GALADRIA "Farewell, Velkin. Chorania, why don't you just go back to the city, there's a dear. We will call upon you if we need you. Everybody else, put your uniforms and House badges on, and we shall make ready to go into the city. Be alert and be ready. Vicky, practice your haughtiest and fiercest look.We may as well get some rest for now. Later, I'll want everybody at 100%. Skye, you, I know have had a trawumatic day. Vicky will heal any wounds that you or Lyulfe have sustained."

As soon as the party is out of sight, another drow pops up from the shadows.
Velkyn: About time you caught up with me, what took you so long?
Drow: I'm sorry, but agents from Bregan D' Aerthe are roaming these caverns, I don't think they saw me though.
Velkyn: Bregan D' Aerthe means Jarlaxle, and Jarlaxle means trouble. Even if he fighting on our side now, of which I am not so sure. That man always seems to have a hidden agenda.
Drow: Agreed, do we stick to the plan?
Velkyn: Yes, Bregan D' Aerthe could be here for any reason. There is no reason to assume that they are on to us.
Drow: Yes, but this is a mayor coincedence.
Velkyn: We will stick to the plan anyway, *hands the drow a document. Deliver this to house Beanre in a few hours.
Drow: Very well sir, good luck to you.
Velkyn: One thing, should they bring you in for questioning when you deliver the document...
Drow: Yes?
Velkyn: Kill yourself.
Drow: Yes sir. *Disapears as quickly as he came.
Velkyn: Quickly heads back to the party.

[ 01-19-2002: Message edited by: Dreamer128 ]</p>

OOC>>Hmm. Intrigue and other Underdark stuff. IC>>
VICONIA(apologetically) "Abbil,, you must stop giving me orders for a while. If I am to be your Matron, you must be deferential in the extreme, as if I held the power of life or death over you. If you were to say that to me in Mezzobaranshan, we should be suspected immediately. Do not, I beg, hold against me anything that I say or do towards you while we are in the city. It means our very life."

[ 01-19-2002: Message edited by: Galadria1 ]</p>

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Galadria1:
[QB]OOC>>Hmm. Intrigue and other Underdark stuff. IC>>
VICONIA(apologetically) "Abbil,, you must stop giving me orders for a while. If I am to be your Matron, you must be deferential in the extreme, as if I held the power of life or death over you. If you were to say that to me in Mezzobaranshan, we should be suspected immediately. Do not, I beg, hold against me anything that I say or do towards you while we are in the city. It means our very life."
QB]<hr></blockquote>
Don't worry, I wont make any moves inside the city. Consider your actions in there carefully however, all kinds of 'accidents' might happen when we are back outside. Lil arlurl vevle zhah lil velkyn uss Viconia.
*Starts cleaning his blade.

[ 01-19-2002: Message edited by: Dreamer128 ]</p>

GALADRIA "Very well, Velkin. This is what I propose. The group of us march up to the gate of Mezzobaranshan, with yourself as the herald, and the rest of us around Viconia, deferring to her in the extreme. She will maintain a haughty silence unless the guards act suspicious. Then, she can do that 'On you knees, stupid male' thing. If they let us in, we should seek out an inn, to hear what gossip is being bandied about, or perhaps to a market or central forum. Do you have a better suggestion?"

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Galadria1:
GALADRIA Do you have a better suggestion?<hr></blockquote>I always have a better suggestion ;) . But since no one listens to the drow anyway, lets do it!

"Now, now. Just you wai a minute. I'm a free man, okay? If you expect me to walk around acting like some slave..."

With nothing but harsh glares surrounding him, Skip quickly changes what we was going to say.

"Uh.. I will?"

There was little else for him to do anyway. It seemed like everyone else here had been to the Underdark at least once before, and probably knew all about the place. They were his ticket out of here, away from the stuff of tales used to frighten children. The stories had certainly made an impression on him, and he couldn't wait to be out into the sun again.

"But only if we hurry up and do whatever it is we came from. No more delays and helping others, okay? I mean.. why should we elp people we'll nver see again anyway? It's not like helping them will get us out sooner."

GALADRIA (to Velkyn, soothingly) "Now, now, people listen to the drow all the time, mostly to make sure they're not sneaking up on them. Right, Matron Mother?"
VICONIA "Slave, if I want an opinion out of you, I shall tie you up and whip you until you scream it forth." (to Skip) "And you, slave, enough of your whining. Do not speak so to a female, even if she is a mere surfacer." (gets out her snake whip, which she has kept hidden all through the years) "Now, we shall form up around me. Tie Skye up, but not really, so that her hands are free at an instant's notice."
(They travel to a gate of Mezzobaranshan)
GATE GUARD "Halt, who goes there?"
VICONIA (unable to contain herself) "Out of the way, male. We are on urgent business. We bring a sacrifice to Lolth that must be performed before the end of the day, lest she pollute the Underdark with her surface elf presence any longer than necessary." (they hurriedly let the party in, looking covertly at Skye).

[ 01-20-2002: Message edited by: Galadria1 ]</p>

In his Slithering Tracker(transparent slime) form Neb silently follows the party through the gate and then leaves to search for an unwary Drow to feed upon.

Velkyn: You there! Open this gate at once!
High priestress Vilyana of the great noble house of Fey-Branche wishes to enter your pathetic excuse for a city. Hurry up! She is not known for her patience.

Skye tries to scratch one of her ears, which was starting to turn red from all the guards and people staring at her, but was unable to due to her hands being tied up. She sighed, as she admired how well everyone was playing their roles.
--
OOC- um, what happens to Lyulfe during this? should he be in elven form, or his dragon form? ^_^;; did he get left behind, or what? just wondering..

OOC>>Skye, let Lylufe stay in dragon form. Surface elves are not real well-liked down here [img]smile.gif[/img] IC>>
*The sight that now opens up before them is awe-inspiring. A two-mile cavern, lighted by the central pillar of Narbondel, the glowing light source that the drow mages lit every day and gradually declined, bringing a kind of night to the city. The structures, lit by fairy-fire or torches, all achieved a strange kind of beauty. Spires and gargoyles abound on the structures, together with fantastic colors, ramps with apparently no support to various levels, and murals depicting various scenes in Drow mythology. Many races commingle, parties of arrogant drow males taunt each other, but these fall silent when Viconia glares at them.*

[ 01-20-2002: Message edited by: Galadria1 ]</p>

Neb silently slithered inside a large drow inn and headed up the stairs towards the rooms where the guests slept, reaching the upper floors he quickly found a room with a sleeping drow male.

He slithered up onto the bed and while the drow slept he drained his body of all fluids, leaving him a dried and withered husk, also quite dead, he then departed quickly, before the body was found, to search for more prey, his liquid body being visibly large after this last meal.

(They enter a moderate sized open market. Seeing a gnome slave minding a stand, they decide to see if they can get any information. Attalus approaches the gnome, while Viconia stares haughtily at him. The paladin notes that the gnome is chained to the stand, and is cowering under Viconia's glare.)
ATTALUS "Ho, there, you, what do you sell? Lady Vilyana there wishes some items."
GNOME"Sir, my Master sells books, prints and other things of magic. Shall I show you a list?"
ATTALUS (Pretends to read the list.) "Perhaps. I shall show it to her. Hope that she is receptive. She has not been happy lately. We were held up by a great rush of drow males on our way here. What is going on, so that I may tell my Mistress?"
GNOME (shrugs) "I hear that there is a great danger to the city without. Two of the masters' patrols have disappeared without trace, and they are mounting many more. Thet fear that the surface elves are attacking, so they are rushing to set up strong points."
ATTALUS(puts down list) "No, I don't believe that you have anything that she would like. Farewell to you, and may your lot improve." (he returns to the group.)

[ 01-21-2002: Message edited by: Galadria1 ]</p>

Velkyn: *Whispers to Galadria: The surface elves have nothing to gain by attacking a drow city. Someone else must be behind it.

[ 01-21-2002: Message edited by: Dreamer128 ]</p>

GALADRIA (to Velkyn) " I think tht's us they're talking about. Remeber, we've slaughtered two war patrols. Perhaps we can profit from this confusion. They seem to be marching away from the Drider caves."

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Galadria1:
GALADRIA (to Velkyn) " I think tht's us they're talking about. Remeber, we've slaughtered two war patrols. Perhaps we can profit from this confusion. They seem to be marching away from the Drider caves."<hr></blockquote>Don't worry, I have a backup plan of my own that will take effect in a few hours *Evil grin. Where are we going now?

GALADRIA "Let us be off to the Drider caves. Surely, with all eyes on their defenses, no one will be watching them. Vicky...oops, I forgot that that I'm not to speak to you unless spoken to.
VICONIA (lashes at her with the snake whip) "Slave, this is the last insolence I am going to take from you!"

[ 01-22-2002: Message edited by: Galadria1 ]</p>

Velkyn: *Looks the other way, as if waiting for something to happen.

GALADRIA (wipes blood off her face) "I...I am sorry, Mistress."
VICONIA "Let us go to the drider caves, so that we may feed this elfen scum" (indicates Skye) "to the Spider Goddess through her Driders." (They troop out of a different gate than before, and soon are at the fence around the Drider caves. After they clear the city, proper, Viconia turns to Galadria.) "I am sorry, abbil, but a drow was looking most suspiciously at you as you spoke to me. I think that he was satisfied, for heturned away with a smirk when I struck you. Are you harmed?" (unties Skye)
GALADRIA (smiling wanly) "That's all right, Vickey, I brought it on myself. You warned me. But, you just heal me right now." (she does). Now, as I was about to say, before I was so rudely interrupted, which one is Valen?"

[ 01-23-2002: Message edited by: Galadria1 ]</p>

VICONIA "Let me look, abbil." (For what seems an age, but is really only a few minutes, she scans the area. Galadria casts Wizard's Eye, turns it over to Viconia, and she further explores the area. Finally, one particularly big one crawls out from its lair. Seeing the Wizard's Eye, it attacks it, chasing it toward the party.) "
VICONIA (excitedly) "That's him, abbil, I recognize the pattern on his thorax. Oh, Valen, to see you like this..."
GALADRIA (Takes out scroll, reads it, as the thing nears the fence. The creature shrinks immediately, his hind legs becoming drow legs, his front two pair, arms. He looks about, astonished. Galadria transports him over the fence)
VALEN "What...where am I? Viconia! Is that you? You look so different. Who are these surfacers? (to Velkyn) Who are you? I feel as if I have just awakened from a long nightmare."

[ 01-23-2002: Message edited by: Galadria1 ]</p>

Ok, we have your brother. Now lets get out of here!

(They all move to a nearby cave, secure from the eyes of the prowling drow of Lolth's sept, who are all patrolling near the surface, anyway.)
GALADRIA(to Viconia) "So, this is the famous Valen."
VICONIA"Yes, abbil, this is my brother. Valen, how do you feel? This is my Mistress, Lady Galadria, and her party. We came down to rescue you. This drow is Velkyn, who stands with us in this matter.
VALEN "Viconia, it is you. You seem so different than you were, right before I rescued you. Then, you were always insecure, afraid that the Matron would guess your squeamishness. Where have you been? I don't know how long that I havce been a Drider, but to have gone into the service of such a powerful mage, that could release me from Lolth's clutches, and to get her to actually coe forth to get me, that argues several years."
VICONIA "Later will have to do for all the talk we should have, Valen. My Mistress has had me in her service for years, now."

[ 01-23-2002: Message edited by: Galadria1 ]</p>

Neb slithers contently over next to the others and changes back into his more or less human form, he remains quiet.

'Right!' Skip said maybe just a little too loud.
'Good to have found you. Pack your stuff, we're going back to Baldur's Gate! Nono, hurry up now, the sooner we are out, the better. Let's hurry, and try not to alert the guards, okay? Oh, right. Forgot to introduce myself. I'm Skip, and I clean weapons and similar items over at the Hall of Wonders, though these guys keep saying I'm a thief. Don't know where they got THAT notion, 'cause it's not true. I mean, check with any guild you like, you'll not find ME a member. Anyway, the sooner we get back to Baldur's Gate, the better. Maybe then this slavedriver can let me go, 'cause I didn't want to come in the first place. Not that I don't like you, it's just that I'm not a born adventurer liek these guys over here. You'd better be careful though, 'cause most people don't like Drow where I come from and... and I should probably shut up now, right? Okay, no problem. Stealth is my middle name. Not that I'm a thief or anything, nonono..."

He felt a blush growing under their stares, but he figured it was too dark to see much anyway.

He also felt more and more gloomy. Had he really given away all his stuff? What would be there for him if he came back? Nothing.
But this little trip had been beneficial to him. He hadn't wet his pants over anything these last few hours, despite seeing things more scary than he could imagine. He couldn't (or wouldn't) imagine anything too scary though, because that made him afraid. But maybe he would be a bit more confident from now on. Good. That'll be useful next time I get caught.
Not that he planned to get caught again, if he did indeed get out of this alive.

OOC>>Okay, everyone, I'm gonna post a new thread, now, because we're near the mystic 150 post where the mods turn us into pumpkins. It's been great gaming with you all, and I hope everybody will stay around for the sequel, if only to find out what Velkyn's big plan is, and what Valen is going to do with himself Love to you all.
Galadria

[ 01-23-2002: Message edited by: Galadria1 ]</p>