ToF4-01-08: The Gathering – Leaving the Lady’s College: It had been a long walk back to the Lady’s College from the Bright Blade Brandished, but Galen’s mind was filled with thoughts of the night’s events, so he barely remembered it… Though his sore feet attested to every step of the trip. How could mere chance had brought together such an odd group of strangers, all seeking some greater destiny? Was the desire enough to draw them to the same place at the same time, or was there really some greater power at work? Faeryl, the beautiful and sensual drow priestess of Eilistraee, a goddess worshiped by good-hearted drow, believed so with out question. But he had always put his faith in the science of the Art. Disciple, will and the formulas of magic were his religion. Yet he could not dismiss the astronomical odds that had been defined tonight! Looking around his sparse room he knew what he had to do, and set about packing his few prized possessions; his spell books, the few scrolls he had purchased and a variety of odds bits which served as spell components. He would miss the College and some of his schoolmates, some more then others. But he knew that he had to leave. He had to be part of… what ever it was that the strangers he had met tonight were to become. Sitting down at his desk he wrote a quick and simple note to Adria and Adric, the twin sun elves whom he would miss most of all those here. He made no attempt to explain why he was leaving; it would take all night to pen that tale, and he wasn’t quite sure of all the reasons himself. Instead he simple said that he had to leave and asked that they inform the staff so the next name on the College’s wait list could take his place. With every task he had to do before leaving completed, he laid down on his bed to rest for a few hours before repeating the long trek back to the Bright Blade Brandished in time to meet the others for breakfast. His mind still churned with too many thoughts and questions to sleep, but an un-rested wizard could not harness the Art. When the watch bell sounded five, over an hour till dawn, Galen rose and gathered his things. He scanned the room one last time to ensure that he had not forgotten anything, and then walked the few doors down the hallway to the room shared by the elven twins and slipped his note under the door. With a resigned sigh he turned and headed for the College’s gate, not knowing if he would ever cross its threshold again. The tavern’s common room was empty when he arrived, but he knew as dawn came it would fill quickly. Taking a seat at the round table that he and the others had occupied, he waited quietly for them to join him; they had made no commitment to meet in the morning, but he knew they would come. What ever force had drawn them together last night would see to that he was sure. But as he waited, he failed to notice one more odd quirk of fortune. There had been four chairs about the table last night; now there were five.