Valkryn's Lament

(( posted from previous days )) Today was a most trying day, a day when a part of me nearly died. But instead it was someone I'd never expected to die in such a manner. Let me start from the begining. I met Athena in the forrests. She was fuming mad and it turns out that some woman named Phinneas took her child away. I tried to get some informatation from her so I could help in the hunt, but she got angry and before long she'd dragged me to Navere's dungeons with a teleport spell while holding my ear.

The fight I put up didnt last long, I only got in a few kicks and then the bitch called in the Navere guards. She hit me in the inner thigh and under arm, some kind of pressure points to make my arms and legs go numb, and then just laughed at me while the guards beat me and chained me upside down. I tried to get to my lock pick but she had the guards strip me as further humiliation.

I've never felt so betrayed in my life, and by my own sister even. I spat some of the blood gathering in my mouth at her, begged her to release me, to take me anywhere where Jelia wouldnt be able to get me... but she simply left me there to suffer as if I didn't even matter. It was then that I started to think that perhaps my way of thinking has been wrong all these years.

That if I were to go help Phinneas take Athena's son... perhaps give Athena a few good bolts of lightening enough to blacken her face and hands, that then people would respect me. And if not, for a time, I'd have been willing to go further and help Phinneas in her schemes, and then aid house Dalharuk in capturing Jelia and Valkryn, and perhaps even playing a trick on Siona with some magic items I had. And the exquisite pain I could exact upon Zodiac...

I thought about all the people I'd helped, and where I'd ended up, about how worthless it was to have mercy and self control, to put the happiness of others above my desires, to avoid killing my opponents so they could trouble me again. After all, had I destroyed jelia in the dungeons she surely wouldnt be approaching with horrible implements of torment...

I was teetering on the edge of madness, but then something saved me. A Yochlol, one of the handmaidens of Lolth. It appeared in the courtyard from what I learned afterwards and sent out a shockwave that knocked most of the guards about and drew the rest up to the main level.

I'd warned Valkryn about the spider queen's anger. At first I thought he was just too proud to take advice from me, but now I suppose he was simply resigned to his fate. He was a known Vhaerunite, probably the source of Lolth's anger... And he knew what would have to happen. That's what I believe he was thinking, or at least what I'd like to believe.

While the guards were writhing in agony the cell largely shielded me, so despite the beatings I jerked my thumb out of socket and slipped out of the restraints, grabbing a lock picking kit from my chastity belt and going to work on the other three shackles. When I was finally out of them I picked the door and ran out, getting up the stairs and heading for the courtyard to help Valkryn.

When I got there I could hear the groans of wounded drow... but there was nothing left of Valkryn except his weapons. The Yochlol had died as well and taken him with it. Valkryn gave his life to protect his home, to calm the spider queen and give Navere a chance.

Such selflessness dosnt normally appear in the drow, or in many races of Faerun for that matter. But it certainly banished my thoughts of turning down the dark path of vengeance and hate. Valkryn had done what he had to do, had lost his very life, for no other reason than to protect others. He'd been called a meddler, an evil man, a killer, as I have, and it never phased him. And finally he'd suffered pain and death because it was what he had to do, because it was right.

In the end I can't imagine that he would have looked for allies, I can't imagine that he would have wanted things to go differently. He was vindicated by that final act, no matter what may come next. His plans and hopes are not gone with him though, even if he is laying in the demon web pits in torment. I for one intend to do all that I can to uphold House Navere, and I'm sure it's strengthened others resolve.

In the end, doing what's right dosn't guarantee safety or friends, or approval. It only guarantees respect and some degree of dignity, even if that must come after death. Someone might later ask me if Valkryn was a good person... That would take a bit of thought... I think my answer would simply have to be, that he surely did a good job of making people think otherwise, and I'll leave it at that.

I wasnt sure Valkryn was dead immediately though. I half thought it might be acruel trick just to toy with me. But when I saw how many guards were badly wounded I forgot the risk and began trying to help them. I expended all my clerical and mage healing spells and was just slumping my way out of the house when Gia appeared.

She did that thing that people can do where they yell at you to do something and you just kinda have to do it. I guess she learned it from having so many kids, cuz I know not all rulers can just do that. Plus I felt bad for her about Valkryn, so I hobbled back and tried to explain to her what had happened without openly saying that Valkryn was the goo we were standing in.

She saw the sword though, and I barely caught her with a spell (I wasnt about to touch her, I was afraid she'd hit me) before she crumpled to the ground atop the blanket I'd used to escape. It was kind of odd, I think she was crying, and all the time I'd heard Ali call her this coldhearted bitch and now I knew it wasnt true. I wanted to hold her, try to comfort her, but I knew that would be going too far, specially as dirty as I was. So I called over the priestesses and gave her to their care.