Unknown forces stir in the depths of Waterdeep, Dead gods, and fallen homes. The unsolved mystery of missing people, slices of life, and the gold stolen from the city. Fantastical adventure awaits our unlikely heroes as they meet chilling enemies an...
"Be safe Enah.." Markos instantly flinched at the feminine voice as he was tugged by the arm he looked up as the ocean surface once miles away became nothing more than a simple river bank with a smiling figure above; wavy black hair, gorgeous purple eyes torn- the hand gripped his as he was pulled to the surface. A saviour, it was not. Markos felt the panic consume him; he was pulled towards the smiling terror, the one he had attempted to flee. A fate worse than death.
Markos shivered in the corner of the tavern biting his bottom lip in a desperate attempt to avoid screaming. "Uheo.." He muttered to himself. "Uheo.. I.. I.." he shook his head and bit his own tongue. Out the window he could see the sun rising slowly. Despite never really being in that ocean he could feel his body still shivering from that cold water as he was drenched in sweat. Markos buried his head in his lap as he sat with his arms around his legs which were brought up to his chest. He felt a small nudge to his left which made him flinch. "U-uheo..?" he looked up with terror before seeing a mug. It floated in the air and slowly set down before him. "Lif.." Markos whispered. Looking down he saw a brown steaming liquid in the mug. He smiled and picked up taking a sip. He was shocked as the hot liquid touched his tongue, it wasn't ale, something sweeter, something he hadn't actually tasted before. He took a few deep breaths and smiled into the empty spot beside him, feeling the cloudy presence that was Lif. He smiled and raised the cup before emptying it. "Thanks..." He muttered. Lif was clearly there for a purpose but He was unsure of what it was. Before he felt the tug against his cloak. Markos turned to the left and saw the dusty floor shift a little.
'Who is Uheo?' The writing was crude and reminded Markos of his own writing, though that was probably because of his lack of neatness. He looked down, as the flashes of his Uheo ran through his mind, large sprawling tentacles, the pure black face as he tried to attack, shifting in every few seconds.
"Someone.." He muttered finally. "Just someone..." Markos concluded. Setting the cup down at the bar. He shook his head ready to try and distract himself. A feeling passed over him Lif's presence gust over the bar.
"Up early?" Markos nearly jumped as he heard a soft voice ask behind him. He turned slowly, his eyes met that of Riu, soft blue specks with flecks of gold in them. While her face was quite beautiful he noted, it held almost a contemptible elegance to it. In adjacent to her long silvery white blonde hair. "You gonna.. Start the apocalypse?" Riu tried to joke but Markos's mind flicked over to the similar question Fabia had asked all that time ago. He finally shook his head. "Couldn't sleep? Or.." Her voice trailed off; she sounded so kind, something that caught him off guard.
"Nightmares.." He finally answered. Her face twisted in a look of sympathy. "You? What are you awake for?" Riu pursed her lip staring at the ceiling. Her mind seemed to ponder the question for a long time.
"Couldn't sleep." She replied with a pause. Markos shifted on his ass standing up to take his mind off of what had happened. He leaned upward above Riu and pointed to the cellar door behind the bar counter. Riu frowned; she stepped quietly over the party members inching forward. She was dressed modestly in a different white outfit than he'd seen when he went to sleep. Riu got closer and stuck her upper half over the bar clearing some of the dust away.
"I haven't seen it yet." Markos admitted, though he noted, of all the room's doors the cellar had the least dust on it. Still enough to know the party hasn't seen it yet. "Wanna look?" He offered though he knew he was going down there regardless as he vaulted over the bar. He heard Riu struggle to get over behind him, finally walking around to the door. Markos blew the dust off as he reached down. The Cellar door was made out of simple dark wood with iron inlays that surrounded the edges and made the small ring handle which sat in its crevice. Pulling it open he was surprised by the lack of a creak before he descended the ladder.
"Wait up!" Riu hissed in the darkness Markos had none of it, as he descended the ladder before looking up, to see Riu descending right above him. Quickly looking away before completing the fall. The cellar was a simple room, about twenty by twenty feet for the first room, he could see the second attachment to the chamber which went in a different direction. "You know, you could be a little bit nicer?" Riu whispered to him. Markos shivered a little to the cold cellar and walked over to the wine room, it was much smaller. The entire cellar was made out of a dark grey stone brick that looked dusty and old Markos could spot, several barrels of aged ale and casks of wine sat around like monuments to the tavern. He was glad he was wearing his cloak as the air seemed to be just cold enough to entice a shiver. Riu however wasn't so lucky.
"Why the hell is it so damn cold down here!" Riu said through chattering teeth. Markos looked over at the girl who was dressed in only a sweater and pants somehow neglecting socks.
"No idea Non-" Markos stopped, she was.. Being kind. "No idea Riu." He felt a little out of place to continue insulting her. He went to leave realizing the cellar was just that, a cellar before Riu said something.
"Behind the fourth barrel." Markos turned around from the ladder looking at the fourth barrel from the left hand side. At first Markos noticed nothing, before a small error of detail caught his eye. "It's not level with the rest of them." Riu continued. Her voice was calm like she had suddenly forgotten the cold, Markos moved forward and looked at her, both of them examining the barrel. He shrugged.
"I mean it's old, why do you bring it up-" Markos began but Riu's eyes grew wide as she covered his mouth pushing him gently against a barrel, Markos struggled to hold still as Riu and him stood close next to the cask.
"You can't hear it.." Riu affirmed suddenly as she took away her hand. She looked at the barrel and he just stared at her pondering the pro's and con's of stabbing her for touching him. He thought she was nice! "It's.. here.. Oh god it's here." Riu bent down grabbing the legs of the wooden cylinder before pulling hard "Help me Markos!" Riu sneered. Markos recoiled out of confusion before bending over and aiding her as they pulled the already unlevel cask away from the wall. As they moved it he noticed a shadow growing more and more behind the cask, until it was completely removed. His eyes grew wide, behind the mossy stone of the barrel sat a little hole in the wall with a large black symbol resting above it. Within the hole sat a prominent figure in a fetal position white as snow and still so very intact. The skull was small and contained prominent elven features as the body gave proportions not unlike that of a grown man. Markos saw the remains of an elvish man.
"Oh my.." Riu murmured. Markos could feel her eyes look over at him. "Do you... think?" Riu's voice was full of sorrow. Her bottom lip trembled.
'Ask him!' Markos heard a voice say. 'Ask her! Maybe she did it!' He looked up at the symbol above the body, two descending triangles on either side with an open vertex down triangle on top.
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That.. symbol. Markos thought to himself.
"Lif!" Markos called out softly. "Lif.." He tried again.
"W-what?!" Riu tackled Markos causing his head to hit the pavement, "You idiot!" he shook his head as Riu slammed the palm of her hand against his temple. "You can't.." At once Markos could tell they both felt the presence of Lif as Riu climbed off of him, he looked up to see the dust moving as he could feel the spirit falling to his knees. "Lif I'm.. I'm so sorry.." Riu shot him another dirty look but he shrugged it off, they had found Lif's body and he deserved to see it.
"This.. is gonna be terrible." Riu said softly as she tried to console the mute specter.
