Neeshka reached down and pulled her tail free just before the iron grate seated in its floor slot. She'd declined to stay and face the two remaining shadow priests. There was another way around; An air shaft connected to a balcony in the Great Hall. Not sure what had caused the cage doors to drop, she decided to scout the area before engaging them.
Drawing a black hooded cloak around her shoulders, the rogue returned to the air shaft. At the top of the narrow bore was a trap door that opened onto an archer's balcony above the Great Hall. She would begin her search for Tie there.
The rogue began to climb, pausing at the slot in the shaft to look into the hall. It was pandemonium on the main floor. Castle guards were engaging vampires, shadow priests and wraiths, who were not fighting them; The invaders were attacking the nobles gathered for the knighting ceremony. Tiernah's yellow sun soul robes contrasted with the blue and gray uniforms of Nasher's troops. Her Eridis Harvester was the only enchanted weapon in use. Its lightning enhanced blade was making short work of mowing down spirits and vampires alike.
After climbing to the top, Neeshka carefully pushed the trap open just enough to be sure the platform was deserted; It was. As the tiefling neared the edge and looked over the parapet, a wraith jumped her from the left side. Drawing her short sword, she was dismayed to see it did little damage. Khelgar's rumble of a voice came back to her. They had been in the graveyard at Fort Lock; 'Slow down, this is not flesh yur dealin' with.'
She held the next stab of the sword longer than she felt necessary; The result was gratifying. The lightning consumed the spirit from the blade out, leaving nothing but an acrid foul smelling haze behind. I'd have been hacking at that thing all day, Neeshka thought. Thanks moss-breath.
The rogue was again looking over the parapet; She observed both Tiernah and Nevalle as they engaged an ancient warrior vampire. The Neverwinter Nine Knight's blade had no visible effect, while Tie's scythe was only slowing the undead abomination.
Neeshka set an arrow in her bow and pulled it back half-way, allowing it to charge. Sighting on the vampire's back, she drew the missile all the way back, and executed a perfect release. The lightning arrow pierced the vampire's dead heart just as Nevalle's blade took its head. The undead body tumbled gracelessly to the stone floor.
Tiernah looked up and locked eyes with the apparition standing on the archer's balcony. The bow it carried was disturbingly familiar. There was only one like it; Neeshka's Roguebow.
The moon elf raised her right hand, palm outward, with her index and little fingers extended in a tiefling salute. The hooded shadow behind the parapet returned the gesture.
"Everyone... follow me to the guard room. We will regroup there." Nevalle was rallying his troops; The fight was not yet over. The tiefling jumped down from the balcony and followed her allies down the hall and around the corner. The guardroom door was closed firmly, almost in her face; Rolling a stone onto her already heavy heart. Tie recognized me, the rogue was outraged. What in the nine hells is going on?
Neeshka was sitting in an alcove with a good sight line to the guardroom door. After scouting the hall and finding nothing of interest, she settled down to wait for Tie to emerge.
She set out some dried jerky and water for Moonbow, and drew out her short sword, a beautiful dwarf-elven hammersword, supposedly crafted in ancient Illefarn. It was given to her by a young man who had saved her from being lynched by Luskan pirates in Highcliff. Its cold-iron blade had been re-worked by a craftsman she knew well; Khelgar Ironfist. While they were in Highcliff, he'd re-wrapped its grip with fine grained red dragon hide. The sword almost glued itself to her hand now.
Later, in Neverwinter, the dwarf continued his work by heating the blade red-hot and quenching it in an oil bath to temper it. This process made it more resistant to breaking. At Neeshka's request, the blade was then given a non- reflective finish. The flat on one side of the blade was a bludgeon, the other side was honed to a razor sharp edge. That sword was one gift the rogue treasured. It was originally named Son of Illefarn. She'd renamed it Heart of a Friend. Just holding it gave her some measure of comfort.
Qara had refused to touch the sword. She said it could not be enchanted. A hefty sum of gold spent at Sand's shop in Neverwinter proved differently; It appeared that cold-iron was very easy to enchant. It would hold a lightning charge like a lodestone. A scabbard with shielding was required to damp down the lightning and protect the wearer from harm.
Her thoughts turned to the current situation. Are those elitist snobs ignoring me? She wondered. Knowing the world's view of tieflings, Neeshka wasn't surprised. What about Tie? All that talk from her about needing every one of us; Each of us has something to contribute. Was it just that... talk? She shook her head sadly, while idly fingering the beautiful etching on her blade.
Something that a fellow adventurer once told her surfaced in Neeshka's reverie; 'Some things need to be taken on faith,' Elanee said. They had been discussing loyalty and betrayal. 'Loyalty is built upon trust,' the druid pontificated. 'Doubt is a test of that trust,' she continued. 'Use your faith to carry you through those times of doubt,' Elanee recommended.
Well, there's no doubt I'm being snubbed, the rogue thought with a twinge in her heart. The real question is... Why?
The tiefling was on her feet, bow in hand, even before the guardroom door opened. After a quick look around, Tiernah stepped out and closed the door behind her. Neeshka was unsure of what to do next, so she stole up quietly behind the moon elf, not really expecting to be noticed.
"Forgotten how to follow orders, Neeshka?" The monk's tone was edged with ice. "Sir Nevalle told all of you to stay at the Phoenix Tail."
Without taking time to think, the rogue shot back, "Well, Well, I'm glad to see you too." Her sarcasm didn't quite cover up the hurt in her voice. "Besides, I don't answer to Nevalle or Nasher, only to you; Tell me to go and I'll go, but by the gods, if you send me away, I'll never come back." She was now trembling with suppressed rage, her eyes threatening to spill over.
Tiernah's gaze softened. Placing her hands on the distraught tieflings shoulders, she sighed and said, "Thank you for coming. I've always been able to depend on your skill and judgment, but this is Sir Nevalle's mission. I was told to face it alone."
"And where are the mighty Neverwinter Nine? Are you naïve enough to think you can face this... alone?" Neeshka was incredulous. "I've seen them, fought them. Tie... don't leave me out of this." she was getting angry at herself for begging. To the hells with this. She cursed her pride. "I've already killed two death knights and one of those priests. Are you ready for two more priests and a pair of vampire blademasters? And don't ask about the zombies, they're around here somewhere."
Tie took a step back, folding her arms. "Alright, you win. We're together until we find the door to Neverneath. Then I'll need to work my way through to defend Lord Nasher. It's some kind of loyalty test. You've got my back?"
The rogue looked at her friend with some speculation, sniffed, and said, "Something like that."
Neeshka was bent over, examining what remained of two of Neverwinter's finest castle guards. "Their blood was drained," the rogue intoned. "Wait here a second while I release them" She must have noticed the moon elf's expression. "What? Did I do something wrong... again?"
"Uh..no, I just didn't think you cared." Tie managed to say before the rogue continued.
"Whether I like it or not, these were my countrymen. They deserve eternal rest. Besides, they will not be raised for us to have to fight again if this goat-girl has anything to do with it." With that, she placed an arrow in her bow and charged it. After she carefully removed the crackling missile, she drove it into the chest of the fallen knight. The corpse kicked and then lay still.
After evicting Moonbow from her shoulder bag, Neeshka rooted around for a bit and pulled out a large clove of garlic. She almost tenderly placed it into the mouth of the corpse. Closing the gaping jaw, she looked up at Tiernah. "One down, one more to go."
"Anything I can do?" asked the moon elf, feeling left out. Usually she didn't mind when the rogue took charge.
"Keep an eye out for the bastards who did this," the rogue replied. "They're around here somewhere." She did her duty for the other guard and stood up. "Alright, done and done. Where to now, my leader?" apparently her mood had brightened.
"This hall to the right should lead to a tapestry that shows Lord Halueth Never's funeral. Behind that curtain is a door leading to Neverneath. The Nine don't know what's in there, because no knight that is living has entered. Sir Nevalle speaks of it with great awe." Tiernah supplied. She, like other nobles, shared Nevalle's reverence for Neverwinter's founder.
Neeshka turned from where she'd placed her ear to the door. "It's quiet on the other side," she whispered, eyebrow raised. "Time for a weapons check?"
Tie unslung a beautiful Elven Court Bow charged with lightning by Qara at the Sunken Flagon. Being a long-bow, it fired a larger arrow, and took less time to charge than most other launchers. With a few deft, practiced moves, the monk had the bow strung and ready. Her quiver was full of medium-length cold-iron tipped missiles.
"Errm... I gotta problem," the rogue said sheepishly. She held up her flattened leather parcel; It contained six arrows, their ragged fletching peeked out from its open end. "You don't want me to run out? Do you?" the rogue inquired like a lost waif.
"So much for being prepared. I thought you knew better," the moon elf scolded; a smirk spreading across her face. "With your accuracy, we'll never have enough arrows."
Tie's barb found its mark. "What?" the tiefling snapped, "I left Crossroad with ten, count them... ten arrows in here. There are now four of that bastard's minions we won't have to deal with; She held up a finger. One for a shadow priest I got after killing two death knights down in the tunnels; She held up two fingers. Another one for that vampire in the Great Hall that neither you nor Nasher's right testicle could put down; She held up four fingers. And finally the two I used to stake those guardsmen. I still have six arrows, as ratty as they are, left to finish the job. You wanna' talk about accuracy?" Her voice was rising with her ire.
"Got'cha, gigi," Tiernah exulted. "You feelin' better, now you've gotten it out of your system?" She handed the irate tiefling six arrows to refill her supply.
The tiefling's lashing tail slowed its tempo. "Stop calling me goat-girl," she gritted through clenched teeth. She reached into her shoulder bag and withdrew a vial of holy water. Grimacing, she dropped the container into her quiver and crushed it with an arrow tip. Then she stowed the remaining arrows, shouldered the parcel, and turned to the closed door.
"You've got the better bow, let me lead," Neeshka whispered, drawing her impressive sword quietly from behind her left ear. After seeing Tiernah roll her eyes and nod once, the tiefling opened the door a crack and slipped inside.
The long hall was dimly lit, but she could see no one. After pulling the door all the way open, the rogue stepped up to the first door on the right; It was slightly ajar, a waft of fetid air drifted out, causing her nostrils to flare. Here there be zombies, the childish thought popped into her head. She raised a clenched fist to stop the moon elf and pointed to the door.
The soft tap of an arrow being readied set the rogue into motion. Neeshka pulled the door open slowly and took a quick look from floor level. Two tattered zombies stood side-by-side;They were simply barricades of rotting human flesh. At the far end of this hallway stood a shadow priest. The simple cut of his hooded robe marked him as an acolyte.
Tiernah's lightning arrow tickled her left ear as it passed, telling the tiefling that the battle was joined. Neeshka cut the legs out from under the right thrall. Before it could fall, she took the left one's head with a wide sweep of her sword and booted its body out of the way.
The shadow priest was down, struggling to pull the stinging brand from his shoulder. So much for your sorry accuracy, moonie. The rogue thought gleefully. The madness of combat possessed her entirely. Without a pause, she ran the cold-iron blade through her enemy's still racing heart. Twisting the sword out, she then decapitated him with a practiced, deadly accurate sweep.
Looking back to see if she was still covered, the rogue advanced to the door at the end of the corridor. When Tiernah was in place, she tried the door. It was locked. Giving a silent signal to Tie, she sat down to rest, willing her racing heart to slow its runaway pace.
Pulling out a selection of lock-picks, she had the door open in less than two minutes. Peeking through the partly open door revealed a two-pronged ambush; The two vampire blademasters and the last shadow priest were off to the left, at the end of a short corridor; Straight ahead, blocking a longer hallway, were the remaining three zombies and two spirit wraiths. The rogue retreated, closing the door softly behind her.
They huddled together to formulate a plan. Several ideas were mentioned and rejected. The plan Neeshka liked best was to sucker a few zombies back into this room to be eliminated. It would only be a matter of time before the vampires engaged them. By then, there would be fewer invaders to deal with.
After setting an arrow in her bow, the rogue opened the door and stepped through. The zombies were advancing mindlessly in her direction. Sidestepping to her right to clear Tie's field of fire, Neeshka drew back her missile. The priest and his escorts hadn't moved. The vampires blocked a clear shot at the priest, so she sighted on the right blademaster and let her arrow fly.
Three of Tiernah's lightning arrows passed through the door in quick succession, sizzling with power as they buried themselves to the feathers in dead flesh; It would take a few seconds for the lightning to poison the walking dead. How does that moon elf fire so damn fast? Neeshka wondered.
The wraiths were within three steps. The rogue set her bow aside and drew Heart of a Friend. She shouted a warning to Tie and retreated through the door, drawing the spirits with her.
"Slowly, Tie... let the lightning work," the rogue advised, as her blade consumed the leading wraith; She was fighting to be heard over the spirit's screams. Weakness was stealing up on her as the wraith slowly dissolved. Before she lost consciousness, she noticed Tie's scythe consuming the second spirit.