Don't call me evil

The Prologue

         Artemis awoke to darkness, as most people would.  Only a dim, flickering light could be seen through the cracks of the door standing before him, an iron door set in cold stone walls, the same stone that covered the floor. 
         Confusion washed over him, how did he get here?  Where was he? 
         He then remembered the previous night: the tavern, the drinking, the king’s daughter...Oh yes, now he remembered.
         He sat up and let his eyes adjust to the darkness, though it didn’t help, there was nothing in the cell, just stone.  He sighed and started tapping the ground with his fingers to pass the time.
         “I’d appreciate it if you stopped,” said a voice from somewhere in the cell.
         “Who’s there?” asked Artemis.
         “That is naught of your concern, just stop your fidgeting before I do something you’ll regret,” came the voice.
         Artemis stopped tapping but he was curious about his cell-mate.
         “What is your name?” he asked blatantly.
         He heard a shuffle of clothes then heard a reply.  “My name is unimportant.”
         “Isn’t that always the case?” Artemis asked with amusement.
         “First time I’ve heard of it.”
         “Well, where are you from?  In most parts of the world men don’t have a hostile attitude.”
         Artemis heard the other man laugh.  “Your observations are correct, I am not from this part of the world.  However, you are also wrong, I am no man.”
         “You sound like a man.”
         “Bah.”  A fire appeared in the middle of the ten by ten foot cell, revealing the speakers dark heritage.  His skin was black, which explained how Artemis hadn’t seen him, but his hair was white, a large contrast to his skin.  He wore a black cape over black leather armour, armour that a thief would usually wear for its mobility.  Two pointed ears extended from his straight hair, only confirming Artemis’s new guess.
         “I am a drow, in case you don’t know.  A dark elf, I lived underground for nearly-“he started but was cut off.
         “I know what drow are.  You are of the worst evil on this world,” Artemis practically spat the words.
         Again the drow laughed.  “Then why do you think I’m here?” he asked Artemis.
         “Because you committed some evil deed and are about to pay a reasonable price I’m sure.”
         “No, fool.  Do you think my kin traverse so closely to civilization to kill?  If we wanted death and chaos we would create it in our own cities.  We hate the Higher World.  We belong below.”
         “Then what are you doing here?’
         “Yes, a question you would ask.  Well, since you would like to know before you are executed, I will tell you.  You won’t believe me but I disbelieve the practices of the drow culture.  I hate killing for fun, I am no chaotic fool,” explained the drow. 
         “No, then what are you doing here?”
         “Well, for some reason you humans don’t like us too much.  Draw yourself as testament to the statement.”
         Artemis opened his mouth to speak but knew the elf had a point.
         “And how bold you are,” said the drow.  “Talking so highly to a dark elf in the dark and in a confined cell.”
         “You have no weapons.”
         “You forget we drow have magic.”
         “Damn, you’re right,” Artemis realized after he saw the magical fire.  Then he noted something the drow said earlier.
         “I am to be executed?” he asked in panic.
         “I believe so yes.”
         “How do you know?”
         “Oh, the guards outside here were having a good time talking rather loudly about it when they threw you in here.”
         “Was it loud or did it seem loud?”
         The drow was sincerely amused and laughed aloud to show it.  “Excellent point, they obviously didn’t take into account my heritage.  So, why are they excited to see you dead?”
         Artemis ran his hand through his straight black hair then sighed.  “You know who the king is?”
         “Yes, King Neebri I believe.”
         “Yes, well he has a daughter and-“
         The drow held up his hand and smiled.  “I understand you, friend,” he said with a laugh.
         The man was surprised, this drow really wasn’t anything like most dark elves he knew.
         “What is your name?” Artemis tried again.
         “Well, I suppose I shall tell you.  I am Xartelh Laterix, I was a knight to Queen Mafrici of Gorthon, the worst creature you will ever meet.”
         “As most drow are,” Artemis agreed.  “I am Artemis Deminos, merely a local guard of Chaone.”
         “A mere guard?  There must be something else to you.”
         “What do you mean?”
         “Think about it, you wouldn’t be an interesting character if you were a normal guard.  Unless, that’s why you’re an interesting character.  Of course!”
         “Excuse me,” Artemis asked.  “What are you talking about?”
         “Look around you,” the drow explained.  “You were thrown in jail because of an offence to the king, you have made friends with an evil outsider of your society and you’ve been provided an escape.”
         Artemis looked at the drow slack-jawed.
         “We’re in a story right now.  Right now, our words are being predetermined and erased likewise by some large contraption that can print out common letters onto a large screen-like object.”
         “Sorry?”
         “You are the main character in the story!”
         “I don’t believe it.”
         “Well you should.”
         “I think you’re crazy.”
         Xartelh sighed and stood.  “Fine, I will prove it.”  He walked to the door and pulled out a slim piece of metal wire.  He stuck the lock-pick into the keyhole and with a click, opened the door.
         “See!  I was placed in this room as an escape for you, the main character,” he tried to tell the man.
         Artemis stood and walked outside the cell.  “Let’s find our gear,” he said and started to walk down the hallway.
         Xartelh followed but shook his head.  “Gnolls, there are going to be gnolls protecting our stuff, I just know it,” he said quietly.
         Artemis rounded a corner and was caught surprised when two humanoid, furry creatures turned around to scrutinize the human.  He stood there, petrified while the stereotypically quick elf ran around him and kicked one of the gnolls in the throat.  It gasped for air as its comrade leaped for the drow.  Xartelh spun out of its way and stomped on its arm, causing it great pain.  He ran back to his first target, finishing it off with a solid kick to the ribcage, collapsing it, using the gnolls ribs as internal weapons.  Artemis finally gathered himself enough to jump on the second gnolls neck a few times to snap it. 
         Xartelh looked to the man and shrugged.  “I called it.”
         “Unbelievable,” said Artemis. 
         In the short corridor they stood in, Xartelh saw a door at the end.  He walked up to it and inside was a room filled with armour and weapons.
         Artemis saw his weapon and armour immediately as did Xartelh.  The two grabbed their equipment and donned their armour.  After they had all their stuff, Artemis started to walk out the door.
         “Wait,” Xartelh called.  “This doesn’t make sense.”
         “What?”
         “You’re the main character right?  You’re supposed to find some kind of glowing weapon in this pile of equipment.”
         “I don’t think so.
         “You really need to read more legends.”
         “How do you know so much about human legends?”
         “I read.”
         “Right.”
         Xartelh looked out the door and motioned to the corridor.  “Never mind, then,” he said.  “Let’s just leave this place.”
         Artemis nodded and made his way into the hallway.  When he reached the intersection he peered carefully around the corner.
         “I see nothing,” he whispered to the drow.
         “That’s usually a good sign,” replied the dark elf.
         “Usually?”
         “Well, it either means that this is the end of our prison adventure or that something will come at us at the last minute for an epic battle,” Xartelh explained.
         “Of course,” Artemis said sarcastically.
         “Fine, don’t believe me.”  Xartelh drew a short sword from his belt and walked around the corner.  He took two steps before flames shot out from the walls beside him.  His quick thinking and his quicker reflexes allowed him to dodge it with a simple roll backwards.  He stood up and looked to Artemis with a shrug.  “I forgot about traps.”
         “I can see that much.”
         “No matter, it has no more uses.  Whoever put it there intended for us to die in the flames.”  Again Xartelh walked cautiously down the corridor, his short sword readied. 
         The two companions made it to the end of the corridor in a matter of minutes.  Sitting before them now was a large wooden door. 
         “Ha, I knew it,” exclaimed Xartelh.
         “What?”
         “This is the battle I was telling you about,” Xartelh opened the door and beyond it was a large square room with many guards and a fully plated captain in it.
         “See?” said Xartelh.
         “Foolish prisoners,” said the captain, “Surrender now or be trampled by the boots of justice!”
         “How about we don’t?” said the drow in a challenging tone.  However, before anyone was able to even think, Xartelh had ran headlong into the mass of guards.
         From his belt he drew a long sword, which he promptly switched hands with his shorter blade. He found himself at the first rank of guards within a second.  He chopped the first few down with simultaneous swings of his two blades.  He then took a few steps back as the phalanx regained their thoughts.  Guards moved to fill the empty space where the two guards had died by Xartelh’s blade.  He quickly muttered something in Undercommon and a flaming sphere appeared before him.  The ball rolled forwards and killed more soldiers. 
         Artemis watched in awe as the amazing fighting ability of the drow took out far more men than Artemis had seen battles.  He was about to shout out for the dark elf a warning, some of the guards were flanking him.  But, in the blink of an eye Xartelh spun and let his long sword trail behind his extended arm, slashing many throats. 
         The man made up his mind.  He drew his great sword and ran into the battle.  He took one guard out with an overhead chop but fell to his knees when a spear head stabbed him in the stomach.  When he realized it wasn’t a deep wound he pulled out the spear head and pulled the guard towards him with it.  His great sword was held with its point towards the spear-wielder and he need only push a little to impale the soldier. 
         A circle of guards had spread out around the spinning drow, no one wanted to meet his blades of death.  Artemis hacked and slashed at more guards, throwing the circle off proportion.  The dark elf acted as he thought accordingly.  He whipped his short sword at a nearby guard, digging it to the hilt in the man’s chest.  He was still alive and Xartelh noticed this.  He parried an incoming spear and dove towards his short sword.  He promptly unsheathed from the man’s torso and cut him down with his long sword. 
         Artemis had suffered many small wounds now but not without gain.  Only a few scattered guards remained now, they were trying to regain their advantage of numbers but the two companions intercepted nearly every guard in a matter of seconds. 
         There were only three guards and the captain left to stand in their way.  The guards stood before him, protecting him as though his heavy steel armour wouldn’t.  Xartelh found it quite amusing. 
         “Excuse me sir,” said the drow to the captain.  “Why is it that we were to surrender?”
         The captain seemed to hesitate before he started looking around nervously.  His whole prison guard lay dead on the cold floor in a sea of blood.  He couldn’t quite tell where the carnage started and the room ended.  There was far too much death in this room any man should ever see at one time.  He fell to his knees and his guards looked at him puzzlingly.  He buried his face in his hands and started sobbing.
         “This is your epic battle?” Artemis asked his new friend.
         “Maybe things didn’t go exactly to plans,” apologized the drow.  “But at least we are alive,” he finished with a shrug.
         “Is that what you consider luck?” asked the captain.  “You think that these souls do not cost nearly as much as yours?  You are wrong, you pitiful elf!  Only you could think this massacre to be a will of the gods or something to be celebrated.  Why must you put the greater races through such chaos for your desires?  It is unfair to say the least.  You should die a slow, painful death at my blade!” he drew a long sword and stood in a battle-ready position.  He charged past his guards and aimed for the drow. 
         Xartelh smirked and waited for the absolute last moment to act.  The captain came at him swift and hard.  He pulled his sword above his head and swung across in a wicked backhand.  His sword passed the elf and he spun for momentum.  This strike of vengeance would end the annoying elf and he would be able to bury his companions in peace. 
         Regaining his footing, he looked around and found that the drow had disappeared.  He celebrated slightly, knowing that he must have sliced him so hard he hadn’t even felt the impact.  He looked to his blade to wipe it clean but saw no blood.  Feeling a slight tapping on his shoulder, he spun quickly to face an inverted drow’s face.
         Xartelh waved before plunging both his blades into the man’s chest.  The man fell to his knees, quivering in fear at his now imminent death.  He dropped his long sword and looked to his wound, then looked with astonishment at the floating drow. 
         “Un…fair…dis...honest,” he breathed before slumping to the side and hitting the ground hard.
         He landed and disabled his levitation spell immediately.  After pulling free his swords, Xartelh walked over to Artemis.
         “Now, then.  We should leave.”
         “Wait,” said Artemis who was quite unimpressed.  “That wasn’t a fairly won fight.”
         “And if we had the time, he would have a fair battle and honourable funeral but it doesn’t matter now.  We need to move,” explained the drow. 
         “I can’t believe you!” exclaimed Artemis.
         “Let’s go!” Xartelh said, grabbing the man’s arm. 
         Artemis was furious but had no other choice.  He couldn’t stay here and grieve for the captain, its not like his corpse would feel any better emotionally.  He couldn’t fight the elf for he would surely lose.  His only other option was to yell something random and that wouldn’t get him anywhere either. 
         The two companions ran down another corridor and came to yet another set of double doors, albeit these doors were much larger and more ornate than the ones set before them a few moments ago.  Xartelh also noticed that the two had walked into a large foyer, though no one could be seen.  There were no torches lighting the room either, windows were set at even intervals along the wall that the door was set in. 
         Xartelh looked out a window and recoiled quickly, holding his hands over his eyes. 
         ”What is it?” asked Artemis.
         “My eyes.  They are not fully adjusted to the damned sun,” said the drow in anger.
         “What are we going to do then?” asked Artemis.
         “Worry not, I have a solution,” Xartelh explained.  From a pocket in his cloak he pulled out a thin black sheet of cloth.  He tied this cloth over his eyes and proceeded out the door. 
         The prison’s courtyard was open with only a small group of guards training in the far corner.  Scanning the area, Xartelh found nothing to provide him cover if he were to run through the open space. 
         Artemis appeared right behind him and started striding to the opposite side of the walled courtyard, forgetting who his companion was.  Xartelh was about to pull him back to the shadows but instead he quickly ran up beside the man.  He walked on the left of him, directly opposite the guards, mirroring his movement to their perspective.  Then he noticed the two guards standing before the gate.  He needed another trick and he was running quite low on them of late. 
         “Act as you would normally,” he whispered to Artemis.
         “Huh?” said the confused man, not realizing that Xartelh was beside him at all. 
         When he reached the front gate he tapped one of the guards on the soldier.  The man turned and his face lit up upon seeing his friend.
         “Artemis, how fare ye this day?” he asked.
         “Alas, I fare well, but it is too bight out wouldn’t you say?” Artemis asked his friend, Terrance.
         “Ah, but that is what makes it great to have eyes in the first place,” Terrance laughed though Artemis really didn’t find it that funny.
         “Yes well,” Terrance said in embarrassment.
         “Indeed, Terrance, I couldn’t have put it better myself.  I really must be going so, if you would…”
         “Of course,” the guard nodded and Artemis walked out of the courtyard, trying now to locate his drow friend.