... and the darkness shall claim thee ...

[Azjah von Drachen Walde]

The Glimmer Sea was beautiful in its own way. The impenetrable blackness that it disappeared into lent it a serene beauty that I was entranced by as we sat against a wall.

We stayed there for some time. Time in the Underdark had no meaning for me. I slept leaned against the rock wall. Silence surrounded us. There was no riffle of waves driven by a surface wind, and no ebb and flow of the tides.

It was a timeless spot until Raevyx woke me for the return trip. We ate more of the red moss, and the tunnel opened before me. Raevyx held back, as though saying his own form of farewell to the lake. He'd been as entranced by it as I had been, and so I moved forward into the tunnel.

Moments later, he caught up with me, and very quietly he said, "keep up" and he moved ahead of me, setting a hard pace.

[Raevyx_Araya]

His pace was sickening and as usual, he rarely stopped, but this time he moved as if he was in a hurry to get out of the darkness. He was not merely walking fast; he was running, covering ground that took several days in a single day. He stopped at the tunnel that he initially turned down to take them to the Glimmersea, they would rest here for now.

He leaned casually against the cold stone as Azjah tried to catch her breath. He produced a water skin and offered it to her hoping that it would help her or something. She took the water and drank half of it, then leaned back against the cold wall and slide down to rest herself. As Azjah rested, he kept his senses tuned in to the sounds of the Underdark, listening to the silence as if he was expecting something.

A day went by as Azjah slept soundly, recovering from the first initial push back towards the surface. He woke her gently, and then placed a small baked good stuffed with meat, vegetables, and cheese in her hands. “Eat” he spoke quietly as he munched on his own. Soon, the two were up and running again, heading towards the surface. They ran for hours covering vast distances in very good time. After what seemed two days of moving, Raevyx stepped out of the cave and in to the night. Their final push was before them and they would rest here for the night. He handed the water skin to Azjah and took up a seat on a small rock ledge near the entrance. “Tomorrow …” he spoke calmly then leaned back and fell asleep.

[Azjah von Drachen Walde]

For unexplained reasons, Raevyx was in a great hurry to put vast distances behind us. He set a grueling pace which for the most part led up-hill.

We stopped at a juncture in the tunnels that felt like it might have been familiar, and there we took some time to recover. I drank the water and slid down the cold stone.

He was keyed tightly, as though expecting something to leap at us out of the dark, but I could not make out the sounds of anyone, or anything, following us.

He handed me something to eat, but I could not, and soon we were up again running. We ran for what seemed like forever, and abruptly we were at the cave entrance where this journey had first begun.

I was panting hard, but had to take a moment to look up at the stars. I think they were the thing I missed the most in the dark of Underdark. Turning around, I could see that he'd fallen asleep leaning against the rocks at the edge of the cave.

I found a spot where I could lay on my back and watch those pinpoints of light overhead. I lay there listening to the sounds of night in the above ground world and could not help but make the comparisons between his world and my own.

Despite exhaustion, sleep would not come, and I was hungry. But the scents and sounds of the world I knew were soothing. He'd said "tomorrow" before he'd gone to sleep. That would now be today, and I wonder what his meaning was.

[Raevyx_Araya]

Morning came quickly for the resting duo; they rose and stretched before setting out. With the bright morning rays, shining down from the heavens the two adventures set off down the mountain; then back towards civilization. A thin layer of frost still covered the surface of most grounds plants and low tree limbs. Raevyx, once again, set a burly pace to make it back to the city in a decent amount of time.

The pace down the mountain was swift as Raevyx led Azjah through several talus fields, running down loose boulders, and then jumping from one to another before they can slide out from underneath their feet. It was rather obvious that Raevyx was in a good mood, for he began cart wheeling from boulder to boulder; then mixing it up with a few back flips as well.

Once clear of the talus field, Raevyx stopped to see if Azjah made it down in one piece and if she needed any medical attention and whatnot. Seeing that she kept up quite nicely he turned and headed for the trail once more. The two entered the dense jungle like forest and it was not like before a thick fog descended upon them, reducing their sight to a few feet in front of them. This, however, did not slow Raevyx one bit. He continued at a swift pace through the fog bound jungle.

The two continued through the fog for what seemed like an eternity before stopping to rest. The fog began to close in and soon, all the pair could see was the thick grey mist that beset them. Raevyx could see through it, but the random spike of sunlight that broke through the dense canopy kept his eyes in a squint to keep as much of the brightness out as possible. After a while, eternity came to an abrupt end as the two broke through the fog and into a bright clearing that contained a massive oak tree, with a smile pedestal in front of it. On the pedestal was a black, leather bound book, Raevyx’s book. He grinned and embraced Azjah as he utter dark words and then there was darkness, again. The trip had come full circle and the arena was empty as they returned to where they had begun.

[Azjah von Drachen Walde]

The surface world seemed so much bigger as the morning light allowed my gaze to take in the vast distances. As far as I could see from our perch on the cliff gave me the impression of unbound distance and a little vertigo that I had not felt in The Underdark.

Raevyx set out early again, making for RhyDin. He fairly flew over the talus and scree of the rock falls that were a death trap for the unwary. Rocks of all shapes and sizes shifted and gave under my feet, making the descent positively treacherous.

By afternoon, we'd made it to the edges of the jungle once more, and fog had settled amidst the trees. We moved like wraithes through the thick air, following a path that only Raevyx could see.

By late that afternoon, they'd broken through both the fog and the forest into a clearing. Before a vast oak tree stood a pedestal with a black leather bound book that belonged to the Ilythiiri. He grinned and abruptly wrapped both arms around me, enveloping us in blackness once more. We arrived at the Arena, which was deserted and we had now come full circle.

It was an adventure few surface dwellers will ever have, and a tale fewer will live to describe. The Underdark is a place full of danger, and beauty.

I gave him a quick hug and my heartfelt thanks.

Regrettably, it is time to resume a surface dweller's life, but I will have my memories of that formiddable place of darkness, mystery, beauty, and violence.