| |
My name is Laureine Cloudkill, Kindred to
the late Lord Sutton of Clan Cloudkill. This will be my last written
entry as head of the Cloudkill vassals. We have proudly served the
silver dragon clan since before the Council of Wyrms was even created.
With the silver dragon clan's destruction we have hidden here, deep
in what used to be Cloudkill lands.
Lord Cloudkill
himself brought as many of us here as he could in those desperate
hours before the Council attacked. To my surprise, and shame, he
left me here to lead those who would survive what was to come. I
still remember that terrible night when our world ended, and a new
one, of barely surviving, began. The sky around Mt. Fang glowed
and we could hear the distant thunder as the amassed dragons from
the Council destroyed Clan Cloudkill for its supposed crime of aiding
humans. Some of those whom had been brought to us could not stand
to watch, and left for the slaughter. None of them ever returned.
So it has been for over two and a half centuries now. I have lead
the combined Dwarven, Gnomish and Elven vassal clans. Ever we have
stayed hidden, out of sight from the occasional dragon patrol. It
has not been a very good life, but it is at least life. We all know
that eventually we will be spotted, it is only a matter of time.
None of us wish to consider what will happen then. Will we all be
taken to another dragon clan? Some of us used to wish for such to
happen. Right up until the first of our hunting packs was taken
away by a Chromatic. When no word was ever heard, that line of hope
was abandoned.
Life in the
Blood Isles is not easy for a clan without the protection of a dragon
clan. Giants occasionally raid from the South and the far north,
although the ones from the North never make it this far south in
the Isles. We were treated almost as equals with the silvers, and
Cloudkill City was as much our home as theirs.
We have some contact with a wild clan
of elves to our north, whom sometimes has news from the gold dragon
Deathstalker clan. It was through them that we first heard the news
a century and a half ago regarding the dismissal of the charges
against Clan Cloudkill. It seems that the Council of Wyrms had made
a mistake. To say that we are bitter when it comes to the Council
is an understatement.
Through the centuries we have grown
in size from what we were. My son was born to this life, and has
known no other. Others have come, outcasts from other clans seeking
what shelter we can offer. Occasionally the rumors of our existence
is enough to prompt some of the clans to do a sweep of the Cloudkill
lands, in hopes of finding us. We have so far evaded such attempts
to find us.
It was with such that we received
our first visitor in many weeks. I heard the horns from my place
near the edge of the huge underground caverns which the gnome's
and dwarve's used as there home. The elves had taken over the use
of the trees in the area, and had built small homes for themselves.
Ever with an eye towards camouflage from the air above. I learned
later that one of the scouting parties had come across him standing,
as if waiting for them, in one of the clearings to the North, near
the edge of Mt. Claw.
He had let
them bind him and blind fold him, leading him back to our camp through
a circuitous route, after the mage had made sure he was not a dragon.
We kept a close eye on such things, since many of the Metalics could
change shape, and even an old enough Chromatic, or one with a proper
magical item, could take a humanoid shape. Leading one of them into
the very heart of our home, such as it was, would be disastrous.
I received him in the central square,
along with most of the clan. He seemed to pause slightly as he looked
about, but I was not sure. The old faded brown cloak, with the hood
up, which he wore made it hard to tell what he was looking at. The
hunting party, all good people, stood behind him in a loose semi
circle, weapons ready just in case. Archers were present in the
trees around the clearing, mostly in the raised walkways which were
strung from tree to tree. A few of the dwarves and gnomes had come
up from there mining and work below to see what was happening as
well. My son, and some of the others, remained hidden for now. It
would not do to have the stranger see some of them yet. And so our
lives changed....
------------------------
"Stranger,
by Bahamut and Io, be welcome to our home." It was the traditional
greeting and she offered it to him easily. "Pardon our guard, but
they are a tad too protective of me these days." The elven woman
gave the tall elven warrior next to her a fond pat on his forearm
before slowly sitting down into the chair fashioned of old antlers
which had been brought out from her hut. Her bones often ached these
days and she new that her time left was not long, still she would
stay until she was sure that this ragtag clan would be alright.
The stranger was silent for a few
moments, as if gathering his thoughts. When he spoke Laureine sat
upright in shock.
"It is very
good to see you all well and safe, especially you Laureine." Even
as he spoke the stranger moved, drawing down the hood which had
covered his features. It was not, she mused in a sort of shocked
state, the hunting parties fault that they had not recognized him.
Few in the party had been alive during his father's rule over Clan
Cloudkill. The silver hair and eyes should have been a give away
however, and she would have to ask why they had failed to notice
that. Jean Sutton only had a passing semblance to what he had looked
like the last time she had seen him. He looked older, his eyes....
eye she amended, had a depth to them that had not been there before.
An angry red scar, which started at the bridge of his nose and extended
down his right cheek, was the clear reason for the eyepatch he wore.
He stood there, quite aware of the fact that the entire clearing
had gone silent, and smiling as he watched her and waited for a
reaction.
With the stunned help of the guard
next to her she managed to stand and take the few steps towards
the silver dragon who stood before her. Wonderingly she raised her
hand and touched his cheek, swallowing far too many emotions at
once as she stared at him.
"You're alive?" The slight tremor
in her voice caused him to grip her shoulders tightly. Meeting her
eyes he nodded.
"Im
sorry I didn't come back sooner."
|
