Down in the Dark: A tale of Gradzlata

[siobhancan99]

(Gradzlata is the setting of another thread, Siobhan's fantasy epic of epic fantasy, for any readers that want some additional context.)



Annika sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the equipment laid across it. It had been months since she'd used any of it. Months since Miroslav... she stood, reluctant, and shrugged into her leather armor over a silk shirt. At least she had kept it in good condition, and thankfully in her months of inactivity she hadn't gained too much weight. It caught for a moment, as it often did, on the ebony horns that sprung from her hairline to run back along her head, tapering to a point which curved upwards towards the back of her skull. She muttered and almost cursed but stopped herself, getting the cuirass into place. She added leather vambraces, then slid her pale toned legs into a form fitting pair of more supple leather pants. That took a moment, as the months of inactivity had contributed slightly to the roundness of her ass, and she momentarily considered a new pair. At least unlike some of her kind she didn’t have to wrangle a tail.

She gathered her thick ebony hair back, corralling the mass of curls into one fist, then tied it off in a sloppy pony-tail behind her head. Normally she let her thick, unnaturally black hair free to distract from the horns, but going into the catacombs she'd need to be free of it. She briefly considered a slew of hidden daggers, but this wasn’t that kind of mission. More brute force than subtlety, though she was along for her tongue as much or more than her blade. She picked up a heavy mace, hefting it in her hand and giving it a swing. She could hear Miroslav even now “good for the undead, going to be plenty of those, kitten.” She fixed it to her belt, then buckled a rapier onto the other side. After slipping into her boots she stowed a knife there out of habit.

Into a rucksack she threw rope, pitons, chalk and various other tidbits all useful for being underground. At the end, she added a large skin of water, then an assortment of jerky and dried fruits for a trip into the underground. She hummed a few bars and did a vocal warmup, she told herself to be ready to sing the songs that unleashed her magic, but in reality, it was anything to not open that door. She’d barely opened it in the last six months. Going out occasionally for food but mostly mired in her own sense of despair. It was on one of those excursions that Kemal’s men had found her, and had thrown her a lifeline. A reason to leave the house.

She muttered a spell that hid her horns and changed her completely purple eyes to ones that looked normal, she settled on blue irises today. Stepping out into the street she looked across at the now occupied former apartment of Miroslav, and found for once she could look at it without a pang of regret. For months she castigated herself for wanting to wait for marriage. For making him live across the street. Now he was gone, at the bottom of the sea and that was time she’d never have back. Still, the emotional resonance of that personal chiding had lost its edge with her newfound purpose. There was work to do, there were promises made. There was hope and even though working for Kemal was always unsavory at best, he was always honest. He had dangled a carrot and she leapt and now that she was moving, was no longer wallowing, the old thrill of the hunt was edging out self-doubt.

She spied a few local drunks on the street who made a few obscene gestures. A hand dropped casually to the hilt of her blade silenced them satisfactorily and she made her way uptown. Her seeming would only last till she got to the entrance of the catacombs, but it would let her pass through the streets without seeing any scowling faces or having anyone walk across to avoid her. Like being a Tiefling was something you could catch instead of the wages of sin. Not even her sin but some ancestor. She paused at the dark thought and dispelled it, muttering a small prayer to the Lawgiver. Buoyed by her moment of piety she found herself actually smiling as she headed to the underground gate.
Kemal had said her two partners would be a dwarf, and a woman. When asked how she’d know to identify them the fat Keshvian eunuch had tittered “oh you won’t be able to miss her. And he’s some sort of priest.” Arriving at the entrance to the catacombs in the mid-basin along the eastern rise she spotted the dwarf. He was clad in plate, with a Warhammer and a shield embossed with the book of the lawgiver on it. Dwarven clerics of human gods were known, but rare. Still, it was an auspicious sign. He glared at her a moment “Tiefling” it was a reproach. Her face fell a moment and he straightened, muttering a spell. He nodded then “Apologies lady. I should not have made assumptions. I am Morgnir. I am pleased to meet you.” The two chatted a bit, discussing the delve and the prospect of finding a genuine dwarven settlement from the time of the destruction of the old city, as they waited on the arrival of their third.

“What do you think happened to the first crew he sent?” she asked, just trying to kill time.

“That’s what I’m here to find out. I mean that’s what I get out of it. My cousins were on that crew…” The dwarf looked past the tollkeepers and at the catacombs entrance “You just here for Kemal’s coin or does he know something you feel you need to know?”
She reached up, touching her horns with a sigh, and left the question unanswered as a figure approached.

 

[Muselight]

Valkea sat on the edge of the bed and gave a languid stretch. Her arms reached up to the ceiling, causing her flawless, bountiful breasts to thrust outwards - her perky, pink nipples already stiff due to exposure from the air. Her shoulder-length hair shined like spun gold, and a subtle celestial glow viewable only at certain angles encapsulated her form. She reached for the dagger she had stashed underneath her pillow - in case her fuck partner last evening had been a rival spy and tried anything. But it seemed there had been nothing to be concerned about. She hefted the dagger in her hand, then she moved to collect her leather armor and begin getting dressed.

Uncommonly beautiful, she stood tall at 6'2, and she appeared to have curves in all the right places, and she specifically picked a type of leather armor that would accentuate that while still providing proper protection. It looked a little expensive due to being dyed black. It wouldn't do for her perfect, flawless skin to be marred, after all. She checked her belt to ensure her daggers were properly holstered as well as her small bottle of poison (always handy).

She headed towards the door - her hips swaying with each step - perhaps suggesting that she didn't know how to walk anywhere unless it was in a seductive manner. Just as she put a hand on the door handle, the voice of the half-elf man spoke up.

"Leaving so soon?"

She paused at the door and rolled her eyes, but when she turned, she greeted him with a serene, almost heavenly smile. She gave a slow nod of her head.

The half-elf's face fell in disappointment. "Will I ever see you again?"

Valkea appeared to cast a glance upwards a moment as if considering the question. Then, she tilted her head and smiled at him. When she spoke, her voice had an almost ethereal, breathy quality to it.

"Never. With any luck."

The merest moment's pause to relish the stunned and crushed look on his face before she left. She didn't give him a chance to speak another word.

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It was hard to say where exactly Valkea's loyalties laid. Perhaps it could only be gleaned that it seemed her loyalties were to herself and only herself. A devout hedonist, she responded well to coin, luxury, and legitimate promises of pleasure. She had what might be called a flexible spine - thrilling at danger but being the first to turn tail and run when the threats to her life became all too real - and she had not been afraid to leave anyone behind in doing so. She did not respond well to being cornered. Attempts at blackmailing her had often been met with raucous laughter, perhaps one of very few occasions in which she laughed at all.

Kemal, though disgusting to behold, was smart and shrewd and most importantly - very rich and very well-connected. And so, he had managed to earn... a modicum of loyalty from her. The current mission intrigued her. It was so rare she had the occasion to venture into the darkness of the catacombs and even rarer still when she was put on an assignment where she had to work with a group. She thought it strange the team Kemal had put together - her, a spy and a capable assassin - and a priest and a bard. Perhaps the circumstances of Kemal's precious lost cargo and the missing crew, too, were unusual.

She passed through a street where a few drunks whistled, catcalled, and made obscene gestures. She paid it no mind as it didn't bother her in the slightest. Her head held high. Someone shouted out the word "slut" and she smirked a little because it was not inaccurate.

The underground gate came into view at last - it was the priest she noticed first. It was hard not to notice priests what with their holy symbols and the self-righteous way in which they carried themselves. This one was a dwarf, and she smiled at him in a serene manner - her silver eyes looking him up and down. She looked, too, over at the woman, and her smile broadened a little as she looked her up and down as well.

Well, well, well. Gorgeous. Simply lovely.

There was no telling how long they would be in the catacombs - it was important to determine what her options, besides self-care, were now. "Greetings and well-met, strangers. I am Valkea, the one sent by Kemal. It's an absolute pleasure-" There was a subtle emphasis on the word pleasure. "To meet you, and I look forward to working with you."

 

[siobhancan99]

Annika looked up and Kemal was right, there was no mistaking the woman. She was tall, much taller than Annika even with the horns added in. Her hair was a lovely gold, catching the waning fall light that made it into the basin to gleam like treasure. She stared a moment, in awe. She'd been told by the priests at the orphanage any number of times about the Aasimar. How they were inherently good in the way she as a Tiefling was inherently bad. She'd internalized that lesson and now here she was in the face of angelic beauty and goodness in mortal form. She felt a pang of envy, thinking about how the woman didn't have to struggle constantly against a sinful nature, not understanding that neither of them were doomed and blessed by their ancestry. Still, it was hard to be mad at such perfection. the other woman was light to her darkness, and where Annika was more fit than curvy, she could tell the other woman had a feminine voluptuousness that many men would admire.

The Dwarf spoke to break her reverie "We should get moving. Kemal has paid the Duke's men handsomely to seal off the passages that might lead to the dwarf community, but they can't keep other adventurers out forever." Annika knew that the urgency was not from his thought they might be beaten to the treasure, but for the concern over the first team. Still he made sense.

She unrolled a map Kemal had provided. "We need to head north once inside, along this passage" She dragged her finger along the map, outlining the route "here, there's a hole. we need to descend and there we will find a guard post of Duke Kazimir's men. We speak the passcode and they will let us through. From what I was told there's a large chamber beyond." As she spoke, her husky alto voice gave no sign that she was thrown a bit by the presence of the Aasimar.

She looked over at Valkea, though with her solid purple eyes, devoid of iris or pupil, it was hard to see where she was glancing. She inhaled, then exhaled. She took some comfort in the presence of the other woman. Surely this blessed angel would mean only good things for the expedition. "I'm glad you're along." She offered a shy smile to the newcomer. "I have some magic, but I'm sort of a Jill-of-all-trades, Mistress-of-none." Her tone was self deprecating, but she had a closed mouth smile that was warm and friendly. The fanged canines in her mouth adding slightly to the pout of her full lips. "I'm Annika, by the way."

"Morgnir" offered the dwarf.

 

[Muselight]

Valkea put a hand on her hip and flipped her golden-colored tresses behind her shoulder. "Mm, yes, we had better hurry. It'll likely only get harder to keep adventurers out, especially if word starts to circulate that Kemal has lost valuable treasures as well."

She kept her voice low and quiet, eyeing the surrounding area to make sure no one was eavesdropping on them. She leaned over the table when Annika unfurled a map. Her attention was intent and focused on the map as Annika pointed out the routes they would need to take. Her leaning over the table had the natural effect of exposing her ample cleavage to both Annika and Morgnir; though, she wasn't doing so purposefully or as a means to seduce them at that moment.

"I don't suppose you know approximately how many men?" She glanced up to look at the tiefling's solid purple eyes a moment. It was perhaps a question of habit for her. She had a tendency towards trusting absolutely no one at all, so when at all possible, whenever she was entering any place - she wanted to know as much detail as possible. She didn't like the idea of ending up somewhere she could possibly end up cornered or far too outnumbered - even if the people outnumbering her had no immediately obvious malicious intentions.

She straightened when the tiefling had finished pointing out the routes on the map. She looked over Annika as the other smiled shyly at her with her two cute fangs visible a moment over her full, pouty lips. It occurred to Valkea, then, that despite her vast experience, she hadn't kissed anyone with fangs before. Nor had she been with a tiefling - a general rarity much like herself as an Aasimar. It did make Annika all the more intriguing and curious to her. She had heard stories of the inherent sinful nature many tieflings had; though, this one had yet to conduct herself in a manner that would suggest such a thing. It was more than a little fascinating.

Valkea smiled back - a deceptively warm smile, but she paused and frowned a little at the tiefling's depreciating tone. She gave a dismissive wave of her hand. "Nonsense!"

She placed a hand on Annika's shoulder, easy as anything. "Don't sell yourself so short, darling. Kemal wouldn't have hired you for this assignment if he thought you were incompetent. I'm sure the magic you possess is perfectly adequate, if not more so. Certainly, you could be more of a mistress than you know."

She couldn't help but smirk a little at that, but she gave Annika's shoulder a reassuring pat and tucked a lock of Annika's hair behind her ear before heading towards the gate. "We mustn't keep Duke Kazimir's men waiting."

 

[siobhancan99]

Annika does catch a flash of that generous cleavage, but thinks nothing of it. It's more when Valkea catches and holds her gaze that her breath catches in her throat. She looks back, feeling the unearthly beauty of the curvy blond settle on her mind with its own gravity, compelling her to look back. She lets her eyes wander along that almost too perfect face, wondering briefly what it would feel like, just for a moment, to feel the crush of those full and exquisitely soft looking lips against her mouth. She flushes as she's never had those thoughts about a woman before, though many have made a pass at her. It intensifies when the Aasimar brushes her hair back. The motion is so innocent and yet so intimate, and her skin goes cherry red which reaches her ears. She almost doesn't hear the woman's words, but they do snap her back to reality. 'No Aasimar wants to corrupt herself kissing you, Annika' came that inner voice. She cleared her throat and made herself talk, "uh..." inarticulate for a moment.

She was saved by the timely intervention of the dwarf “How many of the Duke’s men? Or how many in the party we’re looking for?” He shifts “The Duke’s checkpoint will have eight. Four pikemen, 4 crossbowmen. They’re just there to hold the line in case anything nasty comes up though. Kemal’s party were four. My cousins, four dwarves. They were there because they know old dwarven halls. They know some of the passwords for the doors… Kemal was looking for the guild master’s staff. Pure platinum except where it is encrusted with gems. It has a large ruby at the top. It’s priceless beyond measure. I think he intends to trade it to my king for… well god knows what Kemal wants.”

Annika nodded “Yes that’s the word. Staff of the guild master.” She straightened, in control of herself now that the moment was over. She led the pair into the tunnels, paying the fee out of the coin Kemal gave her for their passage. They were able to move without light sources, as all could see in the dark. That was optimal, as there were things in the dark that would rush to any light. As it was, as they made their way through the twisting catacombs, they did encounter a few zombies. Recently dead adventurers by the look of them. Fresh corpses in tattered leathers. The trio was more than adequate to the task, but they kept silent for the long walk.

Reaching the checkpoint, they were bathed in light as Kazimir’s men were all human, and thus unable to see in the dark. Morgnir gave the passcode Kemal had given, and the men looked over their papers. Given the light and the noise of the checkpoint, Annika took some time to inquire after Valkea “So… have you been in the catacombs much? Are you from here or are you a recent arrival?” she found herself wanting to know that and a little more, finding the other woman oddly fascinating and hoping they could be real friends despite their differences. She took a moment and put her hand on the woman’s back as she asked, then realized what she was doing and jerked it away, muttering “I was born here.” She turned back to the blond, waiting on her reply.

 

[Muselight]

Valkea thought it was intriguing, of course, how the tiefling had lit up in such a perfect, pretty shade of red. It called to a desire in her to illicit that reaction again and again, render the tiefling speechless or make her call out her name-

She realized the dwarf was talking now - answering her questions. She snapped out of the naughty little daydream playing in her head. Although, she was often at the whims of her sinful urges - urges that Aasimar were not supposed to entertain and give into with such wild abandon (that just made it all the more delicious for her), she did not usually allow them to interfere with her focus on an assignment. It was exceedingly rare for any single person to capture her attention in such a manner. But there was something about the tiefling that was stoking the fire within her and captivating her imagination.

Valkea's eyes seemed to light up, sparkling silver, as Morgnir described the guild master's staff. It sounded so unnecessarily extravagant - it made her want it for herself. But alas, she didn't want to risk invoking Kemal's wrath. He was far too well-connected for her to behave in a foolish manner.

As they made their way into the tunnels and encountered zombie foe after zombie foe, Valkea was quick, efficient, and deadly precise in aiding the others in dispatching them. She moved like a whisper in the dark - seeming to come from everywhere and nowhere all at once. Valkea was, after all, a very stealthy and very capable assassin.

But also a bit of a fussy one. She made a face as she cleaned her dagger with some tattered cloth she had found. "Ugh. Dreadful. The dead really should just stay dead."

She squinted a little when they came across the light flooding the checkpoint area. So bright. But her eyes adjusted quickly enough, and she glanced over at Annika as the other spoke to her.

"Ah, I think I've ventured here once or twice - though, never very deeply. Typically, Kemal prefers me in Gradzlata proper - taking care of various odds and ends."

It usually meant stabbing someone in the back - literally or figuratively. She tilted her head a little at how curious Annika seemed about her background. She cast a glance upwards as she thought about the question.

"I have been here - a while. Long enough," Valkea said, in a vague manner, waving her hand dismissively. "As for where I originally hail - well, from Eshan Kylranore - the kingdom of the elves. Although, it can be quite lovely - I really needed a change of scenery."

She had gotten into quite a bit of trouble, and Gradzlata had been the perfect place to lay low. She paused, startling a moment when she felt the tiefling woman's hand upon her back. But when Annika jerked her hand back, Valkea quickly realized she was not intending harm and that it had been an affectionate gesture. Interesting.

She smiled easily at Annika. "Ah, I see. The city has its..." A moment's pause to find the word. "Charms, but I also realize it can be a bit - rough."

She took a moment to look Annika up and down a moment. "I sincerely hope you haven't found it too rough."

 

[siobhancan99]

Annika nodded. The elven homeland seemed so far and so exotic. She'd seen true elves, not just City Elves around. Tall and fair and always clad in the finest. Not even "wearing" but "clad". They always seemed to have an air of class and superiority about them. She nodded, looking wistful a moment. "It must have been interesting. Though... maybe not" she laughed a moment, the smile lighting up her face till she remembered to close her mouth and hide her fangs. "I mean I grew up here, in Gradzlata and everyone seems to think it is one of the greatest cities in the world... if they're from somewhere else. If you grew up here it is just a collection of streets and houses." She smiled over at the Aasimar, opening up when the woman gives her a brief opportunity. She was normally shy, but in a lot of ways this woman was the other side of the coin to her. Fair where she was dark, angelic where she was devilish in origin. She felt a strange attraction and it overcame her natural reserve around new people. Plus, the woman hadn't cursed her for her parentage, so that was a huge plus.

"It could be rough. That's about as accurate a statement as has ever been made." She shrugged "as for too rough. I try not to complain. I know a lot of what comes my way has to do with my heritage." she gestures at her horns "its not easy, having these. They sprouted from my head when I was 3 and my mother took me and dumped me at the temple of the lawgiver a few months later. She used to come visit now and again, but... it was better when she didn't." She shrugged a little "but at least I don't have a tail. And I did find a friend."

She shifted a little "and while he's gone now. I mean, I'm making new friends right?" She grinned at the golden-haired woman "At least, work friends. Maybe not friend-friends. I guess there’s a difference. Colleagues might be the better term."

The Dwarf snorted "As you get older lass, all your friends will be 'work-friends' because those are the only people you know, besides your damn kids. Or your wife's friend's."

The guards waved them through, and they climbed down into the shaft. It was about a 30 foot climb down, but fortunately there was a rope for rappelling. At the bottom, Annika paused a moment, then turned to the dwarf "why don't you wait here for us? You're just going to give us away if you come along clanking. We can do a quick look around and report back"

She looked back over at the Aasimar, gesturing "Want to lead on? Also... I don't suppose you know anything about traps? Sometimes we encounter old Homines traps down here in buildings, and sometimes there's intelligent undead and they make them." She peered momentarily into the gloom. They seemed to have arrived at the entrance to a large cavern, with a fully intact piece of the old city. It looked like a few blocks of houses, stretching on in a large vaulted cavern extending into the mountainside.

As she looked over, her eyes scanned the curvy Aasimar again and she tamped down the strange feeling of attraction, reminding herself to focus on the job at hand.

 

[Muselight]

Valkea smiled in an easy manner at Annika's laugh and fanged smile - though, it was not lost on her how quickly the tiefling changed her expression and made her fangs less noticeable. That was rather a shame. Perhaps a result of her upbringing?

"Anywhere can be interesting if you make it interesting, darling. Although, in this case, I'm afraid I made things a little too interesting."

She looked thoughtful a moment as Annika described how people tend to think Gradzlata was one of the greatest cities in the world, but how growing up there just made it a collection of streets and houses. "I've never particularly thought of one city as greater than another. For me, Gradzlata was simply... convenient."

An enigmatic smile played on her lips a moment, but she frowned when Annika described how she'd sprouted horns at a young age and was dumped off at a temple. "How unfortunate."

She made an effort to sound sympathetic. She wasn't one to pay much attention to the details of a person's life. She preferred to keep a distance. It was better that way... easier. Certainly had the potential to be much less painful. And less tedious, to boot. She paused a moment when Annika described having made a friend that was "gone" now. That was... a bit curious, admittedly. Valkea knew a great deal about "friends" and their tendency to become "gone."

And then, Annika grinned at her and mentioned making new friends. Work friends...

Wait. Was she referring to her and the dwarf? Already? They barely knew each other, and she was already considering them friends? Valkea couldn't help but look a bit boggled by the idea presented to her - resulting in an almost comical wide-eyed expression on her face. She recovered quickly.

"Oh. Certainly. Work-" Valkea said the next word slowly, almost uncertain. "Friends."

She gave a slight bowing of her head. "I am honored to be your colleague."

She paused and raised an eyebrow at the dwarf. Was he married? She thought priests had the whole vow of chastity thing going on. Or perhaps she was thinking of nuns or monks. She really couldn't keep track of such nonsense. It was beneath her.

She had no trouble making the 30 foot climb down on the rope for rappelling - though she flexed her hands somewhat afterwards.

She gave a nod of approval at Annika's plan. "An excellent idea. We'll scout ahead."

She was already taking the lead before Annika even asked. "Mm, I'm quite experienced with disarming traps actually - though, not in a space such as this. Usually, the traps I come across are of the in-home variety or elaborate schemes involving ambushes. However, I will certainly do my best to ensure no harm befalls any of us."

Annika's statement put Valkea more on-guard and vigilant as she led the way into the gloom. But she soon came to a short stop and her arm shot out - practically splayed across Annika's breasts - to stop the tiefling woman from moving any further.

"Careful."

She crouched down and picked up what looked like a folded-up piece of paper - squinting at it. Not being a magical user, she didn't recognize the arcane writing inscribed on it. She handed it to Annika.

"There's something not right about the ground here."

She picked up a small pebble from the cavern floor, then she tossed it directly in front of them. The pebble seemed to disappear into the rocky floor a moment. And there was a long, long pause before a subtle little thud seemed to echo from below. Valkea narrowed her eyes.

"There's a pit here in front of us of some sort. Possibly a natural feature that someone covered up for unsuspecting passerbys?" She peered curiously over at Annika. "Is it being covered up by some kind of illusion, perhaps?"

 

[siobhancan99]

Annika leaned forward, stretching out a hand and feeling the motion of air. "Yeah, feels like there's something..." she hmmed and started singing softly, and at the end of the song, her eyes flashed an iridescent purple. Fishing a bit of chalk out of her pack, she got down on all fours and started outlining "I can't see what's really there but... this is the edge of the magic." She crawled along the ground around the edges of what seemed to be illusion magic, marking it off. Her round ass swayed a bit as it strained against her leather pants. She frowned and shifted a bit, trying to get comfortable as she made her way around the pit. “Sounded like a heck of a drop” she muttered, not loud enough to attract attention but definitely loud enough for the other woman to hear.

“Do you think we should bring the dwarf up this far? Or scout ahead a bit more and then bring him up?” So far, she didn’t hear anything moving around, but the damned armor the cleric wore would echo through the halls pretty well and she wasn’t keen on taking the risk. “An illusion trap like this seems to indicate something’s active. Usually, this magic has to be refreshed”

On a whim, she reached gingerly through the illusion, and when she was sure there was no danger in pushing her face through, she started to lean over, as if she was going to have a look at the other side. She paused “think its safe to look?” trusting the other woman’s experience with traps far more than her own, but also curious as to what she might find in the shaft. Sometimes the most lucrative part of delving was salvaging what some other idiot brought below before his untimely death.