Note: I wanted to have this posted before tonight's RP event to explain how I am weaseling my way into the current RP campaign but just barely managed to get it edited into a readable format :-P Some small snatches of my history (particularly as they pertain to this post) can be found at
http://www.torilmud.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14853
http://www.torilmud.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14870
I sighed inwardly as I looked around me. In spite of all the years I had spent in Waterdeep, it would never be my home. Few memories from my youth here carried the strong emotion necessary to create lasting ties and feelings of nostalgia. In any case, I have no family in this city anymore. Even before the last of my blood relatives left the town of her birth to follow her husband as he answered the call of his god, my human family had severed all ties with me in contempt of the decisions I made six years ago. But that is another story for another time. For now, I must find some green, a place to breath, away from the unceasing din and busy movement of the city. Having felt this urge each time I have returned to Waterdeep during my travels of the past few years, I knew exactly where I could go to find peace so I pressed my way through the thronging bodies to Delzaren Road and further out past the East Gate onto the Eastern Road. I walked steadily as road turned to path, and path to meadow, seeking life of a different sort than filled the streets of Waterdeep. A short hike later, I reached my destination only to be brought up short, finding it inhabited by more than the animal kin I had hoped to discover here. A woman sat next to the shallow waters of the pond, tears drying on her face as she absently strummed her lyre. Determinedly repressing feelings of regret and even irritation, I murmured a polite apology for my interruption and hastily retreated before I might be expected to become involved in yet another mortal’s personal turmoil, needing a moment to regroup from my own disappointments and frustrations before taking on another’s. In that moment, one small ray of sun broke through the overshadowing clouds to catch in her colorless hair and I was, quite suddenly, a child of six, silently following her silver-haired idol through the streets of Waterdeep. Lilira. All irritation was gone and excitement welled in me at the thought of finally being able to meet her as an equal, no longer the lost waif with so very little to cling to, but a woman grown, with ideas as to her own identity and purpose in life, vague though they sometimes were. Taking a deep breath and murmuring a prayer for wisdom, I approached her huddled figure.
“Lilira?” I began hesitantly.
She blinked a moment in disbelief, as I suppose anyone would at being so suddenly disturbed from their solitude. She looked closely at me a moment and frowned. A frown could mean many things so I hurried on, not giving her a chance to dismiss me.
“I’m sorry....you don’t know me....”
Lilira interrupted “You look familiar. You’re from Waterdeep?”
This stopped my speech even as it began and it was my turn to blink in surprise. Could she possibly have noticed me all those years?
“I...Yes...until 6 years ago.”
“I used to sing squirrel song for you.” Lilira finally said.
“You...you saw me?” I asked in disbelief.
“Of course I did.”
Through my service to Silvanus, I had been trained to be ready for many possible outcomes of any situation but, perhaps having worked so hard to be invisible as I grew to adulthood, I was ill-prepared to deal with this development. What could I say? How could I explain what she was to me?
“I never thought you noticed me but I was drawn to you...you meant much to me during the time I spent in Waterdeep.” I blushed slightly wondering what she must have thought about her small shadow.
Lilira quickly said “You must have me mistaken for someone else.”
Again I was thrown off balance. Yet another response I had not expected to hear. The druids who had instructed me in the strictures of my religion would have been ashamed to see me thus rattled. Gathering my thoughts I said firmly “No...you are one of my very few memories that is crystal clear. You seemed to me all I wanted to be when I was grown.”
Lilira flushed slightly, her cheeks turning pink as I continued, “You were half-elf like me...I spent so much time detaching rather than find my own worth. You symbolized much for me and for that I am grateful. I could never mistake you for someone else.”
Lilira looked at me with a mixture of embarrassment and puzzlement and I blushed a bit deeper in spite of myself.
Lilira mused “Tis puzzling to hear...I am noone special. I don’t think anyone has ever said such to me,” as she sat quietly for a moment, digesting my words.
When I could bear the silence no longer, I forced myself to ask “Am I...interrupting anything? Or may I sit with you for a moment?”
Lilira’s ice blue eyes focused on me once again. “No... feel free. I was pursuing dangerous introspection. Something I do too much of I am told.” She sighed loudly.
As I seated myself on the grassy bank, my feet skimming the surface of the pond, I recalled the tears I had seen on her face when I had first entered. Did I dare ask about them?
“I'm sorry...you look sad.”
Lilira nodded and thought a moment before saying, “Times are troubled.”
Apparently, this was a day fated for renewing old acquaintances as I had earlier today heard a somewhat garbled tale of danger and hovering doom from Teflor, a sometimes travelling companion of mine I had come across unexpectedly in the Waterdeep bazaar. There was information to be gleaned here. Information I needed to gather in order to further understand the events in motion and precisely what was at stake. I had spent the past few years learning that I could no longer isolate myself from all that was happening around me yet I needed to know more before I could decide what actions to take, if any. Hoping to encourage further disclosures, I murmured, “As I have just been informed by an acquaintance of mine.”
“An acquaintance?” Lilira asked.
“Someone I traveled with from time to time...a wanderer like myself named Teflor.” I responded.
Lilira gasped in astonishment. “Watch your words Sotana.” She warned. “I know him and have travelled with him myself...But there are many who would see him slain.”
I had wondered about his mood upon seeing him earlier but he had denied any worries, stating tiredness as the cause of his haunted look before unfolding a tale of priests and betrayal yet without enough specifics to satisfy my mind. I ventured, “Teflor spoke of one named Ao...and another ancient menace who has risen again to trouble mankind.”
Lilira nodded. “Auzrom'tvorl.” She shivered uncomfortably. “It depends on who you listen to.”
She thought a moment before coming to a decision. “I can show you something to permit you to draw your own conclusions.”
Maybe this was would be what I needed to help me make some informed decisions about my own place as these events unfolded. Lilira rose to her feet then turned to help me as I scrambled up from my position by the small pond. “Please follow me” she said. “We have a long trip, but it will be quick,” and she began to sing.
We traveled for long and long as I lost track of time. Many of the lands we traversed looked familiar to me but others were foreign and I caught glimpses of strange new animals, some of which might even qualify as monster. All that I saw, I filed away in my mind to examine more carefully at some future date. As we journeyed, my feet never tired and Lilira sang without wavering. Past hills, over water, through the great desert of Calimshan we flew until we suddenly found ourselves in a shadowy, wet forest. Dark, tangled outcroppings of vines covered everything, coiling around the enormous tree trunks and interspersing themselves within the mosses of the forest floor. We had traveled beyond the realms I knew and were lost. Lilira recognized the region enough to be able to know of its proximity to the Drow city but could tell me no more. As we carefully tried to retrace our steps, Lilira advised caution, a suggestion I thought it wise to obey. I had met few drow in my travels but knew enough to be wary.
We had not wandered for very long when, quite suddenly, we came across a shadowy figure standing in the middle of a clearing. Lilira gasped upon seeing him and seemed to shrink in on herself. “Shadowstalker” she stuttered “I...I'm sorry.'
“At least this time you did not disturb my prayers.”
“We merely got turned around.” Lilira hastened to say.
Shadowstalker nodded at her then added, “Getting turned around here could be deadly especially for a couple of surface folk.”
“I know...I remember your warnings from last time...I took a wrong turn.”
Then the figure turned to me. “Who is your friend?”
I could sense the carefully controlled menace that emanated from him and sought for a neutral response. “We mean no harm here.”
“No...no i don’t suppose you two do” he said, eyeing me consideringly.
“She is a druid from Waterdeep.” Lilira said.
“No longer from Waterdeep.” I felt the need to add.
“You left that foul city then. I spent some time there long ago.” He murmured.
“She would be too young to remember.” Lilira said quickly, trying to ease me behind her.
I had not heard of the Shadowstalker nor did I fully understand what danger he could represent but I knew I must stand on my own two feet or fear him forever. “I spent twenty-six years of my life there before needing to leave and find my own way.” I said, standing firmly beside Lilira.
“Bardess, if I wished her dead she would be. Your presence shielding her would mean nothing.” I had the feeling that his eyes missed little.
“That I can believe,” I said then added “And if I were truly worried, I would be gone.” I had endured several hard lessons in surviving on my own during my travels of the past few years, some more painful than others but I had put them each to good use, stretching my druid spells and skills to their limit.
The Shadowstalker returned his attention to me. “I have met very few half elves. Come to think on it, talking to you two might very well be the longest I have spoken with your kind.” I wasn’t sure whether he meant that as a compliment, a warning, or merely a comment. From what I had seen so far, I thought it best to count it a warning. But it appeared he had not finished with us yet. “Where are you both headed?”
“We are making for the Monolith in the desert.” Lilira responded, as steadily as she could.
In my wanderings I had come across three of these monoliths and studied the runes on each one until I could decipher their message. Until today, however, I had not had a context to help me understand their complete meaning. As we continued talking for another few moments, the Shadowstalker informed me that there were seven monoliths in total while Lilira advised me to find Gurns, the Master Bard. It seems that this Gurns possesses the gift for making clear the convoluted, an admirable talent for my situation. As Lilira and the Shadowstalker talked, they mentioned the Three, a term I had not heard until that moment. The conversation had taken a turn I was unable to follow. Then, quite suddenly, he had a question for me.
“Where do you stand in this upcoming war if I might be so bold as to ask.”
“Sotana, it may be better if you do not answer” Lilira quickly interjected.
I knew I needed to decide my answer since the question he posed would become more common as I spent more time in Waterdeep. “I know little about this upcoming war being entirely absorbed in my own quests.”
The shadowstalker had no response to my answer, seeming more interested in Lilira’s remark. “Why should she not answer Lilira?”
“Stating beliefs these days is not safe” she quietly asserted then blushed, looking shamefaced.
Nilan said “I find it matters little.”
Lilira said “It has brought me nothing but more heartache and hardship.....and, it appears, enemies.”
“Perhaps...” the Shadowstalker murmured.
Then, abruptly the interview was over. “Go to the monolith” he said, settling to his knees in prayer. Lilira took me by the arm as she backed away. Then she turned and hurried away from that dark clearing, struggling to regain her composure as she sang a travel song in a wavering voice.
“Who was that?” I asked. Somehow, in all that we had exchanged, I had never really gotten a clear look at his face nor learned his name. A figure to be reckoned with indeed!
“That, Sotana, was Nilan, the Shadowstalker. He is...the hand of Vhaerun.”
We traveled to the monolith in a silence broken only by the sound of Lilira’s softly murmured verses. The runes I deciphered at the desert monolith I will add to the notes taken as I have run across the like before. I had gained many answers although it seemed they just left me with more questions.
All in all, a most interesting day.
A Most Interesting Day
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