Elle Helldancer

"I am a bloodthirsty, violent psychopath", Elle said. The man still smiled and said: "You already told me so the first night we slept in one bed. What is the point of repeating it now?" Ianar accompanied the bounty hunter as long as anyone could think. Indeed he was with her since she left the area surrounding her home village. Interestingly the handsome man did not draw any attention to himself and he was content letting Elle get it. "Are you trying to get rid of me again?", he asked. She shook her head and said: "No. I am not going to do that again." He asked: "Why?"

"Last time I tried I felt so horribly... lonely. I realised that I need you." She sighed and said: "I love you and you know that." He wanted to nod, but Elle kissed him fiercely. She was known as one of the most cold-blooded killers this side of a yugoloth, but sometimes she showed fits of passion, that would even amaze an eladrin. "When someone sees us like that it might ruin your reputation." She sighed in mock exasperation and said: "You have to spoil everything, right?" Ianar just smiled. Elle said: "Why are you always that cynical?" He smiled at her and said: "It is my Job." Elle asked: "Your Job?"

"You said so. It seems like half an eternity ago, but I still remember your words", he said. Elle shrugged. Her partner's incredible memory could be very annoying at times, but also very useful. "The best bounty hunter in the worlds?", someone asked. Elle nodded and fixed the newcomer's gaze with her penetrating blue stare, that was infamous far beyond her home world. "I do not know if you are looking for me", Elle said, "but I am a bounty hunter and I am good at doing my Job." The stranger came another step nearer still unable to decide what to do, gaining himself a glare from the chief bouncer's golden eyes. He seemed to ignore the minotaur, fixed only on the woman at the table.

Finally the man sat down and said: "I want you to kill someone." Elle shrugged and said: "They all say that. Remember that I am a warrior, not an assassin. My method tends to be pretty straightforward. Walk in, get the head you are paid for and leave again to get your bounty. Anything in my way usually ends up in the dead-book. Still interested?" The man nodded and said: "Yes. I want you to kill Niak'krill." Elle looked at him for some time, then she said: "No gods and near-gods. No children either. He is a tanr'ri lord, right?" The man shook his head and said: "The tanar'ri is Nah'Ikruil." Elle looked at Ianar, who nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Where can I find him?", she asked. The man shrugged and said: "I do not know. I have heard of at least three locations where he can be." The stranger paused a moment and said: "Actually I heard of more places, but last time I met him he was a mortal Lith'ra and I do not think this has changed. There is talk about a keep in the Outlands, others say he set up kip in Ysgard. The third trail leads to a prime, a world called Reaper or something. It is said that has so many battles, that the grim reaper constantly collects souls from battlefields. Not that I believe in that type of impersonation, but that is what I have heard."

Elle said: "What is the payment?" The man said: "A thousand coins in platinum now and two thousand when you are done." Elle and her partner looked at each other. Fifteen thousand gold where a lot of bounty for a single head. "You expect us to raze her keep, right?" The man nodded and said: "Of course. It is the only way to get her head." Elle smiled and said: "When are we supposed to be done?" He shrugged. "It does not really matter as long as you start out right now. I think a month or two should be enough, depending on the amount of detective work necessary." The female nodded and said: "Anything else you know about our quarry?" The stranger shook his head and left.

Ianar said: "He is no human. This one has been magically disguised, probably the king of the ptreakians or the eaglefolk." Elle looked at him and said: "Seems we are getting involved in Reavia politics again." He shrugged and said: "I think we should start with that lead in the outlands. It seems the most likely place to be." Elle nodded thoughtfully and said: "We will start tomorrow." She lazily ordered another drink. It was brought by the black-winged female, who regarded the pair for some time.

At first they seemed matched quite well. Both where looking good and clad in road-worn clothes. Their weapons where in top condition, as though they expected to use them often. Elle was a warrior, her partner a mage, even though the perfectly balanced mithril staff might not make it obvious at a first glance. With time they had learned to co-ordinate their fighting and magic in a way few others could. The female was a daredevil, whose fire was only kept in check by the cynicism of her partner. It was not known if he had always been like that, or if he had developed this attitude during his time at the School of Dancing.

Elle looked at the door of the Beheaded Fiend Inn. She would find the head and deliver it to the man on a silver tray. In addition it was a good excuse to spill blood and slaughter a lot of people trying to get into her way. She smiled in anticipation of adventure and bloodshed. Maybe she was not entirely right about the psychopath, but she did possess a nearly unhealthy amount of bloodlust. Ianar looked at her and smiled his own smile. Usually he had to do the puzzling, for Elle did not have the patience to do so. His destructive magic was also the key of getting them into a keep. As Elle had said, sneaking was not their strength.

"What are you doing?", Elle asked, sipping her drink. "I have mentally listed all chant-brokers, we might need to contact to find out where the keep in question is. At least he knows that information is very expensive in the planes." The female smiled at him and said: "I guess you will have to do that type of stuff. I lack the patience to listen to 'em rattling their bone-box half a day until you find something useful." Ianar said: "As usual." He sipped his own drink and looked over the alien crowd in this place. There where a few places on Reavia, where the races freely mingled, but none of them was as strange and bizarre as Sigil.

"I just wonder who he really wants us to kill and why", Elle mused. Ianar shrugged and said: "We will find out soon enough." The female said: "It is important, especially when politics are involved. There are opportunities in it." Ianar nodded and said: "When the people on the other side find out, they might hire us to kill him." Elle nodded and smiled. They never asked for the names of those hiring them. Discretion was important in their business. Of course this did not keep them from knowing who hired them if they had to. Ianar was too good an investigator not to find out.

"What about Tandra's offer about those gehereleth things?", Elle asked. The mage said: "It is well paid, but you should be aware that we will have to return to the prime if we do that. The gehereleths are a tightly knit theocracy and if you start opposing one of them, you suddenly have the whole race against you." Elle smiled and said: "Then we can go spelljamming and see if we are better than the Firefist." Ianar groaned, but was careful enough to stay silent otherwise.

"Are you Elle Helldancer?"
"Do I look like your favouite chick?"
"Yes, you do look as though y...iiieeeaaaarrrgh"
Someone mistaking another bounty hounter for Elle Helldancer, even though he is quite obviously male (and even more bloodthirsty).

Wanted

Human female individual known as "Elle Helldancer". Theft of baatezu property, association with tanar'ri, chaotic behaviour in baator, murder of several baatezu high ups. Retrieval of said individual's head will bring a high reward. It does not matter if the head is still attached to the rest of her.

Be aware that named individual is armed and extremely dangerous. She is notorious for unpredictable and irrational behaviour. Named individual has been known to slaughter whole regiments, only because they annoyed her. You should also be aware of the fact that she is accompanied by another individual with which she is in some type of symmbyonttick relationship. He is also armed and extremely dangerous, either warrior or spell-slinger. Can you get the reward?

(The message is signed by some high Cari'Quan runes, that only pit fiends can read.)

This paper is null and void. Nrix'ki'lat the pit fiend is dead and no-one else supports this warranty. Nice attempt anyways, but you have to do better to get me.

— Elle Helldancer

"I see something of myself in that one."
Factol Pentar of the Doomguard about Elle Helldancer.

Chant has it that Elle once owned an artifact known as the Emerald Sword, which in spite of the thing being good-aligned the baatezu viewed as their property some time. When the female got her hands on the thing, after being hired to retrieve it she was forced to follow it and become a hero, which she hated. At the time she found the blade, it had not been in baatezu hands for several thousand years. Actually it has never really been, because no fiend can touch it without being seriously injured or even killed. The pit fiend only needed an excuse to have Elle killed.

The tale of the sword continues separated from Elle's, when she finally managed to get rid of it and return to her normal business of being a bounty hunter. She became legendary far beyond the borders of her world, because her success rate is precisely one hundred percent. She has now settled in Sigil and hangs around in the Beheaded Fiend Inn, when she has nothing to do, which (surprise!) rarely happens.

The Rules Section

Elle Helldancer (pr/f human/Ftr21/nil/cn)
Ianar Weaver (pr/m human/Sor27,Rgr7/nil/n)

Their statistics are currently unknown.

Special Equipment: Elle carries a magical sword, possibly a sword of the planes. It is known that this blade can slay fiends and other powerful magical creatures on any plane it has been so far, the prime the ethereal, the astral and the outer planes. Otherwise the blade is an unremarkable sword in top condition at any given time. Elle earns her money by killing and she is ready to kill at any time.

Ianar carries a staff that seems to be made from finest dwarven mithril. It is covered in ancient runes of magic and bound to his person by an unknown process. Only he and Elle can touch it without being hit by some destructive magic. It is a magical weapon of great powers, having a +5 enchantment and the ability of disruption. It is also known that the staff cleans itself of blood and can disguise itself as an unremarkable wooden weapon. Rumour has it, that it is in truth an especially powerful staff of the magi with an unusual set of powers, spell storing among them. In addition to its normal usefulness it the staff is the symbol of his office as the dancer, the head of the Scholl of Dancing, the magic academy on Reavia. Instead of becoming a local archmage, Ianar chose the live of an adventurer. He is the most powerful mage of Reavia and this is not going to change any time soon.