The Writings of Drew Latoner

[Bassman]

I step out on the porch after eating supper. My belly"s full and I feel a slight hint of a cool breeze on this warm summer's night. I hear the rocking of my mother's rocking chair, almost in time with the singing of the crickets in the wild. I look over and give a concerned smile to her., and sit down next to her in my fathers matching chair. As I begin to rock my chair back and forth slowly, she begins to hum a familiar tune. My mother always had a beautiful soothing voice, as far back as I can remember. And all the sounds of the surrounding crickets and hoots of the owls seem to follow her tune. And I just close my eyes and feel my tensions melt away, as I listen and slowly rock back and forth.

Then I feel some arms wrap around my neck from behind, slowly and softly and gives me a gentle hug. I've no need to open my eyes for I know from her gentle scent and her soft touch who this is. My loving wife of ten years.

I ask her " how are the children?" She says softly "sleeping finally" and gives me a kiss on the ear. My mother stops her humming for a moment and tells us that Ellistraee is watching over them , then continues to hum.

Our children have both been in fever for a week, a sickness I have never seen before. It started with our son then passed to our daughter, and my wife and mother have been ever deligent with watching over them.

My father Passed nearly 15 years ago, he died a peaceful honorable death , and I'm sure he patiently awaits for my mother's longer life span to come to its conclusion. So she can join him for her just rewards as well.

I feel my wifes touch slide away as she asks me if I was thirsty. I replied to her " please allow me, you made a wonderful dinner and have had so much to do today" . But as I finish my words she was already returning with three mugs of appleberry wine. I smiled to her as she set the mugs on the porch railing in front of us. And I gently smiled to her as she sat on my lap and leaned against me. My mother took notice and I could see the content smile come across her face as well. So I merely said "thank you my love" and kissed her cheek.Then as she sat in my arms she joined in with my mothers humming in perfect harmony.

[Bassman]

Our son was the first to go, then two hours later ........our daughter. There was no curin their fever. I brought Priests from every faith to our house pleading for their help, but none could help our precious children. My wife is so heartbroken she has taken to our bed, unable to get up without collapsing into tears. My mother tries to console us , but her heart aches as well. Tomorrow....... we bury our children.

* He lays down his quill and closes his journal and stares blankly out the window. Tears streaming down and drips from his chin until there are no more to give, only the pained look upon his face remains.*

[Bassman]

All that is left now, in my once happy home, is My mother and myself. We buried Alishia beside our children under a tree on a hill over looking the lake, Her favorite place. I know she wil rest peacefully here.

My mother worries for me , this I can see in her eyes, as my faith faynes in the gods these days. This troubles her deeply, but she understands too, why I feel this way now. Perhaps one day my heart will soften its opinion of these deities that had no time for my loved ones, or to hear my plea's for their lives.

[Bassman]

Its been a while now since my families death, how long, not really sure. The days and nights all seem to run into each other. I spend my days workin the fields, and clearing tree stumps. And my nights, well, they are filled with the same nightmares over and over. Always the same , and never changing. My mother takes care of the house for me, and she tries to brighten my days as well as she can. I do smile with her, but I know mine is an empty smile. But I try to remember the joy that I have been lucky enough to enjoy in my life to this point. And my fake smiles and laughs seem easier to sell to her now.Unless maybe she knows and lets it pass. And my faith? Well, thats is shaken, and not sure if I will ever truely have the same faith as before. And I am not sure if it will ever be as strong as it use to be.

The fields have all been plowed and the crops all planted. Amd now I get up in the mornin just to sit on the porch, and watch our crops grow.

It still feels as if only yesterday I was sitting here happier than a squirrel in a barrel of pecans. But now a days I sit here starin blankly at the fields. I go hunting for meat occasionally but I get no joy from the hunt anymore. Even throwin a line in the water to catch a fish or two seems to be more trouble than its worth.

I have heard rummblings of Gnolls and Trolls invading surrounding farms by my nieghbors, but I have seen no sign of them yet here. But if they did , I now doubt I would be able to do much about it. As my fathers sword and shield now sits in waste with a layer of dust that hides the once brilliant shine, gleaming of its polish.

Motivation, its hard to come by these days. After all, whats it all for, with noone to share the rewards of your labors with. So I sit and watch the day turn into night , and night into day , it all seems the same to me. And I expect here I'll sit til my time has come to join my wife and children, buried along side them for all time.

[Bassman]

Over the last several days my mother and I have argued. Her heart breaks seein me just goin thru the motions with no joy. And I just want to be left alone in my misery. But I know she is right. She has suggested, more than a few times, its time for me to return to the world, away from the pain I wallow in. Strike out into the world, and return to the living. It has been two months since my Alishe passed on, and I know there is nothing left for me here now. And if it wasnt for my mother I probably would already be gone. And last night I finally agreed that it was time.

Today , I met with a few of our neighbors, and they all agreed to check in with my mother to see if she is alright, from time to time. And I have sent for my cousins to help her with the harvest, when the time comes.

My mother offered me my fathers armor, sword, and shield to take with me. But I feel unworthy to dawn them at this time, perhaps someday I will regain my faith as my father held so strong in Helm. Then , and only then would I feel like I am half the man he was.

I wonder how the peoples in Baulders Gate would greet a half elven with one quarter Drow blood flowing thru his veins. I spect I shall see. Cause I have decided that this will be my destination. Even out here in this small village that we call a town, we have heard of the War between them and Amn.And the atrocities Amn commited against the peoples of Bauders Gate. And I do understand how stories can be bent and exaggerated thru the telling from person to person. So I will be on my guard to all I meet for these reasons.

[Bassman]

I arrived in Baulders Gate this mornin. I immediately found work runnin a letter for a wizard into some ruins, south of town. Kobolds, nasty lil creatures, they infested the upper floor of the ruins. Although they didnt pose much threat they still can do you damage if not careful. But below on the second level is where i found the recipient of the letter, and he was in a jail cell down there. He seemed quite content to remain in the cell. Possibly the reason could be the bladelings that swarmed the floor, or he is just completely mad! In any case he wouldnt come out of his cell. So it is there I left him.

So far no notice of my heritage has been given, which suits me fine, and understandable. After all no one would expect one who carries the blood of a Drow within himself would be walkin around so freely. And I find that I do resemble a moon elf to some degree, or even a wild Elve. I do find myself wonderin how prevalent the Elven community is here, so far I've only Seen one that appeared to be Elven. But I've only just arrived, and they may not be so forgiving of my heritage as well.

[Bassman]

Tis a strange and confusing land here, I have to say. Yesterday, me and some newly found comrades were in a cave helping a couple of halflings find their keys. How a Halfling loses his keys I havent a clue , but none the less they hired us to find them. But along the way the dwarve among us fell. I snatched up his body and along with the rest of our party proceeded to return to Beregost, so we could get him healed. But immediately outside we were attacked by two more goblins. Which immediately surrounded me, We defeated one , and upon his demise he exploded a fire bomb. I tried to avoid the blast but my feet didnt seem to want to move. So I felt the full force of the blast burn thru my skin. Along with this the second goblin was attackin with his blade. I could feel his blade cut thru my simple armor and could feel the slices as they hit bone. But with the help of my comrades we defeated the second, and sure enough he set off a second blast of fire. Again I tried to avoid it, But still my feet would not move and the blast ripped thru my body. I could feel the life leave me as the blast hit me. Now here's the strange part, As I was about to fall to the ground, suddenly I was healed, from nowhere, it was as if the fight never happened. I was in full health. I looked at my friends and they hadn't done anything to heal me, they were as amazed as I was. So we took our friend to the temple in Beregost and healed our friend. Upon doin so I felt really tired. So I excused myself , and went to the Inn for a good nights sleep.

Upon awaking I find myself in a strange place, one of which I've never seen, to my recollection. its as if I could hear moaning and voices on the wind. Looks so dreary," this cant be a good thing", I says to myself. I follow the path to a grand entry way and door. I opened it and walked in. And who do I find sitting at the Throne? Myrkul ! He looks at me and tells me its not my time, and says nothing more.

So here I sit, in the Fugue plane, not knowing how or if I can ever escape. Neither Dead or, I guess, nor Alive.

[Bassman]

"knock, knock, knock" ........"KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK" ....."MR LATONER"

I wake suddenly, jump to my feet and knock over the nightstand as I fall down. "Mr Latoner you alright in there?" I reply, "yeah, yeah , I'm up!" I get to my feet and stumble to the door of my room, and open it. "you alright sir?" the Innkeeper asks me. I look around not knowing where I am. "Where am I ? " I ask. The Innkeeper replies "in your room of course, you were in a bad way when they brought you in last night." "I just thought I'd be checkin on ya, breakfast has been over for hours but dinner is available if your hungry." I could feel my stomach scream as food was mentioned, "I'll be down shortly" I says and closed the door. I could hear him mumbling as he walked back down the stairs.

I look around my room and think to myself " all a dream, of course it was , all a dream." I grogily look around the room for my things and as I clumsily put on my clothes and armor, I feel relieved. But still very sore and bruised.

[Bassman]

It has been many moons now since I arrived in this foriegn land. I've made a few friends, but mostly I notice I am alone. The elven community here flourishes after all, although for some reason they are divided it seems.

I was invited by an Elf by the name of Tomanlor, I think it was, to visit the elven town of Doron Amar, along with my new friend Nai. We agreed, and made the long journey there. Upon arriving we were greeted quite warmly, although it was apparant they were more interested in Nai than myself. But they were friendly none-the-less. They offered us food and drink before taking us on a tour.

The town was still devastated bu the ravages of their recent war. But the rebuilding had commenced. They took us into a tower they were very proud of, and rightly so. It had many wonders, such I had never seen before.

I had noticed thruout our visit, their hatred of the Drow, thru their comments and terms such as "cave Monkeys" in reference towards them. Although this made my Drow blood boil I was able to contain it without much trouble.

But once they offered Nai and myself a place in their community, I had to speak up. I told them I didnt feel I would be welcome. As I had 1/4 of this so called "cave Monkey" Blood that runs thru my veins. They first looked at me with shock , then I could see the anger flash into their eyes. I respectfully asked to be escorted to the towns city limits, from which I would leave their presence.

I admit, I fully expected to be attacked at this point, but they controlled their anger enough to peacefully escort me out of town. Well so much for my joining the Elven community*chuckles a bit* I Guess Arwavan was right. My heritage is something I should keep guarded. But I find it hard to keep my "big mouth shut" sometimes.

After all My faith in Helm is strong now, I feel I am a good person. And I should not have to Hide what and who I am. Besides 1/4 of my blood is such a small percentage, compared to me being half Human , and 1/4 Elven.

[Bassman]

A couple of days ago I was stopped by Luthien, an Elven woman I'm aquainted with. She looked quite disturbed, if not down right angry. My first impression was that it might be a result of a conversation she had had with Tomanlor, whom passed me moments before I saw her. She asked me if I had a moment, which of course I always do for a friend. She warned me that the some of the Elven of Doron Amar has plans to hunt me down and kill me. Seems they were upset that they had shown their tower and their secrets to one such as I. But due to her intervention, their plans had been stayed. She also informed them that I was garuanteed and protected by the Order of the Silver Rose, to whom which such an action would not be looked upon kindly.

This is something I find very strange, although I have met several of this order's members, they seem to think they know me. I have no recollection of them or their order other than what I've seen of them here. But they seem adament in their recollection of me. They know my name without introductions. I dont see how this can be possible, even though I cant remember past my own age of Fifteen.

But back to Luthien....

She cautioned me to be careful in my travels, and to avoid going near Doron Amar. Which I have since the day they threw me out of their Village. But I see them , especially Tomanlor, almost on a weekly basis in my travels. And I have tried to avoid them as to not antagonise them. But with this new information, seems it doesnt matter. So, Now I will not avoid them. And if they have a problem they can come to me and say so. I will continue to avoid Doron Amar, as I do not want to be provacative, But I will not shy away either. As it seems it matters not anymore what I do , their prejudices are inbred in them, and conflict seems inevitable.

[Bassman]

Many things have happened since my last entry into my journal. Except for one thing that remains constant. The Loneliness that accompanies with what some would call the taint of my bloodline. I've encountered no hostilities towards myself, on the contrary I am ignored and almost seems like I'm shunned. But oh well, one cannot control where ones lineage comes from. I try to understand that perhaps this was Helms intent with me. I am banned from Doron Amar, the EDE while appearing to be friendly keeps me at arms length. In fact the only ones that have offered to accept me is the Order of the Silver Rose, Hmmm still cant figure that one out. They say they know me, and yet I have no recollection of them at all.

Anyways, on to other things. I hear that the other day, that the Elven and several others encountered the Zhentarium and a green Dragon. Things didnt go well for them. Which is no surprise to me with my witnessing the Zhentarium apparantly capturing the green dragon. It was several weeks back, several of us, mainly some dwarven and myself, saw a dragon in the sky. We followed it north, out to a forest past Triel. There we witnessed this Green Dragon defeat a red one in battle. Once done a human climbed on the back of said dragon and flew off. It was quite amasing, this was the first actual time I had witnessed a dragon rider. Upon their vacating the area we investigated. What we found were several dead, what appeared to be hired assasins. They carried fine Zhentarium weapons and found several zhent coins in their pockets. Guess the Zhents had no further need for assasins, or at least these assasins. I turned over the coins I found to a Sir Uriel of the Silver Rose , as I had done in the past when I found such coins.

I also met a man who said he use to be a general of the Amn military. We talked as we walked, said he had been away for a time, since the end of hostilities between Baulders Gate and Amn. I had heard of this war thru rumor. And it was quite interesting the information he gave me as to who was behind it. But this has nothing to do with me , and it is history now.

I find it strange the Fist have now given up the lands south of the Wyrm bridge to Beregost. From the way I understood it, they fought so hard to keep this land during that war. But with their leaving it has created a void in enforcement of laws. In fact these areas have become quite lawless now, Necromancy is rampant, thieves are everywhere. Violence is a daily occurance outside the Friendly Arms Inn. I hear just yesterday a couple of Necromancers left a staggering death toll outside the FAI. And these people call MY lineage violent, to the contrary My lineage is that of Helm and Eilistraee. But I have lived with this prejudice the all of my life.

[Bassman]

I still struggle to find my place here. I find even fewer seem to be willing to stop and talk with me. Late at night as I lay in the forest under the stars. I find my dreams lead me back to the life I once knew, with my wife, children and parents.

But lately I find myself wondering, who are these people that claim to know me, even though I have no memory of them. They call themselves the Order of the Silver Rose, and their values seem to be much as mine. But clearly they must have a screw loose somewheres , to be claiming to know me. To my amazement, their leader also offered me a position within their order. I have a copy of their code of conduct to prove this. But even though they claim to know me, and have offered me a position, still, they stay at arms length. So I doubt they are serious about me joining them. Still, I would like to know, just how they think they know me.

[Bassman]

Even though this place is full of prejudices, I find these same prejudices are contradictory in nature. The Orc society is almost as reviled as a Drow presence would be. Except the Orc prejudice I find is only thru conveniance. From what I have found out, the Orcen have done much more than any Drow, to create such an obversion to them. But still they are much more apt to be accepted by the communty, than any Drow would. Example, I was in a crypt in the Northern part of what is called the Fields of the dead. A place notoriuos for Necromancy, While in the crypt I ran across a threesome. One of which was a Half Orc. We spoke for a spell, while, what they called "cleansing the area". They told me they were of a local Paladin Order called the Radiant Heart. The Half Orc was treated as a brother apparantly in this order. And yet, I'm sure if they had found out my heritage, even though just being 1/4 Drow, they would have tried to kill me. Although it would almost be interesting to see if they actually could defeat me. But the point being, a half Orc being fully accepted into this order and being treated with the respect of a brother. Where as my blood taint, if you would call it that, I wouldnt, but most here would, is half as his would be, and yet I would be looked down upon , where he is respected.

[Bassman]

Today I spoke with a woman in the Friendly Arms Inn. She seemed to know her stuff about gems, and set up a booth within the Inn's Grounds. She was giving free appraisals. But she seemed particularly interested in my emeralds. Especially one, She singled it out and asked to examine it more closely, while appraising the other two Emeralds I had at 550 and 700 gold. I handed the gem over to her while her body guard set up her Alembic for closer study. She commented that the gem had much grime on it. She cleaned the Gem up and gave it an acid bath. Upon getting the gem clean she held it up and discovered it had etchings upon it, and was thinly cut into a lense. Upon closer inspection , I held it up to the light and could see it had a network of finely engraved lines and runes upon its surface. And looking very closely I could make out the number 28657.

My first inclination is maybe someone had lost this, maybe fell from their ring? Or perhaps a necklace. Obviously great care was made in making of this gem. The woman offered me 1250 gold for the other emeralds of which I just gave them to her, for her service of cleaning and discovering this puzzled for me.

Now to try to figure this puzzle out.......Perhaps a visit to Candlekeep will shed some light on this curiousity, its purpose, how to find its owner, and their intent with this gem. I now feel this more than just gem cut for simple jewelry. And I have no clue as to where I found it. Stones I usually just throw in a small pouch in my bag, when I find them.

[Bassman]

Not two hours after I was presented with the above riddle. I met Mippy on the tradeway, he was in disguise. He was trying to pass himself off as a wealthy Gnomish tradesman. I found this quite humorous, I didnt want to burst his bubble but couldnt help seeing thru his diguise. He asked for an escort to the friendly Arms Inn, which we were only but a few miles from there as it was. But I agreed, after all this was Mippy, a Gnome that has always been kind to me.

We hadn't traveled but maybe a hundred yards when we were confronted by bandits, seemed like a whole garrison of them. When we refused to give them our gold they attacked. I killed dozens, maybe up to even thirty as they attacked in force. But then their Necromancers and assasins came, these battles were much more difficult.

All thru this I did notice that Mippy was enjoying himself a lil bit to much, with all the killing. But perhaps I was misreading him.

Then we were confronted by the Bandit lord. after a long battle he was finally defeated. But after it was all over, and we were tending to our wounds, I heard a voice......."this is not over"....it said to me.

Just what I need , another out to hunt me, oh well, after Doron Amar's reaction to me and other's , I'm use to it by now. I will keep a wary eye out as I continue with my rounds.