At the entrance to Lord Never's tomb, a small carved statue, very much like the ones that had asked her test questions, caught her attention. When she stood in front of this carving, a familiar voice spoke to her, 'The nine will protect my resting place from any who approach, but one of the nine is missing. Take his place to join my side.'
The tomb of Lord Halueth Never was nothing like Neeshka imagined. Standing at the door to the large vaulted chamber, she paused for a good look. She could see eight massive statues carved from the native black rock in the form of armored knights, surrounding an open bier that held the earthly remains of the founder of Neverwinter. A shimmering blue haze hid his body from direct view.
When the rogue entered the tomb, eight greatswords floated up from the floor and formed a ring around Lord Never's bier, allowing her to walk around the outside of the chamber. The confused tiefling took a long look around the room before she figured out what to do.
All the statues were mounted on stone pedestals, arranged in a circle around the raised bier. One of these pedestals had no statue; It was located between Lord Never's body and the exit to the throne room.
When she stepped up onto the pedestal, the greatswords floated to the floor and a stone plaque set into the side of the bier slid open. Stepping down from her pedestal, the rogue expected the swords to rise back up, but they remained at ease on the floor. She removed a rolled parchment that was surprisingly supple for its age. The ancient heraldry was easy for her to read;
The nine are assembled and one duty remains for me. I bequeath this, the Rod of Never, to the new Lord of Castle Never. Deliver it to him that he may use it to protect Neverwinter from its savage enemies.
Neeshka carefully re-rolled the directive and stowed it in her bag. She then turned back to remove the other two items from the burial vault; A beautiful bejeweled scepter, and a longsword of exceptional craftsmanship. She would present them both to Nasher on her way out.
Passing the statue on her left, she noticed a small plaque set into its base. It read; Slade, the last of the nine. Sadly, his first day was his last battle.
To the right of this statue was another. It read;Tamper, eighth of the nine. Youngest of us all, who kept us young.
The next statue's plaque read; N'halien, the seventh of the nine. His chest caught an Illusk arrow meant for mine.
She walked around to the next, which read; Coneth, sixth of the nine. His blood was impure, but none doubted his heart.
Coneth... Coneth, his blood was impure... Those words echoed in her mind. My blood is impure, she thought of her horns and tail. But no one knows my heart, her mind sobbed. she looked up to the stone warrior's visage. The dam broke. The tears would not stop...
The ancient spirits of Neverneath bore witness to a first in Faerun; A tiefling in reverie, an elven gift from Neeshka's mother to her.
The other seven statues arranged in a circle around Lord Never's bier gave the rogue a nasty shock when she tried to touch them. This one, however, located at seven O' the clock, welcomed her touch. Its cool surface calmed her tormented mind. She seated herself and was pulled gently into that dreamy state known to all the elves as reverie.
She would have called the trance she was in communion if she had any experience. To Neeshka, it was a vivid dream. In this dream she saw an elven woman unlike any type of elf she had ever seen before. This woman's colorless eyes and silver-white hair were like that of the drow, but her skin was fairer than any dark elf the rogue had ever seen.
The woman's demeanor was like that of a lost child. She had an innocence that was tempered by anger at evil's work on this plane. However, the voice that came through belied her treatment. It was a mother's voice, almost celestial in nature. Neeshka knew it was her mother's voice.
::Hello, my child. It has been many a season since your birthing,:: the voice began. The rhythm, the inflection of her speech held the tiefling in thrall.
::My mother? Please tell me why I shouldn't be angry with you?:: Despite her awe, bubbles of anger were surfacing in the rogue's half-consciousness.
Neeshka's mother's serene smile didn't waver; This was something her daughter must hear and understand, ::It is true that you are the product of... an unfortunate, reluctant union. Your grandmother was a powerful wizard trapped in Baator during a war of good against evil. She escaped to her home on this plane more dead than alive.
She refused to reveal how she managed to secure her freedom, however, nine months later she bore a child. That child was me, Neeshka, your mother. I am called a Fey-zu. Fortunately my features were and are that of my mother's Silver Elf heritage.
At your birth, my dear daughter, we noticed your grandfather's Baatezu traits. Although your life has not been an easy one because of them, you must admit, your unusual traits have given you a strength that would ordinarily be missing in a human or an elf. ::
::Oh sure, I learned to like the loneliness, the beatings, the feeling that I was on the outside looking in. Is that how I pay for my strength?:: Neeshka could feel her civility slipping away as self pity took over...
::You are what you are,:: Neeshka's mother, ignoring the rogue's sarcasm, told her. ::You must learn to accept your heritage. Your grand-mother had no choice in who sired me.::
::I have accepted my heritage, I revel in it,:: the tiefling's chin was up; There was pride in her voice. ::What I find hard to accept is that you abandoned me. What woman worthy of calling herself mother would do that?::
::You can rest assured that I did not abandon you,:: the rogue's mother said, placing emphasis on abandon. :: I placed you with the Brothers at a local monastery. You need to understand, your life was in danger. The Monks promised to take good care of you. Did they do that? I lost touch with them over the years.::
::For awhile,:: Neeshka said, with some hesitation, ::You see...When I was old enough, I ran away. Their cloistered life was too confining. I had to get out; I wanted to see the world.::
::Ahh, very few elves could stand being cooped up for very long,:: her mother was very sympathetic. :: It was fortuitous, that in your travels, you met up with the moon elf and the dwarf. They have set your feet onto the path of light.::
::That is a closed chapter,:: the rogue coldly replied. :: It is over.::
:: And that, my dear, is where you are so wrong,:: her mother said. :: A new chapter has been written... you must turn the page.::
Neeshka did not look convinced. :: How did you know about Tiernah and Khelgar?:: she asked, changing the subject.
Her mother's face brightened. :: I heard rumors of a tiefling sighted near Neverwinter, so I have been scrying there for some time. I have managed to catch fleeting glimpses of you and your friends from time to time. You are very stealthy, my child.::
::Where are you? Will I see you again?:: Neeshka implored, feeling her time with her mother slipping away. ::All my life, I've wanted to find you.::
::If it is Our Lady's will, :: her mother replied. ::Now...your destiny awaits. Until the day of our meeting, little one... fare well.::
::Until then, My Mother,:: the tiefling whispered.
The impressive stonework representing Coneth filled her vision. Neeshka stretched out, feeling wonderfully refreshed. Her pain, once an intrusive scream in her mind was muted to a shadow of a whisper.
Regaining her feet, the rogue took stock of her situation; She'd passed the loyalty test, winning the Rod of Never and Lord Never's greatsword. However, moonbow was missing, and the fate of her friend and leader, Tiernah, was unknown. Nasher was in grave danger; Her next move was to the throne room.Upward and onward... Let's get going, she prodded herself.
Neeshka exited Lord Never's Sepulcher by skirting the guardian statues and following the red carpeted hallway that she knew led to Lord Nasher's throne room. The sound of bestial snarls and the clash of sharpened blades could be heard through the closed doors.
After opening the second iron-clad door, she was greeted by a spectacle of mind-numbing carnage. Dead and dying greycloaks and castle guards were scattered about the scene of Lord Nasher's last stand.
Nasher was in a far corner, his massive greatsword raised in a classic defensive posture. He was surrounded by a cadre of blue cloaked knights; His Neverwinter Nine.
The creature they faced was a horror. A minion of the King of Shadows known as a shadow reaver. It dominated the center of the room with its presence. Armed with a lance that was dripping with poison, it was parrying every blade thrust at it with a savage competence.
The rogue loosed three lightning arrows into the reaver's back before it turned and advanced on her. Retreating through the door, she led it into her hastily built ambush; Her shoulder bag was swinging in wide arcs from a torch bracket at the end of the hallway.
The reaver, sure it was after an easy kill, charged past her hiding place. The rogue stepped out behind it and buried both her lightning sword and shadow dagger into its unprotected back. Her weapons, along with the sparking arrows buried to the feathers in its back were enough to discorporate the reaver, sending it back to the Vale of Merdelaine.
After she retrieved her weapons, Neeshka pulled her black, cowled cloak around her shoulders, and made sure she still had the Rod of Never and Lord Never's greatsword. Taking a deep breath, she murmured a quick prayer to Tymora, and stepped through the throne room door.
A/N Profuse thank-you's to my new beta Wyl. It can't be an easy job untangling someone else's twisted logic. C.