Chapter 1: Out and Followed
Kairel stood looking out his window at his daughter, her dusky skin and blue and gold eyes shining in the days first rays of sunlight. Twelve years had passed since that horrible, fateful day and for twelve years, his daughter had stood unerringly in the spot of her mothers death and watched the sunrise. Today was no different, in that aspect, but today, as the sun rose over their small village, his Adrael was seventeen. The time had come, Kairel realized, for her to choose her life's path. Kairel thought back to the last few years, to days of combat training they had enjoyed together.
Adrael had tried many weapons before she found a combination that suited her, a long sword, as her father used, and a long-hilted parrying dagger. Under her fathers careful guidance she had become quite the fighter with them.
Around her waist, though, was what she truly had come to master. Throwing daggers. When she had mentioned wanting to use them instead of the more traditional elven bow and arrow, Kairel had gone to great lengths to acquire a bandoleer fitting her potential. Any daggers placed within the loops of the particular bandoleer that he had procured would magically duplicate to fill every loop of it and would dissipate soon after being outside of them. She kept one of each of her parent's knives in the back loops, her father's moon elf crafted blades multiplying to occupy the left side of the bandoleer and her mother's drow crafted blades similarly taking up the right side, making a veritable Yin-Yang of her heritage. Her skill with these was considerable and a smile found Kairel's face as he thought of how much better she could become with the rest of her life ahead of her.
As the sun bloomed into its full glory and took its place in the horizon, Adrael turned back towards her home. She had noticeably been crying, but now, walking back to that oh so familiar place, a smile caressed her face. Kairel watched her intently as she entered the house. He knew she had made up her mind about what she wanted to do with her life, and that was a piece of information that Kairel wished dearly to know.
"Father?" her voice came, tentative yet strong.
Kairel nodded, prompting her to continue.
She shook back her thick shock of silvery white hair, and took a deep breath to steady herself before continuing.
"I have decided to continue my training under you, and I wish to go with you on your journey to find the wizard who is responsible for mothers death, I wish to be a fighter, that I may rid Faerun of some of its murderous creatures, in hopes that it may be a better place for my children, and their children after them." she sighed as she finished, content to have all of her intentions off her chest and out for her fathers judgment.
Kairel nodded again, though she had chosen a dangerous life, what life wasn't dangerous with the orc and giantkin seemingly roaming everywhere? At least she would be properly equipped and prepared to protect herself, unlike many of the peasants who fell to orc raids everyday. No, Kairel was indeed happy with his daughters' choice, and had secretly wished her to choose thusly, but he wasn't going to force it upon her. His face showing his elation he closed the distance between them and wrapped her in the most sincere embrace he had given since... he let the thought go. The information his scouts had gathered stated that the wizard originated from a mages academy in Waterdeep. They had a journey to pack for.
The wolven humanoid, a variant of a celestial being known as a Hound Archon, sniffed the air. He could see the two elves heading out of the small elven settlement on the southwestern edge of the Neverwinter Wood.
Beckoned by the nature goddess Mielikki to be her champion, his latest mission had him watching over these two. She had foreseen these two going on a quest that would eventually lead them to battle against one of the greatest evils Faerun had ever known and she wanted him to aid them in this quest (and most likely in the battle too). Looking to the unicorn signet about his neck, the symbol of Mielikki, he thought back to past missions she had sent him on, most particularly the one to retrieve the Unicorn blade, Equinox, which only a true champion of Mielikki could wield. Blade made of Unicorn horn, the strongest and purest of which served as the swords grip and with untaintable Unicorn hair serving as a hilt, it was indeed a magnificent sword. Six and a half feet long compared to his eight-foot frame, it had aided him much as Mielikki's servant.
Memories of his past inevitably led to his upbringing. After Mielikki came to him on his home plane of Celestia and asked him for his service to her, he was born into the world to a wolf, gaining wolf-like features compared to his normally dog based kin and so that he would be a true native of the plane he would now protect from evil. Shortly after his birth a powerful druid follower of Mielikki took him in. He would never age but he did mature under the guidance of the druid for two decades until he was fully grown and strong enough to truly champion Mielikki's cause. Two days before he was to leave and seek out Equinox, the druid, Drinuin, died and Mielikki's champion left determined that the mans training of and faith in him would not be in vain.
Shortly after obtaining Equinox he came into the friendship of a bronze dragon whom he would come to know as a worthy fighting companion, a mount and most importantly of all, a friend. That was something Lupin Mooncaller had rarely found in his six decades on Faerun. Perhaps these elves would change all that. Perhaps.
Kairel and Adrael picked their way through the hilly terrain that lay between Neverwinter Wood and Waterdeep, a place known for housing many wizards and as good a place as any, as far as the elves could discern, to start their quest.
They realized soon after departing the wood that they where being shadowed, but made no outward signs to show that they had noticed. They had hoped their march to Waterdeep would be uneventful, but they held no illusions that the ever-present possibility of battle would not find them. Adraels curiosity raised even more when her skin began to tingle, a sign to a drow that an outsider was about. The drow, who spent much time around otherworldly beings, had grown sensitive to them to the point of sensing their mere presence. And Adrael after all, was half-drow.
She tried to get those thoughts out of her head by thinking of more pressing events. Would any in the wizards' school even know of the one responsible for the raid? Might the wizard actually be present? Or wizards? Was it all part of a bigger conspiracy? Adraels head whirled and she found she preferred thoughts of battle and outsiders by far. The elves continued along their trail stoically and hoped that their pursuers did not get to them before they got to Waterdeep.
Three days slipped by, thankfully uneventful, and the elves continued to wonder at their pursuer's intentions. They camped every night after the sun dipped out of view and began again before it came back up, but whom ever or whatever was following them was no more than an hour behind them. A move should have been made by now.
The following night the campfire behind them was even closer. Adrael lay down and closed her eyes, secure that if the creature made a move her father would have them up and running before he was too close. Kairel moved back down their path a little and could make out a lone figure. This fact would have been much more comforting if the figure hadn't been over seven feet tall, maybe closer to eight, with a blade nearly as big. Kairel blinked his elven eyes and prayed to never know battle against that one.
"We must go know." he bade his daughter from her reverie. She roused immediately and followed his gaze back to the campfire, and more particularly to the massive form near it. Adrael grabbed her pack from beside her and rose. She looked to her father to turn around and lead them. Kairels gaze lingered for a moment longer as he considered the hulking form that had been trailing them the past few days. Then he turned to his daughter and walked past her, and she fell in line behind him.
Two days later Waterdeep came into view. The elves relief showed clearly on their faces as they approached the enormous gates of the famed town. Up on the parapet several guards had crossbows trained on them (more so Adrael than Kairel).The sight of a drow unnerved most people on the surface on Faerun (and many below the surface as well, them being even more familiar with the drow).
"State your business, quickly, or be cut down." one guard said, mainly to Adrael.
Kairel turned to his daughter, accepting the flames that flickered to life in her eyes and knowing her to be wise enough not to unleash them on the book-cover reading guard. He smiled as her face calmed under his understanding visage and he turned back to the gate and the guards atop it.
"Good sirs," Kairel began, "We have come to your grand city to find out what we may from the wizards who reside within her marvelous walls."
The guard thought on the words for a moment, then nodded to Kairel. He held no love for the men and women in the wizards tower, who where often arrogant and belittled many of his fellow guardsmen, including himself. He would take any chance to bother or busy them readily. But he would not so readily allow a drow elf to wander the streets of his city.
"You may enter," Kairel's smile multiplied tenfold but then dissipated as the guard continued, "But your dark elf companion may not."
Before the guard could elaborate Kairel cut in on his daughters behalf.
"I can assure you that this is no dark elf in the sense that you all are familiar with, she is my daughter and has been raised among my surface elf kin. Her mother was a drow, but shared in our mentality and she was slain in an orc raid upon our village in the Neverwinter Wood, the thing we have come to learn about from your wizards..." Kairel trailed off, awaiting the guard's response.
Again the guard mulled over Kairel's words, he had heard of the attack the elf spoke of, most in the region had. Finally he replied.
"I am truly sorry, but ethics or no, the sight of a drow, even a half-drow, will cause panic in Waterdeep..." the guard paused, considering his own words, "I will let you both in, elf, so long as she keeps her cowl low and her hands covered on the streets, tend to your business and be gone as soon as possible, if I don't receive word of your departure within the day, I will find and forcibly remove you from her walls." the words rang hollow to Kairel and he suspected that it was more of a show for his men than any real threat. Kairel's smile returned at that thought.
Adrael had sat through it all with no emotions showing clearly on her face, but she couldn't hold back her smile as the gates opened wide before her and her father. Her cowl, though, did hide it as she entered the bustling town. One step at a time she supposed.
Lupin watched the two, both of them he noted, enter the town and was impressed indeed. He had not expected the guards to let the drow in, but there she went, cowl pulled low, entering Waterdeep, the city of splendors. He enacted his innate archon teleportation ability and appeared an instant later in an alley in the middle of the city. He enacted another innate ability, the ability to transform into any natural canine form, and soon exited the alley no longer an eight-foot, very noticeable humanoid, and quickly picked up on the elves trail. Dealing with guards had never been one of Lupin Mooncaller's strong points.