Dark Whispers

[Torrential]

Roril strode through the gravel strewn main road of Tamasha Village, cautious not to make eye contact with any passers-by. He kept his head lowered and wore his dark hood in the afternoon light in order to conceal himself. It was of great importance that he was not seen by anyone.

The Dark Elf joined a throng of villagers, all bustling toward a nearby pub. Not wanting to attract the slightest bit of attention, Roril followed the crowd into the pub. Once inside, most of the crowd dispersed among the many circular tables the pub offered, in seek of nourishment. Roril instead occupied one of the few wooden chairs placed in a far corner of the pub, where he had a good view of the company. Roril took note of anybody acting strangely or out of place—he knew the person he was after was not from this side of the country and would surely not be aware of the customs of the large village.

After an hour or so of close watch, Roril saw a man enter the pub. The man had medium-length black hair and had a scraggly beard. The man looked unkempt and almost did not seem sure of why he was in a pub. Roril witnessed the man sit down at an empty table and he did so expectantly, as if he was waiting for someone to join him. After a while, no one joined the man. Roril watched as the man got up from his seat and exited the pub.

Roril knew it was time to act. The Drow stood up from his corner seat and exited the pub, the early evening light enveloping him. Roril looked to the right and saw the man walk quickly down the main road, toward the entrance of the village. Roril quickly ran down a small alleyway and made a hard left, working to catch the man by surprise. Roril made another fast left and ran to the end of the alley, now waiting for the man to catch up. As soon as the man walked by the alley where Roril crept, Roril grabbed the man and threw him into the alley. The man immediately tried to run but Roril was faster. The Dark Elf clenched the man by the collar of his musty jacket and threw him up against the cold brick wall.

“Where is the boy?” Roril demanded.

“Eva k’linth! Sunsa kim’realda!”

“Do you not speak of the Common tongue, you?” Roril had no idea what language the man was speaking in, much less what he was saying. “Where is the boy?” Roril demanded yet again. “Answer me!”

“Sinraeth kuma’shir! Rin’tielse! Sunsa ta’en!” The man pulled a knife from the inside of his jacket.

Roril held the man with one arm while pulling out a scimitar with the other. Roril pointed the blade at the man’s throat. “Make a move, and it will be your last ever.”

The man laughed. “Tre’lith? Somune trunisa! Trena’shir….”

The man raised his own knife to his throat and slit it.

Roril dropped the man to the cold ground, blood pouring from the body’s neck. “Coward,” Roril muttered. Not feeling at all bad for the man, Roril swept from the alleyway. He needed to find someone of the town who was a master of languages—he needed to decipher what the man had said.

Just as Roril cleared out of the alley, three masked men approached the Drow.

“Come with us, Dark Elf,” the center man said in a deep voice. “It would be in your best interest.”

“My best interest, you say?” Roril asked. “Well, I do admit that does sound tempting.” Roril unsheathed his other scimitar. “However, I believe it would be in your best interest to walk away right now.”

“Don’t think so,” said the man. The man snapped his fingers and the other two men advanced toward Roril.

Roril braced himself, ready for the imminent battle.

[HoudiniDerek]

Guang was striding through Tamasha, tired and trail-weary. He had just come back from the farthest edges of the Dermun after hunting down some bandits who had abducted a little girl in a hunting camp outside of town. It was a case he would not have normally taken, but he had figured it would be easy. It had been anything but easy and the pay was minimal. It was a good thing he had a decent nest egg from some of his other exploits.

He was passing one of the many garbage-strewn alleys of Tamasha when he heard some voices. He slowed and saw that three men were preparing to jump what looked like an elf. While Guang had no problem with elves, his curiosity was aroused as to what this particular elf had done. Most were very cautious and solemn people.

Unfortunately, Guang's hesitance had been noticed. The man who appeared to be the leader turned around and noticed him gawking. Whistling, three more men appeared from behind Guang with drawn swords. Apparently, they thought Guang was on the side of the elf...and apparently he was.

Guang deliberately drew his sword from the scabbard on his back and slowly stepped against a nearby wall. Just in case the elf was not the last man standing, he did not want an ambush. Guang smiled crookedly at the men advancing on him and brought up his sword.

His battle cry sounded, drowning out the city and the sounds of fighting from the group just down the alley.

[Torrential]

The two men advancing on Roril quickly drew their weapons: one man a sword and the other an axe. Roril spun his scimitars in his hands, calling the men toward him. Sure enough, the axe man lunged toward Roril blindly, axe soaring from above. Roril easily sidestepped the blow and slashed at the man’s arm, drawing blood. The man yelled in pain as his partner came slashing at Roril. The Drow was surprised at how fast the swordsman was for a human, but he paled in comparison to the skill and agility of Roril’s kind. Roril parried the sword with his left scimitar and spun on the spot and slashed the man’s chest with his right. Howling in pain, the man stepped back and dropped his weapon.

Only when Roril’s two assailants were down did Roril realize that another battle was taking place: A Gnome was battling three more masked men, and was faring quite well. Is he on my side in this battle, or is he merely defending himself? Roril thought the first was absurd, considering the long, bloody struggle between Gnomes and the Drow. However, he had to fight alongside the Gnome for now; they had a common enemy at the moment.

Figuring the Gnome could handle himself for the time being, Roril advanced upon the supposed leader. “I said before you should have walked away.”

The man laughed. “And I told you to come with us. You didn’t listen, so you’ll pay the price, demon.”

The last word struck Roril: demon. Roril understood what the man meant, that the Drow were hated by all races, that the Drow meant no good for the upper lands. Roril, however, although he shares the same blood he so loathes, was not like his brethren. “I shall not,” Roril said calmly. He looked up and shot the man a look of hatred, yelled a battle cry, and came at the man, both scimitars slashing.

The man pulled out his own sword and deflected Roril’s swords, even sending one flying away. Roril was blinded by rage and was not thinking straight. Roril used his remaining scimitar to slash and hack at anything that was the man in front of him. The man successfully parried each blow that Roril sent at him. As the man parried another blow, Roril spun around to throw off the man, but before Roril came full circle, he felt a sharp, deep pain in his lower back. As Roril came to look at the man, Roril found he was weaponless. The man’s bloody sword was on the cold ground and Roril could not speak. The pain enveloped Roril as he slid to the ground next to the blade that forced him down.

“You see, Drow? You were blinded by rage, just as your entire race does. And what has it gotten you? You are pathetic, Drow.”

Roril tried to return to his feet, but he couldn’t muster the strength. The dark sky and the moonlight that bathed them all faded into inky darkness…..

[HoudiniDerek]

The first man fell easily as he had been too eager to fight one man alone. He had run the several steps distancing him and Guang...and Guang had ducked his thrust and skewered him through the rib cage. The man coughed blood, his eyes glazed, and he fell to the ground in a heap after Guang removed the sword.

The other two split to each side of Guang and slowly closed in, one eye constantly aware of the blood-drenched sword balanced in the gnome's hand. Guang realized that they meant to bumrush him at the same time, hoping to disarm him and probably kill him. He waited silently for the feint from either side.

He saw it come from the man on his left and Guang immediately dove three steps to the right, thrusting at the surprised man. The other man gained his bearings too late as Guang slashed the throat of the other man, sending his vocal cords and his last scream flying.

Guang slowly turned and gave the last man a cool gaze. The man thingyed an eyebrow with interest, but adjusted his stance and sword...slowly edging towards Guang. Guang could hear a conversation and a blood-curdling yell from the other side of the alley, but he dared not look just yet. His eyes must have shown his distraction because the man lunged just as Guang finished the thought.

Guang managed to parry, but it slid the sword down to his forearm and gashed out a long wound. The man was still coming forward so Guang stepped forward and elbowed him to the nose. The man dropped his sword and Guang ran him through with his own. The man's breath exploded from him and he fell to the ground with his comrades.

Guang cleaned off the sword on the dead man's tunic and looked towards the other end of the alley just in time to see the elf fall to the ground...a sword in his back. Guang raced forward toward the pair, but the man who was unarmed sped away the opposite direction. Guang knelt by the elf and saw that the wound was deep. The elf still seemed somewhat conscious, but overly incoherent.

Guang quickly pulled out the sword and stopped the blood flow. It would take a healer to cure the wound completely. Guang hurriedly bandaged his own arm with the sleeve of one of the dead men. He put his sword back in his scabbard and picked up the dying elf. Guang ran back to the edge of the alley and towards the outskirts of town. There was a local healer there who still practiced. Hopefully, he was home.

Guang saw a light on as he approached the house and smiled with relief. He knocked and was ushered in. The tall man offered no questions, but immediately took the elf to a back room and began to work. A young girl offered Guang some food and tended to his wound. A few minutes later Guang was fast asleep at the table.

[Torrential]

Roril opened his eyes. He found himself to be in a dimly lit room, lying on his stomach in a small cot. The Drow thought back to what he last remembered: He was battling the group of thugs, and there was a pain in his lower back as he collapsed. Roril ran his fingers down his back and felt a thick layer of heavy bandages. How bad was his injury? Roril pushed himself up from the cot and staggered to his feet. Roril found a mirror near where he stood. His back facing the mirror, Roril slowly unwrapped his dressings and craned his head to look into the mirror. The wound looked deep, but it seemed to be scarring nicely. How long does it take for a wound such as this to attain this level of healing? Roril’s stomach lurched as he thought of how long he may have been unconscious.

A man entered the room. “Oh! You’re awake!” he cried. The tall man then looked at Roril’s wound. “Ah, seems to be healing nicely. You’re lucky Guang here arrived in a timely manner. I fear we may have lost you if he hadn’t.”

Roril was confused. “Who is this Guang? Who are you? How long have I been here?”

The man put up a hand to silence Roril. “Please, all will be explained. First, however, you need to nourish yourself. You haven’t eaten in days. Follow me to the kitchen.”

Days? Roril began to fear how long he had been here. He took the man’s advice and followed him to the kitchen.

Roril sat down at the table where a Gnome sat. The man quickly poured Roril a bowl of hot stew and set it in front of the Drow. Not wasting any time, Roril ravenously ate the food put in front of him.

“What is your name, by the way?”

“Roril.”

“Well then, Roril, I’d like for you to meet Guang, the one who brought you here.” The man gestured toward the Gnome.

Roril looked to Guang. “I thank you for bringing me here, Guang.” Roril bowed his head respectfully to the Gnome. He then turned to the man. “And I also thank you, erm—”

“Kalec.”

“—Kalec,” Roril finished. “Now, how long have I been here?”

Kalec thought. “About a week, I’d say.”

A week?! Roril could not believe it. He was sure the boy, wherever he was, was long gone. Or worse, Roril feared.....

“I thank you for you kindness and hospitality, Kalec,” Roril said hurriedly as he jumped up from the table, “but I have business I must attend to.” Roril ran to the room where he was kept and threw on his cloak and his scimitars.

“No!” Kalec said. “You must stay, you haven’t fully recovered—”

Roril cut him off. “I’ve already been here too long. Thank you very much, but I really must go.”

With that, Roril stormed out of the house, his back protesting the entire way.

[HoudiniDerek]

Guang had woken two days later, finally rested from his long trip and battle. He had washed and gone to his home on the far side of Tamasha. He knew the elf would be fine with the healer until he got back.

On the morning that he arrived with new clothes and provisions, he had brought Kalec some money and some food for the trouble of caring for the injured elf. The elf was still unconscious, but doing better. Kalec said that another week would make him well enough to travel. Guang nodded and began cooking. He was sitting at the table a few minutes later when Kalec walked out, the elf behind him.

Kalec introduced Guang to the elf who nodded and began focusing frantically on how long he had been there. Kalec told him and the elf jumped up, scattering the remnants of the stew Guang had cooked all over the table. Hurriedly, the elf grabbed his things and left.

"Wait!" Kalec called as Guang calmly cleaned up the mess left behind.

"You are wasting your breath, Kalec," Guang said. Kalec turned to look at him quizzically. "He has business to attend too. It is easy to see the way he carries himself. Besides, there was a man the other night that got away. I have a feeling the elf was not attacked on accident." Guang finished clearing the mess away and hitched up his satchel.

"He is not ready to fight." Kalec left anything else unsaid and looked at Guang pointedly.

"I know, Kalec. That is why I am going after him." Guang shook the healer's hand and left by the same path that the elf had taken. At least this time he was rested...