22/10/85/01 Tazius
I add some horse meat to the stew, and four hours later, wake up Bjorn for his watch. I come out of trance a few hours later to learn that some more strange events happened during the night. The buried bandit disappeared with a trail of blood leading into the forest. Bjorn followed the trail and found another trail joining the first one. Bjorn followed the combined trail till it just disappeared in the forest. Bjorn then woke Dave and asked him to look into the trails and went to sleep. Galadriel kept watch while Dave followed the second trail backwards... which led to the sleeping bandit in the camp! Zakion also left the party in the middle of the night.
23/10/85/01 Tazius
The next morning Dave said something weird happened over the course of the previous night, but did not give too many details. With regards to the strange animal noises in the night, Dave only said is Galadriel and Bjorn foraged some and filled up the water skins. The Sun was setting to the left and a cool breeze was blowing from the right, bringing with it a smell of fresh water and fishes. The river was east of us and we were going north. The forest is still ravaged by fire to some extent, but the damage here has reduced. Lindir wonders the story of the races in Lesser Terra. I forage in the forest and get a wide variety of fruits, tubers and roots. Dave begins preparing the camp while I head to the river and get new water in all the skins. Sylph questions need about the fire, and she does not believe me. She tries to set my pants on fire, but Dave comes between us, and says “there are many things out to hurt you in the forest, better not fight among yourselves.” We finish the stew and save some foraged tubers, roots and fruit for later. I take the first watch and try to sing the dog to sleep but only manage to wake everyone else up, giving them a headache. Then the bard sings a lullaby, putting the dog to sleep. Galadriel keeps watch while everyone else rests. I come out of trance four hours later to find out that Galadriel has been attacked by ants. I starts making a Mancala board.
24/10/85/01 Tazius
The next morning, Dave wakes up first. We pack up and head to the river. We then forage on the way, and have some stew. Then we come to a rocky walk and begin to climb. Bjorn climbs first and throws down a rope. The rest of the party climb using the rope, but Syl scales it free, and alarmingly quickly. Then we ford the river upstream from the waterfall. The trees are sparse here. We walk for a few hours. Then Dave disappears, goes to pee. I follow him discretely and see that he is indeed peeing, and return to the camp. We wait for half an hour then follow the way he went. We come across splashes of blood, then follow the trail to a wall of staked heads, humans and animals. The humanoid faces have their ears cut off and teeth missing. There is a rotting bear, wolf and deer heads as well. We follow the trail further and see a pile of white skulls of various creatures. We go prone and approach a goblin settlement. Bjorn can speak their language, and approaches them. Bjorn tried to persuade the goblin guards. The Goblins are apparently preparing a feast.
Sunday, March 15, 2020
Wednesday, March 04, 2020
Dungeons and Dragons Journal - Adventures at Terra
So we started playing Dungeons and Dragons with a bunch of friends on Sundays. this is what has happened so far. Will probably be posting updates every Sunday after the session.
01/10/85/01/Tazius
A motley crew of mercenaries found ourselves in a Baron’s house, in the great city of Tarmir. If anyone asked, we had assembled here for our thirst of adventure, but our real goals were our own, and a fuller pocket couldn’t hurt towards those ends. There was Triev Rallen, a Cleric who looked human, a tall Aasimar Paladin by the name of Zeeyf, and me, Figwit, a wood elf ranger. The three of us were getting to know each other, when a high elf silently snuck into the room. He was fidgeting with a coin, and we found out that his name was Milo Darkrat. We saw a butler at the corner and were served wine. Most of us drank the wine, but the Cleric chose to drink the water.
The nobleman then came out and explained the mission to us. We had to accompany a few guards and a carriage, while we transported his daughter to another city. Seemed like a simple enough escort mission. Zeeyf was excited about having female company, Milo wanted to find out how much he would get paid, the Cleric was trying to correct the behavior of the Paladin, and me, well, I just wanted more wine. I asked for it, and drank it too. I ask to see his daughter, so that we can decide, but the nobleman declines. Zeeyf and me leave, making sure to take some wine with us for the road.
We head to a tavern, and ask Milo about his coin. Apparently it is a lucky coin from a distant land. Triev sits on the ground and drinks water. This is a really puritan cleric, not too many of those around.
02/10/85/01/Tazius
Our journey begins, and we see another adventurer has joined the party. This is a stout halfling ranger, Xantel Dawson. We follow the carriage, and take an uneventful walk through the forest. We set up a camp for the night, and take watches. In the night, we hear some weird noises, go to investigate it find nothing. Coming back to the tent, Zeeyf sees that there is a light and sees strange shapes inside. He goes to investigate, but the Triev tells him clearly that it is his none of his business.
03/10/85/01/Tazius
In the morning the guards prepare the food, and everyone has a hearty breakfast. Only the Cleric offers a prayer to Apollo before beginning to eat his meal. Xantel reveals to everyone that he saw human footsteps some distance away from the camp. We go to investigate, but find nothing of importance. Xantel also talks about the strange noises he heard from the tent. The party begins to move, but I volunteer to trail behind at a distance, to make sure that we are not being followed. I’m enjoying walking through the forest, picking up the additional herb that I can use for healing potions, when I see that the party has stopped ahead of me. I catch up to them, and notice the obstruction. Someone has felled a tree, and thrown it across the road. I suggest that we unhitch the horses and use them to move the tree, when we are ambushed. They are a bunch of villagers, who swear something evil is in the carriage, and intend to burn everything. The guards are all angered and ready to fight. Milo tries to intimidate the villagers, while I try to persuade them. The Paladin casts a spell to detect evil, and finds that both the halfling ranger is evil, and that there is something evil in the carriage as well, most probably the mysterious occupant. As soon as I come to know this, I turn my bow and arrow towards Xantel. But Xantel persuades me and tells me that using evil is the only way to fight evil. I have removed thorns using thorns before, and let him fight on our side, for the moment. But I make a mental note to watch him closely. There are eight villagers and four veterans. A melee ensues, and the party with the guards manages to kill three villagers and a veteran, mostly thanks to a single Guiding Bolt attack by the cleric. This stops the fighting immediately. The villagers are scared, but stand their ground. They demand that we open the carriage and see the evil inside for ourselves. Milo and Triev try to persuade the guard to show us what is in the carriage, but the guards are steadfast in their refusal. Meanwhile, I go to the edge of the forest, and hide myself, observing the goings on. Xantel and Triev are both intent on opening the carriage, and seeing what is inside. Triev manages to convince Zeeyf to help him as well. They force the carriage door open, and see the mistress inside. She is indeed a noblewoman’s daughter, though a little pale. The villagers try to attack the mistress, who is using a sunshade, and who goes back inside. The guards move in to protect her, and another round of combat ensues. A guard goes down almost instantly. The villagers fight like cornered rats. Zeeyf attacks with a battle axe, Milo is dashing around dealing damage with a rapier, Triev attacks with his longsword while Xantel and I fire arrows from the edges. The villagers are using primitive spears and clubs. The villagers and veterans die, but Zeeyf and Milo go down in the process. I revive and stabilise them, thanks to the potions I have been making. We bury the bodies, after relieving them of any useful items, and of course, any gold that we can find. We retire for the night but it does not pass without incident.
During my watch, I’m just walking around the area near the camp, when I am attacked by a giant poisonous snake! Initially, I fire a few arrows at it, but when it gets too close for comfort, I start hacking at it with my shortbow. It strikes me a few times, but I manage to kill it.
04/10/85/01/Tazius
The events of the previous day have left us all ravenous, and we chomp down on our breakfasts, prepared by the guards. Find out that Zeeyf uses his battleaxe to kill a frog during his watch, after unsuccessfully trying to find a treasure map. After breakfast, we confront the guards. The whole party tries every way to find out what exactly we are ferrying, and no one wants to proceed without having a full understanding of why we were assaulted by the villagers. This leads to a confrontation with the guards, and one of them dies. Then a battle for our lives begins, and the two remaining guards also die in quick succession, even as the noblewoman’s daughter, who we find out is named Lana, is actually a vampire. She hops out of the wagon, casts a fog, to keep away from the sunlight, and begins attacking the party. She casts spell after spell furiously, and almost everyone in the party go down attacking her head on. Zeeyf runs away, and at the very edge of his range, throws a javelin at Lana. Somehow, the javelin finds its mark with deadly accuracy, and Lana vanishes with a scream. Another night passes, one in which we find very little food.
05/10/85/01/Tazius
We contemplate eating the horses, but choose to depend on our rations and ride on them instead. Soon, the party sees a band of eight bandits approaching. We take them head on. We manage to kill them all, and Zeeyf is the only one who goes down, this time without abandoning the party. We camp for the night again.
06/10/85/01/Tazius
The next day, we reach Vellum. We first head to the tavern, and get some drinks and a good meal. I ask the bartender for any entertainment options available, and he tells me a place along with a password. I forget it now, but it was something like “blue rose”. We head to the adventurer’s guild, but on the way Xantel distracts a nobleman, while Milo robs his driver of a beautiful quiver of arrows. The driver is killed during this encounter, by Xantel. I do not like it, but do not say anything either. We hide the loot in the room of an inn that we pay for, with our gold. At the Adventurer’s Guild, we see a notice that interests us, about a blockage in the sewers. We pay for a map of the sewers. Triev goes their own way, but we are joined by a massive half orc barbarian, Bjorn. Together, Zeeyf, Milo, Bjorn and me enter the sewers along with a guide from the guild, named Roony. The air seems to be bad and it has a unique effect on everyone. The movement of the party is slow, as we make our way through the sewers. After passing by a few ominous skeletons, and what appears to be a wall of flesh, we see a fiend or monster of some sort. It is a stunted creature, clearly in distress, and very dumb. We all attack, and the beast fights back. In the middle of the combat, I zephyr strike towards it, and quickly calm it down by stroking it. The creature is still, but unresponsive to all forms of communication. In this state, we kill the monster. Just before it dies, there seems to be a flash of intelligence in its eyes. Then, everything goes dark.
14/10/85/01/Tazius
We wake up, after what we later find out is three days. There is a dark tree growing where we killed the monster. As soon as we exit the dungeon, we are apprehended by guards, that we clearly cannot take on. We are escorted to a rather spartan dungeon. We are relieved of our weapons. There is barely anything in the dungeon, except a stone slab, and a piss bucket in the corner. I sing as loudly and as horribly as I can for the benefit of the guards. When they ask me to tone it down, I ask for practice wooden swords, but am turned down. Zeeyf, Bjorn and Milo are sitting around the dungeon, at times contemplating what has happened, at other times whispering in short conversations that soon die out. Zeeyf peeks out of a narrow window at the top of the dungeon, and sees a pigeon, and the feet of the people walking about. We spend another night in this prison. Xantel is following us like a mute ghost, something seems to have affected him.
15/10/85/01/Tazius
Eventually, the guard comes for us. Zeeyf tries to fight them without weapons, while the rest of us encourage him with an applause, ready to enjoy the fight. The guards quickly subdue him. None of us have any clue about what is going on. When we ask the guards what our crime is, he gruffly tells us that we stole. I blow a raspberry, which makes Bjorn guffaw. Milo tries to steal from the guards, and so do I. I get a couple of gold coins, and discreetly pocket it.
We are presented to the Satrap, who shows us the stolen quiver, recovered from the inn. He also accuses us of killing the driver of the nobleman who owned the quiver. I just lie to him, and tell him the driver attacked us, and we found the quiver on the road. Amazingly, I manage to convince the Satrap. It is then that the Satrap informs us that whatever we did in the sewers caused the entire town to sleep for three days straight. He also pays us for clearing up the sewers, after which we leave. We know that the inn is no longer effective, and we look around for alternative accommodations. We find out that there are plenty of people who sleep in the Temple of Apollo, and head over there. We look around the hall and notice that it is crowded and dirty. It does not seem a safe place to spend the night, especially with heavy purses. Bjorn demands to see the head priest, and is refused. Bjorn keeps talking to the clerk, and somehow manages to get an audience. Bjorn seems to have some kind of secret that gets him access, I suspect that it is simply a lot of coin that he is hiding from us, something that he might have gotten from his background. We are escorted to another complex adjoining the temple, with a number of rooms arranged on three sides of a quad. We are led to a room with elaborate pieces of furniture. One of the tables has carvings along the edges which seems to show some kind of creation myth. After about half an hour, the head priest appears. We talk to him, and manage to convince him to give us boarding for a few nights. We are given two rooms, each with two beds. Zeeyf and Me share a room, while Bjorn and Milo share another. Xantel just seems to be following us, either sitting or sleepwalking. He seems to be otherwise okay though, so we leave him alone in the quad. Each of the rooms have a common area with a desk and a chair, and two bedrooms. The bedrooms have, well a bed, and a screen behind which there is a chamber pot, a sink, a tap and a bucket. The accommodations seem great for free, but we notice that there are no bolts or locks on the doors. We decide to check all the rooms and see if there is anything of value. During the night, we smartly time the guards, avoid them, and find that some doors are locked, while others are open. Milo manages to grab two books from a bookshelf in one of the rooms. All the rooms that we can open seem to be similar to the ones that have been appointed to us, with nothing of value or interest within. We manage to get back in our rooms just as the guards pass us. I decide to keep watch, but fall asleep anyway.
16/10/85/01/Tazius
The next morning, we find that we have all been robbed, but not entirely fleeced. I lose 6 gold, Milo loses 4, Zeeyf loses 8, and Bjorn loses 12. Xantel somehow escapes, and still seems to be under some kind of a spell. We laze around the temple for most of the day, making plans and discussing what to do next. The good news is Xantel recovers, almost as mysteriously as he fell ill. He wants to go and steal the quiver from the Satrap, but we convince him against such a fatal plan. Xantel however, wants revenge on the Tavern owner for letting the guards of the Satrap enter our accommodations. He also intends to take back his money, and nothing we do can stop him. So we follow him and watch him confront the tavern owner. There is a brawl, and the tavern owner kills Xantel. We make amends with the tavern keeper, and in fact, pay him for continued accomodation at his establishment.
17/10/85/01/Tazius
There seems to be some kind of decree by the Satrap enforcing a curfew. There are very few people up and about. Our queries do not get any clear responses. We make our way to the Adventurer’s Guild, where Bjorn is jumped by a Wood Elf wizard. The two get into a fight, and Bjorn attacks her with a greataxe. She goes down in one strike, but Zeeyf is kind enough to stabilise her. She is taken to the Temple of Apollo, and Bjorn is banned from entering the Adventurers Guild. The rest of us pick up another quest, which is by the House Marka of Vellum. Apparently, they hear scratching sounds in their attic, with no visible source. They will pay to clear up the problem. There is another quest that demands for us to volunteer in some experiments. We choose to go to the House of Marka. When we enter the house, we are greeted by guards, and escorted to the attic. Suspiciously enough, the guards lock us in after pointing to the attic. We decide to proceed anyway. It is a pretty tumbledown attic, and when we approach, it, we see a baby. Just as we touch it, a spectral appearance shows up. She claims that the Marka is an incredibly cruel man, and that she cannot leave the baby unattended. I do not remember the details, but am entranced by the need to save the child, that I do not even fully process what is happening around me. I convince the ghost that we will take care of the child, and she leaves, after showing seven other ghosts who will make sure that we pay with our lives if any harm falls on the child. We grab the baby, break out of the door, threaten to kill Marka for being a cruel man, take our money, and leave. We go back to the tavern and spend the night.
18/10/85/01/Tazius
We head to the adventurers guild again the next day. I pick up a bunch of things from the market that will prove useful in taking care of the child. Outside the adventurers guild, we encounter Galadriel, the wood elf wizard again. She has been asking for us at the adventurer’s guild. She is curious about the child, that we are now carrying around. A man approaches us, and tells us that we are called to a house. We are taken to a weird place with a strange stylised U symbol, and we find out that the name of the house is Yoni. We are led to a labyrinthine dungeon, to a room. We see a lamp with strange symbols on it, but none of us can read it. Bjorn uses a piece of parchment and charcoal to trace the symbols, while the attendant who brought us there looks disapprovingly. Then, the head of the house walks in and demands that we hand over the baby to him. We disagree, indicating that our fate is bound to the baby. The situation escalates to a confrontation, and we only manage to escape by threatening to kill the baby. We head back to the tavern, and rest for the day.
19/10/85/01/Tazius
We decide to leave the city as quickly as possible. I need to collect some milk for the baby, so we decide to go to the shady part of the town, the entertainment district. We go to a brothel, where we manage to convince a woman named Sheila to feed the infant, and provide us with milk as well. I go to the room alone. Sheila plays with the baby, asks me to wash the bottle at a basin, and feeds the baby her fill. The baby is ravenous. While leaving, a servant summons me to a room. There, a man tells me that there are powers watching our party, and that our lives are in danger if we remain in Vellum. He gives me a ring, and tells me that I am to write regular reports about the progress of our party, and burn the parchment with the ring, which would send messages to him. He also promises to watch over me, and send his agents periodically to ensure that the baby is taken care of. I am suspicious of the man, but take my leave politely. Bjorn and Zeeyf are waiting below, while Galadriel and Milo decide to sit out this particular adventure. I get drunk at the tavern, so Zeeyf carries me for the rest of the night. Bjorn wants to fight, and goes to an underground fighting ring, taking down 10 fighters in succession. He lasts through the night, and he leaves with plenty of gold.
20/10/85/01/Tazius
We decide to leave the city. First we go to the market for some provisions. Then we head out the back entrance of the city, away from Tarmir. After walking for about an hour and a half, we come to a small farm. The owner complains about all kinds of demons and monsters that prowl the area in the night. We buy a nursing goat from him. Bjorn seals an agreement to buy the entire farm from the man in the future. The farmer also kindly gives us a free chunk of cheese. We head into the forest, and camp for the night. Galadriel, Milo, Zeeyf and Bjorn are asleep, while I keep watch. I pack my bags, considering the prowling monsters, and the events of Vellum. My idea is to abandon the party, to ensure the safety of the baby. Suddenly there is a flash, and Lindir, my brother approaches me. He asks me to quickly leave the party, as my life is in mortal danger. He is with a rather large she wolf pup. I take the baby, and head out.
==Lindir’s Journal==
Soon after my brother escapes, an Asamir assassin enters the camp. In single strikes, he downs both Galadriel and Milo. He then searches the camp, and leaves quickly. I have to explain my presence to the adventurers, and they are suspicious. Milo checks the truth in what I am saying, and finds out that I am not lying. I am allowed to join the party.
21/10/85/01/Tazius
We make our way through the woods, and hunt some rabbits. The rabbits seem to be monstrous because of their strange behavior, but we go ahead and eat them. We are making our way towards Multum, further up the river. We go to camp near the river, when we are attacked by two giant crayfish. During the fight, I manage to blind one of the crayfish, which only enrages it. The crayfish seem to be winning, but Galadriel manages to bury one, and kill the other with fire (I go down because of collateral damage). Mold Earth and Burning Hands both seem to be very useful spells. Zeeyf is walking by the river when a giant crab comes out, swipes him, and goes back into the water. He is down and bleeding before most of us can even process what has happened. We stabilise him, and we rest for the night. I manage to explain the direwolf to keep watch.
During the night, we are ambushed by wolves. I toss a lit torch to the upper branches. The wolves are called away by the howl. The fire catches on beautifully, burning up the entire forest. We survive the heat by collecting the camp in the middle of the clearing, and using all our water to douse out the nearby embers. Eventually, we even start using the liquid from the stew. After about two hours, the forest fire moves farther away. At least, some members of the party pass the night in a state of blissful unconsciousness.
22/10/85/01/Tazius
The next morning, we head back to the river. The Paladin finds that the waters are poisonous. We purify eat, eat our breakfast from the leftover chunks of crayfish meat, and head towards Markum. We chance upon a city, and a peddler on the outskirts asks if we want to get some healing potions. We say no. We all simultaneously get a vision in our head of what would happen if we were to go into the village. The problem is that no one is about, and they would suspect us of starting the forest fire. We decide on a cover story, that we were ambushed by wolves and suddenly surrounded by the fire in the middle of the night. We head to the river to check if it is poisoned. It is not, so we know the source of the poison is downstream. We retrace our steps, using torches even though most of us can see perfectly in the dark. We have noticed something very strange, that there seem to be no dead bodies in the forest at all. Something or some magic has cleared the forest of all the dead critters.
In the dark of the night, we come across a lonely Asamir clearing the river from a bunch of dead deer. We help him move the deer, then rest for the night. The Asamir and the pup keep watch during the night. During the night, we are attacked by a bear. Not a single night seems to pass without us being assaulted by some forest creature or the other. We are about to kill the bear, when the Asamir calms it down. We go back to sleep after tying it up, but the next morning the bear has mysteriously disappeared too. We still keep faith with the Asamir.
23/10/85/01/Tazius
The next morning, the Asamir tells us that there is smoke spiralling up from the trees, and that there is a camp of bandits nearby. I climb a tree and look at the camp, then we all head towards the camp. We see someone tied up near the camp. I fire arrows, while Bjorn and the Asamir engages with the bandits. We kill two of them, while everyone runs away. The tied up person turns out to be a Drow Bard, Sylpharae. We skin a horse, and interrogate a bandit. Bjorn stops the Asamir from killing one of the bandits. They claim to be the Satrap’s men, and may have something to do with the missing animals. Everyone takes a long rest, while I keep watch.
01/10/85/01/Tazius
A motley crew of mercenaries found ourselves in a Baron’s house, in the great city of Tarmir. If anyone asked, we had assembled here for our thirst of adventure, but our real goals were our own, and a fuller pocket couldn’t hurt towards those ends. There was Triev Rallen, a Cleric who looked human, a tall Aasimar Paladin by the name of Zeeyf, and me, Figwit, a wood elf ranger. The three of us were getting to know each other, when a high elf silently snuck into the room. He was fidgeting with a coin, and we found out that his name was Milo Darkrat. We saw a butler at the corner and were served wine. Most of us drank the wine, but the Cleric chose to drink the water.
The nobleman then came out and explained the mission to us. We had to accompany a few guards and a carriage, while we transported his daughter to another city. Seemed like a simple enough escort mission. Zeeyf was excited about having female company, Milo wanted to find out how much he would get paid, the Cleric was trying to correct the behavior of the Paladin, and me, well, I just wanted more wine. I asked for it, and drank it too. I ask to see his daughter, so that we can decide, but the nobleman declines. Zeeyf and me leave, making sure to take some wine with us for the road.
We head to a tavern, and ask Milo about his coin. Apparently it is a lucky coin from a distant land. Triev sits on the ground and drinks water. This is a really puritan cleric, not too many of those around.
02/10/85/01/Tazius
Our journey begins, and we see another adventurer has joined the party. This is a stout halfling ranger, Xantel Dawson. We follow the carriage, and take an uneventful walk through the forest. We set up a camp for the night, and take watches. In the night, we hear some weird noises, go to investigate it find nothing. Coming back to the tent, Zeeyf sees that there is a light and sees strange shapes inside. He goes to investigate, but the Triev tells him clearly that it is his none of his business.
03/10/85/01/Tazius
In the morning the guards prepare the food, and everyone has a hearty breakfast. Only the Cleric offers a prayer to Apollo before beginning to eat his meal. Xantel reveals to everyone that he saw human footsteps some distance away from the camp. We go to investigate, but find nothing of importance. Xantel also talks about the strange noises he heard from the tent. The party begins to move, but I volunteer to trail behind at a distance, to make sure that we are not being followed. I’m enjoying walking through the forest, picking up the additional herb that I can use for healing potions, when I see that the party has stopped ahead of me. I catch up to them, and notice the obstruction. Someone has felled a tree, and thrown it across the road. I suggest that we unhitch the horses and use them to move the tree, when we are ambushed. They are a bunch of villagers, who swear something evil is in the carriage, and intend to burn everything. The guards are all angered and ready to fight. Milo tries to intimidate the villagers, while I try to persuade them. The Paladin casts a spell to detect evil, and finds that both the halfling ranger is evil, and that there is something evil in the carriage as well, most probably the mysterious occupant. As soon as I come to know this, I turn my bow and arrow towards Xantel. But Xantel persuades me and tells me that using evil is the only way to fight evil. I have removed thorns using thorns before, and let him fight on our side, for the moment. But I make a mental note to watch him closely. There are eight villagers and four veterans. A melee ensues, and the party with the guards manages to kill three villagers and a veteran, mostly thanks to a single Guiding Bolt attack by the cleric. This stops the fighting immediately. The villagers are scared, but stand their ground. They demand that we open the carriage and see the evil inside for ourselves. Milo and Triev try to persuade the guard to show us what is in the carriage, but the guards are steadfast in their refusal. Meanwhile, I go to the edge of the forest, and hide myself, observing the goings on. Xantel and Triev are both intent on opening the carriage, and seeing what is inside. Triev manages to convince Zeeyf to help him as well. They force the carriage door open, and see the mistress inside. She is indeed a noblewoman’s daughter, though a little pale. The villagers try to attack the mistress, who is using a sunshade, and who goes back inside. The guards move in to protect her, and another round of combat ensues. A guard goes down almost instantly. The villagers fight like cornered rats. Zeeyf attacks with a battle axe, Milo is dashing around dealing damage with a rapier, Triev attacks with his longsword while Xantel and I fire arrows from the edges. The villagers are using primitive spears and clubs. The villagers and veterans die, but Zeeyf and Milo go down in the process. I revive and stabilise them, thanks to the potions I have been making. We bury the bodies, after relieving them of any useful items, and of course, any gold that we can find. We retire for the night but it does not pass without incident.
During my watch, I’m just walking around the area near the camp, when I am attacked by a giant poisonous snake! Initially, I fire a few arrows at it, but when it gets too close for comfort, I start hacking at it with my shortbow. It strikes me a few times, but I manage to kill it.
04/10/85/01/Tazius
The events of the previous day have left us all ravenous, and we chomp down on our breakfasts, prepared by the guards. Find out that Zeeyf uses his battleaxe to kill a frog during his watch, after unsuccessfully trying to find a treasure map. After breakfast, we confront the guards. The whole party tries every way to find out what exactly we are ferrying, and no one wants to proceed without having a full understanding of why we were assaulted by the villagers. This leads to a confrontation with the guards, and one of them dies. Then a battle for our lives begins, and the two remaining guards also die in quick succession, even as the noblewoman’s daughter, who we find out is named Lana, is actually a vampire. She hops out of the wagon, casts a fog, to keep away from the sunlight, and begins attacking the party. She casts spell after spell furiously, and almost everyone in the party go down attacking her head on. Zeeyf runs away, and at the very edge of his range, throws a javelin at Lana. Somehow, the javelin finds its mark with deadly accuracy, and Lana vanishes with a scream. Another night passes, one in which we find very little food.
05/10/85/01/Tazius
We contemplate eating the horses, but choose to depend on our rations and ride on them instead. Soon, the party sees a band of eight bandits approaching. We take them head on. We manage to kill them all, and Zeeyf is the only one who goes down, this time without abandoning the party. We camp for the night again.
06/10/85/01/Tazius
The next day, we reach Vellum. We first head to the tavern, and get some drinks and a good meal. I ask the bartender for any entertainment options available, and he tells me a place along with a password. I forget it now, but it was something like “blue rose”. We head to the adventurer’s guild, but on the way Xantel distracts a nobleman, while Milo robs his driver of a beautiful quiver of arrows. The driver is killed during this encounter, by Xantel. I do not like it, but do not say anything either. We hide the loot in the room of an inn that we pay for, with our gold. At the Adventurer’s Guild, we see a notice that interests us, about a blockage in the sewers. We pay for a map of the sewers. Triev goes their own way, but we are joined by a massive half orc barbarian, Bjorn. Together, Zeeyf, Milo, Bjorn and me enter the sewers along with a guide from the guild, named Roony. The air seems to be bad and it has a unique effect on everyone. The movement of the party is slow, as we make our way through the sewers. After passing by a few ominous skeletons, and what appears to be a wall of flesh, we see a fiend or monster of some sort. It is a stunted creature, clearly in distress, and very dumb. We all attack, and the beast fights back. In the middle of the combat, I zephyr strike towards it, and quickly calm it down by stroking it. The creature is still, but unresponsive to all forms of communication. In this state, we kill the monster. Just before it dies, there seems to be a flash of intelligence in its eyes. Then, everything goes dark.
14/10/85/01/Tazius
We wake up, after what we later find out is three days. There is a dark tree growing where we killed the monster. As soon as we exit the dungeon, we are apprehended by guards, that we clearly cannot take on. We are escorted to a rather spartan dungeon. We are relieved of our weapons. There is barely anything in the dungeon, except a stone slab, and a piss bucket in the corner. I sing as loudly and as horribly as I can for the benefit of the guards. When they ask me to tone it down, I ask for practice wooden swords, but am turned down. Zeeyf, Bjorn and Milo are sitting around the dungeon, at times contemplating what has happened, at other times whispering in short conversations that soon die out. Zeeyf peeks out of a narrow window at the top of the dungeon, and sees a pigeon, and the feet of the people walking about. We spend another night in this prison. Xantel is following us like a mute ghost, something seems to have affected him.
15/10/85/01/Tazius
Eventually, the guard comes for us. Zeeyf tries to fight them without weapons, while the rest of us encourage him with an applause, ready to enjoy the fight. The guards quickly subdue him. None of us have any clue about what is going on. When we ask the guards what our crime is, he gruffly tells us that we stole. I blow a raspberry, which makes Bjorn guffaw. Milo tries to steal from the guards, and so do I. I get a couple of gold coins, and discreetly pocket it.
We are presented to the Satrap, who shows us the stolen quiver, recovered from the inn. He also accuses us of killing the driver of the nobleman who owned the quiver. I just lie to him, and tell him the driver attacked us, and we found the quiver on the road. Amazingly, I manage to convince the Satrap. It is then that the Satrap informs us that whatever we did in the sewers caused the entire town to sleep for three days straight. He also pays us for clearing up the sewers, after which we leave. We know that the inn is no longer effective, and we look around for alternative accommodations. We find out that there are plenty of people who sleep in the Temple of Apollo, and head over there. We look around the hall and notice that it is crowded and dirty. It does not seem a safe place to spend the night, especially with heavy purses. Bjorn demands to see the head priest, and is refused. Bjorn keeps talking to the clerk, and somehow manages to get an audience. Bjorn seems to have some kind of secret that gets him access, I suspect that it is simply a lot of coin that he is hiding from us, something that he might have gotten from his background. We are escorted to another complex adjoining the temple, with a number of rooms arranged on three sides of a quad. We are led to a room with elaborate pieces of furniture. One of the tables has carvings along the edges which seems to show some kind of creation myth. After about half an hour, the head priest appears. We talk to him, and manage to convince him to give us boarding for a few nights. We are given two rooms, each with two beds. Zeeyf and Me share a room, while Bjorn and Milo share another. Xantel just seems to be following us, either sitting or sleepwalking. He seems to be otherwise okay though, so we leave him alone in the quad. Each of the rooms have a common area with a desk and a chair, and two bedrooms. The bedrooms have, well a bed, and a screen behind which there is a chamber pot, a sink, a tap and a bucket. The accommodations seem great for free, but we notice that there are no bolts or locks on the doors. We decide to check all the rooms and see if there is anything of value. During the night, we smartly time the guards, avoid them, and find that some doors are locked, while others are open. Milo manages to grab two books from a bookshelf in one of the rooms. All the rooms that we can open seem to be similar to the ones that have been appointed to us, with nothing of value or interest within. We manage to get back in our rooms just as the guards pass us. I decide to keep watch, but fall asleep anyway.
16/10/85/01/Tazius
The next morning, we find that we have all been robbed, but not entirely fleeced. I lose 6 gold, Milo loses 4, Zeeyf loses 8, and Bjorn loses 12. Xantel somehow escapes, and still seems to be under some kind of a spell. We laze around the temple for most of the day, making plans and discussing what to do next. The good news is Xantel recovers, almost as mysteriously as he fell ill. He wants to go and steal the quiver from the Satrap, but we convince him against such a fatal plan. Xantel however, wants revenge on the Tavern owner for letting the guards of the Satrap enter our accommodations. He also intends to take back his money, and nothing we do can stop him. So we follow him and watch him confront the tavern owner. There is a brawl, and the tavern owner kills Xantel. We make amends with the tavern keeper, and in fact, pay him for continued accomodation at his establishment.
17/10/85/01/Tazius
There seems to be some kind of decree by the Satrap enforcing a curfew. There are very few people up and about. Our queries do not get any clear responses. We make our way to the Adventurer’s Guild, where Bjorn is jumped by a Wood Elf wizard. The two get into a fight, and Bjorn attacks her with a greataxe. She goes down in one strike, but Zeeyf is kind enough to stabilise her. She is taken to the Temple of Apollo, and Bjorn is banned from entering the Adventurers Guild. The rest of us pick up another quest, which is by the House Marka of Vellum. Apparently, they hear scratching sounds in their attic, with no visible source. They will pay to clear up the problem. There is another quest that demands for us to volunteer in some experiments. We choose to go to the House of Marka. When we enter the house, we are greeted by guards, and escorted to the attic. Suspiciously enough, the guards lock us in after pointing to the attic. We decide to proceed anyway. It is a pretty tumbledown attic, and when we approach, it, we see a baby. Just as we touch it, a spectral appearance shows up. She claims that the Marka is an incredibly cruel man, and that she cannot leave the baby unattended. I do not remember the details, but am entranced by the need to save the child, that I do not even fully process what is happening around me. I convince the ghost that we will take care of the child, and she leaves, after showing seven other ghosts who will make sure that we pay with our lives if any harm falls on the child. We grab the baby, break out of the door, threaten to kill Marka for being a cruel man, take our money, and leave. We go back to the tavern and spend the night.
18/10/85/01/Tazius
We head to the adventurers guild again the next day. I pick up a bunch of things from the market that will prove useful in taking care of the child. Outside the adventurers guild, we encounter Galadriel, the wood elf wizard again. She has been asking for us at the adventurer’s guild. She is curious about the child, that we are now carrying around. A man approaches us, and tells us that we are called to a house. We are taken to a weird place with a strange stylised U symbol, and we find out that the name of the house is Yoni. We are led to a labyrinthine dungeon, to a room. We see a lamp with strange symbols on it, but none of us can read it. Bjorn uses a piece of parchment and charcoal to trace the symbols, while the attendant who brought us there looks disapprovingly. Then, the head of the house walks in and demands that we hand over the baby to him. We disagree, indicating that our fate is bound to the baby. The situation escalates to a confrontation, and we only manage to escape by threatening to kill the baby. We head back to the tavern, and rest for the day.
19/10/85/01/Tazius
We decide to leave the city as quickly as possible. I need to collect some milk for the baby, so we decide to go to the shady part of the town, the entertainment district. We go to a brothel, where we manage to convince a woman named Sheila to feed the infant, and provide us with milk as well. I go to the room alone. Sheila plays with the baby, asks me to wash the bottle at a basin, and feeds the baby her fill. The baby is ravenous. While leaving, a servant summons me to a room. There, a man tells me that there are powers watching our party, and that our lives are in danger if we remain in Vellum. He gives me a ring, and tells me that I am to write regular reports about the progress of our party, and burn the parchment with the ring, which would send messages to him. He also promises to watch over me, and send his agents periodically to ensure that the baby is taken care of. I am suspicious of the man, but take my leave politely. Bjorn and Zeeyf are waiting below, while Galadriel and Milo decide to sit out this particular adventure. I get drunk at the tavern, so Zeeyf carries me for the rest of the night. Bjorn wants to fight, and goes to an underground fighting ring, taking down 10 fighters in succession. He lasts through the night, and he leaves with plenty of gold.
20/10/85/01/Tazius
We decide to leave the city. First we go to the market for some provisions. Then we head out the back entrance of the city, away from Tarmir. After walking for about an hour and a half, we come to a small farm. The owner complains about all kinds of demons and monsters that prowl the area in the night. We buy a nursing goat from him. Bjorn seals an agreement to buy the entire farm from the man in the future. The farmer also kindly gives us a free chunk of cheese. We head into the forest, and camp for the night. Galadriel, Milo, Zeeyf and Bjorn are asleep, while I keep watch. I pack my bags, considering the prowling monsters, and the events of Vellum. My idea is to abandon the party, to ensure the safety of the baby. Suddenly there is a flash, and Lindir, my brother approaches me. He asks me to quickly leave the party, as my life is in mortal danger. He is with a rather large she wolf pup. I take the baby, and head out.
==Lindir’s Journal==
Soon after my brother escapes, an Asamir assassin enters the camp. In single strikes, he downs both Galadriel and Milo. He then searches the camp, and leaves quickly. I have to explain my presence to the adventurers, and they are suspicious. Milo checks the truth in what I am saying, and finds out that I am not lying. I am allowed to join the party.
21/10/85/01/Tazius
We make our way through the woods, and hunt some rabbits. The rabbits seem to be monstrous because of their strange behavior, but we go ahead and eat them. We are making our way towards Multum, further up the river. We go to camp near the river, when we are attacked by two giant crayfish. During the fight, I manage to blind one of the crayfish, which only enrages it. The crayfish seem to be winning, but Galadriel manages to bury one, and kill the other with fire (I go down because of collateral damage). Mold Earth and Burning Hands both seem to be very useful spells. Zeeyf is walking by the river when a giant crab comes out, swipes him, and goes back into the water. He is down and bleeding before most of us can even process what has happened. We stabilise him, and we rest for the night. I manage to explain the direwolf to keep watch.
During the night, we are ambushed by wolves. I toss a lit torch to the upper branches. The wolves are called away by the howl. The fire catches on beautifully, burning up the entire forest. We survive the heat by collecting the camp in the middle of the clearing, and using all our water to douse out the nearby embers. Eventually, we even start using the liquid from the stew. After about two hours, the forest fire moves farther away. At least, some members of the party pass the night in a state of blissful unconsciousness.
22/10/85/01/Tazius
The next morning, we head back to the river. The Paladin finds that the waters are poisonous. We purify eat, eat our breakfast from the leftover chunks of crayfish meat, and head towards Markum. We chance upon a city, and a peddler on the outskirts asks if we want to get some healing potions. We say no. We all simultaneously get a vision in our head of what would happen if we were to go into the village. The problem is that no one is about, and they would suspect us of starting the forest fire. We decide on a cover story, that we were ambushed by wolves and suddenly surrounded by the fire in the middle of the night. We head to the river to check if it is poisoned. It is not, so we know the source of the poison is downstream. We retrace our steps, using torches even though most of us can see perfectly in the dark. We have noticed something very strange, that there seem to be no dead bodies in the forest at all. Something or some magic has cleared the forest of all the dead critters.
In the dark of the night, we come across a lonely Asamir clearing the river from a bunch of dead deer. We help him move the deer, then rest for the night. The Asamir and the pup keep watch during the night. During the night, we are attacked by a bear. Not a single night seems to pass without us being assaulted by some forest creature or the other. We are about to kill the bear, when the Asamir calms it down. We go back to sleep after tying it up, but the next morning the bear has mysteriously disappeared too. We still keep faith with the Asamir.
23/10/85/01/Tazius
The next morning, the Asamir tells us that there is smoke spiralling up from the trees, and that there is a camp of bandits nearby. I climb a tree and look at the camp, then we all head towards the camp. We see someone tied up near the camp. I fire arrows, while Bjorn and the Asamir engages with the bandits. We kill two of them, while everyone runs away. The tied up person turns out to be a Drow Bard, Sylpharae. We skin a horse, and interrogate a bandit. Bjorn stops the Asamir from killing one of the bandits. They claim to be the Satrap’s men, and may have something to do with the missing animals. Everyone takes a long rest, while I keep watch.
Sunday, March 01, 2020
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