Prequel 3 - Greythorne Sent Me
| The Assassins |
Atilen - Rogue 3rd level LE (PC) |
| Locale | A Mining Camp - Several Miles outside of Dreki - Principality of Ulek |
| Date | 27th Goodmonth 566 CY |
| Time | Just before midnight. |
Atilen crossed the open area of the mining camp and entered the cave while Luna was covered by cloud. He had been waiting, cramped and alone, for the past few hours and felt that now was the time to make his move and enter the darkened mine.
He spent a few days in Dreki recovering from the wounds he received at the hands of the orcs, then located Tara as she met up with her lover Mykal and followed the pair of them for several miles to this small - yet functioning - mine site. Because of the terrain the mine would have been almost impossible to Atilen to find without following the intriguing young woman and her companion. Located in a cul-de-sac, the camp had a sturdy stone wall constructed across the entrance, a wise precaution considering that the miners would have been all alone out here, miles from any possible help and well inside orc territory.
The pair, with Atilen not too far behind, had left Dreki soon after sunrise and arrived at the camp a few hours later. Knowing that he would have no chance getting past the wall without being seen Atilen spent the remainder of the day finding an alternative route into the enclosure. It wasn't easy but he eventually made his way down one of the steep walls, mostly in the dark and waited hidden amongst a pile of scree at the base of the cliff until he was sure that it was safe to move about the complex.
The open area contained a number of wooden buildings with a well in amongst them, a long- room where the miners ate, an equipment store and stables, and a dormitory where the miners slept. There were also some stone buildings, one was obviously a smithy as Atilen could see the smoke from the forge and hear the clink of hammer and anvil, but it was the other stone building that was most interesting as it appeared to be some form of personal residence. It was built hard up against a cliff wall and it seemed as though at least some of the rooms were cut into the stone of the cliff face. That building was very definitely something that Atilen wanted to investigate but he did not want to get ahead of himself.
Over the course of the day he had seen Tara enter the mine at least twice once on her own and once in the company of another - a short athletic man who carried himself with an air of authority. Tara certainly didn't strike Atilen as much of a miner so he figured that there was something of interest to her underground and now, with all the miners either asleep in their beds or drinking in the long-room, was a good opportunity to have a look around down there.
Inside the cave was lit by a single low burning lantern, Atilen knew it was going to be impossible to see underground without light but he reasoned that since he had seen quite a number of human miners the tunnels must be well lit. A blessing and curse, since he also needed to remain hidden. The cave was small, with a shaft cut down into the ground above which stood a sturdy looking winch operated elevator. Atilen certainly could not afford to make use of the winch but the numerous ropes and cables made it simple for him to climb down the shaft.
Atilen waited in the shaft for a moment listening intently, he heard nothing then dropped lightly to the ground. Thankfully the mines were lit, just as he had hoped and because they were off-shift the lanterns were set to burn with only a minimal glow giving the rogue plenty of shadows to use for concealment.
A mine rail-cart containing a small pile of stones was standing nearby and the rails followed the path of the mine tunnel in both directions. With no particular goal in mind Atilen picked a direction and followed the twin iron tracks into the distance. Thick wooden beams were positioned at regular intervals along the tunnel and the lanterns each had a good supply of oil, this particular tunnel was clearly well used. He travelled along slowly, moving from shadow to shadow, stopping occasionally to listen in an attempt to discover if he had been noticed.
In less than one-hundred paces there was a side tunnel in the mine. The tracks did not lead into the side tunnel but it was lit which suggested to Atilen that perhaps this was a passage used by miners to link between larger tunnels. Atilen elected to continue to follow the tracks and soon noticed another side tunnel a little further along. Again he decided to follow the tracks and soon came to the end of the tunnel, to the place where the miners would be working had they been on shift.
| Atilen | (muttering under his breath) I could be wondering around in here for hours and find nothing. Think, damn you, think. |
And then a thought popped into his head.
He had seen Tara enter the mine via the elevator twice during the course of the day but he had not seen her leave the mine, and he had not seen her enter the stone house either despite the fact that she exited that building the second time she entered the mine. There must be a way to get from the mine to the house.
With a deep breath Atilen tried to get his bearings; he could not figure out if he was going north, south, east or west but he did know that he was headed further away from the house. He needed to retrace his steps and follow this mine-tunnel the other way. He had picked the wrong direction to go. Typical, thought Atilen, looks like the god of luck owed him another one.
Very soon he was back where he started and proceeded down the path he should have taken in the first place. As before the tunnel was well maintained and there were regular side passages coming off it, but so far these side passages were heading in the wrong direction. It was slow going but Atilen didn't get survive this long without being careful and despite the fact that he had heard nothing to indicate that there was anyone down here but him he was not about to take that chance.
He arrived at an intersection, the rail lines split in a Y and continued along both passages. The left hand tunnel seemed to go descend slightly while the right hand path remained on its current course. Atilen shrugged and decided to follow the level path.
| Atilen | I'm calling in that debt now, Norebo. |
Before long he was rewarded with a side passage that Atilen hoped would take him closer to the house. It was impossible for him to be sure but for some reason Atilen could not explain it just felt like it was going the right way.
Like the others this passage was lit with low burning lanterns but because of the size of the passage it would have been impossible for Atilen to avoid being found should someone else decide to use this tunnel. After a few twists and turns the side passage opened up into another rail lined tunnel, but this one - unlike the one Atilen was just in - sounded like it was occupied.
Atilen peered around the corner and looked in the direction of the sound.
In the tunnel about one-hundred feet away, were half a dozen men and dwarfs loading bags of ore onto a wagon, working in an area brightly lit with lanterns. Atilen watched, unsure what to do next. He knew that the workmen would not be able to see him but he could not afford to stay hidden in this small passage, he needed to find somewhere more suitable to hide. Looking around he spied a darkened alcove on the other side of the main tunnel, it was deep in shadow and would allow him to continue to observe the workmen with little chance of being found himself. There was another rail-cart nearby and he used that as a source of cover as he carefully picked his way across the wide tunnel to the alcove he had seen.
| Atilen | So far so good, but now what? |
Atilen watched the workmen continue to load the cart for a while longer, by the looks of things they still had quite a number of the heavy looking sacks to load. He could be here a while.
As he looked on, planning his next move, there was a brief flash of light as a door opened between his hiding place and the workers, and a man stepped into the tunnel. Atilen couldn't be sure but judging from what details he was able to make out from his hiding place it looked like that man might be Mykal, the burly warrior that Tara had met in Gryrax and who had accompanied the woman from Dreki.
The man approached the workers and spoke quietly with one of them. It was impossible for Atilen to know what the exchange was about but as soon as they had finished speaking Mykal left the tunnel through the same door.
Atilen smiled, at least now he had somewhere to go next.
| The Assassins |
Tallow - Rogue 1st level LE (PC) |
| Locale | Unknown |
| Date | 27th Goodmonth 566 CY |
| Time | Just after midnight. |
Tallow had spent the past several weeks productively.
He knew that his captors were trying to earn his trust through kindness and misinformation and Tallow was appreciative of the former while being wary of the latter. The kindness was welcome relief from the days of torture that had preceded it, but the misinformation was becoming challenging and Tallow had to concentrate lest he start believing the lies he was constantly exposed to.
The young thief had almost regained his strength but as yet he lacked the stamina for any sustained physical activity, to date he had managed to hide the full extent of his recovery from his captors but it was becoming increasingly difficult for him to maintain the pretext of weakness, especially now that Tara had returned.
While Tara was away Tallow had been mostly left to his own devices, with only the occasional visit from Carabin - the man Tallow had come to think of as being responsible for his current situation. In truth Tallow did look forward to his time with Carabin, after all any social contact was better than none at all and Tallow saw it as an opportunity to try and piece together the bigger picture that made this elaborate charade worth the effort.
One thing he had learned was that Greythorne was indeed dead. Carabin had shown Tallow the horribly disfigured body of his mentor, there was no telling the agony that Greythorne must have suffered before finally being allowed to die. Of course Carabin had explained that he had not arrived soon enough to save them both. Greythorne, he explained, was beyond saving, and it was his dying wish that Carabin take Tallow under his wing, to protect him from the Family. In truth it was becoming more and more difficult for Tallow to hold fast to the feeling that Carabin was anything but what he claimed to be and Tallow knew it was just a matter of time before fact became horribly confused with fiction.
However Tallow had made the mistake of angering Carabin during their most recent discussion and Tallow was now serving out his punishment for that indiscretion. Confined to his room, like a petulant child, until further notice. Tara had visited only briefly and had promised to talk to Carabin to try and lift the punishment.
Tallow had no idea where in the Flanaess he was right now but he did know that he was being held in some kind of mining town. The brief glimpses of the outside world he had in the past few weeks confirmed this suspicion but as yet that knowledge had not proven to be useful. What was useful however was the few bits of metal he had managed to get hold of, and now that Tara had returned Tallow realised that she would once more be his almost constant companion.
He had to escape.
Tallow examined the lock on the door for what must have been the hundredth time since he first awoke in this room. He placed his ear to the door and listened for a long period, straining to pick out even the slightest sound.
He heard nothing.
Taking the small bits of metal Tallow set to work on the lock. After a few minutes he could begin to feel his hands begin to shake, it was clear to the young thief that he was still a long way from recovered. Taking a few deep breaths he clenched and unclenched his fists and resumed his work. It was hard going but he was rewarded with the faint click of the lock being released.
He savoured his small victory but Tallow did not hold out much hope for the remainder of his escape if he was this weakened by what should have been a routine lock-picking exercise. The young thief hoped that once he was out of the room and moving the thrill of the chase would lend strength to his weakened body.
Tallow extinguished his lantern and opened the door a crack. He peered outside and saw no- one. He then opened the door further and looked about, the corridor was deserted. Now came the dilemma, Tallow had only ever left his room to visit Carabin in the study which was one flight of stairs above him. He most certainly didn't have a thorough knowledge of the layout of the building he was in but he did know that both his room and the study had windows that opened to the same view, so they were on the same side of the house. And he also knew that that his room was at least one level above the ground. Therefore he reasoned that escape lay in a downward direction.
His decision made, Tallow closed the door behind him and headed towards the stairs. He knew that if anyone checked the door they would find it unlocked and his escape would be noticed but he could not afford the time - or energy - it would take him to re-lock it and decided to take his chances.
Once at the stairs, he listened once more, then satisfied he was alone he proceeded to descend the stone spiral stairs, one careful step at a time.
Just as he was about to step onto the ground floor he heard the sound of people approaching, two men Tallow had never seen before were engaged in conversation as they neared him. There was nowhere for Tallow to go besides up or to keep going down. He chose to keep going down and his heart skipped a beat as the people reached the stairs. Tallow held his breath, sure that his brief attempt at escape had been foiled when one the two started to ascend and the other retraced his steps.
His heart in his mouth the young thief counted his blessings and decided to keep going down. He knew that there was at least one person awake on the ground floor so he thought he would see what opportunities he might find belowground.
The staircase ended in a dimly lit storeroom. As far as Tallow was able to make out the room was deserted. He paused briefly listening intently before stepping into the room. There was a door at the far end and Tallow headed silently towards it.
He reached the door and paused once more, placing his ear against the wood to listen for any possible sound in the next room. Just as he began listening the door opened, causing Tallow to lose his balance.
The man who opened the door was somewhat surprised by Tallow's overbalanced form and half caught half stumbled as the tall young man fell into him. It did not however take the man long to regain his poise, and he stood over Tallow with a rapier drawn and pointed at the young thief's chest.
Tallow's brief freedom had come to a rather ignominious end, he resigned himself to his fate and was somewhat confused when his captor did not call out. For his part the swordsman seemed a little unsure about what had just happened. Tallow took a few long breaths and decided to take a gamble.
| Tallow | (weakly) Help me. I have been held here against my will and I am trying to escape. |
| Man | (quietly) What did you say? |
| Tallow | I am trying to flee this place. Will you help me? |
| Man | What's your name? |
| Tallow | Tallow. |
| Man | (pauses) And are you being held here alone? |
| Tallow | (nods) Yes. My companion has been killed. |
| Man | What was his name? |
| Tallow | (eyes narrow suspiciously) What difference does the name of my dead companion make? |
| Man | Either tell me his name and I consider helping you or don't tell me and I kill you here and now. |
| Tallow | What is your name? |
| Man | I don't see how that's relevant, now do you want my help or not? |
| Tallow | Very well. Greythorne was his name. |
| Man | (eyes widen then he shakes his head) I cannot believe my luck; Norebo will definitely demand an accounting for this. (sheathes his sword and extends his hand) I'm Atilen, Greythorne sent me. |
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