A Drow's Tale- Shandriz's story-- Part III.5 ^__^

[Shandriz]

Here we go again

Part I- Menzoberranzen

"I can't believe House Do'Urden fell so -easily-!" The cold, calculated laugh that accompanied these words was as insincere as the words themselves. Everyone had known House Do'Urden would fall the moment Drizzt Do'Urden, the prize warrior of the House, had disappeared. Even moreso when he had returned and nearly destroyed the house itself.

So the fact that the house had destroyed itself through war was no real surprise to anyone. Although they of course acted like it was. At least a few of the Houses had gained extra warriors from it.

Not that this mattered to the one speaking. She had long since stopped caring about the actions of her own house. They were all corrupted, evil people, and somehow, despite her worship for Lolth, her training, something about that bothered her. This Drizzt Do'Urden..why had he left? -how-? Perhaps there was more for her than life as the second eldest daughter of House Vo'Dur, a High Priestess, eventually.

She didn't particularly want to be a High Priestess. In fact, she would rather further her training alongside her brother, who had secretly taken to teaching her when he found that she wouldn't kill him for 'disrespect'. She didn't see any need to. He was being useful, teaching her how to fight, and after what had happened to House Do'Urden..well, she figured it was better to be safe than sorry.

Besides, her sometimes traitorous thoughts towards Lolth could have her end up in quite a bit of trouble, and it was best to be able to handle that trouble if it came. Erraj, her brother, was her youngest brother. And lucky that he was the third boy, rather than the fourth, at that. Only a year before her oldest brother had been killed in a minor squabble between himself and another house, and then Erraj's birth..well, if he'd been born the fourth he would no longer live.

No matter that he was still older than her, it was often herself that protected him. Mostly from the wrath of her older sister, who hated males more than she hated dirt and imperfection, which was saying something.

She was on her way to see him now. One of their secret training sessions. Perhaps today...but her thoughts were interrupted by a commotion down the hallway. House Vo'dur wasn't the most active of Houses, and so any sort of commotion had to be over something big. Chills ran down the girl's spine. Something bad had happened, she just knew it.

Lifting up the skirts of her gown. All the fashion, but so very inconvenient when it came to fast movements. And the spider-like webbing on the shoulders was starting to make her dark skin itch. Gems attached to the webbing, falling on her shoulders, bounced against her, leaving what she knew would end up small bruises as she dashed through to the main hallway.

And immediately pushed her way through the crowd that had gathered there. All members of House Vo'dur thankfully. It meant that there would be no war tonight. But something was amiss. She could hear the hissing of snakes...which meant that her sister must be punishing someone. Desperately, she shoved more of the insipid males out of her way. They were supposed to be on duty anyways. What were they doing loitering around?

"Get out of my way!" she commanded, and immediately, they all leaped, in shock and horror, out of her path. They knew the pain that would likely be forthcoming for blocking the second Daughter of House Vo'Dur's path.

The verbal scolding she was about to give them, however, caught in her throat when her violet eyes fell on the scene before her.
"Erraj!" she shrieked, running towards her brother. But it was too late. The snakes of her sister's whip had already caught him. He wasn't moving, and she could see his eyes clouding over. Damn her for using them all! Why couldn't she stun on occasion, rather than kill?

"Back away, Shandriz," Kizara's voice was cold as ice, making the cold chills the girl had gotten earlier seem like nothing. She turned around, facing her sister with ill-controlled rage,
"How -dare- you?" she cried, taking a step forward, despite the hissed warnings of her sister's whip.

"What are you talking about, sister?" So cold. They'd hated each other since she was just a child. And Kizara had always known of Shandriz' special love for her brother. She'd often singled him out for just that reason. Never, though, would she have suspected the older girl to do something this cruel.

"How dare you kill him!" She cried out indignantly, "What did he do deserving of this? Erraj is no regular male, he is our brother! You can't just kill him at whim!" She was grasping at straws. Of course her sister could have killed him at whim, but what would be the point of that? She would have done that years ago if that had been her plan.

The woman's mouth curved into a cruel smile,
"He was not our brother, Shandriz," she said, making sure each word hit home,
"I was informed that he was actually adopted by our weak mother when a major house fell before you were born. Do you know what this means?"

She knew what it meant. He was not the blood of House Vo'Dur. And their mother was with child. Which meant that she now suspected it to be male. They'd killed her Erraj. What right did they have? He was hers! Hers! Setting his head on her lap, she brushed the white locks out of his eyes, behind his ears. Hers. Even if he wasn't her brother. She'd loved him.

And they'd taken him away. After a time of silence the crowd grew bored and left. She sat there. Kizara watched her, delight in every inch of her body. She loved seeing her sister in such despair. It only proved how weak the girl was. Perhaps they would dispose of her next.

Getting to her feet, Shandriz carefully placed Erraj's arms over his chest, closing his eyes with her fingers. And then, she ran. She only spared a moment's thought to stop by the armory on the way out, grabbing the first weapon within reach-- as luck would have it, a dirk, and then she bolted towards the caves of the Underdark.





Part II- The Underdark
A hearbeat later, and she was out. Away from all of the deceit of the Drow city. Into the darkness, but out of it as well. Following the footsteps of a long-gone Drow-- the only one she'd ever known of to successfully leave the city of evil. She praised Lolth..no, not Lolth, because she would never pay homage to the conniving bitch again, she praised Drizzt, the Drow who'd given her her dreams, for his achievements.

If it hadn't been for him, she would have been stuck in the dark cesspool that was the city of Menzoberranzen forever. She never would have thought of leaving if it hadn't been proven that it could be done. Too dangerous, and despite her morals being what they were, her sense of self-preservation was thoroughly intact.

But now was the real test. Getting out of Menzoberranzen was nothing compared to surviving in the Underdark. There was nowhere to turn to, noone to help her out here. She'd get lost in no time, which was probably a good thing-- if she got lost the Drow who would certainly be hunting her would have a less likely chance of finding her.

But where would she go? How would she get by? A million questions buzzed around in her mind before she managed to push them away. Forward, that's where she'd go. Into her future. To meet whatever was to be her fate. It was enough that she wouldn't die a minion of that self-serving goddess of the Nine Hells.

Of course, now she was completely unprotected as well. As a cleric, her abilities were based on the magics granted to her by a god or goddess. In all of her training, this had been Lolth. Now, who would she pray to for spells? She still had a few that had been granted her by Lolth before she left, but once she used those..she'd be a sitting duck for the dangerous creatures that made the Underdark their home.

The first of these creatures to approach her was a small one, fortunately for her. The infinitely small amount of training with weaponry that she had received as a female member of high rank in House Vo'Dur came back to her, but served her rather poorly. The small dirk she'd kept in her belt in case a male decided to get too close against her wishes came to her hands more quickly than she would have thought possible. Her fingers ran over the smooth length of it as she contemplated what precisely she should do.

The creature hadn't attacked her yet, whatever it was, but that was no guarantee that it wouldn't. Everything in the Underdark was dangerous, especially as far deep into the caverns as she had run in her escape attempt. There was no telling what this thing could do if she allowed it to get any closer. But it was moving so slowly...perhaps it would just pass her by. Not daring to breathe, she stood as still as possible, her fist clenched tightly around the hilt of her weapon.

The thing was right by her leg, and it stopped. Shandriz watched it closely, her infrared vision telling her little to nothing about it. It was small and...no, she recognized that form. A spider of Lolth. The shell would probably be very difficult to crack, she surmised, if it had survived this long. Perhaps, then, its underbelly would be soft. She could only hope that would be the case. Suddenly, before she had time to think, it had latched onto her leg, and sharp pains rushed through her veins.

She fell to the ground, stunned, for a moment, and then instinct took over. Quickly dashing at the thing with her dirk, she soon realized that doing so served absolutely no purpose, and tossed the weapon aside, instead prying at the creature with her fingers, attempting to pull it up off of her leg. Slowly, painfully, the thing's fangs pulled out of her, and she threw it away, grabbing up her weapon again and waiting for it's next attack.

And the spider's poison was starting to work its way through her system. No longer immune to it, like all Priestesses of Lolth are, she knew that if she didn't find the anti-venom soon it would be over. The irony of that was enough to make her laugh, despite the pain she was in and the danger presented by the spider, who seemed to be waiting for her to be off-guard. Irony. She'd be killed by the very things she'd controlled no more than a day before. The Spider Queen would never let her live it down, it seemed. Well that was just too bad for her. She wasn't going to go down without a fight.

Ignoring the pain in her leg, and the blurring vision, the sluggishness of her motions, she lunged for the spider, knocking it over before it had a chance to respond. It hadn't expected her to come after it. Now was her chance. Her vision was blurred even more now, she couldn't see the thing at all. Instinct was taking over. She had to destroy this thing, and she had to do it now so she could take the anti-venom and live..She drove the dirk into the spider's underbelly, chopping and hacking at it until the thing moved no more, and then continuing, tears pouring down her eyes as she sliced at it with one hand and pulled the vial of anti-venom out of her pouch with the other.

The thing was in pieces, and the liquid had disappeared into her system by the time she finally came back to her senses. Blood and gore lay strewn about, almost as though some sort of scavenger had come and eaten the spider. She'd done that. The thought was abstract, intangible for now, but there. The effects of the poison still had enough hold on her mind to make it seem cloudy and distant. Not her thought, someone else's. Maybe it was. Who was she anyways? Darkness enveloped her.



Part III- Matthias
When the darkness lifted, she knew that she'd have to get moving again. Staying in one place in the Underdark was a death sentence, especially with that place being still so very close to Menzoberranzen. The moment she had her strength back she continued moving.

Something was going to have to be done about keeping herself alive. She hadn't planned her flight to the Underdark at all, and she was starting to understand how severe the consequences of this particular action were. She had no food, no water, and only the dirk in her hand for protection. She'd just used the last of her anti-venom, and if any more spiders were to come, she'd have to kill it fast or die by its fangs.

She spent days wandering aimlessly in the catacombs of the Underdark. It was so quiet there, like a tomb. Time started blending, as she had no way of knowing what hour it was. The only thing that told her how much time had passed was how weak she was becoming. She found water, used a basic spell to purify it, and drank. But she couldn't stay there long and she knew it. A stream would attract all manner of creatures, and she had not the ability to take them on.

More time passed and she walked deeper into the Underdark, now hopelessly lost. A sort of darkness surrounded her mind as well as her body. She could no longer think clearly. The quiet was getting to her. She encountered several creatures, but she never recalled precisely how she'd managed to escape them. Although most of the time she could see that it had been close. Oftentimes she would awaken without knowing she'd fallen asleep, having wounds she didn't remember getting, and a creature she'd never seen before lying dead near her.

She dared not try their meat. How could she be sure if they were poisonous or not? And she had precious few spells left to her. She would not waste them. Weakened, at last, she awoke unable to stand. There had been too much time since the last creature she'd recognized. She hadn't been able to eat in what was probably days, if not a week or two. She would have to give up.

It had been stupid of her to flee the Underdark. True, she hated Kizara for what she'd done. She hated all of the deception, the getting at each other, that had caused Erraj's death. But at least their her life didn't depend on her non-existent survival skills. It depended on her brains, on keeping on her toes..which she was good at. Well, good enough at.

"Who's there?" a voice asked. It was human, she knew. Not a Dark elf. A Drow would kill first and ask questions later, especially somewhere as dangerous as the Underdark. No, it had to be a human. And the voice too. No Drow had an accent like that.

"Nnn.." she tried to speak to him, to tell him where she was and ask for his help. Humans were weak like that-- they'd help anyone who asked, but her voice wouldn't work. She heard his footsteps clearly-- another thing that made her certain this was a human. Drow would levitate, be unheard, unseen.

"What's this?" he was peering over at her now,
"A Drow?"

She nodded, but she couldn't handle it anymore. Her eyes closed, and she lapsed into quiet once more. She could feel the man staring at her, measuring her. Probably deciding whether he should kill her now while she was weak and offering no threat.

Suddenly, though, she felt arms slide underneath her body. Her eyes flickered open, and she could see the face of the man who had come to her rescue. He was dark of hair, with short curls that fell over into his dull gray eyes. His face was all angles and scars, with lines on it that spoke of days of misfortune. She could have told that much without looking at him, though. Only misfortune would lead a human to the Underdark.

"Don't worry," he said, and she was startled to realize that he was speaking Drow, if poorly, "I will not hurt you. Rest."

Without a second thought, she was unconscious. It wasn't that she did trust him so much as that she had no other choice. She could not keep her eyes open even so much as she wanted to.


Part III.5- The Gifts
"You're quite lucky," the voice seemed to pull her out of a deepest slumber. She had been asleep for quite some time-- she could tell by how stiff her muscles were from lying down, and how her head felt as though it were stuffed with cotton.

Of course, the poison's touch could be a part of that as well.

She looked up at the speaker, her eyes slowly adjusting to the rather dim lighting of the small enclave in the caverns which she was lying in. He was tall, with broad shoulders and a blocky face. Quite unattractive to her, but then she was used to the graceful beauty of the elves. For his people, he was likely not terribly ugly, or wouldn't have been if he were not so covered in scars.

His eyes were the strangest colour she had ever experienced, paler than the violet of her own and having less red pigmentation. Blue, then, she supposed, though she had never seen a shade of it that light before. And his hair was a dusky blonde, much darker than the silvery-white of her people. A few times in her life she had seen humans before, mostly during trade between her house and these despicable creatures, but never had she seen one with colouring as strange.

"Lucky for what?" her voice was gravely, as her throat was sore from disuse. Air seemed to scratch against it as she breathed out. The man laughed,
"That I was the one to find you, and not some other human. Any other would have killed you."

The Drow's eyesbrows raised, and she narrowed her eyes in suspicion. Her people were no strangers to death, but she never expected such deviousness from a human. Kill a Drow while she yet lie unconscious? Why then, did this one not? She asked as much, and that only made him laugh the harder,
"I've been saved once by a Drow-- one Drizzt Do'Urden. I felt that you had the same manner about you as he, and took my chances. As you can tell, though, I am no fool. You've been doused heavily with a sleeping draught until I get the measure of you."

Ah. That did explain why she had felt so much resistance as she tried to get her weary limbs to work. They screamed out in protest, and she ceased the attempt. Fine, lie there she would. At least she was out of the Underdark and apparently safe...thanks to this Drizzt, again.

"My name is Shandriz. What do you mean, get my measure?" she demanded, the haughty tone she had long abandoned in her strange barbarous life in the Underdark returning to her voice. How -dare- he question her, the second daughter of...well, nothing now. In leaving Menzoberranzen, she had given up all claim to title.

"Ah, there, you see what I mean now, don't you?" he seemed to have noticed the defeat in her eyes when her thoughts chanced upon that,
"I must know why you have left your home, and what you intend to do."

The Drow sighed, still trying to push back the exhaustion gnawing at her bones. Whatever potions he had used were certainly effective. Still, slowly but surely she managed to tell him of her flight from the city, and then of her struggle in the Underdark.

He listened, wordless, as she recanted this, and then she came to an abrupt halt. What -was- she going to do? She had nowhere to go. Her only thought had been to get away, but now that she was free, what path could she take?

"You may stay here," he said, as though reading her mind. And stay she did. Over months he trained her how to fight, just as Erraj had. In fact, she began to feel a similar possessiveness of her teacher. True, he was the only companionship she had, and she was grateful to once more have someone to talk to, but as the days went on and her training improved, he left for longer periods of time. She was able to defend herself should anything come up, and he knew it.

He returned one night with a gift for her, and she knew then that she could not keep on like this.
"They are beautiful," she said, her fingers tracing along the hilts of the scimitars, her eyes measuring, calculating. They were of fine make, and would serve her well, she knew. But getting her her own weapons only meant that he would be gone even more often, and she would be stuck with this silence again.

"What is it? What's the matter?" he asked, brows furrowed at the look in her dark eyes.

"I tire of this endlessness. The quiet, the purposelessness. I want..I want to do something," she finished lamely. She had no idea what she could do. Matthias, as she had learned his name to be, had informed her that the surface world would be akin to suicide for her. Humans would rather kill a Drow than take them into their homes, and even Drizzt ran into discrimination wherever he went, despite his feats.

The man sighed, saying nothing, and stoked the fire at which she had begun to fix dinner for the both of them. She knew better than to continue her request, though. If there were a way out of this, he would tell her. He had promised to take care of her long ago.

The next day, however, he surprised her,
"Come with me," he said as he returned to the cave late that evening, and she followed. He led her along windy caverns, until at last they came to a rather large cave.

"Beyond this is the surface world," he pointed before them, then shook his head,
"I could not stay in the Underdark much longer anyhow. It is good you are finally ready to leave it. But before you go, remember my caution-- never trust anyone. Drow are not looked upon well on the surface, and they will all wish for your death."

Shandriz nodded thoughtfully at this, her hands reaching for the hilts of the scimitars sheathed at her side.

"You may wish to stay in this cave for some time," he warned her, motioning to the supplies she only now noticed lying at one side of it, supplies for her to live by.
"Until your eyes adjust to the light. The region we are in is cold as well, and I've left some better clothing than that which you wore in the Underdark for such a climate. It's isolated-- there is no one about for miles. Once you leave here, you can find a place to set up without encountering anyone before you have to."

She nodded again, tears forming in her eyes. It was as though she were losing Erraj all over again. She knew somewhere deep inside that she would never see Matthias again,
"Thank you...for all that you have done for me," she said, though the words barely rasped out.

He held up a hand,
"I have two more gifts for you as well..." he whistled, and Shandriz could hear the clattering of metal against stone. Suddenly, from the blinding light of the cave's entrance, she spotted a dark figure moving towards her.

As it got closer, she realized what it must be. A horse! She had heard about such things, but never had she seen one-- the Drow preferred their lizard-mounts. He was a beautiful creature, deep brown with a strange marking on his forehead like the runes a wizard used.

"But..why?" she asked, confused. What use could she have for such a creature, here in a cave?

"You may find need of him when you wish to leave," the man waved the question away, and then opened his cloak to reveal a tiny white ball of fur and feathers,
"This, too. I bought it off a trader this morning-- it's called a tressym. It will serve to keep you company"

The creature was adorable. A feline, with bright, fluffy wings and big blue eyes. So young, too. She took the tressym from him, and held it close to her,
"I promise, I will take good care of her..."

With that, she threw her arms around him, burying her face deep against his neck,
"I will never see..."

He shook his head, pulling her away from him with a smile,
"Never say never," he said, and disappeared, just like that.

[Enon]

this reminds me of a scene from a book called the green rider. i like it.

[Shandriz]

Oooh really? D that's actually one of my favourite books...

[Enon]

yepps i think that also came to mind when i saw your PO's colors

[Shandriz]

...never realized that. But I did come up with Shandriz' costume before I read the book, so eh! ^__^ Seriously, though, the fact that my style reminds you of hers is so awesomely flattering.

[GAAZ]

Hey if you make the story long enough maybe You can send it to RA Salvatore himself...He is doing that whole 9 books of short story things now.

Granted Drizzt's trip through the underdark lasted an entire book maybe Shandriz can make it out sooner. Duh duh duuuuuhhhhhh.

[Enon]

Hey the Green Riders would look awsome in an out like that.
You know i've never read any of Salvatore's books except for the one with the chickie named Pony in it well the last two which i cant remember the name of.

[GAAZ]

Those books like REALLY sucked compared to his others. Yer talking about...crap forgot the title...But it's 5 books and it follows a ranger Nightwing or Nighthawk or whatever, Pony a bar-maid turned magic user, and a dead priest (After the first book anyway) Seriously I read the first book and said..."Ok he's just pulling a Terry Goodkind and just going REAL slow in the book...The next has gotta be dynomite!" I then read the second and only made it half through before I went and bought another book. (Actually it was Terry Goodkinds latest book that I bought)

Salvatore is probably the BEST Forgotten Realms authore...COnsidering of course he IS the forgotten realms author and anoyone who writes a forgotten realms book must be approved by him.

[starlitdancer]

I really like the descriptions, Shandriz--especially the one about the spider's poison affecting your main character.

[Shandriz]

^_^ That'd be really cool, Az. And yeah, Shandriz will make it out at the end of the third part and beginning of the fourth part. ^_^