The next day, after spending the night preparing and packing, Ryan washed up early, fixed his appearance, and headed straight to the top floor of the Mage Tower to find his teacher.
As usual, he passed the Tower Spirit's inspection and the magical warning wards, then pushed open the door.
"You're here early. Don't you hate going out? Why are you so eager this time?" Yefalin's cool voice rang through the room.
Today, Yefalin wore a simple yet elegant mage's robe that hugged her perfect figure. Her long, ocean-blue hair fell smoothly over her shoulders, and her long, pale legs were clad in black stockings. She radiated a mage's noble elegance, looking like a completely different person from the relaxed, dignified woman of yesterday.
She was leaning against the exquisitely carved railing of the rooftop balcony, gazing down at beautiful, elegant Silverymoon in the early morning light. She seemed lost in thought.
Looking at the woman's perfect, graceful figure, Ryan felt a pang of sadness, and a wave of reluctance washed over him.
All these years in Faerûn, he had never been close to his family. When he was young, he had left home and traveled a thousand miles to study in the unfamiliar city of Silverymoon. After that, Yefalin had been his teacher. Though she had been strict with him, she had always cared for his life and well-being, and spared no effort in nurturing him. In this life, she had played the role of both teacher and mother to him.
Ryan naturally felt respect and affection for Yefalin. He didn't want to leave a teacher who had always cared for him, either. But he also knew that he couldn't stay under her protection forever. A fledgling would eventually have to leave its nest and spread its wings; the boundless blue sky was its true stage.
Ryan had always believed in growing stronger before venturing out, but if he had to face the world, he wasn't afraid. He would simply make all the necessary preparations beforehand. He was the sort of person who made sure his gear was complete, his potions stocked, and his status fully restored before heading into a raid.
"Teacher, I just couldn't bear to leave you, so I came to say goodbye early." Ryan composed himself and put on a carefree smile as he spoke to Yefalin. He didn't want her to worry about him.
"The item you need to deliver is on the worktable. It has been imbued with special magic, so you can't put it in a bag of holding. You'll need to carry it on your person. And be careful."
Yefalin looked at the handsome, golden-haired boy before her. His slightly childish face was full of confidence. Knowing her student's temperament, she understood that he was putting on this front to set her mind at ease.
Ryan hid the faint unease on his face. He had kept his connection to the planeswalker's legacy a secret all along, and had used the bag of holding his family gave him to conceal the tiny demiplane he had inherited. Yefalin had never suspected a thing over the years. Ryan thought that once he returned from this mission, it would be time to come clean to his teacher.
A trace of reluctance flickered in Yefalin's eyes. Looking at her favorite student, she urged him, "Be careful out there. Once you've delivered the item, don't get involved in the Mages Guild's affairs."
"Understood. Don't worry, teacher. I know what I'm doing." Ryan walked over to the worktable and picked up the mission item. It was a palm-sized box carved from Magic-Sealing Stone, its exquisite surface shimmering with faint magical runes. Ryan was curious about the material sealed inside with such care, but in the end, he said nothing.
Curiosity was certainly essential to a mage's pursuit of truth, but too much curiosity could get you killed.
The saying "curiosity killed the cat" had an equivalent in Faerûn, too.
"Now that you have the item, you should get going. There's plenty of time, but it's best to deliver it sooner rather than later." Yefalin began to usher him out.
"All right, teacher. Take care. I'm off." Ryan tucked the box inside his robe, bowed toward Yefalin's back, and left.
Only after Ryan had gone through the door did Yefalin turn around. She brushed her slender, pale fingers across the moisture at the corner of her eye, watching him disappear into the distance. She seemed to see a noble, powerful fledgling poised to soar into the boundless, dazzling blue sky.
"Bill, how much of the information I asked you to look into have you found?" In a bustling tavern filled with the aroma of food, Ryan wore a dark, hooded mage's robe that concealed his sun-bright golden hair. He spoke to Bill, his personal attendant.
Bill looked nervous in front of his young master. He stammered, "M-My lord, I only found a little. I'm sorry, my lord."
"It's all right. Don't be nervous. I'm not going to punish you. It was just a casual request. Tell me what you did find." Ryan speared a piece of the Stage Hall Tavern's signature venison with his fork and popped it into his mouth. As its delicious juices spread across his tongue, he spoke amiably, in a good mood.
"Thank you, my lord! Thank you!" Bill breathed a sigh of relief. Though he knew the young master was always kind and had treated the family's maids and attendants warmly, this was the first proper assignment the young master had given him in years, and he had failed to complete it. He felt like a total failure.
"Ah..." Bill sighed inwardly. Ryan's mother, Lady Chris, had sent him to look after Ryan, but he had been in Silverymoon for six years now. The task he did most often was running errands to buy all sorts of spell components for the young master. Ryan could manage all aspects of daily life by himself, and he was so mature he hardly seemed like a child.
Still, Ryan was a truly good master: kind and approachable, not harsh and demanding toward his servants like most nobles. He was also a well-known figure at the Mage Academy and had been taken on as a formal student by a legendary mage. His future was bright. Bill felt proud and honored to serve such an outstanding master.
"My lord, I've been asking around the taverns lately. I also paid for some information through the Thieves' Guild's channels. I wrote down everything I thought might interest you in this report. Please take a look." Bill finished speaking and handed Ryan the parchment from his pack.
"Oh, let me see." Ryan set down his knife and fork, used Prestidigitation to clean the grease from his hands, and took the parchment to read.
"Recently, a white dragon named Madness has been wreaking havoc near the Great Glacier in the Northlands. Word is that it has been robbing travelers and caravans along the trade roads and demanding young women as servants. Its activities have caused such an uproar that many cities in the Northlands have placed bounties on it."
Ryan shook his head. Since when had such a strange breed of white dragon started demanding maids? It seemed to be quite powerful, too. Probably another mutated dragon.
There was never any shortage of dragon legends in Faerûn. Becoming a great dragon slayer had always been one of the goals pursued by mercenaries and adventurers.
Among dragons, variant dragons were a particularly unusual breed. Each had its own nature and extraordinary talents unlike those of its kind. They grew stronger than others of their age, and once fully grown, they were formidable—often described in human records as disasters. (Note 1)
"Today, Thultanthar, which hangs above the ruins of the old Netheril Empire in the Anauroch Desert, sent an envoy to Thay in hopes of forming an alliance with the Red Wizards. The Elven Empire and the Silver Marches are keeping their reservations about the union of these two forces, both leaning toward neutral evil, and are watching how events unfold." (Note 2)
Ryan smiled. It seemed the descendants of the magical empire hadn't been having an easy time since their return to Faerûn. Otherwise, those proud arcanists wouldn't have lowered themselves to approach other factions.
That made sense. The gods wouldn't let Thultanthar grow in peace, given the precedent set by the old empire.
"Rumor has it that a princess of the Silvershield Family in the Baldur's Gate region is gaining a reputation. She has been fiercely suppressing bandits and monsters throughout the Sword Coast, and local security has even improved as a result. People call her the 'Uncrowned Princess' and the 'Princess Who Dances with Nine Swords.'"
Heroes were always emerging. The world was vast, and it never lacked for legendary figures, Ryan thought admiringly.
Of all the information on the parchment, Ryan was most interested in those three items. The rest was a jumble of minor rumors: one lord's lands had been raided by monsters, someone had found an ancient magical ruin, and even a bit of gossip about an earl who caught his wife and her lover together in the open-air pool on their estate.
"All right, you've done well, Bill. Go get things ready. We'll be returning to Waterdeep this afternoon." Ryan nodded at his attendant.
Ryan only wanted a general idea of the current situation in Faerûn. He didn't particularly care whether the information above was correct. He knew that rumors passed around taverns were just entertaining stories; the real truth was usually hidden in the deep darkness beyond people's sight.
After Bill left, Ryan slowly finished the venison and Silvermoon nut-and-cheese dish on the table before him. When he had eaten everything and downed a cup of fragrant ale, he let out a long breath.
"I'd heard that the Stage Hall Tavern's signature venison and cheese were the best in Silverymoon. Now that I've tried them myself, I can say the reputation is well deserved."
After resting for a while in a chair carved from white birch, Ryan got to his feet and walked toward the person he had been watching for some time. He went straight to a fat merchant dressed in expensive, loose-fitting clothes and said with a smile, "Hello, I'm Chris, a middle-rank mage. I'd like to talk to you."
Note 1: Variant dragons were often rebellious and powerful, and their extraordinary talents compared to their kin also gave them all sorts of strange quirks. Some powerful variant dragons could even rival Tiamat, the Queen of Chromatic Dragons. See the interface card for Caesar from Red Dragon, Baihe from Wings of Frost, and Caesar from The Black Dragon Codex.
Note 2: This is a tribute to Shadovar by Ye Yuanru's Bear.
Note 3: This is a tribute to Endless Shattered Worlds by Hidden Immortal.
All the characters mentioned above are high-level information-projection counterparts of the protagonists in their respective planes. Please don't take offense.
Before you continue