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 Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 8:33 pm
 Hal'diira watched the flailing body of the young female as the life drained out of her. There were muttering curses and ugly stares coming her way from those of her House. Hal ignored them as best as she could and stilled her tongue from muttering her own epithets. Getting angry would only be considered a weakness. Not to mention make her Matron question her abilities..though she was already doing that undoubtably.
"Leave me to my work, I need to figure out what killed this drow," Hal sharply barked at the gathered members of her extended family.
Really..why did they insist on gathering around and making her job harder than it already was? She had obviously failed to figure out what her sister had ingested and cure her before the poison had taken affect. It was undoubtedly poison, the color of her eyes, the odd coloring of her fingernails and lips were all signs of that. Now to figure out just who had slipped it to her, and who had concocted the stuff.
Hal knew her matron wouldn't rest until all involved in her daughter's death were assassinated. And of course, since the entire family was too scared to leave the great House, the task to catching those responsible would fall to her. Hal closed her eyes and sighed deeply as the last of her family slipped out of her working rooms. Then she pulled on a red apron, and got out her dissecting tools. The best way to figure out what had poisoned her would be to cut her open and see what damage had occurred.
"At least this part will be satisfying...I always did threaten to cut you up if you recall dear sister." Hal told the corpse coldly as she began the first incision.
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Posted: Mon May 03, 2010 9:12 pm
On the outskirts of the city, deep within the rock in a place where the occasional suspicious waft of oddly scented steam would not be noticed, a pristine lab was cut into the stone, leaving walls and floors as smooth as glass. Cold metal tables and chairs were flanked by equally cold and gleaming cupboards, and every available surface was crowded with vials, bottles, and tubes. Along the bottom of one wall were countless small bins, each labeled in neat, thin handwriting, each containing different herbs and powders, and from each dangled a pair of gloves, the kind used by the stuffiest of healers or priestesses when they didn't want to dirty their hands with blood or fluids. Finally, a second set of jars adorned another wall, each containing either coins or gems sorted by size, color, and in the case of the coins, adornment.
In one corner, where steam was wafting up to the ceiling and escaping the room through tiny cracks, a young drow sat with his nose almost pressed to a beaker that he had a small fire lit under, his gray eyes magnified to twice their size by the strange glowing green liquid. He reached to his right and grabbed a tiny vial of a garish orange liquid, and diverting his eyes up to the top of the beaker to ensure that no stray drops would fall, he dabbled one drop into the green. A tiny puff sounded from inside the glass, he watched with satisfaction as the whole mixture turned as black as ink.
He placed the beaker down and wiped his hands on a towel before gingerly rubbing his eyes. He had been at this for hours now, but he knew that he had to have it done. When word got around of this wondrous new poison that he had invented, one that had the most talented of healers scratching their heads, everyone would be seeking him out, clamoring for a vialful. A shudder passed through him at the thought of all those assassins, reeking of blood and body fluids, coming in here among his meticulously organized instruments, tracking the mud and spores and rothe s**t all over the floor with their boots. He knew that his procedure that he had set up at the lab's only entrance would take care of most of the germs that those of the outside world brought in, but it never stopped him from imagining that very first drow that wouldn't stand for his preparations and just barge in and demand his poison. Well, Moq'l thought as he reached up to touch one of the decorative sets of earrings in his ears, if it's poison he would want, he would most certainly get it, and not in the way he had bargained for.
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Posted: Fri May 28, 2010 11:36 am
The once shockingly sterile workplace of Hal'diira was now a travesty of blood, guts and ten new jars filled with the body pieces she had deemed worth saving for her experiments. Hal stood to the side eying the now congealed blood and gutted bones that lay on her lab table, a rather annoyed look on her face. It had taken her ten hours to go through the corpse in search for the cause of death, and in those ten hours she hadn't found much. Just perfectly unblemished organs and innards.
It was rather annoying that there were no signs of poison having been administered. She was certain however, that it had been poison, as nothing else explained the rapid succession of reactions that had gone through the fallen family member.
Still there had been no tell tale pin pricks in the epidermis or any other signs that the poison had been administered through drink or food. It was a conundrum that frustrated her. Where else could the poison have been introduced? She had scoured the body from mouth to feet and hadn't found a sign anywhere.
Hal grabbed up a pair of scissors and started cutting away the long locks from the head. Of course..it had to have been on the head. Everyone knew how vain her sister was and would always go buy new combs and hair adornments. Vanity was always a great way to at one's enemy. If she had thought about it, she probably would have done it herself had she been given the chance.
"Fitting that your vanity should be the thing to do you in," Hal murmured as she cut away the last bit of hair.
And there it was, a dark festering red mark at the base of skull, right where the vertebrae began. Hal sighed, donned a pair of gloves and a sharp knife and saw and got to work. In moments she had peeled the skin back from the skull and from around the neck area. By all appearances all was normal, but to her surprise she could see that there was a small hole in the base of the skull.
She then proceeded to saw the skull open to see what affect the poison might have had on the brain. Once a big enough hole had been made with the saw, she pushed and pried the skull piece out of place with some of her specified tools. The brain wasn't its normal gray color, but a dark green color. "Well..that's definitely not natural. I imagine some of the poison has survived this long, I'll just have to extract it and test it out to see just what it does." A rather evil grin came on her face as she recalled one of the servants that had slighted her earlier that day. The upstart would make the perfect experiment specimen.
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Posted: Sat May 29, 2010 5:31 pm
After placing the newly created poison in several separate vials, Moq'l sighed as he gently pushed the last stopper in place. Separating the concoction into equal parts always took a few hours, considering he did it drip by drip; if there was a single drop left over, it went down the drain, and if he was a drop short, then the entire vial went down the drain. Let it never be said that he shorted anyone, even though he had an intimidating array of poisons and equally nasty liquids at his disposal should he ever choose to. He knew that he was good at what hedid and saw to it that his customers got their money's worth, down to the last drop. Of course it didn't hurt that he approved of his disposal methods; he couldn't stand anything being the least bit uneven.
His left ear twitched as he heard a high-pitched keening coming from the front of the lab. The entrance to his place had been fitted with a special slab of rock that was indistinguishable from the rest of the wall of rock that surrounded it. The only indication of something else being there was a tiny slit in the rock, just long enough to drive a dagger through. Any assassin wanting inside had only to stab the slit like a hapless target, leaving the dagged imbedded in the rock and setting off a smallchain reaction among several sheets of metal, causing them to grate against each other and emit a truly horrendous high-pitched racket. It was really the closest thing he had to a doorbell, seeing as he didn't trust anyone in the entire Underdark enough to hire them as a guard. He could already make out the low rumble of the slab moving aside, another reaction to the insertion of the assassin's dagger. But he knew that there was only so far any visitor could go without his assistance.
Rising up, he walked over to the door of the lab, a thick metal door with a tiny hole just tall enough for him to peek through and a small vent so that he could speak to his guest while still maintaining a safe distance. Peering through, he cringed at the drow on the other side, looking around rather boredly. A repeat customer, since he was obviously expecting what was coming next. Putting his mouth to the vent, Moq'l spoke in his quiet voice. "State your business." The drow leaned in to response, and Moq'l wrinkled his nose at the blast of foul breath that traveled all the way to him on the other side. "I need more of that new poison you've made." A chinking sound on the other side told Moq'l that the assassin had brought payment, which silenced the retort springing up in his throat that he had previously given him enough of the stuff to kill half of the city's house-less had he chosen to use the proper amount. Well no matter, there was always more where that came from.
The drow's voice sounded again. "Hey, listen, I've been here before; can't we skip the-?" "No." Moq'l said flatly, and he peered in to make sure that the instructions were followed. "Stand right there and close your eyes." Grumbling, the drow did as he was told, standing with his legs out just slightly, arms straight out. A magical cantrip activated that showered the assassin with a fine mist of disinfectant, a liquid of Moq'ls own making. He was no magician, but his first customer had been a magician himself who had needed a poison to slay a foe who was especially wary of magic. The poison he had provided had done it's job so well that the magician had offered more than the standard payment, and remembering his ill feeling at a stranger, even a magician, running around dirty in his lab, Moq'l had requested a few magical aids to ensure that any further guests he received arrived in his cave up to his own standards. Ignoring the swearing that came from the room beyond, Moq'l heard the second cantrip activate, one that covered every scrap of clothing the drow was wearing and encasing it in what felt like a stiff bubble that conformed to the basic shape and left the assassin looking as though he was wearing an outfit of polished glass. He smiled benignly as he heard the rest activate, cleansing the drow of any speck of dirt from his hair, his skin, even under his fingernails, which he was sure was the cantrip that made his guest swear the loudest.
Finally he straightened out and opened the door to confront the assassin, still dripping slightly, his hair slightly frizzy from the hair-cleansing cantrip. "Damnit, that s**t ruins my hair! What are you trying to prove with all of that, you little punk?!" Moq'l, already turning around to walk to the poison cupboard, reached up and felt one of his earrings, secure in knowing he was protected somewhat. "Do you want the poison or not?" Hearing the silence that followed, Moq'l shrugged and pulled out one of the vials, turning around and holding it out expectantly. The assassin sourly produced a glass jar full of gold coins; any repeat customer knew that the eccentric poisoner would only accept payment in jars and not 'filthy germ-infested bags.' He reached out and took the jar, at the same time letting go of the vial. Holding it up to his eye, the assassin regarded it before turning on his heels and leaving without another word. Moq'l breathed a sigh of relief as he watched him go, running over to shut and bar the door the instant the sound of the footsteps receded. He would have a time ahead of him cleaning and polishing each coin before adding it to the enormous jars that housed his collection. He looked forward to the task; it would remind him that every moment of discomfort spent in the company of dirty people was worth it for the wealth he accumulated, to say nothing of the true assassins that lurked in his vials and jars, waiting to be unleashed upon an unsuspecting public. He didn't care; they could all poison each other and leave the Underdark empty.
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Posted: Thu Jun 17, 2010 1:53 pm
It had taken Hal'diira a good three days of trial and error testing to figure out what the poison had been composed of. Once that had been figured out the next thing she did was to go into the marketplace and check every supplier to figure out who might have bought the items. That had been rather tricky as she couldn't outright tell them why she was looking for the client or why she was looking for for the client. that would have merely closed the tongues of every seller. Plus they probably would have spread the word that she was looking for information and no one would have talked to her.
Thankfully, unlike her deceased sibling she had a better head for intrigue and not giving things away to people who didn't need to know. A bit of a bribe here, flattery, and outright flirting had done the trick. Three hours of blatant lies and empty promises later and she had the address of the poisoner and she was ready to track him down.
By what she had been told about the fellow had her intrigued. She almost regretted that she'd have to rid the world if such a talented male. Though perhaps..that wouldn't be necessary. Maybe she could persuade him to give up the name of the fellow who had used his poison to kill her sister.
After all, her family would be happy enough to take the fellow who had dealt the killing dose to their deceased member. They wouldn't really give a damn about the fellow who had concocted the poison. And perhaps, she could even see how it made it so she'd be able to make her own to use against those in the Baen' duis House that held ill intentions towards her.
Hal'diira followed the directions to the outskirts of town, rather disgruntled at the strange location. It was almost as if the fellow hated being around other drow, she supposed she could forgive his eccentricities if he was able to help her out with what she needed. Still..she wasn't used to walking on such uneven ground and her feet were beginning to complain from all the rocks and small pebbles that had been picked up in her open toed sandals.
"Crap," She murmured, coming to a stop and working the pebbles out. "Could this be any further outside the city walls?" She muttered looking around cautiously.
It only took her a few moments later to find the rock face that was supposed to be the front door of the fellow. She eyed the stone slab and then noted the slit in the rock. She pulled out a dagger from her belt and stabbed it in the slit and waited for something to happen. She cringed when the high pitched racket sounded and covered her ears.
"What an annoying doorbell." She moaned through clenched teeth.
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Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:56 pm
Moq'l had found his next three days surprisingly relaxing, in his opinion. The drow who had made use of his new poison had done the sensible thing and not revealed where they had gotten it from, which had kept visitors to a minimum. He was more than content to let others keep his secrets for him, jealously guarding the secrets to their successes. And of course nobody would think to come after him, not while he was providing such valuable merchandise. He even fancied that several of his customers might go out of their way to protect him, if only for him to continue making poisons. Like any sensible male, he knew that down here, there was no such thing as a labor of love. He was only desired for the poisons he created, and that suited him fine. He could easily do without all of the greasy-fingered touching and blood-drawing manhandling that came with the Underdark's ghastly substitute for affection.
Seeing that no one else had come around since his rancid-breathed visitor three days ago, Moq'l had put the poison away and was now busily working on what he really enjoyed; cleaning components. Pouring a measurement of some garish yellow liquid into a beaker already half-full of other equally eye-stining colors, he paused to look at a small tray, where a scrap of silk sat, pure white save for a large, reddish brown stain in the center. He was currently working on a cleanser that would remove blood stains from silk; something that his customers might find useful, as well as himself. He positively abhorred stains of any kind; perhaps it would work on rust as well. After all, rust and dried blood seemed so remarkably similar; perhaps both blood and rust had a similar ingredient? The thought made him smile; to think that a high and mighty female would have something in common with a rusty bucket. That would definitely bear looking into later.
His head suddely came up as he heard the sound of his 'doorbell' going off. Frowning, he reached out and wiped his gloves on a bright white towel before walking casually over to the door. He never knew when visitors were bound to come, but he had hoped to have at least a few days more of undisturbed quiet. How in the Hell did those idiots ever expect him to concoct any new posions if they insisted on disturbing him every chance they got?! Even the few he ended up turning away because they refused to be succumbed to his little entry ritual resulted in his being distracted for anywhere from a few minutes to an hour, depending on how long the other's list of swear words was and for how long they wished to stand there and hurl them at a thick, metal door.
He watched through the vent as the rock slid aside, and his eyebrows nearly shot up into his hair at the sight of his visitor. A female......he had never had such a visitor before, that he could recollect. He might have unknowingly had the occasional assassin with features feminine enough, but he wouldn't have noticed because he had no interest in the opposite gender, not even enough to look for telltale chest bulges. But here was a definite female, carrying herself regally as she walked into the small chamber beyond. reminding himself that she was merely a customer like every other visitor, he cleared his throat before leaning in to speak through the vent. "State your business."
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Posted: Tue Jun 22, 2010 10:06 am
Hal'diira walked forward when the stone opened up, and waited patiently for someone to say something. It was quite an interesting way to keep one's clients second guessing themselves, and on their toes. When a voice did emerge from behind seemingly nowhere, Hal could tell that her being a female and not his normal type of client had startled him.
"I am in need of poison," Hal replied. "Why else would I be here?"
Hal wasn't about to reveal her real purpose, especially not when she had the fellow unawares. Keeping the upper hand would be particularly difficult but it was smart, especially with what she knew about this male. Still..there was a possibility that he'd turn her away because she wasn't like his normal clients. Maybe she should have changed before she had made her way out here.
"I have the proper payment," Hal said, pulling a jar of coins out of her bag and holding it out in front of her.
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Posted: Fri Jun 25, 2010 6:45 pm
Moq'l found his eyebrows once again seeking refuge in his hair at the sheer impudence of the female's tone of voice. Of course, he knew that haughtiness was second nature to a female, and she probably wasn't aware of the level of trust he put in the solid door that separated them from each other. His voice came back as quiet as it had been before. "By accident......it happens once in a while. But I do not like my time wasted, as I am sure you likewise do not."
Hearing the jingle that he so loved, he peered through the vent at the jar of coins. His eyebrows went up a third time. He would have remembered having a female such as this as a past client, so he knew that she was visiting him for the first time. And yet here she was with a jar of coins, what any customer of his knew to be his preferred method of payment. She must have gotten word of his fetish from a past client, and he knew that they wouldn't disclose the location of his lab very easily. Here was a force to be reckoned with, looking impatient in her regal garb.
Speaking of that garb....... Moq'l cleared his throat before speaking again. "That is acceptable. But I must first insist that you be cleansed before you enter here. Please be so kind as to stand in the middle of the room and stick your arms out."
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Posted: Wed Jun 30, 2010 6:24 pm
Hal'diira found herself amused by the male's reasoning and rolled her eyes slightly. She wanted to tell him that things never happened by accident, that everything happened because Lolth deemed it to be. She held her tongue instead, not wanting to spook the fellow, he was already hesitant enough as it was.
She brushed the dust off her dress a bit self consciously, not really happy with how much dust had accumulated on it. Still..she already knew that the fellow was going to insist on her going through with his cleansing ritual. Hal'diira had found it understandable when she had learned about it, but then again she was a healer and knew that diseases could be carried from one drow to another.
"Glad to know it is to your standards," Hal murmured letting her eyelashes flicker to the spot where the voice had come from. "As you wish," she said as she moved over to the center and held her arms out at her sides.
"Wouldn't it just be easier if I stripped down? I mean..I could be crawling with all sorts of things underneath this garb and you'd never even know." She couldn't help but add with a flirtatious glint in her eyes.
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Posted: Sat Jul 10, 2010 8:48 pm
Any other male drow would probably be beside himself with ecastacy at the female's offer to completely disrobe, since it was exceedingly rare for any female to succumb to any male's request at all, let alone offer more. But Moq'l was not aroused; as far as he was concerned, he was mated to his work, his lab full of the concoctions that he had lovingly put together, the gemstones and coins he had polished with the same care as one might use to stroke a lover's hair. No, here he was surrounded by what he knew he loved, and anyone outside was a presence to be tolerated, like a wart or a pimple. Not the best analogy, considering the times he had obliterated such things from his person with various harsh chemicals that one wouldn't use to clean blood from the walls, let alone apply to one's face.
He shook his head, momentarily forgetting that such a gesture would not be seen by the female on the other side. "That won't be necessary; I'm sure you'd much prefer to keep your clothes on, but whatever suits you. Either way, your clothes will likewise be cleaned, so you need not worry." Turning his back to the vent, he listened to the various sounds of the cantrips activating before walking to his table and straightening it up. All of the beakers and instruments were already laid out in ramrod-straight rows and gleamed with cleanliness, but it gave him something to do while pondering just what it REALLY was that brought a female to his door. If it was poison she wanted, wouldn't she have sent a servant or another male? Didn't she know that a female presence, though it did nothing to phase him sexually, would still give any male cause to be worried and alert? He couldn't help but think that there was something more that she wanted from him than a mere vial of poison. Well, he thought to himself as he reassuringly tugged at his ear, looks like we're about to find out.
Hearing the sound of the last cantrip fading, he walked over to the door and tugged it open, gesturing politely for the female to enter inside. "Enter."
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Posted: Sun Aug 01, 2010 3:06 pm
She found herself rather surprised and a bit annoyed at the male's choice to not see her naked. Still..knowing that he wasn't one to be taken with sexual exploits or the wiles of her femininity, Hal was a bit relieved. She rather hated having to depend on it so much and having to degrade herself to such a level.
"Oh well, your loss." She teased with a smile and stepped forward into the area designated and held her arms straight out from her body. She was rather surprised by how well thought out and executed the poisoner's device was. The whole cleaning was over in a manner of minutes, and Hal was pleasantly surprised to find all the dirt and dust from her travels completely gone.
"Well that was refreshing, especially after all the traveling I had to do to get out here." Hal asked, as she sauntered slowly into the poisoner's lab, her eyes taking everything in carefully.
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Posted: Sat Aug 07, 2010 10:00 pm
"Yes, I am sure it's my......loss." Moq'l had mumbled as he waited for the female to finish being cleansed. Once she was clean enough to enter, he smiled a tiny smile at how clean she looked; all the dust from the outside of the cave had been washed away, and her hair seemed to glisten like new silk. He nodded as she commented on how refreshing his cantrips were. He had to admit, he had never heard anyone speak so kindly of his cleansing ritual, but it didn't mean for one instant that he would be letting his guard down. For all he knew, she might just be being nice in order for him to open up and perhaps reveal something she could use to her advantage. Females and their devious ways.
Turning to face his guest, Moq'l casually brushed imaginary dust off of his tunic and observed the female. She was looking around the lab, out of curiousity or casing, he wasn't sure. To him, the casual observer would only see a pristine lab, with everything in it's place and everything carefully labeled. Any mixed vials and concoctions were stored out of sight. "Now then, what can I do for you?"
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Posted: Thu May 05, 2011 11:48 am
Hal'diira shot the poisoner a bemused look and laughed lightly. But of course, a male that was OCD probably wouldn't be looking to swap bodily fluids. Unless of course he knew where the lady came from and had been sterilized first. She could understand that, she constantly had to deal with members of her family needing medicine for sexually transmitted diseases. It was small wonder, seeing as they all slept with one another and some with the servants because they weren't family. It was rather disgusting at times, but she had grown indifferent to it by appearances at least. She still kept tabs on her family so she could use the information later on down the line.
Hal eyed the male casually..not straight on, knowing he would probably not appreciate that. Males were soo skittish. Though Gods know they had reason to be. Her eyes lazily took in the pristine lab, she couldn't help but admire it. She had never seen a more organized area, or one cleaner. It was an odd rarity that someone took this much time to keep things in their places.
"I am looking for a poison that will kill instantly, but leave no signs in the major body organs. And it would work best if I could put it on a comb's tines. Oh and it would have to be odorless..I don't want my rival to be able to detect it."
.
Now she could only hope and pray, that such a poison existed. If the Poisoner had it, then he'd probably be a bit on edge. Seeing as he had sold it just recently. She wasn't sure how she was going to get him to reveal the last purchaser of the poison, but she was sure she could think of something.
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Posted: Tue Jun 28, 2011 8:12 pm
Putting on his best unrevealing face, Moq'l brought his hand up casually to his face and assumed a posture of thought, his fingers never actually touching his chin, but coming as close as he knew they could get without the worry of anything from his gloves touching his face. Just because the more delicate and senstive skin was located on the face had never given him cause to spare it in the past; the strange dots that marked either side of his temple were proof of that. Any mark that he thought would not come out was attacked mercilessly with the harshest cleansers he had, some of which had practically melted the ebon out of his skin. Not only did they do the job to his satisfaction, but he rather liked the odd spotting; it added a little interest to his otherwise dull and ordinary features.
He nodded at her description of the poison, observing that the description perfectly matched the new poison that he had recently discovered and had only just started selling to his clients. The list of those he had sold it to was short, which gave him the conclusion that this female had either heard of the poison from one of his customers (not as likely, since they knew of his value enough to keep him and his work a close secret), or she had witnessed the poison in action (perhaps on a rival or someone in her own house) and was seeking out the source of the potent brew. Again he was grateful for the very slight weight on his ears that reminded him that should the female turn violent, he had the means of escaping from the clutches, even if it meant falling into the clutches of some deity instead. The only hole in that particular band of logic was that she had brought the payment in the only way he would accept it. Such knowledge could only be gleaned from his loyal clients. In the end, in spite of his ponderings, he didn't have any more answers than when he started.
"I have such a poison," he said softly. "It has not been in circulation for very long, and not many know of it as yet. It can do all of the things that you require, and I can show you the deal amount so that the slight oily residue will not be seen as odd on the comb."
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