So I've been trying to think about how to get a ship with goods the Eonir would want (more charcoal is iffy in this case since it might well have come from Laruelorn trees) from Salzenmund through the Salz, the Sea of Claws, and the Demst, but that problem is hard to extricate from broader Eonir-Nordland tensions. A bit much to ask from Eike. In the context of avoiding Nordland, I found a very convenient quote-
"We've got a rather large building to ourselves in Tor Lithanel, so we'll be able to set up a basic laboratory while we're furnishing the living spaces. Getting there is going to be unpleasant, though. The only path that isn't through Nordland or Marienburg is through the Schadensumpf. Egrimm, do you know how to ride a horse?"
"Yes," he says.
"Good. A Shadowsteed can get through it if you stick to the path, but you really don't want to be falling off. Johann should be fine, though."
"Why?" he asks curiously, turning to Johann, whose golden limbs were completely covered.
That does simplify things somewhat, except that I really really really don't want to go through the swamp either. Ooh, here's a really good quote.
There's three paths out of Laurelorn. The one south goes through the swamp into Middenland, which is the one Mathilde has been using. The one east goes through the ruins of Kor Immarmor and then the ruins of Oldenlitz before reaching Salzenmund, which is the one Mathilde used to visit Cadaeth at Oldenlitz. And the one northwest goes to the Tower of Se-Athil on an otherwise uninhabited stretch of coastline.
We can't avoid either Nordlanders or swamps without going far out of our way. And either way, we need Eonir cooperation at the end of the trip. At the very least to
buy our stuff, and probably for help navigating the swamp and the forest. Hm. Well, if they're already navigating their homeland, I'm not sure what they'd need us for. We need to make this the elves' problem as early as we possibly can. So starting this test just outside of Middenheim is very inconvenient. We need to communicate with Laurelorn. And for who-
But some do none of these things. Some simply walk away from Tor Lithanel.
The unspoken shame of the Toriour is that not all of the Faniour descend from refugees of millennia ago. Many of them are those who threw away the privileges that other Cityborn cling to so tightly and found freedom in the world outside the walls, where food must be hunted or gathered and safety is not guaranteed, but where one can weave a palace out of any unoccupied treetop, and if there are any comforts of the city they still yearn for, they can simply purchase them; all but the right to be within the city walls after dusk. This is where the raw materials for Tor Lithanel comes from, as visiting Faniour sell what they have harvested from the forest and buy them back as finished goods. The mark-up is high, but a Faniour woodsman or hunter or stonecutter has no need to rent a studio, and the few you see walking the streets of Tor Lithanel during the day have a relaxed, almost indulgent air about them that contrasts sharply with the aura of quiet desperation that all but the most successful of those you patronize possess.
Beginning an investigation into the Cityborn is as easy as walking out the door, but the Forestborn present some difficulties. Finding their homes is easy enough, but as you stare up at glimpses of a second city among the treetops with nary a ladder or staircase in sight, you realize that the Faniour will present more of a challenge than the Toriour. You were invited inside the walls of Tor Lithanel and thus inside the lives of the Cityborn, but each Forestborn has their own 'walls' provided by the towering height and the smooth bark of the trees they live atop. Eventually you resort to wandering around staring upwards until you find someone looking down at this strange human wandering around below them, and using their befuddled curiosity as a foot in the door.
The Forestborn already bring raw materials from the forest to the city. Negotiate with some of them, and meet them outside the forest or as close as we can get, and they can take the goods to Tor Lithanel as they always do. Decent money for them, and hopefully we don't get outnegotiated too badly.
How do we get in contact, though. Mathilde, EIC, other wizards... it'd be awkward to ask to hitch a ride with out teacher while we're being tested, but I don't want to ignore the possibility. I haven't been keeping up with the EIC, honestly, but wherever the nearest of them are we should totally link up so they can help us plot. I'll look into that later if nobody else does, but my brain's tired right now.
