11: A long ride and a worn cloak

I have secured a bed at The Pilgrim's Rest in Molag Mar without being recognized. Not much of a feat, since I have never been here before, but Vvardenfell is a small island in some ways and I have developed a reputation. I am proud to have been accepted by House Redoran, and could have expected an appropriate welcome from the Redoran garrison here, but I think it will be best in the long run if I complete my errand and be on my way without being noticed. How to accomplish that was nagging me as soon as my eyes opened.

I arose this morning with the dawn and enjoyed a brisk walk through the rising mists of Vivec City. The Redoran compound is directly adjacent to the foriegn quarter, and it is amazing how far I had to walk to get from the Golden Flowers to the guild headquarters. When I stepped out the doorway on the waistworks level of the Redoran Canton I could easily have hit the waistworks door of the foriegn quarter with an arrow, or even a well thrown knife, but to get there involved the ramps down to the lower promenade, then the bridge across, and more ramps back up to the top. I arrived refreshed, exercised, and hungry for breakfast.

The guild headquarters is flourishing out of the shadow of the Archmage. Malven invited me to join the breakfast table, where the light chatter defied the consequence of the guild's headquarters. As I had suggested breakfast was held seperate from the trials of the day. Afterwards the guild steward accompanied me to my office. "Always good to see you Archmage. The most recent report from Balmora is here." She added a folder to the stack on my desk; not an unmanagable pile, but larger than I would have preferred. I tucked the entire stack into my pack. "You'll be leaving I take it?" she said with a slight smile.

"As always, Malven. When I put you in charge I said I couldn't do what I do best tucked away in this hall, and you do quite well without me under foot."

"The guides keep me, and the other stewards, apprised of your whereabouts...at least most of the time, Archmage. Are you keeping yourself well? Ranis has told me about your propensity for travel when you were a journeyman, but we worry that your Breton constitution might wear out on us."

"I've been...upgraded, you might say Malven. Don't worry." As I said that, and hefted my pack, heavy with reports, I was picturing a sleepless night, and not looking forward to it. Is there a limit to the endurance my brush with the corprus has given me?

I had the guides teleport me to Ald-ruhn, where I hurried into the council hall and met with the Redoran architect, Galsa Gindu. She will begin construction on the Bal Isra stronghold immediately. I left, emerging from the great emperor crab shell called Skar into surprisingly bright sunshine streaming down from a cloudless blue sky. Ald-ruhn, being in the Ashlands, has been scourged by the ashstorms blowing down from Red Mountain, and it was a pleasant surprise to see a pretty day.

I have a theory that if you let enough problems pile up they will start to solve each other, and the clear skies pushed some of the swirling pieces into place. More than the clear skies, I suppose, it was the sight of the silt strider port towering over the walls of the city. I cocked my head in thought, and as if by devine intervention one of the great creatures appeared. Its six long tapering legs devoured the distance in a blink, and I was still watching as it sidled up to the port.

I raced back to the guild hall, where I still keep the room that Edwinna gave me long ago. I left my staff and wrapped myself in a battered cloak. The stacked reports fit nicely in a well worn travel bag from my pilgrim days. I shouted a quick "Molag Mar" to Edwinna as I scurried out the door.

Travel by strider is, of course, nowhere near as fast as teleporting, but it is surprising how fast those long legged beasts can go. I had time enough to skim all the reports and draft some notes for the guild stewards that I dropped off while changing caravans in Balmora, then gave them a careful, but relaxed, review. When the daylight failed the task was complete, and I could enjoy the night sky from the rolling back of the strider as it plunged on through the darkness. I arrived rested, unremarked, and with my duties as Archmage up to date. The striders carried me over half the length of Vvardenfell.

Perhaps I will have to thank Dagoth Ur for the timing of this one beautiful day.