Snippet #2650477

Vadania jerked awake with a snort. She reached for a dagger, but her hand only met the rough sackcloth that adorned her body. The Duuthesh sat up and inspected her surroundings. Her head immediately throbbed with the sudden motion and her vision blurred. It took a moment for the pain to subside before her elven eyes pierced through the darkness.

The ground was hard and cobbled from rough bricks that dug uncomfortably into her rear. Though the majority of the room was pitch, dim torch light illuminated the steel bars of her cell from the hallway. A foul smelling bucket sat in the opposite corner of her tiny prison. The coppery taste of blood stuck to the roof of her mouth. Vadania clicked her swollen tongue and tried to remember how she had gotten into this situation.

She had staked out the manor for nearly two weeks. It was during the new moon, when the night was darkest, that she snuck passed the sleeping gate guard. Everything had gone according to plan. The loot was in her bag and her blade had yet to be wetted by any guards. Then when she decided to peek inside the master bedroom she spotted a priceless jewel encrusted locket on the mantle.

The damn thing would have fed her for a month if she had not stepped on the family dog - which promptly woke up the entire household. She tried to escape the way she came in, but guards were now scurrying the manor like angry ants. Vadania decided to slip out the back and make her way through the garden, but a particularly brave groundskeeper with a shovel and a good swinging arm apparently took offense to that line of thought...

Then there was the matter of that dream. She never really put much stock in visions or things of the divine. Vadania could not eat prayer books or mysticism. However, something about it bothered her. It felt too real - like something was pulling her towards it and hammering it into her head.

She didn't like it one bit.

Her compilations were interrupted by an awful grating sound. A dark-clothed figure appeared in the torchlight. His face was obstructed by the torch's shadow, but the wooden bowl in his hand was a clear enough sign of his intentions.

"Eat up, elf whore." the man's gravely voice echoed in the chamber. "Yer gonna need all the energy ya can get to survive the fights..."

He dropped the bowl of slop unceremoniously on the ground before meandering back down the corridor. Vadania slowly stood on her bare feet and hobbled over to the bowl to inspect it. It was some sort of brown sludge - barely fit to feed hogs.

"I suppose I've had worse." she whispered with parched lips. "Now, how do I get out of here..."

She ran her fingers through her silvery-white hair like a fine-toothed comb. It took several passes before a victorious smirk spread across her mouth. Vadania pulled out her hand to reveal a small lockpick.

"Now that's taken care of..." she said while eyeing the bowl. "Might as well not let this go to waste."