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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 747642" data-attributes="member: 143">Yes, Book VIII will be the end.  I realized that I could keep it going ad infinitum; I already have enough loose threads hanging to fill six more books.  But I've been writing this story for near on a year and a half now, and it's time to move on to other projects (i.e. my neglected novels).  I intend to wrap up the major plotline that's currently in place (i.e. Delem), and follow that up with an epilogue that puts the story to bed.  Part 1 of Book VIII is another long one, so I am breaking it up into two posts, today and tomorrow.* * * * * Book VIII, Part 1 (1st post)Book VIII, Part 1The clop of her horse’s hooves sounded too loudly as the solitary rider rode through the quiet streets of Berdusk.  There were people out and about, if not many, and those who were walking the streets moved purposefully as though intent upon being through with their business as quickly as possible so they could retire back to the relative comfort of a shady interior.  The sun was a great golden ball directly overhead, and the world baked beneath its radiance.  The rider was a woman well into middle age, if still muscled and hale, although her shoulders were now slumped as she rode, and her face under the brim of her lounging hat bore the wear of many leagues traveled in recent days.  As she looked around the city she knew all too well, she frowned.  While Berdusk had recovered from the depredations that it had suffered during the Night of the Shadows, and it had been spared the worse disasters that had fallen upon other cities in the region, the spirit of its people still reflected the strain.  A few looked at her as she rode past, querying, hopeful looks, as if trusting her to make it all better.  She nodded at a few of the townsfolk that she knew as she continued on, but did not pause for conversation.  The Berduskers, perhaps sensing her purpose, did not interrupt her. The horse, too, perhaps sensed the end of the journey ahead, for it picked up its pace to a gentle canter as they entered the broad compound known as Twilight Hall.  Watchful eyes marked her coming, but there was no suspicion here, only warm greetings and polite queries that she met with a smile and a nod.  Men and women in soft robes bearing the sign of the god Deneir passed in clusters, on their way to or from services in the temple or to the great library that formed one edge of the great compound, and they too sent friendly waves her way. She rode her horse directly to the front gates of the great hall at the rear of the compound, the massive structure that marked the physical headquarters of the mysterious and powerful organization known as the Harpers.  The only indicator of its identity was a simple wooden plaque the size of a war shield hanging over the massive double doors, carved with the symbol of a plain traveler’s harp.  A stable lad had already run out from the stables to take her horse, and as she dismounted a tall figure, a graying man clad in a simple brown tunic and hose, came out of the hall and stood at the head of the steps, regarding her with a wry look. “You look like a storm brewing, Cylyria,” the man said.  “I take it the road was a long one.”“Too long, Tothar,” the Harper leader said, as she handed her reins to the youth and headed wearily up the stairs, obviously sore from long hours in the saddle.  “I’ll be damned glad once Jarthel gets back from Waterdeep, so we can avoid these long... excursions.”The older man laughed.  “I never thought I’d hear you say that.  You used to love the open road, used to say that magical shortcuts like teleportation and windwalking were just cheats, sidestepping the hard work of taking yourself where you wanted to go.”She reached the head of the stairs and briefly embraced him, then cracked her back.  “I want to take a long bath and sleep for about two days, but you wouldn’t be here to meet me unless there was something important.” “Some people have come to see you,” he told her.  “Arrived just yesterday in the city, and when I told them you would be returning today, they came back to wait.  They’re in the Foyer of Knowledge.”Cylyria raised an eyebrow.  “And these visitors are someone you think I should see.”“I believe you know them, actually.  Balander Calloran, a gnome illusionist from Waterdeep, and Dana Ilgarten, daughter of the Iriaeboran house, and a priestess of Selûne.”“Just them?  Not a tiefling rogue with them, and a genasi warrior?”“There may be others in the city, but only the pair of them came here,” Toth explained.  “I can ask them to return later, if you wish.”“No, I’ll see them,” Cylyria said, forcing herself to ignore the protests of her tired muscles a little bit longer.  “Just let me wash some of this dirt off, and tell them I’ll be with them in a few minutes.”* * * * *</blockquote>

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