Rise of the Dawnbearer - Part 8: Recovery and Restitution

Over the next two weeks, Rax and Ellana spent much of their time together attempting to communicate with each other. Elisya also spent some time with the pair, though they seemed to be more interested each other than the motherly figure. After a couple of days the two companions had taught each other, with some assistance from Virgil and Elisya, fragments of their own languages.

Rax relished this time spent with Ellana. So far his life had been spent fighting with his brothers and learning combat. It was a new experience to be fighting over cards instead of fighting to the death, and it was one he enjoyed far more. For the first time in his life he was able to feel and act like the child he was.

After a week of recovering in his room, Rax’s wounds had healed sufficiently enough that Horatio allowed him to venture out once per day, under his direct supervision of course. Ellana was extremely excited by this and couldn’t wait to show him some of the scenes she had discovered around the city.

As Horatio opened to door and led them out of the recovery room Ellana grabbed Rax by the arm and pulled him out with such force that he thought his arm might come off. They trotted along behind Horatio, with Virgil bringing up the rear, through the stone hallways for about a hundred feet, passing several closed doors on either side. Rax found it very odd that, though there were no windows or torches, there seemed to be an abundant amount of light in this area. Once they arrived at the end of the corridor however, the presence of daylight in an otherwise closed corridor was the furthest thing from Rax’s mind.

Exiting the hallway the four companions found themselves standing on a balcony which extended more than a hundred feet to both the left and right. At this point the balcony turned square in the direction they were facing, where it continued for several hundred feet before turning again and meeting upon the opposite side, leaving a large square expanse in the middle. Around the edge were a number of inlaid stone columns joined together by an ornate balustrade.

Ellana once again pulled upon Rax’s arm, leading him to the stone balustrade at the edge of the balcony. As Rax peered over the edge, his jaw dropped. Looking down below he could similar balconies to the one he was standing on, each recessed slightly behind the one above, continuing down for what seemed to be over a thousand feet. Looking up he could see the balcony above protruded several feet beyond the balustrade on their level.  It appeared as though the interior of the city of Djerad Thymar was a giant hollow pyramid.

Rax stood for several minutes taking in this view whilst Ellana stared at him, thoroughly enjoying the look of amazement on his face. “Isn’t it amazing?” she finally asked.

Rax had no words in either Draconic or Common for his astonishment. The sight before him was beyond anything he could have possibly imagined. Looking around he could see several glowing orbs on each level, which he now came to realise must have been the source of the light in the corridor he could not identify earlier. Craning his neck as far over the railing as he could, Rax looked down to the bottom level of the city. Though he could not make out any details, it looked to him as though the floor was moving.

“That’s the market” said Ellana, who was now leaning over the balcony as well. “They sell the most amazing things! We should go down there if Horatio will let us.”

Looking over at Horatio, Ellana could see he and Virgil were in discussions with a third Dragonborn and had for the moment taken their eyes off the two children. Her eyes darted back to Rax, and with a cheeky grin she asked “Wanna see how far down it is?”

Not sure what she had in mind Rax nodded. At his cue she leant her head over the balustrade and made a strange sound as she cleared her throat. Pursing her lips she began to dribble a wad of saliva until it was too big to remain attached and it fell down into the gaping chasm below.

Rax was completely flabbergasted by this magnificent display. As Ellana made to drop another loogie, Rax attempted to follow suit. After several failed attempts Ellana proceeded to instruct him on how to do it properly.

“You have to draw it up into the roof of your mouth. Like this!” She demonstrated once again. With his next attempt Rax managed to create a rather large ball of saliva and released it into the void. He watched it as far as he could until it fell out of sight. He turned smiling broadly to Ellana who was watching him, giggling.

As Rax began to giggle himself the two cohorts each felt a large hand grab them by the collar. They turned to see Horatio looking squarely at them, clearly unimpressed by their antics. As they stood quivering in front of the menacing Dragonborn with looks on their faces as though they had been caught with their hands in a cookie jar, the female Dragonborn that Horatio had been in discussions with earlier came to their defence.

“Don’t be so mean, Horatio. They’re just kids” she said.

Horatio backed off slightly, but still remained entirely focused on the two children. “Back to your room” he said sharply.

Crestfallen, the two turned around and proceeded reluctantly back down the hallway to Rax’s recovery room, with Virgil following closely behind. Rax and Ellana spent the rest of the day making up names for Horatio commensurate with his sourpuss attitude until night fell and they each retired for the evening.

The following day Horatio allowed the two friends to further explore the city of Djerad Thymar, though this time he kept a much closer watch on them. Together they explored the upper levels of the city where many of the citizens lived and worked. Expeditions over the next few days extended their tour to the lower levels where for the first time Rax experienced the floor of the interior pyramid.

At the base of the city was a large expanse covered by stalls, tables and tents. What empty space there was on the market floor was filled with Dragonborn of all colours and sizes, milling around stalls and sitting at tables eating and drinking with each other. There was a palpable buzz in the air which vibrated through Rax’s body.

Excited by the many wondrous items for sale, Rax and Ellana zipped from stall to stall to investigate. There were a variety of goods on offer, from exotic foods and fine clothing, to arcane relics and mechanical contraptions.

At several of the food stalls the proprietors, seeing a human female and a young cobalt Dragonborn, offered them a free piece of his wares. Some were delicious, others bland, and one particularly strange fruit caused Rax to sneeze small bursts of ice from his nose for several minutes. Ellana almost fell over laughing as she watched him unsuccessfully try to hold the sneezes in.

As the day grew long Rax started to feel as though several of the Dragonborn in the market were watching him. As he looked around he saw there were many different colours of Dragonborn in the market – sky blue, black silver, gold, green, copper, red, and even a few that were stark white. However he couldn’t help but notice that, like in his own clan, there were no other Dragonborn with the same hue as his own. Though there were blue Dragonborn all around, the sky-like colour of their scales was in stark contrast to his own intense shade of cobalt.

Observing this peculiarity he approached Horatio and asked him about it. “Horatio, are there other Dragonborn of my colour?”

Horatio thought for a moment, carefully considering his response. “I myself have not seen a member of our kin with the same complexion as your own, but that does not mean that they do not exist.” Seeing Rax’s confused and disappointed look he attempted to clarify his response. “Dragonborn usually bear the hue of one of the chromatic or metallic dragons in their lineage. This is not to say that other scale tones do not or cannot exist, just that they are less common.”

Rax didn’t feel entirely satisfied by the response. As Ellana returned from a nearby stall where she had been haggling with an old gnome Horatio indicated that it was time for them to return to the upper levels.

Later that night after Ellana had left his room, Rax lay awake by the candlelight thinking about all those Dragonborn he had seen in the market. Though surrounded by thousands of his kin, he couldn’t help but remember how, for a moment, he had felt like the only one of his kind. As he slept he tossed and turned with dreams of shadows and loneliness.

When Rax awoke the following morning he found Baroghan standing at the foot of his bed, apparently waiting for him to awaken. As he rubbed his eyes Rax pushed himself upright into a seated position.

The paladin was dressed in his armour and bore his weapon on his belt. He waited until Rax was settled before he spoke.

“I have been watching you over the last few weeks. My daughter has grown quite fond of you. It pleases me to see her so happy.”

Unsure of what to say or do, Rax gave a half smile in response. Baroghan continued.

“My family and I are to leave the city today for the journey back to our home in the north. As you have become close friends with Ellana it leaves me with a slight dilemma as to what to do with you.” Baroghan frowned grimly.

“It had been the intention of Horatio and myself to let you stay here with your kin, as it would be best for your development to remain with your fellow Dragonborn. We would find you suitable accommodation on one of the lower levels of the city where you could live under supervision until such a time as you were capable of making your own way. However, given the events of the last few weeks I have been forced to consider an alternative option.”

Baroghan paused for a moment. He looked grimly at Rax who was unsure of what was to come. His mind raced as to the alternative – was he going to throw Rax out of the city and back in to the wilderness? Or possibly something worse? Rax swallowed nervously.

“My wife and daughter have asked that you would accompany us on our journey back to Waterdeep, where upon you would be inducted into our family. You would live with us and be afforded all the rights and responsibilities as a member of our family. You would be Ellana’s brother, and my son.”

Baroghan again paused as he attempted to read the young Dragonborn’s reaction. “In the end though it has been decided that you should be the one to choose which path you will take.”

Rax sat stunned by the offer from the paladin. He had not thought about what might happen to him when Baroghan and his family headed back to their own home, and even if he had the offer of going with them would have been the last thing he would have envisaged.

After a few moments of silence Baroghan spoke again. “I can see that this is a difficult choice for you. We will not be leaving until noon, so you have a few hours to think it over before you need to make a decision.”

Baroghan turned and headed towards the door. As he grabbed onto the handle to open it Rax spoke.

“Yes” he said. Baroghan turned towards him with a quizzical eyebrow. Seeing his confusion Rax elaborated. “I mean, I wish to come with you… and Ellana.”

Baroghan paused before speaking. “Very well. I will make the arrangements with Horatio.” He opened the door before adding “I will be very glad to have join our family.”

He smiled broadly at Rax before swiftly exiting the room, closing the door behind him.

To be continued…