The Games People Play (Part 2) Igrainne & Menace (Narrative)
Aug 15, 2019 14:25:03 GMT
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Grimes, Milo Brightmane, and 2 more like this
Post by Ian (Menace) on Aug 15, 2019 14:25:03 GMT
Port Ffirst, the Cavernous Seashank Inn - a place as squalid as it can be before truly drifting into abject poverty and despair. The aroma of cheap ale, stew of questionable composition, and vomit hangs in the air, creating that particular reek of carousing done to keep the misery at bay. While last nights’ drunks still sleep soundly, their hair and sick plastered to their foreheads or on the table they are resting, two hooded figures sit off in one particularly shady corner, an octagonal chess board on the table between them. They speak in hushed voices, in a language thoroughly foreign to anyone who might have cared to listen in - Undercommon.
Menace’ hand hovers over the board, the ranks of his red army already decimated by the unrelenting onslaught of Igrainne’s black forces.
“I do say, I have enjoyed our meetings here Igrainne, despite the thrashing and humiliation you keep visiting on me.” he says chuckling, moving his remaining warrior piece.
“Well, at least you’re getting better,” the half-drow replies. She scoops up the ivory dice into her hands, shakes, and rolls them onto the table. Two blanks. Damn. “Not up to the speed at which you learnt Undercommon, but there is progress.”
“Speaking of which…”, Menace says, organizing a desperate defensive line, “I was wondering if you have heard from your Drow contact again? The priestess we met in the Frog Bog temple?”
He looks up from the game, which suddenly seems not to matter anymore.
“You may have heard, I am hoping to organise a trade expedition into the Underdark, and thought you might be an excellent travelling companion for such a venture!”
Having just executed Menace’s last orc slave pawn that had guarded his now precariously exposed red matriarch, Iggraine stops dead.
“You’re doing what? Expedition in the Underdark to where?”
“Well, to be fair, you didn’t think I was learning Undercommon just out of an academic interest, did you?” Menace says, with a sly smile, hands held out in an apologetic gesture.
“You mentioned a few days ago that you had heard of the village of Xarribia and the city of Aeschira. I was hoping that a sufficiently well equipped party of adventurers might be able to find their way there. What do you say - care for an adventure?”
“I knew you were going to go down there eventually, but now? Do you have the necessary connections? Equipment? Are you seriously planning to take a random party of schmucks and walk into Xarribia? One does not simply walk into a drow settlement!” she sputters.
“Oh yes, of course, one has to be suitably prepared! But I am sure, the Drow will appreciate trade opportunities like every other people under the sun, or surface, as it were. One just has to present the opportunity in a sufficiently… persuasive manner.” He says, the mocking smile not leaving his face. “And I am sure, you would prove to be a most valuable companion on this trip? What do you think? I am sure this will be worth your while!” he says with a wink.
“Do you even know where Xarribia is? Hells, its general direction?” she continues, as if not hearing what he had just said. “You can get lost in the Underdark for months, or forever. Not to mention, why wouldn’t the drow decide to kill or enslave you the moment they lay eyes on you? Or the duergar, or the mind-flayers, or anything else down there! Menace--” Igrainne grips the side of the table and leans forward, hissing at him, “--this is a suicide mission.”
“Igrainne, dearest of all my friends, your concern is touching, truly! I very much appreciate it. And I take your advice to heart, there is still plenty of time for further preparation, I agree with you there entirely! But you have to admit, if anyone can finesse such an undertaking, high stakes and all, it would be me, and my winning personality...” there is that grin again, “...and as for the location…” he says, mischief sparkling in his black eyes, “I was hoping that you might be able to give me a general steer at least, if you won’t come with me. But you are right, without your aide, this will be a very difficult undertaking, if not impossible...” trailing off, his words brimming with allure and flattery, “...my fate, and that of the entire expedition, may be in your hands.”
She stares at him wordlessly, mouth agape. He’s mad. But he is right in saying that she is the most suitable person for this mission. She has several books’ worth of knowledge of the Underdark: the customs of its people, its strange flora and fauna, and the magic that pervades it. Moreover, she has the blood of an ancient drow family running in her veins. The survival of the poor idiots he’s roping into this venture might very well depend on her, and yet…
“I- I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it,” she finally says. “Look, I don’t have enough experience exploring the Underdark to- to call myself a proper guide. It was easy finding that kidnapped farmer because we were given directions. It was easy with the Vorstborn because they knew where they were going and what they were doing. But this? I...really don’t know.”
“Well, I can’t say I'm not disappointed, but I do understand, it is not an easy decision to make.” Menace leans back; there is a sadness in his voice that comes as a surprise, given the Tiefling’s usually ever-cheery demeanour.
“Could you at least share some information with me? What do you know of the Drow settlements in this area of Kantas?”
“I don’t know anything beyond what I’ve already told you. There’s a town called Xarribia somewhere near the Chasm of Daring Heights, and there’s a bigger city called Aeschira somewhere much farther away, ruled by a family called House Gorr. I’ve never been to either of them. The priestess of Shar, the one we found in the temple, I’m still waiting for her to get back to me.” Igrainne shifts her gaze downwards onto the sava board. There is a faraway look in her eyes.
Menace face has turned pensive. “I could tell from the day we met that there is more to you than meets the eye and that there is something down in those tunnels that calls and drives you. I may guess at it, but it is not my place. And I appreciate the information you have given me, I truly do. But I have my own reasons to risk the journey. I will tell it straight to you” he leans closer, his tone lacking the usually cheerful mockery, replaced by that most rare of expressions: sincerity.
“I come from nothing. I never really knew my parents; I have savoured true poverty and decidedly did not like the taste of it. But no matter what I do to change my lot, the world is stacked against people like me. Unless I can do something confounding, to upset the balance, and change the way the game is played. If I can't manage to do that, I may as well throw myself into the sea. But I am not ready to do that. I am not giving up. I will not. I do not consent to this state of affairs!” His voice has risen a few notches, some of the drunks beginning to stir on the tables. “So what can I do? I have to take my chances; Take opportunities where I see them, before someone else does, and that means attempting to do what others would not dare. People may call me crazy - but I am not. I just see the world how it truly is.” A hardness has crept into his eyes, his usually honeyed voice has taken on an edge of steel.
“Sometimes, you just have to take your chances. Sometimes you have to roll the dice.”
He grabs the dice and rolls-- two spiders. All eyes shoot to the board between them, and the black elven priestess that guards Igrainne’s matriarch - which has, at the roll of the dice, turned traitor. Menace pushes over the majestic figurine, which falls with a definitive clatter. He leans back, his usual confidence rushing back into him, his eyes sparkling with mischief once more - and there is his mocking smile again, as if it had never left its rightful place.
“Sometimes the Goddess works in mysterious ways.”
Menace’ hand hovers over the board, the ranks of his red army already decimated by the unrelenting onslaught of Igrainne’s black forces.
“I do say, I have enjoyed our meetings here Igrainne, despite the thrashing and humiliation you keep visiting on me.” he says chuckling, moving his remaining warrior piece.
“Well, at least you’re getting better,” the half-drow replies. She scoops up the ivory dice into her hands, shakes, and rolls them onto the table. Two blanks. Damn. “Not up to the speed at which you learnt Undercommon, but there is progress.”
“Speaking of which…”, Menace says, organizing a desperate defensive line, “I was wondering if you have heard from your Drow contact again? The priestess we met in the Frog Bog temple?”
He looks up from the game, which suddenly seems not to matter anymore.
“You may have heard, I am hoping to organise a trade expedition into the Underdark, and thought you might be an excellent travelling companion for such a venture!”
Having just executed Menace’s last orc slave pawn that had guarded his now precariously exposed red matriarch, Iggraine stops dead.
“You’re doing what? Expedition in the Underdark to where?”
“Well, to be fair, you didn’t think I was learning Undercommon just out of an academic interest, did you?” Menace says, with a sly smile, hands held out in an apologetic gesture.
“You mentioned a few days ago that you had heard of the village of Xarribia and the city of Aeschira. I was hoping that a sufficiently well equipped party of adventurers might be able to find their way there. What do you say - care for an adventure?”
“I knew you were going to go down there eventually, but now? Do you have the necessary connections? Equipment? Are you seriously planning to take a random party of schmucks and walk into Xarribia? One does not simply walk into a drow settlement!” she sputters.
“Oh yes, of course, one has to be suitably prepared! But I am sure, the Drow will appreciate trade opportunities like every other people under the sun, or surface, as it were. One just has to present the opportunity in a sufficiently… persuasive manner.” He says, the mocking smile not leaving his face. “And I am sure, you would prove to be a most valuable companion on this trip? What do you think? I am sure this will be worth your while!” he says with a wink.
“Do you even know where Xarribia is? Hells, its general direction?” she continues, as if not hearing what he had just said. “You can get lost in the Underdark for months, or forever. Not to mention, why wouldn’t the drow decide to kill or enslave you the moment they lay eyes on you? Or the duergar, or the mind-flayers, or anything else down there! Menace--” Igrainne grips the side of the table and leans forward, hissing at him, “--this is a suicide mission.”
“Igrainne, dearest of all my friends, your concern is touching, truly! I very much appreciate it. And I take your advice to heart, there is still plenty of time for further preparation, I agree with you there entirely! But you have to admit, if anyone can finesse such an undertaking, high stakes and all, it would be me, and my winning personality...” there is that grin again, “...and as for the location…” he says, mischief sparkling in his black eyes, “I was hoping that you might be able to give me a general steer at least, if you won’t come with me. But you are right, without your aide, this will be a very difficult undertaking, if not impossible...” trailing off, his words brimming with allure and flattery, “...my fate, and that of the entire expedition, may be in your hands.”
She stares at him wordlessly, mouth agape. He’s mad. But he is right in saying that she is the most suitable person for this mission. She has several books’ worth of knowledge of the Underdark: the customs of its people, its strange flora and fauna, and the magic that pervades it. Moreover, she has the blood of an ancient drow family running in her veins. The survival of the poor idiots he’s roping into this venture might very well depend on her, and yet…
“I- I don’t know. I’ll have to think about it,” she finally says. “Look, I don’t have enough experience exploring the Underdark to- to call myself a proper guide. It was easy finding that kidnapped farmer because we were given directions. It was easy with the Vorstborn because they knew where they were going and what they were doing. But this? I...really don’t know.”
“Well, I can’t say I'm not disappointed, but I do understand, it is not an easy decision to make.” Menace leans back; there is a sadness in his voice that comes as a surprise, given the Tiefling’s usually ever-cheery demeanour.
“Could you at least share some information with me? What do you know of the Drow settlements in this area of Kantas?”
“I don’t know anything beyond what I’ve already told you. There’s a town called Xarribia somewhere near the Chasm of Daring Heights, and there’s a bigger city called Aeschira somewhere much farther away, ruled by a family called House Gorr. I’ve never been to either of them. The priestess of Shar, the one we found in the temple, I’m still waiting for her to get back to me.” Igrainne shifts her gaze downwards onto the sava board. There is a faraway look in her eyes.
Menace face has turned pensive. “I could tell from the day we met that there is more to you than meets the eye and that there is something down in those tunnels that calls and drives you. I may guess at it, but it is not my place. And I appreciate the information you have given me, I truly do. But I have my own reasons to risk the journey. I will tell it straight to you” he leans closer, his tone lacking the usually cheerful mockery, replaced by that most rare of expressions: sincerity.
“I come from nothing. I never really knew my parents; I have savoured true poverty and decidedly did not like the taste of it. But no matter what I do to change my lot, the world is stacked against people like me. Unless I can do something confounding, to upset the balance, and change the way the game is played. If I can't manage to do that, I may as well throw myself into the sea. But I am not ready to do that. I am not giving up. I will not. I do not consent to this state of affairs!” His voice has risen a few notches, some of the drunks beginning to stir on the tables. “So what can I do? I have to take my chances; Take opportunities where I see them, before someone else does, and that means attempting to do what others would not dare. People may call me crazy - but I am not. I just see the world how it truly is.” A hardness has crept into his eyes, his usually honeyed voice has taken on an edge of steel.
“Sometimes, you just have to take your chances. Sometimes you have to roll the dice.”
He grabs the dice and rolls-- two spiders. All eyes shoot to the board between them, and the black elven priestess that guards Igrainne’s matriarch - which has, at the roll of the dice, turned traitor. Menace pushes over the majestic figurine, which falls with a definitive clatter. He leans back, his usual confidence rushing back into him, his eyes sparkling with mischief once more - and there is his mocking smile again, as if it had never left its rightful place.
“Sometimes the Goddess works in mysterious ways.”
