A Sudden Change in the Environment

- Radogast Dungeons, probably some time late in the afternoon based on the position of the shadows in her cell -

Another day with nothing to do other than live just for the sake of living. Long ago, Nimorra had traded her purpose for the chance to continue living, and so she lived... a life devoid of meaning and hope, confined to a small cell with only a tiny window to help her determine the passage of time. Still, at least she had a window, which was more then most of the sorry souls that resided in these dungeons got.

Nim found herself pacing around her cell as her mind entertained her with thoughts of the past...

Here she was, Nimorra Redleaf, once a proud scion of the powerful Redleaf family, now the lowliest of the low, a person forgotten by pretty much everyone, and the few who did know her didn't care about her. She often thought about what she had done wrong and wondered how she should have could have lived differently. She had given up everything for the dreams of another man, a man known as Galathus Kelmoran, a man who was going to change the world. Unfortunately, he had been destroyed before that dream had been realized.

Before his suicidal gambit at that last fateful battle, Kelmoran had created teleportation sigils for Nim and the other members of his inner circle to escape through, and he had ordered them to summon his soul once they made it to safety. It was a spell they were all familiar with, for many of Kelmoran's followers had been killed, only to be returned to life at the expense of some hapless prisoner. However, when the surviving members of the circle came together and performed the spell, their beloved master's spirit did not show up. After several more unsuccessful attempts to resurrect Kelmoran, Nim and the others realized that Kelmoran's soul must have become bound to something.

At this point, many of Kelmoran's disciples chose to leave the group and try their own hand at being Kelmoran. They went to bigger settlements in Verden and found supporters amongst the population who wanted to taste immortality and founded various necromancy cults, some in Kelmoran's name, and others in their own. At first, Nim resisted this path, choosing instead to join those who wanted to search for where Kelmoran's spirit was being held.

A year went by, and the group that sought Kelmoran's spirit found no leads. Nim decided that the best way to pursue the search was to establish her own "Cult of Kelmoran" in order to get more resources with which to find clues. And so, Nim went to Hartford, set up shop, and began preaching the gospel of immortality and the means to fight back against the oppression of the aristocracy.

The years had dragged on as Nim sought to expand her cult and continue the search for where her old master's soul was being contained. Unfortunately, most of the people of Verden preferred to be slaves to the lies of the nobility and their Inquisition, and Nim's Cult of Kelmoran was destroyed, and only she and a few of her members managed to escape the city. They fled to the Dalen city of Radogast and attempted to start anew. And that was when Nim finally found a clue to what had befallen Kelmoran's spirit...

Nim was broken from her reverie by a guard suddenly opening the door to her cell. Feeling rather rankled by the unannounced intrusion, Nim unwisely demanded, "What is the meaning of this?!" as the guard advanced toward her with a sword drawn. Two other guards followed the first guard in, carrying a cot between them.

"We're moving another prisoner in here," the first guard replied brusquely.

"This has been my cell for... a really long time!" Nim exclaimed. "Don't you think you should have consulted me before bringing in some other bugger?"

"Listen knife-ears," the guard growled. "Just because you've been stinkin' this place up for the last decade doesn't make this 'your' cell. This dungeon belongs to the state."

"Oh, 'knife-ears'. Haven't heard that one before."

"Shut up and get in that corner."

"What's the magic word?..." Even as the words came out of her mouth, Nim realized that she was pushing her luck.

The guard said nothing. Instead, he, he backhanded her across her face with his left hand, grabbed her collar, and shoved her into the back corner of her cell. I guess that works...

Nim blinked out the tears that had come to eyes from the force of the blow and saw the two guards place the cot against the wall opposite of side hers was on. She then noticed that there was a forth guard standing at the exit of the cell, also with a weapon drawn. "Are you worried I'm going to try to escape or something," she mumbled.

"No, this is just procedure, but I'd like to see you try," the first guard replied testily.

Nim chose to close her mouth after that. The guards quickly finished their business and retreated from her cell. She found herself staring at the new cot, trying to comprehend why it was there. Seriously, she'd been here by herself for, what had that guard said.... a decade? She had never had a roommate until now.

Nim turned her gaze to the window. What was going on out there?...