Exton

The hot stagnant air smells like death, centuries of death...

Tori tries to move, her limbs slow and not obeying, her knees and hands bruised and scraped raw from being tossed on the rocks while still chained and unable to catch herself. As she wills her eyes to open, she sees the cell, the walls wet and dripping and hears soft evil laughter. Turning her head in the direction of the sound, she sees a Drow Priestess standing a few feet away from her. She struggles to stand, and has lost track of the time in the darkness of this underground place.

Ardara smiles, but it never quite reaches her eyes. “Dont bother to try and turn into stone. We are in the deepest part of Underdark. The sun isnt up in any case, not that you will ever see it again.”

“You bitch..let me out of here...” Tori tries to lunge at the Priestess, but the chains hold firm.

“No, I dont think so. I imagine the chains are not very comfortable. Did any of you give a thought to how my sister felt when your brothers chained her? And dragged her behind a horse...”

“Your sister?”

“Yes. Morgan.” Ardara laughs softly, “Ahh, your eyes give you away. Surprised? But that's not the only reason you are here. If it were I would have already delivered you back to your brothers... in pieces....”

Tori looks around the cell trying to see if there were any possible way out.

“There is no way out, if thats what you are looking for, is there Ghaunt?”

The warrior lowers his head, “No, my Priestess.”

“The guards here have poisoned weapons. Some of them are only half breeds, but loyal to my bidding. Even if you were you to get out of the cell they would kill you. And if you prove to be too much trouble I will have Nathlyn grab that prophesied brat... that should keep you in line. A fat baby would be a nice snack for some of our... pets....”

“You bitch... you wouldnt dare...” Tori struggles to sit up, wanting nothing more than slam that smirk off Ardaras face.

“Oh, I'm afraid I would. You forget where you are. Underdark is home to the Drow. The other races are inferior, including your own. No one here would bat an eye at my feeding a human child to any creature we have here... or even a half breed, isnt that right Ghaunt?

Tori hears a quiet, “Yes Priestess”, but sees the glimpse of anger before his eyes are quickly lowered.

“I'm not sure which is worse, the other races or the half breeds. And here is another one....” Ardara smiles and holds out her hand to a child, maybe 6 years old, struggling to carry a large piece of granite. “Come child, we need to show our prisoner what will happen if she tries to leave her cell.”

Ardara looks at Tori, “Have you ever heard of Bal-Char? It's a particularly nasty acid, found only here in Underdark. Some of our masons use it from time to time... “

With a wave of her hands the walls of the cell start dripping faster, the liquid pouring into cracks in the floor near the walls.

“You'll notice your cell is made of metal. Bal-Char is ineffective on most metal. It eats its way through anything else, flesh, bone, even granite... I would advise against touching it. At best it will leave you horribly disfigured...”

Tori watches in horror as Ardara leads the child struggling with the rock towards the wall of the cell. “No..please dont...” her voice a hoarse whisper. “Please...”

Ardara looks up at Tori and smiles, an expression of pure evil that chills Toris blood. Without so much as glancing at the child Ardara shoves him into the wall and the acid dripping down. Tori screams and covers her ears, but the sounds of the childs cries and screams of agony dont last long. After only a few minutes there is nothing left of the small body or the granite. And Tori is truly frightened.

With another wave of Ardaras hands, the cell closes and the acid starts dripping across the bars in sheets, effectively trapping Tori within.