Among Fae

The Speaker Of The Dead: Chapter Fifteen

After our long and tiring journey, we had finally reached the ruins. The sand swirled around in the warm desert breeze, as if it were saying a final goodbye before we would venture into the ancient and dusty ruins. They did not appear like the typical Trollish ruins surrounding Tanaris. No, these ones were rather odd, having unidentifiable designs along the sandstone. Our party got off of the wagon, stretching after the long trip. Drommita uncertainly stared at the ground, mounted on the camel. It was quite a far way down for the Gnome. She awkwardly scooted off of the camel, her legs kicking around as she held on. She quietly squealed. Jackson carefully picked up the flailing woman by the back of her dress, planting her on the ground safely. Drommita smiled up at him, bowing her head.

"I er. . .Thanks!" She giggled, brushing off her attire. He just nodded to her. Drommita's royal red robes were not as fine as when we met that first day on the boat. The expensive silk had been frayed and was slowly beginning to lose it's smooth texture. Why she would wear such an outfit on a mission like this would remain unknown to the rest of the party and I. We began to equip ourselves with the survival gear that came along with our stolen caravan. After all, we didn't know how long we would be down in the tunnels and had to be ready for anything. We could be down there for days, weeks, and if things turned out for the worst, years.

Once we had our rations and such, Equinos called over for a team huddle. Jackson and I did not join it, but simply stood in the half huddle. Equinos huffed at us, narrowing his eyes at us for our lack of team spirit. We were killjoys, that was fact. Shuffle and Drommita excitedly looked up at my twin, Shuffle had to kneel down so he could add Drommita to the huddle.

"Alright everyone, as you know, we are here to retrieve an ancient artifact known as The Speaker Of The Dead for The Silent Hand, as well for our leader directly." The elf paused for a moment, before pulling out a piece of parchment paper. The paper looked like it had been torn from a book. It depicted a sort of amulet-like object. The amulet looked like lips opening, an eye seen inside, a gem as it's pupil. He passed the drawing around for everyone to look at it, rolling it up and tucking it away back in his tunic once everyone was done.

"We believe that this item is inside of that tomb. Our objective is to find it and bring it back, no matter what the cost. Now, Shuffletruff and Forestfae, you will be in the front of the party, scouting the first reaches of the tomb and disabling any traps we may come across." Drommita seemed to gulp at 'traps'.

"Jackson and Drommita, you will be there cover in the middle of the party, while I watch our backs incase we are followed? Everyone clear?" Our leader asked. Everyone nodded in sync. That was my brother, a charismatic, natural born leader. He's a lot like our father; outgoing and a people person. Yet, Equinos gets the job done. I on the other hand, am the complete opposite with people. This trip though. . .Has helped a lot. I then saw why my brother brought me along - this group, our chemistry. That sly dog.

I faintly smirked at my brother, understanding what he has been doing now. His ears perked up, as he gave me a simple smile and chuckle once the huddle broke.

'Your welcome.' He seemed to mouth.

We got into our formation, readying ourselves to go into the dust crypts. I said one last goodbye to sunlight, as we began to descend. Though as I lost sight of the surface world, I saw the Demon Huntress standing in the sand dunes, slowly shaking her head. . .

Drommita lit a lantern, the narrow sandstone halls lighting up with the dim light. The shadows seemed to swallow up all light. Even my Kaldorei dark vision was no working. This darkness did not seem natural one bit. We moved on none of the less. We came to a twisting staircase, which led into a dark pit below. We carefully made our way down the steps, which looked ready to crumble at any given time. It made all of us uneasy. Once we reached the bottom, we entered the doorway, which led into another hall. There were three rooms in the hall. Shuffle and I peered into each of them. One was partly flooded with water , and appeared to be a Trollish resting place. The second a large empty room. We were unable to tell where it ended, as it stretched far and wide out of our vision. The last one was a temple or chapel area of some sort, perhaps used for Sand Troll burial rituals, or worse. . .Rituals to bring their fallen back to the land of the living. Us two Rogues reported back to the groups, telling them what we had found.