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* Lisl has had no luck finding Jaret. His house is closed up, although she still appears to be allowed to unlock his door. His house looks like he has been gone some time, and planned to do so, everything neat and tidy, and only his travelling gear missing. * Rhys has never been too warm towards Jaret, and readily acknowledges not having seen him in some time. Perhaps that Lisl is asking after him prevents Rhys from saying, "...and I've had a more peaceful time without his like around." * Adiethian is also no help. He says Jaret requested a leave of absence from his duties, and while he was loathe to grant it, especially because Jaret wouldn't say where he was headed, he felt he had little choice in the matter. <Lisl> ::raises her eyebrows:: Curiouser and curiouser.... <Lisl> ::complaining to her mother about it, on one of her visits to the city, Aldis looks up from her tea.:: Why didn't you ask me? Some months ago, he came to me, asked to borrow my drow language books, and for me to re-set the enchantment that disguised him as a dark elf. I haven't seen him since. * Lisl growls and sets herself to bonking her head on the table repeatedly. After watching a moment, Aldis picks up her teacup, holding it delicately. "Really, Lisl, you're going to spill the teapot." <Lisl> Mother, why would I have *thought* to-- ::sighs:: Never mind. ::rubs the bridge of her nose:: You don't know of any connection between drow and albino dragons, do you? <Aldis> Albino dragons? Well, *that's* a peculiarity. No, I can't think of one. But if I do, I'll be sure to let you know. <Lisl> So he's roaming the underdark by himself, speaking drow out of "Drow for the Adventure Traveller"... ::sighs:: I suppose he's looking for Lini. I suppose I should... dammit. ::bonks her head on the table again:: * Aldis picks up the teapot and holds it above the table. "Stop that, Lisl, you'll hurt the table." <Lisl> My table. I can hurt it if I want to. ::grumps:: I should go after him. But I shouldn't go after him. Dammit. <Aldis> He'd asked me to scry for her, but I didn't have any success. I supposed it might have been her natural magic resistance, and he took the bit in his teeth. <Lisl> ::sighs:: And people say *I'm* headstrong.... * Aldis muses, tapping her finger against the rim of her cup, "I wonder if he gets that from his father... He was a charmer, wasn't he?" <Lisl> ::fixing her mother with a gimlet eye:: And quite content as a widower, I'm sure. With many, many temple responsibilities to keep him busy. <Aldis> ::having a sip of her tea:: Mmm. Why were you saying you shouldn't go after him? * Lisl eyes her mother's complacency suspiciously. "Because he's a big boy. He's been there before and likely knew perfectly well what he was getting himself into. And if he was going after Lini, she would *not* be happy to have me... meddling." * Aldis nods. "And yet, you thought about going after him because...?" <Lisl> ::blinks:: Because it's the *Underdark.* And he's my friend. And, good as he is, it's just foolish to go leaping someplace like that without anyone at your back. ::mutters:: Sort of like taking on a black dragon singlehanded... * Aldis beams. "It's good to hear you say it like that, Lisl." She appears to consider something for a moment. "I *suppose* when I'm back home, I could do a little scrying. Make sure he isn't in too far over his head." <Lisl> ::immediately looking suspicious again:: Like *what*? <Aldis> ::thinks:: Oh... something like... posing as a member of a grudgingly respected drow mercenary company, to be allowed to enter drow cities unshepherded by a female superior? I think that was it, last time. <Lisl> ::narrows her eyes a little:: No, I meant... it's good to hear me say it like *what*, Mother? <Aldis> Like someone who plans things out before leaping into the mouth of utter doom. It shows you're growing up. <Lisl> ::snorts:: "Finally"? <Aldis> ::primly:: I never said that. ::she refills her cup:: More tea? * Lisl holds out her mug with a sigh. "You didn't *have* to. Please." <Lisl> And whenever you decide to go home... would you please try to scry Jaret, and let me know what you find out? Unless it involves several curvaceous drow priestesses doing something other than torturing or killing him. * Aldis refills Lisl's mug. "Of course, Lisl. All you needed to do was ask." <Lisl> Yes, well, next time, at least drop me a note or something when one of my friends hares off into uncertain doom. * Aldis quirks a small smile. "Of course. With their usual predilections, it'll give me a frequent excuse to come by and see how you're doing." * Lisl looks faintly horrified, and then resigned. "As if you need an excuse." <Aldis> Of course I don't need one, to visit my only daughter. But they're nice to have. * Lisl snorts. <Lisl> ::fidgeting with her spoon:: He *has* been there before... <Aldis> ::carefully eyeing the cream as she pours a thin thread of it into her cup:: Mmmm hmmm... <Lisl> Argh. ::putting her head in her hands, gripping her short hair in both fists:: I don't *like* being a grownup. It's not in my nature. <Lisl> ::peering up between her arms:: I don't suppose you could do a teensy weensy scry from here? * Aldis stirs her tea with a slim silver spoon and smiles. "Oh, I can try. Come stand over here." She leans over the tea and gently breathes onto the surface, and curls of steam waft up. * Lisl moves over silently behind her mother to watch without distracting her. <Aldis> ::some of the steam coalesces on the surface of the tea into a small man-like shape that 'holds' onto the lip of the cup and drops over the side. It stalks along the table, pressed against an invisible wall. It peeks around a 'corner', brings its head back, hesitates, and then turns the corner in a burst of speed, the steam breaking up and drifting away. <Lisl> ::sighs and scowls:: Well... either he's skulking, or he's sneaking away from something. <Aldis> And fortunately none of those curvaceous priestesses. <Lisl> ::gives her mother a Look:: Anywhere else, I'd say it was their husbands he was running from. <Lisl> ::shakes her head:: And he *does* look like he's trying not to be seen. Which argues, to me, that his cover's blown. ::scowls, thinking:: Right. ::puts her mug down, stands, and starts collecting things from around the room:: I'm going after him. If nothing else, I can provide him with an extra distraction to cover his movements. Mother, you're welcome to stay-- just lock up the house, if you go. <Lisl> ::mutters:: Not that that would deter my *usual* class of break-in for a second... * Aldis has some more tea. "Do you need anything from me?" <Lisl> ::pauses to consider:: If you know *where* he is, that would narrow things down a bit. If not, don't worry about it. If you see Lini, sit on her. SOMEthing. Just keep her there. And if I'm not back in two weeks, let Zoya know? <Aldis> No disguise? It really is a well designed spell. <Lisl> ::considers:: I don't doubt it. But would it hold up under a change? I don't relish becoming a giant spider, for that matter, either. <Aldis> It's the city closest to Marsember, where you went before. I can place you close enough to save you much travel, but not so close to raise alarms. <Lisl> ::nods:: Hm. Just a moment. ::races upstairs, returning several minutes later wearing an elven chain hauberk, the ancient sword Aldis gave her strapped to her back:: Alright. Ready. <Lisl> ::grins:: Might as well do it up right, if I'm to be a proper distraction. * Aldis casts a spell, and Lisl's skin darkens, and her hair takes on a metallic sheen. "You'll be fine when you change. The coloration may be off, though, until you're back in sunlight." <Lisl> ::nods, and leans forward to give Aldis a quick hug:: Be good. Or, as good as you can manage. * Aldis returns the hug. "And you. I'll see you in a few weeks.' * Aldis casts another spell, and the four walls of Lisl's kitchen are replaced by dripping rock cave walls, and pitch blackness. <Lisl> Aye. ::grins, her smile fading like the Cheshire cat as she fades from existence. She blinks, her eyes changing to gather in all available light:: Well now. Underdark, sweet Underdark. ----------------- * Jaret slips out of a door hidden behind some hanging fungus, in a dark tunnel under an elevated road/walkway in the drow city. Aldis's illusory disguise still covers him, and he has the wild white hair and dark skin of a drow elf. <Jaret> ::perhaps for her own amusement, Aldis has given Jaret a white bushy mustache and a pronounced widow's peak:: <Jaret> ::checking to make sure his egress went unobserved, Jaret makes to leave the tunnel. Behind him, coming from whatever passage is behind the tunnel door, the sound of several running feet is slowly getting louder:: * Lisl wears her mother's illusion, as well, and appears to be a little of what she is-- a cousin to Lini. She is shorter and her eyes and hair are somewhat different, but a similarity remains. She has passed the gate guards without incident (a little to her chagrin), and now pauses to flare her nose, searching for a hint of Jaret's trail. * Jaret leaves the tunnel, walking quickly, and he takes the first turn without regard for where he's going. A minute or so after he turns the corner, the door under the overpass bursts open and five male drow pile out, clutching nasty curved and hooked daggers. * Lisl finds an old trace and begins to follow it, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thank you, Mother, for not being *too* much of a perfectionist..." * Jaret continues for a short way down the dark lane he's chosen before randomly tacking his course again down another alley. Some distance behind him, one of the men quietly mutters, holding his hands cupped in front of his chest. A violet light congeals between his fingers, and then leaks out, pooling in the direction Jaret left. * Lisl heads into the city at a ground-eating lope, ears perked, taking care to avoid any chance meetings she can. * Jaret only gets lucky for so long in his alley. Two younger drow melt out of the shadows, holding maces, with bucklers strapped to their wrists. {Your coins or your--} The drow crumples to the ground as Jaret slams him in the temple with the pommel of the long knife which has suddenly appeared in his hand. <Lisl> ::muttering under her breath:: Now... if *I* were Lini, where would I go in this hellhole...? <Jaret> ::the other drow gulps and swings wildly with the mace. Jaret ducks under the errant blow, and punches him in the stomach. The drow doubles over, air whooshing out of him. Jaret cracks him on the back of the head with the pommel of the dagger and continues on his rapid way, muttering:: I hope they weren't asking for directions. * Lisl follows the trace to a nastier portion of the city (or at least, more run-down). "Hm... well, true, she's not likely to be terribly popular in these parts..." * Jaret cranes his head around, looking for the large, gently illuminated pillar at the center of the city that serves as the city's means of tracking the passage of time. "I think the exit is... over there? What I wouldn't give for a more standard street layout." <Jaret> ::behind him, the group of dagger-wielding Vhaeraun worshipers following their purple puddle find the unconscious would-be muggers. They quietly rob the men, and kick at the puddle, trying to get it to move faster:: * Lisl follows a circuitous route through back alleys. At one point, she presses back into the (deeper) shadows as a group of armed men swarm past, their leader holding a purple glowing liquid cupped in his hands. * Lisl starts across the alley as the men turn a corner at the far end, and stops dead at the crossing. She narrows her eyes and kneels to touch the paving stones, bringing her fingers to her nose. * Jaret hurries along, trying to get his bearings and get out of the city and stay ahead of his pursuers. He stops at a narrow crossroads, and turns slightly, listening intently. He looks at his options and picks the darkest, narrowest side street to head down. * Lisl turns in the direction the men were moving and starts after them, moving at speed with a hunter's silence. She catches up with the rear guard and slides an arm around his neck, jerking him backwards into an alley and covering his mouth before he can make a sound. She sniffs him, sighs, and breaks his neck, continuing after the others again. <Jaret> ::the alley takes a turn ten yards or so in. After the bend, Jaret turns, draws his sword, and waits. When he hears the scuffling of approaching feet, he charges, hoping that he doesn't come face-to-face with a parade of drow heavy lizard cavalry:: * Lisl reaches for another just as the contingent stops, the lead drow dribbling more purple glowy stuff on the ground and consulting it. She restrains a curse and presses back into an alleymouth again, waiting for them to continue. <Jaret> ::the drow turn and head down Jaret's little alley. The first drow is too busy looking down at his purple light to notice Jaret running toward him, and barely looks up in time to get run through.:: * Lisl slips out of her alley and heads after them again as they turn the corner. Her eyes widen and she backs up hurriedly as she sees a crazed drow with a bushy white moustache charging the little group. <Jaret> ::the drow behind their leader try to scramble into action, and one of them manages to outline Jaret in a subtle, undulating purple light before his throat is slashed open. The others stagger back, bringing daggers up defensively, and reaching into pockets and cloaks for alternative weaponry:: <Lisl> ::peeks around the corner and snorts softly:: Four on one? I don't *think* so. ::her blade rings lightly as she draws it, giving the man in front of her time enough to start to turn before she cuts him down:: <Jaret> ::one of the men has pulled a handheld crossbow out from a holster and fires, Jaret curses, lunges, severs the string, and shoves the wielder into one of his companions, who has begun stammering out the beginnings of a spell. The drow bounce off each other, and find their ends quickly at the point of Jaret's rapier:: * Jaret stops to count corpses and ends up with one unattributed stiff. He advances back towards the intersection, nonchalantly bobbing his swordpoint in front of him. * Lisl steps out of the alley, blade up in a defensive posture. {Hold, slave.} * Jaret slows his advance, but doesn't stop it. His drow is not good, but not incredibly bad. {I was attacked by these...} His eyes fix on the sword. {Where did you get that blade?} * Lisl tips her head back a little, drawing in a deep breath through her nose and then grinning. She flourishes the sword, making it sing in the air before sheathing it. "My mother gave it to me, of course." * Jaret stops his advance, and puts his sword up. "Lisl? What're you doing here?" <Lisl> Following you, of course. ::she nods back towards the alley:: What did you do to them? Ask them the way to the bathroom? * Jaret sheathes the sword and motions Lisl to follow him farther down the alley. "Please, if you will, some distance from more well-traveled areas, until this unwelcome illumination fades. And I broke into their secret temple, looking for Lini. And then left without tithing. I'm rude. I know." <Lisl> Ah. I'd suspected as much, as Adiethian said you'd begged leave and so were not up to some bit of desperate foolhardiness for *him.* <Jaret> Oh, no, this is a completely personal venture. It's been so long, since she's been around, I thought I'd go looking for her, so I came here... <Lisl> ::nods:: Mother said she couldn't scry her. ::frowns a little:: Any sign? * Jaret shakes his head. "None. From what I could tell in my quick survey, Vh..." He trails off, " you-know-who doesn't know where she is, either." He sighs, holding out a hand, seeing he's still lit up, dropping the hand to his side. * Lisl makes a face. "Sorry I wasn't quicker. But I wasn't certain you weren't just another obstacle." * Lisl eyes him and shakes her head. "Mother certainly has a sense of humor about things." * Jaret makes a face and pats at his upper lip. "She kept a straight face when she assured me it was necessary in order for me to blend in." <Lisl> I'll bet she did. Most drow males I've seen are clean-shaven. ::frowns a little:: If they *have* to shave. I don't know. Facial hair is... more of a human trait, I believe. <Jaret> Perhaps she merely wanted me to be as notable a drow as I am a human. ::he grins:: <Lisl> Ha! Silly me, I thought the point of a disguise was to *keep* you from standing out. <Jaret> I cannot help it. Anyway, for at least another ten minutes or so, I'm really going to stand out. Hopefully no one comes down this alley... ::he looks up and down the alley, what he can see at least. Then, quieter:: This is it, Lisl. I'm not looking any more. * Lisl eyes him critically. "I suppose you could walk behind me, and I could say I was using you as a way-lantern." <Lisl> ::brow furrowing at his more serious tone:: You're... moving on, then? <Jaret> If she returns, I'll welcome her with open arms. But until then... yes. <Lisl> ::lets out a breath and nods:: I can accept that. * Jaret looks up at the buildings that make up the walls of the alley. "They really aren't prone to architectural aesthetics, are they? I've seen enough octagons and the like to knot my brain the past few days." <Lisl> ::snorts:: Why bother? It's dark all the time, anyway. <Jaret> A valid point. ::the glow covering Jaret winks out:: Ah, there. And now I am illuminated only by my inner light. * Lisl looks him up and down again. "Which, thankfully, is not bleeding out into the street. I'm lucky I caught you. You were just leaving?" <Jaret> I was hoping to. Unless you have a reason to remain in this delightful hamlet? <Lisl> ::sighs:: Not particularly, no. I'd been hoping for the opportunity to provide you with a marvellous distraction to escape with, even if I couldn't find you. At least, it *looked* like you were sneaking out. * Jaret looks askance at Lisl. "Then... how were you going to escape?" <Lisl> ::grins:: Oh, well, I'd figure out something. And if nothing else, I'm sure it would have given you great joy to rescue *me.* <Jaret> It's good to see we were both operating from the same basic plan, at least. <Lisl> Yes, well, Mother had vague hopes of my showing more forethought and planning and all, but I could hardly be expected to ruin an excellent reputation just to make her happy. * Jaret laughs, then claps his hand over his mouth. "I'm not sure that's allowed around here, unless you're flogging someone to death. Shall we be on our way?" <Lisl> ::starts to gesture:: After you. Oh, wait. The male-female thing. Right. After me, then, I suppose. ::peeks out into the alley and then steps out, striding confidently in the direction of the way she came in:: * Jaret checks to make sure all his gear is settled into place, and follows Lisl out of the alley. |
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