Disclaimer: If you've read the other chapters then u probably know that I
don't own anything in this story.
The sun was beginning to set, casting orangish-pink rays all about, drawing the attention of a curious onlooker. Liriel sat on the roof of Yen'rathe's home, watching the beautiful display in the light spectrum and recalling the events of the day, and wondering what lay in store for her in this strange time.
Yen'rathe had taken them on a short walk to the mall to buy some clothes that were more appropriate for the future, and Liriel was amazed to see that other drow walked freely about among elves, dwarves and humans without being rejected because of their heritage. It seemed that her kin had left the evil ways of Lloth and proved to the surface races that they meant to live in peace once again.
Liriel shifted slightly as Yen'rathe sat down next to her. Both elves gazed silently at the stars as the sun finally dropped below the mountains. "What an interesting world you live in," Liriel spoke, causing Yen'rathe to look at her curiously.
"What do you mean by that?" he questioned.
Liriel shrugged helplessy, not really knowing what to say. Yen'rathe nodded. "I understand. You never knew an easygoing life in your time. It was a time of wars and darkness.
Sighing, Liriel turned back to look at the moon which had now risen and was shining like a sliver of pure silver. "Lloth arrives at the full moon in a city called Edaras," Yenrathe said.
"You have been further into the future?" Liriel asked with a questioning look.
Yen'rathe nodded. "I have seen and experienced the destruction of Lloth." He looked down at his diamond arm.
Liriel followed his gaze. "Your arm... it was.."
"Lost, in an explosion. I was fighting off a demon, and didn't notice that a cleric had cast a fireball in an attempt to eliminate our small force."
Liriel could tell that he didn't enjoy this subject. "So, when do we leave?" she asked.
Yen'rathe glanced at his watch. "We leave now."
"Now?"
"Now," Yen'rathe said again. "We will take my yacht to the port in Edaras. There, we will raise the alarm and ready the city for battle." He pulled a thin leather book out of his pocket and handed it to Liriel, who took it and studied the cover. "Study the spells in this book, for they will surely come in handy."
**********
Later that night, the three reached the dock, much to the relief of Liriel and Fyodor, who -never having ridden in a car- found the definition of motion sickness quite unpleasant. With Yen'rathe leading, they staggered down the dock after him, eventually taking in enough cold night air to walk normally. They stopped at the end of the dock where a 45 foot high and 100 foot long yacht was docked. "This is it," Yen'rathe told them as he pulled a cord out of a nearby post and began winding it around his arm.
Yen'rathe pulled the other end of the cord out of an outlet on the yacht and plugged both ends together. "How do we get on?" Fyodor asked, eyeing the deck which was about 6 feet above the dock. Yen'rathe, not answering, pulled out his wallet and grabbed a plastic card in one of the pockets. He swiped the card through a slot, causing a portion of the side of the yacht to extend downward and reveal a staircase.
"Ah," Fyodor exclaimed as he set a foot on the bottom step and tested its durability. "I forget the miracles of your tech-no-lo-gy."
"This is a custom built yacht," Yen'rathe spoke with pride. "Complete with all the latest and greatest improvements! We will not be without entertainment during our four day trip to Edaras. Now, just stay up here for a second and I'll be right back." He disappeared down a stairway, leaving Liriel and Fyodor alone for a moment.
It wasn't a long wait before they heard something rumble down below. Smoke began to waft up from the back of the boat. Concerned, Fyodor yelled down the stairway, "Hey Yen'rathe, something is burning back here!" Not hearing an answer over the noise, Fyodor went down the stairs with Liriel in tow, and into a room filled with pipes and controls. They saw Yen'rathe stood behind a long console, flipping switches and tapping buttons on a screen. He noticed them enter and waved them over.
"These are the engines!" he yelled as he pointed to two massive diesels set partway in the deck.
"What do they do!?" Liriel yelled back. Fyodor had wandered to the back of the room, convinced that the smoke wasn't a problem, and was looking at a smaller diesel generator, mainly watching the generator spin with interest.
"They move the boat about four times faster than sails can!" Yen'rathe pulled back a heavy lever and seemed convinced when the lights on the panel behind him turned from red to green. Liriel was wondering how the engines moved the boat. They seemed pretty lifeless. Yen'rathe grabbed a pair of earplugs and handed them to Liriel motioning that she stick them in her ears. Fyodor returned and received a pair as well.
Satisfied that all ears were plugged, Yen'rathe grabbed a pair of levers in each hand and pushed them forward. The yacht shook and the lights dimmed as the engines sucked all power from the generator and turned over with a tremendous rumble. "Let's go up to the bridge!" Yen'rathe yelled.
"What!?" Liriel yelled back with all her strength, though she doubted it got anywhere over the noise.
Yen'rathe reverted to silent hand code which was used in the drow race. Knowing Fyodor didn't understand hand code and wouldn't hear any better, Yen'rathe grabbed him by the arm and pointed to the stairs.
The noise died somewhat once they got on deck and Yen'rathe shut the engine room door. "Let's go up to the bridge," he repeated. He led them through a sliding glass door and into a well furnished room with a large TV sitting on a carved wooden table. The couches were fine leather and sat around a glass coffee table with a deck of cards laying in the center. Everything sat on a plush, dark green carpet and was illuminated by dim track lights set into the opposite walls. A bar separated the room from a kitchen that was further in.
Yen'rathe led them up a stairway, then another, and into a darker room filled with navigation equipment and a row of windows in front. "This is the bridge," he said. Liriel gazed in wondering at the mass of blinking lights and small blips that appeared on the somputer screens. Yen'rathe sat in front of the center console and toggled a switch, illuminating a row of red buttons. He punched each button one by one, each turning green, and causing new sounds and vibrations to arise frow below. The last set of buttons disengaged the magnetic locks holding the boat to the dock.
"Here we go!" Yen'rathe cried as he engaged the port thrusters and maneuvered away from the dock. He pushed both engine throttles to half speed and tapped a section on the screen in front of him. The yacht shuddered as the propellors engaged, moving it forward with increasing speed. And then they were moving out to the open ocean, and into the rising sun.
The sun was beginning to set, casting orangish-pink rays all about, drawing the attention of a curious onlooker. Liriel sat on the roof of Yen'rathe's home, watching the beautiful display in the light spectrum and recalling the events of the day, and wondering what lay in store for her in this strange time.
Yen'rathe had taken them on a short walk to the mall to buy some clothes that were more appropriate for the future, and Liriel was amazed to see that other drow walked freely about among elves, dwarves and humans without being rejected because of their heritage. It seemed that her kin had left the evil ways of Lloth and proved to the surface races that they meant to live in peace once again.
Liriel shifted slightly as Yen'rathe sat down next to her. Both elves gazed silently at the stars as the sun finally dropped below the mountains. "What an interesting world you live in," Liriel spoke, causing Yen'rathe to look at her curiously.
"What do you mean by that?" he questioned.
Liriel shrugged helplessy, not really knowing what to say. Yen'rathe nodded. "I understand. You never knew an easygoing life in your time. It was a time of wars and darkness.
Sighing, Liriel turned back to look at the moon which had now risen and was shining like a sliver of pure silver. "Lloth arrives at the full moon in a city called Edaras," Yenrathe said.
"You have been further into the future?" Liriel asked with a questioning look.
Yen'rathe nodded. "I have seen and experienced the destruction of Lloth." He looked down at his diamond arm.
Liriel followed his gaze. "Your arm... it was.."
"Lost, in an explosion. I was fighting off a demon, and didn't notice that a cleric had cast a fireball in an attempt to eliminate our small force."
Liriel could tell that he didn't enjoy this subject. "So, when do we leave?" she asked.
Yen'rathe glanced at his watch. "We leave now."
"Now?"
"Now," Yen'rathe said again. "We will take my yacht to the port in Edaras. There, we will raise the alarm and ready the city for battle." He pulled a thin leather book out of his pocket and handed it to Liriel, who took it and studied the cover. "Study the spells in this book, for they will surely come in handy."
**********
Later that night, the three reached the dock, much to the relief of Liriel and Fyodor, who -never having ridden in a car- found the definition of motion sickness quite unpleasant. With Yen'rathe leading, they staggered down the dock after him, eventually taking in enough cold night air to walk normally. They stopped at the end of the dock where a 45 foot high and 100 foot long yacht was docked. "This is it," Yen'rathe told them as he pulled a cord out of a nearby post and began winding it around his arm.
Yen'rathe pulled the other end of the cord out of an outlet on the yacht and plugged both ends together. "How do we get on?" Fyodor asked, eyeing the deck which was about 6 feet above the dock. Yen'rathe, not answering, pulled out his wallet and grabbed a plastic card in one of the pockets. He swiped the card through a slot, causing a portion of the side of the yacht to extend downward and reveal a staircase.
"Ah," Fyodor exclaimed as he set a foot on the bottom step and tested its durability. "I forget the miracles of your tech-no-lo-gy."
"This is a custom built yacht," Yen'rathe spoke with pride. "Complete with all the latest and greatest improvements! We will not be without entertainment during our four day trip to Edaras. Now, just stay up here for a second and I'll be right back." He disappeared down a stairway, leaving Liriel and Fyodor alone for a moment.
It wasn't a long wait before they heard something rumble down below. Smoke began to waft up from the back of the boat. Concerned, Fyodor yelled down the stairway, "Hey Yen'rathe, something is burning back here!" Not hearing an answer over the noise, Fyodor went down the stairs with Liriel in tow, and into a room filled with pipes and controls. They saw Yen'rathe stood behind a long console, flipping switches and tapping buttons on a screen. He noticed them enter and waved them over.
"These are the engines!" he yelled as he pointed to two massive diesels set partway in the deck.
"What do they do!?" Liriel yelled back. Fyodor had wandered to the back of the room, convinced that the smoke wasn't a problem, and was looking at a smaller diesel generator, mainly watching the generator spin with interest.
"They move the boat about four times faster than sails can!" Yen'rathe pulled back a heavy lever and seemed convinced when the lights on the panel behind him turned from red to green. Liriel was wondering how the engines moved the boat. They seemed pretty lifeless. Yen'rathe grabbed a pair of earplugs and handed them to Liriel motioning that she stick them in her ears. Fyodor returned and received a pair as well.
Satisfied that all ears were plugged, Yen'rathe grabbed a pair of levers in each hand and pushed them forward. The yacht shook and the lights dimmed as the engines sucked all power from the generator and turned over with a tremendous rumble. "Let's go up to the bridge!" Yen'rathe yelled.
"What!?" Liriel yelled back with all her strength, though she doubted it got anywhere over the noise.
Yen'rathe reverted to silent hand code which was used in the drow race. Knowing Fyodor didn't understand hand code and wouldn't hear any better, Yen'rathe grabbed him by the arm and pointed to the stairs.
The noise died somewhat once they got on deck and Yen'rathe shut the engine room door. "Let's go up to the bridge," he repeated. He led them through a sliding glass door and into a well furnished room with a large TV sitting on a carved wooden table. The couches were fine leather and sat around a glass coffee table with a deck of cards laying in the center. Everything sat on a plush, dark green carpet and was illuminated by dim track lights set into the opposite walls. A bar separated the room from a kitchen that was further in.
Yen'rathe led them up a stairway, then another, and into a darker room filled with navigation equipment and a row of windows in front. "This is the bridge," he said. Liriel gazed in wondering at the mass of blinking lights and small blips that appeared on the somputer screens. Yen'rathe sat in front of the center console and toggled a switch, illuminating a row of red buttons. He punched each button one by one, each turning green, and causing new sounds and vibrations to arise frow below. The last set of buttons disengaged the magnetic locks holding the boat to the dock.
"Here we go!" Yen'rathe cried as he engaged the port thrusters and maneuvered away from the dock. He pushed both engine throttles to half speed and tapped a section on the screen in front of him. The yacht shuddered as the propellors engaged, moving it forward with increasing speed. And then they were moving out to the open ocean, and into the rising sun.