Hill Breaks Free of His Inner Shackles

Hill had turned down Waterdeep's mage lord, saying he had no time. He only wanted to explore the mysteries of magic, not go adventuring for now. Besides, cleansing the Undead Swamp was a massive undertaking, and he could not leave for long.

Everyone knew the Ocean Goddess would do most of the cleansing, but when Hill said he had to stay and oversee it, no one could argue.

Reclaiming the lost city mattered to the region, but cleansing the swamp mattered even more to Waterdeep. As its mage lord, the ever-cautious Blackstaff would never object.

So although Hill badly wanted to see Myth Drannor, that ancient Elven city with its Mythal, he felt he had no choice but to refuse.

But Hill did not know how to answer the enthusiastic Elves.

Unlike Khelben's calculating letter, the Elven Crusade's invitation brimmed with excitement about returning home.

After hesitating, Hill picked up a pen and wrote to Lynn. He needed to know whether the Elves had invited only him or every Elf and Half-Elf of some renown on the Northern Continent.

That would determine how he replied.

After all, the Elven Crusade was working with Demon Faeries. They had earned that name only because their wings resembled Demons' bat wings, and they were generally aligned with Absolute Neutrality or Lawful Neutral Alignment.

Still, given their love of pranks, calling them little devils was fair enough.

There were so many Demon Faeries now! Did they want a city of their own?

Valor alone could not win them one. People died in war.

At the very least, the Demon Faeries must have believed they could bear those losses before their entire race joined the war.

They needed the Elves' help, but Fey and Elves had always been companions in the forest.

Living together in