Being lax, I have sadly not maintained my diary for many months now. For the last eight or so months, I have chosen to go separate ways from that of my companions, as there have been pressing matters, and much magical research, to attend to. Nonetheless, I did make myself available to them, in the event they felt my presence was necessary. Shortly, I shall return to travelling with my companions once again.
Whilst my time has mostly been spent poring over dusty tomes (much, I fear, to my dear Turia's disgust), I have been somewhat productive. Thus, lest I forget, I shall pen those matters that were, to me, of some import. Oh, and I remind myself, should ever I read these notes again, that I am not writing in chronological order, but rather topic by topic.
As I have already noted, much of my time was spent in magical spell research. Fortunately, my time spent doing so was, thank Isrundra, most productive. My first task was to develop a version of teleport without error that I may cast. Unfortunately, I believe that spells of the seventh level of power are still beyond me, and will remain that way for some time to come. And so I compromised, and developed a sixth level of power version. The component is an acceptable 50 gold worth per casting, and it is not interplanar, but at least the possibility of dying is not an issue. If only I knew what direction I would be facing when I arrived! It seems to be entirely random. Well, magic is not yet an exact science, although I am sure a number of Alphatians and Glantrians, not to mention Harathians, may well disagree with such a statement.
I then spent some time researching lesser spells. Namely, variants of fly and protection from normal missiles that can both be cast at the second level of power, rather than the third. It is something that I have long wanted. These blasted rules that the gods have agreed to force upon us, forcing us to memorise spells, can be quite restricting. I also spent time researching a longer duration sound bubble spell, although I did not incorporate a means of cancelling it. Nonetheless, the spell should prove quite useful, given the correct circumstances.
I finally spent some time researching an improved version of the minor globe of invulnerability spell. The version that I have designed is, alas, at the sixth level of power, but is both mobile with the caster, and lasts for several hours.
On the side, during my research, I also sought to ascertain more information of these bits of the World Shield that I have accumulated; in particular, how does one separate the anti-magic ore, and then work it? I sought the blessings of both Prithivi and Vailanda on this matter, but without success. At first I experimented with the substance a little myself, in its presumably impure form. One can still manipulate it with magic, or at least, manipulate the rock it is embedded within. For example, a levitate will still affect the substance, although not at 100% efficiency. One can still teleport with the substance, although I did not dare teleport with too much on my person. Who is to say if the teleport would go wild, or if it would simply fail? On the matter of a protection from normal missiles, it bounced off. My present hypothesis is that in a pure form, magic may well have no effect, but as it is impure, the impurities are still subject to the effects of magic.
I have had no luck purifying the substance. The gnomes in Serraine had absolutely no success, managing only to heat the material significantly, but not sufficiently. Another alternative was, after some research, to locate a ruby dragon. There is rumoured to be a clutch in Bellesaria, and my dear Turia (who admittedly was quite bored) attempted to hunt down the clutch, but to no success, although she did observe a red dragon in the region, and even defeated a chimera.
I enquired of Del's vast store of knowledge, to no avail. In my chat with Phorannon (more later), she revealed that whilst the shadow elves are familiar with the anti-magic material, they have yet to determine a way of working it. I even asked the skull man in the Cage, but his skulls have but air between their ears on this matter.
As a last resort, I approached the dwarven armour manufacturer in the Cage, the one who will only agree to make suits of field or full plate, and has a backlog of orders greater than his expected lifetime. He is not aware of the material, but is extremely interested. After all, he only manufactures non-magical armour, and what, in his opinion, is better than non-magical armour? Anti-magic armour, of course. I have left some of the material in his care, and hopefully he will, after perhaps two decades, have some promising results to report.
In some ways it is quite frustrating. I'd be tearing my hair out, if I had any. Perhaps Ayodhnal is playing tricks on me?
Ahh, but there is far more promising news to consider. After my return from the Hollow World, I set about publishing a book, a practical guide to the Hollow World, or I would like to think it is. Prior to it being placed on the bookshelves of prominent booksellers throughout the Known World, and the Baronies region, I spent a week on the slopes of a mountain range in Sind, with little to eat or drink. It was my way of asking for the blessing of the Great Pantheon, and to the end, I felt as if I were making the correct decision. Any proceeds from the sales will go into aiding Sind. Shuma must have blessed the book, for to this date, almost seven thousand copies have been sold, and my bank account has been enriched with over one hundred and fifty thousand gold Daros. My expected profit over the next couple of years is well over three hundred thousand Daros. It is all for Sind.
Indeed, on the subject of Sind, I have been pursing means of aiding liberation. First I spoke to the now Legionate Kalemi, who is essentially in charge of the forces guarding the Darokin border with Hule. Unfortunately, the Legionate suggested that a brute force approach to removing Hule would not be easy. On the border alone, Darokin believes there to be perhaps 8000 Hule troops. There must be at least 10000 troops within the entirety of Sind. However, Kalemi did indicate the use to troops to hold territory, and adventurers to kill notable persons, may work, especially if it evokes a popular uprising. With respect to mercenaries, the use of Alphatians may well be a good idea, especially with their high percentage of magic users, and the flying ships. Though at a cost of 10 gold per person per week, they aren't cheap. At that cost, three hundred thousand gold begins to sound like a less than large sum. For further details, Kalemi says I should contact one of the Alphatian mercenary companies in Thothia.
Subsequently, I approached the priest who married Turia and I. The priest, a member of a small resistance cell, was able to provide me with some useful information, although his knowledge is primarily local. Unfortunately, of necessity the resistance throughout Sind is divided into small cells that are unaware of the members or activies of other cells. The Sindhi resistance is unorganised. However, this way Hule has a difficult time infiltrating and destroying the organisation, primarily since there is no organisation. Only small groups can be targeted and destroyed. It is not unknown for cells to be infiltrated. There probably even exist fake cells. The resistance movement often makes reprisals against those that openly support or assist Hule. Unfortunately, the Huleans, bastard spawn of Yainughu that they are, take out their frustrations against innocent Sindhi citizens. Nonetheless, the priest informs me that there is popular support for the resistance amongst the Sindhi people.
Unfortunately, the priest also informed me that there is certainly no hope for Sind without outside intervention, for it is surely too dangerous to get organised. Most of the warrior caste (those that do not support Hule) is dead. There was a small uprising when some allies of Sind, tribesman to the southwest, attempted to help, but they were unable to overcome the superior forces of Hule.
It was then I decided to ask after the paladins of Lighthaft. With coordinates provided by Nemon, I teleported to the Karameikan school of magic, from where I asked for teleport coordinates for the temple of Lighthaft. There I spoke to an acolyte, a young fellow that indicated that available paladins of Lighthaft would be willing to help free Sind from the oppression of Hule, free of charge. It is likely they would even bring along some priestess' of Morgan. This is good. Having spoken to this acolyte, I am also of the impression that the paladins of Lighthaft are fanatical, anti-evil psychopaths that generally mean well. Subtlety sounds like something they lack. But if their courage matches their fanatical glee, then they should surely perform well on the battlefield.
Unfortunately, the pegataur paladins of Serraine are not that interested in assisting.
Later, I approached Del, the emerald dragon, to see if he could be of assistance. As a gift for his granting my an audience, I presented him with a gift, a small painting of some description that I was assured any lover of art would appreciate. Del himself is not interested in Hule, but of course, if they expand too far, then he ``will take care of them''.
Pursuing a different angle, I asked if he knew of any ruby dragons that I might approach. He knew of one, Xenith, who lives in a lair north, near where Del's father laired. It is amusing to hear of Del's opinion of Xenith. Apparently he is very preoccupied with gems. As Del suggested, I made an appointment with Xenith to see him two days hence, with Del hosting. Del shortly had my time occupied with helping to clean up his lair.
The meeting proved fruitful. Whilst Xenith does not have the mercenary attitude of Razel, the ruby dragon we met in the Hollow World, he is still willing to help. His price is that, if successful, I am to see to it that the Sind people stop viewing dragons as sources of treasure. He would like me to stop the Sindhi's from hunting dragons as a sport, for dragons are not merely monsters. Xenith has even volunteered to attempt to convince others of his kind to help. With luck, there will be several aiding my cause.
But perhaps the most useful device that could help free Sind is the development of a gate by Lani. With it, and combined with the Falcon, we can transport large quantities of people and supplies, to virtually any place of our choosing. This is the key to unparalleled mobility, and may well make the difference between success and failure.
In other news, when I was speaking to Legionate Kalemi, he indicated, much to my surprise for Gurzurk had not informed me, that the Shadow Elves had been fighting the Darokinians and Rockhome Dwarves. It appears the Shadow Elves decided to march over Darokinian territory in order to attack Rockhome. Given Darokin is allied with Rockhome, it was inevitable that they would be drawn into the conflict. I spoke to Phorannon on the matter. According to her, the conflict is over a humanoid infested Shadow Elf city of old. The dwarves wish to loot it, and the Shadow Elves wish to reclaim religious artefacts. It sounds rather senseless to me. Phorannon indicated that she tried to convince the Shadow Elf princess to not march troops over Darokin territory, but her pleas went unheard. Phorannon even stated that the princess does not always appreciate her advice.
I spoke to Phorannon of the Schatten Alfen. Yes, the Shadow Elves are aware of their long lost cousins, although the Shadow Elves consider them ``very paranoid'', which means lots, coming from a Shadow Elf. The Shadow Elves have some contact with the Schatten Alfen, and thus are, by default, aware of the Hollow World. Apparently, by some twist of fate no doubt, the Schatten Alfen worship the same deity as the Azcans. I wonder if this has some sort of special significance?
At any rate, I expect to rejoin my comrades tomorrow. I get to try out Lani's snazzy new idea once again!