This story is dedicated to Atos - Thank thee, Sister, for believing in me.
:::Saphyre sat crouched inside a splintery wooden crate. It seemed like hours had gone by since she had heard anything from Solita, the human she enchanted earlier that day. Surely she was on her way. The charm spell should still be working. The dark elf prophet enchanter closed her eyes and tried not to think of how her back ached or how dirty she was getting. This wasn't what she planned for in Qeynos. She was supposed to get a nice clean comfortable room where she could rest from her long journey while her enchanted human would go fetch a yellow senior apprentice robe found across the sea in the city of Erudin. The young prophet moaned softly to herself as she tried to keep her balance inside the crate. In the darkness of her small prison, Saphyre recalled the worried look of the Senior Elder. Atos had not wanted to leave her. They had even talked about it when they had reached the outskirts of the walled city of Qeynos.
The young prophet recalled how she had assured her dark sister that this was all going to be quick and easy and that there was absolutely no reason for her to remain... or worry. Atos frowned but listened to Saphyre's reasoning. After all, didn't the young prophet enchanter make it all the way to Felwithe and back unharmed...twice? Reluctantly, Atos saw Saphyre had a strong case for being allowed to stay on her own for a short time. Atos relented then cast several protective blessings upon the eager and excited little sister. "The Patriarch will have mine head if anything happens to thee, Sister. I will be responsible for letting a young one talk me into leaving like this. I wish I could go in there with thee but I can't change my appearance as thee can." Atos looked sternly at Saphyre, fighting the strong urge deep inside to forget this city tour and bring the prophet safely home that very moment. "It will be fine, Dark Elder. I promise to be very very careful," Saphyre said once again. When Atos nodded her consent, Saphyre cast an illusionary spell upon herself. Within seconds she appeared to be a taller human brunette with pale beige skin. Atos had to admit that the spell was very convincing. Saphyre waved to her Darkmoon Elder then turned towards the gates of Qeynos.
Now she sits in a cramped crate hiding from a merchant downstairs and who apparently feels no need to even take a lunch break. Her Human Illusion spell was gone and she didn't dare cast it again. The crate had lots of openings where the spell's noisy flashes might attract his attention. She was sure that the humans of Qeynos were accustomed to her people sneaking into their city disguised with or without magic. He would suspect the human woman he would find in the loft after hearing a spell cast. She watched him and waited. The loft where she hid was dimly lit by a single torch near the stairs. Shadows helped conceal her presense as long as she didn't move too much or made any noise. Time passed so slowly inside that crate. The dark elf maiden's anxiety grew with each passing hour. "Where is she? Where is Solita? What am I going to do when she returns and the merchant sees her coming up here?" she thought. "I am dead. They will find me and capture me and.. and.. oh, Dark Lord! Save me! Don't let me die here in this human city so far away from home!" Saphyre thought Innoruuk might decide to punish her and not bring her back to Darkmoon for this folly. The prophecy would no longer come to pass because the prophet died over a stupid dress. Saphyre's heart sank and the pain in her ankles and back no longer bothered her. She deserved this. She deserved to die here in Qeynos if she got caught.
"Hail Lomarc! What can I help thee with this fine day? I just got this fresh batch of bait if thee cares to do a little fishing." said the merchant. Saphyre moved her head to try to get a look at what was happening down below. Her heart started to pound and every muscle in her body tensed with apprehension. She held her breath as she watched another human walk into the warehouse. His body was muscular and bronzed from the sun. "Nay, Captain.", said Lomac, "I am here to check on the crates upstairs. The tavern is expecting a shipment. Is it here yet?". Saphyre watched the tall heavy built worker look up at the loft for a moment before returning his attention to the merchant sailor. The captain shrugged as if he didn't know. "Please, don't come up here. Please, don't come up here. Please, don't..." Saphyre whispered repeatedly to herself. Unarmed and frightened, the young prophet watched in horror as Lomarc turned and casually climbed up the stairs to the loft.
Saphyre will never know if it was that Solita was a quick thinker or if it was Innoruuk answering her prayers. Perhaps it was both. All she knows was that as she held her breath, watching Lomarc climb up the stairs, a frantic call for help suddenly stopped his progress. He turned and headed down. Saphyre moved her head in an effort to see what was happening. She saw the merchant sailor and the human called Lomarc run outside. "NOW!! QUICKLY!!" Saphyre thought. Climbing out of the crate, the dark elf maiden quickly cast her invisibility spell. Seconds later, an upset Solita was seen talking to other humans at the front of the warehouse. Like a phantom, Saphyre walked up to Solita and softly whispered to her ear, "Meet me in the room next to the bank right away." Solita nodded that she understood while she continued her sobbing over an apparent robbery. When Solita arrived later to the little room Saphyre waited in, the human saw the dark elf prophet looking like the brunette human she met earlier. Solita smiled and happily opened up her haversack to show Saphyre the new acquired soft yellow apprentice robe. The two women cheered with delight at the way everything worked out so well. Saphyre was so grateful for the way Solita managed to distract the humans from discovering her, she almost hugged her. Instead, Saphyre simply thanked her and told her she was no longer needed. Solita curtsied politely, feeling a little sad that she couldn't do anything more for this mysterious woman she had met only hours ago. The affects of the Alliance spell soon faded thereafter, leaving no memory of the events that occurred.
Saphyre packed her two robes and compasses, happy and proud with the way she wisely kept her head, both mentally as well as physically, when things went wrong. Stepping out into the bright sunny afternoon, the young prophet continued her tour of the large city of Qeynos. Mingling with the humans was so easy for her, she did sketches of the areas and ate at a nice tavern. Seeing all the sites and shopping at ease made the whole tour enjoyable and satisfying after spending so much time in Neriak. Now and then, Saphyre would suspect some humans in the city and wondered if any of them were really dark elves. Saphyre smiled. She can do this. She can do many things and go to many places with relative safety. Feeling triumphant, Saphyre strolled the city with more confidence and ease. She even smiled and greeted the passerbys as if she was one of them.
Her blue heart was light as she ventured down paths and up broad streets. Her confidence was growing with each step she took. "I can do this! I am growing up! I am capable!" Saphyre thought with great pride, "See!?? I don't need help! I am fine!..... Hmmm.. What's that? Why.. it.. it looks like a.. a boulder! It looks like its flying in the sky! What a strange shape. Hmmm.. there is light coming from it. There is a .. platform.. mayhaps for viewing the boulder. I can do this. I am not afraid! I am not afraid! Me thinks I shall go get a closer look from it. Aye. Careful now. Slowly, lest it moves. Hmmm.. very strange indeed." In an act to reinforce her newly found confidence in herself, the young prophet strode up the ramp to the platform for a better look at the "flying boulder." As some members of the Darkmoon family know by now, this curious form lead Saphyre to sudden panic and an abrupt, but safe, end to her visit in Qeynos. Too bad, but some adventures do end this way sometimes. :)))
Meanwhile, outside the city...
name: Elder ATOS date: Sat Feb 5 12:43:16 2000 in response to: Qeynos - Part 2 (Dedicated to Atos) -
Screams of pain and cries of sorrow echo throughout the area until disrupted by an evil cackle of enjoyment. "Tis like a curse has fallen upon us" said one human to the other as they rested near the guard tower for safety. "Did you hear? She got the Millers yesterday, found dead on the path to Surefall." He shrugs in response, "I never liked them anyway, but terrible news just the same. It's not safe around here anymore, not even the guards can stop her." "Why do you think she is so far from Neriak?" He looks over his shoulder to make sure Guard Nash is still nearby.
"I expect this kind of thing in the commonlands, but here in Qeynos Hills?" "She seems old and erratic, perhaps she has gone insane." Walking down the path with impunity, fresh blood still dripping from her fingertips, Atos searches for another light face to victimize. Very few of the beings she killed recently provided much entertainment, dying too quickly for the dark priestess to enjoy their suffering. She had made Guard Miles slowly bled to death, sitting on his chest clutching a handful of his hair and cutting his face, that one had pleased her. Leaving the sacrifice laying on the trail, she cackled thinking how terrified the locals are to travel the region now that she has been hunting them.