Aeoleth Ellyn - Journal

[Faldred]

Why the dragon chose me, I'll never know.  By myself I have not exactly proven to be capable of much -- even some simple rats and skeletons prove to be difficult to handle, and my attempts to slip past them have been to no avail.  At least such dangerous places are in the pleasant dark... in town, the daylight hurts my eyes.  Perhaps one day I will grow used to it, but I still prefer the night and underground places.

Still, I have managed to explore most of the town of Hlint, and to get a taste of what things are like here on the surface.  While resting between attempts to fulfill certain tasks I have agreed to perform, I have gotten the basics of catching and cooking fish.  The simple act of being able to provide dinner for myself gives me a sense of pride I would not have imagined possible.

For the most part, I have kept a low profile.  However, recently there was an interesting situation that I witnessed.  While I was buying healing supplies, someone ran over to the guard captain saying something about an attack by orcs!  I ran over to where the commotion was to see what was happening and if I could lend a hand.  It turns out that the talk of an attack was hyperbole -- there was a lone orc who seemed peaceful enough, but was being harassed and threatened by someone in town.  Cooler heads prevailed in the end, and bloodshed was avoided, thanks to a woman who, although stuttering, had enough command in her voice to defuse the tension.

Afterwards, I had an interesting conversation with this woman, and someone who appeared to be a friend of hers, regarding the event.  As an outsider, I had great sympathy for the orc.  Whatever his background or heritage, he was peaceful and did not deserve the treatment he received.  I commended the lady on her ability to stop needless violence.

I did have to hide my disgust, however, when the people in town started talking about the orc needing to apply for "citizenship" to avoid hassles in Hlint or other towns.  Why all of these pointless rules and regulations?  Isn't the fact the he was peaceful enough for him to have been left alone?  Somehow, being both new and yet another outsider, I felt that keeping my peace about this was for the best... at least for now.

[Faldred]

I finally managed to retrieve those missing tax records.  Of course, I needed help, and received it from an elf named Sendaril, who has become a familiar face to me in this town.  It's hard to use the word "friend", as I still appear to be viewed with mistrust by those around me.  Sendaril tells me that I should be able to eventually win some trust by my deeds, but I don't know how easy it will be, considering the history of my people.

Actually, I have to say that the real hero of our sewer expedition was a raven that Sendaril conjured.  The bird, which is beautiful, managed to occupy the more difficult enemies long enough for me to use my talents to their best, which was to flank them and fire my arrows into their unprotected side.  Even so, taking out the "ratman" was a near thing between the three of us.  I would dearly love to be able to use magic such as that... if only my education wasn't so lacking.

Anyway... back to the main topic of this entry... I suppose I mostly have myself to blame.  When a group of seasoned adventurers in a tavern are sitting around discussing victories over the Drow, it probably isn't wise for a lone, barely blooded dark elf to butt into the conversation.  But what they were talking about interested me... apparently the last temple to Baraeon Ca'Duz on the surface had been destroyed, and I was glad to hear of it.  The ways of the Ca'Duz temple, of course, I was at odds with before I fled.  Not only was Ca'Duz in conflict with Quarvalsharess, but I have rejected both of them and their evil ways.

So, I was glad to drink to the temple's destruction (clearly a test to make sure I was truly happy and not just feigning it to gain influence -- silly top-siders... if that was indeed my intent and mission, I would have been praised by Ca'Duz for my deception to lesser beings, even if it meant appearing to disavow him), but was troubled to hear that the Drow appear to be coming together to support Blood.  This cannot be good news.  As much as I would like to see my people stop their infighting, this isn't that peaceful path I would wish for them.

I fear that I will be forced to fight my own kind as a result of being called by the dragon.  It seems unavoidable.

Anyway, despite my best intentions and sincerity, I was still viewed with suspicion, especially by a halfling at the table.  I'm afraid that the goading and my inexperience with dealing with these strange creatures (or pehaps even the ale -- strong stuff!) got the best of me, and I rudely referred to the halfling as the other's "pet" before storming off.

So, I still find it difficult to fit in.  I will certainly need to control my temper better.  Also, I must continue to remind myself that if I am to fight Blood and his army, I will be standing alongside many of these people around me... but then again, it would be nice if the people around me realized that too.

[Faldred]

I seem to be fitting in better around town.  After gaining more confidence being in this strange surface world, I have explored a little on my own... sometimes a bit too afar for my own good.  But the experience has helped me; I now have learned to use my bow more quickly than before and still maintain most of my accuracy.  This has made tackling some of the skeletons and orcs nearby less perilous, as I am able to dispatch them with less personal risk.

After nearly getting myself killed hunting orc scouts for the quartermaster, and only collecting a single ear as token of my efforts in the process, I ran into a group in town who decided that orc hunting was a fun idea, and so a group of us set out together -- three elves, a dwarf, and a halfling.  We raided the orc camp, but apparently the scouts were off somewhere... scouting I guess.  We ran into another small grouping on the same mission, and the two groups joined up.

With not enough orcs lingering nearby to hunt, it was suggested that we tackle the cave in the Sielwood that the bard in the Hlint inn claims to have lost a necklace in.  The dwarf, at least, also seemed excited about the prospect of mining some of the deposits there.  After a thorough search of the caves (including a few encounters that one of our party neatly summed up as "chaotic, but effective"), we were unable to find the bard's necklace.  Perhaps she is lying, but if so, why?  Perhaps we just didn't look hard enough, or one of the kobolds in the cave had picked it up and and wandered out into the forest for some reason.  In any case, I was able to use my ranged support abilities to their finest in the multiple engagements, picking off kobolds (in particular) that were distracted by the more aggressive fighters.

On the way back to town, we notices that the orcs seemed to have returned, so I was able to collect the final ear tokens I needed.  The whole adventure also helped me collect enough money to finally purchase a crafting certification (again with all of these silly regulations and rules!).  Since then, I've spent my leisure time collecting some raw materials (such as barley and hickory) and started learning some of the crafts.  Now that I have learned some of the basics of woodworking and cooking, as well as the fishing I had started earlier, I really do start to feel like I could become self-sufficient and perhaps even comfortable up here someday.  I would love to become a fletcher, but as I am not particularly well-suited to mining, I will need to find a source for arrowhead metals.

I had managed to attach myself to another adventuring band, primarily dwarves, that was going to tackle some ogres near Haven, but when the group entered a cave, I was held back by a mysterious force.  Very odd, but what could I do other than head back to Hlint and hope that the group could manage without an extra archer?

[Faldred]

I haven't been around Hlint much lately... I've mostly been spending the time wandering the roads in the area.  It seems that as long as I stick to the road, things are pretty safe, but it can get pretty dangerous once leaving that safety.

My explorations took me to Blackford Castle.  The place seems very quiet, but I did find a portal to the Great Library.  I thought such a place was only a myth!  But it does exist, and I spent some time reading through the collection.  I will have to return whenever time permits me -- there is so much to read that it almost makes my head swim trying to figure out where to start.

Back at Blackford Castle, I also found a temple to Lucinda.  My exposure to the ways of the faiths of races alien to the Drow has been, of course, virtually none until I came to the surface.  However, I find myself especially drawn to Lucinda... perhaps it is only my desifre to learn the magical arts that rejoices in the philosophy of spreading the knowledge of magic.  Then again, maybe it was a path I was called to without consciously knowing.

I need to find a cleric of Lucinda, or perhaps even better, a mage from one of her orders, to discuss this with...