This short chapter is an homage to Oscar Wilde, all credit to said genius. And WotC and all that...
Chapter 4 – The Eighth Deadly Sin
"You take the two on the left, I'll take those three on the right, Linu – cast your spells on the leader. Tomi – you know what to do, and Deekin… err, Deekin–"
"Deekin sings his songs," Deekin helpfully interrupted Daelan.
"I'm the one who sings!" Sharwyn protested.
"Deekin too small for combat – Deekin get smushed," he whined.
"Can't you do a duet?" asked Linu, ever the peacemaker.
"Song of Swords?" Asked Sharwyn.
"Red Dawn," argued Deekin.
"A sharp major?" Asked Sharwyn through gritted teeth.
"G major," replied Deekin happily.
"I'm harp, you're flute," Sharwyn said desperately.
"Deekin does best with harp; scaly lips not so good for woodwind…"
Sharwyn seethed "Fine."
As an emissary for the Seer, Nathyrra didn't think it her place to interfere with the leadership of the group; however she did say "Where's Kiira?"
All six companions looked around fearfully; there was no sign of Kiira, but a drow scout did spy them from the room ahead. "Charge!" roared Daelan, alerting everything in a five mile radius of their assault.
Nathyrra sighed testily and blended into the shadows. Sharwyn and Deeking began singing different and violently clashing songs. Tomi disappeared, and Linu began casting at everything in sight, before tripping over the prone form of the drow scout, taken out by Daelan's furious charge.
Halaster seemed to appreciate the chaos as he stood in his magical cage, chuckling madly.
The experienced drow soon regained control, however. Daelan and the other surfacers were no match for them, despite the odd individual that was inexplicably lost to the shadows. By the end of the battle, Sharwyn, Daelan and Linu were dead once more.
Slipping a white ring over her finger, Kiira stepped out of the shadows without a scratch to meet Nathyrra and Tomi's raised eyebrows. Deekin didn't have eyebrows.
"Where is the group's leader?" Nathyrra asked the room.
"She is indisposed," Kiira answered quietly.
"She's dead?"
"Indisposed," Kiira repeated.
"We can't afford to let any of the Valsharess' troops get back to her!" Nathyrra argued.
Kiira turned an icy glare on the officious assassin, "She no longer exists in any meaningful sense of the word; the Valsharess will find no use for her."
The coldness in that statement gave Nathyrra pause, and for the first time she really appreciated that their supposed saviour was drow. She nodded in acceptance, and turned her attention to the captured mage.
In truth, Kiira had no problem disposing of the drow leader, but she hadn't appreciated Nathyrra's interference, and she wanted to send a clear message to the Valsharess.
Sizing up the trapped wizard, Kiira considered removing her ring again – how she would enjoy pillaging that mind of all its contents! The thought of catching his madness put a stop to those plans, and instead she destroyed the device holding him.
xxx
The Seer, Valen, Imloth and Kimmuriel stood in the temple of Lloth, observing the scene in Undermountain. As Halaster placed a geas on their saviour, the Seer gasped, and placed a delicate hand over her mouth. A spasm of anger crossed the exceptional countenance of Kimmuriel, but was gone before anyone saw it.
Valen was the first to speak, "I thought–"
"There's your problem in a nutshell," sniped Kimmuriel.
Valen snapped a furious glare on the Psion, teeth bared. "I thought," he began through clenched jaw, "that this was supposed to be Eilistraee's chosen. Why does she need a geas to make her help us?"
"Eilistraee's chosen, not Halaster's chosen," Kimmuriel replied dismissively. The Seer nodded in agreement, though she did not like the distaste with which the Psion said her goddess' name.
Valen brought his hulking form to its full height "Well, Mr. 'I'm so clever that I sometimes don't understand a single word of what I'm saying'…"
Kimmuriel sneered in contempt. "Is it fear of being usurped that has you so on edge?"
Valen took two swift steps towards the slender drow, but stopped at a signal from the Seer. "Is it clever to used words as a mask for one's sins?" he growled.
"There is no sin besides stupidity," Kimmuriel replied pointedly.
"Keep talking and I'll bury my fist in your face," spat the tiefling.
"You'll find brute force ineffective, brute reason on the other hand…" Kimmuriel had found a new favourite pastime; tiefling baiting.
"You're lucky you didn't meet me before I regained my humanity…" he threatened.
"Humanity!" the drow scoffed, fingering a silvery ring on a slender ebon finger.
"You're not capable of understanding what it is to be human!" Valen's decibel level was steadily increasing.
"Certainly I am, a human is a rational animal who always loses his temper when he is called upon to act in accordance with the dictates of reason," quipped the drow. "Or was that a demon?"
The tiefling snapped, and rushed at the drow, meaning to dismember him with his bare hands. Valen only realised that Kimmuriel was no longer quite corporeal when he lunged straight through him and crashed into a new arrival.
"Oof!" was the sound of the air being knocked out of Kiira as 250 pounds of tiefling barrelled into her.
