an old, musty book stashed away in the deepest corner of valaun's bag

The bastards ! I will have their guts on my plate for dinner for this ! How dare they ! They will pay ! This I swear ! How they laughed and scorned me as they threw me out of those gates ! Curse them ! And to think my plan was nearly at it's end. Everything had gone according to plan ! But obviously not, as otherwise I would not be sitting here writing in this diary, in the cold and dangerous Underdark. Whoever is reading this must be curious as to what happened. In that case I shall start at the beginning. My name is Valaun Valaronat, bastard son Re-nir'elquir Valaronat, Lord of the drow house of L'orthir'el. Maybe not the best title, but it suits me just fine in drow soceity. Born of drow father and weak human slave as mother, who luckily died soon after my birth, I should have been treated like a slave, but that was not to be. As only son for 5 years, my father had to make me his heir, something most half-drow cannot even aspire to be. Even though I was still treated like dirt- although it is worth more than a slave- particularly by the matron of the house. You might be thinking what if my father had children? Well, in fact he did. At the age 6, I learnt that my father was to have a child from his first wife, the first of many. This was a threat for me, for if his child lived, I could be slain by him when he was of age or he could rob me of my heirdom before then. It was that day that I gutted my first adult. I even managed to direct all suspicions to a woman who was thought to be wanting my father's hand in marriage. One stone, two hags you might say. I basically repeated this again and again until adulthood. At the age of 18, I was betrayed by a slave given to me. Of course, I ripped his head off before being caught. I should have been executed , but my father stepped in. He had a worse, more sadistic treatment. He exiled me into the underdark, with nothing more than that slave's rags! Curse them! They will all die for this! Valaun Valaronat.

It has been 3 days now since I have been cast asunder into the underdark. I have been reduced to eating off other animal's kills. I am thirsty, hungry and bitter. They will pay for this, I swear. I do not know where I am going. I wander aimlessly in these dark caverns. Hopefully it will lead me to my revenge. To be honest I am surprised to have survived this long. I have been attacked by hook horror. Luckily it was wounded, otherwise I would not have lasted long. From its claws I made myself a makeshift shortsword. I must carry on, for if I give in, I shall die. And that is not an option. Valaun Valaronat.

'' must...not give...in...must...reach...the...buil...ding...'' Those are the words I remember uttering whilst I was dragging my wrecked and broken body by hunger to the gates of this place. It was a miracle I got here. Some guards noticed me before I slipped into unconsciousness. I don't know how long I have been asleep You must be wondering what this about. Let me explain then. I am currently inside a secret base for Eilistraee's followers. When I first heard this, I laughed out loud. But those that greeted me beside my bed did not smile, or laugh. They stayed silent and grave. I have been here for at least 2 days now. At least, 2 days of consciousness. The drow here are kind people at heart, although most a bitter creatures, like me. I do not know what has spared me of a grim fate, but I thank it. The high priest here claims it to be Eilistraee. I do not fully believe him though. I only hope to be able to take my revenge upon those who forced me here. they shall pay, I swear. Valaun Valaronat

It has been several months since I have last written in this diary. I have embraced the faith of those around me. I have forsworn Lolth and I now follow the Dark Maiden, Eilistraee. I now believe that she saved me from almost certain death, and in such I repay her through a life debt and love for her. Only with death will my debt be settled. I now train with the bastard sword, her favourite weapon. I also can use other exotic weapons, but this one is my favourite. I am also practicing dodge movements to protect myself. I have several friends now. It is a new experience for me. i have learnt that tis base exists to house, train,teach the dogma to Her followers and protect them, and to teach them how to protect others. I am recognised as one of the most capable trainee warriors in this base, but I am not so sure. We have mostly warriors here, but also clerics and mages. We are fairly organised as a fighting force, but we do not match a professional, well trained army. I only hope that I can settle down here. Life has been harsh to me, and all I want is peace. Valaun Valaronat The symbol of a maiden, dancing with a bastard sword in her hand under the moonlight is depicted here

these next words take at least a quarter of the page WHY? WHY? WHY NOW? WHY?!!!

Why? Why did so many have to die? Why do we have to suffer? Why do they always come and hurt you when you feel the safest you have ever felt? Why? The base has been destroyed. It has been 2 years since I last wrote, nearly 3 since I was rejected from drow soceity. My fellow followers have been slaughtered, butchered by those drow dogs! Curse them ! May they burn in hell ! We were caught by surprise. There was barely anything we could do. Here is an account of the events : Everything was normal. We had a few new arrivals over the last few days, but apart from that everything was calm. Too calm I thought. I raised these issues with the high priest. He also was concerned, but told me not to tink about it. Just as I left his sanctuary,I heard some screams andthe sound of clashing swords. I raced to the main gates. there i found a large group of drow soldiers bursting through the gates. Several followers of Eilistraee attacked them, but they didn't even land a single blow. We were under attack. After the carnage caused at the gates, we mounted a defence in the main hall. It was fairly well organised, and when the invaders charged in we let loose a volley of arrows and bolts, aswell as a few spells before clashing steel against steel in melee combat. We were outnumbered, but we fought on. The arms instructor, more powerful than all of us in hand to hand, led the elite into the front line. However, they were carbonised as a fireball hit them in the face. None survived. We fought for at least 30 minutes like this, falling one by one, and our moral falling slowly, bit by bit, as despair filled our hearts. It was clear to us that this was no ordinary fighting force : we were fighting elite soldiers. There must have been around 200 of them against 80 or so of us. Yet we held on, becuase of the high priest. His spells smote many of our enemies, aswell as healing our wounds. AS i turned around to look at him, a bolt flew out of the darkness and hit him in his back. As he fell, I saw driders appear from the shadows. We were outnumbered and surrounded. In the end, we managed to break through the enemy ranks and flee. Only 10 of us managed to run out the gates. But we were still cut down by arrows, until only one remained : me. I hid while they plundered the ruined building. A few hours later, after they had left, I contemplated the carnage. I found the high priest, near death. He told me to leave this place, to find more followers and to protect them. he gave me his pendant bearing Her symbol, to remind me to never betray my faith. Then he died. I took what was left of the plundered food, belted my bastard sword and took to the road. Here i am, once again wondering the Underdark. I do not know if I will survive. Only time will tell. Valaun Valaronat