I Befriend a Lyrandar Bigwig

Vult, 992 – Nymm, 993 YK

So, we “inferiors” are initially allowed very little space to roam around but it’s new and different so I’m okay with it. For a while. It does start to wear on me. We were underground and there were not a whole lot of people other than us. It did mean I got to know Professor Ren’dall, Jerrold, and Gwen fairly well. However, the information exchange with the Umbragen was mostly one-way initially. Usually, they would show up to our living area, ask a bunch of questions, pull Prof. Ren’dall and Jerrold away and then leave Gwen and me for a few hours to ourselves. This was a time that Gwen and I really bonded. I learned more about her sister Gydd (BKrueg, Gydd Nephret, 2019) and their time at the Shava House at Morgrave University in Sharn (Shava House is a community that focuses on antiquities (Baker & Wyatt, Sharn: City of Towers, 2004)). I also learn, from what she can remember, about Sharn being built upon an ancient goblinoid city. Parts going back to the Dhakaani period. We manage to get a set of cards from Prof. Ren’dall and so we play some games and I teach her some sleight of hand tricks. When the four of us are left together we’d play card games and talk about… well, whatever. It turns out that Prof. Ren’dall is a bit of a card shark. I didn’t have a lot to bet with and the good professor cleaned me out pretty fast, but he was also always a little hungry. This is where I started getting some of my money back, since I was fine with a half portion of our meals so I could sell him the other half. I also found out that he’s easily impressed with card tricks (the sleight of hand kind, not the cheating kind). He can easily reproduce what I do with simple magic but could not get them down without it. This frustrated him to no end because it turns out he’s generally pretty good at almost anything he put his mind to. This may sound crazy, but me trying to teach him these silly tricks is what truly broke the ice between us. Shortly thereafter, I did something that solidified our friendship. I won’t go into too much detail but suffice it to say I’m pretty good with people in general. And I mean almost all people, including the Umbragen apparently. I have a knack for observing people for a while and being able to discern the right ways to talk and act around them. At this time the ability helps me to acquire alcohol (something that Ren’dall is a big fan of). Like most everything the Umbragen do, they do it well, and fermenting a special “shadow wine” was no exception. After I found the true path to Professor Ren’dall’s heart we got along swimmingly thereafter. It also helped to pass all our time a bit easier since Gwen and Jerrold also enjoyed partaking. Those two are kinda’ lightweights though and the wine has quite a kick. That just served to make things a little more fun.

During these drinking sessions, I began to notice the Umbragen coming by a little more often. Not to talk or stop us, but to observe us. These were “casual” walk-bys, not coming in and hanging out but I pointed out that two of them, in particular, were now going by our area several times a day rather than the once or twice it used to be. They watched us kinda like I watched them. Profs Gwen and Ren found it a bit disconcerting, but I explained it to them, and they understood. They still found it disconcerting but were more open to acting normal. This all goes on for about two months. After that, we are allowed around more areas. Gwen, Ren, and I get to go about a bit more since the Umbragen prefer no lights and we could see in the dark whereas Jerrold could not (he’s a human BTW). We never want to leave Jerrold on his own and it was acknowledged that I was much better at not getting lost in the maze of “identical” tunnels, so I’d usually head out with either of the professors while the other stayed behind to keep Jerrold company. This is when things get a bit more interesting.  We begin to see larger numbers of the Umbragen and how they interact with one another. Their linguistic idiosyncrasies (they maintain an older, more formal style of elven), various cultural differences (underground living causes an abundance of those), behaviors towards us (outsiders) vs. themselves, etc. We also get to witness some of their magic use. I’m not an expert at arcana but even I can feel the powers at work when they do this. It’s… unsettling. It’s not that they were using it for evil things, it’s just that there’s something different about it. When I mention it to Prof. Ren’dall, I learn that’s from this Umbra they pull from. It has a direct link to Mabar somehow. Again, no expertise here, just thought it would be something people who did have more interest would like to know. We also get to see some of their technology at work. I still think the Dhakaani are better smiths overall, but the Umbragen can make some crazy intricate stuff. Including clockwork creatures and tools to help automate things. Their adamantine weapons and armor are beautiful to behold and stand up as pieces of art as much as they do as tools of war.