Within the Assembly hall of the Waterdeep, an important meeting was taking place. A group of warriors was to be chosen to lead an attack on the city's most potential threat. Temple Darkmoon, under the lordship of high-priest Dran Draggore, was being blamed for several disappearences; the temple was the current word on the lips of most every resident within the Waterdeep.
Khelben Blackstaff, the city's archmage, deduced that the temple was a great source of evil. Therefore the temple had to be destroyed. Khelben discussed the project with the lords of the Waterdeep and it was a unanimous decision that Temple Darkmoon was to fall as soon as possible. Sending an army would prove useless and would botch the whole affair; there would have to be a group of people chosen to infiltrate and nullify the temple from within its own ranks. Thus the reason for that particular day's assembly.
At the head of the long oak table, Khelben Blackstaff stood confidently, "Fellow lords," he began grandly, "the purpose of this gathering is to introduce the team I have chosen to send forth to Temple Darkmoon." He waited for the murmurs to cease and continued, "I have chosen eight individuals, each of which are reknown for their abilities in their own class." The room was quiet now and Khelben had full control, "In this state of mind I will bring forth my team that you may witness the people who will save our city!" He sat down and gestured to a nervous-looking man that stood beside a door at the far end of the room. The man disappeared inside the adjoining room for a few moments and then the eight members of the newly-assembled party entered the Assembly hall.
The lords whispered and pointed to certain individuals and then Khelben silenced them all with his next words, "I'm sure you've all seen some of these people within the Waterdeep in the past few weeks, that's because they've been receiving instructions as well as executing some last-minute training." He explained it all rather haughtily but no lord bothered to comment, "So, I will present them to you all for those of you who cannot associate the faces with the names." He cleared his throat and rubbed his black beard as all the lords turned to examine the eight warriors.
"The leaders of the team come from Myth Drannor; we were very pleased when they accepted the assignment; fighters from there possess a very good reputation." Khelben said and two females stepped foreward, pushing and shoving. The two women smiled and looked as though they were on the verge of bursting out in sobs of laughter; both were armed and seemed fidgety. Khelben waited as the lords stared and inspected the two ladies with their hawk-like glances, and then spoke, "This is Elyxya," He said and the woman on the left nodded curtly, "and this is Meeks." He continued, and the woman on the right waved and chuckled. The lords quieted and seemed over-all pleased with the leaders; they were both of medium height and of strong build, one carried a jeweled sword and the other a polearm. They seemed a little odd, but they would do.
"Next we have the caretakers of the group; the clerics." Khelben said as the two leaders stepped aside to allow two others by. There was a man and a woman; they both looked incredibly serious. "This is our high-priestess Sindel," The city's archmage proclaimed and the blonde woman decked in blue robes gave the group of lords a discriminating look before staring out the window, "and this is our high-priest Will." Khelben said a little less enthusiastically, discouraged from the dirty look the priestess had given him and his companions. The man smiled warmly and it became obvious to the lords that he was the more approachable of the two clerics.
"We had the luck to pay a visit to the Underdark." Khelben began, "We went to both Menzoberranzan and Ched-Nasad, the infamous Drow cities that all white-elven folk shun. From there, we got our mages." Two dark elves stepped foreward; a female, smiling shyly and a male, who looked as though smiling was not his favorite thing to do. The lords whispered their comments and Khelben continued, "Pryzma is from Ched-Nasad," the female wrapped her arms around herself protectively, "and Masoj is from Menzoberranzan." The male gave all the lords a cold stare.
Khelben frowned at the dark elves and then said, "And last but not least, our two thieves." The two Drow moved aside to reveal two women at the back of the group. Both looked like complete opposites; one of them was quiet and stood still, the other practically jumped up and down with exitement. "This is Izzy," Khelben said and the jumpy one bounded forward and grinned, holding her arms out for the world to see her. "and this is Nightshade, not only is she a thief but a mage too." The quiet woman with long black hair didn't move an inch and then suddenly turned away to look at the others of her group.
The group of eight warriors gathered again and Khelben ended the day's meeting, "And so lords, these are the individuals that have been chosen by my people to rid us of Darkmoon. They have been provided with healing salves, parchments and enough food to last them a week in case of emergency." He slipped away from the table and approached the party slowly, and headed for the two leaders. The two women stared at him as he approached and smiled suspiciously when he stepped before them, "I will give this to one of you." He produced a small golden coin from beneath his robes and handed it to the woman with red hair. "You must keep it safely with you at all times; I will use it to contact you telepathically." He explained as the red haired woman, Elyxya, held the coin out before her for the other woman, Meeks, to see.
"And one more thing." Khelben said and the two women barely seemed to listen, "Two nights ago I sent forth a scout; Amber. She has not yet returned and I fear for her safety. If you should see her, bring her back to me as soon as you are capable." He ordered and he heard a derivative sneer from someone within the party. Meeks and Elyxya looked up at Khelben and nodded, "Yes sir." Elyxya said shortly.
Khelben returned to the table and all the lords got up, "This concludes our meeting. I hope to see you again soon with some good news on this matter." He said and all exited the Assembly hall in murmurs and whispers.