The Vampire (Aliyah 15)

[Mikayla]

My thanks to DM Lokan for running the event this is based on. While our group had some OOC differences, I am glad Lokan DM'd for us. My thanks also to gonz0 (Horatio) who provided the logs, and to Masked Illusion (Kyrinil).

My acknowledgement also to Imru al-Qais, whose poem Let us Stop and Weep is excerpted below as (incorrectly) the nasib to Layla y Majnun, a 7th century poem later popularized in Persia by Nizami Ganjavi. No disrespet is intended to either poem or either poet - I just can't make up Arabic or Persian poetry, so I am borrowing it from the masters.


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The Vampire


Aliyah sat in the steaming waters of a private chamber in the Baldur’s Gate bathhouse. She was naked save for a symbol of Tymora around her neck, a silver belly-chain, and her boots, which she refused to take off. The blond archer called Horatio was in the baths with her, also naked but with his sword-belt close at hand. Kyrinil, the astonishingly beautiful elf Aliyah had met some months earlier, was taking off her sandals and undressing.

After fleeing Silverymoon and arriving in Baldur’s Gate, Aliyah had reconnected with Horatio and Kyrinil. The pair took Aliyah in, giving her shelter and helping her adopt a new identity. Aliyah changed her hair color to a strawberry blond and adopted a new name, Amira. Instead of telling people she was from Calimshan, now she told them she was a sailor from Sembia.

While laying low, Aliyah’s relationship with Kyrinil had heated up. Watching Kyrinil strip down revealing her perfect body, Aliyah was still amazed the two of them had come together. It was the same amazement Aliyah had with Nisha actually. Both women were extraordinarily beautiful – but what did they see in Aliyah? Aliyah had no idea, but she was glad for it, whatever it was. Kyrinil’s bed was a lot warmer and a lot more fun than the alleys in East-Harbor. Aliyah did not have quite the same level of wonder about her relationship with Kori, however; Aliyah understood Kori better. Kori was a predator, skulking about the shadows of life taking whatever she could sink her beautiful claws into. But Kyrinil? Kyrinil was no predator; she had a warm heart. Aliyah hoped, somewhat desperately, that Kyrinil was not prey either. Usually people were one or the other. Usually.

“I take it neither of you mind if I join you?” Kyrinil asked, already knowing the answer.

Naked and radiant, Kyrinil walked down the steps into the bath, wrapped her arms around Aliyah, and kissed her forehead. The elf turned to Horatio and spoke of her meeting with the Vigil; Baldur’s Gate had a vampire problem. Kyrinil and the Vigil were at the center of trying to deal with it. She and Horatio discussed involving the Sword’s Edge mercenaries, as well as the moon-priestess they called Tess. Plans were made but the plans were all for the morrow. Tonight, the trio would bath, drink and relax.

“So then,” Horatio said to Aliyah, “as you were, before we were so welcomely interrupted, you were going to tell me about one of your poems or stories. Entertain me with your art.”

Aliyah decided to recite what was inscribed upon her chest, the nasib from Layla y Manjun.

“In classic Calishite poetry, the nasib is what starts a poem. The translation is 'the standing at the stones’ or the ‘standing at the ruins.’ It is the author of the poem relating his thoughts as he stands at the ruins of his love’s abode. All the classic poems have one, though more modern poems often do away with the nasib. The nasib sets the tone. They can be long, so, instead of including the nasib for all the poems I have on me, I have one single nasib for all of them.

“May I?” Horatio asked, moving closer to read the lines of script flowing across Aliyah’s breasts.

“This is from one of the oldest of all the Calishite poems.” Aliyah explained, running her finger along the script.

Stop, oh my friends, let us pause to weep over the remembrance of my beloved
Here was her abode on the edge of the sandy desert between Calimport and Memnon
The traces of her camp are not wholly obliterated even now,
For when the south wind blows the sand over them, the north wind sweeps it away
The courtyards and enclosures of the old home have become desolate
The dung of the wild deer lies there thick as the seeds of pepper
On the morning of our separation it was as if I stood in the gardens of our tribe
Amid the acacia shrubs where my eyes were blinded with tears by the smart from the bursting pods of colocynth
As I lament thus in the place made desolate, my friends stop their camels
They cry to me "Do not die of grief, bear this sorrow patiently"
Nay, the cure of my sorrow must come from gushing tears
Yet, is there any hope that this desolation can bring me solace?

“And that, that is the introduction to the poem. It then goes on to describe the love between Layla and Manjun, the madman.” Aliyah explained.

“That is so sad, yet, beautiful.” Kyrinil eyes reflected the melancholy in the poem. Although Aliyah often spent her time watching Kyrinil now, this time she did not notice the sadness in the elf’s eyes; Aliyah was deep in her own reverie. The poem brought back memories she usually kept suppressed.

“Does this one, mean anything special to you?” Horatio asked intuitively.

“A little bit. Yeah.” Aliyah admitted reluctantly. “More than a little I guess.”

“I'm curious.” Said Horatio. “Can you share? or is it too personal?”

“Layla y Manjun, or, Layla and the Madman, it is the oldest of the classic love poems. It was my father's favorite poem.” Aliyah paused as a lump formed in her throat. “Its what I was named after. Aliyah is not my real name anymore than Amira is. I was born Layla yr Ibrahim yn Dawoud Al-Taorahl.”

“I kinda figured that when you said Amira was your fourth name,” Horatio said with a smile, “but would not know you had such a distinguished sounding name or parentage.”

Aliyah shook her head slightly. “We weren't noble. Just wealthy. My grandfather, Dawoud, he is noble now, a vizier I think.”

“Does that raise your whole family?” Kyrinil asked.

“I suppose it would, if they were still alive.” They are not all dead. Aliyah remembered. “My oldest sister still lives. She was married to a Druzir before I left. My brother and another sister fell beneath …” she halted. She did not want to tell them how those two died. Some things were better left in the darkness. “They were murdered.” Aliyah said finally. “And, after he bribed my way out of prison, when I was traveling north towards Amn, I heard that my father was declared a traitor and was slain by none other than my grandfather. I don't know if that is true though.” The rumor was that Aliyah’s mother had also died at Dawoud’s hand. Aliyah had no way of knowing the truth of it though.

“Wait, I think I missed something.” Horatio said. “Bribed your way out of prison?”

Aliyah sighed and then found herself relating her whole story, from kissing Noor, to stowing away aboard the trade-ship, to living on the streets, to working in the tavern, to Rakham and the B*tch’s Due, to the galley, to the executioner’s block and her escape. She left out the darkest parts: the temple, with the Dancer Before Dawn and the Hooded Man; the deaths of her brother and sister; Aliyah’s part in the galley massacre; the treasure, the map, the poem on her back and the quartermaster-wizard; and finally, Rakham’s final words to her just before they cut his head off. These were things that Aliyah could not share with anyone. Not yet; probably not ever. Some stories you can tell in time; some you take to the grave with you.

The ringing of bells cut the conversation short. Horatio had strung small bells along the door to warn if any intruder tried to enter. Now they rang. All three bathers jumped up at once. Aliyah drew her killing-knife while Horatio retrieved his sword and Kyrinil produced a dagger. A green mist flowed under the door, causing the bells to ring. It coalesced into a thick haze on the steps above the bath. Aliyah scrambled out of the water and crouched behind a wall, blade in one hand and a potion palmed in the other. She looked around the chamber but she only confirmed what she already knew; there was only way out of this place and the green mist was between her and the door.

Still dripping with steaming water, Horatio stood naked before the mist, his sword in hand. “Girls, grab your things. Defend yourselves. I'll hold it off.

They waited for a moment, but the green mist did nothing but undulate slowly in front of Horatio. Aliyah and Kyrinil both dressed as quickly as they could. The mist rose and fell, as if moving to rhythmic melody only it could hear. The smell of a dead animal washed into the room. A bolt clicked home and Aliyah realized that the door’s lock had closed.

“This is a new trick, if its an old enemy.” Kyrinil said.

Horatio slung his belt over his naked shoulder while weaving his silvered sword about in front of the evil looking fog.

“Is this a vampire trick? Or is someone just trying to stink us out?” Aliyah asked Kyrinil.

“I don't know. They locked the door.” Kyrinil answered.

“I can probably pick the lock, if the mist is not poison.” Aliyah hoped she could anyway. There were not too many mundane locks in the city that she could not pick, and there was no reason to think that the bathhouse doors would be particularly difficult. The mist, however, was on the stairs between the trio and the door.

“Amira,” Horatio called out, “boost Kyr up onto the wall, go around it, prepare to get out.”

Aliyah put her back to the wall and squatted down, then cupped her hands together, resting her forearms on her thighs, and in this way made a step for Kyrinil. Kyrinil immediately put her foot in Aliyah’s hands and climbed up the wall, slipping behind the table with its food and wine. The carpet on the lower level suddenly burst into flame. Aliyah’s eyes went wide with fear. She turned, grabbing Kyrinil’s outstretched arm, and quickly scrambled up the wall to escape the fire. While the carpet, pillows and towels burned, the mist retreated beneath the door.

Wasting no time, Aliyah pulled her tools from a pouch on her belt and set to picking the lock. It only took a few seconds; the lock was rudimentary at best. “Its open.” Aliyah said to the others.

Kyrinil was first out, blade in hand, quickly followed by Horatio and then Aliyah.

No one was there. Across the hall, a group of rich looking bathers had gathered by where the barber cuts hair and were chatting happily. There was no sign of the sickly green mist.

Horatio dropped his boots on the ground and stepped into them. Still holding his sword out infront of him, he awkwardly began dressing. The door to the bathing chamber shut behind them and the bolt closed. Kyrinil and Aliyah exchanged looks. A woman’s giggle could be heard on the other side of the door.

“Horatio get dressed!” Kyrinil urged.

“Get ready, HORATIO!” A woman said mockingly from the other side of the door.

“Amira,” Kyrinil said softly, “please, if you both are ready.”

Aliyah decided to work fast; she pulled the rake-pick from her pouch and ran it through the lock rapidly, bouncing the pins up to the shear line. The lock opened.

“Do not open that door.” Commanded the woman inside.

The lock was open but the door was still closed. Aliyah looked to Kyrinil and Horatio. The blond archer nodded grimly.

“She dosnt' do combat herself.” Kyrinil said. “She is still far too weak, far too scared of losing her just regained life.” With that, Kyrinil opened the door.

A beautiful, nearly naked woman with pale, milky skin stood on the other side.

“Hello Jelenth.” Kyrinil said evenly. Horatio stood behind Kyrinil, brandishing his sword, while Aliyah crouched around the corner, her own blade at the ready.

“You opened it.” Jelenth said with a shake of her head.

“The last door I did not open you threw a gnoll at.”

Horatio looked to Aliyah and spoke quickly and quietly in Alzhedo. “Amira, the princess blade.” He was referring to the silvered sword he had given to Aliyah previously. She sheathed her enchanted killing-knife and drew out the curved princess-blade.

“What shall we do now?” Jelenth asked with a fanged smile.

“What do you want Jelenth?” Kyrinil asked calmly, almost smiling. “You can't be here to actually attempt to kill someone. Or are you just trying to ruin our reputations by destroying places we like to go to?”

“Oh, I have not thought of that one.” The vampire replied. Aliyah could not tell if that was sarcasm or not. “But I do like to watch you all here.” Great, Aliyah thought, a supernatural, blood-sucking pervert. Just what I needed. “Its so human of you.” The vampire continued.

Kyrinil touched her pointed ear. “Not human.”

“Shush.” Jeneleth hissed, pointing to Horatio and Aliyah. “They will hear you.”

As if we don’t know she is an elf? Aliyah thought.

Kyrinil began speaking in a melodic tongue that Aliyah did not understand. She assumed it was elven. Jeneleth the vampire also switched to the new tongue and they began speaking rapidly. Aliyah looked from Kyrinil to Horatio with a puzzled look on her face.

“History.” Horatio said in Alzhedo.

Kyrinil and Jelenth continued to talk, while Horatio and Aliyah stood ready, blades drawn. The conversation dragged on, and Aliyah started getting bored despite the gravity of the situation. She looked over at Horatio and spoke in Alzhedo.

“Why aren’t we killing her?” Aliyah asked.

“She could kill all of us, and everyone in this bathhouse with ease.” Horatio answered.

“Well then, why isn’t she killing us?”

“History.”

Aliyah frowned. History? What a load of crap. Kyrinil and Horatio were keeping Aliyah in the dark, and here she was, standing beside them against some blood-sucking freak from the netherworld. The conversation between Kyrinil and Jelenth went on and on. It was clear Horatio understood it, but Aliyah couldn’t catch a word. She snuck a peak around the corner at the vampire. Jelenth had flawless alabaster skin, a perfect body and a beautiful face.

“At least she’s hot.” Aliyah said to Horation in Alzhedo. The blond ranger just made a face and shook his head. Finally, Jelenth switched back to the common trade tongue and addressed Horatio and Aliyah.

“So you both wish to risk dying because she wishes to die at your side?” The vampire asked.

“Come now this is no place for hallway talk.” Kyrinil said, motioning the others into the chamber. “You of course, don't have to come.” Kyrinil said to Horatio and Aliyah.

“She doesn't face you alone.” Horatio said. “That much is already determined.”

“Come again?” Aliyah asked. Determined by who? For whom? This is a load of bullshit. I am walking INTO a room with a vampire over an argument I can’t understand? What the fuck am I doing? Aliyah looked into the chamber and saw Kyrinil standing there, looking like an elven goddess come down from the heavens. Oh, right. She’s hot. Fuck it - everyone dies eventually. Aliyah followed Kyrinil and Horatio into the room. Jelenth waved her hand at the door and it shut, the bolt closing a moment later. Neat trick. Aliyah thought.

“Is the talking done finally?” Aliyah asked impatiently, killing-knife still in hand.

But the talking was not done. Jelenth began speaking to Kyrinil in the elven tongue again, and Kyrinil answered. Horatio even joined in. Aliyah could tell the conversation was tense, even threatening, but she had no idea what was being said. A few minutes went by and Aliyah grew bored again. She leaned back against the wall of the chamber with a sigh, and began examining the edge of her blade; she not worked at it with her whetstone in at least a day.

“Stand firm.” Horatio said to Aliyah in Alzhedo. “She is just goading.”

Stand firm? Really? Aliyah thought. Save that shit for soldiers.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Aliyah replied to Horatio. But I’m not standing at attention or standing firm or any of that shit. I’m going to lean against this wall until this long-assed boring conversation is over. Then I am going to use my knife to saw through that blood-suckers neck and we’ll see what she can do without a f*cking head. Or, I will die trying. Either way, this whole affair will finally come to a merciful end. No wonder elves live for centuries; they talk for f*cking ever.

The talking continued for awhile but came to an end when Jelenth waved her hand at the door, causing the bolt to pull back and the portal to open. The vampire walked out of the chamber, towards the collection of rich bathers in the common area. Jelenth walked up to a robed woman and began to sniff her. A look of horror crossed the woman’s face, but Kyrinil stepped in before Jelenth could do anything further. Horatio stood at the door, but Kyrinil and Jelenth were at least twenty feet away, maybe more.

Run. Aliyah told herself. Run. Get the f*ck out of this place before that blood-sucking whore kills everyone in here. But Aliyah did not run. Instead, she stalked up behind the vampire as it faced off against Kyrinil. Aliyah crouched slightly behind Jelenth, silvered-blade leveled at the vampire’s back. Run. Run damn it, get your ass out of here! But Aliyah still did not run. Her body tensed, watching Kyrinil and Jelenth for any sign that the talking was done.

Kyrinil spoke to Jelenth again in that elvish dialect, and Jelenth responded.

“They are at an accord.” Horatio said to Aliyah in Alzhedo. Jelenth walked away from Kyrinil and the shocked bathers, towards the exit. Aliyah followed, stalking behind the vampire. What in the nine-hells are you doing, following a vampire? Aliyah asked herself. But follow she did until Jelenth dissolved into a green mist and passed through the last set of doors into the night air of Baldur’s Gate.

“She is not worth chasing.” Kyrinil said.

Aliyah watched the door for a few moments while Horatio took care of his gear.

“Amira, please, Kyr needs to tell us what was said.”

Yeah, Aliyah thought, that would be a good f*cking place to start. She sheathed her blade and walked away from the doors. What a f*cking night.

[gonz.0]

A nice telling, well written.

Would like to point out, at some point before entering the room again, Horatio did tell her if she was smart, she would run. Still, glad she did not.

[Adanu]

I just want to point out one thing:

Adventurers are smart?

[Mikayla]

Adanu:

Adventurers are smart?

I don't know what you are trying to say here. Aliyah does not consider herself an adventurer (she thinks "adventurers" are idiots), she considers herself a sellsword/killer-for-hire.

As for being smart, despite her Int of 14, Aliyah is often running about thinking "I am so f'ing stupid!" (As related in Chapter 14).

I can't speak for Horatio and Kyrinil though. They might be "adventurers" and "smart." Or they might not. Not for me to judge.

EDIT: Sorry - didn't seen gonz0's post above. Now I get it. Thanks. No, um, apparently not so much smart.


M.

[Mikayla]

P.S. I believe the "If you were smart, you would run" comment actually may have come during the whole piece that got rolled back. I know that while outside Aliyah asked "Why aren't we killing her" and we had that whole exchange. The parts of the log in Alzhedo that weren't translated where I don't know what Horatio said were in the rollled-back section. I think. I could be wrong though - I can't translate the Alzhedo from the log. So, yeah, maybe. I don't know.

M.

[Adanu]

It was dry humor. :p

[Lokan]

Thanks Mik

[Mikayla]

You are most welcome Lokan, and thank you for running it - it was fun.

M.