Role

Chapter 3

27th Day of the Sun, Month of the Spring

That Drogh, he may be so smart but he can be so dumb! What am I to do with this painting??
It is quite lovely though, I have to admit. Here, let me look at it one more time before
I hide it away!

A triptych rests before you, three panels joined with hinges, each
panel depicting a different scene, clearly a scene over a few moments.

Panel one shows a lone duergar, one sword in each hand, his body
adorned in spikes and armors, covered over with cloaks and the skin of
some animal. Under his feet is written "Droghnund". He is on a large
road, and there are several people around him. Just as he looks up,
four new beings arrive. The first, wearing mostly black and moving
quietly, has the name "Cru" written beneath his feet. He is human, with
few identifying marks. He holds a blade in one hand and a shield in the
other. His eyes seem to be checking to make sure he is not alone, and
fear is on his face. Next to him is another duergar, this one wielding
a silver flail in one hand and a black hammer in the other. Under him
is written the name "Huytra" and his mien shows obvious greed, leering at
Droghnund. Lastly is an even blacker being, a drow by the look of him,
under whose feet is the name "Tarantyr" and by whose side follows a being
made only of stone and earth, an elemental. The four of them try to
surround Droghnund, and the air is tense with expectation.

The second panel is a whir of motion and fury, action and combat of the most
serious kind. Droghnund's blades flash, one parrying the flaming bite of
Huytra's flail, and moving aside as Huytra tries to slam him to the ground
with his body. His other blade slips by Cru's shield, piercing him in the
shoulder, bringing blood in a small river. Steps away, Tarantyr's back is
already to the fight, blood streaming from many wounds as he runs from the
battle, nearly dead, his servant elemental trying desperately to keep up.
Droghnund bleeds from many wounds, but his face shows a glow, an inner
fire, that seems to almost leap out and consume his two remaining attackers.
Both Cru and Huytra show fatigue and look close to desperation, but their
greed holds them in place, and they continue the battle to the end.

The third and final panel shows Droghnund standing over two corpses. It
shows him in motion - a shadowed version of him here, a shadowed version
of him there, motion clearly showing his actions. First he cuts the finger
from Cru's corpse. Then he begins drawing some words with the blood, using
the finger as a brush. "War for a purpose will always defeat battle for
mere coin, and bringing friends shows only a lack of true art, for where
is the glorious spectacle of it?" He then walks around the scene,
pondering, looking at the corpses from different angles. First moving in
a bit closer, then moving back further, seeing them from all sides. Then
he moves first to one and then the other, cutting off the arms of each,
setting them down so they all are linked. Near the end he stands back and
watches as the blood pools on one end, and then channels it into a great
circle around both corpses, encircling the entire scene. Finally, the
picture shows a solid Droghnund standing back, nodding to himself and
smiling, pleased both with his War, and his