The Belmont Compendium (Owen Belmonts Journal, notes and research).

[WhenWizardsWar]

Journal Entry:

Master Havril used to tell me about the Netherese cities, massive floating cities occupied by thousands of people, usually magic users and nobility of the Netherese cast, but still.

Along time ago the Netherese developed a ritual to sheer off the tips of mountains and invert them, to turn them upside down upon which they built wonderful cities and places of magical wonders. I always longed to see such a sight but knew the chances were incredibly small. A mage named Karsus attempted a magical ritual, tried to ascend to god hood which of course failed, the resulting backfire caused magic to run amok and all of the Netherese cities came crashing down.

This year (1372D.R the year of wild magic) I got a chance, a small chance but a chance all the same. A floating city has appeared over the Anauroch desert, they call it the city of shade. The master let me view it through his scrying crystal, told me it was much safer then getting close to it. He apparently took all the notes I made on the city, said it was for my own protection, of which I did not question him, he has never done anything like that unless there was a good reason for it.

It has been three weeks since I have left the masters study to travel abroad, Cypher the magical construct master Havril crafted for me has been a wonderful companion and confidant so far. He constantly amazes people, the master imbued him with the ability to speak the basic language of the realms which is not usually done for constructs, (sadly sometimes i am painfully aware that he can talk...and talk...and talk. Sometimes i think it was the masters attempt at a sick joke to haunt me through out my travels).

Two days ago, I came upon a sight I did not expect, one that has both fascinated me and fired up my scholastic instincts to levels I have never felt before...

A floating city, another one...

I will attempt to enter the city tomorrow and discover more, for now i must prepare my camp...i think i have been followed for most of the day, i have not gotten a good look at them but Cypher has, he says they look like orcs, very strange looking orcs...

[WhenWizardsWar]

Journal Entry

The city is called Sundren. It was founded along time ago by a diviner named Mundus. The city has suffered a terrible war with malevolent forces seeking control of it. The "Hands Of Mundus" a group of powerful spellcasters (I must make an effort to meet with them!) used a powerful lodestone made of a material called "Sundrite" to rip the city from the ground and lift it into the air at the eleventh hour of a major battle for the region. This, it seems has resulted in saving many lives that very well might have been massacred during the battle. The locals call this event "The Second Sundering".

The city is, more or less what you would expect from a typical faerunian city, it has several districts which cater to certain city needs and various wealth levels, (by this i mean there seems to be a "middle class" a "lower class" and an "upper class" section of the city). The "Castrum" seems to be the heart and soul of the Sundrens military operations, it holds a great deal of the military backbone which the locals simply call "the legion".

The Castrum is where I awoke when my camp was ambushed(the attackers came at night but it wasn't the strange looking orcs i had spotted, no these ones were common bandits (according to my saviors), I managed to take quite a few of them out with a few tosses of dried red pepper and the words for a burning hands spell, got one with a magic missile spell and another with my crossbow (I'll never get used to that thing, but i am glad master Havril drilled it into me to always have a back up).

I quickly found myself investigating a matter for the legion which lead me to various persons of interest and sections of the city, normally I try to shy away from politics but it was the least could do since they did pull my arse out of the fire, (ok my burning hands spell wasn't so perfectly aimed, it may have caught my tent on fire, which may have detonated the vials of alchemists fire i had...).

I found myself staring at a sewer grate, why? I was tasked to poke around the sewers to see what I could find about the disturbances, namely if there was a nest of thieves in the aqueducts.

Guess what...

There were thieves alright, I managed to slip past most of them with a few minor spells of prestdigitation, simple things really though I did have to eliminate a few with a magic missile or two...

It was going great until this one spillway where the garbage and sewer water congealed into a very angry ooze, I've seen oozes before in Master Havrils lab but that was a controlled atmosphere, and those were tiny puddings, this was a cube shaped monstrosity that filled the tunnels it chased me thorough from top to bottom.

Ok so maybe its a good thing Im not a garbage man, and I wasn't able to find the thieves den, it wasn't for a lack of trying....

Tomorrow I'm going to head into the citadels atrium. I am told there is a secure portal there that once I have the required identification papers and travel documents(which will involve a mountain of paper work and signing triplicate forms I am sure...) it will allow me down to the surface, to a valley known as the Pioneers Way. I am told it is a major trade route and plenty of people both merchants and adventurer alike travel the road on a daily basis. I should be able to find more people to talk to in an effort to learn more about the region history and its places and people, it is also patrolled heavily by legion forces so it should be safe enough.

Right?...

[WhenWizardsWar]

Journal Entry

I made my way to the surface today, past the heavily guarded portal and down the guarded walkways to the surface. The valley is both beautiful, mysterious and deadly. The first stop on my travels was a site of legend, a massive gate constructed by elemental's at the behest of the great Mundus, (I made a detailed drawing of it which is in my sketch book, titled Sundren 1-A). I wanted to pass beyond it to see the rift left by the city now floating above but was refused by local soldiers of the legion.

As I walked the beaten path through the valley it became very apparent that the valley is, to put it simply very very windy and almost always soaked with rain. I stopped to draw several things of interest, mainly the giant stone bridge that spans a river running through the valley when a gust of wind came along and ripped several pages from my sketch book, thankfully I was able to recover most of them and dry them out carefully with minimal damage, however the drawing I took when master Havril and I visited the watchers keep (a ruin from the time of troubles era) is beyond recovery and will forever leave a sad void among my drawings.

Oh, and what a surprise! I was ambushed by bandits...again.

It was about mid day when I approached a quaint little roadside rest stop called "The Second Wind Inn", a fitting name for such a gusty valley if I do say so myself. It was inside the establishment I spent a good portion of the afternoon listening into various conversations of regular patrons and the other well traveled souls who frequent the stop. I was able to make note of a few things that caught my attention, several potential points of scholastic interest.

I have jotted down the names of a few places, all of which seem to be relatively close by though I might want to see if I can hire a few uh...martially adept individuals to protect my um...intellectual assets..yeah...

I have heard of an abandoned fortress in the nearby forest, though I have been unable to uncover any information about it, its purpose or what befell it...still even if I can find out its story it's worth checking out in person.

I have also heard of a ruin clearly established awhile ago that apparently has dusty and faded marks that suggest it has some tie in with the legions history, I should be cautious however as they said many old arms and armaments have been looted from the place which suggests either an old armory or a resting place for fallen soldiers, when I am ready to locate and explore the ruins I should prepare accordingly. I bet there is much to be learned there, I doubt anyone has stopped to actually learn why the place was there or who was interned inside, if it is indeed a burial site.

I think the woman's name was Julia, I forget her last name but if I see her again I need to make a mental note to probe her for directions to the ruins.

[WhenWizardsWar]

Journal Entry.

I was feeling bold today, I really need to stop that. I decided to take a stroll away from the Second Wind today. I was ambushed by goblins about an hour from the protective arms of a nearby legion outpost, I managed to escape by ducking into a cave which, (since lady Tymora is my best friend) happened to be filled with a gaggle of undead creatures. It was pure luck that I stumbled upon a carefully hidden door and was able to duck through into a hidden passage. I managed to kill the pair of undead lingering inside, which gave me time to bind my wounds and take a short look around.

I am not sure but I think it may be the legion ruin I heard about the other day, though I have my doubts (why would it be so well hidden then?). I lacked most of my research tools, my sketch books and note ledgers as well as my stuff for taking molds and charcoal rubbings and what not, (figures the one day I travel with out my tools is the one day I accidently stumble upon something fascinating).

I have procured a map of the area and penciled in a rough notation of the ruins entrance, I plan on returning to it in the near future as soon as I stock up on a few things, namely more ink and paper (oh and stock up on a good swordsman or two!).

[WhenWizardsWar]

Monster Ecologies: Sundren Goblins.

Since I arrived in this land I have come to learn very quickly that the local goblin population has its own cultural and tribal differences that such creatures tend to develop from region to region.

Like typical goblins the creatures here seem organized in a traditional clan, with menial workers, soldiers and higher ranking creatures all the way up to the clan chieftan. The goblins consistently use scavenged weapons as per normal for such creatures who lack sufficient wealth to acquire proper arms and armor, often having to rely on scavenged items they pry from their victims which, in typical goblin fashion, they overwhelm with sheer numbers.

The goblins here frequently demonstrate considerable magical talent for their kind, (nothing world shattering but far more advanced then one would consider possible). I've seen goblins using spells of the arcane persuasion, spells generally from the first and sometimes second circles of influence, which normally take yearsof study to understand the basic concept behind them.

The goblins also frequently demonstrate the knack for divine spell casting, basic healing spells and protection enchantments which is nothing new, for millennia goblins have been known to worship the gods of their kind who in turn provide them access to chunks of their divine influence.

The goblins also seem to have a staggering amount of moral heightening members who use drums and instruments to bolster the spirits of their fellow clansmen. The war songs are simple and crude, often grating on most peoples ears but for goblin kind the music of war for their kind appears to be very effective and highly motivating.

It is my recommendation that the intrepid adventurer who considers entering the goblin held lands of sundren come armed with basic silence spells or things to prevent the goblins from using their basic, but potent spells in combat, thunderstones silence spells and other means of distraction will prove efficient.

If one finds themselves lacking said methods, a bash to the face or an arrow between the eyes works just as well....

[WhenWizardsWar]

Theorum Notes.

I think I figured out the magical formula to solve the problem master Havril presented to me before I left.

    .

HA! Take that master, give me an easier one next time!.

[WhenWizardsWar]

Journal Entry:

Ive been thinking, ever since I figured out a potential solution for master Havrils dilemma Ive been wondering if type of magical diffusion are possible, using gaps in the tapestry of the weave to act like a natural siff for excessive magical energy. Its hard for me to translate my thoughts into mundane words so I will record my ideas in proper wizardly fashion! With pretty shapes and symbols!.

　
  

  
  