Sojourn - Chapter One
May. 4th, 2023 06:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kalinara posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
i_read_whatSo I usually don't comment on chapter titles for these books, but since this is a first chapter and thus I have nothing to lazily recap, I'll point out that this chapter is called "poignant lessons". So I'm guessing things will start wonderfully!
We start the story with Drizzt. He's made it to the surface and is creeping around the shrubs near his cave. Because of course he lives in a cave. I mean, it does make some sense that he'd be more comfortable surrounded by rock, but I like making fun of him.
He's not alone: Guen is here too. Also, some kind of animal:
Drizzt had never seen such an animal before. It appeared almost catlike, but its head was much smaller and more sharply pointed. The whole of it could not have weighed more than a few pounds. This fact, and the creature’s bushy tail and thick fur, indicated that it was more a forager than a predator. It rummaged now through a pack of food, apparently oblivious to the draw’s presence.
Aw, surface animal. Which raises a question: don't rangers usually have the ability to speak to animals? Or is that just druids? I mean, it's completely valid as a character choice to not have Drizzt talk to animals. It's just funny to me when folks try to reconcile the books and games 100%. Especially given all of the rule and setting changes later.
Anyway, Drizzt goes to make friends with the creature, but...well...
The animal’s tail came up high; Drizzt noticed in the faint light that the beast had distinctive stripes running down its back. Guenhwyvar whimpered and turned to flee, but it was too late....
About an hour later Drizzt and Guenhwyvar walked along the lower trails of the mountain in search of a new home. They had salvaged what they could, though that wasn’t very much. Guenhwyvar kept a good distance to the side of Drizzt. Proximity made the stink only worse.
Drizzt took it all in stride, though the stench of his own body made the lesson a bit more poignant than he would have liked. He didn’t know the little animal’s name, of course, but he had marked its appearance keenly. He would know better the next time he encountered a skunk.
Okay, that was pretty funny.
That said, Drizzt is lonely. There are some humans nearby, but he hasn't come out of hiding yet. Rather understandably, he fears rejection and also has nowhere else to hide.
So we get a nude scene as Drizzt goes bathing. He reminisces about Zombi-Zak and we get a bit of a summary of Exile's climax. Drizzt is very sad, but he finds some strength in Zak's sacrifice.
One thing I really like about this chapter is the sensory detail. Drizzt is taken aback by the icy stream and the fluctuations in weather, neither of which are common in the underdark. The moon ("a silver-glowing orb") is weird and cool too. We're also implicitly heading into winter, as Drizzt notes the sun setting lower and lower. That could be a problem if Drizzt doesn't know how to properly prepare.
Apparently, Drizzt's been on the surface for four months.
So anyway, Drizzt's bath is interrupted by gnolls. He's in a vulnerable spot without weapons, but fortunately, dark elves are scary. He takes advantage of that by casting faerie fire on one. It drops to the ground, but the others stick around. The gnoll chieftain though is braver. But he doesn't attack. Drizzt knows a little of goblin tongue, which the gnolls speak, and realizes that the gnolls are asking if he wants to ally.
So Drizzt gets his weapons and armor and some new friends. But, well, the gnolls have a particular expectation for this alliance:
Twilight was fast approaching as the troupe made its way around the village’s central area to look down upon a secluded farmhouse off to the west.
The gnoll chieftain whispered to Drizzt, slowly rolling out each word so that the drow might understand. “One family,” it croaked. “Three men, two women . .”
“One young woman,” another added eagerly.
The gnoll chieftain gave a snarl. “And three young males,” it concluded.
Drizzt thought he now understood the journey’s purpose, and the surprised and questioning look on his face prompted the gnoll to confirm it beyond doubt.
“Enemies,” the leader declared.
Oh dear. Drizzt doesn't really know much about gnolls vs. humans. But the gnoll's comments about humans being weaklings and slaves. Though this bit rings a little false:
“Three men,” Drizzt said.
The gnoll jabbed its spear savagely toward the ground. “Kill oldest! Catch two!”
“Women?”
The evil smile that spread over the gnoll’s face answered the question beyond doubt, and Drizzt was beginning to understand where he stood in the conflict.
Drizzt is from a matriarchal race where the drow females are more dominant and powerful. He has no reason to expect otherwise here. So while it suits Drizzt's general knightly persona to be defensive of women, it doesn't actually fit yet.
However, the real kicker, and this does make sense, is the children. The gnolls intend to kill them. Drizzt thinks not.
So there's a fight. Between Drizzt's badassery and Guen, who'd been hiding, the gnolls don't have much of a chance. But there's an interesting bit of moral ambiguity here:
Guenhwyvar tore free of the dead gnoll’s stubborn grasp. The cat’s sleek muscles rippled anxiously as it awaited the expected command. Drizzt considered the carnage around him, the blood on his scimitars, and the horrible expressions on the faces of the dead. He wanted to let it end, for he realized that he had stepped into a situation beyond his experience, had crossed the paths of two races that he knew very little about. After a moment of consideration, though, the single notion that stood out in the drow’s mind was the gnoll leader’s gleeful promise of death to the human children, loo much was at stake.
Drizzt turned to Guenhwyvar, his voice more determined than resigned. “Go get him.”
Sometimes, you can't let an enemy flee.
And indeed, Guen does catch up to him, latching onto the gnoll's neck. The chapter ends when the thrashing stops.
It's a pretty good intro, though I'm not sure I'd call it poignant. I like the way Drizzt's lack of knowledge of the scenario and his loneliness leads him to make the wrong kind of friends. If anything, I think it could have been really interesting to stretch that out a little longer. That said, Drizzt's morals are pretty unshakable, and that's good too. We'll have to see where he goes from here.
We start the story with Drizzt. He's made it to the surface and is creeping around the shrubs near his cave. Because of course he lives in a cave. I mean, it does make some sense that he'd be more comfortable surrounded by rock, but I like making fun of him.
He's not alone: Guen is here too. Also, some kind of animal:
Drizzt had never seen such an animal before. It appeared almost catlike, but its head was much smaller and more sharply pointed. The whole of it could not have weighed more than a few pounds. This fact, and the creature’s bushy tail and thick fur, indicated that it was more a forager than a predator. It rummaged now through a pack of food, apparently oblivious to the draw’s presence.
Aw, surface animal. Which raises a question: don't rangers usually have the ability to speak to animals? Or is that just druids? I mean, it's completely valid as a character choice to not have Drizzt talk to animals. It's just funny to me when folks try to reconcile the books and games 100%. Especially given all of the rule and setting changes later.
Anyway, Drizzt goes to make friends with the creature, but...well...
The animal’s tail came up high; Drizzt noticed in the faint light that the beast had distinctive stripes running down its back. Guenhwyvar whimpered and turned to flee, but it was too late....
About an hour later Drizzt and Guenhwyvar walked along the lower trails of the mountain in search of a new home. They had salvaged what they could, though that wasn’t very much. Guenhwyvar kept a good distance to the side of Drizzt. Proximity made the stink only worse.
Drizzt took it all in stride, though the stench of his own body made the lesson a bit more poignant than he would have liked. He didn’t know the little animal’s name, of course, but he had marked its appearance keenly. He would know better the next time he encountered a skunk.
Okay, that was pretty funny.
That said, Drizzt is lonely. There are some humans nearby, but he hasn't come out of hiding yet. Rather understandably, he fears rejection and also has nowhere else to hide.
So we get a nude scene as Drizzt goes bathing. He reminisces about Zombi-Zak and we get a bit of a summary of Exile's climax. Drizzt is very sad, but he finds some strength in Zak's sacrifice.
One thing I really like about this chapter is the sensory detail. Drizzt is taken aback by the icy stream and the fluctuations in weather, neither of which are common in the underdark. The moon ("a silver-glowing orb") is weird and cool too. We're also implicitly heading into winter, as Drizzt notes the sun setting lower and lower. That could be a problem if Drizzt doesn't know how to properly prepare.
Apparently, Drizzt's been on the surface for four months.
So anyway, Drizzt's bath is interrupted by gnolls. He's in a vulnerable spot without weapons, but fortunately, dark elves are scary. He takes advantage of that by casting faerie fire on one. It drops to the ground, but the others stick around. The gnoll chieftain though is braver. But he doesn't attack. Drizzt knows a little of goblin tongue, which the gnolls speak, and realizes that the gnolls are asking if he wants to ally.
So Drizzt gets his weapons and armor and some new friends. But, well, the gnolls have a particular expectation for this alliance:
Twilight was fast approaching as the troupe made its way around the village’s central area to look down upon a secluded farmhouse off to the west.
The gnoll chieftain whispered to Drizzt, slowly rolling out each word so that the drow might understand. “One family,” it croaked. “Three men, two women . .”
“One young woman,” another added eagerly.
The gnoll chieftain gave a snarl. “And three young males,” it concluded.
Drizzt thought he now understood the journey’s purpose, and the surprised and questioning look on his face prompted the gnoll to confirm it beyond doubt.
“Enemies,” the leader declared.
Oh dear. Drizzt doesn't really know much about gnolls vs. humans. But the gnoll's comments about humans being weaklings and slaves. Though this bit rings a little false:
“Three men,” Drizzt said.
The gnoll jabbed its spear savagely toward the ground. “Kill oldest! Catch two!”
“Women?”
The evil smile that spread over the gnoll’s face answered the question beyond doubt, and Drizzt was beginning to understand where he stood in the conflict.
Drizzt is from a matriarchal race where the drow females are more dominant and powerful. He has no reason to expect otherwise here. So while it suits Drizzt's general knightly persona to be defensive of women, it doesn't actually fit yet.
However, the real kicker, and this does make sense, is the children. The gnolls intend to kill them. Drizzt thinks not.
So there's a fight. Between Drizzt's badassery and Guen, who'd been hiding, the gnolls don't have much of a chance. But there's an interesting bit of moral ambiguity here:
Guenhwyvar tore free of the dead gnoll’s stubborn grasp. The cat’s sleek muscles rippled anxiously as it awaited the expected command. Drizzt considered the carnage around him, the blood on his scimitars, and the horrible expressions on the faces of the dead. He wanted to let it end, for he realized that he had stepped into a situation beyond his experience, had crossed the paths of two races that he knew very little about. After a moment of consideration, though, the single notion that stood out in the drow’s mind was the gnoll leader’s gleeful promise of death to the human children, loo much was at stake.
Drizzt turned to Guenhwyvar, his voice more determined than resigned. “Go get him.”
Sometimes, you can't let an enemy flee.
And indeed, Guen does catch up to him, latching onto the gnoll's neck. The chapter ends when the thrashing stops.
It's a pretty good intro, though I'm not sure I'd call it poignant. I like the way Drizzt's lack of knowledge of the scenario and his loneliness leads him to make the wrong kind of friends. If anything, I think it could have been really interesting to stretch that out a little longer. That said, Drizzt's morals are pretty unshakable, and that's good too. We'll have to see where he goes from here.