Tentacles, reaching, grasping, prodding, swarmed over the blond-haired, girl elf child and the red-haired woman, writhing in ectasy and masochistic delight. He tried to reach out, only to find that his limbs were frozen, his body incapable of movement. He noticed, then, the slimy tentacles impaled into his temples, controlling his thoughts, inhibiting his body…

Evander snapped to awakeness with a snarl, drawing a long, curved knife that he kept at the bedside, his armed tensed to strike a telling blow. He glanced over, and saw the still sleeping forms of his daughter, Immestria, and his lover, Khaira. No tentacles. He reached out, and stroked the heads of the elven woman and child. He collapsed into the bed again with a sigh of resignation.

*********************************************************

He didn’t pass out of the elven reverie until late morning; sunlight already spilled in a lazy pool throughout the room. He saw, not surprisingly, that he was alone in the bed. He swung his feet around, and stepped out of bed, into the brisk bedroom. His effects – trousers, cloak, tunic, sword, a myriad of daggers, darts, and knives, and his magical items – were folded neatly on top of a bureau. He instead opened a drawer of the bureau, and selected a full body, light weight, light blue tunic, embroidered with elven and draconic runes. Out of habit, he retrieved a dagger and sheath from his effects, and strapped it onto his arm, tying it into place.

He strode out of the bedroom, into the circular socializing area, and saw Khaira pulling a white shirt over Immestria’s head. He stopped in the doorway, and paused, admiring the two for several moments. Never in his lifetime would he have thought that he, of all people, would have comfortable just taking the day easy, and relaxing with his family. In fact, that was all he wanted to do today; it scarred him deeply that he had, at most, only a couple of hours to spend on leisure. That meant, then, that there was no time to waste.

He moved forward deftly, and swept Immestria, into his arms, pausing to kiss Khaira on the cheek. The blonde-haired, silver- and green-eyed child squealed excitedly, before hugging Evander. He noted how they both had the aroma of sweet lavender floating about them. He looked down at Immestria, and nuzzled her nose fondly.

“How would you like to go meet some new friends?” he asked her.
Immestria nodded eagerly, before looking over to Khaira.
“With Mommy, too?”
“Aye, if she wants to come. We haven’t visited the Alu’Tel Quessir for quite some time.” He said, using the elvish name for the sea elves.
Khaira smiled, and nodded once.

Bare minutes later, the trio were wading into the sparkling, clear Evermeet sea. Magical energies wrapped around them, and their clothes melded into their bodies, as their physical forms changed, turning a luminescent aqua green, and their feet begin replaced by fins. So changed into the form of sea elves, the trio plunged into the great, blue sea, swimming with swift speed towards the grotto of the Alu’Tel Quessir.

*********************************************************

Evander stood on the terrace of single-story, split-level house, overlooking a tranquil, eastern sea. The sun was shining, and myriad menageries of avian specimens were singing their mid-afternoon song. Khaira, resplendent in a long-flowing, green gown, stood at the open entryway to the house, her long silver-white hair, colored with hints of pure blonde and vibrant red, cascading freely down her shoulders. Here, on Evermeet, Khaira was a noble person, of a pure-blooded line … and at this moment, she certainly looked as thought she fit her title. Her astute, emerald green eyes were as shining and attentive as ever before.
Evander, adorned in a tight-fitting, light gray tunic and matching trousers, sets his great sword and scabbard aside, and picked up a small elven child, blonde-haired, and bearing one blue eye and one silver, with a skin tone that hinted at a silver complexion. Immestria, the daughter of Khaira and Evander, was blessed – some would say cursed – with both elven and draconic blood; the two embraced, and the empathic connection between the two expressed more than words ever possibly could.

“Daddy, back soon?”
Evander smiled and nodded, kissing the top of her head fondly.
“Daddy and Mommy and me play when you come back?”
“Yes, Princess, we definitely will. But Daddy has to do some work first.”

He set her down, then, watching her go after gallivanting butterflies, performing their aerial play the air, and turned to Khaira. His ice-blue eyes met Khaira’s green eyes, and he read clearly the message that was transmitted. She was worried – perhaps she had seen portents of what was to come, too? – and wanted this next ordeal over.
She strode forward then, and traced the creases of his mouth, her hand moving up to his nose and, then, around his eyes. She held a small, brown sack in her hands, which she palmed into Evander’s own hands.

“Don’t forget Imreis’ gift, and my own. We want you to come back, and don’t think for a second that we won’t be jealously waiting your return,” she said, her voice strong, but her eyes echoing a heart aching pain.
“Of course, my love,” he said, his own eyes echoing the expression in hers, “it won’t be long before I return. A blink of an eye, and nothing more.”
Skepticism was evident in her eyes; she never could conceal much to him, and nor could he conceal much to her.
“How are you planning to proceed?” she queried him, her head hovering closing to his face.
He noticed her hair had a fragrance not unlike fresh morning fruit, laden with a sweet morning dew. He swallowed in spite of his convictions; how he longed to stay, with her and with Immestria, and delay this trip more … but, no, he could not do that. He could not delay any further; the gods had given him a clear sign that something was amiss. If he did not
“I will first stop by Blackstaff Tower, and speak with Khinaal; he has some advice to give on the current state of affairs in Cormyr and, specifically, Suzail. I will then stop by to speak with Bran, to give him a current report and a briefing of my intentions. Branth is waiting for me in the Rotunda, and I will stop by for some parting words, before leaving for Suzail. Three days, at most, my dearest.” Evander said, with something of a grimace, and a pained heart.
“It is a good plan,” she murmured, even though her bright eyes shied away, “if only I could go with you. It is bound to be dangerous…”
“You have something more important to watch over,” he replied curtly, his eyes straying to the leaping Immestria, “But promise me that you will go to stay with Branth, Ruthia, and Imreis. I can’t bear the thought of you staying alone, here.”
“I will,” she said, nodding, and her eyes followed Evander’s, to watch Immestria, before snapping back to Evander. She kissed him, then, without reservation, and they embraced, sharing more, heart to heart, than any mundane lover ever could.
He pulled away from her, then, despite his heart aching so. He retrieved his great sword and scabbard, scribed with elven runes, and stepped back from Khaira. Khaira thought she could see, for the briefest split second, remnants of a shadow hovering over his head … but, no, it was a trick of the light.
He saluted her, crisply, his palm open and facing towards her. In the next moment, he was gone, riding the magical path that would lead him to Waterdeep and Blackstaff Tower.

*********************************************************

Evander materialized into existence in front of the bar of the Rotunda; tonight, the gambling festhall was a alive with activity. Gamblers and gambling attendants shouted, threw coins, and cavorted wildly together. The eyes of a handful of merchants and their families were upon Evander’s spontaneous entrance, but their gaze turned, with sudden interest, to the floor or their dinner plates. More like than not, if a man had magical aptitude to appear out of thin air in the Rotunda, they wanted nothing to do with him … trouble always followed those who used magic so frivolously.
In truth, Evander had need of utter haste; under any other circumstances, he would have taken his time getting to the Rotunda, by flight or by ship. Urgency was the matter at hand, however, as he had people yet to meet and items yet to retrieve, before he made with utter haste to Cormyr. First, he had to attend to other matters, and make some arrangements … arrangements that Khaira would certainly not like overly much.
He took out a roll of parchment, and scanned the message that he had written.

“Branth: If you receive this missive in time, I ask that you escort Khaira and Immestria to Ruthia and Imreis’ residence, and, if you can, stay with them there. The next few days I will be in Cormyr, and I do not yet know what may happen, nor am I able to clearly foresee the consequences of what may happen. If they are removed from this plane, they will be safest. In solidarity, Evander.”

He paused, and smirked a little mischievously as he predicted Khaira’s response if she knew the arrangements he was making for her. He motioned to Fee Gee, the enchanted magical construct, enchanted to understand mortal commands, and urged it to give him some ink and a pen, which the serving construct did. Still smirking,  he penned an addendum to the note.

“P.S. If she is opposed to being watched over – as I’m sure she will be – feel free to use Immestria as leverage.”

Quickly, Evander folds the parchment over itself, creating an envelope out of the letter; murmuring an incantation, he passes his hand over it, watching an intricate, draconic seal form on the parchment. The symbol was particularly enchanted so that none, other than Branth, could open it. In the event that it fell into the wrong hands, the enchantment would suddenly sap the culprit of their mental capacities, and enact an eruption of fire. He hands the envelope to Fee Gee, and places a platinum coin on top of it.

“This is for one named Branth; he may be in later this week, with a red-haired elven woman and a small elven child. Brother to the silver-haired Ruthia. See that he receives this missive; it is exceedingly important and time sensitive.”

He watches the construct take the letter, and slip it somewhere in the kitchen, where it disappears, and ring the bell on the drawer till as he slips the platinum coin in. He has the utmost confidence that it will stay safe until Branth comes in. With a nod and a bow to the other patrons of the Rotunda, and an intonation of a prayer to Tymora, the goddess of luck, Evander again dematerializes into something lighter than air, and is gone to his next destination.

*********************************************************

Even as his body sped towards the black, stone tower that housed one of the most powerful – and manipulative – wizards in Waterdeep, the City of Splendors, he sensed the boundary, and winced at what he knew was coming. As he neared the boundary, a woman’s spectral face leered out at him, and he saw the red pinpoints of energy focus on him for the blink of an eye.
The eyes floated over him as he came to rest before the boundary, and he thought he heard a male voice chuckle before he resumed his initial velocity, and sped through the boundary, into bright light.
When Evander gathered his senses, he saw he was in a large library, and a number of eyes looked his way, with an inquisitive look. He saw, smiling with ironic humor, a pale-hued elf, clad in dark gray robes. He held a fist-sized, green emerald in his hands, and he stepped forward, offering a hand to the sitting Evander.

“Evander,” the elf intoned, his voice dripping with humor, “It is good to see you again.”
“Khinaal,” Evander muttered, rising to his feet with the elf, “I see the Blackstaff still maintains his wards.”
“You know, Evander,” the elf said with a smirk, “The Blackstaff does not often make exceptions for dragons. You should take more care to inform yourself of the wards, particularly the Dragonward.”
Evander rolled his eyes at that comment.
“And here I always thought that you were a scholar pretending to be a dandy; turns out, you’re a dandy playing at being a scholar.”
Khinaal laughed merrily, his eyes twinkling playfully
“Truly, some day, we shall have to enjoy a night of fun on the town. Forgive me, Lord Sunstrike, I forget that time is not a commodity that you have at your disposal.”
“Aye, aye, Khinaal,” Evander motioned impatiently with his hands, “Urgent matters require my immediate attention, and there are scant few hours of daylight left in the day. I have not yet recovered all of the memories from Cormyr and I …”
“…need them in order to possess all of the knowledge of Cormyr’s laws, court etiquette, histories, and whatnot. Yes, yes, I am fully aware of that,” Khinaal drolled on, his voice monotonous, “Someday, you people have really got to learn to relax.”
“Khinaal…”
“Relax! I have all of your items right here,” he said, holding up a bundle of items, wrapped in white linen, and the green gem in his other hand, “Your pin, a collection of items to aid you in your disguises, a kiira loaded with your Cormyrean memories, in addition to some supplementary knowledge of the area, and your forged papers. I’ve done all the research for you already, Evander.”
“It’s all ready?” he questioned cautiously.
“Oh, you bet!” Khinaal exclaimed, excited, “At the request of Laeral – who urges you not to burn down Cormyr too quickly – I have also enchanted a Contingency magic into the kiira. In the event that you fall into real danger from which you have no escape, it will remit a cross-planar message. I trust you will have time to program it to include those whom you will need contacted.”
“Then it’s everything I’ll need,” Evander mused out loud, “I’ll have to take flight now…”
“Always in such a hurry!” Khinaal exclaimed, punching Evander lightly on the arm, “If you’re in such a hurry to incite dragon fear on the countryside, that’s your prerogative, but the Lightsinger Theatre here, in Waterdeep, just happens to have a portal to take you to Cormyr. In fact, the clerics at The Binder’s House of Wonder in Cormyr will be expecting Taessynd Roular this evening. Of course, he will be bringing an ancient tome, detailing some of the ancient histories of Anarouch, which Taessynd will have found in Waterdeep.”
“Taessynd…” Evander trailed off. That was a guise he had not worn in many-a-year. It was one of the first he had worn, when his father had charged him with entering Candlekeep all those centuries ago.
Khinaal handed a blue-bound book, easily at least three volumes, to Evander.
“It’s about Taessynd came out of hiding, you know,” Khinaal teased, “Oh, and don’t worry about your red-haired troublemaker … I’ll be sure to have agents in the Rotunda, watching to make sure that she’s safe.”
“That’s it, then,” Evander began, “Are there any other preparations that I need to be aware of?”
“I’ve contacted key persons in Suzail already, whom will contact Taessynd and Glankonig, respectively. They will come to you … do not risk their cover.” Khinaal began, guiding Evander towards a set of stairs, with his arm. “And as one last courtesy, Lady Laeral wishes to speak with you before you depart.”
Evander strode to the stairs, nodding briefly. He would speak with the Lady of the Tower, and then he must be off to Cormyr. He would make contact with the clerics of the temple of Oghma, the god of knowledge, and then he must be off to visit the ruins of Kassim, to commune with the spirits of the long-dead ruined draconic kingdom … his kingdom.
“Do take care, Evander,” Khinaal whispered to Evander, his tone and his eyes serious, “We still need you on the Material Plane. Send for aid if you need to, for I will be the liaison between you and all the resources you need. Be cautious, for I sense there is something deeper at work here.”
Before Evander could respond in kind, Khinaal stepped back and spoke a foreign word. The stairs whirred, and he was soon borne on the tantalizing winds of magic, the moving spell taking him deeper within the tower and, soon, to the source of the debacle that began nearly six centuries ago.