75 replies to this topic

[Shed]

OK, I'll begin

"It rained. This was the type of rain that would soak through cloak, tunic and pack within minutes. Bethal sighed, and continued to trudge up the path that would, she hoped, lead to The Gallows Inn. It wasn't that she disliked the rain - good for the crops, or so she was told; she just hated being wet.
Life as an adventurer wasn't nearly as exciting as she thought it would be. She had saved up for months, purchased some leather armour, a short bow and some arrows, and she wore her hunting knife on her belt, but despite being well-equipped, monsters, adventure and knights-in-distress had simply failed to materialise. On top of which, it was raining."

Please continue the story! I want to find out what happens to Bethal .

[Thrain]

Bethal checked her coin purse to see if she had enough money to drown herself in cheapest, dirtiest ale The Gallows had to offer. She had only been drunk twice, when Laith had stolen the innkeeper's keg and all the village's children got very merry together. Still, she presumed getting drunk was what adventurers did; at least the bards said that's what they did.

The jingle of the few coppers in her purse hid the rustle of the leaves that she should have heard behind her. But then, with the rain and her incessant mumbling to herself, Bethal wouldn't have heard a pitched battle raging around her. The path in front of her was well worn and she could make out cart tracks, which meant she definately was on the right road. It was only because she was looking down that she noticed the other tracks on the road. She had often hunted with Laith and his brothers and knew that the depressions in the ground below her were from men running. The blurred edges of the tracks, despite the mud that was sludging beneath her feet, showed her that the men were twisting and turning, like they were being chased. She straightened up and loosed her bow while hooking the light purse onto her belt. Slowly turning in her jerkin she tried to block out the rain as she listened for any movement in the nearby trees. Notching an arrow she fired one into the nearest bush to try and flush out any would-be assailants. As the shaft flew Bethal could hear the slight whistle of the air on the polished wood, but it caused no disturbance as it found its mark on a trunk above the leafy greenary. She sighed and cursed herself for being so eager to see adventure everywhere instead of finding a warm place to camp down for the night. Trudging over to the trees to retrieve her arrow (which she had paid good money for, after all, and if it wasn't going to bleed any monsters she certainly wasn't leaving it behind), Bethal pondered whether to find a group to join up with. Adventurers always had companions, and maybe she could make a name for herself and form her own group, like Drizzt or Mazzy Fentan.

When the squirrel dived from its hiding place in the bush to sprint up the tree, Bethal shrieked and jumped in the air. Any thoughts of adventure were driven from her head as the shock of seeing the creature rush in front of her set in so quickly. When she had recovered and her heart stopped pounding, she giggled that she would be so frightened at such a harmless animal. The only thing that stopped her from responding to the girlish instincts of cooing over it and petting it was the thumping rain which was now removing any sign of tracks from the path. It drove her on, but the adreneline from her encounter lifted her heart and she began to sing...

[MantraSong]

"99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer, take one down, pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall!" she sang cheerfully, her mind focused on the ale she was heading to.

"Thats a very nice tune," a man stepped out on the road in front of her, "were you planning to sing it all the way to wherever you were going?"

She screamed and had an arrow fitted to her bow, and drew her bow before she even got a look at who had spoken. As the adrenaline rush passed, she got a closer look at the man who was blocking the path. He was hooded and cloaked - who wouldn't be, in this rain? - but she could tell that he was unusally tall, at least 6 1/2 feet.

"Nice day for a walk, don't you think?" he asked, throwing back his hood. "Rather pleasant, really."

Bethal stared at him, suspiciously. It was hard to make out in the rain, but there was something odd about his face...

"Oh, being quiet are we? Ok, howabout this, where are you headed?"

She kept staring at him, what was wrong with his face? "The Gallows Inn," she said eventually.

He laughed. "The Gallows Inn?" he said, incredulus. "My dear, you are miles off your path, your turn off was quite a ways back."

She stared at him in disbelief. "N-No, that can't be right," she said.

He shook his head. "Poor child. Look, my house is only a short walk from here. how about you come with me. You can stay until the rain stops?"

[Erephine]

note: Writing's still pretty bad, i'll run a grammar and spell proofreading on it later

...

Reluctantly she followed him through the rain. Although she tried a few times, she failed to engage the stranger in a conversation. She still was unsure about what was unusual about his face ? there was something just not.... right. Almost as if the face were a mere mask of something different... something... ?Here we are. Come on in, and enjoy the warmth of a crackling fire.?
Only now she noticed, interrupted from her thoughts, that they had marched a long way across the fields until they finally they got here, and reached what seemed a little shack. He opened the door and entered the dark room. After she had entered the little room, he quickly closed the door after her. There was an odd smell to the room, as if there had been some beasts trapped here, however, the room was abolutely deserted except for them.
As he lit the fire, she could finally see the interior: the room was bigger than the shack had seemed from outside. The walls were made of rough wood panels, and looked extremely old and withered. There was a small table in front of the fireplace; he pulled two little stools near it, and invited her to sit down.
So she did, whereas the robed stranger went to an old wooden cupboard in the opposite corner of the room and took out a big glass bottle. She couldn?t make out what was inside it, until he put it down on the table. It was filled with some dark, what seemed syrup like substance ? small bubbles were slowly finding their way upwards in the disgusting liquid.
Finally, he sat down as well, rubbed his hands and lifted his hook. Now, without the hood, and without the rain blurring her vision, she noticed what had made him look so unusual before. His skin had a most unnatural colour, almost as if it only were painted onto him, it was darker and brighter in some specks than in others, some of them almost looked like they?d have been smeared by the heavy rain. She also couldn?t fail no notice his abnormally pointy ears when he took two glasses and poured some of the black liquid into them. He made an inviting gesture to one of the glasses ? ?Drink. This will help you to shrug off the cold. We don?t want you to get ill, do we?? he laughed, but somehow there appeared to be something else in his voice.
She looked at the thick black liquid (small bubbles still leaving it) with disgust. Did he really expect her to drink this?
Noticing her glance, he smiled ?Drink it. It tastes better than it looks.?

[Shed]

Bethal raised the cup to her lips and sniffed. She was sure she had never smelt anything like it, yet it reminded her of something. Glancing up at her host for reassurance, she sipped the brew. It did taste better than it looked, sharp and tangy, yet wholesome. She had some more.

Her host watched her drink, smiling in a way that had nothing to do with humour. Presently he sat down, and poured himself a cup of the liquid.

"I make this myself," he boasted. "Don't ask me how: you don't really want to know."
Bethal certainly did not want to know, so said nothing. Before much time had passed, the man struck up conversation again.

"Aspiring adventurer, then?" he inquired. Bethal nodded nervously, provoking a returning nod and smile.

"Yes," he ventured, "my glory days are long gone. Glad to see young blood in the business. Keep your wits about you and you'll do well. Judging by the bow you must want to be a hunter? An sniper, perhaps? You don't seem like a ranger to me, the way you nearly killed that squirrel."

"Um, yes. I was hoping to find work at The Gallows, or an ale at least... Look, I can't help noticing-" The man sighed and interrupted her.

"My skin? Not hard to notice, is it? If you must know, I suffer from a rare... affliction. Yes, it is conspicuous, and no, I would rather not talk about it." Bethal apologised and said she understood, but this man was no elf, despite the ears, if any of the tales she had heard were to be believed. However, she had not been drugged by the drink, as she had half-expected, and her companion seemed friendly enough.

The man stood up, placed the bottle in the cupboard from whence it came. He turned to look Bethal in her pretty green eyes, and said something which almost made her choke:

Edited by Shed, 24 August 2004 - 03:46 PM.

[Shadowhawke]

"You're too trusting, little Bethal," the stranger sighed.

"What the..?!" Bethal dropped her mug with a clatter onto the wooden table and stumbled upwards, grasping the table for support. "How did you..?"

In answer to her question, he merely smiled sardonically. "Rule number 1 of the aspiring adventurer. If you don't want anyone to know your name, don't engrave it on your bow."

Bethal blushed as she looked down at the delicate letters of her name in the wood, and then her eyes narrowed as she thought. This man was no elf... yet how had he seen the name? After all, she'd deliberately kept the engraving covered by her hand all the while...
Unless...

The stranger moved closer to her, noting the suspicion in her emerald eyes. "What's wrong? I'm not going to hurt you, if that's what you're afraid of."

Bethal said nothing, and merely looked down at the engraving and then back at him. The odour of the room seemed to press in on her, leaving her no space to breathe. The odour of wild animals had once comforted her, knowing that Nature prevailed, and that civilization had not completely destroyed the woodlands. But here, it had a sickening, otherworldly taint to it that made her want to retch as something within her seemed to shrink away from the stranger in front of her.

"Why are you so afraid?" he whispered with an odd intensity. "I swear, I mean you no harm."

And she looked back up into his eyes, and saw the hazel, changing depths. As his irises changed slowly from clear sapphire to dark green, she shuddered.

"Who in the nine hells are you?"

Edited by Shadowhawke, 28 August 2004 - 06:49 PM.

[Erephine]

Why didn't he answer? She backed away slowly until she reached the wall, but he moved even closer, his head coming to rest directly next to hers.

"Have you still not realized who I am..... what I am...?" He said, almost whispering it into her ear.

As he spoke, Bethal, to her horror, noted that his voice had changed - was it still the same man speaking to her? He stared intensively into her eyes, his gaze seeming to consume her, pulling her apart.
She struggeled to get up, and as she did, she had to fight to remain conscient. "Out! I need to get out of this place!" she fiercly thought to herself.

The stranger was still standing as if petrified, leaning over her against the wall; she standing with her back pressed against the rough wooden wall. Her vision was becoming blurred - had she been drugged after all? Was she hallucinating? Her heart started racing. She had to get out of here while she still could.

It was a tough fight as she tried to look away from his gaze and when she did, a terrifying scream filled the room. It was a hoarse, eerie scream. With a rather clumsy yet quick leap to her side she reached the door, pulled it open in what seemed endless moments to her... From a short glance to her side she could see him still standing as if petrified, yet he seemed to be unnaturally shuddering.

As he grasped for her arm, Bethal already was almost out of the shack. She threw herself against his grip and he fell down to the ground, howling like a beaten dog. She could barely see or breathe.

The rain was still pouring down ferociously, but she hardly realized it. A stinging pain appeared in her head, and she knew she wouldn't be able to fight it much longer. All she could do and think was to run. Run. She could hear voices through the rain... telling her to stop.... telling her she wouldn't get far... yet she could not tell if they were real or if she was only hallucinating them. Her head seemed to explode and the pain got unbearable, but she ran on blindly.

Suddenly she knew who had been screaming in the shack. It had been herself. - this was her last thought before she tripped and fell onto the hard, rocky ground and remembered no more.

Edited by Lightspeed, 29 August 2004 - 02:12 PM.

[MantraSong]

The man shook his head as she fell and knocked herself out, then walked over to Bethal, who was now lying limp on the ground. She had almost shaken him off, something that had never happened before in all the years he had lived in this out-of-the-way cabin. She was very strong, for a human, and he had foolishly underestimated her.

He reached down and, almost tenderly, he picked her up and carried her over to his bed. He lay her down and pulled the covers over her, letting her rest. He needed her conscious and willing for what he needed to do, although that would be much harder now that she didn?t trust him.

?Damn her, anyway,? he muttered. ?Why did she have to be so strong?? He shook his head, and went to get her bow, which she had dropped on the ground when she knocked herself out. He unstrung it; then set it over by her pack.

Once that was done, he went over to a cabinet by the bed, and opened it to reveal a large collection of strange and magical-looking items. From the bottom shelf, he grabbed a long, shining white knife and a block of wood. He then pulled up a chair, and sat down by the bed, watching protectively, and carving away at the wood with his knife of bone.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bethal woke up suddenly. "Ohhh," she groaned, her head hurt. As she slowly turned over, she suddenly realized she had no idea where she was. Her eyes snapped open as she heard chuckling, and as she saw the man carefully carving out a wooden doll, her memory rushed back.

Edited by MantraSong, 30 August 2004 - 11:12 AM.

[Shadowhawke]

"No!! What do you want?!" Bethal half gasped, half screamed as she sat bolt upright in the bed.

The chuckling stopped. "Calm down," he said soothingly. "You knocked yourself out when you fell."

Shuddering, Bethal pulled herself together. "You didn't answere my question," she enunciated slowly. "What do you want with me?"
For a second, she wasn't sure if her next move was wise, but then she looked straight into his dark, dark eyes.
"What do you want with me?" she repeated softly.
Slowly, she felt herself slipping. The pool of darkness engulfed her just as she tried to wrench away. Almost hypnotically, he reached over, and she screamed soundlessly, but he only placed it on her shoulder.

"I need you to fight a great evil for me," he whispered.

"WHAT?! she soundlessly shrieked.

He winced as he heard her voice inside his mind. It had been necessary for him to paralyze her thus. He couldn't have her running out on him, after all. He fought down the urge to just slit her throat and find someone else. This girl was proving troublesome. Her strength, however, was just what he needed.

"I need you to fight a great evil for me," he repeated.

"Why can't you fight it yourself?" she flung at him.

He kept looking at her, never breaking the gaze.

"Because it needs to be a human who does it."

"You're not human?!"

Slowly, sadly, he smiled.

[MantraSong]

?Not anymore,? he said, ?and that?s where my story begins.

?A long time ago, by human standards, at least, I was young and innocent much like you are now. I was an aspiring adventurer, eager to see the world and right wrongs. I had modest success; people will hire a young man where they won?t hire a woman, but no great accomplishments. Until I met Veltek. I had fallen on hard times, and I was practically to the point where I would accept any job at all, when he approached me on the street, and introduced himself. He was a sorcerer of no small skill, and, like all sorcerers, incredibly charming. He told me of an abandoned mage tower where even an inexperienced adventurer could make a fortune. The spells had already been triggered by other adventurers, he persuaded, and no animal would enter a humans? habitation, it would be safe enough to explore, and there must still be loot inside, for those who knew where to look.

?I wasn?t sure I believed him, but I was desperate, and he seemed so sure of himself that I agreed, and the next day we left for the tower. At first, it went as he had predicted, no dormant spells, no sign of even a mouse.? His voice became scornful, ?Not even a mouse. I should have known then that something was wrong, but no. We found some small amount of treasure, enough to keep me going, until we reached the main room. It looked like some great emperor?s throne room; the walls and pillars were literally gilded with gold, and extravagantly decorated. In place of a throne, though, was a Portal. I looked at Veltek, curious to see how he would react, and was stunned to see him watching me, his face alight with?something.

? ?Come on,? he said, eagerly, ?they are waiting for us.? I meant to refuse, to turn away and run, but I couldn?t. He grabbed me, and with a strength that was surely superhuman, he grabbed my arm and pulled me to the open portal.?

Here he stopped, and, for a moment, his grip on her relaxed. Immediately Bethal began to struggle again. Must?break?eye contact, she thought fiercely. Almost, almost, she had it, and then his full attention returned to her. She began drowning in his eyes once more as he resumed his tale.

?He pulled me through the portal, and suddenly I was standing in the middle of a circle of hooded people. Veltek let go of my arm, and I turned to flee, but the portal was closed.

? ?I have brought him, my brethren? he said, smiling. ?We may begin.?

?I do not remember what happened next, all I remember is awakening in the tower room, standing in front of the portal, as if nothing had ever happened. I would have believed it, too, except that now I looked like this. I fled into the forest and hid, afraid of how people would react if they saw me?changed.

?Several days later, Veltek came to me, and gloated. He told me that I belonged to him now, his little pet monster, and I would do as he told me.? Here he stopped again, and she braced herself to fight, but the chance never came, and he went on, ?I thought I could resist him, but I was wrong. I was bound to obey him, and not to harm him. However, as time passed, I grew stronger, better at fighting him, and I began to kill his followers, one by one. I couldn?t kill them in the pocket-plane, but outside, on the Prime Material Plane, they were fair game, and I hunted them down.

?He never knew it was me, but I think he began to suspect. He tried to force it out of me, but I had grown skilled at resisting him, and it was that that caused him to abandon me. I hunted down the rest of his followers, and now it is only him left, but he is still powerful, and I cannot touch him.

?I need someone he will allow under his guard, someone harmless looking, but still skilled in the arts of battle. Someone like yourself. Please,? and she felt his desperation as he spoke, ?help me.?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I know it's long, he just wouldn't be quiet

Edited by MantraSong, 31 August 2004 - 05:13 AM.

[Erephine]

He loosened his grip on Bethal. Still unable to completely release herself from his grip she at least struggeled into a more comfortable position.

"Why all this theatre then? Why couldn't you simply ASK me?" she flung at him - yet as soon as she had spoken, she regretted it. Disappointment flickered in his face, which now, more than ever, seemed but a mask to her. A horrid, bizarre mask.

Bethal was scared. She wanted to get out of here, anywhere else, anywhere, but not here...
Once more she struggeled to release herself from his grip, from his gaze, but he firmly held her down on the bed.

"Let me go! I don't want to stay in this horrible place! I don't want to help you-- you monster!" she cried, almost breaking down to sobs.

"Don't struggle, little one. It has no use. Don't you see?" he simply replied, almost tenderly.

"You cannot MAKE me help you! I will never help someone who.. who does this to me!"

"I had feared it would come to that" he finally sighed. "I have allowed myself to take.... certain precautions."

Bethal's eyes widened in horror. "What do you mean by that?" she asked finally, almost whispering.

"We drank the shar nat'raeth together. Your fate is intertwined with mine." he said with a disturbingly satisfied look on his face

"It is an old drow recipe, and quite effective at that. Our souls are connected, and as you probably already have discovered, I have my ways to make sure you heed my plea for help."

Bethal gasped as a sharp pain stung her head. Her vision blurred, and she was feeling extremely weak and dizzy. "You're... you're an evil monster! Why do you do this to me?" she asked "Why?"

"Evil? Are humans always that... hasty about judgements? It has been too long since I have lived with them for me to care about such hollow words as "evil" and "good". I just want revenge; revenge after all these years. Consider me evil if you must, but I will not let this oppotunity slide through my hands." he replied calmly, yet his face was anything but calm.

His face was twisted with rage and fury, and he was breathing heavily. Bethal didn't dare to move, her head was still dully aching of the pain he had made her go through. It was obvious that he tried to calm himself, and Bethal didn't want to risk setting free the beast that seemed to lurk behind the mask that was his face.

Slowly he calmed down again, and when he looked back at her, there was no trace of emotion in his face. "Will you stop the drama and help me like a good girl, or will I have to force you?"

Edited by Lightspeed, 30 August 2004 - 08:48 PM.

[Shadowhawke]

"Why?"

It was a pleading cry, the last wails of a child as she lost her innocence. He kept looking straight at her.

"Can't you see how evil he is? Can't you see why I can't let you go?!" he demanded, frustrated.

"No," Bethal tried to twist from his magical hold, but to no avail. Instead, she merely looked at him with a bitter... what was it? Hatred? Loathing? Desperation?

"No," she repeated. "All I see is how evil YOU are! You're forcing me to help you!"

"But for a good cause..."

"Good cause nothing!" Bethal unleashed her helpless frustration on him. "I don't care! You could have asked! I would have still done it!"

Slowly, he began to laugh. Gasping, Bethal blocked her ears, but it echoed on and on in her head. A laugh of sorrow and loss and despair as his frustration and anger drained away to be replaced by his grief.

"Do you know how many adventurers have refused?" He finally drew breath. "Do you know how many times I have brought them here, given them shelter... only to have them call me a monster? I'm not a monster! Veltek is!! Can't you see?! Even now, he and his brethren are planning something huge on the Prime Material Plane. I don't even want to think what..."
Sadly, he looked down. Breaking the hold. Breaking the magical hold.

"Go," he ordered harshly, suddenly, waving a hand at the door. "I'll have to find someone else."

Suspiciously, Bethal moved, and found to her surprise she could. Quickly, she snatched up her things, but then looked suspiciously at him.

"But aren't our souls connected?"

He nodded sharply. "We cannot reverse that. But because of that new link, I can feel the gentleness in you... the goodness... the youth.... the naivete... I can't bring you into this. I can't."

Bethal made it to the door just in time to feel a wrench deep in her abdomen, and suddenly, a huge and terrible sorrow washed over her, and she began to cry.
Quickly, the stranger was at her side. "What? What's wrong?"

"I can... feel... your sorrow..."

"Our souls are connected," he reminded her quietly.

Her green, green eyes looked into his almost pleadingly now. "Let me help you."
And then, she promptly fainted.
Slowly, a smile spread across his face.
It was the first time he'd smiled since ten years ago.

Edited by Shadowhawke, 31 August 2004 - 03:38 AM.

[Deva]

Slowly, she felt consciousness trickle back into her, like sand through an hourglass. Her eyes flickered open, and she realised that once again, she was on the bed, the man sitting beside it, seemingly enrapt in the carving he was doing. He glanced up at her, non-chalantly, and the faint ghost of a smile flickered across his thin lips.

?If?if I?m going to help you, shouldn?t I? know your name?? She asked cautiously. The man looked up, his dark eyes flashing, but not with the same maliciousness they had before. Bethal had assumed he would be reluctant in telling her, but had not excpected that he would ignore her all together, and return to his carving, which was what had happened.

?Look? She demanded,
?What is that carving anyway, and I can?t exactly help you if I don?t know your name. Tell me, or I?ll ? I?ll??
?You?ll what, Bethal?? He asked, never looking up, a tint of amusement in his voice. He sighed, placing his carving on the floor beside him, along with the small ivory knife he was using. ?I? suppose if you must know? Gelrandir.? He coloured slightly, as though this name was something to be ashamed of, and continued staring fixedly at the floorboards.
?That wasn?t hard, was it?? She grinned, carelessly, and swung her legs over, to get off the bed.
?Clearly not.? He murmured, under his breath, rising from his chair, and heading back over to the cupboard with the small blade in his hand. Bethal stood up to her full height, and stretched, her fingertips just brushing the ceiling of the cabin. Her forest green eyes scanned the room, and she noticed the small wooden carving on the floor. Bending down, she picked it up. ?What?s this?? She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her as she squinted at the wooden shape.

Gelrandir glanced round, and then noticed what she had picked up. As fast as lightning, with a swipe of his arm, he knocked it out of her hand, and it promptly hit the wall, and smashed? not something wood should do.

But he was too late?

----------------------------------------------------

I hope you don't mind me posting...

[MantraSong]

?That?s me you bastard!? she cried. It had been an incredible likeness, literally down to the hairs on her head, and the look of fear and anger in her face. ?What were you doing??

He looked at her, and, just in time, she remembered his eyes and looked away. Immediately his hand came up to grab her chin and force her to look up, but she closed her eyes and refused to open them. After a moment, he let go, and she heard him stalk away with a curse.

Warily she opened her eyes, to see him standing at the open door, looking out into the pouring rain. ?I mean it,? she said angrily, ?what were you doing??

He didn?t answer. It occurred to her that he was blocking her one way out. Furious, she marched over to him and grabbed at his arm. ?Damn you, tell me what you were doing!?

He spun around so fast that she fell to the ground. ?Do you want to know?? he asked, his voice deceptively calm. ?Do you really want to know??

As soon as he spoke, she knew she didn?t want to, but she reminded herself of how he had manipulated her, bound her body with a gaze, and her soul with a cup of liquid. What horrors could he manage with an image of her? So she looked up at him ? careful not to look in his eyes ? and answered, ?Yes.?

?Very well,? he said, his mask-like face twisting in a horrible parody of a smile, ?if you insist. The doll is a, a soul-holder, if you will. With it, I could have stayed in contact with you even in Veltek?s presence, because it would have provided a link to you that no sorcery can detect.

?Now, though, the spell is broken. It cannot be cast more than once, and you have shattered the spell in the making. I could have, would have helped you with it, but I should have known you wouldn?t want help.?

?Haven?t we been over this already?? she asked mildly. ?There is such a thing as asking.? She reached over and touched a piece of the doll, and as soon as she did, she felt...refreshed. She also felt something that?wasn?t her like the wave of sorrow she had felt earlier, but more definate, something ? someone ? who wasn?t telling her the truth.

Edited by MantraSong, 01 September 2004 - 08:38 AM.

[Erephine]

She stood up and turned to look at him. He was searching something in his cupboard. When he finally turned around to her, he was holding a small necklace in his hands.

"Here, take this", he told her and handed her the necklace. Bethal suspiciously looked at it. It had a metallic shine, but the touch felt nothing like a piece of metal. It felt warm, almost living. It was made of small scales connected to each other, making it look like the winding body of a snake. Where normally the head of the snake would have been, a large gem was to be found, held by a spiky claw emerging from the last scale. The necklace was of a dark purple and she felt uneasy at touching it.

"This will allow us to communicate during your journey. But be advised that you use it at safe spots, and under no circumstances when Veltek is near you. He would instantly be able to trace it back to me." he explained, noticing her suspicious look

"How do I use it?" she asked. There was no obvious way of even wearing it - The scales simply ended on both sides, and there was no obvious way of closing the necklace.

"Just put it around your neck" he answered bluntly.

Cautiously she placed the necklace on her neck, and with a sudden snap the scales connected, as if they had never been seperated. It fit her perfectly, and was still feeling very warm on her skin. She had feared the spiky ornament might be uncomfortable to wear, but it sank softly into her skin and, just like the rest of the necklace, felt warm and soft. It would have been very comfortable to wear, if it weren't for that uneasy feel she sensed where it touched her skin. She tried to take it off again, but the scales had connected and weren't moving at all.

"How do I take this thing off again?" she asked, slightly annoyed.

"You can't." he answered with an odd look on his face "it can only be taken of or weared if it *wants* to. Actually i'm surprised it accepted you on the first try."

She was angry at him for not having told her before - she didn't want to wear this.. thing all the time. However, not wanting to risk setting off his temper once again, she managed to keep her reply to herself (guessing she could think about that at a later time), and instead asked "How am I supposed to talk to you through this?"

"Touch it with your left hand and say Nat'raeth shar, Usstan lar tau."

"Say WHAT?" she exclaimed. Whatever he had said, sounded like a weird unnatural mix of letters and syllables to her.

He muttered something under his breath and she tried to make out words, but she couldn't understand what he was saying. With an annoyed sigh he finally said "I think we will have to practice this, then.", and repeated the phrase several times to her. When she felt she could repeat it and not forget it, she nodded.

"What's it supposed to do when I touch it and say... say that sentence?" she inquired

"Try it" was the only response she got out of him.

"Well, can't hurt" she thought to herself, touched the metal claw and whsipered the words... "Nat'raeth shar, Usstan lar tau."

She felt a stinging pain as she collapsed into unconsciousness once more.

Edited by Lightspeed, 01 September 2004 - 06:32 AM.

[Deva]

This time she did not wake up on the soft, feather bed; she woke up on the hard floor where she had fainted, Gelrandir looking down at her, a mixed expression of boredom and amusement plastered upon his face. He shook his head, and sighed, inwardly, before kicking her gently in the thigh.

"I got bored of lifting you onto the bed. You?re a lot heavier then you look, girl." He mused, stalking back to the doorframe again, incase the shock of wearing the necklace had made her want to run again.

Bethal did nothing of the sort. She laid there, her body completely dead. She could feel nothing. She stared upwards, un-blinking. That had been different from the last times she passed out. She felt she had not been quite... all there, in spirit and mind. She allowed her eyes to close once more, and this time, the pictures returned, A hazy mist formed, an impermeable gauze blocking all light. Then it cleared, and it seemed to form something? a contorted face. A handsome face. The face of a young man. A young man with deathly white skin and black hair. Perhaps this is what he used to look like...

Gelrandir?s extended ears quivered. Yes? she was beginning to understand now. He closed his pupil-less eyes, in an effort to maintain the link she had just initiated.

The handsome young man smiled. ?Hello, Bethal. I see you?re beginning to trust me, after all.?

Not trust you, not yet at least. She thought, although she felt her lips form the words, almost against her will. ?I heard that.? Grinned the man, perching an eyebrow, and scratching the side of his nose. ?Get? GET OUT OF MY HEAD!? She protested, raising a pale hand and clutching at the necklace that twisted round her throat, like some dreadful snake, eager to asphyxiate her?

?Fine, fine. You may think this item a curse, but when it comes to fighting Veltek? you well bless the moment I gave it too you. Do not fight Veltek alone?I ask of you, find help, in whatever form you can? with my powers, I can show you the faces of those who might help you? but briefly. Remember them, Bethal, remember them?

A series of faces followed, smiling, some human, some not? she knew none of them. By the time the parade of faces had finished she could barely remember any? but a few stuck in her mind?

Edited by Hishi, 01 September 2004 - 11:42 AM.

[Erephine]

Only few minutes later they were both sitting at the table again, Bethal packing her things for the upcoming journey.

"I see you have understood how to use the necklace" he was telling her "but next time use it... in a lying positing."

"So i'm gonna pass out every time I use that damn thing?! - I will not ever use it again, take that for granted!" Bethal exclaimed.

"You will learn to control it with time, and drift into slumber easily instead of just falling unconscious" he said with an amused look.

"And one more thing. Don't even think of betraying me. You KNOW I can stop any... attempts." he added, completely serious again. "I expect you to meet me through the necklace every second day. You will not have to fear Veltek inteferering for now."

"You mean, you think I will use that THING" Bethal pointed at the necklace with a displeased look on her face "almost daily?! What if I refuse to make use of it?"

"You know very well what would happen... you still haven't learned. You still haven't understood..." he replied, shaking his head

"Yes, yes. Our souls are connected, I forgot." she added with a dark face.

"Don't think of me so badly. Reserve your anger for those who you are going to face. I'm merely making sure you complete my little quest.."

"So, where do you expect me to be going?" Bethal sighed

"To the nearest town I suppose. You should properly equip yourself and gather some companions before you start looking for Veltek" he answered. "But; how do I put it; your companions don't have to know.... know about me. So better have our little... meetings discretely. Understand?"

"I suppose you leave me no alternative anyway" Bethal said sharply.

"You're starting to learn, I see." he replied with a disgusting smile on his face.

Edited by Lightspeed, 01 September 2004 - 01:55 PM.

[Deva]

Half an hour later, Bethal set out again, humming to herself peacefully, bow slung over her back. Somehow, her whole encounter with Gelrandir now seemed sort of... surreal, although she still felt a nagging pain, as if there was something inside her, which didn?t quite belong?

Gelrandir had given some food, aswell as some arrows, their tips sluiced with a green acid, which smelt foul, and rancid, like carrion, but Bethal was sure they would come in handy. As she stalked along, her hood pulled up, to keep the now torrential rain off her face, she fingered the amulet. Somehow it now felt comforting? the warm metal pressing against her neck.

She pictured Gelrandir? surely he had some kind of? disease? How else could his face have been so? twisted? Leprosy, perhaps, or something else. How he had looked in her dream, if that is what she should call it, had been very much different.

Eventually she came to a fork in the path. A large stone stood in the centre, coated in lichen and moss, a similar colour to her eyes. Through the layers of forestry, she was just able to make out an intricate pattern that had been painstakingly etched into the stone, alongside the words ?Candlekeep coastway, Beregost, to the west.? She smiled slightly, despite the bleak weather, and headed down the path to her left, humming her small tune with renewed vigour.

?Beregost ? here I come.?

--------------------------------------------------------------------

Sorry if anyone else had a different location in mind... I just pictured the area as very much like the coastway, and when someone says 'Inn' the friendly arm springs to mind..

[Erephine]

She was passing a little forest, and recognizing the area, she knew Beregost wouldn't be far anymore. As she kept walking and humming her little tune, she went through the last days in her head. A few days ago, she would have given anything for a bit of adventure and excitement, but now she almost wished herself back to that rainy day that started it all. She felt lost and insecure, feelings completely new to her. The forest was completely silent except for a few birds singing their own tunes. Lost in her own thoughts, she kept on walking, until a sharp whizzing noise disrupted the silence.

A cry of pain and surprise escaped Bethal, as the sharp metal pierced her leather armour and bored into her thigh. One second later she found herself collapsed on the floor, feeling warm blood pouring out of the wound the arrow had ripped into her flesh. The arrow was still sticking in her leg, and she felt an immense throbbing pain slowly crawling up her leg. Trying desperately not to panic she looked around to make out the attacker, and loosened her bow, fitting an arrow to the string. When she heard the voices and steps coming closer, she knew. "Hobgoblins!" she thought and despairingly tried to think of what to do.

Edited by Lightspeed, 04 September 2004 - 03:19 AM.

[Deva]

She winced, as she pulled back the bowstring, and felt a sudden pang in her thigh. She let loose one arrow, and, thankfully, it hit its mark, killing one of the hobgoblins. Hastily, she did a quick count of how many there were. Seven. Seven was far too many for her too fight alone, but she couldn?t even think about running with this arrow in her leg. Already, the hobgoblin who shot her was pulling back his bowstring once again, his face the picture of malice.

As he loosed the crudely made arrow, Bethal sunk down, and it narrowly missed her, shooting off into the densely packed trees behind her, instead. She doubled over in pain at the sudden movement. This was it. She was as good as dead. She had excpected to get further then this, at least. As she lay back against the tree, and closed her eyes, waiting for the finally blow, she suddenly realised that the final blow hadn?t come, and it should have by now.

She tentatively opened one eye, and then the other. The hobgoblins lay before her in a bloody heap, most of them mangled and mutilated. She looked confused, and stood up. Perhaps she stood up a little too quickly, as a jolt of pain shot up her leg, reminding her of the arrow. ?Here, I?ll get that for you.? Muttered someone from beside her. Bethal shrieked in agony, then realised the arrow had gone. She looked up at her saviour, who was leaning against another tree, studying Bethal intently, tapping the arrow against his belt.

Edited by Hishi, 04 September 2004 - 10:47 AM.