The Quest for Dawn

Chapter 3: Candlekeep

Candlekeep, Faerûn's most infamous and guarded library, stood before them against the backdrop of a moonlit sky. Arriving during the early hours of morning, before the sun rose, was uncommon but not unheard of. As long as there was no threat to the fortress, the eastern gates remained open to visitors. Even against the dark sky, to say it was an impressive sight would have been a great understatement.

The walls of the fortress were a monumental construction of iron and stone. The gates appeared designed for the largest of giants to allow passage. Beyond the gates, built onto the bedrock embraced on all sides by the ocean, loomed the several tiers of great columns, towers, and parapets, climbing ever higher toward the citadel at its zenith. Within the ancient walls were the greatest repositories of knowledge in all of Faerûn, home to the Avowed scholars.

Tav and Astarion guided their horses to the gate, where they were stopped by guards asking them what business they had there. A piece of paper was quickly produced by Tav, unfolding the innocent missive to be granted entry. But the guard did not let them pass, holding up his hand before they could steer their horses forward.

"Ah, yes. I almost forgot." Tav searched through her pack, pulling out a particularly fearsome looking book. Astarion swallowed, recognizing the book instantly; The Necromancy of Thay. He had almost let himself be consumed by that book, and he quickly cast his gaze firmly elsewhere.

The guard gasped in fear.

"The stone is here," she handed him a large glowing amethyst, "just be sure to keep that one locked up. It could be dangerous." She shot a look toward Astarion, who kept his eyes ahead of him. It was a futile effort to ignore the feeling of her eyes boring into the back of his head.

The guard waved them through with a nod, and Astarion was struck with curiosity.

"Well, that was frighteningly easy," he quipped. "What did you show them?"

Tavriel gave him a grin. "A letter from Gale." Astarion rolled his eyes at the wizard's name.

"Ah yes, the 'wizard of some renown'," he said, not without some derision, "I should have known."

Candlekeep itself was not a city, but it still boasted suitable accommodation for visitors to the library-fortress. Their horses were stabled in the Court of Air, where the pair were escorted to a The House of Rest which held lodgings available to Seekers - as Tav and Astarion would be known while within the walls of the keep.

Inside the citadel of Candlekeep, beneath vaulted ceilings and surrounded by walls of ancient tomes, Tav and Astarion found themselves lost in a labyrinth of knowledge. The atmosphere was thick with the musk of aged paper and leather, and the quiet reverence of the place reminded them of the sanctity of the information housed here.

"We know what you are," said Avowed scholar Thorne to Astarion as they were later led through the library, "We know what you seek."

Astarion wasn't sure if he should feel offended, or simply stunned. Though he opted for looking amused at such a direct comment. The pale elf cast a glance to his love, his eyes catching the two pin-prick scars on her neck where his fangs often pierced her to feed. A consent that was always given first, he knew, but it still felt odd to be so close to a beating heart when he himself could not boast one. Other people don't have a heart like you, he remembered telling her once.

She was alive in all the ways that made him love her, while he remained an undead creature spurned by the sun and consumed by a hunger that took years for him to control. A hunger that always remained. Absently, he ran his tongue across his fangs, before catching himself, and looking away.