Cyznul received a glancing blow off his forearm for his pains, but other than that took down the two unwitting guards quickly. Peering around the corner at Xarw and Vushaz's battle, he pondered how best to use his advantage. His answer came to him an instant later as he wove through another complex spell, cloaking himself in illusion.

"Vushaz, dear daughter," he called, stepping around the corner.

Vushaz spun to look, inadvertently turning her back to Xarw. Her eyes widened. None other than Ynvanah Vren'arach had just stepped around the corner to greet her with open arms. She saw through the illusion in a moment, but that moment was all Cyznul needed to launch a two-dimensional blade her direction.

_________________

Meanwhile Xarw grinned and pretended to hold his ribs as he feared that she was pretending, but in truth drew two well placed darts from his armour and with a quick hand move they were sticking out of Vushaz back stopping her from moving or at least the sudden pain made her go for her back as Cyznul`s magical blades pierced her body. Xarw grinned and got up with a smirk.

"Well thats her end... is she still alive?"

Xarw said as she layed in the grouns seemingly gasping for air while the pool of blood spread, Xarw reloaded his crossbow and pointed it at Vushaz, but held his finger wanting to see her take her lasy breaths. He looked at Cyznul for his expression of his sisters death expecting to see satisfaction.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Cyznul looked on impassively. There went the last daughter of House Vren'arach. "I will kill her," he said, bending down over his sister's prone body. He began chanting, the raw words of power rasping from his throat. He spread his fingers on the nape of Vushaz's neck, feeling her pulse gradually fade away. One of the many amulets around his neck - this one an adamantine chain set with a crimson ruby - warmed under the spell.

"It is done." He gazed down at Vushaz Vren'arach's body.

_________________

There was a sudden snap of a crossbow, Xarw`s crossbow to be exact and at such close rate it was bound to hit Cyznul in the shoulder unless he would have been amazingly aware of the move. Xarw smirked and also grinned as the pain in his shoulder stang.

"True, but the house of Vren'arach is not dead..."

He said as he put the crossbow away and drew his rapier.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Incompetent traitor! Vushaz's voice screamed in his head as the crimson ruby on the adamantine chain cooled. The Master of Sorcere placed his hand on the ruby to shut his sister's soul up. Now that he had her trapped inside his amulet, he liked her a tenfold more.

At Xarw's treachery, Cyznul raised an eyebrow. His shoulder burned from the crossbow quarrel, but his assortment of magical talismans were already stopping the poison. "Clever, aren't you," he remarked, at the same time racing for the most effective spell.

_________________

Xarw had already springed into action to kill him as he threw his a dart towards cyznuls stomach as he prepared to finnish him off with a rapier.

"Not clever enough..."

He muttered yet at the second few shocking thoughts went trough his mind and the words of Menor rang trough his mind.

Trust no one

Every little thing can be a collosal trap

Xarw quicly spinned behind a column and egan looking for the key, his fingers got a hold of it and his hand was already extended into a throw as it the spell within it were set free. They were triggered by the death of Vushaz and apparently they had wanted to get rid of Xarw too after he would have finnished Cyznul or that the spells would have taken them both.

Luckily for his life he had realised the trap in time, unfortunately for his face and hand he had realised the trap too late. An explosion mixed with acid and fire sent a shockwave throwing him back in pain, the spells burned his face and his right hand. As it ceased Xarw layed on the ground with some parts of his faces and hand burned, he grinned in pain and bit his cheek trying hard not to scream. Now he could only wait for Cyznul to end his life for the treachery or if not him then someone else, didn`t matter. He had been outclevered in his arrogance and his years of experience seemed nothing now.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Prepared, Cyznul's defensive spell had brushed the second dart aside. He looked down at Xarw now, and stepped forward fully intending to kill the traitor.

It was then that all hell broke loose.

Crossbow darts whizzed from the shadows in all directions, some bouncing off Cyznul's wards, others entangling harmlessly in his piwafwi. One found its mark in his forearm. Hissing in pain, he retaliated with a flaming bolt. The bolt exploded upon impact, taking down four enemy drow. From the shadows, a dozen other drow males revealed themselves and leveled weapons.

A priestess in dark crimson robes swaggered from behind a column. "Your house should no longer exist, male." She swiveled to glare at Xarw. "And Bregan D'aerthe should no longer stick its nose where it does not belong."

Cyznul bowed as if in submission. Suddenly his hand whipped outward, discharging a jet of pure white that blinded the priestess. He followed that in quick succession with a wall of whirling blades, which he hurled at the enemy drow behind him. Drawing his piwafwi around his head, he broke into a run through the break in their ranks.

A portal. Someone had spoken of a portal.

_________________

Xarw spat blood with a slight smirk as the group of drows appeared knowing that at least they both would die now yet he realised that the merchant had prepared a portal for Vushazs escape, so had Cyznul. Wether these drows were here to kill Vushaz was unclear yet Xarw wasn`t going to wait for answers, he got up in pain and ran past some columns yet one drow stepped in his way. Xarw quickly made a surprising jump and tackled the drow yet rolled onwards to run after Cyznul even past him as he was far more faster than him all tough wounded.

Xarw stopped for a second before seeing the portal and springing towards it as he knew that after this mess there was no returning to the service of Bregan D`aerthe nor anywhere in menzoberran. He went trough and rolled into he ground yet had his rapier at hand for foes, he was in somesort of a cave yet saw light coming from an exit. He could only hope that Cyznul would come trough to close it and that he would realise that they were in the same boat.

(I am confused was the portal meant to open or what... )

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

[I was thinking they went through the portal earlier prepared for Vushaz]

Cyznul raced through the portal a step after Xarw. He immediately began chanting to close it. He heard the priestess shrieking from the other side. Two enemy drow burst through it and barreled right into him, ruining his concentration. He fried one of them, but could only leave the other one to Xarw. He rattled through the rest of the spell. The portal's light flickered and went off, cutting off the last of the priestess's shouted curses.

_________________

name: Gynt Ess'delo
Gender: male
Age: unknown
Race: half drow, half human
Occupation: weapons master

Apperance: Shoulder length black hair; light armor, wears house insignia around neck; taller than most drow males (probably because of the other half of his blood) Two different color eyes: one red, the other brown.

History: family attacked by humans, killed everyone but his mother who was eventually raped and died giving birth to a half blooded freak. Gynt's human blood stood out more than his drow, and therefore, many mistake him for one. Not willing to be cast out from the drow society, he climbed to the highest position he could get to: weapons master. Many still despise him for what he is. To this day, Gynt curses the humans for what they have done.
------------------------------------------------------

Beneath the hood of his cloak, Gynt's half human, half drow eyes narrowed dangerously. He was not alone.

Slowly dousing his fire, the half drow grabbed his short sword and stood. He had scouted the cave before making camp and somehow the thought that he overlooked something made him uneasy.

Cyznul whirled around, shooting lightning at the last drow and finishing him. He glanced askance at Xarw. If he were still in Menzoberranzan, he would have killed the treacherous mercenary without a thought.

Unfortunately for him, he was no longer in Menzoberranzan.

Clutching his wounded shoulder, he looked around. The cave was light - light in comparison to the Underdark anyway. Ahead, he glimpsed a flicker of flame like a campfire, then nothing.

_________________

Gynt stealthily moved out of sight. He could make out a figure in the distance--human. Gynt tightened the grip on his weapon and closed in. After snaking around a stalagmite he finally came close enough to notice that the man was wounded. He charged, caught the man by the neck and shoved him against the cave wall.

What Gynt saw was not what he had expected.

A drow.

Xarw arghed as he was puyshed against teh wall yet didn`t bother to stay up as he sort of let himself fall into a sitting position against the wall to see the new threat. Xarw pointed his rapier towards the stranger to keep him away, on Xarw`s burned face showed exhaustion and pain yet he wasn`t going to let some surface dweller end his life after what he had been trough in Menzoberran!

Xarw looked at him, there was something odd about this stranger for he seemed like an elf yet wasn`t nor did his currently blurry sight help the matter further. Xarw managed to grin with a bloodline going down his chin from his mouth.

"Stay away surface dweller..."

He said trying hard to appear threatening.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!

Cyznul was creeping around another stalagmite, watching the drama unfold. The stranger looked human, yet there was something distinctly different about him. Shrugging, he decided that if Xarw got himself killed, all the better.

_________________

Surface dweller...

Once again, Gynt felt a pang of hatred, realizing that his human features must have dominated over the drow ones. Curse it.

He did not back off, the drow could hardly lift his weapon. "What are you doing here."

Xarw let out a hmph followed by slight amused laughter, but his face and hand stayed still and threatening as he was not willing to lower his guard all tough wounded.

"Bleeding... you might also want to realise that behind you is sneaking my trecherous friend..."

He said nodding towards the sneaking Cyznul behind the stalagmite.

_________________

Let him curse my name
On these blood stained pages of misery
Let him call me a tyrant so cruel
Let him curse my name, but remember the truth!