Since your arrival at Melkynvelve (between 1 and 10 days ago) you have been kept in a large dimly lit cave, high up in the wall of an enormous cavern, filled with other prisoners, derro, deep gnomes, even a few drow, as well as other strange denizens of the Underdark. Each morning you are split into three groups and put to hard labour, supervised by hulking quaggoths and the cruel drow guards. Some of the work you are given is productive, hauling water, scrubbing pans, operating the lift to the cavern floor; but other tasks are clearly only for the twisted amusement of your captors, such as rearranging piles of rocks or unpicking rope. After the day's work is finished the prisoners are mostly left to their own devices, provided that the guards don't get bored, and are free to converse amongst themselves.
a tall half elven girl, greyish white skin, short silvery, violet eyes. She stands at the edge of a group of others, not part of the group but blending glaring angrily into the distance. Her foot tapping against the ground impatiently, arms crossed.
A woman of about five and a half feet tall stands alone. She watches the various groups warily with her batlike wings folded down around her shoulders and her spade tipped tail lashing idly. Despite her obviously demonic heritage almost every male in the place, and many females as well, are eyeing her with a great deal of desire. Her lack of clothing likely helps draw the eyes of those around, what little she does have is ripped in various places and hides very little. Everytime she'd been given fresh ones she was attacked and they were torn by one person or another, usually the drow.
Being unnerved by his new Drow owner, Harro has been desperately looking for a lax guard or another prisoner he could confide
in for escape. Seeing a scantily clad winged girl among the group, his curiosity overwhelms his good sense and he speaks
before his senses kick in to stop him.
@Vinexa:
"Lass? Why don't you just fly outa-here when they aren't looking?"
Harro is a very sturdy-looking, but mostly hairless Duergar dwarf. His voice seems to crackle a little from lack-of use and
what is exposed of his grey stone-like exterior seems to be criss-crossed by dozens of scars and discolored patches of skin.
Vinexa looked on the duergar with a mix of disdain and interest, a strange combination, and replied, "Because they aren't strong enough to fly with...yet." Her voice was husky and seductive and up close Harro could easily tell that her nails could be very effective weapons if the glint of their edges was an indication of sharpness and her teeth looked to be slightly pointed and likely capable of delivering a rather nasty bite if she wanted to. She seemed to size him up much like one would a slab of meat before nodding and asking, "Why don't you just dig your way out?"
Harro squints at her and answers plainly and points downward.
"You must need gnomish spectacles...does it look like I have a shovel or pick devil-girl? Can't dig through rock with your bare hands."
Looking around surreptitiously, he sighs and shrugs resignedly.
"My name's Harro Boulderbran Grimcrater. Of the Sunderstone Grimcraters. You new here lass?"
Vinexa's expression turned to one of rage as Harro called her "devil girl". If she were anywhere else she'd kill him for that insult but as it was she knew she needed to not kill him. She barely heard his introduction but responded in kind through grit teeth, "Vinexa, and if you ever call me a devil again I'll rip your throat out as I drain the life from you." She shook her hair and looked down at him as she said, "It's demon girl." Her anger assuaged...for now, Vinexa continued in a more moderate voice, "Yes, I've been here only a few days, you?"
Waving a hand in a brushing gesture, he answers honestly.
"No offense girl. Demon, devil, or even angel. I care NOT lass. How long have I been here? Too long. Been'a Drow slave so long
I can barely remember me home and family now. This new master? She's seriously creepy however. With a capital CREEP. I can say her
guards are the laziest group of yahoos I've ever laid eyes on."
Looking around again, seeing nothing, he looks Vinexa in the eye significantly.
"I mean to be free lass. Soon. But I can't do it alone. I'm tough as nails, but I can't fight off a hun'erd poisoned crossbow bolts. I need help. But I mean to be free one way t'other. You in?"
I am Illya mutter's, I run from one cage straight into another...name's Illya half-drow half something else dad never got specific joining the two she cracks her knuckles, i'm always ready for a fight
A bald snifneblin with a strange glint in his eye makes his way over to the group "Thinking of escaping are we? You'll never make it. In fact I bet you 30 gold pieces you can't escape and bring me with you."
Vinexa laughed lightly as she said, "I'm more worried bout the bolts than the poison." She turned her gaze to the half-elf who approached them and eyed her warily. She decided that this newest arrival was potentially worth having along. The svirfneblin was different, the fact he offered a wager to get them to take him along. She raised one eyebrow and asked, "Just how do you expect to pay us if since you're a slave with nothing like us?" Her wings mantled making her look bigger as she considered what to do with the small man.
The svirfneblin laughs, "Oooh, I like you. I'm not offering to pay you; I'm making a wager. If we escape then I'm sure that I'll be able to find a way to pay my debts. It should be me who is worried about payment. If you fail to escape like I think you will how will you pay me, hmm?"
The dark purplish skin, long white hair, and pale eyes instantly reveal Micar’s drow heritage. Trying to keep a low profile, the 5’7” slender male sits alone against the wall furthest from the cave entrance. Anyone attempting to converse with him is met with a curt response; an obvious attempt to continue his stay in solitude. If observed for any length of time, he can often be seen sitting with his eyes closed, almost as if in meditation, his right hand making subtle but fluid movements almost as if exercising some form of ritual or routine.
Micar finishes his meditation and continues his normal routine of watching the movements and habits of the prisoners and guards alike. The foursome off to his right is of interesting makeup.
They’re talking of escape. I don’t need to hear what they’re saying to know that. Escape isn’t the issue. Where is it they think they’re planning on going, that's the real trick. Micar shakes his head and continues surveying the cave.
Harro eyes the gnome sideways.
"How do we know you're not working fer the 'screws' eh? I know your kind. Sneaky and stubborn: But willing to compromise their
grandmother to the nearest Hook Horror or Mimic if the chips are down."
if we fail, then you can fish this off my corpse...though i don't plan on failing, they took away my weapons not my magic or my voice she briefly flashes a reddish gemstone, pocketing it again without a second thought, he doesn't work for them, Drow are prideful and Svirfneblin are some of there biggest enemies.Besides Drow don't work with, they enslave
Vinexa considered the issue of payment and said, "Hmm, interesting question, how could I pay you?" She pursed her lips and cooked one hip to the side while tapping her chin thoughtfully. She looked back at the little man and said,"I've many of the natural talents of a succubus and little in the way of the dangers, if we fail, and survive, I'll show you just how talented a succubus can be in bed." She bent forward as she spoke providing him a very nice view down her meager top. Her wings shifted to help counterbalance her weight and aid her in standing at that angle while her tail lashed side to side.
Pointing at the small gnome to make his point, Harro stares at the half-elf.
"Fine..how about 'Sell Out?' then. Doesna' that now sound better to you! Race means nothing when yourn a slave. Anybody here
might sell out our plan to the screws just for a few scraps of extra food or a thin blanket! Didya' no think of that!"
Squinting his eyes at her he seems to realize something.
"I didna' remember inviting you into this conversation neither! How do we know yourn not planning to sell us out either, or hiding
among us as a Drow in some magical disguise!"
The small gnome puffs himself up and stares Harro in the eye, "I'm no sell out ... matey. I don't cheat on bets. In fact I'll bet you a thousand gold that if someone betrays us it won't be me. Jimjar's word is his bond, ask anyone who was here before you arrived, they'll tell you the same"
Jimjar sniffs contemptuously before turning towards Vinexa and Illya-Nym,
"Ladies" he says with a broad grin, "Your offers both sound very, ahm, reasonable. I look forwards to collecting when I win"
Vinexa smiled at the svirf and said, "It seems we have a wager then, your 30 gold vs my pleasuring you free of charge." She held a hand out to the small man, "That is providing you give us your name as you've picked up those of two of us already I imagine."
She looked back at Harro after the deal was made with the gnome and said, "A valid point, of course you approached me and I could easily make the same accusation against you. I think it will work best if we all agree to accept that we're telling the truth of our motives while watching each other for treachery. If we can't do that we might as well pay the gnome our lost wagers now."
You can trust me because me because as far as any drow is concerned i'm the lowest form of scum. My father is a drow renegade wanted for murder, and i'm his half drow child...for me it's either escape or wait till they start experimenting i have no reason to lie to you. Besides, if any of us worked for them we could have left to report this already she seems to have a bit of disdain in her voice mentioning father.
"We have a wager then" the gnome says spitting in his hand and offering it to shake. "Name's Jimjar. Didn't catch Grumpy's name. Still don't think much of your chances. You'd need to get past 19 guards, not to mention Mistress Ilvara, her 'pet' Asha, or all the Quaggoths and Giant Spiders."
A short bearded individual with blue-grey skin and pure white eyes wanders over and claps Jimjar on the back.
"Gambling again Jimjar?" he shakes his head sadly before perking up as he looks around the group, "You must introduce me to new friends Jimjar. I am Diin *cough* Buppido. My name is Buppido." He pauses for a second before drawing a small flask out of his tattered robes. "I managed to filch this off one of the guards while we were working today. Tis good stuff, real fire lichen liquor. Anyone want a swig?"
"Bah! Ya'll are loony to think anybody is trustworthy here for anything other than for the last five minutes you talked at them.
Heck, I trust you all about as mooch as I can trow a dragon!"
Squinting at the deep gnome again, Harro relents.
"However if his information is correct, that gives us another advantage to work with on getting out.
Now we just need a plan."
Micar continues to eavesdrop on the group. Idiots! Don't they know an escape takes planning and knowledge. If they attempt to escape now, they're going to get caught, and worse, I'm going to have to wait even longer to get out of here. They probably don't even know the guards' shift changes, which guards are easiest marks. . .
Micar's inner dialog is interrupted as he eyes the little man pulling the flask. That's interesting. I bet he's been here a while. Seems he knows how to acquire some things too. A little careless, but probably knows a few more things than the rest of them.
Vinexa shook Jimjar's hand with as little contact as possible due to the spit and said, "Agreed then." She looked back at Harro and replied, "Exactly my point, we need each other right now, after that, well, who knows." She eyed the offered drink with trepidation and said, "I'll pass."
Illya shakes her head, No thank you, i don't drink turning back to the others, so how is this going to work? I like fighting as much as the next person, but i don't like fighting a lost battle...i have an idea...might work might not
There is a commotion as an oread is thrown in with the group. Besides the odd protuberances sprouting from his body, he is also crystalline in nature reflecting and refracting light.
"This is an OUTRAGE. How dare you destroy an entire ecosystem just to farm more mushrooms. By Fandarra, do you realize what you are doing? An entire species of frogs found only in that one cave system will be wiped out! When the drudic council finds o..."
*smack*
One of the guards grunts as his fist hits the bony head and he utters an exclamation of pain and shakes his fist.
"...out, you will be in big trouble."
One of the guards that brought the new prisoner guffaws and mentions, after the fact of course, "You are better off using the haft of your weapon on that one's head. Better yet, hit him somewhere else. Hitting him in the head doesn't even slow him down. I swear he's been blabbing all the way here, at least until we gagged him. Didn't like that much he didn't. I think he hated it more than the beating we gave him. but we ungagged him just for you. Enjoy."
At that they laugh more and leave.
The guard wastes no time in gagging the oread again and laying into him with safer implements of damage until the oread passes out.
"Teach you to make a fool of me."
The sudden entrance of the guards in the cell serves to discourage any further conversation for the evening and pretty soon most of the prisoners have made themselves as comfortable as they can and drifted off to sleep.
You all sleep pretty much as well as can be expected given the circumstances with the exception of
The next morning (or evening or whatever. Who knows what time it is down here?) you have a little bit of time to yourselves before the drow split you off into your groups for the day's work.
Vinexa's sleep was troubled, very trouble, and she found herself waking often. She'd always been prone to night terrors but they'd gotten worse ever since she'd been sold to the slave pits. This night they were particularly disturbing and near morning she found herself awaking with a scream of terror. As soon as she realized where she was she settled, particularly as various people snapped at her to shut up. Calming she lay there the rest of the sleep shift awake.
When it was finally time to get up Vinexa made her way wearily through what had quickly become her routine, use the latrine, try and rinse off, and then eat her crappy breakfast. This time though she found she had people to share a meal with, something she wasn't used to. Her eyes were bleary, and exhaustion evident, but she knew she had little choice but to push on, especially now that a chance for freedom, and vengeance, were on the way.
Tanic makes the rounds after regaining consciousness and disentangling himself from the ropes and gag, which the guards promptly remove with a warning look and haft jab. He'll talk to anyone who is willing to listen, and he's willing to listen to anyone who is willing to talk. Now that he's got a more receptive audience he leaves the guards alone - a good thing for him. His story, however is repetitive and gets boring after a while - the injustice of it all and that the druids will come and rescue him. Not much in the way of personality, you think - probably well suited to druidic cave duty. Either he's a stupid as a rock, he's just not dealing with this well, or he was the target of a nasty drow mind-scrambling spell.
As folks start stirring in the would be "morning," Micar goes through his meditations. As he finishes up, he discretely locates the other half-drow and sits down next to Illya. Without making eye contact, as he keeps his eyes on his surroundings, Micar speaks in a quiet yet clear voice, "So, do you guys have a plan, or is it all just talk?"
Harro stirs, and rolls over with his head still on a rock he's used for a pillow to sleep.
"Its always 'just talk' until somebody dies. Then its a plan."
@Harro
"Did someone say they wanted to talk? Not a very lively group here. Everyone seems so exhausted. So what are you in for? I'm in for back-talking and trying to save some frogs and mushrooms."
A somewhat skinny Duergar stirs from his sleep, he had been sitting in the back mumbling to himself until he heard talk of escaping and sidled up to the group. If I can attach myself to this bunch, I might just have a chance of getting away, anywhere is better than here. If only I had my tools with me, I could make acid or something to get us out.
I have a plan, get a weapon, stab and repeat. Once i'm out run for the surface...to get a weapon, all i need to do is start a riot, single out a guard, then beat him to death...Problem being actually starting the riot
Pfft. Haha! Sure would like to see her face when she end sup in the tunnels miles from any surface exit.
@Illya-nym.
"Foolish. This is their land, they know it we don't."
The tall, cruel looking Tiefling smiles at you. "Take one alive. Make him show us the way out!"
Kara thinks starting a riot would be easy, slaves have value, kill a few and the guards will enter, then spring the ambush.
She studies the other slaves, thinking over who would be useful to her in surviving down here, and who is expendable?
Listening to the discussion thus far Vinexa finally spoke up, "She might be right, if we can get one of the guards, and particularly if we can get out of this magical suppression area, I can almost guarantee the guards cooperation. I just need a bit of time to work on him or her is all."
@Vinexa.
Kara looks interested, someone smart. Someone who can handle things more delicately than Kara could.
She shifts a little closer to Vinexa to start discussing things quietly. "So, you can get someone doing what you want without having to break them?" Is her opening remark.
Kara doesn't give a s&&+ for this Demon vs Devils business, neither did her any favors, she's more interested in getting out of here and getting to somewhere she's more familiar with.
They barely know it, i got down here on my own i can get out...there are other races down here that would love to a drow prisoner though, i like your thinking...come to think of it if we can get out of the supression area, i can work a few tricks of my own.
"Escape! Wouldn't that show them! Hey, I might be able to help out here. I can mould iron into something useful if we can find some."
Micar shakes his head. These folks are ambitious, I'll give them that. "That's not much of a plan. If it's to be done, it can't be done half-assed, that'll only get you killed. Pay attention to the guards' routines, and the prisoners' routines as well. What guards pay the most, or least, attention to their post? Timing is everything." Micar stands up and scans the room.
He scans the room for Buppido, and times his approach when the derro's alone, "You seem like you know a bit about the goings on here. How long have you been here?"
Buppido glances from side to side and gestures for Micar to lean in close, "Buppido's been here a very long time. Seen many slaves come, many slaves go. So sad." He chuckles. "Yes many slave leave when others want them to leave but not Buppido. No I'll leave when I want to leave He laughs again, louder this time before again glancing fugitively from side to side. "I know many useful things. Bupiddo can be a very useful friend to you. I know Jorlan used to be head of the guards and take midnight visits to Mistress Ilvara's chambers before he got hurt. Now ol'Scarface is a regular guard and I hear Shoor, his replacement, now enjoys those late night postings, if you get my meaning."
Micar gives a slight smile, Finally, someone with some brains in this place. "I can use a friend with some knowledge of this place. So, when Shoor takes his leave to the mistress's chambers, who is left to guard the . . . well, us? How many of these guards are actually competent?"
Ayla is escorted into the cell by a number of guards.
"What did I ever do to deserve this crap, I mean come on I was happy being a normal barmaid serving drinks..."
she cautiously walks about the Cell
And takes note of those in the cell with her.
"And we a good assortment of people, here even one with wings like the ones I just grew..."
Vinexa noted the arrival of Ayla, it wasn't often that she saw someone who was quite so similar to herself in appearance. She was intrigued as she eyed the woman but ceased any discussion of escape until they could feel this newcomer out. She made a shushing gesture at her companions and rose, her eyes on the newly arrived Aurora she began to walk towards the winged woman with a sensuous smile and sway to her hips. Her wings folded down around her shoulders and her tail swung in counterpoint as she approached the newcomer. When she reached Ayla she said, "Mmmm, aren't you lovely, I can think of any number of uses for you. Come, sit with us while you have the chance to rest." She reached out and offered her hand to the newcomer as she began to back towards where her group was sitting.
Oh see's staring at me, heck a number of folks her are staring at me.
Looks around the room again and notices the winged woman's neutral approach
Looks like the group with her is the least threatening at the moment....
I hope I am not wrong.
Ayla does a shy hello wave as she speaks.
"Ah hello, can anyone tell me what is exactly going on here?
as I was ambushed and kidnapped by these jerks as I was minding my own business."
You were taken by drow, welcome to the club...jerks is putting it mildly though...it's some kind of enslavement thing, nothing new Illya comments her foot tapping anxiously again