The First Mission of The Interloper

[Izvilvin]

((Totally Clozzed))

The night was young in Fallien. A bright moon was high in the sky, illuminating all but the darkest corners of Irrakam, a small island which housed the capital of the region. Most folk were asleep, or at least preparing to head off to bed by this time. But at the very edge of the river stood a man, an Interloper, who had bypassed the ritual that foreigners to the land had to endure before they were given access to the land. Sneaking his way about hadn’t been difficult by any stretch of the imagination. After all, Izvilvin had spent a great amount of his time on this planet sneaking through the darkness and avoiding detection.

Some time passed before the last of the town’s lights went out, leaving only the city lanterns to keep the streets lit. The night patrol was vigilant as always—after all, this was Fallien’s capital—and it was overall a routine night.

“Think Sasarai’s gonna last?” One of two patrol guards asked. He was moving toward the gate into town when the other turned to greet him.

A chuckle came in response, a breathless expression not truly of amusement but simply to acknowledge. “That guy? All I’ve heard of him is that he’s quiet and shit, nothin’ like the rest of them in the Keep. Can’t imagine that he’s a good fit with all of them.”

“Yeah, but,” the first said, bringing his voice to a hear-silent level before continuing. “They say he can… Do stuff. You know? Like use magic, and enchant things.”

“So?” The second scoffed, making no attempt to be as private with his words as his fellow patrolman. “Jya can do that stuff too. Hell, even an old uncle of mine was able to use magic. Lived till he was a hundred and ten thanks to some weird enchantment he used. Magic’s no big deal, just need to study it before you can actually use some.”

“No!” The other cried out. “Not any simple shit, he can create people, or something like that.” The skeptical one looked at him in complete disbelief, but the patrolman held his serious gaze. “He summons them from some other plane of existence. Geoff told me, and he’s in the Keep all the time!”

The second patrolman shrugged it off and did a quick scan of the area, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. “I still say he won’t last. Creepy guys like him can’t stay in the Keep’s structure for long, I don’t think.”

“Hope not. I don’t want a guy who can summon people from other worlds in Fallien. People like that don’t need to be on the planet. It’s triflin’ with things that weren’t meant to be trifled with!”

The second patrolman nodded, his eyes focused on the horizon, where he could see the edge of the land before water took over. His shift would be long, but at least now he had something to think about.

Izvilvin, having listened closely from nearby, did as well.

[Izvilvin]

“I don’t trust him!” Spat the definitive archmage of Fallien, Mazoo Lichten. Despite all his power, the wizard didn’t harness the abilities that Sasarai was rumored to possess, and it was fairly obvious that he was jealous.

“Now now, kind mage,” a relaxed Palmer replied. He was laying back in a wooden chair, feet up on the table, when Mazoo began his complaining. “Sasarai brings some much needed insight to the Fallien government. We’ve been in turmoil over what to do about the Kehtal, and few have shown up to help out. Having another mage along to share knowledge is invaluable, you know that.”

“So we accept help from any stray fool now? We take in any mongrel from the desert and add him to our council? Ridiculous!” Mazoo exclaimed. “So he can summon some minor beings from The Great Nether. What else can he do? He hasn’t shown me any of this knowledge you claim he has, and I’ve done more than enough to help us pinpoint the Kehtal and learn what they are planning!”

“Someone’s getting jeeealous,” mocked Palmer. He got up from the chair and stretched high and wide before making his way to the door leading from his chamber. “I need to speak with Laix before I head off to bed. I trust you’ll be gone by the time I get back.”

Palmer left before Mazoo could say another word.

“Ooo…” The mage growled as he clenched his fists. “Why is everyone taking his side anyway!? He’s done nothing worthy of all this attention!”

**

In the hallway, Palmer was walking briskly toward Laix’s room. The warrior had his blade strapped by his side as always, but he was at ease, relaxed and safe in Jya’s Keep. The man had long been respected for his dutiful service to Fallien, his great swordsmanship, and for some, his unparalleled magnetism of women. He knew it, too, and it left an almost permanent grin on his face.

Laix’s room was beyond odd in comparison to Palmer’s. The walls were a bright yellow, and a plethora of glass trinkets were in place along the walls. They were actually sculptures from the Mi’sheteri Tribe of Nirrakal; Laix had been collecting them from just about anyone who was selling for years. In the early stages of day, the sun would creep through the room’s window and reflect through the sculptures, creating a rather beautiful effect Laix enjoyed waking up to.

Palmer was still snickering as he entered.

“You’ve been talking to Mazoo, haven’t you?” asked Laix from across the room. He was a compact man with blazing red hair and insightful blue eyes, disarmingly harmless looking but wickedly skilled with a blade.

“Is it that obvious?” Palmer replied. “He’s a funny little man, I admit.”

“If you like watching people embarrass themselves,” said Laix. “Anyway, I’d watch out for him if I were you. He’s been acting unbalanced for a few weeks now, it wouldn’t surprise me if he lashed out.”

Palmer waved the warning away with his hand, thinking it silly. “I don’t think Mazoo’s going to go nuts anytime soon, my friend. Anyway, I’ve got something for you,” he said, before producing a small glass item from the pocket of his coat.

Laix snatched it from him, pulling it close to his face in order to examine it. It was in the shape of a bear, colored a light blue. His discerning eye examined the smooth, expertly-crafted curves of the figure, and a smile slowly came over his face.

“Do you always need to make sure my gifts are real?” Palmer laughed. “Have I ever tried to rip you off before?”

The redhead grinned and moved to one of few empty shelves on his wall, and carefully placed the figurine on it. “It takes a delicate eye to appreciate these items, Palmer, would you rather I put it up here without first admiring it?” He asked. He then made his way back to his friend, hand digging deep into his pocket. “How much do I owe you?”

“Not this time,” Palmer replied. “That one’s a gift. But if you really want to repay me, you can wake up early tomorrow, for once, and meet me for breakfast just after sunrise.”

“I always get up early, you know that!” Laix countered, but laughed all the same. “I think I can manage to drag myself downstairs in the morning, sure. Thanks again.”

Palmer saluted him quickly, and was off.

[Izvilvin]

Getting over the wall surrounding Jya’s Keep was no real issue to Izvilvin. He was graceful and balanced enough to scale it without much difficulty, although he had to do so slowly in order to avoid making much noise. Security was more lax on the inside, between the wall and the Keep itself, since few humans could hope to scale the wall the way Izvilvin had done. Scanning the area carefully, the Drow noted a few places where he could either climb or sneak his way inside.

Information on the Jya’s closest officers. That’s what he needed, and it sounded rather simple. Izvilvin wasn’t foolish enough to think it would be an easy mission, but he also was smart enough to trust in his own ability and keep his confidence peaked. He began to move, keeping close to the ground as he bolted across the ground.

He pressed against the Keep’s wall and slid across to an area below a large window. A massive, thin tree was before him, but there were enough leaves at the top to shade the area well. The wall behind him was smooth and provided no places to grab and climb, but the Drow was not discouraged, taking out his sai. A few whacks drove one of the three-pronged weapons into the wall, and after a brief test with some of his weight, he found that the sai would support his weight despite how thing the prongs were, because they were all driven in so deep.

A second stab drove the other sai home, and he pulled himself up. Supporting his weight with that one hand, he pressed both feet against the wall and pulled the other sai out, stabbing it higher up and starting the process over again. By the time he was able to reach the window, Izvilvin’s arms felt as if they were ablaze. He thankfully pulled himself into the room and caught his breath, being careful to stay as quiet as possible as he did so.

A quick survey of the room informed him he was in the domain of a priestess. It was large and dark in the night, almost cavernous compared to any normal bedroom Izvilvin had ever seen. The door and window were lined with gold trim, and several shelves that hung from the walls were adorned with beautiful flowers the Drow had never seen. Next to him, not ten feet away, was a bed with a lovely dark-skinned woman within, breathing slowly.

Quickly he went to the door, opening it slowly as he peeked into the hallway. He wanted to get to the top floors of the Keep, and didn’t believe that doing so would be very difficult. The hard part was done with. He fluidly exited the room and shut the door softly behind him, and rushed down the hallway, keeping his footsteps very soft.

Windows were occasional in the long hallway, and the Drow would always stop at one to peek out, searching for guards and keeping his location in mind. He made it to a flight of marble stairs without a problem, and climbed them two at a time, silently. The next floor was much like the last, a hallway before him and a flight of climbing stairs to his right. He chose the stairs.

Here there was another hallway, but no stairs. He was either on the top floor, or at a point where he needed to find another set of stairs elsewhere. He went swiftly down the hall, following the same routine as before with the windows. As he reached a corner of the hallway, he heard a scream from the room on his left. Finding it odd, he slowly snuck next to the door and pressed his ear against it.

[Izvilvin]

“Eeee eee eeee!” Mazoo squealed, throwing a small bottle against the far wall, spilling its contents over the wall and shattering it. “Damn you, damn it! Damn damn damn!”

The small, tanned human stifled another series of fits as he stomped the ground. A moment later, he let out a deep breath and approached the arcane symbol he had painted on the floor of his room. “Why doesn’t it work?” He wondered, considerably calmer than he was just a moment ago. “I have all the components, I said all the words, I painted the symbol right, I spent the right amount of time preparing the spell… What’s wrong?”

Quickly he scanned what was written in his spellbook again, noticing nothing that he’d forgotten. The words listed were the same words he’s spoken, absolutely nothing seemed wrong. A whimper escaped him, Mazoo was frustrated enough to have another fit. How could Sasarai summon lesser demons, but not he? Mazoo was childish, everyone knew that, but nobody had ever doubted his ability in wizardry. It didn’t make sense that he couldn’t do something listed in a spellbook.

He shut the book quickly, having had enough of the charade. The simple fact was that he was unable to summon in the manner that Sasarai was. “Another way for him to become more important to me in Jya’s eyes,” he muttered, though he really knew that to be untrue. The Jya was compassionate, loving; she wouldn’t denounce Mazoo’s worth to Fallien no matter how powerful or beneficial Sasarai was.

But that didn’t stop Mazoo from roughly tearing open the door to his room and pounding down the hallway, fists clenched and breath rapid. From behind his door, Izvilvin nearly kissed the wood that had nearly smacked his face. The Drow slowly pushed the door away and peeked around to make sure Mazoo was out of sight, before he snuck into the mage’s room for a quick look around.

It was much like the priestess’ room, though without flowers and a giant window. The chamber was lit by an assortment gorgeous glass sculptures enchanted with Mazoo’s magic. Izvilvin examined one for a quick moment before moving on to poke at the spellbook. Losing interest in that, he looked at the glyph Mazoo had drawn on the floor, did a quick sketch of it, and left the room without any real information.

**

Meanwhile, Mazoo made his way to the center of the Keep, where a staircase was watched by a pair of guards. With a wave of his hand he demanded the two guards get out of his way, and they each complied. At the top of the stairs was a large door which he passed through. Beyond that, a courtyard with a massive garden and flower beds all about.

Finally, he was in the last hallway before Jya’s room. He levitated over a threesome of wires that would have awakened Jya’s guards, and stopped in front of Sasarai’s door. “Hmph. His own room right next to Jya, too. How ridiculous!”

He reached for the doorknob, but it turned just as his hand neared it. Mazoo was suddenly face to face with Sasarai, a blue-haired man with deep grey eyes and the face of a 20 year old. As usual, the man wore no expression on his face, and looked more bored than anything. “What do you want, Mazoo?” He asked in a level tone.

The elder mage, shook up, regained his composure and puffed his chest out. “I just tried to summon a lesser fiend, just an imp, from The Great Nether. It baffles me how I can’t manage it, but you can. I have decades of experience with magic! You’re a fraud. I’ve never seen you manifest a demon of any kind, so I’m here to prove what a fake you really are!”

“Come on,” Sasarai replied in that same tone. “Don’t waste my time, it’s late and I’m busy. Did you come to bother me for any other reason?”

“No, fool!” Mazoo replied in a frenzied tone. “I’m here only to tell you that I know you’re a joke! A fake, a fraud!”

“Well good,” Sasarai replied, slamming his door an instant later.

Mazoo simply squealed in response.

[Izvilvin]

The morning saw Palmer and Laix patrolling the outer rim of the Keep, the grassy area between the Keep and the wall which protected it. It was a routine investigation that they went on every morning after breakfast, one that rarely produced anything but some conversation between the two friends, who had used the many mornings of the past few years to become close. As always they walked slowly, gazing at the beautiful flowers and gardens that surrounded the Keep just as much as they actually looked for signs of foul play.

Palmer let his blond locks fly in the wind for once, leaving his full iron helmet in his room. It was a good feeling, as his hair wasn't long enough to get in his face and irritate him. "Quite a breakfast," he said to his friend, rubbing his stomach fondly as he recalled just how delicious Betha's sausage was.

Laix smiled and agreed as he walked along, his hands crossed along his chest as his eyes explored the walls of the Keep and the grass below. He was more detail-focused than Palmer, a benefit of his obsessed with glass sculptures, and often did more patrol work than his friend because of it. He didn't mind, though. Laix was a man who valued the subtle things in life, the beauty of nature and the intricate designs of the Gods who sculpted Althanas.

"Were you serious about Mazoo?" Palmer asked suddenly, causing Laix to look at him with crooked eyes. It wasn't like Palmer to give any serious thought to something like that, especially if it came from Laix, a rather worrisome man.

"Yes," Laix answered at length. "He was calmer until Sasarai came along. I would have never guessed he had such an inferiority complex, and I think he believes himself to be useless now."

"Isn't he?" Palmer said, once again surprising Laix. "Sasarai can do everything he does and more, and he's so much more bearable. I wonder if Mazoo isn't worthless with Sasarai around."

Laix absorbed the thought, for even though he had already explored the possibility, Palmer's agreement made it seem even more plausible. He chuckled lightly as they turned a corner to walk down the East side of the Keep, saluting a nearby guard who was patrolling in the opposite direction.

“Mazoo’s got seniority over Sasarai, of course,” Palmer continued. “So I understand why he’s been so loopy these past two weeks. I’d go crazy if some new guy came along and made me look expendable.”

Some time passed between the two friends as they continued their patrol. The morning sun was low in the sky and a cool breeze was helping them wake up. It was just another day in Fallien, on the oasis-like island in the center of the desert.

“At least we’re finally getting some excitement around here,” Palmer said. “It’s been so long since someone new has come around to make a stir. Amazing how happy I find myself in a place so uneventful, considering the old life I used to lead,” he finished, making reference to his younger days when he was a desert mercenary.

“Hmm,” Laix responded thoughtfully. “I think things are going to be more exciting for a while.” Palmer looked at him curiously, and followed the redhead’s gaze to a far wall. It took him a moment, but Palmer eventually spotted a strange series of holes beneath a large window.

“That’s strange,” Palmer said.

Laix nodded and looked up to the window, which of course wasn’t covered by any kind of glass or curtain. “Strange, yes,” he agreed.

[Izvilvin]

“Thank you, Sasarai,” said the Jya kindly, in a tone as smooth and supple as Raiaeran honey wine. She was looking into an orb that Sasarai had brought to her, a largish crystal ball that held within it the image of a certain Drow who slept in the darkness.

She had sensed Izvilvin’s presence the moment he’d entered the Keep, but she had not seen him as a threat. She saw that he was a Drow who could kill without remorse, but she also saw that he was naïve. She could not read his memories, but the emotion he carried in his heart suggested that he was entering the Keep under some order and not of his own will. Perhaps he was the minion of some distant King or Lord, she did not know.

The Jya herself was dark skinned and darker haired, dressed in a long white dress of fine silk and as serene a vision as could be. Sasarai was a collected man, but even his heart would beat a little quicker every time he was in her presence, and prying his concrete eyes away from her was all too difficult sometimes. Of course she knew the goings-on in his heart, but she was worlds away in terms of the possibility for romance. Irrakam’s Jya did not wed, did not bear children. The next Jya was determined through long training and motherly characteristics, and she held a special role that did not involve love between a man and woman. Not in that way.

“He sleeps within the walls somewhere in the Keep. Shall I pry closer to locate his exact position?” Sasarai was asking, but the Jya was shaking her head when he was halfway done with the question.

“He poses no threat to us, my Sasarai. Let him sleep and do what he came here to do, and he will leave without fuss.” She smiled at him. “In the meantime… Mazoo came to see you in the night, didn’t he?”

“Yes, Jya,” Sasarai replied quickly. There was no point in lying about it.
She nodded and let her dark eyes drift off toward the side of the massive chamber, a room that served both as her bedroom and business area to speak with foreign diplomats, among many other things. There were no windows for security reasons, but the room was beautiful and well lit without the rays of the sun, because large orbs of magic were in each corner, one of Mazoo’s talents, and they shone as brightly or as dimly as Jya wished. The plush red carpet was comfortable, her bed was large. The ornaments (glass and plant alike) only added vibrancy to the room. It was a fine place to be.

“Go easy on him. He’s been having a hard time with you here. He feels threatened, though he shouldn’t. It’s hard for him to understand why we have you around even though he’s been our archmage for so long.”

The short wizard smiled at her, but she could feel the frustration inside him. “Mazoo will adjust to your ways, Sasarai, just give him time. I’ll have a talk with him as well to try and get him off your case, so you can both have some peace.”

“Thank you, my lady,” Sasarai replied, bowing low and sweeping an arm across the front of his body. “You are truly considerate.”

With that, Sasarai made his way to the chamber’s exit, where a pair of priestesses escorted him out and into the hallway which led to his room. He went right by his door, however, and through the spot where the ‘security wires’ were usually placed before nightfall, making his way to the main area of the Keep.

“Kisara,” the Jya said after Sasarai left, drawing the attention of one of the priestesses by the chamber door.

“Yes, Jya?” The woman replied happily.

“Would you please call Mazoo to me? I would like to speak with him.”

The priestess, clad in a great white cloak of thin material, bowed and left the room to fetch Mazoo, leaving the Jya in the chamber with only one priestess. The leader reflected upon what was happening in her Keep, namely the mysterious Drow, who she truly believed posed no threat to her or her people. It was a curious development, though, and one she would continue to give thought to. That was her responsibility, after all.

[Izvilvin]

Mazoo came into the Jya’s chamber in quick strides, his short little frame bouncing with each determined step. The wise leader of the Fallien people did not waver in the face of Mazoo’s obvious coming tirade, but smiled gently instead to welcome him into her chamber.

“Sasarai was here, wasn’t he?” He asked, completely unaffected by the very aura that the Jya seemed to give off. “He’s bad news! How many times must I plead with you to remove him fro-”

Mazoo caught his tongue before he could go any further, slapping his palm over his own mouth and standing there dumbfounded for a moment, before quickly bowing, nearly sweeping his own head against the floor in his furious movement. “I apologize! Forgive me, Jya, I’m simply annoyed with things.” He rose again, more composed that he’d been before. “What do you need me for, my lady?”

The Jya was smiling. Mazoo had a lot of life to him, and though he could be a bit over the top at times, she understood altogether why he was behaving this way. “I’d like you to do something for me, Mazoo. Go to town and buy me a bushel of Turula fruit from Hilia’s shop.”

The small little wizard seemed put off by the request, but before he could muster a response, the Jya smiled and continued. “I know you are not my servant, Mazoo, but the walk will do you good. Get a bushel for yourself as well, since I know how much you love Turula fruit.”

He wasn’t satisfied with what the Jya thought was best for him, but an order was an order, and he couldn’t deny it. Why one of her closer servants couldn’t do it, he didn’t understand, but with a bow he was off, walking much slower than when he’d entered. A moment later, Kisara returned and took her post by the door, and the Jya thanked her with a smile.

She moved to a pot of flowers by the side of her luxurious bed, and took the petals of a pink one into her fingers, letting the silky plant sift through. The woman had some things to think about, to explore and understand, but she wasn’t sure where to start. The Drow, Sasarai and Mazoo, her own responsibilities to her people, the Jya had a full plate to examine.

[Izvilvin]

Revealing himself during the morning hours was not exactly wise. Female guards roamed the halls of Jya’s Keep with a watchful eye, and those who lived within the construct were in constant movement from place to place, carrying out daily duties or pleasures. Still, Izvilvin knew that nobody talked during the still of the night, and if he wanted any information or leads on this Sasarai, he’d need to get it while people were awake.

He’d worked tirelessly through the late night hours to carve around a series of massive bricks in the wall, taking great care to not only be silent, but quick. The result of his work was a small hiding place actually within the Keep’s wall, the door a group of bricks still stuck together with cement. Izvilvin removed this door with a slow, careful push, and put it back into place the same way, marveling at how well he’d done it. The wall seemed unremarkable and just like the others, thanks to the thin prongs of his weapons.

But there was no time to admire his work any further. Izvilvin, as silent as a cat, darted through the halls of the Keep, making his way toward the center of the high story he was on. Luck was on his side until then, as he encountered no guards whatsoever, but that’s where his good fortune ended.

This area was obviously what led to the Jya’s room. There was a staircase leading upward, but it was also flanked by a pair of guards. Izvilvin observed them from around the corner. They were looking away from the staircase and from the doorway he could enter from, but obviously he would be detected by their peripheral vision if he tried to get by. He tried to look for a way to hide on his way to the stairs, but there was little in the realm of cover. Only a pair of white statues near the stairs, and Izvilvin knew he wouldn’t exactly blend well with them.

The Drow was so intent on examining the room that he only heard the approaching footsteps when they were right near the corner behind him. The voices were loud and accented, but were still speaking a language Izvilvin did not understand. He quickly moved away from the archway leading to the center room and looked for a place to hide, but found none. The footsteps were growing too close now.

In desperation, Izvilvin bolted toward the hallway wall and ran up it, stretching his arms as high as he could to grip a wooden beam at the ceiling. He held himself up there as a twosome walked on under him, a large man with a sword, and a redheaded man who was smaller.

When they’d gone into the center room, Izvilvin dropped down to the floor and landed as quietly as he could. Moving to the archway again, he observed as the four humans communicated in soft, concerned tones. Izvilvin was wary at the way they were speaking, but wasn’t truly concerned that his presence had been discovered. Silently he moved into the room, creeping out of the vision of everyone and behind one of those statues, which was big enough to hide him. He couldn’t stay there long, he knew, for if the guards resumed their duties he would not be able to come out from hiding.

“We think someone’s infiltrated the Keep,” said Laix, those insightful eyes as clear as the sky. His words were just jumbled sounds to Izvilvin. “There are strange holes in the wall leading up to Priestess Vlazza’s window, but she didn’t see anyone come into her room in the night.”

“And I thought this place was impenetrable,” mumbled one of the two female guards. “At least we know we aren’t getting paid to do nothing in here.”

“Right,” said Palmer quickly. “So we all need to keep a watchful eye out for suspicious characters. And,” he began, before seeing Laix’s intent gaze leading away from them. Palmer followed his line of sight to one of the statues, standing as still as it always did. “What?”

Laix held up a hand to silence him. Something wasn’t quite right to the experienced guard of Jya’ Keep.

[Izvilvin]

Laix moved slowly and silently toward the marble statue, the very image of a priestess holding her hands up in worship or praise. Something didn’t feel right to him. The two women approached as well, though more tentatively, and Palmer also moved a few steps toward where Laix was moving. There was tension in the room then, but all trust was in Laix and his attentive methods.

He spun around the statue with sword drawn to strike, but all he saw was the front of the artificial woman, head tilted upward and body arched to face the sky. His blue eyes scanned the area for whatever it was that had made him suspicious, but try as he might, Laix could not validate his feeling.

“False alarm,” he said with a grin, making his way back to the three. “I thought I heard something, but it must have been my imagination.”

Palmer chuckled and resumed their warning. “So just keep an eye out. I doubt even the greatest of the great could get past the Keep’s guards if everyone’s on alert.”

With that, Laix and Palmer began their ascent of the stairs. The Jya and Sasarai needed to know what they had discovered, though both men suspected they already did. A sorcerer of Sasarai’s power didn’t let these things go unnoticed, and Jya seemed to know everything happening around her. But they had their responsibilities.

The top of the staircase was surrounded by a barrier that protected people from falling down the gap. Izvilvin was already up the stairs and at the opposite end of the gap, where he was crouching to avoid detection from the two humans. He’d been able to move about the four below without calling attention to himself by crawling along the wall, and when they’d turned to watch what Laix was doing, the Drow was quick enough to climb the stairs and run around the gap to where he now hid.

When he was sure the two men were far enough, Izvilvin stood and made his way through a small hallway that led to a large wooden door. He opened it slowly, taking the time to peek through the crack and search for people who might be near. A female guard was patrolling the courtyard rather nervously, and seemed to constantly be looking over her shoulder. Izvilvin didn’t understand that he’d been discovered, but Palmer and Laix had told this woman the same thing they’d explained to the others, and she was taking it rather seriously.

But the Drow couldn’t wait forever. As soon as she turned away from him he opened the door and shut it softly, diving behind a flower bed and staying close to the ground. He was able to observe her through the flowers, as she moved through the grassy courtyard. Izvilvin crawled from flower bed to flower bed, being careful to be silent as he could. She was springy enough to turn in response to any sound, after all.

Finally he was able to make it into the connecting hallway. Each side of the corridor had two doors, and at the end was a larger one. Surprisingly, there were no guards here.

His slender black fingers wrapped around a doorknob and Izvilvin slowly entered one of those four rooms. Nobody was inside, so he wandered in and shut the door behind him. It was a dark room with little décor, just the essentials; a dresser, a bed, a closet. But upon the bed was a pair of platinum coins, each worth a hundred gold. Izvilvin eyed them, and quickly pocketed the two shining pieces of silvery metal.

He reentered the hallway and went straight to the big door, turning the knob slowly and quietly.

[Izvilvin]

Immediately, the two guards by the Jya’s door spun to meet the Drow. Their weapons were drawn, the slender points of their swords pointed at him as if they knew he was coming. Beyond the two women were the two guards Izvilvin observed earlier, Laix and Palmer, standing on either side of the Jya with their hands crossed, watching him carefully.

And in the middle of them all was the Jya herself, smiling calmly. It wasn’t an arrogant or condescending smile, Izvilvin saw, but a genuine warm smile. He turned his head to check his peripheral vision, and saw nobody behind him. In his mind, Izvilvin envisioned himself bolting down the stairs. He imagined the route he would take to get out of the Keep, how to outrun the guards effectively.

Instead of following that plan, his head turned back to the room ahead, so intimidating in its size. Boldly he strode into the Jya’s chamber, the swords of the two guards following him carefully. Izvilvin made no move to take out his weapons, since he believed that either of the two warriors by the Jya were his equal. He could tell just from their posture, their calm way of standing.

The Drow stopped when he was midway to the Jya, not wanting to seem threatening, though of course she didn’t think he was.

There was a silence in the room that seemed to last forever, as Izvilvin waited to try and deduce what was going on based on the tones used by these Fallien people. But when the first word was spoken, it was in Drow, and from the Jya.

“Hello, gentle Drow,” said she, perfectly using the jagged words of the Drow language. It was music to Izvilvin’s ears to hear it spoken so fluently. “My friends cannot understand us, so don’t worry about anything you might say being overheard.”

At first he was tentative, watching the two men by her side for signs of hostility or recognition of the words she said. They seemed calm enough, and only in place in case Izvilvin was an assassin. “How did you know I was here?” He asked, pulling his leather mask from the lower half of his face to make the words clearer.

“I know just about everything that goes on in my Keep. I know, also, that you are not an evil man here with ill will, and that makes me happy. My friends discovered you were here because of some holes in one of our Keep walls,” as this, Izvilvin cringed at his own sloppiness. “And informed all our guards of your possible presence.”

“Finding my way in here was no simple task,” he said, trying to justify that sloppiness. “But you are right, I did not come here to hurt anyone. How did you know this?”

“I can sense your heart and emotions, dear Drow, and saw no hatred there toward me or my people.” The guards lowered their swords then, as she waved her hand to relax them. “So why don’t you tell me your name? And if you so choose, you may tell me why you came. Perhaps I can help you.”

He saw the good in her as plain as he saw the sun on this desert continent, and didn’t feel strange opening up to her. “I am Izvilvin Di’Lolth, though I hardly remember the man who gave me that name. It’s been a hundred and twenty years since my father died. I fled Alerar and was given a home, but in exchange for that home are my services. I’m here to learn as much as I can about a man named Sasarai, and that is all.”

At the mention of the man’s name, which sounded the same in Drow as it did in common, Laix and Palmer looked to each other and then to the Drow, but did not say anything.

The Jya nodded and continued to smile brilliantly, but before they could continue with their conversation, the door once again opened. Izvilvin turned quickly to observe a small man in a robe, carrying a large basket of strange bright fruit. He babbled something aloud before he saw the dark elf and dropped the basket.

Jya commanded something before Mazoo could react the way he always did. Even when the Drow was surrounded by skilled guards, the mage didn’t instantly grasp the idea that he wasn’t there to kill Jya. Thankfully, her words, whatever they were, stopped the little man from launching a spell, for Izvilvin had no defense against any magics.

She spoke some more, and the little man picked up the basket at once and brought it toward the Jya’s bed, laying it by the side. Izvilvin watched him the entire time, his intent purple eyes taking a measure of him. It was the same man who had stormed out of his room the night before, who had drawn the symbol on the floor of him room. A quick check over his chest with his hand confirmed to Izvilvin that he still had the sketch he’d made.

“I will ask my friends to leave us alone so we can talk some more, Izvilvin,” Jya said after Mazoo placed the fruit. “I know you are safe for me to be with, and my guards will trust my judgment.”

Izvilvin nodded. It seemed to him then that all of his skulking had been for naught, until he gave it more thought. If he had never entered the Keep the way he did, he would not have this opportunity now, to speak with Jya and ask her any questions he needed answers to.

[Izvilvin]

It took some convincing from the Jya to get Palmer, Laix and Mazoo to leave her alone with the suspicious Drow, considering he had weapons strapped to his belt and dark elves were notorious for being rather evil, but leave they did. Even the two women guards that usually stayed within Jya’s chamber were now outside, keeping watch on the door.

The two sat at a small round table, across from each other. Izvilvin was holding the strange yellow Turula fruit in his slender fingers. It wasn’t unlike a pear, but there were strange bumps on opposite sides of the round item. “It looks strange,” he muttered aloud, thankful that he could communicate in this way with someone who spoke his language.

“It’s delicious, and a Fallien delicacy. It is as sweet as sugar, but with more substance. Try it,” she suggested, as she herself took a bite of one.

Izvilvin took a tentative bite, and his mouth exploded in flavor. The fruit was juicy and as sweet as Jya suggested, making Izvilvin’s taste buds dance in appreciation. It not only satisfied his hunger, but quenched his thirst at the same time. In fact, it was the first fruit of any sort Izvilvin had ever tasted, and he liked it very much.

“So you came because you need information on Sasarai, you said?” The Jya asked, once again using the Drow tongue flawlessly. “What exactly did you want to know about him?”

“Anything there is to know,” he responded quickly, before taking another big bite of the fruit.

She looked somewhat troubled then, as if deep in thought and confused at the same time. Finally she spoke. “I will need to speak with him, then. Sasarai is rather secretive about himself, and even I don’t know much about him. I’m sure that if I asked it of him he would offer some personal information. But please, tell me, why do you want to know about him?”

“It’s been asked of me. I want to know the extent of his powers. I want to know where else he’s been before he first came to Fallien, and most of all, I want to know about these beings he can summon,” Izvilvin replied quickly, yet again.

Jya spent some time slowly eating the fruit and thinking, weighing her options and whether or not she felt right exposing these things to the newcomer. Of course, she didn’t have this information to give just yet, but whether or not she wanted to find out about Sasarai’s abilities, she wasn’t quite sure.

“So you’re a mercenary?” She asked, shifting the topic back to Izvilvin.

“Yes,” he replied. “And I’ve failed if I don’t return to my employer with this information he needs.” It was a lie, of course, but a rather slight one considering his role within Step. He was much like a mercenary, except he was not rewarded with money, but a home.

Jya looked at him strangely for a moment, considering the way his words had come out. “Does your employer… Wish ill upon Sasarai?”

Izvilvin considered it for a moment, and replied rather honestly. “I have no way of knowing, but I would guess that no, he does not. He values information over all else, my employer, and usually sends me out to learn about people or groups he does not know much about. It’s for his security, I suppose.”

“Then will you do something for me if I pay you?” She asked.

Izvilvin looked at her carefully, letting his soft lavender eyes explore her expression. “I will, if you give me the information I need.”

She smiled gently and nodded. “Yes. I think this will work. If this is your first time in Fallien, you probably don’t know where Suravani’s Oasis is, but I would like you to go there for me. It’s a journey across the desert, but I can give you a guide if you need one.” Izvilvin shook his head at this, but allowed her to continue without interruption. “There is a poison there, either in the water or the air, and my people are dying. We’ve concocted an antidote to the poison, but I need to make sure it works before we produce enough to cure everyone.

So I’d like you to take a bit of the antidote to Suravani’s Oasis, and make sure it works. Give word to one of the horse breeders there, and he will get back to me quickly on the results. He’ll get back to you with further instruction from me, and we’ll proceed from there.”

Izvilvin liked the idea of doing some good in Fallien. It was a far cry from his usual job of killing, which he neither loved nor hated. At least with healing the sick he would gain some reputation in Jya’s eyes, and getting the information he needed about Sasarai would go smoother.

“Yes,” he said. “I will do this for you.”

The Drow took a final bite from the Turula fruit and placed the core in the center of the table for Jya to dispose of. He then stood and took a deep breath, then pulled his mask back over his mouth.

Jya smiled and rose as well, then moved slowly to him and laid her hands upon his shoulders. He was a few inches taller than her, and could have easily resisted her if he wanted, but did not as she came close and gave him a gentle hug. He put his hand around his shoulders and squeezed back, not sure what to make of the strange gesture.

“Thank you, Izvilvin. I’ll fetch the antidote for you and you can be on your way. And I'll write you a letter of freedom as well, so you may travel Fallien without fear of being jailed.”

[Izvilvin]

“What do you think?” Palmer asked, a hint of irritation in his voice. “He sneaks his way into the Keep, which is usually grounds for jail time, and now he’s got a private little meeting with the Jya.”

Laix nodded, considerably less annoyed than his good friend. He had a finger to his mouth and was staring at he ground, seeming deep in thought as he leaned against the side of the staircase. “It’s interesting, at least.” He chuckled then, hardly loud enough to be heard. “And we were talking about how uneventful life around here is!”

Palmer was going to continue, when he caught his words and looked up the stairs, to where Izvilvin was descending. Palmer eyed him carefully as the measured Drow walked past, hardly casting a sidelong glance their way. “You see that?” Palmer asked. “For all we know, Jya is dead and we were standing out here making small talk while he was in there alone with her!”

“She’s not dead,” Laix responded calmly, pushing himself off the staircase and beginning to ascend with Palmer by his side. “If the Drow came here for that sort of thing, he would not have been so calm when he came into her chamber with all of us there. I also think Jya would have known if he was here to kill her.”

Palmer sighed. In truth, he didn’t really fear for Jya’s safety, though the possibility that the Drow was an assassin was indeed in the back of his mind. His failure at protecting the Jya, though, was what truly got to him. The Drow was able to penetrate the Keep without being detected, and if it hadn’t been for Sasarai, who interrupted the pair as they were on their way to see Jya earlier, the sneaky elf might have been able to get to her without ever being seen.

It was a frightening thought, and one Palmer would contemplate for some time. He did not want to see this kind of infiltration happen again.

Meanwhile, Mazoo was back in his room, far more relaxed than he’d been earlier but still noticeably on edge. He sat upon his bed, staring intently on the rune he’d inscribed on the floor. Try as he might, summoning even a lesser imp from the Great Nether was far too difficult for him. Was a natural talent for that kind of magic needed? Mazoo knew he wasn’t an incompetent wizard; after all, he had battled some of the greatest magic weavers of Fallien, and was obviously still around to talk about it.

So his beady little eyes danced along the rune he’d drawn, searching for any noticeable errors he’d made. “Damn you, Sasarai,” he muttered, before laying back into his pillow and turning into it, screaming in frustration.

And that man, the one called Sasarai, was bathed in the light of a green aura at that moment. The door to his room was sealed with powerful magic, so he had his privacy for the time being. Before him was a rune much like the one in Mazoo’s room, except surrounded by lit candles and a few spell components such as demon teeth and the hair of a harpy. These few things were necessary to keep the demon before him trapped within the rune’s lines, and without those components, it would be able to run wild.

Good thing it was bound by the candles then, for the demon was a large green one, with horns curled about his skull and massive muscles that promised great pain for anyone near him. But even as it pounded against the wall of magic that bound him to the small rune, desperate to escape, Sasarai was before him with a calm look of confidence on his youthful face.

“Demon, you are a servant of the Blackened Fire, Glimmerfang,” Sasarai declared, not asking the demon but telling him. “This I know, for I summoned you from his chamber only moments ago so that you may deliver to him a message.”

“Do not toy with the demons of the Great Nether, human!” The demon roared.

Sasarai hardly even flinched, but he was thankful that the ward on his door would block the great voice of the green demon.

Raising his hand toward the demon, Sasarai created a powerful flame above the rune, scorching the flailing demon in every orifice it had. The entire space where the demon was sealed was filled with fire, which died down after a few moments.

“You will deliver the following message to your dragon lord,” Sasarai once again declared, demanding obedience from the demon, which was helpless to him while within the rune’s space. “Tell him there is but one more step for me to take before his return is possible. Have him pledge complete allegiance to me, and he will once again roam the mortal plane of Althanas.”

With that, Sasarai dismissed the demon back to his own dimension, then blew out the candles and retrieved the components of the barrier. A smile was across his face, as the pieces to his puzzle were slowly coming together. Glimmerfang was a dragon of ancient age and power, who had been banished to the Great Nether many generations ago by a wizard much beyond Sasarai’s power.

But with Glimmerfang under his rule, Sasarai himself would make Althanas his playground. A dragon’s oath was binding. Glimmerfang would not, could not, betray him, however much the beast would want to once he was brought back to Althanas.

“Just one more step to take,” Sasarai announced to himself.

((Spoils: Just some gold, please. That antidote is for another quest so shouldn't considered spoils :P))

[INDK]

Well Matt, here you go. Enjoy.

Total Score= 59 Well it aint 56.5, is it?

Introduction – 6 My problem here was more about how little this introduction told me about the rest of the thread as opposed to how much it caught my interest.

Setting – 6 Generally a bit better than solid here, but you could have used setting more.

Strategy – 4 I thought it was rather convenient that Jya spoke Drow, but hey, I suppose its plausible. By and large, I just didn’t think there was enough problem solving in this thread. Everything just kind of fell together. Make it a bit tougher on the protagonist.

Dialogue – 7 The spoken dialogue here really felt natural and was often purposeful and advanced the plot. Great work.

Character – 6 Izvilvin was pretty much standard for him. I don’t really have any comments about him that are different than the comments I’ve given you recently. As far as your supporting characters go, this would have been a bit better if you’d just let me know a bit more about who the supporting characters were in terms of their functions to Jya. I don’t need biographies, but I do need context.

Outside of this problem your writing was more than solid. Not only did all your supporting characters seem realistic, but I felt like all of them had real histories and motivations, even if you didn’t mention them. If you’d just done a better job telling me why they were relevant earlier on, this would have been a very high score.

Rising Action – 3 Ugghh… you’re better than this. The changing of perspectives felt very choppy. It seemed that there were two related stories going on, and you shifted between them before either could gain much momentum.

Climax & Conclusion – 15/20 This thread had a real two parter kind of feel. The purpose of the conclusion was to increase excitement and interest in the thread so I turn into part two. As such, I didn’t distinguish between the two categories. I didn’t really need a sense of closure, just a place to leave off, which is what you gave me quite well. This thread did well to set up a future adventure, and the part at the end with the demon definitely got my interest.

Writing Style – 6 Before you bandy about a character’s name like it is supposed to mean something to the reader, make sure that it does. Otherwise, I don’t have too many problems here. It was solid writing and you used dialogue well as a device.

Wild Card – 6 Sometimes I wonder where you get these names, Mazoo Lichten? Laix?

Spoils=

Izvilvin receives 500 EXP and 200 GP

[Zieg dil' Tulfried]

EXP and gold added.