Trademeet

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"You've been gone awhile," Andra said to Elwithral. "Any news from your end, such as who's behind this massive army and why it's attacking?"

 

"Well, my former colleagues from Suldanessalar have agreed to protect Athkatla for a time, and so, that buys a great deal of time to figure out who is behind this. Elminster confronted me and the Harpers are going to be doing something soon, or so he says."

"Anything more I should know before we set out?"

 

"Based on this schematic that I drew along time ago that these guys had and put notes on, this group, or their comrades, might have a powerful artifact that some wizards in Waterdeep wanted awhile back, or they might just be trying to get it. Hard to tell." Galliel checked her gear and got ready to go.

 

"Tania kept mentioning the Two-Faced One as one of the people that escaped from our grasp. Who is he and is he someone I should worry overly about?"

 

"No" Kalab answered Andra "he's just a pirate and a theif. He's not a great warrior or skilled with magic. We shouldn't worry about him."

Kalab was paceing around the room looking through the shelves and tables. "Do any of you have any idea of where we should go?"

 

"Pshaw, I can never remember his human name. He is one who would sell his mother for a copper and then steal her back. He can be useful but never trusted.

Yes, Elwithral do you have any idea where we go now?"

Tania looked up at the ceiling and frowned. There was nothing wrong with the ceiling she was just thinging about all that hot dry air up above.

 

"I am guessing Waterdeep. Lady Mystra can help us with travel... the army of the Elves can buy us some time."

He glanced down at the ground for a moment, almost in frustration, then took a silver gem from his pack. It glowed for a moment, then started to vibrate. The gem seemed to crack open and out came a silver spirit.

"Lady Mystra, I am in need of your transportation again. I am most grateful."

" You shall have it Elwithral. I hope you and your friends here shall succeed." It vanished and the gem sealed itself. He placed back into his pack, and turned to the group.

"Okay everyone, we're going to Waterdeep." Tania raised her hand to interject, but they vanished in the same purple flash.

 

They appeared in the outskirts of Waterdeep, a bit shaken, but alright. "Is everyone okay?" Elwithral asked, brushing himself off. They all nodded.

"Now what?" Dalamar asked Elwithral, spitting on the dusty ground.

"Well, we sho---" Galliel started, but then Dalamar spat, " I didn't ask you, vollei kail."

Elwithral gave Dalamar a stern look. "I don't know, Dalamar. I haven't been to Waterdeep in a long time. Galliel is the one who is guiding us. She knows where the estate is. Galliel?"

 

"Settle down Dalamar" Kalab growled from behind the man. "We're all fighting the same battle, don't be going and makeing it more difficult for all of us."

 

He turned slowly, "Oh, you can talk? I would never have guessed a barbarian could actually think and talk."

 

"Oh, a fight. This should be fun," Andra quipped quietly as Dalamar needled Kalab.

 

Galliel was going to comment on how good the teleportation magic had been, being that she could see the towers of the estate over the trees of a park they were standing near, but she was kind of curious to see what would happen between Kalab and Dalamar, so she said, "Hmmn, I'm not sure where we are, maybe we could ask a passerby for directions, but your demonic presence might scare them away, Dalamar my dear."

 

"Dientya fertusu!" Dalamar spat. "You are not even worthy of my prescence, half-breed." Small amounts of Dark energy started to spark around his hands.

Elwithral shook his head and waited for the little feud to end.

 

Andra put herself between the demon and the halfelf. "I don't care what you do with that human, but I will *not* let you hurt her." She gave Dalamar a distasteful once-over. "Halfbreed."

 

Kalab shrugged it wasn't worth beheading the half demon. He was smarter than that, he knew that they were in deep and they need powerful allies.

Turning he started walking towards the city. Let the teifling fight them all if he wanted. Kalab knew some powerful people and if he had to he would gather them and they would hunt Dalamar down.

 

Galliel looked through Dalamar to Elwithral. "Your magics worked quite well. The estate is just through that park. It was well guarded, physically and magically, the last time I cased it a few years ago, I would expect no less from it today, if not more."

 

"You can thank Mystra, then. It was her magics that brought us here." He quipped quietly. "I suggest we go to the estate then. Galliel, you will lead."

Dalamar scowled and was very tempted to blast every one of them away with his Darkness. He thought, "After all, who are they to mess with The Darkness? And if Elwithral is with me, who are they to mess with The Light and Darkness? But I doubt Elwithral is with me. Elwithral is the cool-headed negotiater, and I am the power-house of anger."

"Let the others fight me. I know some powerful people and they will help me (that's if I need it, of course)." he thought. He cooled down and smiled drily at the others.

 

Galliel lead the group through the park, stopping near some bushes where they could see the estate. "Okay, Kalab, come with me," she said, putting her arm around him, "We're going to stroll around the estate to see what's up. The rest of you, see if you can detect any magical defenses around the place."

 

Elwithral watched the other two until they went around the estate. He could sense the magic of the house. He glanced at the few darkened windows of the estate and the houses around them, then rummaged through his pack to find a detection scroll. He couldn't think of a spell on hand that could penetrate this magic.

"Dalamar," he whispered, "Can you think of a spell I can use for this?" Dalamar took out two dusty scrolls from his pack and shrugged. Elwithral looked a little harder through the magic items and scrolls until he had found an ancient Elven scroll that he had nicked from the Suldanessalar archives when he first became a High Councillor. He placed on the ground, trying to read it in the setting sunlight, but having no luck.

He held it up to the little sunlight and attracted all of the light he could to it. He saw the words in the ancient Tongue, and read them softly to the estate.

"Feirtugg Dertiginya Iogonita Rewdeftins Verikgern Quertiup," the trees seemed to be swaying in the melodic tones of the spell, and a slight breeze had begun to blow. A picture blasted into view in their heads, and it showed where certain traps and alarms were located.

"I sure hope Kalab and Galliel are seeing this."

 

Tania was relived to be near Waterdeep. There was plenty of moisture around to assist her magic but she was bewildered as to what they were doing. It seemed they where searching for some artifact but what it was or did was a mystery.

She moved near Elwithral uncertain what to do.