Interrogation[]
We separated the drow prisoners, restored them to consciousness with healing, and then interrogated them. They refused to tell us their names.
They told us their homeland was in the badlands, that they lived underground near the surface, they worshiped no gods, and that their clan ruler was called Syllas. They said they attacked us just to take our supplies, and that they survived on hunting animals and attacking goblin caravans. They said their scavenging parties were not as strong as their home forces. They implied they did not do any mining, and denied having a brewery, replying "what do you take us for? Dwarves?"
They told us there were many drow groups throughout the badlands, and that these other groups were not on friendly terms with the drow we captured. Aside from the goblin caravans they attacked, they had found several humans who had died in the badlands, apparently from heatstroke. They did not know which of the drow factions in the area were the most powerful, but the most powerful they knew of was a group that held adjacent territory to the south in the badlands. They said the fortress to the north of our camp was owned by a "fancy elvish family", and that the elves worship 'virtues' not gods. They were not aware of the Portal Goblins, nor of any dragons in the region. They gave us a map of their section of the badlands, including tunnels, paths, traps and monsters.
Ovrul Griv branded one of the drow with the dwarven rune for 'slave', and offered to grant him freedom after four months.
Elven fortress - The Castle of Conchiana[]
A delegation consisting of Yvandir and Lo Wang were selected to go up and scout the castle ahead of time under the cover of night to make sure it would be safe for the rest of the group. After observing the human guards for over a half-hour, Lo Wang initiated contact with them to determine their intentions and ask some questions. The guards were rather friendly and told us it was the castle of Conchiana, the queen of the Golden Rose.
A delegation led by Levy was assembled to meet with Conchiana. It included Alvir, Magnus, Yvandir, Frilhorn, Lo Wang, Serras, and Lyrith. On our initial look at the settlement, it appeared to be a small town with a castle. We saw pristine shops, mostly housing weaponry, especially lots of swords. We didn't see any magic shops, though there was a general sense of economic prosperity and security. Further exploration by Magnus on day eight found that it was a large city with a dock, fishery, and houses surrounding the markets in the center.
As we entered the castle, we passed through an absolutely gorgeous hall with paintings of plants, mostly yellow roses. The hall was lined with busts. There was a velvet carpet in the throne room, with elven guards protecting the queen. Queen Conchiana herself appeared to be a young elf with bright gold hair wearing the finest silks. She gladly answered many of the delegation's questions.
Conchiana said the area around her castle was called the grasslands, and that the elves controlled the area, although she only ruled the area twelve miles in each direction from her castle. She told us that each area around the lake to the north is owned by a different group of elves, and that these groups recently expanded into the area after leaving the central island due to overpopulation. She warned that there was a hostile group of elves to the north called the Guard who killed non-elves on sight. She also warned us not to go too far east, although she didn't specify what the concern was precisely. When we asked about settling in the region, she wanted us to pay patronage if we lived in her lands, and wanted to be our ruler. She demanded that we kneel, and our delegation did so.
Conchiana directed us to her royal librarian who gave us a map of the region and provided basic descriptions of the elven kingdoms in the region. We also learned that there's a prominent community of dwarves to the south, and ocean to the southwest.
We slept the night in the castle's guest quarters.