Traveling through the Underdark as silent as Death itself, Shine was used to the solitude. In fact, he preferred it. But there’s something about this group he now travels with that he just cannot figure out. One of them has been missing in the Underdark for nearly a week, and they’ve been staying in a cave not far from where they were ambushed and scattered ever since. Now the dwarf wants to give it another three days, hoping the missing one will turn up?!
Shine shook his head as he thought about it, this is the Underdark. It’s practically impossible to survive here alone for more than a day, let alone a week. He figured Terkum and Nemesis must have some kind of connection that keeps the dwarf hoping his missing friend is still alive.
Relying on others for survival is a weakness, Shine thought. Having been raised in drow society (and being half-duergar, no less), he’d seen even the slightest trace of compassion answered with a slow, merciless death. That was his sole reason for abandoning his vile kin and the self-serving ways of all who dwell there months earlier during the raid on the Kingdom of Ironarm.
Shaking such useless thoughts from his head, Shine turned his attention back to navigating the pitch black tunnels as he made his way towards the area where they were ambushed. His vision shifted into the infrared spectrum inherent to both his races, and he easily moved along, listening for the slightest sound.
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Following Shine almost proved a challenge for Nameless, growing up in dwarven tunnels as opposed to the forests his people call home. Keeping his piwafwi pulled tight about his shoulders, Nameless followed Shine’s path back the way they’d originally come.
After an hour or so, he began to recognize certain tunnels and passages he himself had taken after the ambush, even the one where he literally ran into Terkum as he carried an unconscious Sunder over his shoulders. The closer he and Shine came to the place where their party was separated; Nameless grew more and more anxious, not only because Nemesis might be nearby, but also because it might give him the chance to take down a few dark-elves in the process.
Soon after, Nameless knew that the cavern where they were ambushed was just ahead. As he neared, a pair of crimson eyes stared at him from the shadows. Noticing his hidden companion, Nameless pressed himself against the opposite wall, pointed at his eyes, then around the corner. Knowing that you’re almost never alone in the Underdark, Shine just shrugged.
Rolling his eyes, Nameless took a chance and looked around the corner. The tunnel extended for another ten feet or so before opening into a wide, circular chamber roughly thirty meters across, with a ledge close to ten meters above the ground that encircled the chamber all the way around with an exit on either side. With another look back at Shine, who still hadn’t moved, Nameless crept closer to the tunnel exit.
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Following her directions, Nemesis went where Arachnia told him. Surprisingly, he saw not a single guard. Eventually, she pulled him aside to a dark corner and signed: We’re almost there. I’m going to cast a spell that will make you invisible so you won’t be seen. Just know that while others can’t see you, I can. You will follow directly behind me, do you understand?
His hesitance was clear as he replied: Yes.
Arachnia placed two fingers on his chest and mouthed the words to a spell which rendered Nemesis invisible. She immediately looked him in the eyes reminding him that she could, indeed, still see him. Facing back in the direction they were going, Arachnia motioned for Nemesis to stand behind her. When he did, she reached back and placed his right hand on her hip while looking back and signing, with another smile: So I know you’re there.
In another minute or so, they entered a room which Nemesis guessed had to be a guardroom leading to the holding cells he was just in. Only two doors were visible, the one they’d just come from and the one across from them. Against the wall on one side was a desk made from a giant mushroom native to the Underdark. Behind it, flanked by two armored guards wielding vicious looking spears, a scarred drow wearing leather armor looked up as they entered. He quickly averted his eyes as Arachnia looked at him and said, “Something wrong captain?”
“N-no, mistress.” He blurted. Arachnia had long ago placed an enchantment on the jailer and his men that would cause them to forget ever having seen her with nothing more than a thought. She exited the room through the opposite door with Nemesis in tow.
After a dozen or so more yards, she quickly turned right and walked farther before stopping at a dead end. As she moved her house emblem before the wall, Nemesis stared in awe as the stone parted like a curtain, revealing a small room within. The room itself was empty, except for the stone arch set against the far wall. It almost looked to him like a doorway, except there was no door, just a flat, stone wall.
She motioned for him to move inside and waved a hand at the opening, which closed. Pointing towards the stone arch, she looked at Nemesis and, reverting to the drow language said, “We are going to use this portal to move faster. You will be going through first.” Standing in front of the arch, Arachnia waved her house insignia that caused the wall inside the arch to part, again, like a curtain. Taking two steps back, she gestured towards the arch and said, “Go.”
Nemesis glanced back and forth between Arachnia and the active portal several times before moving towards it. He stood in front, staring, for a few heartbeats before closing his eyes and stepping through.
An overwhelming sense of vertigo assaulted Nemesis after going through the portal, and was over as quickly as it began. Blinking his eyes, he saw he was standing in what appeared to be someone’s room. Without pause, Nemesis dropped his pack, drew his sword, and spun around just as Arachnia came lunging through - her own sword in hand.
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Nemesis easily parried the straight thrust meant for his heart, knocking her blade out to his left and following up with a backhanded slash aiming for her throat. Arachnia ducked, causing the blade to pass just inches above her head as she swung her sword in an uppercut from right-to-left, barley missing as Nemesis hopped back and rushed forward again with a diagonal slash that she easily dodged.
Both came across with a left-to-right cut, their blades connecting less than an inch from each others’ necks. With surprising strength, Arachnia shoved forward, pushing Nemesis back faster than he could plant his feet. His bruised body couldn’t stand up to the impact as the air was driven from his lungs when he hit the wall. Nearly losing the grip on his sword, Nemesis tried to push back, but Arachnia used the move and, with a flick of her wrist, sent his sword sliding across the ground and pushed him back against the wall.
Nemesis was surprised that his legs would still support him, until he realized the only reason he was still standing was because Arachnia was holding him up. After disarming him, in one motion she had sheathed her own sword and pinned Nemesis against the wall with one arm on his chest and the other holding a small dagger against his stomach. She was pressed against him so close that he could not only feel her heartbeat, but also the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed. Not very heavily either, Nemesis noticed. He made a mental note to never underestimate her again.
He raised his head to look her in the eyes, refusing to give her the satisfaction of making him beg for his life. Her face was less than an inch from his. Her blood-red eyes never blinked as she stared at him. Her breath was hot against his skin. And that same smile, the one she’d been wearing since his supposed “rescue” seemed even more frightening and, at the same time, even more beautiful.
Moving her mouth so close that her lips brushed against his, she said, “And here I was, wondering how long it would take you to fight back. You almost disappointed me.” Sheathing her dagger, she let Nemesis go and turned around. Without the added support, he nearly toppled over but held himself up against a nearby table. Crossing the room, Arachnia settled herself on a chair and held that same smile as she watched Nemesis regain his breath and balance.
He just stared at her for several minutes while he recovered. When his breathing returned to normal, Nemesis glanced around the room before looking back to Arachnia. It was an octagonal chamber with no doors. Off to one side was a bed covered in expensive fabrics and several pillows. A large dresser sat next to the bed with a full length mirror next to it. A spider-shaped, eight legged table was on the other side. The rest of the room was barely furnished save a small desk with a chair on each side, and a few tapestries on the walls depicting images of the Spider Queen.
“I’m guessing… you’ve kept alive this long… for a reason, and I’m not going to pretend… I know what that reason is. I assume you’ll tell me sometime, but I’m not counting on it.” Nemesis straightened and looked over to his vampiric sword still lying on the floor.
Arachnia settled herself in more comfortably and motioned towards the sword, “Go ahead. Organize your things, but don’t expect to be leaving anytime soon. In your condition, you’ll be lucky to make it out of here, much less survive in the tunnels.”
Nemesis wore a confused expression as he retrieved his sword and put it on the table next to the magical pack she’d given him. He then removed his cloak, boots, and sword belt, placing them on the table as well. Taking the other chair, Nemesis sat at the table, his blade in easy reach. Arachnia then rose and walked to the dresser beside the bed. Opening a drawer, she took out a small vial and offered it to Nemesis. “What’s this?” he asked.
“That will take care of your wounds and eliminate the poison in your veins from my mother’s whip.” Pointing to the bed, she continued, “I also suggest you get some sleep. I’ll return in twenty-four hours to check on you.”
Before he could protest, Arachnia raised her hand and asked, “Do you want my mother to notice you’ve escaped? Or would you rather have me go clean up the mess downstairs?”
Nodding, Nemesis stood up and took the potion. After drinking it, the worst of his injures healed, and his strength started to return. She wasn’t lying. He looked over at her as she walked away and simply said, “Thank you.”
Waving her house insignia in front of the wall, it parted like a curtain just like before. She turned, smiling as she looked him up and down and said, nodding towards the bed with a wink, “Get some rest. You’re going to need it.”
She left through the opening which silently closed behind her, leaving Nemesis standing alone staring at the, once again, blank, stone wall. Not willing to take any chances, Nemesis took a few minutes to equip all of his gear before lying down on the bed, his sword across his chest.
He was fast asleep in less than a minute.
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