Day 0, Noon (Open) - Burning the Midday Oil

In an open corner of the Arcaneum, a young man sat behind a modest stack of books, tomes, and scrolls. He was a frequent visitor of this historic and ancient library of magics and the arcana, spending a great deal of his freetime reading what histories and lores of the various sorceries in Terria were available to him.

Today however, his studies were not for pleasure but rather duty. Passerbys usually left him to his own devices, not because the young man exuded an aura of unfriendliness, but because he always seemed so engrossed. Right now he seemed to be having a rough time of it.

Lukas Fayden sighed, blowing a lock of his vermilion hair out of his eyes as he sat aside an old tome labeled The Adventures of Rigel Diggersby and reached, unlooking, for one of the scrolls he had unfurled on the table. Various drawings, or great lizards, and arcanic formulae were inscribed upon the old parchment.

As Lukas' hand would outstretch, reaching for the scroll, it would find purchase instead upon a rough, course surface not unlike polished wood. The item in question was round, curved convex from his position. A wooden vessel, filled neatly with some golden, frothy liquid sat just off the scroll. Across the table sat a grinning half elf, his piercing blue eyes alight with humor.

"Fayden, you've been at it a while. I took the liberty of fetching you some refreshments." he nods towards the ale, indicating that the drink was intended for the sorcerer. Leaning forward to pluck the nearest tome from its stack, he asks, "Still haven't quite found what you are looking for, eh?"

The unforeseen texture of the mug was something that caught Lukas off guard, an involuntary and startled shudder his only reply for a moment before he looked up to see the familiar face. Tiarnan... always appearing when you least expect him, the sorcerer mused to himself, before nodding in thanks and allowing himself a welcoming smile. He took the mug gratefully, with a "cheers" before enjoying the cool and bitter ale.

"Refreshments are welcome, my friend," he replied, motioning for the half elf to take a seat. His insight was often useful. "That's the problem: we're always looking for something new, even when a previous quarry has been discovered."

Tiarnan settles into his seat. A second mug of ale finds itself a clear spot on the table, though not before the half-elf warlock takes a deep draught of it's amber liquid. Returning the book to the stack, he asks Lukas, "Well, talk to me. What has got the Court Mage so stumped?" He picks up the unfurled scroll that the sorcerer was just reaching for, studying it's diagrams and anatomical drawings as he listened to his friend.

"A solution to that which can threaten the peace of Terria," Lukas replies, wiping some of the foam from his mouth with the back of his hand- careful not to get any ale on his robes. The scroll Tiarnan picked up was a chronicle recording the known whereabouts of the children of the red dragon Bleiterghast, the great dragon drawn unceremoniously with the most minute of details.

"For hundreds of years Bleiterghast has had a fragile peace with Larendar and Diona, but he has begun to range from his mountain and around the borders the Badlands according to our scouts. If he means to threaten us... then the timing is unconvenient at best."

"... and potentially catastrophic at worst." Tiarnan vocalizes the thought surely the both of them shared. "I wonder what could have disturbed the Great Red Wyrm so." He hands the scroll over to Lukas, before running his palm through his scruffy facial hair.

"This falls outside my field of study, so perhaps I am speaking out of place... but it couldn't possibly be he has exhausted his food sources in the region and is expanding his area of influence in order to sustain himself, could it? If we were only to be that lucky... "

"That is what I need to learn for certain; hopefully, that is the case. But as you know, red dragons are territorial by nature. If we look and are noticed he could feel threatened. The King wants to send his Will to spy on the region and learn the truth, and I mean to exercise caution against such an action. I just.... don't know how to convince him otherwise."

Lukas takes another drink, lets out a gasp of relief despite the tense conversation, and looks back up to Tiarnan. "I am hoping the Dionan visitors might have some insight we do not possess. So what brings you here? Surely not just my company..." he adds with a sly smirk.

"You come into my house, and have the gall to ask me what I'm doing here?" A fierce look flashes on Tiarnan's face. It does not stay long, however, devolving into a jovial laugh and a wide grin. "I mean, really, where else would I be? It's not like I've easy access to Tir na nOg."

He takes a swig of his ale, before pulling a small journal from the folds of his robes. "Jesting aside, I've been trying to find where the veil is thinnest between the realms. Athena and Artemis willing, I think I'm on to a trail that may lead to the FeyWilds. I've only one major obstacle preventing me from giving it the Ol' Larendarian try."

Lukas blinks a few times before replying, looking at the half elf evenly for a second, almost studying him. I still do not completely comprehend his magics or the beings he claims give him his power....

"Oh, and what is that? Not that I think an obstacle would keep you from trying nonetheless."

"The location." he responds with a sigh, a meaty hand combing through his short, sable hair. Scanning the assembled books, tomes, and scrolls, he finally spots a map tucked away between to rather weighted grimoires. Extricating it from the stack, he unfurls the map in the center of the table.

The map is perhaps centuries old, well yellowed from age and it's ink fading to a barely readable saturation. The script itself seems to be written in an older Larendarian dialect, and Tiarnan knew from personal experience that the map itself was not as accurate as one would hope. Then again, considering that it showed the lands under the Great Red Wyrm's sovereignty, there wouldn't have been anyone alive to make it current.

Tiarnan thrusts a finger to the eastern side of the map, a land that could just as easily be a part of the Terrian Badlands as it was under Bleiterghiest's rule. "Somewhere around here, I believe, there is a cavern system. Assuming one can reach the center of the caverns, I believe there to be a hidden grotto, in the center of which grows a millennia old, mystical tree. This tree, if it can even be called that anymore, is where such a portal may just well be opened." The half-elven man has a mysterious, almost mischievous, grin on his face, one that lingers and betrays the excitement growing in his breast at the prospect. "If only I could get close enough to it, I think I could open such a portal myself."

"Well, if Bleiterghast could be slain so easily, I suppose we would both have two less things weighing heavily upon our thoughts," Lukas replies, glancing over the maps and following Tiarnan's finger with his eyes.

A bout of curiosity overcame the sorcerer, though he was unsure he wanted to know the truth of the answer. "Could any good come of opening such a rift to another plane?"

"Nonsense." The man waves a hand dismissively. "There's certainly good that could come of it! Just imagine the possibilities! What wonders lie beyond? Untold magicks, technological advancements, Hades, there even may be a better mead on the other side!" His eyes, if they had a spark before, are now positively alight with curious wonder. "Think about it. The Ambrosia of the Gods, relegated to a poor man's swill? How would we know what lies in wait, if we never open the door?"

Tiarnan lowers himself once more into his chair. "Though, on the other hand, who knows what horrors might await us as well? No one could. Not unless we open the portal and check it out." The man lowers his voice. "What if... what if there are better lands that await us? Lands where man is not held in fetters to the will of the gods? No shackles to artificial institutions that only serve to bind the individual and disallow their personal potentials? C'mon, how could one decide to not at least investigate the idea?"

He knew the words he spoke were those that, if unto the wrong ears they reached, could get him imprisoned for life. Or worse. It would not, however, be the first time he has spoken such blasphemous and treacherous ideas to his friend.

Lukas gave a soft chuckle in reply; indeed, he has heard Tiarnan's hopes on such things before - at least a few times. "A mystery for the ages, surely. Some things are best left unknown," he says, raising his left hand. Then, as if to demonstrate a scale or sorts, he lowers it and raises his right. "On the other hand, one can never advance if they do not take the first step upon the road."

He pauses a moment before continuing. "However, no matter what lies beyond, I am sure you will be the first to learn. Just see that you do not get in over your head, my friend. I will assist you as I can though, as my duties allow. And...." a smirk plays upon the sorcerers lips "... should you attain such godhood, remember me so I can be free of these so called fetters and shackles you speak of."

The scholar kicks back in his chair, his boots thumping lighting as he rests them atop the table. "Well, we'll see about that." he says with a grin before a small chuckle. "First, we need to find that grotto. If it even exists." he admits.

"And in order to do that, we gotta tend you your friend here." Tiarnan nods to the image of the dragon drawn on the scroll. "Which brings us back to square one."

"Bleiterghast," Lukas said once more, his voice seasoned with a mix of bewilderment and fear. He looked back up, a bead of sweat trickling down his face,

"Were you in my shoes, what would you do?"

Tiarnan sighs.

"I don't know. I think you've the right of it... we need to exercise caution if we are to scout out his lands for his activities. But at the same time..." he pauses in thought, choosing his words. "That information is too valuable to just ignore."

"You sound like his majesty," Lukas replied with a sigh, half exasperated and half in agreement with Tiarnan. "Two days from now the king intends to consult the Dionans as well. Will you lend your voice to mine and assuage for peace?"

He did not ask that question with any lack of thoght- Tiarnan knew peace was always at the front of Lukas' mind, but he was rational if not thorough in his duties.

"Certainly, my friend. This is your area of expertise after all. While the information is valuable, to go in blindly with a full compliment of the King's Will would be tantamount to declaring war. I doubt we are prepared for war with the Great Wyrm."

The half elf plucks at a few loose beard hairs. "There's gotta be an easier, more subtle way of getting that information that does not include sending a whole force clad in armor to the dragon's lands."

"Were he more prudent or sinister, or I myself the same," Lukas adds with a sly smile, "he may try to lure the Dragon into violating the agreement in some way if he wants to move against him. Less direct, but likely more dangerous."

The sorcerer took a swig of ale, knowing full well the king would never do so.... Right?

"Gods, could you imagine?" The man chuckles, sighing with a shake of the head. "War with the Great Wyrm. How long d'ya think we'd last? An afternoon? Through the first night, maybe?" The scholar offers a shrug. "I jest, but only just. Even with Diornan aid, it would take generations to recover."

Tiarnan takes another draught of his ale. "Anyway, we've two of Terria's greatest minds, as well as myself, seated here at this very table. Surely we can figure out something." He offers a sly grin, chuckling at his joke. "What if His Majesty instead were to send in a smaller reconnaissance team? One not so high profile as his Will."

"I'm sure there are some brave and bold sellswords he could wrangle up; one could also consider entreating the Dionans to do the work for us... but that probably pushing our luck a little too far. They are wary of us enough as is, and Lord Dorsei is rumored to be a scrupulous man."

"Yes, I agree on that. Besides, who knows how much of that information they would keep for themselves and not share with the Larendar people? No, we couldn't rely on them for such a task." Turning his eyes upward, Tiarnan crosses his arms and leans back his chair, balancing precariously on it's hind two legs and speaking aloud his idle thoughts.

"Then again... would sell-swords be any more reliable? Perhaps if one of the Will were willing to go with them, we could guarantee the information, without risking the inadvertent insinuation of war... "

Pulling his gaze downward, he directly addresses Lukas. "When is the King to call Court on the matter? You said in two days?"

"Yes, indeed, the day after tomorrow. I'm hoping to run into a few other Dionans in the meantime. If you could point some in my direction, should you cross any paths.... excluding Lord Dorsei, of course. Best to ambush him on the battlefield of the court and see if he as as skilled in politics as he is in war."

"I think he cares more about the departed prince than the threat of ancient red wyrms. Rightfully so, I hear he was close to the boy. He Highness the Princess Clara is quite forlorn as well. As for sellswords? They are loyal only to themselves and to coin, and anything job involving a dragon would make a man rich for the rest of his years if he is not a fool with his coin. Concerning the will, as I understand things, they are on their way back from the Northern barbarian lands."

"Have you heard of the warlord Xyphon?"

"Can't say that I have, to be honest. I'm more interested in the barbarian lands than I am of their people. Though, I have heard they have some interesting magicks. Assuming you can find one of their so called mages." The man pauses, realizing the tangent he was starting upon.

"Anyway, who is this Xyphon? And what of him? Are you thinking what I am thinking you are thinking?"

Lukas chuckles again.

"You;d have to tell me what this is before I can answer the question."