Xoe sat on the railing of the Hammer of Grapthar, listlessly watching the surface of Maeda slip beneath her. Xeno and Saladin were being given a talking to by Gorth over the chain of command on a spelljammer, and she was glad for once to be out of the loop. She peered down on the rust-colored forest that skimmed silently beneath her and noticed that it looked more like moss from this height. And here she was, sitting calm as you please on a railing that was no more than two hands-widths wide, more than 10 miles from the surface.
And she felt peace.
Maybe it was the silence. Maybe it was the wind. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't been shot at, crashed upon or accidentally killed by her brother for almost three hours now. Whatever it was, it was nice. And now Long Lake was coming back over the horizon again, the wide slice of it sliding down over the surface of the moon like a jagged smile descending. As it crept close, it caught the sun just right and for a moment lit up in a white, reflected crescent that looked quite striking against the red moon and the orange sky...
White, red, orange...
White...
Red...
Orange...
White. It was the first thing that gave him away, lurking in the shadows. Too bad Xeno had picked just that moment to whisper "Where'd he go?" - a whisper that, down here, was tantamount to a scream. The white stripes had moved then, faster than Xoe had thought a human could manage, from behind the musty urn up the wall and onto the ledge. He was FAST! Xeno cursed and pointed his finger, but not before Saladin had managed to gasp "NOT HERE!" Xoe had made it up to the next urn in the row before Xeno had reconsidered, and the two of them debated what methods were called for to subdue an agile opponent in low light utilizing heavy cover.
"It takes a thief," she thought to herself as she crab-hopped up between the urn and the wall, coming to rest on the marble ledge that ran the entire perimeter of the long-abandoned temple. She crouched low against the wall and looked back towards the entrance for any signs of their prey. Those stripes should be an easy spot, even in the low light of this... tem... ple...
The stonework above the ledge was a mass of colored layers. Whatever infernal sect once inhabited this place, they had, taste. White marble, red marble, gold marble... all of it in narrow bands that would just about match the horizontal stripes on this bastard's exquisitely crafted leather jumpsuit. Did he PLAN this? Is this his hideout? Quickly she scanned the whole upper level - he was lost to her, and wouldn't be found again until he moved. And that gave her the creeps...
Suddenly, light and thunder burst into the room below in the form of three armored men. "Oh great," she thought, "the cops are here." Tin stars gleamed on the puffing chests of the two dwarfs and one halfling as they stormed into the chamber - axes, swords and torches waving nervously in each and every direction. A confusion arose between the newcomers and Xeno's group, and while voices were raised and fingers were pointed, a section of the wall slowly detatched itself and crept silently around the ledge towards an opening in the wall opposite.
"He doesn't know I'm up here," she thought as she watched the hooded figure creep stealthily along the edge, eyes trained on the squabble below. With two quick leaps, she hopped silently from an urn to the back of the large lizardy statue in the center of the temple floor. She eased her crossbow out of its holder and moved around the creature's shoulders to get a better shot. She could now see the white, red and orange stripes clearly outlined against the black of the opening, and raised her crossbow to fire...
Suddenly his head shot around to face her and even in the gloom she could see his eyes peering out from the mask that obscured the rest of his features... She had surprised him! But the shock was hers as well at having been eyeballed at a distance behind the head of some strange reptilian deity. He was good. REALLY good...
As she locked gazes with him, spellbound, she saw his right arm emerge from behind his back - she fired! The bolt struck him full in the chest, and only her acute vision helped her see the figure waver slightly before pulling a dark orb into view. The groups below heard the exchange, and were now aware of the two of them. The figure stared right at her, and even as Xeno began his chanting, his eyes smiled at her as he lobbed the orb slowly and at a great height above the men below.....
.....below.....
Below.
Below her the lake spun silently on its way. Tiny dots buzzed up from the surface and back down again, congregating at the far end of the lake. The sense of peace and calm was still with her, even as she remembered the conflict with the striped stranger. She had to admit - she was more than a little intrigued.
She wondered if they would ever meet again...
And she felt peace.
Maybe it was the silence. Maybe it was the wind. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't been shot at, crashed upon or accidentally killed by her brother for almost three hours now. Whatever it was, it was nice. And now Long Lake was coming back over the horizon again, the wide slice of it sliding down over the surface of the moon like a jagged smile descending. As it crept close, it caught the sun just right and for a moment lit up in a white, reflected crescent that looked quite striking against the red moon and the orange sky...
White, red, orange...
White...
Red...
Orange...
White. It was the first thing that gave him away, lurking in the shadows. Too bad Xeno had picked just that moment to whisper "Where'd he go?" - a whisper that, down here, was tantamount to a scream. The white stripes had moved then, faster than Xoe had thought a human could manage, from behind the musty urn up the wall and onto the ledge. He was FAST! Xeno cursed and pointed his finger, but not before Saladin had managed to gasp "NOT HERE!" Xoe had made it up to the next urn in the row before Xeno had reconsidered, and the two of them debated what methods were called for to subdue an agile opponent in low light utilizing heavy cover.
"It takes a thief," she thought to herself as she crab-hopped up between the urn and the wall, coming to rest on the marble ledge that ran the entire perimeter of the long-abandoned temple. She crouched low against the wall and looked back towards the entrance for any signs of their prey. Those stripes should be an easy spot, even in the low light of this... tem... ple...
The stonework above the ledge was a mass of colored layers. Whatever infernal sect once inhabited this place, they had, taste. White marble, red marble, gold marble... all of it in narrow bands that would just about match the horizontal stripes on this bastard's exquisitely crafted leather jumpsuit. Did he PLAN this? Is this his hideout? Quickly she scanned the whole upper level - he was lost to her, and wouldn't be found again until he moved. And that gave her the creeps...
Suddenly, light and thunder burst into the room below in the form of three armored men. "Oh great," she thought, "the cops are here." Tin stars gleamed on the puffing chests of the two dwarfs and one halfling as they stormed into the chamber - axes, swords and torches waving nervously in each and every direction. A confusion arose between the newcomers and Xeno's group, and while voices were raised and fingers were pointed, a section of the wall slowly detatched itself and crept silently around the ledge towards an opening in the wall opposite.
"He doesn't know I'm up here," she thought as she watched the hooded figure creep stealthily along the edge, eyes trained on the squabble below. With two quick leaps, she hopped silently from an urn to the back of the large lizardy statue in the center of the temple floor. She eased her crossbow out of its holder and moved around the creature's shoulders to get a better shot. She could now see the white, red and orange stripes clearly outlined against the black of the opening, and raised her crossbow to fire...
Suddenly his head shot around to face her and even in the gloom she could see his eyes peering out from the mask that obscured the rest of his features... She had surprised him! But the shock was hers as well at having been eyeballed at a distance behind the head of some strange reptilian deity. He was good. REALLY good...
As she locked gazes with him, spellbound, she saw his right arm emerge from behind his back - she fired! The bolt struck him full in the chest, and only her acute vision helped her see the figure waver slightly before pulling a dark orb into view. The groups below heard the exchange, and were now aware of the two of them. The figure stared right at her, and even as Xeno began his chanting, his eyes smiled at her as he lobbed the orb slowly and at a great height above the men below.....
.....below.....
Below.
Below her the lake spun silently on its way. Tiny dots buzzed up from the surface and back down again, congregating at the far end of the lake. The sense of peace and calm was still with her, even as she remembered the conflict with the striped stranger. She had to admit - she was more than a little intrigued.
She wondered if they would ever meet again...
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