Laeral Silverhand
Kuhl ducked, feeling the nearness of the misshapen goat hide ball blow his hair with its passage. It ricocheted off the wall of faintly glowing blue tile behind him and went rolling on the matching tile floor. The half-elf chased after it in a series of leaps onto stump shaped stone pedestals since whichever team ended up closest to the ball when it stopped moving would get possession of it.
"Look left," Dawnbringer sang in his mind. "You aren't going to beat that golem. Think defensively."
Kuhl was already skidding to a stop as he landed on the next stone pedestal. The golem his sentient sword referred to was one of four, all constructs made of stitched together cadaver parts and wearing matching faded blue and gold tabards. Three were still in play and one stood, like Jhelnae, off to the side having been knocked off a pedestal by a throw of the goat hide ball he himself made earlier. Kuhl had already seen the golem also racing after the ball out of the corner of his eye and judged he wouldn't beat it. He changed direction to get some distance, jumping up to a slightly higher pedestal then, after a heart stopping wobble at the edge where he almost fell off, leapt down to one lower.
"Possession, team Sea Ward," a raspy disembodied voice boomed from above.
In his mind's eye, the half-elf envisioned what had happened. The flesh golem on the opposing team had ended up nearest the ball when it stopped. At that point, the stitched together hide sphere would have levitated and moved into the construct's hands.
A squeak of fear sounded as Kuhl turned to track the threat of the ball carrier. Aleina apparently thought she could beat their opponent to the ball and now stood on the pedestal next to the one with the thrower. The flesh construct raised its arm to throw and the aasimar moved to jump to a further pedestal but thought better of it. She would be an easy target mid leap, unable to evade or change direction. Indecision seemed to paralyze her then and she just stared in the direction of the imminent attack.
"Dodge!" Sky yelled.
At the same time the tabaxi waved her arms and danced to try and draw the throw towards her, she being both more agile and further away. But her efforts were ignored. The golem cocked back his arm.
"Catch it!" Jhelnae yelled from her area off to the side.
Kuhl didn't know if Aleina tried to catch the ball or if she just failed to dodge. But she did manage to wrap her arms around the ball as the goat hide missile sailed into her chest with a thud hard enough to flare her warding armor spell. The ball's momentum took her right off her feet and off the pedestal. She landed on the hard glowing blue tile floor, backside first, with a grunt of pain.
"Visitor player eliminated," the raspy, disembodied voice from above said. "Three players remain for Sea Ward to two for the visitors. Visitor possession."
"Aleina, are you alright?" the half-drow called out.
For a moment, she was answered with only silence. Then the aasimar groaned.
"Ow," she said. "Catch it? Catch it? That was really bad advice."
"Sorry," Jhelnae said. "We never tried that. I thought it might work."
It was true. They hadn't tried to catch thrown balls by the golems, but as Aleina just demonstrated, for good reason.
During their exploration of the labyrinth of blue glowing tile, a pit trap had dropped them into a sliding shaft to fall into a minecart. The minecart then took them on a harrowing, twisting and turning ride on rails to dump them in this room of raised stone pedestals. To escape, they'd been informed by the disembodied voice, they must defeat team Sea Ward in a game of 'Keilier Ball'. The rules of the game were then explained to them. Five, or was it six games later, Kuhl had lost count, and they were no closer to winning. Team Sea Ward consisted of four golems of stitched together corpse parts which seemed specially designed to excel at this game. They were agile and quick, able to leap easily from pedestal to pedestal, and threw the goat hide ball with bruising, bone jarring, force.
"This game is actually fairly tame," Dawnbringer thought in his mind. "If I was an evil wizard and designed the room and the game, the floor would have spikes to skewer anyone who fell off."
"Not sure you should be trying to out evil an evil wizard in design," the half-elf sent back.
"Then again," the sword mused. "I'd have to then clean and repair any of my flesh constructs that fell off. But cadavers wouldn't be a problem if plenty of adventurers came calling. Still, it would be tiresome.
Kuhl decided that no answers were required for those thoughts and took the respite to wipe sweat from his eyes. He was tired from previous games and sore from previous strikes from the ball and falls from pedestals. Apparently, Aleina was tired as well.
"If we lose this one," Aleina said, still laying on the ground and clutching the ball. "I say we just fight these things. We're never going to beat them at this stupid game."
"We can beat them, and we will!" Sky shouted from the pedestal she stood on, tail lashing and bringing her hands together in a fierce clap. "Now let go of the ball so it goes back in play."
"Visitor player eliminated," the disembodied voice repeated, as if echoing the tabaxi's call for action. "Visitor possession."
There was an edge to the voice and all four golems, including the one eliminated, tensed. Jhelnae, also in the non-play area, lifted a hand, readying herself to cast magic in self-defense. Who knew what other creatures might be delivered to the room through the mad wizard's design should the players resist following the rules and flow of the game?
"Fine," the aasimar said, standing. "Fine."
Rather than let magic imbue the ball, she tossed it with two hands overhead towards Kuhl. Some other force took over midflight and it flew straight and true into his hands.
"Play resumes," the voice said.
"Come on," Jhelnae yelled, clapping. "You two have this!"
"Let's go," Aleina said, joining in with the clapping on her way to the out of play area.
The golems already moved, spreading out in leaps to both keep their distance from Kuhl, the thrower, and maximize their chance at recovering the ball after the throw.
Based on the rules, the half-elf had three jumps. Then he had to pass to Sky or target one of the golems.
"Kuhl!" Sky yelled, waving. "Pass it to me.
He looked at her doubtfully. She was mostly very good at this game, easily moving between the pedestals and hitting the golems almost every time when she threw. What she had never been able to do so far was throw with enough force to knock an opponent off a pedestal. Only Kuhl managed that so far. Their strategy had evolved to recover the ball and get it to him, and he already had it. She should be lining up well behind a golem he targeted to have the best chance of recovering the ball if he missed.
Instead, she was mirroring one of their opponents and waving her arms for a pass.
"I have a plan," the tabaxi said, reading his thoughts.
"Is it as good of a plan as 'catch it'?" Aleina asked.
"I'm never living that one down, am I?" Jhelnae said.
The half-elf thought, then shrugged to himself. They were already two players down and he'd concluded earlier their best chance at winning was to build an early lead where they could spread out and maximize their chance of recovering the ball against a team with fewer numbers. He closed the distance between him and Sky in three jumps and faked a pass to the pedestal to the left of the one on which she stood but gave a nod to the right. The golems had proven many times to be very good at intercepting passes. The tabaxi read his intentions and was there to catch the ball he threw. It barely had time to settle in her grip before she hurled it at the closest golem. Before, her throws had always bounced off with little effect, but this time she targeted one of the construct's knees. The golem stumbled, then teetered on an edge of its pedestal. Long moments passed where it looked like it was going to fall off before it regained its balance.
"Cat Lord's Curse!" Sky yowled. "Almost!"
"Possession, team Sea Ward," the disembodied voice rasped.
"Oh, no!" Aleina cried out from the out of play area.
Half-elf and tabaxi had been so mesmerized in seeing if the golem would fall, they'd forgotten to try and recover the ball. The flesh constructs, however, had kept focused on the game. The goat hide ball levitated up and into the nearest golem's hands. Kuhl was already fairly distant from all opponents and in a decent defensive position. Sky, however, was right between two of them, having not moved at all since throwing.
A pass later and the goat ball was in the grip of the golem she'd just almost toppled. It cocked back its arm to throw and the tabaxi faked a jump to the right, then scrambled back to the left. The construct tracked her, didn't fall for the feint, and hurled the ball directly at her. In an impressive display of raw athleticism and agility, Sky leapt in a sideways aerial somersault to the left and onto the pedestal there.
But only her left booted foot made contact, with the right meeting nothing but empty space. By all rights she should have fallen. Instead, she hopped on one foot across the pedestal platform, barely coming to a stop at the far edge where she regained her balance.
"Sky, that was amazing!" her two now spectator companions called out in unison.
"It really was," Dawnbringer echoed in Kuhl's mind. "Any evidence of tabaxis and half-elves having children? Your strength and discipline crossed with her speed and agility would make quite an impressive scion bearer."
"Please tell me you remembered to recover the ball!" the tabaxi yelled.
The half-elf actually had not. Once again, he'd been mesmerized by the action and also distracted by Dawnbringer's random, offhand suppositions on scion possibilities.
"Team Sea Ward player eliminated," the disembodied voice sounded. "Two players remain for Sea Ward to two for the visitors. Possession, team Sea Ward."
"By all that dances!" Jhelnae yelled, voice surprised. "It is all even! All even!"
"Nine Hells!" Aleina called out. "She is right! It is all even! Come on! You two can do this!"
Her voice went from surprised to hopefully ecstatic.
Both Kuhl and Sky looked at the golem picking itself up off the tile floor in confusion. Realization dawned as the half-elf jumped from pedestal to pedestal for the best defensive position based on the movements of the remaining two opponents. The golem thrower must have accidentally knocked his own teammate off the pedestal when Sky dodged his throw. A surge of elation both energized the half-elf and made him feel shivery and weak. Maybe they could win this game!
Sky went back to their most obvious strategy, hanging back and staying closer to their opponents, making herself the obvious target of choice. But the two remaining golems were acting differently. This was the first time their team had been reduced to two members and it seemed to trigger a new set of tactics. They focused on Kuhl, ball carrier stalking him across the playing area in a series of three jumps followed by a pass to the other golem who would then take up the hunt. Despite the tabaxi's best efforts to distract them or intercept passes, the two golems soon had the half-elf hemmed in at a corner of the playing field.
Kuhl was breathing heavily as the flesh construct drew back its arm to throw. He wasn't as fast and agile as Sky. If he successfully dodged, it would be mostly luck. Time seemed to slow and he suddenly remembered that while the rules forbade them from using anything other than the ball to knock off opponents, nothing had been said about using magic to dodge.
He looked at another pedestal and stepped into the mists, just as the golem threw.
A disorienting stride later and he found himself on the new pedestal, facing away from all the other players, and heard goat hide smacking wall tile.
"I keep forgetting he can do that," Jhelnae said.
"Apparently, so does he," Aleina said, then louder. "Kuhl Nightstar, why, by Selune's Tears, did you not use that earlier?"
"Oh, I see how it is," Dawnbringer said in the half-elf's mind. "That was amazing, Sky! But for you it is the full name treatment?"
Kuhl didn't answer. He spun and found a favorable bounce had sent the ball rolling his direction. Predicting its trajectory, he jumped to the pedestal he deemed closest to where it would stop.
"Visitor possession," the disembodied voice rasped.
And the ball floated up and smacked into his palms. The goat hide felt so good against his fingers even as the reserves of his magic power began to drain out of him as he called up the same spell again. It would be the last time he could use it until he got a full night's sleep. He eyed the pedestal behind the nearest golem and stepped through the gathering mists.
After that disorienting step across the distance, he turned. His target didn't, having lost track of him through his use of magic. Nervous anxiety flooded him as he drew back his arm to throw. This would be the only chance at this trick as he wouldn't be able to use the same tactic again. Aiming carefully, he hurled the goat ball with all his strength. It plowed right into the back of the golem and sent it stumbling off the pedestals.
Fierce shrieks of celebration erupted from his two watching companions. Out of the corner of his eye he saw them gripping each other in hands as they watched and jumping up and down with joy. Sky pumped her fist in the air from up on her pedestal and gave him a sharp toothed smile.
"Team Sea Ward player eliminated," the disembodied voice said, and though it still rasped, it sounded like sweet singing to the ears of the half-elf. "One player remains for Sea Ward to two for the visitors. Possession, team Sea Ward."
The goat ball levitated from the floor and sailed into the grip of their last remaining opponent.
"Be careful you two!" the aasimar yelled out. "Don't give it a chance to get one of you out."
It actually was fairly simple to evade a throw with only one remaining golem. After jumping to three different pedestals, based on the rules, the construct was stuck and had no one to pass to. So, it had to throw from there. Kuhl and Sky maintained a safe distance. The tabaxi was the target chosen and she easily dodged. With no teammate to help cover misses, the half-elf and tabaxi easily got possession.
"Alright, Kuhl," Sky said, brandishing the goat ball. "Let's get that golem between us and I'll pass to you."
But something strange happened before they could put that plan into action. A vertical line of silvery white light appeared on the wall opposite the area where the minecart had so unceremoniously dumped them when they'd first been deposited in the room. The radiance was so bright and intense that all in the room shielded their eyes, even the golems.
"By all that dances!" Jhelnae said. "Now what is happening?"
Molten metallic liquid ran down the line to puddle on the glowing blue tile floor. The melted remains of some sort of locking mechanism, it seemed, since a previously hidden door then swung inward on quiet hinges. A tall woman surrounded by an aura of silver, white hot, flames was revealed. Her tresses of silver hair whipped about her head, as if part of the flickering conflagration burning around her form rather than just strands of hair. The white and gold robe she wore should be consumed into ashes and Kuhl should feel a wave of heat from the flames and hear some crackling. But he felt no heat, there was no typical sound of fire, and the disheveled garment remained intact. It was marred with smudges of black and gray powdered dust, as was her face.
Abruptly, the silver fire wreathing her died and her waving hair dropped to mussed up and tangled strands that she pushed out of her eyes and back over her shoulders.
"I thought I heard yelling coming from beyond the end of this dead-end hallway," the woman said. "And look, I was right."
Kuhl could only stand on his stone pedestal and stare, game forgotten. Everyone else, including the golems, had the same reaction, and the woman's statement was met with silence. She regarded them in turn and then her eyes widened.
"An aasimar, a drow, a tabaxi, and a half-elf," she said. "You are the ones who traveled with Amarune and Arclath from the High Forest, aren't you? I think I also read an article in the Waterdeep Wazoo as well. The Runaway Aasimar Bride, right?"
She directed that last question at Aleina, who sighed and found her voice.
"That damned article!" she said.
"You know Amarune and Arclath?" Jhelnae asked. "They told you about us?"
"Amarune is…" the woman trailed off, as if trying to find the right words, then started again. "Well, Amarune is my niece I suppose. She visited not long ago. Then boarded a ship to Chult to work on her almanac. And, yes, she told me about you. You are an interesting group after all. I am Laeral Silverhand, Open Lord of Waterdeep."
"We kind of guessed that," Dawnbringer said in Kuhl's mind. "Not too many silver haired ageless beauties walking around who can conjure up auras of silver flame."
To the half-elf's surprise, Laeral looked at him and smiled.
"No, not too many," she said. The smile fell a little. "And far less now than there once were. Why are all of you in the Blue Alley of all places?"
"We didn't plan on coming here," Jhelnae said. "We followed some drow here who we think might be involved in the Dock Ward killings."
"The drow?" Laeral said. "I already met with them."
She pulled out a message tube from a pocket in her robe and waved it.
"Trust Jarlaxle to both choose a place like Blue Alley to meet and also be too much of a coward to come himself," she continued. Her eyes hardened. "But I need to hear what the drow have to do with the Dock Ward killings. I was about to teleport back to the palace. I'll take you with me."
"Wait!" Sky cried out, tail lashing. "We're in the middle of a game and about to win! Let us finish that."
The Open Lord looked at the tabaxi, the goat hide ball in her hand, around the room at all the stone pedestals, and finally to those standing in the out of play area.
"'Keilier built an arena for the goliath game of goat ball and incorporated it into his dungeon?" she mused, obviously speaking to herself.
She eyed the lone cadaver construct standing on a stone pedestal wearing the tabard of faded blue and gold, then lifted a fist. One of her fingers bore a silver ring decorated with two stylized ram heads. A casual flick of her wrist and a spectral ram was conjured into being, flying out of her fist and across the distance between the silver haired woman and the last golem in play. The ghostly ram unceremoniously knocked the flesh golem off its stone pedestal and onto the tile floor.
"There," Laeral said. "You just won. Congratulations. Let's go."
I know, I know. How are you posting so soon? I wrote this over the long weekend on my phone during snatches between hanging out with friends and family. And yes...I was distracted at times during my visits and thinking of this. I'm a terrible person, I know! :)
But I couldn't help myself. I just kept thinking of it and typing it in bits, and next thing I knew it was done...