D&D 3.5 - Planescape Explorers - Elvanshalee

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A little while after returning from the random gateway to the strange Island of invisible beasts, Elvanshalee is sitting in her room, when Emra visits her and after asking about her companions suitability for possible promotion, yet indirectly judging her own, he delivers her a very, very important letter that has her dressed and out of the door as soon as she can.

To the Lower Ward then..

http://baatorian.ripz.org/Logs/Planescape%20Explorer/Log%20-2010-11-03.html

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After laying low in Sigil for sometime, hovering mostly in Ruby's hidden pad, only venturing out to gather what belongings you had left in the city and sell off some of the currently less useful to you, you met with Ruby again.

You explained you had to leave, she nodded knowingly and asked nothing of your destination, something you were about to explain you couldn't reveal, then should you expect anything else of a cutter like her? Maybe she's done this before?

She gave you an amulet she described as weak in power, but all she could do on the time scale. Something to protect you from spying eyes she said and the moderate amount of divination magic that gleamed from the small iron chain, with a shut eye for a centre piece, agreed with her.

"Thank you!" ran through your mind, but from your mouth only a cold, emotionless thanks could you issue before you begun away yet the delicate human Ruby regardlessly nodded appreciatively, seemingly taking your luke-warm thanks with comfort. Perhaps she has dealt with your kind before? Perhaps just she understands. Would you ever know?

Slipping through a network of walkways and alleys, a little more comfortable with the bestowed small iron chain that clings to your neck, you approached the only portal you know that would take you to Uiguan, to take you home.

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You stepped a little dizzily out from the gateway, paranoia ripped into the dizziness making your legs shake briefly, almost expecting some form of immediate attack, the torture of weeks before still fresh in your mind, yet it didn't come. As the dizziness passed however you could only exhale loudly when you saw that you were relatively alone. Yet naturally visible to some market traders and watching drow males.

Ahead of you sat the great drow city, not all of the eight spider-like pathways that lead to the individual great houses of Uiguan visible beyond the large stalagmites, but surely there.

Paranoid and a little worried (not that you would ever admit it) you pulled your hood down even futher. What now? You hope that Tyan was lying, he had to be, it had been twenty years since you saw your brother and... whilst things could change in a blink and... he also seemed to be in league with the devil Sintri... "NO!" You shook your head and yanked your cowl down even more before beginning into the city.

Where first? Of course, home. No, not to enter, but perhaps that would be a good start. Turning up at the magical academy would be dangerous now, especially if word was out, if your house was not completely disgraced then surely there were all sorts looking for your head.

You swept through the market, briefly stopping by a stall manned by two blind and *tame* Grimlocks whom served you a pair of live white mice. You ate then push onwards through the market place, before noticing a possible tail. May not be? But always best to assume the worst. You moved on however, no angles to leave right now.

You walked around the last of the central stone columns that supported the high stone ceiling of the gigantic cavern. Gone. On the left of the giant cavern four pathways lead outwards, each reaching to one of the four of eight houses. Upon the right, three...

You blink. Shocked. Your house, home, no matter how much you loathed it, gone! The walkway just stretching outwards towards where you remember opening of the obsidian doors, then... nothing.. . nothing but blackness and cold expanse.

Staggered that such a thing were possible, you pause holding onto the edge of a nearby stall for a moment. Weakness! Quickly you shake your head and get a grip again. If your house is destroyed, gone, that makes you, a daughter of the house a wanted person. Wanted and very, very dangerous.

You begin to move off again, when suddenly a hand touches you from behind, you turn quickly, hands your suddenly beneath your cloak inches from drawing your blades, when you look upon a coldly smiling figure, a dark elven male a sword step back. You... recognise him.

You have a brief flash. The male! Upon your escape! The one that beckoned you to follow him, but... then suddenly, now you're close, another flashback strikes you. A face, smiling through a crowd, thick yellow smog high in the sky, the Lower Ward! The dark elf, the one you bumped into before Tyan "saved" you, it's him!

Lowering your outward anger and slipping your hands firmly upon the hilts of your blades, you wonder how you can lure this male away from the market place -killing here and now would likely be suicide-, surely he works for Tyan, have they found you!?. Yet he motions quickly before you can say anything.

"Jaan" he says quickly, then after looking around carefully, begins back away from you.

Jaan? Does he know Jaan? Who is this male, he then surely must know him then...? Tyan would too, but, outside the house when you were escaping? He knows you surely, you're torn between fleeing and following for a moment, but he could have taken you out if he wanted, the touch upon your back instead a poisoned blade you reason. Deciding that you have little else to go upon, you choose to follow, after all should he try to cross-trade you, it would be his last... his or yours.

You follow the drow male through a serious of stalls and finally down an alleyway that leads between two of the gigantic stalagmites that hold up the ceiling before he stops about halfway between the pair, he then looks around. You note too that the passageway is clear.

He then holds a hand up to you and produces a small pin, which he pushes against a flat, unremarkable piece of the left stalagmite. He then smiles and beckons.

"You had better get inside, Elvanshalee" he offers informally for a male, a slight smirk lays upon his face which irritates you greaty. The arrogance!

As a show of face, the drow then flicks his hand through the solid stone wall, his fingers magically moving through the stone and suddenly you're sold. This is no mugging or trick, nor is this divine magic, yet that brings a worry to your mind instantly. What if this does lead to Jaan, this man knows Jaan? Tyan said Jaan wanted you to escape, this man was there upon your escape, did he know? He was in the market also, were Tyan's words... true?

"NO!" you snap in your own mind, shaking your head briefly before walking forwards, hands on blades ready to slay the male in a blink, yet he makes no move as you step to the wall. You test it lightly and indeed your hand moves through the solid stone. Illusionary magic. Definitely Arcane.

With a concealed gulp, you step through the illusionary wall to find yourself standing upon a spiralling stairwell, upwards. You look back and move quickly, should the male try to enter and knife you, but he doesn't. You walk up the stairs a little, glancing back incase, but the male doesn't appear at all.

Resigned, you walk up the staircase, it leads up for perhaps ten twists, could be half the stalagmite, but you doubt it, not yet, more likely a quarter, if not less. Then suddenly there's is the smallest of lights from above, you walk up a little more. Sulpur. Wax. Incense.

Suddenly you finish the stairs and you're looking into a stone carved room, circular and very wide, perhaps the dimensions of the stalagite at this height, which makes it very large indeed. The room seems practical. A desk and chair on the left. Upon it books, a burning small candle (which is shedding the light), quill, inks, rolled scrolls and a skull, on the left a bookcase sparsely populated by books -but those that are there look old, if not ancient- and several unlit candles.

The floor is bare, walls undecorated. It would appear to be a room for someone without much use for luxuries. Then you see him, across the room, dressed in a mostly light grey leather coat with diagonal swathes of dark purple, Jaan, your brother. For a moment you must admit to yourself that he truly looks the business.

Jaan has already looked away from a small stone altar, upon it rests a very large and thick book, open about halfway through -for some reason your eyes are drawn away from your brother to the book and suddenly you realise that the book holds the most dark and deep secrets, yet you have no idea why you know this.

Jaan's eyes suddenly narrow, otherwise his face remains emotionless,

"What are you doing here?" he asks in a flat-tone, but something about his demeanour tells you he is surprised foremost and secondarily angry. You only just manage to shake your head away from the book, before he is talking again.

"You're early sister, too early, you should be in Sigil dealing with the mercenaries, you should not be here." he states, almost commands before turning briefly and shutting the book, as he does you note that the book has a very "leather-like" cover -flesh?- and suddenly you're able to concentrate on your brother again, pulling your eyes away from the dark and definite secret pages within the leather-bound volume.

[illumination]

Elvanshalee almost shudders in relief at seeing the lesser of the expected evils at the top of the stairs, and resists the urge to collapse into a chair and vomit.

With a dry mouth she hides it well enough and takes a few seconds studying the room, on the face of it before looking back to her former brother.

'I came to pass you news, and suggest a way forward for dealing with our mutual enemies.'

'You must be aware, they seek to put you into the deadbook for the wrongs they say you committed against them. It seems to me while individually they might be an annoyance, working together they are threat to anyone.'

She pauses, and on seeing him still silent, continues.

'They cowed the rest of my allies into signing a binding peace with them, I did not believe their lies. As such, they now seek to kill me. While our relationship, Jaan, is clearly not what it was, it seems to me that it is in both our advantage to eliminate or subdue these berks. The fact they are certain to come for me if they think I am alone seems like a tactical advantage you might like to make use of.'

Her opening gambit made, she glances down at her drow equipment and weapons which suit her disguise, and pulls back her hood.

'The house is gone.' She simply states.

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Jaan pauses for a few moments in quiet contemplation after you finish speaking, idly running a finger across the closed tome.

"Their lies... why would you even speak to them?" he asks with an irritated sigh.

"Yes, the house is gone, how does that make you feel, sister? Does it make you remorseful? Happy perhaps?" he asks not expecting an answer and walks to a plain section of wall raising a hand. A look of concentration passes his face, as he does the wall shimmers and then is gone, replaced by a passageway leading to another set of spiral stairs, before you can answer he motions you up the stairs.

Resigned to the fact that Jaan probably doesn't have to lure you up some more stairs to try to kill, you head up, as you do you notice Jaan step into the stairs and concentrate again, the wall reappearing. You walk to the top and reach the end, a flat-wall, you briefly touch it, solid. Then Jaan is there and focusing and the wall shimmers, then is gone.

You enter another room, more comfortable. Still stone and circular, the room does have a large rug that covers most of the floor, a table with chairs, several cabinets with various food and drink within and another chamber leading to a simple bedroom containing just a bed and wardrobe.

Jaan motions around for you to do as you please, before uncorking a bottle and filling a fine glass with what is likely wine, before sipping it.

"So sister, The Guided are trying to kill you? It was unwise to reveal yourself to them, don't you think? Yet that is done now, so let us think ahead."

"I... require you to be alive and perhaps even want you to be, so let us come to an agreement. You can stay here, if you wish, you will not be found here I can assure you that and even if we are discovered, it is very safe." he says with little emotion, sipping his wine and focusing on the glass for a moment, before waving a hand. The glass then drifts from his hand to the table and sitting itself down.

"However I cannot have them potentially ruining my plans, even if the chances are minimal, so I'll listen to what you have to suggest."

"Oh, sister. I assume Sintri holds contract over you now?" he then asks looking into your eyes searchingly and back in his eyes you see a cold, empty expanse.

[illumination]

Settles herself down on a seat opposite the mage, not fully relaxed just yet. She thinks over his questions for a few seconds before deciding to answer in turn.

'My companions insisted on meeting them, don't ask me why... The meeting did exactly as The Guided must have hoped, and served to divide us and place my group in a passive state. They have helped me since, but consented at the meeting to some kind of geas-like non aggression contract. As such they cannot be relied upon for assistance.'

She blinks, thinking a moment.

'I suppose right now I feel nothing for the destruction of our house. Only bitter that I have been robbed of the chance to make Baernith squeal in agony. Still, the afterlife she will be enjoying is punishment. I hope its suitably terrible for her.'

'The Guided will try to kill me, they have said as much already and will expect me to be lacking in allies with my party cowed. As for you, you are probably the last person they would think to be working with me. I think we should set a trap, I am the bait. When the trap is sprung we reverse the ambush and seize the opportunity to destroy as many of them as possible. I suggest their mage is the top priority, once we have robbed them of their dazzlers the rest will be much easier.'

'I have an appointment with a friend in Sigil, the Grand Market. That provides us with a suitable venue doesn't it? I know a safe portal from the temple of the Abyss as a good escape route.

She folds her hands on her lap and looks at her brother, wondering what drove him so wrong in the intervening years.

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