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 Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 11:52 am
 Shrisin stepped out into the streets of Gallidurth as a priestess-in-training for the first time in ten years. She had been on the streets of Gallidurth many times before, having lived there for the last ten years or so of her life, but never as a priestess-in-training. That was a rank she had just recently achieved, and it pleased her. She was pleased to shed her servant's garb and dress once more as befit her station. For her, that meant she put on her silver and purple again, the colors of her house, and walked with her head held high and proud.
She had made what was, perhaps, a dangerous assumption, but she guessed that if she was being permitted to enter the priesthood, her brother's fate had also been decided. She did not know if he lived, or if he had been executed, but she was about to find out. Hopefully. She had no idea where to send a letter for him by traditional means. If she sent it to him at their house, it was unlikely to reach him, especially if he was still confined in the pit. However, if he was elsewhere, she had no idea where that might be.
This was why she was out and about. She needed a mage who could either tell her where her brother was, or send her message to him directly. She didn't know much about magic, as House Baen'duis had not kept a mage since her infancy. Ostensibly, she also needed clothing. Or so she had told the priestess in charge of her training.
She had found the mage she required and sent her message, but it had been too quick. Shopping for clothing was a time-consuming business, and she truly needed no new garments, and so she stopped at a market cafe to enjoy a refreshment. And kill time. As she sipped her iced drink she considered the matter she had just attended to. The merchant mage she had worked with had seemed very eager to keep her patronage, and that was to the good, but she did not trust her, and her instincts were very sharp. It was one of the many reasons her aunt planned to have her inherit the leadership of House Baen'duis upon her demise.
That, however, was not a subject she cared to think about at the moment. Better to enjoy her freedom from drudgery without considering what would be required of her eventually. She would have to wed, at least for a time, her aunt's son to secure her inheritance in everyone's eyes and make it indisputable, and she really, really didn't want to do that. She didn't care for any of her cousins particularly, and barely cared for her siblings, except her brother, Val.
The thought of Val brought a slight, enigmatic smile to her lips and she covered it with another sip of her drink. It was good to have free time she thought as she watched people pass by. There weren't many, because this street was, for whatever reason underpopulated, and the cafe she had decided to patronize was nearly empty, but that suited her. She was good with people, both in large groups and in more intimate situations, but she didn't want to spend her first afternoon free being jostled by crowds.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 1:31 pm
 Picking his way through the crowd to keep as much distance between himself and everyone else, Taliesin scowled at the world in general. It wasn't in his nature to mingle with others, preferring to avoid interacting with people, particularly ones he wasn't familiar with. Normally he would never venture into the city at this time of day, if he had business he referred to head in either very early or late, when there were fewer people on the streets.
Unfortunately being a student mage occasionally placed severe limitations on his free time and this was the first opportunity Taliesin had, had to leave the Academy Grounds. The reason He was scowling though, wasn't because he was forced to walk the crowded city streets, being jostled and bumped by the throng of people, no the reason he could curdle milk with a glare was because he was being bounced about like this for nothing. Taliesin had come into town to stock up on supplies of several components he needed for spells he was experimenting with, but upon arriving at the apothecary he learned the merchant had grown impatient for Taliesin to pick up his order and so the merchant had already sold the goods to another.
Leaving in a foul mood, Taliesin had tried several other stores, only to find many of the items he needed were out of stock, or in a few cases, he had made a mistake in letting the merchant see how badly he needed the items and had been asked for ridiculous prices. Silently cursing the incompetence of the money hoarding opportunists who ran the local market, Taliesin had little choice but to return to the original supplier and order the spell components again. Though this time he happened to mention the consequences that befell those that got on a mages bad side.
His business finished, Taliesin trudged back towards the Mage Academy, growing ever more irked by the endless throng of people crowding the main thoroughfare. Eventually he spied a quieter side street and turned down that way, thinking it might be faster or at least easier to take a round about way back to his dorm and avoid being jostled in the street.
Turning a corner Tal found himself on another quiet street, running parallel to the main route through the city. He paused for a moment as he passed a quiet cafe with few people about and pondered stopping briefly.
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Posted: Wed Jul 23, 2008 2:09 pm
Shri ordered a new drink and had lifted the glass to her lips to drink when her attention was drawn to a young male who carried a mage's staff turning onto the lane which played host to the cafe where she sat. Her dark red eyes moved up and down his figure, taking in his platinum blond hair and amber eyes, and other things besides. He was probably near her age, a student of magecraft. Judging by his expression, he was an unhappy student of magecraft. She wondered what had caused that sour face of his.
Bored and lacking anything else to do, she caught the young mage's eye and gestured for him to join her at her table with a c**k of one eyebrow and a slight jerk of her chin. She wanted nothing more from him than some diversion, someone to converse with for some time. She had at least another hour before she could return to the temple and claim to have been shopping. It didn't matter whether she claimed her expedition was successful or not. She had a great deal of clothing which she had packed away upon learning what she would be doing when she arrived at the temple.
"Please, join me," she said in cool low tones. "I would like to know you better."
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Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 12:30 pm
Taliesin hadn't taken any note of the young woman sitting at the cafe, failing to notice that she was watching him, until he happened to make eye contact with her. He immediately dropped his eyes and did his best to hide a cringe as he made to leave, but it was already too late, she had noticed him. Taliesin considered making an excuse and leaving, but it was obvious he had been about to stop here anyway and his mind was already so stressed from his ordeal in the market that it failed to provide him with a suitable excuse. He considered simply refusing her and leaving, but without knowing who she was Tal had no idea how much trouble she might be able to cause for him if he rejected her.
Nodding Taliesin slowly made his way around some tables heading towards the young woman, his mind going over the reasons he might have been called over. Perhaps she simply needed some information, or maybe she was bored and decided even a males company was preferable to sitting alone. Then again she could be an assassin hired by someone he'd upset or by a rival family, but assassins rarely invited you to sit with them and Tal didn't think he was important enough for someone to pay for him to be killed.
As he approached he examined the young woman out of the corner of his eye, trying not to make it too obvious he was scrutinising her. Realising how pretty she was, a thought darkened his mind; what if this woman was some bored noble who had taken a liking to Taliesin? The thought of being made her plaything sent a twinge of dread through his stomach but he could feel a blush creeping up his neck as well, which he suppressed as best he could.
Standing by the table Taliesin bowed his head towards the young woman, avoiding eye contact before taking the offered seat. "What is it that I can do for you Miss...?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 24, 2008 6:54 pm
"Shrisin of House Baen'duis of Llurth Dreir," she filled in. "Shrisin. Or Shri."
She had not failed to notice that he was obviously reluctant to join her. Perhaps it was anxiety or trepidition which made him reluctant. Or perhaps, and more likely, he was afraid for some reason. Though she did not consider herself much of a threat, she was aware that here, as everywhere else, the hierarchy called for a female-dominated society, which could be quite harsh to its male underlings. On numerous occasions, Shri had been one of those who made life more difficult for some hapless male, for a variety of reasons ranging from boredom (hers, not his) to punishment (his, not hers) to pleasure (usually more hers than his). However, after a decade-long taste of what it was to be looked down upon and ungently-used, she was not really in the mood to torment others.
"If you have other things you would rather be doing in other places with other people, I will understand. All I wish from you is companionship," she said, hoping to reassure him. She explained further: "I dislike dining alone."
After several moments' pause she found that there were two more things which needed said, or else this conversation was going to become even more awkward than it already was. She was not particularly uncomfortable with the way the conversation was going, but if she wished her company to be convivial and diverting, she knew it would be for the best if she could put her new acquaintance at ease. She suspected, of course, that he would not be totally at ease, regardless, and she approved of what she considered sensible caution, which should be heightened by the manner of their meeting, which was hardly de rigeur.
"You may raise your eyes, if you so desire." Some males did not. It had been ground into them so hard that it was a hardship to meet a female's gaze. "And I would like to know whom I am addressing?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 8:56 am
Taliesin mentally filed away the name and face for another time, he'd never been to that part of the Underdark so he didn't recognise the House, he had only a vague notion of where Lurth Dreir even was. One of Tal's eyebrows quirked up in suspicion when she told him he could go, it seemed odd to ask him over then tell him he could leave as soon as he sat down. Perhaps she was genuine, or perhpas ther was an unseen thorn in it, if Tal took the offer and got up to leave, he'd be as good as saying Shri was unimportant and not worth his time. A dangerous thing to do if she was from a more powerful family and was in a vengeful mood. In the end Tal remained where he was, he had been thinking of stopping here anyway and if he left now it would look like he had been intimidated by her presence. A thought that annoyed him, all the more because there was a sliver of truth to it.
While he had been thinking this over, Shri permitted him to raise his eyes, again he took a moment to suspiciously consider any hidden meaning behind the remark. The problem was that he had little idea what station this woman was from; it was proper for him to show a female respect, but it would be improper of him to seem too submissive to a woman who was of a lesser House. In the end Tal's eyes did rise, enough that he could take in her whole body and watch for any subtle signs of treachery or anything that might hint at her rank or profession, but he still avoided making eye contact just to err on the side of caution.
"Lady Shrisin, I am Taliesin of house D'bren... Erm.. Might I be so bold as to ask you what vocation you follow?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 9:28 am
Shri considered. She had some general knowledge of House D'bren, but it was very general indeed. There had been a power struggle some time ago and D'bren had backed the wrong side, which naturally resulted in a loss of prestige and power, though they were not annihilated, for which she supposed they ought to be grateful. She knew very little of D'bren's recent history, except that the matron seemed to be having difficulties producing an heir of the appropriate gender, which was unfortunate, but hardly uncommon. On the whole, D'bren was unremarkable.
"It's hardly boldness so much as prudence to inquire after my vocation. It would be inconvenient if, for example, I was a mage wandering around staff-less and you made me angry. The same would apply if I was a warrior, I suppose." She looked at her hands, which were not as smooth and soft as she would have liked, but that was what happened after ten years of menial labor. She decided ruefully that a manicure might be on the agenda for the day.
"I assure you, however, that I am neither. I lack any magical gifts, and I'm more likely to injure myself with a weapon than my foe. No, I'm that most useless and ineffectual of creatures, a priestess-in-training. Not even a full priestess yet."
She granted him a smile which was a close to genuine as most people ever saw. It was a very pretty smile, seemingly guileless and joyful. "I assume you're a mage? Or, perhaps a thief who has, for some idiotic reason, stolen a mage's staff? That could be more interesting, but I'm not sure I'd like to be sitting so close when the staff decides to defend itself."
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 10:45 am
As Shri spoke Tal slowly looked up to closer examine her face for any sign of guile, it was odd for a Drow to belittle themselves, even odder when it was a female Drow. He considered that perhaps she was in fact quite deadly and trying to lull him into a false sense of security or perhaps she was doing something else odd for a Drow, being honest and open. Either way she had peeked his interest for the time being.
Still when he heard she was a priestess, even if she was still just in training it set a slight twinge in his stomach. Like all males he was thought to show respect to females, but more so to those who were in the direct service to their Dark Mother. But the revelation that she was only a trainee might explain her attitude, she had not yet had the doctrines of the church driven into her, giving her the self assured confidence most Priestess radiated, nor had she yet learned any of the divine powers gifted upon Lolths loyal fanatics. All this emboldened Tal a little making him a little more relaxed and sure of himself.
"Yes, I am a mage, though I doubt any thief would have much to worry about this staff. Perhaps it has some power within it, but I have yet to progress my abilities to being able to call upon those powers. Like yourself I am relatively new to my vocation, though I would hardly call my abilities useless."
Tal tucked the staff out of the way in under his chair, steepling his fingers as his hands rested on the table. "If you don't mind me saying, you don't exactly seem particularly enthusiastic about being indoctrinated into the service of our Spider Queen?"
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 10:59 am
Shri's smile shifted to a catlike grin at Taliesin's observation.
"You mistake me, then. I am very pleased that I have been admitted at long last to the training process of the priestesses of Lloth, but I am practical enough to acknowledge that I am not yet a fearsome figure. Perhaps in another year." It did not seem to bother her much that she was not currently a bloody terror.
"You see," she continued, "I worship the Goddess in a different way than most, though it is the way of my family and of my house, and I foresee it will make my training very difficult. My superiors will disagree with my methods, I've no doubt, and my peers will be uncomfortable with them. The way of the lash is not for everyone." The last was said philosophically.
She glanced around for the server and signalled discreetly that he was to bring a second drink to the table for her guest. Once that had arrived she sipped once more at her own drink, enjoying the crushed ice sensation. In Llurth Dreir, ice was too much of a commodity for it to be served as an inexpensive flavored drink in a sidewalk cafe. It was hot in Llurth Dreir, and difficult to keep ice in a solid state. She loved the warmth of her home, though.
"What are your abilities, exactly? I know very little of the magical arts." She smiled slyly. "Unless you'd like to know about the miracles of Lloth? Those I can ennumerate ad infinitum."
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 11:24 am
It took a moment for Tal to puzzle through what Shri was getting at when she spoke of her families unorthodox approach to worship, then it dawned on him. "Self Flagellation?" Tal hadn't really meant to say it as a question, but had simply been thinking aloud, a bad habit born of studying alone for too long. It seemed an odd thought to injure one's self to honour Lolth, but he could see the odd logic behind it.
When the drink came, Tal off course eyed it suspiciously and checked for any obvious signs it had been poisoned, before taking a sip. Not that he thought Shri might have any reason to want him dead, it was simply a natural reaction to any food or beverage handed to him by another.
"My abilities? Basic stuff I suppose. As a Dalharuk, I've yet to display sufficient ability to be allowed to choose a specialty, so I'm expected to practice and dabble in all the various cannons of magic." Tal paused to take another sip from his drink and then shrugged slightly before resuming. "So far I've shown a complete lack of aptitude for Illusion spells and the foul abominations of Necromancy sicken me. I do however seem to have a knack for channeling the elements..."
Tal's voice trailed off as he concentrated for a moment, bringing up one hand a small candle like flame appeared on his middle finger. The flame flickered a moment then started to hop from one finger to the next, going back and forth along Tal's outstretched fingers
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Posted: Fri Jul 25, 2008 11:42 am
Shri's smile became at once the self-satisfied smile of the cat who's caught the canary and the proud smile of a teacher when a slow pupil comes to the correct answer.
"Yes. Self-flagellation. Though we do enlist others' aid from time to time. It's not nearly as unpleasant as most people imagine it to be. There's a fine line between pain and pleasure, after all. And there are rules, well, guidelines, which keep us from becoming seriously injured while performing our devotions. We all have a signal phrase which will bring any beating to an instant halt."
She hadn't meant to explain quite so much, but it would do him no harm to know more about other peoples in other parts of the world. The Underdark was bigger than this one city and its inhabitants, and there must be thousands of ways to perform even the most mundane tasks. Not that Shri had much interest in learning all of them, but if she could make others more receptive to the practices of her house, she might be able to restore Baen'duis to some of its former prestige in the future. Mostly, however, she just enjoyed having an audience.
She pretended not to notice he was surreptitiously making sure his drink was not poisoned. It was standard procedure to check for poisons before partaking, even within her unorthodox house. She was going on the likelihood that no one here even knew who she was, and so had very little reason to want her dead. That would, of course, be subject to change as she rose through the ranks of priestesses. If it didn't, she was probably doing something wrong.
"Illusion and necromancy are no great losses. Illusion is insubstantial, and will not hold up against stronger wills or stronger magics, I would assume, and necromancy smells horrid." She didn't quite suppress a delicate shudder, though whether it was the practice of necromancy itself or just its resulting odors which caused the shudder was anyone's guess. "Channeling elements, however, is something practical, and useful. I suspect that will earn you greater prestige in the future anyway."
Despite her casual flattery regarding elemental magic, she was startled when he conjured a flame and caused it to move over his hand like a small jumping spider. She was very unused to magic, though she was more comfortable around fire than many drow were likely to be, having grown up in a city with magma and firepits and geyser springs and all the other things one would expect of a volcanic location. Had he conjured anything else, she might not have reacted as well.
"That is...most impressive," she said coolly.
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 6:32 am
Taliesin continued to watch the little flame dance as he spoke with Shri, not that he needed much concentration to keep the flame going, he simply found the light fascinating. "All magic has it's uses, pros and cons of course, but all useful in the right time and place. I feel no great lose at my failings in Necromancy, though I'm rather disappointed by my lack of skill with illusion. True it's of little use in direct combat, but the power to corrupt and warp the minds of your foes, making them turn on allies, lash out at imagined foes... Until they're incapable of telling reality from their own maddening dreams, that is a power worth having, yes?"
Tal suddenly clenched his fist extinguishing the flame before taking another sip from his drink. "That little flame was little more than a parlour trick, preformed marvelously of course but of little use. Impressive would be projecting that flame to ignite the methane that naturally accumulates in our bowels..." A small grin crossed Tal's face as he pictured the resulting explosion and the consequences for the unfortunate victim.
As the thought passed Tal watched the few people walking past the cafe for a time before turning back to Shri. "So, what brings a priestess in training out dining alone?"
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Posted: Sun Jul 27, 2008 7:45 pm
Shri could not help smiling at the mental image she got when Taliesin mentioned what he would consider impressive in terms of lighting fires, but she quickly shifted her smile to a smirk, which was more appropriate to the situation anyway. His off-handed remark that his parlour trick was performed "marvelously" amused her, too. She hadn't known illusionists could effect others' minds. Perhaps she might want to consider her revenge on Tri-no more carefully, or make certain that she killed her before she had the opportunity to become powerful.
"All power is worth having," she agreed. "But it would be convenient to be able to influence the thoughts and actions of others. I imagine, however, it takes as much energy and effort to do so through magical means as it does to use the normal methods of persuasion and coercion."
She wondered what she ought to tell the mage. Obviously she could simply lie, which might be the easiest course, but there was no reason to lie. She had done nothing wrong, except lie to her superiors, which happened frequently enough in the Underdark that no one thought anything of it, though she would have to punish herself for it at a later time, she knew. It would only be a minor punishment, because it was only a minor infraction. The truth would suffice.
"I'm pretending to be purchasing new clothing more appropriate to my office and station, but really I wanted to send a message to...a friend at home. I needed to find a mage who could tell me where to send my message, though, hence the charade." She was a trifle disgusted with herself for pausing when she spoke of her friend. She added jokingly, to cover up her faux pas, "Are you shocked?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 12:50 pm
Tal nodded to Shri's comment on the power needed to use magic to achieve ones goals. "True it does require a certain amount of power and skill, not to mention patience to accomplish anything worthwhile, but it does the added perk of being harder to track down. Bribes and coercion leave tangible trails, illusions and nightmares are far harder to track to their source."
When Shri explained what she was up to, Tal didn't even bat an eye, simply sitting there and savouring his drink. "Shocked? No. A little surprised that you had to make up such a pretense to be able to go about your real business though. I can't imagine the church having any qualms about you sending a 'message' to this friend?" Unless you're trying to avoid leaving a trail of evidence Tal thought, he had reached a different conclusion on why Shri had paused, he assumed Shri was in fact tip-toeing about the fact she had hired a Mage to deal with one of her adversaries back home. After all if she was trying to get in contact with a friend why the need to track them down with magic? "This friend, the two of you were close?"
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Posted: Mon Jul 28, 2008 8:51 pm
An amused smile which was almost reminiscent of something more seductive quirked Shri's lips at the mage's query. There were so many ways she could answer that one, all true, and each more shocking than the last. She decided that there was nothing wrong in having a bit of fun with a person, especially someone who seemed interesting. He seemed to have a sense of humor, though she doubted he would find her particular situation amusing. She didn't have to tell him details. She wouldn't. It wasn't the kind of thing one wanted known. That might actually be a reason why her aunt had sent her to train in Gallidurth, rather than keeping her in Llurth Dreir, now that she thought about it.
Her smile morphed into a smirk laden with innuendo. "You might say we were close. Certainly we were on very intimate terms, and we were quite familiar."
She amused herself, sometimes, with her own cleverness, though she was usually careful not to overdo it, or make the mistake of seeming too smug with higher-ups. It never did to seem smug when in the presence of someone more powerful or easily offended. Her companion, however, was neither of these things, she assumed. Or, if he was, he was keeping quiet, and if later she learned she had made a mistake in behaving as she did, she would deal with the matter when it arose. She was very good at dealing with matters as they arose.
She ran the tip of a slender finger around the edge of her glass. She wasn't sure why, but whenever she did that, her companions all seemed more inclined to find her company enjoyable. Perhaps it was an action which sent out subliminal messages, though she had no idea what these messages would contain. It was an unconscious habit on her part, so the message would be both sent and received subliminally, if there was one at all.
She felt compelled to correct Taliesin on one point:
"Not all forms of coercion and bribery are traceable. For instance, if I offered you one night to do with me as you pleased, in exchange for which you would...I don't know, burn somebody's wardrobe from afar, that would be a difficult transaction to trace, wouldn't you say?" From her tone and expression, it was clear that it was an arrangement she had either entered into before, or wouldn't be averse to entering in the future.
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