Within Jokril, Thaddeus is simultaneously amazed and horrified at what he sees within the palaces of the Dark Elves. While he didn't get to see a whole lot of architectural design growing up in a small farming community, most of what he saw when he came to Riddleport still made sense, if somewhat opulent and overdone.
This, however, was on a whole other level. Indeed, looking at the obscene artistry reminds him of the worst parts of the temple of Calistria. But even those were modest and tempered compared to the audacity of what is on display here. On the other hand, the magic on display is astonishing from an academic prospective.
To best maintain his disguise and hide his disgust at what he sees, among the fleshcrafted horrors and obscene decor, he puts fourth a disaffected face, looking at the scenery with the dispassionate gaze of an elderly farmer who claims to have seen it all, and what he hadn't seen was clearly something not worth seeing.
Old Tooth looks around a fair bit, keeping close to Jokril, moving rather quietly, both in step and vocalisations.
====
Jokril follows the cues from everyone else on when to bow and show proper deferrence, keeping behind the group as Varelle and Yasraena negotiate their way through.
He does take the initiative to approach when the Slavemother addresses him, if in a rather open fashion.
"Jokril. Freelance... Spellcaster. Hired under a long term contract with House Zauviir. As long as they're alive," he gestures to the females in the group, "I'm still under contract."
Jokril hopes that wouldn't spoil any cover stories the two were hoping to weave. It made sense enough. Even the drow have mercenaries and what-not, right?
"I'm her cousin, and lower in rank through the luck of our respective mothers' birth order, so I dutifully follow where she leads."
"Gadak merely had the good fortune to be nearby when we returned, and suggested that we might ally with House Vonnarc, and perhaps offer our services. But of course, that is for Lady Yasraena to discuss." The last line is delivered with dripping sarcasm and a bit of an eye-roll, evidence of the rivalry between the two.
'Zov' stands a bit straighter as the slavemother addresses them. "I'm Zov. I've been in service to House Zauviir for years. I was assigned as Lady Yasraena's bodyguard on orders of her mother."
"What is your station within the House Zauviir? I can then determine which of our house you're best set to seek an audience with."
'Yasraena' pointedly ignores 'Varelle's' sarcastic remark.
"The first-born daughter." 'Yasraena' shrugs. "Mother was quite insistent."
The slavemother purses her lips, looking over Yasraena the moment she mentions she's the first-born daughter. "I... see. Well, First Daughter, let us speak a touch differently then."
You spot a dangerous look to Gadak, who suddenly looks nervous. "I am Undamesta Vonnarc. Of the family, but not in direct line. As Slavemother I am the master of all slaves and servants in the House. I will invite you to stay in our guest quarters whilst I arrange a meeting for you."
She turns to Gadak. "Please see to it that the guest quarters are made available for Lady Zauviir and and her cousin and that comfortable lodgings are available for her retinue. The east wing of the second floor."
Gadak nods once. "Signets?"
Undamesta shakes her head. "In time. Thank you for gracing us with your presence, First Daughter. Please follow the male who will lead you to your quarters. The manor, particularly the second floor can be quite dangerous for those who are not of the family so please be careful."
---
Gadak leads you from the room, obviously not quite sure what to make of the lot of you as you are lead back through the strange horrors of the house. A set of stairs leads you to the second floor. As you step up the stairs, you move past two male driders who look to you quizzically with their alien faces, both arachnid and drow. Gadak looks to them.
"These are distinguished guests of the Slavemother's, representing House Zauviir. Treat them as you would any most honoured guests."
The driders bow artfully and you are lead to a hallway with several doors.
"Our guest suites are unoccupied, and thankfully there are four of them. Please, make yourselves at home."
Gadak bows once. "Speak with the driders should you need anything and a servant will come to tend to your needs."
With that, he gets ready to leave. The four rooms are elegantly appointed with strange, abstract artwork, sumptuous beds, and even some wicked-looking implements of pleasure and pain. As you settle in, you hear feminine laughter echoing from down the long halls, and a somewhat whiny male voice responding.
As the group enters the assigned rooms, Variel notes the sound of conversation from down the hall. He says quietly, "I could send Lash down in the form of a rat to stand outside the door and listen in. It could provide useful information."
Once the party has been shown to their rooms, 'Yasraena' takes a look around hers.
"Go ahead." She whispers in reply before entering her room and closing the door behind her.
Once the door closes, she leans against it and lets out a shuddering sigh. Her hands are trembling like mad, and her heart is beating like a drum. She takes several rapid breaths in a futile attempt to calm down.
This was a bad idea. This was a bad idea. This was a bad idea and I'm going to get us all killed. Or worse.
...I need an outlet. I need something to cope.
When they get to their rooms, 'Zov' nods at 'Varelle's' suggestion. He enters his room and closes the door. He scowls heavily and his fists shake. He lightly growls. 'This is such b******t! I get my freedom from my own slavery! Now I have to act as some sort of slave in a hole inhabited by stupid drow! Such b******t! I really need to hit something right now!'
"I could send Lash down in the form of a rat to stand outside the door and listen in. It could provide useful information."
"Good idea, but don't risk yourself... or Lash's self... if you don't have to."
Jokril also takes up his lodgings, locking his door, unslinging his pack, and breathing a bit.
'Well... That was something,' he thinks to himself. Though he settles for being able to simply relax and unwind, forgetting the situation he finds himself in. Though every look at his blue-skinned body always reminds him of what sort of mess he's in now.
As the group collapses into their rooms, desperately trying to get their bearings in this horrifying, alien place, Lash heads out in rat-form, scurrying along the hallway towards the sound of the conversation.
It's a bit of journey to get to the sound of the noise - the top floor of the house appears quiet at this time of... day? night? Either way, across several other rooms is a lobby area, where three drow are conversing.
In the lobby are two females and one male. One of the females is dressed in opulent amethyst jewelry and holds what looks like an ocarina made from an insect's cocoon. She appears to be older than the others. The male is a little portly has a few dancing lights trailing around him. The last female, the one with the whiny voice, is in pale brown robes and bears a strange holy symbol.
"Look cousin," the bard says with an indolence smile as she looks at the cleric. "You lost the bet and now you have to go get some more shiver."
She shakes her head furiously. "Send a servant!"
The wizard dances a few of his lights as he looks at her. "The servants keep secrets like a sieve, and will tell Undamesta everything. I--" He closes his hand around the dancing lights, which vanish. "Don't want another earful about my habits from that b+!#$."
The cleric hisses in response. "I am a female, and in the clergy of Areshkagal you are below my station!"
"And yet you still lost the bet," the bard reminds. "Venom Kiss is fun. You'll like it there."
"I'll have you both flayed!" she shouts, getting laughter in response before storming out, ignoring Lash as she heads into the main hallway to seethe. Although it's hard to tell with drow, she's clearly little more than a teenager. She makes her way over to a pair of doors before stopping herself and settling into a chair to stare at the floor morosely.
"Okay, so sounds like some children had a dumb bet, and one lost. Typical teenage stuff... I mean, we could offer our help, but I feel like we'd be better off just keeping our heads down for now..."
‘Zov’ snorts. ”Agreed. I don’t want get involved with drow children problems. Let’s just do our job and get out of here. The sooner, the better.”
"The information may prove useful as we interact with them in the future. Lash will be able to point them out when she sees them."
'Yasraena' wrinkles her nose. "Good. I have a feeling we'll need some allies at some point..."
It's a good couple of hours before a diminutive female drow approaches you. Lash immediately recognizes her as the one who had been ordered to fetch drugs for the others. She clears her throat and tries to look imperious, but her youth and high-pitched, whiny voice doesn't do her any favours.
"Guests of the house, I am Xemandrios Vonnarc. Second Daughter Faidaeva Vonnarc, High Priestess of Areshkagal the Faceless Sphinx requests your presence!"
She looks at all of you haughtily before awkwardly gesturing towards the door, clearly not quite sure what she should be doing with her hands.
'Yasraena' rises and nods. "Then she will have it. Lead the way."
She puts on a mask of emotionless nonchalance.
Varelle rises with a look of tired disinterest. She follows behind Yasraena, with her giant spider just behind.
Jokril gives a slightly annoyed sigh and follows behind.
You are lead across the top floor, which appears to be populated with the bored, indolent family. Although too well-bred to gawk, you are certainly a subject of enough side glances and whisper as you wander by. Something new, something interesting to play with.
Finally, Xemandrios leads you out onto a large balcony with a rather lovely pool. Standing by the pool is a drow woman with a shock of highly styled white-blonde hair and a menacing whip. She bears a holy symbol of the family Demon Lord, Areshkagal. Her mere presence seems to terrify Xemandrios who quickly backs away, closing the doors.
She walks up to Yasraena, eyeing her carefully and not even sparing a glance at the rest of the party. Her voice whispers with menace.
"The Faceless Sphinx whispers riddles to me only I may comprehend, and here I see a riddle stranger than many others. That worm Gadak claims that you come from the battle at Celwynvian, pursued by the traitor-elves... yet you are the First Daughter of House... Zauviir, is it?"
Her whip slithers on the ground as she speaks.
"Tell me, 'First Daughter', where do you come from and why are you here?"
'Yasraena' puts on an air of calm and stoicism.
"Zirnakaynin. And I am here because House Vonnarc is the only house worthy of Zauviir's allegiance." She wrinkles her nose.
"I imagine Gadak told you many things."
‘Zov’ remains quiet during this interaction, acting like the perfect bodyguard.
The question makes 'Yasraena' pause...
Yasraena tries to remember the scant information she researched with the surface elves, but it's enough to recall major drow cities of Sekamina, the middle layer of the Darklands you are currently in.
None of the drow cities are particularly close to one another, with journeys being extensive and contact not that common. Your information on each city is scant, but you at least know something:
- Blackstrand is the closest, a small city that trades heavily with a dark creeper city.
- Giratayn is the closest large city which trades heavily with the duergar.
- Harrowspire is a famous fortress which produces elite drow soldiers.
- Far Paratha is an isolate, remote city in the extreme north which has a legendary reputation for debauchery.
- Delvingulf is a major port city on the Dying Sea a good distance from Zirnakaynin.
- Telderist is a frontier town to the far southwest noted for drugs, assassins, and piracy.
- Umberweb to the far west is famous for its huge population of driders.
Yasraena and the rest of the group know that Far Paratha is extremely obscure and is likely a safe bet in that it is unlikely anyone will have even met a drow from Far Paratha, let alone know of its noble houses. It is situated in the extreme north, approximately beneath the Worldwound. It has a legendary, perhaps ludicrous reputation for grotesque depravity, even by drow standards. As such it's a subject for particularly nasty jokes. It is also believed by the more educated that the stories are likely false and what really goes on there is just unknown.
"We hail from Far Parathra." 'Yasraena' replies, pursing her lips and putting on an air of calm stoicism.
"And I am here because House Vonnarc is the only house worthy of Zauviir's allegiance."
Dropping the name of Far Paratha causes the Second Daughter's eyebrows to shoot up as she stares at you. She then starts peppering you with questions in response.
- What does Vonnarc gain from this alliance, and what do you want with us?
- Where does Zauviir stand in Far Paratha, how many soldiers do you command?
- Why Vonnarc and not another house? What do you know of us?
- Gadak says you came from the surface, what happened there and how did you join Azinrae's army?
- What is the status of Nolveniss Azinrae, the commander of the expedition?
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'Yasraena' smirks on the inside as the priestess' eyebrows arch in surprise.
"What does Vonnarc gain from this alliance, and what do you want with us?"
"House Vonnarc gains the expertise of an experienced negotiator, along with a crew of professionals skilled in the application of force and guile--and they will undoubtedly prove quite useful when it comes to discreetly solving sensitive problems." She gestures to herself and the other three 'drow' with her. "This is effective immediately--should our partnership prove fruitful, House Zauviir is prepared to offer a battalion of 300 of our finest soldiers, to be deployed on missions of House Vonnarc's choosing."
"As to what I want?" 'Yasraena's' expression darkens and her tone turns venomous and resentful. "Mother would have me be yet another sycophant, plied with all manner of licentious pleasures and waiting on her every whim. She has become complacent; too... content with her position. I plan to take her place as head of House Zauviir."
"Where does Zauviir stand in Far Paratha, how many soldiers do you command?"
"House Zauviir is the second of five Houses of Far Paratha, and at last count we command at least 1,000 soldiers. We control most of the arable land around Far Paratha, and by extension, the city's food supply. Whether the people fear us or hate us, they all eat from the palms of our hands... so to speak."
"Why Vonnarc and not another house? What do you know of us?"
"Because House Zauviir is quite fond of competence. It's a rather novel concept that I'm hoping will catch on." 'Yasraena' smirks for a moment.
It soon disappears. "As to what I know of House Vonnarc... I understand your House and Azrinae were once close allies. But then Azrinae's leadership changed, from that of an intelligent, powerful matron to her weak-willed embarrassment of a daughter. Then they snubbed you, breaking the carefully-woven alliance between the two houses. All at the behest of the newly-crowned 'matron's'--" She snorts in derision. "--pet, Allevrah."
"Gadak says you came from the surface, what happened there and how did you join Azinrae's army?"
"Mother sent me to them." She growls, visibly holding back an outburst of rage. "I would have had our House align with yours from the beginning, but nothing could dissuade my mother--there was something about Allevrah that captured her heart, even when her better judgment was telling her otherwise."
"Suffice to say, the surface elves threw themselves at the Azrinae army and fought like men with nothing left to lose. The commander was conducting some manner of arcane ritual in the heart of their ancient city--one that seemed to hearken back to Earthfall, come to think of it." She glances over at 'Jokril' as if seeking confirmation.
"What is the status of Nolveniss Azinrae, the commander of the expedition?"
"Dead. The surfacers cut their way through his guards and breached his sanctum, killing him while he was conducting his ritual. They suffered heavy losses doing so, but once Nolveniss was slain, his forces started to desert or turn on each other, seeing an opportunity to settle old scores."
Throughout the exchange, 'Yasraena' gauges the priestess' reactions to everything she says, trying to determine whether she's more interested or threatened by their presence.
The reactions from the Second Daughter are... complex. She's not good at hiding her emotions. She is both threatened and intrigued, and seems to see the group more as an opportunity than anything. However, a few things Yasraena said got reactions of incredulity, particularly the number of soldiers and your own quest to become matron.
If you were to guess, she's bought the story, but may believe you've embellished things.
She slowly grins. "You've been on the surface too long. Allevrah is matron now, and has seized the house for herself and gathered a second army, abandoning this place. Where she goes to, nobody knows. I am glad you recognize who the true first house of Zirnakaynin is, and not that mad cult run by that upstart. Nolveniss was a great wizard though. A loss to someone, probably."
Her whip twists a little like a snake as she speaks. "So your matron sent you on Azrinae's inane surface adventures. You are now here, and want control of your house, and offer Vonnarc a thousand soldiers. What exactly do you want from us?"
"You've been on the surface too long. Allevrah is matron now, and has seized the house for herself and gathered a second army, abandoning this place. Where she goes to, nobody knows."
'Yasraena' briefly arches her eyebrows, but otherwise offers nothing other than a "Hmm." of understanding.
"So your matron sent you on Azrinae's inane surface adventures. You are now here, and want control of your house, and offer Vonnarc a thousand soldiers. What exactly do you want from us?"
"I thought what I wanted was obvious." 'Yasraena' purses her lips. "I want House Vonnarc's support when the time comes for me to assume my rightful place as House Zauviir's matron."
"...and one other thing, just for me." She grins wickedly. "I would love to know where Allevrah has scampered off to--so I can track her down and bring her head to Mother dearest before I smash hers in."
"The commander was conducting some manner of arcane ritual in the heart of their ancient city--one that seemed to hearken back to Earthfall, come to think of it." She glances over at 'Jokril' as if seeking confirmation.
Jokril takes the opportunity to follow up on the tale. Thankfully, this part requires no embellishment.
"Yeah, a powerful spell. I wasn't involved in the weaving or research, so some of the finer details are lost on me. Still, they had a plan to recreate Earthfall, and were using some sort of 'echo' of Celwynvian as a pocket dimension to test it out. I could go on, but it's both me theorizing, and would take a while to explain."
She blinks, looking over to Jokril for a moment. "Fascinating. You should arrange a meeting with my brother the First Son, or an intermediary if he deems you beneath his time. He runs the Tower Solacas academy for the arcane arts."
She turns back to Yasraene. "Nobody knows where Allevrah has gone to, which is quite a trick considering the fact she has an army in tow. So you desire our support when it comes time for you to usurp your matron and in exchange we'll have access to your troops."
There's a moment as she stares at all of you as she takes in what she's been told. She finally speaks with some disgust. "I must speak with the First Daughter on this matter. But for now, I see an opportunity before me."
A thin smile spreads across her face. "You are isolated. Cut off from your house and at our mercy. However, I also heard tell you slew a roper and your servants are quite powerful. It may take me a small while to get a hold of my dear sister - so in the mean time, would you kindly indulge me and do the great House Vonnarc a favour? In exchange for our hospitality, and as a way to establish good relations before a potential alliance, of course."
She reaches into her desk, and produces several rings. "An indignity, but a necessary one. These signet rings will allow you passage in and out of the grounds, it would be a pity if you were slaughtered by our magical defenses just as we were getting to know each other. Wear these, and seek out the Paingiver Drovoanis. He's having a problem losing driders and it's becoming expensive. If you can see to helping out around the house a little and resolving that, I will take your offer of alliance to the First Daughter."
'Yasraena' looks down at the offered ring and takes it. "Very well."
She then slips the ring on. "One more question--where might I find Paingiver Drovoanis?"
When the Second Daughter mentions the paingiver "losing driders", Varielle looks closely at her.
She waves her hand to dismiss you. "He's head of the family guard, ask one of them. I just want him to stop bothering me about the driders. Good day."
Varelle concentrates on her as she explains the mission about the driders. From that point in the conversation on, she is confident the Second Daughter was telling the truth.
'Zov' takes the ring and puts it on, still by 'Yasraena's' side and acting like a silent bodyguard.
You strike out into the main household with your shiny new signet rings, trying to get your bearings. Thankfully, the fact you're allowed on the second floor at all has clearly set you apart from the servant caste in the house. Not quite servants, not quite the family, you seem to have your own process.
Inquiring about to the guards, who give you guarded, robotic answers, you find out the Paingiver is out by the stables. Waving your rings at the front door, you step out onto the grounds.
The enormous cavern yawns well out of sight, and the grounds are beautifully lit up with green and purple crystals which glow softly. There are no straight lines in drow architecture, and everything has an organic, serpentine feel. The massive estate is built into the cavern wall to the east, and it surrounds a tower of pure crystal which stabs up through the ground a good sixty feet.
Servants and guards move across the grounds on a variety of chores and a truly spectacular wall pens everyone in. The stables are to your north, also built against the cavern wall, and thankfully, you know where they are.
A thunderous, booming voice draws you towards the Paingiver, who is currently drilling several guards on geckos. The geckos pad across the side fo the wall near the stable, and the guards strapped into the geckos all look like they're about to fall off.
"UNDERSTAND WHY DOING THE STRAPS PROPERLY IS IMPORTANT? THIRTY LAPS BACK AND FORTH FROM THE GATE! [b]NOW!!"
The rookie guards cling to their mounts in terror as they try to get them to move along the wall for the good hundred or so feet to the stable. The Paingiver turns to face you as you approach. He has a stern countenance and a jar once scarred by acid with a sharp voice. He bows his head to Yasraena.
"You're the guests. I'm Paingiver Drovoanis. A runner told me the Second Daughter thought you may help me with my drider problem. This one is baffling me and I don't have time to look into it. I've had a total of five driders just vanish over the past two months, with two disappearing yesterday. Bastards are expensive. We keep a score of them on their own grounds near the house. None seem to know what's going on, even the one Axsima tortured to death. What's needed is simple - find out what happened. How you do that is another question. What do you need to know?"
Varelle looks with disdain on the Paingiver as he describes his problem. "I would guess that either your discipline is lacking and they wandered off, or your driders are poorly trained and got themselves killed. We can investigate which is the case. Did they disappear from within the compound, or were they out on some errand and failed to return?"
The Paingiver fixes a withering at Varelle. "Any disloyalty on the part of the driders is clearly an issue with the fleshwarping. Those bastards at Pasatric are slipping on quality. We don't keep them around because we like the look of them, they are supposed to be loyal. It appears they vanished from active duty in all cases."
He fishes a small, high-quality book out of a bag at his side, and flips through before tearing out a page and handing it over. On the page are several names and notes:
Terelex - Vanished 15th Erastus, guard duty Matron's hall
Shnarz - Vanished 15th Erastus, guard duty Matron's hall
Yazfein - Vanished 27th Erastus, traveling from drider cave to property
Rikhrys - Vanished 7th Arodus, guard duty
Ryldtrin - Vanished 12th Arodus, guard duty ballroom
"What else do you need to know?"
"The driders are kept in a cave a little ways from the house property," he says, quickly explaining some directions. "They largely work on standing orders that I give them, although I delegate to Covakis at times. The Second Son sometimes decides to assert himself over the affairs of the Vonnarc Guard as well."
He shrugs at the last questions. "Driders are insane, they always act strange. I did not notice any behaviour I'd consider beyond the usual gibbering nonsense they spout, though. And they're house slaves - there is nobody new they're in contact with."
'Zov' scratches his chin. "If I may ask a question... how tough are your driders compared to other driders? Just in case there's a chance that we may get into a fight with them or whoever's or whatever is causing this."
The paingiver shrugs. "If the rumours about you lot killing a roper are true I think you'll manage. I train them well and they're a match for most driders you meet, but they're to crazy to get too powerful. I should mention that if you find our missing driders, alive is better, but dead will do once you determine what happened."
He gestures to the guards half-falling out of their mounts as they scamper across the wall. "These ones would be killed in seconds if they tangled with one of our driders. I trust you'll do better."
"The ones that disappeared from guard duty -- had they been seen at their post at any point, then were gone, or did they simply never arrive? That will make a difference on where we start investigating."
"The driders may spend an extremely long time unmonitored as they eat seldomly and despite their... nature, are extremely patient. It's unheard for the bastards to just wander off. The watches are continuous so in all cases somebody was there to trade off. I can check through my log book but it may take a while - in the meantime, try questioning around Ryldtrin since he vanished very recently. I'd start with the servants who work the ballroom or the guards stationed there now."