TheCityOfDoors

  "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."–Laozi Eastwind, Elemental Plane of Air, eight years later . . . Sapphire tightened the final straps on her elven chainmail, ensuring a proper fit.  While the mildly enchanted nature of the armor would allow it to make major corrections to fit her body-type, it would not compensate for improper use.  As her adopted father Cecil always warned her, armor worn incorrectly is worse than wearing no armor at all.  When she finished, she examined herself in the full-length mirror.  The armor was a gift from Raindancer upon the completion of her apprenticeship with the Eastwind Rangers.  The kirin got the armor from a wizard on the Prime world of Toril in exchange for a few locks of hair from his mane. Satisfied with the way the armor hung on her body, Sapphire finished dressing.  The elvish armor was so thin and light that she could wear her normal, everyday clothes over the top.  Her clothes were simple and rugged, in keeping

Terriana, Prime Material Plane, Twelve years later . . . The vampire sniffed the air as she scanned the passage ahead.  The air carried with it the taint of cooked meat from the cities of the Middle Tunnels, suggesting that she must be near a ventilation shaft.  A sinister smile played on her lips, exposing her sharp fangs.  The runaway calf was nearby; of that much she was certain.  Did the child even know where she was going?  Most likely not.  The calf was probably just following the air, knowing that the air always flows upwards.  She was undoubtedly trying to escape to the presumed safety of the Middle Tunnels.  Unfortunately for her, the ventilation shaft she was heading toward was bottomless, dropping all the way to the Lower tunnels, and with no way to negotiate it. Vertisha continued down the passage, motioning for the others to follow.   Accompanying her on this quest were three of her younger brood members, former adventurers from the Middle Tunnels she had found