Nëa's diary

[Deathgrowl]

"6th of Tarsahk, 1350

While I was helping Emilia at the tavern last night, a female half elf with a longbow and quiver on her back came in. She looked around with a stern expression until she spotted me next to the counter. She strode determinedly over to me, stared me in the eyes while I blinked in confusion, then looked me up and down. I smiled, and started asking whether I could get her a drink. But before I got to finish the question, she interrupted me. "No. What's your name, miss?" she asked, in perfect elven. I saw no reason to hide it. "Nëa. Who's asking?" I asked, keeping my smile up, but I was definitely confused and curious. "Lia'Nyeti," she stated rather flatly. "Come with me." She turned and strode back towards the door. Then stopped when she realized I wasn't following. She turned and glanced back at me. "Now," she said, her voice still coldly firm. "I'm kind of busy here," I replied, motioning to the counter and Emilia placing drinks on a plate for me to serve. Lia'Nyeti just stared at me for several moments. "I am a student at the Blackstaff tower," she explained, expecting that to be enough. I really didn't want to go with her. And why would I trust her to be who she was? Maybe she had just seen me give a letter to them? "We can talk in the back," I finally replied and motioned towards the kitchen. She nodded and followed me in there.

Once inside the kitchen, out of sight and sound of the patrons of the tavern, she relaxed a little bit. "I'm here on behalf of Master Khelben Arunsun. Or rather, he didn't tell me to go here, but I saw you hand over the letter and told him about you. He told me about what was in the letter." she began. She looked slightly embarrased suddenly, then turned away to hide it. "He asked me to try to find out more..." she said, sighing. I didn't know anything beyond what I wrote, and I had kind of said so in the letter. "If he told you what was in the letter, you probably know that I don't have anything more than what I wrote. So why are you here?" I asked and looked curiously at her. Several moments passed without an answer. "I need your help," she finally said and turned back around to look at me. She took a deep breath. Her expression was almost pleading now. "I've seen you a few times before. And then you suddenly disappear into a shadow and when I look closely at the shadow, you're just gone. I don't know how you do it, but it must be useful for getting information, right?" she continued. I nodded gently at that.

She went on to explain that she had come to me because I was already involved and knew a lot, hoping that I might still be curious enough to continue looking. That was the plan for me anyways, but I didn't mind hearing her thoughts on it, and whatever she might know that I didn't. And perhaps she could tell me what exactly had been in the chests. So I agreed to help her.

She began by explaining that one of the two chests contained a special Greenstone Amulet, a minor artifact that protects the wearers mind among other things. It was special because of what was in the other chest: Another artifact to control several minds at a time, but would only work in the hands of the person wearing this particular amulet. And even then, it would require someone with a lot of knowledge with magic. It had been created with some devil magic, she said, and using it was inherently evil. She had no idea what the Bull Elk tribe would want with this, as they weren't really reknown for their mages. I had to agree with that assessment. But she was concerned that this mage I had seen might be involved. She figured he probably hadn't seen me, as I had described him walking towards Melgior and Relyar who hid behind the corner, while I was still watching him from the shadows.

She then told me she would go to the Watch with the drawing of the mage so that they could keep an eye out, and she would try to investigate what mages in and around Waterdeep beyond Master Khelben and the infamous Halaster would be able to use this artifact. She suggested that I continue looking for clues about who the Bull Elk tribe might be working for, but she warned me to find a way to protect my mind from evil and to try to avoid engaging them directly. I could only agree.

After Lia'Nyeti had left and the tavern had closed for the night, I told Emilia about all this. She said she'd keep listening to rumours for me in case something related to this came up. She also told me to be very careful and that she didn't really like that I was going to do this, but she knew she couldn't convince me not to. And she's right about that. Things that control people's minds shouldn't exist.

Emilia is asleep now, poor girl. At least she has the day off tomorrow. I need to do something to make up for disappearing into the kitchen for almost an hour during the busiest time of the evening after telling her that I'd help her. But now I'm going out for a few hours to look for Bull Elk tribe members. I will read one of my protection from evil scrolls when I get to the roof. It should protect my mind and last a long enough for tonight."

[Deathgrowl]

"7th of Tarsahk, 1350

I stalked around the city for about two hours last night, mostly in the docks and the streets near the Blackstaff tower. Couldn't find anything. The streets were quiet. I could hear the creaking of the wooden ships and docks, the soft sound of occasional waves. I could hear stray cats hissing, stray dogs barking. But no fights. No robberies. Nothing. Waterdeep was strangely quiet. I figured I was probably just paranoid and that this wasn't unheard of.

Since nothing really happened, I decided to go to the ship that they had raided first. That particular area was still locked down and guarded. Still under investigation. I had to get past the Watch and into the ship to see if I could find anything, and even that was a slim hope, as they probably had taken out things of interest already anyways. Maybe they had some compulsion to leave behind a signature, as these people sometimes do.

I arrived at the area near the ship. I think there was about eight guards, in pairs. One pair was patroling the ship's deck, another pair the ramp from the dock to the ship, and the two last were patroling the docks and streets near the ship. I wanted to not exhaust my shadow jump in case I needed to get away quickly. So I needed another way on board. I couldn't sneak past the two guarding the ramp, as I'd have to shove one away to even get to the ramp. No, that wouldn't work either. So I looked up, to find out whether I could jump from the mast of a nearby ship without hurting myself. That unfortunately didn't look like it was possible either. So I was kind of stuck.

I ended up sitting in the shadows near the two guards at the ramp for a few minutes, listening to whatever they talked about. "Why are we still guarding this ship? I thought they were going to leave Waterdeep two days ago!" one of them said. He was short, for a human. Had an annoyingly squeeky voice. The other guard just grunted as way of reply. He was tall. Reminded me a bit about Hagar, except he was very straight in the back, pale skinned with a sunburnt nose and long blonde hair. The shorter one just groaned and shook his head at his partner's lack of enthusiasm for conversation.

Then a new man arrived. An officer of the Watch, probably their superior. He whispered something to them. The short guard widened his eyes, while the other one just stood there with total lack of enthusiasm as before. Then all three walked away and towards the street. My chance. I got up and moved as quickly as I could without making any noise or slipping out of the shadows. Up the ramps and onto the deck.

I glanced around. Nothing of interest. I sneaked towards the hatch door hatch that lead down to beneath the deck. Locked. Of course. And I am terrible at opening locks. I couldn't rip it off with my sword either, without making a lot of noise. I had to climb in through a window on the side of the ship. Fortunately it didn't take me long to find one of those.

Just as I had gotten in, I saw a flash of light coming from behind a door. I heard three voices. One of them was Chief Hagar. The other one was also familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. The door opened slowly, but creaked nevertheless. I stuck to the shadows. A man came through, his eyes darting around in the darkness, holding a dagger at the ready. He couldn't see or hear me, so he moved on and I peeked in through the door. The other voice was the mage. They had teleported in.

"It has to be in here somewhere!" Hagar almost growled, but in a sort of whisper. The room was pretty much empty. No chests or anything were in plain sight at least. Hagar and the mage started lifting hammocks, clothes lying on the floor and such. Both had a quite desperate expression. "Bridern! Here! Look at this!" Hagar exclaimed, motioning the mage over. He was holding a hammock up, pointing down to the floor. I sneaked closer to get a look. On the ground was a glowing symbol. I recognized it right away, the symbol of Ilsensine, the god of the mind flayers. "It's mocking us." Bridern sighed. "Master Corkashvin will not be pleased. At least he has the scepter..."

I suddenly heard someone unlocking the door hatch above us. Hagar and Bridern reacted a second later, then looked towards the door their last companion had walked through. I sneaked back past it, then shoved it close from the other side. "Damn it! Fine, let's go." Bridern said and spoke some other words that I couldn't understand. A flash of light shone through the gaps of the door. Then their last companion came to the door and opened. On the other side stood the two guards who had patrolled the deck and the officer. The man dropped his dagger, realizing he didn't have a chance, and they arrested him.

I glanced out the window I had climbed through and shadow jumped to a rooftop in the distance and made my way back to the tavern, where I climbed in Emilia's window. She was still asleep, and I decided to get some reverie myself.

Today, when we ate breakfast, I told her what I had found out. She was confused and had never even heard about Ilsensine before. She had heard the name Bridern before, however. He had been at the gala and presented himself as a visitor in Waterdeep. A noble from Cormyr. I had to tell Lia'Nyeti about this, but we were going to meet tomorrow, so I decided to take the day easy and hang out with Emilia instead. So we went shopping!

I'm going to stay in tonight. Take a break until I've spoken with Lia'Nyeti."

[Deathgrowl]

"8th of Tarsahk, 1350

Emilia and I were busy serving dinner to tavern patrons as Lia'Nyeti came in. She gave me brief smile and walked over to the bar counter and ordered a drink. She took out a book from her backpack and read as she waited patiently, this time, for me. It looked like a spell book.

"Any news?" she asked when I finally got over to the bar counter. I took a brief glance around the tavern to see if I could take a few minutes, then to Emilia who nodded back to me. Then I motioned Lia'Nyeti with upstairs to Emilia's room. Neither Emilia nor I am very tidy, so the room was, and is, very messy with clothes lying everywhere. Lia'Nyeti looked around with some discomfort, but not because of the mess, I think. It was more a shyness, for being in someone's private surroundings. Someone she barely knew.

I told her everything I had found out, including the names of the two and what Emilia had told me about Bridern. Lia'Nyeti frowned more and more as I talked, and when I was done, her uneasiness with being in the room was entirely gone, completely focused on the information. I had to explain who Ilsensine was to her. "How do you know this kind of stuff?" she asked. I've spent years in the Underdark, but I couldn't tell her that. So I vaguely just said that you learn a lot on the streets and in the sewers of Waterdeep. Which is true.

She on the other hand, could tell me that the man Bridern killed with a spell in the streets was a former apprentice of the Blackstaff tower that had disappeared three years ago without a trace. Several other people had been found recently, who had disappeared between four and two years ago, all of them now dead in the streets. None of the others had been apprentices at the Blackstaff tower, however. But all of them had a mark on their forehead, which had still to be identified.

We agreed to continue looking, then Lia'Nyeti left. When I came downstairs again, the tavern was slowly getting busier. There wasn't any need for me this evening, though, so I planned to go outside and look for more clues. Emilia nudged me just as I was on my way back up to change out of my dress. "Kitten was here. She wants to talk with you. Said she'd wait at you at the Blue Mermaid," she said. Kitten? Yeah. More like on top of the Blue Mermaid, I thought. I thanked her and went outside and started walking towards the docks.

A few streets before the Blue Mermaid, I sneaked into an alley to climb up on the roof. From there I made the rest of my way by jumping from roof to roof. She was there, waiting for me. Wasn't even trying to hide, today, it seemed. I stuck to the shadows all the way until I was on the same roof. "Still playing tavern dancer, Kitten?" I asked teasingly as I came out of the shadows to sit beside her. She jumped slightly and snapped her head towards me. I grinned at her. "And you're playing spy again?" she asked with a frown, before breaking into laughter. "Hells, Nëa, you always do that. You have to teach me one day."

We sat there watching the sunset for a while, chit chatting. "Anyways. I wanted to talk with you about something specific," she finally said. "I figured you already know I've been running into Hagar a few times. And that Bridern mage," I replied. She nodded. I knew she wasn't going to tell me how she found out, but she probably had friends in the Blackstaff tower. Or she had overheard Chief Hagar describe me. "Many of Hagar's men have found themselves in cells the last few nights. And he thinks you're behind it," she said and looked at me inquisitively. "The Watch had been very conveniently guided to places they were doing crimes." Her gaze lingered on me, but she noticed my confusion. I hadn't guided the Watch anywhere. Not intentionally, anyways. "Yeah, figured you wouldn't start helping the Watch just like that," she remarked and smirked. She then frowned. "Then someone else with your skills are doing it. I've overheard several of the Watch saying that they only saw hooded person that suddenly disappeared in front of their eyes. Escaped Bull Elk members say the same."

Evidently someone else was eliminating the Bull Elk tribe. Eliminating competition. Perhaps someone connected to the creator of that glowing symbol of Ilsensine. There were, after all, clearly two factions at play there besides Lia'Nyeti and myself. So I decided to tell Kitten about it as well. She's one of the best gatherers of information in the city, maybe she could help. I left out the specifics of what had been in the chests, though, only saying they were meant for the Blackstaff. After I had talked, her face was a deep, thoughtful frown for several quiet moments. The sun was long beyond the horizon. "I'll see what I can find out," she said finally. "But I suggest you at least don't show yourself to the Bull Elks for a few days." I nodded. She stood up. "I thought you were the only shadowdancer I would ever hear about in the city, Nëa." she said with a smile, looking down at me. "That might still be true. Assassins seem to be more common than us," I replied to her and stood up myself. She raised her brows at that, then shook her head and hugged me. "Be careful Nëa," she whispered, before releasing me and starting to climb down from the roof again. I glanced back north and shadow jumped as far as I could to another rooftop on the way back to the Elfstone Tavern.

Now, though, Emilia wants me to blow out the candle so she can sleep. I'm going out to look for clues, but I think Kitten's advice is smart. I'll stay hidden as much as possible."

[Deathgrowl]

"9th of Tarsahk, 1350

Last nigth was quiet. Nothing happened, which was nice, for a change. So I ended up simply walking the streets of Waterdeep for a couple of hours in the light of Selûne. Along the docks, watching the masts of the ships sway ever so slightly, hearing songs, laughter and brawls from taverns along the way. This did make me think of Baldur's Gate again, though, and my friends there. I miss them. Eventually I made my way back to the Elfstone Tavern.

Today I wrote letters to Ameris and the theatre. Emilia came down from her bedroom grumbling while I wrote. Apparently Pyrith, Yaereene's faerie dragon familiar, had woken her up. The little dragon is absolutely adorable, too. Wish I could have a familiar. I'd definitely want to have a faerie dragon, then.

The day was otherwise quiet, and I stayed in most of the time, helping Yaereene and Emilia in the tavern. I only really went out to send off the letters. Now, I'm going out again to talk with Kitten briefly and then look for more clues. I'm meeting Lia'Niety again tomorrow."

[Deathgrowl]

"10th of Tarsahk, 1350

Kitten told me that three drunk men at a tavern she had danced in had been talking about some "Lord Bridern" and Chief Hagar. From what she could gather, they had just been out working for them with some success. She couldn't quite deduce what they had been doing, but they had been in some kind of fight near the Tower of Luck, the temple of Tymora. In the middle of the Sea Ward, where many nobles live.

So I went to look around near the temple. I climbed to the top and looked around until I saw several guards standing not far north of the temple, guarding the entrance to the Crommor Villa and its gardens. I had to get in there. So I climbed down again. Sticking to the shadows, I managed to climb up on one side of the villa itself. From the roof I could see two guards in the garden standing near two bodies, both looked human and male.

I needed a closer look, so I dropped down on the inside of the garden and kept to the shadows, moving quietly up to the bodies. One of them had several stab wounds in the weak spots of a black armour and looked to be a muscular man. Next to him lay a longsword and a shield. The other man was short and very skinny. Sickly skinny, almost. He was bald with many tattoos on his head. And red robes. A red wizard. He had died to a single arrow to the chest. The other man must have been his bodyguard. Besides the tattoos, both also had a distinct symbol on their foreheads. An eye with chains around it.

On my way out from the garden again, I suddenly noticed that inside an almost perfect circle, all the flowers and grass had withered and died. Outside the circle it was still growing nicely as it usually does in spring times. I climbed out and safely made my way back to the Elfstone Tavern.

Today when I met Lia'Niety, I told her all of this. She had heard about it and could tell me more. The two thayans had been on their way to Baldur's Gate almost two years ago when they disappeared. Or rather never arrived in Baldur's Gate. This is the first anyone had seen of them since then. Further, she said that the same symbol, the eye and chain, had been seen on the other recently resurfaced, dead, missing people. The circle of withered flowers had been created by some spell that caused something called "negative energy" or something.

Very good news, however, was that Bridern had been arrested for necromancy. Unfortunately, this might make Hagar think I was the one turning Bridern in. I would have, if I had any idea about that kind of stuff and even seen Bridern make undeads. But I haven't seen that. So someone else must have done so. Doesn't matter now, it's good that he's off the table, so to speak.

I need to go see Kitten again and hear if she has learned anything more about the other shadowdancer. Or if he or she is an assassin. I think, if this person is connected to someone marking places with the symbol of Ilsensine, he or she might operate out of Skullport. I'll also keep on the lookout for the person myself."

[Deathgrowl]

"11th of Tarsahk, 1350

I ran into the assassin last night on my way to Kitten. She hadn't noticed me, yet, as she was standing over a body. I recognized the body as one of Hagar's men from the forest. After a moment, the assassin stood up and looked around. On her left arm, I saw an embroidery of the eye and chain symbol in green, but she had no mark on her forehead. She pulled back her hood to not have anything obscuring her eyes or ears as she observed the area around herself. She was an elf. A sun elf. Taller than me. And probably stronger.

Still not having noticed me, she pulled up her hood again and began to walk away. I had to find out who she was and who she was working for. And why. So I appeared out of the shadows, cutting her off, but keeping a few meters between us. She jumped a bit in startlement, but made no hostile moves. I kept my swords sheathed as well, but my left hand idly on one hilt. I couldn't see any weapons on her, but the man on the ground had obvious slash wounds.

She smiled at me and pulled her hood back once more. "Hello there, sister," she said in an overly friendly tone. I narrowed my eyes slightly at her, and replied with a simple "hello" myself. She simply kept smiling. "Can I help you?" she asked gently. "I was just curious about that symbol, there. It's been seen on the face of several dead men" I repied and pointed to her left arm. She turned her gaze and looked at her arm, then smiled back at me again. A long, green, transparent shaft formed from her left hand and she moved it up and seemed to grip it as if it was a longsword. "The symbol belongs to the mighty Gaothratl," she simply said. Then she disappeared from sight.

I blinked, then whirled out my swords. I could still hear her, but I didn't want her to know, so I kept looking around. Until I could hear her right behind me. I turned around, hopped out of the way of the longsword like shaft of green she swung at me, then danced into the shadows myself. She lost sight of me and blinked for a split second. I wasted no time, stabbing at her almost immediately, but my swords were stopped by some magic or something. She swung at me another time and I dodged, and finally one of my swords pierced whatever had been protecting her and my sword stabbed into her shoulder. She jumped back in pain, then started running away. As she did, her weapon changed into two smaller ones, the size of daggers, which she threw at me just as I started to run after her. The first one came straight for my head and I rolled to dodge it. The other one hit me in the leg as I was up from the roll. The pain was so intense, collapsed on the ground unable to move for several moments. The blade itself vanished almost right away.

When I finally got up again I limped out of the street we were in, then shadow jumped to the rooftop of the Blue Mermaid, which I could see in the distance. I fell down again there, startling Kitten, who had been waiting for me. She gave me a healing potion and wrapped some bandages around my leg. "What happened?!" Kitten finally exclaimed. So I told her, while sitting there leaning towards a chimney. Her eyes widened at first, then she slowly got a frown as I told her everything. She had never heard of the name "Gaothratl" before. She had, however, found out that this sun elf was indeed an assassin and not a shadowdancer. She had become somewhat infamous in Skullport over the last few ten-days, for being able to disappear from sight in a similar way to me, but also more importantly for that weapon of hers. The name she went by, Kitten had learned, was "Maiavel". After we had spoken for a while, she helped me get back to the Elfstone Tavern, where Yaereene came running out with a concerned look on her face. They both helped me inside, and Kitten took off again after agreeing to try finding out more about this Gaothratl.

Yaereene changed the bandage on my leg. The wound hadn't closed yet, despite the healing potion. It may have been a weak healing potion, so after changing the bandage, Yaereene gave me another healing potion. That stung a little bit at first, but felt like it helped. She continued to have a concerned look on her face, though, and told me to not go out again until I stopped limping. I decided not to argue against that. With her help, I got up the stairs and into Emilia's room. Emilia had already been sleeping for a few hours, and only briefly opened her eyes as we came into the room. She let out a sleeping "hey, Nëa, you're unusually loud tonight..." before dozing off again. Yaereene and I had to stifle laughs at that.

Today, though, I told Emilia about everything that happened last night. I've spent most of the day sitting near a table, just drawing pictures of the people I've seen over the last ten-day or so. I'm still limping and it is still quite painful. Yaereene has changed bandage a few times for me today, and the wound is closing, but very slowly. The healing potions haven't been working, it seems.

I reckon I'll be sitting here at the table for the rest of the evening. Maybe I should actually sleep tonight to help the leg heal faster. I hope it's better tomorrow. If not, I'm going to have Emilia help me to the temple of Selûne. I'm also supposed to meet Lia'Nyeti again tomorrow."

[Deathgrowl]

"12th of Tarsahk, 1350

I slept uneasily last night. My leg was hurting quite a lot. I couldn't help myself from crying when I tried to get up this morning. Emilia almost carried me downstairs, where Yaereene started changing the bandages, and noticed that the wound hadn't closed at all. She sternly insisted that I was going to the temple of Selûne to have it looked at. I couldn't walk at all on my own, so Emilia ran outside and shouted "Damsel in distress!" to some nearby Watch men. I couldn't help but laugh, but only for a moment, until the pain took the fun away. The two Watch men came into the tavern, where one picked me up as gently as he could. Emilia then led them to the temple. I fainted from the pain sometime just after we exited the tavern.

When I came to again, my leg was all numb. A pretty half elven woman in a silver dress was standing over me, smiling. An amulet with the symbol of Selûne was hanging from her neck. A priestess. She had healed me. Emilia's head was sticking out from behind her, expectantly. She smiled widely as she saw me looking at her. "Try to sit, and then slowly try to stand. We will help you," the priestess said and smiled. I pushed myself up to a sitting position with my arms and looked around. I love this temple. I found I had been lying on a bench inside the temple. I turned around and tried to stand, reaching out my hands towards Emilia and the priestess. They helped me up, but my leg was numb so it gave in. I still couldn't quite stand on it, but at least the pain was gone. And the wound was closed.

The two Watch men were still there, looking wide eyed in expectancy at us. "She will just need some food and rest now and she'll regain her strength. I suggest you two gentlemen help her home again," the priestess said and smiled to the. The two men almost raced over to pick me up. One of them stopped with an embarrased look on his face as the other one was quicker. I let out a giggle as he picked me up, and I heard Emilia giggling as well. "You can carry me if you really want to!" she teased the other Watch man.

When we got back to the tavern, Lia'Nyeti was already there. Yaereene and her came out of the door as they had seen us approaching, both with concerned looks on their faces. After getting inside and to a chair and I had drunk a glass of orange juice Yaereene had placed in front of me, I told Lia'Nyeti everything that had happened two nights ago. She had a very worried look on her face. She asked me if I would be alright, genuinely showing care. Which was appreciated. And I think I will be, as the priestess said, I just need some rest. I think I will sleep tonight as well.

Lia'Nyeti had little more to tell me, though. They were trying to find out more about this Corkashvin, both by interrogating Bridern and tracing the elven archmage's last known actions. He still, apparently, has one of the artifacts. While the other one is probably in possession of Gaothratl, whoever that is. They seem to be enemies, though. And right now, I can't do much more than wait for Kitten to hear what she may find out. When I feel stronger again, I might join her into Skullport and help. I was going to find a way in there anyways, maybe she'll finally share her way."

[Deathgrowl]

"13th of Tarsahk, 1350

I still can't walk entirely on my own. My leg isn't painful anymore, but it feels very numb. So I've been sitting in the bar most of the day, being served food and drink by Yaereene and Emilia. Oddly enough Relyar and Melgior came by. Relyar cheerful and confident as usual and Melgior quiet. Until Emilia told them about what had happened. She left out the details, thank goodness, but Melgior kept asking me if there was anything I needed. Relyar seemed more concerned about why anyone would attack me in the first place. Emilia tried to convince them that some thieves had just mugged me and I had resisted. Melgior started pacing, swearing he was going to find these attackers and bring them to justice.

Relyar, on the other hand, didn't quite believe it. "With the equipment I've seen little miss Nëa here carry, I don't think she'd be an easy target," he said and looked at me. "She has the beauty of the Fair Folk, yes, but look at her body when she moves. She's much more graceful than even the most agile thief I have ever seen or heard about! No common back-alley bandits did this..." He narrowed his eyes at me, then at Emilia. Emilia sighed and looked at the table. Melgior stopped pacing and looked at me rather inquisitively, realizing he agreed with Relyar, I think. He blinked a bit, and looked at Relyar. "Equipment? What equipment?" he asked with genuine surprise. Relyar got a slightly uneasy look. Emilia looked at me with some amusement, then gave me a smirk as she realized what I did: Relyar had been at one of the taverns I had danced in and seen me leave early with my equipment on. We both turned to give Relyar a smirk, who then turned very red in the face.

Melgior rushed over to me. "What have you been doing, Nëa? Is someone hunting you? Are you in danger?" he asked almost desperately. I just lifted my hands, indicating for him to calm down. He didn't. "It's nothing, Melgior," I said reassuringly. He didn't believe me for one second. I'm a terrible liar. So I told them about it, but I left out that I had followed them. And some other bits. Maybe, being nobles, they could have heard things. And having a mage help me wouldn't be a bad idea. Then again, I didn't want to drag them into it. I wanted to keep them out of it. But now they seemed to insist.

Melgior insisted on staying the night at the tavern to protect me. So the evening was spent with Relyar, flirting with Emilia, who was serving us drinks and food, and sitting down chatting with us, and Melgior who kept mostly quiet in a thoughtful frown, occasionally looking at me. They're now both sitting right outside Emilia's door, insisting that the two of us need protection.

My leg became less numb during the evening, so I hope I can walk tomorrow. I'll probably need to stay in a few more days, though. I'll try sleeping again tonight."

[Deathgrowl]

"14th of Tarsahk, 1350

I woke up early today, to the sound of snoring outside Emilia's room. My leg was still a bit weak, but much, much better. It still gave in and made me stumble as I tried to stand up. Emilia woke up at the sound, and stared wide-eyed at me. I stood up, steadied myself and smiled at her. Then she noticed the snoring from outside the door and began to giggle, making me giggle as well. We both started laughing enough for the two outside the door to wake up pretty quickly. We heard some quick scrambling to stand up outside the door.

Emilia and I got dressed and walked out of the room, still laughing lightly. Melgior and Relyar were still out there, looking quite embarrassed, which made us laugh more again. After having teased them a bit, we all walked downstairs where Yaereene was busy preparing breakfast for us. She gave us a smirk as we came down the stairs, probably having heard us laughing. Pyrith was flying cheerfully around in the tavern, chasing insects.

But there was another person in the tavern, despite it not having opened for the day yet. A muscular and stocky, black haired man with a trimmed beard and moustache. Not the full bearded kind, just sort of on his chin and around his mouth. His skin was slightly gray, even though he was obviously a human. Next to the door were two large brown dogs, almost wolf like. He stared at me. I knew who this was. But only by reputation. Jardwim. The leader of the Gray Hands. Waterdeep's elite for dealing with things the Watch and the Guard couldn't.

"You must be the little shadow I keep hearing about, then," he said gruffly as he grabbed a chair and sat down next to me, keeping an intense stare on me. "I hear you were injured by the blade of a soulknife assassin named Maiavel," he continued then looked down at my leg. I had no idea what a soulknife was. He realized. So he explained. Apparently they are something a form of psions able to create blades with their minds. Aboleths and illithids are psions. I knew the basics of what psionics is, but I had no idea I'd find it in a sun elf and an assassin. "But it seems you managed to scare her off. I hear she is still recouperating from a quite precise wound in her shoulder," he said with some amusement in his voice. "Yes, and I'm still recouperating from a very painful wound in my leg. I guess we got each other," I said, and I think I come off a bit cynical. I tried to make up for it with a smirk. He laughed. "True, but the way I hear it, she had to run from you, and not the other way around. Good job." He leaned back in his chair. "So, why are you here?" I asked. I had no idea what interest he had in it, after all. Although, I suppose in hindsight, a psionic assassin might be a bit too much for the Watch. "Well, first of all I wanted to meet our little helpful shadow," he said and gave me a smile. "Secondly, can we talk somewhere in private?"

I lead him up to Emilia's room. "I know you've heard about Gaothratl and Corkashvin. At least the names. You might also have noticed that two factions have formed in Waterdeep recently. You might think that the Bull Elk tribe is one of them, but they have simply been manipulated. They will stop involving themselves now that Lord Bridern is out of the picture. Though the Chief may still be a bit mad at you," Jardwim began. He went on to explain how Lord Bridern had been a servant or perhaps apprentice of the mage Corkashvin, and that Corkashvin was not in fact just an elven mage, but a lich. I was disgusted at that. An elf who decided to insult Labelas Enoreth's gift to us by becoming an undead. "The other one, Gaothratl, we still don't know much about, other than that he is likely a devout of Ilsensine, and so likely an illithid or some other psion," he continued and frowned in thought. I looked at him with some curiosity. After a long paused he looked straight at me with a serious expression. "I have also been told of your family in the Ardeep," he said low and looked at me as if studying for a reaction. My reaction was almost panic. I blinked and took a step back, stumbling and falling on my bed. I stared wide-eyed up at him. He gestured for me to calm down, raising both his hands, palm open towards me. "Don't worry, little shadow, your secret is safe with me. It is just important that you know how I know you will do fine in the Underdark. That you know why I will ask you to help us in Skullport."

He went on for a bit, explaining that he was under the direct command of the Blackstaff, who somehow had known of my family. He then asked me to go into Skullport when I was ready. That was my plan anyways, to help Kitten. So I said yes. "We will continue to deal with this Corkashvin here on the surface. We need you to find out who and what this Gaothratl is," he said. "When you're ready, go to the temple of Mystra and present yourself as Nëa. They will help you get down there." I looked at him curiously. Then he motioned for the door and we headed down. The two dogs stood up quickly as Jardwim came down the stairs and strode directly out the door, with the dogs following closely.

I sat down with the rest and continued to eat breakfast. Lia'Nyeti dropped by in the afternoon, but had nothing new to report in particular, so she just chatted with us. She obviously knew Melgior already, but she was very shy around him. And his attention to me didn't really help. Melgior and Relyar stayed for a while into the evening, but embarrasedly decided to return home again, since they fell asleep as they were guarding me anyways. So they left together with Lia'Nyeti when she left.

The rest of the evening, Emilia and I spent in her room, and I told her about most of the things Jardwim had said. She still doesn't know I'm Eilistraeen, and so I try to avoid hinting at it. She would probably not freak out, though. Maybe I should tell her one of these days. It would make things a whole lot easier. Looking at her now, sleeping in her bed on the other side of the room, I realize how pretty she is. Many humans look very silly when sleeping, but she manages to look pretty. I hope she'll find someone to make her happy one day. Random thoughts, Phaedraee!

Tomorrow, if my leg is up to it, I'm going to go see Kitten. I wonder if she is part of the reason Jardwim knows about me. I think she dances at the tavern Selûne's Smile tomorrow. Don't think I'll be ready for any dancing, but I think I can make my way there at least."

[Deathgrowl]

"15 of Tarsahk, 1350

It's been raining all day. Seriously raining. I told Kitten about Jardwim stopping by. She tried for about half a sentence to indicate that she had nothing to do with it. But I guess she knows me better by now. It's not that easy to lie to me. She told me that she had told him about me. Which was also a lie, but much closer to the truth. But I let it slide. It didn't really matter, as all it did was give me an easy way to Skullport.

She hadn't learned anything more about Gaothratl, though. However, she could confirm that the Bull Elk tribe was talking about how they weren't going to be working for Lord Bridern before, but she had a suspicion, which I share, that Chief Hagar might get an offer from Corkashvin to continue the work, and if so, it is likely that the Blue Bear will accept. Maybe try to break Lord Bridern out of prison. Just before she left, she told me she was going to Skullport in a few of days, and asked me to meet her there when I came down. But insisted that I made sure my leg was completely fine before that. She then climbed down from the rooftop we were sitting on and in through a window. The roof, was that of Selûne's Smile, and she was about to start dancing. And she had to get dry from the rain and get into some other clothes.

I shadow jumped south as far as I could, down to the street, but into an alley to not be seen. My leg is much, much better now. I can even run if I have to. But I still had to catch myself on the wall as I came out through the shadow in the alley. I just lost balance for a moment. So it'll probably be a couple more days before I go into Skullport. From the alley, though, I walked steadily all the way back to the Elfstone Tavern.

Melgior and Relyar had come back tonight. As had Lia'Niety, which was unexpected since we weren't supposed to meet again until tomorrow. But they were all laughing and drinking. Emilia was even sitting in Relyar's lap, flirting with him. Nothing new about Emilia flirting with people, though. On the table, Phyrith sat, telling jokes and making little illusions with his magic. I think I had a quite amused look on my face as I entered the tavern, soaking from the rain and pulling my hood back. I was also fully equipped, so now Melgior got confirmation of Relyar's words from two nights ago. He still looked quite surprised, though. After having only seen me in dresses before, seeing me with my swords on my left hip, potions on my belt, rapier on my back and all that made his eyes go pretty wide. It could also be the fact that my clothes are kind of tight. And they were absolutely soaking. That might also have been a factor. I just grinned at them and went up to change into a light dress.

When I got down again, Emilia had moved to her own chair, but she and Relyar were still laughing at Pyrith's stories and illusions. Melgior and Lia'Niety seemed to be having a very interesting discussion. Melgior didn't even notice me come down the stairs. Maybe the two found their tone, as it were, last night when they left. I sat down on a chair at the table together with them, listeing to and watching the faerie dragon. It was otherwise a quiet evening at the tavern. Yaereene was smiling, serving drinks and chatting with regular patrons.

Yaereene called for Pyrith after a while, needing his help with something, so the little butterfly winged dragon leaped off the table, glided across the tavern and landed on Yaereene's shoulder, much to the amusement of the other patrons. Now that the entertainment was gone from our table, Relyar looked to me and suggested that maybe it would speed up my leg's recovery if I tried some training. Sparring with someone. Him, specifically. Which actually was a very good idea, so we decided that tomorrow we would all meet at Relyar's family mansion to have some friendly sparring. I never learned his name or title, only that he's a noble of sorts.

Now, I'm just sitting in my bed, listening to Emilia's calm breath as she sleeps on the other side of the room, and to the sounds from the window. And I'm thinking about my friends in Baldur's Gate. I miss them. And again, I notice I'm missing Sjinn. We never got to know each other very well, but there was something intriguing about him. I hope I meet him again some day."

[Deathgrowl]

"16 of Tarsahk, 1350

Emilia slept long today. The sky was blue and it was quite warm outside, so I had been lying on the roof, just relaxing in the sun for several when I climed down again almost at high sun to get some lunch. Emilia finally came down the stairs, yawning and rubbing her face, looking quite sleepy still. "I slept too long," she grumbled as she sat down next to me. Yaereene laughed lightly at her as she served us lunch before going to open the tavern for lunch customers.

After having eaten, Emilia finally seemed to find her energy, and after me getting my equipment, we started walking towards Relyar's home in the middle of the Sea Ward of Waterdeep. On our way there, we stopped by the Market. Melgior was there, buying some strange things from one of the traveling merchants. Spell components he said. Vials of different coloured powder, for instance. I don't think I'll ever understand all the things mages carry around. At least they make useful wands for me!

The three of us walked together the rest of the way to Relyar's home. He had dressed up in his finest duelling outfit. Or at least I think so. I bet he has loads of those. On his belt hung an ornate longsword in its sheath. He bowed low and took Emilia's hand and kissed it lightly, then did the same to me. Lastly, he grinned to Melgior and gave him an overly manly slap on the back. The mage just grunted and gave Relyar a slightly annoyed look until he realized Emilia and I was laughing. So he started laughing as well.

Relyar led us into his family's huge garden, where Lia'Nyeti was already sitting on the grass, looking at her own elven longsword, her bow and quiver lying next to her on the grass. She hopped up and smiled as she saw us coming in. Emilia unfolded a large picnic blanket on the grass, then lay back on it, smiling up at the sun. Melgior and Lia'Nyeti sort of stared at each other embarrasingly for a few moments, before both sitting down on the blanket.

Relyar smirked at me and drew his sword. "Shall we begin then?" he said and made a flourishing move. He evidently had some training with the longsword. And despite his sword being quite ornate and something he probably wore to ceremonies, it still looked very well made for combat, and even used. I was probably even enchanted. "Or do you want to use wooden swords?" he teased. I grinned at him and drew out both of my swords, whirling them around for a few times to loosen up my hands. I heard a "woah", from Melgior and Lia'Nyeti, who were both watching us. Emilia was also glancing over. Melgior stood up and cast some magic on us. Said that it would make sure that we wouldn't accidentally hurt eachother.

I decided not to hide. This was just going to be fun anyways. I let him have the first move. He was quick and clearly well trained with the sword. But he couldn't hit me. We went on for a few minutes, mostly with me dancing around his swings and knocking him lightly on his head, back or stomach. The rest of the day, we spent sparring for a few minutes then sitting with the rest and talking. Lia'Nyeti and Relyar also sparred a few times, but Relyar clearly had the upper hand there. Melgior had decided not to spar at all and Emilia just wanted to sun bathe.

Lia'Nyeti had some serious news for me, however. She had learned that Corkashvin, the elven lich, was a mage from some place called Sigil on another plane. This stuff is way beyond what I can understand, but from what she said, I deduced that she thought he was extremely powerful. Probably comparable to the Blackstaff. Rumour had it that the lich had made his own "demi-plane", whatever that is. She was concerned that he might be trying to get the artifact to use it on the inhabitants of Waterdeep. I shared that concern, but the way she expressed it seemed to suggest that her concern was more profound now that she had learned that he was from another plane for some reason. But I can't understand that, and besides I'm going to focus on Gaothratl.

The evening from then, has been pretty much uneventful. Emilia and I walked home a few hours after the sun set and she went straight to bed. Now I'm sitting on the roof, listening to the sounds of the Waterdeep night streets again, with a clear sky and bright light from Selûne and her Tears. A beautiful night. She is a light in the darkness, as I must be."

[Deathgrowl]

"17th of Tarsahk, 1350

The sparring yesterday, despite not being a great challenge, convinced me that I am ready for that trip to Skullport. I went to the Market to stock up on various potions and scrolls. There are always mages and potion brewers there, selling their wares. I met Kitten there, who was also buying such things. She told me she was going down to Skullport today. I agreed to meet her at a tavern down there. She told me it was best if I kept a cowl up in front of my face to hide my identity. No one cares down there anyways.

Emilia and I were helping out in the tavern tonight, though. Serving drinks and food. It is strangely fun, because you always get to talk to happy and cheerful customers who are just getting more and more happy and cheerful as the evening goes by and the drinks go down. Today, there were even a few humans in the tavern. Emilia had overheard them speaking low about Lord Bridern having managed to escape. They were apparently discussing how that could have happened and where he could have gone. That is something I need to investigate when I get back up again.

I went to bed at the same time as Emilia, just talk before she actually fell asleep. She didn't approve of me going to Skullport. Even she knows how dangerous the place is. But she also knows how stubborn I am, and didn't press it for very long. Poor girl will have bad sleep as long as I'm down there. I shouldn't stay for long."

[Deathgrowl]

"18th of Tarsahk, 1350

Skullport. It's full of slave traders, assassins, necromancers and other, even more dangerous evil things. And the thieves of Waterdeep come down here now and then to sell off the more valuable things they don't want traced back to themselves. It's also the obvious place for skilled criminals to go hiding if they want to avoid the authorities of the world above. This is where Maiavel would go if she still is on the Coast at all.

I found Kitten sitting at a table in a tavern with two men, a human and a tiefling. The two men had broken noses. And were drooling on the table. I figured they had said something she didn't like. She hadn't learned anything yet, though. And neither have I. We spent the day mostly talking with people in taverns, but not directly of Maiavel. Tomorrow we're going to try other methods.

It's extremely hard to find any place to rest safely down here. And knowing that Maiavel is down here somewhere, I don't feel like taking any chances. But Kitten needs sleep. She says she doesn't need it, but I'm going to keep watch. While also looking for anything that might be a clue. I can skip reverie for a day. And I'm not staying here for more than one more day. I might try to make my way to the Promenade tomorrow or just go back up to Waterdeep and come back down here later."

[Deathgrowl]

"19th of Tarsahk, 1350

Kitten came up with the idea to attract attention by making people believe I was better at hiding than Maiavel. Maybe that could lure her out. We would split up and ask questions about Maiavel of people. I would end the conversations abruptly by disappearing from sight in front of their eyes. Kitten would spread rumour that I was better than Maiavel.

I asked humans, tieflings, drow, duergar and even an illithid. No one except the mind flayer knew anything. Or otherwise agreed to answer. And at first the mind flayer refused to answer at all. Flat out ignored me. I asked many questions. No reply. So I slipped into the shadows and started walking away. "So it is true," I heard inside my head. "You are better than the soulknife." I paused and looked back at the mind flayer. It showed no signs of knowing where I was. So I came out of the shadows again, standing in it's view. It looked directly at me with those creepy and terrifying eyes. "But you are not a soulknife. You wouldn't be able to serve Gaothratl, but you're might get some attention if you keep this up," it said into my head. It's tone of voice, or tone of thought perhaps, almost seemed sincerely concerned. But this was a mind flayer, and I knew better. "Why would I want to serve Gaothratl?" I asked it. "You and that female human seem to want to make sure Maiavel knows you are her rival. If you take away Gaothratl's only willing psionic servant, you will find yourself dead very quickly," it answered, the tone now being very matter-of-factual. This one didn't serve this Gaothratl, then, I realized. Still, I didn't want to stick around.

I met up with Kitten a bit later again. She had hear from people that they had seen Maiavel leave Skullport and go further into the Underdark with a line of people seeming strangely obedient to her, all marked by the eye and chain on their forehead. She couldn't go into the Underdark. As a human she would need a light, and that's a shining beacon saying "here is a pray" in the Underdark. So I told her to return to the surface and tell Jardwim, and that I would go after Maiavel and find out more. She objected for a bit, but realized she wasn't going to talk me about this either. But I've never walked the Underdark alone. And I don't think I'm ready for that yet. I have to contact mother and father.

I'm now trying to make my way to the Promenade. I hope they can help me."

[Deathgrowl]

"20th of Tarsahk, 1350

The Promenade was easy enough to find. I was very nervous when I approached it, as I had never been there before. I wish I hadn’t come here under these circumstances. I was a bit concerned that I might get some resistance to entering. But by some strange accident or guidance by the Dark Maiden, I met Xuirin just as I arrived. ”Nëa? Nëa! Big sister!” she called out with her constant cheerfulness. It was good to see her again.

Xuirin is here as part of her priestly studies. Apparently Quaraen had escorted her here. Which was perfect if he was still here. Who better to help me find Maiavel in the Underdark than a drow ranger? So Xuirin took me to meet him. ”Surprising to see you here, Phaedraee,” he said in his usual attempt to hide emotions. But he knew he couldn’t hide them anymore, and his face broke into a warm smile after a few moments. He also actually wasn’t surprised. The three of us found a private little area and I explained everything to them. Quaraen said he had been following Maiavel already several times into the Underdark. She had been taking what he called ”mind slaves” to an old, abandoned or ruined illithid cavern somewhere where the middledark ends and the lowerdark starts. There are no clear borders, after all. But that is quite far down. Quaraen said he needed to get supplies and prepare properly before we went. And we needed some proper rest, so that we would be fresh when we started. He took off to get supplies.

Xuirin was concerned. She’s still very young and mother shielded her from most of the dangers of the Underdark when we made our way from the Dalelands towards the Ardeep, so she knows very little about it. She does know that very few who og to the lowerdark come back again, though. So she protested for quite a while about the trip Quaraen and I was going to make. To take her mind off things, I tried to change subject. Asked her what her duties and tasks had been here in her studies. She quickly got enthusiastic. Told her she had an assignment and challenged me to do the same. Take the words of Eilistraee and interpret each sentence. Understand the meanings behind the words. I accepted the challenge of course, and it was quite interesting. Here’s my take on it:

Be always kind, except in battle with evil.

At first glance, this sounds like ”battle evil with evil”. But that’s not what it means. It means that you should always, always be kind. But when you fight evil, you have to do what is necessary. Kindness will stay your blade from doing what is necessary.

Encourage happiness everywhere.

This one is easy. Just make people smile. Make people laugh. Comfort people in their sorrow. Entertain people. Make people happy.

Learn and teach new songs, dances, and the flowing dance of skilled swordwork.

This is my life. I sing, I dance and I am in my at least somewhat humble opinion, getting quite skilled at using my swords. The only thing lacking here is a mention of shadows. But the Dark Maiden isn’t a goddess of shadows. She’s a goddess of light. She is a light in the darkness.

Promote harmony between the races.

First of all, this means between the People. Drow and surface elves. Fix the relationship. Reunite all the children of Corellon. But it also means harmony between elves and other people. There are many non-drow, even non-elven followers of Eilistraee. Here in the promenade they all meet. Unite. Harmonize. It’s like a beautiful song.

Befriend strangers, shelter those without homes, and feed the hungry.

This is also kind of straight forward. Help people. Be always kind, as the first sentence says. But here it is more specific. Show charity. I think this would be the sentence Ameris would value the most as an ilmateri.

Repay rudeness with kindness.

This one is easy to understand, but very hard to follow. If someone insults you, reply with a genuine compliment. It’s very diplomatic. You give an example to the one who insults you that it’s always better to see the good in people. Not always the bad. And even if you see the bad, don’t point it out unless it is in a nice, constructive way.

Repay violence with swift violence so that those who cause it are quickly dealt with.

Another one I think Ameris would agree with. He’s more likely to stay his blade than I am, though. The point here is mercy, I think. Do what is necessary. But don’t inflict needless pain. Don’t torture. This is both mercy and efficiency.

The last part is also straight forward, and I don’t think it needs more explanation than the words themselves:

Aid drow in distress and give them the Lady's message: "A rightful place awaits you in the Realms Above, in the Land of the Great Light. Come in peace and live beneath the sun again where trees and flowers grow."

I showed Xuirin this after I had written it. She had much more lengthy explanations, some sentences described over two pages in her book even. But she still liked my interpretations. Teased me that I would’ve been a great priestess if I hadn’t been so curious about everything else and took the time to study. But she said she was glad I am who I am. That we all have our places. She’s starting to sound like mother. She’ll be a great priestess.

Quaraen found us again after a while, carrying a sack of supplies. Xuirin went back to her duties when Quaraen and I decided to find some place to get some proper reverie. We’ve found a private little room with a wide bed which I am now lying on. It’s probably not wise to continue this. But a girl has needs, right?"