Unidan
By J.L.Collins
(The Forgotten Realms author and contributor to the Land of Argyle by Silver Oak Studios)
“I came to learn the truth.
I came to know them, to watch them. I came to discover if they were a threat, or a shadow of what they once were. The People lived, and died, by their hand. Now we watch the borders of the Firelight Forest, almost expecting another war, another separation, another age of loss.
I left the comfort, the companionship, the camaraderie of my brothers and sisters in the edgewatch to travel to this dangerous place. What we knew is old, what we feared is real. Questions needed answers, enemies needed names. So I came to learn of them, but I did not know what I would learn of my own heart in doing so.
Unidan.
As though the name might hint at unity, yet that word holds no meaning here. Unless you count the fear shared by all of the danger that waits beyond wooded palisades that can never be high enough, never be strong enough.
Settled along the Great Merchant Highway, hugging tight to the Sober River, for fear of being swallowed by the Burnt Ranges to the west. North of Soberdan, cesspool of all who know hate in their hearts. West and south of Niire, the sole entry to the home of the People that does not welcome trespassers with bow and blade. It is a hard town, with hard men who keep it. Guards watch its gate, and their purses. If you know wealth, you might know safety. If you know wealth, you might know privacy. They swear an oath loudly, and break it with every whispered deal they keep. Yet what cause have they to stand tall and offer sanctuary to those less than them?
Beyond their home lies death in every direction. This I learned early in my journey. I came to learn what lies in the hearts of men, but it is what lies around them, and beneath them that is also cause for doubt. What once was a mine of the stonelords is now a haven for goblins and their kin. They breed by the hundreds, and for many months I watched as foolish seekers of glory or wealth entered its depths Deeper still than they wait the strong arm of their ogre brethren and spiders whose bites are as long and sharp as swords. I know of these enemies not from rumour or written word, but from scars still fresh, and stains of blood yet uncleaned. I watched many enter those depths.
Very few returned.
Orcs keep caves of their own, deep in the woods where even one of the People cannot easily tread. They raid often, taking no prisoners, leaving no witnesses. Their rage is stunted only by their fear. They cannot conquer this land, nor can they easily be driven from it. An enemy that never tires, yet never grows. Endless waiting death.
Their dog-faced cousins the gnolls welcome happily their next meal in ruins that once knew prosperity. They are cunning and ruthless. They do not give you chance to meet their charge. They know bow and blade, and use each well. If not for the keen eye and soft steps of one of the People, I would not have passed in their shadow and survived.
Where firm ground turns to water, and where water lies still and become fetid is yet another haven for the unwary. The kobolds slip beneath the steaming surface of their home to ambush man and animal alike. Even their many numbers are the not the gravest of their threat. Shamans keep watch over their tribe, weaving forgotten magic that is as rare as it is fatal. When the fog hangs low and the water becomes deep, you cannot run, you cannot fight, and you cannot see. You only hear their chanting, and their screams, and then you hear nothing more.
Yet all these dangers are known to the People. What then of the humans?
I once shared a common fire with a human who boasted often of his greatness and insulted openly the People and their secrets. I was wary, yet he did not appear to me as a man who would end my life if I fought with skill. Later I saw a notice hung that named him thief, shrouder, and murderer. A man of magic and ill-intent, and yet I could not sense it of him. Such is the threat the humans keep in their hearts. Once they used magic to rule Argyle, and enslave the other races. Now they use false promises and untrue friendships to keep what they have, and covet what is not theirs… just as the Mage-Kings once did.
I learned that the greatest threat to Unidan lay within Unidan itself. Often cries were issued of shrouders walking the land, of murders unsolved, and wealth paid to those who proved either. If I dared to walk the streets, I risked assault by night, harassment by day. If I used the undercity, they the hunter became the hunted, as rats the size of dogs keep warrens that were as dark as they were foul. This city is a collection of all I came in search of. Humans who could strike en-masse at any they deemed an enemy, yet they do not act, even when evil settles within view of their walls. A place where families struggle to live, and children to learn, yet even the most common values of charity and honesty cannot easily be found. Ruled by greed, yet possessing nothing of wealth, it feeds on the hopes, fears, and ambition of those who call it home.
I have never known comfort there, yet often my path took me to its gate.
In time, I could not walk my path alone, and was forced to seek companionship. I had met wandering brothers and sisters during my time in this land, and even shared fire -- and battle -- with stonelords of good heart and truthful words. Yet I came to know more than one human, and with every meeting of the next, they would reveal another secret of their heart to me. One would lie, another would offer aid. One would steal; another would offer gifts, freely. One would walk alone; another would keep as joyous a group of companions as the edgewatch. It did not aid in my purpose here, and for every question answered, I had two left unsolved. One question alone was most important of all.
Could one of the People trust his life to a human?
I would seek my own answers, as I journeyed deep into the ground, battling enemies alongside humans possessing skill and secrecy. I would walk every direction in their company, seeking lost souls, claiming lost wealth, or finding answers to questions as yet unasked.
In one human, I experienced each of these. In one woman I saw the range of the human heart. In her I witnessed selfish greed, and selfless sacrifice. For every lie she spoke a truth, and for every wrong she committed something right. I chose her as my guide, and through her I would learn if the humans could indeed threaten the People once more. She knows of what I seek, and yet often hides what is plain inside her heart.
She knows many enemies, inside Unidan and beyond. She also keeps many friends, some of whom have died to protect her. She rewards loyalty with indifference, yet has risked her own life for the sake of another, even if unasked. I have seen her fight with skill rivaling the most experienced of the edgewatch, yet witnessed her fall prey to the simplest of vanities.
This is my task, and I will not return home until it is complete. Whether I rest behind the walls of Unidan, or walk beneath the boughs of the forest, I shall keep her company until I have learned the truth of what lies in her heart. She seeks danger as often as it finds her, so my skill will be tested, and my heart. For to trust her with my life means she trusts me with hers… even if unasked.
Perhaps the answer I seek is not to the question I ask.
Could a human trust their life to one of the People?
Could a human trust their heart as well?
The question remains unanswered, the journey remains unfinished, and the friendship remains unnamed. Once I met her, I had thought my journey was near its end.
Now I know it is just beginning.”
Lithilor Hollow
Edgewatch Warden
~~~~~~~~~~~~
J.L. Collins is an author for The Forgotten Realms and contributor to the Land of Argyle by Silver Oak Studios. An active member of Argyle Online, a premiere persistent world for Atari’s Neverwinter Nights, this story was inspired by the exciting server and lush history developed by the Silver Oak Studios.
Launched in June 2002, Argyle Online is arguably the first Neverwinter Nights persistent world and has been active ever since. The server features a unique and exciting role-playing experience based on Silver Oak Studios’ Land of Argyle campaign setting and employs core SRD 3.5 rules. With over 490 registered members on its forums, Argyle Online is a community that embraces new players and encourages excellence in role-playing, storytelling and, above all, fun. Visit the Argyle Online forums at http://www.lonerhino.com/argyle/ruminations.
Silver Oak Studios is a d20 publishing company dedicated to creating some of the most unique and inspiring campaign settings, adventures and supplements. Current projects are based on The Land of Argyle, a low-magic roleplayer's world which has been in development since 1999. Visit Silver Oak Studios at http://www.silveroakstudios.com.
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