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Ahead there be spoilers! If you're not caught up,go ahead and read the previous pieces
Scout Mission: Aleria
Scouting Mission: Isles of Invermay

Scouting Mission: Korandyire

The group started off strong.

Korandyire was beautiful and challenging in it’s own ways. The land became more beautiful and shaped by arcane the deeper the group went. It wasn’t hard to find landmarks, there were so many unique things all around them.

Edmund’s goal wasn’t the map at this point, the only thing he was in this unknown land was, was to save his horse’s life. It was in his mind that the foal was already gone; a festering parasite living in his mare’s body. He had to do what he could to save what he had left.

The weather in Korandyire was strange; the longer they were there, the more concerned they got. The further they ventured away from the sea, the more scarce water became. There had been no sign of true fresh water. Everything in this land had a glow, a hue. Edmund had been wary to try the water, who knew what it a power source like that could do to a human or a horse.

Days had gone by, their water had gone dry. The land, thus far had presented no other challenges. They had spotted creatures that didn’t seem hostile, or at least were fight or flight creatures; unless provoked, there was no problem.

After almost two days of surveying the land without water, the group came into an opening. Beautiful flowers filled the valley, as the breeze moved them their seeds filled with arcane fluttered away like ripples in the wind, it was a sight the group would only ever see here. In the middle of the opening sat a monsterous lake that shimmered white.

Edmund had lead his group single file across the valley, as the hooves of their mounts tread through the long grass and flowers, the smell and sight of the bellowing seeds drifting away caused the group to be at peace.

“I could live here,” said a member closer to the back of the pack. “Agreed,” another one replied. The group drifted into silence and beautiful atmosphere.

Jemima stopped inches from the water, Edmund shifted in his saddle looking down at the water. The white shimmer grew in intensity as they got closer; the arcane drifted and flowed, swirling about mimicking that of water however, water this was not. This was not water that anyone living in another land could drink or use.

Across the lake, a distorted figure appeared out of the long grass. The group couldn’t make out exactly what creature it was due to the distance and distortion of everything living here, but the closest thing it resembled was a deer. They all watched as it dipped its head into the lake and began to drink. As it’s head finished, ripples of light caught the droplets that fell from the creatures mouth. Just like that, the group had suddenly remembered their overwhelming thirst. They had been brought back into reality in a split second.

One of the group members dismounted and bolted past the herd with his horse to the water, closest to Edmund. He dropped to his knees inches from the water, his horse shortly behind him. Edmund took no time to dismount himself, reaching over and grabbing him by the collar, pulling him back before his hands touched the ripples. His horse did not share the same fate; the horse, a beautiful jet black gelding with bright blue eyes, dipped his muzzle into the lake. As his skin touched the waves, the group could hear the sizzling of it’s skin. The gelding spooked, throwing himself into a half hazzard rear. His feet had not been planted well, the pebbles gave way causing him to slide. His balance had been thrown off and the gelding fell onto his back, causing his back legs to dip into the water. The same sound of sizzling skin was heard. By this time, a few members had jumped off their mounts and were scrambling towards the action. It took four men to hoist the gelding back up and away from the lakeshore.

Edmund had released the member’s coat collar and ran to the gelding’s side. The group members stared in awe at the gelding. He was visibly in pain, but where the water had touched had turned to white; the white wasn’t stopping. It had started to spread in blotchy circles upwards from where the original point of touching was. As the white spread, his fur had come off leaving the skin underneath visibly white. This was not scarring, it was something different. The owner of the gelding sobbed against his horse’s neck, whispering inaudible apologies to the gelding.

“We cannot be so careless, men,” Edmund started, “this land is uncharted territory to us. We are its visitors.I know we are thirsty, we will find something soon. We cannot dive into things head first and make rash decisions---”

Edmund had been cut off by a voice behind him, “Sir, we have other things to worry about!!” Edmund turned to see the location of a voice coming from a member pointing at the sky. During all of the commotion, the group had failed to see strong storm clouds rolling in. The storm had seemingly come from nowhere. The dark, threatening clouds were rolling in fast, cracks of lightning and thunder were sharp in the sky. The thought of what happened to the gelding with just a touch of the water here ran through everyone’s minds. They didn’t want to be caught in the rain.

Each group member simultaneously mounted their steeds and headed towards the nearest tree line for cover. The group moved simultaneously as one, bolting towards the trees, all except the man and gelding; he couldn’t mount his horse due to the injuries the water had caused his rear legs. The group had unknowingly left him behind. The sound of rain biting at their heels, everyone had moved as fast as possible.

Edmund hand turned Jemima around as he had reached the treeline to make sure everyone had made it back with him. To Edmund’s horror, he had turned around to see the man and his gelding limping slowly towards the group. Before Edmund could send Jemima out, the rain engulfed the duo.

The group’s heart collectively stopped as they all watched. One second went by, two, three. The gelding had stopped, standing still in the field. His owner looked up to the sky and held out his arms. The group could hear his laughter as he started to dance. “It’s just rain!!” he screamed, cheering. He was like a child, sticking his tongue out like a kid would trying to catch a snowflake. “It’s just RAIN!!!” he continued.

Some members had dismounted and ran out into the rain to do the same. The smarter ones had opened stuff to collect water in.

Their celebration was cut short with large cracks of thunder; a few members had ran out to help move the horse and rider into the treeline before the storm could actually get the best of them.

xxx

The storm was long and harsh, going into the night and well into the next day. Not many had gotten sleep that night, they were not used to storms going this strong for as long as it was. A few of the members had sat down with Edmund to discuss their next plan of action. Bjarki had told Edmund the water they wanted was from a lake connected to Kothrandyl. This lake was still too far away from the beam of light for his comfort. The members debated back and forth with Edmund for some time about taking the water and heading back. In the end, Edmund had decided to travel closer to the beam to make sure he was gathering the right ingredients; if he had set sail for home without the right things, Azari would die. They would have to come back south in order to head back to Aleria regardless so if they didn’t find another lake, they could stop by on the way. He made the decision to head northwest once the rest of the group awoke.

xxx

They had travelled for what seemed like weeks, each day getting closer and closer to their destination, using the arcane beam as a guide. As they drew nearer, they noticed changes in the ground, plants and animals they had been seeing. Things were larger, more hostile and seemed more deadly.

The gelding was recovering, however the rider chose to walk alongside him in order to reduce the amount of discomfort he was in. This put the group at a slower pace, making sure to not leave him behind again.

The forest was thick and dark in a lot of parts, but light came from within. Many species of flora had bioluminescence, causing them to glow many different shades. The bugs also released some light, as did the animals.

The group had paused in an area like this for the night, setting up camp on a rock formation that had been slightly lifted off the ground. The gelding’s rider had taken a seat on a rock close by, placing his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. He sat there for a few moments before he opened his eyes. Below him were mushrooms. They had not seen these anywhere else on this land, mushrooms!! He grabbed as many as he could, running to show Edmund.

“Look around, look around!! The mushrooms!! They’re here!!” He yelled towards all of the members who were sitting around. As he got to Edmund, he tripped and fell, sending the mushrooms flying. When each mushroom hit the ground, they dissipated into a fine dust. Their spores set sail in the wind, coating everything around it.

Edmund’s eyebrow raised, glancing down at the fallen man. “If you keep doing this, you’re gonna wind up dead,” he chuckled, offering his hand to help him up.

He grabbed Edmund’s hand and slowly got to his knees, ‘I--I know, I’m sorry. I thought finding the mushrooms would help regain some respect.”

“There was no respect lost. Good job on the mushrooms,” Edmund replied with a slight smile on his face, patting his back. “We obviously now know that the mushrooms need to be handled delicately in order for them to maintain their shape and usefulness. We couldn’t have done that without this incident.” Edmund’s smile turned into a chuckle.

“Ok men,” Edmund turned to the group requesting their attention, “before we set up for the night, I need everyone to have a look around. We haven’t seen these mushrooms on the land before, they seem to be isolated to this area. Pick as many as you can and bring them to me once you can no longer find some. Oh, and be careful with them. They explode on impact.” Edmund’s chuckle had turned into a laugh.

xxx

With one of the ingredients acquired and a few nights rest in a relatively safe area, the herd had set off. Refreshed and with new life and healed up, they were making reasonable time again. The beam becoming every so close, a constant whurr was always heard; the sound of the arcane breaking through the ground and traveling upwards at a very fast rate.

At one point, they had found a river that had been flowing the opposite way they were traveling. A collective decision was to follow the river, as it pointed north. The river must have been flowing from a larger water source. That’s what they were after.

As the group got closer to the beam, the trees had faded away. Less living things were seen, areas were more sparse, the river was starting to widen. It had been about midday when they could finally see a large body of water in the distance. The glow on this body of water had been different than any of the bodies of water they had seen, it was slightly purple. As the group exited the forest, Edmund’s eyes followed the lake’s edge to a river pointing directly west - the source of the water was coming from the beam. He glanced back at his group and nodded, slightly increasing their pace.

The group had trotted the rest of the way, stopping only where the river flowing south had met the lake’s mouth. Edmund examined the water, the shimmer of this water had a light purple hue where everything else was white. The soil under their feet was deep lavender, with each step the grains dissipated into the air like spores off of a fungus. His eyes shifted from the lilac soil down the river they had just followed. The river bed they had followed had turned to rock about half a mile down. When Edmund dismounted, puffs of purple surrounded his feet. He walked a few steps westbound, his eyes on the large white beam filling the sky. The beam went on for miles in each direction, never ending and too bright to see through. As his eyes drifted from the beam, they examined the river leading out of it. The deep lavender sand continued from the beam into the lake. Edmund turned to face Jemima, “This is it,” he said to himself, reaching for her saddle bag. He pulled out multiple empty potion vials. He knew these things could take a beating, his own have survived through hell and back.

Kneeling down to inspect the water, he took note of the same swirling pattern. This wasn’t water, it was arcane. Edmund could not see his reflection, but the body of water reflected the sun just like any lake in Aleria would. It looked visibly wet, but he knew it was not. He slipped his gloves on, carefully dunking the first vial into the ripples.

The vial held up perfectly, to his surprise. He wasn’t really sure what he was expecting, but he wasn’t really expecting their craftsmanship to hold up well against ancient dragon magic, that’s for sure. Either way, he filled the second and a third no problem, only handing them off to a group member standing beside him to cap them and place them with the mushrooms in Jemima’s saddlebags.

When Edmund began to fill the fourth, he had noticed something bright coming from deeper within the lake. Twenty or thirty feet below the surface, he noticed what he thought was something glowing… black. The shimmer on the water was so bright, he couldn’t fully make anything out. As he handed the fourth vial off, he didn’t take his eyes off of the water. He dipped the fifth vial in, catching a glimpse of the black again. This time, the shape was very close. Only 5 or 6 feet away.
As Edmund handed off the fifth vial, a large dragon, larger than anything they’d seen, flew out of the water straight at Edmund. Edmund’s reactions where primal, he flailed backwards. Everyone did, they had been startled. The fifth vial had been sent flying backwards, shattering on a rock a few feet away.

The scaled beast’s body continued to come out of the water, its elongated body like that of a snake. Those that had fallen had scuttered backwards at the sight of something so large. The legless creature gave the group no time to think; the speed at which it slithered towards them was absurd. It’s black, glowing eyes locked on Edmund. One of the horses nearby had spooked, running behind Edmund. The speed at which the horse had been running seemed to distract the dragon, diverting it’s attention to the mare running away. The cobra like beast increased the speed at which it glided across the ground, leaving large divots in the lavender sand behind it.

The champagne mare with the dragon gaining behind her headed straight for the beam of light. The group took the opportunity to gather and settle the horses and mount up. The sound of sand being disturbed behind the group sent chills up Edmund’s spine. A glance behind him confirmed the worst; a second dragon of the same type had been slowly lurking behind them. Edmund’s eyes whipped forward, knowing they were trapped with a large river to their right, the lake to the front and the beam to the left. He locked onto a spot in the river westbound that boulders sticking out that would offer a risky crossing, but that was their only hope. The riverbed was shallow and thin, the horses might be able to make it across without slipping.

Edmund kicked into gear, screaming at the group to move out. As they bolted, so did the second legless creature behind them, quickly gaining ground.

The group was almost at their crossing point; behind them, the black eyed beast biting at their ankles, in front of them charged the champagne mare with another at her heels approaching the white beam. The group saw the snake slide to a stop as the mare approached the boundary. As her body entered the arcane, her body started to turn to stark white. Her eyes turned a shade of pink. As the last of her body went through and the whole of her body turned white, she collapsed. Her body started to deteriorate, arcane eating away at her skin. Bits that melted faster and beams shoot through it.

The group didn’t have time to watch, they had to cross and make their way the only way they could; north. The owner of the champagne mare who had been riding along atop of the injured gelding turned to look back at his steed. Only ribs and bits of skeleton had remained; he watched on as the ribcage cracked and fell to the ground. His gaze had been cut short by the sight of the original legless monster turning his attention to the fleeing herd, now it was both after them.

“Can we, can we...move a bit faster???” He asked, clinging to the gelding’s owner.

Edmund and Jemima had been leading the group, the horses couldn’t run forever. There was a treeline just north of them. It was a race, who would tire first. The dragons, hunting as a pack, or the horses. He knew that if the group could make it to the treeline, the horses would have the upperhand. The snakes were large and wouldn’t do well maneuvering around the dense forest.

A few of the older horses had started to fade, their owners desperately kicking in hopes to keep them going; the treeline was within arms reach. Jemima had made it through first, she wanted to slow down but Edmund wouldn’t let her. The risk of these dragons pulling another trick was too risky. They kept full speed ahead, or as fast as they could dipping around trees and over roots and rocks.

The trees seemed to stall the dragons, both crashing into one another as they tried to scale the same tree. Edmund glanced back, seeing both dragons snapping at each other. He breathed a sigh of relief, only to be brought to a screeching halt. Jemima had stopped within an inch of a cliff. Waves crashed underneath them. Others had similar fates, some screaming thinking they were about to fall to their deaths.

Edmund looked out over the ocean as Jemima’s feet stomped anxiously. In front of them was a large iceberg, slowly gliding through the ocean’s current. The crash of trees and hissing behind him made him turn his mount around. The two beasts had made their way through the forest and had been imminently behind them. One went to the left, the other went to the right. The group had been cornered by sea and dragon.

Edmund’s hand slipped into Jemima’s saddlebag and picked up some mushrooms, wrapping them in his gloves. He spun Jemima in her spot again facing the ocean, he kicked her once. She flinched. He kicked her again, sending her jumping into the waves below.

The group watched as Jemima and Edmund had went under water. One of the dragons sent out a scream and lunged towards the group. As Jemima’s head reemerged, the group sent their horses plunging into the ocean as well. The larger of the two dragons had barely missed the last horse that went overboard, sending both the dragon and horse spiraling into the sea water. As the creature’s scales hit the salt water, smoke filled the air around it. The dragon’s body wiggled as it sunk, sending bubbles to the surface as it disappeared into the depths.

Jemima and Edmund had already started towards the large ice formation, not wanting to figure out if the beast had survived. The water was cold, the group needed to get out as fast as possible.

The group made it onto the iceberg safely, though defeated. There was no plan, they had no way home. They drifted northeast with the ice, hoping to find a part of the coast on Korandyire that was not cliff, somewhere that would allow them to light a fire, dry their clothes. That time would not come.

xxx

Cold and sleepless, Korandyire drifted out of site. According to one of the scouts, the iceberg had stopped coasting northeast a few days ago, the current had changed and they were now circling around; his compass had said northwest.

As the sun began to rise, the ship made of ice brushed up against something. Vibrations had been sent through the entire ground. The group awoke, looking around curiously. Edmund climbed overtop one of the mounds, placing a hand on his browline, shielding his eyes from the new light. The iceberg had stopped on a new land formation. He waved his group up.

They overlooked a land made entirely of ice. They saw four legged creatures that stood mountains tall; they grazed on the ice. The group slowly made their way down onto the new formation. They passed one of these tall lizards, they could hear their breathing, they could hear their teeth crunching the ice. These monsters didn’t even notice them.

“Quendivores…” Edmund whispered, “she was right.”

Scouting Mission: Quendorin
You and the group are in a very sticky situation. You need to find shelter and food, but also don’t forget you’re making a map!! Help Edmund make a detailed map of the Quendorin; seek out and draw any major landmarks. If they are major enough, the map makers may use your landmark in the map making process!! Be wary of frost bite!!
Vague zone description: This land is made of ice. Vast, empty, not much in the way of vegetation grows here but life seems to be thriving due to the vast amounts of arcane magic in the area. There are many different creatures of all sizes that roam here. From small, adapted rodents to larger giant creatures that feed off of the microorganisms that live in the ice.

Deadline
Oct 5th 11:59PM EST Click here for a handy dandy clock!

How to Enter
Simply draw your Nordanner scouting out the land and finding major landmarks. Group horses or other member’s horses with the owner’s permission can also be used.
One entry per horse per day!
Drawings of horses must be full body to count.
Horses do not have to be wearing dragon tack or have a rider, but remember, it’s dangerous out there!

Prizes
You’re going on a scouting mission! Who knows what you’ll bring back
It might be something worth a lot, it might be a collectible, it might be junk! I guess you’ll have to go check the exploration items for a small idea of what you might bring back.

If we pick your landmark to be placed on the map, you’ll receive 2,500 AG.
This is stackable, you can enter as many times as you want (as long as you follow the above rules), and we most likely will not pick just one! Along with the AG prizes, your scouts might just come back with something too!

That’s it…

Not interested in scouting Quendorin? Come back next week, Bjarki might have a more dangerous suggestion for you...

Police — Description
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Ahead there be spoilers! If you're not caught up,go ahead and read the previous pieces
Scout Mission: Aleria
Scouting Mission: Isles of Invermay

Scouting Mission: Korandyire

The group started off strong.

Korandyire was beautiful and challenging in it’s own ways. The land became more beautiful and shaped by arcane the deeper the group went. It wasn’t hard to find landmarks, there were so many unique things all around them.

Edmund’s goal wasn’t the map at this point, the only thing he was in this unknown land was, was to save his horse’s life. It was in his mind that the foal was already gone; a festering parasite living in his mare’s body. He had to do what he could to save what he had left.

The weather in Korandyire was strange; the longer they were there, the more concerned they got. The further they ventured away from the sea, the more scarce water became. There had been no sign of true fresh water. Everything in this land had a glow, a hue. Edmund had been wary to try the water, who knew what it a power source like that could do to a human or a horse.

Days had gone by, their water had gone dry. The land, thus far had presented no other challenges. They had spotted creatures that didn’t seem hostile, or at least were fight or flight creatures; unless provoked, there was no problem.

After almost two days of surveying the land without water, the group came into an opening. Beautiful flowers filled the valley, as the breeze moved them their seeds filled with arcane fluttered away like ripples in the wind, it was a sight the group would only ever see here. In the middle of the opening sat a monsterous lake that shimmered white.

Edmund had lead his group single file across the valley, as the hooves of their mounts tread through the long grass and flowers, the smell and sight of the bellowing seeds drifting away caused the group to be at peace.

“I could live here,” said a member closer to the back of the pack. “Agreed,” another one replied. The group drifted into silence and beautiful atmosphere.

Jemima stopped inches from the water, Edmund shifted in his saddle looking down at the water. The white shimmer grew in intensity as they got closer; the arcane drifted and flowed, swirling about mimicking that of water however, water this was not. This was not water that anyone living in another land could drink or use.

Across the lake, a distorted figure appeared out of the long grass. The group couldn’t make out exactly what creature it was due to the distance and distortion of everything living here, but the closest thing it resembled was a deer. They all watched as it dipped its head into the lake and began to drink. As it’s head finished, ripples of light caught the droplets that fell from the creatures mouth. Just like that, the group had suddenly remembered their overwhelming thirst. They had been brought back into reality in a split second.

One of the group members dismounted and bolted past the herd with his horse to the water, closest to Edmund. He dropped to his knees inches from the water, his horse shortly behind him. Edmund took no time to dismount himself, reaching over and grabbing him by the collar, pulling him back before his hands touched the ripples. His horse did not share the same fate; the horse, a beautiful jet black gelding with bright blue eyes, dipped his muzzle into the lake. As his skin touched the waves, the group could hear the sizzling of it’s skin. The gelding spooked, throwing himself into a half hazzard rear. His feet had not been planted well, the pebbles gave way causing him to slide. His balance had been thrown off and the gelding fell onto his back, causing his back legs to dip into the water. The same sound of sizzling skin was heard. By this time, a few members had jumped off their mounts and were scrambling towards the action. It took four men to hoist the gelding back up and away from the lakeshore.

Edmund had released the member’s coat collar and ran to the gelding’s side. The group members stared in awe at the gelding. He was visibly in pain, but where the water had touched had turned to white; the white wasn’t stopping. It had started to spread in blotchy circles upwards from where the original point of touching was. As the white spread, his fur had come off leaving the skin underneath visibly white. This was not scarring, it was something different. The owner of the gelding sobbed against his horse’s neck, whispering inaudible apologies to the gelding.

“We cannot be so careless, men,” Edmund started, “this land is uncharted territory to us. We are its visitors.I know we are thirsty, we will find something soon. We cannot dive into things head first and make rash decisions---”

Edmund had been cut off by a voice behind him, “Sir, we have other things to worry about!!” Edmund turned to see the location of a voice coming from a member pointing at the sky. During all of the commotion, the group had failed to see strong storm clouds rolling in. The storm had seemingly come from nowhere. The dark, threatening clouds were rolling in fast, cracks of lightning and thunder were sharp in the sky. The thought of what happened to the gelding with just a touch of the water here ran through everyone’s minds. They didn’t want to be caught in the rain.

Each group member simultaneously mounted their steeds and headed towards the nearest tree line for cover. The group moved simultaneously as one, bolting towards the trees, all except the man and gelding; he couldn’t mount his horse due to the injuries the water had caused his rear legs. The group had unknowingly left him behind. The sound of rain biting at their heels, everyone had moved as fast as possible.

Edmund hand turned Jemima around as he had reached the treeline to make sure everyone had made it back with him. To Edmund’s horror, he had turned around to see the man and his gelding limping slowly towards the group. Before Edmund could send Jemima out, the rain engulfed the duo.

The group’s heart collectively stopped as they all watched. One second went by, two, three. The gelding had stopped, standing still in the field. His owner looked up to the sky and held out his arms. The group could hear his laughter as he started to dance. “It’s just rain!!” he screamed, cheering. He was like a child, sticking his tongue out like a kid would trying to catch a snowflake. “It’s just RAIN!!!” he continued.

Some members had dismounted and ran out into the rain to do the same. The smarter ones had opened stuff to collect water in.

Their celebration was cut short with large cracks of thunder; a few members had ran out to help move the horse and rider into the treeline before the storm could actually get the best of them.

xxx

The storm was long and harsh, going into the night and well into the next day. Not many had gotten sleep that night, they were not used to storms going this strong for as long as it was. A few of the members had sat down with Edmund to discuss their next plan of action. Bjarki had told Edmund the water they wanted was from a lake connected to Kothrandyl. This lake was still too far away from the beam of light for his comfort. The members debated back and forth with Edmund for some time about taking the water and heading back. In the end, Edmund had decided to travel closer to the beam to make sure he was gathering the right ingredients; if he had set sail for home without the right things, Azari would die. They would have to come back south in order to head back to Aleria regardless so if they didn’t find another lake, they could stop by on the way. He made the decision to head northwest once the rest of the group awoke.

xxx

They had travelled for what seemed like weeks, each day getting closer and closer to their destination, using the arcane beam as a guide. As they drew nearer, they noticed changes in the ground, plants and animals they had been seeing. Things were larger, more hostile and seemed more deadly.

The gelding was recovering, however the rider chose to walk alongside him in order to reduce the amount of discomfort he was in. This put the group at a slower pace, making sure to not leave him behind again.

The forest was thick and dark in a lot of parts, but light came from within. Many species of flora had bioluminescence, causing them to glow many different shades. The bugs also released some light, as did the animals.

The group had paused in an area like this for the night, setting up camp on a rock formation that had been slightly lifted off the ground. The gelding’s rider had taken a seat on a rock close by, placing his head in his hands, his elbows resting on his knees. He sat there for a few moments before he opened his eyes. Below him were mushrooms. They had not seen these anywhere else on this land, mushrooms!! He grabbed as many as he could, running to show Edmund.

“Look around, look around!! The mushrooms!! They’re here!!” He yelled towards all of the members who were sitting around. As he got to Edmund, he tripped and fell, sending the mushrooms flying. When each mushroom hit the ground, they dissipated into a fine dust. Their spores set sail in the wind, coating everything around it.

Edmund’s eyebrow raised, glancing down at the fallen man. “If you keep doing this, you’re gonna wind up dead,” he chuckled, offering his hand to help him up.

He grabbed Edmund’s hand and slowly got to his knees, ‘I--I know, I’m sorry. I thought finding the mushrooms would help regain some respect.”

“There was no respect lost. Good job on the mushrooms,” Edmund replied with a slight smile on his face, patting his back. “We obviously now know that the mushrooms need to be handled delicately in order for them to maintain their shape and usefulness. We couldn’t have done that without this incident.” Edmund’s smile turned into a chuckle.

“Ok men,” Edmund turned to the group requesting their attention, “before we set up for the night, I need everyone to have a look around. We haven’t seen these mushrooms on the land before, they seem to be isolated to this area. Pick as many as you can and bring them to me once you can no longer find some. Oh, and be careful with them. They explode on impact.” Edmund’s chuckle had turned into a laugh.

xxx

With one of the ingredients acquired and a few nights rest in a relatively safe area, the herd had set off. Refreshed and with new life and healed up, they were making reasonable time again. The beam becoming every so close, a constant whurr was always heard; the sound of the arcane breaking through the ground and traveling upwards at a very fast rate.

At one point, they had found a river that had been flowing the opposite way they were traveling. A collective decision was to follow the river, as it pointed north. The river must have been flowing from a larger water source. That’s what they were after.

As the group got closer to the beam, the trees had faded away. Less living things were seen, areas were more sparse, the river was starting to widen. It had been about midday when they could finally see a large body of water in the distance. The glow on this body of water had been different than any of the bodies of water they had seen, it was slightly purple. As the group exited the forest, Edmund’s eyes followed the lake’s edge to a river pointing directly west - the source of the water was coming from the beam. He glanced back at his group and nodded, slightly increasing their pace.

The group had trotted the rest of the way, stopping only where the river flowing south had met the lake’s mouth. Edmund examined the water, the shimmer of this water had a light purple hue where everything else was white. The soil under their feet was deep lavender, with each step the grains dissipated into the air like spores off of a fungus. His eyes shifted from the lilac soil down the river they had just followed. The river bed they had followed had turned to rock about half a mile down. When Edmund dismounted, puffs of purple surrounded his feet. He walked a few steps westbound, his eyes on the large white beam filling the sky. The beam went on for miles in each direction, never ending and too bright to see through. As his eyes drifted from the beam, they examined the river leading out of it. The deep lavender sand continued from the beam into the lake. Edmund turned to face Jemima, “This is it,” he said to himself, reaching for her saddle bag. He pulled out multiple empty potion vials. He knew these things could take a beating, his own have survived through hell and back.

Kneeling down to inspect the water, he took note of the same swirling pattern. This wasn’t water, it was arcane. Edmund could not see his reflection, but the body of water reflected the sun just like any lake in Aleria would. It looked visibly wet, but he knew it was not. He slipped his gloves on, carefully dunking the first vial into the ripples.

The vial held up perfectly, to his surprise. He wasn’t really sure what he was expecting, but he wasn’t really expecting their craftsmanship to hold up well against ancient dragon magic, that’s for sure. Either way, he filled the second and a third no problem, only handing them off to a group member standing beside him to cap them and place them with the mushrooms in Jemima’s saddlebags.

When Edmund began to fill the fourth, he had noticed something bright coming from deeper within the lake. Twenty or thirty feet below the surface, he noticed what he thought was something glowing… black. The shimmer on the water was so bright, he couldn’t fully make anything out. As he handed the fourth vial off, he didn’t take his eyes off of the water. He dipped the fifth vial in, catching a glimpse of the black again. This time, the shape was very close. Only 5 or 6 feet away.
As Edmund handed off the fifth vial, a large dragon, larger than anything they’d seen, flew out of the water straight at Edmund. Edmund’s reactions where primal, he flailed backwards. Everyone did, they had been startled. The fifth vial had been sent flying backwards, shattering on a rock a few feet away.

The scaled beast’s body continued to come out of the water, its elongated body like that of a snake. Those that had fallen had scuttered backwards at the sight of something so large. The legless creature gave the group no time to think; the speed at which it slithered towards them was absurd. It’s black, glowing eyes locked on Edmund. One of the horses nearby had spooked, running behind Edmund. The speed at which the horse had been running seemed to distract the dragon, diverting it’s attention to the mare running away. The cobra like beast increased the speed at which it glided across the ground, leaving large divots in the lavender sand behind it.

The champagne mare with the dragon gaining behind her headed straight for the beam of light. The group took the opportunity to gather and settle the horses and mount up. The sound of sand being disturbed behind the group sent chills up Edmund’s spine. A glance behind him confirmed the worst; a second dragon of the same type had been slowly lurking behind them. Edmund’s eyes whipped forward, knowing they were trapped with a large river to their right, the lake to the front and the beam to the left. He locked onto a spot in the river westbound that boulders sticking out that would offer a risky crossing, but that was their only hope. The riverbed was shallow and thin, the horses might be able to make it across without slipping.

Edmund kicked into gear, screaming at the group to move out. As they bolted, so did the second legless creature behind them, quickly gaining ground.

The group was almost at their crossing point; behind them, the black eyed beast biting at their ankles, in front of them charged the champagne mare with another at her heels approaching the white beam. The group saw the snake slide to a stop as the mare approached the boundary. As her body entered the arcane, her body started to turn to stark white. Her eyes turned a shade of pink. As the last of her body went through and the whole of her body turned white, she collapsed. Her body started to deteriorate, arcane eating away at her skin. Bits that melted faster and beams shoot through it.

The group didn’t have time to watch, they had to cross and make their way the only way they could; north. The owner of the champagne mare who had been riding along atop of the injured gelding turned to look back at his steed. Only ribs and bits of skeleton had remained; he watched on as the ribcage cracked and fell to the ground. His gaze had been cut short by the sight of the original legless monster turning his attention to the fleeing herd, now it was both after them.

“Can we, can we...move a bit faster???” He asked, clinging to the gelding’s owner.

Edmund and Jemima had been leading the group, the horses couldn’t run forever. There was a treeline just north of them. It was a race, who would tire first. The dragons, hunting as a pack, or the horses. He knew that if the group could make it to the treeline, the horses would have the upperhand. The snakes were large and wouldn’t do well maneuvering around the dense forest.

A few of the older horses had started to fade, their owners desperately kicking in hopes to keep them going; the treeline was within arms reach. Jemima had made it through first, she wanted to slow down but Edmund wouldn’t let her. The risk of these dragons pulling another trick was too risky. They kept full speed ahead, or as fast as they could dipping around trees and over roots and rocks.

The trees seemed to stall the dragons, both crashing into one another as they tried to scale the same tree. Edmund glanced back, seeing both dragons snapping at each other. He breathed a sigh of relief, only to be brought to a screeching halt. Jemima had stopped within an inch of a cliff. Waves crashed underneath them. Others had similar fates, some screaming thinking they were about to fall to their deaths.

Edmund looked out over the ocean as Jemima’s feet stomped anxiously. In front of them was a large iceberg, slowly gliding through the ocean’s current. The crash of trees and hissing behind him made him turn his mount around. The two beasts had made their way through the forest and had been imminently behind them. One went to the left, the other went to the right. The group had been cornered by sea and dragon.

Edmund’s hand slipped into Jemima’s saddlebag and picked up some mushrooms, wrapping them in his gloves. He spun Jemima in her spot again facing the ocean, he kicked her once. She flinched. He kicked her again, sending her jumping into the waves below.

The group watched as Jemima and Edmund had went under water. One of the dragons sent out a scream and lunged towards the group. As Jemima’s head reemerged, the group sent their horses plunging into the ocean as well. The larger of the two dragons had barely missed the last horse that went overboard, sending both the dragon and horse spiraling into the sea water. As the creature’s scales hit the salt water, smoke filled the air around it. The dragon’s body wiggled as it sunk, sending bubbles to the surface as it disappeared into the depths.

Jemima and Edmund had already started towards the large ice formation, not wanting to figure out if the beast had survived. The water was cold, the group needed to get out as fast as possible.

The group made it onto the iceberg safely, though defeated. There was no plan, they had no way home. They drifted northeast with the ice, hoping to find a part of the coast on Korandyire that was not cliff, somewhere that would allow them to light a fire, dry their clothes. That time would not come.

xxx

Cold and sleepless, Korandyire drifted out of site. According to one of the scouts, the iceberg had stopped coasting northeast a few days ago, the current had changed and they were now circling around; his compass had said northwest.

As the sun began to rise, the ship made of ice brushed up against something. Vibrations had been sent through the entire ground. The group awoke, looking around curiously. Edmund climbed overtop one of the mounds, placing a hand on his browline, shielding his eyes from the new light. The iceberg had stopped on a new land formation. He waved his group up.

They overlooked a land made entirely of ice. They saw four legged creatures that stood mountains tall; they grazed on the ice. The group slowly made their way down onto the new formation. They passed one of these tall lizards, they could hear their breathing, they could hear their teeth crunching the ice. These monsters didn’t even notice them.

“Quendivores…” Edmund whispered, “she was right.”

Scouting Mission: Quendorin
You and the group are in a very sticky situation. You need to find shelter and food, but also don’t forget you’re making a map!! Help Edmund make a detailed map of the Quendorin; seek out and draw any major landmarks. If they are major enough, the map makers may use your landmark in the map making process!! Be wary of frost bite!!
Vague zone description: This land is made of ice. Vast, empty, not much in the way of vegetation grows here but life seems to be thriving due to the vast amounts of arcane magic in the area. There are many different creatures of all sizes that roam here. From small, adapted rodents to larger giant creatures that feed off of the microorganisms that live in the ice.

Deadline
Oct 5th 11:59PM EST Click here for a handy dandy clock!

How to Enter
Simply draw your Nordanner scouting out the land and finding major landmarks. Group horses or other member’s horses with the owner’s permission can also be used.
One entry per horse per day!
Drawings of horses must be full body to count.
Horses do not have to be wearing dragon tack or have a rider, but remember, it’s dangerous out there!

Prizes
You’re going on a scouting mission! Who knows what you’ll bring back
It might be something worth a lot, it might be a collectible, it might be junk! I guess you’ll have to go check the exploration items for a small idea of what you might bring back.

If we pick your landmark to be placed on the map, you’ll receive 2,500 AG.
This is stackable, you can enter as many times as you want (as long as you follow the above rules), and we most likely will not pick just one! Along with the AG prizes, your scouts might just come back with something too!

That’s it…

Not interested in scouting Quendorin? Come back next week, Bjarki might have a more dangerous suggestion for you...