The Black Hand of Fate - Arilin Lost

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Grunelda
Sojourner
Posts: 47
Joined: Sat Sep 07, 2002 5:01 am

The Black Hand of Fate - Arilin Lost

Postby Grunelda » Wed Mar 26, 2003 7:04 pm

Grunelda was trapped in her own aimless musings.

Sweet fresh air wafted of the window sash as Grunelda
peered out the open window of the Silk Street flat that
she he called home for several years now. Waterdeep
was certainly a vibrant and busy city. The sounds of
vendors hawking thier wares and the sounds of the local
smithy could be heard even on the second floor of the
house near the clock of Waterdeep. At this moment all
that really mattered to Grunelda was the wet, heavy
smell mixed with the clean smell of spring that fore
told the coming rain to the region.

"The job you hired me fore is almost done, and our old
contract expires in 2 days. I would like to renegotiate
that contract if you wish to continue my services."

Grunelda did not immediately break her reverie out the
second story window, but instead started to hum, then
sing a little song in a strange tongue.

"This place is fetid and stinks to the highest heaven
even with my spells to cool the effects of degradation."

Grunelda mused at the young Enchanters feelings of self
importance. Especially when he had hired himself out to
do such dubious work, in the very shadow of Elminster's
tower. As the young Enchanter began his tiresome chilling
spell again, the humming whispered tune she incanted
seemed to blend and mix with the young magus' words.

As the entire room erupted in cold blue light, Grunelda
saw her face reflected in the glass of the window. A
old hag, a crone they called her on the streets of this
city - a object of both pity and derision. She loathed
the sight of herself as she pulled the window down and
carefully locked it into place, shutting out the light
of day. Grunelda stopped humming and started a
long carefully thought out chant as she turned her tired
old body towards the scene in the flat she shared with
her Master...

Arilin the Vaunted.

Who has gone missing these 3 months time. Leaving the
crone Grunelda to look after his apartments and all the
contents there in. Where was Arilin? Never had his
obsessive trips for knowledge taken him from the secrets
of his apartment for longer than a week.

"Even though you have this room's windows covered and
only go out at night Hag, you will eventually will be found
out." "This work is getting dangerous, I need better
recompense to continue..."

She had considered contacting one of the members of the
secret orgainization that the Master had held in high
esteem. Of course she wasnt supposed to know of Arilin's
membership - or for that matter any of the members of
that organization. Two months after the Master's late
night disappearance she had followed the happy little
halfing known as Nokie to a meeting with his friend
and comrade in arms - Corth. Before she could decide
to tell them the tale of Arilin's disappearance both
had slipped away into the shadows. Corth was a enigma
and had not been heard from or scene by the thieves of
the streets since that day.

Grunelda's tune reached a crescendo as she completed
the dark and ancient spell that had been building on
her cracked and peeling lips.

Summoning a fog to drain the moisture from the young
Enchanter. The young nameless man's eyes rolled back
into his head as he stood stunned for a mere second, then
slumped to the ground. The body gurgled and writhed
as all the moisture was sucked from the apprentices
body, until all that was left was a dried husk.

"Your services wont be needed any longer young one.",
Grunelda answered with a wry smile.

"Well it seems after these long three months a decision
has been made!" she said to a empty room. "The Master
is long gone and its high time he shared his coveted
magiks with me in full." Surveying the room for what
would the last of uncountable times, she proceeded to
try and spy out her Master's belongings hiding place.
Of course the room was full with his belongings, jars
containing the eyes of an elf, spell ingredients, the
now chilly and frozen boxes holding the degrading and
long dead bodies of several of Arilin's enemies. There
were papers and scrolls aplenty. Fresh smelling herbs
and many dried flowers decorated the room, in a small
attempt to disguise the fetid smell of death that filled
the apartment from those passing on the street below.
So many belongings in the room would be considered most
valuable by any one studying the art of Necromancy.

However Grunelda did not lust after mere monetary wealth.

"Hrummmm my Master", purred Grunelda "I have torn apart
the apartment many times to no avail, where did you
secret your papers on life after death?"

Kicking the dry husk aside, Grunelda started to pry
at the floor boards. The boards resisted her old hands
and weak, frail arms.

Accross the room she gathered up four rare books all
of which had been bound in human skin. Opening the last
book she began to recite a dangerous and oft wrongly
cast spell. Unlike many Necromantic spells it was quick
and took little time, at its completion the years of
age melted away as she was rejuvenated by the power of
her art. Repeating the spell several more times, Grunelda
turned from the Hag of Waterdeep into a young and now
vibrant thirty year old woman. Moving to the glass of
the outer most window, Grunelda surveyed her work.

Fierce defiant brown eyes peered back at her from beneath
a delicate well trimmed brow. Prominent cheekbones
highlighted a tanned and angular face. Jet black hair
swirling around in all directions in a unbridled mess of
twisted plaits, the tips of which have been colored red
and fire orange. Yet still creases from a long furrowed
frown, traces of lines of unhappiness around her eyes and
round small mouth abounded. Some things even magic could
not change. Grunelda smiled wickedly as she muttered,
"The Bitch Queen of Bloodstone is back!" to herself.

With renewed vigor Grunelda tore the room apart, lost
in the desire to discover Arilin's lost notes on thier
shared obssesion.

Several noisy, fruitless hours later Grunelda collapsed
in the only corner of the room still fit to sit in.

The liquid contents of broken jars, torn pages of old
tomes littered the area. Grunelda reached underneath
herself and tugged at a offending scrap of paper, torn
and crumpled. Facing going slack, and heartbeat racing
she read in the Masters hurried scrawl, "The Halfling
has returned from one of his spells of wanderlust with
news of the one I search for." "The little fellow did
not even have the good sense to hide the discovery from
me, but gave up the location and names in rapid and oft
vapid conversation." "The hunt is renewed as my time
on this world draws to a end..." The rest of the page
was awash in blue and red liquid stains, unreadable.

The Master was on his last quest! and had not shared
the smallest hint of what it was or meant to Grunelda.
Even without that hint Grunelda instinctively knew what
this meant, for both Arilin and herself shared a simple
singular dream, and obssesion.

To survive forever into eternity. For death was the
greatest of equalizers for all men. Kings and Queens
shared that same end with beggars and thieves. A cold
bed of earth, shared with maggots and worms. Grunelda
had plans for all of Faerun, plans of domination and
revenge or race wars and a empire to last centuries.
But first, first she must conquer the greatest foe.

Death.

Grunelda set about gathering her few belongings and
salvaging the most important contents of Arilin's old
apartment. A two pronged plan began to form in her mind
as she donned her travelling clothes. She left a small
but generous pile of coins on the only standing table
and hurriedly scrawled a note to the landlord:


Dear Madam,

My Master, has called me away on his own
private business. You will find his rooms
are damaged. Please fix and maintain them
as best you can with this offering of coin
and please honor your agreement with me
as you would with my Master.

The penalty for your refusal is of course
torture after death.

I will return to find things in order.

The Hag


Grunelda pulled the dark black hood over her head and
retreated into its shadows as she left the apartment
as her true self for the first time in some 15 years of
apprenticeship to the Master.

As she entered the noisy Street of Silks, she paused
to look over the city. Grunelda now knew where the path
started, "Alive or dead, this Nokie Quickfingers shall
send me on the path of my Master!"

Stepping forward, Grunelda disappeared amongst the
crowd.
Grunelda
Sojourner
Posts: 47
Joined: Sat Sep 07, 2002 5:01 am

Postby Grunelda » Tue Jan 11, 2005 10:38 pm

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