| 300 In the cold and damp of the night a fire will be most welcome. It takes only a short time to make your way outside and find a pile of dry wood stacked against the stable entrance. There will be more than enough to provide a flame through the cold night. After relocking the tack room door you start the fire and make yourself a hot meal. (Deduct one ration from your character sheet.) Outside the wind has started to build again in strength. Settling down next to Pallenten you watch the fire and listen to the howl of the wind as it buffets the trees outside. Here, inside your stone shelter you sit in the comfort of your fire's warmth and think about your quest and the trials of the day. In the main your thoughts lie with the Kalboreans and the objective of this quest. Your captors at Maenum have proven that they know a considerable amount about the history of the Dwarvendim, and the circumstances that led to the loss of the Tellandra. It was equally plain that they do not have a good understanding of the real nature of EarthMagic nor the true power of the pillar of stonewood. The Kalboreans certainly have sent you on this journey, and they have ensured you complete it by the use of this metal collar that rubs uncomfortably at your neck. But what they do not realise is that the act of fixing the Tellandra will forever take it out of their grasp. Your early training at the Temple of the Suns, and the echo's of more than one learned voice, have told you that the magic the Kalboreans wield with the Tellandra is only a pale reflection of its true power. This power is something they have never experienced, and because of this will be wholly unprepared for its restoration. Since the demise of the ancients only the Dwarvendim have attempted to test the limits of the powers of EarthMagic. Having done so they have respected it enough never to do it again, the consequences of the Tellandra's full potency simply too overwhelming to control. With the Tellandra restored the Kalborean's hold on it will falter as surely as attempting to tether a wild horse with twine. It will be then that the Dwarvendim LoreMasters will take back their control of it. It is true that the Kalboreans sent you on this quest, but you resolve to complete it because you know what it will mean to your people, and to their chances of shrugging off their servitude. Of course, there is the small matter of what the Kalboreans will do to you once they realise that the Tellandra has been restored and that their control of it has ended. But then you've never been one of their favourite thieves anyway, and you feel sure that no matter what happens you will be little appreciated. The crackling of the fire brings you back from your musings and you feel the heavy hand of fatigue grab you squarely by your shoulders. For a short while you listen to the wind as it howls through the many cracks in the old stone walls, but then your eyes close and you fall into a dreamless sleep.
| Turn to section 286.
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