forums.rs

Forums

Nildi of Keldagrim

Quick find code: 49-50-957-32282822

of 94
Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
***The Skin Traders***

“Master?” came the voice of Irwin from behind the door. “There are two traders downstairs who wish to see you. Andarra and Jongor. They say they have an intriguing one-of-a-kind artifact that you should take a look at.”

Everyone’s jaws dropped! The wealthy stranger and her accomplice from the tavern in Yanille had arrived here and were waiting downstairs.

Zavistic quickly motioned for silence, and gestured for the members of his party to hide. Scrambling behind drapes and furniture, they rushed to conceal themselves. Nildi dived across the floor and wriggled under the four-poster bed. As he did so, the necromancer called out to his assistant.

“Very good, Irwin. Please show them up.”

A minute later, another knock sounded on the door and it swung open to reveal Andarra Chevisiar, dressed in an expensive fur-trimmed riding cloak and polished boots. A short scabbard hung from her belt, from which a small bejeweled hilt protruded. She stepped into the room and bowed slightly to the necromancer, revealing the figure of Jongor Smitson behind her. He followed her into the room, his green cape almost sweeping the floor as he did so.

Rising from his seat, Invrigar met their gaze and greeted them cordially.

“Andarra, Jongor, it is always a pleasure to see you. However, I regret that I have little time. Might I ask you to reveal your wares in haste, such that I might still make an already-arranged engagement?



“Of course,” replied Andarra. “You will not be disappointed with this.”

~continued~

24-Nov-2006 10:40:41 - Last edited on 24-Nov-2006 10:47:50 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
With a flourish, she produced a rolled up skin from beneath her cloak and let it unravel in her hands, displaying the cruel blackened markings carved into a face still recognizable as that of a Dwarf. Upon the sight of the skin again, Nildi let out an involuntary grunt from underneath the bed. Immediately, Andarra thrust the skin back into her cloak and drew a runite short sword from her scabbard. A glance at Jongor revealed that he had followed her lead, and had drawn a black scimitar from under his cloak.

“Is there someone else here?” Andarra asked, backing towards the door. “We cannot conduct business in the presence of hidden persons.”

Invrigar snapped. “You will not draw your weapons in my house!” he yelled. “Put them away immediately or I will not even entertain a glance towards that ragged skin you call an artifact.”

Jongor lowered his blade, but Andarra remained unconvinced. “Necromancer, I did not imagine a noise. We require your full confidence and security for our business dealings, as you well know. We shall return tomor…”

At that moment, Nildi wriggled out from under the bed with a yell and ran towards Andarra, his knife in his hands.

"That is my brethren, accursed thief! Return that skin!"

Then several things happened at once. Andarra and Jongor, given a moment to react while Nildi had been getting to his feet, backed out of the door, weapons raised high once more. Meanwhile Nildi, incensed with rage, leapt across the floor and through the door himself, snarling as he went. At the same time, the wizards emerged from their hiding places and ran after Nildi. Zavistic, who was in the lead, fired off a confusion charm towards the retreating thieves, but Nildi’s pendant absorbed it harmlessly as it passed him.

~continued~

24-Nov-2006 10:41:15 - Last edited on 29-Oct-2009 02:55:32 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Nildi catapulted himself down the stone stairs to the ground floor, pursuing the thieves through the front door and across the grass to where their mounts were waiting. Andarra and Jongor reached their horses and leapt into the saddles as fast as they could, but Nildi was upon them, crossing his knife with the long dark scimitar of Jongor.

Zavistic, Lavrus and Devlin poured from the castle, followed by a panting Invrigar.

“Throw a curse!” yelled Invrigar.

“I cannot,” Lavrus called back, “Nildi is blocking. His pendant would absorb everything from this angle.”

“Cannot use a bolt,” Zavistic added. “We must not harm the skin.”

Helpless to intervene, the wizards watched on as Nildi entered into a bizarre duel, his knife against a mounted Jongor, defending himself with a curved blade four times the length of Nildi’s weapon. Jongor was quickly getting the upper hand, but Andarra was shouting at him.

“Ride, ride you fool! The Dwarf is our cover. Ride!”

They broke away and ran at full gallop over the rolling grassland. The wizards immediately unleashed their prepared incantations but the two horses were beyond the nearest ridge in seconds, and were gone.

Everyone walked dejectedly back to the tower, but no one was more troubled than Nildi. Now that the thieves knew he was here, and that he was still serious about regaining his skin, they would guess that its value and importance was indeed high. They would also not come back to the necromancer for business for a long time.

“I am sorry” Nildi muttered, as everyone found their places in the upstairs room once more. “The skin was right here within our grasp. I cannot believe they got away.”

~continued~

24-Nov-2006 10:41:52 - Last edited on 24-Nov-2006 10:54:41 by Dreamweaver

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
“So they have the skin,” Zavistic said. “That is one mystery solved. In any case, we have received a translation of the script from Invrigar already. Not from the original perhaps, but close enough. Clearly the skin itself means a great deal to you, Nildi, but it should no longer be our primary concern. We have to find out what the intent of the shadows is.”

Nildi gasped. “What if they are looking for that skin? We know that they are converging on this approximate area, but their target may not be one of us at all.”

Devlin grunted. “I do not see what they would need with the skin, but it may be possible. Is it simply taking the rôle of some kind of marker for them to converge on?”

Invrigar, who had been staring thoughtfully at Nildi for a couple of minutes, slowly stood up. “No,” he said slowly, “I do not believe that the skin is their goal. Nildi, may I see your pendant?”

Nildi drew the delicately hollowed dragonstone from under his shirt and held it out in his hand for Invrigar to inspect.

“Quite incredible,” he mused. “Absolutely incredible. And this thing absorbs all magic?”

Nildi nodded. “It has absorbed everything that I have been subjected to. As I understand it, our mages imbued it with some kind of defensive negation power – much more than a regular solid crystal is able to contain. But I am no magic-user. I cannot tell you much more.”

“May I touch it?” Invrigar asked. “I would like to try to feel the nature of the forces within it.”

Nildi nodded, and the assembled wizards edged perceptibly forwards in their chairs to watch what Invrigar was about to do. The necromancer reached out his hand slowly towards the pendant.

Suddenly there was a loud smash, followed almost immediately by a sickening thunk. Devlin rolled forwards out of his chair, collapsing lifelessly onto the ground. Blood oozed from his neck where a rune throwing knife had sunk in up to its hilt.

24-Nov-2006 10:42:13 - Last edited on 27-Nov-2006 10:35:38 by Dreamweaver

EldestGreen

EldestGreen

Posts: 8,074 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Is it simply taking the rôle of some kind of marker for them to converge on?”

rôle?

ô?

Just wondering. Great adds by the way.

<~>Draken, Gold member of TGP, Silver of TWE and Novelist of TAL<~>
^><^ Before me, even Fate will Burn. The Shadow Phoenix lies deep within ^><^

25-Nov-2006 11:04:07 - Last edited on 25-Nov-2006 11:05:12 by EldestGreen

Dreamweaver
Aug Member 2003

Dreamweaver

Posts: 3,790 Adamant Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Yep, it's just "role" but I chose to use the original version of the word with the circumflex over the o, suggesting a more archaic writing style.

"Rôle" is borrowed from French of course, which explains that particular diacritic mark.

Dreamweaver

26-Nov-2006 08:14:47

EldestGreen

EldestGreen

Posts: 8,074 Rune Posts by user Forum Profile RuneMetrics Profile
Most definitely brilliant.

<~>Draken, Gold member of TGP, Silver of TWE and Novelist of TAL<~>
^><^ Before me, even Fate will Burn. The Shadow Phoenix lies deep within ^><^

27-Nov-2006 09:42:51 - Last edited on 27-Nov-2006 09:43:48 by EldestGreen

Quick find code: 49-50-957-32282822 Back to Top