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Message: <blockquote data-quote="MummyKitty" data-source="post: 2691145" data-attributes="member: 36179">Hito's BackgroundOK here's some background story on Hito.  It's a little long and rambling, and is still not finished but let me know what you think.[sblock]Hito had awoken in the darkness, a deep darkness beyond anything he had experienced before.  In the city, the great seal had cast its eternal illumination over everything, such that from the window of any building of the city, the glow of the seal could be seen.  That mystic light meant security and safety for Deep Imaskar. But now, strain his eyes as he might, Hito could not see that glow, and so, began to feel the needle pricks of terror starting to climb up his back.  He swallowed his fear and raised himself to a sitting position, feeling smooth, damp stone beneath him. From the feel of the air currents and the faint echoes of distant water drops, he could tell he was in a large place, but how large he could not tell. He felt his clothing—he was wearing his greatcoat, woven of the dark durable fibers of the Clothcap Mushroom.  At his belt-- a dagger, and from the feel of it, one in his boot too. A bag was lying on the ground next to him; inside, he could smell bread and feel a full waterskin. Whoever had left him here had not wanted to die of hunger or thirst, at least not immediately.His mind was cloudy.  Had someone left him here? He remembered his friends in Deep Imaskar.  Iult and Suswami…. Even as children they had talked of leaving the vault and seeing the surface, perhaps on some secret mission for the High Lord Planner.  There was a memory there… faint in the darkness, fragile like a spider’s web.  Hito couldn’t grasp it… had he taken the oath?  The promise to never return to Deep Imaskar?Inside the bag Hito found other objects, tools to help him survive….  Tools that would only be needed in the Underdark.  The smooth, unmistakable shape of a Sussar wood light stick, a tinder box, rope, hammer and climbing spikes. Hito felt along the smooth shaft of the light stick.  His fingers traced the runes of the command word that would ignite it. He spoke the word and a faint glow appeared on the wand’s end, no more than a burning ember but plenty of light for one used to reading by the glow of the seal.  He was in a large cavern strewn with boulders, with only one way out, a trail that seem to lead upwards.  Although he still did not remember why he was here, he knew that he would have a lot of time to think about it as he walked to the surface world.  The sagas had told of The Hiding, his people’s trek through the endless tunnels to the great cavern that would become Deep Imaskar.  Those same tales, clouded by centuries, did not tell how to get back to the surface.  He would have to find that path on his own.Hito lost track of the days it took him to make it to the surface, perilous days where he mainly avoided the many dangers of the Underdark.  His magical skills were not offensive in nature, so when anything approached he preferred hiding to testing them. He was fortunate indeed to come upon a Svirfneblin trade caravan which he took up with for some time.  The deep gnomes probably believed that Hito was a lost human who had gone crazy from wandering too long in the Underdark. They taught him the common language of the Underdark, which Hito picked up quickly.  Shemtak Chiselchipper, the caravan’s leader, was quite amused by Hito’s tales of the city of the great seal, as none of the gnomes believed that the place existed. It didn’t hurt that Hito had given the gnome a handful of shiny stones that he’d found when he’d been crawling through a little used tunned.  Shemtak had even given him some coins in return.  He’d said they were valuable, though Hito didn’t know how they could be—they were only ugly circles of metal with strange symbols impressed on them.  Wandering with the gnomes, Hito grew bolder and had a chance to demonstrate some of his magical skills to his smaller friends.  He was even able to learn a handy spell of disguise from them. With that, he could almost pass for a very tall Svirfneblin, at least for a short time while the magic was in effect.Finally the gnomish caravan had gone as close to the surface as it was going to go.  Shemtak gave Hito a choice, stay with the caravan, or continue to the surface.  Hito still wasn’t able to remember why he had left the cavern, but he did feel compelled to continue to the surface, so he bid his Svirfneblin friends farewell.  As a parting gift, Shemtak gave Hito two finely crafted dart thrusters and a supply of darts.  He had enjoyed practicing with the weapons and had also learned how to craft new darts from Zurkhwood.It was still many days to the surface, but the rest of the trip was uneventful.  Again alone, Hito now had the confidence to use his spells for protection.  His sleep spell came in handy several times when his natural skill at hiding failed him. Finally, Hito saw something that he had not seen before—sand.  Many caverns of the Underdark have floors of fine gravel or muck, or dried silt and dust, but real sand, caused by the tireless erosion of waves or wind, is rare and virtually unknown.  In addition to the strange dirt, the cave he had entered was also warm and dry, a dead cavern.  And from one end, Hito saw the brightest light he had ever seen.  It hurt his eyes, and try as he might he could not stand to look it for long. He retired toward the back of the cave and wondered what to do.  As he waited, the light got fainter and fainter.  Was it some sort of magical light?  When it had all but disappeared, he approached the source, and looked out upon the surface world for the first time.It looked to him like a fairy land.  Above, the stars shone like beacons, lighting the surfaces of the surrounding dunes of Raurin, the dust desert.  The air was dry and fresh and the hot wind felt stronger than any air current Hito had ever felt below the earth.  He had made it, but his journey was just beginning.(From this point, since I don’t know much about the upper world of Faerun, I’m going to assume Hito caught on with some wandering nomads in the desert, who made it to a trade city somewhere, from there he continued to Cormyr, probably again with some merchants.)Hito wears the dark greatcoat that is common for his people.  It is woven of tough but supple fungal fiber and contains many small pockets inside.  Hito always wears a wide-brimmed hat to protect himself from the sun.  Although he's gotten used to it over time, he still prefers to stay out of direct sunlight and travel during cloudy days and night.Hito's alignment is listed as Chaotic Neutral, but that is only because he doesn't understand the surface world entirely, and so he may act unpredictably (he's smart, but not too wise as well).  It's quite possible that over time his alignment may change depending on what he learns.  He's generally going to act in a good fashion if he understands what is happening.  He's very curious about the surface world and the beings that inhabit it.He still doesn't remember exactly why he left the city... I'm leaving that open for future development, or for the adventure to dictate.  He could be on a mission for the Lord High Planner, or be a rebel that was exiled from the city.[/sblock]</blockquote>

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