The Beginning of the End (Drow)

**Kodos** · 01-21-2012, 06:47 PM

I. The Beginning of the End

Ų̕u̴l̢͜g̕͝'̴ḿ̶a,̶͞ ̛̀̕a͢͞g͡ q҉̕a̧͟m̷.̡҉͠

S̵̡h̨̢k͡u҉l̸ ͏̸a̷ņ'̵͜zi̵ģ́ ́͝q͜v̴̡s̢a͟͞͝k̷͢͡f̸́ ́͞kssh̵͝'̴͡͝g̷a̢,̸͢͞ ͜à̵g'̧t̴̷h̀͝y͠za̛͠k̸͡ ̶̢͞a̢̕g̛͘t̛h̷̵͢ù̧.́

V̀w͡yq ͏͡a͞g̷̕t̕҉h͟ ̡͢s͏̛͟s͏h͘ơ̧q͡͏͠'m̨͘e̕g D͟҉̧̡͟u̶̴̢e̷̕͡v͡҉v̸͞͝e̡҉̶r̕͘͡͡a҉҉̀̕k̵͘͜͟ v̕r̷̕͞a̸̵̢ ̶z̴͝z͘͞͞ ̧ś̢̢h͝f̸k҉̷ ̵q͟w̷̨̢o̴͢r҉ ҉̷̢g̷̛à̵'̧͘͡h́͠ą̶̕l̡͝à̧hs̡̢͠ ̀͘a͘͠͡g͢t̛h̀u̴̵͟.̡҉

D͏̴́͏̢u͏̨e̵҉v̧v̶̕e̶̡͡͏̀r̴͟a̢͜͠͏k̸̸̶͟͢ w̧g͘͞ah̢̡'n͏͡a̶͘g̸̸l̶ ͏͝fh̶̶ţa͏̷ģn̷̨.̡͘

***

Ages ago, in times immemorial, mighty Lolth broke with the hated, weak, Seldarine and led Her chosen, the greatest of all Elves, to the Underdark. There the Drow prospered and grew mighty, while the pathetic and hideous weakling creatures of the World Above wallowed in their own filth and languished in squalor.

Now, approximately three-thousand five-hundred and one years after the destruction of the traitorous Great House Deisenin, three young Drow have broken with their prior house and set on their own, seeking to acquire fame, fortune, and the connections needed to establish a house of their own and become powerful.

For Goddess and glory!

***

The city of Kuttra Taur was one of the larger Drow cities of the Garethkullgen region of the Upperdark. With Ilharess Aryyna Faernsenger herself as its valsharess, the city was one of the main centers of Faernsenger power and influence in the Underdark and their center of operations within Garethkullgen. Tolerant, by Drow standards, the large city was home to a ghetto in which non-Drow may live with only a small chance of being kidnapped and sold in the city's sizable slave market.

Like nearly all the Faernsenger settlements of Garethkullgen, Kuttra Taur was somewhat unique, architecturally. The city's 'buildings' (excepting those of the alien's ghetto) were all enormous and magically shaped and grown fungi, from the home of the lowliest freewoman to the extravagant tower of Aryyna Faernsenger herself. Furthermore, many, if not most, of the city's rank and file guards and soldiers were, rather than freewomen, freemen, or even conventional slaves, were specially grown and enslaved strains of Myconid.

Kuttra Taur itself was located upon an island within a massive vault that contained the massive mushroom forest of Kuttraphreng to the east, and the many islands of the Lolth's Coast region, to which Kuttra Taur itself belonged.

***

Within the city of Kuttra Taur there was a bar. Well, it was a Drow city, so there were a lot of bars. But it was within one bar, the Hole in the Wall tavern, that our story begins, in a bar heavy with the smell of drugs, incense, and alcohol, and three Drow gathered around a table.

**Regantor** · 01-21-2012, 09:16 PM

The first of the three counterparts lay draped across a lounging chair, indolently coughing for a moment before continuing her story.

Neitar Inthuul was sleek, sharp, cold. Beautiful as a fine onyx statue, monocrome aside from her thin, vicious scarlet eyes. Through her demeanour was sluggish, distant, slurred, everything else about the telepath was classy and almost otherworldly in form. "...So... this shrill liddle Gobline man... he's livin' inside tha wine barrulz tha entire time... Eatin' scraps inside place, 'e was... Poor lite sweatheart..." Short backcombed white hair, small preened eyebrows, full black-coated lips, and the black knife-point angular tattoos below her eyes made for an image far too predatory to be making any remark so sympathetically. "So, 'course, Zuokx... He picks up, and he drops... entire stone pillar on dere' booze shack he does! Propurly fuckin' crushes tha lite shit he does, I don' even tell 'im!... Ha!..."

She was severely stoned and hammered, explaining the speech tone, but the other two had learnt by now not to expect anything else from her during their lifetimes. She had picked up nicknames like 'Soft bitch', 'monster lover' and 'grim slow-ass milf' for a reason. As classy and expensive as the void-coloured, heavily feather-dowed dress she was wearing, the fact that she revealed practically none of her form said alot about her quite un-Drowy level of ambitions... At least, unless she was the best liar in the underdark.

"... Ah... Fuh... Wha' we talkin' bout 'gain?... My head... spinning..."

**Evil_Cake** · 01-22-2012, 06:30 PM

Alsiif fell asleep halfway through Neitar's story. She had already been slumped back in a chair, so the combination of comfort, boredom, and booze easily led to this event. Her dozed off face held an innocent expression, but through her slightly opened mouth, one could see fangs. Meanwhile, her claws were clutched around a full goblet of purple fungus wine. As the sleeping drow softly snored, the cup would slide closer and closer to the edge of the table. She was wearing such a lovely spider silk gown tonight... it'd be terrible if it got stained.

**Superdooperphailmachine** · 01-23-2012, 06:35 AM

Ryyna was probably the wealthiest and best looking girl of the group, her hair was cut and dyed by the best stylists and she wore a leather jacket studded with pure platinum.
She kicked the table, sending Alsiif's wine over the edge.
"you were going to Kiss Aryyna's ass, or something." Ryyna took a sip of her own wine.
"I heard she is hosting a party at Edonilche'el later, so that'd be the place to go."

**Regantor** · 01-23-2012, 11:26 AM

A small crimson-robed figure began to move even before Ryyna had kicked the table, jutting out with a lithe little pale hand and catching the wine goblet in mid-air...

Neitar just shrugged heavily, slapped the shrowded wee thing over the back of the head with force, then claimed the purple drink for herself. "Don' do tha! You Lolth-cursed ugly liddl' birth defect!"

It quickly retreated back into the surrounding tabacco/incense/mega cocaine(?) smoke, and it's master once again mellowed out by taking a gulp of her 'winnings'. "Aryyna is a sleezy bitch an' always keeps 'er doors open... Probally tha best person to talk with..." The glazed Drow regarded Ryyna, also begining to flick a few spots of wine at Alsiif in an effort to wake her up softly. "Some weird shite supposed to be goin' on with 'er daughter, her... but by Lolth's tits, neither of you gashes bettar mention tha' one... I've 'eard some serious shite bout the last wuns who did... for serious!"

"...So... Erm, where... is it... 'gain?..."

**Evil_Cake** · 01-23-2012, 11:53 AM

Without opening her eyes, Alsiif brought her hands to her mouth and tried to drink from a cup that wasn't there. After a moment of thought, she leaned her head and hands back farther, still trying to drink. Another pause, and she opened her eyes, "Oh, its gone," and rubbed her face. "Have you two come up with a plan yet?"

**Regantor** · 01-24-2012, 02:27 PM

Neitar heard this, but decided lighting a new stogie was a more pressing concern.

"...A party at Edonil...-cha'il?...-cholda?... -A party at dere valsharess' place, later. Tha Aryyna women." She explained ponderously, exhaling a thick plume of smoke all the while. "Plenty freindly, she's supposed to be. Gotta be a good place for us to earn a few favours, fo' sure..."

"After tha... 'guess we can squeeze out some land she dun' want... or start movin' on somebody who Faernsenger is enemies with, maybe." Her eyes narrowed further at the last part, and she gained a bit more of a twisted grin. "Dis Faernsenger woman... Definate' tha key..."

Springing into action triumphantly, she then... Well, sat back down again with a massive urn of ale in hand, and poured the three of them a new round. "Plus somma this."

**Evil_Cake** · 01-24-2012, 07:55 PM

"Schmoozing? Thats the plan?" Alsiif leaned against the table with her head in her hands. "Kinda boring, but you've probably thought this out a lot, haven't you?" She spent the next few minutes trying to drink her ale without moving her hands off her face.

**Kodos** · 01-25-2012, 05:39 PM

***

The tower of the valsharess was, unsurprisingly, the tallest building/mushroom in the city, although the Temple of Lolth, naturally, came close.

There was already a lot of activity about the tower, and more guards, Myconid and otherwise - especially the latter. Had to keep the riff-raff out.

Riff-raff like Ryyna, Alsiif, and Neit, probably.