The Drow War Book Two. The Dying Of - RoseRed

to keep them from throwing anything into it. Passers-by
sometimes throw coins into the moat for luck, though
this is a minor offence by the laws of the city, so they
wait until the sentries look the other way first.
At the bottom of the moat is something more sinister
than a coin. The body of Karil Sturvin, weighted down
with cobblestones, lies concealed by the metallic liquid.
The Shadow Troupe concealed themselves with magic
and dumped the body here, knowing that nobody would
look for it in such a well-guarded place.
The Bridges: There are two bridges spanning this
divide, the Bridge of Fellowship and the Bridge of Pure
Blood. While any person who has been invited to visit
the inner city may use the Bridge of Fellowship, the
Bridge of Pure Blood is for elves only. The six Shining
Host sentinels at the bridge will not hesitate to shoot
any non-elf who dares to take even one step on it, no
matter who that person is.
The Inner City: Beyond the molten moat is a serene
vista of marble buildings, green lawns set with sculptures
and mirror-like pools of water. The elves have built their
power centre entirely from polished white stone. Even
the residences look like small temples. Even when the
inner city is at its busiest, there is a meditative hush in
the streets. Nobody seems to feel any need to yell or
hurry. Humans are apt to find the place maddening. Its
stillness is almost smug, proclaiming that the elves have
all the time in the world.
The council chamber, a geodesic marble dome
surrounded by obelisks, lies at the very heart of Xoth
Sarandi.
Location: The Sea-Portals
There are seven sea-portals in the ocean surrounding
Xoth Sarandi. Physically, the portals look like gigantic
stone gates made from two upright megaliths and one
horizontal. The air in between the three megaliths
shimmers like a mirage. The space in the centre of each
gate is 80 feet wide and 120 feet tall, allowing almost all
shipping to pass through easily. A permanent repulsion
effect on the base of each vertical stone prevents ships
from colliding with them. Ships that stray off course
drift gently away from the stone pillar.
Portal Keys: A ship requires a special magic item
called a portal key in order to make use of any given
portal. A portal key is a twisted metal bar, shaped like a
lightning rod, which is usually fixed to the ship’s prow.
Sailing through the portal automatically teleports the
ship to the gate at the other end and burns one charge
from the portal key. Each key only works on one ship
at a time. For key purposes, a ship is defined as any
marine vessel larger than a dinghy. A portal key can
also be used to open the portal for one or more creatures
(such as aquatic creatures that do not need ships), in
which case up to ten creatures can use the key so long
as no two of them are more than 30 feet apart.
The secrets of making the portal keys are kept within one
elven family, the Heshimel, who have worked in service
to the lords of Xoth Sarandi for more than a thousand
years. Portal keys can be bought at their official outlet,
the House of Trade overlooking the main port. As there
is no way to use the portals other than by means of a
key, the elves can charge whatever they like, though in
practice they keep to the prices listed below.
Elven law restricts the sale of portal keys only to
persons known to be of ‘trustworthy standing’. In
practice, this means that one can buy a key so long as
one is not known to have been a pirate, raider, smuggler
or similar undesirable. This law is supposed to keep
the law-abiding sea community safe. Naturally there
is a thriving black market in portal keys. If one cannot
get a key from the official supplier, one may be able to
find someone in a dockside tavern who is willing to part
with one; but be warned – scams are common and many
a would-be smuggler has ended up with a bent poker
with magic aura cast on it instead of the portal key he
thought he was getting.
Recharging Keys: Instead of buying a new key every
time, the old one can be recharged. This is what the
merchants do but ordinary travellers usually prefer
to buy a two-charge key (one charge for the trip to
Xoth Sarandi, the second for the trip on to their final
destination), which is the cheapest option and is called
a lesser portal key.
The Gate to Shallenoi: Ordinary portal keys do not
work on the Shallenoi Gate. The elves want to keep
their antique kingdom as free from the interference
of other races as possible. To use this gate, one must
acquire a key of the first portal, which can be used with
any gate.
The Orbs of Free Travel: The elves created sixteen
spheres of purple glass in which miniature illusory
waves could be seen rolling across an open sea. Six of
these were presented as diplomatic gifts to the rulers of
the foremost kingdoms of Ashfar; the others remain in
elven hands. An Orb of Free Travel functions like a key
of the first portal, except that it does not have charges.
Ibon Presno Gonzalez (order #73006) 8
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