Valas Hune

Valas Hune is a pragmatic drow scout and member of Bregan D'aerthe. Valas was chosen for the dubious honor of assisting Quenthel Baenre in her quest to find the Spider Queen (Lolth). This tale is related in the War of the Spider Queen series.

During this adventure, Valas forms a bond with Ryld Argith, a master of Melee Magthere, since both share the traits of having no magical or clerical abilities (apart from their equipment) and excelling in melee fighting.

Background
Born into House Ozzl'Hune, a merchant house in Menzoberranzan, Valas spent his formative years engaged in the family business, organizing and escorting Underdark trading caravans. This job gave him ample opportunity to learn to fight and encouraged him to be cosmopolitan. About a century before he joined the quest to solve the mystery of the Silence of Lolth, Valas and a dozen of his kin were escorting a caravan through The Labyrinth when a large group of minotaurs attacked them. Valas was the only survivor of the expedition and escaped the carnage after all the others had been killed. Somehow, Valas managed to survive in The Labyrinth alone and with no supplies, sneaking past monsters and finding a way through the winding tunnels until he encountered the refuge of House Jaelre. In thanks for taking him in, Valas lent his now-impressive fighting skills to the refuges defenses, befriending a Vhaeraunite cleric named Tzirik. Rather than stay with them indefinately though, Valas decided to return to his family, acting as a guard for several caravans until he found his way back to Menzoberranzan. Here he learned that the loss of the caravan in The Labyrinth had left his family destitute and their rivals had quickly destroyed House Ozzl'Hune. He immediately sought out Bregan D'aerthe and impressed his new brothers with his skills in silence and bladework, soon turning him into a high-ranking member of the mercenary group.

Abilities
Valas is highly skilled at remaining concealed giving him a large advantage in combat. His natural stealth is augmented by the many magical trinkets he has collected over the years. Valas favors the use of his two Kukris enchanted to produce lightning which he uses to hamstring, stab and eviscerate his enemies. Valas also uses a short bow with which he is highly proficient.

Valas wears a shirt of chain mail which is enchanted to give him great agility and balance. Over this, he wears a vest to which are pinned a large number of magical trinkets pilfered from his victims over the years. The trinkets have various magical powers from creating illusionary images of himself to forming dimensional doors for a quick escape.

Metamorphosis
In the fourth novel of the War of the Spider Queen series, Valas plunges into a lake, given water breathing abilities by Pharaun Mizzrym. However, he is captured by Aboleths living in an underwater city, who use their abilities to transform him into a water breathing creature (including webbed hands and feet, and gills). This doesn't prevent him from getting to the surface to make his report (carrying a water supply into his magically enhanced back bag), where Pharaun, again, magically turns him into a (very slightly different) Drow.

However, as Pharaun warns him, his metamorphosis is not permanent and may be dispelled.

Appearances
He makes a brief cameo appearance in R.A. Salvatore's Road of the Patriarch, The Ghost King, and once again in Gauntlgrym.