A Dangerous Misstep

 
Penned on coarse paper in an unrefined hand are the thoughts of one Enderal Oussana. A bladesman. A deadly, efficient, and reliable soldier.
 

Thumbing Through Pockets in the Sewers

We continued our push into the sewers within T'sarran territory. Officer Nirambra began to relay orders to surface. We split into groups of two to four, to maintain our subtlety and to reduce the risk of runners successfully fleeing. I was paired with that rogue, Vanauth. I'd offered my thanks for some of his assistance from earlier, though he didn't really... take it. Doesn't seem like the type to talk. I suppose it does make sense, given his predicament. Being forced against your will isn't exactly a... softening experience.
 
He did seem to fancy digging through the pockets of the T'sarrans we slew, however. More than once it caused enemies to catch us in the act. Well, "catch" is a funny term. The "spotted" us. And then we caught them. With the tip of blade and arrow.
 
We reached the room where we were supposed to surface to our world-over-the-underworld-sewers. There was a handful of T'sarran slaves working away in that room, though, scrubbing the walls and floors. We had to kill them to continue our mission... Vanauth shot most of them with that deadly aim of his. I did wind up running one or two of them through.
 

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Cobbled T'sarran Courtyard and the Escaped Mage

We made it onto the cobbled streets inside the T'sarran walls. Luck wasn't in our favor. As I moved the sewer lid from its place, a House Mage who had been admiring one of the statues in the courtyard spotted us. I managed to fell a gargoyle that the Mage had called to his aid, but the magics were too much for us to bear. Vanauth was scorched with fire and... I found myself being unhelpful, trying to de-escalate the conflict rather than put the Mage down. Something came over me... The Mage got away and... I sure hope that doesn't come back to bite us later. It'll mean the lives of the nobles of House Khalylan...
 

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A Slain Priestess of Lolth

Vanauth regained consciousness eventually. I had dragged him into a nearby groundskeeper's shed. When he did, a Priestess of Lolth—a high-value and dangerous target—was wandering this section of the courtyard. We tried to get the jump on her, but she spotted us. She used all sorts of vile magics—webs I had to cut myself free from, withering curses, and an invisible shield... Not to mention her vile snake-headed whip. She perished, nonetheless. And her fall guaranteed the death of a T'sarran noble.
 

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Caught in the Web of an Ancient Spider

After the death of the priestess, we moved deeper into the T'sarran grounds. We were startled by a casual, feminine voice. A woman was inside a small outer building looking out a window as we skulked by... She chided us for fools.
 
Vanauth and I had to choose our words carefully. This woman wanted us for something, otherwise she wouldn't have warned us. We probably would have perished before we'd even realized we'd been spotted. As our brief conversation progressed, we learned that she indeed had a task for us. Baragh Daevion'lyr. Quartermaster of House T'sarran and sire to two of the T'sarran priestesses. This man had wronged this ancient drow woman; she called him a murderer and tasked us to kill him.
 
She claimed his location was in the academy of Melee-A'Daragon, then instructed us to touch a magical stone that appeared to be slightly smaller than a globe. The feeling was intense... like fire was coursing through my veins. All sense of fatigue felt like it was burned away—though it was no pleasant feeling.
 
She granted us leave to finish our task of eliminating House T'sarran—which tells me she doesn't belong to this House. A guest and visitor, perhaps. Though the bargain we accepted required us to return to this location, where we met her, and a portal to Melee-A'Daragon would await us.
 

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Continuing with Elimination

A patrol of drow warriors followed, likely answering the priestess's summons. One was riding a giant lizard—and the same took an arrow through the neck as soon as they rounded a corner.
 
Our assassinations continued. Some fell without being aware of our presence, others proved more difficult to exterminate. More than once I gengaged in a blind melee with a drow warrior as it created a dome of inky blackness that made it nearly impossible for Vanauth to shoot with any accuracy. Training in blindfighting saved my life this day...