3. Enzo Ifferial's Musings and Mutterings

Enzo Ifferial's Musings and Mutterings


  • …

    It had been a long time since I'd last seen a drow elf. Seeing them on the surface is always an unusual encounter, so I guess its wrong to say it was surprising to find one on my last visit to Jiyyd. No more surprising really than to see one in Surthay. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, I have never heard of drow in Thay venturing beyond the Underdark Halls near Eltabbar.

    I enjoy my trips to Jiyyd; there is a pleasant town square in that tiny pastoral village. When pursuit of politics and diplomacy have weighed heavily on me, I've found it soothing to travel there from Peltarch. Not many people know me in Jiyyd, and it is sufficiently removed from contact with the Faerun at large for people to recognize a man from Thay too readily. That said, I can sit with some anonymity and chat with the locals. So much was my surprise, when in the dark of that eve, one of the villagers spied a dark elf sneaking about their poor wooden gateway. The presence of the drow greatly alarmed the villagers, as surely they have little knowledge of that people and are greatly frightened by the rumors. A chase ensued and I followed, acting as if to take part in getting rid of the creature, but thinking all the while that I would much like to have a moment alone in order to speak with her.

    The drow are never spurious, so the female's presence in Jiyyd speaks to some clear motive that is beyond me. After the villagers dispersed, I walked back along the track she was spied in, looking for signs of what might be of interest. Nothing seemed out of place to my human eyes... but what can be said of the interest of the dark elf? I walked outside of Jiyyd in the direction she fled, following her tracks and my memory the best I was able, but still found nothing. I came out the second eve, also looking for her, thinking that if she returned and saw a lone man from Thay, she might risk a contact. Alas, there was nothing and I wonder to this day what occurances in Jiyyd could be of such interest to them.


  • A letter written in the hand of Enzo Ifferial…

    To the Tharchion of Surthay,
    Most honorable and gracious,
    Most insightful and commanding,

    I humbly write to you to relate information of my journey to the North. I hope you may find my correspondance useful in your wise rule of the Tharch of Surthay.

    Narfell is a strange place. I have lived here for a year now and have yet to fully comprehend the many people and customs of this land. There is little in the way of social order here. The indiginous peoples, the Nars barbarians, know virtually nothing of their glorious and ancient heritage. They speak mainly of the glory of their forefathers and their tribes but do not recall the great cities and empires that once stretched this land. Half-orc, half-men walk freely about and are treated as equals. At risk of discrediting myself, I even offer than one has obtained the rank of 'General', where he in principle is thought to be an intelligent commander. There are elves about. The elven people wander here and there, living largely pointless long lives consumed with thoughts of trees and birds. They occasionally stop to blather about this and that evil and injustice before wandering off to some wooded hideaway. There are several military organizations… the Legion, the Cerulean Knights and the Defenders of Peltarch... but none are well organized or particularly influential. A whole host of peoples from other lands resides here. Most have come from places of greater hardship, looking for sustenance or peace. There are some mutterings and discord, but by and large the population is sedate and unambitious.

    Peltarch is less of a city than it is a walled outpost. No military of significance resides there. There are an unusual number of paladins and clerics of the Triad, perhaps more than any city in the East ten times its size. They conduct themselves like common religious fanatics, struting and boasting about town with armchair bravado and self-righteous indignation. There is a Magistrate who handles matters of law, yet he is mainly content to absently pontificate with the clerics and paldins. The government is an ineffective gaggle of some half competent local folk who call themselves Senators. At times, I have seen them stumbling drunk through town or being cheated in card games at the local Inns. Though I have petitioned several times for audience by this government, I have not received any reply. It is possible they have not even held a formal meeting of this body in the year I have resided here.

    Of mild interest is the town of Jiyyd, for it sits on the Long Road that connects the northern parts of Rashemen to the country of Damara in the West. I have had several occasions to observe the Rashemi trade caravans moving along this road. It seems clear that this represents a primary route where the Witches trade their grain for the iron and weapons in Heliogabalus. I have spoken with at least two parties here who own ships and trade wagons and have taken part and profit from this trade route of our enemy. The Legion, of which I mentioned above, calls Jiyyd its home. They have done some to stabilize and protect the land along the Long Road and thus have increased its viability as a trade conduit. Their reach could potentially secure the road from as far east as N'Jast and as far west as the western slopes of the Giantspires. If this were the case, the Long Road would become a clear and fruitful alternative to the Golden Way.

    In a previous letter, I mentioned the discovery of a lost underground city named Oscura. Since then, I have spent some time there. It is a vast and largely unexplored region with an underground port facility. I have inquired several times as to where the reaches of the underground river might extend, but have been unable to ascertain any meaningful information. The ruins have been habitated by various peoples in the land looking to stay away from the sunlight, or the scrutiny of others. There is a strong Banite presence there, made more so by the Lord Treasurer of that town who is a well-known and widely hated Banite priest. He is a man of Zhentil descent and has very liberal views of trade and commerce. There is an effort underway to establish Oscura as a center or conduit for the trade of slaves from as far away as the Moonsea. Oscura is geographically well positioned just north of the Long Road and will likely prosper from trade that is too sensitive for the likes of Jiyyd.

    In summary, I have learned much on my year long journey, but still have much more to find. I shall stay here for some time longer, at least until the pass of winter this year. Should their be any reason for your Graciousness to contact me, I can be reached by post in the city of Peltarch at the Mermaid Inn.

    Most humbly your citizen and servant,

    Enzo Ifferial,
    Born of pure Mulan blood in the city of Eltabbar,
    Citizen of the Tharch of Surthay.


  • I rested with ease before the fire in the Mermaid Inn. Two pints of local ale and a pipe full of Rashemi greenleaf had my mood just perfect. Two young men argued over there recent exploits and some trifle of gold they had made while I kept my eye on the young and flirting maiden near the back corner. Another man came in and sat at the table before me. He had the stench of the woods on him, no doubt augmented by the thick and matted cloak of animal fur across his broad shoulders. He paid me no mind, and I planned to return the favor until he slipped the cloak onto the back of the chair, revealing the naked skin of his thick back. Two magnificent tattoos crossed his skin, both penned and punctured with a skill that could not be barbarian work. Before I could wrest my thoughts back to the inviting bar girl, the memories came… stong and clear like the morning over the desert. Ten years ago seemed like yesterday...

    _… as a young man, you learn quickly to keep your head down. Even when you're free in a land of slaves, the peril of too much attention became quickly evident. The night had stormed, but now stood still in a thunderous silence that was worse than the lightning ridden weatherfront. I knelt on both knees with my head as low as possible without stretching out prostrate. The granite beneath me felt smooth and worn, a thought of the thousands that must have knelt in that hall flurried through my mind. How many had survived such nights as these? I did not know... for all the days of my life I had lived in Eltabbar, never had I put foot in the stronghold of a Red Wizard.

    I cursed myself over and over for my foolishness. A mere scout captain in the private army of a local baroness... far north in Eltabbar near the border with Surthay... so far from the relentless prying eyes of the Capital City... I had thought myself safe and removed from the dangers of the dark. So safe that in one moment, I let slip something I had endeavored for years to hide... so foolish! I was a good, obedient and lowly officer. I performed my duties well that I might maintain my life and my priviledges, but never too well or with too much flourish to be thought of too fondly. And then that foolish morning... just before dawn in the command tent of our general, I was reporting on my recent mission into the hills where my squad had investigated a recently sacked village. The news was uneventful and the general was barely paying attention. I had found some scrolls in the library of a burnt home; I handed them over and one of the infantry captains laid them out on the table for a look. The general offhandedly asked what they said. And in a moment of pure absentminded folly, I read the symbols from the closest page.

    Simply letting on that I could read would have been a foolishness that I would have cursed myself for over and over again. The education my mother had provided me was a secret I kept near and dear. Four languages, hundreds of books, a thousand scrolls and maps, and a keen mind to understand such things were the gift of her family. She had given so much to me, and along with the edcuation she gave me a healthy fear to stay far from the eyes of those who might exploit it. Moreover, the folly wasn't that I read so easily in front of men I had played simple to for some four years. When I read across those symbols and felt the growing spark of energy in the air, I tried with all of my will to retract the last of the syllables... but it was spoken ... and the runes on the page evaporated as the sound of their potency came forth... and suddenly a bright and steady light burst into the dark tent.

    My heart was gripped in fear as all heads within the command tent turned to me. The wide eyed and silent look of surprise on the general's face said it all. I looked around in shock, stepping back from the table, hoping that the light would fade, but it did not... much worse, it moved with me as I moved, shining clear and steady into the dark corners of the large tent. And if my failure had not been complete enough, then I saw the Baroness Altali Lexi, whose army I served. She had been previously concealed in the dimness of an alcove beyond the main room. At her side was another man who I had only seen at a distance before. His shaven head and tattooed face betrayed much of him despite the normal leathers he wore. They both looked at me with steady, dark and unflinching eyes. Sweat ran freely down my back. Several men around me moved uncomfortably away. At length, the bald man leaned close to the Baroness and whispered in her ear. She nodded thoughtfully and then a servant closed the drapery of their alcove.

    For some ten minutes the warm steady light glowed. After the Baroness' retreat, the other members of the tent slowly ground back to business. Whispers circulated about the periphery, but the general ignored them. Maps were laid out and plans for the day's movement were discussed. I was given my orders as usual and dismissed to take my squad up into the hills beyond the river. As I left the tent, the incident seemed forgotten but I knew better... only a complete fool would think such a thing had slipped by. Nothing went so unnoticed in the land of Thay...

    So two months later, I knelt on the granite floor. I regarded the summons to the stronghold as clear as a sentence of death handed down in court. The Baroness had called me to her chamber in ElSava and read from the sealed scroll. I was dismissed from her army; I would travel to Syyn and wait audience. Many times the thought of fleeing crossed my mind. I did not know where I would go or what I would do if I left my homeland. What would happen to my mother should I run? And what of myself? What part of the man I had become would survive the humilation of being a fugitive? No opportunity presented itself. And so I knelt on that floor, waiting for the unknown fate that would fall heavily upon me..._