When I woke up again, Nimri licked my face with his unusually long tongue. I wonder how long I was unconscious. The fish, wherever Nimri had got it from, lying next to me, to judge, not just a few hours. I pulled myself up again and stowed away the fish.
I looked up through the hole. It was no short fall, it was a miracle I survived. The bloodstains at the spot where I landed indicate that I didn't survive the fall completely unscathed either. A short grab to the back of my head also quickly brought out the spot where I injured myself. That explained the bad headaches.
After I took Nimri on my shoulder, I walked further through the corridor, which ended in a huge vault after only a few meters. The ledge where I came out didn't feel very stable. I got on my knees and looked down the ledge. The figures there seemed quite small to me, either because of the height, or they are those disgusting little Minions. But from the fireplace they seemed to be dancing around, I could tell that one person seemed very different from the others. I wonder if this is the child I should be looking for?
I picked up Nimri again, who somehow managed to get his tongue frozen on an icicle. »You're something« I said softly to him and he answered me with the seemingly only look he had - he stared at me ignorantly with his huge eyes.
When we came downstairs, I could see them clearly. Minions. Those little cowardly creeps. They only perform in groups because individually they are cowards. They're constantly fussing as if the herb they smoke has been bad for centuries. Normally they always have a leader to follow, usually a necromancer. But this group seemed to act alone, or at least he's not visible. I crept closer to take a better look at the person who was different from the Minions and could see that this was indeed the child I was supposed to find. »What should I do now?« I asked myself quietly as I looked at Nimri, whose staring gaze still seemed completely crazy. Again he was not much help to me. But what can I expect from a little animal?
I pulled my staff from my back and loaded it. »Let's get the kid« I said to Nimri, who nodded wildly. But just as I was about to attack the Minions, I saw something bigger and I hid again. The necromancer? I looked slightly out of hiding and could hardly believe my eyes. A ghoul. I had only seen a ghoul once and that was in Menzoberranzan. Mostly they are used as assassins against targets who flee to the surface. They are described as very intelligent, aggressive, strong and above all ruthless. I spied out of my cover again and looked for the monster, but I did not find it. Instead, there was now a young woman, shoulder-length black hair, in a long black coat, chasing the Minions around. Astonished, I looked for the ghoul, but couldn't find him anymore. »I can handle one human and a few Minions« I whispered and stormed out of my cover. I was able to throw the first wave of Minions against the wall with a targeted »Su'aco», a decent gust of wind. When I reached the child, the human seemed to have noticed what was going on and came rushing towards me. »Run« I requested the child to run, after I could untie her and noticed that the woman who came towards me turned into a ghoul. I cursed with a loud »Vith« and could just about strengthen my armor with »Faer ky'ostal« before the cattle caught me and threw me backwards. When I tried to straighten up again, the ghoul was already standing with one foot on me and prepare for a swing with her claws. But before I knew it, Nimri crawled up the ghoul and stuck his tongue in his eye. Nimri fell to the ground while the ghoul staggered backwards away. I took the chance, stood up, grabbed Nimri and hurled a lightning ball at the ghoul, which obviously didn't impress him much and stormed towards me again. With a »Ssuth« I could barely avoid it and had the child in my sights who was trying to free himself from a Hord Minion. So I let off the ghoul and spurred towards the child. After kicking some of these creatures away, I took the child by the hand and ran with her into a tunnel.
After a few hundred meters, the child was out of breath and I had to carry her on my back. Luckily we seemed to have gotten rid of the Minions and this ghoul. I wonder if they were following us at all?
