Annisthyrienne
Drive-by mischief
- Joined
- Oct 17, 2010
- Posts
- 11,469
Spiriel had been on the run, frightened, alone, and desperate for more days than she could count now. This strange upperworld with its too-bright sun beating down on her all the time kept her off balance, uncomfortable, and uneasy. She felt like she was constantly squinting to protect her eyes. She hadn't thought her escape through enough to realize what sort of protective clothing she would need. But then again, there hadn't been time. She'd had to take the opportunity to run when she had the chance, and she had been on the run ever since.
The Drow would've sent capture patrols after her, and she had been trying to evade them. She thought that if she traveled when it was most uncomfortable for her, the same discomfort would discourage them from traveling during that time. She might better avoid the patrols that way. She stayed still at night whenever possible, hiding.
But there were many other dangers that she hadn't considered. Their hereditary enemies, the Orcs, patrolled the upper canyons of these mountains, and she had been trying to avoid their patrols too. She had worked her way down and out of the mountains, now in the foothills below the range. She was hungry, tired, and scared, but she was free. Now if she could just stay that way.
The one time of day that she truly enjoyed was dusk. When the great bright orb in the sky dipped low enough to drop below the trees or the mountains, it eased her vision, and she could relax just a little. This was one such time. She had discovered a clear mountain lake and decided to indulge in a bath to refresh herself. It was risky. She knew that other kinds of creatures besides Orcs and Drow might be about. In the last couple days since coming off the mountain, she had hidden whenever she had encountered members of the other races. She knew any lightside Elf that found her would likely kill her on sight. Humans probably weren't much better disposed towards her kind.
Spiriel closed her eyes for just a moment, enjoying the cool clear water she was immersed in. She would still be hungry, maybe scared too, when she finished here, but at least she would be clean and cool. The constant sun seemed to burn into her black skin without mercy as she traveled during the days. This was a welcome relief. She would have to find a place to hide for the night still, and time was slipping away. She slipped under the water one last time before reluctantly heading for the shore.
Just as she was stepping out to her clothing, she heard a branch crack close by!
She snatched her only weapon - a small sacrificial dagger stolen from the temple of Lolth during her escape - and pounced using all the dexterity of her race, resembling nothing so much as a svelte black panther in female form as she landed on the unwary pale creature who had surprised her. The small knife went to his throat as if by sheer instinct. Spiriel was no warrior, nothing more than a temple slave in the underdark. But she possessed the instincts of her race, and the desperation of a slave who had tasted freedom and would not let it be stolen from her now.
The adrenaline that served her so well in her movement now made her pant and her breasts heaved. She became aware, even as she stared down into the wide eyes of the human male she sat astride, of a sharp coldness pressing just under her left breast. She looked down to see the human's dagger point aimed right at her heart. Realizing that she was caught in a stalemate, her pretty dark features curled up in an almost feral snarl of frustration and anger. To have come so far and now to be undone, or even killed, by a human, of all things! Still, she had her knife to his throat too, and one quick slice would kill him just as well. He dared not press his point home, or risk his own death.
For what seemed like several long moments, all she could do was breathe and try to think of what to do. Time was on the side of this human. She had to get away and find a place to hide before the patrols caught up with her. She hadn't time to get dressed and this human would no doubt attack her while she was vulnerable. He could probably even stab her before she could get away. She saw no other choice. Maybe he could be reasoned with. Maybe he had no interest in hurting her, and was only trying to defend himself. She sought her limited memories for the words of the common trade language that the humans were said to use. She didn't know a lot of the words, but she had to try.
Holding up her free hand, palm open and outward towards him, she spoke in her heavily Drow accented words, "No...kill, Man." She only hoped he understood. She slowly reached her hand down to use one finger to gently try to push the dagger point away from her chest, even as she eased the pressure on the knife at his throat, her eyes locked on his the whole time.