From the often astonishing and frighteningly well published Viscount Maximillian Fox comes a joyous letter to his dear nephew Stephen. Written this 3rd day of Blossom, from the Westgate.

My Dear Stephen,

It was with great pleasure that I received your missive. It arrived only an hour before I set sail in the Gryphon for Westgate, so I am having to post my reply from there. I don’t suppose it will get to you before next season, but hopefully you’ll have it before your apprenticeship draws to a close (!)

The good news is that Alisande is still alive, although I’m having a devil of a time figuring out where she is. There are people in this region who would Know if she passed beyond, and they assure me that she still walks this world. I shouldn’t worry so much -- she certainly has gone away for months -- even years -- at a time.

I’m glad you’re enjoying the Guild Training. Once I got past the kitchen duties I enjoyed it myself. You’ll find no greater concentration of knowledge anywhere else in the civilized world.

(As for the UNcivilized world -- you’ll have to decide that yourself!)

Let’s see... you had a couple of questions...

About the local political setup. It’s as chaotic as you could possibly imagine. Without the firm control of a High King, the Archipelago is just a soup kettle of kings and military despots. The dwarves are too consumed with rebuilding their losses from wars a thousand years ago to interact much with humans... and the elves are so withdrawn that they’ve acquired an almost legendary status. Quite surprising given that they once claimed all the Isles as part of their great kingdom.

The only real powers are the handfuls of wizards, some of which dare to emulate the wizard-kings of the last millennia, and some undead liches THAT WERE the wizard-kings of the last millennia. (Avoid the latter, by the way...)

The Adventurer’s Guild provides what little law and order there is beyond that of the various island nations. The political power of the Guild is unmatched among the human races. Therefore, first and foremost you should cultivate the best relations you can with the headquarters in Bliss. Do a lot of work for them, pay your tithe, and donate magic items you don’t need to the Guild stores. In turn, they will stand behind you when you start to interact with the various factions in the islands.

Your friends are, in decreasing order of surety: your Company, your fellow Guild members, close and trusted relatives, and allies of the Fox Family.

Your enemies are more numerous. Aside from countless members of the Ardanian Nobility, you have the Blackcloaks always looking for an opportunity to cause you pain (for no more reason than your lineage). You also have all kinds of Alusian Nobles who will hate you because you’re Ardanian. The elves will hate you because you are human, and the dwarves will hate you because you are too friendly with the elves.

And all that is BEFORE you start angering the local despots and kings!

Take your time making strong alliances... who you side with will also determine who your new mortal enemies are. Get to know all the players.

As for your other questions... To start with, my advice is the same as above. Get the Guild to find you work.. negotiate some contracts for you. The pay won’t be as good as contracts you set up yourself, but you are less likely to get cheated, and the Masters will insure that the requested service is not beyond your abilities.

I can certainly tell you about this treasure or that. Aside from things the Companions already plundered, they fall into two categories: things we haven’t gotten yet, and things that are Too Hard to get. I’m not going to tell you about any of the former... it would be a breach of confidence with the other Companions, and I’m still trying to pay for my retirement. As for the “too hard” category... I shouldn’t give you any precise locations, as you’ll get yourself killed. I’ll give you a few hints, in case you develop to the point where you can recognize these things and can succeed where we did not:

-- Brimbar’s clan abandoned a huge silver mine in the Great War when it was overrun by Orcs. The treasure (silver bullion) lies about in massive quantities, but it was logistically impossible to move enough to make us rich without the Orcs finding and slaughtering us. Somebody with patience could slowly take back the mines -- the wealth you could cart away would be phenomenal, AND you could hand the mines over to Brimbar’s folk afterward and gain their friendship.

-- I once wrote Blackhawk a long letter about the biggest treasure the Companions never collected.

-- More than 3/4 of the Isles remain unexplored. MANY of the wizard’s towers have been sitting untouched since the Wizard Wars. (Of course, many lie untouched for a reason!)

-- Many legends agree that there was some sort of capital of the Wizard Kings -- a lost city, concealed by their magicks.

-- The Citadel of the High Kings remains sealed these 1000 years.

That should do to get your imagination going. Tell you what. My journals, which are far more worthy then that florid prose I hawked in Ardania, currently reside in the vaults of Gryphon Keep. Before I finish each volume, though, I keep all the collected notes for the current tome in a box with me. If something happens, I hearby bequeath that box and its contents to you. It’ll have all the notes we gathered about places we intended to assault, er, explore. It’ll give you a big start, anyway. Of course, it may be empty by the time I get back to Ardania, and my purse quite full! Those are the breaks.

Well, I must post this if it is to reach you at all. Seek me out as soon as you arrive in Bliss.

Your devoted uncle,

Max