Mirica was still digesting the first part of the message to be able to formulate new questions. "Chronomancy? What for gods name is it?"She did learn some basic magic lately (with so many adventures very heavily affected by magic who would not) but time manipulation was not part of it. "What is he trying to achieve? Return the time of Netheril? Literally return? I can see how shadovar would be bought with such a promise but... do they understand that if he succeeds they would not even exist?" She waved the thought off as nonsense. "No matter. Obelisks. Seems like they are the easiest target. Of course "easier" means in comparison to totally impossible things. If those obelisks can be found in every city - do we have one lying around somewhere? I do not remember but we never searched for it before, right? Would be nice to study one, preferably to learn how to destroy it."
Thyrius's question finally goth through to Mirica but she still could not think of something particularly useful. "You did not have mythallars in your world, if I remember correctly. But if Ajani knows anything about Chronomancy, it might be quite useful now."
Toc looks to Mirica, "I mean, that this structure remained intact is incredible. It must have been heavily reinforced with magic. But the realm outside this small mountain, where Thulthanhor crashed down onto Myth Drannor pulverized both cities and left a terrible mess. We could try looking for some intact obelisk, but it's just as likely that its buried under a few hundred feet of rock. I dare say we'd have better luck looking for one in Ythryn, where the city is relatively stable. First though, I'd want to drive off the Shadovar. I wouldn't want them watching us and figuring out what we're looking into."
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What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
To Simmal, during a meal: Whether he meant to be or otherwise, Xemnez had been attentive enough to overhear the man's tale, and even became somewhat enraptured before it's end. But it's at it's end that the Leonin found himself looking at first disappointed, but then with a long groan that transformed into chuckling, he just shook his head. "Well I will say one thing, Simmal. You certainly know how to keep the integrity of a story in place out of respect for its creator." He mentioned with a grin, 'fore he once more returned to his meal or other idle conversation that particular evening.
To Thyrius, during the... great discussion???: Before Xemnez properly say anything, as once again his propensity for overthinking struck again, Mirica's commentary warranted a raised brow, followed by the Leonin drifting off again in thought. "It would be nice to know his current status. But I suppose in being able to answer at all, that would say plenty. But, I won't pretend the full limitations of what's been granted to you, Brother. Rather, I shall trust as always to convey what is most important for the moment. And if this is at all redoable, to do so again at the next opportunity." He finally admits, then turned to the others.
"As for the obelisk and Ythren, I believe we... found one before? Damaged, from what little I recall. But, we were warned away from tampering it by those women? Or was it the fox?" He grunts. "My memories of that time is a bit... fuzzy... But either way, unless there were others there, there is that. But regardless, we are set next then to try and uproot Shadovar?"
Toc nods to Xemnez, "The witches warned us. They said, 'This has all happened before. And it will all happen again. Chronomancy is a curse upon those who use it. Seek not to activate the time pillar. Instead, you should try to destroy it. If you try to use it, you will fail in your quest, and nothing will have changed, except you will no longer exist.'" Toc pauses and looks around, then says, "Yes, I propose we uproot the Shadovar first. But if everyone prefers we go take a quick look at this obelisk without tipping our hand, I suppose I would be ok with that."
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What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
"We have to keep in mind that the length of received answers are magically restricted, and that is only if the spell succeeds. I'm thinking a simple 'yes', 'no', a choice between two options, or perhaps a name we can look further into. Here is what I have in mind:
Ajani, are you alive and well?
Are you able to locate and rejoin us?
We have made allies in this new realm who also seek to end the corruption afflicting the Weave but the enemy works in a complicated network of allies and plots. As far as you understand it, do we have a workable amount of time to work with or will all of this implode sooner rather than later?
Can you name a place other than Ythryn where we can find a Netherese obelisk of immense chronomantic power?
If you have heard of the Shadovar, can you point us toward their weak spot (location, person, artifact)?"
To his companions: "Please critique the draft questions at this time. There is a high chance I won't even be able to reach Ajani and will need considerable rest before trying again. Unless any of you could restore my mental faculties sooner, of course."
"Still leaves the question of how to destroy it, or... if our attempts to do so merely result in activating it anyways." Xemnez takes a moment to massage his temple with the heel of a palm and growl some complaints. "... But if this tampering with one at all may further disrupt their plans then so be it. I trust the more, uhm... magically inclined of you to be able parse a means to do so. And if need be, let me know what I'll be cutting to help things along." He chuffed after making that point, prior to then looking thoughtful in consideration of his brother's request. To which, he ultimately nods, greenlighting the question as-is from his perspective, but hadn't been so prideful as to not look to the others all the same after which for any differing suggestinos.
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When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
"Madness I can heal... In some cases, at least." (Mirica did her best not to look around pointedly) "but... would Ajani really know something about Netherese obelisks? Or Netherese anything?" There was another question, though, bothering Mirica more. "By "uprooting" shadovar, you mean to kill them, right Toc? So... we just appear and begin attacking them? We do remember, that one of the is a dragon, right? Just checking. Do you have plans for the aftermath? Provided enough of us survives for the next step. I mean, we would still need six more people to secure the Mythallar and an army to protect the area from those troops, that shadovar will send the moment we attack their people."
Thyrius sees where Mirica is coming from but decides it might still be worth asking: "Ajani is a planeswalker. He defies time and space, and may have very well visited this plane in the past. It hurts not to ask."
-> Here's the INT save {DC 15}. Cross your fingers: 18
Thyrius sits down, closing his eyes. He reaches out with his senses....letting the ancestors and their guidance find him. It takes a long time....the time ticks by, and what feels like an hour must pass by before he figures he should maybe try again later when he smells the faintest scent of dead vegetation and stagnant water. His ears twerk as he hears the motion of dead leaves skittering across the ground. He feels a moist cool breeze blow across his fur. He opens his eyes. A forest stands around him in the darkness. The trees have lost most of their leaves, their jagged branches reaching up like grasping thin hands trying to find the sky, but all they find is a layer of fog that hangs at the tops of their limbs. Dead leaves scatter the bush filled space between. Pools of water, covered in dead leaves dot the landscape around him. He stands up and looks around as a thin wind blows through the forest, the mist overhead blowing past in puffs, but continuing to fill the dark sky above. He walks near to a large puddle before him. The water is crystal clear, the only indication it exists is the layer of dead leaves that float on its surface. He comes to stand at its edge and looks down. Despite the darkness he can see his own reflection in the glassy water. His cheeks are sallow....his eyes are nothing more than black holes, and his flesh is rotted and peeling from the bone. His dead face looks back at him....and then it reaches down of its own accord and grabs his leg, and pulls. The movement is too fast for Thyrius to avoid and he's yanked forward, tumbling into the icy water...but rather than splashing into it's surface, he slips right through it and falls upwards and of the other side, landing on a rocky cliff, rubble strewn ground. He lands with a heavy thud and then rolls onto his back, looking around. A stiff wind blows at his fur.
He finds himself standing near the top of a sheer cliff. Old snow and ice cling to parts of the mountain, crusty and dirty. Below him, nothing but fog, like a mocking inversion of the forest he'd just been. Above him, he glances up to see a structure. A castle clings to the top of the mountain he's upon. It's an ancient thing, but still intact, it's heavy stone walls seemingly carved from the mountains rocky top directly. He can see stairs winding about around the structure, above its sharp parapets and tall towers. He refocus' himself....closing his eyes.....seeking Ajani....and then looks about and shouts into the mountain wind, "AJANIII!!!".
From the mountain side nearby, around a rocky outcropping steps a figure. The thing is all bone and rot....pinpricks of white light glowing within its skull....long tattered robes hanging from its frame....a tall gnarled staff in its grasp. "What a curious thing. To find you here in this domain. Interesting creature. Even now your life works its way rapidly to a sudden end. What do you seek? Why do you care? If I must, I will just wait longer, but....I'd prefer not to. Perhaps I snuff you out now? Let you wander these places forever?"
A sudden blur of motion pulls Thyrius' attention from the side as he sees the scarred white furred body of Ajani come literally flying out of the sky, landing with a thud next to him. Ajani looks at the undead, growling deeply, but it's clear he has no interest in a direct conflict in this place. He reaches out with his clawed grip of steel and puts it around Thyrius' wrist, and in a calm deep voice says, "Trust me now Leonin."
With a powerful leap he pulls both Thyrius and himself off the cliff...and the two of them plummet away from the view of the undead. His grip ends as they hit the fog below. Thyrius is now along in a wall of grey fog....falling...but....not falling...hanging. He hears Ajani's voice echo strangely from the fog around him.
"I live. But there is much to be done."
Thyrius tries to remember his question, but even without asking each out loud, Ajani anticipates the questions...the answers coming unbidden from the shadowy fog.
"I can not rejoin you now."
"Time. An insidious snake through existence. Our foe needs only 4 more. Who can say how long. Kick the legs from his table, but know that victory can only be found in balance Allies garnered. Seek the return of Opus."
Can you name a place other than Ythryn where we can find a Netherese obelisk of immense chronomantic power?"This path is a misstep."
If you have heard of the Shadovar, can you point us toward their weak spot (location, person, artifact)?"Their heart lies in Nhalloth."
Thyrius emerges from his fall through the fog and slams into the floor of a rotten leaves and ponds. He sits up and looks around...the pools of water all splashing with motion and movement as the forms of undead begin to crawl out of the water, leaves and rot clinging to their body as water sluices off of them. From all around, pinpricks of light and undead glares stare at him with malevolence. Panic begins to crawl across his flesh and seep into his heart...but...he feels the faintest of threads there, pulling at existence. He grabs hold, shuts his eyes...and pulls.
With a spasm he awakens from the floor of the Mythallar chamber. He glances around. It's calm, quiet, and warm. Even so...he feels chilled with moisture and sweat. He can still feel the rocky ground of the mountain on his feet. He lifts up a clawed hand to find himself gripping a dead sopping wet leaf there....its brown leathery expanse slowly flops open as his grip loosens. His racing heart slowly reduces. From nearby, the others look on, the question in their faces....is their friend sane. Mirica stands ready.
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What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
Simaal thinks for a bit when the leonine mentions the questions.
"There was a mild manner peasant who lived on a small farm surrounded by a large family near a tiny hamlet. Luck was not on his side, it never had, and one day he found himself homeless after the chieftain of the hamlet decided the peasant's family was now the chieftain's family. Apparently chieftain's witch foretold of an ancient curse that will bring the downfall of the chieftain, and it would be by the son of a local peasant. So you see this hapless peasant was not even alone, but he felt most wrong, as people tend to do. So all the peasants banded together, but having no homes, they saw little choice but to become bandits. They became rather good at banditry laying ambushes and the like, using the forested terrain to their advantage. One day the rather lucky peasants, except for the most unlucky of peasants who laid back at camp recovering from many arrow wounds who he seemed to somehow attract where all the ambushed would fire their bolts and arrows at him somehow ignoring the rest of the peasants, managed to ambush a rather well armored carriage of strange markings. It ended up being good pickings for all and they split them amongst themselves, but as agreed to, if not part of the ambush group, you get a token amount only.
He looked at it, a simple lamp but with but three sapphires adorning it. Later at night as he was putting away he thinks he spots some writing on it, very faint. He handles it for some time trying to spot it again, when the writing re-appears. While he couldn't read he understood. "Wish upon me three times and thrice they shall be grant it." So he thinks about it and shrugging he wishes "I wish for lots of coins." Nothing happens for seemingly too long when lots of coins suddenly appear above his head and pour down. He covers his head then re-opens his eyes to look upon the coins that hit his head. He blinked as he shouts "I meant gold!" as he looks at his very many stone coins with strange facing on it, rubbing his aching head from the hundreds of coins hitting head. "Fine, I want to feel no more pain!." He pushes himself out of the coins and as he stands up and picks up the lamp he realizes he feels no more pain, not from the arrows, not from the bumps and scratches created by the stone coins. Since the writing remained, he thinks about it some more and he wanders about his tent feeling happy for the first time in a long time. Unfortunately since he was a klutz he also bumps into his weapon storage and stumbles over it. He still wanders about, used to the whole klutziness thing, but as he wanders about the tent he feels weak then just collapses.
As his friends come back to the camp, they look for him and find him in his tent as expected, face down with a knife cut on his back, and a bloody knife in the weapons rack. "How could he not feel it and bandage himself, it wasn't even that serious of a wound."
"No disrespect meant, I do not know the one you will be talking to nor how they normally respond, but I've heard of many tales where ambiguous questions receive ambiguous answers. Would it be possible to have more focus for more direct answers, such as when is the last day when it's too late, what magical means can we use to locate the obelisk, that sort of thing."
Simaal's story is the last thing Thyrius listens to before focusing on his spell. His only response to the human/elf (?) is "Perhaps in the next batch of questions..."
After his spell and/or mental trip is concluded, Thyrius looks about for his companions. He is a mess; sane, but a mess. He recognizes the smell of bile on the ground, the same sort of reaction he often has when it comes to teleportation. His fur is wet and matted; his voice coarse: "I am here, my mind is present, but I still may need some time to compose myself. But that may have to wait."
Thyrius then goes on to explain to the others that he indeed managed to meet Ajani and get a few short answers. Thyrius does not describe his trip through the dying forests or the undead lands. He looks at Xem first, as he normally does: "Ajani is alive but too busy pursuing other avenues to join us directly. I assume his efforts are related to this same overall 'save the multiverse' mission, so we may still receive dividends from his successes."
He turns to the rest of the group: "Larloch needs no more than 4 additional Mythallars to complete his ritual. I do not know if that is a large or a small number, nor if the time available to us is counted in hours or decades. It seems Simaal was right about receiving ambiguous replies. Ajani mentioned that victory can now only be found in gathering allies. Does the name Opus mean anything to any of you?"
Letting that question sit for a moment, Thyrius eventually continues: "Regarding the Shadovar, Ajani is certain that returning to Ythryn is a mistep. If we are to attack them, we should seek Nhalloth. Is that a name any of you recognize? Would that be their homebase? Ajani's words may have implied so, but I am not sure we are equipped to attack the Shadovar's headquarters. Or perhaps he meant something else when using the words 'their heart lies in Nhalloth', one can hope."
When given a chance, Thyrius then approaches Xem and speaks to the golden lion directly: "I fear my time with the living may be short, whether I will it or not. The Coatl was right. A price must be paid for the boon received from the Faceless One. I had wished to stand at your side when you undoubtedly claim our clan's chiefdom, brother, but I fear I may be an undead monster by them. Promise me you and no one else will deliver the blow that releases me when the time comes."
Thyrius did not look mad and Mirica allowed herself to relax. Relatively speaking, of course, since the news was nowhere near relaxing. "Do not think I understand "opus" in this context. Is it a name? In some languages the word means something like "piece of work" but it did not sound like that here. As for Nhalloth, you are right, it is Shadovar's "headquarters"--the old netheresian city that they already fully occupied and working on repairing. There is an army there, a few dragons and a permanent portal connecting the city to the Shadowrealm, Shadovar homeworld, in case they need reinforcements. Even if Ahadovar's heart is there, I do not see how we can carve it out."
The vivid image of Nhalloth in her mind made Mirica wince in disgust. "Gathering allies is a nice notion, but so far everyone who knows about the threat refused to act upon it, like the elves, the Harpers, even an ancient dragon, or now suspected of acting with our foe, like Shadovar. If you have someone else in mind, let me know, meanwhile, I have work to do."
The news was grim indeed, but it's not like anyone truly expected to get clear pointers of what to do here. "By the way, which part of the travelling to Ythryn is a mistake? The attempt to kill Shadovar there or the destruction of the obelisk? Don't see how the latter can be wrong, considering circumstances."
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
"Well,"Thyrius thought back, "the exact question was whether Ajani could name a place other than Ythryn where we can find a Netherese obelisk of immense chronomantic power. His answer called this a misstep, but I can't be sure if he meant that seeking an obelisk outside Ythryn was the misstep or if the overall strategy of seeking obelisks would be a misstep."
-> Can Thyrius try to think back and rely on his understanding of Ajani's personality/way of communicating to clarify this doubt? If so, he would spend a spell slot to cast Borrowed knowledge and then think really hard about it. Insight: 13
Toc clears his throat to draw attention, and says, "We in fact have many allies, who are actively involved. First, a little bit of politics for the brothers who may not know this land. The elves of Cormanthor had their entire civilization and home completely obliterated only a few years ago. We are currently in a rubbled filled chamber beneath the ruins of Myth Drannor and Thulthanthor that fell upon it. The precious few survivors have resettled south of here in a place called Semberholme. I have been in fairly constant contact with them as we have proceeded. The Coronal, our leader, has been making political out reach for assistance and has made several strong relationships of cooperation. South of Semberholme, on the north shores of the Sea of Fallen stars are two fairly old human nations. One is called Cormyr, and the other is called Sembia. During the war with the Shadovar, Cormyr was against them, but the Shadovar penetrated the leadership of Sembia, so much so that it had become essentially a shadow state. With the war ending when their capital fell on Myth Drannor, Sembia has essentially become the Shadovar's central country. The elves of Semberholme reached out to the leadership of Cormyr and explained the threat and asked for assistance. The nation of Cormyr has now actively joined the hunt for Mythallars. They have a strong military, a powerful wizards legion, and stand ready to take and hold Mythallars as they are found. The elves of Semberholme likewise stand ready to occupy Mythallars should we need them. Side note, apparently Larloch himself, accompanied by several of his Liches, attacked the ancient library on the west coast known as Candlekeep. Nobody is sure what information they were after, but the guardians of Candlekeep have taken a terrible blow. Candlekeep still have people looking into what was stolen and why."
Toc shrugs, "That was a lot, so I'll just let that settle in for a moment."
Toc takes a few moments scanning faces. Then he continues. "Opus has been mentioned in some of the books Nuzej and I have been reading here. It is another name for Selunarra, which was a Netheril flying city. It was one of the ones that vanished in the great calamity. Rumors are that Selune, the goddess of the moon, slipped it away somewhere safe, perhaps her own realm. If that were true, then we would have another faction of old Netheril that could very well act as a balancing force against the Shadovar who spent their years hidden away in the shadow realm. There is a certain symmetry in a shadow influenced Netheril nation and a moon goddess influenced nation. I've no idea how we may summon a city from the moon goddesses realm though. Traveling the mutli-verse to find her realm and ask her nicely seems......far fetched."
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What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
For a few long moments, Mirica looked as if she was about to launch into a bitterly sarcastic tirade about the newly revealed information. But then her facial expression softened, she shook her head, dismissing the thought and simply said: "Not sure that kind of help will solve the problem. There are over twenty mythallars out there, by your own calculation. Larloch only needs four of them. If I understand correctly, elves and humans are willing to search for the new mythallars and secure them with their armies, not to wrestle those already discovered from Larloch or shadovar. If we follow that path, we are back to square one: a race to the unknown goal trying to keep ahead of the enemy that - as you just said - got a huge boost of knowledge after assaulting Candlekeep. I am glad that scholars are willing to look into it, but if Larloch got what he wanted, he is already much ahead of us, he knew what he was looking for, while we or scholars are not."
"Sorry, but that information about Candlekeep only proves to me that attempt to outrun Larloch is ten times more futile now. If we have a chance, it's the disruption of the ritual itself, not the chase after long-lost cities of Netheril. Obviously, the search for an unknown legendary city when we are on such a ticking clock is not worth a serious discussion."
Unlike with the dinner time story, Simmal's more rambling one in response to Thyrius' fairly straight-forward request is one to wear at the younger brother and prompt a confused glance at the others. When it became clear either that the rest of the party were used to such tangents, or worse yet, were just as confused as he, Xemnez quietly huffed, and with eyes closed and arms crossed over his chest, leaned back in his seat to just pretend to listen. But if ever asked later for specifics on Simmal's tale, the truth would become clear in meeting the blank look of the golden furred brother in the moment.
In the wake of his brother's return, any lingering distaste for the seeming pointless tale promptly fled from mind in favor of regarding his brother with deep concern. Yet as fussy as he could get, Xemnez in the moment opted to place a steadying hand on Thyrius shoulder, and respectively let the elder speak at his own pace. Even when THyrius goes on to speak of an impending end and becoming a monster, Xemnez only held firmer and said, "Brother... I... I will do what must be done, BUT it won't come to that. The Faceless One is many things, but... but he is still kin, and would know better and make certain you stray not so overally much to such a terrible end."He assured Thyrius before cracking a pained yt bright smile. "And if not, I and the Gold Bearer will make sure to remind him!" He then slaps his brothers shoulder a couple of times and gives it a shake for good measure, before turning and tuning in properly to the ongoing discussion.
".... Out of then morbid curiosity, do you not know of any priestesses or holy figures of this Selune that could not yet reach out to this goddess? For as foolhardy as it may sound, it wouldn't hurt to warn her at least. Mayhaps even redirect her more stringent followers to aid in the cause in their own way."He said in an almost disgusted and bitter tone. His eyes then went wide at another thought that prompts a glance to Thyrius. "Though mayhaps after some rest, you could perhaps reach out to her yourself, Brother? A dangerous long shot to be sure, but more guaranteed option. Otherwise-" His attention turns to the group at large. "-seems we are once again at something of an impass. As our options again are to somehow infiltrate and hope for the best as-is, or chance things in trying to seek out more obelisk to disrupt things in that way."
Toc thinks out loud, "It doesn't sound like disrupting the ritual will do any good. Unless we are able to kill Larloch....if he and his Liches still control enough Mythallars, he'll just spend a couple days recasting some spells and complete the ritual later. But, if he only needs 4 more, and Ythryn, AND Nhalloth are two he already has, by taking and holding those immediately we are setting him back yet further. He'll then need 6! And....if we get to Warlock's Crypt, and go through these gateways....that could seemingly lead us to more Mythallars, and then we can more easily hold even more Mythallars that he already has....."
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What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
Mirica narrowed her eyes looking at Toc a bit more intently. "Seeing any blue monkeys lately? No, no particular reason for asking, just checking." She sighed and said as softly as possible. "Toc, you just said those potential armies of humans and elves are not interested in recapturing already discovered mythallars, did you not? And should we somehow manage on our own - what would stop Larloch "in just two days" to capture another mythallar we know nothing about? Now, capturing and recapturing can be a fun game, but not when the fate of the multiverse is at stake. You heard it yourself - obelisks are a necessary part of the ritual. No obelisks - no ritual. Or do you mean to say, Larloch can somehow repair or conjure new obelisks should we find a way to destroy those we know about? Now, if we are to get into the Warloc's Crypt... Do you really believe they will allow us - and the armies necessary to recapture the Mythallars - to go back and forth between the mythallars and the gates freely? Would not it make more sense - if we do get inside - to go after the source itself, Larloch?"
They were arguing in circles now, though. Mirica turned to others. "I made my position clear. Attack on shadovar - whether they are allies of Larloch or his enemies - seems pointless to me. But most importantly, impossible without the armies. And those armies that could help are not in a hurry to attack Nhalloth. So, what do you think - the destruction of obelisks, war with shadovar, or continued endless search for more mythallars in the hope to outrun Larloch?"
Simaal as usual tries to listen to everyone, a lot of strong words are spoken by many. "How long ago was Candlekeep attacked? Are there other libraries worth attacking that have not yet? An ambush of the ambushers would be great if the library could notify us of the attack and we teleport there."
Toc says nothing further to Mirica, sitting back, looking about at the others, wondering how they will respond. To Simaal he says, "The attack on Candlekeep was several weeks ago. Candlekeep is a singular entity. The other libraries that come to mind that contains the sort of histories we're talking about would be the Vault of Unquenched Vengeance in Cormanthyr forest. The House of the All-Seeing Eye in Tashular was destroyed during the spell plague and now sits, with the rest of its country, under the waters of the Shining Sea. The Vault of the Sages in Silverymoon. Herald's Holdfast which is north of Silverymoon as well. I've heard legend of a mysterious and mystical library called Gravenhollow. It is deep within the underdark though and....exists outside time and space. I've heard rumors that you may only visit it once in your lifetime. It would be a quest to find such a place but it has answers from...all times....and could very well guide us in our time of need."
Nuzej speaks up, "There is also the Monastery of St. Fanal in Calimshan."
Toc nods, "I've heard of it, but never been there."
Nuzej adds, "I've also been to Academia Vilhonus in Arrabar. It's quite an impressive place. And the Font of Knowledge in Waterdeep."
Toc nods, "Indeed, many large nations have sizeable libraries in their capitals." Toc looks to Simaal, "Attempting to cover the ground across all of Faerun and attempting to ambush Larloch at a library seems almost as daunting as trying to find all of the Mythallars."
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What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer? Class.
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Mirica was still digesting the first part of the message to be able to formulate new questions. "Chronomancy? What for gods name is it?" She did learn some basic magic lately (with so many adventures very heavily affected by magic who would not) but time manipulation was not part of it. "What is he trying to achieve? Return the time of Netheril? Literally return? I can see how shadovar would be bought with such a promise but... do they understand that if he succeeds they would not even exist?" She waved the thought off as nonsense. "No matter. Obelisks. Seems like they are the easiest target. Of course "easier" means in comparison to totally impossible things. If those obelisks can be found in every city - do we have one lying around somewhere? I do not remember but we never searched for it before, right? Would be nice to study one, preferably to learn how to destroy it."
Thyrius's question finally goth through to Mirica but she still could not think of something particularly useful. "You did not have mythallars in your world, if I remember correctly. But if Ajani knows anything about Chronomancy, it might be quite useful now."
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Toc looks to Mirica, "I mean, that this structure remained intact is incredible. It must have been heavily reinforced with magic. But the realm outside this small mountain, where Thulthanhor crashed down onto Myth Drannor pulverized both cities and left a terrible mess. We could try looking for some intact obelisk, but it's just as likely that its buried under a few hundred feet of rock. I dare say we'd have better luck looking for one in Ythryn, where the city is relatively stable. First though, I'd want to drive off the Shadovar. I wouldn't want them watching us and figuring out what we're looking into."
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
To Simmal, during a meal: Whether he meant to be or otherwise, Xemnez had been attentive enough to overhear the man's tale, and even became somewhat enraptured before it's end. But it's at it's end that the Leonin found himself looking at first disappointed, but then with a long groan that transformed into chuckling, he just shook his head. "Well I will say one thing, Simmal. You certainly know how to keep the integrity of a story in place out of respect for its creator." He mentioned with a grin, 'fore he once more returned to his meal or other idle conversation that particular evening.
To Thyrius, during the... great discussion???: Before Xemnez properly say anything, as once again his propensity for overthinking struck again, Mirica's commentary warranted a raised brow, followed by the Leonin drifting off again in thought. "It would be nice to know his current status. But I suppose in being able to answer at all, that would say plenty. But, I won't pretend the full limitations of what's been granted to you, Brother. Rather, I shall trust as always to convey what is most important for the moment. And if this is at all redoable, to do so again at the next opportunity." He finally admits, then turned to the others.
"As for the obelisk and Ythren, I believe we... found one before? Damaged, from what little I recall. But, we were warned away from tampering it by those women? Or was it the fox?" He grunts. "My memories of that time is a bit... fuzzy... But either way, unless there were others there, there is that. But regardless, we are set next then to try and uproot Shadovar?"
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Toc nods to Xemnez, "The witches warned us. They said, 'This has all happened before. And it will all happen again. Chronomancy is a curse upon those who use it. Seek not to activate the time pillar. Instead, you should try to destroy it. If you try to use it, you will fail in your quest, and nothing will have changed, except you will no longer exist.'" Toc pauses and looks around, then says, "Yes, I propose we uproot the Shadovar first. But if everyone prefers we go take a quick look at this obelisk without tipping our hand, I suppose I would be ok with that."
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
"We have to keep in mind that the length of received answers are magically restricted, and that is only if the spell succeeds. I'm thinking a simple 'yes', 'no', a choice between two options, or perhaps a name we can look further into. Here is what I have in mind:
To his companions: "Please critique the draft questions at this time. There is a high chance I won't even be able to reach Ajani and will need considerable rest before trying again. Unless any of you could restore my mental faculties sooner, of course."
"Still leaves the question of how to destroy it, or... if our attempts to do so merely result in activating it anyways." Xemnez takes a moment to massage his temple with the heel of a palm and growl some complaints. "... But if this tampering with one at all may further disrupt their plans then so be it. I trust the more, uhm... magically inclined of you to be able parse a means to do so. And if need be, let me know what I'll be cutting to help things along." He chuffed after making that point, prior to then looking thoughtful in consideration of his brother's request. To which, he ultimately nods, greenlighting the question as-is from his perspective, but hadn't been so prideful as to not look to the others all the same after which for any differing suggestinos.
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
"Madness I can heal... In some cases, at least." (Mirica did her best not to look around pointedly) "but... would Ajani really know something about Netherese obelisks? Or Netherese anything?" There was another question, though, bothering Mirica more. "By "uprooting" shadovar, you mean to kill them, right Toc? So... we just appear and begin attacking them? We do remember, that one of the is a dragon, right? Just checking. Do you have plans for the aftermath? Provided enough of us survives for the next step. I mean, we would still need six more people to secure the Mythallar and an army to protect the area from those troops, that shadovar will send the moment we attack their people."
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Thyrius sees where Mirica is coming from but decides it might still be worth asking: "Ajani is a planeswalker. He defies time and space, and may have very well visited this plane in the past. It hurts not to ask."
-> Here's the INT save {DC 15}. Cross your fingers: 18
-> Damage roll in case of failure: 17
Thyrius sits down, closing his eyes. He reaches out with his senses....letting the ancestors and their guidance find him. It takes a long time....the time ticks by, and what feels like an hour must pass by before he figures he should maybe try again later when he smells the faintest scent of dead vegetation and stagnant water. His ears twerk as he hears the motion of dead leaves skittering across the ground. He feels a moist cool breeze blow across his fur. He opens his eyes. A forest stands around him in the darkness. The trees have lost most of their leaves, their jagged branches reaching up like grasping thin hands trying to find the sky, but all they find is a layer of fog that hangs at the tops of their limbs. Dead leaves scatter the bush filled space between. Pools of water, covered in dead leaves dot the landscape around him. He stands up and looks around as a thin wind blows through the forest, the mist overhead blowing past in puffs, but continuing to fill the dark sky above. He walks near to a large puddle before him. The water is crystal clear, the only indication it exists is the layer of dead leaves that float on its surface. He comes to stand at its edge and looks down. Despite the darkness he can see his own reflection in the glassy water. His cheeks are sallow....his eyes are nothing more than black holes, and his flesh is rotted and peeling from the bone. His dead face looks back at him....and then it reaches down of its own accord and grabs his leg, and pulls. The movement is too fast for Thyrius to avoid and he's yanked forward, tumbling into the icy water...but rather than splashing into it's surface, he slips right through it and falls upwards and of the other side, landing on a rocky cliff, rubble strewn ground. He lands with a heavy thud and then rolls onto his back, looking around. A stiff wind blows at his fur.
He finds himself standing near the top of a sheer cliff. Old snow and ice cling to parts of the mountain, crusty and dirty. Below him, nothing but fog, like a mocking inversion of the forest he'd just been. Above him, he glances up to see a structure. A castle clings to the top of the mountain he's upon. It's an ancient thing, but still intact, it's heavy stone walls seemingly carved from the mountains rocky top directly. He can see stairs winding about around the structure, above its sharp parapets and tall towers. He refocus' himself....closing his eyes.....seeking Ajani....and then looks about and shouts into the mountain wind, "AJANIII!!!".
From the mountain side nearby, around a rocky outcropping steps a figure. The thing is all bone and rot....pinpricks of white light glowing within its skull....long tattered robes hanging from its frame....a tall gnarled staff in its grasp. "What a curious thing. To find you here in this domain. Interesting creature. Even now your life works its way rapidly to a sudden end. What do you seek? Why do you care? If I must, I will just wait longer, but....I'd prefer not to. Perhaps I snuff you out now? Let you wander these places forever?"
A sudden blur of motion pulls Thyrius' attention from the side as he sees the scarred white furred body of Ajani come literally flying out of the sky, landing with a thud next to him. Ajani looks at the undead, growling deeply, but it's clear he has no interest in a direct conflict in this place. He reaches out with his clawed grip of steel and puts it around Thyrius' wrist, and in a calm deep voice says, "Trust me now Leonin."
With a powerful leap he pulls both Thyrius and himself off the cliff...and the two of them plummet away from the view of the undead. His grip ends as they hit the fog below. Thyrius is now along in a wall of grey fog....falling...but....not falling...hanging. He hears Ajani's voice echo strangely from the fog around him.
"I live. But there is much to be done."
Thyrius tries to remember his question, but even without asking each out loud, Ajani anticipates the questions...the answers coming unbidden from the shadowy fog.
"I can not rejoin you now."
"Time. An insidious snake through existence. Our foe needs only 4 more. Who can say how long. Kick the legs from his table, but know that victory can only be found in balance Allies garnered. Seek the return of Opus."
Can you name a place other than Ythryn where we can find a Netherese obelisk of immense chronomantic power? "This path is a misstep."
If you have heard of the Shadovar, can you point us toward their weak spot (location, person, artifact)? "Their heart lies in Nhalloth."
Thyrius emerges from his fall through the fog and slams into the floor of a rotten leaves and ponds. He sits up and looks around...the pools of water all splashing with motion and movement as the forms of undead begin to crawl out of the water, leaves and rot clinging to their body as water sluices off of them. From all around, pinpricks of light and undead glares stare at him with malevolence. Panic begins to crawl across his flesh and seep into his heart...but...he feels the faintest of threads there, pulling at existence. He grabs hold, shuts his eyes...and pulls.
With a spasm he awakens from the floor of the Mythallar chamber. He glances around. It's calm, quiet, and warm. Even so...he feels chilled with moisture and sweat. He can still feel the rocky ground of the mountain on his feet. He lifts up a clawed hand to find himself gripping a dead sopping wet leaf there....its brown leathery expanse slowly flops open as his grip loosens. His racing heart slowly reduces. From nearby, the others look on, the question in their faces....is their friend sane. Mirica stands ready.
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
Simaal thinks for a bit when the leonine mentions the questions.
"There was a mild manner peasant who lived on a small farm surrounded by a large family near a tiny hamlet. Luck was not on his side, it never had, and one day he found himself homeless after the chieftain of the hamlet decided the peasant's family was now the chieftain's family. Apparently chieftain's witch foretold of an ancient curse that will bring the downfall of the chieftain, and it would be by the son of a local peasant. So you see this hapless peasant was not even alone, but he felt most wrong, as people tend to do. So all the peasants banded together, but having no homes, they saw little choice but to become bandits. They became rather good at banditry laying ambushes and the like, using the forested terrain to their advantage. One day the rather lucky peasants, except for the most unlucky of peasants who laid back at camp recovering from many arrow wounds who he seemed to somehow attract where all the ambushed would fire their bolts and arrows at him somehow ignoring the rest of the peasants, managed to ambush a rather well armored carriage of strange markings. It ended up being good pickings for all and they split them amongst themselves, but as agreed to, if not part of the ambush group, you get a token amount only.
He looked at it, a simple lamp but with but three sapphires adorning it. Later at night as he was putting away he thinks he spots some writing on it, very faint. He handles it for some time trying to spot it again, when the writing re-appears. While he couldn't read he understood. "Wish upon me three times and thrice they shall be grant it." So he thinks about it and shrugging he wishes "I wish for lots of coins." Nothing happens for seemingly too long when lots of coins suddenly appear above his head and pour down. He covers his head then re-opens his eyes to look upon the coins that hit his head. He blinked as he shouts "I meant gold!" as he looks at his very many stone coins with strange facing on it, rubbing his aching head from the hundreds of coins hitting head. "Fine, I want to feel no more pain!." He pushes himself out of the coins and as he stands up and picks up the lamp he realizes he feels no more pain, not from the arrows, not from the bumps and scratches created by the stone coins. Since the writing remained, he thinks about it some more and he wanders about his tent feeling happy for the first time in a long time. Unfortunately since he was a klutz he also bumps into his weapon storage and stumbles over it. He still wanders about, used to the whole klutziness thing, but as he wanders about the tent he feels weak then just collapses.
As his friends come back to the camp, they look for him and find him in his tent as expected, face down with a knife cut on his back, and a bloody knife in the weapons rack. "How could he not feel it and bandage himself, it wasn't even that serious of a wound."
"No disrespect meant, I do not know the one you will be talking to nor how they normally respond, but I've heard of many tales where ambiguous questions receive ambiguous answers. Would it be possible to have more focus for more direct answers, such as when is the last day when it's too late, what magical means can we use to locate the obelisk, that sort of thing."
(OOC: What a trip!)
Simaal's story is the last thing Thyrius listens to before focusing on his spell. His only response to the human/elf (?) is "Perhaps in the next batch of questions..."
After his spell and/or mental trip is concluded, Thyrius looks about for his companions. He is a mess; sane, but a mess. He recognizes the smell of bile on the ground, the same sort of reaction he often has when it comes to teleportation. His fur is wet and matted; his voice coarse: "I am here, my mind is present, but I still may need some time to compose myself. But that may have to wait."
Thyrius then goes on to explain to the others that he indeed managed to meet Ajani and get a few short answers. Thyrius does not describe his trip through the dying forests or the undead lands. He looks at Xem first, as he normally does: "Ajani is alive but too busy pursuing other avenues to join us directly. I assume his efforts are related to this same overall 'save the multiverse' mission, so we may still receive dividends from his successes."
He turns to the rest of the group: "Larloch needs no more than 4 additional Mythallars to complete his ritual. I do not know if that is a large or a small number, nor if the time available to us is counted in hours or decades. It seems Simaal was right about receiving ambiguous replies. Ajani mentioned that victory can now only be found in gathering allies. Does the name Opus mean anything to any of you?"
Letting that question sit for a moment, Thyrius eventually continues: "Regarding the Shadovar, Ajani is certain that returning to Ythryn is a mistep. If we are to attack them, we should seek Nhalloth. Is that a name any of you recognize? Would that be their homebase? Ajani's words may have implied so, but I am not sure we are equipped to attack the Shadovar's headquarters. Or perhaps he meant something else when using the words 'their heart lies in Nhalloth', one can hope."
When given a chance, Thyrius then approaches Xem and speaks to the golden lion directly: "I fear my time with the living may be short, whether I will it or not. The Coatl was right. A price must be paid for the boon received from the Faceless One. I had wished to stand at your side when you undoubtedly claim our clan's chiefdom, brother, but I fear I may be an undead monster by them. Promise me you and no one else will deliver the blow that releases me when the time comes."
Thyrius did not look mad and Mirica allowed herself to relax. Relatively speaking, of course, since the news was nowhere near relaxing. "Do not think I understand "opus" in this context. Is it a name? In some languages the word means something like "piece of work" but it did not sound like that here. As for Nhalloth, you are right, it is Shadovar's "headquarters"--the old netheresian city that they already fully occupied and working on repairing. There is an army there, a few dragons and a permanent portal connecting the city to the Shadowrealm, Shadovar homeworld, in case they need reinforcements. Even if Ahadovar's heart is there, I do not see how we can carve it out."
The vivid image of Nhalloth in her mind made Mirica wince in disgust. "Gathering allies is a nice notion, but so far everyone who knows about the threat refused to act upon it, like the elves, the Harpers, even an ancient dragon, or now suspected of acting with our foe, like Shadovar. If you have someone else in mind, let me know, meanwhile, I have work to do."
The news was grim indeed, but it's not like anyone truly expected to get clear pointers of what to do here. "By the way, which part of the travelling to Ythryn is a mistake? The attempt to kill Shadovar there or the destruction of the obelisk? Don't see how the latter can be wrong, considering circumstances."
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
"Well," Thyrius thought back, "the exact question was whether Ajani could name a place other than Ythryn where we can find a Netherese obelisk of immense chronomantic power. His answer called this a misstep, but I can't be sure if he meant that seeking an obelisk outside Ythryn was the misstep or if the overall strategy of seeking obelisks would be a misstep."
-> Can Thyrius try to think back and rely on his understanding of Ajani's personality/way of communicating to clarify this doubt? If so, he would spend a spell slot to cast Borrowed knowledge and then think really hard about it. Insight: 13
Toc clears his throat to draw attention, and says, "We in fact have many allies, who are actively involved. First, a little bit of politics for the brothers who may not know this land. The elves of Cormanthor had their entire civilization and home completely obliterated only a few years ago. We are currently in a rubbled filled chamber beneath the ruins of Myth Drannor and Thulthanthor that fell upon it. The precious few survivors have resettled south of here in a place called Semberholme. I have been in fairly constant contact with them as we have proceeded. The Coronal, our leader, has been making political out reach for assistance and has made several strong relationships of cooperation. South of Semberholme, on the north shores of the Sea of Fallen stars are two fairly old human nations. One is called Cormyr, and the other is called Sembia. During the war with the Shadovar, Cormyr was against them, but the Shadovar penetrated the leadership of Sembia, so much so that it had become essentially a shadow state. With the war ending when their capital fell on Myth Drannor, Sembia has essentially become the Shadovar's central country. The elves of Semberholme reached out to the leadership of Cormyr and explained the threat and asked for assistance. The nation of Cormyr has now actively joined the hunt for Mythallars. They have a strong military, a powerful wizards legion, and stand ready to take and hold Mythallars as they are found. The elves of Semberholme likewise stand ready to occupy Mythallars should we need them. Side note, apparently Larloch himself, accompanied by several of his Liches, attacked the ancient library on the west coast known as Candlekeep. Nobody is sure what information they were after, but the guardians of Candlekeep have taken a terrible blow. Candlekeep still have people looking into what was stolen and why."
Toc shrugs, "That was a lot, so I'll just let that settle in for a moment."
Toc takes a few moments scanning faces. Then he continues. "Opus has been mentioned in some of the books Nuzej and I have been reading here. It is another name for Selunarra, which was a Netheril flying city. It was one of the ones that vanished in the great calamity. Rumors are that Selune, the goddess of the moon, slipped it away somewhere safe, perhaps her own realm. If that were true, then we would have another faction of old Netheril that could very well act as a balancing force against the Shadovar who spent their years hidden away in the shadow realm. There is a certain symmetry in a shadow influenced Netheril nation and a moon goddess influenced nation. I've no idea how we may summon a city from the moon goddesses realm though. Traveling the mutli-verse to find her realm and ask her nicely seems......far fetched."
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
For a few long moments, Mirica looked as if she was about to launch into a bitterly sarcastic tirade about the newly revealed information. But then her facial expression softened, she shook her head, dismissing the thought and simply said: "Not sure that kind of help will solve the problem. There are over twenty mythallars out there, by your own calculation. Larloch only needs four of them. If I understand correctly, elves and humans are willing to search for the new mythallars and secure them with their armies, not to wrestle those already discovered from Larloch or shadovar. If we follow that path, we are back to square one: a race to the unknown goal trying to keep ahead of the enemy that - as you just said - got a huge boost of knowledge after assaulting Candlekeep. I am glad that scholars are willing to look into it, but if Larloch got what he wanted, he is already much ahead of us, he knew what he was looking for, while we or scholars are not."
"Sorry, but that information about Candlekeep only proves to me that attempt to outrun Larloch is ten times more futile now. If we have a chance, it's the disruption of the ritual itself, not the chase after long-lost cities of Netheril. Obviously, the search for an unknown legendary city when we are on such a ticking clock is not worth a serious discussion."
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Unlike with the dinner time story, Simmal's more rambling one in response to Thyrius' fairly straight-forward request is one to wear at the younger brother and prompt a confused glance at the others. When it became clear either that the rest of the party were used to such tangents, or worse yet, were just as confused as he, Xemnez quietly huffed, and with eyes closed and arms crossed over his chest, leaned back in his seat to just pretend to listen. But if ever asked later for specifics on Simmal's tale, the truth would become clear in meeting the blank look of the golden furred brother in the moment.
In the wake of his brother's return, any lingering distaste for the seeming pointless tale promptly fled from mind in favor of regarding his brother with deep concern. Yet as fussy as he could get, Xemnez in the moment opted to place a steadying hand on Thyrius shoulder, and respectively let the elder speak at his own pace. Even when THyrius goes on to speak of an impending end and becoming a monster, Xemnez only held firmer and said, "Brother... I... I will do what must be done, BUT it won't come to that. The Faceless One is many things, but... but he is still kin, and would know better and make certain you stray not so overally much to such a terrible end." He assured Thyrius before cracking a pained yt bright smile. "And if not, I and the Gold Bearer will make sure to remind him!" He then slaps his brothers shoulder a couple of times and gives it a shake for good measure, before turning and tuning in properly to the ongoing discussion.
".... Out of then morbid curiosity, do you not know of any priestesses or holy figures of this Selune that could not yet reach out to this goddess? For as foolhardy as it may sound, it wouldn't hurt to warn her at least. Mayhaps even redirect her more stringent followers to aid in the cause in their own way." He said in an almost disgusted and bitter tone. His eyes then went wide at another thought that prompts a glance to Thyrius. "Though mayhaps after some rest, you could perhaps reach out to her yourself, Brother? A dangerous long shot to be sure, but more guaranteed option. Otherwise-" His attention turns to the group at large. "-seems we are once again at something of an impass. As our options again are to somehow infiltrate and hope for the best as-is, or chance things in trying to seek out more obelisk to disrupt things in that way."
When you realize you're doing too much: Signature.
Toc thinks out loud, "It doesn't sound like disrupting the ritual will do any good. Unless we are able to kill Larloch....if he and his Liches still control enough Mythallars, he'll just spend a couple days recasting some spells and complete the ritual later. But, if he only needs 4 more, and Ythryn, AND Nhalloth are two he already has, by taking and holding those immediately we are setting him back yet further. He'll then need 6! And....if we get to Warlock's Crypt, and go through these gateways....that could seemingly lead us to more Mythallars, and then we can more easily hold even more Mythallars that he already has....."
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.
Mirica narrowed her eyes looking at Toc a bit more intently. "Seeing any blue monkeys lately? No, no particular reason for asking, just checking." She sighed and said as softly as possible. "Toc, you just said those potential armies of humans and elves are not interested in recapturing already discovered mythallars, did you not? And should we somehow manage on our own - what would stop Larloch "in just two days" to capture another mythallar we know nothing about? Now, capturing and recapturing can be a fun game, but not when the fate of the multiverse is at stake. You heard it yourself - obelisks are a necessary part of the ritual. No obelisks - no ritual. Or do you mean to say, Larloch can somehow repair or conjure new obelisks should we find a way to destroy those we know about? Now, if we are to get into the Warloc's Crypt... Do you really believe they will allow us - and the armies necessary to recapture the Mythallars - to go back and forth between the mythallars and the gates freely? Would not it make more sense - if we do get inside - to go after the source itself, Larloch?"
They were arguing in circles now, though. Mirica turned to others. "I made my position clear. Attack on shadovar - whether they are allies of Larloch or his enemies - seems pointless to me. But most importantly, impossible without the armies. And those armies that could help are not in a hurry to attack Nhalloth. So, what do you think - the destruction of obelisks, war with shadovar, or continued endless search for more mythallars in the hope to outrun Larloch?"
Meili Liang Lvl 5 Monk
Dice
Simaal as usual tries to listen to everyone, a lot of strong words are spoken by many. "How long ago was Candlekeep attacked? Are there other libraries worth attacking that have not yet? An ambush of the ambushers would be great if the library could notify us of the attack and we teleport there."
Toc says nothing further to Mirica, sitting back, looking about at the others, wondering how they will respond. To Simaal he says, "The attack on Candlekeep was several weeks ago. Candlekeep is a singular entity. The other libraries that come to mind that contains the sort of histories we're talking about would be the Vault of Unquenched Vengeance in Cormanthyr forest. The House of the All-Seeing Eye in Tashular was destroyed during the spell plague and now sits, with the rest of its country, under the waters of the Shining Sea. The Vault of the Sages in Silverymoon. Herald's Holdfast which is north of Silverymoon as well. I've heard legend of a mysterious and mystical library called Gravenhollow. It is deep within the underdark though and....exists outside time and space. I've heard rumors that you may only visit it once in your lifetime. It would be a quest to find such a place but it has answers from...all times....and could very well guide us in our time of need."
Nuzej speaks up, "There is also the Monastery of St. Fanal in Calimshan."
Toc nods, "I've heard of it, but never been there."
Nuzej adds, "I've also been to Academia Vilhonus in Arrabar. It's quite an impressive place. And the Font of Knowledge in Waterdeep."
Toc nods, "Indeed, many large nations have sizeable libraries in their capitals." Toc looks to Simaal, "Attempting to cover the ground across all of Faerun and attempting to ambush Larloch at a library seems almost as daunting as trying to find all of the Mythallars."
What's the difference between a Wizard and a Sorcerer?
Class.