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 Posted: Wed Mar 31, 2010 6:33 pm
The tattoo that seemed to stand out on the guard captain made Sy raise a curious white brow. It had been a long time since the drowess had seen any other sort of religion in a House. Especially in Ulorbbath. Though Selvetarm is in allegiance with the Spider Queen, the demigod could be considered a little more then a slave to Lolth. Mainly males come to worship him and very few females. Sy wondered briefly what the religious standards were with the Matron.
As the doors were opened, Sy saw Veldrin standing there impatiently. The guard captain and the rogue stepped over the threshold and entered the audience chamber as the doors were slammed shut behind. Then Sy braced herself as the Weapons Master rounded on her, complaining about her lateness. Once he was done, Sy felt a little relieved. The worst had not come.
Smiling purposefully in the light of Veldrin's anger, "I beg pardon, Weapons Master.. I just wanted to be presentable to you," she said this with slight sarcasm in her voice.
She then held out her arms humbly and bowed, "Of what service can I do for you?"
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Posted: Thu Apr 01, 2010 6:40 pm
"Sure you did," the weapon master responded with an equally sarcastic tone. His tone shifted back to "business as usual" as he continued, "Since you missed the original debriefing, it looks like I'll have to give you the short version, since I'm not fond of repeating myself...it is Lolth's will that the Third House be destroyed, and we are to be the instruments of that destruction."
Veldrin paused for a moment to allow the pair of newcomers to absorb the new information before he resumed the debriefing. "Had you not been unfashionably late, your task would have been to lead the soldiers of the House into battle, but now that task falls to Solaufein. Now, you will be supervising the human, Tagerion, and the other shock troopers, to ensure that the only drow blood they spill belongs to the members of Aleanduis, in addition to providing support to the rest of our forces as needed."
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Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 3:12 pm
Catching the words 'Lolth's Will' only made Sy look back at Solaufein's tattoo on his arm and raise a curious brow. Dismissing that thought, she shook her head. She then crossed her arms and gave a sigh of disappointment.
"So you're sending a male that's probably only a few ranks higher then a rothe to be the leader of your troops. And you're sticking me to pose as babysitter with the rest of the rothes? To be honest, I'm a little disappointed. As a Weapons Master I expected better battle tactics than that. Being that we're both here I don't see how my lateness should effect this decision of yours. But if you intend on keeping it then I shall follow through on my end. Blood shed is blood shed. And Lolth's desire makes it all the more sweeter," she then gave a wicked smile.
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Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 2:57 pm
"We can discuss the reasoning behind my orders later," Veldrin replied coldly. "Right now, you two need to get to the barracks and assemble the troops. Malag and the Shadow Guard should have the sentries eliminated by now."
Solaufein nodded his acknowledgment of his orders, snapped off a salute, and performed an about-face leaving the room and heading for the barracks to assemble the House Guard.
Veldrin then turned his attention to the half-fiend warlock still waiting patiently in the corner of the room. "You know what you must do, Valagh. Make whatever preparations you need, then meet Sy and Solaufein in the barracks and prepare the troops for deployment."
With that final statement, Veldrin left the audience chamber to make his own preparations for his part in the raid.
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Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:47 pm
Sy stayed in the audience chamber till Veldrin left. She wanted to gain as much information as she could before the coming battle. Once Veldrin left, she then looked at Valagh and nodded. She had never seen the half fiend before. And now she was going to fight alongside him.
Without saying another word, Sy then turned to the human slave, Tagerion, who stood in the corner as still as a statue, waiting for his next set of orders. Another house member whom Sy had not properly met. Not that she could say that she cared. But in order to properly prepare for a battle, Sy liked knowing how her troops fought. The tactics they used. That way it could leave a clear view for how she can assemble them and compromise in battle if needs be. But recalling the spar between the human and the assassin, Malag, Sy knew that the human was a decent opponent. Especially that gift of light of his could prove useful.
"C'mon rothe! What are you waiting for?! Let's go!" Sy shouted at him in half broken surface common.
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Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 6:33 am
Tagerion nodded slightly, his eyes bloodshot and veinous underneath the cover of his ornate helm. he turned his head to the side and issued a rough bark, at which the half score of dwarves and orcs followed suit behind him , assembled around the female.
"Our strength is yours, mistress" he replied, and gestured towards the shock troops behind him. They were a gruff bunch, all large for their race,rippling with muscle, the best genetic stock, human orc and dwarf alike.
In a twisted way Tagerion was proud to be the obvious leader of this dangerious group. He could sense the oppression in each of them, and their pure carnal desire to shed drow blood.
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Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 10:39 am
( l am ready to begin posting in their house now, I assume I am merely waiting for thr portal to open. Also, tommorrow will be my last chance to post for a month, so I will give permission for someone to play my character during that time)
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Posted: Mon Apr 05, 2010 5:00 pm
After giving a brief nod of acknowledgment, the warlock threw his hands dramatically into the air and inky shadows enveloped him then dissipated, leaving nothing behind. He emerged in his room a moment later, making a beeline for his scroll rack and pulling out one containing a spell of scrying.
Valagh moved over to the full sized mirror in the corner of the room, unrolling the scroll as he walked. He spoke the words of power required to complete the spell and performed the arcane gestures required to focus the magical energy contained on the papyrus roll. As the spell completed, he observed the area surrounding the Third House of the city, checking for the presence of wards that would hinder planar egress into the compound. Finding none, he shifted the sensor into the coterminous Plane of Shadow and once again found no form of barrier or defense. Chuckling wickedly, the half-fiend began to analyze the surrounding area, looking for the most suitable area to have Hun'afin's soldiers emerge onto the field of battle.
Having determined a suitable route of travel and entry point, the warlock once again stepped into the Plane of Shadow, emerging this time in the barracks where the soldiers of the Second House awaited. With a slow pass of his left hand, he snuffed out all illumination in the room before conjuring four glowing violet orbs. They floated, seemingly of their own accord, into a rectangular formation wide enough for four squads, dressed and covered, to pass through. He made another pass, with his right hand this time, and the inky shadows of the room coalesced and filled in the area between the four glowing orbs; motioning toward Sy, Tagerion and the slave shocktroopers, he politely stated, in both drow and common, "Your group first, madam. I will require you all to make physical contact with each other, and remain touching until we have all crossed the planar threshold. We shall be traveling via the Plane of Shadow, so a bit of disorientation is to be expected, though it can be minimized if you all match my pace"
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 2:45 pm
As Sy made it into the barracks, she saw the soldiers as well as Solufein already prepping themselves. Some of the soldiers were trading and swapping weapons and testing them out. While others began to assemble themselves and prepare for a march.
Just then the lights from the faerie seemed to go out at once and Sy turned to watch Valagh summon the orbs and they began to circle around the small band of brutes, Tagerion, and Sy. The drowess heard the half fiend mention they would have to... touch each other in order to for the teleportation process to be completed. Sy looked down at a dwarf who looked up at her. Through his wild, tangled, matted beard and dirty scuffed face, Sy could have sworn he gave her a sly smile. But as quickly as it came, it had gone in the blink of an eye. Sy looked back up at Valagh with an unbelievable almost disgusted look on her face.
Veldrin is soooo gonna pay...
Biting her lip, she then took hands with the dwarf and took hands with Tagerion. She then looked at the other brutes and shouted angrily, "WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR ROTHES! YOU HEARD THE MAN! HOLD ON!"
The brutes immediately jumped on the drowess's command and held onto each other one by one till the whole group were in some form or another, in physical contact with the other.
Sy then looked up at Valagh, "Please make our journey quick. Their smell is starting to get to me."
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 5:33 pm
"It will be, I assure you," replied the cambion with a snarl. "The stench of the vermin disgusts me as well. The trip shouldn't take more than a minute or two."
Valagh looked over the squad of shock troopers, trying to decide which member of which would be the least unpleasant to make physical contact with, before settling on the drowess. "My apologies," he said, placing his taloned hand on Sy's shoulder, "but the rothe were simply too disgusting. If you all would please cross the threshold, we will be underway."
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Posted: Thu Apr 08, 2010 6:19 pm
Veldrin soon reached his private quarters and made short work of disarming the traps that guarded the door, along with the room's contents. Once inside, he re-armed the chamber's defenses and began shedding his formal attire while heading straight for a hidden safe embedded in the wall that contained his heavily enchanted suit of studded leather armor. The armor was pitch black, covered in black mithral studs, and seemed to emit a nimbus of inky shadowstuff.
He then strapped on a wrist sheath containing his potent Dagger of Venom and rolled the sleeve of his tunic over it before strapping on his sword belt and refilling the spell component pouches on the belt. He had a feeling that he would be fully utilizing his small compliment of arcane spells on this particular raid. Finally he donned his piwafwi, pulled the cowl low, and re-concealed his safe, which was rigged to open a hidden escape passage that allowed for an undetected exit when he was sent on black ops missions during Kikato Hun'afin's reign as Matron...Veldrin may officially be Weapons Master now, but he is still an assassin, after all.
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Posted: Sat Apr 10, 2010 5:12 pm
While the more militarily inclined of House Hun’Afin prepared themselves for battle, as well as a few of the clerics whose strengths lay in combat casting, the Matron and her priestess underlings had prepared the House’s chapel for prayer. The large chamber smelt strongly of exotic incense, and about the altar holy red candles filled the air with thick, pungent smoke. The flames were faint but still caused a dull ache to drow eyes, and the smoke was choking if one took deep breaths. It wrapped itself like a demonic shroud about the sounds of chanting that soon began to fill the room, as four of the lesser House priestesses, common clerics, entered and positioned themselves around the altar. Their mouths moved and words emerged in perfect unison. Their faces were filled with murderous devotion, unadorned robes black as their hearts. Their chanting increased in volume as the prisoner was brought in; a male drow accused of violence and insolence against a female of an infinitely higher rank than himself. He staggered along between the two priestesses that flanked him, second in rank in the House’s clerics only to the Matron, as if it was difficult for him to move his limbs. The poison coursing through his veins would make sure that in a matter of moments he would become completely paralyzed.
Chalthara entered as the prisoner was bound to the altar with ropes of spider’s silk. Although the Matron was of smaller stature than any of the other females present, she was easily the most intimidating. Her steps were measured as a killer’s – predatory – as she approached the helpless, motionless drow before her. She was resplendent in her robes, trimmed in red fabric and chased with spider-webs embroidered in iridescent silver thread. Her eyes were as voids, intense but holding nothing. It would be impossible to find meaning in them. When she stopped before the altar, she held aloft the ceremonial weapon: an eight pronged dagger in the shape of a spider, the body adorned with rubies and each leg honed to a needle-sharp, barbed point. The jewels glittered in the muffled light of the candles, and the fear from the sacrifice-to-be was almost palpable to Chalthara.
Her full lips curved into a smile. It was a pity that the victim could not struggle or scream as his life was ended, but she supposed that victory and success would be sweet enough. She did not wish to ask the Spider Queen for too much, after she had been given her life.
The chanting ceased as she raised the dagger an inch higher.
“Mzilst Trelao Jallil Lolth, ja'hai nindol vlos or'shanse wun l'kaas d'Qu'ellar Hun'Afin.” Her voice rang out in the silence, low in pitch and volume as it was. Her chin lifted, and the locks of hair that had pooled about her shoulders spilled down her back. The ceiling of this temple filled her with sudden and overwhelming reverence for Lolth, so intricate was the decoration – a web with countless strands. “Udos gultah ulu dos nindol ust'dan; lu'ka udos ph'ulu inbal ultrinnan nindol isto dos zhal zirn pholor l'vesdrac d'mzil byrren.”
In a movement as sudden as the strike of a snake Chalthara plunged the eight pointed weapon into the victim’s bare chest.
Her voice as she shouted was in a higher, more keening register than it had been before. “Lolth tlu malla!”
“Lolth tlu malla!” the others half-wailed.
As the male’s lifeblood flowed into the rivets of the sacrificial altar, the world froze for Chalthara. Her heart seemed to skip, to stop. What if this sacrifice would do nothing to further their cause, so great was Chalthara’s own heresy in allowing a male to rule the House, even for a little while?
It takes time to weave a web, Chalthara assured herself, and as if she were no longer possessed of her own body and voice she heard herself shout, “Xal udossta Orbb Valsharess elamshinae udossa xuil mzilst ssinjin ultrinnan! LOLTH TLU MALLA!”
( Mzilst Trelao Jallil Lolth, ja'hai nindol vlos or'shanse wun l'kaas d'Qu'ellar Hun'Afin.
Most Divine Lady Lolth, accept this blood sacrifice in the name of House Hun'Afin.
Udos gultah ulu dos nindol ust'dan; lu'ka udos ph'ulu inbal ultrinnan nindol isto dos zhal zirn pholor l'vesdrac d'mzil byrren.
We offer to you this infidel; and if we are to have victory this night you shall feed upon the souls of many others.
Lolth tlu malla!
Lolth be honored/praised.)
(( Hope that was worth the wait... redface ))
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Posted: Mon Apr 12, 2010 4:51 am
Sy felt Valagh place his clawed hand on her shoulder just as it sent a cold shiver down her spine. Although Sy has a firm belief on feminine respect, as most female drow do, the drowess did not make a scene about the warlock's touch. Especially not while the war was already in action. It would appear that Sy's blood lust was pumping more then her dignity at this current point in time.
After hearing the fiend's words, Sy gave the order to the men. Her tone not changing in the least. As commander of the small band, Sy was sure to hold her ground firmly.
The group seemed to step as one. In a sudden motion, they stepped over the threshold and were taken away by the warlock's teleportation spell.
((Alrighty well you'll have to lead me from here cuz I don't really know what the Shadow Plane looks like in your eyes. Plus I'm assuming my next post will be Aleanduis so I'll just sit back and wait for your que boss.))
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Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 11:04 am
Cries of passion for the Spider Queen rose up and echoed all through out the chapel. But would their echoes reach the ears of Lolth? It seemed unlikely that the Spider Queen would answer. After all, didn't Hun'Afin need to redeem their selves first?
The beauty of Lolth was her ever unpredictable decisions. Her children could never fully grasp her intentions, they could never completely understand. And Lolth preferred their ignorance.
The priestesses continued to chant their praises to the Spider Queen for what seemed like an hour. The sacrifice must have been denied. Had it been?
A profound silence suddenly fell over the chapel, it was almost instinct. The flames from the candles began to burn brighter, growing too like long flickering tongues. The thick smoke began to swirl behind the sacrifice. Faster and faster it churned! The mass of smoke thickened, forming the waxy figure of a yochlol, Lolth's handmaidens.
When it opened it's singular red eye the flames of the candles dimmed to the point of being almost snuffed. It hovered in the air, tentacles reaching out and around to grasp the dead male. "Matron Chalthara!" The handmaiden roared. "You dare to give the Spider Queen a sacrifice?!"
"You know what Lolth desires, fool! Yet you have the audacity to provoke her further by giving her an unnecessary sacrifice?! This male would have been better use alive than dead for the task the Spider Queen has given you!"
The yochlol's tentacles writhed angrily, snapping the carcass of the male to the floor. With unnatural speed the handmaiden snatched the heart off the dagger that Chalthara held, and it projected it's next words into Chalthara's mind. Lolth is pleased. Then it spoke aloud for the rest of the priestesses to hear. "But the Spider Queen accepts this sacrifice." And with a shrieking cackle the yochlol's form burst out into fading smoke, the candles' light dieing along with it's departure.
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Posted: Tue Apr 13, 2010 2:02 pm
As the group crossed over the threshold, they found themselves in a truly alien world. The familiar landscape of Ulorbbath remained relatively the same, though the buildings and features were twisted, grotesque caricatures of their material plane counterparts. The world was seen in an inverted monochrome...black and white were the only colors that existed, and what would normally be dark was white and vice versa.
Valagh released his grip on Sy's shoulder, taking a step ahead to guide the way and appeared nearly fifty feet ahead of the group. "Physics on this plane are slightly different," the eldritch theurge cautioned. "Matching my pace should minimize disorientation. Do try to keep your gaze away from the landscape while traveling, lest you end up with a massive headache. Now then, let's keep moving"
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