THAUMONT 1, AC 1015: A New Capital.
Location: Abbashan, Ylaruam. OW

Description: Sultan Hassam "The True" Al-Kalim ordains that the city of Abbashan will from now on be the true capital of the Alasiyan desert.
He also makes a call out to all men of faith to join the army so that they may teach the world of infidels a lesson they will not soon forget. (See Th. 18, Fy. 22.)

What This Means: Abbashan has always been the main power-base for the Kin faction, and switching the sultan's court was only a logical choice to maintain a better control of what is going on.
Emir Sa'id Naji of Abbashan is relocated to Ylaruam to rule over the Emirate of Alasiya. He is thankful of the new post, as Ylaruam is the most prosperous city of the Emirate (although this is likely to change now that most trade has stopped).
As for the call to arms, the other nations start to keep a better eye on what is going on, but since all foreigners have been banned from Ylaruam, it won't be easy. Thyatis fears the worse, believing that the new Sultan is planning on trying to reclaim the city of Tel Ak-Abir.

THAUMONT 1, AC 1015: Chameleon Tribe Falls!
Location: Chameleon Tribe village, Atruaghin Territories. OW

Description: The city of the Chameleon Tribe falls today, to the army of the joint Atruaghin/goblinoid forces. Despite receiving reinforcements from the Monkey Tribe, further south, the opposing army was too great for them and they are nearly wiped out. The few survivors flee westwards and southwards, to other Tiger Clan cities.
The Great Migration ravages and loots the city. (See Va. 12, Va. 19; Th. 17, Th. 26.)

What This Means: The Tiger Clan are indeed in for a major battle, and it might be too late for them to prepare. Although the goblinoids of the Great Migration are working together with the Atruaghin, the two forces do not get along at all. Each have their own camp, and only the leaders talk to one another. The savage looting of the Chameleon Tribe by the goblinoids only serves to further the dislike of the humans.

THAUMONT 3, AC 1015: New Elven Clan Founded.
Location: Forest of the Curse, Wendar. OW

Description: After the recent events, some of the Alfheimers decide to accept the proposal made by the ambassador of Ironwood and relocate in Norwold. Small groups of Longrunners, Grunalfs and Mealidils join together led by Shelingar (the assistant of Mealidan, Clanmaster of Mealidil clan) and they ask the Council of Clans for permission to form a new clan and move to Norwold. The elders give their approval, and Mealidan himself performs the ritual that creates the new clan: the Lightseekers. (See Va. 24, Va. 27; Th. 9, Ya. 27.)

What This Means: The last events have convinced some of the younger elves that Wendar is not a good place to live at the moment. So they have discussed with the elders and decided to accept Blackblade's proposal and move to Norwold. The Lightseekers are elves who share a common fascination towards magic, nature and history: in one word, they are seekers of Wisdom and Knowledge. They think that Ironwood has the potential to help them (and the elven race) in their quest and are eager to begin this new life in Norwold. Shelingar will be the new Clan Holder, while Taragin Oakbranch, the former Guardian of Alfheim Town (an experienced elf from clan Grunalf), will act as new Clanmaster.

THAUMONT 3, AC 1015: The Flowers Are Dying.
Location: Northern Eusdria. SC

Description: King Sigismund III of Eusdria sighs in relief as reports claim that the amber lotuses are withering away in the northern part of his kingdom.
The King gathers his armies, preparing to march and reclaim his territory once a path has been cleared through the flowers. (See Th. 27.)

What This Means: It seems that last year's raids into the goblin territories was successful enough to eliminate the shamans who could control this deadly plant.

THAUMONT 4, AC 1015: Pit Survey.
Location: Aegos, Alatian Islands. AS

Description: The Minrothad dwarves that came from Fortress Island last year to reopen the pit to the Hollow World send a report to Oran Meditor. In this report, they indicate that they used a caterpillar left by the Alphatians to investigate the pit and discovered that after a few miles the pit seems mostly undamaged. The tremors from Alphatia's sinking and subsequent earthquakes have collapsed about 75 kilometers (50 miles), which need be dug again. The cable and pulling system have been lost as well. (See Ya. 8, Fe. 23.)

What This Means: The dwarves have also discovered that gnomes participated in the digging of the pit, as attests the caterpillar that is definitely not of dwarvish contraption. However, the proud dwarves think they can do as well as mere gnomes. With their only caterpillar they can already begin work though.

THAUMONT 6, AC 1015: Trollheim Acts Reinstated.
Location: Norrvik, Vestland. OW

Description: Today King Harald Gudmundson officially announces the reinstatement of the Trollheim Homesteading Acts.
Prospective rulers are encouraged to present themselves before the King and his advisors, and if deemed acceptable, will be given land grants and titles to lands in the eastern wilds of Vestland.

What This Means: This is a direct response to the goblinoid uprisings of last year. The trolls and goblins of the Trollheims have been dealt a serious blow, and King Gudmundson is eager to follow up on this. To this end, he has reinstated the Trollheim Acts, a move that is met with mixed reaction, due to their failure many years ago.

THAUMONT 8, AC 1015: Trial in Sumag.
Location: Sumag, Suma'a. SC

Description: The trial of the ogre found blaspheming outside a temple of Sumag is held today. It declares the ogre insane and that he should be taken to a facility in the mountains east of Sumag where clerics will help cure him of his affliction. (See Nu. 2.)

THAUMONT 8, AC 1015: Swamp Thing!
Location: Elstrich, Darokin. OW

Description: Today, river workers in the town of Elstrich are attacked by a massive river serpent. The creature disappears back down the river before the town guard can fully mobilize. It is suspected that this creature is the same one that terrorized the town for months back in AC 1000. Despite their best efforts at that time, they were unable to catch or kill the creature; one day its attacks just stopped. No one knows what it was to this day, but the town guard is mobilized, and the call is put out to adventurers willing to aid in capturing the beast. (See Fe. 1, Fe. 13.)

What This Means: This is indeed the same creature as 15 years ago. What is unknown to the people of Elstrich at this time is that it has been revived from dormancy by the effects of the transformation of Aengmor - the climatic changes resulting from magic used on the Canolbarth forest years ago have affected the amount of runoff to the swamp from the Weir (which was normally filled by the enormous rains in the magical forest). Over the past few years, the water level in the Malpheggi swamp has been lowering dramatically, and all sorts of creatures are going to be venturing forth, as their ecology changes.

What The PCs Can Do: This is an adventure opportunity for the PCs. They can attempt to track down and capture or kill the beast, for a large reward from the grateful town. The beast can be any sort, though it should be powerful and quite possibly intelligent (it has managed to elude capture thus far). Their investigations may also lead them to discover the ecological problems facing the Malpheggi Swamp.

THAUMONT 9, AC 1015: Lightseekers Leave for Ironwood.
Location: Forest of the Curse, Kingdom of Wendar. OW

Description: With the help of Elariathas Blackblade himself and some of his powerful human allies, all the Lightseekers are magically transported to Ironwood during the week, where they will begin to help him in his ambitious project. As a further act of friendship, Blackblade has donated some Scrolls of Communication to both Lightseekers and the Alfheimers in Wendar to help the two groups maintain contacts. (See Va. 27, Th. 3; Ya. 27, Fe. 18.)

What This Means: About 800 elves (200 from clan Long Runner, 200 Grunalfs, 100 Mealidils and 300 belonging to other minor clans of Alfheimers) have been transferred to Ironwood. They have now sworn fealty to Elarianthas Blackblade, Clanholder of Ironwood, and to his father, the actual Clanmaster, but they've been allowed to maintain contacts with their Alfheim brethren.

THAUMONT 12, AC 1015: Afflicted Are Blamed.
Location: The Savage Baronies. SC

Description: More and more, Afflicted of the Savage Baronies are being blamed for events of bad luck, such as droughts, plagues, a family member falling sick, a house being robbed,... These feelings are particularly strong in places like Torreon and Narvaez. More enlightened states, such as Gargona and Saragon still receive such social conflicts, but very rarely. (See Va. 7, Va. 10; Kl. 9, Kl. 12.)

What This Means: There is a growing split amongst the people of the Baronies, and it's forming into a Afflicted vs. Non- Afflicted line.

What The PCs Can Do: PCs can come to the rescue of Afflicted being mistreated by the "normal" folk. If Afflicted themselves, they will have to defend themselves from physical abuse without harming any of their attackers. If they do, they can expect a lynch mob to start chasing them around.

THAUMONT 13, AC 1015: What Ever Happened to the Lothenar Elves?
Location: Great Forest of Geffron, Denagoth. NW

Description: The elven explorers on the plateau discover a bunch of frightened elves in a cave inside the forest. They escaped the Lothenar Forest more than a century ago, during the Shadow Years, and searched for refuge among their brethren, the Geffronells. They tell the Alfheimers that no elf has survived the Shadow Years in Lothenar, because the Dark Harbingers of Doom have wiped out every living member of their race. They managed to escaped the Shadowlord's army when it invaded Geffron too by hiding in this small cave, and many of them have starved because they were too frightened to go out and find some food. The Alfheimers take these survivors along with them. (See Va. 13; Fl. 19, Ya. 22.)

What This Means: Using the survivors' knowledge of the forest, the Alfheimers are now determined to reach Drax Tallen swiftly and try to obtain useful information about the humanoid forces. Hope is lost to meet again with the explorers sent to the Lothenar forest in AC 1014.

THAUMONT 14, AC 1015: Resupply in Aegopoli.
Location: Aegopoli, Aegos, Alatian Islands. AS

Description: Herr Wulf's party stops in Aegopoli for a couple of days to restock essential supplies, as well as to take a brief break from being out at sea. They will depart again the next morning. (See Va. 8, Va. 11; Fl. 4, Fl. 22.)

What This Means: Supplies were getting low, and since there will be no more stops until Vanya's Rest, it is essential that as many supplies as possible are obtained.

THAUMONT 15, AC 1015: The Jarls Revolt.
Location: Ostland. OW

Description: In response to the exile of an Ostman jarl (Nu. 1) and continuing atrocities committed against Ostman clansmen, the Ostman jarls finally rebel against the reigning Cnute clan. They declare themselves independent, and prepare for the inevitable retaliation. (See Nu. 1; Fl. 7, Ya. 18.)

What This Means: This rebellion has been brewing for years, and was inevitable. Cnute clan jarls scoff at this act, thinking that they will easily crush them once more, and finally revel in the treasures of long buried kings on Kalslo island. Unbeknownst to them, however, the Ostman jarls have long been preparing for this day.

THAUMONT 15, AC 1015: First Karameikan Skyship Launched.
Location: Krakatos, Karameikos. KW

Description: The first Karameikan skyship, the Concordia, makes her maiden flight above the Karameikan School of Magecraft. She is a man-of-war of Alphatian design, but equipped with fewer weapons and more cargo and living space than their Alphatian counterparts, displaying both a Karameikan and an Alphatian flag high in the wind. Her crew is a mix of trained Alphatian sailors and novice Karameikan ones (they had a short training in Aeria). (See Ya. 15, Kl. 2.)

What This Means: Karameikos is becoming part of the few nations that can sail the skies, though it still needs Alphatian help to complete the magical process. Aerian wizards came to the Karameikan school to that end as part of the exchange program, and Terari used his knowledge (he already had enchanted skyships in his youth) and the vast resources of the school, including the creation of a contest to encourage his best students to help, to turn frame sections of a mundane ship crafted by the best Karameikan shipwright into a flying vessel.
The first skyship was deliberately not made into a warship to show the king's will of increasing cooperation and peace between peoples (and not further provoke Thyatis). King Stefan intends to use her for the next expedition to the Hollow World.

THAUMONT 16, AC 1015: Archeological Dig.
Location: La Pampa Rica. SC

Description: Mazrooth, an Inheritor of Almarron, needs to explore a Late Oltec ruins in La Pampa Rica. Along with his friend and apprentice Costa, they head off into Gosluk goblin territory.

What This Means: Mazrooth, introduced in the novel "The Black Vessel," is simply looking for more proof to separate the Late Oltec (actually Nithian, which he knows is somehow different from mainstream Oltec) and Classical Oltec cultures into two distinct groups. He believes that the division of the two is somehow linked to the Red Curse.

What The PCs Can Do: This is simply a mini-adventure for PCs to tag along with, perhaps themselves learning about the two "Oltec" cultures. Exactly what they find and how long it will take is up to the individual DM.

THAUMONT 17, AC 1015: Tiger Clan Loses Again!
Location: Monkey Tribe village, Atruaghin Territories. OW

Description: Despite heavy losses on both sides, the village of the Monkey Tribe is taken by the joint Atruaghin/goblinoid army. The army will rest and recover for a while. Meanwhile, the Tiger clan has mobilized most of its forces from other villages, and are preparing to march on its foes. (See Va. 19, Th. 1; Th. 26, Fl. 3.)

THAUMONT 18, AC 1015: The Tale-Teller.
Location: Ylaruam City, Ylaruam. OW

Description: A nomad from the desert arrives into the city of Ylaruam and begins preaching about the glorious ways of the warrior. By the end of the day, Khalid "Tale-Teller" has roused many a band of young warriors into dreams of glory and battle. Soon, they too begin spreading the tale of how the Ylari will conquer all Infidels. (Th. 1; Fy. 22, Fy. 28.)

What This Means: Khalid "Tale-Teller" is inspiring the adventurous warriors of his people to strike out at infidels and their enemies. Such tales will have the effect of dramatically increasing the number of men who volunteer into the Kin's army. This could bode ill for neighboring nations, especially Thyatis.

THAUMONT 20, AC 1015: Hin Are Concerned.
Location: Shiretown, Five Shires. OW

Description: Concerns are voiced that the Clanmeet Hall will not be large enough to hold all the participants and spectators. (See Nu. 10; Fl. 3, Ya. 12.)

THAUMONT 20, AC 1015: The Counter-Strike.
Location: Hockstein, Heldannic Territories. OW

Description: With the early arrival of warm weather this year, the Heldannic Knights march out of their strongholds and head for Hockstein. (See Th. 25, Fl. 3.)

What This Means: The Heldannic Knights plan on entering the city and slaughtering everyone within. This is to be their lesson to any others who would dare plot a revolt against the knights.
Sir Geoffrey, the leader of the rebellion in Hockstein, has been training the peasants all winter and is waiting for the knights' arrival. He has as many people as possible gathering food from around the countryside before the knights arrive.

What The PCs Can Do: PCs can get involved in this civil war on either side. They might try to overthrow the Heldannic Knights, or they might try to restore order and place the knights back in charge. It will probably all depend on their previous relationships with the Heldannic Knights.

THAUMONT 22, AC 1015: Nothing Found.
Location: Odom, Suma'a. SC

Description: With no news from the field, the interest in Odom has begun to dwindle again. People have been leaving the area. (See Va. 2; Fl. 9.)

THAUMONT 25, AC 1015: First Trip Through the Septahenge.
Location: Guardian Mesa, unknown location on Mystara (in other words, up to the individual DM - canon material suggests the Broken Lands).

Description: After some months of research and studies, the Shadowlord finally discovers the secret of the Septahenge. He understands that to open the Gate to the Pits of Banishment where the Carnifex and the Black Staff lie, he must collect seven keys guarded by seven different beings in the Outer Planes. Followed by his retainers, he enters one of the Seven Realms to obtain the first key. (See Fl. 4, Fl. 19.)

What This Means: The Shadowlord wants the Black Staff because he thinks it will help him achieve full lichdom and get rid of Idris's yoke. He's keeping his plans and his mission secret even to the High Priest of Idris and nothing will stop him (he discovered the location of the Guardian Mesa in Kaldmont AC 1014).
This storyline is based on the adventure module "M3 - Twilight Calling." The Seven Realms (and the Pits of Banishment) are actually Demi-Planes floating within the Ethereal, each with their own laws of physics, and not Outer Planes as the Shadowlord believes. Still, this won't really change anything he has to do. [If playing a D&D campaign, then the Seven Realms are indeed Outer Planes.]{or for those of you in the AD&D campaign you can get more info. on the Ethereal Plane, by reading Planescapes' "A Guide to the Ethereal Plane." -Oracle}

THAUMONT 25, AC 1015: Hockstein Under Siege.
Location: Hockstein, Heldannic Territories. OW

Description: An army of Heldannic Knights besieges the city of Hockstein. This time, the knights intend to wait until the defenders run out of food. Since spring has just arrived, it is unlikely that the defenders have managed to resupply themselves since the beginning of winter. (See Th. 20; Fl. 3, Fl. 20.)

What This Means: The Heldannic Knights are right; the people of Hockstein only have enough food for a couple more weeks. Sir Geoffrey prepares for the worst.

THAUMONT 26, AC 1015: Pirates Defeated.
Location: Berat Island, Gulf of Hule. SC

Description: Zuberi, his lieutenant Arkadi Stepanenko (a Knight of Halav) and his ensign Iago, track a pirate ship up to the pirates' den in a hidden bay of Berat Island. During the night they attack by surprise, defeat the pirates and manage to recover part of the cinnabryl that was stolen last year. (See Va. 13; Kl. 20)

What This Means: This is the second time this year that Zuberi defeats the pirates. His name is growing increasingly popular in the area and among pirates.
These pirates (a mix of Huleans, Texeirans and people from the City-States) are just a small part of the large group that ambushed Slagovich freighters late last year. They still have some of the cinnabryl, because they planned to sell it in small quantities profiting by the shortage of supplies.
Unfortunately no pirate is captured alive (Iago having killed the last one even as he dropped his weapon), so nobody knows who organized the theft.

What PCs Can Do: PCs may both take part to this fight or track down another group of pirates hiding in the area (Isle of Kepir, Isle of Vl”r, Cape Kuceva and Colinas Grutescas are all good areas to shelter a pirate fleet).

THAUMONT 26, AC 1015: Wanderers Revised.
Location: City of the Stars, Shadow Elves Territories. OW

Description: In a solemn speech from the Refuge of Stone the Radiant Shaman Porphyriel reveals to the Shadow Elves that Rafiel instructed the Shamans to change the outdated Wanderers custom. Shadow Elves will still have to leave their homes when they're 800 years old, but now they aren't prevented from retracing their steps or meeting any other Shadow Elf anymore. (See Nu. 20, Va. 21; Fe. 18, Fy. 3.)

What This Means: This is the outcome of the forum on a possible new interpretation of the Verse of the Wanderer. Obviously Porphyriel made this change look as the will of Rafiel to strengthen once more the faith of the Shadow Elves in their patron.
This new interpretation fits perfectly into the wording of the verse inscribed in the Refuge of Stone and opens a lot of bright perspectives for those lucky Shadow Elves that got past their 800th birthday.
Wanderers could now play a very important role in the Shadow Elf's society, becoming itinerant teachers, diplomats in foreign countries (something the Shadow Elves badly need now that they must live on the surface among other races), hermits and other similar roles that don't require a long and continuous stay in Shadow Elf cities among younger elves.

THAUMONT 26, AC 1015: Parrot Tribe Attacked!
Location: Parrot Tribe village, Atruaghin Territories. OW

Description: Atruaghin forces coming from the northern side of the plateau (via tunnels through the interior), arrive and begin besieging the village of the Parrot Tribe. Most of the Parrot Tribe army is with a massive Tiger Clan force marching on the village of the Monkey Tribe. (See Th. 1, Th. 17; Fl. 3, Fl. 12.)

What This Means: It looks like The Tiger clan will soon find itself fighting a two front war.

THAUMONT 27, AC 1015: Eusdria Reclaimed.
Location: Northern Eusdria. SC

Description: With the amber lotuses out of the way, the Knights of Eusdria (along with the now famous Company of the Bear) manage to reclaim all lost territory from the goblinoids.
The goblinoids do not put up much resistance when they notice that their amber lotuses have died; most simply flee back into the Yazzak Steppes at the first sight of the human forces. (See Th. 3.)

What This Means: Everything that was conquered or destroyed by the goblinoids last year, including Ersel and Lorsa, are once more part of the Kingdom of Eusdria. Still, it will probably be some time before these communities can fully recuperate from the damages done to them.

If they hadn't made her by magic, I would consider calling her an amazing piece of engineering. Why do humans need to use magic everywhere? Plus, she is intended to fly, so I ask you dear reader: Why would anyone want to fly when they can stay on solid ground, or better yet, underground? I believe these are fools who cannot recognize the true value of earth and rocks. Anyway, I'm just rambling here, so let's go to the real topic at hand.

The Concordia is the first skyship ever constructed in our benevolent kingdom of Karameikos. As such, she naturally is our flagship. She is a man-of-war of (nearly) classic Alphatian design, though her hull conceals in fact an exploration ship rather than an actual warship. Part of the space usually used to accommodate marines has been instead made into additional living quarters for civilians, and her cargo capacity may be used to carry goods and stuffs from all over the Hollow World back to Karameikos. The hull itself has no special, magical defensive strength, and the only siege weapons are two light ballistae.

[D&D Stats]
Length: 200'
Beam: 70'
Depth: 50', 4 decks
Sails: 18,000 sq. ft., three-masted
Tonnage: 950 tons
Cargo Capacity: 185 tons
Lift Capacity: 1,240 tons
Lift Power: Float in Air & ailerons
Motive Power: Wind
Air Speed: 180' (60')
Maneuvering Factor: «
Hull Points: 372
Armor Class: 6
Armaments: 2 Light Ballistae

According to Master Terari of the Karameikan School of Magecraft, construction of the Concordia required a lot of wizardry to fully enchant her. Terari himself, who had some experience in skyship design, supervised the construction. Many an Alphatian refugee that had settled in Karameikos after the war participated in the doing. Terari also used the school's resources, including making up a contest allowing the students to be of some help, with prizes to be won, like studies paid by the crown or minor magical items crafted by Terari himself. Wizards from Aeria also came to Karameikos and provided the much needed experience and components for enchanting a skyship. If you believe this confidence from Master Terari, such a project had been in preparation for quite some time: Alphatian air-wizards refugees and Terari had exposed that idea to King Stefan I, a few years ago; actual plans began when Thyatis used Aeria's vast resources to help the Empire acquire skyship technology. By the time the Polar Expedition returned with tales of the Hollow World, our beloved King had long signed treaties with the wizards of Aeria and the NACE.

But you certainly want to know how exactly those wizards enchanted such a ship. Well, although I do not know much in the ways of magic, here are the magical terms for you enchanter to be, straight from Terari's mouth (I couldn't have invented them even if I wanted to).

In order to enchant the needed 31 frame sections, 34 were wasted due to failed castings. Thus in all, 65 frames were made. This is mostly due to the fact that spellcasters of relatively low levels made tries at it, as there weren't enough high-level wizards to do all the enchanting.

Each section received the Prepare Enchantment spell, to improve the chances of success, and an initial Woodform spell. It was then imbued with Float in Air to give the ship her lifting power. Two subsequent Woodform spells were then cast, the first one to joint it to neighboring sections, the last one to lock its shape against possible tampering.

Then 3 further Float in Air spells were cast to provide lift power for additional cargo; some partially-failed frames were used anyway at this stage to cut down costs, hence the reduced lift capacity compared to the expected 140% of tonnage. So, each frame (if successfully enchanted) was applied the following spells:

ú Prepare Enchantment, level 5, always cast,
ú Woodform, level 5, always cast,
ú Float in Air, level 1, cast about 80% of the times,
ú Woodform, level 5, cast about 70% of the times,
ú Woodform, level 5, cast about 55% of the times,
ú Float in Air, level 1, cast about 45% of the times,
ú Float in Air, level 1, cast about 40% of the times,
ú Float in Air, level 1, cast about 35% of the times.
The total for a successful frame section is 24 spell levels, but considering the probability of failure, it was in fact 18.5 spell levels per frame. So, we cast a total of 1200 spell levels for our 65 frames.

The time needed to enchant each frame was about one month. 10 wizards participated in the endeavor, 5 Karameikans (4 of them were in fact Alphatian refugees) and 5 air-wizards from Aeria. They all immediately set to work on their respective frames. Work needed to be synchronized in order to put the frames together, which was made harder when some of them were wasted, so that some time was naturally lost. Actual work began after Terari's diplomatic mission to the NACE in Fyrmont of AC 1014, and was finished 7 months later when the Concordia made her maiden flight on Thaumont 28, AC 1015, though plan design and mundane work had begun months earlier, back in AC 1013. School students worked on less important parts, like the interior of the ship; their help was invaluable nonetheless as they handled the smaller details with the carpenters, weavers, leatherworkers, smiths and other craftsmen that the ten of us had no time to bother with.

If you are like me, you certainly wonder how much gold this marvel cost to the King's treasure. Well, it is not so easy to figure out, as that kind of numbers are not thoroughly advertised. However, with the help of craftsmen friends of mine, and official documents stating the price of Glantrian magical services and components within that dangerous country, and some leaks at the Karameikan School of Magecraft, I was able to at least evaluate it. It ain't no fun to a dwarf to count something with numbers written on paper rather than with actual gold nuggets and gems, but I did it, so here it is.

Object	Cost (Royals)	Notes
Prepare Enchantment	975,000	Includes spell components
Woodform	975,000	Includes material and spell components
Float in Air	395,000	Includes spell components
Aerian wizards' wages	650,000	Half-price wages thanks to exchange program with the NACE
Karameikan wizards' wages	480,000	Includes Alphatian refugees and school students. Part is paid with free years of studies or access to the school's resources
Experts' and laborers' wages	25,000	Includes mundane accouterments
Total:	3,500,000 Royals (gp),	all costs included.

The Concordia's crew is composed of :

Sailors: 250 (125 Karameikans, 125 Alphatians), many of them are rookies hence this higher-than-usual number ; some of their quarters may eventually be reconverted to civilians' quarters later.

Marines: 1 Karameikan regiment : 120 regular F1 marines (leather armor, longbows, normal swords), 3 sergeants, 1 captain.

Civilians: 50 ; there are quarters for 100 more. Includes a priest of the Church of Karameikos, a priest of the Church of Traladara, an ambassador from Karameikos and one from the NACE, and a few sages. [Note from Belzamith : the cook is one of my cousins.]

Captain: Lord Nikolai Delarius is both captain of the Concordia and leader of the expedition. He was leader of the famous Karameikan Polar Expedition that brought proof of the existence of the Hollow World. His deeds earned this young man of mixed Thyatian and Traladaran heritage and modest descent a rapid ascension in the military hierarchy, and popular recognition as well as royal attention (he has been recently granted nobility). He volunteered to lead a second expedition to the world below, and was given the responsibility of the very first Karameikan skyship and her crew. He is an adventurer at heart, who likes challenges.

Counselor Exceptional: Lady Claransa the Seer, author of her best-selling Travels to the Center of the World. She was longing for adventure and decided to board the Concordia as Counselor Exceptional on Hollow World matters. She has spent 6 years down there and her knowledge may prove very useful to the expedition. The King has trusted her with the study of the peoples of the Hollow World, their cultures and customs, their history, the geography of the land, the flora and fauna, as well as accumulating additional data about the way magic works there; in one word, she is responsible for everything a sage of such talent can do. She has also been granted the honorific title of Lady.

The Karameikan sailors are by tradition superstitious about women aboard a ship, which they believe is likely to provoke the wrath of the Old Man of the Sea. Their fear remained the same with their new, airborne assignment, especially among the Traladarans. This is not true of the Alphatians, though, who are used to have female sailors and marines among them. By Kagyar, what could they fear of the Old Man of the Sea up there anyway, they should rather fear Odin's wrath, or more realistically those damn dragons! To avoid a refusal from the superstitious Karameikan sailors to board the Concordia, King Stefan decided to allow only male sailors, including for the Alphatians.

However, there is still one woman aboard, Counselor Claransa, and Traladaran soothsayers have already foretold this will be enough to incur Protius's wrath...

One wonders if we should really trust the Alphatians that worked on the Concordia. They are strangers. King Stefan either trusted them, or watched them carefully. Well, she flies.