Author's Note Hey guys

Read this at will, I wrote it for a bit of fun so go ahead and have a look. The contents of this story is, unless otherwise stated in the future, OOC.

I know this is not quite fitting for this forum but I'd rather not see it die elsewhere. I don't know whether people should post comments here or General. To be honest, here to me is fine but forum moderators might disagree. I'll clarify this statement accordingly when I find out which one annoys them the least.

Fish Begin

There was a crackling of stone and a few pebbles fell from above onto the hard rock floor. The Elf blinked tiredly and turned his eyes towards the wall. With a mental shrug he went back to prodding at the smouldering fire at his feet. The pale blue light of the fire flickered in the cave breeze. It would be guard duty soon and he was tired. The fire made a few popping sounds and then went out in a small white flash. At the centre lay a small spherical stone, the remains of a few runes glimmered in their last breath, before the whole rock turned to dust.

The Elf rubbed his eyes. He hated the rune fire. He only used it because it was easy to carry, one small stone the size of a plum burned for hours with a soft blue glow. Enough light to see by, but too bright to show up easily. The only problem was when it went out. The white flare in his vision fading, the figure patted around in a small knapsack leaning on the wall. His gloved hands felt around inside until they grasped another small ball of stone. The stones were based off thunderstones, but rather than being a natural occurrence, they were crafted by the high mages, along with other travelling aids. Life wasn’t particularly hard for the little war band, the best hands enchanted their equipment and they didn’t have to rely on instinct to survive in the cold tunnels of the Underdark.

The stone was placed in a sling, and the Elf shielded his eyes. With the swing of an arm, he brought the sling down on the floor next to his leg with a crunch. Peeking with one eye, there appeared to be a slight glow of white lines and then a hiss as the stone erupted into flame. Carefully he kicked it away and then leant back on the wall. He had another hour of sleep yet before watch. This was the longest they’d stayed still, and in a few hours they would be miles away.

--+++--

Life was not good. A drip of cold water landed softly, followed by another. It flowed down a few strands of hair and hit the floor. No. Life was not good. Then the fire went out. The cave was damp, water flowed lightly down the walls. It made the floor slippery. The figure had discovered this and rubbed at a bruise. It would not be a warm night. With a soft sigh, he sunk into the shadows and tried to go to sleep under a thin blanket.

--+++--

There was a scrambling for equipment, blankets were rolled and weapons collected. The Elf was shaken awake harshly. He grunted with annoyance and then received a sharp kick in the leg for doing so. “It’s moving. We must move. Now!” A voice hissed. The Elf stretched and then hauled himself upright. He stumbled around until his night vision returned and then picked up a small leather backpack. A couple of his companions had already started to head off over the ridge; the padding of footsteps could be heard as they jogged away.

“Narh’zul, keep up you oaf!” barked the leader, grabbing his arm and hauling him up the steep rock face to the ridge at the top. The cavern was vast. The group stood shaded by an outcrop above, looking down on the depths below. The cliff was almost vertical and its drop was immeasurable. It would take some time to scale down that. Narh’zul squinted into the distance. Tiny flashes of light could be seen, appearing and then dimming, moving very slowly upwards.

“They’re miles away, we must move fast if we’re to cover the hidden plains” motions an Elf standing on the tip of the cliff face. “They’ve taken the rising path” “No, they won’t make it with the torches, they can’t see and climb. They have to run the pass, that’s not climbing, that’s getting further away” “Drop what you don’t need, we’re not walking down”

There was a clank and rustle of bags as the group deposited some of their belongings. All food, bar some snacks were left, spare ammunition and large weapons clattered to the floor. They were left with a couple of carrying belts and their personal weapons of choice. Anything more would seriously hamper their agility across the rugged terrain and speed was a necessity now.

“Commander, I don’t see their lights. We’ve lost them” an uneasy scout called. “They won’t get far, it’s dangerous, and that means we can close the gap” “How? I can’t even see a way down” Captain Azn’u rummages through the bags of things to be left and retrieves a few of the runefire stones. He chuckles lightly and then drops them over the edge of the cliff. An echo of falling bricks sound out through the cavern and then disappear. In the darkness below, a few small flashes of light can be seen, followed by the familiar glow of small blue fires far below. “Look for the flames, that is the way we will go, now start climbing!”

--+++--

A heavy sound echoed quietly around the cave, followed by a grunt from something animal like. The Rothe continued to cud on last week’s meal. It was amazing. Every time it turned around it was somewhere else. Leaning down, the creature snuffled its nose along the floor until tomorrow’s food could be found. It knew there was another Rothe near by, it has been eating here. Deciding not to carry on, it turned once more and forgot where it was.

--+++--

Pebbles bounced down the cliff side making clicking and popping sounds as they touched rock on rock. Boots scrambled against the rough surface fighting for grip. There were whispers between figures in the dark, sliding down twine and rope, slowly making their way down the rock face. The path above them wound and turned back and forth. It would have been safer but cost too many hours. The Drow couldn’t afford to lose time; they were behind as it was.

--+++--

A Rothe ambled over to something warm lying on the floor. It gave the mound a nudge and sniffed to see if it was edible. The mound groaned. This may be normal for food, considered the Rothe and gave it another nudge. A hand rose from under a blanket and pressed on the under-cow’s nose. Confused, the Rothe stepped back and considered what to do next. After a few minutes it returned to cudding yesterday’s breakfast.

--+++--

Sally sat up. She wasn’t used to being woken by the wildlife, but it was better than getting eaten by it. She watched the Rothe momentarily and then looked around for her belt. Rothe weren’t the brightest of creatures and this one probably wouldn’t go anywhere for hours. She stood up and tightened her top before buckling up a fine chain shirt. This woman travelled light. She carried a shortsword on her hip and had two belts crossing diagonally over her chest with an assortment of pouches. Around her waist there were wands. Most of them were short, shorter than the usual size.

Giving the Rothe a pat on the head she set off. Salina jogged to the end of the cave and slowed as she saw the vastness of a sheer drop in front of her. She rested one hand on the wall and peered into the distance below. She wasn’t sure why she was following this group but her senses told her it was important. She could barely remember last nights dream, but felt it was probably her imagination and lack of sleep. The torchlight weaved ahead of her, probably only a mile or so. Squinting, the edges of a path were visible below. Backtracking a bit would be necessary to get down but travelling alone is quick. A few stones bounced past her face from above. Her ears moved a little and she listened, not standing like a statue. A loud gust of wind howled across the opening. Time to keep going.

--+++--

An hour later, an Elf lowered himself past the opening. A Rothe licked him on the way past but decided that a mushroom it had just found was tastier and retuned to chewing.

--+++--

They stopped. Panting for breath, a man leant against a wall. They couldn’t keep this pace up. Torches started to grow dim as the last of the oil burned slowly in the dead rag ends. The man looked around. His night vision was poor and the torches weren’t helping. All around him was darkness. The sounds of footsteps grew neared. A Dwarf and another human fell around the corner. They were exhausted.

“We have … to stop” Panted the Dwarf, sweat running down his beard. His armour was dented, parts torn off from a recent battle. Hammerfist, as someone called him once, wheezed and then dropped his single headed axe to the floor, resting hands on knees to catch his breath.

Finally the girl caught up. She wore a simple cloth robe and carried a wooden staff. The skirt was torn in a few places, recently and on purpose to aid in running. The group looked ragged. Two collapsed onto their knees, scrambling for water in their packs. It was obvious they weren’t kitted out for the running. Armour was made for fighting, bags were full, once at least. Some had empty sheathes, choosing to abandon weaponry than lose pace. Exhaustion was setting in on the less athletic members.

“You have still got it, right?” The leader said. He was a human, reasonably well armed, but smart enough to ditch what he could. The remains of a shoulder pad had the word “Keen” dug into it crudely. His eyes turned towards the robed woman, who lifted the top of the backpack tied onto dwarven armour.

Inside the bag lay a ball a little smaller than a man’s hand. It was totally plain and currently pitch black in colour, like a lump of marble. The surface was what appeared to actually be glass, and on closer inspection, the colour was not solid, but a murky cloud darkened by shadow and lack of light.

The hair on their necks rose like a cold chill on a hot day. She closed the back quickly and nodded. Everyone felt a little uneasy but it was passed off as nerves. They knew the Drow would be quick to react but losing them was harder than intended.

--+++--

It wasn’t more than a day ago the adventuring party had come across the remains of a fight between some sort of Drow honour guard and something else. The earth was scorched and finely clad bodies in Drow ceremonial armour were strewn around. A couple had survived to see the group arrive at the scene. Rolled up against a rock nearby and glowing brightly like a fire was an orb. Keen, knowing a prize when he saw one picked it up quickly, not liking to see anything go to waste.

--+++--

The Drow finally reached the bottom of the cliff face. Hands burned from gripping rope, a few gloves were discarded on the floor, the whole surface worn away. They took a moment to stretch their legs and get a drink. There was a brief headcount. Someone was missing.

“Where’s Lex?” There were a couple of shrugs. “Didn’t hear him scream, so he’s not dead. Yet anyway” There was a clang of metal. A piece of armour hit the floor in the middle of the group and the missing Drow stepped out from the shadows. “I found this a short distance away, they headed down the breezy passage behind me.” There was a glint of a shiny object thrown to Lex. With a swift hand he caught it and slipped it into his pocket without a second glance.

--+++--

Quick footsteps padded across the rock. Their sound was broken by a pause and then followed with a thud. The rock here was an old lava bed, mostly jagged with a few long paths cut into it from erosion. Many had traversed the path, but the footsteps left in the fine dust were fresh and long, left by a group running as fast as they could manage. Small items were deposited or dropped as they fled. Sally lowered herself down onto the path to examine something shy left behind. It was a coin, the print was familiar too, hand stamped, and contained a large ornate B in the middle. The group weren’t heading back to where this came from.

Her ears pricked up, voices could be heard. Not human either. Sally ran at the wall and jumped. Her foot caught hold on the smooth face and she sprang backwards catapulting herself away. As she leapt off the wall, muscles tensed and her body rolled over, hands outstretched to catch the corner of the rock above. Scrambling quickly she pushed herself up and rolled away from the rock face into the shadows.

The party of dark elves jogged past. Their footsteps made little sound and there was no clink of metal from the movement. Her presence went unnoticed as they ran down the path way. Rolling over a few more times to get away from the edge she hopped onto the balls of her feet and watched the group head away. The cavern was pitch black. Even elves struggled to see where they were going, but to her it seemed like a falling dusk. Dust clouds shimmered up between the stone, lifted by footsteps. Somewhere in the distance torch light flickered.

With the Drow now near by she would have to stay low. Sally looked around and decided that staying on the top was easier. The Drow didn’t appear to be bothered about taking the shortest route, else they’d have climbed up a mile ago and found her. The adventurers had a Dwarf, looking at some of the things left in their path, so he couldn’t cover the gaps and would force them to use the low way.

Sally stood, looked out across the flowing curves of raised rock and shadows of breaks where ice had once cut its way through. She stretched and then headed off, following the torchlight flickers. Her feet found easy grip and she skipped her way across the floor.

--+++--

It seemed darker below. There were as many types of dark as there were types of light. There was cosy darkness, the sort that fills the room of a sleeping home. Deep darkness, the immeasurable depths of a canyon in an infinite cave were filled with it.

That’s how it looked below anyway. A cowled figure stood near the cliff face looking down below. He could see nothing, no light; no sound short of the whisper of wind caught his ear. “Approach”, a voice commanded. It didn’t sound dangerous; in fact it seemed sternly welcoming.

The figure walked around an outcrop of rock, which had suited as a wall and stopped. He wasn’t sure what to expect when he arrived and it certainly wasn’t this. There was a soft orange fire burning on the plateau. It’s light cast out to the edges of the stone floor and then disappeared into the blackness below. There wasn’t a lot of room here, maybe twenty-foot square and what looked like cliffs everywhere else.

The choice of location was less surprising than what was there. He’d met people in overlooks before; it was tactical usually, though this didn’t seem to be overlooking a battlefield like it would normally. Next to the fire was a small red cushion and a rug large enough for someone to sit on, it was ornate too.

There was also a chair, simple, with arms. In it sat a woman. She smiled softly and tipped her head in greeting. One leg crossed over the other and both arms rested on the chair. His eyes flickered around; there was another light source, a white glow of something lying on the floor behind the hosts’ chair. He squinted a little to see but his attention was drawn elsewhere.

“What is it you want?” The man asked, pulling his hood back. Her smile widened, then giving a warm laugh. Every hair on the traveller’s skin rose instantly.

--+++--

Running became walking, walking became staggering and then the Dwarf fell in the mud face first. “We have to stop” panted one. Very slowly a bearded face rose from the mess. Mud and water ran down his head. “That’s it!” he cried “I’m not going one step further. They can’t find us down here. We can’t find us down here. We need rest or we’ll die running”. They all conceded and after deciding that moving off the main path would be a good idea anyway, they staggered into a small cut out in the rock side.

The wall didn’t really make a cave but it did provide shelter from the icy breeze. A small fire was risked in the middle for warmth. It was welcomed, even with the risk of giving away their hiding place. Hammerfist had passed out, shoes off by the flames. Two others sauntered in the shadows sitting or crouched trying to watch down the path. Their attempts at keeping an eye out were hampered by the loss of night vision when making the fire.

--+++--

“We’ve lost them” “What do you mean lost them?” “They’re, err..” “We were practically on top of them and you’ve lost them!” “There’s hard rock here, and it’s dark” “it’s dark? It’s dark! We live in a cave inside a bigger cave. It’s always bloody dark. Find them you idiots! I’ll wait here before you get us more lost” Two Drow slipped off in different directions, preferring not to hang around and find out what would happen if they didn’t. Their best tracker, Asolex stayed quiet. He preferred not to take lead all the time. He felt he spent most of his time running back and forth between target and friend to keep them following. The others needed the practise anyway. He knew where the mark was roughly and decided to climb up to get a better spot.

Lex pulled himself up onto the level above and balanced on a thin stone footing. Somewhere a short distance away someone ducked. He peered out across the caves. He sniffed, the smell of smoke lingered as the slightest hint in the air. It had been thinned by breeze and fume, but it was there somewhere. They’d stopped.

--+++--

Sally reached over her shoulder and pulled something off her back. It looked like a cross, no more than six inches long and about the same wide. Now was probably a good time to load this. She kept low behind a raised rock. She was sure she’d been spotted, but moving away would almost certainly show her up. On closer inspection, the cross was actually a small hand bow. It was finely crafted. They were ruthless. At close range, a hand crossbow would pack the same amount of punch that a large crossbow could, it just didn’t have the distance. They weren’t designed for that.

This one sat nearly on top of Sally’s shoulder blades under a leather cover. It looked like a small backpack or a rolled cloak. She used all her bodyweight to cock it against a rock; usually this was the only way of getting a bolt to fit as they were sprung so tightly. You only ever got one shot. It was a hundred pounds of pure aggression and it was going to kill something.

--+++--

Eyes narrowed, the figure stared at the woman. She was exceptionally beautiful, her skin was a soft warm colour enhanced by the fire’s flames. A cool breeze blew across her as she stood up causing the fine hairs cast down from her head to flutter like fire being blown sideways. Her voice was welcoming as she spoke once more, the tip of her tongue peeking through lips to wet the smile. “Now Charles, why are you so scared?”

He was worried. This woman looked so familiar. Her face bore down on his mind like a giant picture on the wall. Her dress looked like very expensive silks, folded round in a rising curve. It was a dark shade of red at the bottom and cascaded into oranges as it rose. She looked like one big flame. No age could be placed on her face, she could be twenty or fourty. “Who are you?” Charles stammered, stepping away as she approached.

There was her little laugh again. It tortured him each time he heard it. “No my dear I am not who you think. I won’t try and kill you, although I do hope your nose is not so broken any more. That was quite a punch you received from the poor girl, though I dare say you had it coming”. Charles, the mage rubbed his nose, remembering what happened when he and his daughter last met.

She reached into a pocket of her tightly fitted dress and pulled out a globe the size of a small melon. Fog spun around beneath its glassy surface, the edges shimmering gently in the firelight. The man questioned the retrieval of such a large object from her person but then conceded that he was able to pull fire out of thin air. He mentally shrugged.

“You may call me Amber,” she said, looking at the ball. Her arm held it aloft about chest height in front of the two of them, and then she let go. It did not fall; it merely sat as if there was something suspending it from underneath. Without a word Amber moved away and sat back down, leaving the object suspended. The man tiptoed slowly towards it and peered at the shifting colours inside. “There is nothing to see at the moment” Amber shrugged. “In the mean time, you wished to ask me something”.

--+++--

Salina climbed swiftly on top of a large boulder to get a better vantage point. There had been a lot of movement and she was fairly sure all parties were lost, including the Drow, she hoped. Daintily she stooped atop the stone, like a cat preparing to pounce. Her eyes narrowed, trying to become more accustomed to the darkness. She could see as well as an Elf when there was minimal light around. A slight sniff in the air showed the scent of fire. Licking her finger, she held it aloft feeling for the cavern breeze as it flowed around the walls. Quickly she turned to the left and peered. Straining to see, her feline senses hinted a direction to head forth to. If she could pinpoint them, so could everyone else.

--+++--

Amber leant forward and stared into the sphere floating in front of her. Flame flickered across its surface momentarily, and the fire seemed to dim, as if all the light was draining away. There was a brief moment where a look of sternness passed across her face. Amber frowned and narrowed her eyes. Something blinked back and then withdrew itself into the shadows of the image. A scaly black tail swished and then the cloudy picture faded back to nothingness. “Hm” was all she said, and turned to the man who was awestruck looking over her shoulder.

“Some people consider that rude” the lady muttered, but it didn’t appear to be aimed at her companion, though he failed to notice this. “Well” He replied with some reproach “If you would tell me what is going on, I might be inclined to show some more respect, though unlikely” he chuckled nervously. Something didn’t quite feel right about this woman. He’d met eccentrics before, they were good for stealing from, but she was something else.

“My dear Charles” purred Amber, “She could have been something more…” Her lips bent into a warm smile once more, mesmerising Charles without a second thought. Memories in the back of his mind stirred, it didn’t need saying, and he knew whom she was on about. They even looked alike. “You’re such a selfish man, or did you see it coming, I wonder? No, it’s far too complicated for you. I do so love my little family. How you all bicker like children. I’ve seen fiends fight with less wroth.”

Amber ran her hand over the glowing sphere. The image cleared up, like an eye focusing. Before Charles could bring himself to comment, his attention was drawn to what looked like a group of things sitting around a fire. It was still a bit blurry and shadows cast heavily across the figures, but it definitely looked like a camp.

--+++---

There was a yawn as the Dwarf was kicked awake. “Put your bloody boots on and keep watch,” someone said huskily in the darkness. The fire was burning out slowly, reduced to embers and ash with no more fuel around. Hefting his axe, he staggered over to the path entrance and leant on the wall. Armour was starting to look almost non-existent. He still wore a breastplate and some of the legwork, but the rest had either fallen off or been discarded whilst running. What was once a proud Dwarf in plate mail was reduced to a haggard man little will left. He watched the dark path, eyes barely able to stay open, tiredness setting in, even for the stalwart and cave dwelling.

A memory stirred in Keen’s mind. He could barely think, severely exhausted, he drew himself enough energy to finish off the water bottle hanging from his hip. There was a twinge in his mind, questioning. He wasn’t quite sure why they were running any more, just that it was the best thing. Something about the orb puzzled him. He remembered picking it up and dropping it into a bag, and then there was a sensation, a dark, dangerous sensation that an army of Drow was following them. He couldn’t see or hear them, he just knew. There was a voice, and all it said, was “Run”. Keen ran his hand through what was left of his hair, worried.

--+++--

Unfortunately some things are not totally true. There were only four Drow.

--+++--

Not more than a few hundred yards away the dark Elf party had regrouped. “They seem to be digging in below that spire,” reported a returning scout. “No doubt the distance is taking its toll, and that goes for the rest of us”. The leader frowned at his companion, ending any further statements. He considered their position for a moment. Neither the fleeing adventurers, nor his own could survive more than another day in pursuit. The air was chilling and rations were non-existent. He’d have to make return as soon as it was possible, and then more they pressed into the chase, the higher the risk was of running into something worse than a Dwarf battle axe.

--+++--

Salina’s ears twinged slightly. She could hear the faint mummer of whispering somewhere ahead. Hopping from rock to rock she softly moved onwards until she was in a position to hear properly. Small pebbles slid away down a gulley where the leather from her knee rested against a wall.

--+++--

“We should attack, we have the advantage. They have no night vision due to the fire for a while. We can pick two of them off from the shadows, and then it’s easy.” This came from one of the over eager scouts. He was crouching down and scratching at the stone beneath his feet with a blade. “I bet I can take them all out without a bruise”.

“Quiet, fool” growled Lex. He was standing on the raised edge of a small drop, staring out behind the group. “Do anything stupid and I’ll kill you myself. We’re being followed. Not sure how many. If we’re swift, we may be able to recover and be away before they’ve caught up.” The Elf glanced back and then turned away again. “I’d rather only have to use my blade once today”. There was some agreement between the group.

Moments later, a short scrambling and a crunch of pebbles being landed on was heard. Asolex didn’t bother turning, he knew his wet behind the ears companion had just run off. A breeze whipped his hair up into a mess and he sighed. “Someone shoot him later please and save me the trouble”. The Drow company turned and jogged onwards quickly.

--+++--

Sally panted as she stopped holding her breath. Brushing her hair back, she climbed up a little way to see on top of the path above. The outline of running figures could be seen heading away from her, towards the adventurers. Oh well, she thought, here goes. Hoping the Drow wouldn’t turn around, Sally climbed up and ran forward at speed, hopping from rock to rock. She quickly closed the gap and sprang up onto a vantage point nearby, disappearing into its shadow.

--+++--

Stroking his furry but ragged beard, Hammerfist looked up slightly. “Ere we go” He grunted gruffly, picking his axe up from it’s leaning spot on the wall. Footsteps of someone running quickly could be heard, quite loudly above them. There were occasional pauses followed by a thud as the unseen figure was heard landing on hard stone. The Dwarf walked over to a near by wall and placed his ear against it. He then sauntered into the middle of the campsite and lowered the axe head to the sandy surface at his boot. Twisting slightly to steady his footing, the Dwarf shut his eyes.

Keen looked puzzled and rushed for his sword, wrenching it from the sheath with a “schiing”. He downed one of the remaining potions and flexed, feeling the warmth of fresh might flow around his blood.

They held their breath.

--+++--

Footsteps got louder and the lone Elf pushed into a full sprint. He was going to show them just how easy this would be. He was full of energy, unlike his old compatriots and these worn humans! The low wall where the camp was upon him. It was going to be a leap of faith. Muscles tensed and he crossed arms pulling both daggers out of their sheathes on his back. Below was a Dwarf who looked like a statue, unmoving, probably asleep on his feet. The Elf shrugged in his head and considered how quickly the figure would die.

He leapt.

The Dwarfs eyes opened. They were pinned straight on the Drow as he flew through the air. His opponent pivoted on his right foot and turned away. “Out of reach! Damnit!” Drow eyes snapped to the direction he was falling, rather than flying, his target now not in the way of a soft landing. The opposing wall was fast approaching in an unfriendly, wall like manner. His grip loosened on the daggers and he braced for the stone, turning shoulder forward and preparing to roll.

--+++--

Twisting like a short, angry, bearded spring, Hammerfist followed as Elf and weaponry fell past him. In a burning arc of impending doom his axe swung in behind the Drow as he hit the wall with a thud. There was a single, final scrape as finely crafted dwarven blade sunk through the soft flesh and bone, digging its way into the wall and staying there. Moments later, two daggers clattered to the ground with a tinkle of steel.

Silence was cast out across the cavern. No one moved, Hammerfist held his axe handle firmly, still buried through the remains of the Drow’s spinal column. Keen held his blade up, looking at where the Elf had come from, but no one was looking at the third member of their company. In shock, she stood, tense and unable to move and unable to flee. Her grey linen robes suddenly started to go red around the shoulder and there was a stagger before collapsing forward to the floor. A throwing knife was sticking out of the woman’s back, near the shoulder and she had feinted.

The Drow commander nodded at the two remaining, Lex and the slightly less stupid scout. The two warriors leapt down gracefully with barely a sound and drew their swords, stepping towards man and Dwarf. Axe was wrenched out of its hold in the wall; letting the body fall it was pinning fall to the floor. Keen’s sword rose and he stepped forward. A huge crash of metal was heard through the locale as sword met axe and the four men started a fight for their lives.

Crouching down, the scout ignored the fight and scoured the ground below with his eyes. Glowing embers of a fire and a couple of dimly lingering light gems were hampering his effort to spot the orb. Something moved behind him. He stood quickly, drawing a long knife in one swift movement and turning to face the figure behind.

--+++--

A tiny click was the only sound made by small hand crossbow as it released its lone deadly bolt. The shot landed square in his chest, causing a sigh as breath was expelled from the Drow’s lungs. Sally discarded the weapon and leapt away into the shadows, not bothering to watch what happened after. Foot stumbled and the flinching Elf fell over backwards down a 10-foot drop onto the fight below.

--+++--

Sword met blade, but the fight didn’t stay clean for long and certainly wouldn’t have won any awards for chivalry. There was a Dwarf charge, full speed and head first into one of the elves, throwing him back against the wall and tumbling the Dwarf off to one side.

A small ball of fire spiralled through the air and into the wall just above the recently rampaged Drow leader, setting his hair alight. He looked up just in time to see a woman standing on top of the wall nearby, sword in one hand and a burning wand in the other finish casting a second fireball. The spell roared through the air, contacting the fine leathers with a satisfying “whumph!” Yelling in pain, the Elf stumbled away, clothing smouldering and most of his hair disintegrating. He collapsed a short distance away, smoke rising from the tatters of what once was finely crafted Drow armour.

Dwarf hands scrambled to get a grip on the stone to his side but failed to find a proper hold. He loosened some rocks precariously held together in the wall and one toppled down catching him on the back of the head. He hit the ground with a groan, blood trickling from his skull.

--+++--

Amber sighed and stepped back from the cliff face towering high in the cavern. Somewhere down below, unseen to Charles but seemingly not to Amber the fight was raging on. He had no real idea what was happening. Amber turned slightly, frowning, her hair falling finely across her brow. “Go and sort that out, make yourself useful”. Charles turned, puzzled. “Sort wh..” but he vanished with a flash of light before he could finish the sentence.

Setting her eyes on the orb nearby Amber watched what appeared to be an image of two men duelling, with a few bodies strewn around. She concentrated for a moment and then Charles appeared, surrounded by a magical aura in the middle of the fight.

--+++--

The flash was bright, especially in the pitch darkness. Keen was temporarily blinded. Lex had his back to the light so he could still see, just about. Followed came a sharp pain through his stomach and Keen groaned heavily. The only remaining Drow had pushed his sword through the man’s stomach and withdrew it just as quickly, covering the floor with blood. Keen slumped to the floor, vision blurring and energy failing.

Lex’s muscles stung with bruise and tiredness. He spun around to see what appeared to be a mage standing in the middle of the clearing. He frowned. Raising his sword defensively, he growled but the mage didn’t flinch. Instead he merely held his hand out in a grasping motion and muttered a few words. Floor became air, then the Elf flew backwards into the passage behind. A thud followed as he struck rock and landed unconscious.

--+++--

Charles’ attention moved on and he looked around quickly, sensing the orb nearby. His head slumped and he kicked bags aside on the floor, eyes scouring in the darkness. Glass scraping on stone made him turn quickly.

Sally held the orb in front of her eyes, mesmerised by the swirling colour of the ball she found resting by her foot. The swirls shifted from black, to red and then settled at a liquid metallic colour. The dim light was enough to see her own reflection in its surface. She was covered dirt and her hair was a mess. Salina frowned. Eyes looked back, blinking like a mirror. She was looking at herself but it was wrong. In the depths of the reflected eyes there was a bright ruby glow like two tiny but burning coals. Disconcerted she looked up to see her father staring across the floor straight into her eyes.

--+++--

Charles looked at his daughter and gritted his teeth. “You!” he exclaimed annoyed. “What’re you doing here? Give me that damned thing, idiot girl!” He stared square in her eyes and hesitated, seeing the red fiery glow. This man wasn’t going to leave here empty handed. Deciding that getting angry was the next best thing, he remembered Amber. Oh how alike they looked. He wondered if it was her mother, for a brief moment, but remembered otherwise and considered it a trick she was playing to enrage him further.

--+++--

With a blink, Salina’s eyes dimmed, as if nothing had happened. She held the orb out with her left hand, sword gripped in the right. “Look at you with your cheap tricks” she shouted, not stepping any closer. “You’re not even any good! I bet you stole those robes too, and you’ll steal from these before you go.”

The mage screwed up his hands angrily and then held out his right in a claw like fashion. With a huff, blue flames encircled and rose from his hand, turning it into a blue ball of magical fire. He drew it up to shoulder height and threw forward like a ball sending the lethal blue missiles cascading towards his daughter. Sally responded as soon as she saw the movement to cast, holding the orb behind her back safely and sheathing her sword. She concentrated, holding a gloved hand up in front of her as the spell rolled forward. The particles fell inwards heading for a single point of contact. The wind whipped through Sally’s hair, causing it to flutter up around her head as if sucked up by a whirlwind. With a sharp yell, she grabbed at the spell fire.

She felt a spike of pain, but not what she expected, flinching from the impact. Her hand was still held out in front and the red satin gloves she wore glowed blue with energy. Her eyes widened and she responded equally, sending the magical power straight back at it’s source with a yell. Three missiles shot through the air at tremendous speed, hitting Charles square in the chest and knocking him off balance.

--+++--

The man flinched angrily, a few patch holes burned in his robe from the impact. He started to channel his next spell, drawing a rune in the air infront. He didn’t have time for silly girl play. He froze, watching Salina. She was about to do something stupid.

--+++--

Moving towards a shadowed wall, Sally shouted again at her father. “You want this stupid ball? Do you?! Have it. See if I care!” She screamed enraged. One hand came out from behind her back, holding a glass orb that at a distance was roughly the same size. Salina lowered her arm and then threw the ball high up into the air.

--+++--

The spell stopped casting and Charles looked up, hands out in front of him to try to catch the orb he couldn’t see. He fought to run forward, tripping over stone and bag, his prize flying somewhere through the shadow above.

--+++--

Diving backwards Salina started into a full sprint. She had to get around the corner if she was to get away fast enough. Holding the real orb clutched to her chest she leapt into the darkness of a passage nearby and rolled away. Scrambling back to her feet she fled into the darkness.

--+++--

Somewhere behind, a small glass ball flew over Charles Marshall’s head and landed with a satisfying shatter. Glass flew apart, and then there was a bright light. A massive flash as light crystals exploded in a harmless stream of brilliant energy. The mage shielded his eyes and yelled out in anger, having been blinded by her tricks.

--+++--

Amber stepped out of nothingness into the space behind the struggling mage and looked around. She frowned at the bodies. They weren’t all dead apparently. The hand of one Drow stretched up into the air, reaching with a loud grown at anything it could grasp. There was a sigh from Amber, and then she waved her hand through the air. All the heartbeats she could feel nearby froze into a preserved stasis. Blood stopped flowing, everything just paused.

She wandered over to Charles, hands over his eyes, unmoving as a blinded statue, and touched him on the shoulder. The freeze broke causing him to stagger. He rubbed his eyes. “Damnit she’s got away now! Why didn’t you stop her?” He snapped.

Amber considered this for a moment and then shrugged with a smile. He looked like there was going to be a lot of shouting to follow so with a flick of her hand, she sent the man vanishing off into the darkness, probably for his own good.

Holding her hand out, palm up, Amber waited until her own seeing orb appeared, and then stared into it, watching Salina stumble away into the caverns. Amber took a quick look ahead on the path Sally would take, nodded to herself and then put the orb into her pocket. As quickly as she appeared, the mage disappeared into nothingness without a word, leaving the frozen bodies of Drow and adventurer behind.

Fish End