Underdark- Unending Abyss Region

Outpost for Eternal Night

The new garrison had arrived and the outpost was bustling with activity, to say the least. Walls were going up, fortifications such as a pair of archery towers were being emplaced, supplies were being stored, but more importantly, Captain Thardan Dulkam and his troops were gone and resting back within the city. "Can I help you with anything Elder?" I looked over at a Vampire studying me and my companions.

I shook my head, "No, just looking before we head out. We will be back after scouting the nearby Underdark. Just to give you a heads up, if we come running, we will probably need some cover." I told the other Vampire who frowned.

"May I ask where you are going that would cause such...trouble Elder?" the Vampire responded and I chuckled.

"Were you briefed on what happened with the first garrison?" I asked him and he gave me a tight nod as he grimaced in disgust. "We are going to go find where House Dhalmass is holed up and see what we can dig up. If they send anyone or anything after us, we will come running." I told him and the Vampire nodded in understanding.

"Do you want me to detail you a squad of soldiers sir?" the Vampire asked and I shook my head.

"No, this is just scouting. Speed and escaping detection are paramount, and you are going to need all your soldiers to finish prepping in case we gain any attention." I told him and the Vampire bowed slightly before walking off. I looked at the others, "Ready?" I asked them and received hasty nods.

We were all worried, this was a big risk but we needed to know where the Drow were. I had galvanized the Orcs and Kobolds, now we need something to aim at. "Ok, June you are on point. Chalxae will cover our asses. If you find anything or come across anything you are wary of, best to stop and wait for the whole group. Understood June?" I asked the Drow and she smirked at me.

"What, worried about me?" the Dark Ranger asked and I nodded.

"Yes, I don't want you to die and these people play for keeps. You should know that after everything we have seen them do so far." I told her and she studied me before nodding in agreement before disappearing into Stealth. We followed after the Dark Ranger, keeping the pace slow and steady because we had no idea what dangers awaited us from either House Dhalmass or the natural dangers of the Underdark.

Thirty minutes out from the outpost the first attack came, with only a quick message from June as a warning saved all our lives. We got hit on both sides by Goblins and Orcs. I triggered Bog of Plagued Shadows as Sessa quickly cast a spell on a group of archers and spellcasters that I had snared as I faced the swarm of oncoming enemies. Arrows and fire were flung all about as I did my best to parry or dodge all the incoming attacks.

June started dropping in and out of stealth among them, her knives quickly sinking into kidneys or slashing throats. I slapped an Orc's axe aside and shot a Shadow Bolt into his face before cleaving Moonlight into a Goblins neck before dancing backward as I triggered my taunt skill. While most of them had been concentrating on me, some had focused on Sessa and Drax, losing either one would be a crippling blow to our party.

The blast of red energy swept over the raiders and pissed them off even more. I quickly fired off a barrage of Shadow Bolts, killing two more Goblins and critically wounding another Orc before they were on me again. Waves of fire, arrows, and slashing daggers were the only thing keeping me alive as my Health bar dropped and rose as Drax did his best to keep me alive while our opponents did their best to kill me.

Eventually, it was just a matter of attrition, and the fact I had a dedicated healer and our opposition's magical support was either dead or dying. "Fuck June, what the hell?" I asked the Dark Ranger as I staggered away from the corpses and sat down on a boulder.

"Sorry, they had an Illusionist helping them, I got lucky when one of the Goblins got jumpy and disrupted the illusion they were under." the Drow replied as she grimaced.

"We at least are on the right track," Chalxae commented as she held up the heads of two Drow before tossing them on top of a pile of bodies.

"We are lucky the Goblins were low level, otherwise they would have overwhelmed us," Drax commented as he rested nearby, both of us had run dangerously low, him with Spirit and me with Health before the group had been downed. I quickly started counting the bodies but stopped once I hit twelve, it didn't matter at this point.

"Everyone ready?" I called out and at their nods, I rose. "Ok, we push on, slower this time. I want to find this place and get back without losing anyone." I told them before June once again disappeared into stealth.

As we moved on, further from the outpost and any possible support the number of mindless Undead increased. First in one's and twos then roving packs of five or more, but surprisingly they were all low level but in their numbers, if they swarmed all at once they would have overwhelmed almost any party.

Thankfully, these were mindless Undead and while dangerous, were not coordinated in any way. Thankfully no more ambushes awaited us from any forces deployed by House Dhalmass, if they had and had coordinated their attack with the roving Undead, they would have killed us. I suppose though, that the Undead were just as dangerous to the Drow forces, as they were to us though, and attacked any living thing indiscriminately.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

"The tunnel branches up ahead," June reported as she dropped out of stealth. We had been traveling for over an hour and it would be nice to finally get somewhere.

"Ok...Do you two feel confident in scouting the area?" I asked June and Chalxae, they both nodded. "Ok, since we are not exactly stealthy, you two push on and see what lays ahead. We are going to set up out here. Keep an eye out for any messages and your safety is more important than anything else. This is just a scouting mission, not a suicide mission." I told them and the two women nodded and disappeared into Stealth.

I lead the other two off to the side, putting our backs to the stone before activating Shroud of Darkness and closing my eyes as I concentrated on my Sense Life ability. I doubted the shroud would hide us from someone with Thermal Sight, but it would probably work against those with Dark Sight. They were our best defenses until the others returned and I had no idea how long that would be.

----------------------------------------

Surface- Stormberg Mountain Region

Free Lands- Fortress of Dhol Koran

Stronghold of Deepening Shadows

I nodded to the Fortress Sentinel, but the golem ignored me. If I wasn't an officer and one of the founding members of the Shadow Daggers, I would never have made it this far within our clan's stronghold and heart of our power. The level eight fortress had been a Dwarven city at one time, but war or some cataclysm had destroyed its original inhabitants and the Shadow Dagger Clan had claimed it.

It had been nearly six months since I had been here, and while some things had changed, the most important things had not. I smiled and nodded to the fortress Guardian, Nina. "Hello sir, the Council is present and waiting inside. Per your security requirements, you must disarm before going in." I chuckled and started drawing out all my weapons while I studied the Guardian.

Like the fortress itself, the Guardian had grown since we had claimed this place. While she was still a Golem of stone, her form was far more refined than she had originally been. "How are you doing Nina?" I asked her as I started pulling out my throwing weapons.

I was an Assassin, so I always had to be prepared and while I specialized in getting close to kill our enemies, I could shoot someone in the eyeball at twenty yards while moving. In other words, you had to be ready for the situation you had, not what you wanted. "I am doing fine Master Shadowstep. It is good to see you after being gone so long." the Guardian replied and I nodded as I pulled the two daggers from the wrist sheaths and pulled off my bracers as well since both had hidden compartments and even garrote wires interwoven.

"I think that is it, can you scan me real quick to make sure that is everything?" I asked her and Nina chucked as she cast a quick spell then gestured for me to turn around. I did and she pulled a dagger from between my belt and shirt, and one hanging down in the middle of my back before turning me around. "Sorry, forgot those two. Anything else or am I good to go?" I asked her and she pointed to the doors causing them to open and with a wave, I was off.

A small raised dais with a concave table on it with a half dozen filled chairs waited for me. The doors closed behind me and I bowed slightly to the Shadow Council, the elected leaders of the Shadow Daggers. These were some of the best we had to offer, and they were some of the most dangerous people in Fate Online. "So, why are we here Darren?" Maggie asked and I smiled.

"I am giving my two weeks notice," I told them, and before they could do anything rash I held up a hand. "This had nothing to do with any of you, a friend needs help and I will be in a situation where my loyalties will be pulled in two directions. I won't do that, so I am letting you know that I will be leaving, and before you ask, no it's none of the other ten." I told them and more than one confused look was thrown my way.

Fredrick stared at me, he was the one that had assisted me in getting all the intel that Kevin had needed and the only one on the council that might know what is going on. "Is this about that little favor we did for your friend?" Fredrick asked and I shrugged my shoulders.

"Are we going to start spilling secrets, Fred? If so, no one here will be comfortable with that." I replied with a smile causing more than one person to shift. Being a Shadow Dagger led to many paths, we were the foremost spy Clan in Fate Online and many depended on our discretion. We found out secrets and hidden information, we did not spill them even among ourselves.

Maggie held up her hand, "No one is asking that, but this is something unexpected Jarred, you have been here since the beginning when we only had twenty people. Now you are leaving, it begs the question as to why?" she responded and another voice sounded.

"We all know Jarred fairly well. He doesn't go off half-cocked, everything is for a reason. Before he gave his notice, I would have bet my life he was a lifer with us, but now." George commented and I looked at him. George was like me, he had been in the shadows in the real world like me, and like me, he still felt that thrill, but no real lives were ruined by our actions here. At least most of the time. "The only reason why he would leave us would be for family, or someone he considers family, so I have no problem with him leaving our Clan," George commented and nodded in support before sitting back.

Silvia studied me more closely, "This has to do with that journal that Fredrick pulled out of the Vault, doesn't it?" I just smiled at her and tried not to give anything away as more than one council member chuckled. Silvia held up a finger, "You laugh, but it is an ultra-rare drop item, only three drops a year from all over the continent. It's a common journal I give you that, but it's in a dead language that no one here understands and we have never been able to identify. Darren here requests the one our Clan has, no reason why, and a couple of weeks later he puts in his two weeks notice. These two events are related, how and why I do not know, but if someone found who wanted the journal or figured out what was written, it could lead to any number of things. Anything I can think of, none of them are a laughing matter." Silvia stated before sitting back and staring at me.

I shifted, now was the time to haggle and persuade, "We are going to need allies and friends, with what is coming you are going to want to be friends. Trust me on this." I urged the council and more than one incredulous stare was thrown my way. I was talking big, things that could cause waves and they knew it. "To add a little bit of incentive, my friend can bring down one of the ten if he wants to, the whole Clan. My friend is just waiting for the right time." I told them and that set them back to studying me more closely.

"Which one?" Maggie asked and I smiled, got them.

"The Children of the Light, pretty sure no one here will care if they disappear off the map for a while," I replied and the council members looked at each other. The plot thickens, it's time to haggle I thought as we started talking again.