Free Xenon

Introduction

This post is for the text of the Intersectional Character History (ICH) the Waterdeep: Dragon Heist campaign we will be starting this Sunday (23 Sep 2018). For the background on this campaign and my character and check out my previous post: Starting a New D&D Campaign – Waterdeep: Dragon Heist.

Brian, our tireless DM, created a diagram of all of our characters and had us describe some of history that would relate us with those 2 characters. The two characters on either side of me were:

• the elven monk
• the human wizard

This post details the ICH for for my character, Durden Multae (changeling male monk), and Kyle’s character, Valeriana Estelmer (human female wizard).

Narrative Background

The first narrative, Brewtown Encounter, takes place about 4 months before the start of the campaign.  The second narrative, Unlikely Allies, takes place a week or so after the Brewtown Encounter.

Narrative Meta

This is about 10 pages long (about ~4900 words) which was written over 2 consecutive days @ 4 hours a day and about 2500 words at a time. I was actually rather surprised at how fast this went. When I participated in National Novel Writing Month in 2013 getting 2500 words in 8 hours was very, very difficult. 

Writing Quality and Flow

Yes, I know I am telling and not showing like a writer should, but I did not plot nor plan this out and just wrote this to get it done. I did not want to spend so much time on this, especially since the game starts this Sunday.

In the first part, we threw some ideas back and forth, but then decided on Kyle’s idea on how we initially met and how it went, all of which takes place about 4 months before Waterdeep: Dragon Heist takes place. The second part was my idea on how to have us both get together and to help each other in one event so we can help to form a bond more than my character’s patent dismissal of her authoritay. Bonds are important for character development.

I was a bit worried about how theses narratives turned out because my character (Dathana) comes off as a bit dominant, sort of controlling the flow of the scenes, and Kyle’s character (Valeriana) was more reactive. I was not sure if that was really fair, however, the solace for me is two-fold:

1. At least with the first part, it was commented that I captured his vision of his character very well. Yea!
2. Through out both narratives, his character is really the one who had undergone an actual change which is really what needs to happen for a main character in a story. It turns out that Dathana was merely there as a part of Valeriana’s story, to drive forward her personal journey. Valeriana transforms from a sheltered, and entitled noblewoman who feels somewhat invincible in her posh estate world to one who is more aware of the potential fragility of her world, and that, even in the face of this knowledge and awakening, that she is not really helpless, that she has power to do something about it.

Narratives

The Brewtown Encounter

Valeriana, Chasing the Forbidden

Valeriana stood there, her house guards arrayed behind her like statues, two-by-two and three rows deep. Their livery, colored in deep blue and shiny gold, announced the presence of Waterdeep nobility, a human right in the center of the dwarven brewing district, or Brewtown as some called it. Her delicate and beautiful face was framed by her medium length and fine sandy-blonde hair, and was marred by annoyance and indignation for having to leave the safe and clean confines of her family’s mansion just to disobey her father. To come here where there were… commoners, plebians, and dirt everywhere. There was dirt on the road, even a mud puddle over there, and she could even smell a waft of stale ale and urine on the air just now. How did they live like this, like dirty animals wallowing in their own drunken filth. A shiver washed over her just thinking about it, the horrors of life as a commoner. She would not wish this on anyone, unless, of course, it meant she would have to live like this. That is where she would draw the line.

Her family’s noble line, the Estelmer family, was slaked in magical power after centuries of investment in magic and magic knowledge, and Valeriana was no exception. She had the very best magical tutors her family could afford or had on staff much like they had when they were children. She had access to one of the most extensive arcane and historical libraries in Waterdeep to which her bedroom was just up the stairs, through the corridor, down and even longer stairway, pass the guards and the construct, through the vault door, take the right corridor and then it opens widely on the left. There were several floors of magical treatises and books of all sorts, some of them were rare and very hard to find. She would just casually pick one out, a rare tome that a sage or scholar would treat with delicate care, a precious thing, perhaps even the last one in existence, and the casually throw it on her study table with mild disinterest, even annoyance at having the interest enough to pull it off the shelf in the first place.

Valeriana stood there across the street from that book store, her cool and piercing blue eyes drilling an impatient and anxiety drenched hole into the storefront, while stodgy dwarven commoners went about their meaningless lives staring at the spectacle of her arrival and then scurried away. Vull’s Tomes and Oddities was, for those in the know, one of the best places to go for rare tomes, lore, and other magical oddities for the discerning (ahem… meaning rich) client, whose extraordinary existence seems very much at odds with its dull and ordinary surroundings.The store teleported about the city and found itself just about anywhere there was an empty building or an open space, its magical facade changing so it would blend right in. Once it even appeared right next to the entrance to Waterdeep’s castle, to which its guards and the Lords of Waterdeep did not take very kindly too, so it quickly relocated elsewhere in town.

The proprietor, an eccentric fallen Aasimar named Yegen Vull, prided himself on being able to locate the very best in magical lore and oddities. He can find you just about anything for the right price. There were even rumors that his vast and multistoried extradimensional shop had portals to the planes and other dangerous places even here on the prime material plane, but she had never seen them, not that she has been there enough times nor long enough to have the time to find one herself because she was not allowed to go there by herself, not even now as an adult. Her father was very strict about this rule. Valeriana did not liked to be told no. Not even one little bit.

Now, she was here and she was going to get those books that father forbade her from reading from the store she was forbidden to go without a proper escort. A wry and gleeful smile formed even through the annoyance of her slovenly surroundings. She was here and somehow she was going to get those 2 books: Impish Servants, Constructs and Grues and Torrid Tales of Waterdeep’s Baker Wives. Strangely, both books were written by the same author Brugar AxeFist, a powerful dwarven archmage who has been dead for several centuries already, but his works live on allowing his thoughts and lascivious imagination be immortal, for better or worse. Some say that Brugar was a nom de plume having really been written by Brugar’s contemporary, the saucy gnome illusionist, Breena Timbers, who had a dry sense of humor and loved poking fun at stroic dwarves, Brugar in particular. Scholars had debated the true authorship of these books for decades with no evidence or consensus allowing the truth to be known. She cared not about their authorship, for it was the knowledge and tales within them that she desired.

How has her life come to this that she had to leave the confines of her family’s mansion get something so normal, something that her servants could get for her without any problems. Was she the help now? Valeriana gasped at this very thought which tore her from her depressing ruminations… by the gods, am I the help, now!!

Dathana, The Art of the Deal

The dwarves looked curiously at Dathana as she strode lightly though with purpose through the crowds of the dwarven section of Waterdeep. It was that time of the day when most of the workers from the breweries let out for the day and the taverns began to filled with raucous singing, and fights about whose master’s ale is superior, whose beard was longer or grander, or whose dwarven clan’s history was greater than the others. Torvin would love this area which was exactly why she kept him from it for he might not ever recover from his drunken stupor and lurid man-whoring.

Dathana was a changeling who could take the form of any sentient humanoid from gnolls and bugbears to dwarves and humans, and anything in between, although she preferred the simplicity of humans, half-elves, and elves. She spent most of her life as Rorn Gelvis, a human male, orphaned in the alleys of Waterdeep along with his brother who took the name of Lorn Gelvis. They were found as children, rescued, and taken to a monastery outside of Waterdeep to be raised and trained as one of their own. The monks were accepting of him and his orphaned brother and their changeling nature, and together they trained and grew disciplined within the hard and austere monastic life filled with training, fighting, and meditating to become full fledged monks of the Jade Leopard.

To make matters even more confusing, she had at least 7 other personaes she commonly used and not all of her ‘friends‘ knew all of their names and faces, and she preferred it that way. She was a bit private with her changeling nature and she wanted to keep it that way so she could just live her many lives without the severe paranoia and racism present once most people know the truth of the fluid nature of her being. She is just a person just like them, who can be many people, but only one at a time. Dathana, Kestra, Durden, Desti, Ked, Torvin and Rorn – these were some of her established personae and her many names. By far, she preferred Dathana which is the first personae she evolved once she left the monastery a little over three years ago for a life working with the Harpers trying to make a difference in Waterdeep.

As Dathana, she appeared as an attractive, but not too attractive, half-elf with jade green eyes with her medium length midnight green hair pulled back into a delicate elven braid. She was lithe and graceful, but also tough enough to break through boards with her bare hands, although through her ability to change shape she was able to hide that fact well, which gave her an advantage. The attractiveness and delicateness of her feminine form belied her aggressive and powerful martial nature, to which some found a disconcerting juxtaposition or an unwelcome surprise.

Today she was in the area of the dwarven section of Waterdeep affectionately known as Brewtown because this is where many of the dwarven brewmasters and breweries congregated and did their rather stinky business. The pungent scent of hops and ale permeated the area and those who were not native to the area, or of a life in slinky dive bars, found it necessary to wash themselves and their clothes in order to purge themselves of the smell of a raunchy and drunken night on the town, even after only just passing through. Like most non-dwarves, she did not have the appreciation for Brewtown’s odiferous emanations. Perhaps, she will have to change into a dwarf someday and see how she experiences Brewtown differently. Maybe that will be what she will do for her next break in the action of saving Waterdeep from the predations of the villains lurking within its depths.

Though today she was in the business of schmoozing a bottle of a rare 600 year old Thayvian wine out from the hands of a taciturn dwarven proprietor. This was not her preferred method of helping Waterdeep, but that is why she was here today. The Harpers needed someone who could successfully finesse a bottle from Lugan, the greedy proprietor of a significant rare wine collection, so they could work towards winning the support of an influential noble to work towards soothing racial tensions within the Bakers Guild which was on the verge of a city-wide strike. If this happened this would greatly benefit Zhentarim agents in the city. That cannot happen

Dodging through the clusters of dwarves moving from work and home onto their next social gathering, she attempted to quicken her step hoping to be able to make it to her appointment plenty early to do some research and information gathering that may hopefully give her a leg up on negotiations with the stubborn Lugan. However, a line of liveried soldiers standing behind a rather cross looking noblewoman now stood in her way.

Valeriana and Dathana, Clashing Worlds

Valeriana view of Vull’s shop was abruptly disrupted by a darkly clad and rather lithe half-elven woman who was looking at her with curiosity and apparent annoyance.

Valeriana commanded. “You, elf-thing. I command you to go into Vull’s shop there and to get my packages for me. Do it and I shall not  be CROSS with you.” Her arm snapped out to point to the shop like a parent talking to a petulant child.

Dathana was taken aback at the temerity that this noble woman to possibly think that she could order her around. Noble woman or not, she was definitely not the boss of Dathana. She had more important things to tend to than the pride and arrogance of a displaced noblewomen who could not take a few more steps to get her own book and did not have the forethought to bring her own abused servants with her to do her bidding.

“My NAME is Dathana, my lady. I apologize, but I am already late for an appointment to which I cannot miss.” Dathana nodded politely and started to try to walk past the noble woman and her entourage.

Valeriana was shocked at the complete dismissal of her authority by a mere commoner, most of which would cower before her. How dare she! She puffed up and commanded with tempered anger in her voice:

“NO! You will stop” and then quickly she soothed her voice to a friendly timber:

“Please!  I need your assistance.”

“Look, I know you are busy and so am I. I ordered some important books from there and I just need someone to move the books from in there to here, just a moment of your important time then we can all get on with our day. Just let the proprietor know I am here and he can give them to you. Thanks sweetie. I appreciate it.”

Dathana shook her head in annoyance and moved to work her way around this brightly color traffic obstruction. Valeriana grabbed Dathana’s arm quickly and then let go just as quickly, somewhat surprised that she had done so. She was not used to not getting her way.

Dathana’s calmly turned to the noblewoman with cold precision in her eyes, and then tilted her head slightly to the side to show her impatience.

Valeriana continued “I know I am interrupting your day, miss. You are brighter and more beautiful than most people I meet, but surely you can understand the benefit of having a noblewoman in your debt.”

She paused for a moment to let that sink in, hoping that this ungrateful creature would finally listen and do as was commanded.

“My NAME is Dathana, my lady. I apologize, but I have better things to do than to cater to your hubris and lack of forethought. You have plenty of lackeys here to tend to your needs.” Dathana nodded politely and started to try to work her way past the noble woman’s entourage.

Valeriana shifted into the half-elf’s path. Careful to use small enough movements to ensure that her guards cannot interpret what she was doing, she carefully shifted and slinked her body like she has seen exotic dancers do, ending with a barely noticeable shift of her breasts forward. She raised a naughty eyebrow “Perhaps, I can repay you in more ways than just… material.”

Dathana laughed out loud at the quite pleasant attempt at seduction!

“Listen sweetheart, I get that you are an entitled, bored, and lazy noble woman. I get that. But you could not handle all this.” She washed her hands down the front of her body for emphasis.  “I would break you.”

“You have servants. Good luck.” And then Dathana deftly moved passed and through Valeriana and her entourage using her years of monastic training to not even leave and breeze in her wake.

Valeriana growled in frustration and rage and then yelled out “The name is Lady Valeriana!”

and then stomped towards the shop, defiance and indignation roiling through her.

Unlikely Allies

The Dance of Class

In a much needed change of pace and environment, Valeriana was invited to the not-so-well-taken-care-of estate of Mirt, one of the powerful nobles of Waterdeep, a lord who is also a close advisor to Laeral Silverhand, and open Lord of Waterdeep. She has heard that several very influential people and nobles will be in attendance and they wanted her there. Finally, she may have been noticed and may be getting the recognition and influence she well deserved. As such thoughts played through her mind, she smiled broadly, her body walked into the estate on autopilot going through the practiced motions, nod, smile, curtsey, wave. Oh, look! There is Lord Vellemar, a powerful member of the Bakers Guild. Yum!

Dathana, dressed more nicely than she was truly comfortable – in a loose fitting black dress which was a far cry from the quality of the coarse monastic robes she was used to, stood towards the back of the large banquet hall, watching the interactions of the various whos-who of Waterdeep: nobles, guild managers, intellectuals, sages, and magic wielders. As inconspicuous as she could she searched their movements and interactions for signs of deception and danger. There is Lord Vellamar! She moved to a position on the outskirts of the room to ensure a more consistent view of the important Lord for he was the focus of her security efforts tonight, for the Zhentarim and their vile works want him dead.

On a casual look around the hall’s various important occupants Valeriana spotted Dathana. She could feel the vein in her forehead begin to pulse and her eyes begin to bulge in rage. What! That ungrateful and disrespectful wretch of an elf-thing here among all of these important people and nobility! What was she doing here and not in the streets trying to clean up a mud hole in a road with a broom somewhere? Enraged at the impertinent elf, Valeriana began to storm her way to confront that dark-haired half-breed and put her in her place once and for all.

As she began to lunge forward, Valeriana was abruptly intercepted by the glowing face of Mattrim Merrem, a bard of some renown. “Lady Estelmer! I am so happy to finally have the pleasure of meeting you! I have heard much about your studies and skills in the arcane!” He hooked his arm in hers and began to escort her over to a pair of plush chairs to continue the conversation. “Please, regale me your arcane tales. I am working on a new ballad and would love to use your story and beauty for inspiration.” Now, more loudly “Be my muse, Lady Estelmer. Be my MUSE!!!”

Wow, an adoring fan. A bard no less, who sees me as a muse. Perhaps that rude elfish lady can wait a few moments! As she talked with the bard who listed with wide eyes and great interest saying such things as ‘Oooh!’, ‘Fascinating! Amazing!’, ‘Please show me how you did that!’, her eyes kept searching for and stealing glances towards Dathana. She could enjoy this well deserved attention for a little while but, she need to school this plebe on social class, status, and respect of her betters.

Dathana smiled as the magnetic Mettrim worked his magic on Lady Valeriana. Hopefully, he would keep her distracted for a little while, but not too long though, because tonight, it was her plan to see what this gifted and lazy noble-wizardess was made of and if she was more than a spoiled and entitled noblewoman. Her information gathering on her over the last few weeks point towards a bored and gifted person in a social and intellectual rut with no real challenge or life direction. Perhaps Dathana could help to provide a channel for the wizardess’ skills towards a safer and more peaceful Waterdeep, and allow this Harper agent to gain a useful ally in the process.

After watching Mirt’s guests interact, Dathana felt like the danger was not here in the room and decided to begin searching the estate for creeping Zhents, for such low-lifes were known to creep and infect areas much like a disease. Slowly, she began to migrate at an aggressive mingling speed towards the nearest hallway that led to the rather spacious guest rooms.

Valeriana’s eyes stole another moment to look upon Dathana’s doing and saw her slip down a hallway. She bolted to her feet and began to storm after her for the final confrontation. Smiling broadly, Mettrim moved to intercept again, but abruptly, without thinking Valeriana forcefully thrust the bard back down into his seat and stormed off after her, never even taking the time to see the surprised look on the bard’s face.

Confrontation of Class

Dathana crept down the darkened hallway, using that practiced step to ensure that she was not heard by anyone who may be skulking about. Step by step she listened at each door and at each breath, searching for dangers to the guests in Mirt’s manor. Eliminating potential dangers in the guest rooms that were present down this long hallway was her first concern and then she could work on clearing the other hallway with guest rooms. The sound of an opening window and stumbling forms in the next room crashed into her sensitive ears. She flattened her body against the door she was at, put her hand on the door handle, opened it, and then backed into the darkened room in one swift motion.

Then she heard it – Valeriana was coming, her feet clomping heavy on the wooden hallway floor looking to put Dathana in her supposed place. Dathana smiled. Valeriana had impeccable timing. This was either going to go surprising well or horribly bad. That spoiled girl and her entitled temperament was going to be the wildcard of the night. As Valeriana reached her the doorway Dathana was hiding in, Dathana quietly and smoothly put her hand on Valeriana’s mouth and pulled her into the safety of darkened room.

Valeriana squeaked as an unknown assailant pulled her into the shadows. This was not going the way she envisioned it whould! She began to panic and to struggle against her captor who then whispered sternly “Valeriana! Quiet! Do you want to get us both killed? This is not a place for spoiled rich kids. You are in over your head. There is real danger here and I cannot protect you”

Valeriana’s captor slowly released her and turned her to face them. Through the shadows of the room she could see the silhouette of Dathana’s angered face. “What the hells are your talking about? You don’t even belong here you filthy commoner.”

“Why are we whispering? What danger are you talking about? Squeaky floors? Hunting hounds with muddy paws? You are insane aren’t you? I know someone who could help you.”

Dathana whispered sternly while forcefully putting her finger to Valerianas’ mouth “Quiet! I don’t have time for this. If you want to deluge me unabated with your illusion of superiority then we can do this later, for now I have something more important than you to deal with. Now go away before you get us both killed!”

“Don’t you tell me what to do, plebe. I am the one who will ask…” She stopped mid-sentence when she heard voices whispering in the next room and the distinct sound of the drawing of a long blade. Dathana could not see it, but she was pretty sure that Valeriana’s face went ghost white.

Taking advantage of the stunned look in Valeriana’s eyes, Dathana gently put her hands on the human and carefully gave her a guiding push out of the room and down the hall. She watched the noblewoman walk slowly in a confused stupor down the hall. Dathana exhaled a sigh of both disappointment and relief, and then looked towards the next room, where the Zhentish assassins were waiting for their doom. Fortunately, she could hear that Mettrim had just started to perform a ballad in order distract the guests from what may be happening down the hallway. Now, on the the finale!

The Finale

Dathana took a deep centering breath to steel herself for the coming engagement. Slowly and silently she drew her shortsword. She Listened for a moment or two to get a feel for how many Zhents needed to die today – sounds like 4 or so  – a few more than she was expecting, but she would be able to handle it… she hoped. Dathana carefully placed her off-had hand on the door handle and then slowly turned it enough to know that it was open. It one deft movement she threw the door open and lept into the the room. Her blade snapped forward cutting the throat of the first masked assassin and her foot thrust out breaking the face of another who crumpled to the floor. The other four black clad assassins, blades readied for blood, attacked their unexpected assailant.

Dathana dodged and blocked their attacks as well as she could in these cramped quarters, blood began to stain her clothes from an errant dodge attempt, the assassin’s blade slicing into her abdomen. He blade danced and sang, gutting one and her elbow staggered another. Another blade from on of the remaining Zhentish Blackblades cut deep into her forearm from a needed block to prevent a more deadly strike. Things were not looking good for Dathana. She was too hurt and she was not killing them fast enough – 3 of 6 were down.

She was about the perform a leaping attack to help surprise them and to give her a momentary advantage when all three remaining Zhents crumpled to the floor – snoring! Tired, Dathana smiled knowing what was about to happen. She turned around and saw Valeriana standing there her hands left in the position of the end of the casting of a sleep spell. She would never admit this, but that spoiled child may have saved her life.

Dathana’s face now a mask of anger “This is not a game little girl. They would have killed you. I didn’t need your help. I had it very well under control”

Valeriana’s eyes were wide as she looked upon the 3 dead assassins and then to Dathana who was bleeding and was dripping blood on the floor. Then she smiled a half smile as she realized what she had just done. She smugly stated “Not only is there more than just the assassin’s blood on the floor, but I also just saved your life.” Then she quickly stumbled out:

“What the hell is going on? Who in Cyric’s accursed name are they? How did you know they were here? We should call the guards.”

Dathana just rolled her eyes on the outside and smiled on the inside. She lunged towards Valeriana and put her hand on her mouth again, another attempt to shush her. The half-breed was much quicker than the noble woman expected, which surprised her.

Sternly Dathana said “You need to be quiet. I cannot work if you are going to be so loud. These are Zhentarim assassins coming to try to assassinate an influential lord here at the dinner, Lord Vellemar. How embarrassed would your family be if they knew you were skulking around a prominent noble’s house, especially the advisor to an open Lord of Waterdeep?”

Dathana began to find what she could to tie up the 3 sleeping assassins. She tied them up really tight, tight enough to cut off their circulation and to cause them harm if they struggled too much.

Valeriana was getting very irate that this somewhat talented half-elf kept shushing her and, as a reaction to that, she blurted out “Will you stop shushing me!” Just then, the word Zhentarim clicked in her mind once she had a chance to work through what Dathana said to her. Her face squiggled as her vast arcane//historical knowledge began started frothing in her mind, connecting dots, and began dredging up related information. She began to quietly repeat the facts, history, and theories she remembered on The Black Network, the Zhentarim.

Dathana was quite happy to hear her info dump. “Well, you have done your homework. Perhaps you are not so empty after all, huh? Listen, in a moment  we will both quietly leave here like nothing happened. Do you understand? We cannot panic the guests which would greatly embarrass your generous host, Mirt.”

As Valeriana absorbed what she said, Dathana began to find various pieces of loose clothing to help bind her wounds and to cover up the evidence of her wounds. “Quietly, I will let him know what has transpired and then it will be over and you can go back to your posh bedroom and your servants. His people will take care of the cleanup of this mess. Got it?”

Valeriana stood there stunned when she completely realized what had just transpired. She saw the dead assassins with their blood pooling on the floor, the 3 tied up and sleeping ones, and Dathana who jumped right into harms way with no thought of herself. She felt a mixture of fear and something that she did not know she was missing in her life – excitement and meaning. She was standing in a room with agents of a vile network who were trying assassinate a noble for some unknown reason, and she helped to stop that evil plot. She could have died today by their merciless hands. She no longer felt the world was as safe as it was before this very moment. These evildoers could have easily attempted this in her home which would not have been so easy due to their plentiful magical wards, but with the right caster on their team, they could have been coming after her or her family.

Dathana was just quietly watching her process this shocking and awakening experience hoping that she would come out stronger and more prepared for what may come next in her life.

After a few moments of silence Valeriana began “You know, my father was not happy that I disobeyed him. I received a stern talking to because of you. I just batted my eyes, the innocent eyes of his little girl, and then I had to promise not to do it again.”

Dathana smiled. This may be the beginning of something wonderful. She slowly walked forward and put a hand on her shoulder. “You did good. You helped save a Lord’s life. That is something you should be proud of, and… never speak of again. Do you understand? ” Valeriana nodded. Dathana quietly walked out of the room and to complete her mission for the night.

Postlude

Sisters of Harper-hood

note: this part is still pending Kyle’s approval

In the next week or so following these events, Dathana would have found Valeriana and talked with her about what had transpired. Over the next few months, intermittently they would start working together on Dathana’s Harper missions: from Valeriana just acting as a knowledge base and researcher to being a window into the courtly world as well as bringing her significant magical talents to bear directly against their enemies. As well, during this process, they become a bit closer. Dathana evolves a personae of Semelie Dufont who claims to be and acts as Valeriana’s cousin two-times removed. Semelie is just as beautiful as Valeriana and has medium length sandy-blond hair and jade green eyes. In this form she acts as a friend, confidant, and sometimes lady-in-waiting/bodyguard for Valeriana.

The Significance of the Name Semelie

The name Semelie comes from a short-story that I am attempting to actually fully plot out and write, “The Changeling Murders“, which takes place about 3 years prior to the campaign and has a tie into the campaign’s history as well. Dathana chose the name Semelie from a changeling she was sort of involved with that was murdered by a serial killer. Here is a one sentence synopsis of that short story to be. (Zorn is his given changeling name):

Zorn, a changeling trained in the monastic arts of the Jade Leopard has abandoned his monastic training and gone rogue to work for the Harpers in the cosmopolitan metropolis of Waterdeep, and must pull himself out of his schizophrenic and hedonistic exploration of his new life beyond monastic austerity in order to stop a serial killer targeting changelings.

Wish me luck! Hopefully, I will have the time to actually get the thing plotted out completely and begin to write it. As an aspiring author, I would love to have at least one thing written with a complete plot. I know it can be done. I just hope I can do it some day! =)