Trademeet

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Tania looked at Galliel, "Since she didn't seem the type enticed by seductive women I guess that was necessary." Then looking back at the men splashing and diving in the water chasing after the nixie she got a wistful look on her face.

"Oh, that does look like fun." She looks at her companions, shrugs and dives (fully armoured) into the water.

A moment later a large seal -like creature rises from the water twirling one of the men on its nose like a ball. The nixie rises up and the seal tosses the man to her. She catches him and disappears under water. The seal dives under and returns with another man in its flippers, tossing him up in the air and catching him.

 

"That's weird," Galliel says. She carefully approached the water and tried to see if Tania is under the water, drowning in her armor, or if the seal-creature has any characteristics that resemble Tania.

 

Seeing Galiel the seal raises it golden brown body a little out of the water and tosses the man onto the shore near Galiel. The golden hair on its head glints in the sun with greenish highligts as it dives under again.

The nixie and seal rise again tossing another screaming man back and forth. Both are laughing and the seal splashes water with its tail.

 

Although the scouts had probably deserved it, Elwithral felt pity for them.

"Enough!" he yelled at the nixie, Galliel, and the 'seal'. His eyes were glowing a bright white.

He waved his hand at the bodies of the scouts. Although the others (except Dalamar) didn't know it, he was stealing their souls. He was a Soul Stealer. He hunted souls in order to make himself more powerful. Elwithral took the souls of the scouts, to kill them peacefully, without torture.

As the nixie was giving a scornful look and sinking into the water, Elwithral massaged his temple, and walked back into the cave.

 

The seal flopped up onto shore changing into Tania. She walked into the cave, dripping water and sat down a bit away from the fire.

She just quietly looked at the others not saying anything.

 

"I'm sorry Tania, but I . . I don't know.. I don't think you should torture them.." Elwithral said. He conjured some blankets for them all, as the sun was falling. Looking to the others, "Ellesime will tell us of the army's whereabouts."

Dalamar informed the others that he was going for a walk. Really, he just wanted to kill something.

 

"Aye, Elwithral, you have the right of it. I have two natures that of the human who follows the path of Lethander and that of the silkie who is akin to the nixie. It has been a long time since I played in the water and it did overcome me. However some of the traits of the silkie come in handy 'cause it gives me water magic."

She sits back quietly with a thoughtful look on her face.

 

"What's it like to be a shapechanger?" Galliel asked Tania. "I mean a real one, not just polymorphing yourself with spells. Were you born a human, or a silkie? Or did you change later in life?" Galliel was quite interested in her new friend's new identity.

 

Tania frowns slightly. "My Mother is a silkie and my Father human. He built a house away from other people so that they would not know what we where. He was a fisherman with two sons from his first wife who had died. They helped him with the fishing. My Mother and I also helped because we could tell him where the best fish were.

I can not shapeshift at will. When I am in water deep enough to submerge I am a silkie but when on land I am human. This is natural for silkies. But I also have two natures the silkie one and the human. Silkies are not intentionally harmful but they are thoughtless. My Mother is a bit odd in that she really does love my father and takes care for him and his sons."

 

Dumbledalf wanders around in pure senile-ness

 

"I'm the other way around, my mother was a human and my father is an elf. It's hard sometimes, being in between two worlds, not really belonging to either." Galliel glanced at the white-haired wizard bumbleing around the cave. "Maybe he's lucky, not really knowing anything at all."

 

While the girls had been talking, Elwithral had been delving deep into Dumbledalf's mind. He saw that Dumbledalf had once been a very powerful wizard compared to the likes of Elminster. He also saw that he had a wife at one time and created four children. They had all died. Elwithral pondered Dumbledalf's long life. Why? How?

Then he saw it. The small part of Dumbledalf's mind that was shrouded in mist. Elwithral tried to see.. but.. but.. Red.. He saw the color red... flowing robes.. Thay.

Thay. Why hadn't he seen it before.. Thayans always try to get powerful wizards on their side, before they decide to turn on the Thayans. It seems as though the Thayans magic to take over Dumbledalf's mind had clashed with his protective magics and had driven him insane.

He delved deeper. A face.. Thayan.. Yedfyt Gruogty.. The name sounded familiar.. Yet the face did not register.. The face seemed to be staring off into space, when it looked at Elwithral.. It looked shocked then blasted Elwithral out of his mind.

Elwithral went flying backwards into the wall of the cave. Dumbledalf stared at him with suprisingly focused eyes.

"Fool! This wizard is a property of Thay. You shall not touch him again," Dumbledalf said with a together, dazed voice and a smirk, "Your foolish elven magics can not stop me." His eyes glowed brilliant blue.

Elwithral looked up. Dumbledalf was glowing the same blue, and just staring straight into Elwithral's eyes.

 

Elwithral being tossed around caught Tania's attention. She jumped to her feet, running over to him. Staring into Dumbledalf's eyes she shuddered.

"Wh..what is going on?"

 

Standing up to his full height, Elwithral whispered, "Thay has his mind. . ."

Dumbedalf shot out his hand and slammed Elwithral to the wall, walking towards him. "Maybe you would make a good addition to Thay.." He shot out his other hand towards Elwithral's head and journeyed through his mind. He was frustrated when he couldn't break Elwithral's protection. He tried harder.

Dalamar re-entered the cave and shot a magic arrow into the back of Dumbledalf, breaking his concentration. "AAH, YOU FOOL!" Dumbledalf fired a meteor at Dalamar. He put up a hand and black dark energy erupted from it, seizing it, and consuming it. He hadn't noticed, but Dumbledalf had already fired another meteor at him. The meteor hit him squarely on the chest and he fell to the ground.

Dumbledalf turned back to Elwithral, then turned to Tania. "Who might this be?" He shot a Chromatic Orb at her.

 

"Oh my!" Galliel yelled. She ducked behind a large rock and hoped the old wizard didn't notice her.

 

Tania raised her hands and a globe of greenish water shot out enveloping the Orb. There was a sizziling sound and steam filled the room.

She seemed to grow and when she spoke her voice reverberated through the cave.

" I am Tania, priestess of Lethander and silkie mage. Abomination of the earth face my wrath. "

With that she began a keening chant. The sound of wind, water and thunder filled the space. The steam evaporated as she strode towards the thing possessing Dumbledalf.

 

"Hmm," Dumbledalf said, "Maybe I will get two powerful wizards today." He blasted a beam of heat towards Tania, making the room even more steamy. It was hard to make out everyone except for the blue glow of Dumbledalf, the white glow of Elwithral, and the wind swirling around Tania.

Elwithral took out his bow and put his hands together. He quickly pulled them apart, revealing that he had conjured a light arrow. He shot this straight towards the blue light and heard a gasp. The blue glow disappeared

Then, Dumbledalf's glow returned. "Hehehehe... You fools! I have the power of Thay! Aagh!" He shot out his hand and caved in the entrance to the tunnel, just as Dalamar had run in.

Dalamar, doing the same thing as Elwithral had done, conjured a dark arrow and shot. Elwithral quickly conjured another one and shot at the same time.

To their surprise (this had been an attack they had used for an age) he caught both arrows and made them disappear.

"As for you two," he said turning to Tania and Galliel, "I want your power." He chuckled and flew towards them.

 

As the Dumbledalf creature launched for her a wall of ice appeared. He hit the ice and bounced back.

"Fool, you do not deal with a normal earthling!" , Tanias's voice echoed with the rumble of underwater quakes.

The being shot a dark energy bolt at her. She raised her hand and caught it hurling it back at him. She shook her hand. There was a burn mark on the palm. Without pause she raised her hands and clapped them together. A bolt of firey lightning shot down on the thing.

 

The seemingly powerful bolt simply knocked his hat off.

He got up, brushed himself off and smiled. You'll have to do better than that.

 

Galliel racked her brain to think of what she could do that would be better than light and dark arrows and bolts of lighting. She had depleted all her spells and shot all of her arrows in the battle with the army. What did she have left?

What about that sub-atomic particle phase inverter grenade she had pick-pocketed from the litte green guys with the big eyes that had taken her off in their shiny saucer shaped flying ship a few years ago?

Afterwards, she had sworn the whole experience must have been just a crazy dream brought on by mixing wine, beer, and shiny mushrooms, but finding the small, metalic ball with one button on it in her bag of holding later had proved that it all did indeed happen. The bright light shining in her eyes, floating up into the ship. The strange, perverted experiments with weird creatures that she had so fully enjoyed. One of the green guys blowing a balor demon apart with a sub-atomic particle phase inverter grenade. That's when she decided she had to get one of those nice little things. She couldn't quite remember how she actually got one, or when she returned to Faerun, but the device didn't seem too hard to operate.

She pushed the button on it and tossed in at Dumbledalf. An syntillating energy field, about ten feet in diameter, appeared around the wizard. Then there were several extremely loud explosions inside the field. The earth shook. The energy field dissapated. Smoke poured out of the sphere it had enclosed.

Galliel crouched back behind her rock, waiting to see, what, if anything, came out of the smoke.