Beers and Beards

And then it was the big day. Sure, there were lots of last minute things to do, but they bled into each other so thoroughly I didn’t even have time to diary them. Mostly it was studying. A lot of studying.

Thankfully I had excellent teachers between Duchess Barnes and Richter.

Our contingent found itself clustered together over the teleportation square in Blackwall. It was a big space just north of the gate, with easy access to Redwall. It was pretty close to where we’d been escorted for my Ability testing, actually. It was surrounded by gates, walls, and a myriad of other defenses, along with the steely eyed garrison. Nobody was attacking through that teleporter without getting blasted by a hundred mages.

The circle itself was a large stone affair made of etched mithril, gems, and other magical materials. It was a wonder to behold under my [Lesser Crafter’s Eye]. I could even make out the faint aura of the Worldstone, buried somewhere deep inside.

There wasn’t much traffic today. Just us and a pair of nobles I didn’t recognize and a gnomish merchant with an extremely fancy wagon. He was from one of the few registered corporations that had permission to use the exclusive teleportation network.

I’d be jealous, but now we had permission too! Haha!

We did have an audience of various clan delegations wishing their family members well, as well as Duke Schist and his contingent. We weren’t scheduled to be away for too long as the dwarf lived, just a couple years, and they could always visit through Cascadia. Buuuut, Cascadia wasn’t open to the public yet, and who knew – maybe the Teleportation would kill us all.

Knock on wood.

Balin was getting a tearful once-over by Annie, of course. Meanwhile, Richter was pouring over the teleportation circle while Johnsson and Aqua chatted with team Brightstar. The Diggers stood to the side, a bit petrified about being in Blackwall in the first place.