It wasn?t often these days that Verin was able to get away from the keep, the council, and the duties of his position. But with the last war with the daemons over and done with, he?d managed to pull himself away from his otherwise monotonous lifestyle. And as a result, the grey elf appeared with little sound or flash to announce his arrival, in Kairee?s study. The only true signal heralding his approach was the faint hum of magic coursing through the air.

One hand smoothed down his blazer while the other was busy keeping a package tucked safely under his left arm. Turning, the grey elf let his gaze sweep over the study, noting the dark wood, the fireplace, built in shelving, and so on until his eyes fell on the single desk in the room, and the woman sitting at it. His lips curled into a smile as he crossed the small distance between himself, the desk, and said woman.

The package was shifted as he approached, moved to be offered outward and was set on the desk, but out of the way of any and whatever work she had on it.

?Afternoon, love,? Verin greeted amiably as ever. ?Hope I?m not interrupting.?

That smile turned into an oddly amused grin; she hit the nail on the head, in a sense. He shrugged almost noncommittally, motioning idly toward the package he?d set out for her before actually replying.

?Funny that you should mention that,? said Verin, nodding lightly as he spoke. ?I do have plans, actually. But first, why don?t you take a look at your gift? We can discuss those afterword.?

Again, the grey elf motioned toward the package, his hand moving to run through his hair an instant later while he waited.

Verin studied Kairee?s reaction while she put on that surprised face, opened the gift, and even chuckled at noting how he?d taken note of her height when purchasing the coat. Then of course, the grey elf took the next moment to regard and admire her in it, and the next to linger on and enjoy that offered kiss.

?Oh, my dear, you were incredibly close, but I?m afraid off by just a few hundred thousand miles, better luck next time,? he winked playfully at her then. ?Ever hear of the Great Glacier, Kairee? In Faerun??

His head shook, a smirk replacing that grin to match her own. Verin's head tilted curiously for a moment, his hand having to lift to again, brush unruly locks of hair from his vision.

"Mmm...not quite," he lifted his hand then, motioning it outward and to the left him him. Lights danced from his fingertips until a small, illusionary globe appeared, floating just off to the side. He turned, stepping closer to this so he could twist it around until landing on the area he was searching for.

"Here," he said, tapping the spot that was marked the Great Glacier on the globe. "Is the Great Glacier. It's located north, above Icewind Dale, near the Sea of Moving Ice. It's home to many arctic dwarves civilazations," he explained further, tapping the globe lightly with his index finger. It zoomed in on the spot he tapped until what appeared to be ruins amidst a mountain of snow, rock, and ice was visible.

"The dwarves recently unearthed some ruins of an older civilization, they believe it to by that of their ancestors, who were less nomadic than they and built grander cities, but they've yet to find proof," Verin turned away then, his attention moving back to Kairee. "I've ordered everyone to stay away from the ruins, as I want to take a look at them myself without any interruptions or accidents happening that would otherwise damage them."

He chuckled, dispelling the illusion with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Essentially, yes, we are," he shrugged lightly. "But the ruins, if they are in fact made by older arctic dwarves, will be relatively dangerous, tricky, and ultimately more fun to explore. Their traps in the past have been incredibly clever."

"Arctic dwarves use even less magic than the average dwarf does," he explained. "In their current society, only a shaman or cleric would have any magical ability. Their traps in other ruins have been mostly mundane things, nothing you wouldn't see in any other ruin, dart traps, pits, etcetera, just cleverly hidden. I doubt we'll fight many things on our way to the ruins, as the arctic dwarves are skilled huntsmen and hunt around that area often, so it will be relatively barren. Though I'm not entirely sure if there will or won't be anything inside the ruins, that's the fun part."

"I'd advise you not to pack too much, whatever you'd need to stay warm and other essentials. I've already packed most of the tools we'll be needing, a few items of scrying and divination, in case anything's hidden from view, etcetera."

Verin's gaze flicked down to the blue diamond that appeared, hanging from Kairee's neck. He studied it with fleeting curiosity before turning his attention to the woman, rather than what she wore.

"I'm ready, it's all a matter of when's best for you, really."

"Take your time," Verin merely smiled at her, turning to take a seat on the couch, settling in to wait patiently for her to conduct her business.

"Hassan," his chin dipped lightly in response to to Hassan's greeting, then turned his attention to Kairee, her words, and the letters. He was quiet during the exchange, simply waiting for the word.

And then it came.

"Excellent," he stood immediately as she approached, eagerly closing the bit of distance between them to reach out for her hand. "Shall I send us off then?"

"Always the smart one, aren't you?" he winked playfully before doing as suggested. In a wisp of magic and warmth, the pair were whisked away from Kairee's study, shifting rapidly through the planes and realms of existence until they finally settled in Faerun.

They appeared amidst a small community of arctic dwarves, a humble town filled with the shorter than average, stout folk who walked around bare foot going about their business. Arctic dwarves were, of course short, but even smaller than their common dwarven brethren, they were also wider. The community, while small, was thriving. Small, dwarven children ran rampantly through the narrow 'streets', playing games and singing songs while many of the older folk went about conducting business or relaxing in leisure.

The weather was just like what one would expect from an area named the Great Glacier. It was very, very cold, ice and snow were the predominant scenery, making most everything white save for the few wooden or painted stone homes set up by the dwarven residents. The buildings only had one or two floors each, typically wide and short. The windows in most were fogged by ice and snow, but glowed from inside with warm firelight.

Upon Kairee and Verin's appearance, one of the stout folk came hurrying out of a small building, plowing through the ice and snow toward them. The dwarf immediately bowed to both Verin and Kairee, bending at the waist until his nose touched the ground, then came back up.

"My Lord Fahliell," he greeted, then turned to do the same to Kairee. "And my Lady Kairee," he stepped back, standing tall (figuratively speaking), with his chin up pridefully while regarding the esteemed pair. "Welcome to Yurjak."

"Hello, Duroril," Verin greeted in return, nodding politely to the mannered dwarf. "I trust the few things I've asked for are prepared?

"Yes, my Lord," Duroril replied with a quick nod. "Everything is as you requested, though our beast tamers had a bit of trouble. But it has all been worked out, I can assure you," he added quickly.

"Good, lead the way then, Duroril," Verin bade the man, gesturing down the snowy avenues of Yurjak.

And before Duroril could respond to Kairee's inquiry, Verin cut him off. "That, love, would be our method of transportation. We're unsure of what magic preventing wards may or may not be present on the ruins, thus we cannot fully teleport there until we know for certain. He's prepared a snow sled and a few great polar bears for us."

Duroril nodded quickly. "Yes, they will take you to the recently unearthed ruins quickly enough," then without another word, the chieftain turned and barreled off through the snow with Verin soon following. "Come, love," hand still in hers, the grey elf guided her on.

As for the surface thoughts and emotions, the dwarves were still tentative in regards to their new and self-proclaimed emperor, but not necessarily hostile, as if they'd yet to decide what they thought of him.

The dwarves were all genial toward Verin and Kairee as they passed, offering friendly smiles, waves, bows of respect, and all around friendly greetings that seemed to be sincere for the most part. The arctic dwarves were a fairly friendly lot, especially to outsiders.

"Love," said Verin while they were led on by Duroril. "I was thinking..." his eyes swept over her. "As fantastic and lovely as you look in your dresses, I don't think going about in some old dwarven ruins in one is the best idea."

Duroril glanced over his shoulder at that, chuckling heartily. "Aye, the old kingdoms had some vicious trap makers, is nae so great an idea t'be wearin' what either o'ye are now when explorin' the ruins."

"Sure, if you're going for practical," he nodded lightly, chuckling while Duroril blinked and then led them around the corner, slowing as they neared a dome shaped building. "I'm just looking for comfort myself," the grey-elf shrugged then, a veil of grey falling over him to dissipate in the cold air, leaving Verin in a white tunic, some loose breaches, and doe-skin shoes.

"If my wards should fail me, any attackers would find themselves against a fully armored swordsman as well though," he winked, slowing as he noted Duroril doing the same. "Don't think I rely solely on magic to defend myself, love. You know better."

Duroril turned to them, knocking against the doorframe of the dome shaped building with his gnarled hand. "Here we are, yer sleigh's inside o'this 'ere buildin', just walk on through'n go to the back, they'll be settin' the two o'ye up."

"Thank you, Duroril," Verin replied, nodding politely to the helpful dwaf.

"It's been m'pleasure, Lord Verin'n Lady Kairee," the dwarf bowed low to the two of them, then turned and plowed on through the snow to attend to his other duties.

"Hmm?" he glanced off after Duroril, then shrugged and turned forward to step inside, holding the door for her. "He's a busy man, fall is approaching which means winter is on the way, many preparations to be made."

Inside the building were just a few workers, most of them near the back where a large door waited, with a sleigh and the set of polar bears waiting for them. Gesturing for Kairee to follow, Verin headed down the warmly lit wooden hall.

"The seasons don't really vary, but naturally during winter, it's much, much colder," he smirked over at her, tilting his head once they reached the sleigh. His eyes turned from her, to the sleigh.

A dwarf poked his head up from the sleigh, squinting at the pair for a moment before hopping off and ambling over.

"Lord Verin'n Lady Kairee," the dwarf said gruffly, with a curt bow of his head. "Barim Nurack, at yer service."

"Aye," the dwarf replied gruffly, to which Verin smirked. "Give it a few minutes, team's finishin' up with the bears."

"Barim is the master beast tamer here in Yurjak," Verin remarked offhandedly. Barim grunted in response and merely turned to amble on over to the sled to finish his work, grumbling about this and that.

"Once Barim is finished, we'll be heading out, love," Verin assured her as he turned to watch the dwarf in question's progress. "How much is that, I wonder?" he mused idly, lips twitching into a faint grin as he glanced over at her, then turned back to the dwarf as another loud grunted sounded from his direction.

"Alright," said Barim. "It's all set, have at it," he offered the pair a curt bow, then turned and waddled out of the room, a small team of dwarves following suit to leave Verin and Kairee to their own devices. There was a large wooden archway that had a sliding door covering it, likely the expected method of exit.

"See? What did I say?" his grin tugged wider, then Verin turned and walked toward the sleigh, stopping to motion her in first. "Come along, I know how very patient you've been the whole time."

"Mmm...perhaps when we return," Verin replied with a playful wink, turning just as he heard Barim grunt and retreat. "Well look at that. See? That wasn't too long of a wait."

Chuckling, the elven lord walked toward the sled and stepped into it, turning to offer a hand to aid her in doing the same. "It's a sled, dear. You ride in it," he thumbed toward the polar bears. "They'll pull us. Haven't you ridden in one before?" his brows arched upward curiously.

He turned and sat down beside her once they'd everything in order, taking a hold of the reins. "They're bears, love. Strong, fast, and durable. There is no magic about them, or the sled. They'll wait outside the ruins, they'll drag us normally, but it's a lot faster than walking and safer than magic at the moment."

He looked over to the large archway in the wall, the one that was undoubtedly their exit. A finger twitched, and kinetic energies were stirred up to explore the cracks, the gears and lines, and made the large set of doors open wide to reveal the rather monotonous scene of ice and snow on the other side.

With a simplistic grin, Verin's arm was draped around her, taking the reigns up once again after they'd been situated. He shook his head, chuckling quietly at her 'command' and gave the reigns a light flick with one of his wrists. The polar bears started off at a crawl, grunting quietly until the sleigh was pulled entirely from the small dome of a building.

A second flick of his wrist had them running off at a decent speed, the town falling away behind them to a sea of snow and ice. Pure white surrounded them, for as far as the eye could see. There were no distinguishable landmarks to inform them of where they were heading.

"I know perfectly well where we're going, as do the bears."

Verin didn't bother to point out his heritage, the fact that he was well versed in many languages and magics, or the fact that he had spoken to the dwarves ahead of time about arrangements. He merely shrugged, glancing over at Kairee with a teasing grin while the bears pounded through the snow and ice, bringing them slicing along in their wake.

"Yes. I'm full of all sorts of surprises, aren't I?" he grinned, lifting a hand to waggle his fingers. "Never know what I have up my sleeve."

"Knew?" He asked indignantly. "You mean you forgot?" Feigned shock and hurt ensued. His lips tugged into a subtle and false, but well acted out frown as he turned to study her incredulously.

"And here I thought you knew everything."

"I know many who would disagree with you, love." He grinned over at her, tossing off a playful wink while the bears dragged the sleigh quickly across the expansive tundra. "But to each his own, I suppose." He chuckled and turned his attention toward the ruins that loomed on the horizon, just small fragments of rubble at their distance.