This story is fan-fiction for the game-A Dance With Rogues part 2, by Valine, which is a module of D&Ds Neverwinter Nights. As such, the characters, setting and most of the story belong to Valine. I have made some changes to the story, big and small, and do so with the utmost respect to the source material and author.
Be advised—this tale is quite dark, nasty and sordid, and contains slavery, graphic non-consent scenes and strong violence, particularly in the second chapter. Tiff will be a three part story, which is just part of a much larger epic. I will try to release the other chapters a week apart. I enjoyed writing it, and enjoyed playing the original game, I hope you enjoy reading it. Cheers,
-Ax
*****
In the dim barren tunnels of the Underdark, miles below the Black Mountains, the four human travellers made their way north on foot. They had reached a great tunnel, several meters wide in most places and reaching out for unknown miles ahead of them.
They walked in close formation. The male ranger, clad in brown leather armor, took point in front of the group, scanning ahead into the darkness as they walked on. Behind him the two beautiful young women walked side by side, a black-haired rogue in fine red light-armor under a black cloak, and a golden-haired bard. The male rogue-fighter brought up the rear, his blackened armor and black medium-length hair helping him blend into the darkness.
He stumbled over some uneven ground and cursed as he regained his footing. The female rogue giggled, "Watch your step there, Vico."
"Blasted Underdark, do you even know where we're going Birdy?"
"We're heading north, that was the plan, remember? To make it past the Black Mountains."
"It was never your plan to come this deep, though. It feels like we've been going down further. You should be more concerned with heading up, not north."
"We'll find a way up."
"You mean you hope we'll find a way up. Admit it, you've gone and got us lost down here, Birdy."
"Shut the hell up, Vico," said the blonde. "It's not Lyannas' fault we're swept down here. Lyanna said we'll find a way, and we will. Your moaning about it is not helping anyone."
"Yeah, you would defend your girlfriend, Pia. You can tell me what a great leader she is when you become a slave, or some underdark monsters' snack."
"Be quiet." said the ranger ahead of them.
"Don't tell me to be quiet, Ranger-boy."
"I said shut up, I can see something." He stopped walking and Lyanna came up next to him.
"What is it, Anden?" she asked softly.
"A light, ahead in the distance."
Lyanna looked ahead and could just make out the dim yellow light in the darkness. "What do you think it is?"
"I can't tell. It's not flickering or moving, so it's unlikely to be a flame. Some glowing flora perhaps. We should approach quietly and cautiously."
"Agreed. That means keep your mouth shut, Vico."
"I can sneak about quieter than you, Birdy," he sneered.
The party moved slowly ahead, approaching the light. After a while, they got close enough to see that it was a pile of glowing rocks set about a wooden sign. There was no sign of anyone about. Lyanna cautiously approached the sign, something was written in a few different languages. She recognised dwarven and elven writing, though she couldn't read it. She could read the common trade writing though, "Rugnars' Realm, travellers welcome." She looked over and saw a basic iron door set into the rocky wall nearby.
"Welcome..." said Lyanna. "That would be a change down here."
"Is it an inn or something?" asked Pia.
"It could be a trap," said Anden next to her.
"We get inns in remote places on the surface to service travellers," said Lyanna.
"The sign's made out of wood," said Vico. "That's gotta be pretty rare. I haven't seen many trees down here."
Lyanna walked over to the door and cautiously turned the handle. It creaked loudly as it opened inward, revealing a smaller dimly lit tunnel.
"Allow me to scout ahead, M'lady," said Anden. "Just in case it is a trap."
"No, we'll check it out together," She walked through the doorway, the others followed closely behind. The tunnel turned off to the left, and led to a larger area lit by burning sconces on the wall. The party walked in cautiously with their blades drawn.
As Lyanna entered the room, she immediately saw a dark figure and raised her sword, standing defensively. She let out a gasp as she looked the figure over; short and slender, dark skin, white hair, pointy ears, female. "A dark elf!" she exclaimed. It was the second one she had seen, but the first was only a rotting corpse. The others came in and raised their weapons as they made surprised sounds as they scanned the area for threats.
The dark elf was standing several meters away and didn't even appear to be looking their way. She was unarmed and scantily clad in only bright purple brassiere and briefs and simple black cloth boots. Her short white hair hung loosely around her face. She took a few casual steps and stood near the well, completely ignoring the newcomers. She was just staring at the rocky wall.
"Hey there." called out Lyanna, trying to get her attention. The elf didn't stir. The room was quite bare, with a dirt floor, simple well in the center, a few simple stone benches, and several sconces on the wall casting out their flickering warm light. There was a large door on the east wall, and three smaller doors lined up on the north wall.
The dark elf continued to ignore them. After a few moments, Lyanna slowly approached her. "Careful," warned Anden. "The drow are deceptive and extremely dangerous, and there could be more of them." She got in front of the dark-skinned woman and looked into her copper eyes that shimmered in the torchlight. Her face was around the height of Lyannas' breasts, appearing quite young and attractive. Her stature was like an adolescent human girl, but she was obviously fully mature, her slender figure held a pair of pert breasts and rounded hips. She seemed to stare right through Lyanna, as though fixed on a distant target only visible to herself.
Vico walked up beside her and waved his hand in front of her face, the drow woman didn't react. "Looks like she's out of it. Ships sailing, but there's no one at the helm."
"It appears that way," said Lyanna. Then Vico reached around her and pulled down her purple briefs, exposing her neatly trimmed patch of white pubic hair. "Vico, what are you doing?!"
"Hehehe, nice. Just checking she's got nothing hidden away. There's no way a dark elf bitch would allow her charms to be displayed to a bunch of surfacers like this. She really is addled. But someone appears to be taking care of her."
"That would be me," came a voice behind them. They all turned to see a dwarf standing at the door. He had rough ruddy skin and a big brown bushy beard. His arms and legs were strong and thick, as was his belly. He was clad in simple stained shirt and pants under a brown leather work apron. "If ye wanna keep touching me Tiff, yer gunna have to pay me, Boy."
Vico pulled the drows' briefs back up, "Who are you calling boy, dwarf?"
The dwarf looked each of the adventurers over as he stepped forward. "Humans. We don't get your type here offen." Lyanna and Anden stepped back as he approached, still bearing their blades. The dwarf reached out and grabbed the elfs' hand. "I'm Rugnar, welcome to my realm, travellers. Now, why don't ye come into me shop." He walked back to the doorway and the drow woman followed behind, as though she was used to being led around.
Lyanna looked at her companions, and then sheathed her sword and walked to the doorway. The others followed her into the shop. The first thing Lyanna noticed was a huge figure standing still by the doorway. It stood around nine foot tall and appeared to be wearing heavy dark plate mail over its bulky frame. She studied it carefully, wondering if were alive, or just a statue.
The dwarf was standing behind a stone counter with the dark elf who was still staring off at nothing. "Oh you noticed ol' Jax, eh? He's in charge of security 'round 'ere. Say hello, Jax."
The figure raised its huge arm with the sound of scraping metal, and gave a wave. It then dropped its arm and stood there motionless again.
"That's an iron golem, isn't it?" She had never seen one, but had heard that they were extremely formidable. It wasn't alive, and it wasn't a statue, golems were large humanoid objects animated by magic, usually bound to the commands of a particular individual. She wouldn't want to take this particular one on.
"Aye, that's right. Good fer keepin' the kobolds away, and fer hacking apart anyone thinkin' of givin' me trouble." He eyed Vico warily as he said it.
The room was quite large and well lit. She noticed a hearth, anvil, large water tub, various shelves and racks and basic pieces of furniture arranged around the room. A variety of different items like tools, bottles, books, armor and various bits and pieces were scattered around the place. There were a couple of doors on the far wall, likely leading to more rooms.
Lyanna looked the shopkeeper over, "You're a dwarf...not a deurgar?"
"Yep, deurgars are scrawnier and uglier, with darker greyish skin, and a mean streak longer than the tunnel outside. You don't wanna go dealing with them, Lass."
"So how did you come to be running a shop down this deep, in the middle of nowhere?"
"Everywhere's the middle of somewhere. Let's just say I got lost down here some years back and decided to make the best of things. Now I quite like the solitude. Travellers' gold is always welcome here though. I have some food and drink and few basic rooms, a collection of supplies and equipment to trade and I can offer some basic smithing services if needed."
