The Tome Of Drow Lore.pdf - RoseRed

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The human wizard Terlessa was still sitting and staring at the last page of the heavy sheaf
of papers on her lap, as she had been for the last few minutes. Lyrgern nodded to him, the
timing had been perfect.
He approached the wizard, still with a slight hitch of caution in his steps. If he were wrong, well, it
could prove to be a painful mistake. But she made no move, no sign that she noticed his approach,
even when he came to a stop directly in front of her. He nodded again; he was not wrong.
He bent over and gathered the loose sheaf of papers from the wizard’s lap, carefully straightening
them and then depositing them in the na’orsuin pouch he had removed them from some hours
earlier. Placing his index finger under the woman’s chin, he tilted her head back so that she might
meet his gaze. Her head remained at the angle he set it, but her seemingly peaceful state was
betrayed by the dark rage burning in her eyes, which locked onto his like a vise. There was rage
there in plenty, but there was fear as well.
‘It is a poison,’ he said nonchalantly, fastening the buckles on his pouch. ‘On the paper you have
been reading for the last few hours.’
Her eyes widened, ever so slightly, and Lyrgern could see the fear in them growing.
‘No, the poison is not fatal,’ he replied to the question in her gaze. ‘It is merely a paralytic
compound. Generally, it is a useless drug, as the onset time for its effects is so terribly long.
Several hours, to be exact. We actually were not sure the dosage would be correct, and feared it
might take effect before you finished, or, worse yet, some time after.’
With bitter humour, he saw the look of relief come into her eyes. Her lips quivered ever so slightly,
and Lyrgern could guess the question she was trying to ask. He thought for a moment, then
decided to answer the question in full.
‘The Seekers of na’Koth always keep the bargains we strike,’ he told her. ‘You came to us hoping
to learn more of the drow, to learn what we knew. The price we quoted was meant to drive you
away, to end the negotiations then. But to our surprise, you paid it.
‘Therefore,’ he continued, setting the na’orsuin pouch on a nearby rock and holding the wizard’s
gaze with his own. ‘Therefore, we felt bound to provide you with exactly what you asked for.
Thus the knowledge you have just gained. However, there are other considerations as well, such
as your stupidity.
‘Yes,’ he smiled at the flash of anger in her eyes. ‘Your stupidity. To think we would allow what
you have just learned to ever reach the surface world. We exist to advance our own knowledge,
not that of those races that have been our enemies in the past.