The next day Terevalis arrives in the Hall of Mages of the North Tower of Wayreth. The Hall of Mages is a black, obsidian chamber that has a forty-five foot diameter and a sixty-foot domed ceiling There is a single light source that lights only the chair that the Highmage while the other twenty chairs in the conclave sit in shadows. A number of wizards sit in various chairs but not all the chairs are full, hinting that the tower still has much to grow before it can fill all the spots on the conclave. Sitting at the head of the conclave is Highmage Jenna, the Master of the Tower of Wayreth. Sitting near her is Dalamar, Master of the Black and Coryn, Mistress of the white. The other chairs have wizards fulfilling other roles in the tower. Terevalis is guided by an Acolyte to his chair, the chair reserved for the Leader of the Renegade Hunters. Terevalis sits paitently until such a time everyone is gathered and then Highmage Jenna stands up and addresses the room.
"Welcome brothers and sisters of the Orders of High Sorcerery. Thank you for attending this meeting of the Conclave. Before we begin our discussion today, I would like to announce that we have a new member joining the conclave of Wizards. I ask Wizard Terevalis to step forward into the center of the room so he may be seen by all."
Assuming he does Jenna continues, "Wizard Terevalis has only recently joined the Orders of High Sorcery but has been trained by some of the best wizards out of Silvanesti so is no stranger to our ways. With the return of the Gods, the need to restore the faith in the power of Wizardry is a paramont concern. One should not blame those who chose to take up the Sorcerer arts to fill the void that was left when the moons in the sky vanished and magic ceased to flow. Now with the return of the Gods though, there is a need to convince the Sorcerers to follow the focused art of Arcane Magic. We most of all hope to lead these Sorcerers with a gentle hand but also at times we must also bring them on our path with a closed fist. I shall concede the floor to Dalamar, Master of the Black to explain this further."
With that she nods to Dalamar and takes a seat in her chair. Dalamar rises and looks to the assembled wizards.
"Ages ago, in a time when many of you were not even born, the Orders of High Sorcery had agents who hunted down those who would dare practice Arcane Magic without approval of the Gods and the Order of High Sorcery. These loyal men and women served the Orders for as long as the Conclave has existed. The Chaos War would decimate their numbers and in the wake of the theft of the world, those that survived became redundant for all arcane magic ceased to function in the absence of the Gods. Now with the return of the three moons, the true art can once again be practiced but with it the rules that we swore by also must be enforced. Thus the Renegade Hunters are once again needed by the Conclaive and the first in this new age to take up the position will be this wizard, Terevalis Unctio of House Mystic!"
He points to Terevalis with his staff and then continues, "Wizard Terevalis will now take the seat as the renegade hunter. He will be responsible to keep the power of the Arcane out of the hands of those who would abuse it and punish those who do. He shall be the strong arm of the Order of High Sorcery and help deal with those who wield Sorcery and Wizardry that the Orders do not sanction. With my announcement finished I concede the floor back to Highmaster Jenna of the Red."
Dalamar takes a seat and Jenna stands again and looks toward Terevalis, "Terevalis Unctio of House Mystic, do you accept the position as Master of the Renegade Hunters of the Order of High Sorcery? Do you accept all the responsibilities of this role within the Conclave?"
The Black Robe smiles, happy that he now sits among the mages of the Tower as one of them, knowing that he at least as a home now and a position of power.
As his name is called and the opportunity to swear an oath of alligence to the Conclave and new responsabilities, he rises
Mistress Jenna, High Mage, Mistress Coryn of the White and my Lord Dalamar, Master of the Black Robes, I indeed take upon my shoulders the responsability of Head of the Renegade Hunters here on Ansalon. As we know, our ancient rules of High Sorcery have kep the Magic alive and well against those who have sought, as the Church of E'li did in the Age of Might and the Knights of the Dragon Queen did in the days before the Second Cataclysm, and still do to this day. It is what keeps us together, binds us, sustains as we put the magic first. As a member of the Black Robes in good standing, I will do all within my power to represent both my Order and the purpose for which I have been chosen for, to keep the Magic out of the hands of renegades. This I swear by the 3 Cousins, Solinari, Lunitari and Nuitari. This oath is not taken lightly. I ask the other members of the Conclave, if they know of others within the Order of the Red, the White and the Black, if they have any members within their ranks who would help in this endeavor?
The Highmasters nod approvingly and there are some murmers among the mages in the council. Jenna continues, "Does any mage here dispute the right of Terevalis Unctio of House Mystic to take the seat of Master of the Renegade Hunters?"
There is no objections from those that attend,
After a few seconds of silence, Jenna says, "Then we accept the oath of Wizard Terevalis and I declare as Highmage of Wayreth that
Terevalis Unctio is the Master of the Renegade Hunters and has claim to a seat on the conclave, the ruling council of mages. As all wizards are brothers and sisters we shall do what we can to support our brother in the conclave in his duties. As for those who wish to join the Renegade hunters, consider well the implications of this decision."
Jenna says, "We shall discuss the prospects of new recruits at a later time Wizard Terevalis. For now we have important issues to discuss concerning the Orders and its current predicament. Please return to your seat and the issues will be discussed."
The issues brought up are as follows:
1. Issues concerning the recruitment and education of new mages.
This mainly ends up as a debate trying to decide if the Tower of Wayreth should be opened up for wizard training despite the vast goblin problem in the surrounding forest. In the end they decided to keep the status que with regional training as the Qualenesti forest is far too dangerous for travelers and currently the Orders do not have the means to clear out the forest of monsters.
2. Issues concerning dragonspawn and draconians and their "Innate" powers and how they fall into their jurisdiction.
A discussion of if Dragonspawn innate sorcery should fall under the jurisdiction of the Orders. In the end its decided just to exclude them as "innate" magic of dragon species has never been the preview of the Orders.
3. A debate concerning the sea-faring races as reports have been heard that some have learned the arts of Sorcery.
Basically there is reports that a number of aquatic races have learned the ways of Sorcery. In the end, its decided that it would be a useless gesture to bring these species into the fold as the Orders never truly had any jurisdiction below the waves in the past.
4. Rumors are brought up about the Minotaur's having Sorcerers among their rank and what should be done about it.
A big debate here, the ELVES definitely don't want any dammed bull-men to join the Orders, while the more moderates argue they should be given a chance. In the end its decided that trying to enforce Wizardry on the Minotaur would be a bad idea considering their aggressiveness at the moment.
5. The Ogre Titans and their sorcerers power is brought up.
Not much a debate on this issue. The Ogre Titans are seen an enemy of the Orders but for now they are not content to go to war considering there is not enough wizards to take them on yet.
There are also other minor debates that go on. If Terevalis wants to jump into any of these issues he can otherwise we can just fast forward and get on with the game.
The Black Robe will tell of his experiences with the dragonspawn, what took place in Dark haven with the Lilly knights and hiw the Tower of Mage at the edge of the Silvanesti forest.
Terevalis adds his input into the conversation and his input is noted. He is thanked for the information on the tower of Tarithnesti as getting the status on former Order property is important. Still the Order is not willing to go to war with the Minotaurs to reclaim said property, they simply lack the numbers and power to oust the Minotaurs at this time and it would be foolish to try without the support of an army.
The black robe nods.
After the meeting he will talk to the Red Robe in charge of teleportation in order to get the correct siGils and what he needs to be able to teleport to the Tower when needed, will procure a nice room for him befitting his station as master of the renegade hunters, will inquire about having his apprentice transferred to Wayreth, as well as any who might want to study there in the protection of the Tower, and then will forward back to the library to search for information about Nordamaar as well as the fountain of renewal
Vasko says to Terevalis, "I will arrange for you to be given the proper sigils to teleport here. As for your apprentice, with the sigils you should be able to bring anyone you wish back to the tower. There is certainly room for more apprentices at the tower although due to the dangers out in the forest your apprentice will be restricted to the grounds while here. Hopefully he can handle such isolation as he would only be able to leave if another wizard removes him from the tower."
Terevalis having rank in the Concillium is given the benefit of a good set of quarters in the tower. As for the library he reads the tomes and after a good deal of searching and some assistance from the Librarian he learns the following information.
1. The two routes to get to Nordmarr would be by Sea or by foot. Going by sea would be the swiftest way to get there as going there on foot would mean you would have to walk around the coast and then you would have to go through Kern, which is ruled by the Ogres and this dangerous for people such as yourselves to go through. Of course if you take the ship you'll have to ditch your horses.
2. In the area of the Great Moors was once the home of an island known as Chabacucuictli which was the home of the Font of Renewal and a popular shrine to the god Habbakuk and a lesser extent Solinari. The Font was a place of healing and redemption in the pre-cataclysm day. A combination of powers of Habbakuk and Solinari give power to the pool. For the pool to function it needs two powerful parts, the Disk of Habbakuk and the Great Lens of Solinari. The pool is at its strongest during the day for healing and redemption but at night it can calm emotions and provide minor restorative functions.
3. Currently the area of the Great Moors is claimed by a Dragonlord known as Mohrlex, or often going by the Alias Pitch. Mohrlex is a black dragon Wyrm that became empowered during the Dragon Purge and claimed the Moors has his own domain. Not much is known about him as he has shown no ambition to rule beyond his territory although has the reverence of the local Bakali and other monster tribes in the region.
The Wizard will thank the Red Robe for the information as well as the librarian for the use of the library.
That night he will teleport back to the Zoe's mage wareshop, ask for his apprentice and teleport back to the Tower.
Ok no need to roll for any mishaps, The tower of Ak-Khurman has a circle to allow easy teleportation. Terevalis is able to get his apprentice and bring him safely to the tower post haste. Some of the local instructors are willing to help with his continued education.
Taking care of what business he needs to do at the Tower of High Sorcery he will teleport back to Flotsam with a few more scrolls (Let me figure out what he wants]
During the absence of others, Jor drinking alcohol in one of taverns and getting slowly intoxicated. Pondering the last few days as well the trip, sighs escapes from his lips as he realises how inadequetly he is prepared.
Looking fondly at his trustworthy Greatsword next to him and remember all the times he has been using it, Jor can only regred what he is about to do but he could not see any other way here. Well, the alcohol was also helping him with the decsion, otherwise he would never have done it.
Slowly getting up, leaving small extra payment on the desk and moving out of the tavern Jor began his track to find a shop to sell some of his equipment. The magical sword hasnt been any use to him, even if it was sharper and magical, he still preferred to use his own, just completely greatsword, for what it was. No fancy tricks, no poofing, no earth shattering sounds. It was all simple but lately with all these strange creatures and his sword not doing enough damage... if he were to continue this journey with others, for no money at all, something had to be done.
Asking a bit around to find some shop to sell his magical and additionally his own trusted swords, Jor's hearth was heavy with sorrow.
Make sure that you add the new stuff! :)
With the Tower helping to guide his magic to his destination, the Black Robe arrives at the Mageware Shop in Flotsam. Thanking the proprietors for their work he encourages them to continue training wizards to the cause of High Sorcery.
As he approaches the Inn, he thinks back, reflecting on how much his life has changed, all because of the Magic, within the last few days. His growth in power is something that he reveals in, the fact that he has been able to overcome the inability to cast abjuration spells, his former focus, is one which very few mages in this time and place have been able to do.
As he arrives at the Inn, he look for his companions and pulling out the items from Wayreth, he hands out the appropriate items to the group We must be off to Nordamaar. There are two routes, one by land and one by sea. If I understand correctly, sea travel may be quicker.
After a week of paper pushing, research and administration Terevalis returns back to Flostam. Unfortunately due to the understaffing of actual wizards no one has taken up the offer of being a Renegade Hunter as the current wizards are already too busy with other affairs to concern themselves with mage hunting. The Tower of Wayreth and the Orders in general is majorly understaffed and while they have been tricking in potential wizards and sorcererous converts, the responsiblity of "Mage Hunting" is traditionally restricted to tested wizards, which are in short supply and no one has yet come of their own volition to sign up with Terevalis. Nonetheless Terevalis is told by his superiors that recruits will be made available once stability is established among the orders and there are tested and deticated wizards available to take up the task. After a week of work, Terevalis is given leave to continue his work with his current party, but told to be ready if the Conclaive calls upon his services.
Jor has a pretty dull and boring week in Flostam drinking and relaxing with little action going on. Eventually he knows that the quest must continue but still, inactivity is a bane to a man of action such as him. After a week he's called to meet with Terevalis.
Gabriel has a week of quiet contemplation, occasionally offering prayers and doing various knightly rituals as expected by a knight during quiet times. After the week is done he heads off to the meeting with Terevalis to discuss the next course of action.
Alathea abides her time making use of Toade's workshop in order to craft some useful magical items. She is easily able to offer the right prayers and sacrafices to infuse the divine energy of Zivilyn into her magical items and thus have useful devices for the future. Other than that she associates with the local Legion of Steel, establishing a dialogue and making contacts and connections she can hopefully tap into in the future. She is then called to meet with Terevalis after he returns.
Althola spends the week training with the Guild, making use of various training programs available. Of course a "Handler" of her calibur is able to easily pass these obsticles but nonetheless her abilities are refined from the experience. After a week she goes to meet with Terevalis at the Inn.
Thus the party meets with Terevalis who fills them in on his discoveries on the Font of Renewal. You now know where you need to go. However the question is, do you go by Sea or by Horse? By sea is the quickest route but unless you're willing to cough up a good deal of money you probably can't take your horses with you. In addition, the seas are rather temperamental due to the fact that the Storm Goddess Zeboim now is active in the world. By horse and land you will have to ride along the coast which will take far longer plus you'll have to pass through Kern, which is an Ogre nation and thus could be potentially dangerous to deal with. So either way you're taking a risk to get to Nordmaar. And no, you can't have Terevalis teleport you there. The Dimensional Anchor of the Tears prevent any form of teleportation, so you're going to have to go there the non-magical way.
Alathea enters the Inn wearing a new headpiece with the symbol of Zivilyn crafted upon it and a few more wands on her belt. She greets everyone, odd to have been away from her allies, friends?, for so long considering all they have been through together.
The cleric then removes a small pack from her satchel and hands it to Terevalis under the table. "This is yours I believe, or at least, you are the only one who can take full advantage of it right now". She smiles at the elf once he takes possession back.
Alathea frowns after she hears the Wizard breakdown the options, "Indeed both ways seem fraught with peril. By land we will not risk drowning but who knows what sort of numbers the Ogres may bring to bear against us. I think that sea is our best option, speed is what we need after a week of rest. Plus I can call upon Zivilyn for spells to aid us as we travel by water".
I would vote, if it is necessary, to go by sea. Perhaps Lord Toadee 's favor might mean something now and help to keep costs low? Also, having people of our skills might be of use on a ship.
Athola is pleased with her work out for the week in the Guild.
When Alathea arrives at the Guild to inform her that Terevalis has returned with news.
"Nice new headpiece. Suits you well Alathea. I am ready to go."
She collected her gear, and thanked the guild for hosting her, before rejoining Alathea to head back to the inn.
She accepts the belt and quickly wears the item, feeling instantly more sure footed, agile. "Mr Evil. Thank you for the enchanted belt."
"I prefer to travel by sea. Time is against us."
Jor being a bit grumpy after the whole week of no activity and being without his personal stuff due to being sold, spent most of his time sitting, drinking and loitering around.
Meeting with others and looking at Terevalis only grunts for the response "So, what might be the occassion now. We take the Sea or go through land? Both options seems to be equally dangerous although I do not fancy to go through sea.... being covered by small plece of wood and being in grace of goddess known for her whims, no thank you. This week has already been enough with crazy women for me" muttering the last words silently to himself as he looks around for another mug of beer
To speed things along you inquire about passage to Nordmaar from your contacts and learn that actually tomorrow morning there is a ship heading there at the break of dawn tomorrow. The ship is a solid sea-going vessel known as The Lucky Maiden. The Captain is an experienced mariner known as Vanyth Swift, a skilled Ergothian mariner reported to have ties to the Ergothian Merchant Marines. Currently their destination is the town of Jennison which should bring you close enough to travel by land to the moors. You can pull strings with the Guild and/or Lord Toade for a discount on the cost. With the discount it will cost 75 Steel per person and 150 for any horses. This gives you a "Pleasure Passage" where you won't have to work. If you're willing to chip in and do shipboard duties, he'll take off another 25 steel off the cost for the passenger (but not the cargo). As for the estimated time, it will take roughly 5 days by sea to get there, barring any unforeseen delays. If you go by land it will probably take 3 times as long considering you need to do rest stops as well as take the long route around.
Alathea grins, "Folks we can pay the full fare with the horses included, I still have resources left over from the sale of one of the items we recovered from the Disir".
Alathea pays the fee for everyone and books the ship. "Let's get one more good meal and good night's rest together before tomorrow shall we?"
The elf nods and will join his companions for the meal, waiting to be away from the Eastern part of Ansalon.
So assuming you shell out the cash for the trip, you are told to arrive a few hours before departure in order to get your mounts on board. You are personally met by Captain Vanyth Swift and his first mate Undella "Della" Sem-Thal, a tough looking Ergothian woman wearing a medallion of faith for Habbakuk doubling both as the first mate and the ship's healer. Both Vanyth and Della have brown skin and black hair as many of the crew do as well, as most appear also the be of Ergothian stock, although a few are of lighter skin tone as roughly 1/5th of Ergothians are of foreign stock.
As for the ship itself, the Lucky Maiden is a schooner, a longship designed for speed and manoverablity. It has a crew of 50 with 3 balliste and 2 catapults. There is also a sizable cargo hold where supplies and livestock can be kept. Of course the 150 Steel also covers the fact that they need to assign crew to tend to the animals. The ship has a fore and aft castle and two lower decks.As for the head piece of the ship, it appears to be a scantly clad figure resembling an attractive elven maiden with her hands across her chest hiding her cleavage. Suffice to say this is the "Lucky Maiden" that the ship is named for.
Vanyth says, "Greetings passengers and welcome aboard the Lucky Maiden. We still have a few hours before dawn so after you have yourselves settled I invite you all for a drink in my cabin before we set sail. We've got a fine crew on this ship and the Lucky Maiden has braved many great journies across the ocean. I'll certainly do my best to make sure this voyage is smooth sailing for you folks."
He then looks to Della, "Della, take them to the guest quarters. Give them a good room and make sure they've got enough beds and cots so they can make themselves comfortable on the ship."
Della: "Yes Captain Swift!"
She then leads the party to the second deck past the Oar stations and a few rooms and to the aft of the ship and to one of the guest rooms. The room has two full beds as well as some cots and hammocks for the rest of you. Otherwise the room is of quite good quality, probably on the level of a merchant class room at an inn. Other than sleeping areas there is chamber pots, dresser, chest, vanity and a desk.
Della: "Here you go friends. A fine guest room for your journey. The captain's quarters is at the aft-castle if you're willing to take up his offer of hospitality. Three square meals a day are served at the mess but if you want your food delivered to your room, I can arrange for meals to be delivered to your room by one of the crew. If there is nothing else, I will leave you to get settled in. Just make sure you've got everything because once we leave port its a one way trip. Good day to all of you."
With that Della leaves to deal with other matters on the ship.
Alathea places her non-essential goods near her bed, for now this includes her armor. She keeps her most valuable possessions on her person.
She smiles at Della, "Thank you, at least some if not all if us shall take up the Captain on that offer".
After Della leaves Alathea turns to her friends, "While this crew has weathered many trips I still believe we should set watch for the duration of the trip. Any preferences for who goes first second of last?"
A cleric of the Blue Phoenix? That might be a good portent. he says.
"I am fine with any shift for the watch.", as she plonks herself down onto a cot, and offloading her backpack to the one side.
Gabriel nods.
"Thank you Della."
Once she is gone he looks to the group.
"It will be nice to get some rest. We have been on journey or a mission for some time now. I know we still are, but we can't rush the travel of a ship. I will enjoy the sleep, I think we can trust no one here is our enemy but caution is good as well so I will stand guard if need be. Now let us go join the captain, we wouldn't want to ignore his hospitality before even setting sail."
The elf will ask that his meals be brought to him I need to be about my studies and the color of my robes, might be, well a bit, disconcerting to some.
So for those who take up the offer of Captain Vanyth Swift he lets you come into his large captains quarters decorated with various tapestries and trinkets from throughout the world. He opens the cork on a fine bottle of Elven Wine and shares it with the party and regails tales of his journeys to foreign lands and sights he's seen. He does inquire somewhat on your reasons for going to Nordmaar but does not push the issue if you want to speak on the issue. Eventually you're given leave as the Captain needs to get things organized on the ship and proceeds to give orders to set up the sails. At the break of dawn the ship pulls out of port and heads out into the Blood Sea on a journey that hopefully will be without insident.
There is a few other passengers on board in the other guest room, a mix of merchants looking to trade wares in Nordmaar and have booked passage on the ship. The crew is courtious but often busy doing the many chores needed to keep a ship running. The meals are good and the chef appears to be good at his job and you are treated well along your travels. The first day is uneventful but on the second day you're told that a course alteration is needed as some Minotaur ships were spotted off in the distance by the lookout and they would rather keep a wide birth of the Bull-Men rather than provoke any confrontation. On the the morning of the third day a light fog begins to roll in and something is fished out of the water. Inside appears to be a page of parchment of some kind. After the Captain reads it he gives it to the party to look at.
On one side is a scratched script written in old Khur language but fortunately Vanyth can translate it although much of the text has become illegible. The parchment looks weathered and on it reads:
You are respectfully invited to attend a great gathering in the north... forces loyal to the Lord of Bones... Skills and experiences will be of great service... the usurper Lothian and all who stand against... Qwes, ruined city.
On the back there is a scrawled message in common Under siege by the undead on the floating kelp forest! Please Help me! BIG REWARD!
Vanyth says, "Seems someone is in trouble but I've not heard of this Kelp Forest the note speaks of. Still who knows how far a message and a bottle could have drifted. Best we carry on rather than follow a wild goose chase."
The elf will ask for the note and then retire to his room to see what he can find out about the city, Qwes, mentioned on the parchment.
Know History
Unfortunately as the DC is 25, Terevalis unfortunately does not know of a place known as the Ruins of Qwes. As it had nothing to do with elven history, it really doesn't fall under his preview of knowledge. He'll have to do some research to find out more about it.
okay
The elf will relay that he knows nothing about this town. It could be anywhere in Northern Ansalon, for all that we know. If this bottle has been around for a while, it could have come from any where?