No Longer a Game Ch. 23

Christie nodded, "There are some...but they are very cautious. When you live where the drow do you learn to be careful. Did you eat and drink?"

Natalie nodded. The two sat in silence for a while and Christie knew not to reach out and try and comfort her girlfriend. She was learning more and more about Natalie's moods.

"So can I ask you something?" The drow broke the silence.

"If I say no is that going to stop you?"

Christie chuckled, "No." She paused for a moment. "When we were fighting the derro and you crushed that one with your spell...I...I saw you smile...smiled like you enjoyed it."

Natalie nodded, "Cause I did." She confessed. "I now understand why Lou wants to stay. The more I use my magic the more powerful I feel and I want more. You were right."

"About?"

"When you said it was getting too easy to kill. When I crushed that derro I could feel it like it was in my own hand like a bug. I could feel it wiggling and squirming trying to get free and when I closed my hand to squish it I could feel it bones crush and its blood mushed up organs running over my hand...and I enjoyed it...I enjoyed the feeling of it and the sound if the thing screaming as I squeezed the life out of him."

Natalie was looking at Rain and Jason, already asleep, snuggled against one another in their wool sleeping bags Aklice had provided and did not see the way Christie was looking at her. The drow was amazed and a little frightened by the elf's words.

"It's the power of magic." Natalie continued. "Lou was right it is like an addiction and you crave to use it more and to learn more. You don't feel it with your spells?"

Christie shook her head, "No, when I cast my spells I don't feel like that...it's different. I feel well...silly but I can feel Eilistraee's power going through me but it feels...well...like love. Like a mother's love and its strong and caring and kind and I feel like a child being hugged with great affection by her mother. I don't know if all deities make their followers feel like that; I doubt it. I suppose with gods like Lolth you feel something like power and hate of all things coursing through you...I don't know. Would be curious to find out though."

Natalie nodded as Christie yawned, "I am more powerful than Lou." She stated matter of factly. "Oh sure when y'all play the game he is...what do y'all call it? Higher level than me? But here where it's real I am stronger. Yes he knows more spells than I do but I can somehow feel I am stronger...a lot stronger and if I stayed here my power would soon surpass his by a great deal."

Christie covered her mouth ad yawned again. "Excuse me, sorry about that I am more sleepy than I thought. So that does not mean you are seriously thinking about staying are you?"

Natalie yawned herself and smiled at the drow, "Stop yawning it's contagious." She teased. "Me stay? Hell no. I want to get home more than any one I think. I was just answering your question if I enjoyed killing that derro and I did. I liked the power it gave me and the feeling that something that wanted to hurt me I could kill that easy."

Natalie looked over the cavern and saw Lou was also asleep and the she looked across to the entrance of the passageway Ahira was guarding and the dwarf was slumped against the wall also asleep. She turned to Christie and saw her sleeping as well.

"Christie! Wake up!" Natalie said with panic in her voice and tried to stifle a yawn. "Something is wrong!"

The elf girl stood up and swooned and then fell to the stone floor in a deep sleep.

Four drow entered the cavern through the tunnel that Nalfal was guarding. Three male and a female. Two of the males wore black mail chain armor and held swords in their hands, the other male wore black wizard robes and carried a staff, and the female drow wore a black armor breast plate with the symbol of Lolth across the chest and a black spider web cloak dyed red. She held no weapons in her hands but at her belt dangled a three pronged whip and the prongs wrapped gently around her waist in a loving fashion and the heads of the prongs were heads of vipers. As she moved the prongs seemed to slither with her movements as if alive. This priestess of Lolth was heavy set and would have been beautiful if not for the gruesome disfigured right side of her face from an injury she suffered as a child, a reminder from her own mother the price of disobedience.

"I did not think your sleep spell was going to work on the surface elf, Ulvrin." She told the drow mage in an insulting tone.

Ulvrin shrugged, "She is a moon elf mage so it took a little longer."

"Go back and get a few of our soldiers and bring them up here. We will put these surface dwellers in the slave wagon." She paused and looked at Natalie sleeping form. "Except the surface elf. Put her in the smaller wagon. It's a five day travel back to Sshamath and some entertainment when we rest would be enjoyable."

"Why not just kill them all now." One of the other drow males spoke up. He looked younger than the others.

The priestess hit him hard across the face with the back of her hand. "Don't be foolish, brother. What do you think Matron Leseyna will do when we not only return without the slaves we were sent to capture but then she finds out we found and killed five surface dwellers, one a moon elf female mage, and two drow traitors who serve that whore Eilistraee and one a female priestess? We would be lucky if our mother sent us to the slave auctions. No we will take them back to Sshamath. Sacrificing the traitor bitch and a moon elf female to Lolth will bring great honor to our house and the favor of the Spider Queen."

"Of course, sister. I am sorry." The young male drow said.

The priestess smiled at him, "You are young but you need to learn. If you must kill something then kill that one." She pointed at Nalfal. "He is just a male after all."

The young drow smiled, walked to Nalfal's body, lifted the drow's head up by his hair and cut his throat.

The priestess smiled, "Make sure you gather their weapons and armor. They are heavily enchanted. Search their packs for anything else useful."

The young drow nodded as he cleaned his knife on Nalfal's trousers.