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The Mothers returned to the Anarchists’ Library in search of more information to help guide them. First they asked for information on Halruaa. They were shown various tomes that had chapters on its history, geography and society. It seemed as if this nation had not maintained the arrogance of their Netherese forebears, so perhaps this magocracy was not linked to the present troubles in Anauroch.

Much to Gaspode’s disgust, yet more coinage was handed over into the grubby claws of the anarchist researcher, this time to find references to Anauroch itself, the Phaerimm and the Sharn. Apparently it was the Phaerimm who created the great desert by life draining magic that they were using to attack Netheril. It was only after the damage was irreparable that the wizards discovered the cause of the wilting of their fields and pastures. They fought with the Phaerimm but discovered that the strange creatures were immune to most of their magic, so they wrought mightier and mightier dweomer-craft in the hope of overcoming their resistance. Eventually another race stepped in to the conflict, one that even the ancient Netherese had never known of before. The Sharn used their powers to create a prison for the Phaerimm under the sands of the new desert Anauroch. But this was too late for the flying cities of Netheril. Their arrogant toying with the very weave of magic itself could not be left unchallenged; the goddess of magic sacrificed herself to restore the weave. A new god was born just as magic stopped working throughout Faerûn and the Netherese who had not already fled their flying cities, crashed to the earth. The Bedine and the Zhentarim were the only peoples operating in Anauroch now. The Bedine are nomadic tribesmen who move from cold oasis to oasis, moving their tents and animals with them. The Zhentarim come armed and organised, their caravans sneaking across the desert from east to west and back again, carrying trade goods and whatever else is of interest to them, back to their base west of the Moonsea.

After perusing an old map of the region the Mothers thought that the location of the two giant lairs might have some significance. Perhaps they were searching in these locations for the Phaerimm, trapped beneath the desert thousands of years before, or maybe they were looking for fallen Netherese cities. A visit to Halruaa or to speak to the Bedine might provide the answers required or perhaps not.

The Mothers pondered these questions late into the evening in the Golden Bariaur, coming to no immediate resolution.

Tettet had become increasingly frustrated with the research that the Mothers had been pursuing. He strongly suggested that an assault on the rift was the only wise course of action. Although the Mothers suspected that he might have particular motives behind his suggestion, they listened to his thoughts. Tettet believed that if the Mothers did not have the strength to take on the giants themselves, then they should obtain the services of others willing to take the risk alongside them. Siosiann suggested that the group could also boost its effectiveness by gathering temporary magical items such as potions and scrolls that could be procured from some powerful temples and mage academies.

The Mothers asked Stronghoof if he knew of any place in Sigil where they could purchase some potions. He suggested that the Grand Bazaar was an excellent place to start looking. Sure enough, when the Mothers entered the Bazaar, they quickly found a building with the proud title of the Philosopher's Alembic. On entering they found a long low wooden counter, behind which sat an old gnome. The wall behind him was covered in wooden panels of various sizes and at varying heights. The Mothers had brought with them a shopping list, hoping for potions that would help them in many ways. The gnome patiently went through his wares, warning the group that some of the concoctions would only be effective with those who followed the sword, which Gaspode took to mean, those who used edged weapons. When they were done, the gnome quietly went through his notes on their selection adding up the total cost of the Mothers� purchases. It came to the huge sum of twenty seven thousand gold pieces. Jito was suggesting further haggling, but after a trade of a magical battleaxe was proposed, the gold price dropped to twenty five thousand. Gaspode asked if he could pay with gems and the old gnome knocked on the wooden panelling. In a few moments another gnome emerged from a small door in that wall that the Mothers had not noticed before. She was wearing a pair of unusual brass spectacles, with one eyepiece replaced by a squat cylindrical device and she seemed even older than the gnome that they had been dealing with. She approached the counter by Gaspode and laid out a long black rectangular piece of velvet and motioned for Gaspode to deposit his gems there. As she started examining each in turn the male gnome was fetching bottles from behind the sliding panels and placing them in groups on the counter.
When the woman was done she spoke in gnomish to the man and nodded to the group. She rolled up the gems in the velvet and went back through the door with them. Jito meanwhile told the others that she had said that the gems were suitable. Gaspode then piled three thousand gold pieces onto the counter and handed over the battleaxe. He took out his sheet of smallness and wrapped up the potions in turn before storing them away in his pack. Each bottle was made of thick crystal glass, stoppered with cork and capped with wax. Each was also clearly labelled in common. The Mothers thanked the gnome and left as he was placing the gold coins under the counter.

The Mothers then considered travelling to Cormyr and seeking the aid of the Lord High Seneschal in finding hirelings, but Gaspode remembered that they had been warned not to raise any force in the kingdom. They considered hiring bloods in Sigil, but Guthranka thought that they might have little interest in a petty squabble on a prime world. So they settled on a return to Waterdeep, thinking that they should be able to transport any willing people that they found there directly to the rift using the magical chain that they had discovered in the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief. Jito made sure that no one would be forcing him to visit his wife. So they made their way to the Lower Ward where the fumes of the Foundry were irritating their lungs, and they found the alley where Jito had first arrived in Sigil. They quickly lit and extinguished a torch and stepped through to more misty rain, but this had the smell of the sea. Waterdeep now spread around them. They headed off from the alley towards the Spires of the Morning near where Marthus the Red lived. The Mothers thought they might find a room in the Alchemist's Scales before pursuing their business in the city.