Escape from Szith: The Sacrifice of Nedylene Vrinn

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silke_rahn
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Escape from Szith: The Sacrifice of Nedylene Vrinn

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Nedylene knew she should not have returned from the underdark trading post of Q'os on the Isle of Elben Aator far to the west of Faerun. She knew it was dangerous, but two members of her family were still in the Lolthite city and needed to be taken to safety. Eowien Desh had betrayed the family of Vrinn to the House of Mori'hyanda and the Ulathtaller or High Priestess of Szith Bel'drana Mori'hyanda.

Nedylene had been hunting goln or goblins with a young jaluk in the caverns south of the city's center. The two were in a blind tunnel when a mage of the Mori'hyanda's along with the Yathrin Vilmaethian Mori'hyanda trapped them in the tunnel just after the Nedy and the jaluk had dispatched the goln to the paradise of goln.

"Leave the Jaluk out of this," said Nedy looking at Vilmaethian. "He has nothing to do with my actions. He was only hunting with me."

"Silence heritic it will be the Ulathtaller's descision on his fate," said Vilmaethian. Vilmaethian then looked at the house mage and said, "bring them both to the temple the Ulathtaller awaits our return."

The two Mori'hyandas frog marched Nedy and her hunting companion from the cave complex into Szith City Center. There the pair of Mori'hyandas drafted four more jalukel and a pair of jalil to assist with taking the prisoners to the Temple of Lolth. From the circle in Szith's center that served as a communial gathering place the party went eastward along the road that lead to the Academic District of Szith.

In the Academic District the road goes up a long slope to a central circle where the roads to the various schools, the Temple of Lolth, and the offices of Szith's secret police branch out like the threads of a spider's web. At the Academic Distric's circle the party went up the long steeply sloped road to the Temple of Lolth. All the while Nedylene told her hunting companion to be still and walk calmly as nothing could be done.

He glared at her for not resisting more than she had. Nedy glared back and shook her head no!

"We are out numbered and these that take us to our fates are more powerful than we are Jaluk, don't resist," said Nedy. "It will only delay our dooms."

"Silence," said a Jaluk that was not of the First house of Szith.

Nedylene silently prayed to Eilistraee as they were walked up to the doors of Szith's Temple to Lolth.

At the door two of the Jalukel took Nedy and her companion to one side while Bel'drana Mori'hyanda, who had met the party at the central circle of the Academic District, opened the doors to the temple.

"Take the heritics inside and hold them by the alter," she ordered.

The two Jalukel that were acting as guards took the pair to the perimeter of a barrier field surrounding the alter to Lolth. The barrier was a force field of a sort that blocked male Drow from getting near the alter. The pair just waited with the prisoners at the edge of the barrier.

The Ulathtaller, Bel'drana Mori'hyanda told the two Jaliln with her to take Nedylene up to the rear of the alter. Radra Morcane, a bard of the House Morcane and Vilmaethian Mori'hyanda took hold of Nedylene by each arm and forced her to walk around to the rear of the alter. Bel'drana led the way. There the two women laid Nedylene on the alter. Nedylene did not struggle like they had expected her to. She lay down on the smooth blood stained surface of the alter.

Bel'drana Mori'hyanda took a dagger from a place of honor on the alter and offered up a prayer to the Spider Queen. Nedylene moved her eyes so she could look into the eyes of Bel'drana. Then while looking the Ulathtaller in the eyes offered up her own prayer.

"Eilistraee, Dark Maiden, Lady of the Dance, I ask you to forgive those gathered for this autrocity. The know not what they do, for they are blinded by their hatred!"

Then Bel'drana slit open Nedylene's throat. Nedylene looked Bel'drana in the eyes the whole time she felt her life ebbing away as the Ulathtallar drained her blood into a chalice. Her eyes grew dim, but then as her vision faded to black she again saw every thing from a perpective she did not expect.

Nedy was now a spirit outside her old body and next to her was Eilistraee.

"My sister and child you are about to enter a test of your faith that will make you one of my champions if you survive the ordeals to come. Now just watch what they do to your corpse before I raise you to life again."

Eilistraee took her to the circle at Szith's Center where a multitude of Drow had gathered. The mage of House Mori'Hyanda tugged on the rope that was tied to Nedy's corpse's feet. He and two of the Jalukel including her hunting companion drug the corpse down the cobblestones of the road. Each step taken cause the stones to bruise Nedy's old body. Then at the circle in the center of Szith the procession from the Temple of Lolth stopped. Nedy's corpse was drug to the center of the circle. There for over an hour the gathered Drow abused and humiliated Nedy's corpse as Nedy and Eilistraee watched from the edge of the circle in Spirit form.

Then the chief mage of House Morcane spoke up, "Let's hang the heritic from a lamp post forever as a reminder to all not to foresake Lolth and her benevolence."

The gathered crowd cheered him on and yelled their consent. Two males in the growing crowd took Nedy's corpse by its feet and tied the corpse by them from a nearby lamp post. A sign was hung on the corpse saying, "Such is the fate of heritics"

"Say your farewells to your old body my sister and child. I will give you a new one as a temple to me when I raise you from your death. I will not take these memories from you, but will leave them so you have a reminder of why I chose you to champion me. Now we go from this place of sorrow to a brighter place." Eilistraee then took Nedylene by the hand. They passed through the hundreds of feet of rock between the Underdark and the surface.

They arrived at an obilisk in the center of a green by a stream and a moseleum. Standing near the obilisk was a Sea Elf. Nedylene immediately sense that the Elf present worshipped Umberlee. Yet she also sensed that this Elf had also recently experienced the cruelty of Szith's Lolthite priestesses too.

In front of the Sea Elf Eilistraee made the spirits into corporeal bodies. The Sea Elf looked on in surprise as Eilistraee and Nedylene materialized in front of her. Eilistraee looked at the surface elf and lifted up her arm in a sign of peace.

"Be still my sister and daughter. Let not our presence be distressful. I am the daughter of the Elf Father and this is one of my chosen. Help her to begin a new life here no the surface."

Then Eilistraee faded away leaving Nedylene standing in the midst of an Elven village and next to a Sea Elf that looked as if she was about to kill her yet again.

"Please stay thy sword!" Nedy shouted. "I am Nedylene Vrinn, but I am called Nedy by friends and family. I am a recent victim of the Lolthites below."

Nedy then showe the scar from her slit throat that Eilistraee had also left as a reminder besides her memories of the event.

The Sea Elf approached and said, "I am called Horf. Mostly the call me that because my full name is hard to pronounce. I too was a victim of the Lolthites. Yet I am affraid you are not welcome in L'Landra regardless. They don't allow your kind of Elf within L'Landra's boundries nor within close proximity of the town either."

"Can you help me get to safety?"

"I can take you beyond the juristiction of L'Landra and give you a direction to follow."
Drow on the Surface face as many dangers as those in the Underdark. Just because the Rivvil is friendly does not mean he wishes to help you, he may just want to get you off guard before knifing you.
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