Tales of Faerun

[AurianaValoria1]

When Norgold left, she closed and locked the door, removing the rest of her clothes and approaching the bath. She tentatively dipped a foot in the clear water; it was surprisingly warm. Slipping the rest of the way into the pool, she gradually immersed her entire body in the water, even her wings. Her scarlet hair turned the color of blood when wet, and its matted and tangled strands stuck to her like a web as she sat up in the bath. Taking an ivory comb to the rat's nest, she gradually worked all of the tangles out. Once finished, she quickly took her soap and scrubbed herself down, removing the grunge and grime of sweat and dirt.

 

Finally, she emerged from the bath, drying herself and donning her halter-topped nightdress. The thin black material clung slightly to her damp form as she took her towel and began meticulously drying the feathers of her wings - at least, as much as she could reach. Once satisfied, she returned to the bed, placing the towel and comb back in her pack and sitting down cross-legged on the mattress. She shivered as the cold Underdark air settled into her wet hair, and she reached for Byron's pouch. She smiled faintly to herself as she remembered the endearing - if a bit insane - Duergar. Taking the silken cloak from the pouch, she fastened it about her neck and admired the texture, running her fingers down the silver runes that were embroidered around its edge.

 

And then, she felt a pair of hands, soothingly warm, settle on her shoulders. She would have jumped and gasped aloud had the hauntingly familiar and smooth voice not followed.

 

"Black suits you."

[BaldurAnthology]

Caladus sensed something immensely powerful nearby. He also felt the need to ask advice. He didn't know how Norgold would react, any time he asked advice of Byron, the dwarf would chuckle a lot about it. Rhaine. She would have the answer. Caladus excused himself, and knocked on Rhaine's door. noticing that powerful thing was quite close. "May I talk to you for a moment?"

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine heard Caladus's voice outside her door and his accompanying knock, and her heart leapt into her throat momentarily. The hands squeezed her shoulders gently.

 

"I'm afraid not, Caladus," she called, "I'm a bit...preoccupied at the moment."

[BaldurAnthology]

Caladus sensed something with God like power in the room. "Very well. I shall ask Norgold. You commune with your god in peace." He didn't know why he said it, but then he walked back to sit with Norgold. "Perhaps you could give me some advice. Drow have no concept of love or relationships. I do like Shaori, yes. I don't know how to tell her!"

[TheBestIdiot122]

Norgold sighed as Caladus left, but was welcomed again when he returned so quickly. However, the question that he asked caught Norgold off guard. He's never have to deal with such situations before.

 

"Uhh..." Norgold stated, nervously unsure how to approach the subject. He cleared his throat and began to speak again, "Look, Caladus... I..." Again, Norgold paused. He knew what to say, but the awkwardness that came over him when trying to say it overwhelmed his voice. He sighed and calmed down.

 

"Just approach her calmly, and say that you like her, don't open your heart to her just yet. It's better to know if she likes you back before you do anything serious." He said calmly.

Edited May 22, 2012 by TheBestIdiot122

[BaldurAnthology]

Caladus could see the embarrassment that Norgold seemed to be feeling. "I apologize if I caused you discomfort. I know how it must be strange. An elf, who is 300 years old, with wisdom and knowledge and power, asking about something as simple as love,"

[TheBestIdiot122]

Norgold rubbed his eyes, this was incredibly discomforting. He knew that Caladus was true to his word, but he wouldn't know how to comfort him when his heart is broken.

 

"Well, love is complicated. So is trust, they are both earned through much patience and time. I'm sure you could ask anyone in Faerun and they wouldn't be able to tell you what love is, but it seems that you want to get to the point... sadly, it doesn't work like that. Maybe she likes you, maybe not. Over time you will get your answer, Caladus." He said, assuredly.

Edited May 22, 2012 by TheBestIdiot122

[BaldurAnthology]

Caladus pondered for a moment, then clapped the dwarf on the shoulder. "Thank you. Oh, and this is your share of the enchanted amulets and rings from Byron's bag. He.. he said to give them out among the party. Excuse me." He gets up and walks back to his room.

[AurianaValoria1]

Rhaine heard Caladus's footsteps fade as he left, and she relaxed a bit. The permeating sense of peace emanating from the figure who sat behind her helped to ease her tension and calm her nerves.

 

"Why is it that you always manifest behind me, my lord?" she asked with a sigh.

 

"Perhaps it is that you happen to turn your back every time that I choose to appear."

 

She chuckled and shook her head. Kelemvor was such a strange mixture of serious and sarcastic. Even though his expressions were never visible and his body language was closely guarded, she had learned to interpret his tones. Try as he might, his voice was not completely monotone, and she could detect the slightest hints of wit, irritation, frustration, and even melancholy. Granted, they were only hints, hidden in a hypnotically rhythmic speech pattern that threatened on more than one occasion to lull her to sleep. She had never seen him moved to extremes of any kind...and she hoped she never did.

 

"You think black suits me?" she inquired, looking askance at one of her wingtips that had drooped onto the bed, a stark ebony color in comparison to the cream sheets, "It makes sense, considering that's what you chose for me, my lord."

 

"I did not choose the color of your wings. The color chose you."

 

Rhaine was silent as she thought about his words. She fingered one of the feathers gingerly, watching as the dim light played across its surface with a green iridescence. The Doomguide could feel the cool metal of the god's greave against the small of her back; he must have been leaning against the headboard with one leg up.

 

"So, why do you grace me with your presence this night, my lord?" she finally asked, turning around enough to see him out of the corner of her eye. His silver mask looked at her, his eyes completely hidden from view, but she knew he could see her clearly. She had not been this close to the mask in several years, and she had forgotten the tiny and intricate details that drew the observer's eye across its surface. It was a beautifully perfect face, entirely symmetrical - the lips set thinly, the brows knitted ever so slightly in a soft scowl, the eyelids closed in an expression of sweet repose. All along the edges and around the eyes were embossings and engravings of delicately swirling patterns.

 

"I would have communicated with you through dreamspeak," he replied, the dark gossamer of his cowl bobbing as his head moved, "However, someone else is doing so as well. I do not wish for you to mistake their messages for mine. You are on the correct path, and you interpreted your dream in my temple correctly...but it was not I who sent it."

 

"What? Who?"

 

"There are two who watch this company intently, both interested in your welfare and both tracking your movements through the Underdark. One is a githzerai master monk in the Sword Mountains. The other is a priestess of Mystra in Damara."

 

"Damara...Norgold's home..."

 

"Yes. The dwarf is correct in his assumptions that his homeland is in danger. For now, though, you must focus on your current path. All threads shall eventually tie together."

 

She sighed, "What do I do about him, my lord, and all those who follow me? They seem...in need of something that I cannot provide. They have joined with me in the hopes of quashing this very real threat, but I fear that I have led them on a path to their doom. One has already met his. Sometimes, I wish - I wish that I could detach myself from them. I wish-"

 

"You could be like me?" he supplied, his voice tinged with an uncomfortable darkness. She found she could not look at him, as he was right, and she straightened her head abruptly.

 

He noticed her attempt to avoid his gaze and leaned forward, so his head was close to her ear, "You should not mistake emotional attachment for weakness. Nor should you assume that, although I do not wear my emotions on my sleeve, I am completely without pity."

 

She took a deep breath and sighed, "I know. I'm sorry."

 

"Stop apologizing."

 

Rhaine felt his hands pulling gently at her shoulders, and she allowed herself to, quite literally, lean on him for support. He tucked her head under his chin, and she could feel his voice rumbling in his throat as he continued, "Norgold fears that he is incompetent. He feels that he is a dead weight upon your group, and he worries that he may even become a detriment. Though he is wrong for now, his worries may become a self-fulfilling prophecy if he does not come to terms with who he is.

 

"Caladus, like all Drow who leave their homeland for the surface world, is in desperate need to know the sense of family. He is struggling to change decades of a conditioned life in Drow society...a way of living that has no room for love or affection. However, he has recently found himself warming to a particular Avariel who has joined your company. It may be that she alone has the power to free his soul. He also seems to have found a firm friend in the other Drow of your party, as she is the first to treat him as equal. Additionally, he feels more grief for his fallen friend Byron than he is willing to show - if anyone is in need of a Doomguide's counsel, it is he.

 

"Shaori herself appears to be an insecure and flighty soul, but she is truly a paragon of light. Her heart is driven by the desire for good, and she will stop at nothing to protect those who fight at her side. Her tendency to place herself between her allies and danger, however, may be her undoing.

 

"The seemingly delicate Nawen wears a mask of detachment and distrust, a mask that hides a powerful and good woman beneath. She is guarded, but she may be convinced to let down that wall after she believes her trust is sufficiently earned.

 

"Ianthe is polarized by a childlike innocence and a penchant for battle. This you have seen. She may appear to be benign on the surface, but underneath her skin of naivete, she is a strong and courageous soul. Her friend, the dryad Hazel, is likewise seemingly timid and introverted. However, she is also nature incarnate - her flesh and blood that of the Earthmother and Treefather. She is not to be taken lightly, and through her journeys with you, she may come to find her inner strength.

 

"I would advise that you watch your friends, Rhaine, and more importantly, listen to them. Whether you know it or not, they look to you for guidance. You may be the tie that binds them all together."

 

Rhaine sighed again, mulling over his words. As she did so, the weight of exhaustion suddenly fell upon her, and sleep seemed to beckon to her with its dark, inviting hands. She smiled as she realized what Kelemvor was doing, and as her eyelids closed, she could feel herself being lowered, a final soft whisper brushing her consciousness.

 

"Sleep now. Rest. Know that whatever road you walk, I walk it with you."

Edited May 23, 2012 by AurianaValoria1

[TheBestIdiot122]

Norgold breathed a sigh of relief. He was glad that Caladus had maybe found someone in his life,but It was quite funny in a way. Norgold smiled to himself as he looked over to the now dark library. He wondered about the vast knowledge that was in the library, maybe he could find more about the temple or maybe unearth what the Cult of the Dragon may be doing. Norgold then remembered the whole group looking through almost all the books, but he wanted to look through them thoroughly this time.

 

He grasped his knees to help himself up from the chair, when he finally straightened, the cold air breeze blew against his body. He felt this more welcoming then disturbing, as he was already used to the cold from the Underdark. Then he felt a warm embrace overcome him as he approached the door to the library. Now he knew something was wrong, he's never felt warm in the Underdark...ever. Norgold cautiously entered the library. As he stepped into the library, the torches on the wall lit themselves. Even though accompanied by the light, he was still judicious about anyone else that might be in the library with him.

 

After a careful search, he came up empty. He felt a little uneasy about that warm feeling before hand, but he hasn't seen anything that could point to that. He decided to leave his attention to the books instead. Norgold looked in awe as he finally noticed how big the shelf's were. He went to the front of the room, the very first shelf that contained the A titles, Norgold lifted his hand and felt the rough leather spine of the first book, worn from what he could tell was water damage. He grasped the spine and pulled out the book, The cover was covered in dust, he used his hand to brush off any dust on the cover. He couldn't see the title, so he figured the book itself didn't have a title, so he thought that it must have been a journal. He grabbed the next, and the next, and the next. When he couldn't carry anymore he placed them on Xallistine's desk. As his desk filed, he figured he might as well start reading.

 

Norgold sat down in the big chair, it wasn't very comfortable, but it was better then standing. He grabbed the first book, and flipped the first page, and began to read.