We look so human that it hurts

"...this make me remember the carnival"

"oh, yes!"

"Do you remember it Quilintha?"

"It was allways fun!"

"For the next carnival, I'm totally going to throw the largest party in the history of Negeémiliel as celebration from my glorious return!" said Ivoÿn, smiling.

"When we get back to Negeémiliel, the first thing I will do it's to see my mate" said, strangely positive, Quilintha.

"And I will get myself a bunch of sexy slave girls. And take a long, long bath!" said Milvais.

"With all the sexy slave girls?"

"Of course!"

The three drows laughed, as approached to them a man, coming out from the town's inn...

"Are you disguises ready?" asked Belád, as he walked out from the tavern, where he get himself and the three drow a place in the caravan.

"We look so human that it hurts!" said Ivoÿn with a smile. "Why we needed to change clothes, anyway?" she asked then.

"Look around. The humans here use different clothes" said the White Hermit.

"All the humans dress in the same way: boringly!" said Milvais.

"How are these disguises to work, anyway? Are humans that stupid, or what? Are we going to use make up? Oh! that will be fun!"

"And why you are the only one with an armor? We are the warriors!" said Quilintha, as she looked the clothes the high elf pick.

"The humans from there doesn't leave their women to be warriors." answered Belád to Quilintha, before turning to Ivoÿn "And you aren't using make-up, because the best it's to keep the disguises simple. We will be traveling for weeks, and the make-up will not last that much."

"Then if we can't pass for humans: why to wear disguises, anyway?" asked Quilintha

"If you are in human clothes, you drag less attention" said Belád. "And in the distance, or in a crowd, your elven ears will not be pointing out."

"What with our ears?" said Ivoÿn, frowning. She was very proud of her ears!

"...nothing! nothing!" quickly said the White Hermit. "It's nothing wrong with them. But in general it's better to not drag much attention of humans to you. Better for them to ignore what can be a teen girl from the distance, than a drow woman..."

"And what with the drows now?" asked Milvais.

"Let's say, drows have their reputation" said Belád.


Unluckily, but as the white Hermit guessed, There wasn't any caravan to the underworld of Kazrrad.... at least none from this human settlement.

However, from the stories he had in the tavern, traveling to the Underworld, and Kazrrad, would be easier than he thought, as recently Negeémiliel had expanded their presence in the surface, opening this several trade routes who before where closed by the wars, and being the border of a conflict: Only it was needed then to reach Nohalion, and from there join one of the dwarven caravans to the Fallen Doors, and into the Underworld.

However, neither things would be so easy: After the fall of Zannas, the hinterland of the Vanolosé-human city state, their formerly controlled territories, have fallen in anarchy, with the former local governors trying to become kings of their own, fighting each other, and preying in travelers, taking from them either taxes and tolls, or the travelers goods (or even the travelers themselves!).... however, their efforts were useless, or so thought Belád with a bitter grin. The power gap from the fall of Zannas, was accordingly to the news he get from the tavern, when looking for a caravan, mean an opportunity for the Nigromante to make his advance, and the legions of the islands of Tok-Thoria where marching to the south...

...and meanwhile, no one protected anymore the islands of Demonach, the garrisons deserted... and Dol-Nur was marching to put an end to the exile of demons...

He sighed. Neither the travel ahead was going to be easy... Neither he know for sure, what he wanted to do once in Negeémiliel... but that aside, with the armies of the demons gathering again as stromy clouds in the sky, he could fell in his bones that the end of this age was coming...

...and all the sacrifices of the great war where for nothing.

"So are we going or what?" asked Ivoÿn with a smile.

Only then, Belád noticed she wasn't wearing the clothes he buy for her.

"What?"

There was heard a ruckus in the background, but ivoÿn keep smiling. "Are we going, then?"

---

Drawing done for , for his entry to my contest. :3


I decided to draw for him, the continuation of the story of the drow trio... and the White Hermit, Belád Bonceduil!
character originally created by ~Billie-Bonce for my world.