Forgotten Realms 1. Prelude

**Disclaimer: I do not own Forgotten Realms or any of the races and Classes all credit goes to Wizards of the coast and the book writers. Though the places and the charachters are my creation (Unless someone didnt create them before me).**

**A/N: Enjoy and leave a review! This story goes in a place that i created and invented so tell me what you think. :P**

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**PRELUDE**

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Captain Williams sat in his chair in the captain quarters. His head above a handful of maps, and he squinted his eyes in the dim yellow light of the single candle that was on the table. He sighed and rubbed his eyes. The annual trip to Thiorindal took his toll on the Captain. Thiorindal was a large island, four months away, west of the sword coast of faerun. Four months already passed and they were supposed to be there in only a few hours. He removed his black hair from his eyes and yawned. He stood up, streched his body and rubbed his shoulders. He wore his warm jacket on his short white shirt and button it. it was summer's end now and they did not have much time to waste here, unless they wanted to stay in Thiorindal for the winter. He finished buttoning his dark blue jacket and walked out of his quarters. It was still night out side but he noticed the traces of a sunrise in the west. He walked to the railings and looked back. Three more ships were following behind them. Trading with Thiorindal was quite profiting, the people who lived there liked the faerunian goods but the trip was too troublesome to make often so the annual trip was created. Captain Williams did the trip more then a dozen times and this year he commanded a caravan of four ships, including his own. Finding Thiorindal was not so easy, since the island was thousand miles long, the easy was to sail west straight from waterdeep until you would reach it but if you will deter from the correct course, you could miss the island by dozens, even hundreds of miles. He looked to west again and the light was now brighter and in the distance he noticed the silhouette of a large island. He smiled to himself. He thought of the great places he could rest at, such as the great city of Izoliya in the northern part of the island. Or Selinar, The greatest kingdom on the whole island. The other cities reminded him more of the cities of Calimshan or the city of Luskan. In any way he would still receive his welcoming rest.

The first signs of life aboard the ship as crew members started to awake. Each one greeted the captain and walked to their posts. The signs of daylight were seen now as the sunrise finally came and the sea started the sparkle from the light and soon enough the caravan of ships was full with motion and working crewmen.

The ship passed by the island of Blackland. Williams did not know why the natives called it Blackland but he in his decade of traveling to this place he heard stories about it that still made him shiver. As he looked at the island he realized that there was indeed something mysterious about the island, the unusual stillness of it, without any hints of life on it and the cliffs that dotted the sea near the beaches of the island, as if the island itself does not want any visitors. The single mountain that was in the middle of the island was a mystery itself. Many told stories about that mountain, saying that it was infested by demons and monsters. He heard one in particular many times. That under the island was a large city of Drow. Considering that the island had quite a history with the drow it could be even true. This was a story told countless times and was changed even more. Williams did not know if to belive to the story or not.

Many years ago, no one knew the exact time but many said that it was more than millennia ago; a large drow army almost conquered all of Thiorindal. Some said that they received help from a mighty demon. Others said, from a god.

But the most interesting part was the ending. The most told version was that the united armies of humans, elves and even few drow fought against them and finally defeated them.

Williams didn't believe in this but it was a lovely tale. He thought that it was a story they told to anyone who ever crossed by their island, to lure more people into a tavern to share a drink. Williams heard that tale more times then he was on the island and he could tell it by himself if he would wish so. He chuckled to himself; that was probably the plan from the beginning, to tell the tale so many times so it would be carried away to faerun and beyond and draw that way more trade to the island.

He loved the feel of the wind on his face and smiled to himself. He was over forty years old and he lived all his life on the sea. In a few hours he would be in the first stop, the port of Highmasts.

*****

The "_Bottomless_" entered the port of Highmasts. Captain Williams braced himself for the reception the city prepared for them. They always received few gifts and drinks each time they entered the port. He looked at the port and enjoyed the sight. This was the easternmost port of the island and it is usually the first port sailors meet. Dozens of masts dotted the port and it was full in motion now, sailors carrying cargo, shoppers buying goods straight from the ships and groups of crewmen going to the nearest taverns. The large port street ended and the city started by high buildings, made of stone and had wooden roofs against the sea winds. Some Sailors from other ship waved their greetings to them and Williams waved back to them with a smile. Captain Williams of Waterdeep was well known in this port and each time he entered it he recieved a warm welcome.

When they finally dropped the anchor and stopped by the one of the piers they started to unload their cargo. They brought with them precious stones, jewelry, food, swords and armors made by the best of waterdeep's smithies, scrolls of magic, and much more.

Aboard the last ship of Williams' caravan, the "_Deep wave_", Captain Angus Lorthery ordered his crew to drop anchors near the closest pier. When the ship stopped moving Captain Lorthery stepped over the plank bridge to the pier.

"Duncan! Go down and take with ye' one crate of that fine wine!" He yelled to Duncan, an old sea dog who served on Angus's ship for years.

"Aye Captain, where do I need to bring it?" Duncan cried back with a wide smile. This night celebration would be one of the best they had in a long time. Captain Lorthery was known for his unwillingness buy drinks from taverns and thats why he alwasy brought the drink with him. Some of Lorthery's crewmen said that years ago, before he became the _Deep wave_'s captain he was poisoned and now he is fears another attempt on his life. Duncan though, knew the truth. The Tavernkeepers in Thiorindal always raised the prices when they entered their taverns.

Angus stopped in his tracks for a moment to think. He scratched his bearded chin and smiled.

"Remember that fine tavern in that courtyard? With the statue of that man?" He cried back and returned to his way.

"Aye Captain, I'll be right there in a moment, don't you doubt it." He cried after him and he hurried down to the cargo hold of the ship.

Duncan had bright blue eyes which made him look younger then he truly was. His short trimmed brown hair showed the hints of gray but his body still looked like a body of a young lad, with honed muscles from his years in the sea and the usual black shirt he wore had the strong scent of salt and ale.

Once he got down he found the cargo hold completely dark. He wandered trough the crates in search of that old lantern. He remembered where it was and soon enough he felt it in his hands and walked out to the bright daylight to light the lantern. He returned there, this time armed with the now lit lantern and walked through the crates to the place where the liquor crates were. When he got to it he noticed something strange. The crates with the liquors were open and few bottles were missing. He counted three missing wine bottles and he moved to the other crates. The crate that held water bottles was also open, but this one was almost empty. He continued to search the other crates and found two open crates of food and a half empty barrel of ale.

"We have a rat here, thieving and hiding rat." Duncan said to the empty chamber and drew his small dagger that as in his belt. Duncan was old but he lived all his life in the sea and pirate attacks were common. He was skilled with the blade and he was certain in his abilities.

He kept stalking the hiding passenger trying to be as silent as he could. Sometimes the creaking of ship's hull caused Duncan turn around and brace himself for a strike from behind. After few minutes of searching his hiding pray he stumbled upon a small pile of empty bottles. Duncan grinned, thinking that he found the rat. When he turned around a high stack of crates he didn't saw the rat, he saw something that caused him to drop his dagger.

There, on a small crate, sat a Drow. Duncan never saw a drow before but he knew how they looked like from all the horrible stories he heard about them. He immediately recognized that what sat in front of him was a drow, the pointy ears and the dark skin, almost black as coal gave the drow away. Duncan didn't dear to move, the drow's eyes were close and Duncan suspected that he was asleep. While he was terrified of the drow he was also amazed of him, the smoothness of his skin, the slender body and the thick fur cloak that he wore. He thought for a moment to pick up his dagger or call for his fellow crewmen but as he tried to decide his course of action the Drow lifted a half empty bottle of water to his mouth. Duncan froze in his place as the drow opened his eyes. Those eyes were the brightest red eyes Duncan has ever seen and they were staring directly at his own. The drow finished swallowing the remaining water that were in the bottle and stood up from the crate he was sitting on. Duncan took a step back from him but the drow did not attack. The drow had very long white as snow hair that almost reached his waist and he was taller then Duncan, but only by a few inches.

"We reached Thiorindal?" The drow finally said in a perfect dialect of the common tangue.

"Y-y-yes" Duncan stammered. He was surprised to hear the drow speak in common. Even more he was surprised to find himself alive. The drow dropped the empty bottle near the other bottles and Duncan winced and took a step back from the noice of glass against wood.

"Perfect." He just mumbled to himself and threw a small bag to Duncan. He managed to catch it and he clearly heard the ring on coins inside. Now Duncan was amazed. Why the drow gave him money?

"W-why do you give me m-money?" he stammered again.

"I pay for the road, the water and the food. The sum inside should be enough." He said in his calm, melodic tone and started to move.

The drow reached toward the Human and Duncan stepped back until his back was against a large crate. The drow raised his hand and Duncan prepared to die but the drow only took the lantern and extinguished the only source of light that Duncan had. Duncan froze, cold sweat on his brow but the only thing he heard was the rush of the drow's heavy cloak and nothing else. When he didn't hear anything else he stumbled towards the exit to the bridge. When he stepped outside into the bright daylight he looked at all the directions. He looked around but he could not find him. He could have easily blended with the crowd that was in the port. He looked at the small bag in his hand and he decided to open it. His looked wide-eyed at the dozens of golden coins that were inside. He closed the bag and ran down to the pier and from there to the tavern the Captain was in. Tonight's celebration would be an interesting one indeed; Duncan mused to himself and wiped the cold sweat from his brow.


	2. House Kel'jaryl

CHAPTER 1

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The drow sat in the cold room with his hands above his head. Dozens of small wounds dotted his body and his once clean hair was full of filth. He had a slender body with honed muscles, shoulder length silvery white hair. He had a face that could be called handsome by drow standards.

Delvaro Val'serra opened his eyes. His eyes were quite unique, yellow in the light spectrum and gained him a boyish look and indeed in the drow standards, who lived up to seven centuries, he was still a young boy. He instantly felt the pain that coursed through his body. He tried to stand up but he could not do it. He looked at his hands. Seeing only black, he shifted into the thermal spectrum. As he experienced the quite uneasy shift into the thermal vision he started to see colors. The shackles were still there and also the bright red warm blood. He looked around him. Everything was in dark blue color and made of stone. To one who was not of the underdark, the endless underground land of tunnels, darkness and danger, the only thing he would see in the room was the pair of bright red eyes that belonged to the dark elf.

He realized that he didn't make it through the last day's questioning. He still felt the pain in his ribs but the wounds were gone. This was the Drow method of questioning. They painfully asked him question and then poured down his throat one of those healing potions that were in the corner of the room. He groaned as he tried to straight himself up. Last night they broke all his ribs and both of his knee caps. They were fine now but the pain was still there, though weaker this time. They never heal their prisoners completely and he groaned as the pain stung him again as he moved.

He looked at those healing potions. It was some sort of a cruel joke, letting the prisoners see the thing that will heal them but not letting them have it. It was supposed to break their spirit but as far as he knew, his spirit was not yet broken. In his three decades of his life he was in situations worse then this.

He heard some footsteps behind the door and he braced himself for another torture.

The door opened and two drows entered the room. He immediately recognized the first one. He had the aura of a noble in his stride. His face had sharp features and on his mouth he wore a smug smile. This was the older son of the matron mother of the first house of Tene'grith, house Kel'jaryl. His name was Birlay, he remembered him from his days at the academy where he learned about the cruelty and lies of the Drow society. He could have believed to all the things his teachers in the academy said if not his Uncle. In the academy they were taught that drow are the highest beings, that the Elves are evil creatures that banished them from the surface when in truth it was the opposite. The elves did banish them from the surface but not because they were evil. They were defending themselves against the drow who started the great war. Before he joined the academy his uncle showed him the truth. He took him to the surface. Above the City on the surface, five miles to the north, in a small forest there was a small village of elves. His uncle took him there and told him not to believe to anything he would hear in the academy. He listened to his uncles advice and he couldn't believe them anyway, not after he seen the elves. There was something about the way they lived and danced under the stars that told him that nothing would make him think that they are monsters.

The drow society trained the young ones to hate the elves from childhood but if anyone would find out how he felt about it, he would be killed and his House, would be destroyed.

"Hello my friend." Birlay said with a smile and stopped Delvaro's line of thought.

"Don't tell me that you are still mad about that incident in the academy?" he asked him with the same smile. Years ago in the academy they had the annual tournament. In one particular tournament they met each other and DelVaro defeated him. They used wooden weapons but he was sure that the strike at the head that he landed was pretty much painful.

Birlay's response was punch in the face. DelVaro spat out some blood from his mouth and looked Birlay in the eyes. Birlay didn't seem to like that look since he punched Delvaro in the face again.

"I will ask the same question again. I think that you are tired of the last three days so if you want to rest, you should answer." He said with a smug smile.

"My answer is still the same. I was just traveling in the city." He said the answer at least for the fifth time. He knew they wouldn't believe it, even he wouldn't believe such an answer. No one traveled the city for no reason.

"Well, you traveled to near to our walls; actually you were so close you almost climbed on them, by accident of course." He said, still with that smug smile.

He hated that smug smile since the academy. He wanted his fist to stop that smiling but the shackles stopped him.

"You should tell me the truth. If this is a provocation we will answer gladly." He said only this time without the smile. "I am sure that my sister would like to ask you some questions."

He didn't say the name but Delvaro knew which sister he meant. Zafiry Kel'jaryl was renowned for her interrogation skills. It was said that no one survived her interrogations. He realized that they had enough of him and want to dispose of him. He cursed himself for allowing himself to be caught. This situation could cause a war between the houses.

Seeing that Delvaro wont answer he motioned to the other drow, probably a Birlay's guard, to follow him. The guard looked at Delvaro with disgust and left the room. Delvaro noticed it and once they left the room he loudly exhaled. He looked at the shackles. They had no locks on them so lock-picking was not an option.

He looked again at the potions and frowned.

He remembered the elves again and their fate. Near his final year at the academy he found out that a raid was planned on that same village. His uncle stopped him from going there to stop them. From what he knew, there were no survivors.

He tried to sit down but the shackles were too high so he ended up hanging from his hands in a painful way. He stood up again and sighed.

*****

Zafiry entered the room. She was taller then the regular drow and had honed muscles. The slick white hair fell on her back and reached her waist. And her face, the skin was smooth and without a single fragment. She was one of the most beautiful drow females that Delvaro has ever seen but he knew that she wasn't as beautiful inside. She looked at him with her bright red eyes and Delvaro returned the look. She wore the robes of a high priestess of Lloth, the Spider Queen, and on the robe was painted the house emblem of her house. He looked down at her fingers and noticed few jeweled rings. He remembered another rumor that said that she always wore a necklace made of her victim's teeth. She didn't wear any necklace but now he could say that the rumor is wrong, if he would survive.

"My brother told me that you are not willing to talk." She told him with a calm tone, as if not concerned.

"I am talking but I feel that your brother is not listening." He answered her and in return received a vicious punch in the face.

"If this is a compliment for you, your punches are stronger then your brother's…" He said quietly. He realized that he shouldn't joke with this one.

"Thank you but compliments will not help you now." She said calmly and the door opened again.

Birlay and his bodyguard entered the room again. This time the bodyguard was somewhat familiar Delvaro but he couldn't find how.

"Did he tell something important" Birlay said. Delvaro saw how Zafiry's face became warmer as blood flowed into her face from anger. She didn't seem to like her brother very much so Delvaro decided to try to use it to his advantage.

"I have just entered the room and did not ask him anything. Unless you want to join him, you should leave." She said, this time with slight annoyance in her voice.

Birlay didn't respond this time but he bowed down his head and left the room. This was the usual treatment females received in the drow society. The drow society was matriarchal; the females were above the males. Some low ranking males were even treated as a lower being then spiders. Spiders were holy, and killing one was punishable by death, if you were a male of course. Delvaro didn't like the spiders very much and in his childhood he was forced to look away each time he saw a spider.

"You don't like your brother." He finally said to her. She raised her eyebrow at the comment.

"He is a male. And an annoying one." She said to him, the calm tone returning to her voice.

"I already know this; I think everyone at the academy knows this." He said with a chuckle.

To his surprise he didn't receive another punch. Instead he received a kick in the ribs.

He winced in pain as he felt one of the ribs crack. She crouched in front of him and moved her hand across his face. He felt her fingers move across his cheek but to his surprise, gently.

"It is such a shame to waste such a male, even more, to scar such a pretty face." She whispered in his ear.

"Scar it? I think that it will wound your reputation. I have never heard that you let anyone live…" He said to her with a scowl.

"It depends. If you will talk, perhaps I could let you live. But if not…" She didn't finish the sentence but Delvaro knew what she meant. They will never let him go, they would either kill him or they will take him into their house. considering the situation, the first option was more likely to happen.

"I will be sincere with you. You did not brake after three days of torture, I respect that." She said. "And if you will tell me where the swords of Shil'och and his blood are, maybe you will be rewarded and allowed to live."

When she said those words Delvaro's mouth dropped and his eyes widened. He noticed it and closed it but it was too late.

"I see that the name is familiar to you." She said with a chuckle.

She knew. Delvaro tried to figure out from where she could find out about Shil'och. Now he understood why she was so gentle with him and that all his assumptions were wrong.

"You are Delvaro Val'serra, the tenth descendent of the traitor Shil'och. I still do not understand how house Val'serra is still in the favor of Lolth if from what I know; there are at least a dozen who share his beliefs." She finished with a wide grin.

"Where did you learn that nonsense?" He asked her in a calm tone. He must make her think that she is wrong. Right now his whole house was at stake. She laughed at him and the grin became wider. He could see that the grin was sincere.

"Your dear brother told me." She said to him and inspected his reactions.

This time he couldn't hide his reactions so well. His eyes widened in disbelief and shock. She fiddled with her robe and took out a whip. This was a wicked whip created for High priestesses of Lloth. Instead of an end the whip had snake heads, right now they were moving, each of the seven snake heads hissing towards him. She attacked. The snakes bit into his torso and arm, the numbing poison quickly spreading through his body.

"You will tell me where the swords are eventually." She whispered.

She lifted her hand again but the door opened just in time to save Delvaro from the second strike. Birlay's bodyguard entered.

"Your brother wishes to see you." He said to her and looked at Delvaro.

Zafiry rolled her eyes and belted her whip back into the folds of her robe. She turned around toward the exit but once she turned her back to the bodyguard he grabbed her by the throat. When they turned to Delvaro he noticed a dagger at Zafiry's neck.

"One word or wiggle of your fingers will cause you to lose your throat." He said menacingly into her ear. Delvaro recognized the voice. It was his uncle.

"Open them." He said to her but when she did not react he pressed the dagger to her throat and caused it to cut a smooth cut. It wasn't deep enough to kill her but it made her move. She moved closer to the prisoner and mumbled some words that Delvaro didn't understand but his uncle didn't seemed concerned about it. When she finished mumbling the shackles suddenly opened and he felt relief to move his hands again.

"What are you doing here?" he asked his rescuer.

"As it seems, to save you." He said with a grin and threw something into his hands.

He caught it with ease and saw that it was a bag. Inside he found his Drow armor, his_ piwafwi_, the drow cloak of camouflage and a belt with a pair of elongated and curved daggers. A wide smile spread across his face. chath and Xar'zith were at his hands again. He belted his daggers and wore his shirt. When he finished wearing all his belongings he looked at Zafiry. She stared at him with hate-filled eyes that promised him certain death. He smiled at that. He saw such stares too often and they did not worry him too much. He limped towards the corner that held the healing potions. He poured a full bottle into his mouth and instantly he felt it take effect. He straightened to his full height, a little higher than five and a half feet tall and walked back to the female. He looked her in the eyes again and smiled.

"Too bad it turned out this way; we could've had such a fun time together." He said to her with the widest grin he could muster.

"You will pay for this." She whispered to him through gritted teeth.

"Let us hope that I will not, for the sake of both of us." He whispered in her ear and kissed her on the cheek. He then reached to a pouch in his belt and took out a small crossbow bolt coated with the drow trademark sleeping poison. He looked into her eyes for the last time, which were now puzzled, and stuck the bolt into her neck. Her eyelids started to close and Xirl'dar let her drop down to the floor.

When he looked at Xirl'dar he noticed that he wore a frown on his face. Delvaro raised one eyebrow in confusion.

"Del, you should stop doing that. She will have your head for this." He said, still wearing the frown. Del was the shorter version of Delvaro's name.

"My father will have my head first." He said with a grin.

"Shall we go? I do not wish to stay here any longer." He said, not amused at all.

"We have a bigger problem than this." Del said with a grim tone, the grin suddenly gone. Xirl'dar narrowed his eyes. He was clearly not in the mood for "problems" of any kind. Del realized that Xirl'dar was mad at him for getting himself caught.

"What can be possibly worse then the possibility of a war against house Kel'jaryl?" he doubted.

"Killian is in Tene'grith." He whispered.

The same reaction Delvaro had only moments ago was on Xirl'dar's face.


	3. Escape

**Hello there! well sorry i made you wait so here is the next chapter. Leave a review if you liked it and tell me what do you think.**

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CHAPTER TWO

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Delvaro and Xirl'dar walked out of the room with Delvaro still straightening his light drow armor. They moved on silently for few more minutes until Del decided to speak.

"Are you sure you entered without anyone seeing you?" He asked him. He didn't want to be running away from pursuit in this maze that was House Kel'jaryl.

"If someone would have seen me I don't think that I could rescue you without any alarms rising" He said and looked around one corner of a corridor. Seeing no one he motioned him to follow.

They continued with their path without any incidents. House Kel'jaryl had a massive network of tunnelts under their palace. Unfortunately for both of them, they were inside this maze. Del started to wonder if they did any progress in their escape. They found a small staircase leasing them up. Once they finshed their ascend Delvaro noticed that Xirl'dar started to change. When Del was sure that his companion didn't notice it he mentioned it to him.

"Curse that idiot Virlyd." He said with gritted teeth and a severe scowl. Del resisted the urge to laugh.

"You allowed Virlyd to cast a spell on you?" he said with a wide grin. Virlyn was the house wizard of the Val'serra family. He was a master in destructive spells and a fast one in that, but his less harmful spells usually went wrong.

"Actually I asked him…" He said as if he did something he need's to be ashamed of. Delvaro could only smile while the spell faded away and the Xirl'dar he knew returned to stand beside him. The Weapons master of House Val'serra stood before him. Xirl'dar lived over a century and he improved his art for all his life, only a few in whole Tene'grith could be equal in a battle with him. The century of training and war was also shown on his face and body. His face wore countless number of scars and while most drow would try to hide them, Xirl'dar took pride in them. Beneath all those scars was a pair of bright red eyes. And from the shape of his nose, one could notice that it was broken more then once. He wore a sleeveless version of the armor Delvaro wore and on his arms was another set of scars. And while most drow preferred long hair and adorned it with jewelry Xirl'dar's hair was short, barely reaching his ears and it looked uneven, as if it was cut with a knife in a hurry. The haircut was a little messy but it was still clean.

"Ask Virlyd to cast an invisibility spell, he will accidently teleport you into the Nine Hells but if you will ask him to cast a fireballs he could accidently destroy House Kel'jaryl." Del said with a chuckle.

"I hope that he would do the latter." He said while inspecting himself. "Now to more important matters, are you sure killian is back?"

Del sighed. He explained it before. "Zafiry said so and I am bound to believe her… how else could she know of the swords and the blood?" He said with a frustrated tone. Xirl'dar just shrugged and motioned to him to move again. "We will have to gather the _Vla'rinnyn_ and your father once we get back." he said. "He must know about it as soon as possible and yes, you will have to tell him what you heard." He added when he saw the frown that appeared on Del's face.

To Del, Xirl'dar was more of a father then a trainer and a mentor and he didn't know his father very much. His father, Sormeln, was a cold being. He never talked with anyone except if it were about important matters. As Delvaro continued to think about it, he didn't know his father at all. He shrugged it off and kept on going, his boots not making a sound against the stone floor.

They kept on going cautiously through the corridors, taking care not to be spotted. After they ascended two more floors, the signs of life and the two runaways moved even more slowly. Xirl'dar walked near one corner and he ordered Del to stop. He listened carefully. He heard some chatter and looked around him for a place to hide. He spotted a limestone door and ran to it. He opened it carefully and looked inside. The room was empty except tube-like hole in the ceiling and floor. He motioned to Xirl'dar to follow him. They entered the room and stood there motionless; Xirl'dar drew a dagger from his belt.

The chatter came closer and soon enough he could hear the voices clear enough to discern some words.

"... Think that Zafiry would find out if there is a secret entrance into the Val'serra compound?" Said one of them.

"I sure hope so, it would be priceless to see their faces when we attack them from their behind…" Said the other one with a wicked laugh.

Del resisted the urge to go and see their faces while he would strike them from the behind. He wondered how lucky they were for hearing that conversation.

_"I guess that House Kel'jaryl is already preparing the attack on us."_ He signed in the drow sign language composed from hand motions and facial expressions. This language was extremely useful in such situation. It enabled the user to talk freely and silently.

_"Yes, so it seems."_ He signed while Delvaro inspected the tunnels in the ceiling and floor. _"It is just another reason for us to get out of here as fast as we can."_

Delvaro looked down through the small tunnel. It was large enough for him to freely descend down and it was perfectly circular. He couldn't see the bottom nor the top.

_"What about this tunnel?"_ He motioned to his companion and pointed with his chin toward the ceiling. _"It could lead us to an exit; we are under the palace after all."_

Xirl'dar walked to the hole and looked up, his eyes scanning the long tunnel.

_"It could lead us out… and I'm not in the mood to fight my way through this fortress."_ He signed and added a shrug. _"It gets too crowded in that direction."_ He added when he heard more voices nearing their door.

Del led the way. He jumped down -with the hope that his fall wouldn't abruptly end- and activated the magic that was in his House insignia. He felt his weight leave him and he floated upward. The tunnel wasn't large enough for two drow to float side-by-side and once he floated back to the same floor he jumped from he motioned to Xirl'dar to follow. He floated up for few seconds until the tunnel stopped and he saw another room, directly above him. Luckily for him this room was also empty. He looked up and noticed another hole in the ceiling and he floated to it and floated to the next floor. He thought this was a good way to move through the compound but it also enabled intruders or, in this case, escaping prisoners, to escape or attack the compound easily enough as well. He didn't see anyone guarding those shafts and he started to wonder if they would indeed lead him to the very top. Delvaro moved through three more rooms with Xirl'dar in tow. He began to wonder how deep under the palace they were until he almost entered the fourth room and he noticed that there was no hole in the ceiling. This is the top, he thought, and peeked out of the hole to inspect the room. He almost finished looking around but he saw something move in the corner of his eye, and reacted fast.

He quickly returned his head into the hole and a small crossbow bolt hit the stone where his head was only a moment ago. Still weightless, he grabbed the edge of the floor and hurled himself up and dispelled the levitation spell when he was above the room floor. He turned around mid-air and dropped without a sound on the stone floor. In front of him stood a single drow, holding a rapier and a small crossbow.

Delvaro drew his daggers or short swords really. One of them, _Chath_, was Curved and slightly jagged and the other, _Xar,zith_, was straight and smooth. He sent a mental command to _Chath_ and _Xar'zith_ and he sent a glance at the daggers in his hands. The dagger in his right hand started to grow warmer and the blade, that was cold blue before he activated the enchantment, was almost yellow. While yellow to the thermal sight the dagger emanated no light at all. The dagger in his left hand received the black color of ice-cold. This spectacle of enchanted daggers was enough to deter almost any foe that tried to take out Del but his current opponent decided to stay. I can't let you go anyway; he thought and chuckled to himself. They both stalked each other around the small hole in the floor, each waiting to the other to strike first.

Del's opponent proved to be the one who didn't wait. He jumped over the hole and stabbed with his rapier. Delvaro side-stepped and parried and when the dagger hit the rapier Del didn't hear the metallic ringing sound. Del smiled to himself. Xirl'dar had a ring that enabled him to summon globes of silence at his will and this was what happened now. Del ducked under a swipe of the rapier and stabbed with _chath_. The drow jumped back but not fast enough. _Chath_ managed leave a scratch on the drows chest. Del noticed the drow wince in pain and the small scratch leaving a small trail of smoke. Blue flames erupted all over Del but he still stood at ready and calm. Those flames did not emanate heat of any kind but it did make Del an easy target but Del wasn't about to be one. He countered it by summoning a globe of impenetrable darkness on both of them. Del was trained in fighting without sight but he counted on hearing but now both of them were blind and deaf. He stood ready to parry any hit. He somehow felt a movement and presented his dagger in return. He felt the dagger take a hit and Delvaro started to attack. Left, right, left, left, the drow was talented he parried almost each of the attacks. The dark elf started to retreat and Del followed. Del Ducked under a blow he knew that would come and swiped low and the drow parried again. Del was impressed, not many could fight without sight and hearing that well. Delvaro parried again but then he felt a slash across his shoulder. He kicked the air in front of him and felt the kick impact.

He ran forward, a risking maneuver but it worked this time. The drow flinched from the kick and didn't react in time to the tackle. Delvaro's foe fell backwards and rolled to regain his footing. Del followed and he exited the globe of darkness. Now he saw the weapon that wounded his shoulder. In his other hand, the drow held a dirk.

"Sneaky bastard…" he said under his breath, though he didn't hear himself.

Del decided to end this battle. He charged, parried the dirk and attacked the parrying rapier with _chath_. He knew exactly what would happen. The drow parried the attack, or at least tried to. _chath _heated to such degrees that the thin blade of the rapier couldn't hold against it. Once the dagger hit the rapier sparks shot into the air and the dagger slashed through the rapier and went into the drows chest.

The dark elf's face changed to a mask of pain and he screamed in agony. Delvaro didn't hear it but he could see it. The drow dropped the drik and the broken rapier and clutched at his still smoking, deep, slash wound and he fell down on his face, dead.

He deactivated the enchantments and sheathed his daggers and looked at his own wound. Nothing serious, just a simple scratch wound.

The globe of darkness dissipated and he looked at Xirl'dar as he floated into the room. He raised an eyebrow as he saw Delvaro's frown.

_"What's wrong?"_ He signed to him in the code language since the globe if silence was still there.

"_You could at least help me somehow."_ He signed back, his fingers a blur.

_"I created the silence, this was more important. You don't want someone else to enter he room once the sounds of battle travel through the entire place, are you?"_

_"Yeah, thank you for that, but as far as I know he was too concerned about me… you could at least do something to him while I as distracting him."_ he signed in a rush, still wearing the frown.

_"Yes I could, but you do need the training."_ He signed and pointed at Del's wound.

_"So do you."_ He signed and pointed at Xirl'dars countless scars. _"They maybe show that you had a lot of battles but they also show that you don't know how to parry."_ He signed and switched the frown to a wide grin.

It was Xirl'dars turn to frown. He sighed in frustration and motioned Del to follow.

Xirl'dar opened the door to just a small crack and peeked outside. When he didn't see anyone he opened the door and walked outside. Soon the realized that they indeed were closer to the exit since the signs of life on this floor almost didn't allow them to move. They moved from spot to spot, keeping themselves in the shadows, their piwafwi shielding them from any eyes that looked in the thermal spectrum. Eventually they made it to the outside of the palace. Delvaro was amazed that they weren't noticed at all and he thought that he knew why. Most of the soldiers of house Kel'jaryl were busy with the preparations of the attack on house Val'serra. Now they needed to reach their house as fast as possible.

They headed for the wall, moving from shadow to shadow. Delvaro noticed that the number of sentries well very low and it worried him instead of calming him. Something was wrong, he knew it but he couldn't discern what exactly. He decided to ignore it and be glad that this place wasn't full of guards.

The managed to get to the farthest part of wall, where the number of sentries dropped to only one, which made the escape much easier.

Del took out his small hand-crossbow and loaded it with a poison coated bolt and Xirl'dar did the same. They aimed at the sentry and opened fire at the same time. Both of the bolts scored a direct hit, one in the face and the second one in the neck. Del noticed that his mouth moved but no sound came from it. The sentry's face took a puzzled expression and he dropped down. Delvaro smiled as he recognized another of Xirk'dar globes of silence. The grabbed the guard and dragged him to a dark corner of the stalagmite compound and rushed at the wall. They both nimbly climbed up the stone wall, which was had carvings in the shape of a spider web, which gave them something to grab while they climbed.

They jumped down from the wall, now on the other side and they ran away from the Kel'jaryl stronghold. Xirl'dar led the way into a small "forest" of huge mushrooms and tied to a giant mushroom was two riding lizards.

"You thought of everything didn't you?" Del asked him with a slight chuckle.

"Of course I did." He replied with a hearty laugh.

Del climbed on his lizard, sat in the saddle and they rode away from the mushroom forest.

When they finally climbed down from the mountain sized hill that held the first house of Tene'grith, the entire city came into view.

He looked at the huge cavern, one and a half mile long, holding hundreds of stalagmites and stalactites, and a home to fifteen thousand drow that lived in them. Many of the stalagmite and stalactite castles were covered with blue, green and purple faerie fire, and dozens of sculptures, gargoyles, spiders and many more decorated the homes of thousands drow. In the middle of the cavern there was a long river. Xirl'dar told him that long before he was born, a large earthquake shook the cavern and caused a large tear in the cavern floor and everything that was near this crack, collapsed into the underground river that flowed under the drow city. In this "Tragedy" more then ten drow families were killed. Del didn't know if to consider it as a tragedy or a blessing, he didn't care any much for it. This river became the natural border that was between the lower houses and the higher ones. But the city was beautiful. No matter how many times Delvaro looked at it, the city always amazed him. But just like the drow, the city was beautiful but unimaginably cruel.

House Val'serra, the seventh house of Val'serra, was located on the west side of the river. He took on last glance at the city and rode after Xirl'dar, who already began to move.

****

Zafiry was furious. The moment she woke up she ordered her minions to search the whole palace but she was too late, the prisoner was long gone. She gritted her teeth as she remembered once again Delvaro's blasphemous behavior. To treat that way to a female!, she thought. She decided that once she would find him she would tear his skin from him and make from it a new robe. Still, this didn't dissipate her anger and she needed to find some way to relieve herself. That way took the form of a male that obliviously walked too close to her.

Without a single word she took out her seven headed whip and swung it at the male again and again. At first the male, a skinny soldier in a chainmail, yelped in surprise and tried to fend the snake heads away from him but to no avail. The whip struck again and again until the male was lying limply in a small pool of his own blood. Zafiry snickered, belted her whip and continued her walk to her private chambers.

When she finally walked up to her room's door she dispelled the ward that were placed and entered her room. She sat down on her chair and released a sigh.

"Should I assume that my brother escaped?" A voice sounded behind her. She instinctively reached to her whip but then she recognized the voice.

"I hope that you will tell me how you passed my wards?" She asked him, not turning around.

"I will do it only after you will tell me how that he escaped." He said and this time Zafiry turned around.

She looked at the male that stood leaning against the wall near the door. He wore a heavy-looking fur cloak and he had long white hair.

"Your brother has the same manners. Show some respect, I am a female after all and you are traitor and a heretic." She said with a frown.

"You know that I don't give a damn about you being a female and you would do nothing about it. You need me, I don't." he said and this time he flashed a wicked smile.

Indeed, from what Zafiry knew, Killian Val'serra didn't give a damn about the drow customs. She remembered all too well why he was a traitor and a heretic. Two and a half decades ago Killian inspired the great rebellion, he took under his command over eight thousand slaves. In that day Killian destroyed more then four houses and killed more then a thousand of drow. The city eventually united against him and defeated him, forcing him to flee. But now he was back and Zafiry didn't know what he was planning beside that he needed those Swords of Shil'och that belonged to a long dead heretic.

Where he was and how he would get them she didn't know. And how house Val'serra wasn't punished for that, intrigued her even more. As far as she knew, House Val'serra was still in the favor of Lolth!

"All right, ill tolerate your behavior." She said with an amused smile. "But as long as you do your part of the deal."

"Agreed, your house helps me find the swords, destroy house Val'serra and perhaps agree to another offer from my side, and I, with the help of my army, help you and perhaps offer you another tempting agreement." He said very calm and Zafiry had to smile. This male had logic. "I guess Delvaro embarrassed you. You looked upset when you entered." He added with a hint of a smile.

The experience with Del returned to her in a second and she felt the rage boil in her once again.

"I will have his head as a trophy." She said with greeted teeth.

"You won't. He will kill you if he would wish so. Do not underestimate him." he said grimly.

She decided to listen to him, which was a rare thing. She never listened to any male. Killian started to walk to the door.

"With what army?" she asked him suddenly. What army did the drow outcast gather? Killian stopped in his tracks and turned to look at her.

"The usual…" he said.

"You mean Orc and goblin slaves? You know they wouldn't stand long…" She chuckled. Killian didn't learn from the past? Last time he was defeated.

"Slaves?" He said and raised an eyebrow. "Not this time. Give an orc a proper training and teach him tactics… he would be a powerful foe. Imagine if you had an army of orcs like that…" he said grimly and walked out of the room.

A shiver crossed on Zafiry's spine. She suspected that killian did just that.


	4. Battle of House Val'serra

**A/N: Wow, this is a long one. Up until now this is the longest i wrote. Well, anyway i hope you will enjoy it, next chapter coming soon. leave a review by the way and tell me what you think about it. :P**

* * *

**CHAPTER THREE**

Delvaro and Xirl'dar passed through the adamantine gates of House Val'Serra and entered the complex.

The high stalagmite mound was illuminated by purple and blue faery fire and statues of spiders and gargoyles dotted the structure. Sentries and guards on riding lizards patrolled the area. One of the lizard riding guards approached to them. He wore a heavy looking mithral breastplate and a large shield was strapped to his back and a broadsword resting in its sheath. On his head he wore a mithral helmet that completely hid his face. He was the Captain of the guard and Xirl'dar's son, Malar. He approached them and took off his helmet. He had a young face, looking almost identical to Xirl'dar's face, only without the scars, and he had the eyes color as Xirl'dar.

"Good to see you again." He said with a wide smile directed at Del.

"No time to talk. Tell your men to be alert and gather the _Vla'rinnyn_." Xirl'dar interrupted and kept on his way. Del nodded to him and followed Xirl'dar.

"What's happening?" Malar cried after them. His father stopped in his tracks and looked at him.

"War." was the grim reply. Malar's eyes widened and he nodded. Malar was almost like a brother to Del. Xirl'dar trained them both and Malar was older then him only by a decade.

Xirl'dar didn't lead Delvaro to the main doors but instead, he led him to a side passage. They jumped down from their lizards and opened the small limestone door. They walked through a small stone corridor, small clouds of dust rising with each of their footsteps. None of them said a word as they descended further into the compound.

After few minutes they reached a door with a small round lock in the middle of it. They both stopped in front of it and Xirl'dar reached into one of the pockets of his _piwafwi_. He took out a small round object, Delvaro recognized it as a pearl, and he inserted it into the door's lock. The lock hummed and a small _click_ was heard. The pearl dropped out of the lock and Xirl'dar caught it and returned it to his pocket.

The door was enchanted and trapped; only several artifacts opened it, and if someone even touched it without one of them, the trap would be activated. The door opened silently and they entered into another small corridor with a stairway leading down. Once the reached the stairs the door silently closed behind it and another '_click_' was heard from the lock. They descended further down and eventually reached another similar door. This time Xirl'dar took out a small jeweled key. He inserted it into the lock and the key turned. Xirl'dar took out the key and the door opened. They entered into another corridor. This corridor was shorter, in a few moments they reached to another door. Xirl'dar took out another key. This was a simple looking key and Xirl'dar just inserted it into the lock and turned the key. The door opened and they entered into a large chamber. The chamber was lit by a couple of candles that burned on a long stone table surrounded by stone chairs, other then that, the room had a large collection of books on countless shelves on the wall opposite of the door and a small gallery of weapons that hanged from the walls. This room was the safest place in the entire compound, protected almost from any forms of scrying.

They both sat on a chair and waited for the others to arrive. After what seemed like an hour the door opened and the others entered. The first one to enter was Elggor, The weapon master of House Val'serra and Delvaro's father. Wearing fine armor and a piwafwi donned with jewelry. On his hips were the swords of Shil'och. Those swords belonged to the long dead hero of House Val'serra, though only few considered him a hero. More then a millennia ago a massive drow army from Tene'grith almost took over the entire land on the surface above the city. Shil'och defeated the powerful demon that fought beside the drow of Tene'grith and helped the human armies in their struggle. Because of this he was considered as a traitor, but somehow house Val'serra remained in Lolth's favor. As the other houses said at that time, 'Only Lolth knows what Lolth thinks'.

His father sat in front of him and nodded to Del and Xirl'dar. His face was older then Xirl'dar but it lacked the scars and his yellow eyes showed experience. The next one who entered was Malar and after him entered the only female in the _Vla'rinnyn_ and Delvaro's sister, Veila. She wore the robes of a priestess of Lolth with spider web shaped red lines and almost on each of her thin and delicate fingers she wore a jeweled ring. She sat near Elggor and stared with her bright red eyes at Del, as if not believing him to be alive.

"Good that you returned, I almost started to worry." She whispered to him, a smile on her face, half hidden by the white hair that flowed down her shoulders.

The last one to enter was Virlyd, The house mage. He closed the door after him, mumbled some words and wigled his fingers . Delvaro was worried for a moment when he saw Virlyd cast a spell but he relaxed when the wizard finally finished the spell and sat on one of the chairs.

Everyone was sitting on their chairs and most of them stared at Del, waiting for an explanation for why they were called to this room. This was the _Val'rinnyn_, the brotherhood. Xirl'dar decided to break the silence.

"I have bad news." He said.

"Delvaro is back?" Veila said with a chuckle. Xirl'dar silenced her with a glare.

"Worse. Killian is back." He said and everyone froze in their place and they looked wide-eyed at Xirl'dar. Del scowled at Xirl'dar.

"It is impossible, why would he want to return here? Every house in Tene'grith wants him dead." Veila said.

"As far as we know, House Kel'jaryl has sided with him." The scarred drow said. Everyone looked at the weapon master, waiting for an answer.

"He came for my swords. He cannot complete his delusional quest without them." He said. Del raised an eyebrow. What delusional quest he was talking about? everyone else seemed to understand what Elggor talked about.

"How house Kel'jaryl is involved?" Malar asked.

"From what we discovered in our short stay in the Kel'jaryl , they are preparing an attack with Killian." Xirl'dar grimly said.

"What? We are not prepared for a war against the first house!" Malar loudly said. "When would they attack us?"

"As far as we know, they could attack us in any minute." Del silently said.

"What?!" Malar said incredulously. "Then I must go now and prepare the soldiers!" Malar stood up and ran to the door. When the door closed behind him everyone was still looking at Kirlyn.

"Lets prepare ourselves." He said and everyone at the table stood up and walked to the door. Elggor walked to his brother and whispered in his ear.

"Take my son, you know what to do."

"Are you sure you want to do it?" Xirl'dar whispered back.

"Yes, you know the plan."

"As you wish." He said and moved away from Elggor when he noticed Delvaro looking at them.

* * *

Killian stood near the entrance to the cavern that held the city. As he agreed with Zafiry, the guards were gone now and no one would interrupt him. He stood there for almost an hour and eventually he spotted Zafiry in the distance.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" He asked his companion, who stayed in the shadows behind Killian. The drow heard the heavy footsteps of his larger comrade, the Orc named Ogrin.

"Yes, I agree." He said in the common tongue.

"I grew up here, but now I'm banished, they promised me death if I will return." He chuckled and looked at his giant companion. Ogrin was a little higher then seven feet tall with wide shoulders. Every one of his muscles was honed and the orc himself was more then he appeared to be. He wore a battle scarred heavy iron armor and a large dwarven axe strapped on his back.

Zafiry finally got up to their position. The first thing Killian noticed was the disgusted expression of her face when she noticed Ogrin.

"What is this _Xa'huuli_ doing here?" She asked Killian with disgusted in her voice.

"This _trash_ will rip your head off if you won't be careful." Ogrim said in a broken drow dialect. Zafiry raised an eyebrow and looked at Killian.

"Impressive, you taught him our language, though I think he isn't worthy of speaking it, especially speaking to me." She said to Killian casting a glance at the orc.

"You don't know him. Once you will know him better you will come to respect him as I do." He said, not removing his gaze from the city.

"Respect? You forget who we are." She said with another raise of her eyebrow.

"I sometimes consider him as my only friend. You don't understand in such matters. You may consider that teaching him our language is a sign of respect." He calmly said and reverted to the common tongue. "Don't kill her yet, she is important. Ignore her if you must."

"What did you say?" she asked, suddenly alerted.

"I told him not to kill you." He said and looked her in the eyes. "Now I have another proposition for you to think about. One that is full in profit and gain."

"What is it?" she asked, suddenly intrigued. Killian chuckled.

"I shall tell you when you business here is finished. Now, back to our deal, is your army ready?" he said with a sincere smile.

"Not much of an army, its not even half of my house's garrison. Nearly five hundred soldiers are waiting my command. Also, my matron sent a word to the other houses, they won't interfere."

"Its more then enough." He said and walked to Ogrim. "Call your forces."

Ogrim nodded and ran to the darkness of the tunnel.

"Does he see in the dark? I think that it would be enjoyable if he would trip down and alert the whole city." Zafiry said with a smile.

"Yes he does. A gift from a matron mother of another city, I offered her a service that she needed and she paid me well." He calmly answered.

Zafiry could only imagine where Killian was all these years and where he found a matron mother who would give such a gift to an orc. Now she discovered that he was in another drow city. For her, Killian was still a mystery.

"When are we going?" a new voice, lower then any of them had, asked.

Another set of footsteps was heard, this one much, _much_ heavier. Zafiry turned around and for the first time noticed the creature that walked towards them. The monstrosity stood more then eight feet tall, it had two sets of arms, the larger ones ending with pincers and the other ones were smaller and ended with claws. Wild eyes stared at her from the doglike head and razor sharp teeth, like small sharp knives, were seen from its maw. It was a Glabrezu. Where in the nine hells did Killian managed to recruit a tanar'ri?

"I can't wait much longer." The glabrezu said.

"Once Ogrim returns we will attack." He answered and Zafiry understood that the answer was directed to both of them.

"He will be here very soon." Killian added.

Zafiry was about to ask him how he knew that but her words were interrupted when her ears caught a distant sound. It sounded like a distant roar. She looked at Killian and the demon but none of them seemed to be worried about the sound. She kept looking into the long tunnel behind her and the sound kept getting stronger and clearer. After a few moments she noticed something in the distance: A small bright light. The light multiplied kept getting larger and larger and only after a minute she managed to see a distant figure. It was an orc holding a torch. The sound was also recognizable now; it was the footsteps of heavily armed soldiers.

She stared with awe at the dozens, no; hundreds of orcs, kobolds and gnolls, goblins and hobgoblins, bugbears and few trolls, all of them were armed with swords, spears and axes, march behind Ogrim who was one of the largest orcs she has ever seen. Compared to the other orcs, Zafiry noticed how well armed Ogrim really was. Only now she realized that Ogrim was a chieftain. The army stepped closer to her and she squinted her eyes against the painfully bright light that came from the torches they held. Ogrim did a single motion with his hand and all the torch bearers extinguished the torches they held on the ground. She looked Killian, and he answered the unspoken question.

"Few orc and goblin tribes from the surface. the others joined us gladly when we asked if they would like to feast upon the flesh of drow." He calmly said.

"We are ready." He said.

"Good, then we move as soon as our new addition here joins us" He looked at Zafiry when he said that. She quickly realized that she was supposed to gather her own small army. She swiftly went down the small path leading to the city to gather her forces.

"Do you really trust her?" Ogrim asked Killian.

"No, not yet at least, right now she is important and we need her alive." He answered. He looked down and his gaze followed Zafiry. She met one of her men, and they spoke for a moment and the male ran to the city. She then silently walked back to them.

"They are ready." She said to them once she came back.

"Well then, it begins." Killian said and with a sigh he started to walk towards the city.

* * *

"So how were you caught? As far as I know you weren't even supposed to be there." Malar asked Delvaro as they stood near the castle gates and watched the other guards and soldiers prepare for the upcoming battle or simply running around the complex, carrying weapons and other equipment.

Del considered the question. As he thought about it he realized that if he would tell him, his companion would never forget it and would laugh on him until his heart would stop.

"Hmm, I'm not sure you want to know." He said, trying to avoid answering the embarrassing question.

"Yes I do. What happened?" he said, his tone showing that he won't give up his time.

"Well… how can I explain this…?" He murmured to himself. "Well I was in the bazaar and well, I entered Suline's place…"

"Oh no, you gave her another visit and what?" He asked, a grin forming on his face.

Suline Fervar ran the tavern that was on Tene'grith's east side. She was the eight daughter of the fifth house. Most of the city thought that she was mentally ill, since she declined her status as priestess of Lolth but he knew the truth. The income that came from the tavern was impossible to replace. This was the place where all the commoners went to and because of Suline, the fifth house of Tene'grith was one of the most wealthiest in the history of the city.

"I met one commoner for house Kel'jaryl and we played a little game of _Sava. _I won and he refused to give me the money he lost. He punched me and we drew weapons. at that point some of his companions showed up and stopped the fight. Well, i didnt want this to be unfinished so i followed..." He said but he couldn't finish because Malar burst with laughter.

"So you followed him to the Kel'jaryl complex and you were cought? All this because of a sava game?" Malar said, resisting the urge to laugh again.

"Yes, now shut your mouth before I will shove my boot into it." He said, not appreciating Malar's apparent joy. "Do not tell Xirl'dar about this, he will surely kill me."

"As you wish, consider this as though we never talked." He said but didn't stop laughing.

Del snorted and waved him away. He noticed Xirl'dar float down from the balcony located higher in the stalagmite castle. He noticed that he carried a long package, or at least he thought it was a package. The item in it long and it was wrapped in leather. Xirl'dar noticed them and started towards them.

Del quickly elbowed Malar to make him stop laughing. Malar noticed his father and quickly silenced himself. Xirl'dar motioned with his hand to Del. He stood up and walked to his teacher, sending a final glance at the guard captain.

"I need to talk with you." His old teacher said once Del approached.

"Very well, what is it about?" He wondered what this was about. From some reason Xirl'dar looked nervous. He knew his old mentor all too well, and he knew that he never was nervous before any battle, or at least he never showed it. Now, small drop of sweat dotted Xirl'dar's forehead and his eyes seemed to move from one spot to another, as if he was expecting an assassin to strike at him any moment.

"Your father has a, task, for you." He held the leather package in front of him and Del reached to take it. Xirl'dar seemed troubled by giving him the package and he seemed to hold his breath. The older drow released the package, and it dropped into Del's hands. He expected something to happen but nothing did and Xirl'dar released a deep sigh.

"Guard this with your life. No matter what, never lose it, never leave it, and always guard this. This is not only your father's wish, it is also mine. Don't open it now; you will know when." He said. Del nodded and slung the package over his shoulder.

"Wait here, I have to talk with my son." He quietly said.

Xirl'dar left Del alone. He kept following him with his eyes. He didn't hear what they talked about, but from the way Malar's eyes widened, it was something important. They finished talking and Xirl'dar walked away. He walked to Malar and placed his hand on his shoulder and shook him when he didn't react to his presence.

"What did he tell you?" He asked him. Whatever Xirl'dar said, it surely affected Malar.

"Nothing, he just wished me luck in the battle." Malar answered nervously. Del raised his eyebrow. Wished him Luck? Something odd was happening.

"Listen, I have to go and prepare my soldiers. I shall meet you when the battle starts." he said and the guard captain ran to the closest cluster of drow soldiers.

Delvaro was left alone. He concentrated and felt the gravity leave him. He floated up to the balcony and when he was above the floor gravity took hold on him and he dropped down. He nimbly landed and leaned on the balcony railing. He set his gaze upon the city, and it mesmerized him once again. The beautiful lights and shapes seemed to hypnotize him but one thing refused to leave his mind, what was happening?

Xirl'dar and Malar were acting strange. Were they hiding something from him?

He took the mysterious wrapped package to his hands and pressed with his fingers, trying to feel what's in side. He had no luck; the package was probably stuffed with more leather or cloth, since he didn't feel anything inside.

He slung it again over his shoulder and returned to his pleasant view of the city. As he looked at the city he began to think, where house Kel'jaryl would strike from?

As his eye scanned the streets of the West side of Tene'grith his eyes caught a glimpse of heat. this one was moving wildy and it was hoter then anything else. He did the unpleasent shift of vision spectrum and he saw what the source of heat was. It was a flickering torch and as he looked at it dozens more appeared. His eys widened as he counted more then five dozens. His mind raced to find an answer but his answer came as a massive roar. The torches began to move, snaking through the city streets, footsteps thundered through the silence. He also noted another thing, those orcs passed near the other houses, not even taking a notice of them. They marched directly towards them. Like a burning snake that streamed through the streets, as if they were swallowing everything in their path.

He jumped down from the rail and activated the levitation spell halfway down. He landed in a run and rushed to find Malar. Everyone already noticed the massive wave running toward them. He ran towards the gate, this where Malar would be. He found his old companion standing near line of battle ready soldiers.

"Will the gate hold them?" he asked him, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Will it hold against such numbers? I have no idea, if they don't have anything bigger then orcs, perhaps. In any case, once they will enter, if they will, we will cut them down with ease. They are simple orcs after all." He said with a snort.

"Don't underestimate them, at least not in _these _numbers." He countered.

"They outnumber us only five to one. And considering that they are only orcs, we have the advantage, you cannot argue with that."

"Yes I can, as untrained they can be, there are a lot of them, and fighting five at once is even difficult for us."

"You have a point there, but if everything will go as I planned, half of them would be lying in a pool of their own blood once they breach the gate. _If_ they wlould even breach it"

"I hope that you are right. I will be near." He said to Malar and patted him on the shoulder. He ran to the closest line of warriors and stood near them. He looked around himself. He spotted Virlyd standing with the gathering of house Val'serra's wizards. They were only five and only three of them were battle trained. He also noticed Veila standing with her own priestesses and all around him, stood four hundred of the six hundred soldiers of house Val'serra.

Everyone stood without making a sound and everyone tightened their grip on their weapons. Virlyd and his mages walked their way through the large crowd to stand in the front.

The roaring of orcs and goblins became louder and closer. Everyone armed their small hand crossbows and Delvaro did so as well. The anticipation began to torture him, he couldn't wait much longer. Torches flew over the twenty feet tall stone walls that surounded the complex. Dozens of torches dropped down on them, many of the the soldiers let out yells of surprise and everyone began to extinguish the unlpeasent source of light. Del picked up a toch the landed near him, he squinted his eys to a thin slit and threw the torch over the wall and back to where it came from.

They waited, to Del it seemed as if they were waiting for hours but soon enough, they came. Awful smell filled Del's nostrils as five trolls collided with the spider web shaped adamantine gates and a dozen of orcs and goblins behind them. Everyone though, held their fire. Virlyd began to cast a spell, speaking words of power and doing specific motions with his hand and soon after, the spell was completed. A fireball flew out of Virlyd's hands, igniting the trolls as if they were dried grass. More fireballs flew right through them, managing to burn and incinerate the ranks behind them. The trolls, now walking and screaming torches, ran back away from the gates, burning the other ranks and adding more fuel to the confusion and chaos. Del shielded his eyes from the light with his hand, and when the fire show ended he looked back at the gates only to find more goblinoid standing in front of them.

In that moment he heard a warning cry. He managed to see a crude spear flying at him through the openings that were in the gate. The spear missed him and impacted with the near drow and stood there. The spear skewered him and the soldier dropped to his side, the spear shaft coming out of his back. Del returned his attention to the gates. Everyone still held their fire, only those who wielded heavy crossbows, were firing at the horde. Suddenly, he was blinded, as if the whole world exploded in front of him.

* * *

Zafiry stared in awe at the small explosion. Instead of participating in the battle she and Killian stood in a safe distance behind the forces and on a high ground. Ogrin preferred to lead his warriors into battle himself. She hoped that he was burned in the first fireball that mage summoned.

"What in the name of the Demonweb was that?" she asked Killian.

"An alchemical formula that is sensitive to fire. It took me a long time to find it." He answered, not removing his eyes from the battle.

"It seems that you planned this day for all those years." She remarked. Indeed, Killian was too much prepared for this day.

"You are right."

"What do you plan on gaining here?" she asked him. He never actually told her what he wanted; the only thing she knew is that he needed those swords and that blood.

"You have your gain in this matter. I'm eliminating a potential powerful enemy for your house, and you help me to do it. For the time being, this is the only thing you need to know." He simply said, his tone leaving no room for debate. "Now, shall we go? The wall is breached, and I think that this is the appropriate time to call your soldiers."

Zafiry nodded. They both went down the street, Killian heading toward the battle and Zafiry to lead her own soldiers.

* * *

Del felt something heavy hit him in the shoulder and he dropped to the ground. He opened his eyes and blinked away the bright starts that he saw. His mouth dropped as he saw the large hole in the wall near the gate. He looked around him and saw that he wasn't the only one who fell to the ground but most of them were standing up now. He also noted that none of the horde was near the gate. Instead they began to pour down through the breach. Dozens of small 'clicks' were heard and the first lines of the goblinoids dropped down, and after that another dozen 'clicks' and more fell. A lighting bolt zipped by and incinerated a dozen of the rushing orcs and goblins, and a foul smell of burned flesh filled Del's nose while he reloaded his crossbow. He released another shot and dropped his ranged weapons. Del drew his daggers and waited for his first victim.

An orc wielding a longsword and a shield attacked him first. He mentally commanded his dagger and the enchantments activated. The orc put his shield in front of him and tried to ram him. Del sidestepped right, out of the reach of his sword, and stabbed him in the back. The orc howled in pain but Del was already facing his next opponent, the first orc tried to get up but he was stabbed by two swords wielded by a drow soldier that stood behind Del. He ducked under a spear aimed at him and slashed at the nearest goblin's throat. The goblin fell down but two more came to replace him. A drow joined Del and the odds were more then even. His arms worked furiously, he parried a sword with his left and sliced through a club with his right. He stabbed the club wielding orc and parried another swipe of the sword wielding goblin. He kicked the goblin in the gut and sucked in his belly as an orc's spear got too close to him.

A flash of another lightning bolt made him wince, and that move cost him dearly. The spear wielding orc made another thrust and Del barely managed to avoid it. The spear scraped against his shoulder but didn't penetrate his armor though it was painful. He countered by cutting the spear in the middle and slashing at the orc's throat. The orc grasped at his throat and some blood flowed from his mouth but none came out of the wound, only a small trail of smoke. A bugbear with an axe charged at him but he was stop in its tracks and a green bolt impacted with its stomach and began to dissolve him from the inside. The orcs and goblins flowed at him like the waters of a fast flowing river. No matter he many fell down, more came to replace them. Del barely avoided a bolt shot from a crossbow. The bolt missed Del's head and a drow behind him fell down with a scream. He dropped down the crossbow wilding hobgoblin and noticed one thing that could cause some problems.

A huge orc wrapped with thick iron armor and a magnificent battle axe in his hands was tearing through the ranks of Val'serra soldiers and the horde followed him. The orc swiped with his axe and a drow fell down, in two pieces.

Del received little time to rest, he retreated back and several drow warriors took his place. He looked for anyone of his companions and eventually he noticed Malar and Xirl'dar fighting side by side near the main doors to the castle. He ran through the ranks, stepping on dead bodies of orcs and drow alike. Pure chaos ruled now, but they were winning up until now. He cut down a goblin that went too close to him and slashed through a group of orcs before he managed to get to them.

"What took you so long to get here?" Malar cried over the roaring sounds of battle. Del's reply was a dagger in the chest of a gnoll.

Luck seemed to be on their side. They slew more then half of the horde and they lost only a third of their own. They might have even won, if House Kel'jaryl would have not arrived.

In one moment to the loud sounds of '_click_' crossbow bolts and spells rained down on their ranks. Dozens of Val'serra soldiers, who were distracted by the horde, fell down, either asleep or dead. Del and his comrades stood motionless as a wave of destruction crossed through the Val'serra ranks. The Kel'jaryl soldiers charged into the fray. The unprepared or dazed Val'serra soldiers couldn't withstand the attack and they dropped down as the Kel'jaryl soldiers went through them. A loud roar, nothing like anything Delvaro have ever heard, filled the air. He looked at the breached wall and saw the monstrosity that just appeared. He never saw one but he knew what it was.

The glabrezu rushed at the Val'serra warriors, crushing everything in its path. He caught one drow with its pincer and the drow fell down in two pieces, raining blood at everyone who stood near. He continued to literately walk through the drow ranks, waving his hands, braking bones with each strike or picking them up and tearing them up with its razor sharp teeth.

"Move!" Xirl'dar cried over sounds of battle and he shoved Del and Viln to the side.

Del and Malar did as their mentor said and moved aside. He managed to see Xirl'dar taking out a wand from one of his pockets and shoot a lighting bolt from it. The bolt hit the demon directly but it only added to its rage, the glabrezu looked directly at Xirl'dar and bared his bloody razor sharp teeth.

They ran from the demon's path and they were met with a group of kobolds and goblins with an orc at their lead. One of them threw a spear at Del and he quickly slapped it aside with his dagger. The goblins came on; Del parried an attack from a crude axe and kicked another goblin in the throat. The goblin fell down to the ground, struggling to breathe, his windpipe broken. The second goblin dropped his weapon and tried to flee but Del caught him mid run and slashed him across the back. Malar bashed his large shield against the orc's face and slashed at the goblins chest with his broadsword. The goblin fell down and a small pool of blood began to form around him and Malar stabbed at the downed orc. Del jumped at the remaining kobolds and goblins, who didnt have much of the fight remaining in them. He kicked the horned head of a kobold and stabbed at the head of a goblin. The dagger entered the the goblins skull with a sickening sound. In a monet he was on the next two goblins. He attacked the nearest one and began to stab and slahs. His hands moved so fast that they were turned into a blur. The goblin was dead before he ever hit the ground, dozens of wounds across his body. The second goblin charged, raising his hammer above his head. Del slashed across his stomach and the goblin dropped the hammer, his hands now trying to grab a hold of his spilling entrails.

Del stopped in his tracks and observed the battle around him. Malar stopped as well. The floor was littered with dead bodies and his feet slipped on the blood stained floor. Malar motioned for him to follow and they both ran. Gladly for them they didn't meet much of a resistance and there was no sign of the glabrezu but there wasn't any sign of Xirl'dar either. They encountered some outnumbered soldiers and jumped into the battle. This time it weren't Orcs or goblins, this time it were drow.

Del immediately landed the first strike, he stabbed at the closest drows stomach but a longsword met it along the way and the battle was on. The drow was truly skilled, Del thought, He parried with his left and attacked with his right. The drow was fast; he managed to block the attack and Del leaped back from a stabbing sword. The drow prepared to attack but a shield charging Malar stopped him. The drow wasn't fast enough, the shield crashed into his shoulder and he lost his balance. Del ceased the moment and charged himself. The drow wasn't fast enough to react and Del broke his defense and a burning hot dagger slit his throat.

A lighting bolt roared only few feet away from him and flew at the nearest cluster of Kel'jaryl warriors.

* * *

Killian wiped the blood from his sword on the dead drow's piwafwi. He was almost near the main doors but he noticed something that made him stop in his tracks. It was a young drow wearing the clothes of a noble with a long package on his back. He smiled to himself and followed him.

He calmly walked through the battles, avoiding any confrontations as much as he could, his Katana sword in his hand. He saw his little brother fighting the goblins, the other one must have been Xirl'dar's son. Killian smiled as he saw him cut the goblins down and continue on his way. He began to wonder where they were going now; perhaps this would gain him some advantage.

Delvaro and his companion encountered the Kel'jaryl soldiers and they didn't disappoint him, Delvaro fought well, he had to admit to himself. A soldier of his former house spotted him and attacked.

Killian chuckled. This one did not know who he was facing. He raised his sword, the blade without a single flaw or scratch and smooth, as if it was forged only hours ago. The soldier attacked, raising his saber. Killian stood in his battle pose, holding the sword with his two hands and readying his blade. He will end this battle in a single strike.

As soon as his adversary was close enough he did the first strike. The soldier managed to line his saber into the proper parry position but it wasn't enough. Killian did a single swing with his blade. The katana sliced through the simple saber as though it wasn't even there, and kept going through the armor and the body underneath it. The soldier stood there for a moment, a thin red line from shoulder to hip, he looked into Killian's merciless eyes and dropped to the ground.

A thunderbolt flew at the remaining Kel'jaryl soldiers near Delvaro. He looked at where the bolt came from and he spotted a mage standing not so far away from him. He walked to him and the wizard was too much involved in the casting of another spell, that he didnt notice the drow the came from behind him. Killian swung his katana at the mage's neck. The sword hit the back of his neck, and jumped back from the hit. Killian scowled, a stoneskin spell. The attack perha[s failed but it did interrupt the mage's consentration. Killian bashed his sword against the protected foe's head again and again. The mage turned around and tried to cast a spell but it was too late. Killian's sword finnaly passed through and the spellcaster's headless body dropped to the floor. Killian looked back at Delvaro and decided that it was time to meet his brother for the first time in twenty five years.

* * *

Once the dots cleared from Del's eyes he noticed that no one else approached him. He hated fighting besides mages, with all their distracting and colorful magic. He looked at his companion who still fought against one Kel'jaryl warrior. He began to approach Malar to help him but an odd sight came into his sight.

A single drow walked towards him, a katana sword in his hand, but the oddest thing was the thick and heavy grey fur cloak that he wore. The underdark had no climate change; it was always warm and there as no need of such warm clothings. He could only guess that he was not from Tene'grith.

The new warrior stopped ten feet away from him and raised his weapon, that marvelous katana. He could sense the power that was held within the blade. They both began to circle each other, waiting for the other to strike. Del felt that something was familiar about this alienated drow, the way he stood and held his weapon were all too familiar.

Sensing the attack coming he countered by attacking himself. Del ducked under the katana's deadly swipe and stabbed with his right hand while with the other one hitting the sword and removing it from his close vicinity. Del switched to the offensive, his hands became a blur as he unleashed a fury of thrusting and slashing daggers but none of the attacks passed through his defenses. He noticed an opening but realized the trap for what it was. He attacked the opening but in the last moment he changed the direction and almost slipped through the defense as his dagger missed the drow's face only by an inch. Suddenly he was on the defensive; he parried and avoided the heavier blade, which came faster and faster. He threw his head backwards from such an attack and the blade missed his throat by a mere fraction.

Malar finished with his own opponent and joined Del against the newcomer.

The drow took his sheath to his free hand. Del raised an eyebrow. Was he going to fight with a scabbard? But he noticed that the drow's lips uttered a single word that he did not hear and he began to feel the energy coming from the scabbard. He noticed how it began to shift and change; a hilt appeared where the drow held the scabbard from. After a second, the drow held a complete copy of his first weapon. Del released a whisle.

Del considered that it could be an illusion but he decided not to risk himself. Del and Malar circled around him, not letting him face both at the same time. Surprisingly, he didn't even try to resist, he just stood there and waited. Malar and Del attacked at the same time. Del slashed at his opponent but in an amazing speed, a katana met his dagger. Their hands became a blur, and the metallic ringing coming from the swords came faster and faster. The unknown drow proved to be a powerful adversary; he used one hand on each of them and none of them managed to slip by his defenses. The drow twisted around Del's stab and kicked him in the chest. Del followed the momentum and rolled back but the drow was already on him. The swords came at him, he tried to block them as fast as he could but he was still on the ground. One blade passed through his defenses and came at his face. He threw his head back and blocked the second blade. The katana slashed through his shoulder. He groaned in pain as he felt the blade tear through his shoulder and the warm of blood spreading under his armor. He saw Malar shield charge him but the drow turned around and slashed right through the shield and he kicked him in the remaining piece of the shield. Malar dropped the shield and fell to the ground as the drow stroke him in the face with the hilt of his sword. The drow turned to him but he stopped in his tracks, distracted by something that was behind Del.

"You have grown well, but now, let me speak with our father." The drow said.

Del's eyes widened. It was Killian. He cursed himself for not recognizing his brother immediately. The last time he saw him he was only five years old, but Killian changed since then. He turned back his head and for the first time in this battle he saw his father.

"Move aside. He came for me and this is our battle." He said without taking his gaze from Killian.

Del decided to listen to his father. He stood up and ran to Malar, who was sitting on the ground, lookiobviously dazed. He noticed Del and he climbed to his feet and staggered toward him. Del noticed that no one approached them. The orcs and Kel'jaryl soldiers did not attack them. They consentrated instead on the remainig Val'serra wariors. A fireball exploded not far away.

Killian and his father stood there and stared at each others eyes. Killian did the first strike, and Kirlyn drew his own swords. Del noticed something odd again. The swords his father held didn't emanate the usual power he felt coming from them.

Their hands became a blur, the metallic ringing sounded like a single note. Dozens of tiny wounds appeared on their faces and hands, as the blades missed by a hairbreadth. Many who stood near them stopped fighting and just watched the battle, an expression of awe on their faces. Elggor moved his head left and the blade missed him by less then an inch. He spun around and Killian sliced his piwafwi, pieces of cloth fell down to the floor. Elggor attacked low and Killian parried the attack. Del noticed someone in the corner of his eye. It was Xirl'dar. He looked really bad, bloodied swords in his hands and his cloak was releasing thin lines of smokes from the burn marks on it. His shoulder was bloodied but none of the blood was his. He wore a grim expression on his face as he watched the battle.

"You must go, now." He said to Del.

"What? why?" Del asked with a severe scowl.

Xirl'dar didn't answer; he just looked at Malar and nodded. Malar began to pull Del away but he fought against him. He wasnt going to leave them against such a foe. Killian took the offensive. Killian attacked relentlessly, not allowing Elggor to counter attack. He constanly attacked from both side, always hitting a little higher each strike. This way soon enough Elggor's lower defense was open. Killian attacked and Elggor blocked. The whole watching crowd silenced. The only thing that broke the silence was the two pieces of a sword that fell to the stone floor.

Killian stared incredulously at the broken sword and when he understood what was happening, his face switched to a scowl and he stabbed with his sword. The sword entered Kirlyn's chest and exited from his back.

Del eyes widened. He fought Viln's grip and he finally broke his hold. He tightened his grip on his daggers and he knew what he would do next, he would kill his brother. His attack ended shortly, he felt something grab hold of his hair and pull him back with amazing strength. His legs left the ground and his breath was blasted out of his lungs as he landed on the stone floor.

Killian took out his sword from his father's body. Elggor gasped as the sword came out with a slow stream of blood and he toppled to the ground.

"What is this? Where are the real swords?" He asked, his rage apparent in his voice. Elggor coughed some blood and chuckled.

"Fooled you, didn't they? They look as much as the real ones." He said with a wide smile.

Killian's mind raced to think where his father could hide the swords. Eventually his eyes were set upon Delvaro, and the long package that was on his back. He smiled and looked back at his father.

"This is your greatest mistake..." Elggor said.

"As you say, but now, the swords would be _mine_." He said and turned and started towards Delvaro. Elggor wasn't going to allow this. He mustered all the strength he had left, grabbed the piece of the broken blade lying next to him and slashed at Killian. Killian didn't manage to avoid fast enough. The broken blade sliced through his left hand he tried to block with and a second after, a hand and a katana dropped to the floor. Killian gritted his teeth and growled in pain. He grabbed his hand, or what remained of it, and warm blood flowed down through his fingers and to the ground. He quickly wraped his stumped hand in his fur cloak and looked at his father.

"Never turn your back to an opponent, not until he is dead." Elggor yelled at him.

Killian growled his pain away and stabbed Elggor in the chest with the other sword. Del attempted to break from Xirl'dar's grip but then he felt something hit him very painfully in the back of his head. His vision blurred and he lost hold of his daggers. He fell to his knees and sent a hand to the source of the massive pain. His fingers felt something wet and warm and when he looked at them he saw them full of red liquid.

"I'm sorry." He heard Xirl'dar's voice from somewhere far away.

He saw the ground leave him and he began to move. He looked down and saw the back of someone wearing mithril armor. Someone was carrying him. He looked back at where he was and he tried to discern through the blur. He managed to see Xirl'dar charge at Killian, his cloak already had a visible portion of it soaked with blood. He tried to fight the blurness and the sudden difficulty when he tried to raise one of his limbs but soon enough he felt the consciousness leave him.


	5. Announcment!

**Announcment: Well, i decided to rewrite the whole fic. There were a lot of parts that i didnt like, or part that had problems in it.**

**Some of the changes would be big, some not but the whole fic would be better after this, for me at least ;) The new chapters would be uploaded soon enough, just wait a little ^^  
**


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