Vivian Bloodmoon
Vivian looked to Elleonara and nodded. She was right,...
"Yes, for a deserter brings upon a house disfavor towards Lolth. Which is why they have come after me... like the wise have spoken we should get going. I will explain my situation on the way." She said. She pointed her staff towards the scorpion and the creature vanished back into the jewel in the middle of the scythe. She then proceeded to the wagon and climbed within.
"Where to start,... You see unlike most drow my head was always in the arcane library. I wanted to study all that was available to me. Not just spells but the creation of non living entities. I don't mean the undead though... I mean golems. To no success though." She said as she got comfortable.
"Problem was,... I was not the first of my house to leave. My sister Cassandra started this whole thing. Who could blame her really. After what they did to her, I would have left too. She was a drow Assassin though. See she fell in love and wanted to be with that person forever. Tell one day,... the house needed a sacrifice to please the great spider queen. He was chosen.... that did not set well with Cass. She made a lot of noise but to no avail he was killed and offered up to the goddess. Now,... Lolth.... she is a funny goddess. You never know who is really in her favor. Cass and this other Drow must have been in full favor versus the rest of our house because Cass was able to kill half a dozen of our house before escaping into the caverns." She paused and looked out into the sands to see if she could spot any movement.
"Well soon after a troupe was tasked with retrieving her alive so we could use her as another sacrifice to win back Lolth's favor. I was chosen to lead that troupe. With no real field experience I was not prepared for what was to come. I was trained and am able to kill beings such as the Gnolls and such.... but what Cass had prepared for us we were not ready..." She looked back towards those in the wagon.
"Ever heard of a Basilisk?... yeah. She managed to get one angry and lured it right to us. I was the only who managed to survive by leaving my kin to die. Better one survive then none at all... or at least I thought. Sometimes I wish I had been among the petrified dead but atlas I am here. Well that failure did not sit to well with our Matriarch. She wanted me executed for it. As you can tell from me being here that also did not end well. I did however know what the surface world does to drow if spotted. I read them in diaries we have recovered from past renegades. It doesn't matter if your a rogue or do not follow a house. Any civilized city like Sapphire and the like will kill a drow on sight. No trial,... no cuffs. Just instantly turned into a pin coushin. Luckily my studing in the arcane lead me to my only salvation. I enchanted a necklace with disguise and took on the appearance of a surface elf. It was the only way I could survive." She added. It truly was for her the only way. Malkai would likely understand her blight being a orc and all. Even if he was a half orc they would still treat him the same way... only they might not exactly kill him on sight if he was alone. Likely torture him to see if he had friends.
She sighed and looked to Catarina.
"I apologize for it I really do, but you have no idea what it is like to be part of a race so hated that anyone would kill you on sight. Nothing you've experienced will compare to the vast hate on my people. Again can't blame them... after what my kin have done and continue to do on the surface I would want me dead to if I saw me." She ended her conversation right there. There was nothing really more to explain. Everything else everyone could come to their own conclusion which was right. If the burning hot desert wouldn't stop her kin from hunting her.... chances are nothing will. Which would mean they had two things to worry about on this journey. The horrors of the temple,... and the constant ambushes and attack of her kin. Bad part is,... the drow would not go themselves... they would send someone or something to do it for them. They wouldn't want their presence discovered or else face the wrath of the local populace. She would expect more then just Gnolls, but orcs as well as other dim witted beings who where dumb enough to be caught within their web of lies and deceit.
She leaned back and closed her eyes. She would keep in faith that her group would warn her when they came up to the next village in time for her to place her necklace on. If they didn't?.... well then they didn't and her adventure would end here. She wondered where Cassandra had escaped to...
Alexander
Alexander felt the soft hands of Elleonara touch his face.... wait. Soft?... how could such a powerful woman have the softest hands? He looked to Elleonara as she was done.
"Your hands are soft to the touch Elleonara. Unexpected from a strong woman as yourself. I expected them to be course,.." He said. He felt his face and saw that it had healed a good portion of the wounds. The bleeding had stopped and the cuts had actually closed. However they would remain as scars. Not as large as they would be unattended of course. He accepted it, perhaps they would make him more attractive to the right eyes. He continued on as he listened to the conversation.
At one point through Vivian's tale he thanked the gods above for not making him a drow. There was no real honor to them. To betray and stab one's kin in the back for just favor of a goddess is outrageous. From what Vivian said Lolth was a very picky person... you either had her favor or not. In some cases she might pick a lone drow versus the entire house. He wondered how that worked. Questions for later he supposed.
He kept a steady eye though on the sands around them. He even looked to Fordes.
"Keep your nose and ears ever sharp my friend...." He told him.
The Drow
Farther off peering through a decent sized scope was a being. It would look almost like a lizard but if seen up close it was just a dark skinned elf dressed in a lizard skin mask with goggles on. What made him harder to see was the fact he had on a cloak they practically made him invisible. He sighed as he watched the battle from afar. The results where.... well not unexpected but undesirable.
"You told us that your kin could handle it...." He said looking to the Gnoll they had ordered to scout the group earlier. The dogman scratched the back of his head.
"Maybe we had underestimated them..." The creature responded. The drow elf raised a brow at the answer and looked back towards the group and then back to the Gnoll.
"Want us to try again?" The beast asked.
"Has the sun completely boiled your brain or is your kin naturally this stupid? They are expecting another assault. To attack now would be futile and stupid. No we will wait when they feel comfortable and safe.... the village they will be stopping at is small correct?" He asked. The Gnoll nodded.
"Yes, we attack it's farmers every now and then without much resistance. Enough to steal what food and supplies they have and leave." He answered. The drow elf began to smile.