Dreir. She was somewhat relieved she had not encountered him. To her knowledge. She had no idea what the roguish trader looked like, except that he was supposed to have tattoos and be quite imposing somehow.
"Well, I can't guarantee they'll tip you every time you show up. Especially not if you're greeted by the same person each time. But they should do it at least once." The cold was making her feel sharp-tempered again, though she was doing her best to contain it. She longed for the warmth of home.
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 2:34 pm
Well...the female seemed pleased enough by what he had said. Divintra had been unable to help his minor boasting. It would assure her that he could get the job done. If he couldn't...as much as it pained him he'd probably return the pouch with some sort of muted apology. Divintra approched her and held out both of his hands for the coin pouch.
"I am not too surprised really. Being a stranger here your dealing with a lot of suspicion and hostility Lady. Any merchant that you may have found to barter with would know your luck is low and would demand at least triple the price he'd offer to any other in the city. Leave it to me. I won't waste your coins."
While it would be nice to recieve a tip every time he came with a delivery, Divintra was already working on another means to filling his pocket and gaining information in accordance to what the lady was doing in the temple. After all... she ordered livestock for a month...next would be the need of fodder for them and probably someone to tend to the animals. Did she even have anyone in her group that knew how to handle livestock? If Divintra's fortune held strong she would not and he would manage to get himself a little wiggle into a close enough of a range to learn what was going on.
"Will you be returning to that place then Lady? Should I bring what I get around to the back? Or do you have another place ready for the creatures?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 3:06 pm
Shri thought about his questions. They were good ones. If Iraeniss and Belarniss had done as they were told, there would be a place to keep them. The temple did have a shed of sorts behind it which seemed to be better insulated against the cold than the temple itself. Irae and Belar knew more about dealing with animals than Shri or any of the others, so they had been entrusted with the task of readying a space for the animals Shri got. Her job might have been worse, she supposed.
With a short, breathy sigh that left a cloud hovering in front of her face momentarily before it dispersed, Shri answered, "Please do bring whatever you get around back. That is where the beasts will be kept, and there ought to be two females about my age there."
She smirked, remembering a bet she had lost some money on with Belar. "You might tell them that you were told the delivery charge would be paid upon delivery."
That would come out of Belar's personal funds, she knew, and that pleased her, though it was a small thing, and immature. Still, small pleasures, she suspected, would be all that kept her spirits up in the month to come. None of the priestesses-in-training who had come with her had been among her group in Gallidurth.
"Myself...I don't know. I may return, or I may see what I can do about finding some warmer gloves. I did not pack sufficiently for this trip, evidently." Some of her annoyance showed here, but it was obviously not directed at her errand boy.
"My luck is not as low as they might think. And I don't think that's the problem, anyway. I think the suspicion and hostility are closer to the mark, and I can understand that. It will be a testament to my skills if I can manage to accomplish anything in this Goddess-blighted city."
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Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 3:23 pm
Such temptation...and if the one hiring him suggested it, he would not have to worry about her calling his lies to light. Divintra nodded his head slightly as a sign of understanding. He would see how much he could earn from this. Perhaps it would be enough to get him a step out of the pit he had been stuck in since birth. It would be nice to be able to find a better place to live, and perhaps a better place to practice his Sight. Just thinking about his visions made his fingers itch to reach into his belt to stroke the carefully wrapped glass ball within.
The females off hand comments and obvious complaints gave Divintra further openings to weasle out any more information. She was a priestess, which did not set too well with Divintra. How long had he prayed for the failure of her kind? If this were a test he truely hoped it was not expected of him to somehow make the females faith waiver. He was more preoccupied with learning how to enter his trances!
Divintra cast his purple gaze about him in a searching manner, then lifted one hand to gesture the female a little closer to where he stood. "I know a tailor that might not give you so much a bothersome look. That is if you let me do the talking, then he'd not detect your accent and would not view you with so much suspicion. Of course, that is only if your first errend can wait for a bit Lady?" Divintra cocked his head to one side and waited to see what her reply would be. It had to seem odd, him offering up service so easily, and speaking so candidly. He could barely recall a first encounter that did not end or begin with him being peered at as if the other were trying to slice open his mind and read what was inside.
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