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 Posted: Sat Aug 14, 2010 12:11 pm
 He was the first Son of House Torlyl. He had four uncles that looked, to him, like they had giant in their bloodline. Such huge hulking males, they looked like they could snap him in half, and sometimes Adinas was certain that is exactly what they wanted to do. What with the way they grinned at him from time to time. The Patron of his mother had a even more dangerous look about him. It was Jealousy. Adinas had come to see this now for what it was. When Nuumia looked upon him, it was with a sense of anger. Adinas was not certain what it was he had done to anger the Patron other then..well...existing. His mother did not seem concerned though, and he tentatively addressed the Patron as Father. After all, he had been delivered into the Matron's own bedroom while the two of them had slept together. It was sort of clear to him that he was meant to be the child of these two. Haellara was accepting of this. She was...well.. She was a Matron. She had treated him with more gentleness then any boy had the right to expect. Adinas did not want to lead her to regretting her manner of handling him. So...Adinas knew he had to do something she would approve of. He had to find a way to serve her in the best way possible. In a way that did not involve blood or death or fighting. Adinas knew that to admit his weakness would only encourage those around him to take advantage of it. He had to find a nitch that would spare him from those unpleasant tasks. He was small, he was quick..he had some magical talents that had , he thought, impressed his mother. For instance, his ability to be so silent! He could creep like a little spider up walls and ceilings without feeling any sense of disorientation. One day he had spent five hours clinging to the ceiling, watching the comings and goings of visitors in his mothers throne room. Oh! He heard such things! Coupled with his invisibility spells, Adinas was turning out to be a very skillful spy! But just skulking around the House surely would not convince his Mother of his usefulness. Adinas had the Mark of the Goddess upon his throat. He was born with what appeared to be little spiders on threads marking his face. He had to be better then just good...he had to be excellent. So..he took up his black stick, ensured his webbing cloths were wrapped firmly around his body, and crept out of the House to inspect the city. Adinas was torn a little bit. He did not want people to see and take note of him, but to wander about invisible was exceptionally hard! There were so many people around that he'd get trampled! All the same, Adinas darted in and out of gaps as he tried to find..well..someone interesting to follow. They did not have to look important. This was just an exercise for him to practice his spying on. While there was a temptation to find someone who looked important, Adinas tried not to let himself grow ambitious. The last thing he wanted was to get caught by someone who would cause trouble for his Mother!
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Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 12:03 pm
 He had grabbed the boy roughly, sparing no injury - and Tahrys'rak had let him, because he had no other choice. The former patron of his House shook his proclaimed son, a visible snarl on his angular features. Tahry thought that Antrak's larger hand was going to bruise his shoulder.
'Now listen, boy.' Antrak Ken'ghym did not mince words. 'You're going on a buying trip, word from the Matron. You're going to meet with a benefactor of ours, and pick up anything that seems useful...or profitable along the way. No tricks.' Tahry rolled his eyes, earning him a ringing clout across an ear from Antrak's heavy hand. 'I mean it. You're representing the entire house, and one false move...!' The heftier male shook his head. 'She's livid about the loss of Ken'ett in Ched Nasad. You know that. I don't wanna think about what she might do to you if you mess up.'
He was released. Tahry rubbed his aching collar, checking his dark skin for discoloration as Antrak watched him moodily. The once-patron scoffed with derision and turned away - but not before giving his false whelp some growled parting words:
'No tricks!'
Tahrys'rak paced, light-hearted, along the crowded streets. Be as it may that he was on an important "mission" - the male fenced his thoughts with actual air quotes - for his House, he had no reason not to be a little spry. Ken'ghym and all it's allied Houses made frequent buyer's trips to various cities, picking up goods and rarities to sell to some noble House or another. That was no big deal, for all that Antrak and the others liked to pretend it was. The most vital trips were those made to acquire certain magical items, that they never gave up right away. Those items would be studied and prodded by the merchant council until every secret it held was safely recorded - and then reluctantly sold to the highest bidder. Nevertheless, Antrak had been sure to make Tahry leave Ken'ghym's doors with the utmost seriousness, especially under the eyes of crazy Matron Xae'jhadil. But after he was clear of them? This business trip was as good as a vacation.
Tahry plied his fingers over various wares, humming with delight when he spotted something truly precious; coughing to hide his laughter when utter waste caught his eye. Being the son of a merchant holding, Tahry knew what was what in the world of loot, merchandise and miscellaneous wares. The very clothes he wore were some of those he had, well...skimmed off the top some of his buying trips, recognizing them as more valuable than the whole. Sometimes, the drow reflected - watching a female buy an obviously fake necklace of stones - it amused him to realize that not everyone held his sense of worth.
But business was business. He could dally here for a while, but sooner or later he would have to make his way over to that contact. Tahry did so out of no sense of duty to House Ken'ghym, but out of the truth of Antrak's words: he wasn't eager to see how his Matron would punish him if he didn't. So he pushed himself in, around, and between the spaces left by the impressive crowd, trying to seem as if he knew his way, baubles jangling softly. But really? He couldn't quite remember where that contact was supposed to be...
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Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2010 5:50 pm
The first hour was panic inducing. Adinas kept feeling this horrible terror that his father's voice would call out his name. Or worse, one of his uncles. He feared that his unapproved venture into the city would get him caught. Matron Haellara had not given him permission to leave...and he knew that he should not have gone out without her permission. It was that knowledge that rose the sense of fear in him. His desire to please warred desperately with his fear.
In the end though, it was his desire not to let his cowardice known that kept him from turning back. The Matron viewed him currently as a gift from the Goddess. A sort of 'wedding gift' he supposed. How easy would it be to turn that belief from gift, to punishment? The story could easily change from one of a favored male, to one sent back to be punished for some forgotten sin? It would have helped Adinas if he could remember something. Anything. So he could feel more secure in himself. Was he a good male? Was he faulty? Was he weak? Oh yes...of course he was weak. He was sickeningly weak. He disliked the sight of blood, he feared physical violence. He wanted to hide in corners and disappear. He felt that even a single pair of eyes upon him would lead to something horrible. He was so nervously looking around. Constantly on his guard, he couldn't even sleep properly in the room that had been granted to him.
Now though...now he felt as if all his fear and paranoia had heightened his senses somehow. His ears heard so much, his wide black eyes saw so much more. Quietly he darted around and behind things. Just one more shadow among hundreds of others. It was odd, he fit in with the flickering and furtive skulkers so easily out here. It was almost calming to his nerves to know there really was a reason to be on guard and careful. It actually eased some of the stress. Imagine that!
As Adinas stalked the crowd in search of someone interesting but not dangerous looking, he finally found someone that perked his interest. Adinas watched the yellow eyed male as he moved through merchant tents. Adin tried to follow Tahrys near enough that he could examine his cloths. He found the golden accents and crimson gems rather pretty. He wanted to hear him talking to a merchant, to see if he could detect a hint of a accent. he didn't seem like he had cloths from this area. From where then? Could he possibly discover that?
Wow... his pants hung really low didn't they? Wasn't he afraid of them falling off? And so much of his chest was exposed...what did he do for a living?
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Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2010 11:02 pm
At that moment, Tahry was talking to a merchant. His hand pressed hard onto the stallkeep's counter though it supported none of the young male's weight. His eyes gleamed, fervid with skill and bemused amusement as he haggled over the price of yet another token: a rough-hewn, beaten silver bangle, about the thickness of his fist. It was not his style in the least - but he was sure it would make good with someone when he returned home.
The voice that rolled past his lips was firm, almost coy; a tenor so supple that one might have smoothed his tangible words through their fingers like so much rothe leather. He was toying with the merchant. From his first word, he was getting the bracelet for less than half of its true value. The longer the argument persisted, the more uphill it became for his purse. In fact, when the drow turned away from the stall - a chuckle on those lissome lips - he had gotten the bangle for a price even he was impressed with, and the opinion that this particular merchant was better off out of business.
He stood admiring the handsome bit of jewelry even after the slender hand landed on his bare shoulder. Tahry seemed unconcerned with the hand, connected as it was to a female twice his size and thrice his bearing. It was only after his eyes slid to it, noting the sign on the golden ring gracing one finger, that he spoke to the figure behind him. "Ken'arn?" He asked offhandedly.
The tone earned his shoulder a painful squeeze. "Ken'ghym." The warrior spoke with all the disdain her station could muster. "You wouldn't be using House coin to buy yourself pretty things on your trip, now, would you?"
He smiled. "Myself? Perish the thought, good mistress. Only my own purse, picking up a present for my Matron Mother." Tahry never stopped turning the glittering bangle, and the female didn't stop him from appearing to apprise it. "But why would you be interested in that?"
"Don't question me!"
Tahry's smile widened. She was tailing him.
"I was here, and received word to keep an eye on you." The sniff between her words suggested that she wouldn't have done it, if she hadn't been in the area. "To make sure you are completing your job properly and without incident."
The last words were veritably hissed, though Tahrys'rak still seemed nonplussed. "Ah, well, I'm on my way just now. So you can tell them that I'm well and incident-free - isn't that nice?" He dropped the bangle onto his wrist, reaching easily up to his shoulder to give her hand a pat.
She tore it from his skin. Her clenched nails left long, angry gashes behind them in Tahry's flesh. "Don't tell me what to say, impudent male! If you wore the sign of House Ken'arn, I would show you your place!" The warrior spat at him, her hand wrapped tightly around the hilt of a broadsword belted to her waist. Her face was tinged with fury as she turned away from Tahry, and back into the masses.
And the merchant's son smiled, rubbing at the painful cuts on his shoulder. He brought his hand back and admired it - a smattering of blood on his fingertips, and the golden signet ring snitched away in his palm. He laughed at the ease of the theft. "And if you were any threat to me, you wouldn't wear the sign of House Ken'arn." Still chuckling to himself, Tahry continued wending his way towards the rear of the market. His good spirits reminded him where to find his contact.
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Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 5:34 pm
When Adinas had selected this male to follow. He had anticipated that this would be more of a test of his focus. Instead it seemed to be a test of his nerves. Now...he was not positive, but he thought perhaps this male was something of a thief? His hands were nimble and his movements very sure. Adin had not seen anything to act as proof though. He was certain the thief was very skilled, and Adin knew that he was very...well...not.
Adinas watched as the male was approached by the female, and he found himself slinking down behind a chest as he heard her strong and terrifying voice. Still, as he listened he did learn some things!
The males name was Ken'ghym. Or no wait..was it a title? He would have to ask his mother...well maybe not. He'd have to figure it out on his own he guessed.
He was on a purchasing trip...for what house though? The male seemed so...cheeky. He could not imagine for a moment any male being allowed to speak so to his mother! And the way he just...seemed to ignore her! Adinas felt fear just by watching a male like him! What if she got angry and tried to hurt him? Wasn't he afraid?
It was clear he was not. Adin's jaw dropped a little as the female gouged him with her nails. That looked like it had hurt! He had not even flinched or anything! Adin's black eyes blinked a few more times, and he watched the female walked all so angrily. Oh...oh she was so...scary! Adin felt like he was shaking where he crouched! Wait..he -was- shaking!
House Ken'arn...it was not a House he'd ever heard of. It had to be from another city? His target had started to move off, and Adinas pried his fingers from the chest. Stiffly he forced his legs to move so he could follow Tahry carefully. Where was he going to now?
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Posted: Sun Sep 12, 2010 6:43 pm
The male pressed on past sellers and rubes, biting his lip at the temptation not to stop and look at some of the wares he passed. Thankfully, Tahry came across nothing too valuable to ignore - but oh that emerald ring would look nicer on his finger than in that vendors grubby hand, and he would kill that mousy-looking shop-keep for handling that scabbard that way. He sighed, and shrugged the various desires off. He wasn't here to browse, as much as he would've preferred it.
As the clamor of freestanding shops settled behind him and the reserved dignity of storefronts fell away, Tahrys'rak's path grew narrower. He hedged onto darker streets, trailing his fingers absently against dark walls as they closed in on his steps. It was almost fitting that the reason he was here lied along the private streets of this untouched maze, away from the lights and liveliness he so adored. The mood of the audacious drow male darkened as well, with good cause. He displayed a seldom-seen seriousness as he mused about the mission, and the contact he was soon to see.
"You've been bringing goods to us for how long, old man? Long enough to make a name for yourself." This male had been a legend of his House for some time, so old that even Uncle Antrak remembered hearing of his deeds when he was young. He thought better of the words. "Of yourself." A shudder passed over Tahry's wounded shoulders. Some of the stories told of this particular male made him cringe. "Houseless rogue wizard, solemn Master. How many strings do you really pull around here, I wonder? How far over my head does your control go, if you have any at all?" But Tahry believed he had some, this bogeyman from his younger years. He sounded too strange and powerful not to have a kind of power.
"And as always, why? Why do you help House Ken'ghym? Why won't you tell anyone your name, or show your face, you blithering old..." But no one knew that, and Tahry was well aware. The Matron wouldn't even allow anyone to speak of him near her, and tolerated his business only because it made them more money can she could afford to lose. For the moment, Tahry's voice died down to select curses and silken mutterings.
Talking to himself made Tahrys'rak feel better; it always had. He had learned to be careful with this particular quirk, though, as words said to the wrong ears had come back to gut him before. Now, he only spoke such when he believed himself truly alone.
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Posted: Tue Sep 14, 2010 12:14 pm
Truely Alone. Well...in a way he may have well have been. Adinas was no particular spy after all. He was not some enemy seeking harm upon Tahrys or his allies. Still, if Adin overheard the wrong thing and his mother knew the value of it, then that surely would lead the unknowing male into a great deal of trouble.
Adinas was rather relieved when his mark for the evening broke off from the busy streets and made for the sheltered and quieter allys. He almost smiled really as he paused to prepare his commonly used cloaks.
A spell of invisibility of course, to hide him from sight. But layered upon that was a spell far more important. Adin was exceptionally proud of his cloaking spell. It dimmed the outline of his body heat, rendering him as cool as the surface's around him. It helped him really hide. Being invisible to regular sight was good, but being invisible to the heat sensitive sight of his fellow drow was even better!
In order to keep up on Tahrys and not lose him, Adin only had time to cast those two particular spells. After which he had to hurry to catch up. he could hear the faint snatches of his words and he wanted to hear what he was muttering. So perhaps he crept a bit too closely, but he really did want to hear! All he had to do was make certain he didn't make any noise by stepping on anything, or breathing too loudly...or accidently having his stick clack against a wall when he pressed too close to it...Adinas winced as he heard the small 'Click' of his weapon's butt against the stone wall, and he froze. Maybe his mark was too busy muttering to have noticed?
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Posted: Sat Sep 25, 2010 9:13 pm
Muttering yes, but in the Underdark's world of smuggling and theft one was never unaware. Tahry had just rounded a sharp corner, immediately facing a door that lie flush against the wall. Someone who didn't know to look for it would have walked straight past.
His hand hovered over the door's latch when he heard the click! behind him.
Tahry whirled around, one hand going to his waistline and the barely-visible hilt of a sword concealed within his pants' low rise. His eyes narrowed as he searched the darkness for a figure that he, of course, couldn't see. "Who's there?" The male hissed harshly, his teeth bared at the possibility that someone could have tracked him here. His mission would be completely ruined! "Say something! Say something at once, or I'll-"
A rustling came from behind the door. With the hand not readying his blade, Tahrys'rak spun around to wrestle furiously with the latch. But as he expected, it had been barred from the inside. There was sparse movement seen from the door's only opening, a thick, banded pane of something transparent. And even as the desperate merchant's son wrestled with the door, he watched as a painfully bright dot appeared in the darkness. It lifted, as if held by an unseen hand.
Tahry cursed.
Before the Sun Flash hit the ground, Tahrys'rak had thrown himself to the floor beyond the door, his piwafwi over his eyes. A burst of light, brillant and surface-world pure, flooded instantly into the alleyway around him.
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Posted: Thu Jan 27, 2011 8:12 pm
Aw no no no! He'd messed up! Adinas felt a sense of extreme disappointment as his practice target would call out. Of course he had heard! Adinas wrapped his hand around the strand of webbing that crossed his chest and held his stick against his back. He bit his bottom lip and bowed his head. Well...he could just wait here until the target moved on. He was going to be too much alert right now to stalk...or maybe that was good? he would be harder to follow now, and it was important that he learned to follow hard targets.
Aw who was he kidding? If he couldn't even follow him this far what made him think he was good enough to stalk him now that he knew he was being followed? The practice target had turned back to the wall. Was it a wall? No,there was something there but Adinas was not sure what it was from his position. He heard a small metal jiggling sound, then a curse. Oh oh...Cursing usually meant something bad.
Something tiny and painfully bright was floating in the air. Adinas squinted his eyes, which began to water at the brightness, and he watched it rise. What was that!?
He gained his answer a second later as the light filled the ally. "Niee!" Adinas screamed in pain with the burst of light. His hands lifted and clapped over his eyes in an attempt to save them from the agony he was inflicted with. The young drow boy immediately dropped to his knees and dug his fingers into the skin around his eyes. Oh Goddess! It hurt! It hurt so bad! And he couldn't see at all! What had that been!? Adinas concealment spells flickered then vanished as the light countered their protection.
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