Numerous small holes are visible at the end of the collapsed mine shaft, clearly the work of burrowing critters. Following the attackers into their natural habitat, however, is a risky proposition...
Session 12: Into the Labyrinth
Numerous small holes are visible at the end of the collapsed mine shaft, clearly the work of burrowing critters. Following the attackers into their natural habitat, however, is a risky proposition...
Pressing Problem in Poisson
The Nerathian Temple
Those were terrible moments, huddled at the foot of the stairs that gave access to the Temple, spiders and hungry beetles blocking our way forward, the angry wyrmlings preventing a retreat.
With the booming thunder of the drakes' lightning shocks resonating in our ears, we used several flasks of oil to defend ourselves from the incoming beetle swarms and Adolfiel vented her fury on the critters, preventing them from becoming a serious menace.
Once we had rested some minutes, I had enough time to create a Tenser's Floating Disk and we carefully placed the body of our sister on top of it. As we still could hear the screeches of the dragons, we decided to explore the ruins. They seemed to be an ancient Nerathian temple, part of which had collapsed, probably due to an old landslide. The place was infested with insects, and several scary centipede-looking bugs attacked us appearing from tunnels they had burrowed through the walls and floor of the collapsing temple. We killed several before the rest decided to flee to their warrens.
In the temple we found an old altar with an indentation, some Nerathian tablets, a magical orb -which we placed in the middle of the altar, following the instructions of the tablets, but with no apparent results- and several other minor objects.
Scientific Notes
Today I have time to do some sketches - I am using a new book, as the original one I left at Ioun's chapel in Marshport to be copied there by a priestess-. Here you can see the horrible crocodiles that devoured poor Streisan and the centipede-looking creatures that attacked us in the temple. I have decided to name this new crocodile species Streisanorum Bocatae, in honor of my decesaed sister.
The Long Road to Poisson
The following day we left the ruins. It was a beautiful sunny day, and I could not avoid remembering when we three used to play near Leavendale's river and how I taunted Streisan and told her she could not run faster than her shadow and I could -of course using magic, but she was too young to know back then.
We followed the road, which at times could not even be called a path. Slowly, the ground became drier, and the swamp gave way to a beautiful forest where we found a nice tree to bury Streisan. We were preparing the digging tools when a screech alerted us to the presence of one of the blue wyrmlings that had attacked us the day before. I focused all my anger on the creature and she felt semiunconscious to the ground, where we quickly surrounded and almost killed it, but dragons, even young ones, are full of cunning and surprises, and this one survived our flurry of blows and, seeing itself in peril, decided to retreat to her lair to lick her wounds, even though Vistra, for a short time, was able to ground her again.
So we buried Streisan with her spear, and sent her body to the Circle, so that her soul can enter again the Wheel of Life, and with a final tear we said goodbye to her recklessness and to her playfulness, to her naivety and to her good and loving heart.
A few hours later we left the forest and reached a lonely hut, surrounded by a beautiful garden. We knocked the door and a halfling woman greeted us with good manners. She told us her husband was a lumberjack and that we could not stay at her place, as there was not enough place for a group of big adventurers, but we could sleep near her hut if we wanted. She invited us to tea and asked, as a favor, if we could repair the roof of her hut. While Adolfiel and I worked on the roof, Tyrion and Vistra shared a cup of tea with the halfling.
From time to time we heard flapping noises and saw big bats hiding in the shadows, but the woman assured us they were harmless. She also told us that Poisson was only half a day to the north, and that most of its inhabitants were working in the construction of the tower of some crazy wizard.
After the nice conversation, we made camp near the hut... We were awakened by some loud noises... the halfling woman was a horrible disfigured Hag! She had poisoned the tea, and even with the loud noise Tyrion was still snoring. Thankfully, Vistra's dwarven constitution allowed her to resist the effects of the poison and she had alerted us.
The battle was fierce. Every time any of us left the area illuminated by the campfire, she was attacked by the bats, so we tried to stay in the light, but there we heard the insidious thoughts the Hag tried to plant in our brains, and they provoked an agonising pain. It was a miracle that we survived, but we fought with all our resources and with a final push from Vistra, the Hag fell in the camp's fire, where she burnt like a dry husk, her horrible screams resounding in the darkness of the forest.
Pressing Problem in Poisson
After the attack of the Hag, the night passed uneventfully and we prepared for the final leg of our journey. After half a day of swift march, we started seeing some farms, all of them showed signs of being slightly unattended. We asked the occupants of a couple farms, and we learnt that they were inhabited by Halfling women, and that the men were "having fun" in Poisson, helping in the construction of a tower. All Halfling women wore expensive golden jewelry... it seemed the owner of the tower, someone they called Sionas, was a good employer.
We arrived at the main square of the village at dusk. The only inn of Poisson was surrounded by a multitude of tents, and several dozen Halflings were busy in and around the inn, spending their money in getting drunk as fast as their little mouths allowed them to.
The prices at the inn were outrageous and we couldn't even get a real bed, but we were tired of eating rations for three full days in a row, so we accepted the offer of the owner, a busy Halfling called Samner, and took our first nice warm dinner of the trip. I tried to earn some money for the group using my magical skills, but I was too tired to focus and I did not get much money out of the drunken Halfling builders.
We also asked for directions to Mandin's home, and everybody told us he lived at the construction site. We also learnt that the workers had been mainly digging what would become the cellars of Sionas' tower.
We were thinking about retreating to our tents, when a scared Halfling rushed into the inn calling for a cleric. The Halfling priest -probably these little creatures honour a Barrel of Ale above all- had prayed too much and seemed too tired after honouring the Barrel for what looked like hours, judging by his drunken stupor, so Vistra offered herself for help. The Halfling did not seem very convinced, but he had no other choice, so he finally told us that there had been a cave in at the construction site and Sionas needed help to rescue the workers. We all rushed to the Tower - a three mile trek-, following the Halfling, who was riding a pony, as fast as we could.
At the entrance to the tower we were met by Sionas. He was an extremely stern-looking eladrin. He told us that there had been a cave in while expanding the cellars of the tower and that he needed help with the wounded and with the removing of rubble. We followed him into what seemed like a constructed mine shaft, leaving behind some kind of elevator and descending into the depths following a long flight of stairs.
The end of the shaft had collapsed and we saw some people already working removing rubble. When we approached to help the workers, we were amazed when we got closer to them... They were some of the elves that had been taken prisoner in Leavendale! They seemed well-fed, but our surprise turned swiftly to anger when we heard their story...
Apparently, the captain of the ships that assaulted our village was a hobgoblin brute called Szakim, and he had sold the strongest elven prisoners to Sionas to work in the digging as slaves. They had not been tortured, but forcing an Elf to dig without seeing the sun and feeling the wind in the leaves of her forest can be considered a sort of torture. I confronted Mandin, who was the construction chief with the information, and he seemed to be ashamed of the events, but told us that removing the rubble and rescuing the wounded was of utmost importance now. Mandin also warned me not to use magic, as he feared that could have been the cause of the collapse.
While we worked helping our fellow Elven citizens, Sionas came from time to time to check the progress. He seemed genuinely concerned, so I tried to resist the urge of insulting him for his part in the enslavement of the Elves.
Soon, we started finding bodies. The first one we found was still alive, but his legs had been chewed off from knee down! There seemed to be more to the situation than the collapse, and our suspicions were confirmed when all the other bodies we found had similar marks of having been bitten by critters.
I spoke with Sionas, told him that the tunnels were obviously compromised and that he would need someone to clean the infestation before he could proceed with the construction works. In exchange for the job, I asked him to at least release the Elven prisoners, and he agreed with my demands, with the condition that we did not use magic while in the caverns.
One of the Elves said he would join us. We gave him some of the equipment we had found in the Nerathian temple, and we prepared ourselves to enter the dark and dangerous tunnels...
Session 11: Out of the Woods?
Though overcome with grief over Streisan's demise, the survivors march on through the forest toward Poisson, unaware that Fate has a surprise in store for them...
Farewell
After the fight with the elves, I had decided not to continue writing this diary. I was enjoying life, together with my two sisters, facing and defeating the world in its own terrain; it did not matter if it was an ice elemental, a clever gnome or a wild bear: we always prevailed... or I thought. Today life has hit us with all its cruelty and we have not managed to avoid the blow.
The day was evolving as usual: we were marching along the way from Marshport to Poisson, when we reached a damaged bridge. The bridge was broken in the center, having quite a large gap between its two remaining parts. While we were deciding how to cross the river, Streisan realized that the gap was not very long and simply jumped to the other side... when she realized that she was not there alone: a group of huge crocodriles were guarding the bridge and attacked her as soon as she crossed to the other bank. At that moment it was impossible for us to cross, so she decided to attract the attention of the beasts and run as fast as she could away from the river, thus letting us the space we needed to cross.
However, the coward crocodriles surrounded her. She fought bravely against the creatures while the cavalry was crossing safely the river... but this bite was more than she could chew. Before we could get to her, the damned crocodiles had bitten her leg and managed to make her fall. Once she was on the floor, they went on biting until they took her last bit of life out of her. Thanks to her we could get rid of the animals, but the price we had to pay was too high.
Now I'm writing these lines by my sister's corpse. It's strange: if I did not know what has happened today, I would say she is there resting, that she had being hunting and that the blood covering her arms and legs is not hers, but a bear's. Her face is calm and relaxed, because she knows she has served Corellon well. I am going to miss her.
The day was evolving as usual: we were marching along the way from Marshport to Poisson, when we reached a damaged bridge. The bridge was broken in the center, having quite a large gap between its two remaining parts. While we were deciding how to cross the river, Streisan realized that the gap was not very long and simply jumped to the other side... when she realized that she was not there alone: a group of huge crocodriles were guarding the bridge and attacked her as soon as she crossed to the other bank. At that moment it was impossible for us to cross, so she decided to attract the attention of the beasts and run as fast as she could away from the river, thus letting us the space we needed to cross.
However, the coward crocodriles surrounded her. She fought bravely against the creatures while the cavalry was crossing safely the river... but this bite was more than she could chew. Before we could get to her, the damned crocodiles had bitten her leg and managed to make her fall. Once she was on the floor, they went on biting until they took her last bit of life out of her. Thanks to her we could get rid of the animals, but the price we had to pay was too high.
Now I'm writing these lines by my sister's corpse. It's strange: if I did not know what has happened today, I would say she is there resting, that she had being hunting and that the blood covering her arms and legs is not hers, but a bear's. Her face is calm and relaxed, because she knows she has served Corellon well. I am going to miss her.
Elven Lament
Today has been the saddest day of my life, and weeks will pass until I am able to smile again at the sun... Streisan is dead! and life will never be the same.
As expected, the marshes between Marshport and Poisson were a foul place, full of mosquitoes and dangerous wild animals. The so-called road was a path overgrown with brambles and advancing was treacherous and tiring. The bridge was indeed broken, and the river was full of nasty-looking reptile creatures. I was preparing to create a Tenser's Floating Disk when I heard a loud crash. Streisan, in her recklessness, had not waited to carry out the discussed plan and had leapt a full 20 feet to the other side of the bridge. There she landed on a weakened section wich cracked, leaving her legs dangling dangerously close to the gigantic crocodile's maws. The creatures got into a frenzy at the sight and smell of such a tasty morsel and started to jump frantically trying to close her jaws around Streisan's legs.
She was able to get out of the crashed section into a kind of platform from which she would have been able to defend herself from the crocodiles while the rest of us crossed the river -she had a rope with her and Tyrion was tying it to our side of the bridge-, but she somehow got again in reckless-mode and charged wildly into the jungle, out of our reach and sight, the crocs following her in a feeding frenzy.
We crossed the river as quick as we could, but by the time we arrived we could only stop the crocs from devouring her completely. As the last of us were crossing the river, we were attacked by two blue wyrmlings. Luckily for us, there was a nearby ruined temple which entrance was blocked by a cracked stone slab. While Adolfiel and I maintained the dragons at bay, Tyrion and Vistra broke the sealing slab with the picks we had judiciously stored in our Bag of Holding.
Dragging the mangled body of our sister behind us, we could barely escape the lightning bolts of the dragons entering the dark ancient temple...
Time for a song to say farewell to Streisan, the "Friends Farewell":
As expected, the marshes between Marshport and Poisson were a foul place, full of mosquitoes and dangerous wild animals. The so-called road was a path overgrown with brambles and advancing was treacherous and tiring. The bridge was indeed broken, and the river was full of nasty-looking reptile creatures. I was preparing to create a Tenser's Floating Disk when I heard a loud crash. Streisan, in her recklessness, had not waited to carry out the discussed plan and had leapt a full 20 feet to the other side of the bridge. There she landed on a weakened section wich cracked, leaving her legs dangling dangerously close to the gigantic crocodile's maws. The creatures got into a frenzy at the sight and smell of such a tasty morsel and started to jump frantically trying to close her jaws around Streisan's legs.
She was able to get out of the crashed section into a kind of platform from which she would have been able to defend herself from the crocodiles while the rest of us crossed the river -she had a rope with her and Tyrion was tying it to our side of the bridge-, but she somehow got again in reckless-mode and charged wildly into the jungle, out of our reach and sight, the crocs following her in a feeding frenzy.
We crossed the river as quick as we could, but by the time we arrived we could only stop the crocs from devouring her completely. As the last of us were crossing the river, we were attacked by two blue wyrmlings. Luckily for us, there was a nearby ruined temple which entrance was blocked by a cracked stone slab. While Adolfiel and I maintained the dragons at bay, Tyrion and Vistra broke the sealing slab with the picks we had judiciously stored in our Bag of Holding.
Dragging the mangled body of our sister behind us, we could barely escape the lightning bolts of the dragons entering the dark ancient temple...
Time for a song to say farewell to Streisan, the "Friends Farewell":
"Aeons passed since our essence
from the Maelstrom of Chaos was fished
and in the beautiful Wheel of Living
we were allowed to roam free.
Our threads entwined for a long time
and so many moving moments we lived
now you wander the forest no longer
and the Feywild your home is to be.
Will you cross again the waters?
Will you again in the Circle live?
I hope I'll recognise your likeness
when the Wheel's next turn makes us meet."
from the Maelstrom of Chaos was fished
and in the beautiful Wheel of Living
we were allowed to roam free.
Our threads entwined for a long time
and so many moving moments we lived
now you wander the forest no longer
and the Feywild your home is to be.
Will you cross again the waters?
Will you again in the Circle live?
I hope I'll recognise your likeness
when the Wheel's next turn makes us meet."
Session 10: The Broken Bridge
Tragedy strikes as the group traverses the dangerous swamps between Marshport and the Hidden Coast...
Escaping winter
After several cold and damp nights, it was great to sleep in an enclosed area, with a nice chimney fire at our sides.
We all woke up with lots of energy and set immediately to search the tower. We realised that most of the ice encasing the building had melted away; we also found reasonable answers to some of the questions from previous days:
1- We found the portal on the tower's roof led to the mountain range near Wyllea. Obviously, Draigdurroch was obtaining his supplies through the portal, and that included wyllflower. Was he using the flower to power any mystical ritual or was he addicted to the substance?
2- The strange-looking crystals embedded in the tower's walls were spying glasses. Once the ice encasing the tower melted, we could use the crystals to survey the region surrounding the tower. It is such a good idea that I have made some notes, and I will try to use the same devices if I am ever able to buid a tower for myself.
3- Double doors in the ground floor led to a natural cavern with many passages going out of it. In the middle of the cavern there was a table with some maps. The maps detailed some of the passages, other passages were unexplored. It seemed obvious that Draigdurroch had been exploring the caves, and that they somehow led to what he thought could be Karse. I stored the maps in the Bag of Holding and made a mental note to do some research when back at Marshport.
As there was nothing more to discover in the tower and we did not want to explore the cavern maze, we left the tower -we closed the door and I used the Magic Mouth ritual to leave a joke-message behind: "Beware! This tower is now the property of the Four Queens and the Joker!".
In our trip back to Marshport we searched again the Goblin lair. There we met some bears rummaging through the food cases, and Streisan quickly charged them, without giving time to Adolfiel or me to try to calm the bears first -sometimes she is clearly too reckless- so the bears had no choice but to attack us and we had to kill two of them and force the rest of the family to flee.
We also met Aygon, but he did not know anything of interest about Draigdurroch.
Back at Marshport, we had to wait some days for the Mayor to receive us, so I used the time to keep on reading the books Aygon had lent me and doing some research on Karsus. In Marshport's library I found a book marked by some scribbled notes with what seemed to be Draigdurroch's handwriting. Apparently, Karsus was a very powerful mage or demigod that tried to become a god. In the process, the gods punished him for his vanity and destroyed his city, Karse. Reputedly, the city was full of wonders and Karsus' notes on his research to become a god would be priceless to anyone that could find them.
The Mayor of Marshport paid us very well when we told them that we had taken care of the Goblin menace, defeating some of the critters and making the rest scatter and flee the area. Then we told him we wanted to travel to Poisson and asked him if the city needed any adventuring work to be done in that area, but there seemed to be none.
We then asked for directions and learnt that there were two roads to Poisson. The most direct route crossed a river, but it was not maintained and nobody knew whether the bridge would be intact. The other longer route crossed some hills and would add one day to our trip. We decided to try the shorter route first, and discussed a plan to cross the river using Tenser's Floating Disk if necessary.
Finally, as it was Streisan's nameday, Adolfiel and I decided to buy her a gift. Adolfiel found a pair of boots that would be perfect for her, and we passed a nice evening, joking and carousing, oblivious to the darker days that awaited us...
We all woke up with lots of energy and set immediately to search the tower. We realised that most of the ice encasing the building had melted away; we also found reasonable answers to some of the questions from previous days:
1- We found the portal on the tower's roof led to the mountain range near Wyllea. Obviously, Draigdurroch was obtaining his supplies through the portal, and that included wyllflower. Was he using the flower to power any mystical ritual or was he addicted to the substance?
2- The strange-looking crystals embedded in the tower's walls were spying glasses. Once the ice encasing the tower melted, we could use the crystals to survey the region surrounding the tower. It is such a good idea that I have made some notes, and I will try to use the same devices if I am ever able to buid a tower for myself.
3- Double doors in the ground floor led to a natural cavern with many passages going out of it. In the middle of the cavern there was a table with some maps. The maps detailed some of the passages, other passages were unexplored. It seemed obvious that Draigdurroch had been exploring the caves, and that they somehow led to what he thought could be Karse. I stored the maps in the Bag of Holding and made a mental note to do some research when back at Marshport.
As there was nothing more to discover in the tower and we did not want to explore the cavern maze, we left the tower -we closed the door and I used the Magic Mouth ritual to leave a joke-message behind: "Beware! This tower is now the property of the Four Queens and the Joker!".
In our trip back to Marshport we searched again the Goblin lair. There we met some bears rummaging through the food cases, and Streisan quickly charged them, without giving time to Adolfiel or me to try to calm the bears first -sometimes she is clearly too reckless- so the bears had no choice but to attack us and we had to kill two of them and force the rest of the family to flee.
We also met Aygon, but he did not know anything of interest about Draigdurroch.
Back at Marshport, we had to wait some days for the Mayor to receive us, so I used the time to keep on reading the books Aygon had lent me and doing some research on Karsus. In Marshport's library I found a book marked by some scribbled notes with what seemed to be Draigdurroch's handwriting. Apparently, Karsus was a very powerful mage or demigod that tried to become a god. In the process, the gods punished him for his vanity and destroyed his city, Karse. Reputedly, the city was full of wonders and Karsus' notes on his research to become a god would be priceless to anyone that could find them.
The Mayor of Marshport paid us very well when we told them that we had taken care of the Goblin menace, defeating some of the critters and making the rest scatter and flee the area. Then we told him we wanted to travel to Poisson and asked him if the city needed any adventuring work to be done in that area, but there seemed to be none.
We then asked for directions and learnt that there were two roads to Poisson. The most direct route crossed a river, but it was not maintained and nobody knew whether the bridge would be intact. The other longer route crossed some hills and would add one day to our trip. We decided to try the shorter route first, and discussed a plan to cross the river using Tenser's Floating Disk if necessary.
Finally, as it was Streisan's nameday, Adolfiel and I decided to buy her a gift. Adolfiel found a pair of boots that would be perfect for her, and we passed a nice evening, joking and carousing, oblivious to the darker days that awaited us...
Session 9: The Clan of the Cave Bear
Having uncovered the secrets of Draigdurroch's frozen tower, and no longer subjected to the fearsome blizzard, the party travels back West...
Draigdurroch's Folly
Inside the tower, the cold was bearable and it was immediately obvious that it was abandoned and that it had been the residence of a wizard. As the source of the cold seemed to be in the roof of the tower, we decided to go to the top of the tower first.
Most rooms of the tower had no clue or interesting hint for us, but in one room of the tower we found the corpse of a Halfling dressed with peasant robes, and in another, that seemed to have served as a library we found a lot of information.
Apparently, the owner of the tower was a Dwarven wizard called Draigdurroch. He had been researching an entity called Karsus and searching for the ruins of a city called Karse. According to his frozen notes, the entrance to Karse could be found in a cavern complex below his tower, but it was a maddeningly complex maze and he had been painstakingly mapping the corridors and tunnels of the caverns for some time.
In his notes I also read that some faeries had warned Draigdurroch and threatened him with retaliation if he did not stopped his studies, but he had disregarded their warnings and attacked the faeries... judging the situation of the tower it had turned to be a bad choice.
I also found an interesting Red Book that seemed magically trapped and an amulet engraved with Draigdurroch's name. The amulet allowed me to control a magical floating disk that gave access to the tower's roof from a room with walls studded with strange-looking crystals.
As we arrived on the roof, we saw it was covered by an ice dome. The cold and ice seemed to emanate from a huge crystal embedded in the dome. There was also a chest from which open lid creatures of ice started emanating and charging at us. I had been waiting for this all day; my hands moved deftly and a sphere of fire materialized on top of the portal and started melting all the ice elementals entering through it.
At that moment, a gigantic creature of ice detached itself from the dome and fell in the middle of the group. The monster rushed towards Tyrion and grabbed him with its powerful ice fists and approached the chimney shaft of the tower's roof with evil intention in his eyes. Tyrion's eyes searched in full panick for an escape and a strange smile crossed his lips when he saw Streisan charging to the rescue... zup! and in the blink of an eye Tyrion was charging towards the monster while Streisan tumbled down the shaft, letting out a swear each time her head banged a brick.
The ice creature then went for Adolfiel, tired of being peppered by her arrows, and though Adolfiel managed to avoid it a couple times, he was finally grabbed ... and another of the sisters went down the chimney. More or less at that time Streisan appeared back at the roof, her head covered in blood, yelling with all the force of her mighty lungs, and foaming through her mouth -she looked like Bonpapá, a legendary Elvish character that leaves gifts to children in winter, usually climbing in and out of the houses through the chimney.
Already weakened by our attack and surprised to see that Streisan had survived her descent down the chimney shaft, the creature jumped out of the tower and lost itself in the wilderness.
We then quickly destroyed the crystal in the dome, then the deathly cold seemed to subside enough to make it bearable and no more ice creatures emerged from the portal. A short investigation showed that the chest had also some wylflower residue in it, near where the portal spiraled.
Anyway, we were too tired to think about all the mysteries the tower still contained, so we went to the tower's ground floor, made a big fire in a chimney and immediately fell asleep. I took the first guard turn, so that I could finish this chapter of the diary and think on ways to repay Tyrion's dastardly move... uuum, the wylflower offers a lot of possibilities... time for him to see the beauty of the elven body again...
Most rooms of the tower had no clue or interesting hint for us, but in one room of the tower we found the corpse of a Halfling dressed with peasant robes, and in another, that seemed to have served as a library we found a lot of information.
Apparently, the owner of the tower was a Dwarven wizard called Draigdurroch. He had been researching an entity called Karsus and searching for the ruins of a city called Karse. According to his frozen notes, the entrance to Karse could be found in a cavern complex below his tower, but it was a maddeningly complex maze and he had been painstakingly mapping the corridors and tunnels of the caverns for some time.
In his notes I also read that some faeries had warned Draigdurroch and threatened him with retaliation if he did not stopped his studies, but he had disregarded their warnings and attacked the faeries... judging the situation of the tower it had turned to be a bad choice.
I also found an interesting Red Book that seemed magically trapped and an amulet engraved with Draigdurroch's name. The amulet allowed me to control a magical floating disk that gave access to the tower's roof from a room with walls studded with strange-looking crystals.
As we arrived on the roof, we saw it was covered by an ice dome. The cold and ice seemed to emanate from a huge crystal embedded in the dome. There was also a chest from which open lid creatures of ice started emanating and charging at us. I had been waiting for this all day; my hands moved deftly and a sphere of fire materialized on top of the portal and started melting all the ice elementals entering through it.
At that moment, a gigantic creature of ice detached itself from the dome and fell in the middle of the group. The monster rushed towards Tyrion and grabbed him with its powerful ice fists and approached the chimney shaft of the tower's roof with evil intention in his eyes. Tyrion's eyes searched in full panick for an escape and a strange smile crossed his lips when he saw Streisan charging to the rescue... zup! and in the blink of an eye Tyrion was charging towards the monster while Streisan tumbled down the shaft, letting out a swear each time her head banged a brick.
The ice creature then went for Adolfiel, tired of being peppered by her arrows, and though Adolfiel managed to avoid it a couple times, he was finally grabbed ... and another of the sisters went down the chimney. More or less at that time Streisan appeared back at the roof, her head covered in blood, yelling with all the force of her mighty lungs, and foaming through her mouth -she looked like Bonpapá, a legendary Elvish character that leaves gifts to children in winter, usually climbing in and out of the houses through the chimney.
Already weakened by our attack and surprised to see that Streisan had survived her descent down the chimney shaft, the creature jumped out of the tower and lost itself in the wilderness.
We then quickly destroyed the crystal in the dome, then the deathly cold seemed to subside enough to make it bearable and no more ice creatures emerged from the portal. A short investigation showed that the chest had also some wylflower residue in it, near where the portal spiraled.
Anyway, we were too tired to think about all the mysteries the tower still contained, so we went to the tower's ground floor, made a big fire in a chimney and immediately fell asleep. I took the first guard turn, so that I could finish this chapter of the diary and think on ways to repay Tyrion's dastardly move... uuum, the wylflower offers a lot of possibilities... time for him to see the beauty of the elven body again...
In deep cold
The information that the gnome gave us led us to a barren part of the mountains. The cold weather and the snow started to become so dangerous that it became impossible to rest properly outside. Luckily, it did not take long before we found the origin of this evil and unnatural weather.
The wizard's tower was covered with ice as if a giant cascade had fallen on it before freezing. It seemed lifeless, but very soon we discovered that some evil ice creatures were guarding its entrance. They proved to be very difficult to defeat and I would have been in serious trouble (even more serious that usual, I mean) if Vistra had not helped me with her healing powers.
After accessing the entrance hall, we decided to explore the tower itself before further investigating the tunnels beneath it. The source of the cold seemed to come from the top of the tower, so it seem obvious to go straight up.
The tower was empty except for the lifeless body of a halfling, but we found a lot of information about a wizard that lived here and was doing some kind of evil investigation. In his logs he talked about getting supply of something to continues his investigation.
As we went up to the tower's roof, we finally found the source of the cold.
It was a big cristal encased in a dome of ice above the tower. Inside the dome there was a chest with a portal to somewhere horrible and a frozen monster. As soon as we got up on the roof, evil ice beings tried to attack us coming through the portal. They were pretty weak but they were many and they kept us busy until Sariel used one of her best tricks to block the portal. Unfortunately, by the time we realized that the portal was blocked, a new, BIG monster had had time to detach itself from the ice dome.
It looked like a giant frozen scorpion with lots of tentacles and spikes and ugly parts everywhere. It occupied most of the dome as it stood on the center of the tower's roof, perched on the chimney. We did not have a lot of space to manouver and its tentacles were very long.
Although the monster was very powerful, it became obsessed with killing Tyrion and that way we could prevent it from attacking my sister or the cleric, so the combat was going pretty well for us.
However our luck did not last long and the monster finally was able to grab Tyrion with two of its tentacles and lifted him into the air.
It was at that moment that Tyrion decided to use his famous and very appreciated teleporting ability. He had used it before to help others, and we all respected him for it. He had helped an elven mother and his baby during the attack on our village and he had freed Vistra from a giant spider's web. Every time before, he had teleported someone out of harm's way to put himself in danger instead.
This time, he teleported out of the ice monster's grip. It worked wonderfully, with only a small detail to regret.
By teleporting himself to safety, that cowardly sack of monkey dung teleported me into the ice monster's grab in his place.
The monster looked surprised for a second and then happily went on hitting me instead. When it realized I was too tough for it to kill swiftly, it simply rose me up on its tentacles and threw me down the chimney.
I fell three floors down to the kitchen, insulting Tyrion during the fall.
I could have taken a lot of damage, but my sister Sariel used another nice spell and I could start running up the tower without even a scratch.
It took me forever to climb back to the tower's roof, I had to climb threee floors and use a really slow magic elevator. However, I still had not finished insulting Tyrion when I stepped back into the roof.
The monster was almost dead by then, but it had managed to throw my sister Adolfiel the same way than me, down the chimney. When it saw me coming back to the fight, it grew afraid and ran away melting back into the ice dome.
As we stood there catching our breath, we realized that the cold coming from the crystal was so intense we could not resist it and would end up killing us. After trying to study it's properties, we saw it had been manipulated to alter it's powers and decided we could not control it, so we destroyed it.
The cold stopped being so dangerous so we had the time to think about the portal. It had not closed, but the evil beings did stop trying to come through.
We investigated a little more and found some Wyllflower near the portal, I think it is this stuff that was being supplied to the wizard. But why, I have no idea. So we just left the portal there, inside the chest, open to somewhere very cold and probably dangerous.
When we came down the tower, we were spent. Adolfiel had almost died with the combat and the fall. I also was so tired and so worried about Adolfiel that I decided to let Tyrion live another day and kill him the next morning.
A lot of questions remain open to me, as I go to sleep:
- What is the Wyllflower doing here?
- Where does the portal go to?
- What happened to the wizard?
- What are we looking for in the caves?
- Who manipulated the cristal?
- What is the frozen monster in the roof?
- What are the jewels in the walls of the corridors of tower?
- Where is Vistra going to find a new bodyguard?
The wizard's tower was covered with ice as if a giant cascade had fallen on it before freezing. It seemed lifeless, but very soon we discovered that some evil ice creatures were guarding its entrance. They proved to be very difficult to defeat and I would have been in serious trouble (even more serious that usual, I mean) if Vistra had not helped me with her healing powers.
After accessing the entrance hall, we decided to explore the tower itself before further investigating the tunnels beneath it. The source of the cold seemed to come from the top of the tower, so it seem obvious to go straight up.
The tower was empty except for the lifeless body of a halfling, but we found a lot of information about a wizard that lived here and was doing some kind of evil investigation. In his logs he talked about getting supply of something to continues his investigation.
As we went up to the tower's roof, we finally found the source of the cold.
It was a big cristal encased in a dome of ice above the tower. Inside the dome there was a chest with a portal to somewhere horrible and a frozen monster. As soon as we got up on the roof, evil ice beings tried to attack us coming through the portal. They were pretty weak but they were many and they kept us busy until Sariel used one of her best tricks to block the portal. Unfortunately, by the time we realized that the portal was blocked, a new, BIG monster had had time to detach itself from the ice dome.
It looked like a giant frozen scorpion with lots of tentacles and spikes and ugly parts everywhere. It occupied most of the dome as it stood on the center of the tower's roof, perched on the chimney. We did not have a lot of space to manouver and its tentacles were very long.
Although the monster was very powerful, it became obsessed with killing Tyrion and that way we could prevent it from attacking my sister or the cleric, so the combat was going pretty well for us.
However our luck did not last long and the monster finally was able to grab Tyrion with two of its tentacles and lifted him into the air.
It was at that moment that Tyrion decided to use his famous and very appreciated teleporting ability. He had used it before to help others, and we all respected him for it. He had helped an elven mother and his baby during the attack on our village and he had freed Vistra from a giant spider's web. Every time before, he had teleported someone out of harm's way to put himself in danger instead.
This time, he teleported out of the ice monster's grip. It worked wonderfully, with only a small detail to regret.
By teleporting himself to safety, that cowardly sack of monkey dung teleported me into the ice monster's grab in his place.
The monster looked surprised for a second and then happily went on hitting me instead. When it realized I was too tough for it to kill swiftly, it simply rose me up on its tentacles and threw me down the chimney.
I fell three floors down to the kitchen, insulting Tyrion during the fall.
I could have taken a lot of damage, but my sister Sariel used another nice spell and I could start running up the tower without even a scratch.
It took me forever to climb back to the tower's roof, I had to climb threee floors and use a really slow magic elevator. However, I still had not finished insulting Tyrion when I stepped back into the roof.
The monster was almost dead by then, but it had managed to throw my sister Adolfiel the same way than me, down the chimney. When it saw me coming back to the fight, it grew afraid and ran away melting back into the ice dome.
As we stood there catching our breath, we realized that the cold coming from the crystal was so intense we could not resist it and would end up killing us. After trying to study it's properties, we saw it had been manipulated to alter it's powers and decided we could not control it, so we destroyed it.
The cold stopped being so dangerous so we had the time to think about the portal. It had not closed, but the evil beings did stop trying to come through.
We investigated a little more and found some Wyllflower near the portal, I think it is this stuff that was being supplied to the wizard. But why, I have no idea. So we just left the portal there, inside the chest, open to somewhere very cold and probably dangerous.
When we came down the tower, we were spent. Adolfiel had almost died with the combat and the fall. I also was so tired and so worried about Adolfiel that I decided to let Tyrion live another day and kill him the next morning.
A lot of questions remain open to me, as I go to sleep:
- What is the Wyllflower doing here?
- Where does the portal go to?
- What happened to the wizard?
- What are we looking for in the caves?
- Who manipulated the cristal?
- What is the frozen monster in the roof?
- What are the jewels in the walls of the corridors of tower?
- Where is Vistra going to find a new bodyguard?
Session 8: Elemental Shards
Once the group gains entrance to Draigdurroch's tower, it becomes evident that its frozen chambers hide a sinister story...
Warming up is hard to do
We left Aygon's dwelling using a secret service door that was more comfortable to use than the entrance from which we had accessed his abode in the first place.
This time we followed what seemed to be an ancient path that led further into the icy hills. The day passed chilly and miserable as the previous one, and when we were already thinking about giving up the search, we found a big cavern in the face of a cliff. The cave showed signs of having been inhabited by a big group of Goblins, but at the moment it was deserted.
It seemed that fate was against us, but we did not want to give up so easily. We climbed the cliff where the cavern was located and, in the distance, detected the outline of what seemed to be a tower. It seemed to be far away, so we made camp in the cave. It was a damp, chilly, dreary night with the blizzard blowing outside and the sound of Adolfiel's chattering teeth constantly interrupting my meditation.
Another freezing day, another exhausting hike, but this time it seemed we had a clear goal! As we got closer to the building, it became clear that it was indeed a tower, and that it was completely encased in ice! It dominated its surroundings, built atop a low hillock, surrounded by suspicious-looking statues of wolves and mages. The ice encasing the tower was erupting from its roof, and our suspicions that the terrible weather conditions had a magical cause grew stronger.
I was so worried beholding the statues for any hint of them being magical guardians -during my studies in Fallcrest I had read many stories of wizards protecting their towers with that sort of creatures- that I was completely surprised when chunks of snow and ice took the shape of gigantic scorpions that charged us. Other pieces of snow coalesced into icy snowmen that threw balls of hard compact ice at us. It was clear that something was amiss in the tower, and that these creatures of ice had been somehow attracted by the cold emanating from it.
The battle was violent and dangerous; Streisan charged the monsters as if she had lost her mind after all the frustrations of the previous days and it was difficult for the rest to keep her pace. Only with the help of Vistra was she able to survive, but her courage and recklessness motivated the rest of us to go on and with courage, determination and lots of luck we were able to defeat the ice elementals.
After the battle, I explained to the rest my fears about the statues and we decided to topple them. Some animated and attacked us, but most of them had been shattered by the cold and gave us no trouble.
With the blizzard growing stronger, we digged the ice out of the entrance doors and entered the tower...
Scientific Notes
Well, even though the creatures we found around the tower are clearly not natural, I could not resist making a drawing of the scorpion-like ice elemental. I think I will add an extra chapter to my Ecology book, one about the different Planes of Existence and some examples of its creatures, which in some books of old are called Elementals.
This time we followed what seemed to be an ancient path that led further into the icy hills. The day passed chilly and miserable as the previous one, and when we were already thinking about giving up the search, we found a big cavern in the face of a cliff. The cave showed signs of having been inhabited by a big group of Goblins, but at the moment it was deserted.
It seemed that fate was against us, but we did not want to give up so easily. We climbed the cliff where the cavern was located and, in the distance, detected the outline of what seemed to be a tower. It seemed to be far away, so we made camp in the cave. It was a damp, chilly, dreary night with the blizzard blowing outside and the sound of Adolfiel's chattering teeth constantly interrupting my meditation.
Another freezing day, another exhausting hike, but this time it seemed we had a clear goal! As we got closer to the building, it became clear that it was indeed a tower, and that it was completely encased in ice! It dominated its surroundings, built atop a low hillock, surrounded by suspicious-looking statues of wolves and mages. The ice encasing the tower was erupting from its roof, and our suspicions that the terrible weather conditions had a magical cause grew stronger.
I was so worried beholding the statues for any hint of them being magical guardians -during my studies in Fallcrest I had read many stories of wizards protecting their towers with that sort of creatures- that I was completely surprised when chunks of snow and ice took the shape of gigantic scorpions that charged us. Other pieces of snow coalesced into icy snowmen that threw balls of hard compact ice at us. It was clear that something was amiss in the tower, and that these creatures of ice had been somehow attracted by the cold emanating from it.
The battle was violent and dangerous; Streisan charged the monsters as if she had lost her mind after all the frustrations of the previous days and it was difficult for the rest to keep her pace. Only with the help of Vistra was she able to survive, but her courage and recklessness motivated the rest of us to go on and with courage, determination and lots of luck we were able to defeat the ice elementals.
After the battle, I explained to the rest my fears about the statues and we decided to topple them. Some animated and attacked us, but most of them had been shattered by the cold and gave us no trouble.
With the blizzard growing stronger, we digged the ice out of the entrance doors and entered the tower...
Scientific Notes
Well, even though the creatures we found around the tower are clearly not natural, I could not resist making a drawing of the scorpion-like ice elemental. I think I will add an extra chapter to my Ecology book, one about the different Planes of Existence and some examples of its creatures, which in some books of old are called Elementals.
Session 7: Menace of the Icy Spire
Having convinced the strange Aygon to give them shelter for the night, the group set out to put an end t0 the Frost Goblin menace, and end up discovering a long-forgotten tower encased in ice...
On the right track?
After having spent some time in Relkingham for Ghesh's funeral, we headed towards the north. During our time in Relkingham we heard some rumours about possible ships similar to those that had attacked the elven settlement having been sighted near Marshport.
On our way north we stopped in Sylfren, so the three sisters could have some time with their mother. I have to say the trip being uneventful was a welcome relief from the adrenalin rushing charging we've had to endure in the past few days.
I must admit that the chances of completing my pilgrimage have gone to the near impossible. I have taken up a path which will allow me to spread Berronar's teachings, and I must now follow it to it's end. I spent a lot of time in Marshport at their rather small hospital, helping to heal those that require it while some of the others were gathering information. In the evenings I was filled in on what information had been gathered; hearing about the evil that was happening to the north across the mountains, about the legend of Angerplea and the Black Cry which could possibly be related to our quest to find out what had happened to the elves.
But although we gathered information, we got no further regarding to where we should go next. I decided to ask guidance from Beronnar. I received a sign, pointing me to the north. I feel the events across the Whitecap mountain range is where my presence will be required. But after having talked to the Major of Marschport, he talked about increased goblin activity in Nirnwood to the north and how it could pause increasing concern to travelers to Marshport. I was convinced by Tyrion and Sariel that clearing this issue could possibly save lives and shouldn't require that long, compared to the time it would take to travel to the Nantir Vale.
Traveling to the Nirnwood forest, we found the weather fighting against us. The cold biting through our thick winter clothing. We met a band of brigands that were easily defeated. They seemed more like misplaced souls than brigands after we had a talk to them. They had found a map of a supposed 'treasure' cove. We decided to see if we could find this location with the help of the brigands. Arriving at their camp we found it had been attacked, most of their materials and supplies looted. We followed the tracks, reaching a group of frost goblins. We managed to dispatch all but the leader who managed to flee dispite Tyrion's efforts.
We finally found the location of the map within a cave system. A solid metal slab with engravings into them saying 'death awaits you', curiosity having taken the better of us we went to investigate. This lead us into a rather diabolical system of traps, which unfortunatly, Streisan beared the brunt of their trickery. Getting dumped into filth, burned on several occasions. I did my best to protect her but the nature of the traps made this very difficult, I am thankful though she managed to survive the ordeal. The final trap was a dragon, very well crafted as it seemed a dragon from the front, although there were some quirks which tipped us off it actually wasn't. But as soon as Streisan and Tyrion managed to get behind the dragon it was clear that it was mechanical. They disabeled the dragon and we found a goblin, rather well dressed, unfortunalty without a tongue. Later we found the culprit of the trap systems, which ended up being a gnome (although we can't confirm this) who through a failed experiment ended up as a weapon able to change it's size, shape. Having a chat with him, and apologising for having invaded his home, we managed to convince him to give us accomodations while we searched for goblin threats in the region. I also managed to convince him to lend me the Draconomicon, although at this time I am unsure if I will be able to decipher it as it seems far more complex then I originally believed.
We are still going to be searching for more traces of the goblins in the area, but for now I'm happy we got comfortable accomodations, especially as it's comfortably warm.
On our way north we stopped in Sylfren, so the three sisters could have some time with their mother. I have to say the trip being uneventful was a welcome relief from the adrenalin rushing charging we've had to endure in the past few days.
I must admit that the chances of completing my pilgrimage have gone to the near impossible. I have taken up a path which will allow me to spread Berronar's teachings, and I must now follow it to it's end. I spent a lot of time in Marshport at their rather small hospital, helping to heal those that require it while some of the others were gathering information. In the evenings I was filled in on what information had been gathered; hearing about the evil that was happening to the north across the mountains, about the legend of Angerplea and the Black Cry which could possibly be related to our quest to find out what had happened to the elves.
But although we gathered information, we got no further regarding to where we should go next. I decided to ask guidance from Beronnar. I received a sign, pointing me to the north. I feel the events across the Whitecap mountain range is where my presence will be required. But after having talked to the Major of Marschport, he talked about increased goblin activity in Nirnwood to the north and how it could pause increasing concern to travelers to Marshport. I was convinced by Tyrion and Sariel that clearing this issue could possibly save lives and shouldn't require that long, compared to the time it would take to travel to the Nantir Vale.
Traveling to the Nirnwood forest, we found the weather fighting against us. The cold biting through our thick winter clothing. We met a band of brigands that were easily defeated. They seemed more like misplaced souls than brigands after we had a talk to them. They had found a map of a supposed 'treasure' cove. We decided to see if we could find this location with the help of the brigands. Arriving at their camp we found it had been attacked, most of their materials and supplies looted. We followed the tracks, reaching a group of frost goblins. We managed to dispatch all but the leader who managed to flee dispite Tyrion's efforts.
We finally found the location of the map within a cave system. A solid metal slab with engravings into them saying 'death awaits you', curiosity having taken the better of us we went to investigate. This lead us into a rather diabolical system of traps, which unfortunatly, Streisan beared the brunt of their trickery. Getting dumped into filth, burned on several occasions. I did my best to protect her but the nature of the traps made this very difficult, I am thankful though she managed to survive the ordeal. The final trap was a dragon, very well crafted as it seemed a dragon from the front, although there were some quirks which tipped us off it actually wasn't. But as soon as Streisan and Tyrion managed to get behind the dragon it was clear that it was mechanical. They disabeled the dragon and we found a goblin, rather well dressed, unfortunalty without a tongue. Later we found the culprit of the trap systems, which ended up being a gnome (although we can't confirm this) who through a failed experiment ended up as a weapon able to change it's size, shape. Having a chat with him, and apologising for having invaded his home, we managed to convince him to give us accomodations while we searched for goblin threats in the region. I also managed to convince him to lend me the Draconomicon, although at this time I am unsure if I will be able to decipher it as it seems far more complex then I originally believed.
We are still going to be searching for more traces of the goblins in the area, but for now I'm happy we got comfortable accomodations, especially as it's comfortably warm.
The Ice, the Fire and the Gnome
Getting an employment
The mayor of Marshport was impressed to see a group of Relkingham rangers offering their services. He told us there had been some complaints of Goblin raids in the north-eastern farms and roads and that he would reward us if we could do something about it.
Having nothing better to do, we did some preparations for the journey. As it will be seen, it was not enough, but everybody else was so frantic about leaving the city that they did not allow me to spend a little bit more time preparing; a pity, as I was really enjoying the scholastic atmosphere of Marshport's library.
There are two kinds of adventurers: those that rush to action and those that fill their bag of holding with useful stuff.
The Ice...
We spent the following days freezing in various meadows, hills, forests and gullies of Marshport's countryside. Even though we were well prepared for the cold, the winter was being specially harsh and the wind and snow was our constant companion.
After some days of exploring and tracking, we met a group of Elves! They acted very suspiciously and after some "talk" they were forced to give up their fishy attitude...- Streisan calls it surrendering. They had bought a map which, according to them, pointed to a treasure. When we accompanied them to their camp, we discovered it had been robbed by a group of Goblins, who we promptly tracked, battled and soundly defeated. Only the goblin boss avoided our wrath.
With nothing better to do -apart from freezing-, and not knowing for sure whether the Goblin menace was vanquished, we followed the map instructions. The map led us to a cavern complex which we navigated with great spelunking skill, to arrive to a strange-looking black plate with the words "Death awaits those who enter here" or some crappy scary phrase like that.
There are two kinds of spelunkers: those that know when to turn back, and those that don't...
Brave adventurers as we are, we disregarded the warning and tried to open the obvious door. Unexperienced as we were, it took us some hours to figure out that we only needed to push the plate.
...the Fire...
The plate was some kind of doormat, cleverly set in rails that allowed it to rotate and show different phrases "Welcome", "I'm not at home", "Trespassers will be Incinerated", "Death Awaits Intruders" and such... the smell of treasure and hidden knowledge attracted us, like Kobolds are to adventurer's swords.
Anyway, to describe it quickly, in another great show of recklessness and thoughtlessness, Streisan managed to fall in every single trap of what we considered a tomb seemed to contain, even when she was not leading the way: she got dumped into a pit of filth, burnt, crushed and more, all of which she endured with her usual stoicism and good humour (this is obviously a joke, dear diary).
There are two kinds of elves. Those that jump on the pit and those that hover over it.
After some time wandering the tunnels we came face to face with what looked like an enormous wyrm of legendary power. After some time observing the wyrm, we realised it had to be some kind of mechanical contratption, and Tyrion and Streisan could finally show their best skills and did what they are best at: destroy the machine-dragon.
...and the Gnome
It turned out that what we though was a Tomb full of treasures was the household of a gnome artisan called Aygon, fond of traps, mechanical devices and stupid jokes. And what is more, someone or something had turned him into a weapon! So he could not leave his house and had a mute Goblin servant that helped him go to the loo and read him bedside stories.
Anyway, the Gnome's house was warm, full of intelligent games, nice wine and better books, so we decided to stay and talk with him. He constantly demanded jokes from us, and though we all tried, I must say Tyrion's were the best -must have something to do with him being a Hummy and all.
In exchange of letting us stay and sleep at his home, Aygon requested our help to contact an artisan friend of his that lives between Marshport and Fort Eyrie, so that he would come and repair the dragon.
Well, and that's all for the moment; I'll start reading a couple of books I borrowed from Aygon before going to bed.
Tomorrow we'll try to find more Goblin tracks. We are going to give it a couple more days before going back to Marshport... I must not forget to put some mining stuff in the Bag of Holding, I think it would be useful.
Scientific Notes
Not that it's really my area of expertise, but I found Aygon's traps amusing and clever thought, so I asked him to sketch them for the group. I don't think anything I saw in Aygon's home can really help me with my Ecology book, although we found some interesting beetles in the cellars... bugs are great in Ecology books!
The mayor of Marshport was impressed to see a group of Relkingham rangers offering their services. He told us there had been some complaints of Goblin raids in the north-eastern farms and roads and that he would reward us if we could do something about it.
Having nothing better to do, we did some preparations for the journey. As it will be seen, it was not enough, but everybody else was so frantic about leaving the city that they did not allow me to spend a little bit more time preparing; a pity, as I was really enjoying the scholastic atmosphere of Marshport's library.
There are two kinds of adventurers: those that rush to action and those that fill their bag of holding with useful stuff.
The Ice...
We spent the following days freezing in various meadows, hills, forests and gullies of Marshport's countryside. Even though we were well prepared for the cold, the winter was being specially harsh and the wind and snow was our constant companion.
After some days of exploring and tracking, we met a group of Elves! They acted very suspiciously and after some "talk" they were forced to give up their fishy attitude...- Streisan calls it surrendering. They had bought a map which, according to them, pointed to a treasure. When we accompanied them to their camp, we discovered it had been robbed by a group of Goblins, who we promptly tracked, battled and soundly defeated. Only the goblin boss avoided our wrath.
With nothing better to do -apart from freezing-, and not knowing for sure whether the Goblin menace was vanquished, we followed the map instructions. The map led us to a cavern complex which we navigated with great spelunking skill, to arrive to a strange-looking black plate with the words "Death awaits those who enter here" or some crappy scary phrase like that.
There are two kinds of spelunkers: those that know when to turn back, and those that don't...
Brave adventurers as we are, we disregarded the warning and tried to open the obvious door. Unexperienced as we were, it took us some hours to figure out that we only needed to push the plate.
...the Fire...
The plate was some kind of doormat, cleverly set in rails that allowed it to rotate and show different phrases "Welcome", "I'm not at home", "Trespassers will be Incinerated", "Death Awaits Intruders" and such... the smell of treasure and hidden knowledge attracted us, like Kobolds are to adventurer's swords.
Anyway, to describe it quickly, in another great show of recklessness and thoughtlessness, Streisan managed to fall in every single trap of what we considered a tomb seemed to contain, even when she was not leading the way: she got dumped into a pit of filth, burnt, crushed and more, all of which she endured with her usual stoicism and good humour (this is obviously a joke, dear diary).
There are two kinds of elves. Those that jump on the pit and those that hover over it.
After some time wandering the tunnels we came face to face with what looked like an enormous wyrm of legendary power. After some time observing the wyrm, we realised it had to be some kind of mechanical contratption, and Tyrion and Streisan could finally show their best skills and did what they are best at: destroy the machine-dragon.
...and the Gnome
It turned out that what we though was a Tomb full of treasures was the household of a gnome artisan called Aygon, fond of traps, mechanical devices and stupid jokes. And what is more, someone or something had turned him into a weapon! So he could not leave his house and had a mute Goblin servant that helped him go to the loo and read him bedside stories.
Anyway, the Gnome's house was warm, full of intelligent games, nice wine and better books, so we decided to stay and talk with him. He constantly demanded jokes from us, and though we all tried, I must say Tyrion's were the best -must have something to do with him being a Hummy and all.
In exchange of letting us stay and sleep at his home, Aygon requested our help to contact an artisan friend of his that lives between Marshport and Fort Eyrie, so that he would come and repair the dragon.
Well, and that's all for the moment; I'll start reading a couple of books I borrowed from Aygon before going to bed.
Tomorrow we'll try to find more Goblin tracks. We are going to give it a couple more days before going back to Marshport... I must not forget to put some mining stuff in the Bag of Holding, I think it would be useful.
Scientific Notes
Not that it's really my area of expertise, but I found Aygon's traps amusing and clever thought, so I asked him to sketch them for the group. I don't think anything I saw in Aygon's home can really help me with my Ecology book, although we found some interesting beetles in the cellars... bugs are great in Ecology books!
Cranks, levers and wheels
For most of the time in Marshport, we went around the city trying to get information about the missing ship. Although we learned some interesting things, the trail was cold. All our information came from before the attack on our village, and not from after. They could be anywhere.
We learned from the major of the town that the north of the Whitecap Wall was under attack from evil beings and that there had been some raids on the merchants on the road to Marshport. He asked us to go investigate a little. We decided to go as it seemed that all kinds of evil were coming from that direction, even the foul weather.
The investigation was very interesting, we discovered some goblin clans and, helped by a group of elven treasure hunters, we got rid of most of them. However, their leader was very fast and it escaped before we could catch him.
While we were following his tracks, we found a cave that, after some exploration, gave us access to the most annoying place I have ever seen.
It was the household of a gnome artisan, fond of traps, mechanisms and stupid jokes.
We pushed into the corridors, piqued by curiosity and found trap after trap after trap, each more painful and humiliating than the one before.
I fell into all of them, sometimes repeatedly.
I got burnt, crushed and even sunk into a pit of filth. I was angry beyond measure, I even had to stand the jokes of my sisters, while I was going first and falling into yet another trap. How unfair can the world be?
The final joke was a stupid mechanical dragon that was so well made that it took us some minutes before realizing it was fake.
Me and Tyrion ran behind it and we destroyed the machine, giving us access to the living quarters of the gnome.
He (or it, he was a gnome trapped into a shape shifting weapon, of all things) gave us some information, proved he could be at least as talkative as my sisters and tested Tyrion's love for gaming (which I'm starting to find interesting too).
I left the gnome's cave with some lessons well learnt:
- Sometimes, your eyes can deceive you. Even a dragon can be copied.
- Gnomes are pricks, especially when they are intelligent and get bored.
- Next time we find traps, Adolfiel will go first.
We learned from the major of the town that the north of the Whitecap Wall was under attack from evil beings and that there had been some raids on the merchants on the road to Marshport. He asked us to go investigate a little. We decided to go as it seemed that all kinds of evil were coming from that direction, even the foul weather.
The investigation was very interesting, we discovered some goblin clans and, helped by a group of elven treasure hunters, we got rid of most of them. However, their leader was very fast and it escaped before we could catch him.
While we were following his tracks, we found a cave that, after some exploration, gave us access to the most annoying place I have ever seen.
It was the household of a gnome artisan, fond of traps, mechanisms and stupid jokes.
We pushed into the corridors, piqued by curiosity and found trap after trap after trap, each more painful and humiliating than the one before.
I fell into all of them, sometimes repeatedly.
I got burnt, crushed and even sunk into a pit of filth. I was angry beyond measure, I even had to stand the jokes of my sisters, while I was going first and falling into yet another trap. How unfair can the world be?
The final joke was a stupid mechanical dragon that was so well made that it took us some minutes before realizing it was fake.
Me and Tyrion ran behind it and we destroyed the machine, giving us access to the living quarters of the gnome.
He (or it, he was a gnome trapped into a shape shifting weapon, of all things) gave us some information, proved he could be at least as talkative as my sisters and tested Tyrion's love for gaming (which I'm starting to find interesting too).
I left the gnome's cave with some lessons well learnt:
- Sometimes, your eyes can deceive you. Even a dragon can be copied.
- Gnomes are pricks, especially when they are intelligent and get bored.
- Next time we find traps, Adolfiel will go first.
Am I not an elf and a brother?
Today we have had a tough day in the forest. The wind is pretty cold and the snow does not let us keep the speed we would like to. At one point, we have found the tracks of a big group of goblins (at last!). We were tracking the goblins, when suddenly, a voice comes out of some trees: two elves were blocking our way. They seemed quite nervous and hostile. At first I was happy to see two elves (I do not like the nasty smell of humans), but their aggresivity was growing fast. Some seconds afterwards, a group of elven archers was surrounding us. All of them were very nervous and did not believe we were hunting the goblins. It was pretty obvious they had somthing to hide...
The fight was fast. These archers were not very brave and after we hit their chieftain a bit hard, they decided to surrender. At this moment I realized their commander was hiding some kind of document from us so, with all my diplomacy and tenderness I took it from him. It was some kind of map, but I could not recognize the area. The elves had not heard anything of any goblins and they were very hostile to us... and they wanted to hide the map. What could that be? We told them to take us to their camp. They might have something we could find useful (food, equipment or even information they might drop in our way to the camp). However, by the time we got there, the camp had been obviously attacked and plundered. Someone (the goblins?) had taken everything and burnt the tents. However, in their escape, they have not bothered erasing their track.
We rushed after the raiders until we found them. They were very strange creatures (it is the first time I have ever seen a blue goblin!!) that were carrying all the goods of the elves. We attacked them and managed to take all the food back, but the goblin commander managed to scape.
After the fight, the elves finally believed that we were tracking the goblins and, in their conversation, they suggested that the map was leading them to a treasure (damn, no "X" showing the place in the map; anyway, we should have known) and offered us to join them in a 50% - 50% basis. After a tough negotiation, we agreed on a 70% - 30% of the treasure (yes, I know, we can also be terribly convincing if we try). Tomorrow we will go on looking for the treasure (and the goblins' liar) if this stupid snow does not kill us first.
The fight was fast. These archers were not very brave and after we hit their chieftain a bit hard, they decided to surrender. At this moment I realized their commander was hiding some kind of document from us so, with all my diplomacy and tenderness I took it from him. It was some kind of map, but I could not recognize the area. The elves had not heard anything of any goblins and they were very hostile to us... and they wanted to hide the map. What could that be? We told them to take us to their camp. They might have something we could find useful (food, equipment or even information they might drop in our way to the camp). However, by the time we got there, the camp had been obviously attacked and plundered. Someone (the goblins?) had taken everything and burnt the tents. However, in their escape, they have not bothered erasing their track.
We rushed after the raiders until we found them. They were very strange creatures (it is the first time I have ever seen a blue goblin!!) that were carrying all the goods of the elves. We attacked them and managed to take all the food back, but the goblin commander managed to scape.
After the fight, the elves finally believed that we were tracking the goblins and, in their conversation, they suggested that the map was leading them to a treasure (damn, no "X" showing the place in the map; anyway, we should have known) and offered us to join them in a 50% - 50% basis. After a tough negotiation, we agreed on a 70% - 30% of the treasure (yes, I know, we can also be terribly convincing if we try). Tomorrow we will go on looking for the treasure (and the goblins' liar) if this stupid snow does not kill us first.
Boredom in Marshport
We have been in Marshport for quite a long time and we are making little progress (if any) in our investigation. Vistra is devoting herself to healing the poor, while Sariel, Streisan, Tyrion and myself try to look for more information about the pirates that raided out town. We have asked the sailors and businessmen in town about the ship and we have heard nothing but fairy tales: some people say it is a ghost ship, others say it is cursed, some others that the captain is a daemon or something like that. Blah, blah, blah. Nothing useful. Our stay at Marshport is not only sterile in terms of information: these stupid humans are corrupting us. Tyrion has spent a small fortune gambling and my own sister Streisan has started also taking this stupid and dangerous activity. Tyrion was even interested in a greedy, lustful human female and Streisan and me had to free him from her lecherous arms (in his defense I have to admit she was really good looking). At the begining he protested a bit but I am sure he will be grateful to us one day.
To avoid all the vice present in human cities, we have decided to visit the Mayor of Marshport and, even if he had no useful information about the raiders, we offered him our services. Perhaps the town had some trouble we could fix, while we keep ourselves busy for some days and earn some money to go on in our quest. He mentioned some unimportant goblin raids coming from the north. Apparently, some farmers and travellers had been attacked by these goblins in the area close to the mountains.
So, we prepared our expedition. It was winter already (a pretty cold one, at least for a delicate lady of the forests as me), so we took all the things we needed for a journey of some days through the snow. While crossing the gate out of Marshport, I was happy again: back to the beauty of Nature, to the forests... and out of this ugly, noisy, dirty and boring city of Marshport. Hurrah!
To avoid all the vice present in human cities, we have decided to visit the Mayor of Marshport and, even if he had no useful information about the raiders, we offered him our services. Perhaps the town had some trouble we could fix, while we keep ourselves busy for some days and earn some money to go on in our quest. He mentioned some unimportant goblin raids coming from the north. Apparently, some farmers and travellers had been attacked by these goblins in the area close to the mountains.
So, we prepared our expedition. It was winter already (a pretty cold one, at least for a delicate lady of the forests as me), so we took all the things we needed for a journey of some days through the snow. While crossing the gate out of Marshport, I was happy again: back to the beauty of Nature, to the forests... and out of this ugly, noisy, dirty and boring city of Marshport. Hurrah!
Private Investigations
We only stayed two more days in Relkingham, enough to say farewell to Ghesh in a moving funeral, and to receive the gratitude of the whole city and the Caliph, as our quick action and sacrifices had saved Delornen from a terrible fate at the hands of the Vecna cultists.
We are now members of the famous Rangers of Relkingham! Although it won't heal the loss of the Paladin, I hope such an honour will help Streisan overcome her grief.
The Rangers also told us that some strange ships had been seen in the north, near Marshport. As we also had to deliver a letter to an elf in Sylfren, we thought our best bet would be travelling to the north. I was also delighted by the prospect of visiting a real town, with a real library full of interesting books, as I wanted to get the sad emotions of Ghesh's death out of my mind.
At Sylfren
After an uneventful journey of several days, we arrived at Sylfren, where we gave the letter to the elf Luboc and visited mama.
Mama was doing great and was happy to hear that we had survived the ordeal at Delornen. As things are going quite well financially, I felt obliged to give her some money to support her in this difficult times, before she is able to come back to Leavendale. I was very proud to see my sisters offering her part of the reward we received in Relkingham... Sisters' Power!
Luboc was a shoemaker and, although not particularly gifted, some of his craft caught my attention and I decided to invest part of my money in a beautiful pair of purple and green shoes. They'll fit greatly with a robe I saw in Fallcrest in my Academy days, and I hope I'll be able to glitter as much as possible the next time I visit the Academy there.
Marshport
The trip to Marshport was also uneventful. Marshport turned to be a busy medium sized town, and the weather was amazingly cold and windy. I immediately went to the main Library; as I have now some money, I paid my yearly fee to the Guild of Adventuresome Alchemists and Wizards. The fee will allow me to get free access to many libraries around the north and will make it easier to obtain components for magical rituals, I hope.
I discovered lots of interesting books and I immediately turned my attention to one about the classical art of Magic and another introductory treatise to Alchemy.
In the meantime, Streisan, Adolfiel and Tyrion searched for rumours that could lead us to the raiders that had attacked Leavendale. Ioun always preaches that real information can only be found in the towers and libraries of the sages and, as I feared, they did not find much information in the lowly dens of iniquity they visited.
Although their attitude as information seekers is commendable, I am afraid that Tyrion is leading both of my sisters to a life of gambling and lowly acquaintances. I will have to start looking for some intelligent and interesting catch for them, but with their limited capabilities of conversation, I am sure it will be a big problem.
The Black Cry and the ghost captain Angerplea
After several days of gambling and drinking, they managed to hear some rumours about a legendary ship named the Black Cry and its captain Angerplea. Some said the ship had been seen sailing north, some said it had been seen sailing south, and others said the whole thing was just a legend.
I also lost one full research day in Marshport's library, but could not dig any new information about the ghost ship.
Without knowing well how to proceed (Vistra told us her god was indicating her to move northwards, while Tyrion's sixth sense indicated him to move southwards), we decided to try our luck with Marshport's mayor... maybe chance would point us the right way...
We are now members of the famous Rangers of Relkingham! Although it won't heal the loss of the Paladin, I hope such an honour will help Streisan overcome her grief.
The Rangers also told us that some strange ships had been seen in the north, near Marshport. As we also had to deliver a letter to an elf in Sylfren, we thought our best bet would be travelling to the north. I was also delighted by the prospect of visiting a real town, with a real library full of interesting books, as I wanted to get the sad emotions of Ghesh's death out of my mind.
At Sylfren
After an uneventful journey of several days, we arrived at Sylfren, where we gave the letter to the elf Luboc and visited mama.
Mama was doing great and was happy to hear that we had survived the ordeal at Delornen. As things are going quite well financially, I felt obliged to give her some money to support her in this difficult times, before she is able to come back to Leavendale. I was very proud to see my sisters offering her part of the reward we received in Relkingham... Sisters' Power!
Luboc was a shoemaker and, although not particularly gifted, some of his craft caught my attention and I decided to invest part of my money in a beautiful pair of purple and green shoes. They'll fit greatly with a robe I saw in Fallcrest in my Academy days, and I hope I'll be able to glitter as much as possible the next time I visit the Academy there.
Marshport
The trip to Marshport was also uneventful. Marshport turned to be a busy medium sized town, and the weather was amazingly cold and windy. I immediately went to the main Library; as I have now some money, I paid my yearly fee to the Guild of Adventuresome Alchemists and Wizards. The fee will allow me to get free access to many libraries around the north and will make it easier to obtain components for magical rituals, I hope.
I discovered lots of interesting books and I immediately turned my attention to one about the classical art of Magic and another introductory treatise to Alchemy.
In the meantime, Streisan, Adolfiel and Tyrion searched for rumours that could lead us to the raiders that had attacked Leavendale. Ioun always preaches that real information can only be found in the towers and libraries of the sages and, as I feared, they did not find much information in the lowly dens of iniquity they visited.
Although their attitude as information seekers is commendable, I am afraid that Tyrion is leading both of my sisters to a life of gambling and lowly acquaintances. I will have to start looking for some intelligent and interesting catch for them, but with their limited capabilities of conversation, I am sure it will be a big problem.
The Black Cry and the ghost captain Angerplea
After several days of gambling and drinking, they managed to hear some rumours about a legendary ship named the Black Cry and its captain Angerplea. Some said the ship had been seen sailing north, some said it had been seen sailing south, and others said the whole thing was just a legend.
I also lost one full research day in Marshport's library, but could not dig any new information about the ghost ship.
Without knowing well how to proceed (Vistra told us her god was indicating her to move northwards, while Tyrion's sixth sense indicated him to move southwards), we decided to try our luck with Marshport's mayor... maybe chance would point us the right way...
Marshport
Today we have reached the city of Marshport. I do not like human cities. They are noisy, dirty and ugly. Today, we have been looking for some information regarding the raiding ship that attacked Leavendale. In the harbour and in the taberns they know that the ship was anchored in the bay, but it did not go into the port. We have found no useful information, except for the colour of the sails (brown). These humans are not very perceptive!
By the way, life in the city is terribly expensive. I hope we do not have to stay here for too long. Sariel has tried earning some money with some magical tricks, but with limited success. I think next time we should clap like real fans rather than booing her as Streisan and me did: perhaps we can get more money from the public that way.
By the way, life in the city is terribly expensive. I hope we do not have to stay here for too long. Sariel has tried earning some money with some magical tricks, but with limited success. I think next time we should clap like real fans rather than booing her as Streisan and me did: perhaps we can get more money from the public that way.
Return back home
After the big battle in Relkingham, we heard some rumours regarding the raiders that had attacked our town. Apparently some travelers had seen a similar ship in the northern city of Marshport. So, without delay, we have decided to go to this city. Fortunately, our town is in the way to Marshport, so we have stopped there to see how things are going after the attack. Gradually life is coming back to the town, but the wounds opened with the raid will take a long time to heal.
We have also visited Mum in Sylfre. She looked very happy to see us. We checked she was ok. After dinner, while I was helping her with the washing-up, I have asked her if she was worried for the future; we are not there now, she has to live in town (which is far more expensive than the life in the forest)... when we started talking she was with that typical "I'll be ok, darling" attitude of hers, but then, when I have offered her some money to help her, she has looked at the coins and then at me. Finally, she has kept the coins in her pocket. I know it's weird, but I have the feeling she was a bit disappointed.
We have also visited Mum in Sylfre. She looked very happy to see us. We checked she was ok. After dinner, while I was helping her with the washing-up, I have asked her if she was worried for the future; we are not there now, she has to live in town (which is far more expensive than the life in the forest)... when we started talking she was with that typical "I'll be ok, darling" attitude of hers, but then, when I have offered her some money to help her, she has looked at the coins and then at me. Finally, she has kept the coins in her pocket. I know it's weird, but I have the feeling she was a bit disappointed.
Pieces of the puzzle
After the battle at Relkingham, the group got some information about our lost friends. The ship that we had seen attacking our village seemed to have stopped in a harbour called Marshport, at some days riding distance.
We left Relkingham with a new member of our party, one young Relkingham ranger who asked to come with us to the north. He has not talked much yet, maybe he's shy... or maybe he would talk if my two sisters would ever stop. Sometimes even the dwarf priest looks exhausted with their chattering.
The trip to Sylfren was blissfully boring. No wild animals, no undead, just the landscape and some time to think about Gesh.
We passed through our home in Leavendale and verified that everything was safe. The village is getting back to life, but many people are missing and families have been broken. They were happy to see us, but we did not have the news they wanted to hear. We went on to Sylfren, where we found mum. She was doing fine, although she was getting tired of depending on our relatives' hospitality. I was happy to be able to help her and with the money from the three of us, she will have no problem for the time being.
After the others had gone to bed, I had the chance to have a long conversation with mum. She had seen inmediately that something was wrong and was waiting for me.
I told her everything, how I had felt the first days, the places we had visited and how my mistakes had taken me to Relkingham that day. I told her that I did not know what to do, how gilty I felt and that I was afraid of going on and hurting one of my sisters (if I ever hurt one of them, I want it to be because of MY decision, and because not some evil priest's spell).
She listened to me quietly and after I had finished she told me a story about our family.
One day as we were playing in the yard, something terrible had happened. The three of us were fighting as usual while mum was in the house and not really paying too much attention. As always, Sariel tried to boss us around because she was the oldest, and as always, we did not want to do what she wanted. However, this time Adolfiel and me decided to join together to fight against her and started beating her. She grew really afraid, felt cornered and helpless. Out of panic, she yelled and streched her arms. A blue bolt of energy rose from her fingers and struck Adolfiel, leaving her on the ground motionless.
It took some days to heal Adolfiel, but since that day she has that strange tic in the face that makes her so unpopular with boys.
The family learned that day that Sariel had a talent for magic, that she did not know how to control it and that we could be dangerous to each other, specially Sariel.
That night, it was decided that Sariel would leave us, go to the north to study magic and learn how to control her powers. The family broke apart.
I did not understand why mum was telling me this story, I knew it already.
She explained to me that for many years she had felt gilty for what had happened. She should have been there to stop us. She had felt like as she had lost a daughter because of her mistake that day, until Sariel returned. And she had finally realized that the losses of the past had bought happiness later.
She said that Gesh's death was a tragedy and that it was good that I was sad about it. But she said that I had to accept the responsibility of my acts and make sure that it never, never happened again. But I had to go on. I did not have the right to stop or act depressed, our enslaved townsfolk and my sisters needed me.
That night I did not sleep, I stayed up thinking. Mum's words did not help me feel less guilty. What she wanted me to do was to accept my mistakes and go on.
I would do it.
For the moment.
We left Relkingham with a new member of our party, one young Relkingham ranger who asked to come with us to the north. He has not talked much yet, maybe he's shy... or maybe he would talk if my two sisters would ever stop. Sometimes even the dwarf priest looks exhausted with their chattering.
The trip to Sylfren was blissfully boring. No wild animals, no undead, just the landscape and some time to think about Gesh.
We passed through our home in Leavendale and verified that everything was safe. The village is getting back to life, but many people are missing and families have been broken. They were happy to see us, but we did not have the news they wanted to hear. We went on to Sylfren, where we found mum. She was doing fine, although she was getting tired of depending on our relatives' hospitality. I was happy to be able to help her and with the money from the three of us, she will have no problem for the time being.
After the others had gone to bed, I had the chance to have a long conversation with mum. She had seen inmediately that something was wrong and was waiting for me.
I told her everything, how I had felt the first days, the places we had visited and how my mistakes had taken me to Relkingham that day. I told her that I did not know what to do, how gilty I felt and that I was afraid of going on and hurting one of my sisters (if I ever hurt one of them, I want it to be because of MY decision, and because not some evil priest's spell).
She listened to me quietly and after I had finished she told me a story about our family.
One day as we were playing in the yard, something terrible had happened. The three of us were fighting as usual while mum was in the house and not really paying too much attention. As always, Sariel tried to boss us around because she was the oldest, and as always, we did not want to do what she wanted. However, this time Adolfiel and me decided to join together to fight against her and started beating her. She grew really afraid, felt cornered and helpless. Out of panic, she yelled and streched her arms. A blue bolt of energy rose from her fingers and struck Adolfiel, leaving her on the ground motionless.
It took some days to heal Adolfiel, but since that day she has that strange tic in the face that makes her so unpopular with boys.
The family learned that day that Sariel had a talent for magic, that she did not know how to control it and that we could be dangerous to each other, specially Sariel.
That night, it was decided that Sariel would leave us, go to the north to study magic and learn how to control her powers. The family broke apart.
I did not understand why mum was telling me this story, I knew it already.
She explained to me that for many years she had felt gilty for what had happened. She should have been there to stop us. She had felt like as she had lost a daughter because of her mistake that day, until Sariel returned. And she had finally realized that the losses of the past had bought happiness later.
She said that Gesh's death was a tragedy and that it was good that I was sad about it. But she said that I had to accept the responsibility of my acts and make sure that it never, never happened again. But I had to go on. I did not have the right to stop or act depressed, our enslaved townsfolk and my sisters needed me.
That night I did not sleep, I stayed up thinking. Mum's words did not help me feel less guilty. What she wanted me to do was to accept my mistakes and go on.
I would do it.
For the moment.
The eye of the cyclone
These are dire times for our group.
After finding that the treacherous Vizier left for Relkingham, the group was left undecided. I managed to make it accept the race against time, and against all odds, to catch the Vizier before more evil doings. I am afraid none of us was prepared to fight undead atrocities as well as realising that there are things more dreadful than death itself.
I am happy to report that through sheer determination and willpower, and despite tiredness and doubt, we reached Relkingham well ahead of our best hopes...so well that we could prevent the Vizier to reach his goal.
We managed to enter the temple, through riots, undead and junkies. We had to fight against the mightiest paladin I ever saw, and in his death he took with him a truthful paladin of Erathis, Nietche. I think that none of us realised the corruption the were facing, if it could turn a paladin out of its loyal path.
But duty was calling, and true to our beliefs, we rushed in the temple fo find the Vizier bathed in the wickedness of Vecna, surrounded by undead and ready to battle. We finaly ended this madness, but in doing so, the group lost its innocence. Streisan killed Ghesh while being dominated by the Vizier.
I realise now, that even if I am surrounded by elves and dwarf, they are still children and life had still spared them. How can I explain to them that worse things can always come. That they should enjoy joy and happiness when it occurs because these memories will help them sweep away the sorrow of dire days? They are children, and that is a chance for me to lead them to adulthood.
I hope that Streisan will realise that she was not in the control of an evil priest to reach a despicable goal, but that she was guided by Erathis himself to prevent the desecration of one of his most faithful servant by being turned into Undead. I want to believe that. Because it is easier, because it is better, and because it is the only way to realise the awful truth of life: No matter what happen, you must go on. Because life does not wait for you.
I do not know whether I am a good example for them. I am enjoying everything that life throws at me to protect myself of the evil lurking in the shadows. I like to gamble, I like companionship and love, where and whenever I can find them. It sometimes look like selfishness or carelessness, but I do not want regret or sorrow when I die, and I wish everybody to feel the same way.
We nearly lost our lives in a mad gnome dungeon, and the way Streisan was throwing herself to the danger, makes me fear for her life. But I hope that she will remember that he has a greater goal that died by carelessness or grief...that hundreds of people, of her people, awaits for freedom and her dying will just destroy their hopes.
Courage my children, because worse an better thing will always happen tomorrow.
After finding that the treacherous Vizier left for Relkingham, the group was left undecided. I managed to make it accept the race against time, and against all odds, to catch the Vizier before more evil doings. I am afraid none of us was prepared to fight undead atrocities as well as realising that there are things more dreadful than death itself.
I am happy to report that through sheer determination and willpower, and despite tiredness and doubt, we reached Relkingham well ahead of our best hopes...so well that we could prevent the Vizier to reach his goal.
We managed to enter the temple, through riots, undead and junkies. We had to fight against the mightiest paladin I ever saw, and in his death he took with him a truthful paladin of Erathis, Nietche. I think that none of us realised the corruption the were facing, if it could turn a paladin out of its loyal path.
But duty was calling, and true to our beliefs, we rushed in the temple fo find the Vizier bathed in the wickedness of Vecna, surrounded by undead and ready to battle. We finaly ended this madness, but in doing so, the group lost its innocence. Streisan killed Ghesh while being dominated by the Vizier.
I realise now, that even if I am surrounded by elves and dwarf, they are still children and life had still spared them. How can I explain to them that worse things can always come. That they should enjoy joy and happiness when it occurs because these memories will help them sweep away the sorrow of dire days? They are children, and that is a chance for me to lead them to adulthood.
I hope that Streisan will realise that she was not in the control of an evil priest to reach a despicable goal, but that she was guided by Erathis himself to prevent the desecration of one of his most faithful servant by being turned into Undead. I want to believe that. Because it is easier, because it is better, and because it is the only way to realise the awful truth of life: No matter what happen, you must go on. Because life does not wait for you.
I do not know whether I am a good example for them. I am enjoying everything that life throws at me to protect myself of the evil lurking in the shadows. I like to gamble, I like companionship and love, where and whenever I can find them. It sometimes look like selfishness or carelessness, but I do not want regret or sorrow when I die, and I wish everybody to feel the same way.
We nearly lost our lives in a mad gnome dungeon, and the way Streisan was throwing herself to the danger, makes me fear for her life. But I hope that she will remember that he has a greater goal that died by carelessness or grief...that hundreds of people, of her people, awaits for freedom and her dying will just destroy their hopes.
Courage my children, because worse an better thing will always happen tomorrow.
Session 6: The Marshport Blizzard
The search for the Leavendale raiders leads the party to Marshport in the hopes of finding new clues - but the trail isn't the only thing that's getting cold...
Bitter is the flavour of victory
Today has been a strange day, one of those days when you do not know if you should be exultant or miserable (and I am not talking about those special days of the month, but about key moments in life). However, as I normally tend to be positive, I would rather start telling you, Dear Diary, that I am writting these lines before going to sleep (I have not slept in the last day and a half and I am really exhausted).
Last night, after having buried the corpses we found in Hamona, we followed our journey to Relkingham. After some hours, already at dawn, we reached the city walls. At first sight, everything seemed pretty normal, except for the fact that some horses were walking free outside the city. When we reached the gate, we asked the guards if the High Priest had arrived to the city. Apparently, he had reached the harbour not so long ago. Perhaps we were still on time, but we had to act quickly.
We rushed to the Mayor and explained him the situation. When he knew the High Priest was not obeying the Queen's orders, he immediately helped us and some of his soldiers joined us in our fight. We all went to the Temple, hoping we could stop the Edict. However, a paladin of Erathis did not let us enter the sacred building. At that moment, we heard noise and cries and a riot started in the city. Apparently many of the citizes were missing their beloved seeds and wanted to have them. After solving the small problem of "ordre public" in town, we tried to break into the Temple. However, what we found there was not what we expected.
A paladin of Erathis, indeed one of the paladins that served the High Priest, was fighting with a small party of undead against us. Soon we understood the situation: the High Priest had betrayed the sacred order of Erathis and was now a follower of evil Vecna. He had even turned the Altar to Erathis into a huge flame of obscurity. When I was about to shoot him, he used his evil powers to throw me to the flame and keep me out of the fight. Although I was trying to get free, the flame was far too powerful. However, after some efforts (and maily thanks to the help of my companions) I managed to get rid of my prison and fight back... but the battle was not evolving as I expected: my sister Streisan suddenly turned and started charging our paladin (yes, the handsome dragonborn). She made him fall and then she killed him. I could not believe my eyes: what was she doing? After that she looked confused and dizzy, while the rest of us surrounded the High Priest and made him pay for his sins.
After the fight was over, I realized that the evil High Priest (now he did not look so "High", ugh?) had cursed my sister and was controlling her movements. She felt horribly for the dramatic result of our adventure and she could not feel relief even in the fact that we had freed a whole country from the slavery of Vecna's cultists.
Myself I had a strange feeling in my stomach. Of course I was sorry for our paladin, but when we got out of the Temple, the sun was shining, the city was free and joy was in everybody's faces. When I saw the Mayor, I could not help it: I went towards him and kissed him. At the begining he was confused but then he understood the battle was over. Then, the army of Relkingham, with whom we had fought against the cultists of Vecna, decided to consider us as Members of Honour of the Rangers of Relkingham.
So, that has been my day. While I am finishing today's report, I hear people sing and dance in the street, and Streisan cry silently in her bed. Life can be complicated.
Last night, after having buried the corpses we found in Hamona, we followed our journey to Relkingham. After some hours, already at dawn, we reached the city walls. At first sight, everything seemed pretty normal, except for the fact that some horses were walking free outside the city. When we reached the gate, we asked the guards if the High Priest had arrived to the city. Apparently, he had reached the harbour not so long ago. Perhaps we were still on time, but we had to act quickly.
We rushed to the Mayor and explained him the situation. When he knew the High Priest was not obeying the Queen's orders, he immediately helped us and some of his soldiers joined us in our fight. We all went to the Temple, hoping we could stop the Edict. However, a paladin of Erathis did not let us enter the sacred building. At that moment, we heard noise and cries and a riot started in the city. Apparently many of the citizes were missing their beloved seeds and wanted to have them. After solving the small problem of "ordre public" in town, we tried to break into the Temple. However, what we found there was not what we expected.
A paladin of Erathis, indeed one of the paladins that served the High Priest, was fighting with a small party of undead against us. Soon we understood the situation: the High Priest had betrayed the sacred order of Erathis and was now a follower of evil Vecna. He had even turned the Altar to Erathis into a huge flame of obscurity. When I was about to shoot him, he used his evil powers to throw me to the flame and keep me out of the fight. Although I was trying to get free, the flame was far too powerful. However, after some efforts (and maily thanks to the help of my companions) I managed to get rid of my prison and fight back... but the battle was not evolving as I expected: my sister Streisan suddenly turned and started charging our paladin (yes, the handsome dragonborn). She made him fall and then she killed him. I could not believe my eyes: what was she doing? After that she looked confused and dizzy, while the rest of us surrounded the High Priest and made him pay for his sins.
After the fight was over, I realized that the evil High Priest (now he did not look so "High", ugh?) had cursed my sister and was controlling her movements. She felt horribly for the dramatic result of our adventure and she could not feel relief even in the fact that we had freed a whole country from the slavery of Vecna's cultists.
Myself I had a strange feeling in my stomach. Of course I was sorry for our paladin, but when we got out of the Temple, the sun was shining, the city was free and joy was in everybody's faces. When I saw the Mayor, I could not help it: I went towards him and kissed him. At the begining he was confused but then he understood the battle was over. Then, the army of Relkingham, with whom we had fought against the cultists of Vecna, decided to consider us as Members of Honour of the Rangers of Relkingham.
So, that has been my day. While I am finishing today's report, I hear people sing and dance in the street, and Streisan cry silently in her bed. Life can be complicated.
Defeat within Victory
I would have like to be able to write this down earlier, but the anguish and pain within my heart have made me cower from writing the events of the last few days down and the terrible event it lead to, hoping that by not writing about it, not talking about it, it would not be real. But I can hide no longer, as a cleric of Berronar I must be strong, how can I hide from pain and help others to accept and live through it, make their lives better even through the hardships? How can I do my duty, how can I aid others if I cannot even help myself. So here we are dear diary, the first step in accepting the fate that has befallen our group. My heart is torn, but I believe this trial has made me stronger, I pray to Berronar that it is so.
After having traveled to Wylea, we had met with the Caliph and managed to convince her that the edict was not a good idea, at least till more thought and other options had been considered. But that was when the first tragedy happened, a man trying to reach the Caliph died just after having told us what was happening, the Vizir had stolen the edict and was planning on making it holy law despite the Caliph's orders. After having bested some guards told to keep us in the Palace, we managed to get to the secret entrance who's existance had been given to us by one of the Caliph's servants. We ended up in the sewers, smells I'd rather not describe attacking our nostrils the deeper we ventured. At one point we found a cavern, which as we ventured through had some slimes attack us. Fortunatly we dispatched them with fair ease.
But we kept hurrying to the Vizir's temple to hopefully prevent him implementing the edict. As we arrived at what seemed to be the entrance to the temple, we got hit by barrels pushed by attackers from the top of the stairs. Tyrion charged, and was badly injured and dying. We got pinnen in the stairs by one of the paladins trying to push through to save Tyrion. I admit I do not know if my faith could have saved me if Tyrion had died, we have traveled a lot together and... (that will have to be for another day). Fortunatly through the battle we managed to find out that the paladins had been sent by the Caliph to protect the temple and do what we had come to do, prevent the Vizir from implementing the edict. But as information reached us that the Vizir was at the harbor we rushed there to find the ships burning, the Caliphs personal ship leaving all of us knowing the Vizir was on board.
Grabbing horses, we rode. I don't remember for how long, trying to save every minute by pushing ourselves and the horses to the limit, time had become a torrential flow who's passing we could not measure. We arrived at a small village, my horse tired from the ride. We tried to get to the stables and hopefully ask the owner for some fresh ones, but all we found were terrified horses and undead attacking us from all over, their left hands and eyes had been cut showing us Vecna's hand in these events unfolding. Pushed by the fact that time was the one luxury we didn't have we dispatched them quickly and continued our ride. The horses grew tired, our bodies also were starting to feel the drain of us pushing ourselves to the limit. Further along we saw a burning watchpost, bodies litered on the floor. Ghesh and myself were compelled to give them a proper sending off, with a quick prayer we added them to the flames so their flesh and their souls would be cleansed before reaching the afterlife. Again there was no time to stop, we rode on reaching Relkingham tired and physically exhausted. But we received news that the Vizir had arrived not long ago, our plan had worked and we had managed to save conciderable amounts of time. We rode to the temple, where our way was barred, we got attacked by humans overcome by drugs attacking us, it pained me to see them die but I could not fathom the concequences if we failed in stopping the Vizir. Undead soon joined the fray, and we were assisted by Nietsch, a paladin of Erathis, and a few of his companions. The first tragedy of the day as Nietsch was killed by Jeryn, a paladin helping the Vizir who had renounced Erathis, althought there was a small concolation in Nietsch having struck Jeryn down.
But there was a pillar of darkness eminating from the back of the temple and again we rushed forward hoping to prevent these terrible events to progress any further. Dispatching some the final bodyguards, we finally arrived at the Shrine of Erathis in the temple, standing before it was Avonazemon, traitor to humanity and his god Erathis, now a minion of Vecna. Before we even had time to react he pulled Adolfiel in a swirling cloud of hands and eyes. We pushed forward, rage a part of some, cold anger in others, fighting for what was right and good in this world. We were pushing him back but suddenly using his powers of the mind he attacked the will of Tyrion taking over his mind. Tyrion managed to brush it off fairly quickly though before causing considerable damage. We kept pressing the attack, even Adolfiel swirling in the mass of hands and eyes managed to pull off some very impressive attacks hurting Avonazemon further. But our luck ran out, Avonazemon managed to take control of Streisan's mind. Probably knowing the battle was lost for him, Avonazemon used Streisan to attack Ghesh who weakened by the battle against Avonazemon fell prone to the ground. Using everything we had we tried to stop Avonazemon, help Streisan break his control but he was just too strong, using all his strength for those last moments defiling everything that was good.
This dear diary is where my passage has lead me to, I do not wish to hide the tears the pain of these last day has caused me, innocents hurt and dying, the valorous paladin Nietsch struck down in his combat against evil. But the true event that I will never be able to forget, and who's pain will follow to my end of days was Avonazemon last act, bending Streisan's mind into one last desperate command, the execution of Ghesh. It is not only the death of Ghesh, a paladin we would all have called a friend, but what truely broke me was to see Streisan's face as Avonazemon's control broke over her as his death neared. I cannot fathom the horror she must be going through, having witnessed unable to help oneself, kill a friend. I admit, and I hope Berronar can forgive me, that at that moment I was broken overwhelmed by the pain that the evil in this world can unleash.
But through the guidance of Berronar, I believe I have found my purpose. This sort of pain, this sort of evil is but a drop in a wave crashing on the world. I must be strong, I must live with the pain so others won't, I must aid those that need it, I will be Berronar's shield upon this world molded by the trials I will face and I pray to Berronar that my faith will be enough to save me and that in death I may face her on Mount Celestia, with my head held high.
After having traveled to Wylea, we had met with the Caliph and managed to convince her that the edict was not a good idea, at least till more thought and other options had been considered. But that was when the first tragedy happened, a man trying to reach the Caliph died just after having told us what was happening, the Vizir had stolen the edict and was planning on making it holy law despite the Caliph's orders. After having bested some guards told to keep us in the Palace, we managed to get to the secret entrance who's existance had been given to us by one of the Caliph's servants. We ended up in the sewers, smells I'd rather not describe attacking our nostrils the deeper we ventured. At one point we found a cavern, which as we ventured through had some slimes attack us. Fortunatly we dispatched them with fair ease.
But we kept hurrying to the Vizir's temple to hopefully prevent him implementing the edict. As we arrived at what seemed to be the entrance to the temple, we got hit by barrels pushed by attackers from the top of the stairs. Tyrion charged, and was badly injured and dying. We got pinnen in the stairs by one of the paladins trying to push through to save Tyrion. I admit I do not know if my faith could have saved me if Tyrion had died, we have traveled a lot together and... (that will have to be for another day). Fortunatly through the battle we managed to find out that the paladins had been sent by the Caliph to protect the temple and do what we had come to do, prevent the Vizir from implementing the edict. But as information reached us that the Vizir was at the harbor we rushed there to find the ships burning, the Caliphs personal ship leaving all of us knowing the Vizir was on board.
Grabbing horses, we rode. I don't remember for how long, trying to save every minute by pushing ourselves and the horses to the limit, time had become a torrential flow who's passing we could not measure. We arrived at a small village, my horse tired from the ride. We tried to get to the stables and hopefully ask the owner for some fresh ones, but all we found were terrified horses and undead attacking us from all over, their left hands and eyes had been cut showing us Vecna's hand in these events unfolding. Pushed by the fact that time was the one luxury we didn't have we dispatched them quickly and continued our ride. The horses grew tired, our bodies also were starting to feel the drain of us pushing ourselves to the limit. Further along we saw a burning watchpost, bodies litered on the floor. Ghesh and myself were compelled to give them a proper sending off, with a quick prayer we added them to the flames so their flesh and their souls would be cleansed before reaching the afterlife. Again there was no time to stop, we rode on reaching Relkingham tired and physically exhausted. But we received news that the Vizir had arrived not long ago, our plan had worked and we had managed to save conciderable amounts of time. We rode to the temple, where our way was barred, we got attacked by humans overcome by drugs attacking us, it pained me to see them die but I could not fathom the concequences if we failed in stopping the Vizir. Undead soon joined the fray, and we were assisted by Nietsch, a paladin of Erathis, and a few of his companions. The first tragedy of the day as Nietsch was killed by Jeryn, a paladin helping the Vizir who had renounced Erathis, althought there was a small concolation in Nietsch having struck Jeryn down.
But there was a pillar of darkness eminating from the back of the temple and again we rushed forward hoping to prevent these terrible events to progress any further. Dispatching some the final bodyguards, we finally arrived at the Shrine of Erathis in the temple, standing before it was Avonazemon, traitor to humanity and his god Erathis, now a minion of Vecna. Before we even had time to react he pulled Adolfiel in a swirling cloud of hands and eyes. We pushed forward, rage a part of some, cold anger in others, fighting for what was right and good in this world. We were pushing him back but suddenly using his powers of the mind he attacked the will of Tyrion taking over his mind. Tyrion managed to brush it off fairly quickly though before causing considerable damage. We kept pressing the attack, even Adolfiel swirling in the mass of hands and eyes managed to pull off some very impressive attacks hurting Avonazemon further. But our luck ran out, Avonazemon managed to take control of Streisan's mind. Probably knowing the battle was lost for him, Avonazemon used Streisan to attack Ghesh who weakened by the battle against Avonazemon fell prone to the ground. Using everything we had we tried to stop Avonazemon, help Streisan break his control but he was just too strong, using all his strength for those last moments defiling everything that was good.
This dear diary is where my passage has lead me to, I do not wish to hide the tears the pain of these last day has caused me, innocents hurt and dying, the valorous paladin Nietsch struck down in his combat against evil. But the true event that I will never be able to forget, and who's pain will follow to my end of days was Avonazemon last act, bending Streisan's mind into one last desperate command, the execution of Ghesh. It is not only the death of Ghesh, a paladin we would all have called a friend, but what truely broke me was to see Streisan's face as Avonazemon's control broke over her as his death neared. I cannot fathom the horror she must be going through, having witnessed unable to help oneself, kill a friend. I admit, and I hope Berronar can forgive me, that at that moment I was broken overwhelmed by the pain that the evil in this world can unleash.
But through the guidance of Berronar, I believe I have found my purpose. This sort of pain, this sort of evil is but a drop in a wave crashing on the world. I must be strong, I must live with the pain so others won't, I must aid those that need it, I will be Berronar's shield upon this world molded by the trials I will face and I pray to Berronar that my faith will be enough to save me and that in death I may face her on Mount Celestia, with my head held high.
The price of pride
I live in shame.
I have failed terribly and I cannot get over it. Since that day, I have not rested well, I do not eat anything and I keep getting dreams about him. I cannot forget that I killed Gesh, paladin of Erathis.
I keep on reliving those days, trying to understand, to find a mistake, a decision that could have prevented my terrible acts, but I cannot find it.
When we left Wylea, we were in a big hurry. We wanted to gain time at all costs to stop the vizir, Avonazemon from consecrating the trade tax law. The speed at which we travelled was at the end just enough, but the cost was great, it nearly cost me my life.
We had to fight all the way to Relkingham. The lands between the two cities had been attacked by some horrible monsters that raised the undead. They tried to oppose our passage and, even though they were unable to stop us, they made us more tired.
When we arrived to Relkingham, I was almost dead of exhaustion. We had had four combats without rest, ridden for two days and almost killed our horses.
The city was calm, the Vizir had arrived and he was hiding in the temple so we decided, again without resting, to go warn the Mayor.
As we were crossing the main square, right in front of the temple, we found some soldiers that told us that in fact the fighting had already begun... and had already been lost. The Vizir and his evil minions had taken over the temple and were performing evil rituals right at that moment!
We decided to act, enter the temple and stop the Vizir there and now.
Right as we were getting into the temple, the evil minions of the Vizir started to act. They attacked the city square and a great combat started. With the help of the soldiers, we were able to kill the evil servants, even the great paladin that came out of the temple in the middle of the battle. It took all of us to kill him and finally the leader of the soldiers that were helping us sacrificed his life to stop him.
The temple doors were clean of enemies but it was closed shut and we were in a hurry, so we sneaked through a roof into the back gardens and from there we got to the altar.
By the time we got there, I was almost fainting with fatigue. I had been unable to focus and my reactions were so slow that the enemies kept avoiding my thrusts. Although it kept trying, my body felt drained and I knew I was almost at the end of my strength.
As we got into the altar room, the despicable piece of faeces that was the Vizir did a horrible spell to my sister Adolfiel that left her helpless. Gesh and me hurried to her help and got close to Avonazemon so we could attack him.
Then came the most horrible moment of my life.
As we were fighting, I got too close to Avonazemon and for a second, I was vulnerable. The Vizir approached me, put his hand on my arm and came into my mind, commanding me to follow his orders.
I was so tired.
I could not resist, he was too strong for me.
My body was taken away from my mind and used as a puppet, while I watched helpless.
I turned around and with one powerful attack, I sent the paladin to the ground.
I tried to stop it, to throw him away from my mind. But I could not.
With a second attack I killed the honourable paladin, the future husband of one of my sisters (which one I do not know, maybe both), tall and strong.
Some minutes later, Avonazemon finally paid the price to all the evil he had provoked. He had become a servant of an evil god of the undead and had tried to promote this law to have many human sacrifices for his god. I hope he gets to feel ten times the pain he has brought to us.
We saved the temple, although it had been desecrated and got rewarded for it, we are very popular in the city right now.
The rest of the group is not talking much about Gesh, not even my sisters. They let the Mayor and the citizens think that all of us were heroes, but it was not true. Not all of us were free of guilt. Although they do not say anything to me, I know they are thinking about what happened in the altar.
The morning after the combat, after having finally rested, I went alone to the hills outside the city and burnt a small sacrifice for Gesh. I burnt the figure I was making for mum. She will understand, in the figure I was represented as a heroine helping others, and this is not true any more. It's the price for my pride.
I wish I could talk to mum, she would understand.
I have failed terribly and I cannot get over it. Since that day, I have not rested well, I do not eat anything and I keep getting dreams about him. I cannot forget that I killed Gesh, paladin of Erathis.
I keep on reliving those days, trying to understand, to find a mistake, a decision that could have prevented my terrible acts, but I cannot find it.
When we left Wylea, we were in a big hurry. We wanted to gain time at all costs to stop the vizir, Avonazemon from consecrating the trade tax law. The speed at which we travelled was at the end just enough, but the cost was great, it nearly cost me my life.
We had to fight all the way to Relkingham. The lands between the two cities had been attacked by some horrible monsters that raised the undead. They tried to oppose our passage and, even though they were unable to stop us, they made us more tired.
When we arrived to Relkingham, I was almost dead of exhaustion. We had had four combats without rest, ridden for two days and almost killed our horses.
The city was calm, the Vizir had arrived and he was hiding in the temple so we decided, again without resting, to go warn the Mayor.
As we were crossing the main square, right in front of the temple, we found some soldiers that told us that in fact the fighting had already begun... and had already been lost. The Vizir and his evil minions had taken over the temple and were performing evil rituals right at that moment!
We decided to act, enter the temple and stop the Vizir there and now.
Right as we were getting into the temple, the evil minions of the Vizir started to act. They attacked the city square and a great combat started. With the help of the soldiers, we were able to kill the evil servants, even the great paladin that came out of the temple in the middle of the battle. It took all of us to kill him and finally the leader of the soldiers that were helping us sacrificed his life to stop him.
The temple doors were clean of enemies but it was closed shut and we were in a hurry, so we sneaked through a roof into the back gardens and from there we got to the altar.
By the time we got there, I was almost fainting with fatigue. I had been unable to focus and my reactions were so slow that the enemies kept avoiding my thrusts. Although it kept trying, my body felt drained and I knew I was almost at the end of my strength.
As we got into the altar room, the despicable piece of faeces that was the Vizir did a horrible spell to my sister Adolfiel that left her helpless. Gesh and me hurried to her help and got close to Avonazemon so we could attack him.
Then came the most horrible moment of my life.
As we were fighting, I got too close to Avonazemon and for a second, I was vulnerable. The Vizir approached me, put his hand on my arm and came into my mind, commanding me to follow his orders.
I was so tired.
I could not resist, he was too strong for me.
My body was taken away from my mind and used as a puppet, while I watched helpless.
I turned around and with one powerful attack, I sent the paladin to the ground.
I tried to stop it, to throw him away from my mind. But I could not.
With a second attack I killed the honourable paladin, the future husband of one of my sisters (which one I do not know, maybe both), tall and strong.
Some minutes later, Avonazemon finally paid the price to all the evil he had provoked. He had become a servant of an evil god of the undead and had tried to promote this law to have many human sacrifices for his god. I hope he gets to feel ten times the pain he has brought to us.
We saved the temple, although it had been desecrated and got rewarded for it, we are very popular in the city right now.
The rest of the group is not talking much about Gesh, not even my sisters. They let the Mayor and the citizens think that all of us were heroes, but it was not true. Not all of us were free of guilt. Although they do not say anything to me, I know they are thinking about what happened in the altar.
The morning after the combat, after having finally rested, I went alone to the hills outside the city and burnt a small sacrifice for Gesh. I burnt the figure I was making for mum. She will understand, in the figure I was represented as a heroine helping others, and this is not true any more. It's the price for my pride.
I wish I could talk to mum, she would understand.
Such a gory, mourning story
After the defeat of Jeryn, a nasty purple cloud coalesced in the sky, on top of the Temple. A loud boom was heard, and a column of unholy light suffused the temple and the square... the corpses began stirring, and a sense of dread overcame us.
We took a short rest, then hurried to the interior of the temple. We defeated the last remnants of the Vizier's bodyguards and entered the main chapel. Avonazemon, the despicable Vecna traitor, was waiting for us. He had just finished desecrating the altar of Erathis and a column of hands and eyes was swirling around the altar. With a flick of his hand he ensnared Adolfiel in the nasty cloud and started playing cat and mouse with us. Ghesh, Tyrion and Streisan charged hi, but we found to our dismay that the Vizier had powerful ways of persuassion. All of us had problems trying to focus on him, and sometimes he would wave his hands and fingers and we would act as puppets in a theatre, awkwardly following his dirty commands. Also, the corruption of Vecna was strong near the altar, and we felt our life forces flow into the horrible column.
Even with all his dirty tricks, it looked like the Vizier was not going to be able to stop our coordinated efforts, but then he took control of Streisan and my poor sister could not resist the insidious commands of the Vizier; one quick thrust of her spear was enough to leave the already weakened Ghesh prone. The Vizier knew he was defeated, but his cruel mind was not going to pass into Oblivion without causing even more damage than he had already caused. He saw the opportunity and commanded Streisan to finish off the Paladin. With a forced expression in her face and yanking movements, Streisan plunged her spear in Ghesh's body. When we saw the Paladin expire, we were all enraged by this ignoble act and charged the Vizier with holy fury. His subsequent defeat was poor consolation for our bitter loss.
We left the temple bloody, exhausted and with tears running down our cheeks, carefully carrying Ghesh's mangled corpse.The mayor of Relkingham and the guards and rangers of the city were also devastated, having suffered the loss of many friends and colleagues. We all embraced each other, knowing we had barely been able to save the city from Vecna's doom.
We went to the inn to rest and bathe ourselves, then I started writing this long sad entry in my diary, my mind was filled with all the glorious moments with Ghesh, and I meditated on the elven prayer "Friends Farewell" and my eyes were moist again.
We took a short rest, then hurried to the interior of the temple. We defeated the last remnants of the Vizier's bodyguards and entered the main chapel. Avonazemon, the despicable Vecna traitor, was waiting for us. He had just finished desecrating the altar of Erathis and a column of hands and eyes was swirling around the altar. With a flick of his hand he ensnared Adolfiel in the nasty cloud and started playing cat and mouse with us. Ghesh, Tyrion and Streisan charged hi, but we found to our dismay that the Vizier had powerful ways of persuassion. All of us had problems trying to focus on him, and sometimes he would wave his hands and fingers and we would act as puppets in a theatre, awkwardly following his dirty commands. Also, the corruption of Vecna was strong near the altar, and we felt our life forces flow into the horrible column.
Even with all his dirty tricks, it looked like the Vizier was not going to be able to stop our coordinated efforts, but then he took control of Streisan and my poor sister could not resist the insidious commands of the Vizier; one quick thrust of her spear was enough to leave the already weakened Ghesh prone. The Vizier knew he was defeated, but his cruel mind was not going to pass into Oblivion without causing even more damage than he had already caused. He saw the opportunity and commanded Streisan to finish off the Paladin. With a forced expression in her face and yanking movements, Streisan plunged her spear in Ghesh's body. When we saw the Paladin expire, we were all enraged by this ignoble act and charged the Vizier with holy fury. His subsequent defeat was poor consolation for our bitter loss.
We left the temple bloody, exhausted and with tears running down our cheeks, carefully carrying Ghesh's mangled corpse.The mayor of Relkingham and the guards and rangers of the city were also devastated, having suffered the loss of many friends and colleagues. We all embraced each other, knowing we had barely been able to save the city from Vecna's doom.
We went to the inn to rest and bathe ourselves, then I started writing this long sad entry in my diary, my mind was filled with all the glorious moments with Ghesh, and I meditated on the elven prayer "Friends Farewell" and my eyes were moist again.
"Aeons passed since our essence
from the Maelstrom of Chaos was fished
and in the beautiful Wheel of Living
we were allowed to roam free.
Our threads entwined such a short time
and yet that I knew you always it seemed
now you wander the forest no longer
and the Feywild your home is to be.
Will you cross again the waters?
Will you again in the Circle live?
I hope I'll recognise your likeness
when the Wheel's next turn makes us meet."
from the Maelstrom of Chaos was fished
and in the beautiful Wheel of Living
we were allowed to roam free.
Our threads entwined such a short time
and yet that I knew you always it seemed
now you wander the forest no longer
and the Feywild your home is to be.
Will you cross again the waters?
Will you again in the Circle live?
I hope I'll recognise your likeness
when the Wheel's next turn makes us meet."
Session 5: Avonazemon's Ashes
Avonazemon, High Priest of Erathis and Vizier of Delornen, is finally revealed as a champion of Vecna, and claims the life of Paladin Ghesh in the ensuing battle...
Something is rotten in the state of Delornen
After some days of travel by boat, we have arrived at Wyllea, capital city of Delornen. Impossible as it might seem, these people are even wealthier than the inhabitants of Relkingham. While the paladin goes to the Temple to do his paladinish things (this guy speaks even less than Tyrion... I do not even know his name!) we have found the Royal Palace. There, we have asked for an audience, which was granted quite fast (considering we wanted to talk to the King, and to talk to a simple mayor we had to wait some hours). While we were waiting, the paladin has joined us and, shortly afterwards, we were called in the presence of the King... that happened to be a Queen!
The reception took place in a large, luxurious room. I really think these people have too much money - with much less, the elves can live in the forest much better than these stupid humans. The paladin and Vistra explained the situation to the Queen and, at the begining, she was not really receptive. I would say she was rather hostile: she even suggested that we were simple muppets controlled by the Mayor of Relkingham! How did she dare! That arrogant and stupid Queen! She thinks she is important because she is tall, has intense green eyes and can afford rich silk dresses that fit her comely and proportionate body perfectly! I really do not care about the Mayor, the seeds or the stupid economical sustainability of the humans: I want to know what happened to our neighbours and friends. At that moment I was very angry... so angry that I decided to shut that outrageous and poissonous mouth of hers. However, I myself did not choose correctly my words (now I cannot remember them, but I DO remember the faces of my sisters when I spoke... next time I will have to bite my tongue). Fortunately enough, the Queen did not seem to have heard me and went on talking to the paladin. Although when he is with us he does not seem to be very talkative, he turned out to be very eloquent with the Queen (apparently rich queens seem to be his kind). He was so eloquent, that the Queen decided to revoke the edict. She gave the pertinent orders and left the room.
Suddenly we heard a cry. One of the servers of the Queen shouted that the edict had been stolen (by the High Priest?). By the time we could reach close to him, he had been murdered, and we were trapped within the Palace. Moreover, the guards of the Palace wanted to keep us there. Again the paladin tried his apparently brand new skill to talk but this was too much for me: I shot four arrows at the closest guard and the fight began. After a short fight, the soldiers surrended and one of the servers suggested that the fastest and safest way to get out of the Palace was through the kitchen. And there we went. Unfortunately, the "safe" way out was through the sewers of the stupid city! After wandering in the darkness and meeting some "abandoned pets" that were not very receptive to our presence, we found a corridor leading to the Temple. And there the worst fight in my whole life took place.
A group of heavily armored soldiers was guarding the Tempel. They were many and very strong. Our arrows and swords seemed useless against them (particularly agains their commander). At a certain moment, our beloved paladin decided to chat again (he does not use this faculty quite often, but I must admit he is really effective) and then we realized that these soldiers were obeying the orders of the Queen and were trying to prevent the High Priest from making it official. As we had the same objective, they showed us the way out and went to the harbour. There, we saw that all the boats were either sunk or in flames and one of them was sailing away, towards Relkingham. As the soldiers told us, the Temple in Relkingham was the closest Temple to Wyllea and the fastest way to get there, by boat.
With the aid of the Queen, we took some horses and rushed towards the city. The way was much longer by road than by boat, but we had no choice. At dusk we arrived to the town of Hamona, where we intended to change horses. However, when we got there, we realized something was not going well. The town was empty and the few horses left, nervous. Suddenly we got attacked by a group of undead. When we got rid of them, we noticed that many of them had a left hand and a left eye excised. According to Vistra, that seemed to be a ritual made by some cultist of an evil god. Who knows. The paladin insisted in burying the corpses. After a while, we went on.
Half way to Relkingham, we have reached a crossroad military post. It is in flames and there are many corpses on the ground, with the same synthoms as the undead in Hamona. This paladin wants to bury them also (perhaps he wanted to be gravedigger when he was a kid). Actually, I am writting these lines while he digs. I am really tired.
The reception took place in a large, luxurious room. I really think these people have too much money - with much less, the elves can live in the forest much better than these stupid humans. The paladin and Vistra explained the situation to the Queen and, at the begining, she was not really receptive. I would say she was rather hostile: she even suggested that we were simple muppets controlled by the Mayor of Relkingham! How did she dare! That arrogant and stupid Queen! She thinks she is important because she is tall, has intense green eyes and can afford rich silk dresses that fit her comely and proportionate body perfectly! I really do not care about the Mayor, the seeds or the stupid economical sustainability of the humans: I want to know what happened to our neighbours and friends. At that moment I was very angry... so angry that I decided to shut that outrageous and poissonous mouth of hers. However, I myself did not choose correctly my words (now I cannot remember them, but I DO remember the faces of my sisters when I spoke... next time I will have to bite my tongue). Fortunately enough, the Queen did not seem to have heard me and went on talking to the paladin. Although when he is with us he does not seem to be very talkative, he turned out to be very eloquent with the Queen (apparently rich queens seem to be his kind). He was so eloquent, that the Queen decided to revoke the edict. She gave the pertinent orders and left the room.
Suddenly we heard a cry. One of the servers of the Queen shouted that the edict had been stolen (by the High Priest?). By the time we could reach close to him, he had been murdered, and we were trapped within the Palace. Moreover, the guards of the Palace wanted to keep us there. Again the paladin tried his apparently brand new skill to talk but this was too much for me: I shot four arrows at the closest guard and the fight began. After a short fight, the soldiers surrended and one of the servers suggested that the fastest and safest way to get out of the Palace was through the kitchen. And there we went. Unfortunately, the "safe" way out was through the sewers of the stupid city! After wandering in the darkness and meeting some "abandoned pets" that were not very receptive to our presence, we found a corridor leading to the Temple. And there the worst fight in my whole life took place.
A group of heavily armored soldiers was guarding the Tempel. They were many and very strong. Our arrows and swords seemed useless against them (particularly agains their commander). At a certain moment, our beloved paladin decided to chat again (he does not use this faculty quite often, but I must admit he is really effective) and then we realized that these soldiers were obeying the orders of the Queen and were trying to prevent the High Priest from making it official. As we had the same objective, they showed us the way out and went to the harbour. There, we saw that all the boats were either sunk or in flames and one of them was sailing away, towards Relkingham. As the soldiers told us, the Temple in Relkingham was the closest Temple to Wyllea and the fastest way to get there, by boat.
With the aid of the Queen, we took some horses and rushed towards the city. The way was much longer by road than by boat, but we had no choice. At dusk we arrived to the town of Hamona, where we intended to change horses. However, when we got there, we realized something was not going well. The town was empty and the few horses left, nervous. Suddenly we got attacked by a group of undead. When we got rid of them, we noticed that many of them had a left hand and a left eye excised. According to Vistra, that seemed to be a ritual made by some cultist of an evil god. Who knows. The paladin insisted in burying the corpses. After a while, we went on.
Half way to Relkingham, we have reached a crossroad military post. It is in flames and there are many corpses on the ground, with the same synthoms as the undead in Hamona. This paladin wants to bury them also (perhaps he wanted to be gravedigger when he was a kid). Actually, I am writting these lines while he digs. I am really tired.
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