Winter: Faerun still in process of cleaning up the destruction caused by the Dark War. Waterdeep and many other larger cities are nearly fully rebuilt by mid-Alturiak (february). Zhentile Keep remains destroyed after the war as Cyric has inner fighting amongst his clergy after his attempt to take over the Realms.  By end of the month of Ches the destruction of the Dark War has vanished from Faerun for the most part, only memories remain.

Spring:
    Harpers notice that zhentarium forces are gathering and assembling at the Citadel of the Raven, but no one has any idea as to why. Also Zhent activity in the Dales increase slightly and word of the assembling of zhent forces at the Citadel make those within the Dales fear a zhent attack!
    Word of activity within the Ruins of Zhentile Keep by minions of the Dark God Xvim, the godson of the dead god Bane, spread throughout taverns in the Dales, Sembia and Cormyr. Several adventuring bands delving into the ruins in seek of lost treasure or adventure report strange undead creatures and malicious traps.
    Word of Zsass Tam, the Zulkir of Necromancy involvement  in Thay to begin to attempt to unite Thay under his guidance for domination of the Realms reaches the ears of the Haarpers. This thought is scoffed at by an sane person as everyone knows that all of the Red Wizards of Thay are far too self-indulgent and  greedy to ever unite for a joint cause unless they all saw themselves coming out 100% on top and above the other red wizards! Nonetheless a band  harpers (including  several mages) are sent over to spy upon the lich, and if to take any necessary actions against him if needed.
    The Tome of Gates is stolen from a Harper safehold that had been guarded for decades by spectral harpers. This spellbook contains magical spells concerning the opening of permanent gates. This book in the wrong hands would allow the user to open a  permanent gate to the lower planes and summon forth whatever monsterous evils the user desired. The harper Valaria Dalael is sent to find the tome or its location.  She finds herself joined by an old companion, Karranna. Together they uncover the book had been stolen by the zhentarium, and in the dales the zhents (in series of tunnels and caverns under the dales) they were attempting to open a permanenet gate to the abyss to release tannar'ri upon the dales. But to open a permanent gate to the lower planes a human sacrifice must be made. The zhents had founds  suitable sacrifice a young priestess of mystra they kidnapped outside of Waterdeep , but Valaria and Karranna rescued her before the zhents could perform the Gate ritual and together they all killed the zhent's warriors, but before they could slay the zhent mage he summoned a gate that led him to a ruined fortress in myth drannor , from their through a magical gate that teleported everyone into a cavern where there were several cult members giving worship to a dragon they intended to transform into a dracolich. The zhent mage with the tome of  gates was slain by the cult members spells, but together Valaria and Karranna and Emerald (the priestess of Mystra) fought the Cult members to the death and forced the dragon to flee the cavern..in the process swearing revenge!
    With the Tome of Gates in hand the trio return to Valaria mothers Tower in ShadowDale (nearby) and while their some psuedo-harpers (actual zhent assassins in disguise) pay them a visit, but Whisper (valarias mother) see's through their deception and calls their bluff.  A battle breaks out in the main room of Whispers Tower, but it turns  deadly when two of the Zhent assassins turn out to be powerful mages both carrying powerful Staves which they in turn both break for a retributive strike. This causes a massive explosion which nearly destroys the tower, kills Karranna, Emerald and Valaria and all the zhent assassins plus almost killing Whisper except for her contigency spells save her life and heal her wounds. However after the blast a gate opens up within her tower and a Pit Fiend exits the gate and Whisper musst  face and kill the Baatezu. She, with the aid of her, librarian friend (also a spellcaster)  Marylax they slay the baatezu as well as protect the tower from toppling  in on them!
    This battle was nearly crippling to Whisper, she was nearly slain. She fought off the baatezu nearly single handedly menwhile Marylax kept the foundation of the Tower stable after the double blast of two powerful staves, combined with the explosive  spells that the baatezu and the  archmage threw at one another. After the battle Whisper contacted her sister, Selphia (high priestess of mystra at  the Tower of the Weave in ShadowDale) and Selphia and several temple mages and clerics teleported over to Whispers Tower. Selphia had everyone teleported back to the temple where ressurection magic was used to revive Karranna, Valaria and Emerald from the  dead. Whisper returned with Marylax to her tower to heal her mental andd physical wounds.
    Valaria (as a Harper) was sent by her Senior Harper Storm Silverhand to take the Tome of Gates back up to its Safehold in which is was stolen from and return it to its guardians. She undertakes her new assignment, along side with Emerald and Karranna (both members of Mystra's clergy and sworn to protect magic). Via teleportaion magic, they telported up to Baulders Gate, purchased passage along the sword coast up to Waterdeep (on board their water voyage they battled off Sahaugin attacks), then once in Waterdeep they spent a couple hours their and were assaulted by double attacks by Cult of the Dragon members and also zhent assassins! So after these attacks Valaria used another teleportation spell to take them to Icewind Dale. (through the use of teleport magic and the water voyage they threw off most..."most" pursuiters)  Once in Icewind dale , Valaria used a wand Storm gave her that would lead them to this hidden harper vault. The wand  them days into the cold wintery land, they fought off attacks by twin Yeti's and a white pudding! Then horror struck as a massive white dracolich with a powerful mage rider attacked them demanding them to surrender to the cult for the offense of slaying cult members and nearly a cult dragon....and to also surrender the  book to them as well. (obviously word had gotten out about the Tome of Gates and what it contained!!) Once again together the trio battled...Valaria with her mage spells, Karranna armored in Skais arsenal and with her ancient blade, and Emerald with her clerical spells. The battle was fierce, dragon breath mingled with mages spells  swept the plains of the tundra area. But enventual a grave enough blow was given that both the dragon and its rider were forced to retreat!
    The wand led them deep into the Spine  of the World mountains. After 2 days of traveling through the Spine of the world, they are led into a snowy revine  and into a snowy cave that leads them deep within the mountain  into an icy cavernous area where they are ambushed by a massive group of armed goblins and their shaman (whom they notice is quite adept as spellcraft). They are taken prisoner to an audience  with their Goblin King whom deems them his personal servant and warriors. he tells them of an Ice Demon within the treasure vault that appeared  and he  wanted them as their first service to him  to go and kill it then  return  to him for their next service to him. So in  hope that the treasure vault was the Harper Vault (b/c the wannd led them deep into this mountain!). They reached this treasure vault and were shocked to find a Gelugon baatezu within this treasure vault. During the battle the Gelugon summoned 6 other Barbazu baatezus as backup, but the heroes slew them with some ease!
    Then with the wand Valaria finds the exact entrance to the Harper Vault in the back of the goblins treasure vault, and a  secret door opens and within are two spectral elven harper within glass globes. They free them and learn that a zhent mage appeared several weeks prior summoning undead and a baatezu  creature, subdued them and set them in that crystal prison, then stole away with the tome of gates and set the baatezu to guard over the vault!  The Spectral harpers thanked them then bid them farewell as everything within the secret  vault vanished away teleporting to some other hidden locale tonever be found again until needed. Then several goblin guards burst in, along side the goblin shaman who suddenly reveals himself as a zhent mage! But then before any extreme battle could errupt the heroes were whisked away to Laeral Arunesens Tower in Waterdeep, where a fully healed and rejuvinated Whisper sits along side Learal..
    Here the heroes learn that when the former zhent assassins whom attacked them all in Whispers tower were spoken to via speak with  dead spells they all  said the same thing; "Your answer lies within the Citadel of the Raven" and then they crumbled to ashes. So to discover what answers lie within the Citadel and also to pay a visit to the Archmage who sent suicidal assassins to kill them, Whisper, Karranna, Valaria and Emerald entered through a secret escape route that Lord Manshoon created the led from a gate in Undermountains upper halls, into the magical trapped sewers under the Citadel, up into heavily guarded series of halls, up to a stair well leading up into Manshoons private chambers. With Whispers spells that protected them from magic, and kept tthe magical traps from being set off as well as magical spells from detecting them they made it through all of Manshoons traps and up into his private chambers. Within those chambers they found something they never expected to find: Lord Manshoon sitting calmly at his dest awaiting their arrival. He very slying mentions he is just loving his personal copy of the Tome of Gates (which he has opened before him, as if he were reading it before they had arrived). Then at that point Whisper flew off the handle and went into a Mage-Fury. She conjured spells that could  easily have toppled the  entire keep, and also any spell that Manshoon raised against her or at her, she found a way to get around it or dispel it. Eventually she gave into something she  rarely will ever do and that is the use of a power word kill spell. With that single spell, Manshoon fell dead to the floor, and his bodies flesh melted away....which shocked whisper because her spell didnt do that to him. But them a group of 13 Mage Guards broke into the room sending all manner of spells at them all! Whisper used magic to maket he copy of the Tome of Gates fly across the room and into Valarias hands. Then Whisper held the guards at bay while the heroes escaped! The heroes had to face the guardians and magical traps of Manshoons "secret" entrance, but soon Whisper appears next to them using her magic to whisk them back to Waterdeep!
    Then back in the comfort of Waterdeep  in Laeral's Tower, the Heroes Learn that yet another copy of the Tome of Gates was created and "sold" to a Fiend named Aliizza in Hellgate Keep. And worse yet Aliizza had the magical knowledge to use to spells within, and in doing so she could open up gates to her home plane of the Abyss within Hellgate Keep to summon her kindred to join her clan of Alu-Fiends in her attempt to escape Hellgate Keep and venture out into the surface realms!!
    Then another silver haired woman teleports into the chamber; Alustriel Silverhand, high Lady of Silverymoon! She comes and tells the current state of Hellgate Keep and the factions denizens within it. Also she bears news that all divinations have shown Lord Manshoon as deceased, which is shocking to Whisper because Manshoon has been slain countless times, but always a clone of his  awakens seconds after his death to take his place, this time no clone has awakend! Meaning Manshoon is actually dead!  Storm Silverhand also then enters the chambers agreeing with Alusriel about the matters concerning Manshoons death, she bears news that Elminster has used divination spells to determine the actual outcome and undeniably all answers point to his death!
    Then Storm Silverhand bears bad news, she speaks of Thay and the Red Wizards and Zsass Tams desire to unite Thay unders his guidance  to take over the Realms. It was a subject that had been heard in rumor by everyone in the room. Then Storm explains that "a band of harpers had been  assigned to go over to Thay and spy  on the lich. the band of harpers noticed that Zsass was attempting to do this and they deemed it necessary to take the lich out just in case he actually succedded in this. Before I could contact them to tell them not  to atttempt such a suicidal thing, they attempted to assassinate him and their were no survivors from the band of harpers."  then she goes on to add  "Although something that the band did report to me before their murders were rumors they had heard of  shrines and worshippings given up to a new goddess of magic called the Dark Mistress or simply the Dark Goddess." Then she assigned Valaria (and after asking to go along, Emerald) to traveel to the Eastern borders of Thay, to Calimport, and to anywhere necessary to divulge information concerning this cult. Storm commented on having gotten this information of rumors of this new cult from harpers of all various locales over the Realms, yet none have seen one of these shrines or worship services as of yet. It was Valarias and Emerald job to gather information and find one of these temples or shrines!
    So this  is where the heroes separate: Karranna and Whisper enter Hellgate in search of the final copy of the Tome of Gates and Valaria and Emerald head to the east via magic to find information of a new cult worshipping a new goddess of magic.