Eriape's evacuation order comes in the middle of the night. This doesn't really matter, of course- the lair has run on its own rhythms for nearly a century- but they keep track. The skull spies spy on Westcrown, on the neighboring farms, on the world at large. Few people pay attention to a dead mouse, or the rotten corpse of a seagull left atop a building. And so Lady Eriape knows when it is time to move away from Cheliax.
The next destination has long been determined.
She'd have to see or reconstruct the other half to be completely sure, but the mathematics certainly seems sound to slot it into an only moderately unusual wizardry scaffold. It's probably not worth the time to reconstruct the rest of the diagram and port it over to her own system any time soon, especially when she can already cast awaken with limited wish, but that's no call not to copy it down. Though it doesn't explain the badgers - no, you awaken them and then make them juju zombies, obviously. Badgers specifically because they dig, and wherever she operated out of before that was more useful than flight or opposable thumbs?
Some of the insight in this spellwork is useful, actually. It's mostly duplicated effort with what she has, but not quite all of it, and any master necromancer that can also do this probably has some things they aren't offering to exchange with Lastwall. If kidnapping liches of unknown capabilities out of crusader fortresses without tipping her hand about who was behind it wasn't essentially impossible, she'd be tempted to go for it.
...Apparently her phylactery is also inconveniently located; Areelu would rather have less interference from Axis, not more. Call that plan B, then, and kidnapping plan C.
Crusader's fort is not primarily supplied by teleport, but that doesn't mean they don't regularly get them. Occasionally this takes the form of 5th circle wizards looking to sign up, but more often it's high value cargo and mail. A few days after the fort played host to a number of nigh-invisible insects, a letter comes in addressed to Eriape.
Eriape gets her mail in the little administrative office cubbyhole mailboxes. She picks it up, and returns to her private cell in the Evening. The badgers are in bunks, six plus six, leaving almost no space. Not that anyone of them actually sleep, but Eriape considers it important to Encourage Them to have their Own Interests.
"Mail Call!"
"Yes, and No. I don't think you're ever getting a reply from Aspexia Rugatonn. I did get a letter to Me!"
The letter is from a wizard named Nestoras Chrysanthou! People with a good grasp on the inner sea wizarding social scene will be able to identify the name as corresponding to a wizard of some ability who had to relocate out of Absalom after losing an academic squabble; he continues to participate in the republic of letters from what he claims is a private demiplane and what his detractors claim is merely an underground base with delusions of grandeur. People without such knowledge will only have what they can see from the letter itself, which is enough to make it clear that he's at least 6th circle and more than passable at necromancy. Within the letter - after the usual pleasantries congratulating her on her move out of Cheliax, which every self respecting wizard considers to be nigh-devoid of any actual magical merit - is some discussion of her personal research. The writer purports to be very impressed at her sentient badgers, and inquires after her interest in any spell trading or research collaboration.
"I Guess I must get used to Being in High Demand, now that I am a Well-Known Worldwound Wizard! Yes, I Rather think So"
Eriape writes a letter back in her Style, explaining all about her new spells, including her arcane Speak with Dead, Awaken, and so on. She invites him to visit if he likes, as scribing scrolls gets expensive.
Does he want to do that? Speak with dead is a little interesting, but -
...Apparently he does want to do that, but speak with dead isn't why because plenty of arcane spellcasters can do it. That's news to him.
A few days later, another wizard shows up at the Crusader's fort. He's not detectably evil, but that doesn't mean much since he's also not showing up to any other magical detection method either. Yes, he's here to speak to one of the adventurers here, yes he can swear under truthspell that to the best of his knowledge he's not working for or with any demons, yes he's willing to follow the rules or else leave. He's also got a couple of helpful spells prepared if that changes the outcome here, will they be less upset if he's willing to supply some communal phantom steeds and greater magic weapons and such for the fort?
No, that's exactly the kind of person we don't allow inside the walls, because we're not idiots, see.
This is discrimination, he's not even an undead! Or provably evil! Or wanted in Lastwall for anything! What it's not is surprising; he's just here so he can say he tried. Sending to Eriape:
Your Paladin hosts refused visitation. Meet at my base or neutral ground? Can provide transportation if desired.
She's not going to take the first or third offer herself, obviously, nobody gets to 6th circle without being smarter than that. But you still ask, and she might send him a minion whose eyes she can watch through or something.
"We can meet Just Outside the Fort! I can Bring with me Several of my Friends from the Fort to make it Safe!"
Sure, that works for him. He'll pick a spot in view of the fort that's far enough away to not be immediately concerning to throw up a tiny hut to keep off the wind before stone shaping some furniture and getting a folding chair for himself out of his bag of holding. If she's going to be a bit, he can put up a private sanctum, but he's personally protected and has detect scrying up to catch anyone trying to snoop.
Eriape comes out of the fort with a couple well-armed people in [Endure Elements]. She, herself, is wearing only the black silk she always wears. "Hello!" she says, and waves to Nestoras.
She and her companions can get access to the tiny hut! He doesn't seem the slightest bit worried about being seated in confined quarters with a Lich while outnumbered, which suggests he's either foolishly overconfident or he's really confident in whatever tricks he's got up his sleeves. (Both are true; if he was good at rational risk assessment he would still be in Absalom, and also having an 8th circle wizard* on telepathic comms with you has a way of being reassuring).
"Hello! I'd have brought refreshments, but it feels like it would be a bit trite when you don't eat. Shall we get right into things, or is there any ground work you want done before we start?"
*Incorrect on both counts.
What in the nine Hells is she talking about? There's a lot of pressure on his bluff for a moment there, as he struggles not to let any sign of his bafflement through before he learns how he's supposed to play this.
...Either his mentor doesn't know the trick, or doesn't think the role he's playing is best served by him knowing it. "A rather useful creature, for excavation work, and the larger varieties are also surprisingly fearless. I'll confess it's not a specialty of mine."
Well, she is Good now, so perhaps she can share a spell or two. But she's not trusting a man who describes the virtues of badgers like one would describe a horse.
Well, he's most interested in a version of Awaken that stabilizes on an arcane scaffold! He's got a couple spells of his own* that she might find interesting, like a stripped down version of possession he can fit in a third circle slot, contingent animate dead, and an undead-only magic fang he was able to make stabilize as a wizard spell; alternatively, he'd be happy to just pay for it with custom magic items or money if she'd prefer. He's more interested in seeing the work she did in developing it and here corresponding notes than the spell itself but he understands that might be private; it's relevant to a new spell he's working on developing himself.
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