Private Tales Old World Clues

[Rangvaldr Tal'deneshaar]

When Alteria finished his tale, Valdr was in disbelief. "You've seen Thiria?" He would ask, surprised. It had been many years since he had heard mention of it. "My father said he had seen it from atop his gryphon.. but I wasn't sure it was even real." Mystified by this, was Valdr. The mage beside them had not only seen, but been inside the mythical floating city of the Dwarves.

As for Alteria traveling due to the loss, it was something he could understand. His home was founded by those who lost theirs. He traveled to find a lost father. There was nothing to speak on of the loss, for the elderly mage had adapted, overcome. Forged his own life.

Perhaps on the trip back as something to look forward to. That is if we don't overload Toron with what we find in the ruins.

A smile touched the Wardens lips. "Very well. He will be ready, regardless of our prize." He reassured Alteria.

A fair ways to trav͜el, it must have been a while. Malak̡ath is...different. Bears are tiny co̶mpared to th͠e wildlife we have.

When Azlat spoke up, his gaze shifted to her. "One day, we will need to go to the Vale together. I hear tales of these things called Geldwyrms. Mighty scales, acid, rows of sharp teeth. It would be nice to face such a thing."

---

Alteria Eos | Azlat Ushus | Dauner

 

[Alteria Eos]

Alteria gave a nod to Azlat when she offered her condolences. "Thank you." He wanted to add something as a small thanks seemed lacking, but he couldn't think of what else to say. Though he won't have to linger on it for too long as the priestess spoke about the wildlife on Malakath.

"Perhaps one day I'll get to see those gigantic creatures. I'm sure scholars here would love to learn all they can about it. I know I do." He wondered how many had already embarked on that journey, and how many more were grabbing at any chance to travel that far.

His attention now turned to Valdr, who was wide-eyed at the fact that Alteria had seen Thiria. "Only a small fraction of it. I was only really welcomed there by circumstance, and got kicked out as soon as I was done there." Expecting the question to arise shortly after, he continued, saying, "My master was... a brilliant mind, albeit strange. He had connections that were no less shady than the thieves' underworld. I was in possession of his tome for a time after the order's dissolution, and within those pages, a name of a friend kept appearing, so I tracked them down and for my troubles I was spirited away after having my senses dimmed.

"Were I unable to prove that I was of the order, I likely would have been tossed from the sky. I was only there long enough to hand over the tome and relay what had happened to its owner, before I was sent back with a mind just as muddled."

It was not a pleasant experience.

Rangvaldr Tal'deneshaar Azlat Ushus Dauner

 

[Azlat Ushus]

"Perhaps one day I'll get to see those gigantic creatures. I'm sure scholars here would love to learn all they can about it. I know I do." Alteria said. Azlat wasn't the welcoming sort of Thagretan, if any even existed anymore. It was clear enough though that Alteria was no invader, but a curious man seeking out what knowledge he could find. Azlat had to admit, travelling to the unvisited north had provided her with plenty of fascinating knowledge. Malakath surely held the same for a curious visitor.

You've seen Thiria?" Valdr remarked. Lacking geographical awareness of these lands, Azlat had simply taken Alteria for his word and gave little regard to places she could not recognize. She hadn't thought much of Thiria until Valdr's astounded reaction to the name, at which point her interest picked up. She didn't even know the city sat in the sky, but by the content of the conversation she could assume it was a rare sight, likely hidden away through magical means. Azlat could only imagine that they too realized the danger in dwelling among the northern barbarians and had secured themselves through seclusion. That Thagretis had escaped their awareness for so long had surely contributed to their own prosperity.

The moment they'd been discovered, they were attacked. Were Azlat stuck dwelling in the north, she'd prefer to live where outsiders couldn't find her, too.

"Very well. He will be ready, regardless of our prize." Valdr further remarked. As would Azlat. In the best scenario, she could encounter far more gold than could be carried by the group but certainly not more than could be carried by the army of a kingdom, given an adequate give of wealth to her highness herself, of course. Route was already the holiest city of the north, by default, admittedly. To attach their name to such a massive tribute of gold would place them in even higher esteem with Thagretis. It was already reassuring to the high priests that she'd discovered pockets of proper civilization on these continents.

"Were I unable to prove that I was of the order, I likely would have been tossed from the sky. I was only there long enough to hand over the tome and relay what had happened to its owner, before I was sent back with a mind just as muddled." Alteria added. To be tossed from the sky was an odd remark, and only then did Azlat imagine that the city might be airborne. They had also affected his memory, clearly not completely but it was enough to render the encounter hazy, by Alteria's account.

She had some sympathy that he came away with little knowledge. Still, given her own experiences Azlat could only consider the process to be undoubtedly vital to Thiria's continued existence.

Dauner Rangvaldr Tal'deneshaar Alteria Eos

 

[Dauner]

Dauner snapped back to reality from his little world in his head, just in time to hear Valdr's exclamation at the mention of the name 'Thiria'. Since coming to Arethil, Dauner had read a lot of books to familiarize himself with the new world. But clearly, he hadn't read enough. This city didn't sound the least bit familiar to him. He assumed it must have been one of those legendary cities from the stories. Every world had them. Some were just fictional, while others were real. But the only way to find out, was to personally witness its existence.

Dauner didn't pay much attention to the topic afterwards. After all, legendary hidden cities weren't something he was unfamiliar with. He'd been to a few in his lifetime. In some, he was welcomed. In others, he was considered a threat that needed to be eliminated. The later ones seized to exist altogether, becoming one of the fictional legendary cities. He even remembered, one of his wives in the past had come from an underwater city.

Dauner's interest, however, was rekindled the moment he realized it was a city in the sky. His eyes shone of child-like excitement at this realization. When he still lived on Segora, there was nothing he hadn't done. Every day was just another chance to get bored to death for him. But he had spent the last 7000 years in the void. To him, as with to many, that was a very long time. After so long, the idea of doing certain things, was now as exciting as they had once been when he hadn't done them yet.

Among those things, was skydiving. Jumping from over 20000 feet above the ground used to bring him such excitement back then. But that was before he learned to fly. But now that he had yet to recover his strength, flying was impossible, so the next best thing, was skydiving off a flying beast, ship, or piece of land. He had no idea where to find the first two, so the third one was his best shot.

He'd try to find this city soon enough. But that would have to wait until after this trip. In the end, he needed money more than anything else right now, and he didn't want to obtain it using shadowy means. At least not yet.

---

Alteria Eos | Azlat Ushus | Rangvaldr Tal'deneshaar​

 

[Rangvaldr Tal'deneshaar]

Valdr would nod his head with Alterias explanation. "Then it is good you were able to prove it. We all would be short one adventure without you, and without one worthwhile acquaintance." He would notice the silence of both of their companions and so, he turned in his saddle. Having not heard the full story relayed from Dauner to Azlat. "Dauner, where are you from? You shared some tales earlier, but I was curious as to where one so traveled is from." He asked, since the origin stories were starting to make appearances.

As he rode, he would pull his flask free and take another draw from it. Swirling it around, he offered it over to Azlat.

Alteria Eos | Azlat Ushus | Dauner