A/N: Next part. This time, there's a lot of dialogue. I hope it helps, giving more background about the character. Also, towards the end, there's some lines straight from the game. I won't do this often (I'll probably never do it again) but I needed to crack some fun at them, so please do read them and the new inputs... I believe it's worth the extra minute ;) Thanks for reading, and thanks for reviewing. Without further ado, on with the show!
So not speaking in rhyme
Yria gave a rather frustrated grunt and readied herself for another assault.
"Oi, mate, I really think that's enough..."
The sorceress threw a look at the halfling who had spoken, and proceeded to thoroughly ignore the comment.
"Y'know, I can really admire a lass with yer dedication but there's no point." Tomi went on, unfazed.
"Oh? So what do you suggest? That I just turn my back as if it weren't here?"
The rogue laughed heartily.
"Yria, lass, 'tis a double axe! That bag o' holding o' yers is straining at the seams, it just won't fit!"
Yria Ingerd took a moment to consider her companion's words as she straightened up, her hands rubbing her sore lower back. She looked quizzically to the bag resting on the floor at her feet, from which about a third of an axe's handle and its corresponding head protruded, and blew her bangs out of her face for the umpteenth time since the combat had started. Slowly, a wide grin crept its way onto her face.
"It's just a matter of... of engineering! Organization! Mark my words, Tomi, it's as good as packed!"
"If ye say so... I'll just be hangin' around here, okay? Takin' in the scenery and all that..." The halfling shook his head and moved some paces to the side, where a drow corpse lay in a pool of blood. A quick glance told him that the body hadn't been searched yet, and so, with a quick movement, he pried an ornate ring out of its finger.
Because Undermoutain was big, and Tomi had been traveling with Yria for a good while thus learning a few facts, he made sure to move silently and to conceal his prize as soon as it was out of its former owner's finger. Still, he nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt a rush of movement at his back.
He only allowed himself to breathe again when he realized it had been that mysterious she-drow, Nathyrra. She bristled and towered over the crouched sorceress, and Tomi swore later on that there was fear on her obsidian features.
"What in the six hundred and sixty six layers of the Abyss do you think you're doing, surfacer?" She hissed, "This is an archmage we're dealing with! Do not cross him, you fool!"
Yria looked up from her re-organizing task – amazingly enough, the double axe had nearly disappeared in the bad – and made a show of looking about, as if searching for the person the drow was addressing. Then she fixed her most innocent look in Nathyrra's face.
"Me?"
The drow's eyes narrowed to thin slits, and she huffed.
"But I am no fool! The fact that I've just taken out two encampments of invaders from the Underdark should clue you in! I mean, how else could we have won the upper hand over ah, roughly estimating, let's say fifty mighty drow warriors with their cohort of priestesses and wizards and...?"
"You had help", the stranger's tone was icy, and Tomi winced inwardly while pocketing a wand that looked suspiciously like it was able to call the lightening.
"Of course we did! Isn't that the mark of true cunning? Be always informed; work out arrangements that shall suit your needs... and those of the other party as well, to avoid treason whenever possible. Doesn't that prove that I am, indeed, quite smart?"
Nathyrra, the usually cool and temperate scout, threw up her hands in desperation.
"That's beside the point! Do you not realize that Halaster is right there, and that he will kill us for not freeing him?"
Yria's gaze followed the line indicated by Nathyrra's waving hands, and stared thoughtfully at the trapped archmage for a second. There was a point to what her most unsuspected ally was saying, of course. Then again, the whole Undermountain had proved to be more than she bargained for. At first, she even thought that she had taken a bite too big to chew, but then again those bloody drows had had the gall to steal her stuff. Actually stealing it, to the last worthless scrap. She had thrown such a tantrum that she had barely noticed the power of her enemies when they had burst into the Yawning Portal Inn minutes later, and only the fact that she kept her gold in a bad under her pillow, thus avoiding its theft, had prevented her from going berserk.
Still, the huge dungeon crawl that was Undermountain hadn't been easy, by any stretch of the imagination. The changing nature of the first level had turned out to be a pain in the behind, and the local fauna round every corner did its bit to make her way miserable. The random raiding parties of duergar and drow that she would find were the only thing that kept her pushing forward, assuring her that she was on the right track to recovering her hard earned... well, earnings.
The second level had proven... quite a distraction. By that time, she had completely, positively decided that Durnan's reward was not worth it. Why, she had managed to pilfer twice as much already. Weapons, armor, and countless items she was never going to use found their way to her pockets (metaphorical pockets, of course... the trinkets were just too big to fit on the real ones) as she made her way through the corridors immersed in a looting spree. She even asked Deekin to tag along when she went back to the surface to barter and to get more provisions, so that they could carry more weight. Then she found Tomi, a halfling after her own heart...
When she found her equipment, quite down below, she was almost disappointed.
Perhaps that was the main reason why, afterwards, she had heeded Nathyrra's advice and had done a rather impressive rescuing attempt. After all, who knew what wonders laid at Undermountain's heart?
Several volleys of fire, ice and thunder; countless screams and shrieks; so many knives to the gut that Tomi barely felt his arm anymore; and some discordant chores on Deekin's part proved that whatever those wonders were, they were long gone. A elite patrol of drows, a trio of commanders, and the old Mad Wizard. That was all.
By Yria's judgment, it was only logical that she tried to get some gain after all the efforts. She had saved the wizard and she was keeping the loot. She sighed and looked again at the only living drow of the huge room.
"Look, he's just standing there. Nobody's torturing him, and he seems quite content. I'm just taking what no one's gonna miss, you know, helping to clean out the place a bit... For all the troubles, don't you agree?"
Nathyrra looked straight back at her, unable to believe what she was hearing. A raspy voice filled then the silence, as the small, scaly figure of Deekin crawled out from under the debris where he had hid during the fight.
"Boss?... Deekin thinks maybe drow lady is right here, boss." He almost pleaded with her "Boss, he's not called MAD wizard for nothing, don't you thinks?"
The sorceress gave this some thought.
"Oh well. Alright, Deekin. But grab that quarterstaff! No, not that one... the one belonging to the important looking corpse, Deekin! Good. Now... how do we get this Halaster fellow out of the Valsharess' trap?"
Tomi, who was examining the stones surrounding the wizard carefully, shrugged.
"Probably we could kind of destroy this rocks, and then the wizard would be out and about"
"And you really needed to stop my carefully engineered packing to break a rock?" She shot a disbelieving look at the drow, who shrugged in turn. "Oh, well... here we go... By the way, Tomi, you can keep the wand, but hand over the ring right away, if you don't mind."
She had barely finished talking when arcane energy gathered between her open palms, and within the blink of an eye she shot the spell forwards.
"No!" Three voices shouted in unison, and three figures winced visibly upon looking at where the now fireballed Halaster stood.
"Boss? That really was your own idea, Boss. Deekin don't wants to know anything about MAD ARCHwizard now, Boss..."
The wisps of smoke cleared in a few moments that felt like hours, and the four companions let out the breath they had been holding when they saw that Halaster was none the worse for wear, except for the crisp tips of his now blackened moustaches. Furthermore, he didn't seem to be bothered by the attack... he hadn't acknowledged that it ever took place, in fact. The infamous mage just walked out of the presently destroyed trap, and dusted off his robes before addressing the worried group.
"You're not the one I expected to see. But I'll let you live, since you set me free."
"You're being condescending? I just saved your life, you know! And anyhow, who were you expecting to... waitaminute, are you speaking in rhyme?"
Halaster glared down at the sorceress, but was interrupted by a curtain a scintillating smoke. When it cleared... it showed a second, identical Halaster, and the first one forgot about the girl's impromptu to interrogate the newcomer.
"Finally, you're here! What took you so long? I was beginning to think maybe something was wrong."
"Oh my, he does speak in rhyme..."
"Since we're both clones, you should know why I'm late. To lure out the matron, I used you as bait! A brillian trick, a wonderful trap... she would come here to gloat, I'd pop in and... ZZZAAAPP! But you meddlers ruined my plan by freeing my clone. Now the Valsharess won't dare come out of her home!"
"Here I was trying to help a bit, and it turns out that Halaster's actually a..."
Tomi's foot connected solidly with Yria's shin, and the rogue directed a terrified look her way. She only smiled her most wicked smile in return.
"But we all should enjoy this game; don't you find wasting it it's a shame?"
The halfling covered his face with his hands, but he actually smiled, and Deekin even cracked a small, raspy laugh. Not that the Halasters had paid any mind to Yria's efforts, anyway, as they kept they own heated discussion.
"Wait just a moment, my identical friend. You seem somewhat confused, and I want it to end. You were nothing but a safety device. I created a clone, and put it on ice. I knew that one day I might get into trouble. I'm the real Halaster, you're just my double."
"I think you're mistaken, you were only a ploy. I let the drow catch you, you're naught but a toy!"
"I know how you feel, but you're not even real. You're just a double to save me from trouble! It's hard to accept, but I'm afraid that it's true. The original Halaster is me, and not you."
"Which is the clone, which is the master? How will we know the real Halaster? I can't believe this has happened. What a disaster!"
"What a tragedy, what an amount of stress! This is indeed a pity; not knowing whom I must address makes me feel a little... irky!"
The two clones rounded on Yria, both with identical, confused frowns.
"We will settle this later, when we're one on one..." One of the Halsters started, dubiously.
"Something to barter; and this bunch's on its way gone..." Yria added helpfully.
Halaster – the one who had been speaking – paled.
"You're stealing my lines!"
"I am doing no such a thing; I'm just practicing my performing skills..."
The offended Halaster turned on its clone.
"Halaster! She's... she's rhyming! Tell her to stop this moment! Rhyming is my right!"
"Oh? So now I am Halaster? And rhyming is my right, you clone!"
"Are you going to start again? I tire of waiting around in vain"
The sorceress crossed her arms in front of her chest and aimed her Cheshire cat grin at the arguing, non-rhyming wizards... Or the one wizard and the thing... or whatever they were. She knew she was walking thin ice, but it was fun. And, honestly, there was no profit in not reeling up the wizard... It was quite obvious he wasn't going to reward her for her efforts in freeing his dungeon. The ungrateful crackpot.
One Halaster (upon close examination, Yria thought it was the fireballed one) just gaped at her. The other, bristled, fumed, and then sputtered.
"Down to the Underdark is where you will go. You're working for me now, you can't really say no."
"That's how it shall be? May I inquire about the fee?" Yria's mouth replied, but her mind was already reeling. The Underdark... the Valsharess... Cities of drow, of beholders, of other powerful things long forgotten, and all within reach... The adventure of it all! The profit!
"You have no choice but to do as I say. But once the Valsharess is dead, my spell goes away. After that I promise you'll truly be free... but don't do something foolish, like come after me. So sorry, no time, you really must go. Don't worry, it's fine, you'll do well, I know. Goodbye, best wishes, I bid you good luck. Go kill the Valsharess because until then, you're stuck."
"Boss is going to the Underdark to fight big scary drow evil lady? Boss! Do not forget about Deekin, Boss! Deekin gots to come with you to write another great epic!"
"Wait! Not yet! That damned halfling's got half my loot!"
Yria shouted, and she heard the cries of Deekin just as the powerful magic of Halaster started to engulf her. The last sentence got to her muffled because of the astral darkness than enveloped her body and mind during the teleportation, and though she did reach out towards where the faithful kobold should be, she soon found she had no limbs to reach out with as her body merged and flowed with the Weave.
When she recovered her body and her senses she was not all that grateful, for the first thing she noticed was a loud thud as her bottom collided with a polished stone floor. The second thing was an enormous amount of shouting, seemingly enough to break her head in two. The third thing was the pointy, cold, and mostly sharp end of a spear against her neck.
She looked up into a grim, stony, ebony face. Behind that face, barely illuminated by fairy fire, she saw a huge statue... of a spider, of all things. She shuddered at the sight – spiders were one of those few things she actually hated – and shuddered again when she realized where the stupid wizard had landed her.
"Uh-oh..."