Under Dark Desire

[Ravenloft]

"Sod this!" Treyis, the rogue exclaimed as he watched in horror while a foul, stinking ghoul gnawed viciously into the exposed throat of the party's sorceress. A sweet smelling elven maiden, who's long blond silken locks were now matted with her own lifes blood. She couldn't even shriek as she died before their eyes.

Erhaimore, the holy man of Sarenrae was already growing cold, having failed to turn the undead horrors they faced. He was torn to pieces before the rest of them even had had the chance to react. To his credit, he went down singing the name of his goddess taking one of the ghouls with him, like the truly noble man he was.

Drogan grit his teeth and groaned mornfully as he stood paralized from the ghouls bite, forced to watch the woman he'd fought beside for years and secretly grown to love die a horrid death. "Gardenia, no..." Treyis thought he heard Drogan whisper even as the other two ghouls continued to devour the taut muscles from his arms with gruesome glee. He'd been able to mess the two on him up a bit, but not enough to stop them from overwhelming him and paralysed him.

How the poor bastard could stay concious through the pain he was enduring was beyond Treyis. The jagged claw he himself had sustained burned like fire and itched like mad, and the chill of paralysis was almost enough to drive a man insane.

Wait, something twitched... His arm! Treyis arm actually twitched! He began to think he might just get out of this... And not get eaten alive today! "Gods balls..." He whispered, finding that he could turn his eyes away from the sight of his friends being devoured, and then his foot, then his entire leg.

"Coward." His mind railed against him as he snuck away, the sound of crunching bone and bloody smacking lips following after him. "Betrayer." His conscience bellowed at him as he slipped through the door the four ghouls had been protecting.

A 'prize' they hissed, when the party had first entered the chamber. A "luscious prize" that they would die to keep for themselves. Quietly, Treyis latched the door between them, resting his head against it to listen. He drew away almost instantly as the faint sound of wet snapping bone assaulted his ears. It was too much, he couldn't deal with it right now, he had to get out of this alive.

He looked around the room frantically, finding a rough hewn table strewn with rotten sinew and yellowed bones. He gagged, but immediately went and upended the table and rolled it to the door, bracing it in a crack in the floor against it.

"There, now how the hell do I get out... Of... Here?" He asked himself, brushing his hands off as he turned to look up into the darksome eyes of a half naked woman shackled to the far wall. His words trailed off as he looked at her, and she looked back in silence.

She shared the elegant shapeliness of poor Gardenia, but her skin seemed to shimmer like polished volcanic stone and her long flowing hair was nearly white in contrast to her skin. Slowly realization began to dawn on him as bits and pieces of tales told to him of the drow began to drift through his mind.

He was always told that they were dark and wicked things, vile and cruel, especially the women. So what was the deal with this one? Bound and helpless in a stinking dungeon, no doubt the 'prize' the foul ghouls had been raving about. It was likely she would be their next meal, and probably him too.

"Uhhhh..." Treyis began, but his mind went blank and his eyes fell upon her heaving breast. He closed his eyes and shook his head quickly, there was no time to be stupid. He didn't speak elven, let alone drowish, and it was almost assured that she wouldn't know the common tongue, so he straightened up and tried to pantomime his intentions to her.

He put his short sword in its sheath and hesitantly pointed to himself, made a gesture like he was snapping a twig, pointed at her, then made a gesture like he was swimming, pausing a second after each gesture.

He continued, pointing at her again, put his hand up like he was gesturing for her to stop while shaking his head. Then he ran his finger across his throat and pointed to himself again.

Then he waited for a response.

 

[ErykaLorelei]

Chained to the wall helpless her eyes fixate on this person making gestures at her

Wondering the intention of these gestures she nods at him in a cautious yet agreeing manner

as she looks around nervously thinking to herself "it has to be better than where I am"

she gets a surprised look on her face and screams out her arms and feet yanking hard at the chains

"Lor doeb rathrea dos b'vecko shinduago sargtlin!"

motioning behind him with her head as the stench of a vile zombie fills their nostrils and the sound of groaning can be heard

 

[Ravenloft]

Treyis hesitantly nodded in return, it would seem that they were both cautious of one another. He gave her a subtle smile and began to approach her, palms up in a non-threatening manner. "Okay, i'm going to see if I can get you out of those chains.

She began to look about as he came up and examined the shackles around her ankles, to see if he could pick the locks.

She suddenly tensed up and started pulling at her chains, screaming out in what sounded like a very strange form of elven. The only thing that Treyis caught was "Sargtlin" which sounded alot like what Gardenia had always called Drogen, "Sarytin" which probably meant warrior, or fighter, or something like that.

Treyis reached into his belt pouch, grabbed a hand full of stelletto throwing knives and rolled on his knees, whipping them in the direction of the groaning and the stench.

Three of them bit deeply into the zombie approaching them. One in the chest, square where it's heart should have been, one lodged in its throat, and the last sunk into the shambling corpse's eye socket. It wasn't enough to destroy the thing, but it began to shuffling dumbly in a slow circle, whatever was left of its brain obviously having been scrambled.

Treyis sneered at the disgusting creature as puss and rot began to ooze from it's wounds. "There, that should buy me enough time to free you..." Treyis whispered. He looked up from his work into the drow's eyes as he took out his picks. "Thanks for the warning." He said with a smile.

Without another word, Treyis undid the shackles about the Drow's ankles. "Well, she's not kicking at me, so that's a good sign." He thought to himself as he rose to his feet and looked her in the eye before cautiously proceeding to work on her left wrist. The left specifically because he didn't want to chance letting her have her strong hand, just in case she did try to attack him.

 

[ErykaLorelei]

Looking down at him with mild amusement and obvious distrust hey sensually grey skin glistening in the dimly lit room his face mere inches from her legs

nodding in minor approval as she feels herself getting released from her shackles her wrists and ankles have a little blood on them from her constant yanking at her restraints

"Usstan xun naut zhaun ele dos ph' releasing uns'aa drill ka dos inth pholor kl'aein uns'aa Usstan orn ssrig'luin ussta klezn"

letting an insidious smile escape her thin silky soft lips as she rubs her wrists softly

walking over to the the chest in the far corner of the room and attempting to open it only to find it is locked

"xsa ol ussta klezn ph' wun ghil" she says with a hissing sneer on her face and begins pounding her fists on it

dropping to her knees and doing a forward somersault with a handspring and landing on her feet in front of downed zombie and retrieves the impaled stiletto pointing it outward towards Treyis then going back to the chest
revealing how agile she is to her new captor motioning with her hands for him to open

"bel'la dos Usstan orn belbau nindol rath"


Looking him up and down realizing the language barrier may cause a problem for them and letting a soft frown fill her lips

 

[Ravenloft]

It surprised Treyis that he could understand anything the drow said at all, but he thought he picked out several words. It sounded like she'd said: Not, does and drill, but they probably didn't mean what he thought they did. However, he was sure she'd used the common speech for releasing. "Release, yes, release." He said, latching onto the one word he understood with a nod.

Once she was free, he stepped back from her, giving her plenty of space and watched her cautiously. She rubbed her wrists which looked raw and were bleeding a little. "I have bandages for that." He offered, reaching into his backpack as she sauntered off toward a chest he had not noticed before. "Hey wait, it might be trapped..." He muttered, but she already knelt down and tried opening it.

It was locked apparently and she hissed something in her language at it as she beat on it with her fists. Treyis came over with a roll of bandage and his lock picks and carefully touched her shoulder.

He knelt down and offered her the bangages and began examining the lock. "So, you must be the last adventurer to come through this place, and I'm guessing your gear is all inside here?" This was a hard one, he had no idea if she would simply turn on him once she had her stuff, but he was pretty sure he had no chance of getting past three ghouls by himself.

"Survival trumps sanity..." He muttered to himself and took his picks in hand again to work on the lock, making sure it was safe to do so first. He took his time, no need to rush things, and the lock popped within minutes. He shifted away so the drow could get her things.

 

[ErykaLorelei]

her frown slowly works itself into a half smile as she see the bandages in his hands

"vel'bol xun Usstan ruebuss dos whol dosst xxizz?"

crouching down like a perched Gargoyle she extends her wrists before grabbing her things but holding the stiletto in her hand in case it is a trick

allowing him a moment to prove his good intentions she decides a show of good faith might help since language is an issue and drops the stiletto

"Bel'la dos nika whol naut morfelith uns'aa dosst ogglinn"

 

[Ravenloft]

Threyis looked up from his lock picking as the drow tumbled over toward the downed zombie and grabbed one if his stilettos from it's rotting corpse. He smirked and nodded slightly at the skill with which she'd done it, impressed.

He eyed her as she sauntered back with his stiletto at the ready. She crouched next to him and extended her wrists, so Treyis took a moment to bandage her wounds before she collected her things.

When the drow dropped his stiletto, Treyis let out a small sigh of relief, picking it up and putting it back in its place on the bandoleer along his chest. Then he went and grabbed the other two from the zombies body while the drow went through her things.

He turned and watched her, folding his arms across his chest. She was actually very attractive, with athletic, shapely legs and small but perky breasts. Now, if only he could understand what she was saying.

 

[ErykaLorelei]

Dropping her slave outfit to the ground and now completely nude before his eyes she equips her clothing satin undergarments with black leather armor strapping dual scimitars to her back along with a quiver of hand made arrows to her hip and holding a Drow designed bow in her right arm revealing her left arm to be her strong arm

walking slowly over to her new associate and dropping to one knee she holds his stiletto up for him

"Usstan z'reninth nindol wund'akhen ulu dos"

motioning him to take it as she sets it down in front of him looking up quickly and hissing then rolling backwards flipping up to her feet and with quickness grabbing an arrow and nocking it drawing the bow string back and letting it go in which the arrow flies past Treyis's head and sticks into the eye of a zombified orc with their weapon dragging on the ground behind him

attempting his tongue as she has listened to his words she stands with her bow to her side

"wel come"

Reaching into her bag and putting on a form of a crown with a spider like ensignia then heading over and removing her arrow from the now dead orc and sheathing it

 

[Ravenloft]

Treyis lowered his gaze and smirked a little as the drow shed her tattered cloths. She definately had the nicest ass he'd ever seen, and not to brag, but he'd seen quite a few. She even had dimples at the small of her back, the sign of a very nubile young woman. Dirty thoughts began to creep into Treyis's head as he watched her dress in fresh cloths from the chest.

Her undergarments seemed to shimmer in the torch light and the light glinted slightly on the oiled black leather armor she put on. It looked like it had been fitted perfectly to her frame, almost like a corset. Her weapon-blacked scimtars looked to have been custom made as did the bow she drew from the chest.

With a lightning quick roll and a venomous hiss, she suddenly nocked and arrow and loosed it at him before Treyis even had time to react. He stood frozen, save for his hands, reaching up to check himself for wounds. Something large and heavy slumped against his back, causing him to yelp and jump forward, out of the way as to corpse of an orc hit the ground behind him with a stoney thump.

He glanced at the stinking corpse and wrinkled his nose then gave the drow a thankful nod. "Thank you... Wait, you do speak some common? Can you understand me?" He asked as she reached into a bag and pulled out some sort of tiara or crown and silently walked past him to retrieve her arrow.

Treyis paused for a moment until she looked at him again. He patted his chest and said. "Treyis... Is me. I am Trey-is. What. Are. You. Called?" He extended his hands in her direction then, hoping she understood his attempt to communicate his name.

 

[ErykaLorelei]

pointing to herself she opens her thin mouth and speaks

"Jhanryna"

she nods to his question walking towards him

"I am Jhanryna"

extending her elegant hand towards him

"Teach me"

her voice fractured and broken but sensually elegant as she mouths out common terms

 

[Ravenloft]

"Jan-rin-ah." Treyis replied, trying to pronounce her name the best he could. "J-hhan-rin-a." He tried again. It wasn't exactly the way she pronounced it, but it sounded close. "Teach you? Heh. Yeah, I'd love to, but I only know two languages, common and bad common. Besides, we've got a bunch of ghouls in the next room, and its only a matter of time before they come busting their way in here.

Treyis scratched his head and thumbed toward the door he'd come in through, making a ghoulish gesture with his hands. "Not sure where you're going, but if we take them out together, we might be able to make it out of here alive. God, what I wouldn't give to have Gardenia here so she could cast comprehend languages on us... Poor girl... I wouldn't wish what happened to her on anyone..." Treyis trailed off realizing that he was talking way too fast for the drow to have any hope of figuring out what he was saying.

Wait... Didn't he have a potion of tongues? Treyis went over to his pack and rummaged through it. "Ahah! Found it!" There was only maybe a swallow left in the flask but he downed it and hoped for the best. "Can you kampi'un what I'm ezual now?" He asked, only understanding part of what he'd just said. It was a very strange feeling, knowing what he meant to say but having it come from his lips in a foriegn language.

 

[ErykaLorelei]

Nodding is excitement as she understood what he was saying

"I am learning speak as you do"

revealing she is as intelligent as she is agile

looking towards her neck and panicking looking around the room frantically

"it is missing"

slamming her fists on the open chest and shutting it

"they took it nindyn olplyen inbal ussta ilinsar" strapping her bow to her back and drawing her blades from their sheath and heading past him towards the door

 

[Ravenloft]

Treyis smiled back at Jhanryna's excitement and nodded.

"Thats Eemsorr! You're a qee'lak learner."

A look of panic fell over her then and Treyis looked at her confused.

She said something was missing.

"What's missing? A necklace? They? The ghouls? Oh, woah, kyorl, we should come up with a inth before we go out there! One tril or a scratch and we're as good as cahallin for them!"

Treyis dashed over and grabbed her by her shoulder and turned her around to face him. "Talinth for a minute, xsa ol, or you're gonna get us both elggen!" Treyis let go of her and took a step back, asking "Did your trinket have faerl yornen? Or is it just a ser-sake?"

 

[ErykaLorelei]

Looking at his hand as he grabbed her shoulder a flare of mild anger in her eyes and a look of acceptance as he pulled his hand away

her head lowers sadly as she puts her hand where the necklace should be

"It was ussta ilhar xxizz'a uns'aa morfeth ol that is why I need it"

getting in a defensive stance as she moves towards the door to scout around the corner

motioning for him that she sees 5 total and they are eating something

 

[Ravenloft]

Treyis nodded slowly, if not understanding all the words she'd said, he understood the feeling behind them. "So, it's a keep sake, I can appreciate that... Wait, five? There's five of them now?" Treyis had a sinking feeling and gagged a little at the notion of them eating his friends. "Oh, I don't like this..." Treyis groaned as he hesitantly forced himself to come to the other side of the door and peek around. He only looked for a second, but it was enough to demoralize his resolve. He sunk to a crouch, his back against the wall, and held his head, muttering "We're gonna die, we're gonna die..." Over and over.

 

[ErykaLorelei]

She reached out and lightly touched her finger to his lips and looked into his eyes reassuringly

"Shhh I will protect you"

moving silently in a crouched position towards an isolated ghoul and executing it with extreme prejudice and precision making almost no noise as she motions Treyis to come behind her

 

[Ravenloft]

Treyis looked up and hesitantly nodded under Jhanryna's reasurance. He snuck silently into the room with her but couldn't bare to look at the ghouls feasting on his friends. He shook his head as she motioned him to her, struggling to keep his gorge down. His eyes were watering from the stench in the room as much from the physical distress of gagging, but he hesitantly slunk further through the room toward the far exit.

 

[ErykaLorelei]

Looking into Treyis's eyes and smiling softly

"Now you take the two on left and I take right"

Crouching down and slowly moving towards the two on the right drawing out both scimitars and waiting for Treyis to get into position for the synchronized attack plan

 

[Ravenloft]

Treyis would have prefered to flee but Jhan was already in place and ready to strike. If he didn't follow suit and quickly, the were bound to be caught. "Two... She expects me to take on two at once..." He muttered as he snuck up behind his marks. They were oblivious in their feast. Treyis' stomach churned and he had to fight to keep it down again as he had the misfortune of seeing Gardenia's half eaten face.

He scowled in disgust and anger and drew his wicked daggers. Glancing at Jhan, he nodded and struck. Shoving his knife deep into one of the ghoul's backs, severing its spine with a twist of his blade. The disgusting undead sputtered and clawed at its wound before collapsing, taking Treyis' knife with it to the ground. The other hissed and spat blood and chunks of chewed flesh as it turned and slashed its claws at him. Treyis fended it off with his remaining knife and rolled back.

"Lovely... Any more brilliant plans?" He asked as he bobbed and weaved, trying to get a cut in while he struggled to keep from being clawed. If he got clawed, it was over, his muscles would seize and the ghoul would sink it's teeth into his face next. "Shoulda just ran when we had the chance!" He shouted as he ducked and thrust opening a seeping wound in the ghoul's side. He caught an elbow in his back and stumbled forward.

He turned and fell to his ass as the ghoul leaped, ready to savage him. He got his feet up just in time to fling the ghoul on its course, over him and into a corner. Treyis got up and readied his weapon as the ghoul lay prone, shaking its head, dazed. He was ready to dash in and finish the ghoul while he had the chance but his right leg went numb and cold. Treyis looked down and saw three slashes along his thigh. "Oh no..." He breathed as he struggled to draw back. "Jhanryna! HELP!!!" He cried out before the rest of his body went stiff.

 

[ErykaLorelei]

Twirling towards Treyis as he called out for her she quickly spins her blade reversed along the back side of her arm lunging sliding the blade with precision up under the chin of the creature as the end of the blade pops out of the top of it's head with a blood splatter and gurgle withdrawing the blade from it's skull and somersaulting forward vaulting outwards as her legs wrap around the head of the second one twisting her hips slightly with a loud snap noise as the creature falls limp breathing heavily as she does before kipping up to her feet and quickly drawing her bow nocking an arrow and letting it fly effortless pinning the creature that attacked Treyis to the wall by its eye socket making sure it was dead then walking slowly towards Treyis and dropping to her knees beside him his face mere inches from her long grey skinned and very toned thighs

"Treyis? You move?"

showing complete concern and noticing the scratches on his right leg then reaching into her pouch pulling out a powder rubbing it on the wound as a tear drops from her face and onto his shirt

"Don't give up on me Gi ussta Yah qualla tlu tenu"

she says unsure if she got to him in time rubbing the powder on his wound deeply which mixed with his blood becomes a cream ointment

"Lolth qualla sslig'ne ukta lu' sila ukta rath ulu uns'aa Lolth belbau uns'aa dosst dumoas ji Usstan xal yutsu ukt afya lu' morfeth ukta gordo"

she seemed to be praying for him but she knew not why as he was just a surface dweller

 

[Ravenloft]

Treyis struggled to speak, only a strangled groan passed his lips. "ccccnt nnnth." If he could have breathed huge sigh of relief as she rubbed some ointment into his scratch wound, he would have. "Unt gith ut." He grunted finding it oddly humorous that it seemed to sound like he was speaking her language even though he knew he wasn't.

He held his breath and willed his limbs to move every few seconds until he got his arm to twitch. Then he let out a sigh of relief and tried to reach out and touch Jahn's cheek. "Thnk ooo..." He muttered, resting until feeling came back into his limbs. He sat up slowly, his head lulling forward. "Cnn ee gtt ot uk urr oh?" He struggled to ask.

 

[ErykaLorelei]

"You will be okay Treyis"

smiling and leaning over kissing him softly on his lips while he is still unable to move

"You are very welcome sir"

lightly caressing his chest with her fingertips

"Yes let's get out of here"

giggling softly as she helps him to his feet

 

[Ravenloft]

The feather light warmth of Jahn's lips against his sent a spark of desire through Treyis' body and he slowly lifted his head, managing a slight smirk. "Yus, luts guh." He answered finally getting back some more verbal articulation although his jaw was still numb. He shuffled and occasionally dragged his feet as she helped him walk out of the dungeon into the bright light of morning. "Dint think I'd see th light ah day gain." He said in wonder as his jaw finally loosened.

 

[ErykaLorelei]

Approaching the exit of the dungeon Jhanryna hissed and backed away covering her eyes

"I got you her but Idon't think I can go with you"

sheathing her blades and stepping back into the shadows her skin glistening in sensual radiance as the sunlight lightly caresses it

 

[Ravenloft]

Treyis turned to face Jharyna startled and suspicious of her for her reaction to the light. "Whats the matter? Why not? There's nowhere to go down there... You're just gonna stay here and starve? Trust me won't ya? I trusted you..." He stepped toward her, his strength returning and extended his hand. "Come on, lets go find something to eat."