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Yolanda sighed. But of course...drunk. What more could she expect from those two? Shaking her head, she made her way over to their table and placed a hand on Valgard's shoulder, since he seemed a bit more sober, though not by much.

"Valgard, I must speak with you," she said urgently, but loudly, since the noise of the tavern seemed to be on the rise again, "It's about Ravenar." Eyeing the 'less than attractive' woman who had seemed to set her eyes on Deghar, she chuckled. He might wake up with an unpleasant suprise tomorrow. Perhaps she could save him some face.

"Deghar, as well," she added, trying to deter the various male eyes trained to her every move. Ugh...some of them were disgusting, even being mages. It took more than a bit of willpower not to utter a particularly nasty curse on their houses.

"Time is short, we must work quickly," she told him, urgency heightening the volume of her voice. Quickly...

Deghar broke his gaze from the woman and turned to Yolanda. "What's that? Ravens ye said?" He asked, apparently the alcohol tampering with his hearing as well.

"No, ye fool, drunken dwarf... She said Ravenar, something about Ravenar." Valgard corrected him, obviously less drunk than Deghar, due to the fact that Deghar had started drinking before the contest even began.

"Aye? What about Ravenar? 'E's a Drow, 'e's a mage, and 'e's a damn good one, too!" Deghar said with a laugh. Apparently he didn't recognize Yolanda. "But why ye interested in him when ye could spend the night with me?" He asked her with a drunken grin and wink.

Valgard looked at Yolanda. Obviously his vision was not at its best either; he seemed to be looking at her like an old stranger. "Do I know you?" He asked her. "You look familiar... I might've seen you down by the shop a few times..." He stroked his short, brown beard.

Those last few words were enough to break Valgard, at least, from his drunken state and have him enter a state of pure, sober focus.

He stood upright almost immediately. "Yolanda. I recognize you now. Deghar, you drunk." He turned to the dwarf, grabbing him by the shoulder. "Ach!" He slurred in protest, though the Nord hoisted him up quite quickly. "Ravenar is in danger!" He hissed to the dwarf's face. "Ach! Alright, lemme go!" The dwarf said, obviously sobered up as well by the news.

"And yes, I suppose we could head back to Deghar's shop to talk. It isn't far from here and it is closed for the night." He said, gesturing towards the door. "I suppose you know where it is..."

"Just look for the sign with the fiery axe above it." Deghar offered with a grin.

Meanwhile, in the Mage District Guard tower, owned by Arminas and his followers... The half-dragon gazed into a crystal ball, watching and listening to the Nord, Dark Dwarf and woman's discussion, knowing that they were making plans to save Ravenar.

Well, that wouldn't happen. The Mage District Guard was prepared... "I'll make my move the day after they leave. Even if they escape with Ravenar alive, they won't have the guts to try to stop me after they leave..."

His fist closed, still clad in the glove of the Mage District Guard uniform, though he had long since devoid himself of the hood. "This District will be mine for the taking with those two meddlesome mages gone, and with the dragon and the other drow out of the way, it will only be easier for me." He grinned his toothy grin and ran a hand through his charcoal colored hair.

"With everyone distracted by the Drow's hanging, I'll have no problem poisoning the lord of the Mage District..."

"The day after tomorrow, my Guard will move in for the Mage District leader, and take his home and declare it mine. None shall rise to stop me..."

"The day after that, I'll move for the Governer's home. This town will be mine." He sneered.

"And then, I shall start with the surrounding towns. I'll make this world fit again for dragons and halfbloods..." He felt his somewhat pointed ear. "And... elves..." He said the word as if it were encased in caustic venom. "After all, hypocrisy is the first step to downfall..." He reminded himself.

He began to laugh as he thought his plans over. It was perfect! He would rid this world of all impure, imperfect races, and then there would be naught but the dragons, halfdragons, and elves...

But eventually, he would make sure that the elves suffered a 'fatal accident.'

He also decided that the Drow would probably be his first targets. After all, if he could find all the Underdark entrances, he could simply block them off. They would die from no air in a matter of months, perhaps a year. A nice slow, painful death...

The Lord of Torture rose from his chair and took a final glance at the crystal ball. He didn't need to know their plans; his guard would be prepared for tomorrow. He would make sure of it. After the poisoning was done, he wouldn't care if they escaped or not...

((Woot!! xd This is awsomeage! I say we should still leave though, hide out.. come back.. ya know, and actually have a big boss to face later in the story biggrin ))

Deghar and Valgard followed silently, for the most part, save for the dwarf's occasional grumbling and a belch or two. When they stopped in front of Deghar's shop, the dwarf spoke up first. "So what do ye need, lass? Ye said Ravenar's in trouble, and anyone with somethin' against me pal Ravenar's got somethin' against me. Me axe'll be itchin' to meet with their skull, tha's fer sure..." The dwarf muttered.

Valgard crossed his arms. "Indeed, what is this about?" He said, and then looked to the door. A paper had been nailed to the door... a notice? He walked over and pulled the paper from the door and looked at it. "By the gods..." Valgard said breathlessly.

"What be this?" Deghar asked, reaching up and snatching the paper from the Nord. "By all that's holy!" He shouted. "Ravenar, a murderer?!" He shreiked. "There's got'a be somethin' messed up, I mean, Ravenar wouldn't hurt a fly! Would he?" He asked the other two desperately. "Would he?!" He insisted.

"He wouldn't hurt anyone who didn't want to hurt him... or kill him." Valgard affirmed. "If it was in self-defense, he shouldn't be faced with execution..." The Nord mused. "By Tyr's hand, this travesty of justice must be dealt with..." His blue eyes shone angrily.

"That settles it." Deghar said with a nod. "I'm bustin' Ravenar out!" He hobbled into his shop and returned moments later with his axe, which was glowing a rather questionable light red color, although calling it pink would most likely get your head removed. Ravenar had enchanted it a good time ago, back when they first met, and as a joke had made this part of the spell, that it would glow pink around anything not Duergar or Drow, and told the dark dwarf that it was part of the enchantment that he couldn't change (though he could quite easily). So Deghar, not knowing relatively anything about magic (he only sells the things that sparkle and shine with magic, he doesn't really know what they do unless Ravenar tells him) assumed that Ravenar was telling the truth and decided to call the color 'red,' and whenever it was referred to as 'pink,' he quickly spouted off insults and protests and threats, most of which nearly ended in violence.

"Hold, friend Deghar." Valgard said, putting a hand on the huffing dwarf's shoulder. "We needn't charge in and reveal our plans this early." He reminded him. "I'm sure Yolanda here," He gestured to her. "Has a plan to liberate Ravenar, or else she wouldn't be here right now..." He said with a chuckle. "I suppose you've a plan, Yolanda?" Valgard asked her, making a mental note to get his sword and shield from his shop...

Deghar nodded, pushing the door open. "Let's go in, then." He allowed Yolanda to go in first, then Valgard and then, with a cautious glance around the street, he slinked inside himself, shutting the door gently behind them.

The magical lights flared up when Deghar snapped his stubby fingers, illuminating the shop. "Now, what about this plan o' yers." He said.

"I think..." Valgard said. "That if anyone, we should be the ones whose lives are on the line." He crossed his arms. "I understand your feelings towards Ravenar; we're all friends to him here. But, nevertheless..." He smirked. "I think it would be poetic justice for two warriors like Deghar and myself to stand up against these mages and win..."

"Aye, I'd think so too, Nord, if ye didn't realize somethin'. We're not gods, ye know." Deghar countered. "We ain't gonna come in and be invicible to e'ery last spell those Mage District guards throw at us." He explained.

Valgard shrugged. "Point well taken, dwarf." His eyes looked up slightly, as if thinking, and then leveled again. "Ravenar is to be hanged, correct?" He asked.

"Aye, aye." Deghar said, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Then I've a plan." He said with a smile. "You see, my craftmanship will come into play here. I'll get an extra sword from my shop. And then I'll throw it towards the rope that will hang Ravenar the moment the trapdoor falls. It'll cut the rope, you, Deghar, can cause a distraction with me while the others get Ravenar out of there, possibly by some magical means, who knows." Valgard shrugged.

"Sounds good to me." Deghar said. "Unless the mage 'ere's got a better plan, I'm willin' to listen."

( xd I love making plans to rescue my own characters...)

Valgard crossed his arms. "Better make sure you find the bracer that I gave him, too. That thing's valuable. Put my sweat and blood and tears into that." Valgard said with a bit of a huff.

Deghar laughed. "I'm sure she'll get all his things, ye know." He told the Nord.

"Well, I need to go by my shop, pick up my sword and shield, along with an extra one to throw. Deghar, you've your axe, but you shouldn't really need to do much. Remember, though. The Mage District guards really aren't at fault here..." He scratched his thin beard. "I'm almost sure Arminas has something to do with this though. The half-dragon-half-elf always had a problem with Drow..." He said, then shrugged. "Ah well."

"If I find Arminas, I'll be sure to introduce 'is skull to me axe!" The Duergar said gleefully.

"And I'm sure that I'd do the same, only with my sword..." The Nord said with a nod.

"Then ... I suppose we wait 'till mornin'?" The dwarf asked them both.