Zoom 2020-10-23 20:00

General discussion of ‘What are we doing here?’ came to the conclusion that we’re not really here to do research for Gohde/Cagrun, but we’re being used to make a ‘political’ point or for other reasons. The authorities must be just as aware as the thieves are of our presence. Still, research on the brooch and legendary creatures might possibly be fruitful as they won’t have been previously looked into – other topics would have already been heavily researched and relevant info taken to Starport. We should therefore take the 2 week deadline we’ve been given seriously – though should get as much research done as possible in the meantime in case it does turn up anything useful. We should prepare to move onto our next destination after that (probably Far Haven) unless something exceptional – or at least extremely promising - turns up.
We should therefore hire all nine available students for the following topics:
* 2 Students to research the brooch – try and track down the material that the single student couldn’t locate. (Estimated at about 150% of a single student’s effort)
* 4 Students to research different aspects of legendary creatures: Rather than just descriptions of these creatures, we are more interested in their religions, languages, and any connections between the different races. Have one student continue looking specifically at Ogres, while other 3 students should look at different aspects/races to ensure the good use of their multiple resources.
* 1 Student to research Dragons, which seem to be an important part of Elven culture – and also any references to Dragon Riders (eg origin of DragonRiders Guard name)
* 1 Student (the cocky one) to dig out more Elven legends for Bazin to get his teeth into – especially anything mentioning runes or portals.
* 1 Student to research what was at the (recently destroyed) Wyldwood shrine at Far Haven, or other things of ‘interest’ in/near the city from Elven times.
‘The two scrolls’: The going rate for a genuine Elven scroll is about 5gp. 4 scrolls were bought by the College from the cache of 12 scrolls described by the teenager. We will ask Sparrowsight to check her records to find out what those 4 scrolls were about before deciding whether it is worth pursuing the 2 on offer.
Umar will follow up with his Giant contacts to see if he can find any old-timers who remember back to Elven times or the Age of Chaos.
Other party members will attempt to get detailed descriptions (maybe drawings) of SkyFleet from incomers.
Specific questions:
# Check Dougal’s costs – only to determine how much we will be spending in future (not worried about reclaiming any overspends from previous week,) A: Dougal was right – correct the amount spent accordingly.
# College library: How old is it: Was it a library in Elven times or a more recent building. A: Though the above-ground building are new, the cellars are all Elven – and yes, the scrolls were (mostly) there to start with.
# What percentage of scrolls date from each period ie pre time of change, during time of change, during age of chaos, post age of chaos. A: All date from before the Age of Chaos.
# Confirm time periods of each time period and confirm chronology generally. A: The calendar had moved onto the ‘year of the Golden Dragon’ - each dragon period lasting 50 years, and the Golden Dragon may not have immediately followed the Red Dragon. So the Age of Chaos is at least 41 years from the date of the map, but could be much longer. The ‘Twilight of Change’ was a period of about 2 years before the Age of Chaos (which started when the Elves left.) which was about 300 years ago. The Age of Humans started about 160 years ago, and the Kingdom was founded 80-90 years ago.
# How well would a scroll survive 300 years without preservation spells. A: Scroll cases have a preservation spell on them, so they would be well preserved if still in a case.
# How sure is Sparrowsight that no scrolls have ever been stolen – if someone found a way to do it, they could have been taking uncatalogued scrolls from the college cellars and selling them back to you and you’d never know. A: She is sure.
# Has Joshua of Garaf seen any other ‘old’ scrolls for sale in their trawl of markets?A: No, not old Elven scrolls.
# What is the value of a sliver brooch like the one we found – assuming its just a a normal old, well-made piece of silver. A: About 2sp if melted down, maybe 3 or 4sp if it had ‘sentimental’ value.
# General magic items: Are there ‘ye olde potion shops’ and ‘(normal magical) scroll stores’ etc in the city? What about fine weapons/armour and indeed actual magic sellers? A: Yes. A potion would start at around 60gp, our wand of MM would cost about 100gp, as would our scroll of Det Invis – selling prices would maybe half that? Fine (+1) weapons could be commissioned for 5-10gp each, but would soon lose their ‘fine’ edge etc. Silvered weapons could also be bought. It may well be a good idea to sell the wand and even the scroll for the cash. 
# The Giant alliance is only a few years old: Are Cagrun, Umar and other giants all newcomers to the kingdom, or were they settled in the kingdom previously? A: Previously settled.
# How old exactly are the main religions? We know that Gemidiah is a new innovation, and that Wyldwood seems pre-time-of-change, but what about others: Were they formed during age of chaos etc? All the other Kingdom religions seem to be offshoots of Universal – with Perceval and Barosa being the most recent (around 150 years ago). SARN is a brutish offshoot of Shana. The Orcish/Troll god ‘D-----’ is known as the Temple of Death – but this also dates from the Age of Chaos rather than before. The Lizardmen’s religeion is GARM. 
# Lets talks directly (to Sparrowsight) about stars and Starport. Alvera moved his capital to Startport about a year after the civil war started. Although the general party consensus is that this is indeed a grounded flying city, there doesn’t seem to be that much point in continuing to find out more about it – Alvera will be doing that himself better than we can. 
# Did the Elven flying cities fly in a set pattern/formation or along fixed paths, or did they fly freely/independently? (This could be an important military fact to find out for the Kingdom.) A: They did not appear to be any restrictions on their movements.
# What’s happened to the flying city that helped take Stormhaven. Is it still there, been seen elsewhere, or has just ‘disappeared’? A: It has landed near Stormhaven. It has no walls, tall towers and has large flying lizards (larger than Wyverns, but not Dragons) flying from it. It is called SkyFleet. We can now get first-hand reports of it from recent arrivals in Northlake.
# Song of spheres – the stars wheel,.....the stars are unmoving. Could refer to cities ‘wheeling’ and then stopping. But ‘stars wheel’ is more likely a metaphor for time passing, and then stopping (ie Elves went into stasis/timewarp rather than to a Southern island), or of death – but then have the paradox of how it could have been recorded in the Song of the Spheres unless it was a prediction. A: Other interpretations exist too – at the moment it is probably fruitless to speculate about what this thing means.
# Any indication of the Elven commanders’ whose names we do know (Oranzer, Sorlor, Renzel) having appeared in pre-exodus records? A: Oranzer was mentioned as a senior leader, but not as senior as he is now. As Elves are thought to be effectively immortal, most returnee Elves (except the very youngest, if any are still being born!) would have been in North Island before the exodus. 
# Have any Warhawks been seen arriving/departing from Northlake? A: yes, two in the last week.
# Whatever happened to good old teleports and the like? A: Good question.
# Why is the DragonRiders Guards called that?: A: Nobody knows, or has bothered to ask. There is no known history of any dragon-riding though.