Rise of the Dawnbearer - Part 9: The Journey Home

When Rax stepped through the immense stone doors and out from the physical structure of Djerad Thymar, with the exception of the thin sliver viewable from his recovery room this was the first time in almost three weeks that he had seen the sky. He closed his eyes and soaked in the sun as it looked down upon him from above, a soft breeze caressing his scales.

Thirty feet to his right Rax saw a series of carts. Sitting atop the lead cart was Ellana with her mother. She waved enthusiastically at Rax as she saw him exit the city. Rax waved back before turning back towards Horatio and Virgil who had escorted him down through the city.

“Farewell my young friend” said Horatio. “Do try to stay out of trouble.” Without any further word he turned back and returned to the city. Virgil bent down and shook Rax’s hand and said “Good luck.”

His send-off concluded, Rax made his way over to the convoy and mounted the lead cart with Ellana. As they set off he looked back to see the city of Djerad Thymar from the outside.

The city was a monolithic stone pyramid of enormous size. At least 1,500 feet wide and just as high, the pyramid towered over the nearby trees. At present it was casting no shadow, but Rax imagined that in the early morning or late afternoon it would block out the sun for several miles.

After he had finally stopped looking back at the city, Ellana leaned over to Rax. “I got you a present” she said. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small silvery-white mechanical dragon. “Something to remember this place by.”

As she placed the contraption, which was no bigger than an orange, in the palm of Rax’s hand it flexed its wings and blew a short jet of snow from its mouth. Overcome by the gift, Rax gave Ellana a generous hug. He lingered a little so she wouldn’t see as he wiped away a tear of joy.

Rax and Ellana spent the next few days taking in the view from the road and listening to the stories of some of their fellow travellers. By the weeks end they had made good time and had reached the port of Delzimmer where a tall ship, the Flying Owlbear, was waiting to take them back to Waterdeep.

As this was the first time seeing an ocean Rax was a little afraid of stepping foot onto the boat, but Ellana took his hand and assured him that it was perfectly safe and that they were almost never attacked by sea monsters. Unfortunately her joke did not go over too well with Rax and it took almost half an hour of combined cajoling from Ellana, Elisya and the ship’s Halfling first mate to lure him onto the ship.

As they set sail Rax, who was still quite apprehensive about their mode of travel, stood in the middle of the deck holding firmly onto the ship’s mast as though for dear life. After almost an hour of travel he loosened his grip, and Ellana was able to convince him to move to the edge of the ship.

As the wash from the ship sprayed salt water across his face, Rax looked out across the far reaching ocean. In the far distance he could only just make out the land from which they had come. Looking down into the water he saw several strange marine animals swimming alongside the ship, darting in and out of the wake.

“They’re called giant sea horses” said Ellana, seeing his intrigue at the strange creatures. “Apparently elves sometimes train them as mounts like we do horses.”

Rax was quite intrigued by this information and had several questions, but a sudden urge started to overcome him. His head started to feel dizzy and he felt a large amount of saliva forming in his throat and mouth. Then without further warning he felt a terrible retching sensation, originating from his stomach and heading up his throat and into his mouth. With a sound that made the nearby crew recoil Rax vomited over the side of the ship.

“Ewwww…” exclaimed Ellana.

Rax slumped down next to the railing feeling as though the cold hand of death was upon him. Much of the colour had withdrawn from his face and his cobalt scales appeared as though they now had a slight green tinge around the edges.

Several of the crew, along with Ellana, helped Rax to his feet and took him below deck to the passenger quarters. There he stayed for the remainder of the journey back to Waterdeep in a constant state of seasickness.

Ellana spent much of her time comforting Rax, but when he slept or wanted some alone time she would sit on deck looking out over the vast oceans through which they passed. On the rare occasions Rax would poke his head above deck he would sit in the middle of the ship, eyes closed, with a blanket wrapped around his shoulders and head.

Several months passed as the ship carrying Baroghan and his family crossed the Great Sea, west into the Shining Sea, and eventually made its way north towards the Sword Coast in the Sea of Swords. The ship made port at several locations during its journey, but Rax elected to remain below deck on these occasions.

It was a warm morning when Ellana, who was sitting on deck watching the waves roll by, heard the crewman manning the crow’s nest yell out “Land ho!”. Ellana ran to the bow of the ship and looked out to see a city on the horizon of which she was very familiar. The city was that of her home – Waterdeep.

Waterdeep, City of Splendours

Ellana rushed down below deck and, after waking him rather roughly, dragged Rax out of bed and rather reluctantly up onto deck. It was there that she pointed out to him the city that was to be his new home.

Through bleary eyes Rax saw the great city of Waterdeep in all its beauty. Behind the wall surrounding the Great Harbour, the sun reflected off the many angled rooftops making the city appear as though it was sparkling. To the west of the city along the coast was Mount Waterdeep, a great peak as high as Djerad Thymar.

In addition to the city, Rax now saw dozens of ships enter and leaving the great sea gates protecting the inner harbour. Some were great sailing vessels such as the one they were currently travelling on, others were tiny dinghies large enough to fit only one or two people.

As their ship passed through the southeast gate Rax laid his eyes upon the Great Harbour.  This small body of water was abuzz with merchant vessels going about their daily business. Rax was so enthralled by the scene he complete forgot about being seasick. It wasn’t until they reached the dock and shuddered to a halt that his stomach reminded him of how he felt about sea travel.

Keen to set foot back on solid ground, Rax and Ellana were two of the first people to alight the boat. As Baroghan and Elisya joined them, the captain of the ship farewelled them personally and saw to it that they found the horse and carriage that was waiting for them at the dockside.

It took a little over half an hour to navigate the one mile across the city of Waterdeep to the Sea Ward in the northwest where the Dawnbearer estate resided. Along the way Ellana delighted in pointing out every building and attraction that she knew of.

“… And that over there is Castle Waterdeep, they say it holds enough food for fifty thousand people, and down that way is the City of the Dead which is just a fancy name for the graveyard, and just up ahead is the market where they sell, like, everything!” jabbered Ellana at a pace that made Rax’s head spin.

After passing by the Field of Triumph, a large outdoor stadium and venue for many public spectacles, Ellana became particularly excited. “We’re almost there! We’re almost there!” she exclaimed repeatedly.

The carriage continued for three hundred feet before the main road turned left, at which point Ellana put her head outside of the window and pointed to a building another three hundred feet down the way. “There it is!” she proclaimed.

The Dawnbearer Estate

Blocked by Ellana half hanging out the window, Rax could not see the building to which she was referring until they were stopped right in front of it. Sitting on the corner of Shark Street and the Street of the Singing Dolphin stood a large and impressive manor occupying as much land as a half dozen of the neighbouring houses. The three storey marble façade stood illuminated by the midday sun.

As Rax stepped out of the carriage and made to follow Ellana up the stairs to the imposing brass double doors he felt a hand grasp him by the shoulder. Baroghan turned him around and spoke softly in his ear.

“This is not just my home, this is your home too. You are a part of our family now. Remember that.”

Rax was suddenly filled with an odd sense of apprehension. Slightly disconcerted by Baroghan’s final words, he let the Paladin usher him up the stairs and to the closed doors. At Baroghan’s prompting and with Ellana’s help, Rax pushed open the brass double doors and entered his new home for the first time.

To be continued…