>>5510259>>5510383>>5510442>>5510572>>5510961>>5511015Everything is clear to you now. You never were the brightest candle. No, you were an awful student, a poor listener, and only grudgingly learned to read when you were forced to. But there are benefits to aging which you have finally come to appreciate. What your eyes have seen from mighty Gracklstugh all the way to the Glimmersea are no works of imagination. A great much can be learned across two centuries and some decades, and you are finally mature enough to put that knowledge to use.
Together with Alantha, the latest addition to your list of unlikely allies, you silently trek through the fungal forest, evading orcish patrols all the while. The beast proves a boon companion, for on more than one occasion you effortlessly avoid parties of Thousand Scars warriors by walking in step with her. She is, as one might expect, not much of a conversationalist - which suits you just fine. You yourself have never been particularly loquacious, at least before meeting Ilanis.
Pushing ever onward, the two of you squeeze through an inconspicuous crevice, a gap which takes you through a claustrophobic tunnel that opens up to an eroded staircase leading downwards into a vast chamber of engraved stone supported by hardwearing pillars. This is, without a doubt, dwarven architecture. And you are not alone - the muted sound of padded boots treading across the floor prompts you to draw your weapon as a precaution.
Descending cautiously, you proceed forward one circumspect step at a time. No matter how desolate this ancient ruin may seem, you are in the Underdark, and can name a multitude of creatures that would capitalize on the chance to catch you unawares. There! A dusky woman with silver hair steps out from behind the nearest pillar, holding a bow which is ready to let loose a projectile toward Alantha. A tense moment follows as she stares the two of you down, before releasing the tension in her bow and storing the arrow in a quiver as she breathes a sigh of relief.
At last, at long last, you have finally made it.
