Chapter 15

Knowing his weapons and piwafwi's enchantments would diminish more with overexposure to sunlight, Sab'vrae gathered his equipment upon finishing his meal. He recalled the direction Eilistraee had motion towards, and made his way in what he hoped was the east.

His boots scrunched lowly against the fallen leaves of the forest as he made his way through the trees, returning his sight to the heat spectrum. Though the moonlight revealed enough for him to see his path in the dark, it left enough shadows to cloak any possible threats. His trusted his infrared vision would reveal the druids before they noticed him. Sab'vrae wished to ensure he had a chance to prove himself harmless should the nature guardians choose to attack him on sight.

His decision proved useful not much later. Spotting an elven form in the trees, Sab'vrae dodged the arrow that was aimed for his head.

"Saura Mori'Quessir!" the archer snarled, his native language rolling off his tongue with ease. Sab'vrae parried the next attack, then dropped to his knees, quickly removing his belt, holding it up for the elf to see his weapons still sheathed.

"Neshan! Stop!" He called out to his fellow fey, "Amin irma quen! I wish to speak!" The attacker paused his attacks, mainly in curiosity and surprise that the drow spoke in the elven dialect, not his native language.

Taking advantage of this hesitation, Sab'vrae unclasped his piwafwi, tossing it to the ground. Keeping his eyes on the elf above, the drow swiftly stripped himself down to his loincloth, spreading his arms wide to prove he had no concealed weapons. "Amin naa Sab'vrae. Amin tul adon. I'm Sab'vrae. I come peacefully." He promised, holding his necklace up in hopes the archer could see the symbol upon it.

Unable to determine the details of the crest, but unsure if the drow was truly a threat, the elf leapt from his perch, landing softly in the grass. He slung his bow over his shoulders, but withdrew a short sword as a precautionary measure. The only surface elves the drow ever encountered were moon elves, but this male didn't look like them. Instead of pale, bluish skin, this elf's was a light bronze, and slightly less robust than the moon elves he met. A messy, short tussle of copper hair covered the archer's hair, a few strands dangling in front of his bright green eyes. A sun elf, simply stated. Eyeing Sab'vrae, the fey man grasped the necklace and inspected it closely. Slowly, his eyes widened in recognition.

"You speak our language with ease," he said slowly in Elven, slightly relaxed yet still wary, "Are you using a translation spell or item?" Sab'vrae shook his head in a negative response.

"No, I am multilingual," he answered honestly, keeping to the elf's native tongue. The elf raised his eyebrows.

"Can you speak Common?" the interrogator inquired.

"You mean this?" Sab'vrae switched languages.

"Yes. Stick to it. We have a fair number of humans among our numbers, and it's in your own best interests to stick to a language everyone at the grove can understand."

"Then I am welcome there, um…?" the dark elf questioned. The elf waved his blade in warning before the drow's face.

"I'm Baelas, and no, not quite." He grumbled, "I won't attack you, but, you understand, I must take the precaution that you aren't a spy posing as an Eilistraee follower. We have agents at our grove who can determine if you speak truthfully. Rest assured, if you are who you say you are, 'Sab'vrae', then you have nothing to fear." Baelas slung Sab'vrae's sword belt, piwafwi, and pants over his shoulder before picking up the leather boots in his free hand. He tapped the drow lightly with the flat of his blade.

"Come, walk beside me, and I'll lead you to our home." The elven druid ordered. Sab'vrae complied, his naked feet treading softly through the grass.

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Soon the duo entered a large clearing in the trees, a small town of sorts. The houses were mere fur huts, elegant in their simplicity. A large bonfire raged in the center of the grove, the inhabitants encircling it for light and warmth. The drow estimated their numbers at a score and four, maybe five. Among them, he identified mainly other elves, most moon; two more akin to Baelas, sun elves; and one heavy-built, copper-skinned male with brown locks. A rare wood elf.

A few humans mingled with the elves, most reaching above the fey in height. Two creatures, one male, one female, fell in between the humans and elves in appearance. Their ears were close in size to the humans, only pointed like the elves', and their features were somewhat akin to men, with subtle fey alterations. Sab'vrae furrowed his eyebrows in bemusement, unsure what these two were.

A tall, hairy raven haired human male noticed Baelas' entrance, greeting the elf with a hearty laugh and wave. His chortling halted when his eyes turned to Sab'vrae. Following the man's gaze, the other druids fell silent at the sight of the drow. Baelas casually dropped Sab'vrae's belongings at his feet.

"I encountered this drow in the forest, but he did not retaliate when I attacked," the sun elf explained. "Instead, he spoke to me in Elven, claiming peace and stripping himself of all weapons and virtually all clothes. He claims to be one of the Dark Maiden's followers, if you'll notice the necklace on his breast."

The druids broke into a buzz of low mumbles, when the copper-skinned wood elf rose his hands to silence them. He slowly approached Baelas and Sab'vrae, inspecting the drow closely. The wood elf walked with a level of grace even most fellow elves would envy. His dark brown hair stopped at his waist, braided all the way down. All the druid wore was a simple pair of leather pants and a light brown cloth tunic. He left his tan feet bare, walking soundlessly over the grass and dead leaves.

The wood elf picked up the piwafwi, grazing his slender fingers over Aleanani's insignia. The wood elf unsheathed Sab'vrae's long swords, examining their make and condition.

"You say you are an Eilistraee apostle," the tan elf spoke, "yet you carry drow equipment still quite intact from little contact with sunlight. Care to explain?"

"In all honesty… er…" the dark elf paused, unsure how to address the questioning elf male.

"Nai'lan, archdruid of the grove," Baelas whispered.

"Nai'lan," Sab'vrae filled, "I have only followed the Dark Maiden's dogma for the past three years, though my devotion to her and her teachings is quite firm. I only recently managed to escape the hell that is the Underdark." Nai'lan turned to a short moon elf woman.

"Thoila?" he asked. The woman nodded.

"He speaks the truth." She assured. Noticing Sab'vrae's questioning gaze, she smiled, "I am a cleric of Corellon, as well as a druid. The Protector has gifted me with a limited ability to detect when others are lying." The drow nodding, realizing what Baelas had mentioned before.

"Well, then, you are welcome here, brother," Nai'lan grinned, thumping his hand against Sab'vrae's back with surprising force. "But, before I give introductions, I wish to know: what brings you to our grove?"

"I…" Sab'vrae hesitated, unsure he wished to tell them about Eilistraee's visit, "…I was advised I would be welcome here if I proved non-hostile." It wasn't a lie, so Thoila said nothing.

"Well, if you are a newcomer to the surface, then I suppose a druid's grove is an excellent place to grow accustomed to our natural environment." Baelas chuckled.

"Well… um, what is your name?" Nai'lan question, his cheeks flushing in slight embarrassment.

"Sab'vrae. Sab'vrae Aleanani." The dark elf answered.

"Well, Sab'vrae, let me introduce you to my fellow druids." The wood elf gently, yet firmly, grasped the drow by the shoulder and led him over to his comrades. He motioned to the moon elves, introducing them all by name before doing the same with the two sun elves and humans. Last, he came to the strange male and female.

"And these two are Cael'brar and Fiyn, respectively," the archdruid explained, motioning to the male first, then the female. Sab'vrae cocked his head to the side, once again observing them with curiosity.

"Your names are Elven, like most here," he noted, "Yet… you are not true elves, are you?" Rolain, the woolly black haired human, laughed jovially, clapping his large hands on Cael'brar and Fiyn's shoulders.

"No, my dark friend," Rolain grinned, "They are Elari's and my own children -- half-elves." Elari was the only female sun elf in the grove. Sab'vrae's blue eyes widened in surprise.

"Half-elves?" he asked in awe, "Half human, half elf?"

"Of course," Cael'brar chuckled, his voice deeper than the elven males', but higher than his father's, "Haven't you heard or seen one before?" The dark elf slowly shook his head.

"No, never in my life before… I spent many years of my youth studying various topics, but even so, knowledge of the surface is limited to most denizens of the Underdark. Are your kind common?"

"We are more numerous now than the centuries past," Fiyn admitted, "Though in many places, humans and elves discriminate against us for our mixed heritage."

"That is a pity, to be judged by the blood of your ancestry." Sab'vrae mumbled grimly. Not just for the half-elves, he noted, but also in concern to himself. Knowing well from the few human merchants he encountered in Ched Nasad, drow held quite an infamous reputation on the surface world, and for good reason.

Noticing the dark elf's sudden frown, Baelas put an arm around the drow, "Come, you can share my hut tonight -- I have extra room. You're welcome to stay in this grove for as long as you wish. We can even make a hut of your own if you intend to make your visit an extended one."

"Perhaps." Sab'vrae admitted, "That isn't such a bad notion." He allowed the sun elf to guide him into the makeshift shelter, suddenly feeling quite drained. Baelas lay out a spare blanket on the ground for the drow, and soon, Sab'vrae drifted off into a peaceful slumber.