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Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 8:55 pm
The tall curvy drow grabbed her sword, strapped it to her belt and pulled her dark gray cowl on over her head, pulling it low to hide her face and made her way through the halls of the House Fi'reth'ul. Her braids swung rhythmically with her every move, the metal rings making an odd musical tone when they hit the rings sewn onto her leather top. One of her siblings was standing guard outside of the Matron's chambers, turned to glare at her when she passed by. "Where do you think you're going?" He called after her. "It's none of your concern male," she retorted, seething inwardly. Since she had disgraced her house, which had been several years earlier, she had been reduced to something less than a male in her household. She loathed it every fiber of her being. Something had to be done. Which was why she was on her way to the University of Magic. She was set on finding a cure for the Matron so she, Imordana Fi'reth'ulwould be back in Matron d'Maorda's good graces. She threw the front door open with a loud clang, and strode out into the city of Undrek'Thoz, anger permeating her. If anyone got in the way of her task, there would be no excuse that would save them from her wrath.
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 5:18 pm
The drow female wasn't the only one in a nasty mood. Mikaril stomped down a deserted side street, his red eyes narrowed, his gaze lowered, but not enough to allow himself to bump into anything or anyone without warning. He was sans his armor, which did nothing to improve his mood, and ever so often his slender black hand would brush his arm or side, as though brushing off invisible spiders. "Damn celebration," he mumbled under his breath. "Damn Haellara and her damn tracking spell." He could still feel its tingle, courtesy of his sister's matron-approved spell to ensure that he stayed close to home so that he would be on call for the upcoming celebration. He was allowed to roam about in the city, for even his mother saw the folly in keeping him home when he could be out practicing his trade and adding to House Torlyl's treasure room. Any little bit to impress everyone when the houses were all gathered together. But for him it meant no trips to the Glimmersea and no searches for his brother. It meant staying close to Haellara when he would gladly rather spend a week in a box with a baby hook horror. It meant less time doing what he desired and more time being reminded that he was a Lolth-forsaken speck of a male who amounted to less than the rest of his household and the smallest of steps above the commoners. Until I get presented with the rest, he thought darkly. Then I'm the wonderful secret weapon that no one sees coming; all my mother's idea of course. He made a disgusted sound as he turned a corner and proceeded to walk down a wider street of the city.
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 8:37 pm
As Imordana made her way down the crowded street of the city of Brundag, she was struck with how loud it was. Usually at this time of the day, the street wasn't as active with the stream of underdark inhabitants making their way into the various stores, the market place and the University of Magic for some magical advice or spell that they needed. Imordana scowled, the noise was deafening and was starting to get to her. This was one of the reasons why she hated crowds of people, the infuriating noise that they made. With a loud sigh, she continued on her way, brushing through the crowd as quickly as she could without drawing attention to her. Attention was not what she needed in this place or at this time.
As she passed a group of overly excited and animated drow she overheard the mention of a celebration, which caused her to groan. That was what was going on. The damned celebration in which every drow, save her, would be celebrating and enjoying themselves. Matron d'Maorda had already forbidden her from stepping foot from the House when the celebration was going on. Imordana figured it was probably better for her anyways...she definately didn't want someone catching sight of her and remembering her crime. No that wouldn't be good.
Still it didn't seem fair that she would be the only drow to miss the celebration, especially when the goddess Lloth had proclaimed it to be a celebration for all drow. She however, wasn't about to argue about it, she'd prefer to spend her time with the House's aging gargoyle which was their magical watch dog. He at least, loved to share her company, especially when she brought him fresh roth meat.
Deciding to get away from the crowds and to take a short cut to the University of Magic, Imordana turned down a less populated street and continued on her way. After a little ways she caught sight of a cloaked figure and felt her body go tense with apprehension, wondering why the drow chose to cloak himself. Perhaps he was an assassin of the famed Blackened Fist group? She shook the thought out of her head and shrewdly eyed the cloaked figure a little more closely.
From what she could see, the figure seemed to be in a foul mood and without any sort of armor. This seemed strange to Imordana, usually every drow wore some sort of armor when they went out on the streets, though she supposed what with the celebration coming up and Lloth's proclamation of no drow being harmed, perhaps he felt safe without it. Imordana shuddered inwardly, there was no way that anyone would be able to convince her that she could be safe without armor or a warding spell on her person at all times.
She was so caught up in her musings that she forgot where she was and that she was still walking and ended up walking straight into what felt like a brick wall. Still stunned and her head reeling from the impact, Imordana looked up to see a very disgruntled face of a drow behemoth staring down at her in a menacing way. Imordana drew back in alarm, her hands automatically going for her hood to make sure it was still hiding her face.
"Well, why are you still standing there male?" She hissed, trying to keep the fear she felt from showing in her tone.
The male glowered, his red eyes glimmering with rage at her, his hand reaching for the sword strapped to his side. Imordana immediately reached for the ring attached to the third braid on the right, and unleashing the spell that it held on the male before he could attack her. A blinding flash of light permeated the dark canopy of Brundag, causing the male to cry out as he was blinded temporarily. Imordana, having her hood over her face to avoid the flash of light, turned and sprinted up the street as fast as she could to get away from the behemoth before he regained his sight.
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Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 9:13 pm
Mikaril heard the excited whispers of the celebration everywhere he went, and it seemed to put him in an even blacker mood than before. Granted, he had heard some interesting rumors abound about the activities and events that might be taking place, and some of them did seem mildly interesting. He couldn't care less about contests; those were for his brothers, who had more muscle than brains, and for his sister, who's magical talent was like a hellhound that had chewed itself loose from its leash. Still, the rumor of elf sacrifices always seemed to make his ears perk slightly within the folds of his hood. All thoughts of the celebration were suddenly dashed out of his head as he saw a blinding light flash from somewhere in the crowd, and he found himself on his knees, blinking his stinging eyes rapidly. "What the Hell-?" he said out loud, and as he got up along with a few other stunned drow, he thought he saw a figure sprinting off and away from where the light had come from. He could see a giant of a drow standing there, clawing his face and bellowing like a bugbear with a spider down its ear. He figured the sprinter had something to do with that light, and his curiosity arose. Well, he thought, it wouldn't be as though I'm leaving the city, and besides, she might know something about negating tracking spells. That in mind, he sprinted after the fleeing figure, trying hard to keep her in his sight.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 1:47 pm
Thoughts raced through Imordana's mind as she flew down the street, attempting to get away from where the flash of light had been unleashed. She mentally debased herself for letting loose the spell, she should have known better and realized that the spell would only bring attention to herself. Attention that she had wanted to avoid. If the dratted cloaked figure hadn't distracted her this wouldn't have even happened! At this thought she frowned, her anger and suspicion rising again. Whether or not he was an assassin, he had brought her trouble. If she could return the favor she would do so in a heartbeat.
She suddenly caught the sound of feet flying over the ground behind her, Imordana immediately tensed up. She was being followed! This was not good. She turned her head back briefly to try and catch sight of her pursuer. When the flowing green cape flittered into the corner of her perception she became angry.
The University of Magic was just up ahead, probably about three leagues away. Imordana decided it would be smarter to deal with the subject following her than to wait until after she was done at the University. Her mind made up, she suddenly came to a stop in the middle of the street turned and grasped a ring attached to a braid that hung down the middle of her back. She mentally prepared herself for whatever she might have to do to deal with the cloaked figure. First however, she would find out if the drow was indeed following her or if he/she were just in a hurry to get somewhere.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:26 pm
Mikaril realized he must have been running harder and louder than he thought, because as the runner finally came into view, he saw the head turn and look back at him. He was momentarily taken aback; he was certain there had been a face turned toward him, but the telltale glow of eyes was missing. It was enough to slow his pace slightly and make him move more cautiously. Perhaps he had just imagined it, or the drow had a hood like his that was obstructing the eyes. Still not entirely convinced, he began to take his time moving forward, noting the direction the shadowy figure was moving in. Intrigued even more, he made his approach slow and careful, forcing himself to remember that he didn't have his armor like he normally did. He saw the figure ahead suddenly stop, and he swiftly dashed behind a building. He waited for about a minute, then lowered himself to the ground, adjusted his hood so that his hair and most of his eyes would be covered, and peered out just several inches from the ground, knowing that when others sought out spies and stalkers, they tended to look at eye level, not at the ground. He was surprised to see a female standing defiantly in the middle of the street, apparently fiddling with something in her hair. He squinted at the face, and was struck by what his eyes were telling him. This female had no eyes. How is that possible? he thought. She ran like she could see just fine. A spell? Gods, I am so sick of spells. It seemed plain to him that she was waiting for him to appear so that she could unleash some deadly magic upon him. What a day to be caught without armor. Well, he thought, two can play the waiting game, and a thief has to be particularly good. He carefully shifted his weight from foot to foot to prevent his legs from cramping, and he patiently waited.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:26 pm
Imordana's eyebrows creased in frustration, The figure had seemingly disappeared. She frowned and eyed the surroundings trying to figure where the individual might have hidden. A slow smile spread across her face as she caught the telltale glow of eyes peering from around the corner of a building. Whoever this person was, they had probably caught sight of her empty eye sockets and assumed it was a spell of some sort. She slowly moved her arms to the front of her body, crossing them and pretending she hadn't seen the face or figured out where the individual had hidden. After a few moments, she shrugged, turned on her heel and went on her way. She figured that if the person was following her they would continue to do so and then she'd catch them off guard when they stepped on the fallen ring that she had unloosened from her braid.
And then, here she laughed inwardly, they would be caught in a trap they hadn't noticed! The ingenuity of the spell had been a cause of trouble for her brothers Ad'hemar and Gir'bran'ur the many times she had used it on them. The surprise and horror on their faces had been priceless when they had seen their feet begin to solidify the first time! After that, they had been more pissed off than surprised but had resigned themselves knowing the more they struggled the quicker the process would go. They had stood as statues for a good month before Matron d'Maorda had demanded her to cancel the spell. After that they had avoided her as well as made sure to stay out of her way, even to this day, not ever knowing when she might strike again.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:54 pm
((Aww poo; it had to be a dropped shiny. Poor Miky. XD))
Mikaril keenly watched the drow female leaving, wondering at the sudden loss of interest. He thought for a moment that she had spotted him despite his precautions, but here she was leaving. Unless, she was goading him to follow further. He smiled as he brought his head back and stood up straight; if she thought he was just going to blindly follow her down the street like a fly to a web, she had another think coming. He strode out, bold as brass, looking for all the world like he had just happened to use the direction he had come as a shortcut. He was just deciding to take to a rooftop and use vantage points instead of sneaking all along the ground like a roach in the open, when his eyes fell upon a glint of metal lying where the female had stood, still shiny with residual heat. It looked like an ordinary ring, maybe a hair ornament? He remembered seeing her fiddling with something in her hair, and he wondered about it. Was it a nervous twitch, or something more? Still cautious, he crouched down and slowly reached his hand toward the ring, remembering metals that hid the ability to freeze flesh or sear it. He felt nothing unusual, and he picked it up and stood up straight to peer at his prize. Almost instantly, he felt his hand stiffen. He tried to wiggle his fingers, but they did not respond. He peered at his hand in a panic, thinking that perhaps the ring had had a freezing enchantment after all. But as he reached out with his other hand to feel his unresponsive fingers, they seemed the same, but he felt nothing. He tried to shake his hand, as though to dislodge the ring, but to no avail. Terror ate at him like acid as he tucked the afflicted arm into his cloak, and he made a beeline for the nearest alleyway, where he hugged his ever-stiffening arm to him and tried to fight the growing sense of panic and figure out what to do.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 7:09 pm
Imordana, having stopped only a few feet ahead to peer into an alley way, at least for appearance's sake felt a thrill of triumph soar in her when the figure stopped to eye the ring on the ground. When the cloaked individual bent down she caught the features of the face, and was even more satisfied to see that it was a male. Then a feeling of uncertainty rang through her. She had never seen the effect it took when an individual held the en-spelled ring in their hand.
When his face stiffened in panic and he turned to run away in terror, Imordana sprang after him, hoping to stop him before the spell took full affect. Should he fall while the enchantment was working he could lose his hands or worse, his life. Spurred on by desperation, she caught up to him in the alleyway and grabbed him by the back of his cloak, spinning him around to face her.
((Is that better? razz ))
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 7:56 pm
((Yush. whee ))
Mikaril was so busy pinching the stiff skin on his hand that he failed to see the female until she was grabbing him and spinning him around. All he could do was blink in terror as he came face to face with empty sockets. he tried to keep his stiff arm steady and out of harm's way, dreading to think what might happen should he accidentally dash it against something. Since his stiff hand was also his dagger hand, that kind of self-defense was dashed. He did the only thing he could do; he dropped to the ground, hoping that the sudden drop would free himself from the female's grasp. Normally it would gall him to leave his hood behind, but panic was filling his brain, and he was fast becoming desperate.
((Ack! Short post! DX))
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 8:13 pm
When the drow went limp in her hands, Imordana almost dropped him but managed to accomodate the sudden change in weight without too much trouble. She scowled, her eyebrows furrowing, this close up he could see her face plainly. She hated when that happened.
Imordana, pulled the drow up, pushing against the nearest building wall, and leaned in against him, drawing her face into a sneer and said in a tight tone. "Why were you following me?"
Imordana was tired of playing games and decided that the a straight blunt question would be the best to get the truth out of the lithe figure of the male drow in front of her. Hopefully he would get the idea that she was serious and answer truthfully instead of playing around with her. Subtleties at this point would not work on her, in fact it would only infuriate her more.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 8:34 pm
Mikaril felt the iron grip of the female continue to grasp him, unrelenting. He should have known it wouldn't work as easily as it almost did with that male guard back at the marketplace; females tended to be stronger than males. Ah well, it had been worth a try. But now here he was being shoved into a wall and made to look at an eye-less female. An eye-less ANGRY female. He gripped his arm harder and squirmed as he was held; he could feel his shoulder stiffening, and he didn't know or cared to find out what would happen if the angry female chose to shatter the immobile part of him into the wall. Much as it filled him with despair, nothing could be gained by deceit in a situation such as this. So when the female demanded that he reveal his reason for following her, he saw no harm in speaking the truth. "I saw your light spell and became curious. Had I known you were female I probably would have let you alone, but this city IS where my House is, and I wondered who would be carrying such a weapon here." He added almost as an attempt at banter, "I wouldn't use those in Drezz'Lynur, if I were you. That is, if you're traveling through the city." He winced as he felt the stiffness permeate the right half of his chest. Losing the feeling was quite unnerving, and it was all he could do to not just lose it right there and make it worse by thrashing around. Having said his piece, he looked at Imordana at what he guessed would have been into her eyes had she had any, and managed to remain stoic, remembering that despite his lowly profession, he was still considered a noble, and he knew that if he should be killed, his sister at least would be hot on the trail of this female, if only to kill her for robbing her of the priviledge of killing him herself.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 8:50 pm
Imordana, had actually calmed down a bit by the time the male finally answered her question. She inwardly cursed, for she knew the unsaid rule that such spells should never have been used. Mainly because the fungus in Drezz'Lynur would be harmed by bright flashes of light, and those who made potions would probably have hunted her down regardless of what house she was a part of had she damaged the fungus in anyway.
She loosened her grip, when she felt him wince, half wondering if she had gripped him too hard or if it was the spell changing him. She frowned, gazing down at his arm which he was hiding under his cloak. She imagined that the stone spell had spread to his chest by now, and it was most likely somewhat painful.
"Hmmph, well then by your admission you aren't part of the Blackened Fist, so I guess I miss judged you. The spell quickens it's pace the more you move and struggle against it, so I'd advise you to stay still. Don't worry, as long as you don't get broken when you're fully turned to stone there won't be any permanent damage. I could be persuaded to negate the spell, if you have something worth my while."
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:07 pm
Mikaril's eyes widened as the female spoke, not from anything she said, but because the spell was beginning to freeze his chest, and as though it preferred softer tissue, it seemed to spread faster as it grew in his chest like a tumor. He found himself breathing hard like someone who had spent too much time in the cold, trying his best to keep himself alive as long as possible; for all he knew, this was intended to kill him. His only hope was to convince the female to reverse it before he suffocated or shattered. "Blackened....Fist? N-not.....me." He managed a smile and since he was unable to gesture, lowered his eyes and looked down at his body. "Any...thing....I have......might freeze......too.....but even....if it....won't.......I don't have........anything......Portals.......metals......you know....." He felt it creeping up his neck and managed one last sentence before it crept up to his chin. "I could.......steal.....something......if you....wa-"He blinked his eyes and moved them about, glad now that he could panic and not have to worry about thrashing and making it worse; it couldn't be much worse than this.
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Posted: Fri Sep 19, 2008 9:35 pm
(((dratted computer shut down on me in the middle of my first post! grr))) When the male started speaking, Imordana had to lean in to hear him because his voice was quite raspy as he spoke, as if he had a swore throat or something. When he smiled when he mentioned the Blackened Fist, she realized that she had wasted the spell on him. He was probably a thief and on the lowest rung in his household, just like Imordana was. She closed her eyelids and sighed inwardly. She really needed to learn how to read people better, then she wouldn't be throwing away spells left and right.
When he stopped speaking, she opened her eyelids and glanced at his face to see that his throat and face were beginning to solidify. She muttered something under her breath, probably a curse of some sort and reached for a ring on the front of her leather top. The ring came off from easily enough, and Imordana activated the counter spell.
Within several moments, the stone began to slow and then receded down his face and neck. Imordana, shifted uncomfortably still holding onto the drow who had grown increasingly heavier the more the stone spell had gone on. She was however, prepared to keep holding him upright no matter how long it took, she wasn't about to have the death of a noble drow on her hands. That would probably cause her to fall in even further disgrace and disfavor in Lloth's eyes, and she had no need for that.
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