The private quarters of Kidane, was bare,
illuminated by the cold, magical faerie
fire that engulfed the eyes of a great
bear skull. A trophy, a reminder, of
the savagery of this sun kissed world.
She was anxious. Frustrated, with an
ever growing pile of problems and
conundrums that threatened to bury her.
Her most pressing concern, was the dire
words given by Habta, her supposed
Shadowblade. A soft knocking announced
her only hope for relief, this long and
agonizing night.
"Enter, Sinfel."
The weapon master entered, his step
unusually cautious, but a face that
shown not a hint of emotion.
"I trust you did not come to me
with ill-news?" she said, almost
playfully.
"We're victorious, glorious Matron.
Already I bring the first of many
spoils to you. Command it, and the
village will dance to Hell for you.
If he expected a reward, he did not
show it. She herself showed but a
hint of a smile.
"If you may permit this male, wise
Matron, I've brought you a toy.
I cannot explain why, but I sensed
something peculiar, about a certain
old man. A wizard, or just plain
scholar, found like a gem in the
mud soaked hay of that village."
This grabbed her attention like
meat before a wolf.
"Wizard? I swear Sinfel, if you
give me some half-crazed hermit
you'll be joing him in the pit."
This gave Sinfel reason to react,
a damnable smile upon his face.
"I gladly stake my life, oh
mistress."
~
Sinfel was quickly dismissed, once his
report was given in full. Alone with her
thoughts, Kidane returned to the
quarrelsome task that held her all night.
New slaves can finally allow them to
pursue power, real and tangible. But
how is the question. A new village of
humans to pull labor from is good, but
one village doesn't birth an empire.
Their loyalties will run as far as
they believe their children unharmed.
More troops, more soldiers is what she
needs, but recruiting and equipping
them seems impossible. Perhaps magic
can be the answer, but that means
petitioning the Goddess, whose mood
is violatile even when not in exile.
A certain death sentence if approached
casually.
Perhaps mercenaries? Warriors care not
whence the coin comes from, only that
it flows. But would they still take a
Drow's coin? Perhaps the mountain
can provide the needed gold...
Either way, the number of good Drow
to commit to any task will be limiting.
New mines need guards, more villages
mean spreading the garrison thin. And
of course the threat from the north...
VOTE:
>Conquer north village.>Establish new mine with villagelabor.
>Try to commune with the Goddess.>Investigate town across river.>Investigate rumor of Orc horde.Sorry for the delay lads, this one was a lot harder to write up. Minor hiccups, I'll try to hit it on time tomorrow.
>>6211102 I do appreciate the feedback, I'll try not to write a novel each post. 
