At the bottowm of the stairs, Alanna, Myles, and Daine find the broken and bloody body of Thayet.
"He threw her down the stairs..." Daine looks horrified at the thought.
"We have to get out of here, or he'll kill every last one of us." Myles backs away from the body slowly, trying to drag Daine along with him.
"NO!" Alanna nearly roars. "We can't let him get away with this. Let's go give that bastard some of his own medicine." She begins to storm up the stairs.
"Wait!!! Let's be level headed about this. We need a plan."
Alanna stops short. "Huh, you're right Daine," she admits reluctantly "He's craftier than we think. We'll need to play his game. How about this: We find him, then we find some way to, I dunno, contain him. Like, lock him in a room or something. Then we can figure out which would be the best way to get rid of him."
"Well, what sort of room do you suppose would contain a black robe mage?" Daine snaps.
"Ok, scratch that. First, we have to find him. We can't do anything until we know where he is."
"All right... Split up, use yourself as bait if you have to, and when you find him, either scream if he sees you, or run like the wind and find someone else."
Alanna and Myles nod, both frowning. They all decide to start at the top floor, Daine taking Numair's workroom, Alanna his bedroom, and Myles his private library.
In the workroom.....
Daine's eyes dart everywhere, to the corners, to the desk, to piles five feet high of books, wondering where Numair might have secreted himself. Her gown rustles like leaves on a autumn ground. Suddenly, she hears footsteps, coming from somewhere. She whilrs on the door, but no one is there, and no one is in the hall. At the window, again there is no one. Daine turns to the left wall where a door is slowly opening, pushing a fallen wall hanging out of the way. Daine is frozen to her spot in the room. A head pokes out....the black haired, sweat head of Numair....
"Heeeeeeerrrreeee'sssssss Numi!!!" There is a crazed look in his eyes, and Daine finally has the courage to move. She screams, long and loud, and runs for the stairs. Before she can reach them, Nuamir throws a candlestick at Daine's head. Luckily, his aim is off and it only clips her in the side of the head, however, she does roll down several flights of stairs anyway.
Numair is about to go after her when Alanna appears out of the bedroom. He goes after her instead. But, Alanna is prepared to fight. She brandishes Lightning, daring Numair to approach. Seeing his chace, he lunges, grabbing wildly for her sword arm, but with quicksilver movement, Alanna grasps Lightning as if she were a spear, and hurls it straight into Numair's chest. He looks into Alanna's eyes as the blood pours out of him in a river, all the craziness gone out of his eyes, and collapses on the stone floor. He is dead, and another maniac is taken out of the world. Myles creeps out of the library, and Daine crawls up the stairs, a large lump forming on the side of her head.
"I...just would have liked to know why." Alanna shakes her head, sad at the loss of, life.
"Jealousy? Hatred?" Myles suggests.
"No." Daine has now levied herself up with the banister. "It must have been something in the water."
"Yeah, yer probably right."
"Yup, I would never drink the water here."
"What say, let's all go home!" Alanna puts one arm around each of her two friends, and leads them down the stairs.
"But, what about the bodies?" Daine asks.
"Eh, we'll call the guards in the morning." And with that, the three surviving guests of Numair's party left the tower for good.
The moral of this story: Crime doesn't pay, but it sure makes for a hell of an interesting party.
"He threw her down the stairs..." Daine looks horrified at the thought.
"We have to get out of here, or he'll kill every last one of us." Myles backs away from the body slowly, trying to drag Daine along with him.
"NO!" Alanna nearly roars. "We can't let him get away with this. Let's go give that bastard some of his own medicine." She begins to storm up the stairs.
"Wait!!! Let's be level headed about this. We need a plan."
Alanna stops short. "Huh, you're right Daine," she admits reluctantly "He's craftier than we think. We'll need to play his game. How about this: We find him, then we find some way to, I dunno, contain him. Like, lock him in a room or something. Then we can figure out which would be the best way to get rid of him."
"Well, what sort of room do you suppose would contain a black robe mage?" Daine snaps.
"Ok, scratch that. First, we have to find him. We can't do anything until we know where he is."
"All right... Split up, use yourself as bait if you have to, and when you find him, either scream if he sees you, or run like the wind and find someone else."
Alanna and Myles nod, both frowning. They all decide to start at the top floor, Daine taking Numair's workroom, Alanna his bedroom, and Myles his private library.
In the workroom.....
Daine's eyes dart everywhere, to the corners, to the desk, to piles five feet high of books, wondering where Numair might have secreted himself. Her gown rustles like leaves on a autumn ground. Suddenly, she hears footsteps, coming from somewhere. She whilrs on the door, but no one is there, and no one is in the hall. At the window, again there is no one. Daine turns to the left wall where a door is slowly opening, pushing a fallen wall hanging out of the way. Daine is frozen to her spot in the room. A head pokes out....the black haired, sweat head of Numair....
"Heeeeeeerrrreeee'sssssss Numi!!!" There is a crazed look in his eyes, and Daine finally has the courage to move. She screams, long and loud, and runs for the stairs. Before she can reach them, Nuamir throws a candlestick at Daine's head. Luckily, his aim is off and it only clips her in the side of the head, however, she does roll down several flights of stairs anyway.
Numair is about to go after her when Alanna appears out of the bedroom. He goes after her instead. But, Alanna is prepared to fight. She brandishes Lightning, daring Numair to approach. Seeing his chace, he lunges, grabbing wildly for her sword arm, but with quicksilver movement, Alanna grasps Lightning as if she were a spear, and hurls it straight into Numair's chest. He looks into Alanna's eyes as the blood pours out of him in a river, all the craziness gone out of his eyes, and collapses on the stone floor. He is dead, and another maniac is taken out of the world. Myles creeps out of the library, and Daine crawls up the stairs, a large lump forming on the side of her head.
"I...just would have liked to know why." Alanna shakes her head, sad at the loss of, life.
"Jealousy? Hatred?" Myles suggests.
"No." Daine has now levied herself up with the banister. "It must have been something in the water."
"Yeah, yer probably right."
"Yup, I would never drink the water here."
"What say, let's all go home!" Alanna puts one arm around each of her two friends, and leads them down the stairs.
"But, what about the bodies?" Daine asks.
"Eh, we'll call the guards in the morning." And with that, the three surviving guests of Numair's party left the tower for good.
The moral of this story: Crime doesn't pay, but it sure makes for a hell of an interesting party.