Phantom:Karma Slave
by PhantomChajo

Chapter 2


After opening one of the bundles and finding clothing, she went though each, sorting them to her liking. She then dressed in an outfit that was best suited for traveling in. Sturdy boots, leather breeches, a linen undershirt, a leather over tunic, along with a fairly good cloak.

Taking the canvas that the clothing came in, she wiped down her armor. Upon closer inspection she discovered it was a finely crafted chain mail shirt. It was light weight with the links being tightly 'woven' together. It was also black. As she sat back on her heels, the chain mail shirt across her thighs, she pondered. She knew instinctively that it was Elven chain, yet she had never heard of any being made black. Every one she had ever seen, as far as she could remember that is, was bright silver. With a shake of her head, she dismissed her thoughts and donned the armor.

It was now time to examine her weapons. The small hand crossbow she had little problem with. The time it took to cock it and fire was miniscule. She could probably get at least a couple of shots off before anyone got within range of the other weapons she had. There was a feel to it that was similar to the armor. That in some way it was magically endowed. A slight tingle traveled up her fingers as she ran them along the length of the hand crossbow. It went into the special carrier which was fit snuggly at the small of her back, within easy reach. A small case of bolts fit in the pouch that would hang just below a sword scabbard.

The next item was the short sword. It was nicely crafted, the hilt wrapped in leather. From the looks of the hilt and the scabbard, the blade had seen enough use, but was well taken care of. After holding the unsheathed blade and going though several easy moves, she knew that it was also magical in nature. She let her thoughts quiet as she stood there, with her eyes closed. A moment later she opened them and whispered under her breath a word. The blade changed hue subtly, to subtle to notice unless one was looking for it. With a click of her tongue, she swept the blade in an arc across the ground. In it's wake, the grass was covered in hoar frost.

"I should have known," she muttered as she dismissed the blade's enchantment. She then sheathed it back into its scabbard and strapped it on. "White dragons on the scabbard and the blade leaves a trail of frost. Someone has a sense of humor."

Picking up the last blade, she looked it over before even pulling it from the scabbard. The cross guard down to the pommel was shaped like a dragon's wings, neck and head. The wings formed the cross guard, extending outwards in a graceful sweep. The neck formed the hilt of the sword. Just long enough that she could use both hands if needed, though she had a feeling that only in a desperate situation would she use it two handed. The hilt was crafted with enough detail to show the larger scales on the beast's neck, though leather strips were criss-crossed to provide extra grip. To finish it up, the pommel was shaped like the dragon's head, back-swept horns and all.

As she examined the hilt further she noticed that the horns seemed slightly loose. With a frown she gently pressed on down on one. It only went so far before it wouldn't move. Looking at the other, she did the same. It too only went so far. Chewing her lip a moment as she puzzled it out, she turned it so that the mouth of the dragon was facing away from her. She then pressed both horns down at the same time. A barely heard click was the only indication that something happened at first. Raising an eyebrow, she pressed down further. The mouth was apparently hinged. When it opened fully a small flame shot out of the open maw. It was only a finger-length in size. Just the right size to easily start a fire for a camp fire or a candle, possibly even a lantern. Letting go of the horns, the head swung down again, dousing the flame. As she ran a finger along the jaws she noted that it was not even warm.

With a growing smile she played with the dragon's head a little while longer. It wasn't that often that something amused her in such a fashion. The rumble of her stomach interrupted her though. With a disgusted sigh she set the sheathed blade aside and opened the portable hole once again. Thinking of food, she reached into it. Several minutes later she pulled what seemed the last of the items from the pocket dimension. She had ended up with a hunk of cheese, a loaf of bread, some meat and about a week and a half of traveling rations. Once more she reached into it and managed to find one more item. A waterskin. She shook it, listening for the tale-tale slosh that indicated there was something in it.

Opening the waterskin, she sniffed cautiously at the contents. There was neither the smell that wine or ale has, nor did the contents smell stale. Tipping the skin, she let a tiny amount pour out onto the corner of her dirty clothes. The liquid was water. She then splashed a few drops onto her finger to taste it. It was clear, sweet spring water.

Looking at the items scattered about, she shrugged and picked up all but one of the packets of traveling rations and tossed them back into the portable hole before closing it. Flipping it over on itself several times, she picked it up and draped it about her shoulders like a scarf. She sat back, not bothering to move to a different spot and took her time eating.

As she did, she let her thoughts wander. 'All right. Something happened and I'm back again. I'm still a drow, though not, it seems, in the same body as last time. Not a complete loss. Taller this time, which is nice for a change. All my gear has changed. Good and bad. Bad because I lost a lot of stuff, good because what I have is more interesting. I need to go though everything in this portable hole. But before I do, I want to move to another place. Too close to where I awoke for my taste.' Turning her head in the direction of where the coffin still lay, she frowned. 'There looks to be some kind of path or track. Perhaps if I follow it I will come to a village or town. I can discover more about where I am and go from there.' Tilting her head up she looked to where the sun was. 'The day is about half done. Maybe I will take a brief nap and then leave. Traveling at night will be just as easy as it will be traveling during the day. I hope'

With the decision made, she finished her meal, made sure everything was packed away and went to settle herself once more in the nook between the tree roots. Pulling the hood of her cloak down low over her head she made herself relax. Whether she was asleep, in a light doze or in a trance, it mattered not. She instinctively knew she would awake at the first sign of danger.