20 Kythorn 1479

Ok, a little hurting never hurt anyone who realized it's just FLIRTING. I was as outrageous as I could be - the bigger, the better, right? Just like tales. Only I kinda think maybe Aprilane doesn't realize it's a game. How could you NOT, though? Would anyone say things so overblown and actually seriously mean them?

Ah well, we reached Silverymoon today and WOW. All I'd imagined - and a bit more. You could see the spires from a ways off and the pegasuses swooping in to land and even catch glimpses of the royal knights in their shiny armor. Then you got closer and there was a shanty town out front a bit. All the poor and unwashed that apparently aren't good enough to go inside. Lovely. Even as fabled a city as Silverymoon - built by elves and dwarves and humans together - runs the same bullshit as every other bloody kingdom. Ugrun was naturally a bit...ah, hesitant to enter the city, as was Aprilane, cities just don't agree with her much, so we sent the two of them and Lyra to wait outside the walls and meet up later. Then we headed in to make a quick stop. Max and Gnf headed to the mage's guild to let them know about the world overlap thing - why Max went, I don't know. Allyson and I headed over to Turlough's to make contact. Not, of course, before having a wee stare-down with the gate guard over my SISTER - make something out of the half-orc, I dare you, honestly.

Dunstan, the agent at Turlough's obviously wasn't in on the smuggling orcs to Waterdeep part of the plan and was a bit iffy on us having an orc in the group. I told him Ugrun had saved my life twice and he seemed satisfied...mostly. He's a worrier is Dunstan and this huge gold shipment has him ready to piss himself. Plus one of his guards was murdered the other day - strangled I guess by somebody (something?) with long narrow fingers. We arranged to meet up at the vault at 4 tomorrow morning to load up and head out early. Then we left Dunstan biting his nails and took a short trip to Mielikki's temple to share some news about Queenie.

The priestess there is well aware of her, but things are a bit overstretched. Everyone is worried about the kingdom of Many Arrows and is arming for war. After all, the orcs are arming, so we have to - and what do you want to bet over in Many Arrows they're all saying, well they're arming over in Silverymoon, we have to? Anyway, turned out she was an old friend of Mom's - they trained here together. I never knew Mom trained this far north. She wondered why Mom would have gone all the way to the Southwood when she could have stayed right here. Makes me wonder - Mom never said when or where she met Besk, what if he was from Many Arrows? Well, or what is NOW Many Arrows. Heh, funny old world.

We walked back to Turlough's to find Max and Gnf. Glorious city to walk through. As pretty with delicate spires and green spaces (one thing Waterdeep sadly lacks) as any elf city, but with solid streets like a human one. And an inn on every corner I swear, everyone laughing and singing. A FUN place, I'll have to come back. Dunstan is sufficiently paranoid, he'd refused to acknowledge to Gnf and Max that we'd even been by and we had to crowbar out of him the information that they were in a tavern across the street. What with half the day gone already and getting up at way-too-damned-early in the morning (hell, at 4 am even the roosters have the sense to lie in a bit), the others headed straight to rooms to catch a nap. I stayed up a bit myself, the music was so very good and I had to join in a bit.

But they're right, I'll need sleep. I hate it when Allyson's right, but at least I don't have to tell her.