"Then I'll make up my mind by then."

And she heads out.

The grizzled older man and the young man both watch her curiously. 

<Well, that was informative. I think we know where to pursue the trail next. I doubt we want to wait around for three days and then travel at river-barge speed.> 

 Definitely not. It doesn't really ....sound like the same story?

<...Not really, no, but - we should assume her information is incomplete and perhaps garbled, since she admitted to learning much of it by rumour. And, well, Aroden's story also does not sound much like mine unless one goes back a very very long way in his past.> 

Yes, but relatedly Aroden wasn't involved in any of the wars you might've heard about landing on Golarion. I think we should check it out, but I'd really like more to go off.

<- Definitely. I want much more information than this before approaching anyone. That being said, it could be informative even if it is not the case that the local version of me is involved in either side of the war. I would definitely seek out the best mage-school in the world if I lived here - and even if my alt did not find their way there, such a school will likely attract students and teachers who have travelled from distant places and could tell us more of this world in general.> 

That makes sense. It'll be hard to be there inconspicuously, though - especially in wartime - if their magic can detect that there's two of us that'll be pretty suspicious or at least confusing...

<We should find out more - whether they even have a version of Detect Thoughts, and if so whether it can be blocked. At worst I suppose you could go alone while I borrowed one of the others' hosts and stayed in touch from the shuttle.> 

Last time she did that Aroden kidnapped her and she's anxious about tempting fate but probably that's not part of the 'story', it'd be really bizarre if the grand arc of history specifically featured Mhalir-versions kidnapping her in particular.

It would be really bizarre! 

Anyway, Mhalir thinks their next stop should be to obtain a map so they actually know where Predain and Tantara are, geographically speaking, and then fly the shuttle over and get some closer surveillance. 

Sure. She'll change faces and go see about buying a map somewhere.

The main road by the river that has all the taverns also has a shop selling travel supplies and equipment, clearly aimed at the mercenary companies that seem to pass through here a lot. Mostly the shop sells tents and saddles and other outdoor gear, but the proprietor will sell her a map. He wants ten silver for a map that shows all the countries to the north including Tantara and Predain. 

...she doesn't actually have local money, will he take Chelish silver?

If it's good silver, sure, he gets all sorts of foreign coinage here. He peers at her coins, calls an assistant over to cast a mage-light so he can see better, and eventually mutters that goodness she must be from far away, he's never seen this currency, but he'll take it. 

She is from far away. She leaves and consults her map.

The Ceej Empire, with dotted lines dividing it into states and provinces, takes up nearly the entire right lower quadrant of the map; it has roads and rivers and cities and towns clearly marked in. To the far left is a sketched-in mountain range and then a coastline, labelled 'Haighlei' and with some cities marked but much less detail. 

Tantara is a few hundred miles north of their current location, snuggled between Ceej's northern provinces to the east and mountains to the west. Predain is another six or seven hundred miles further north, directly north of Tantara, and on the original map, extends a little further east. The shop proprietor, before selling her the map, muttered that it was out of date and sketched a much larger protrusion to the east and north, nearly doubling the total land area of the country. 

Well. 

She is actually tentatively inclined to go check out newly conquered Predain; they can't have great security over the whole territory and it'll be informative, what kind of conquerors they are.

Mhalir is still itching with curiosity to learn more about this 'Mage of Silence' and his school, but Carissa makes a good point. They can scout out Predain's new territory next. 

She's curious about the Mage of Silence too but that sounds way more dangerous, and it looks like Tantara includes the most heavily-shielded parts of this map, which she suspects they can't infiltrate unnoticed. (How would you do that...)

Mhalir has no idea! Presumably Predain's military has been trying to get past it, though, so maybe they can learn something about it in Predain. 

They slip back out of the city and he transmits a message to the shuttle asking for a cloaked pickup, which can be arranged shortly later. 

She didn't burn that many spells in the Ceej Empire; they could probably hit up Predain today, if they wanted.

Sure, it's only early afternoon and the flight over can be accomplished in half an hour. 

What does newly-part-of-Predain look like from the air?

Mixed! Mostly it looks...fine. It's a much colder climate than the port city they visited before, clearly worse for farming, and it's less densely populated. There are signs of recently-built infrastructure - canals, aqueducts, a few paved roads, a river dam driving some sort of waterwheel. All of it stands out as much newer and more advanced than the ramshackle wooden buildings surrounding it. The more remote regions look if anything lower-tech than the southern rural areas. 

There's more magic here than there was down south, but it's mostly concentrated in a few cities, which have shields and magic lights and other magical infrastructure of unclear purpose. 

One of the cities, the furthest north and most heavily shielded, seems to be hosting a military garrison or maybe a training-ground. There are barracks that look very newly built, and humans on the ground, and - some sort of large flying creatures? Which ping the magic sensors directly, as though they're themselves inherently magical.