The Worlds Within Chapter
Twelve Though they were weary and she refused to don the
Mystrian armor until she’d had the chance for a proper bath to wash the
remaining gore off of herself, Hypatia did not wish to spend another
moment in the uncleansed temple. So
they made their way back out of the temple and into Drearing’s Deep. The villagers were quite surprised that they had
survived and as news of the destruction of the terrible Vix’thra spread,
along with the realization that there would never again be a ceremony
called, so did the celebration. Hypatia left gold and explicit instructions for
cleansing and purifying the temple with Corrigan, the strange rock gnome.
Corrigan introduced them to a dwarven priest who had found his way
via the illithids to the Underdark. To
him Hypatia gave several of the priestly scrolls, some potions and a not
insignificant amount of gold. She
was satisfied that the dwarf would purify the temple properly, and with a
lighter heart made ready to depart. Hypatia did put on a fairly decently fitting suit of
armor that had been found in the treasure pile and she and Valen started
the journey back to the Seer’s camp.
They left Drearing’s Deep in the late afternoon and traveled
through the night arriving in Lith My’athar midmorning the following
day. Hypatia fought to move
her leaden limbs, and ignored protesting muscles, thinking only of a nice
hot bath and a clean bed. Valen’s eyes were a dull red, not from any anger, but from
the weight of exhaustion having trekked through the treacherous Underdark
immediately upon the heals of the brutal battle with the dracolich. For all they had pushed themselves to the limits of
their endurance, they still only arrived at the gates of Lith My’athar
barely in time. Imloth’s
scouts returned just moments after they did with news that the
Valsharess’ troops were on the move. Exchanging a worried look with Valen, Hypatia hurried
to the temple to find the Seer. Once
there they found preparations already under way.
The Seer was noticeably relieved that they had returned before the
battle started. Their exhaustion was so obvious that they were both
told to rest for the remainder of the day so that they would be fresh for
the battle that was sure to begin on the morrow. Hypatia availed herself of a nice long soak, glad to
finally wash the blood and gore of her run in with the dracolich from her
skin. She took special pains
washing her hair with some exotically scented shampoo that Nathyrra had
scrounged up for her. Brushing the tangles out with the beautiful ebony
brush took quite some time and in the end she feared she’d pulled out
more hair than she’d left in. Finally
satisfied that she’d gotten it untangled she brushed the silky mass back
from her face to fall in a glorious cascade down her back.
She scowled at the uneven ends, the result of losing part of a
braid during the battle and returned to her room, only to find Valen
setting his pack near the unused cot.
Frowning she waited until he turned to her.
“What do you think you are doing?” “The Seer,” Valen stated, “has a feeling that
the Valsharess will try something tonight that involves you.
I thought it would be best if I stayed here with you.
To oversee your safety.” Hypatia nodded, to be perfectly honest, she felt
better when he was near. She went to the large polished mirror on
one wall. Her hair on one
side hung almost to her knees. On
the other side though, it only hung to her waist.
Shaking her head she scrounged around until she found a dagger and
taking the longer hair in her fist was about to try to even it up.
To her surprise Valen interrupted her by taking the dagger out of
her hand. Confused she turned to him.
“Why did you do that? I
need to even it up. Look at
it.” “Don’t cut it.”
Valen somehow made the statement a plea. Hypatia studied him for a moment then slowly let go
of her hair and nodded. “I
do know of a way to braid it that will make the unevenness less
noticeable.” Valen smiled briefly.
“Thank you.” Hypatia shyly smiled back at him. She watched blushing, but unable to look away as he took his
breastplate off and set near the cot to polish later.
Her smile faded as he turned to get something from his pack and she
caught him favoring his shoulder slightly. “You are hurt!”
She was appalled remembering that she had not offered to heal him
after the battle with Vix’thra. “I have but a few minor injuries, they are nothing
to concern yourself about.” Valen insisted. Hypatia thought about it for a long moment before
appearing to reach a decision. “Lie
down.” Valen turned to her surprised. “What?” She smiled at him gently, “lie down on the cot.
My sister taught me a way to ease sore muscles that doesn’t
require casting a spell.” With a bit of reluctance, Valen did as she asked.
He had not had a chance to retrieve his tunic from his pack and as
soon as he was lying down, Hypatia asked him to roll onto his stomach.
She ignored his questioning look and once he was comfortable, sat
beside him and began to massage his muscular back. It didn’t take much empathy on her part to home in
on the muscles that were most sore and she kneaded them until they
relaxed. He groaned as
she worked on his broad shoulders rubbing and calming his powerful
muscles. Then she moved to the long muscles of his back.
She seemed to instinctively know just how much pressure to use and
where her ministrations could be most effective. Hypatia allowed her hands to glide over his warm
skin, soothing away the fatigue and aches he’d accumulated during their
quest. Occasionally she would
pause to tenderly trace the silvery line of a scar, frowning to herself at
the visible reminders of the warrior’s life. Touching him was rapidly becoming dangerous for her
though, the feel of him under her hands, warm, vibrant, and radiating
strength was making it difficult to control her empathic tendencies.
It would be so easy for me to fall in love with you, Valen
Shadowbreath. Already the
bond is starting to form. Hypatia shook her head to clear it.
She had never had any trouble with empathic bonds forming without
her express wish before. She
feared that it was her heart that was behind this fledgling bond and only
her will held it in check. For
if she chose him, and her heart chose wrong, then it would destroy her. For her own peace of mind, and so as not to force an
empathic bond on him that he was not aware of and might not choose, she
moved her ministrations to the side of his neck and the base of his skull,
rewarded again by soft groans as she worked the tension out of his body.
It was only when she stopped briefly to shake her aching hands that
he stopped her. Rolling over and taking her hands in his, Valen fixed
his intense blue eyes on her. “Why
are you doing this?” Taken by surprise, Hypatia blushed before she
answered. “I wanted to give
you something, something just for you.
All of your life, others have taken from you, used you.
I wanted to do something for you.” Startled by her answer Valen sat back abruptly,
releasing her hand and watching her with a curious expression. Suddenly feeling quite shy, Hypatia got up and went
to sit on her own cot, taking the Mystrian armor she had been directed to
and starting to polish it. She
took a moment to get a special vial of oil out of her pack and add a few
drops to the leather oil she was already using.
It was a very expensive vial of essential oils of roses that her
sister had given her when she last visited.
She hoped that would freshen the armor a bit and rather thought the
scent of roses was a bit more appropriate than the more common lavender
for this purpose. Valen watched her for a long moment before speaking.
“If you want to give me something, perhaps you would consider
telling me a little bit about yourself?” Hypatia looked up from her polishing a bit astonished
by such a request. “My life
has not been so noteworthy, Valen.” “I would still hear the tale, my lady.”
Valen never took his eyes off of her. “No one has ever asked me to tell the story.
Even after Undrentide, they only wanted to say that they’d spoken
to me, only wanted to hear the story as it was written in this.” Hypatia
pulled a worn tome out of her pack and handed it to him before resuming
the polishing of her armor. “I don’t want to read a book, Hypatia.”
Valen said quietly. She flashed him a startled look. “I… I’m sorry.”
Thinking about it for a long moment, Hypatia finally started
speaking in a quiet voice. Her
story was not polished as she’d never shared it before. “I… I guess the place to start would be about how
I came to be a student of Drogan’s.
My sister and I, found a city, Daerlun in Sembia that though it is
far from where we grew up, boasts a large temple to the lady Firehair and
not too far away a shrine to Mystra.
It seemed ideal. We
could both follow our faith and still be close enough to visit
frequently.” Hypatia paused
a warm smile on her face for the fond memories. “We met often after our lessons to discuss what we
had learned over our evening meal. Often
some suitor or another of Cimmera’s would come and take her away for a
dance or something. But I
didn’t mind. I was glad to
see her so happy, and I was happy with my own studies.”
Hypatia paused, frowning for a moment. “After a while I met a boy myself. He seemed different than the others, I thought maybe he would
be interested in me even after… after he met my sister.” She couldn’t keep the sorrow out of her voice and was not
aware of her shoulders slumping as she spoke. “When I introduced him to her though, she took one
look at him and she… she…” Hypatia had to stop for a moment. Even now the memory still had the power to hurt her.
She knew why Cimmera had done it and had forgiven her, but it still
hurt. After a while Hypatia resumed polishing her armor and her story. “Cimmera lured him away from me. Not that he even tried to resist her. I watched as he followed her without a backward look. While it is true that I didn’t love him, still I felt betrayed. Betrayed by him a little, but mostly by my sister. I couldn’t… I couldn’t believe that she had done that to me. She who could have any man she wanted. Why him? So, like a fool, instead of asking her I allowed my
hurt to drive me. I applied
and was accepted to Drogan’s school for hopeful adventurers.
Hilltop was half a world away from my sister.
A fitting place for me, frozen and cold.
Like the ice that was growing around my heart.” “I find that I can not imagine you with a cold
heart, my lady.” Valen
spoke, his voice carrying his need to ease her obvious pain. Hypatia’s lips twisted in a bitter smile.
“Thank you, but it is true never the less.”
She resumed her tale. “I
learned quickly under Drogan’s tutelage.
He taught me how to most effectively use my healing abilities, when
to go from a defensive posture to an attack and what to look for in the
tactics of my foes. He tried to be a friend, but I wouldn’t let him get
close. Many times he tried to
find out what was troubling me so. He
told me that even an old dwarven adventurer could see that I was not made
to be so cold, so ever aloof. He
devised clever tests to try to draw out my, as he put it, compassionate
nature.” Hypatia closed her eyes briefly as she spoke, her voice filled
with pain. “He was so
disappointed when, after using my inherent compassion to pass the tests, I
would once again retreat within myself.” Shaking her head sadly she continued, “After a time
there was a raid on the village by kobolds.
They were sent by, of all things, a white dragon for some artifacts
that Drogan had in his care. Turns
out he was also a Harper Scout. He was poisoned in the battle and the kobolds made
off with the artifacts. This
was the start of my first adventure.
To retrieve the artifacts, and later one in particular called a
Mythallar. It was a kind of
magical dynamo used by the ancient Netherese for all manner of wondrous
purposes. I chose for my first traveling companion a half-orc
sorcerer named Xanos. He was
as annoying a person as I have ever met, but still funny in a way. He was arrogant and yet whiny.
Don’t ask me how he managed it, but he did. He was a perfect companion for a cleric whose heart was
locked in ice. In the course of our search we discovered a single
kobold cowering in a razed village.”
A small smile found it’s way to Hypatia’s face.
“Deekin, a kobold bard, if you can believe it. He had hidden the artifact that later turned out to be the
Mythallar and demanded that we free him from his master in exchange for
telling us where it was. His
master the white dragon.” Hypatia put her armor down and leaned back against
the smooth wall behind her. “We
did managed to free him from his draconic master.
I even convinced the dragon to forever more watch over the village
of Hilltop and protect it.” She looked slyly out of the corner of her eyes and
was pleased to catch a look of astonishment cross Valen’s face. Her lips turned up in a brief smile before the
sadness again settled over her. “We
took the artifact back to Drogan, who was still not fully recovered from
the poison and he then said that I was no longer his student.
That there was nothing more he could teach me. He asked me if I would take the gem, for we did not know at
the time what it’s true nature was, to a friend of his to have it
identified. His friend was a
scholar who was excavating an ancient Netherese ruin in the Anauroch
desert. So Xanos and I once again set out, this time in the
company of a merchant caravan. We
had been traveling for some time when I became aware that the kobold
Deekin had contrived to join the caravan. He admitted that he was
following me, he told me that he wanted to see the world, have great
adventures, but he didn’t know where to start. So he thought that if he
followed me, he would get to do those things. Since Xanos was constantly complaining about the
whole thing, I released him from accompanying me.
I was surprised when he was sorry to be sent back to Drogan.
I hadn’t realized that he had wanted to continue with me.”
Hypatia shook her head slowly. “It was for the best though,” she stated.
“Little Deekin, irrepressible and insecure, a talented bard and a
shrewd judge of character with an outrageous sense of humor all wrapped up
in one small kobold. We
journeyed across the Anauroch facing dangers of many kinds.
It was he who managed to thaw the ice that had formed around my
heart. For no matter how
aloof I was, he just continued on with his stories and observations. No matter how many times I told him to call me
Hypatia, he insisted on calling me ‘Boss’.
I afforded him the most common of courtesies and he would respond
by saying, ‘yous is so good to little Deekin, Boss.’
He wrote that book,” she gestured toward the book she’d given
Valen earlier. All the while
he talked or sang to me incessantly. Hypatia sighed.
“We found the man who identified the jewel as the Mythallar and
he said that the ruin had been invaded by someone looking for it. So, naturally Deekin and I went to the ruin in search of a
creature named Heroudis. There
was an ancient Netherese portal in the ruin, supposedly to transport
people to other lost Netherese cities.
Heroudis escaped through the portal and it closed behind her. Drogan appeared then, having been summoned by his
friend while we were exploring the ruin.
With his help we figured out how to reactivate the portal, but…
Heroudis had lain a diabolical trap within the glowing portal itself. One that was bringing the whole ruin down upon us.”
Hypatia’s eyes grew very sad and a tear rolled slowly down her
cheek. It was with a shaky voice that she continued.
“Drogan held the portal open while Deekin and I escaped.
He commanded that we stop Heroudis while he sacrificed himself to
save our lives. I never got a
chance to thank him for all he had taught me, for the kindness he showed
me even when I shut him out.” Hypatia stood and began to pace within the confines
of the room, absently picking up her ebony brush and pulling it through
her hair. “We followed
Heroudis through a strange cavern filled with stone statues of remarkable
craftsmanship.” She twisted her lips in disgust, “The lifelike
statues should have been a tip off, but I had never encountered a Medusa
before, so I was utterly unprepared when we did finally manage to catch up
to her. She turned us to
stone and took the Mythallar. She
intended to use it to return the Netherese city Undrentide to the air
where it once flew high above Faerun. We were fortunate that there were some Ashanti
slavers exploring the city too. For
they found Deekin and I, and after slipping slave collars on us, restored
us to our natural state.” “You wore a slave collar!?”
Valen interrupted, his eyes glowing a dangerous red. Hypatia looked at him, a bit surprised by the
vehemence of his reaction, the brush stilling in her hand.
“It wasn’t for long, and to be honest, I think it was less
unpleasant than being petrified. The
Ashanti slaver,” she refused to call him ‘master,’ “had a task for
us to do.” “I can imagine,” Valen growled ominously. Again surprised but remembering her sister’s
reaction Hypatia hastened to clarify, “He never laid a hand on me, if
that is what you are thinking. He
wanted me to eliminate some Netherese guardians.” Valen scowled, but seemed mollified by her
explanation. She noticed that
he had put his tunic on sometime during the telling of her tale. Pity,
she couldn’t help but think. “Anyway,” she went on, putting the brush away,
“It most likely cost him his life.
Had he allowed me to pursue Heroudis right away, I might have been
able to stop her before she activated the Mythallar and got Undrentide to
take flight again. In the end, I had to destroy the Mythallar to stop
her. As Undrentide crashed to
the ground once again Deekin and I escaped, as I told you earlier, to the
Plane of Shadow. After we escaped from that terrible and terrifying
place I went to see my sister. I
had begun to understand what might have prompted her to do as she did.
And I missed her. She knew through the bond that we share that I had been
through quite an ordeal and was delighted to see me when I showed up on
the steps of the Temple of Sune. We cried and hugged and both apologized at once.
It was a very heartfelt reunion.
Before she let me say anything she took me inside the temple.
It seems that the boy I had been interested in, had, through her
guidance become a priest of Sune. Cimmera
told me that she had led him in that direction to keep him from taking
advantage of innocents. At
least as a priest of Sune, those seeking him would know what to expect.” Hypatia blushed deeply and looked at Valen with
wounded eyes. “You see, he
did not want me, he just wanted to be the first to have me.
Cimmera knew, and she did what she felt she had to.
She was trying to protect me.
She commanded me to look at him and see the truth for
myself, even though I told her that I believed her.” Hypatia looked down at the floor. “I should have spoken to her before I left like that.
I was such a fool, and I hurt us both.”
With a shrug she turned and sat back down on her cot.
“Not long after that the call went out from Waterdeep and I
answered it.” Hypatia smiled suddenly.
“Deekin was there, to my surprise.
We traveled together again, fighting our way through Halaster’s
menagerie in the Undermountain. Of
all the cruel things Halaster has done, refusing to send Deekin with me
into the Underdark is the one that I won’t forgive him for. Deekin was so excited to be on another ‘Exciting Adventure
with Boss.’ And he so
looked forward to visiting the Underdark.” “He sounds like a noble and true friend,” Valen
commented. She looked over and smiled warmly at him.
“That he is. I have not had many friends, so the few that I count are
precious to me.” Valen stood, tugging on his tunic. “I’m going to check on Imloth.
You should get some rest, my lady.” Hypatia shook her head.
“If I sleep now I’ll wake too early and be exhausted for the
battle.” Valen chuckled.
“As would I.” With
a nod he left. Standing herself, Hypatia intended to get some
parchment and copy some more scrolls of her new spells for the Seer’s
forces to use during the coming battle.
Suddenly a bright light filled the room accompanied by a ringing
sound that echoed all around her. When the light faded Hypatia found herself facing a
cruel looking drow woman. Reaching
for her katana, she readied herself for what might come. To her surprise, the woman made no move save to rake her hard
eyes over her. “Forsake these pitiful rebels and join me.
We will rule the Underdark together.”
The drow spoke in an uncompromising voice. You must be the Valsharess. Hypatia glared at the woman.
“Give up your empty quest for power and fill your life with
meaning.” She countered. “Fool!” The Valsharess roared at her.
“Power is the only thing that matters.
Only the weak do not strive for it.” “Power is fleeting.”
Hypatia countered firmly. “When
you have been deposed, as you surely will be, who will even remember your
name?” “Give up your sentimental folly. Fight by my side and you will see what power can do.
We will make all Faerun bow before us.” “Your heart is as empty as your soul.
When you stand atop the world, whom will you truly share it with?
Who will be there with you? And
when you finally die, who will mourn your passing?”
Hypatia held the Valsharess’ gaze. With a snarl the Valsharess broke the eye contact. “I will make your death slow, foolish surfacer. You will beg me for mercy and I shall laugh as you feel the pain of a thousand deaths.” Then she vanished in another flash of light and sound. The Valsharess had barely gone when the door slammed
open causing Hypatia to raise her weapons again.
Valen rushed into the room a look of obvious concern on his face. Hypatia sheathed her weapons. “You startled me.” “She was here.”
Valen stated as he wrapped his arms around Hypatia.
“I heard everything. I
hadn’t gone yet when I heard the sound of the spell, but something kept
me from getting the door open.” Still a bit shaken by the visit, Hypatia allowed
herself to snuggle in the warm circle of his arms.
“Probably part of her spell.
She didn’t want to be interrupted.” His warm finger under her chin caused her to look up
into his intense blue eyes. He
smiled softly at her and slowly lowered his head to kiss her. Hypatia’s eyes fluttered closed and she twined her arms
around his neck. The kiss was
soft and a bit hesitant, but oh, how she wanted it.
Wanted to spend a lifetime in his strong embrace. Don’t make me want what I cannot have. When he lifted his lips from hers she opened her eyes
and looked at him curiously, somewhat surprised, a gentle smile curving
her lips. Valen smiled back,
a bit bashfully. Before
either of them could say anything though, the Seer, followed closely by
Imloth came running into the room. Startled they both jumped apart, each looking slightly
guilty and swung around to face the newcomers.
Imloth gave Valen a knowing look, but held his peace.
The Seer spoke. “The
Valsharess was here. I had a
vision of her tempting you to forsake us and join her Hypatia.” Hypatia nodded.
“She was here.” Before she could explain the whole episode though
Valen broke in and told them what he had overheard. The Seer turned again to Hypatia. “She will never forgive you for speaking the truth about
the emptiness of her life.” Hypatia shrugged.
“She already wants to kill me.” The Seer nodded and smiled.
“I knew you would not betray us, Hypatia.” She motioned to Imloth that they should leave, but turned
back to Hypatia just before exiting.
The Seer walked over to her slowly, a penetrating expression on her
face. Finally she leaned to
whisper, “You do not want what you cannot have.
You will see.” Hypatia’s jaw dropped and she blushed to the roots
of her hair. The following morning came and Hypatia found herself
standing in the courtyard before the massive stone gates that separated
Lith My’athar from the wilds of the Underdark.
Having been made the commander of the forces of Lith My’athar
Hypatia positioned them to hold the gates.
She did not want enemy forces to get through. She positioned archers on the two towers, one detachment of swordmasters near the outer gate and the other near the inner gate. The sentient golems, true to their word, sent two giant golems to aid them. One Hypatia sent back to protect the Seer. The other she commanded to guard the courtyard. Even the diva Lavoria looked to her for orders. Hypatia considered for a long moment before also sending Lavoria back to protect the Seer. Then Hypatia waited.
The battle herald that hovered near her gave her updates on the
position of the enemy forces as they swarmed toward the great wall that
separated Lith My’athar from the Underdark. When the enemy drow were seen approaching, Hypatia
began casting. Valen had
chosen to stand beside her and help keep the enemy out of Lith My’athar.
So she cast on him first, the strength of a bull, the grace of a
cat, the cunning of a fox and the wisdom of an owl.
She cast spells that protected him against energy drains, increased
his endurance and accuracy with his weapon.
She then turned to her spells that would benefit all the allied
forces near her, calling upon the blessing of her goddess, saying a prayer
for them, to strengthen and protect them during the battle. Then with little time to spare she dashed for the
battlement on the left side of the gate.
Climbing the stairs she ran out between the archers and looked over
the forces of the Valsharess as they gathered before the gates.
She again began to cast, even as a dark vortex opened up to her
right and claimed the lives of two hapless archers.
She stood firm and called upon the light of the sun to blind and
disorient her foe. As she
spoke the final words amidst a hail of arrows, it was as if the Underdark
was rent asunder as a blinding beam of sunlight fell upon the assembled
hosts. Hypatia staggered back under the volley of arrows,
but managed to begin casting again. This
time she managed to cast two spells she had prepared especially for
quickness of casting, one right after the other.
Columns of divine light slammed into her chosen clusters of
enemies, killing a few and stunning many. Shouts from the courtyard behind her caused her to
pause in her casting and run to the back of the tower.
She gasped in horror as a portal opened up within the courtyard,
just below where she stood and a dread balor appeared. Frantically she darted for the stairs and flew down them,
drawing her katana. She
bolted through the door of the tower only to find that Valen, the golem
and several of the swordsmasters had already engaged the monster. She began healing them, along with another cleric as
they battled the balor and finally brought it down.
A terrible crashing behind her caused her to whirl around.
The gates had been breached. Valen
ran past her, snapping her out of her momentary stasis.
Following him quickly she managed to squeeze her way to just behind
the front of the battle line. Before she began her offensive, she cast her most
powerful healing spell, but had no time to watch as the wounds of all the
allies near her healed fully. Before
that spell had finished with its effects, she was casting another spell.
Again and again her spells raked the enemy while Valen and the drow
held the gate. Once more she
had to cast her mass heal spell, and she lost track of how many times she
had to heal Valen or herself. The battle raged for how long Hypatia couldn’t
tell. She began to understand
how Valen could have lost track of decades fighting in the blood wars. Actions happened at such a frenzied pace that minutes turned
into hours with little notice. Then, finally the press of the enemy at the gate
seemed to become less dense. She
was still casting when the shouts were heard.
They had held the gate. The
enemy was retreating. Hypatia watched numbly as the duergar and drow whom
had been fighting so fanatically only moments before turned and ran.
Some of their own warriors followed, killing any they could catch
up with. Then just as she took a deep and somewhat shaky
breath the battle herald told of dire news.
The Seer was under attack. The
Valsharess had found a way to send her forces across the Dark River.
With Valen on her heels, Hypatia ran as fast as she could, back
through the inner gates and into Lith My’athar, right to the temple
where the Seer was. She watched as a seemingly endless horde of drow
fighters, led by a wizard came around the building between them and the
Dark River. She didn’t know
if they would last through another major battle.
She had already cast so many of her spells.
They were already battle weary and these were fresh troops the
Valsharess had sent. “Imloth!” Hypatia commanded as she caught sight
of him. “Stay near the
Seer. Protect her
especially.” She saw him
nod determinedly and allowed herself a brief smile. It was then that something amazing happened.
For Hypatia was suddenly filled with a sense of great beauty, great
elation and she thought that she could even smell a fresh breeze, like the
kind one encounters after a rain when the air is clean and soft.
From Hypatia a shock wave of these emotions, and even the
freshening breeze, radiated out, filling Lith My’athar revitalizing her
allies and striking fear and uncertainty in the hearts of her foes.
Hypatia threw back her head and a joyful laugh issued from her
lips. So, my dearest
Cimmera, this is what you were up to when the Seer saw you dancing. Turning to the Seer’s forces she called to them.
“It is my sister. She has gathered the clergy of Sune to help us.
Let us not waste their gift.” She ran past the Seer, following Valen as he charged
the foe. “Into the flame we
leap!” His war cry echoed around them.
Hypatia attacked the wizard with her katana, rather than her divine
magic, for something told her to conserve her remaining spells. It was so hard for many of the drow of Lith My’athar were
cut down by the new threat. But
she trusted her instincts and so only healed Valen, Nathyrra and herself. This battle, though more fierce in its intensity was mercifully much briefer than the one at the gates of Lith My’athar. Triumphant they returned to the Seer, believing that they had held out. But the Valsharess had one more nasty surprise for them. Just as they thought they could breathe easily, the
ground began to shake and before their horrified eyes two umber hulks
clawed their way through the rock and emerged to attack the rebel drow.
Behind the umber hulks came a contingent of illithids who wasted no
time using their mental abilities to dominate and kill. Valen stormed them swinging his flail to great
affect. The illithid were
physically weak and fell easily if one could get close enough to strike. They were diabolically intelligent though and used the
natural armor of the umber hulks to provide them with a living shield. This, Hypatia understood, was why she had conserved
her spells. She cast as
quickly as possible setting her target for behind the umber hulks, the
column of divine light that slammed into the illithids was devastating.
She hadn’t bothered with the umber hulks, Valen and the other
warriors could handle them, if the illithids could be stopped. Her spell stunned them.
Again she cast, and yet one more time.
Stripped of their defenses first the umber hulks, then the
illithids were cut down by the rebel forces. They had prevailed.
More, they had utterly defeated and demoralized the Valsharess’
mighty army. The Seer did not
wish to waste such an opportunity and commanded that they pursue the
retreating forces. Finally, after days of following the Valsharess’
retreating forces, battling them whenever they caught up to them, Hypatia
found herself standing among the fallen bodies of drow before a tall,
elaborately carved tower. This
was where the Valsharess was. This
was where it had all started, and would be finished. Hypatia turned to the Seer, but before she could
speak she was seized by some magical force and transported to a circular
room. A terrible place, as
Hypatia looked around curiously. The
Valsharess herself stood before a raised dais.
In a ring around the room stood at even intervals, drow warriors
she would bet, given Nathyrra’s description, were the remaining Red
Sisters. That highly skilled
and ruthless group of assassins the Valsharess kept at her side. Behind the dais, chained to the wall, was the arch
devil. Hypatia found herself
taking an involuntary step away from him.
Then the Valsharess began to taunt her.
She offered the Valsharess the opportunity to surrender, which the
drow woman found quite amusing. Hypatia
was calm though, her instincts were telling her to bide her time, so she
did. She was too surprised to
be frightened. If she had
thought about what was happening, where she suddenly found herself, she
was fairly certain she would faint dead away. Then the most surprising thing of all happened, the
Valsharess commanded the archdevil to kill her, slowly.
But the archdevil refused, instead he killed the Red Sisters.
When the Valsharess, in her rage, ran up the steps of the dais, the
archdevil released Hypatia from the spell that bound her. Without hesitation the Valsharess turned to Hypatia
and began casting. Though she
wanted to begin her own casting, something caused Hypatia to wait.
Again and again the Valsharess cast and Hypatia began to
understand. She waited for a
moment longer, than cast her most powerful dispelling. The Valsharess screamed in rage and frustration as
her careful defensive spells fell away before the cool flow of Hypatia’s
dispelling. Not waiting for her to regain her composure, Hypatia
attacked the Valsharess with her twin katana.
She silently thanked Valen for all of his patience with her
training, for she hailed a volley of blows down on the Valsharess that the
drow was unable to answer. The drow matriarch was not to be vanquished so easily
though, and returned Hypatia’s attack with one of her own, using a
vicious whip. Though she
missed on her first strike, she managed to force Hypatia to dance out of
the way of the flicking weapon. Then with a wicked grin the Valsharess managed to
entangle Hypatia’s legs with the whip and yanked them out from under
her. Hypatia landed hard, one
of her katana sliding out of her grasp.
Again and again the cruel whip flicked out, causing Hypatia to
scream from the agony of its enchantment. She still had her beloved Kaga-To katana though and
managed to roll to her feet with it, striking the Valsharess’ weapon arm
hard. The blade cut deep and
the arm fell limp to the drow’s side.
Leaping forward Hypatia swung the Kaga-To again and the Valsharess
fell. Staggering back, Hypatia grabbed her other katana,
just as the spell holding the archdevil dissolved.
She had expected him to vanish back to where he had come from.
Her horror was complete when, rather than disappearing, he leapt
down from the wall to tower before her. It was then that she learned the true nature of the
relic of the reaper. The
curious artifact she had picked up in the Plane of Shadow that had
attached itself to her. It
was actually a bit of this very archdevils flesh and bound her to him.
He thanked her quite politely for freeing him from the bondage of
the Valsharess. Then thanked her again for setting him free from the
hells. He explained that he
was now free to send her there to take his place, thus leaving him free to
do as he wished here on her world. Relieving her of the cursed relic he cast a mighty spell that sent her hurtling to the floor. |