Day 2 337 BDR
(before dale reckoning)

Dear Master Zorthaster,

We've traveled over 1700 years into the past and we are on a quest to destroy an evil wizard. Not only that, but I defeated another mage in a remarkable mage duel.

As I mentioned in my last letter, after stepping through the strange, twisted mirror below Master Wands' house, we appeared in the midst of a large, rough frontier town. The place was bustling with activity and was at least four times the size of Daggerfalls. There was no sign of the falls on the river and there were boats coming upstream carrying furs into town. There was a bustling lumber mill with a 30' tall golem turning a gear handle to spin a big saw blade. The golem was constructed of a strange purple-black metal. There were other, smaller golems all about town, made from a variety of materials. There was even a 3' high metal wall surrounding the city.

The name of the town, if we surmised correctly from signs on some of the shops, was "Conifera." Though the writing at first seemed a bit confusing, we all were able to read it without any effort. Similarly, the spoken language was unintelligible for a brief moment before we were able to both understand it and speak it. This was fortunate, for almost immediately we encountered a haughty paladin of Amaunator who arrived riding on a flying disk. He was looking for adventurers to seek out an evil arcanist (a mage) who was responsible for the deaths of 50 villagers and trackers. We were given a writ which deputized us in the service of the Emperor of Hlondath in the (Netheril) year 3522.

Shortly thereafter we entered an inn where we found Peraus Wands awaiting our company for a large dinner. We seated ourselves around the big table he had reserved for us and proceeded to explain that he was a Chronomancer, a traveler in time and that he was here researching ancient history, Netheril and Mystra's lock (which prevents time travel back before the death of Mystral at the hands of the avatar of Karsus.) We had a long discussion about the history of the region, Mystra's edicts, Netheril, phaerim, sharn, and Dubricus an ally of the phaerim whom we were deputized to destroy. Master Wands even had a sketchy map of the place where we could find Dubricus.

The conversation turned to events in Daggerfalls and we told Master Wands about the strange time effects in and around his shop. He seemed concerned, but assured us that the twisted mirror/gate could be fixed before we were ready to return to our own time. He seemed much more alarmed about the problem with Wolverston and the dead caravan company men that we had believed to be Zhentarim agents. He was certain he knew who we had seen dead and was just as certain that they were not Zhents. Even when we told him that Primula had spoken with one of the dead men and he had told us that they were working for the Zhentarim, he wouldn't believe it. When we told him about the reference to the man with the gray shadow, Oskar thought he saw a flash of recognition or fear in the old mage's eyes before he denied any knowledge of such a person.

Our discussions might have gone on for a long time had we not been interrupted by the dramatic entry of a band of adventurers blasting a hole in the roof and floating into the tavern room from above. They paid for the damaged roof and came looking for trouble. They had run into the Paladin Gilomide and wanted to know who had taken "their" job out from under them. The group was known as Tyche's Favored from Yeomund's Loft. One of the trio challenged me to a mage duel. The stakes would be one day's head start on the chase to Dubricus' lair. I turned to my friends for their input and was gratified to get their full support and confidence.

Preparations for the mage duel quickly attracted a crowd. My opponent wanted the smallest arena possible and, though I contested him on it, he prevailed. We ended up with a 25' square area. I prevailed in determining a 2 round preparation phase and quickly cast improved invisibility and haste. Because we agreed to be polite about things, I refrained from using my extra speed to give myself any other advantage in the preparation phase. He was not to be seen, so I had to assume he was also invisible and was entering the arena at the end of the preparation. As I stepped into the arena, he summoned a swarm of rats, correctly anticipating my entry point. I scrambled away from the vermin as they bit me but I was now able to spot my opponent. He had used a weaker invisibility spell than I had selected. I responded with a fireball to his corner of the arena and followed up with magic missiles. Both spells hit, but he was blinking in and out of the ether so the fire did even less damage than usual in a mage duel. We traded spells in rapid succession after that. He successfully dispelled or countered both my haste and invisibility but meanwhile I was drubbing him with a thunderlance and chasing him with flaming spheres. The repeated attacks from the thunderlance broke through his mage armor and did him in. He collapsed in defeat and I rushed over to ensure he was not injured in the fall and helped him to his feet as the arena dissipated. He was dazed from the after effects, but with my help he was able to quickly regain his feet and avoid the embarrassment of lying there in the dirt as the magic of the duel faded away. We chatted briefly as our supporters closed in. He was curious about the thunderlance, having never seen that spell before, but I gave him little information about it, allowing him to mistakenly believe that it had also protected me from his magic missiles.

I learned later that the two from Tyche's Favored that were watching the duel were claiming a foul since I cast a haste spell in preparation. I know I followed the conventions of the mage duel though and feel comfortable with my decision. Oskar had kept a close eye on my opponent's companions throughout the contest and later told me that there was an aura of evil about one of them. Time will tell if they keep their agreement and give us a day's head start. They all departed in a fast moving flying ship leaving us to wonder about their decision.

Not wanting to waste our opportunity, we set out from Conifera immediately. I was nervous about this since I was completely depleted of spells. I had confidence in my friends though and away we went. We had one unpleasant encounter during the evening when a pair of trolls attacked the camp. My friends were able to defeat the monsters but I suffered some painful injuries when one of the brutes charged directly into me before I even knew we were under attack. I retreated while the others pounded the monsters into unconsciousness, coming back in to help drag the horrid things into the fire and pile on wood. Healing magic and an uninterrupted night's sleep were both welcome after that busy day.

The following morning, after a chance to study spells, we were on our way early. We followed Master Wands' map toward the lair of Dubricus but were delayed by an encounter with a band of evil adventurers. They were crossing a bridge from the opposite direction when we spotted each other. Immediately they moved to attack. I did not do much other than go invisible and shoot off some magic missiles. Xan displayed an amazing skill with his bow, slamming the enemy spell caster with arrows right through a protection from arrows spell and a minor globe. The mage must have thought himself pretty well protected from magic and mundane missiles with his defensive magics up, but the driving force and pin-point accuracy of Xan's arrows killed the man almost instantly.

The battle ended well and quickly with for of the enemy down and one escaping with the aid of an invisibility potion, but we almost lost Shane in the fight. He had gotten badly injured after tangling with two of the heavily armored fighters. Oskar and his new feline companion came to the rescue, bounding into the fray and mauling the enemy. These people make the best traveling companions.

Ceda