This new land, while strange, is not inhospitable, nor is it uninhabited. Knowing that Stormloft and his forces almost assuredly followed them through the gateway, Atury’s first priority is to familiarize himself with his surroundings. Information will be his most prized resource, and who better to collect it than his faithful Spiders?
The Spider Guild, a loose-knit cabal of deceivers, cutthroats, tricksters, and charlatans. They will be his eyes and ears. They will serve as his ambassadors. This new world could be fraught with unknown dangers. The good news is that vorsys — magical energy — seems to be in abundance here. It will come in handy in the days, weeks, months to come. If they are to remain alive, and one step ahead of their pursuers, they must gain a foothold among the local populace. The Spider Guild will be perfect for such a mission.
He tasks the most cunning of them, Chryale Jacinth, to lead this endeavor. They will need to learn customs, geography, language. He needs her excessive charisma, her ability to blend into any environment. She and the others can secure allies among these strange and unknown locals. More importantly, the Guild can manipulate their way into power. So they will infiltrate. They will charm. They will plot. Wielding vorsys may be his strength, but pulling strings from the shadows will be the deciding factor in keeping Commander Stormloft at bay, and possibly eliminating him altogether.
The Glyphmaster will need to keep the greenies occupied long enough to figure out where he went wrong, and to learn the ways of Keldra properly, if they are to ever return to Galwyndor. But who knows? Perhaps this is right where they belong after all.
