Arando

Arando Schindler was a rare kind of Arcane Knight. A 17th-level Arcane Knight, he had once held a very high position in Canlus (a famous city in the North, north of Icewind Dale and south of Neverwinter. It spanned the mouth of the Mirar River, served as the gateway to Mirabar's rich mineral deposits, and was also known as the City of a Thousand Sails. It was a dangerous place, a harbor full of pirates and bloodthirsty bandits). He had even commanded a sizable gang in this city, where the underworld ran rampant.

The Blackpeak Knights he led were even called the foremost knights of the underworld. Though they called themselves a knightly order, everything they did went against the spirit of chivalry.

The Blackpeak Knights were little more than a gang of arsonists, murderers, and thieves. Their biggest business was slave-catching, and they were Canlus's largest source of slaves.

Until he tried to cut out the greedy slave merchants and take over the trade himself, his world had turned upside down.

All his former partners had turned against him, and his own men had betrayed him. Worse, his most trusted brother had stabbed him in the back. Because of that man's betrayal, his most steadfast followers—the brothers who had never wavered, even in the direst moments—had all perished in that final battle.

The greatest blow was that his family, whom he had sent to another city for safety, had been found by those people and executed one by one before his eyes. If his brothers hadn't fought to the death to save him, he wouldn't have survived either. But what was the point of living alone? His business, his ambitions, his brothers, his family—everything was gone. What meaning was there in scraping by on his own?

In his darkest moment, he had considered ending it all. Maybe he could see them again in the Underworld. But he couldn't accept it. He wouldn't let his family and brothers die for nothing. He wanted revenge; before he died, he would have his vengeance.

So Arando sneaked back into Canlus. He wanted revenge, but first he had to find out who wanted to destroy his family and why. He had only wanted to enter the slave trade. That was no reason to wipe out everyone close to him.

After returning to Canlus, he found an old friend, the Halfling information broker Old John. From him, Arando learned that the force behind it all was none other than the Arcane Brotherhood, the largest organization in Canlus.

It was an ancient order of mages, one that supposedly reached back to the distant age of Netheril, though Arando thought that was nonsense. But the organization was certainly old. It had always manipulated Canlus from the shadows, and had operated in the city for thousands of years, back when it was called Luskan during the Dark Ages. Still, Arando couldn't imagine how he had offended them.

He knew just how terrifying the organization was. Every gang and underground group in the city had to pay tribute to it, and he had always handed over his own monthly payment without complaint. He might have been a 17th-level Arcane Knight, but to this ancient order of mages, what was he? There was no way the Arcane Brotherhood would go out of its way to make trouble for him over such a small matter as the slave trade.

Old John didn't know the reason either. He only knew the Arcane Brotherhood was searching for something and believed it was in Arando's possession. From the looks of it, they weren't going to give up.

Once he knew the reason, Arando immediately fled Canlus. He knew what the Arcane Brotherhood was looking for: the Arcane Eye, something he had acquired by chance. It wasn't a magic item or an artifact. At first, Arando had thought it was just a rare jewel. He only knew its name, but now it was clear there was more to it.

Since his enemy was the Arcane Brotherhood, there was no way he could get revenge. But if they cared so much about the Arcane Eye, then even if he died, he couldn't let them get their hands on it.

So he went into hiding. But he knew it was only a temporary measure. With the Arcane Brotherhood's power, they would find him sooner or later. After all, the Brotherhood had legendary mages. It was only a matter of time before they tracked him down. Still, there was one place they would never discover: Avalon, the refuge of the Heroic Spirits.

Many people in the North knew the legend of Avalon, but no one could say exactly where it was. Some believed it was a paradise; most thought the place was entirely fictional. But Arando knew Avalon truly existed.

Moreover, Avalon was protected by a mysterious power. No Divination or divine spell could predict or uncover its location.

Arando knew about Avalon because he had a friend from there, an Avalon Orc. When he was young, he had traveled far and wide on adventures, and he had become friends with that Avalon Orc along the way. He had even saved his life on one of their adventures. Though they later parted ways over differences in their beliefs, the Orc had given him a small totem. With it, he could find the legendary place somewhere in the Spine of the World. If he found his friend, he could collect the debt he was owed.

Arando had searched the Spine of the World with the totem for nearly a year before finally entering Avalon. But he thought his friend had been talking nonsense when he'd gone on about how wonderful Avalon was. To Arando, it didn't seem any different from the rest of the North: the snow fell just as heavily, and monsters were just as abundant.

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Take the monster attacking him now, for example. He had never seen anything like it. It looked a little like a Wyvern and a little like a bird. It was incredibly fast, enormously strong, and highly resistant to spells. Arando had no good way to deal with it. Still, as a 17th-level Arcane Knight, he could protect himself without trouble. Killing the monster, though, would be difficult.

Just as Arando was unsure whether to advance or retreat, he noticed someone approaching. He immediately thought it had to be an Avalon Orc. After all, only Avalon Orcs lived here. He hadn't met any in all the days he'd spent in the region, but there was no other possibility.

Even so, he was extremely wary of the newcomer. He had spent his whole life surrounded by deceit, and he had no idea what the approaching person might be plotting. His friend had told him how honest and warmhearted Avalon Orcs were. It wasn't that he didn't trust his friend—his friend really was a true man—but people differed from one another more than people differed from dogs. That didn't mean every Avalon Orc was the same. Better safe than sorry. Arando pretended not to notice the newcomer, while secretly readying himself.

Meanwhile, Solam was still crawling through the snow. Snow Dragons were highly vigilant, so he had to stay patient. If one spotted him, there was no telling whether it would turn its attention to him. He wasn't afraid, but it would be a real nuisance.

Arando kept his eyes on the approaching figure. When he saw the person sneak toward the Snow Dragon's blind spot, he relaxed a little. At least the newcomer would attack the monster first.

It looked like the newcomer was planning to ambush the monster. Arando weighed his options. The greatest threat to him right now was the creature in front of him, so joining forces with the newcomer would benefit him. And once they dealt with the monster, would he really have anything to fear? He was a 17th-level Arcane Knight, a powerful figure even back in the outside world. He had plenty of confidence in his own strength. If the newcomer had any bad intentions, he would make him regret it.

Arando was thinking, but his hands never slowed. As the Snow Dragon pounced again, he rolled to the side to dodge and slashed at its flank with the huge sword in his hand, leaving another wound. But the Snow Dragon's hide was incredibly tough; none of his attacks could cut any deeper.

Arando wasn't trying to kill it with a single strike. The most important thing was to keep the monster's attention firmly fixed on him and give the newcomer a chance to ambush it. If the creature spotted the newcomer, that opportunity would be gone.

Solam had noticed the shadow drawing the Snow Dragon's attention. He immediately gave the man an approving nod in his mind. He knows what he's doing. Looks like a seasoned veteran—not one of those rookies who holler as soon as they see someone and can't keep their cool.

Solam and Arando had planned things well, but the Snow Dragon had no intention of cooperating. It immediately unleashed its spell-like ability: Blizzard.

The spell-like ability didn't deal much damage. It simply conjured a small blizzard around the Snow Dragon, obscuring its enemies' vision with dense snowflakes so they couldn't keep track of it. That made it much easier for the creature to ambush them or escape.

The ability was quite effective. At the very least, Solam was caught in it. Snowflakes filled his vision, and he couldn't see what lay ahead. But he wasn't entirely helpless.

Solam closed his eyes and focused his mind, using his "Communication" ability to its fullest. A picture of the surrounding area immediately formed in his mind. This was a new way of using "Communication," somewhat like the "mind's eye" in films from his previous life. He could observe his surroundings without using his eyes. Its range wasn't particularly large, but it extended more than 500 meters in every direction, and it wasn't affected by terrain or the environment. It was almost like seeing through illusions and uncovering the truth. With this ability, Solam could easily spot things that were difficult for others to see with their own eyes, such as traps and dangers. That was why he always spotted dangers or prey ahead of time whenever he went out with the hunting party.

In the scene that appeared in his mind, the Snow Dragon hadn't fled. Instead, it had gently landed not far behind the figure.