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Author Topic: The worn journal of Xobin  (Read 1517 times)

vgn

The worn journal of Xobin
« on: June 27, 2019, 10:38:48 am »
Xobin sits on a log by a fire in a small trading town and pulls out his journal to take a few notes.

I arrived in a small trading village today though to be honest, using the word village is a bit too generous. Sure, there were a couple of buildings but it was mainly tents and wagons. As I made my way through town I saw a few folks that seemed friendly enough. I met a lovely Halfling next to a small make-shift shrine. She seemed nice enough but not overly talkative.

The local crier announced a fine place to find some refreshment and gossip was the Leringard Inn. That sounded like the perfect place to get the lay of the land but I walked all over that small rag-tag village and could not find where they hide their inn.

On my way back through the village I saw the strangest thing! There was a great looking Wemic just standing there doing business with the local trader. He seemed a bit surprised to see me but I was my usual charming self and he warmed up right away. I asked where I might find the inn and he didn't seem to know. I complemented him on his fine looking pelt and would you believe it?? He offered me a lion pelt from his bag. To tell the truth I thought it a bit odd and disconcerting that he had the pelt of what I can only imagine might have been one of his brethren right in his bag and not only that but he was willing to just give it to the first Halfling he ran into.

I was about to wish him safe travels when he seemed to remember where the Leringard inn was. It was right about the time the crier started going on about it again (not that the crier would tell me where it was mind you) and that Wemic said I could walk with him to a city where I could find the inn. Not one to say no to an escort by a powerful looking creature I said I'd love to.

Off we went down the road, talking along the way. He had a tendency to talk about himself in the third person so I picked up that his name was Ashi or something like that. To tell you the truth it was a bit hard to understand the fellow but I was able to pick up enough of what he was talking about. He rarely got my puns and jokes though.

After traveling the road for quite some time we came to the port city of Hempstead. He told me I could find the Leringard Inn there but said he was not welcome in the city and the guards would shoot him if he got too close. Fair enough reason to stay away then! I said my goodbyes and thanked him. Before he left he somewhat randomly gave me some maple syrup and a couple other odds and ends as gifts. Never one to say no to something with a free price tag I slipped them in my bag. He said I could find him at Fort Vehl should I want to see him again some day. I may take him up on that, I'm not sure. He seemed eager to take on the likes of ogres and trolls. I tend to find it best to keep those at a distance thank you very much!

Prior to entering the city I noticed a sign enumerating all the unwelcome races and was actually happy to see such a list as Halfling was of course not on it and I can't say I'd be too interested in mingling with the folks that were! Give a greeting to the guards on my way in I entered the city which was a right proper city compared to that collection of tents that called itself a village.

The first thing I spied was not the inn I've been looking for but a templed to Deliar. Considering my luck in running into that Wemic fellow and his gifts, I tossed a tribute coin into the bowl and headed into the temple. I gave a quick prayer at the shrine and then went off to find that blasted inn.

I wandered through the city taking in the sights and finally came to a tavern near the docks. It wasn't the Leringard Inn and the prices were pretty steep for my current purse size. I quickly went on my way and continued looking. Alas, that poor Wemic was confused. Not surprising really as it sounded like he had never been in the city, but there was no Leringard Inn in Hempstead.

Lacking anything better to do I followed the road back to the small village. Along the way I found some crops growing in some well tended fields and no one seemed to be around so I helped myself thinking they may come in handy. Who knows, maybe I'll find a way to make something with the stuff. If I can't find the inn I may need to figure out how to bake some bread!

And that leads me to this log I'm sitting on by the fire, ready to take a bit of a rest. It sure would be nice to have found an inn with a bed.
 
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vgn

Re: The worn journal of Xobin
« Reply #1 on: June 27, 2019, 07:16:23 pm »
Xobin sits at a table in a tavern in Center writing a few notes.

As I was sitting against the log by the fire I noticed some people going in and out of a building marked "The Bullseye". I had thought it was an archery range or something! HA! Turns out it was a tavern. Not the elusive inn I've been hunting for but a tavern all the same. I decided to pop in and look around. While in there I ran into a creepy fellow who claimed to have misplaced his lantern or some such thing in the crypts. What he was doing in the crypts? I don't even want to know, but he asked me to find it for him. It seemed easy enough, just pop down there, scout around for it and bring it back up.

....so then I woke up next to Deliar's shrine in Hempstead with a whole body but quite a few rips in my clothes. Damn skeletons were walking around down in the crypts! That guy that sent me down there is nuts. I decided to grab a few healing draughts from the cleric in the temple since I was there and thought I would try again, this time knowing what was lurking down there and prepared with some life juice.

On the long walk to the village of Center I gathered a few more grains and supplies figuring no one would really notice if I took a few more. When I arrived at the village I went straight for the crypt entrance, making a rude gesture at the tavern on the way by, not that the creep could see it. I went down into the crypt and managed to take out one of those walking piles of bones. BARELY!! The thing almost had me. I thought I was done in this world and even think I passed out. Why the bones gave up on me while I was just laying there, I don't know. I chugged some life juice once I came to and managed to drop that skeleton.

Creeping on I ran into another one, this time I managed to stay conscious and took it out. I probably should have given up and left but that second skeleton had my hopes up about my chances. And that's when I ran into two more at once....

...so then I woke up next to Deliar's shrine in Hempstead with a whole body but quite a few rips in my clothes. That's enough of that I tell you. I'm not going down there again without a lot more protection, ideally of the living kind and to be honest I hope they are a bit slower than me, if you get my drift.

I make the trek back to Center, again grabbing a few bits out of the fields. I'm sure no one will mind. If they really minded, would they just leave these fields completely open and unguarded? I'm probably doing them a favor keeping the amount they have to collect themselves down.

Once I arrived in the village I took up a spot on a log by the fire again. This time there was a guy sitting there as well. Said his name was Daniel. I mentioned the blasted skeletons and their surprise tactics that no one could expect even an expert blade like myself to best when caught unaware. He said he might be able to help me but then mentioned something about a dragon and not wanting to interfere so I shrugged and told him I had it in hand well enough. Which is to say I'll just find another sucker to take the brunt of those skeletons.

Curiously though Daniel offered me a gift. That's right gift, as it free! Of course with a price like that who am I to say no? It was a bag which he claimed had a few useful items in it, but while it's a very nice bag, I didn't say anything to him as I didn't want him to take it back, but it seems the cords binding the bag shut are tied much too tight. I don't want to destroy the bag but I also don't think I can get into it without a good knife. I'll tuck it away for now until I can figure out a way to undo the cords without destroying such a nice looking bag.

About that time a gnome came up who said his name was Murbiddle. He seemed like a nice enough guy and the conversation got onto topics such as pie, mmmmMMMMmmmm, and other foods. That was making me a bit hungry and I needed a rest after my day of playing a game of poke the bones until they bleed me to death. I said my good byes and headed into the tavern which is where I'm sitting finishing up these notes.
 

vgn

Re: The worn journal of Xobin
« Reply #2 on: June 28, 2019, 09:16:40 am »
Xobin sits on a log by a fire in the small village of Center scribbling in his journal with a perturbed look on his face.

New plan! I decided I would just smash those bones. A much better plan than poking them I think. I went to a local merchant and managed to get a fairly decent deal on a strong wooden club. Making my way back to the crypt I snuck through the dark hallways and made my way toward the first skeleton. I got the drop on it and whacked it hard with the club. To my dismay, it did not crumble but I did knock quite a few bones off. It had a friend though which came trotting over and with two swipes they stole my life again.

Yet again I find myself making the trek back to Center from Hempstead. Deliar must be looking elsewhere today as he definitely did not have my back. Along the way I noticed that everyone near the farms was inside, likely due to the pouring rain, so I helped myself to a few more ingredients as I'm sure they wouldn't mind too much.

With determination I hefted my new club and went back down into the crypt. I started sneaking through but to my surprise the area where I had been previously no longer had any sign of the skeletons. I searched the area for a lantern but came up empty. There were no further tunnels from this room so I back tracked and took another direction. I spotted more of those walking piles of bones, too many of them, and one looked to be wearing some tattered robes. I managed to sneak right past them but that meant I couldn't really search around for that lantern in that area. Hoping it wasn't there but pressing on I made my way to another corridor sticky with huge webs. I'm really not overly fond of spiders but also didn't see any actual spiders around so thanked Deliar and poked my sword around the webs until I could get through.

At the end of a short tunnel I found what looked like a small space I could likely squeeze through. I'm not sure how that freak would have gotten his lantern down there but I also didn't know how I would search the rest of the crypt area with all those bones walking around. I figured it was at least worth a peek and shimmied my way through.

The area I found myself in was a lot rougher and less crypt-y. Thinking there might be fewer skeletons wandering around aimlessly I snuck on through the tunnels. It didn't take long before something ran up behind me and bit me!!!

I whirled around and two fairly large spiders were looking to make a meal of me. I tried poking at them with my sword but started feeling really ill. They must have poisoned me or something with that bite. It didn't take long before they were crawling on top of my prone body and....

...that's right, back in Deliar's temple in Hempstead. Rather than curse Deliar though, I have come to realize the real fault. That sadistic freak in the tavern in Center. That twisted man must find it humorous and derive great pleasure from tricking people down into that hellhole of death. I bet he has never even gone down there and there likely never was any lantern!

I made my way back to Center with a vengeful look in my eyes and stormed into the tavern and told the freak off right there in front of everyone. I may well still get the lantern, if it even exists, just to spite him and thwart his evil game. But that will be another day as I decided the best course of action for now was a bit of rest by the fire and taking some time to reflect on what had happened.
 

vgn

Re: The worn journal of Xobin
« Reply #3 on: July 03, 2019, 03:46:07 pm »
Xobin sits on a log by a fire in the small village of Center with a smile on his face as he writes quickly in his journal

Having had enough with that foul crypt I decided to see what else this village has to offer and wandered into the crafting hall. I've been collecting all this cotton and grains. Surely there is something I can make with it. As it turns out the crafting guilds have a stranglehold on innovation and entrepreneurs. They want a crazy 500 true for the "right" to use the equipment in the crafting hall. I don't have that kind of coin, at least not yet.

Looking for a way to make a little extra to pad my purse with I noticed a distressed woman in the craft hall, seems she manages the hall but has had trouble with rats and bugs down in the cellar. Seems a lot safer than walking bones so I told her I'd gladly do it. Of course I do wonder whatever happened to less violent chores like delivering a package or something a lot safer like that.

I Seems the way down into the cellar is a worn old rope, I hope it holds when I want to come back up. I shimmied down and found a dark, earthen cellar. No wonder there are rats and bugs, seems no one ever cleans up down here. It didn't take long before two rats came running at me. I pulled my sword and poked and swiped at them. It was a close call but I managed to stab the quick little guys. I took the hide off one of them, you never know when it might come in handy.

After healing up a bit with some juice I ventured further in. I took my time sneaking through the dark shadows but beyond a curtain 2 rats and a large beetle came swarming over to me. The stupid bug had some kind of disease, probably from crawling in dead corpses or dung. Needless to say I started feeling ill after a couple of scratches. The rats nipping at my knees was no picnic either. And then, feeling a little too woozy, I fell. Next thing you know that priestess of Deliar is looking over at me making a small "tsk tsk" noise.

Dusting myself off I set on out of Hempstead and down the dusty road to Center. Along the way I gathered a few more supplies from the fields and thought how I might better handle myself down in the cellar. I decided I need to spend some true to make some true. So once I got to Center I went into the merchant tent and looked over some of the options. I decided on a sturdy suit of leather armor which should hold up better than my clothes. I also splurged a bit and bought a nice bow with a large quiver of arrows. My thought at the time was I should be able to take aim and perhaps take out one from a far before any others get up close.

I was soon sliding down the rope into the cellar again. I spotted a rat across the room, took aim, loosed an arrow, and whoosh, it missed. But it did do a great job of alerting all the critters in the area to my presence. They came swarming over and made short work of me despite my new leathers. Once again I found myself on the road back to Center.

Ok, so that was just bad luck I'm sure. If Deliar had actually been watching I'm sure my arrow would have landed. I decided to try once more, after I had a quick ale in the tavern. While sitting and drinking, I decided to look over that bag I received the other day again. Maybe spend some time on those knots. To my surprise it opened right up for me today. I found Daniel had been quite generous indeed. There was some food, including an amazing looking pie. There were bandages and healing juice. This will all come in handy.

I gave a nice stretch and headed down into the cellar again. This time did go much better and I made it further in, however the bugs have such horrible diseases and found myself feeling ill again. The bandages helped but eventually a swarm of rats and bugs brought me to visit the temple in Hempstead again.

On the walk back from Hempstead I decided what I really need is to convince someone else to go down with me. They could offer some distractions and maybe take more of the bites than me. I'd of course help with my bow but I'll let them be the primary snack. I decided to sit on a log by the fire and wait to see if anyone that looked large and tasty showed up. As evening grew near, a man in armor with a large sword came down the dirt road. I called out a friendly greeting and he came over to see what I needed.

With a few bent truths and a bit of guilt I managed to convince him it would be in his interest to accompany me down into the cellar. I told him if he could just distract the vermin a bit then I could use my expert marksmanship to riddle them with arrows. He seemed ok with that plan and I wondered if perhaps he didn't realize that would mean he is the tasty snack the vermin will munch. It's possible he thought his armor would be up to the task. He said his name was Lann which I filed away for the future as that bit of information should come in handy again some day.

I convinced him to take the lead and we executed my plan perfectly. The vermin swarmed him instead of me and I actually did land several arrows in the rats and bugs. He of course also cleaved several with his sword. Turns out he had once before helped that woman in the craft hall and knew his way around down there. He had a good hunch where we could likely find the primary nest. I can't help but wonder if the woman would have less of a problem if she would actually clean up down in the cellar.

Since he seemed to know the tunnels, I let him lead the way. He even pointed out there was a tunnel into the crypts from down there. I told him that while I never found that lantern I also doubted there was a lantern and that sadistic creep was just trying to send poor folk off to their slaughter. He laughed but agreed. Down deeper in the tunnels his sword also came in use to remove some huge spider webs. I hoped this wasn't a spider nest we were heading towards.

Thankfully it wasn't, but I'm not sure if what was down further was much better. Along the way pools of water actually tried attacking us! This place is so nasty even the water is dangerous. The bugs seemed to get bigger the deeper we went with large beetles and larval creatures. Eventually we came to a room with a huge ant! That was the biggest ant I've ever seen. Once again Lann distracted it and kept it busy while I riddled it with arrows. Once it was dead I ripped a chunk of it away from the body and stuffed it in my pack. That should hopefully satisfy the woman in the craft hall. I came to realize several new things about myself and the nature of the world while we took a brief rest.

About this time Lann asks if I'd like to go through the passage to the crypt and see about the lantern. For some reason he is also actually looking to take on some of those walking bones as he wants their fingers for some reason?!? To each his own I supposed. If he is willing to let them swarm him instead of me though, it seemed like a plan, despite the fact that I do really doubt there even is a lantern.

We ventured into the crypt and Lann was quite helpful keeping the walking dead busy and I used my same bow tactics. As it turns out, I'm fairly certain Deliar has blessed my bow as it was quite effective against some of those undead creatures. Lann led me deeper into the crypt, all the while rummaging through the skeleton bones every time we dropped another to the ground. Sure enough he would snap off a finger or two and stuff them in his bag. Odd fellow.

Once after taking out a group of those undead creatures I found an old lantern in the remains. I seriously doubted that was the lantern but hey, I can try giving it to the creep and see what happens. We spent no more time down there and headed up to the fresh night air.

I offered to buy Lann an ale at the tavern but he had more important tasks that needed tending to and he bid me farewell and wandered off. I decided to see if my gains were enough to satisfy the woman or the creep. Turns out the woman was impressed I was able to handle the vermin. I told her it really was no trouble and mentioned I had done it myself since Lann had already left and I was sure he wouldn't mind me just taking all the credit. She gave me a purse of True and I headed to the tavern to see if that creep was around and if he liked the lantern I found. Sure enough it either was his lantern or he just will take any old lantern. I didn't really care though since he also gave me a purse of coins.

I almost turned in for the evening but decided I had enough coins now that I should be able to get a crafting license. So I went back to the craft hall and purchased one along with a small needle and sewing kit. I spent some time trying my hand at the tailoring station and made several bolts of cloth and a few patterns. After that I really was quite tired and retired to the tavern for the evening.
 

 

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