Dusk & Drow, forging a legacy.

Babushka Lysaga

Well met Miyeritar, can you tell me the name of these thermal waters?

Rahadin

They are the ailin of—sacred to my people, an oasis for the weary entering our lands. For countless ages, the valley once called Telu’imlad stood untouched...

Lysaga

Hm, it looks like the humans have been more hands on recently... The trees bear the scars of axes. The waters reek of human stench. How... crude.

Rahadin

Not crude—religious. The Dalmarians act with conviction. These so-called loggers are crusaders, slaughtering not only the forest but the history it holds.

Lysaga

And yet...I still see opportunity. You know, I—

Rahadin

Be careful with your words. I will not entertain one who views this desecration as barter.

Lysaga

Bold, aren't we? Listen closely and look beyond my mask, I’m no friend to these plundering pigs. My reasons... let’s just say they’re much like yours. Telu’imlad is the loom that we will use to weave the future from its potential.

Rahadin

And you to weave yourself a disguise? How quaint. Did you think coin would win you trust here?

Lysaga

Not trust, no. Information. Though, as luck would have it, the logs seem to speak more plainly than lips.

Rahadin

One mask drops and now not a merchant but a drow, who asks me for Information? you must’ve learned my methods by now.

Lysaga

Oh, I learned. Your patience, your precision—it’s exquisite. First the workers, then their families. No hesitation, no loose ends.

Rahadin

You have been watching me.

Lysaga

Indeed. Not with coin but with an arcane eye. And you, Miyeritar—you are most enlightening.

Rahadin

Enlightened by death, or by vengeance?

Lysaga

Is there a difference, dear Archivist? What I see—what I truly see—is one who carves a future from the marrow of his enemies.

Rahadin

Then speak plainly. Do not dress admiration as intrigue or concern.

Lysaga

Very well. Your brutality is boundless yet measured. Effective. I find myself thinking—

Rahadin

Thinking what, warlock?

Lysaga

Do you not see it? Your flaw lies in your faith—a misplaced trust in leaders paralyzed by fear...

Rahadin

Their fear chains them to inaction. Elders who whisper of appeasement as swords are swung at their throats deserve no defense. Trust me, I learned that long ago.

Babushka Lysaga

I trust you Miyeritar, I too have no patience for stagnation. That's why I come to you as the custodian of a prophecy.

Rahadin

Telu’imlad holds many secrets, what is your prophesy?

Lysaga

Now more than prophecy. A map to ascendancy, affirmed by Lolth in blood. You understand, what can be unbound? What this valley promises, to those willing to claim it?

Rahadin

Power unlike any other. The pieces begin to fit. But tell me, warlock, how does your map account for one like me, the last to resist our invaders?

Lysaga

I saw you beholden to vengeance, wearing practicality as if it were armor. But... now I began to see deeper.

Rahadin

Deeper than vengeance?

Lysaga

Deeper. Into possibility only you can unlock. That is why I sought this partnership. Why you will choose it too.

Rahadin

I choose alliances based on necessity, not riddles.

Lysaga

Ah, but that’s the trick, isn’t it? Even necessity can inspire loyalty—if properly cultivated.

Rahadin

My Valley holds more than power; it holds a vast reservoir, frozen in time behind an arcane barrier.

Lysaga

And together, we will unlock that reservoir and the future that flows from it. Forging fate itself. Tell me, Archivist, do you feel its pulse yet? That rhythm underfoot?

Rahadin

I feel the pulse of inevitability. And it will serve us well.