Keystone's inquiring in the many places of Teflamm had varying success.
The clerics of the Hall of the Avenging Hammer welcomed the inquisitive monk with open arms, thinking they had found a new devotee to the Sword of Justice. The few healers that remained in the city could do little to answer his queries about undead monsters, but they did refer to the Red Wizard Enclave for information, explaining that the many Thayan necromancers studied the subject extensively. The referral came with its fair share of warnings about the evil that the wizards were and their backstabbing nature. They did want to know everything the monk knew about this new threat now approaching the city from the east.
The two scrolls proved to be valuable indeed, with various merchants offering exorbitant prices for the powerful magic, and more than a few inquiring as to how much they would have to pay for the bracers and any other magical items the monk might have. A wise man would be suspicious of the seemingly high prices the merchants offered, however. Several mentions of the Red Wizard Enclave caught the monk's ears as places that would value magic and magical items, accompanied by more whispers of the dangers inside the large compound.
Keystone was questioned by the guards at the Xiang Temple, but once again welcomed with open arms once his trade was known. Within minutes he was offered a meeting with Grandmaster Shein-Fang of Teflamm, two days later. Until then, the monk was welcome to attend the daily exercise sessions and get up to speed with new techniques being developed in the eastern regions of Faerun. The temple's monks spent their days training and keeping order in the district the temple was located in, as well as keeping a wary eye on any corruption in the city, working closely with the clerics of Tyr. Much like the clerics, the guards bade Keystone to tell the Grandmaster everything he knew about the impending threat to the city.
Dwarves were a rare sight in Telflamm, its humid climate and open sky being unattractive prospects to most of that race, but Keystone did overhear a few rumours of a dwarven blacksmith in the city's merchant square, mostly praises for the (expensive) quality of handiwork he delivered. Several other dwarves could be found in the city's various taverns, some as henchmen and some as common workers, but none of them had long beards, if any.
Despite the search, Keystone could not find a trace of the old wizard or its companion. None of the townsfolk even recalled there was more than one prominent wizard in town. Reverin was well known, but the name 'Erepar' only brought glassy looks upon people's faces.
The entity in Keystone's head took a while to respond, conveying agreement with the monk's mind-speak. Images of a cage flashed by, a dark, almost childlike figure sitting inside it, not daring to go out even though it could easily squeeze through the ghostlike bars. Despite the cage, the entity seemed quite content with staying inside the imaginary construct. Moments later, more images flashed through Keystone's head, images of a town different from Two Stars or Telflamm, empty and devoid of all life. A brief but keen sense of fear flooded the monk's head.
The towns preparations, despite the short timeframe, were coming along at a rapid pace, all manners of undead wards being placed along the city walls and the city guard being outfitted with maces and slings instead of their regular bows and swords.
