Illdra and I have been in these mountains for nearly 3 whole days now and they never cease to confound me, but she seems to know which way is the correct one. Hinvannas, they must have an innate sense of direction built into them... or it was pure luck that we ended up at Rune Mere instead of Devil's Shovel. I have finally crossed out of the realm of Daanli's map. I have decided to begin to make my own, but after two days of trying intensely to make sense of these maze-like climes, I have given up and will start once I get my bearings in flatter terrain.

- Hollas Dillan, April 9th, Twelfth Year of Enru

"Well done, well done." intones Sylphra softly. "You have the strength of agility, and a power of mind that I haven't seen in many a year. However, I can't help shaking this feeling that you are somehow flawed, that you cannot be the hero. That there is no way for you to really truely adhere to the light. But this is only a whisper of what lies in the mists of your fate. Your true destiny cannot fully be seen by me, and I do not wish to give you advice based on a 'feeling' I have." And with that, he turned and departed from me, pausing and turning back only at the doorway to say, "I have much hope for your journey, but do not expect to travel freely as an explorer would, these are troubled times... there will be times when you will have to fight." And then he was gone.

I have spent the greater part of the day traversing the marketplace of Rune Mere, and trust me, it is truly massive. I picked up a beautiful dagger that flickered redly when I first drew it from its sheath. Sylphra's money has been taken without question by every merchant I have visited. I also purchased a pouch of assorted stones that are purported to contain captured elemental spirit power, they can be added to weapons and amulets to enhance their power and effectiveness. Rune Mere being a major haven for wizards, it is not surprising that there are quite a few magicka vendors here.

Now, according to my last post, I was bedding down for the n ight here with Illdra. I had quite a few nods of appreciation, by the way, from passing wizards regarding my mount, Illdra. She is a Hinvanna, don't forget, and they are creatures of prestige. One more note about her, I noticed that while I was trying to cross Kohash, Illdra kept orienting ever so slightly eastward as we went. I thought she was adjusting to the elements at first, but when I finally took stock of where we were, I found that I'd missed Devil's Shovel by a clear 700 miles laterally. I can't help but wonder if Illdra was meaning for us to reach Rune Mere, she seems comfortable here, and the wizards giving me looks don't seem to be regarding me as the luckey OWNER of a Hinvanna, but rather as her luckey COMPANION. At any rate, back to the business at hand. I awoke early this morning, had a hot breakfast and visited Illdra in the hay pile out behind the Inn I stayed at, and then proceeded down a few streets to the Guild House I had visited yesterday.

There were very few wizards about at this early hour, but Sylphra, the Cytra Wizard was there. He immediately waved down my hand of greeting and spoke to me urgently, "I spoke with Pharnicas last night and he has agreed that you cannot stay in Rune Mere any longer than until tomorrow. Trouble is brewing south and east of here and all foreigners are being sent westward to the mountain haven of the Lake of the Crescent. But, come, you must meet with me this morning." This greeting startled me greatly, but I had no real answer to his invitation and so I went on into the Guild House. Once inside, he told me to pick up a sword, any sword from a rack containing only four. Each one was different, had a slightly different weight, feel and heft. I chose one with an amber pommel stone and a silver handle... the blade shimmered and glimmered in ways which I have never seen. "Well chosen, well chosen indeed. You really would not have gone wrong with any of them, but this one is by far the most exotic and therefore the finest." Sylphra said to me softly. "Now, be on your guard, there will be some skeletal warriors attacking you within a few seconds, I shouldn't wonder..." and sure enough, within ten torturous seconds, and much to my dismay, several lurching rotten figures clad in rusted mail creaked in through the doorway leading off into a dark causeway. I looked imploringly to Sylphra, but his eyes were locked solidly onto the blade which I held, and I knew that he must be putting me through some kind of test, though I have no knowledge of why, even still now. So I stood my ground and tried my hardest to stare into the empty eyesockets of my undead enemies. But somehow, whether through me or through the mysticism of the blade I held, I swung into actoin and deftly hewed the lifeless skeletons into pieces within seconds. Before I knew what was happening, Sylphra was upon me himself, one of the other swords, a red-tinted blade, glimmering in his hand as he thrust at me with it. I deflected every blow and managed to fight him into a corner, where he promptly vanished into a cloud of smoke and reappeared in the center of the room, sitting calmly at his desk. We had been fighting in his office, but now the light glowed brighter and I could finally see that. I had thought that we were just inside the Guild House's main chamber, being that we entered straight from outside, but now I think that there must be some kind of strange magic at work in those places, and doors don't always lead to where they should, but to where their user wills them.

At this point Sylphra spoke to me the words which I began this entry with. At the present I am planning my departure out the west gate of the city tonight with Illdra, we will make a camp a few hour's journey into the mountains.

- Hollas Dillan, April 6th, Twelfth Year of Enru

Dusk is falling on the stone capital city of Rune Mere. Illdra and I have been here for only one night, and already I feel a great heaviness is descending on me, causing my feet to drag, it's as though this city is enchanted and I'm to fall under its spell...

But that is enough. I have quite a lot to write about here. Let me see, ah yes, Illdra and I left the company of whatever strange being "Quilg" is only just two days ago. We set out for what I believed to be Rune Mere, and indeed it was Rune Mere. Well, actually, what I had seen was the gate into the outer walls of the city. Actually, Rune Mere is a city built around a massive citadel for which it is named. There is a huge wall that encompasses the surrounding countryside right up to the edge of the Kohash Desert. I reached the first gate at about noon yesterday. By nightfall we were in the city. The guards seem to be in a very cheerful mood, oddly. Maybe they do not know of the happenings down in Drakksford. I still shudder to think what could happen if Dumarken and Twildenshire are infected with The Blight.

Whatever the case, Rune Mere seems to be untouched by even the slightest paranoia. I have done some asking around and found that the citadel of Rune Mere is ruled by the wizard Pharnicas. There is a Guild of Wizardry also active within the city walls. About mid-afternoon today was when I got the idea that maybe some of the wizards in the Guild could help me with my questions about the Dark Fortress, Lord Dwindlemere, The Blight, The Berthwell Legion, the Legions of Vaspagh (whatever THAT is), and most important in my mind right now: Quilg.

So, I sought out the nearest Guild House. The one I found was very small and only staffed by one Dilfere Wizard. Oh, I believe that I should clarify wizard classification here:

Wizards are organized into seven distinct strata based upon age, power, knowledge and experience. For instance, fighting in a war or defeating any beast classified with the "Fell" prefix is cause for consideration of advancement one level. Now, one may not make a habit of doing the same thing to advance, basically, there is a whole slew of wizardly factors which are considered when advancing through the strata.

Apprentice is of course the pre-wizard stage. In order to graduate from this level, one must simply complete the courses offered by the Guild and graduate with high enough honors to be classified as a wizard.

Dilfere is the primary wizard level. These wizards know the elementary spells, lore and possess little skill in any other art other than healing or fireworks.

Ulsmere is the secondary level. These wizards often possess some kind of skill in fighting, though most wizards achieve this level through completion of higher Guild courses and challenges, some including complex riddle puzzles.

Quifor is the third level. The wizards belonging to this classification are very desireable as guides or for protection of your party should you be entering hostile territory. Most of these wizads have traveled and as a consequence, had to defend themselves from brigands, thieves and the elements.

Pylor is the fourth level. These wizards primarily have mastered at least one of the elemental powers: water, fire, wind, lightning, light, and ice. There are greater elemental powers, and graded levels of all those as well, but I do not know much about those things, so I won't write about them until I do.

Cytra is the fifth level. Wizards who have made it this far are often very accomplished in the ways of magicka and also know a great deal about the world and its races and locations. As a result, they are highly desireable when forming an army or legion to go into war with, because they can provide valuable supernatural support.

Nistatra is the sixth level. Often, wizards of this level have mastered the tedious skill of Necromancy, and therefore are capable of mustering entire armies of undead, demons, and other beastial beings. Nistatra is also the level at which most powerful wizards go bad. The powers that come with advanced Necromancy allow for control over the greater elements and elevate the wizard to the status of demiurge almost. There are only a few Nistatra known in the land, but there are rumors of a great conclave of them that meets far to the east.

Deityra is the seventh level. Obviously, these wizards a frighteningly powerful and have the ability to uilize nearly all of the magicka known to the world. They are often extremely advanced in years, the famous wizard Kellutro was the youngest ever to achieve this stage at age 506. Pharnicas, the ruler of Rune Mere, is a wizard of such status.

There, now I have recorded the wizardry classifications as best I can.

Returning to the tale at hand, I found a small guild house in one of the outer parts of the city, one which was staffed by a lone Dilfere wizard. He had very little that he could tell me, except to offer me a small healing potion (which I bought) and tell me that there was a larger guild house staffed with more accomplished wizards a few miles into the center of the city. I thanked him and set out for the house in question. A few hours after winding through the labrynthine maze of streets that make up this confounding city, I asked for some directions from a blacksmith and he promptly pointed me to the correct route. I came to the doorstep just as all of the wizards there were retiring for the day and returning home. I tried to get the attention of a few who were walking out the door, but they payed me no heed. At last, the final wizard to come out, and I noticed by his cloak that he was a Cytra wizard, gave me some attention. He said that his name was Sylphra, and he would guide me to the nearest lodging hostel and that I should come over to the guild house at once in the morning. I had barely mentioned any of my questions yet, and so it surprised me just how willing he was to see me.

Well, now I am hunkered down in the most comfortable bed I have felt in far too long. Tomorrow morning the mistress assures me that a hot breakfast awaits me, and then perhaps I will see about answering some of my questions at the Guild House.

For tonight, Hollas Dillan, April 5th, Twelfth Year of Enru

This time I will take my time and deliver to you the full story journal.

It has been four?- yes four days since I wrote.

Well, the last I wrote I was dillying around an oasis in the middle of the Kohash Desert. I hunted some game and roasted and ate it. Illdra found some nice berries and I gathered a pouchfull of them. I remember that I left my journal out in the open, and when I had finally opened it to write again I found strange scribblings in a language I did not understand. It appeared to be signed in a similar manner to my own, and I inferred that the writer's name was Quilg. I searched the whole of the oasis for any signs of intelligent life, but found none. I made sure to keep my journal with me, so nobody could write in it again. After wasting an entire extra day scouring the oasis, I finally returned to my campsite, where Illdra had been sleeping. It never ceases to amaze me how that creature functions. She can sleep seemingly for days on end if she desires, can go without water, simply drinking morning dew, for days... and she's hauntingly beautiful. I don't really think that I know Hinvannas very well... but I suspect that she is far more intelligent than anyone would think. Well, when I returned to my campsite, I found nothing out of the ordinary, and proceeded to pack up my supplies, taking extra provisions of meat that I'd cured with salt, and sealed pouches of berries and some Mirrorwort leaves that I found growing on the banks of the springwater. As I loaded these things onto Illdra's back, I chanced a glance back into the small clearing I'd camped in for two days. I nearly dropped my packs to the ground. There, in the middle of the clearing was the word "Quilg" scratched into the dirt, where it had not been just a few minutes prior. I quickly got out my dagger and made a search of the area. There was nothing, not even the rustle of leaves or the snapping of a twig.

I still do not know what wrote that strange script into my journal, nor do I know what it means. But perhaps I will find out soon enough. I have discovered that the desert is giving out and there is a massive dark area on the horizon, I recognize the jagged peaks of mountains poking out of the land ahead. And something else, the tiny peaks of what look like small teeth on the mountainsides. I have consulted my map from Daanli, which I am nearing the edge of, and I believe that it is the stone city of Rune Mere. I know nothing of this city, other than that is how it was always referred to- as the 'stone city'. I also noticed something else on the map that chilled my blood and yet made me feel better at the same time. A few inches southwest of Rune Mere was a tiny word that said "Quilg". If Daanli had a map that had this word on it, then I begin to wonder if "Quilg" is even a person.

For now, I make for the city of Rune Mere, instead of heading for the Devil's Shovel (which, by the way, I missed by some six hundred miles- I need to learn how to navigate better). Who knows, maybe there will be someone in Rune Mere who will know how to interpret the markings in my journal, or tell me who or what "Quilg" is. I wish Illdra could speak... then she might be able to tell me if she saw anything. Oh, and in a piece of good news, those pesky Scarabs seem to be growing less as we head northeast.

-Hollas Dillan, April 3rd, Twelfth Year of Enru