Jalen awoke with a slight stiffness in his shoulder. He was sleeping in Kinara's lap who was now also awake. They shared a quite look and a feeling of well being shrouded the morning.
"We most defiantly need to display our weapons for all to see." Said Jalen.
"We might even consider traveling by day". Kinara replied, surprising Jalen, "Here now, don't give me that look!" Kinara quickly added. "We will need to get more comfortable with the light of day if we are going to adventure in the realms."
"And again you make a valid point." Jalen conceded "Well, morning is upon us, shall we eat and move on."
Kinara nodded and kissed her lover lightly. In a few moments they had eaten and restored their supplies, the road was long and they needed to make up for lost time.
The sun had risen high, warming the half-elves but also stinging their sensitive eyes. The terrain did not change much. Small grass covered hills could be seen at the road side along with small settlements, and at times isolated farmhouses. They walked quickly but without the eager haste they started with. The events of the night before made them a bit more cautious and Jalen's near death experience tempered their youthful excitement. As the sun was slowly driving the stiffness from his shoulder, Jalen began to simply enjoy the peaceful moments of walking with the woman he loved, and the same went for Kinara. The calm weather and pastoral rural settings made it a beautiful road, one to enjoy and not just walk in. the bright colors of green and blue were a welcomed change from the black and grey of living underground.
"How did the spell sword do in the fight?" Jalen asked enjoying a cool breeze.
"It was as Irvine told us, the magic in the blade transformed." Kinara pulled one of the slightly curve blades from the decorated scabbard that hung on her back. They had dispelled the invisibility charm on the scabbards to alert all highwaymen that they will not be an easy kill.
"The guiding magic ended when I activated the lightning power. The blades were heavier in my hands, a bit clumsier, more akin to our old sparring blades. It was not a great inconvenience though. The craftsmanship of the blades is superb. Even without the enchantments they are wonderful to wield."
Jalen draw one of his blades too. He focused on the magic of the sword immersing his mind into it. He could see that this weapon's magic was different. Instead of a single powerful spell the magic appeared to consist of three powerless spells and one connected into a power source, the picture resembled an upside-down cross. Each of the cross' arms had a rune inscribed on it, the meeting point of the two lines was a large glowing sphere, the main arm of the cross was connected to it and glowing while the three remaining shorter arms were dull. With an act of will Jalen disconnected the main arm and attached the one whose rune spelled fire. The blade burst into flame and became white with the heat. Jalen could not feel any burning in his arm, the fire field extended to no more than half an inch away from the glowing blade.
Jalen tried several attack maneuvers and even a few moves from the sword dance.
"You were right." he told Kinara "The spells are fuelled by a single source. They cannot function at the same time."
They sheathed the blades and returned to their slow walk.
"I love it out here in the open." Kinara said while tracing her hand through the tall grass that grew in small patches at the side of the road. "Our people should live our their days under the sun and stars like every other civilized race"
Jalen gave out a soft chuckle.
"Our people?" he asked, "did you mean bastard half breeds who worship the dark maiden? Or was that a drow reference?"
Kinara scowled at him as the argument stole her good mood. She started saying several things but stopped, finally she locked her gaze at the setting sun, basking in it's last warmth of the day. Eventually she held her hand out in front of her and spoke.
"We are more drow than we are Human, you agree with me, don't say you don't." she quickly added seeing the coming answer from Jalen.
"Our skin is dark, our frame is slender. Our skills are magical beyond that of any man, Our goddess is a drow goddess, our ways…they are the ways the drow should walk.
"Our home is the surface." added Jalen, "our lives are short, our passion for it great. Our skin is lighter, our eyes are less almond more…walnut" he grinned in saying. "Our way is a wondering way one dictated by our church and less by our parentage. our life is a mix. We are not drow my love, neither are we human, as you so distastefully say, we are what we are, half-breeds, Half-Elves, Half-Humans, as some of the priestesses call me at times when they think I can't hear them. We are who we are because we have found love with Eilistraee. We have no "people". All we have is family, our temple family, and each other. Most of all, each other."
Jalen's eyes were also on the setting sun but his hand was holding Kinara's."
"The
Drow should come up here," Kinara did not relent, "I am
more Drow than anything else and I would rather see them living in
the sun than dying on the tip of my blade."
"I always
said you stab too much when you fight, you should cut more, you see
less dying faces when your targets head is ten paces away."
Jalen's dry humor did not sit well with the sorceress, I am drow, she
thought. I am as the drow should be, on the surface, in the arms of a
kind goddess, I am Drow!
They walked for another five hours as the night grew around them, through the argument and the passing hours they kept holding hands
After two more days of travel the couple arrived at an important junction in their road to Silverymoon. They were so anxious to start their mission that they did not plan their route fully. The northbound road led through a hilly country known to be inhabited by the watchful dwarves of "The Hall of The Hunting Axe". The half-Drow knew that their heritage would betray them and even with their significant abilities at stealth they did not want to cross the dwarf-held valley. They found a nice outcrop of rock, almost a cave, and settled for a quick meal and a quick word.
"We should leave the road." Jalen stated after a quick look at their map. "We could skirt the hills and travel closely to the High forest."
"I think you're right, I have wanted to see the ancient place for some time. And maybe we could find a druid, I heard there was an old ranger of the forest goddess living in the western boundary of the forest."
"Why should we find a druid?" Jalen asked.
"Two reasons, a priests of Mielikki could advise us on whether the Goddess would be angry at the possible duel allegiance of her follower, And if she would try to influence our mission. Also we could ask the druid to try and enchant the leather in our armor, against wood." Kinara's face darkened as she remembered the life threatening injury Jalen sustained. Anger and fear mingled and battled on her face. Anger won.
"How could you be so careless?" she shouted at Jalen, stopping. "How could you let a Human creep up on you? How could you let a Human fire at your back?"
Jalen knew his lady for a long time, he knew her temper and her mood swings, and he knew her fear of loss. He took the verbal abuse that followed without a word. He let her vent out all of her protecting anger. That was the only way to calm her.
After several moments of screaming, and even a sharp shove, Kinara calmed. She looked shamed, the sorrow was evident in her eyes, old and new wounds mixed together.
"You can't leave me alone." She spoke softly almost whispering.
"You know I won't." Jalen said, hugging her. He thought about his own tragedy and knew that sometimes even a vow made with true meaning could be broken by what the god's have planned for you.
The argument and eventual making up took most of the daylight hours. The Drow-kin did not fear the darkness. They started their track through the wild and it was as easy going as the one in daytime if perhaps a bit more quite. The couple enjoyed a cloudless night. The heavens sparkled with the light of countless stars shining brightly, illuminating the planes clearly to their sensitive eyes. The grass planes with their low hills and short trees were a beautiful and peaceful place.
The night sounds were soft and calming. A flight of bats passed above them, no doubt from the mountains they had just left behind, searching for field mice and insects.
After two nights they decided to return to day traveling they slept in the small forests and groves they found on their way.
Night predators were abundant in the wild north but in those parts they were not large enough to pose a danger to the skilled half-elves. Still, every night the couple set magical traps and alarms before they slept. At times the half elves tried to enter reverie. The life they knew at the under-mountain was one of constant danger and conflict. Now, they found peace, and reverie came much more easily. On special nights they were even able to enter the shared reverie of the truly connected, a sign of their love and commitment to one another. Jalen had already put the troubling event at Amphail behind him, this will be our journey from now on, he thought, peaceful, uncomplicated.
After four more days of travel the spell-swords arrived at the point were the dwarven stronghold was directly north of them. By that time they had gotten to the edge of the high forest.
They spent the nights divining the location of the powerful ranger turned druid. Kinara remembered his true name was Caleb. They also tried improvising on cantrips. They were trying to devise a spell that would enable them to find their way in the forest and exit it if they got totally lost. They were able to form a spell that sent a beam of light directly to the west, that way they could find the way out, their true breakthrough was a variation of a more powerful spell, one that would be beyond their natural abilities alone but combined they could, in a manner, cast it.
It was a teleportation spell. It worked in a two step process. One of them would hurl a teleportation spell at the other, it will push him to the edge of the forest the other would then send the spell back to be "caught" by the first, they would then pull together on both ends and the second person would appear near the first. It was a good spell and they were most proud of it. With a few last measures of protection and with a quick hunt for supplies they set out into one of the oldest forests in the realms.
The foest was everything they feared and hoped it would be. The dense woods were dark and cool. The trees were not so old or large close to the edge, for it was a growing forest, expanding its borders, growing slowly and steadily with the endless patience of a tree. It took them the better part of two days to hike to the older parts of the woods, the tall trees blocked the sun and navigations could have been very difficult if it weren't for the spells they devised. Using simple cantrips they changed the color of their clothes to dark green to better blend in with the forest colors. They traveled in silence enjoying the wildness of their surrounding.
As the couple drew closer to the grove they began to feel the weight of the trees around them. They felt that some of the old trees were partly sentient. Visitors to the high forest told of the living trees known as Tree Ents. It was told that the high forest housed several of the oldest and most powerful of the race.
The two Half-Drow began to feel a bit out of their element. They were both fond of forests and all growing things but the High forest was by far… too much alive.
Hunting was difficult and they mostly ate plants and fruits. Some of the plant life was very foreign and they feared sampling the fruits of those trees for fear of poison.
They saw their third dawn inside the forest before encountering the first sign of humanoid life. Several ponds showed tracks of sandaled feet. The ponds themselves seemed a bit too orderly to be completely natural. They spotted Stone steps at several of them and the vegetation was less wild and even tamed at some points.
As they began to feel the human presence they cast their tracking spell again getting a fix on a powerful being of the wild not too far away.