From the journal of Trazk Al'Dzra...

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From the journal of Trazk Al'Dzra...

Post by Trazk »

Year 1383, Day 218 – Mantol Derith, Tuain’t Luthol Area

I shall never fail to be amazed at the decision and foresight shown by our Ventash’ma. Originally when given the task of ensuring the alliance with House Tlabbar went smoothly I was concerned. What had I done to anger the guild or the ventash’ma himself? Why would he give me such a task? Ensuring an alliance already acquired in another city would surely be an impossible task without any sort of introduction or resources. House Tlabbar was a house in Menzoberranzan and not Ched Nasad, surely one of the agents the guild had there would be better suited. Then when I was assigned to a caravan traveling to Mantol Derith, I truly thought my life at an end as I was being given an unachievable goal and sent to a completely different city from my assignment.

The road was long from Ched Nasad to Mantol Derith and the darkness of the Underdark tunnels matched my mood. I traced my steps over the past months and could find neither fault nor reason for distrust. I had accomplished each task with efficiency and candor in the best interests of the guild. Upon arrival to Mantol Derith it just seemed a matter of time before the axe should fall from upon high. I was assigned a tent stall in the guilds portion of the market and decided to throw myself into my work here. I shall never again doubt the wisdom of my Ventash’ma.

I heard word earlier today that the Ventash’ma himself had just escorted a House Tlabbar noble from the surface and that he would be in Mantol Derith that evening. It seemed to be an optimistic sign and my mood brightened at the fortune of events. I took it as a personal goal to discover the identity of the noble before being introduced and turned my senses full to this endeavor. I had just noticed two rather interesting males conversing outside my tent and was about to inquire of them the nature of their business when a rather interesting male approached the tent. He didn’t look like much, thus he only received a portion of my attention as I tried in vain to sight the other males. He asked me about the males I was trying to sight and ordered me to inquire of my guild the identities of the males. This of course came after a very amateurish threat which raised my spirits a bit more at the hilarity of the insult. As he amused me however, I stated I would inquire when I had leave and at that he left me to watching the crowd once more.

My first surprise of the night was sighting a female of House Tlabbar in the square speaking with a female of House Despana. Two houses from different cities, both allies of my guild with noble females speaking in my portion of the square was another great sign of things to come. The House Despana female wore the trappings of a priestess of Lloth which immediately brought my attention to the conversation no matter the House. Over the shoulder of the priestess I caught sight of my goal, tall and muscular for a drow male and holding a sword as tall as he. Taj’mirri Tlabbar watched his niece as I would later learn, as she spoke with the priestess. Her name was Vel’meth Tlabbar and the priestess was known as Mayffin Despana.

During their conversations several different occurrences attracted my attention. There was a male warrior of some sort that seemed to think it a bit of bravado to attempt to lure the nobles away to a different portion of the market for their purchases. This only became interesting to me later when weighed with events. A female cleric of Lloth, above the rank of the Despana approached and engaged in a bit of a debate with the other cleric. This was only mildly amusing however when compared to the debate the Despana would have shortly. My tent and its wares drew the attention of the nobles when their appetites over took them and they each ordered food. The rather gruff amateur insulter decided to follow suit which enabled me to mark him and his place in the market once more. A half-orc then decided to all but call Lloth a prostitute before the Despana cleric and she simply let it go and acted as if she simply didn’t understand his innuendo. I was barely able to contain my own laughter at this exchange and amazingly the creature left without as much as a harsh word from the priestess.

It was just after the orc departed that events truly got interesting. A small group of rather sketchy looking warriors approached and started to engage the nobles in a bit of veiled insult tossing. During this exchange several assassins attacked the nobles and me when I rushed to aid. The assassins were all killed in a nasty little fight which left me on the brink of death as well as the Despana noble female. Soon after the fight, the watch arrived and started to inquire as to the nature of the battle and aid in the healing of the wounded. Very happy I was that they came as well as my condition had continued to worsen after the fight.

As we discussed the turn of events and potential reasons for the attack the female of Tlabbar noticed a male observing us. We called him out and after a bit of verbal fencing he was introduced as a member of House Claddath, another Ched Nasad house. Surprise visitor number four of the evening, he also was attacked in the exchange. Sadly we had killed several of the attackers and the survivors had taken poison rather than meet questioning. During our conversation we were approached by some sort of creature that announced that his master was interested in the fight and wished to know if any were killed. It announced its master’s name as Jaf’lil, a wizard in Menzoberranzan. His interest in the matter he did not share with his servant and this placed yet another piece on the board. After a bit more debate on the nature of the attackers and their motivations we were joined by T’ia H’tithet. The female was an unknown to me and I have yet to find out much about her except that she saved the life of the female Tlabbar at one point. More information on her is definitely on the ‘to do’ list.

The debate continued then as we moved to my merchant’s tent and used the grill there to enjoy Taj’mirri’s grilling of the flesh of one of our attackers and some cooled wine. I found the attempts of those that chose to fake drinking the wine almost laughable but took no offense. After speaking quietly with the night guards of the tents and expressing the volatile and valuable nature of our guests I adjourned to my own sleeping area and this journal. Questions abound within my head and keep sleep from overtaking me no matter the time.

Pieces on the board –

Jaf’lil – Menzoberranzan Mage
Mayffin Despana – Priestess of Lloth, Daughter of Despana
Vel’meth Tlabbar – Daughter of Tlabbar
Claddath noble male - Unknown
Commoner male – Unknown
Taj’mirri Tlabbar – Male of Tlabbar
T’ia H’tithet – Unknown
Attackers - Unknown


Far too many unknowns on that list for my own comfort, I shall have to make inquiries in the morning.

Questions –
Who hired the assassins?
Why did all these nobles end up here at the same time for an attack?
Where does the commoner male fit into this?
What interest does Jaf’lil have in this matter?
How did he know that an attack had taken place if he is in Menzoberranzan?


Again my new mantra for the rest of my existence, thou shall not doubt thy Ventash’ma.

--TA’Dzra
Last edited by Trazk on Fri Feb 13, 2004 9:51 pm, edited 2 times in total.
JS
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NWN1 Character : Trazk Al'Dzra
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L' trantz z'ress zhah zhaunl vel'klar ulu zotreth, naut l' z'ress d'lil zotreth oltan.
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Post by Nhamre »

I like it alot!
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Post by Mikayla »

I am usually rather dissappointed in journals...but not this time. Well done Trazk - please keep it up. For my part, I will refrain from making any more posts here so as to keep the thread as clean as possible, but I wanted to give you at least one public "atta-boy"! Good job!
ALFA1-NWN1: Sheyreiza Valakahsa
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Post by Trazk »

Year 1383, Day 275 – Mantol Derith, Tuain’t Luthol Area

The intricacies of our society shall never cease to amaze me in its chaos through conformist attitudes. We conform to certain rules and social norms while at the same time these norms wreak holy chaos in our lives. Much like the potions my father used to mix within his shop, ingredients cause reactions within established patterns. Too much of this or not enough of that can be fatal in the extreme to the chemist. In my latest social elixir there are still quite a few ingredients missing to make it a success. Some of the established norms appear to be not holding to tradition for reasons unknown to me. This in itself is cause for alarm as well as the fact that the list of ingredients continues to grow.

Last evening it began as many of the recent evenings have occurred, several of the pieces on the board meeting to discuss the recent attack and speculate on the attackers. The usual suspects were there, the Tlabbars, the Despana priestess, myself, and the Claddath, who was skulking about being useless as usual. The other commoner that was present in my last entry has a name it seems and is known as G’eldax Ssztyr’vyl. It appears he leans towards a roguish tint in his skills and hopefully this will add to the solution of the puzzle at some point. Of the Tlabbars, both are obvious warriors of a sort and the female favors the strange surface bow. The Claddath has done nothing but stand in the shadows and keep them from running away. He shall prove a worthy scapegoat should something go wrong due to his lack of contribution. A new piece introduced itself as “Mercenary” this evening. This changed to J’erdri Oblodra when presented with an inquisitive priestess. He has yet to contribute anything other than questionable rumor and supposition to the puzzle before me.

Two priestesses appeared and began to berate the group for their lack of security precautions. They seemed to focus on the Despana as the one in charge but gave the members of their family a good verbal lashing as well. One was Yathrin Yasharaya Tlabbar, the daughter of Ghenni’salla Tlabbar and her representative within Mantol Derith. The other went neither named nor introduced. They came to deliver a message from Ghenni’salla for us not to leave the Tuain’t Luthol area for any reason. I of course shatter this order later for my own reasons but we shall get to that anon. After much sparring among the females they finally tired of it, delivered their message and left.

Svirfneblin. I have never liked the stunted slime and shall rejoice in the destruction of them all one day. A priestess of Lolth and several noble sons and daughters have a chance to be destroyed all because of a svirfneblin wishing to make a name it seems. It appears that our friend thought if he taunted a group of drow that they wouldn’t raise to his challenge of “Kill me”. An arrow and a crossbow bolt later he discovered his mistake in the svirfneblin after life. The shout of the Despana to wait was covered by the sounds of the bolt and arrow in flight apparently as the shooters obviously did not hear her order. Thus ended he life of the svirfneblin and began and new section of the puzzle. Almost immediately after the death of the svirfneblin, the unnamed drow priestess that escorted Yasharaya appeared again and started shouting again. She was outraged at the stupidity shown in the rash attack on the svirfneblin and warned us that we would all too soon have visitors from that camp looking for restitution. Yet another interesting chain of coincidence that they should appear moments after her leaving. I have collected the bolt and arrow from the body as a private insurance policy. I would have been willing to overlook the arrow until the Tlabbar female accused me of shooting the bolt that killed the svirfneblin. I was clearly behind the creature and the bolt came from G’eldax who was standing beside her. Now the arrow has found a place beside the bolt within my pack where it shall remain should I need it. That would be two occasions in a row where her temper and lack of forethought has a chance to cost her something.

As I said above, soon after the priestess left us we had more stunted visitors. Two svirfneblin came looking for the one we killed and upon discovering he was indeed dead demanded compensation as foretold by the priestess. They demanded a favor from each of us, payable at anytime to their leader Hik’pol as well as a sum of 300 gold pieces. The priestess refused the favor but offered to pay the sum. The visitors stated the sum was the negotiable portion of the agreement and the favor was not. They promised the ire of the entire svirfneblin camp should this not be paid, a threat even I wouldn’t scoff at. But of course our priestess did and continued to refuse. While the priestess was merrily nailing our coffin shut with the svirfneblin a rather sizable half-orc came to inquire about the killing as well. He stated he was sent by a new player on the board, one Laral Kroul and wanted to know what had happened. The svirfneblin informed him that restitution was being negotiated and that seemed to satisfy him so he left. Soon after, the svirfneblin left as well. Much to my chagrin they left empty handed which takes away a possible information source in their leader and makes it yet another enemy to watch for.

Note : I don’t know if it was pride, honor, or sheer vanity that drove the decision by the priestess to refuse the svirfneblin the simple favor they required. What is the word of a drow to a svirfneblin anyway. If we didn’t agree with the favor we could have simply refused at the time of request and gained the enemy then instead of now when we have many. Perhaps the favor would have been something trivial that would not even be worth a moment of contemplation. All I know is this priestess has begun to degrade the puzzle instead of adding to its solution. Unfortunate should it continue, at least for her. My ventash’ma has little time for failure, which means I have none.

Soon after their leaving I had a personal visitor, a half-orc that has been buying pitch and oil from me in large quantities recently. According to my ledgers I have sold him 10 kegs of the items in the past nights which I find interesting. He stated that his masters were doing some mining which just didn’t seem to fit his needs for pitch and oil. Thus, I decided that his appearance on each of our evenings may be too much coincidence for my tastes. Thus, G’eldax and I followed the large half-orc back to his masters. It was almost child’s play to follow the creature and even easier to escape his notice. This would be where both G’eldax and I left the Tuain’t Luthol area and broke the orders of Ghenni’salla Tlabbar. Considering the “aid” we had received thus far from the house, I thought this worth the risk.

We traveled for approximately 30 minutes through the caverns within Mantol Derith until we found an unmarked camp. It was heavily patrolled and filled with male drow wearing mercenary garb without affiliation symbol. They were armed with longsword and crossbow and patrolled the perimeter heavily. I motioned for G’eldax to remain where he was and moved as close as I felt safe to observe. Immediately I noticed one of the males that I had seen talking beside my tent right before the assassination attempt the first night. I also took notice of the fact that there appeared to be only one female within the camp. Sadly I was unable to get a good look at her and could not tell who she was or even if she was garbed as a priestess from my vantage point. However it was interesting that she did not appear to be the one in control of the situation or in command. The males around her did not seem to defer to her as they would to a noble or a priestess, thus this was noted as well.

Soon it became apparent that if I remained there any longer my chances of detection would raise to an unacceptable level so I made a cautious retreat to where G’eldax hid and shared my findings with him quickly before we made our way back to the Tuain’t Luthol area. We made our report to the Despana priestess and I placed myself at her judgment for leaving the Tuain’t Luthol area. She chose to ignore this matter in light of the information provided and I proceeded to my duties within the tent. Again questions abound within my head and sleep will not come, thus I find solace working the details in my head and in this journal.

Pieces on the board –

Mayffin Despana – Priestess of Lloth, Daughter of Despana – 4th daughter
Vel’meth Tlabbar – Daughter of Tlabbar - Warrior
Claddath noble male – Rogue and useless thus far except for holding shadows in place.
G’eldax Ssztyr’vyl – Rogue
Taj’mirri Tlabbar – Male of Tlabbar – Warrior - 3rd son
T’ia H’tithet – Unknown – Have not seen her in a while
J’erdri Oblodra – Mercenary - warrior

Jaf’lil – Menzoberranzan Mage
Assassins – Paid attackers, most likely from the camp we discovered.
Yathrin Yasharaya Tlabbar – Daughter of Ghenni’salla
Hik’pol – Leader of the Svirfneblin camp in Mantol Derith
Laral Kroul – Unknown
Female at camp – Unknown
Male at camp – Unknown
Affiliation of forces at camp – Unknown


Again, far too many unknowns on that list for my own comfort, I shall have to make more pointed inquiries in the morning. I am slowly discovering more about my companions and where their loyalties lie. The Tlabbar male seemed to try to hide his niece’s disgrace in the killing of the svirfneblin so I would place them close.

Questions outstanding –

Who hired the assassins?
Why did all these nobles end up here at the same time for an attack?
What interest does Jaf’lil have in this matter?
How did he know that an attack had taken place if he is in Menzoberranzan?

New Questions –

Who was the male and female at the camp?
Who set us up with the svirfneblin and why?
What is the affiliation of the mercenary camp?
What are they mining for and are they really mining?
When will the svirfneblin come to collect and will we be able to survive the encounter?
Who is Laral Kroul and where does he fit into this?


Thou shall not doubt thy Ventash’ma….
Thou shall not doubt thy Ventash’ma….
Thou shall not doubt thy Ventash’ma….

TA'Dzra
JS
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NWN2 Character : Hart

NWN1 Character : Trazk Al'Dzra
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L' trantz z'ress zhah zhaunl vel'klar ulu zotreth, naut l' z'ress d'lil zotreth oltan.
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Post by Mikayla »

I know I said I would refrain from posting but I have a rather important question to ask - did J'erdri Oblodra ever actually say his family name to anyone? When I (Yasharaya) asked, he responded only with "J'erdri, mercenary warrior. A person of no import." I did not catch everything though - did J'erdri reveal IC his family name? If not, we should remove that from your journal and no one should metagame it.

Other than that, a second brilliant entry Trazk, simply brilliant. Really makes things come alive for me and have some sense of permanence.
ALFA1-NWN1: Sheyreiza Valakahsa
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Post by Trazk »

He said it in roleplay earlier in the week as I recall, the inquisitive priestess being Mayffin and not your NPC. However if it is an issue I would be happy to remove it as its not a big deal to me. Im trying to keep it as honest an accounting as possible.

Cheers !
JS
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L' trantz z'ress zhah zhaunl vel'klar ulu zotreth, naut l' z'ress d'lil zotreth oltan.
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Post by Mikayla »

If he let it become known, he has let it become known. The only question is, who actually knows. Mayffin Despana obviously but what of the others? What of the Tlabbar? Time will tell I suppose..... :twisted:
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Post by Trazk »

Again if I recall the scene correctly it was he and I and Mayffin. I -think- G'eldax may have been there but I cant say for sure.
JS
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L' trantz z'ress zhah zhaunl vel'klar ulu zotreth, naut l' z'ress d'lil zotreth oltan.
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Post by Gauntlet-Dragon »

I think G'eldax was there.
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Post by Trazk »

Year 1383, Day 330 – The Underdark

As you will undoubtedly note from the change in location on the header, my fortunes have changed once again. I shall never cease to be amazed at the chaotic nature of our lives, even when presented with clear paths and events to influence them. I have always thought my practical nature was gifted by Lolth to add more chaos to the chaotic natures most Drow exhibit. It appears that with this gift comes the addition of chaotic life events to offset the practicality I try to apply to my actions. This evening was certainly no exception to that statement as you would expect.

Rothe stew. It seemed the perfect dinner for the evening in retrospect. Simple and filling yet capable of surprising the taster if seasoned correctly. Tonight I had the seasoning just right when I received word from one of the guards that Mik’laysee and Ghenni’salla were coming to my tent. The Ventash’ma of my guild and the overlord of the IIythiir in Mantol Derith were coming to my tent. Needless to say I was skeptical of this news, as were the nobles and others that had gathered to sample the stew. We spread out a bit and I moved the pot off the fire to maintain the stew until we either received visitors or repelled the attackers. Due to recent history, we were understandably wary when confronted with new of visitors. As we stood discussing why the two august personages would come to us instead of summoning us to them we got our answer. A messenger from Faen Tlabbar arrived. It was Del’Zeth Tlabbar, a commoner soldier within the family assigned to Ghenni’salla as Captain of the house forces in Mantol Derith. He had more believable news as he stated we had been summoned to the Faen Tlabbar holding to meet with Ghenni’salla and Mik’laysee. Of course, having no choice, we hurried to meet death before our place was taken.

We arrived at the Faen Tlabbar compound and were led into an antechamber to the compounds temple of Lolth. We were met there by Yasharaya Tlabbar and informed that Ghenni’salla was waiting for us within the temple. It was then that the Tlabbar female Vel’meth decided to remind us to be on our best behavior while in the temple. Personally I was shocked by her words, were we not all reared in the same world? But I assume she had her reasons, I shall never understand females or nobles it seems. We entered the temple of Lolth and I immediately dropped to my knees to the right and rear of Taj’mirri in reference to his status. Ghenni’salla was within with several of her guards. She seemed to be performing some sort of ritual involving the intestines of a rivvil. Apparently the results of the ritae were inconclusive due to her obvious disgust. This of course did not bode well for the coming conversation with us. For just a moment my awareness slipped and I envisioned it was I under the knife of the priestess and my entrails she cast so easily aside. With a quick shake of my head to clear it I dispelled the image but it hung with me throughout the conversation.

Ghenni’salla immediately called her family members to her at the head of the chamber, leaving the four remaining males within our little band kneeling at the edge of the ritual circle. She then had each of the males tell her our names and after insulting their various noble families to her satisfaction she turned back to her family beside her. It was then the door at the back of the room opened and without looking up I could recognize the familiar footfalls and sweep of robe of my Ventash’ma. Sure enough in my peripheral vision I was able to sight my leader at the edge of the chamber as he made his greeting to the priestess. After the perfunctory greeting and verbal fencing between them petered out the priestess turned her attention to the Faen Tlabbar nobles and asked for an accounting of what had occurred thus far. She stated what she had obviously gained from her spies and wanted her family to fill in the blanks from what I could tell. Sadly, even though I was signing information to them as fast as my fingers would move when the priestess wasn’t looking, they gave her very little information. Feeling a bit defeated I gave up my efforts and listened as the priestess turned to each of the other nobles within the males still left at the edge of the circle and addressed them. She began with the nobles as was proper and asked them for their accounts of the past nights.

She started with the Claddath, who was of course a fountain of knowledge on the subject of shadow skulking but not so much on recent events. I’m fairly sure he could have recited from memory how many steps it was from my tent to the edge of Tuain’t Luthol territory but doubt this was the information she would have wanted. I shall have to do some research if I make it back to civilization again for I still do not have his name. Then she moved to the mercenary J’erdri and from his accounting I believe he may have been sampling a bit too much bloodwine before entering the chamber. He spoke of a rivvil that could turn blades and was more powerful than even the priestess herself. Then Taj’mirri said he had encountered the rivvil and that he thought it might be something called a “vampire”. I have no idea what this “vampire” is but I shall be sure to keep the wine bottle from J’erdri and Taj’mirri in the future, they obviously can not hold their drink.

Finally the priestess centered her attention on me and I gave as good an accounting as I could recall. Mentioning names and times as best as I could remember them. She did fill in a blank in that she identified the name Laral Kroul as the leader of the surfacers within Mantol Derith. When we got to the part about the camp of males that I discovered, both she and Mik’laysee showed a slight concern. This of course equated to a huge concern to the mere mortals among us and heightened my curiosity to a peak. Of course this peak was shattered by the back hand of Ghenni’salla as she disciplined me for disobedience of her order not to leave the Tuain’t Luthol compound. She asked me who else had seen the camp and I luckily lied well and told her that only myself and a goblin slave. This was partially correct as all lies must be to be successful. I was struck but not killed for the offense; I counted myself the winner in that encounter and moved on.

Ghenni’salla had decided that due to the actions of the past days we could not remain in Mantol Derith and decided to have us leave with a Tuain’t Luthol caravan for the city that evening. We were allowed three hours to prepare and dismissed. As we were leaving I noticed G’eldax remaining behind to speak with the priestess. I too lingered at the doorway to share a whisper with my Ventash’ma. He assured my readiness and warned me to keep my guard up and watch my back. I heard a past of G’eldax’s conversation with the priestess as it revolved around a shadowy visitor speaking of doom and plots to G’eldax. I have to agree with the assessment of the priestess in that it was a conspirator to the plotters trying to sow even more discontent within our small group. I missed the end of their conversation as I slipped out of the temple, stopped to make a small offering at the altar outside and then moved back into the Mantol Derith cavern.

Most of the small group parted ways to say goodbyes and gather belongings. I went to my old merchant’s tent and arranged for its upkeep and transfer to another member of the guild. The Tlabbar female sought me out and healed my wounds inflicted by Ghenni’salla in exchange for my taking the burden of the encounter with the priestess upon myself. I must agree with her rationale that Lolth must have truly smiled upon me for I survived the encounter. I thanked her as best I could and then moved on with my business. I moved with in a stunned daze as I had never had a female thank me, for anything, ever. I am still a bit dazed by this and unsure what to think of it.

I was able to call in a debt with the H’tithet and acquire a minor curative potion for the long trek to the city. It isn’t much but it may be the difference between life and death in the long deep of the Underdark. It was as I returned from this transaction that the barrels of pitch I had sold made their appearance felt within Mantol Derith.

I had entered the compound of Tuain’t Luthol to find Mik’laysee and Ghenni’salla standing beside my cooking fire. This did not bode well and I thought for a moment that perhaps my luck with Lolth had run out. Perhaps my sacrifice on my way out of the temple was not enough. Sadly I fear I may never know the answer as the very ground itself heaved and disappeared beneath me. Fire and pitch seemed to rain down as I fell and eventually landed in a cavern that was rapidly filling with water. Several of my companions were with me and we made our way out of the water and into a side cavern to take stock of what happened. It was obvious that at least a portion of Mantol Derith had collapsed or blown itself up. We had fallen for quite sometime and were alone in the Underdark without supply or pack lizard. Our only real recourse was to try and make our way back up in the caverns to what was left of Mantol Derith.

We started traveling with me and the Claddath taking turns scouting with G’eldax backing us up. The Tlabbar female seemed to want to take a shot at it occasionally and would creep ahead of us when we weren’t paying attention to her. As she had taken charge of the small group I didn’t object from her leading from the front. We traveled for a time and found naught but old tracks and bat droppings for what seemed hours. Eventually we entered a cavern which appeared to be once a goblin encampment. All we found of them was hasty fortifications and skeletons. This placed us on our guard and for good reason as a large cube of some strange substance slithered its way down the corridor towards us. We attempted to engage it in combat but were unable to damage it so we retreated to a side tunnel and tried that route instead. I found it interesting that neither bolt nor sword could harm the cube creature and it seemed to have the consistency of jelly.

We trekked along the second passage and entered an area of intense webbing activity. I was unable to see any occupants in the webs so moving through them at least wouldn’t bring Lolth’s disfavor upon us. The area with the webs seemed to twist and turn. I assume it was the webs spurring her on but the Tlabbar female took the lead once more. She had just moved around a corner and I had moved to back her when I heard her gasp. I looked towards where her sight fell and there stood a dryder. I have to admit I was taken aback and moved back almost automatically when confronted by the cursed creature. The dryder attempted to catch us with webs it cast from its hands but luckily none of us were caught. The female shouted the attack and we all began to fire arrows and bolts into it from range to avoid the webs. J’erdri was able to avoid the webs and closed with the creature so it was unable to cast once more. It still cast the web spell once more and then attempted darkness to escape us. Unfortunately for the dryder, its cousins, as it called us, can see in the dark as well as it can and continued to fire. We were able to bring it down, looking more pin cushion than dryder at the end of its existence. Upon inspection it had one of the highly sought after bows and a short sword. I can only assume these were taken by the nobles as I was too busy checking the tunnels for more of the creatures.

After the battle we were all quite tired but did not want to rest in the web covered lair of the dryder. We were unable to find any more of the creatures but still did not feel safe there and decided to move on to a safer camp. We moved into the next cavern which appeared to be a large set of islands of rock surrounded by large holes and connected with bridges. We moved across several of the bridges and then found a relatively defensible spot to rest in for the evening. G’eldax and I took the first watch in alternating shifts which allowed the other to scout our small island of rock and ensure we were along at that time.

And so it is here I place quill to parchment with only the glow of fungi to guide my hand. It’s no longer my watch and the snores of Taj’mirri shall keep me awake for at least another hour I’m thinking. The players on the board remain basically the same but the board itself has changed. All the questions of before have been replaced by new ones. Lolth seems to be touching the places in my mind and reminding me the price of betrayal. I disobey a priestess and she strikes me to show me pain. Then fire falls from the sky and I am laid low among the dark of the Underdark. In my second encounter we find a dryder, the cursed servants of the spider queen. Lolth seems to be concentrated on pounding into my head the price for failure or betrayal. Then of course this is a whole lot of me, me, and me. It is definitely a bit of presumption for me to assume this is all centered on me and I freely admit that. However coincidence is something that has been prevalent lately and chaos definitely.


Pieces on the board –

Mayffin Despana – Priestess of Lloth, Daughter of Despana – 4th daughter
Vel’meth Tlabbar – Daughter of Tlabbar - Warrior
Claddath Male– Rogue and still useless so far.
G’eldax Ssztyr’vyl – Rogue
Taj’mirri Tlabbar – Male of Tlabbar – Warrior - 3rd son
J’erdri Oblodra – Mercenary – warrior

Really only one question at this current junction. Can we get out of the Underdark and back to Mantol Derith alive? All other questions seem to pale in comparison to that one simple query….

Thou shalt not doubt thy ventash’ma…
Thou shalt not doubt….

Is he still alive?
Last edited by Trazk on Thu Feb 26, 2004 11:57 pm, edited 2 times in total.
JS
***************************
NWN2 Character : Hart

NWN1 Character : Trazk Al'Dzra
Affiliation : Tuain't Luthol (Merchant Guild)
Server : North Underdark/Ched Nasad
GSID : jasonst22
L' trantz z'ress zhah zhaunl vel'klar ulu zotreth, naut l' z'ress d'lil zotreth oltan.
Mikayla
Valsharess of ALFA
Posts: 3707
Joined: Sat Jan 03, 2004 5:37 pm
Location: Qu'ellar Faen Tlabbar, Noble Room 7, Menzoberranzan, NorthUnderdark

Post by Mikayla »

Fantastic Trazk, a lovely read. I do so love reading about myse...err...the NPCs I play....

[EDIT: Issue fixed.]
Last edited by Mikayla on Fri Feb 27, 2004 12:05 am, edited 1 time in total.
ALFA1-NWN1: Sheyreiza Valakahsa
NWN2: Layla (aka Aliyah, Amira, Snake and others) and Vellya
NWN1-WD: Shein'n Valakasha
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Trazk
Kobold Footpad
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Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 6:26 pm
Location: Atlanta GA
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Post by Trazk »

Fixed ! Thanks for the save :)
JS
***************************
NWN2 Character : Hart

NWN1 Character : Trazk Al'Dzra
Affiliation : Tuain't Luthol (Merchant Guild)
Server : North Underdark/Ched Nasad
GSID : jasonst22
L' trantz z'ress zhah zhaunl vel'klar ulu zotreth, naut l' z'ress d'lil zotreth oltan.
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LeFantome
Goblin Scout
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Jan 06, 2004 11:11 pm
Location: Quebec City, Quebec, Canada

Post by LeFantome »

Yup, definitly a talent in writing, and a strong one.
LeFantome
Current Character : Sylvaniël Rai'luva
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Trazk
Kobold Footpad
Posts: 26
Joined: Mon Feb 09, 2004 6:26 pm
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Post by Trazk »

Year 1384, Day 4 – The Underdark

This cycle within our small group of survivors was of interest if for no other reason than practicality. We awoke and decided to branch out a bit more from our current camp in search of food to sustain us when we decided to press on. I was teamed with the delegation from Faen Tlabbar and the Despana priestess. The others were occupied with water and camp maintenance as we hunted and scouted the area. We discovered that the Despana priestess had fallen as well when the cavern collapsed. She had stopped on a ledge above us and until recently been knocked out there. Luckily and through the grace of Lolth she had made her way through the tunnels and caught up with us.

After a circuit of the “island” of rock we had secured for our current encampment we discovered it had no real food source within easy reach. Taj’mirri and I scouted the next closest rock across a bridge and began to detect bats. Bats are not the best of meals to be sure but better than nothing. After a few moments of hunting, we had a full brace of bats and had moved to the edge of our current cavern. I started to move back to the camp with the bats and Taj’mirri decided to take a quick look into the next cavern, hoping to find something of more stable stock for a food source.

I had just returned to the camp and secured the bats when Taj’mirri arrived, slightly out of breath and wide eyed. He had found a small herd of rothe in the next cavern, which was guarded by myconids. Apparently the myconids were in arms about something as they attacked him on sight and after slaying one he was able to escape. After a blessing from Lolth to heal his wounds from the priestess we set out to gain a rothe for the cook fire. It was our estimation that we would keep the myconids busy as we took a rothe down, then the priestess and Vel’meth would cover our retreat with the body.

We set the ambush at the entrance of the new cavern and it would go as thus. Taj’mirri would lure the myconids to the entrance and I would engage them as the priestess and Vel’meth took it down with their arrows and bolts. We all were sure of our roles and Taj’mirri set out to bring us our prey. After a few moments he returned with a myconid warrior in pursuit. I engaged and we fought for a few moments before the sheer weight of arrows, bolts and sword was too much for the creature and it died. We cleared away the carcass and moved on to repeat this cycle several more times until the rothe herd was accessible on one side. At the word of the priestess we moved into the cavern and took one down and after a quick field stripping we moved with the carcass back towards camp.

The trip back to camp was luckily without incident and I took great pains to cover any sort of blood trail a predator might use to track us back to our camp. Taj’mirri quickly began to butcher the rothe. I took up a position to watch the approaches for myconids or any other threat to our camp site due to the addition of fresh meat to our midst. He made a small sheltered fire and began to cook for us, the remainder we took and set out in strips to dry for the potentially long road ahead. A few moments into the first set of diners I noticed a female stranger approaching from the opposite side of the camp from me. I moved around the large protrusion in the center of the island and came up behind her in case she became an issue. I quickly signed my position to the priestess as she spoke with her and took my measure of our new guest.

The female drow had no marks nor house symbols evident on her person or clothing. There was nothing remarkable about her possessions or partially hidden features. She confronted Vel’meth about the dryder bow she had taken as trophy from the kill and asked about the wisdom of using the weapon of such a cursed creature. There was much debate amongst the females and eventually this ended with the female visitor tossing the bow into the large chasm surrounding our island. She entrusted a potion of some sort to Vel’meth as a replacement for the bow and Vel’meth seemed pleased with the exchange. It was after this that the priestess invited the female into the camp and I appeared from behind the visitor to grab some dinner and return to my post.

The next few hours were taken up with talk of politics within the houses of Ched Nasad and Menzoberranzan. The female seemed to know quite a bit about the two cities and the politics of the nobles therein. She found out the names of the females within our group rather quickly, too quickly if you ask me. But alas no one asks me in such matters. During the conversation Vel'meth announced that she was an Bae'queshel which came as a bit of a surprise. However it explained her singing and its affects on us as we went into battle.

She did take a moment to inquire about me then the females informed her of my affiliation with Tuain’t Luthol. She inquired about the death of our old ventash’ma and what the name of the new leader was called. I respectfully told her which side of my ebony posterior she could kiss through offering to introduce her should we encounter my leader.

The females may see fit to have a sudden loosening of the tongues but I still recall where we are and our former plight. Who is to say that this “Chilly”, as it asked to be called, isn’t the very female I saw in the camp in Mantol Derith? I shall have to offer an extra sacrifice to Lolth when I next reach a temple. I truly think the females within our midst do not think of the big picture before they speak at times.

I have to admit that the visitor did take me aback at one moment in the conversation. I could barely hear as I was purposefully just out of sight to give the females their privacy when she mentioned the fighting within Faen Tlabbar. She also mentioned that House Oblodra had betrayed Faen Tlabbar at Mithril Hall and that this had led to the death of their matron. I froze at this and looked off towards the direction where J’erdri had gone to gather water. It was as if a switch had clicked in my head. J’erdri was known as J’erdri Oblodra and was a member of that family one would only assume. What in the name of the spider queen was that male doing in a large grouping of Faen Tlabbar and its allies?

It was at this point that Taj’mirri took my place on watch and I moved to the side of the covered fire and rolled out my bedroll and journal. Sadly I have only added to the questions within these pages this night. But the only true question at this point still remains; can we make it out of this alive?

Pieces on the board –

Mayffin Despana – Priestess of Lloth, Daughter of Despana – 4th daughter
Vel’meth Tlabbar – Daughter of Tlabbar - Bae'queshel (Bard)
Claddath Male– Rogue and still useless so far.
G’eldax Ssztyr’vyl – Rogue
Taj’mirri Tlabbar – Male of Tlabbar – Warrior - 3rd son
J’erdri Oblodra – Mercenary – warrior
Chilly - Unknown
Last edited by Trazk on Tue Mar 02, 2004 9:30 pm, edited 2 times in total.
JS
***************************
NWN2 Character : Hart

NWN1 Character : Trazk Al'Dzra
Affiliation : Tuain't Luthol (Merchant Guild)
Server : North Underdark/Ched Nasad
GSID : jasonst22
L' trantz z'ress zhah zhaunl vel'klar ulu zotreth, naut l' z'ress d'lil zotreth oltan.
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Ebonith
Builder
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Joined: Mon Jan 05, 2004 3:03 pm
Location: Atlanta, GA
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Post by Ebonith »

Superb as usual. :twisted:
Lord of Skullport

Previous PC:
Mik'laysee Ze'Marri
Northern Underdark Denizen
Vel'drav dos dosst solens, udos yorn tlu gaer...
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