An Exploratory Expedition
Expedition
34/4
Drawn back to Calda, Ager learns of the disappearance of the mists of Maka-Tho. He travels to the capital, and beseaches the Sable Queen to allow him to raise an expedition. The Queen granted his request, and after the Iron Winds and the month of Baelwind passed Ager set out with a scout company of the Royal Army.
In the Steadfast, Ager awoke one day shortly after returning from exploring a region of the Beyond with Tashi. He felt strange, like he had spent the last year at home instead of on the road. His sleep was troubled, and his mood soured. Tashi took note of her husbands strange moods, and set herself to discovering its cause. Unable to hide anything from his beloved, Ager shared his feelings but was unable to articulate the reason behind them. "Well it's simple, husband," Tashi said to him after meditating on the issue. "You are drawn somewhere, same as you are every time before you leave on a journey. So do now as you did when you were called to adventure in the past: ride out to meet." Smiling, Ager took his wife in his arms. "Cutting to the heart of my dilemma as always, my deareset", he replied. "I think that may be what lay at the heart of my foul mood. We have only just returned from a journey. We deserve rest. The drit of the road still clings to my skin -- I want to wash, and relax, and spend time with you." Tashi kissed her husband before bringing him to a balcony that overlooked the courtyard where wagons were being prepped for caravan duty. "Husband, we have the means to relax and rest as we travel. Your compulsion does not mean we have to forgo such luxuries." "I know," Ager sighed. "But what I truly want is to spend time with you, to lay my head upon your lap as you tell me more of the stories and myths of your home. But I can feel that this time my compulsion draws me to Calda once again, and I do not wish to be parted from you so soon after returning home."
Gathering An Expedition
When Ager returned to Calda, he quickly learned of the disappearance of the Maka-Tho mists. Quickly making his way to Cantod, he presented himself before the Sable Queen. Learning that the Queen had ordered an expedition be sent into the lands once covered by the mist, Ager made his case to be made part of the expedition. Knowing that having an experienced man such as Ager would greatly increase the likelyhood of knowledge returning to her, the Queen granted his request. Once more, the Queen upsets the mood of the court by giving Ager the post of second-in-command of the expedition. Again the nobles and wealthy of Calda wondered what made this man so special that he -- a man without noble blood or even Caldanian blood -- worthy of being raised to such a position. The expedition set out on the 4th of Bera, using the Singhan Roots to quickly make their way to the Grey Sea. They were not the only party to come to explore, but they were certainly the largest. Many teams of adventurers, explorers, even a trade caravan had made their way to the edge of the Grey Sea. They all now sat at the edge of where the mists one roiled and folded. Before them lay a grassy plain, as normal as any found in Calda -- or the Steadfast. A few looked upon this land with excitement, Ager among them. Most looked out with fear in their hearts. To see a land so normal, so ordinary, once hidden by so deadly a protector... What was being protected from the rest of the world that required such a protector? Or worse: what terrible evil required such a guard?