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Message: <blockquote data-quote="S'mon" data-source="post: 1677830" data-attributes="member: 463">Leo's account:Things to do, people to see. Leo breathed the cool air. It was splendid to be back on the surface again. After spending what seemed to be a never-ending time in the Underdark both hunting and being hunted by Duergar, it felt very good to look at the sun. Then he concentrated. He had a lot to do. First there was the dinner with Kanor tonight. No doubt there would have been some developments in the upcoming war plans. Leo wasn’t sure just how involved Kanor and the Borderlands were but he hoped that he would find out tonight. Before then, he had to go to the Tower, find out how the move back to Imarr was going. He had to communicate with various individuals, say goodbye to Tarquin the priest, who was going to stay in the Temple of Urnus Gregaria for a while and generally acquaint himself with the latest news. The day went quickly. Leo had made arrangements to leave the next day to visit Clarendon and he packed and made ready.  He found out that the White Way move had been remarkably trouble free. That night, he went to the banquet hall with the others including Elaith, the elven mage they had met in the Underdark. Fjorent the Forest Witch had already gone on business of her own. The conversation ranged far and wide. Kanor was pleased that the debt to the dwarves had been settled and that an alliance had been strengthened. He was sorry to hear about the Holy Warrior Raven, forever lost. He himself had little to say. The Borderlands carried on pretty much as before. His recent promotion to Duke had obviously pleased him. He was also interested to hear Elaith’s story. The elf was a melancholy being, as was all of his kind. They still remembered the glory days of the Forest of Angar before they were almost completely destroyed by the Mongali. Elaith had heard that the Horde stirred again and had come out to help its opposition and provide his centuries-old knowledge of the enemy. He was quite ruthless. He was obviously also devastated about the death of his faithful bodyguard. He consumed a large amount of wine that night. After the dinner everyone retired although Kanor did call Cailin for a conversation just as everyone was leaving. The next morning Leo transported himself and a lot of his inks and writing equipment to Torrent. This was the headquarters of the Thrinian Knights. There, in a tall tower, he met Clarendon. Upon announcing his presence, a young squire led him to the Thrinian archmage. Leo was shocked at his appearance. Clarendon looked like an old man. His hair was snowy white, he had numerous crow’s feet and whereas once his eyes looked bright and clear now they were dim and watery. He smiled wryly. “Ah, Leo welcome. Don’t look so shocked. I am an old man. For centuries I have been supported by anti-aging magic. Something happened recently. I don’t know what but the magic has stopped working. You will find many of the powerful mages in the land have suffered. Certainly Dovistar, possibly some of the Mongali Hakomen. My time is limited now. My dearest wish is to see the Mongali defeated and my homeland, the Settler’s Country, freed from their yoke. Now, what can I do for you?”So it began. Knowledge was purchased and exchanged. Leo stayed in Clarendon’s scriptorium where he annotated his spellbooks. He was able to purchase and write several new powerful effects. He held long conversations with Clarendon, talking about anything and everything. The Knights left them alone. They were busy with preparations for war. Leo didn’t know if Ulfius was there but if he was the Archduke didn’t make an appearance. Towards the end of his stay, Leo received a message from Laera in Imarr. She asked him if he could call there. Leo had pretty much finished in Torrent. He said his goodbyes to the archmage, determined to visit and talk to the old man as much as possible before the sad event. The man knew so much. He still had many secrets. Arriving in Imarr he quickly announced his presence in the tower. Laera quickly took him to her study, where she explained. “Good to see you Leo. Dovistar has finally started involving himself in politics again. He is over two centuries old as I am sure you are aware. Due to his age, he knows where many bodies are buried and many skeletons rattling in cupboards. He has some scheme afoot at the moment otherwise he would be here to greet you himself. Anyway, the Blue Light has dispatched a powerful operative to Gaxmoor. He or she are there to recruit the elven mage you met. He is one of the most powerful elven mages left in the land that we know of. It is important that he be recruited for the White Way. It would go a long way to regaining some of the ground we have lost to the Blue Light. Possibly also forge links with the remnants of the elven community in the future. Since you have met him Dovistar feels you have the best chance of recruiting him.”Leo agreed. He still had ambivalent feelings about Elaith. He didn’t know him. He could see how the society could benefit from his membership. The next day he transported himself to Gaxmoor. Quickly he was taken to see Kanor where he met Cailin, Xiang, Elaith and the Blue Light operative. Leo recognised her at once. The lady Krysteel. Scion of an ancient noble Imarran family, she was young but had distinctive grey hair. Leo also knew she specialised in conjuration, was a rising star in the Blue Light Society and very powerful. She was also known to be a close personal friend to the Empress to be, Zalindra. A formidable woman. He greeted her politely and non-commitally. No point in burning bridges just yet, although there were probably no bridges there. Then he asked the others to join him for a proposal. They all moved somewhere private. However, as Krysteel moved to join them, Leo politely asked her to give them some privacy. She was not offended. Then he and the others went to the Temple of Urnus Gregaria. There, Leo outlined what he had in mind. A visit to Charasta’s cave to recover her treasure. He explained to Elaith and Cailin that Charasta was the White Dragon, which had been slain by some of the Heroes of Gaxmoor. Before they could recover her treasure, the group had been urgently summoned to Goldworthy Hall to aid the dwarves. Everyone was agreeable and plans were made. The next day, certain spells were cast on everyone, including the ability to breathe underwater. Then the group transported themselves just outside the cave. As soon as they did, Leo spotted a large creature inside. Something had already taken over the cavern. Cailin snuck inside. She came out, reporting a large snake like thing, which had what looked like eggs made of ice next to it. The cave itself was colder and the former pool was now frozen over. As she was whispering the creature stirred and moved forward. Everyone reacted. Cailin first. She peppered it with arrows. Then Leo cast a ball of fire, which was almost a mistake as there was an ominous cracking sound from the cavern. He shouted a warning to the others. Tarquin had a beam of light spring from his hand and Elaith had three beams of fire spring from his hands. All of this caused the creature to shiver, writhe and then explode in massive cloud of cold air and ice shards, which hurt everyone.Tarquin healed everyone. Then an effect was cast by Leo and Elaith transforming everyone into earth elementals. Then the ice was cleared from the ground and everyone dove into the earth. Eventually a flooded cave was found which contained an open casket in a small alcove. Cailin moved to the casket and as she approached it, she stiffened but suddenly shook herself and took the chest. Elaith moved forward to investigate some draconic markings nearby and managed to decipher the existence of another cave, which was not accessible through any tunnel and the group had not investigated yet. The group then moved back up into the main cave. The casket was left in a corner. No one wanted anything to do with that. Leo then made several calculations and worked out, with Elaith’s help, how to get to the hidden cave. The short transport spell was cast and everyone appeared in a cave, which had a large mound of coins in the middle. There were other items also including a tapestry and two finely carved candlesticks. There was also a chest, which Elaith said was radiating magic. The whole pile was surrounded by six human figures, which looked to be totally frozen. Cailin moved forward and carefully examined the chest. She produced her paraphenalia and with some deft rubs and twists with her tools she pronounced it safe. Then she opened and it produced a large key, a rod and three scrolls. Everything was put into various magical bags and then everyone was transported back to Gaxmoor. Upon arrival, everything was shared and people were left to their own devices. Privately, Leo had a conversation with Elaith. The elven mage had impressed him in the dragon cave. After several questions, Elaith agreed to become a member of the White Way. Leo and Elaith left quickly after. They went to Imarr where they saw Dovistar and Laera. Like Clarendon, the mage was beginning to look all of his two hundred plus years. Leo was pleased Laera was such an able administrator. She also looked very taken with Elaith. Leo himself asked Dovistar to teach him the last stages of his study of the flux. After this, Dovistar had taught him all he knew. Anything further, Leo would have to research on his own. After that, Leo copied another spell into his book. Then he said his goodbyes to everyone and went on the road again. First he went to Trafalgis and spent a couple of pleasant days with King Sigurd. Sigurd was in a particularly good mood as he was counting soldiers and talking about his new ships. Something about gold dragon heads. Very tasteful, Leo though privately. He had never been to Sigurd’s Hall before and it was certainly different. He also spent several hours letting Sigurd know everything that had happened in the Underdark.  Then Leo went to Dulleaberg where he made some very specialised purchases. From there he made his way to Goldworthy Hall. He planned to craft certain items. He had arranged this with Fillum the dwarven sage, who was more than happy to be hospitable. This was an enjoyable time. The items were tricky but rewarding. At the end of almost two months, Leo had a stronger cloak, a pair of gloves and a ring. During the evenings, he discussed dwarven lore with the sage over mulled wine. Sometimes others joined them, eager for news of the outside world. Sometimes they would share knowledge of exotic creatures from deep in the Underdark. Leo was asked to relate his recent adventures in Lord Maugraign’s Hall again and again. He wondered what was happening with their sword but didn’t ask. It was now a dwarven treasure of Goldworthy Hall. He had brought a written account of the expedition to Fillum as a gift. He also still wanted to make a journey to Cirith Ardrad the great dwarven citadel but that was going to be tricky due to the presence of chaos forces.  After he finished his crafting, Leo went to the fabled Marrakeen Caliphate. This was the most exotic land he had ever visited with the possible exception of Arypt. As in that desert land, the sun shone eternally. Leo went to Marrak, the capital. He stood out as a foreigner blatantly until he purchased a local costume. It was much cooler and the variety of people was such that he was able to meld into the crowds reasonably well. The most immediate impression was one of wealth. He visited their markets. He later learnt they were known as suks or bazaars. Everything and everyone was for sale. No sale was too big or too small. People milled around in their thousands, all talking at once. Everyone was always selling something. Carpets, silks, exotic foods, nuts, strange drinks, slaves, weapons, jewelry, you name it and it could be found. It looked like a truly vibrant economy. He also saw the famed Zeereshi lizard cavalry. About the size of a horse, these large lizards looked strong and fast though Leo doubted they could be mixed with traditional cavalry. They looked like they would eat anything including horses. Overall, a very sophisticated city, one which Leo promised himself he would visit again. Just before he left, he purchased a few pieces of silk he had seen. He very much enjoyed the bright colours. He also purchased a Marrak noble’s outfit. He though he would gift it to Sigurd as a bit of amusement. He then went to visit Plainton, the closest city to Scornel, which belonged to Kardus. The story there was very different. The warlord was not there but from what Leo saw of the population, they were already a beaten people. Morale was very low. Everyone knew that Kardus had failed to convince the League to ally with him and they realised that with Scornel joining the Overkingdom they had been left exposed. Many people were leaving and becoming refugees in the League. Leo stayed there for a few days, gauging the  population. He knew about Kardus’s army already. It was said to be an effective, battle hardened force but like all armies it needed supplies. If its cities couldn’t supply it then it was useless. This city didn’t look capable of supplying it. He was thinking of visiting the city of Gallak, which he knew was much closer to the Mongali border. He was afraid of what he would find. If he found anyone at all.</blockquote>

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