-1We left shortly afterwards. I needed nothing, save for a few books that intrigued me the most. The rest I returned to the cache beneath the floor. We struck out and headed for the surface. The trek took just over a score of days. It was a well traveled pathway, being the one that most merchants from the surface used to trade with Ched Nasad. More than once we passed a group leading lizards laden with supplies heading towards the city. Most were lead by dwarves, some humans and a few other races I was hard pressed to identify. Each caravan was escorted by a group of armed drow. They eyed us warily, but we were not harmed.

Almost a week went by before we neared the end of the passageway. The same tunnel that sometimes twisted back on itself and narrowed opened up to a large cavern. Light streamed from the opposite side. I blinked, multiple times. I had never seen something so bright before, and the pain was excruciating.

We waited until nightfall to leave the cavern. We traveled quickly overland, heading towards the ocean. As night gave way to day, we found caves or heavy undergrowth to take shelter from the piercing light that burned my eyes. Garen, as I learned was his name, told me that it was three days to the shoreline, and another two to the docks.

"This ship does not use a city as a port?" I asked. Although I had lived my entire life below ground, the concept of ships on water and ports was not a foreign one. There were great oceans seas and rivers below the surface, with ships that traveled the currents, from city to city.

Garen chuckled. "Suffice to say, the captain tends to avoid the more populated ports of call."

"A pirate then?" I narrowed my eyes a bit.

He shook his head. "More like a smuggler really. He takes on cargo that others will not. Hence the need for…a combat oriented crew. A customer does not want to have his goods shipped by one who cannot take care of himself."

"No wonder he would not mind a drow on his ship." I smirked.

Five nights later we crested a hill and that is when I saw the ship. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. It had great masts rising into the sky, with cross bars stretching out from them on either side. Sails were tied to the cross bars. The ship sat high in the water, and the masts seemed to reach to the stars. I was in awe as we walked towards the ship. I had seen water going vessels, but they were low and wide, and powered by slaves working oars. There were places on the Underdark waterways that had very low ceilings, as giant fingers of rock extended from the roofs of the caverns almost to the water itself. It would not have been practical to have a ship like this one.

As we came down the hill, some of the sailors around the ship pointed at us and yelled. Others turned to look, and grabbed weapons. I pulled my cowl up and wrapped my hand around the hilt of the sword I had kept from my encounter with the gnolls.

"Remain quiet for the moment." he cautioned. "Let me speak with the captain first."

I nodded. Sailors ran forward and leveled crossbows and swords at us, but their looks of caution quickly were replaced by ones of surprise as they recognized Garen. He spoke to one of them, and that one ran off towards the ship, while the others eyed me warily. I remained quiet, however. I cannot say that I was trusting Garan, but I had little choice. I had made my decision to travel with him, and I had to hope that it would work out.

A few moments passed by. Garen and a couple of the sailors talked and laughed, clapping each other on the backs. Then the messenger returned with two figures. One was a towering beast, with great horns jutting from the sides of his head. He wore little, save for a pair of breeches and boots. A giant axe was slung across his back. In contrast, the figure next to the minotaur was diminutive. He barely reached the knee of his companion. The halfling was wearing black boots that folded over at the knees. Tucked into the boots were a pair of baggy red pants, and he wore a black vest over a muscled chest. His hair was pulled back into a top knot, and a cutlass was belted to his side with a black sash. Garan spoke quietly with the halfling for a moment, then turned to me.

"Captain Falco," began Garen. "Allow me to present Tyr'eth, from the drow city of Ched Nasad."

The little captain studied me for a moment, nodding a few times.

"Ye know how ta use that thing?" he asked, pointing to the sword. His accent made it difficult for me to comprehend what he was asking at first, as my grasp of the surface language was still not as strong as I would have liked. I tilted my head a bit, then understanding dawned.

"The sword. Yes. I can use it" I responded.

The minotaur snorted, but Falco put a hand on the beast's hand. "At ease Garak. He'll prove himself, or he'll die. Same thing I told ye when you came to my ship. Now, let us see to finding a bunk fer our dark skinned crewmember."

It took a month at least for my eyes to overcome their sensitivity to the burning brightness of the sun. Each day I would spend a few more minutes up on the deck of the Vagabond. The ship's diminutive captain was impressed at how quickly I picked up the ways of the sailor, and by the end of the month, I was climbing the riggings with ease. Drow training made that rather simple. I still had my house brooch, but I kept that hidden in my belongings. I was still Tyr'eth, a drow nobody, not Zentash, a noble. My skills with the blade improved as well, as I sparred with many of the sailors, under the watchful eyes of the minotaur, Garak.

Garak. He was an anomaly. At least among others of his kind. Of course every minotaur I had ever seen were slaves, and had a limited intelligence. This one was different. He was well spoken, speaking at least three languages. Even more surprising was that he bathed. His skill with a variety of weapons was impressive, and I learned everything I could from him. We trained below decks early on, and once my eyes adjusted to the light of the sun, we moved up onto the deck. I soon became quite adept at using my confiscated longsword and, with my drow training, easily adapted what I learned to an offhand weapon, a curved long knife he called a kukri. Although I preferred the longsword, Garak suggested to me that I switch to a shortsword, as shipboard combat tended to be in rather close quarters.

I saw little of the captain or Garen during my month of acclimating to life on a ship. The ship was being repaired after barely surviving a deadly storm, so the time was well spent for all. I met other members of the Vagabond during that time as well. Ships at sea usually carry a wizard, to assist with combat or weather. This one carried two. They were two gnome twins. I never learned their real names, as they spoke little common, but Falco had no trouble conversing with them. They were never apart from each other, and gave me a wide berth. Most of the other crewmembers were humans, but two others were not. There was Sssrack, a sauhuagin, and Jorvin, an elf with wings. Both were scouts, and both kept to themselves. Jorvin kept to the crows nest, and Sssrack rarely came on deck, preferring to remain beneath the waves.

As the month ended, the repairs to the Vagabond were completed. The captain seemed satisfied with my progress as a member of his crew. While they accepted me, I found that I shared more similarities with the sauhuagin and the winged elf than the others on the ship. All three tended to keep to ourselves rather than spend time with the other crewmembers. Sssrack rarely even showed himself, Falco speaking to him via a tube in his quarters. The feathered elf was either in the crow's nest or flying around the clouds. I had neither of those options, so when I was not climbing riggings or practicing with swords, I remained in my quarters. I read the few books I brought with my from Ched Nasad. I read them over and over again. I read them so many times that they were engrained in my mind. I could recite them by memory.

As I sat in my room reading one evening, the captain summoned me to his quarters.

"We set said tomorrow, Tyr'eth. Are ye ready?" He asked.

I nodded. "I am."

He leaned back in his chair and propped his booted feet up on his desk. "We'll chasing down some frigates, and taking their cargo. Might even be some killing involved." He eyed me. "You don't have any problems with that, do ye?"

For the first time in ages, I allowed myself a slight smile. "Captain, I am drow."

He chuckled. "So you are. Dismissed."