Evensong VII: Judgment Day

[Killthorne]

The journey to my destination was lengthy and cold. Many times I found myself wandering off in a direction I was not supposed to head in. I made way around the cities of Everlund and Sundabar, avoiding the sights of the surfacers, and the small villages that dotted the landscape along the River Rauvin. I found myself speaking only with the Goddess and myself, which only slightly cured my loneliness, but in a sense, confined me to the thinkings of being truly and utterly alone. But still, I did not waver at my task, and kept my sights ahead on the end goal.

Along the way, I came across a few dead in the path before me. One, a hole blown through their chest. Another headless, and frozen to the ground. Another was an entire caravan killed, their wagon bursting aflame as oil erupted from barrels spilt. I knew I had come unto conflict, expected it entirely, but still kept walking, ware that I could be the next one attacked along the road. Strangeness continued to occur, as I witnessed a human in black armor appear out of shadows and slay a roadside surface orc ( most likely intent on brigandry), and globes of darkness much like what I could produce, appeared along the way behind me, afterwards. I ventured on, looking back occasionally to make sure that I was not being followed. Fear, that night, kept my sense of paranoia about me as I went further on and up into the bitter frigid air of the Nether Mountains.

And finally, there it was, the surface city of Silverymoon. Glowing with fancy street lanterns and the moonlit sky, the faint illumination softly outlined the shadows of the copses of trees reaching as high as their buildings, which seemed to convey the notion of a earthen atmosphere within. If there ever was an equal to the exotic beauty of Menzoberranzan, this was it's counterpart of the same coin. I took a deep breath before going closer. I was going to surrender myself in the name of amnesty at the gates, and I prayed that what Qilue told to me still held truth. I had to be ready to die in-case that truth was no longer so.

I came down the sloped road and was no less than fifty meters from the gates when a burst of light exploded in front of me. A magical portal appeared and a human wizard stepped through, wielding the staff of one well-versed in the Art. When the seconds of the after-image of sudden brilliance faded from my vision, I heard his command.

" Drow! HALT!" He grasped the staff defensively, and I pondered how in the Nine Hells he knew what I was beneath my helmet and full coverings. Needless to say, I raised my hands in the air slowly to not show any signs of defensiveness or aggression.

" I surrender." I stated in the common tongue of the surfacers. The spellslinger eyed me cautiously, and I thought I may have done something quite typical of ilythirri trying to enter Silverymoon, and thus, made him more suspicious.

" Show yourself." He demanded and I obliged gladly, and removed the helmet that had covered my head for nearly the entire trek here. My hair fell tangled onto my shoulders, and I could imagine I had not given the appearance of a well-groomed ilythirri at this point. The sudden air on my face revealed that the grime from my sweat had built up as well, but I could not even think about appearances at this juncture. I sighed, and responded to him once again, praying he would not cut my tongue from my mouth.

" I meant to surrender as well." I tried to sound as sincere as possible, perhaps to have the wizard be inclined to believe me, but I knew such things were most likely a futile attempt in the ears of a human.

" You will follow me, or you will die." He said without missing a beat and then spun around towards the gates.

" Very well." I nodded in agreement, as I had little choice it seemed. His back was to me and I thought him rather foolish, but as my eyes scanned the city gates and the immediate interior, any evil kin of mine foolish enough to delve any trickery, would surely fall in the attempt. I could not help but be amazed too, at the sights of the insides of this city. Lush gardens, huge trees, and beautiful buildings sculpted from stone, splayed out in front of me as the human wizard strutted forward. A few surfacers had begun to take to the streets and I did my best to not take to heart, of their narrowed eyes and watchful stares. I reminded myself I was here for Eilistraee and myself.

The mage led me all the way to the gates of what appeared the palace of Silverymoon. A guard there stopped the wizard and I could not help but overhear.

" Another one? " The guard asked with a bit of dismay.

" Yes." The wizard replied. Another one? My heart beat faster with the hopes of finding more like myself. My thoughts entertained me briefly until the guard spoke again.

" Turning into the damned Underdark here." The guard spat with a frown. " Very well." He opened the gate for us and I could not help but feel humbled for being even considered entrance upon such a place. I looked down as to not show pride of my kind, nor to seem ungrateful for acceptance so graciously given.

The gate led way to a massive courtyard that beheld gardens of many different types of plants and flowers, their blossums shut tight to the morning light still beginning to color the sky. For that segment of time, it was surreal, the size and structure of the palace before me, and the magnificence that radiated of the place. I was awestruck. The wizard continued on, and I picked up my pace slightly, as I realized my awe had set me behind him at a longer distance than what he or I would probably tolerate.

The insides of the palace were just as elegant and well-designed. We passed through one set of large doors to an audience chamber where a man took a seat behind a desk. My eyes noticed a man-sized cage, floor shackles, and strange beam of light swirling behind a podium to the left. The wizard stopped before the man and proclaimed his and mine arrivals.

" Your honor." The wizard spoke, and I then realized I was in front of someone with authority. I bowed low before the man, hoping my kindness would prevail somehow in my assumed judgment to come. " This one surrendered at the Sundabar gate." He gestured back at me with his hand and turned back to the man of prestige and position.

The man looked at me from behind the desk with a slight frown, and a bit of discernment. The wizard walked away, quietly and to the back of the room, and I could feel his eyes watching me from behind.

" Mmmm... very well." He arose and gestured towards the shaft of light emanating from the floor behind the podium. " Please step into the light." A guard walked up to the floor shackles and I knew the chains were soon going to be bound to me. I did not hesitate and stepped into the light, the guard locking my hands and feet to the stone floor. I took a deep breath and prayed to Eilistraee that this was how all ilythirri were tested, just as Qilue had said.

" This light is a magical effect that will tell me when you lie. Do you understand?" The man behind the desk sternly asked of me. I looked at him, directly across the way, into his eyes.

" Yes. I understand." I admitted. Frankly, it was not so hard to understand. I nodded once, firmly, and kept my gaze into the man's eyes.

" What is your name?" The man began his interrogation.

" My birth name is Gryndal of Qu'ellar Xiith." My mind wanted to say otherwise, and state my new name forged in the baptism and repentance under the Great Light and Selûne, but I feared the truth-telling light emanating around me would detect otherwise of my self-proclamation. Yes, exclaiming my birth name would do just fine as excusing me from the past.

" Where are you from?"

" Menzoberranzan, originally." Again, it was the truth that stung, as I wished I could claim the Promenade back in Skullport, as anything close to being where I was from.

" Why are you here?" He asked, and I stood up straight and solemnly swore the following to him.

" To seek amnesty from the evils of my kind and to establish peace and harmony amongst those such as myself who follow Eilistraee with the other surface races." At last, I thought! I never took my eyes from the man's own, my words entrenched with pride, as I knew through and through, that this was solidified truth. I truly believed the words I spoke just then, would save me from further questioning, but I was unfortunately mistaken.

" Are you a spy?" He raised an eyebrow, seemingly suspicious still.

" No." I replied firmly, still meting his gaze with my own.

" Do you mean harm to any of the peoples of the Silver Marches?" He asked, still poking with, what seemed to someone like me, trivial questions.

" Never." I felt my face tighten, as I knew my expression started to become more stern at the notion of such.

" Are you still associated with Menzoberranzan?" The man jabbed with a slight curve in questioning, but I knew damn well what that city meant to me. And this time, I was going to lay in more truths for him to taste.

" No. I have come at the advice of High Priestess Qilue Veladorn, Chosen of Mystra and of Eilistraee." I stated with extra fervor, a small verbal punch of retort in the legitimacy of my arrival in Silverymoon.

" Do you have any association with Thayans," the man shifted his stance, looking down briefly and back up at me," Or the Zhentarim?" Who were they, I thought? Obviously no then.

" No."

" Do you have any association with the Shadovar?" The man continued, and I took note that these questions must be traditional for all, and yet, I did not know of whom the Shadovar were, either.

" No."

" The mythal has not rejected you, and you speak the truth." The man sternly replied. " Unshackle him please." He nodded to the guard as he began to rifle through his desk, shifting papers aside about his desk. The guard did so with a sense of tension lifting from him, as he began freeing me from the steel cuffs and chains.

" My apologies, but you understand the need for it." The guard stated as he worked the cuffs off my wrists. I could not help but smile politely at him and respond.

" I understand." I replied softly, nodding my head to him, knowing too well what any evil ilythirri would have done without such restraints and being questioned by what my evil kin considered filth.

The man at the desk produced a set of papers in his hand, and I only assumed to come before him and his wooden desk.

" These papers will grant you permission to be within Silverymoon. Your kind are officially tolerated here, but I cannot say that you are welcome." He handed the folded papers to me, continuing his instructions, " Do not visit any of the other cities in the Silver Marches, as they do not recognize them."

" I understand." I took the papers and slid them into a side pouch. My mind swirled with complete wonder, thankfulness, and joy. Though his words stated the caution I needed to be here and that I was truly not welcome, the tolerance alone bore in me much of what I could only dream of. The man behind the desk spoke again, most likely noticing the tiny fires of life sparking in my eyes.

" You must present those to any guard or merchant who requests them. Do not lose them." The man lectured on. The guard that apologized to me requested that he return to his post, and the man sharply replied, " At this rate, we'll have another dozen drow by morning. Best to stay." He looked back at me once more, and waved me away with a slight dismissive, yet annoyed expression. " You are free to walk the streets of Silverymoon. Dismissed."

I felt the humility and honor of being allowed to walk among the streets of Silverymoon quell my nearly child-like happiness. I asked him if the papers were to be lost or stolen, should I return to this place and he affirmed it so along with a warning of committing any crimes. Once more he dismissed me, and I took my leave but bowing respectfully to the human wizard that had kept watch over the procedure, before he employed magics to portal somewhere.

I walked out out from the palace and unto the balcony of the courtyard, as the sunlight chased away the shadows of the night. I could not help but look on, encompassed and swallowed by a new world and this unforeseen destiny. Only one word could escape my lips that could describe the view and my current whereabouts....

" Beautiful."

[Mizbiz]

Another great one, Killy. Sounds like it was fun to RP.

[Zakharra]

Very nicely done.