It takes a few days to get there at your pace, during which you are exposed to the glorious outdoors of this mountain land. If I were a 20th century British author, there would be eighteen pages of flowing descriptions of the same rolling green hills.
As for a bird's eye view of the area, I offer Google Maps. I pinned the location of the covenant, but not the other sites. As a vague estimate, where you had met the ogre is about a league south of the covenant. Where you are headed is about a league northwest of the covenant. Maybe two.
You have questions about the covenant and the drakes. LLet me think of some random data bites.
- The covenant was founded just after the Schism War by Delendos filius Flambeau and Valdarius of Flambeau fomerley of Verditius. The Andorran Guard are descended from the legacy of the veteran shield grogs that served these two during that war.
- Back in 1220, there was an expedition to locate the lost covenant of Val-Negra. That's when Roger died. The renegade magus Metron of Flambeau had torched a building. Roger rescued a child from that building. The child survived the blast, Roger did not. His memory of the details are hazy. The next day, when the party awoke in the Magic Realm (they had to sleep in some strange field in order to pass from the Regio into the Realm), Roger woke up right there with them as if nothing happened.
- The Drake Hunts of the old days keep being mentioned. The last one was in the mid 20's I think. The previous Pontifex, Archmagus Antonio of Flambeau, he was the classic stereotype. And he liked to hunt monsters. He had these three custos, his personal shield grogs, that are legends in the tales of the Andorran Guard. Moses, Lawrence, and Shemp. They faced ogres, goblins, wyverns, fire drakes, salt wyrms, lindwurms, giants, herensuge, infernal sorcerers, malicious 'afrieet, the catoblebas, and many more.
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- The trick here is that, because of the lore of the Andorran Guard, they know what the senior magi will not admit out loud. Though it is written into the rulings and protocol as a treaty, the arrangement between Andorra and Sigmundo is an alliance. Moses and the others were there when Antonio met the elder dragon face to face, and they saw the dragons true form.
- Drakes and dragon-kind are not as common as stories may lead one to believe, but far more common than one would wish for. In real-life history, the actual records of the day mention dragon sightings as casually as the weather report on the news. And, in this very saga, about ten years ago, their was a literal dragon war between two vying factions of intelligent dragons. You can't just cover this stuff up.
- Drakes have that classic body style, four limbs, two wings, tail, snout, scales, etc. They are usually associated with fire, but not always. Wyverns have wings and two legs, with a long whip like tail and huge fangs. They are usually associated with venom and poison, but not always. Then various wyrms have no wings and usually no legs. Almost like a giant serpent, but with a very draconic head and scales.
- OOC: As for these three in question, as mentioned, they are cousins of one of the senior magi of the covenant and are under protection. More information can be found in the Bestiary entry for the Three Rogue Firedrakes. Keep in mind that those entries represent the best most recent knowledge about them since last encountered. This information had been updated to about 1240 from when they were first encountered back around 1223. They are due for another update after this is all over. If you are wondering why and how magic creatures need regular updating, read the entry closer and talk to Vibria about the Mists.
- OOC: on a related note, a past player named Brin has asked to join us. As we are full up on magi, I asked her to play Roger to start off with as we sort things out. Brin played in that old Drake Hunt story I keep mentioning, and is an avid reader of the stories. I figured that she would be a good fit for Roger. It also makes it easier on me because I can funnel undiluted data and links through a single player, and let them think of how to filter it and turn it into dialogue. I can then focus more on narration and advancing the story.