‘Our fair granithome’… my, what a poetic title for such a gruesome, depressing little village, I muse darkly, walking through the streets of the miner’s encampment, most of them carved through the solid rock. Locating the village did not prove to be difficult and convincing the gnomish guard at the drawbridge proved to be equally easy, despite the fact that we had a Drow amongst us. I cannot help but to think of these gnomes as far too trustworthy, maybe we will be able to use it to our advantage at some point. These gnomes are definitely nowhere as smart and cunning as the surface ones, I think, remembering a certain turnip-loving gnomish inventor…
“Over here,” Imoen signals to us and points towards a building that is noticeably larger than the simple huts and hovels of the regular miners, “this must be that mayor’s place… ugh, doesn’t look that nice to me… besides, who’s there to govern for – this place is dead empty!”
“I’ve noticed that too,” I reply, coming towards her, “perhaps this mayor can explain that fact too… so, which of these two entrances we take?”
“This one,” Imoen points at the right one of the two entrances in the monumental stone building and immediately darts through the door. The rest of us follow her to find ourselves in a large hall in the middle of which a tiny gnome is sitting in a tiny chair at a tiny desk, doing some tiny paperwork.
“Ah! Travelers to our fair city,” the gnome becomes aware of our presence and greets us with a tired smile, “A rare sight indeed, and even more so given that you are surfacers by the look of you. Pardon my curiosity, but I find it surprising to see a Drow in your company… no disrespect, of course…”
“Risking my anger by constantly pointing me out is more surprising, if you ask me,” Viconia snarls.
“Well, your kind is not known for gracing us with polite social visits,” the gnome replies, “My name is Goldander Blackenrock. I would have a matter to talk with you about, should you be willing to listen.”
“Well, we came here with similar purpose – to talk,” I smile wearily, “I am looking for a couple of other surfacers, who according to rumors have entered Ust Natha.”
“Yes, I know of two other surfacers that passed within the Drow city. I will help you as much as I can, but my matter must take importance. There has been too much svirfneblin blood shed over this already. Will you at least hear out the details of the task?” Goldander asks.
Hmph, this fellow seems quite arrogant for a gnome and no doubt he has some errand for fools like us to run. Maybe it will be possible to avoid it…
“As you probably noticed, the village is quite empty,” we give affirmative nods to Goldander’s words, “I have sent the majority to deeper climes from here – this place is no longer safe and it is our own fault. We dug too deep an unearthed a monstrosity, stumbled upon a strange cavern that yielded the death itself… the task is simple, albeit difficult – kill the beast and seal the tunnel.”
“Did the thought of collapsing the tunnel upon the creature never crossed your mind?” Viconia asks with an emphasized politeness that has a ring of sarcasm about it.
“Oh, the tunnel will collapse, that I am sure of… but we are unsure if it will kill the beast, now that it is awakened.”
“What manner of beast is it?” Jaheira inquires.
“I do not know, it is simply a beast out of our worst nightmares, if that can be considered an apt description. It is not of the rock, I have no name to call it in,” Goldander explains, even though I am having serious doubts about the sincerity of his words.
“Very well, Goldander,” I reply, choosing words carefully, “but let us be honest one with another – before we help you, I need to know if you will actually be able to help us in return. If those two surfacers we are looking for are in Ust Natha, we have to get inside. Somehow.”
“I may know of a way inside… at least, I know a being that might help you. I see you are very determined to get inside, so I will gladly point you in her direction.
The great staircase on the way of the Drow city goes to her lair. It is the blackest of all the tunnels, but there is glorious light on the other side. She is called Adalon, though addressing her as 'My Lady' will suffice just as well. It will be wise to approach her with humility and show her respect if help is what you want to receive in return.”
“Who is this Adalon?” I ask.
“Oh, she is a creature of great beauty… but you will see that for yourself,” Goldander chuckles, “now, the passage to her lair is warded against the intruders such as the Drow for example. When you have completed my task, I will give you a ‘light gem’ that acts like a ward stone. You will be able to pass the wards with the stone in your possession. I carry it with me at all times, but I will gladly give it to you for this one service.”
“Ah, good…” I find it very hard not to smile while saying the words, “now, of course you want us to dispatch of that creature as quickly as possible – however we have traveled far and have not rested for a long time. Is there any place we could sleep and regain our strength? We could talk about the fine details of the task afterwards…”
“Why, of course,” Goldander replies, “we keep a small inn, just next doors… you will probably be the only guests, so expect to be greeted especially warmly.”
We leave the smiling mayor and head for the inn next doors, just as we have stepped over the doorstep, both Edwin and Viconia flood out a stream of insults dedicated towards the unfortunate Goldander… I have to say that I sympathize with a lot of those attributes they label the gnome with. However, this is not a time for a quarrel, so my only response is to get ourselves some rooms, have some sleep and discuss it when we are not so tired and sulky…
The rooms at the inn are not particularly pleasant, but the most irritating thing is the extremely low ceiling that makes both Jaheira and me to walk around the room with tilted heads. That is however not all that is irritating…
“What the…? How am I supposed to sleep in… that?” I look at the two small beds, distinctly designed for shorter races only…
“Well, I suppose we shall sleep on the floor then,” Jaheira doesn’t seem to be particularly concerned, “or… we could push them together and sleep across them, that should be convenient enough.”
“Oh, good thinking,” I smile, pushing the beds close to one another, “besides, this way we will be… closer. That is, if you seriously incline to stay in the same room with me…”
“I do,” Jaheira’s reply is a simple one. I stop working at the beds to look at her as with a trained efficiency she frees herself from her armor and the rest of her gear, leaving only her dark-green tunic on… and I am quite sure that it will come off eventually, too.
“Your bed is prepared, my lady,” I bow to her, before starting to undress myself. She takes her place in the bed, lying on her side and watching me as I rid myself of my equipment to join her as quickly as possible.
However, once in the bed, I hesitate to lean over to her to consummate our love as we have been doing regularly… and I feel a slight hesitancy coming from her side too.
“I wonder… how do you think who that Adalon person might be?” I ask her to break the uncomfortable silence, “seems to be either someone arrogant or weak, if she does not or can not deal with Goldander’s troubles.”
“I have no idea, but undoubtedly something larger than a gnome so that it could bully and intimidate them,” Jaheira smirks with amusement, before turning serious, “Now, what did you really wanted to ask me about?”
“Eh… I can’t fool you, Jaheira… neither do I want to,” I chuckle, “I need to know your thoughts on our predicament… I mean, we are somewhere in Underdark, Imoen and I both lack our souls, I am a threat to you and my other companions and all our previous plans have been shattered to pieces. I am determined to go on as long as you stand by me… but in the same time, I am so… so… so disgusted about the situation we are in.”
“I know,” she smiles sadly, “you know, I have never been one to talk or think much of the future. But even as I keep telling myself – ‘Jaheira, stop making any long-term plans, they will only fall apart much to your disappointment’, it did not stop me from envisioning our future… I saw us both together, happy and content… how silly it must sound now, but I have not abandoned hope yet.”
“It is not silly, Jaheira – everything that gives us hope is important and should be treasured… and my own visions of our future have been the same as yours - as you might well have guessed,” I reach out my hand to touch her cheek, “Jaheira? Do you…”
“Yes. I need you, now… dangerous or not. Come, it has been too long since I last felt your strength,” she pushes me back and crawls over to sit on my chest as she slowly, teasingly strips off her tunic, treating me to the most beautiful sight I have ever witnessed. As her hands reach upwards, taking the tunic over her head, her outstretched hands topple over the only source of light in the room, a lamp hanging from the ceiling.
As the lamp crashes to the floor, we are already too busy with each other to notice that the room has immersed in darkness…
Next Chapter: A look in Imoen and Vicky’s room…
