Chapter One
Adventurers In The Dale

"How much longer" The red imp whined, rustling his leathery bat-wings irritably and clinging to the shoulder of his companion, an elf with black, blue-lined, hair and crimson red eyes, who wore a mithril armor with a cloak. A pair of scimitars hung at his sides, along with a crystal chainwhip and a longsword at the back, hidden behind his cloak. Along the sides of his boots, he had eight long daggers strapped, four per boot. A small backpack was attached to his belt, with several pouches with different items in them. "I hate this coooold" The imp continued to whine."Then get back into the backpack, Xanerth." The elf replied, cracking a small grin along his usually stern face. "Otherwise, just stop whining about it."
"Bah! Back in that smelly thing" Xanerth frowned, holding his nose and making a most sickened impression. "It's all smelly and rotted"
The elf couldn't help but laugh now"Then it seems like the sort of place you'd love, imp, wouldn't it" He replied coyly. This was, actually, a true statement, for Xanerth loved nothing more than making a mess of places. Reminded of his messy habits and love for rotten things, the imp didn't reply, but instead hurried back into the warmth of the backpack.

"You'll be spending weeks cleaning that thing out by the time he's through." The elf heard from shortly behind him. The elf, knowing the voice, turned to face his other companion, a female who was a little shorter than himself, with lavender hair, wearing leather-clothing and a pair of long daggers at her sides. Her most striking feature, however, was a tail coming out from her back, right above her bottom. "Honestly, Baldur. If you expect me to stick around when you check what he's done down there, you can think again." She then remarked with a grin, which quickly turned into a shiver of cold. "He's right, though..it is cold."
"I know..they don't call it Icewind Dale for nothing, you know, Shads." Baldur replied, before walking over to her and draping his dark-green cloak around her shoulders. The cloak was enchanted to protect the wearer from both the most intense natural fires and colds in all the planes. Baldur looked down at Shadette, into her lavender on black eyes. They seemed to glimmer whenever he looked into them, whether or not it was simply because he loved this woman so much, or if they did so naturally, he didn't really care. His gaze trailed down to her furry, lavender and white, tail, flicking softly back and forth.

His gazing was quickly interrupted by a sharp pain to the chin, as Shads bit him playfully. "Don't stare." She chuckled. "It's rude."
"You still didn't have to bite me." Baldur grinned at her. "You can't really blame me for wanting to stare at the most beautiful gem to ever come into existance, can you" He laughed softly, before pulling her close to him for a deep and loving kiss. As the kiss ended, Shadette licked the elf's chin teasingly.
"No real harm done, right" She asked, bringing on a second laugh from her love, as well as a second kiss.
"Oi" Came a sudden call from behind them, almost shattering the romance of the kiss. Luckilly, they had just ended it as they saw another elf running over the snow-covered hill behind them. He wore a pair of studded leather pants, with a pair of short swords strapped at the sides of two opposing belts. One might think he was mad, for other than the pants, he only had a clothed shirt that was cut to the shoulders, and a pair of tattered wings sewn into being a cloth. His left arm wore a leather-scale of shadows, while his right one was bare and a bracer around his wrist. He also had a tail, though it was nothing like Shadette's, being more than a little scaled and with a prick at the end.

"First ye be runnin' off ahead o' meh" The tiefling cried in outrage. "An' THEN ye star' akissin' an' asmoochin'! I swear it. Ye twae'd get busy anywhere, wouldn' ye"
"Oh, come off it, Xein." Baldur chuckled, slipping his hands down to his love's bottom for a playful squeeze, drawing a scowl from his half-brother. "You're just jealous because we haven't stopped at any towns for you to work your charms on one of the local girls."
"Bah! Bein' tha' as it may may, me brotherly frien'." The tiefling remarked as he walked down the hill slowly towards them. "We still donnae have any time ter be romancin' in the middle o' a frosted desert, do we, eh" The tiefling threw Baldur a somewhat triumphant look, knowing that Baldur would probably agree with his statement. His pride in the statement was lessened severely; however, as the snow gave way beneath Xeinfro's boots as he walked, the tiefling slipping and sliding down to the couple's feet with a frown that could cause a giant to flinch. The tiefling got up with a scowl and brushed off the snow from his tail and pants and then turned to the couple, who were trying their best not to laugh. Their mirth was quickly stolen away though, as a cold voice came from above them, in the cliffs.

"Well, aren't you three the lovely little travel group." Said the half-elven as he slowly stood up from his perch on a ledge, the wind blowing his long, flowing, onyx hair back in the wind, letting them get a good glimpse at his cold scarlet eyes. The vansylvan wore a type of robe, more common to the eastern lands of the Realms, and had a bushido sheathed at each of his sides, and a sword one sheathed right next to the one on his right. The elf grinned wide, letting his pair of fangs show, revealing his vampiric nature. "I must say, though we are to be travelling together, Baldur, you certainly make me feel like an outsider."
"I do no such thing, Anyadel." Baldur mused to the elf. "If I remember correctly, it was you who rushed off ahead of all of us. Hunting, perchance" The elven ranger grinned wide as Anyadel narrowed his eyes with slight predatory glee at him. The vampiric elf then shrugged and leapt down from the high cliff, certainly a fall that would kill any other creature, and landed with ease beside them, barely leaving a mark in the snow.

"Alas, there is no prey in these frozen mountains, and I would never sink to the lowly station of feeding on a pathetic yeti, no matter how hungry I am for the taste of blood." The elf chuckled grimly, before turning to the cliffs ahead of them. "How much longer until we reach the Ten Towns" He asked.
"A day, maybe two, if weather permits." Baldur replied, pulling his love closer to him as to ward off her coldness. She shivered a little, before nuzzling closer to him.
"I daresay, I think it will not permit.." She commented, a little bitterly. She was unaccustomed to such harsh weather.
"Aye..we'd be doin' good ter set up a camp somewhere close by, methinks." Xeinfro put in. "There shoul' be a cave or twae aroun' here, aye, Baldur"
"Yeah, Xein..though I do not know whether or not they are already occupied, by yeti or some other beings." The ranger replied.
"If there are, we shall simply have to teach them the appropriate manners in receiving guests." Anyadel said with grim glee. The vampire always had a liking to battles, and though he preferred strong foes over weaklings like the yeti and the creatures of the Dale, he was too bored to say no otherwise.

"So it's decided then" Shadette said, pulling her love's cloak around her a little more. "We'll find a cave and rest."
"Sounds like a good plan." Baldur said, before looking at Shadette again and smiling. He undid his cloak and put it on her. "Here..you'll need it more than me out here."
"Thanks, my love." She replied, feeling the protective spell of the cloak falling onto her. She felt warmer already. "But what about you? You can't be in this freezing cold like that."
"No worries, darling." He replied, shrugging carefreely. "I'm used to the cold weather here." True enough, he thought to himself, as he also felt heat starting to spread through his body, out from his chest. He placed a hand on his chest, feeling the surging energies of the draconic orb he'd acquired on an adventure once. The dragon's orb gave him the ability to breathe fire like one of the red wyrms themselves, as well as granting him draconic claws at will. Apparently, the orb also protected him from the winter colds of the Dale as well. There seemed to be few things that the orb could not do, Baldur thought.

"Oi" Xeinfro's call came suddenly, interrupting the elf's thoughts. "Ye comin'? Or do ye wish ter stay in the cold cold an' die"
Baldur looked about him, Shadette, Anyadel and Xeinfro had gone ahead of him. A sudden brush of wind against his face sent a chill down his spine. It wasn't the natural cold which had sent a chill down his spine though. It was that he somehow felt that the wind had been, in fact, wicked - cruel, even. He quickly brushed it off as his imagination, or possibly even his tainted lineage trying to grasp a hold of him again, and put it out of his mind. He quickly started to run after his companions, wanting to catch up quickly and get out of this foul weather. A storm seemed to be brewing, though he paid it no heed. Such things were common to the Dale.

Little did he know that an ominous, violet-eyed, gaze was upon him, watching him intently, and that the storm was not as common as he thought.