Meeting Breoch Act One

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#e8d1ff)+(bg:#340057))Far beyond the glow of the campfire, a luxurious tent sits in the shadow of the cliff. Its jade embroidery glistens in the green and pink faerie fire that floats around the spider-silk exterior. The coloured lights dance within the assortment of perfumes and potions on display, as though the very stars had been dissolved and bottled in the myriad glass containers. Your drow companion idly busies himself sweeping the dried leaves out of his tent. His collection of trinkets had already been organised, and he ensured that he kept the most intricate of his discoveries on full display. He spots you as you approach and swiftly returns the broom to its rightful place, before granting you his full attention. "Good evening, Breoch," you say with a small smile. "Good evening," he bows slightly as he rests his hand over his heart. "I am ever at your service, //Khal'abbil//" [(text-colour:white)[[1. How are you faring at the camp?]]] [(text-colour:white)[[2. Tell me about yourself. ]]] [(text-colour:white)[[3. What does "Khal'abbil" mean?]]] [(text-colour:white)[[4. By "at your service" do you mean...?]]] [(text-colour:white)[[5. Leave.]]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''1. How are you faring at the camp?'' Breoch hummed thoughtfully. "It is... different to what I am accustomed to. If I am to be entirely truthful, I would much rather spend my nights under stalactites than starlight. Although," he gazes up at the sky, "it does have its own charm, one could suppose." (text-colour:white)[[1. Tell me about yourself. ->2. Tell me about yourself. ]] (text-colour:white)[[2. What does //"Khal'abbil"// mean? ->3. What does "Khal'abbil" mean?]] (text-colour:white)[[3. By //"at your service"// do you mean...? ->4. By "at your service" do you mean...?]] (text-colour:white)[[4. Leave. ->5. Leave.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057)) ''2. Tell me about yourself. '' "Curious, are we?" His eyes dart down your figure. "It wouldn't hurt to indulge your curiosity this once. What would you like to know?" (text-colour:white)[[1. You don't look like other drow I've seen.]] (text-colour:white)[[2. Where in the Underdark are you from?]] (text-colour:white)[[3. Do you have a special someone waiting for you back home?]] (text-colour:white)[[4. Change the subject. ->Change the subject.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''1. You don't look like other drow I've seen. '' "Is that why you haven't been able to take your eyes off of me?" Breoch steps a little closer to you. "My family are rather unique among drow nobility. As you can probably tell from my white scales, I am one-eighth white dragon. The Matron of our House, my great-grandmother, took the ancient white dragon Vercinogenix as her consort and lover. She has since passed away and now my great-grandfather, who was renamed Caratacus, is our House Patron. Nearly all of us V'ysses are draconic sorcerers and bear white scales upon our skin, just like me. Though, as a House, we do not venture far beyond our palace walls." (text-colour:white)[[1. Can I touch your scales?]] (text-colour:white)[[2. Where in the Underdark are you from?]] (text-colour:white)[[3. Do you have a special someone waiting for you back home? ->3. Do you have a special someone waiting for you back home?]]

''Change the subject. '' [[1. How are you faring at the camp?]] [[2. Tell me about yourself. ]] [[3. What does "Khal'abbil" mean?]] [[4. By "at your service" do you mean...?]] [[5. Leave.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))'3. What does //"Khal'abbil"// mean?'' There was a certain sharpness to the way he enunciated //"khal'abbil"//, as though he was telling a private joke but you were left ignorant of its punchline. "It's a drow term of endearment. It means 'most trusted ally'. Rather fitting, do you not think?" His smile didn't reach his eyes. (text-colour:white)[[1. (Insight) Recall your knowledge of drow.]] (text-colour:white)[[2. "Most trusted"? But we hardly know each other.]] (text-colour:white)[[3. Change the subject. ->Change the subject.]] (text-colour:white)[[4. Leave. ->5. Leave.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''4. By //"at your service"// do you mean...?'' (text-style:"outline","fade-in-out")+ (text-colour:#ecd189)[Breoch Approves] Your words trail off. You aren't entirely sure where you were going with this line of questioning, and yet you feel compelled to pull at the obvious bait Breoch had laid out for you. The corners of the drow's lips twitch; his smile widens for a moment before returning to its picture-perfect gleam. He inches closer to you and lowers his voice. "We are allies, are we not? Our lives may have never crossed before all this, but now we travel together, fight together, eat and...sleep together." He lingered on those last two words, watching to see whether your heart would flutter at his deliberate provocation. "I live to please, pet, and I do hope you soon learn just how pleasurable my company can be." (text-colour:white)[[1. Change the subject. ->Change the subject.]] (text-colour:white)[[2. Leave. ->5. Leave.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''5. Leave.'' "Until we speak again then, //khal'abbil//," he bows his head. "I am already brimming with anticipation." You turn your attention back to the others at your camp. There is a distinctive rattle of vials and glass as Breoch returns to his preening. In the darkness of the night, you venture a peek over your shoulder to snatch one final glance at the drow sorcerer. He doesn't see you. Instead he is quite absorbed in his own reflection. Your presence has already been quite forgotten. [[Homepage]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''2. Where in the Underdark are you from?'' "My family's palace is not too far from the great City of Spiders: Menzoberranzan. I consider the city my home, and there is no other place quite like it." Breoch straightens his back as his voice grows in intensity. "Fortunes are made and destroyed by the day. Lives balance on the edge of a blade or the weight of the coins in their purse. Where yesterday's enemies are today's allies, or tomorrow's lovers. No part of the city is beyond the reach of Lolth's faithful and their grand games of deception and tyranny. Everything and everyone is a mere toy to be used for your own entertainment. Oh, it was such fun!" He grins. His voice is driven by a fervour that borders on mania, almost forgetting himself for a moment, before he regains his usual cool composure. "I am considered to be quite the desirable playmate among Menzoberranzan's mistresses." (text-colour:white)[[1. Why?]] (text-colour:white)[[2. Of course you're popular, just look at you.]] (text-colour:white)[[3. I find that hard to believe.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''1. Can I touch your scales?'' "If you wish," he replies. He takes your hand and directs it to his cheek. You clench your teeth at the sudden coolness of his fingers, which feel more like icicles than living flesh, but that doesn't compare to the bitter sting of his scales. The white scales dotted across his cheekbones are icy to the touch and as smooth as marble; each one glitters in the moonlight giving his skin the appearance of opal. You press one of the scales under your thumb and feel its strength, like pushing a shell into wet sand. As you ghost your fingertips across his cheeks, you notice how Breoch's gaze softens. (text-colour:white)[[1. They're beautiful...]] (text-colour:white)[[2. They're cold!]] (text-colour:white)[[3. How strange...]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''3. Do you have a special someone waiting for you back home? '' (text-style:"outline","fade-in-out")+(text-colour:#ecd189)[Breoch Approves] A silence passes between you. As fleeting as a heartbeat. "I do not," his tone as smooth as silk. "I am, as yet, unclaimed and unbound-- free to pursue whomsoever my soul desires." He pauses again as he watches your reaction. "I hope this answer pleases you." (text-colour:white)[[1. You don't look like other drow I've seen. ->1. You don't look like other drow I've seen.]] (text-colour:white)[[2. Where in the Underdark are you from? ->2. Where in the Underdark are you from?]] (text-colour:white)[[3. Change the subject. ->Change the subject.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''1. They're beautiful...'' (text-style:"outline","fade-in-out")+(text-colour:#ecd189)[Breoch Approves] A gentle smile spreads across his lips as he rests his hand on top of yours, holding it against his cheek. Time seems to slow just for a moment as he holds your gaze, clearly enjoying the sensation of being admired by you, and he leans into your touch just a little more. "Thank you." He delicately lifts your hands to his lips, then releases you from his icy grasp. (text-colour:white)[[1. Where in the Underdark are you from? -> 2.Where in the Underdark are you from?]] (text-colour:white)[[2. Do you have a special someone waiting for you back home? ->3. Do you have a special someone waiting for you back home?]] (text-colour:white)[[3. Change the subject ->Change the subject.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''2. They're cold! '' Breoch chuckles. "White dragons wield ice magic. It is also why my body is so cool to the touch." (text-colour:white)[[1. Where in the Underdark are you from? ->2. Where in the Underdark are you from?]] (text-colour:white)[[2. Do you have a special someone waiting for you back home? ->3. Do you have a special someone waiting for you back home?]] (text-colour:white)[[3. Change the subject. ->Change the subject.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''3. How strange...'' (text-style:"outline","fade-in-out")+(text-colour:#ecd189)[Breoch Disapproves ] Breoch grins and steps away. "Dragon scales are fascinating things, are they not? Not many people have the opportunity to touch them," he narrowed his eyes, "and survive." (text-colour:white)[[1. Leave. ->5. Leave.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''1. Why? '' "It's simple really," he rolls his R's almost like a snarl, "I am everything they fear. I am a son of a disgraced House and, instead of grovelling at their feet like a good //jaluk// ought to do, I know my own power and expect it to be recognised. They cannot take my magic away from me, nor can they render me unlovable when I was raised with love in abundance. Mistresses like to think they can tame me, and sometimes I like to pretend that they can." (text-colour:white)[[ 1. Of course you're popular, just look at you. ->2. Of course you're popular, just look at you.]] (text-colour:white)[[2. I find that hard to believe. ->3. I find that hard to believe.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''2. Of course you're popular, just look at you. '' (text-style:"outline","fade-in-out")+(text-colour:#ecd189)[Breoch Approves] His smile grows wider. "One might be inclined to believe that you are flirting with me." He tilts his head curiously. "Not that I'm complaining. I'm hardly known for my modesty. Though it does please me more than you know to receive such a compliment from you." (text-colour:white)[[1. You don't look like other drow I've seen. ->1. You don't look like other drow I've seen.]] (text-colour:white)[[2. Do you have a special someone waiting for you back home? ->3. Do you have a special someone waiting for you back home?]] (text-colour:white)[[3. Change the subject. ->Change the subject.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''3. I find that hard to believe. '' (text-style:"outline","fade-in-out")+(text-colour:#ecd189)[Breoch Disapproves] Breoch shrugs. "It is probably wise to doubt the words of a stranger." (text-colour:white)[[1. Leave. ->5. Leave.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))1. Where in the Underdark are you from? "My family's palace is not too far from the great City of Spiders: Menzoberranzan. I consider the city my home, and there is no other place quite like it." Breoch straightens his back as his voice grows in intensity. "Fortunes are made and destroyed by the day. Lives balance on the edge of a blade or the weight of the coins in their purse. Where yesterday's enemies are today's allies, or tomorrow's lovers. No part of the city is beyond the reach of Lolth's faithful and their grand games of deception and tyranny. Everything and everyone is a mere toy to be used for your own entertainment. Oh, it was such fun!" He grins. His voice is driven by a fervour that borders on mania, almost forgetting himself for a moment, before he regains his usual cool composure. "I am considered to be quite the desirable playmate among Menzoberranzan's mistresses." (text-colour:white)[[1. Why?]] (text-colour:white)[[2. Of course you're popular, just look at you.]] (text-colour:white)[[3. I find that hard to believe.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''1. (Insight) Recall your knowledge of drow. '' Although you are unfamiliar with the term itself, you do remember hearing that drow are notorious for their fickleness. They are unlikely to hold to their promises and are not afraid of betraying their allies to further their own goals. It is simply not the drow way to place any trust in anyone, even those they might consider friends. Whether your companion is sincere in his judgement of you has yet to be seen. (text-colour:white)[[1. "Most trusted"? But we hardly know each other. ->2. "Most trusted"? But we hardly know each other.]] (text-colour:white)[[2. Tell me about yourself. ->2. Tell me about yourself. ]] (text-colour:white)[[3. By //"at your service"// do you mean...? ->4. By "at your service" do you mean...?]] (text-colour:white)[[4. Leave. ->5. Leave.]]

(enchant:?page,(text-colour:#f8e5ff)+(bg:#340057))''2. "Most trusted"? But we hardly know each other. '' "For now, certainly." He smiles warmly at you as he studies your features. "I must confess that I am rather eager to...get to know you better." (text-colour:white)[[1. Change the subject. ->Change the subject.]] (text-colour:white)[[2. Leave. ->5. Leave.]]

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