This grave elf was encountered by the Band of the Silver Spear in the Etter Hills to the north and west of Hommlet. In company with his son, Kayen, and a number of other elven warriors, wizards, and priests, Gilathadar was hunting a party of drow seeking to establish some sort of understanding with or perhaps dominion over the native ettercaps, whose numbers were growing once more amidst the hills. Roused from their camp by the sights and sounds of a battle in the nearby hills, the band of heroes rushed to discover the source of the disruption, only to find a pitched battle taking place between the sylvan elves and their ancestral foes, the dreaded drow, as well as several ettercaps, a half-dozen spiders ranging in size between that of large dogs to warhorses as well as a single bloated monster bigger than an average size inn. Naturally, the Band of the Silver Spear decided to get involved.

Gilathadar’s son, Kayen

While Kayen led the elven warriors in meeting the drow blade to blade, Gilathadar laid waste to the foe from afar, striking them down with his spells. The Band of the Silver Spear saw him annihilate the enemy with spells such as Chain Lightning, a Prismatic Spray, Scorching Ray, Fireball, Lightning Bolt and Magic Missile, but as they closed, several drow managed to close with the powerful wizard. He drew his own sword and scored a hit, but was left unbalanced, disarmed, and struck by a drow warrior in turn. The dark elf did not reckon with the skill of Ruprect, Throm, Haemir and Oscar, though, and he was quickly slain as they rushed onto the scene. Surprised by their help, the dignified elder elf murmured his thanks as the drow high priestess fled the battle using a Word of Recall, abandoning her forces to the unkind mercy of the light elves and the heroes.

After the battle introductions were made, and Gilathadar once again offered his thanks, rewarding the party with a pair of magical swords and a pouch of gemstones taken from the vanquished drow. The other elves clearly deferred to him in all things, and Gilathadar explained that he was an elder elf of Verbobonc, who had dwelt in the city for “a long time.” He explained further that his scrying had revealed drow interest in the Etter Hills, an alarming development since in ancient times there was an elf settlement nearby, and the magic of the elves still lingered there. Concerned about an alliance of sorts developing between the dark elves and the ettercaps, he had taken it upon himself to assemble a cadre and meet the threat. Their help was much appreciated, he continued, for they may have lost a number of lives without their timely arrival as the summoning of the gargantuan spider had taken him by surprise.

Gilathadar would gently chide Ruprect for brazenly speaking the name Lolth while the elves instead insisted on using the sobriquets “Spider Goddess, Black Queen”, and “Weaver and Poisoner of Fate and Folly.” He would go on to say that the attention of gods was hazarded whenever their name was spoken, and doubtless the “Mother of the Drow” had taken notice of the scene and all within it, cataloguing all of them in turn for future vengeance due to the nobleman’s slip. All gods had this power, and to court the attention of evil deities was pure folly.

Their discussion concluded, the elves bid the Band of the Silver Spear good fortune on the road, for their work was not yet done in the hills and they had their own “secret ways” back to the capital that they were not disposed to share with those not of their ilk..

Art credit: Gilathadar portrait was taken from work by Oana-D