1999-07-26: Traitors to the Realm; Dragar gains another piece
Traitors to the Realm; Dragar gains another piece
| Author: Unknown author | Published: July 26, 1999 |
A lone woman walks into the frigid caverns near Trinsic, mouth pursed in... triumph?
"Brrr...pretty cold, eh Brother?", said Amberyl, pulling her cape tight.
Additionally...
Jhym had slept far too long. The cold had obviously affected him somehow. He awoke, but sat quietly, listening to the voices around him.
"Aye, Amberyl," said SandTiger. "Let's get this done with. I am getting cold in this armor." He shifted uneasily.
Amberyl and her guildmates clutched their robes to them and stepped onto the portal stone leading into Dragar's lair. Each murmured "Wintersoul" as they stepped up. Arriving inside the frigid keep , located above Deceit, they both hid. Moments later, a man strode in, covered in Armor of Ice. He bid the shivering travellers welcome. He unlocked the doors for them, then hustled them through before shutting the doors firmly.
Amberyl, always suspecting a trap, ran in and looked around. Nothing, she thought to herself. Dragar walked calmly up to his throne, settling in silent contemplation. The three forms stood before him...wondering what was to happen next.
"Ermm...Dragar, milord, I have a gift for Skorr, seeing how he resurrected me twice out on the battlefield." Amberyl twisted her lips in annoyance. "But he did laugh at me the second time!!" Dragar smirked slightly, but disdained comment.
Amberyl dismounted from her steed, newly acquired from Tamiko. She tied her horse to a pole, and informed Dragar her beast was dinner for Skorr. The cowled man next to her did likewise, leaving his mare named Wrath for the other dragons.
"You three did well this eve," Dragar said. "My commends go with you... and the agreed upon price."
"Dragar, did the informant tell you about what we have been doing these past few days?" Amberyl said earnestly, wanting to ensure her favor. The others smirked slightly. "About how we spread all that propaganda around?"
"Aye Amberyl, she did." He traced a figure on the newly aquired armor nonchalantly.
"Good then.. I just wanted to make sure. It was no easy thing convincing Auldrek's fools last night in Cove, that they were in the wrong place." Amberyl twisted her lips in a semblance of a smile.
Dragar grinned, knowing they had served him well.
"Dragar...about the arrangements." SandTiger spoke up, a slightly fearful look as the madman turned his gaze upon him. "The house will now be ours?"
"Aye, SandTiger...it will be." Dragar shifted impatiently. "I will send my... informant to liberate the stone and the NightChest into your possession."
Amberyl looked up, more questions upon her lips.
"Will we be working for you again?" She looked on as he tapped a finger upon his throne in thought. "I mean...we did uncover these arms for you...." She became quiet, not wanting to overreach herself.
"Indeed...we shall see...but it can be done." His gaze looked far across the cavernous room. "There is the small matter of... " He murmured something. Amberyl and her guildmates, having overheard, quickly agreed.
Dragar looked up, frowning thunderously. "I hear something... coming from the chamber doors." He stood, staring beyond them.
Amberyl walked back to the doors and quickly returned, informing everyone they were being watched from the anteroom.
Dragar quickly left, and the words of power echoed eerily through the empty halls. The three figures vanished into air. All that could be heard was the braying of two horses, waiting for their lives to come to an abrupt halt.
-A
Additionally....
Jhym had slept far too long. The cold had obviously affected him somehow. He awoke, but sat quietly, listening to the voices around him.
Amberyl... Seifer... several others. He saw several dead bodies. A battle had occurred, t'was obvious. And without further knowledge, he was not going to make his presence known. He watched as the folk gathered their things and finally left, the remaining bodies decaying quite quickly for them to be so cold.
After a short time, a large group from Corwyn appeared. They wandered about the anteroom for a time, discussing what to do. Finally Jhym strode from the shadows, talking with Boris and Tai and Corran. They seemed as clueless as he. He shook his head sadly as the group left, leaving just a couple of folk behind.
"My vigil was useless," he thought to himself, as Boris and Don Martin talked of possibilities. "Not that I'd have been much threat to anyone."
Finally, he spoke the word and returned to the cave, not realizing he stopped shivering in the sudden jungle heat. He ran around the range, back to Corwyn, then through the gates to Minoc. From Minoc to Pax, he finally found Seifer, settled upon a chair at the ladies' tavern. He spoke shortly of the battle, of the traitors. Seifer spoke of trying to stealth and grab the arms before Dragar could. Holding his frustration, Jhym wandered out of the tavern and to Yew.
At Yew, having no idea what to do next, he grabbed his boat and started a trip around the northern reaches. Finally, after encountering NightzAngel and a friend, he decided to camp somewhere far out of people's way. A small isle in the sea of Justice was large enough for a dumb bard and his small meal of fish.
Settling back, he thought about how much death was coming their way. He wondered if maybe they should just save Dragar the trouble and find the last piece and throw it at him. Maybe it would chop his head off. For all the good they had been thus far, it was no worse an idea.
Seawater quietly washed around a tiny island, a tiny campfire the only sign of human life in leagues. Soft notes of music flickered across the waters, drowning softly in the roaring night.
Jhym
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