-1

As I walked alone through the twisting and turning passageways of the Underdark my mind was cluttered with questions. What had happened? Why did the female attack me? Has the Spider Queen abandoned me? That had to be it, I thought. She had her fun, and was through with me. That had to be it. That must be the answer. That explained why I was ushered out of my city so quickly. So cluttered was my mind that I did not even realize that I had reached my goal. Suddenly, before me was Ched Nasad. Or rather what was left of the once great city of webs.

It had been many cycles of Narbondel since the Deurgar invasion was turned away and Lolth had returned to her children but still some places smoldered with the residue of the fire pots. Bodies were piled up, tossed haphazardly into pits by slaves. The smell was overpowering, despite the attempts of mages to hide the stench. I took a cloth and tied it over my face, giving me some protection from the offending odors, as well as hiding my face from others. I had no idea if the priestesses from Menzobarrenzan had communicated with those from Ched Nasad. I decided that I would take no chances. I took robes from one of the bodies in the pits. The mage they currently adorned had no further need for them. They smelled of death, but then again, so did everyone else in the city. I took my knife and shaved the hair from my head as well as adding a few scars on my face.

Once my identity was sufficiently altered, I then sought out a place to stay. This would be my home for an undetermined amount of time. Fortunately, the chaos from the war had left more than a few residences devoid of owners. I found a place near the lowest level of the city. A hovel really, but it had to do. To my surprise, my investigation of my new home yielded some interesting results. It seems the former resident of this house was not a drow, but a human. It was well known that Ched Nasad dealt with surface dwellers, but I had no idea that any were allowed to take up residence. I also discovered a rather extensive library stashed away in a secret compartment beneath the floor. It paled in comparison to the vast stores of scrolls and parchments in my--rather my former house. The books were in Drow, but also in other languages as well: gnomish, elven, draconic, and the language of the humans known as common. A bountiful find indeed!

I knew that I would have to spend much time in Ched Nasad. I would need to become someone I was not. I would take on a new identity. I would no longer be Zentash Syn'alar, first boy of House Syn'alar. I took the name of Tyr'eth, a commoner. It was easy to slip into the throngs of commoners on work details. I worked long grueling hours with little food or water or rest, but I persevered. I maintained my mind by reading and re-reading the books I had found in my newly acquired house.

Time passed, but I was not aware of how much. Perhaps a year or two. Immersed in my books and scrolls, Zentash faded to a distant memory, replaced by the very uninteresting Tyr'eth, albeit a rather well educated Tyr'eth. It seemed however, that the surprised were not done yet. As I sat at a desk reading a scroll, I heard a sound outside the door of my house. I quickly drew my dagger and hid. As I watched, the door opened and a humanoid figure entered, carrying a torch. The light prevented me from I did not give my unwelcome visitor enough time to gather his bearings, as I leapt from my hiding spot and attacked. My opponent was tall and strong, definitely not a drow. Fortunately, my time doing menial labor, I had grown rather strong and I quickly overpowered the intruder. As I rolled over him and placed my dagger at his throat, the torch he carried fizzled and my sight returned. It was a human! I used the hilt of the dagger and rendered him unconscious and tied him to a chair.

I sat across from him at a table, studying him. He was definitely human. Rough features, hair on his face, rounded eyes and ears. A scar crossed his left eye, leaving it milky white and seeing nothing. Age had taken its toll on him. At the time I had little knowledge about the physiology of humans, but I did know that they did not have the life span of the drow. Despite his age, he was well muscled. I waited until he stirred. I leaned forward, resting my hands on the hilt of my dagger.

"Who are you?" He asked in drow. His pronunciation was surprisingly good, despite his rough surface accent.

"It is I that should be asking that question." I replied.

He looked around, and I noticed his eyes falling on the opened cache of books.

"This is my home," he replied, looking back at me. "I lived here once, before the city fell. When the dark dwarves attacked, I fled."

"You?" I scoffed. "I find it hard to believe that a lowly human would live anywhere but the slave pens."

The human leaned back as far as the ropes would allow him and smiled. "This city was not as elitist as your home city of Menzobarrenzan."

I blinked, trying not to keep the surprise from my face, and failing.

He chuckled. "I may not speak your language as well as you, but I have heard enough to distinguish dialects."

"Perhaps, but that still does not explain your presence here now." I tried to recover from my surprise. "How can a human be living here? And where did you get these books?"

He looked back the books stacked on the floor and sighed. "They belonged to a friend of mine, Arven D'liange, a magic user of some skill." He paused. "or at least he was. As to your first question, my companions and I used this place as an office. We were….traders. I am the only one left alive. The rest were killed in the recent upheaval in this city. Once the rebuilding began, I came back."

I leaned back in my chair and studied him once more. An idea began to form in the back of my mind. Perhaps this human would prove useful to me.

"So, you came back to gather your property and flee to the surface?" I asked.

He nodded. I smiled.

"Very well. I will allow you to go free, on one condition."

"And that would be?"

"You take me with you. Teach me of your world, the world above. Allow me to travel with you, as your partner. Once I have learned all I can from you, we will part ways."

He blinked. "You? A Drow on the surface?"

I smiled. "Yes. There have been others, others from my own city even, who have succeeded on the surface. If they can do it, I can as well."

The human thought a moment, then a smile slowly parted his lips. "Yes….Yes. I think I know of a way. I know a ship captain. His crew is…well…diverse. "

I was puzzled, to say the least. "Diverse?"

He chuckled as he worried at his bonds. "Yes. His first mate is a minotaur, there are a pair of gnomish twins, and he is a halfling."

"Interesting. And they will accept a drow?" I asked.

He nodded. "The minotaur was a slave of your people once. I doubt they will mind much. Besides, Having a crewmember of a race such as yours will do wonders for morale….or at least the morale of any who run afoul of us."

I rose and freed him of his constraints. "I accept. We will go see this ship captain of yours, and see what happens."