Tiamet: (sarcastically) Well it's working.
Jessi: Hey!
Still do not own Forgotten Realms...
"It's you! Asgwrn?" Yami's eyes widened. She rose from her bed, gritting her teeth against the pain. The agony throbbed through her mind where her memories had been desecrated and through her body where she had been raped. Cruel, red marks marred her once perfect skin, standing out vividly against her pale body. Her legs could barely support her as she stood and as she took a step towards the arch-mage the collar dug into her flesh as the chain reached its limit.
Whimpering the battered warrior sat back on the pelts.
Asgwrn recognised the symbols on the ornate gold choker. They weakened the wearer with both negative energy and strength sapping spells as well as giving the controller power over the victim. This was a powerful piece of mage craft and, despite himself, he found himself admiring the diligence that the creator would have put into the creation of the artefact.
Shaking that feeling off he reached into his belt for one of his steel vials of healing potion and, opening it, held it out to the Shadowblade. Yami hesitatingly, reached out, closed slender fingers about the bottle and drank.
A chilling feeling spread throughout the Shadowblade and her body tingled and stung as her skin began to knit together. She hugged her knees tightly as Asgwrn readied a wand.
"I'll dispel the magic on your collar, then I should be able to break it with my staff," Asgwrn levelled his Wand of Dispelling at the choker and spoke the activation word. Light flashed along the runes on the collar and the chain snapped open. The collar, however, remained firmly in place.
"It'll do for now," the elven arch-mage turned to the chest and rifled through it. Most of the dresses there would barely cover Yami. It seemed that the Red Wizard aimed to keep the Shadowblade here for a while as a plaything. It made Asgwrn sick, no creature least of all Yami, deserved to be imprisoned against its will and forced to act as someone's whore.
At the bottom of the chest he found a pair of black boots with pointed toes and a dark crimson dress that was suitable for outdoor wear. These he tossed at Yami, then, out of respect for the Shadowblade's privacy turned to face the door.
When he heard the tap of boot heels on the floor he turned again. Yami was getting to her feet; even in her weakened state she managed this in a fluid, graceful motion. The effect was somewhat spoiled when she fell forward.
Asgwrn managed to catch her and she stood in his embrace for a few moments. Even though they were potentially in danger from the gods knew how many wizards, memories of their past meeting ran through Asgwrn's mind.
Large, emerald green eyes filled his vision, drawing him into their hypnotic depths and Asgwrn's arms tightened around the alabastar elf. Assassin and arch-mage held each other.
"How touching," the voice was bone-dry. It never failed to remind the Thayans of bones crumbling in the grave, the echoing slam of the coffin lid in the deep, impenetrable darkness of the tomb and hoarse gasp of a man's final breath before death's cold hand gripped him.
It was a constant reminder of the fragile temper of their master and how easily he could take the life from them for the least of slights.
"How typical of him. Any Red Wizard would have suspected the collar was proof against Dispel Magic," he glanced over his shoulder at his subordinates, "At least I hope that they would. However the result of the trap could be anything. But I prefer to deal with my adversaries personally," he turned back to the crystal ball, "so a simple divination spell combined with a silent alarm lets me personally measure my opponent's power."
The Red Wizards straightened slightly, ignoring the protests from their muscles.
"This one is known to me," murmured the watcher, "Yes... revenge shall be most... satisfying."
"The Thayans stole my equipment. I cannot leave without it... nor can I abandon Ceffyl," Yami descended the stairs, her hand keeping a tight grip on Asgwrn's arm. The other held the electrum staff, using it as a walking stick.
"Any idea where they put it?"
"No."
"I thought as much," Asgwrn halted on a landing, guiding Yami to a small couch set in an alcove. The warrior gave a clearsigh of relief as she settled down. The arch-mage took a tiny, enamelled bowl, no bigger than his thumb, out of a pocket and filled it with water from a flask.
Turning to Yami he stretched out his gloved hand and ran it through her tresses, coming away with a single white hair. He dipped it into the water and began to chant. The hair flashed once with a brilliant green light and changed. Asgwrn handed Yami the slender, white piece of wood about as wide as Yami's little finger and tapering to a point at one end. Immediately it aimed downwards, the tip hovering about Yami's palm.
"A divination spell. To led us to your equipment," Asgwrn held out a hand for Yami, "We should be going."
"Yes. We shall," Scarlet robes swirling about his form, the Red Wizard grabbed the elven arch-mage's head in both hands and began chanting. Realising it was a Mass Teleport Asgwrn grabbed his staff from the warrior, readying himself for the battle that was to come.