Moonstars:Session 1
22 Eliasis 1378
The party responded to invitations to attend a secret meeting in Myth Drannor. At this meeting were several high-ranking Moonstars: Laeral Silverhand, Malchor Harpell, and Myrmeen Lhal.
Laeral had brought her children, the young Qilue, a very sleepy girl, and Khelben (Jr.), a tiny tot presuming to the status of Blackstaff, bearing a miniature staff to boot. It is yet unknown if the child is Khelben, Jr., or Khelben himself, in some capacity.
Through the magic of the Black Staff, Khelben (Jr.) presented the party a semi-interactive recorded message from Khelben (Sr.). In the message, Khelben invited the party to take a mental journey forward in time, to the world in which he resided, some hellish future Faerûn ravaged by a worldwide magical catastrophe. They boldly stepped forth.
In the future, Khelben showed them a world destroyed by Shadow. In 1385, his past and their future, Mystra was assassinated by Cyric, under the machinations of Shar. The plan, he explained, was flawless, as it must have been to make her death unavoidable. It was a plan dreamed up before the beginning of time, and woven into the fabric of history, prepared millennia in advance, so as to eliminate all possibility of failure. It could not be stopped, not in 1378, not at the moment of the deed, or any time after.
But it could be stopped before.
As the goddess of time, Mystra has an advantage Shar cannot match, nor can she foresee its effects. In her service, agents can travel to various points in time, critical junctures in Shar's deicidal plan, to enable Mystra to prevail.
The plan is not without difficulty. Time travel is possible, using Mystra's magic, but it is limited, and cannot function beyond her death. To truly enact their plan, the party will have to gain use of a more versatile form of time travel, by combining the magics of Netheril and Imaskar, and reviving powers long lost (or not yet invented).
Back in their own time, Laeral gave the party a timepiece, an artifact of ancient Imaskar; its purpose is to guide travelers unerringly through the stream of time, so as to prevent them from losing themselves in the infinitum of possibility. She suggested they visit Chronomancer enclave, long lost in the fall of Netheril, and buried in the High Ice. Once they gain the capacity, they were to travel forward to Khelben's time to make their plan.
And so, off they went.
Through the portal network of Myth Drannor, they teleported to Silverymoon. After a quick tour of the beautiful city, they set forth on phantom steeds, making great haste through the high Silver Marches, before stopping and making camp at Ascore, an ancient ruin of Delzoun, once a dwarven port on the long-dried northern sea of Netheril.
Despite a relentless sandstorm, and a near-miss encounter with a strange, flying probe, they remained safe throughout the night. By morning, they set out again, crossing the desert to the great glacier known as the High Ice. They carefully maneuvered up the steep cliff face, and over the peaks and valleys atop the ice, following directions as best they could with so limited landmarks.
Following a strange, flying object, they encountered a massive dig site, presumably an excavation by Netheril to uncover Chronomancer enclave. Boldly, they attacked head-on, defeating the first of what would undoubtedly be a formidable array of guardians, a conjured army of devils.
