In the Dedir house, the nobles are locked in a stalemated argument over the proper punishment from what their son has done. The Matron has decided it's best for her to stay out of the debate.
Sjoni has not only refused to kill the elf child but he now refuses to worship Lolth. Luckily, for the young Dedir, two of his sisters and the weapons master are trying to keep him in the house and under the name - risking the disfavor of Lolth and and an attack from a lesser house. The Patron and the remaining siblings are bickering that perhaps he should just be sacrificed to the Spider Queen.
"You all remember what happened when the Spider Queen was displeased." The patron hisses only to earn a scowl from his "son,"
"The DeVirs were destroyed."
"Shut it, Sjoni!" Rynthian growls at her brother, drawing her snake headed whip. Brazier, first daughter of the house, draws her own, willing to strike her sister down for an attack on Sjoni.
"Why don't we just come to some middle ground?" Shonin, second boy of the house, offers. The whole room goes silent. "I mean, we can keep him in the house, not kill him and allow him to fight, but just not under the Dedir name."
"That is the smartest thing anyone's said thus far." The weapons master comments calmly. Rynthian scowls and strikes the weapons master for his supposed attitude and then Sjoni for having made her look like a fool. The two men wince but Sjoni doesn't collapse like he used to. The younger priestess storms out before her sister strikes her. Sjoni leads Brazier out before they also get in trouble. The rest of the family members disperse too.
That night, Sjoni is plagued by the same nightmare he's had since the raid on the surface.
The members of the raid encircle the group of moon elves. Sjoni touches the hilt of his sword tenderly. He doesn't thirst for blood like the rest of his race, though he's heard of a handful who think like him - think that this is all wrong. In moments, his patron queues the command to let the blood-lusting beasts free on the poor surface elves. Sjoni pounces out too but with an expression of confusion in place of one of pleasure at the sight of the punishment of the supposedly bad faeries. An elvish woman rushes up to him seeking comfort in the drow standing before her. Sjoni begins to wrap his arms around her slender body. As he does, her body tenses and trembles for a moment before falling limp. Sjoni let her slump to the ground as his supposed battle mate watches with a sick grin. A small child rushes over when the man who killed her mother goes off. Sjoni kneels to the child and in his native tongue, his begs her to run. She hugs him close, not wanting to leave her mother's side or even her protector's arms. The tall drow holds her close, keeping his team mates at bay as he holds the sobbing child close to him. The patron tears the little girl from his son's arms and breaks the fragile girl's thin neck. Sjoni cries out as he tries to kill the man who has stood unopposed for decades. The patron throws Sjoni away from him before rushing off with the rest of the squadron. Sjoni shakily approaches the young child and brings her limp body close to his as he starts to sob softly over her.
Sjoni bolts awake, drenched in a cold sweat and tears rolling down his face, like every night before. He pants softly as he tries to settle down slowly to little avail. He stands and packs his things in silence. I can't stay here... I won't be aloud to live here now... Maybe... Oh nevermind... He says to himself mentally. He storms out quietly, alerting Brazier and the others that were trying to defend him. Brazier and Linder rush out, in their nightgowns.
"Sjoni? Where you going?" Brazier whimpers softly. Sjoni pulls away from his sister's grip, causing tears to well up in Brazier's large gold eyes. "No... Sjoni... You can't leave here... You can't leave us here all alone..." Sjoni looks down at his sister, hope having left his eyes long ago. Linder climbs up onto her brother's back, refusing to let him go without her. She nestles her head in the crook of his neck shaking badly. Sjoni looks away from Brazier and tries to avoid Linder's gaze.
"I can't ask you two to go with me..." He says softly. "I can't ask you to abandon everything you've worked hard for... Just to follow me away from this place... There isn't anything here for me anymore..." In that moment, Brazier's heart shatters as Linder starts to sob into the man's shoulder.
"Sjoni... How could you say that...?! You were our only hope that this whole thing was worth it..." Brazier moves to cling to her older brother and mentor. The man lets her go and sets Linder down.
"Then come with me." He offers softly as he dries his precious and youngest sister's tears. The oldest daughter lays a hand on her brother's shoulder as she nods a bit. "Will you willingly follow me into the light and live as I have taught you...?" The man coos to the little women. Brazier nods softly and she leads little Linder away to get ready. Linder follows reluctantly, not wanting her brother to leave without her. Sjoni moves back into his room to wait for his sisters to be ready to leave.
Shonin creeps slowly out of his room and smirks when he's heard the plans of his siblings. He walks toward the main gates, a sick and maniacal grin crossing onto his lips. Using what little magic he possessed, he locks the gates with a powerful hex to keep the three children in the home complex.
Once his siblings were ready, Sjoni leads them out toward main gate. He keeps his head down, his long black hair cloaking him to unwanted eyes. Brazier leads Linder along, careful to not hurt the fragile girl. Sjoni starts to climb over the fence, hearing the soft hum of the hex on the gate. Brazier passes Linder to her brother as he climbs, cautious to not make her siblings fall to the hard ground of the cavern their home is carved into.
Brazier follows her brother lead quickly but she struggles to keep quiet as to avoid waking up the rest of the family. Sjoni sets little Linder down before hugging her close. The little Dedir is trembling like a leaf in her beloved brother's arms, just like the moon elf child years ago. I won't let anyone hurt you... Never again... He coos mentally. Brazier touches her brother's shoulder tenderly, telling him they need to get moving before something goes wrong. Sjoni nods and stands, lifting Linder onto his back again before bolting across the streets and alleys of the small city scape, toward the main caverns that could spit them out onto the surface.
Years on the surface pass and the young group of adventurers has stumbled across the small tree-top town of Solace. Linder has grown up swiftly but is still as mute as ever but is more intelligent than her siblings. While the other two sleep, she slinks off into the town, bustling as it does at noon. She keeps her hood pulled up and her body hidden within her cloak. Her soft gold eyes glistening with excitement of seeing surface dwellers up close.
As the strange girl walks about, she catches the attention of a young mage and his twin brother. The mage watches her closely, analyzing her in silence. Elvish grace but heavy footsteps... Half-Elf? No... That's not it at all... He ponders quietly. His hourglass eyes drop to where her footprints are left in the soft and kicked up soil of the market place. Flat...? I know of only one type of elves that favor that trait... Drow. He concludes but still finds himself puzzled, just not as confused as before. There have to be more... They wouldn't leave a female on the surface on their own. He looks over at his brother before slinking away when he sees that his brother is distracted by the little woman.
The mage follows the trail the supposed priestess left which brings him right to a small clearing where he finds the remaining two drow, both locked in a sound sleep, which is to be expected of those who cannot walk in the sunlight easily. He inches closer to the tall male, studying the fitful sleep of the stranger. Impressive... Apparently they can also have nightmares like anyone else, but what would they dream about? Murder? No... If that was true then perhaps they wouldn't be here on the surface. What could this clearly skilled warrior fear enough to have nightmares about? While lost in his thoughts, the mage doesn't even notice the bright emerald green eyes looking right up at him.
"Who... Who are you...?" the man says coolly.
"Hm?" the mage looks right back at him. "Ah yes.. I'm Raistlin Majere. But who does that
make you?"
"Sj-Sjoni..."
"What household are you from? I see that you are a noble so... Which one do you belong to?" He asks softly.
"I belong to no household anymore... I abandoned my homelands and household years ago. I have pondered the use of a different name..."
"Is this normal of people of your kind? To leave your homelands?"
"No, we are told that this is a place of hell but now I see that this is probably the heaven in comparison to my homelands." He says softly. "But what does it matter to you? Clearly you could kill me easily and I would stand little chance, yet you waste your time talking with me..." The mage shrugs a bit and stays quiet as he ponders the best way to answer the man.
"So... Would you be willing to speak more with me over a decent meal?"
"What do you mean, 'decent meal'? I've been eating just fine."
"No... You haven't. Now please answer my question with an actual answer."
"What do you need to know? What is it for?"
"Anything you'll tell me and it'd be for a better and more up to date book about your people. Would you be willing to do that much?" Raistlin says sharply, getting annoyed with having to answer the drow's questions without getting any to his own. Sjoni mulls it all over in his mind for a moment before nodding.
"I don't see why not." He says softly, pondering if this is truly what is best. The mage nods and bows slightly before leaving quickly. To think... I may have hit the golden stream of knowledge of the century... Drowish society from a drow himself... He thinks as a grin creeps to his thin lips.