The World of Layonara
Character Development => Development Journals and Discussion => Topic started by: regnus on April 01, 2005, 11:25:00 PM
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Herein lie the chronicles of the greatest hero ever to walk the face of Layonara, Owen Lo'Kiar. In an effort to bring my greatness to the biggest audience, I am chronicling my experiences in these journals. I am going to speak frankly and openly so that readers of all ages, races, and backgrounds can come to experience all that is me, Owen Lo'Kiar.
*The Beginning*
Well, I left the temple today. I just couldn't take the constant nagging from the priests. Justice this and justice that. I dont have any plans on being a zealot for the all knowing Rofirein. I need to get out and stretch my legs and see what this world has to offer!
I got my chance. More than I bargained for actually. I woke (or at least think I woke) to find myself facing a dragon. A dragon! He claimed that he had brought me there to help save the world. Ha! Is he serious? I have no intentions of saving the world but I also dont have any plans to tell that to this dragon's face. I guess the reality is that I dont have any plans at all so this is worth a little investigation. He doesnt really expect me to save the world anyway right?
*several days later*
Well I found myself in Hlint along with another Drow. Interesting that. Did that dragon plan this or was it completely random. Either way I found myself spending time with Iradril Arkenrahel. He apparently is a violent person, carrying around that massive sword of his. I guess I shouldnt complain. He is my muscle to keep the unworthy from touching me. Where are the ladies?
*several days later*
I bought some equipment to make some money today. I also harvested some barley. I hope this recipe for brewing ale is a good one. I could REALLY use a drink. Speaking of which, where are the ladies? Iradril wants to explore the sewers her in Hlint. Not sure I want to go down there. I might get dirty. No way to impress anyone that. Iradril says that we may find some money or other treasure though. I can always use more money.
Infernal rats! They are everywhere. We kill them and more show up. Someone should clean this place up! Wait a minute....I guess that is what we are doing. Well someone else should clean this place up. We did find an interesting room down in the sewers though. We had to squeeze through a tiny opening in the wall to get there. It was a room with squares of alternating colors. There was a door there but we were exhausted from the endless stream of rats down there. Someone should really clean this place up! We will have to investigate this room further. Are there any ladies in Hlint?
*a day later*
I met a fine little lady today(finally!). When I say little I actually mean little. She only came to my waist! She was very nice to me though which is a nice change. She actually was needing help so I suppose she wasnt going to call me names and spit on me. She apparently decided to take a nap in a cave of all things. Notice I called her fine not intelligent. Anyway, she dropped a necklace or something and wants me to go retrieve it for her. All I can say is that she better have some money once this is done.
*a day later*
After we got directions from a dwarf(more unusual friendliness), we traveled to Sielwood. Along the way we ran into another Drow. Talk about haughty and full of themselves! He only seemed to want to talk about how Drow are the master race and other nonsense. I mean I am a perfect example of perfection but that doesnt mean all Drow are. I mean lets be realistic here. Look at me and tell me I am not a marvel of nature. Yeah just take a look at me......
We finally reached the Sielwood. A rather dense forest for my taste but we are here so lets get the necklace and get back to Hlint right? Wrong. We never did find this cave our halfling "friend" supposedly took her nap in. We did find a Gnoll camp and in turn our death. I guess I must have a strong spirit (of course I do!) since I found my way back to my body. I have to laugh here though. Iradril got killed by a deer! Yes you are reading that right, a deer. I am a little worried about my so called muscle.
Upon returning to Hlint, my little lady friend asked about our progress. After hearing about our troubles, she recommended I talk to a lady at the courthouse. Now there is a dilemma now isnt it? Here is another lady in this male-centric town and where is she? The courthouse. I dont know about you but I honestly am in a quandry. (you like that word? I know what you're thinking now. How can he be so nice on the eyes AND so smart? Now you are starting to realize the gift on Owen Lo'Kiar) I dont know what to do. Do I talk to this lady or avoid her. Those courthouse ladies are almost always stuffy. Then the halfling lady (what was her name again?) told us that courthouse types are usually loaded. Well she didnt actually say loaded but you know what I am saying here right? Anyway, that pretty well seals the deal. I can overlook the courthouse thing if she is willing to pay. Plus how could she resist me right? Tomorrow, Iradril and I will go see this rich courthouse woman and see if we cant talk her out of some gold. Perhaps if we can purchase higher quality equipment we may have better chances of surviving. That is unless another killer deer attacks him!
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Well, well, well. And I'm not talking about three holes in the ground. These last few days have been eventful! My partner and I talked to our contact at the courthouse and she had a task that needed performed. Apparently a rat man had stolen some tax papers! Now, this normally would be hilarious to me, well, actually it is pretty funny. Either way, I needed the money and that was that. Iradril and I went down into the sewers and put that rat man to rest for good. We scooped up the tax papers and headed for the surface as fast as we could. Again, the rats were everywhere! Someone should really take a look at the problem down here. Our contact was overjoyed at seeing me....and the tax papers. So much that she gave us both 200 gold. Now that is what I am talking about! I couldnt very well impress the ladies with no money. Well I could, but a little gold smooths the way. Of course this place is a barren waste of male domination apparently. The only females I have encountered are stuffy or have some job for me to do.
A couple of days after the rat man debacle, we decided to take some time to fish in the pond here in Hlint. I have never been one to just sit and pass the day away, but fishing seems to have a calming effect on me. We spent quite some time there. We met the undertaker while fishing today as well. Surprise! He was in need of something. These people of Hlint are the neediest people! Well, of course the undertaker had some problem in the crypts. There was some creature down there that was causing problems and he wanted the creatures essence. Well, I may not be the smartest person out there...well wait a minute. I am the smartest person out there. Well it seems to me that the job of the undertaker is to lay the dead to rest. Once that happens, they should stay dead. I mean, this is his territory right? Why am I going to have to go down and tangle with the undead? The answer to that is money, money, money. As long as he pays, I suppose I will do what he needs done. The women love the rich and powerful. That is for another day though.
*the next day*
We met a half-elven priest today who is going to start traveling with us. His name is Tha'Azail Neverborn. Kind of struck me as funny (what doesn't?) but if he was never born then how are we talking to him now? He is a priest of some such religion. I let him know right up front that there would be no converting talk and no talk of JUSTICE and the Light! I left the temple to get away from that talk. I dont need a walking temple following me around speaking that giberrish.
I met the most beautiful woman today! Eylianna was her name. She was a disciple of Lucinda and a sorceress. She was stunning. I saw her walking past and stopped her with a "How you doin'" Of course she couldn't help but stop to admire me. We were having a wonderful conversation and talked for several minutes. I think I was close to getting her to come back to the Inn for a drink when Iradril stomped up and jumped into the conversation by saying hello to her. I really have to talk to him about this. Anyway, Iradril begins to go into his rant about how he dreams all the time of some woman. Well big deal! This one was mine! I met her first. Anyway, Eylianna starts talking with Iradril and tells him that the woman of his dreams is actually the goddess Lucinda. Well I am a bit skeptic. Unless she is the blind goddess of magic, she would have picked me over Iradril. I mean look at him. Nothing special there. At least not when compared to me. No disrespect to Iradril but there is no comparison.
Well Eylianna and Iradril are just the best of friends now. I really have to talk to him about this. I guess after hearing that Iradril dreams on Lucinda, she cast some spell on him. She said something about how he has the light in him of on him or something. I dont remember exactly. I was only half listening at that point. What happened next was really astounding though. An angelic being appeared before our eyes and and tapped Iradril's shoulders. I can honestly say I was at a loss for words. That doesnt happen often mind you. I know I am not a person of faith, but I am not faithless and that was exciting! Well that sealed the deal between Eylianna and Iradril. She convinced him to take us to Blackford castle to visit the temple of Lucinda to thank her personally.
It was a long trip and I continued to try my skills on Eylianna but it was apparent that she was only interested in Iradril. It is probably best anyway. She seems to be more of the devout religious follower than the playful type I am interested in. She was nice though and I went along for the chance to see some of the surrounding area. Blackford castle is massive!
We found the temple (actually I found it thank you very much) and Iradril paid his respects. He was gifted with a book (Ha! A book!) that I can only guess will help him find his way. I pretty much sat on the floor and watched Eylianna. It was a better alternative than looking at Iradril or Neverborn or praying. Once we left the temple, we had to head back to Hlint to take care of some of the commitments we had.
We stopped outside Hlint to take care of some goblins. The guard in Hlint wants us to bring him 5 goblin ears. The goblins are nasty creatures but they are good with the bow! They are fairly organized as well. They would strike at us from higher positions before we could get to their camp. We were weakened before we even started the battle. We did prevail though which was of course never any doubt in my mind. I was there so how could we fail? The lady Eylianna left us after this battle. She received word from a friend that her assistance was needed. We bid her farewell and went back to Hlint.
I have noticed lately that when I sing it seems to make everyone feel better. Not in a healing way but in a way I cant really put words to. We seem to work better when I am singing or playing music. I knew I had talent but this is excellent. Ladies love music and being sung to. I will have to investigate this further.
*several days later*
So, there we are discussing our next move and Neverborn jumps at the undertakers task. I am a little apprehensive about following a guy that is so excited about playing with the walking dead. I mean who gets excited about going into a graveyard and tangling with things that should never exist? They died once already. Why cant they just stay that way. Iradril wanted to go with Neverborn so the decision was made to get the essence for the undertaker.
Wow! I cant say I am excited about fighting the undead still, but Neverborn has his uses here. He mumbles something and waves his arms around and those undead just sort of sit there and wait to die again. I am a little more inclined to follow him in here now. The undead just seem to keep coming though. Like the rats in the sewer there never seems to be an end to them. This town is infested! Why has no one done anything about this? We eventually did kill the creature and I took its essence to the undertaked. He was ecstatic to see me. Oh and he was happy to get the essence too. You know for being an orc and all, he really isnt too bad of a guy. At least for one that handles dead things all day. I was going to mention how he was not performing his job very well with the dead coming back to life and all, but why ruin the moment.
I was resting after the fight in the crypts when the most stunning woman walked by. She of course stopped to admire my presence when I said "How you doin'?" We got to talking and let me tell you. This was my kind girl! We moved the conversation to the Inn where we shared some drinks. Well we shared many drinks. I think I remember her saying something about Xeen and pleasure and pain or something. She kept talking about how she was a bad girl which was not helping me think. We adjourned to my room at the Inn and well, I better leave the rest to your imagination. When I awoke the next morning she was gone. It's just as well. I think I see the most beautiful woman I have ever seen....
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So, my legend grows... Which is of course only natural. You can't expect people to not know who you are when you are this talented.
Today I ventured out into the golin wastelands to grab some goblin ears. This is truly beneath me but the quartermaster needed help. Who am I to turn him down? I mean, I have a heart. The guy needs help. So there we are, Iradril and I that is, stalking the hills for these stupid goblins. We ended up meeting up with a playful woman sitting at a campfire. We struck up a nice little conversation when this priest walks up. Now you should know that I am not very fond of the pious folk. Not necessarily that I dont like them, but I am just not fond of them. Well this priest starts whining about how the undead were harrassing him in the crypt. This is unacceptable. I dont mean the priest. I mean the undertaker!! If this guy is getting paid anything it is too much! I was just down there a couple of days ago and cleaned it out. No undead survived....or whatever. Now there are more undead in there? I need to speak to whoever is in charge here about this problem. (This is what I have to put up here. If everyone around here were like me these problems would be solved.) Well, Iradril and I decided to help him.
Once we cleaned out the crypts(again!), Iradril and I found quite a few people gathered outside the bank. Now what is this? A beautiful woman standing there all alone? This is a travesty! I walked over and said "How you doin?" This lead to a very strange conversation. I am standing there, trying to talk to this lady and her 'pet' starts mouthing off to me. Now, if this lady wasnt such a pretty lady I would have smacked this little creature. But of course that wouldn't have been very smart would it? So I played nice. It didnt work. Some other creature came flying over and started talking to her pet and they began discussing how they were going to take various parts of my body. Thinking back on it now it actually was quite funny in spite of the fact that I was on the wrong end of the joke. Let it be known that Owen Lo'Kiar can take a joke. This was all well and good until one of them called me ugly. I dont care where you are from or what plane of existence you reside on, there is not a single bit of ugliness to this body. I will not stand for being called ugly! After a few insults, I was convinced to let it go. Another thing to know, Owen Lo'Kiar can turn the other cheek.(It looks just as good as the other one!)
Iradril talked me into patrolling the goblin wastelands again. We actually delved into a cave out there. I think we found more salt than goblins though. But then something wonderful happened. We ran into Eylianna again. She took us to Hlint and showed us how to craft gems. I was already intrigued by this and now this was perfect. Think of how impressed the ladies will be when I can present to them jewelry. I may out do even myself! For her 'troubles' I let Eylianna know that the first piece of jewelry that I craft will go to her. Could I be any better? I dont think so.
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These goblins are starting to pose a problem for me. If one of them by some miracle makes it past my arrows, I am forced to unleash my sicle. I really dont care much for this close quarter fighting. I may get dirty. The last thing I want is for some nasty goblin blood to get all over me and then have some beautiful lady walk by and see me like that. Not even a "how you doin?" would get her to stop. What makes it worse is...well, not that I am saying I am not skilled enough, but these goblins are actually touching me way too often. My blood all over me is a lot worse than goblin blood! I am continuing to train on these goblins and hopefully will be able to make these goblins pay.
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I was training on the goblins again today. I have to admit something here that I will never admit to anyone else. I was sent to the bind stone today. These goblins a such a nuisance. I was felling them with arrows when they rushed me. I had no choice but to pull out the sicle and take them down. Well, I could only hold off so many. They continued to hit me and then one came over the rise and shot me with an arrow. How humiliating. I was laying there watching my blood pour out and could do nothing but wait for the end. When I hit the bind stone I sat down in front of it and considered what to do next. It is painfully obvious to me that my skill with the sicle is lacking. Dont let anyone else know though. I have to keep my reputation intact! So I decided that my next steps should be to find someone to assist me in training so that if the situation arises, I will be able to hold my own with the sicle. I am not sure at this point who that is or what type of training it will be, but it is a task I must complete.
I met the postmaster of Hlint today. Of course he had work for me. He needed a letter delivered to someone on the other side of Hlint. Sys something or other. All I know is I searched the town and couldnt find her. I asked around and no one had heard of her either. I was about to give up for the night until I saw Eylianna walking through the town. She was coming to town to practice crafting gems. I asked her if she knew who the letter was addressed to. Of course she knew. It was addresses to the crabby girl by the fishing pond. That girl needs to lighten up. She didnt even crack a smile when I joked with her. She did thank me which was a surprise though.
Anyway, Eylianna met me after I delivered the letter and we talked. Wow is she beautiful. Um. Well, anyway, I talked to her where to find mineral gems and she gave me some much needed guidance. She let me know that she wanted to practice her gem crafting so I let her know that I would go get her some to practice on.
These goblin caves are interesting. The goblins here are even tougher than the ones outside. I must get training. If I am going to continue exploring places like this, I will not survive without it. I found the minerals though and took out a few goblins in the mean time. I found 3 minerals and returned to Hlint.
I found Eylianna in the crafting house and gave her two of the minerals I found and kept one for myself. I need to practice myself. I had not had any rest since I had ran from the cave straight to the crafting house. Eylianna was very concerned for my health and basically forced me to go to the inn and have a meal. At the inn something happened though.
It was very embarrassing and I was very upset that Eylianna had to witness it. I was verbally assaulted by a woman. She kept yelling for the guards to come take me away. She was calling me all sorts of names. I wasnt sure why until Eylianna let me know that there had been troubles with Drow attacking the town. I guess they took prisoners as well and had tattooed them with spiders. This woman had the tattoo. It is a shame that she thinks I was involved but I really feel pity for her. With that attitude she will never get to experience the greatness that is Owen Lo'Kiar. I finally just walked away and left the woman grumble about Drow. I know it isnt like me to walk away from verbal sparring, but I was thinking more of Eylianna and how upset she might be if she had to listen to it all.
Inside the inn, we sat down and Eylianna bought me a drink and a meal. I asked about her past and it is as sad as my own. I will not go into it even here. She told ME and I am sure would not appreciate me repeating it to whoever reads this. Suffice to say it is a sad tale. I am not sure if it was the drinks or just being near her but I actually told her of my own past. I have never told it to anyone. This is very strange. What is it about this woman that makes me act like an idiot?
After a long conversation, Eylianna attempted to get up but was a little woozy. It must have been the drinks. I was genuinely concerned for her safety, especially after she was seen defending me from the prejudiced group outside the inn. I let her know that the room that I bought at the inn had two beds and that we could share the room. She agreed. I tucked Eylianna into her bed and kissed her cheek before I went to my own bed and retired for the night.
*scribbled beside this entry*
What is happening to me? Why does Eylianna make me act this way? I must be careful around her. But she always seems to make me feel happy. That cant be bad can it? I MUST be more careful around her. Remember who I am....Lo'Kiar. Owen Lo'Kiar.
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Wow. It has been an event filled couple of days! It is becoming increasingly apparent that I am not welcome in Hlint. It may be time to move on. I was accosted today again! This time it was from the Captain of the Guard. He better appreciate the fact that I capitalize his name. Of course he wont. He wont ever read this. He is such a closed minded .... Ah well. Better to just recount the event (as is my way) and let you judge for yourself.
Iradril and I were minding our own business after a nasty encounter with.....yes you guessed it, goblins. We were both sent back to our bindstone. This is getting ridiculous. How can I live up to my reputation and legend if I cant dispatch with a few goblins? There has to be a better way. Anyway, there we were thinking about what had just happened and deciding on our next course of action. Well we see a group of people talking and I recognize Caela from the other day. So I go to say hello. Well then she starts talking in Elvish with another woman. So now I have two Elvish women talking around me. I love a woman who can speak another language and now here are two! Well I tried to warn Caela that the town may not be safe since I was so rudely attacked with Eylianna the other day. She seemed to brush it off as if that were nothing new. Strange. I never felt unwanted before but then again it is me. Anyway, along comes this guy at the well. He just stares at us. For a long time he just stared at us. So I walked over to him and politely let him know that I was not interested. I introduced myself and was actually planning on leaving Hlint when the captain of the guard comes up and starts yelling at me. He kept telling me to leave town and that I was scaring the children. I tried to explain to him that I was not going to attack the town and I wasnt spying but he would not see reason. Quantum the priest even vouched for me but the captain would not budge. Finally, left Hlint. I almost got myself in more trouble (and I could have mind you) but I am trying to be a little better with opening my mouth. Eylianna would be proud. The funniest part of the whole thing was that Iradril is standing there and pretty much keeping his mouth shut. He should have stayed that way. He blurts out something about how WE are helping the town. Well the captain snapped that up and figured out that under that fancy helmet was another Drow. HA! Iradril got himself into trouble.
After that, with the help of another Drow sister, Ardul, we visited our grave and made some goblins pay. It was interesting to see a paladin of Lucinda who happens to be a Drow. This place continues to amaze me. There are so many stories here that I could never in my life recount all of them.
We met a huge beast of a creature today named Hrorth. He wasnt the smartest thing but he seemed genuine. He likes to smash things. This could be useful....
I must get better with this sicle if I am to survive this place. I fear I am trapped in Hlint until I can find a way to become more proficient in close quarter combat. My bow will only work for so long before I have to defend myself.
//I want to thank whatever DM it was that took control of the captain in Hlint. That was pretty cool. Depending on how things continue, Lo'Kiar may start to change a bit. Not too much though. I am having WAY too much fun with him right now!
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I met with Eylianna again today. I am like a fool when she is around. I dont know what it is about her that makes me act this way. Other women dont make me lose my thoughts and ability to speak. She is special I guess....
Iradril was with me today as well. We ventured to the Sielwood looking for boar for the fur trader. His wife must be one heck of a woman to have been able to gather these furs for him! We ended up traveling a little too far and ran into ogres that were seriously hurting us. Eylianna arived though and ended up turning us invisible. She really is very talented as well as beautiful. So, we talked for a while in the Ranger Vale and Iradril decided to go study his books on magic. It was just as well. It gave me more time with Eylianna. She took me to Port Hampshire.
WOW! This place is amazing. The fountains alone are worth the danger in travaling there. The statue in the middle of the square is very impressive as well. Unfortunately, it is to remember the fallen heroes who regained the city from the Drow. I have never really been concerned with my heritage or the fact that I am a Drow, but this is very disheartening. I have never been one to feel the need for violence. It appears my brethren are so bent on the destruction of all else that they do terrible things. I must live my life the way I always have though and not judge anyone but on their actions and not those of their race. I can only hope that others do the same to me.
Eylianna gave me gifts again. This is not how it works. I am the one supposed to give gifts! She gave me some cut gems that I can practice polishing. Her kindness never ends. We spent some time crafting gems together before she showed me the inn. This is a great step up from the inn at Hlint! The common room was massive and there were other rooms with a unfortunately the only performer at the time was a local drunk named Mo. The bedrooms here are much nicer than Hlint as well. Eylianna took a liking to a chair that made her look like a queen. She must have thought so as well since she started barking out orders to me. It was really fun to see her acting silly.
We left Port Hampshire and traveled to Krandor. Eylianna has a house that she shares with someone there. (I wonder who?) Anyway, she was going to retire but I still had some things to do. We talked for bit in the inn there at Krandor before I left. I was stumbling all over my words. It was truly embarassing. What is it with her? She did let me kiss her again though. She told me that she really enjoyed being with me too. She is a loner for the most part but she is enjoying my company. I hope to see her again soon.
Eylianna cast some magical protections on me and I went back to Hlint. I think I will just rest here and finish my work later. I have traveled far and I still cant get Eylianna out of my head. Maybe a walk through Hlint will give me someone...I mean something to take my mind off of her.....
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I am very worried. I have not seen Eylianna in days. I was out exploring the land around Krandor for the last few days. I had hoped to see her around since she told me that she was there a lot. I decided to head back to Hlint and was shocked at what I found. The town had been attacked! In short order I talked to several residents and found out what had happened. Apparently, Blood was taking out some sort of revenge against Hlint for some heroes finding a great library. Several people died in the attack and some buildings were completely destroyed. A great library. I bet this journal will find its way there one day.
I asked around to see if Eylianna was one of the dead but no one had seen her. I am getting very worried. Why am I getting so worried? Not that I shouldnt care about Eylianna, but why am I so concerned? Maybe I will see her if I venture down to Port Hampshire.
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I journeyed with Iradril again today. We were hunting for boar in the Seilwood forest again. This time we brought help. A person by the name of Kil ventured into the forest with us. We met the ogres once more but this time with Kil's help we vanquished them. Kil cast a spell that made blades rise up out of the ground and they shredded the ogres as they ran toward us. It was a gruesome sight. Certainly it was effective but crude. It was a little strange to just sit there and watch them die. I may kill from a distance but I am still drawing the bowstring and letting the arrows fly. I am not just sitting there.....
Regardless of the means, the end result was a boar pelt for each of us. Johan was very pleased to see us. He needed a cougar pelt as well. So, Iradril and I asked around. One man told us that cougars are near Fort Velensk. Seeing as how we didnt know how to get there, he was nice enough to take us there. Iradril and I explored the area around the fort and the only thing we could find were jaguars. Nice but no cougar. We were ready to give up and return to Hlint when we came across a pack of cougars! It was a serious fight. These cougars were not willing to part with their pelts like nice cats should! We prevailed though and headed back to Hlint.
There we ran into a mercenary named Cole and the priest Neverborn. We paid Cole to help us tackle the Red Light goblins and get their leader's head. The wagonmaster was overjoyed as now he can get back to work without worrying about a goblin raid. I got a nice pair of boots from the wagonmaster too. These will come in handy I think.
Iradril hasnt seen Eylianna either. I dont know if he is as worried as I am though. I think I may go back down to Krandor and Port Hampshire to see if I can find her.
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Iradril and I did some travelling yesterday. He had never been to Port Hampshire so I told him I would take him there. Along the way we ran into the guard at Fort Llast. He was looking for some people to gather some weapons for the troops. We helped out a bit but had to push onward. We camped outside of the broken forest and got a good rest before making our way into the forest. It did not help. We had just ventured into the forest when a creature that was like a humanoid wolf pounced on me. Iradril fought it off of me but was hurt in the process. I attempted to shoot it several times but my arrows did nothing to it! In a desperate attempt to finally slay the beast, Iradril made a powerful attack. Unfortunately, even though he hit the creature it hit him back and he was mortally wounded. I tried to use my somewhat limited healing powers but the cursed creature took me down. I was laying there thinking that it was all over when my savior arrived. She came running in and slew the creature in a mighty blow. She had a bear following her too. It was almost like it was a pet. She then turned and healed me. It was too late for Iradril though. He died.
I waited for Iradril to return. I watched over him while he prayed at his grave. We camped again outside of the forest and quickly made our way through to Port Hampshire. Iradril was amazed at Port Hampshire and the incredible plaza. We wandered the plaza and Iradril wanted to stop and read the monument. I warned him that it was a story regarding the Drow attack on the city. I didnt want him to not read it, but I just wanted to warn him before he started reading it. It is getting increasingly difficult to go where we like without getting harrassed about our skin color.
As Iradril was reading, I noticed a woman sitting at the fountain alone. I couldn't let her sit there by herself now could I? So, I introduced myself and asked how she was doing. She replied with a now typical "What do you want, Drow?" I tried to carry on a nice conversation with her but she continually insulted me and was very condescending. I offered my condolences to her since she was going to lose the opportunity to ever really know me and was leaving when she started talking to me about how her dark lord Corath was going devour my soul or something. You know people call me evil and this lady wants her drak lord to eat my soul. The irony here is evident.
We left her shouting at our backs. These people are just not worth my valuable time. After failing miserably at roasting my barley and corn, I headed to the merchants to get Iradril and make our way back to Hlint. He was going to take some time to study his books. He is always reading that book that he got from the temple of Lucinda. I guess it works for him. He did blast some ogres with some bolts of light before. I guess the time he spends is well worth it.
On our way back we ran into one of the people that were giving me grief in Hlint the other day. I am such a horrible threat to the existence of Hlint, you know. Anyway, he again starts with his evil drow mantra and I had just about enough. I am sick of being judged by my skin. This is ridiculous. So, I told the man that I had decided that anyone wearing green is stupid. Of course, he was covered in green clothing. Ha! Take that. He was not impressed.
Once I entered Hlint, I met a newcomer to Hlint. Her name was Emerald Skye. Of course, the man in green was shouting about how I am an evil drow spy and other such nonsense. I offered to give Emerald Skye a tour of Hlint and warned her to avoid the village idiot over there in green. I got a nice response that he was going to find me on the field of battle and kill me. In typical fashion, I let him know that I was a lover and not a fighter. I think the confrontation scared Emerald Skye away unfortunately. I am growing weary of always having to explain myself to people. I have shown my worth to several of Hlint and they have expressed their gratitude. Why is it that I am now being judged and harrassed by these people?
I was brought here for a reason that I can only assume the dragon knows. I wish I knew so i could at least see a reason to put up with this. I guess I can only push on and keep to the people I trust. Iradril, Eylianna, and I suppose Neverborn. It pains me to think that these people will never get the joy of knowing me but I am finding that I really dont care anymore if they know me or not. It really doesnt seem worth it.
I wonder if there is a place where I can go and not be concerned with how others will treat me simply because I have dark colored skin. I understand that my 'people' have done so many evil things, but I am not representing my 'people.' I am representing me. I hate to say it, but maybe I should go back to the temple and seek guidance. No. That is pushing it. I suppose if things continue though what choice will I have?
-
My day started so well today that I should have known it would go downhill. I ran into Iradril! Seriously though, we ran into Neverborn as well. It was looking like a good day to go out and explore the land to the east of Hlint. We had not ventured far that way. We ended up picking up another explorer on the way. Her name was Kahna. She was easy on the eyes so she was most welcome! Her sword was a nice help as well. We would have headed east but Kahna mentioned that she knew where there were brown bears. Since Iradril and I needed brown bear pelts we headed to the High Forest. It was north of Hlint from Fort Llast. Kahna had a friend join her. It was a little goblin named Squee! I was a little worried since I had been practicing my archery skills on the goblins outside of Hlint, but then I caught myself. I make such a big deal when people judge me and here I am judging this goblin! I talked to him and it turns out that this little guy is a great addition to our party! His magic made the obstacles in our path a lot easier to deal with.
We headed to the High Forest and picked up a brown bear pelt. While we were hunting for more, we ran into a treant! It was a giant tree like humanoid creature that was fierce. In one swing of its mighty arm it knocked me through the air and I landed far from the battle. I was hurt so badly that Neverborn's healing could not even help me. The bindstone had me in its grip. I awoke in Hlint and had to travel the distance to the High Forest with Iradril who appeared next to me. We made our way to our graves and meditated on what our mistakes were. I believe that one was easy. Never take on a Treant! Afterwards we ran into another brown bear. Lucky for Iradril!
We travelled back to Hlint and turned in the brown bear pelts. That wonderful Johan now wants another borwn bear pelt! ARGH!! We were set to return to the High Forest but something wonderful happened. Eylianna showed up! My heart was so relieved at seeing her. I was so worried that something had happened to her. She looked as beautiful as ever too. Iradril spread his lies about me to her as he always does. She did notice my new outfit. I was ecstatic. I know every hero needs a cape. Plus the ladies really go for a guy in a cape. I think it's the hat though. Definitely the hat. Eylianna also noticed that the colors of my outfit matched hers. It was a little touch that I was not sure if she would recognize but she did. Unfortunately, she had to leave. A prior engagement apparently. I hope to see her again soon.
-
So there we were in Hlint, Iradril, Neverborn, and myself. It was a day to hunt bear. I wanted to be done with this Johan. Let his wife get better and do his hunting! We were standing around the well and noticed a group of people standing there talking. There was a young lady playing a tamborine and joking it seems with another young lady. How could I resist? I approached the crowd to introduce myself when something strange happened. The young lady with the tamborine started glowing red! It was only a brief instant, but it was strange. It felt....ominous I guess. We talked to the other people there and one warrior type mentioned that he thought he might know what was happening. We sat and listened. There was the warrior, named Bid from what I gathered. There was another female warrior named Lara. I think they were together if you know what I mean. Anyway, there was a paladin named Remiel as well as the two ladies. The lady that glowed red was named Kali and her friend was named Lindariel. The last one in the group was Talan I believe.
Now that introductions are done with.... Bid and Lara were exploring some dungeon. I dont remember the name of it. Bid was fighting a Xorn whatever that is. It hurt him pretty badly so he and Lara were resting. Then someone named Arindor appeared to them. Everyone seemed to know who that was. I am going to have to ask around to see who this Arindor was. Anyway, he appeared to them and placed some sort of curse on them. They were to go procure for him a 'vessel'. I was unclear what that meant until Bid explained it all. Arindor wanted a vessel to possess. I guess the method of possession involved splitting the vessel open and spilling their blood on the ground. This is horrible! I guess from what Bid and Lara explained, Kali was the chosen vessel. That was what the red glow was! I could not let this go on! How dare someone try to harm this fine young lady! Neverborn must have felt the same way. He offered our help to do whatever we could. The paladin, Remiel decided to take the entire party to the dungeon and confront this Arindor and have him remove the curse.
We went east of Hlint and followed the road for the most part. It is funny that Iradril and I kept trying to explore the lands east of Hlint and now here we were going on a mission of sorts that took us there. Funny how these things work out. Unfortunately, as we were leaving Hlint, Lidariel and Kali were talking about how I was trailing them. I tried to explain to them that I was only there to help but they said I was stalking them. It was upsetting. I was only trying to help Bidwick and Lara as well as Kali. I couldnt let these two women go into danger without lifting a finger, right? I stayed towards the back and tried to be quiet. I was trying to help so not drawing attention to myself would be the best at this point. I kept my mouth shut even when Lindariel made rude and abusinve comments toward me. As a matter of fact, she was quite rude for a lady the entire time. Perhaps it was because she was nervous or scared for her friend Kali. I dont know but it would be a challenge to get her to come around. Oh well, we will haveto see what comes of that later. We travelled east and then south. I think we were near Haven? I am not positive, but I believe that this is where we were. We ended up in a forested area just west of Haven.
When we entered the forest, I noticed an area ahead that was darker than the rest of the forest. I attributed it to a more dense overgrowth preventing the sunshine from filtering into the land. I was wrong. It was more of a darkness emanating from the earth itself. Bid and Lara were still leading the way. They walked on as if nothing were out of sorts. Odd that. They had expressed regret and maybe a sense of helplessness about their situation while we were in Hlint. Now they walked on as if nothing were wrong. We all should have realized this but I think we were on the trail of righteousness following Remiel. It is strange how I keep trying to get away from that type of thing but keep coming back around to it.
As we approached, I saw that the area of darkness was actually a gaping hole that bore down into the land. There were steps carved into the side of the cliff that led down into the hole to a doorway. Bidwick and Lara walked in as if it was the Wild Surge Inn. I stopped at the top of the stairway. The air coming from the doorway had a warmth that actually made me shiver. It was foul air that had the stench of death. Or rather, the undeath. We made our way after Bidwick and Lara with Remiel and Talan leading the way. I stayed toward the back with Neverborn and Iradril. We were warned by Remiel that it would be dangerous but I could not turn away when a damsel was in distress.
We were met by huge creatures that seemed fierce and overpowering. However, Talan and Remiel dispatched them quickly. Surely, Remiel must have the righteousness of his god to be such a powerful force against the evil inhabiting this cavern. I was in good hands it appeared. I was happy to see that Kali was as well. I did what I could with my bow but in truth it was mostly Remiel and Talan. I sang my song to aid everyone in the battle and I was even happier to see Kali singing as well. We had something in common! If I could just get her away from Lindariel perhaps we could have a nice conversation. Why is Lindariel so hostile to me? I wonder if she had some bad experience with a drow in the past. I wish Eylianna were here to talk to her. Now why did she come up? I am trying to talk about Kali, not Eylianna. Why do I always seem to go back to her no matter what I do? No matter. It was not to be anyway.
We made our way down several levels of this ... dungeon. There is no other way to describe it. It was dank, dark, and ...evil. Again, this is the only way to describe it. There was a presence there that looking back on it was manipulating us and forcing us to continue moving. Moving down. Down to who knew what. Down to a confrontation with this presence. And onward we went. Hacking creatures that were in our way. There was nothing stopping Remiel and Talan. We must have travelled for hours. It felt like days. The dungeon went on forever. We stopped in a large room with another staircase exiting from it. We rested there to regain some strength. It was here that things got bad. Well, I guess things got worse. Bidwick seemed to go into some sort of trance. He began walking slowly toward Kali and he said something about Kali that I did not catch. I knew I had to do something though. So, Remiel and I stepped in front of Kali and blocked Bidwick. He reached past us to try to touch Kali. It was as if he wasnt in control of himself. His eyes did not reflect himself but someone else. I turned just in time to see Lara acting the same way. Kali ran back to the side of the room away from Bid and Lara. Lindariel moved to guard her as I moved to push Lara back. Both Bid and Lara seemed to realize they were not going to get Kali so they left and climbed down the stairs. We followed at a distance.
I feared we would never reach whatever end was fated for us when we came down the staircase to a mazelike set of platforms. Each platform was connected by a bridge of stone. There was a LONG fall off of each bridge. It was time to walk very carefully. As I was preparing myself to make our way through this maze, I noticed that Bid and Lara just walking along the platforms and almost shambling along. Talan followed them very closely but Remiel and the rest of us stayed behind with the ladies.
We made our way across the maze and through several chambers before coming to a pit. Again I swear I heard moaning from the pit. I began to get a little scared at this point. Even with Remiel's skills in battle and his deity's help, I was afraid we were walking into something that we would not walk out of. I mentioned this to Remiel and Iradril. Remiel buoyed our spirits and talked of courage. We had to save the girl, right? I had everything I needed.
Or I thought I did. We entered a chamber with a raised platform. Bidwick and Lara were on opposite sides of the platform and were chanting something I think. I was overwhelmed by a sense of impending doom. Evil lived here and it was not pleased that we had disturbed its slumber. Bidwick and Lara began saying things like "He is coming" and "We brought you a vessel, master!" It was disturbing. Remiel called out for the presence to show themselves so they could be vanquished.
The ground shook.
The walls shook.
It was unnerving to sit there and wait for death to arrive. It's the waiting that was so bad. It felt like it let us suffer for hours. Then Bidwick and Lara were trapped behind cages! We turned and saw that Talan was trapped as well. It seemed like it would get us all. I moved to protect Kali and Lindariel when I was pushed back by a cage surrounding them as well! I was failing. Neverborn called to us that he was trapped as well. For some reason, Remiel, myself and Iradril were spared. Why I do not know. Neverborn knelt down and began to pray. Perhaps it would help. I do not know of these things. I was quite worried about Kali, though. Lindariel as well even though she was a bit hostile. I grabbed the bars and pulled as hard as I could. Nothing happened. I called to Iradril to help me but even the two of us could not budge them a bit. Lindariel was shrieking and actually climbing the bars. Kali collapsed.
Waiting....
Waiting....
The wait would kill us...
A booming voice called to us and asked us what we wanted. It shook the very earth itself. Remiel turned the question back and asked what the voice wanted. It replied said that we could leave but the caged ones were his. Remiel was not willing to accept that. He told the voice that we were not leaving unless we ALL left. Needless to say, the presence was not happy with this. It called down angrily that we would all have to make some sort of payment in return for allowing us to leave. Remiel negotiated an oath as payment.
We each had to offer an oath to whatever god we chose that we would never return and we would never let any companion return. Neverborn and Remiel offered their oaths in a split second after the deal was struck. This made sense. Iradril was not far behind making an oath to his goddess, Lucinda. Of course. I really didnt know what to do. I knew the teachings of Rofirein but really didnt follow him. I can honestly say that I disagree with most if not all of his teachings. What was I to do though? I knelt down and made the oath. I can only hope that Rofirein heard me. I dont really recall who Lindariel made her oath to. Kali was confused though. I dont think she really had a deity that she followed. I can relate. Remiel told her to make her oath to Toran as he did. Once Kali did this, the cage disappeared! Neverborn was free as well. Talan was still trapped though. Apparently he made the oath to himself.
The voice boomed from seemingly everywhere..."This one has not made the oath. He is not free"
Both Remiel and I pleaded with Talan to make an oath to any god. Well, Remiel made the suggestion to make the oath to Toran, but you know what I mean. Talan resisted momentarily, but I think he realized his situation and hastily made his oath. The bars shattered and Talan was free. We wasted no time in leaving. We made our way back up each staircase.
We were assaulted by an onslaught of undead. It was like Arindor had let us leave, but was going to attempt to keep us forever. What a cruel joke. Again Talan and Remiel led the way and made it safe for the rest of us. We travelled slowly due to the constant skirmishes. Unfortunately, I got a little impatient. Or maybe I was a little scared. I dont know. I went up the steps and was immediately in excrutiating pain. My body was tense to the point that I couldnt move or even unclench my fists. The pain was so intense that it was like fire was coursing through my body. I fell to the ground and lay there.
I was dying.
I seem to remember a couple of things before the bindstone snatched my soul. I remember Neverborn making an attempt to save my life. I must thank him for that. I also remember Lindariel stomping on my dead body. I think I remember that. I must ask Iradril to make sure before I confront her about that. I mean honestly, do I deserve that? I went down to certain doom to help and protect her and Kali and that is the thanks I get?
My eyes opened to the familiar sights of Hlint and the cursed bindstone. I left the bindstone and made the journey back to the pit in the ground. I could not retrieve my grave since I had swore and oath to never return. This was very unfortunate. So, I sat down to meditate and wait for the rest of the group. Something must have happened on the way out since they seem to take quite a while to exit. As I was waiting, Iradril arrived. He had gotten hit by a trap and the bindstone caught him. He informed me that this was what happened to me as well. I guess that teaches us a lesson on watching we step. He also said that the floors of the dungeon were littered with traps on the way out. Arindor really did not want us to leave!
After some time, the rest of the group made their way out of the pit. Bidwick was helping Lara and carrying most of her weight. I was concerned but couldnt really voice it since Talan was calling me names. I tire of helping these people that do not appreciate it. The hostility I receive is the only thanks I ever get. Of course Eylianna never acts that way to me, though so I guess some people appreciate it.
We left the forest area and went back to the little village outside of Haven. Bidwick and Lara owned a house there. We bid them good night. Lara needed to rest and recuperate. I expressed my thanks to all involved by allowing me to offer my assistance and headed back to Hlint. I had to rest and recuperate myself.
All in all, it was an eventful quest. I was really quite satisfied with myself. We had saved the girl and even though Iradril and I had been caught by the bindstone for silly mistakes, we got the job done. Mostly. I still have work to do to become the hero that everyone sees me as, but I am holding my own I think.
-
I spoke with Bidwick the other day. He is recovering from the ordeal in the dungeon as is Lara. That was good to hear. I asked him about what happened and why Arindor was hanging around down there. There are two versions of the story. Well, at least two versions. Who knows if either are the truth. The one version describes Arindor as a wizard that journeyed down into the dungeon with a group of adventurers. In the course of delving into the deep, they were overcome by a great evil. The more evil version makes Arindor an evil wizard who lures a group of adventurers to the dungeon. Once there he performs a gruesome ritual to become what he is today. I tend to believe the latter of the two. He certainly seemed like an evil being when I was down there.
-
Where to start? Well I was in the Wild Surge and overheard a conversation regarding the shadow dragon. That’s right, a shadow dragon. There apparently is some effort to get the chromatic dragons allied against Blood. Sounds like a good thing except the chromatics are quite nasty I thought. Although, they are not fond of Blood either so I guess the enemy of my enemy is my friend in this case. So, from what I gathered from the conversation, the dragons are all onboard except for the elusive shadow dragon. The group had gone down into the Underdark to talk him into joining but instead had destroyed an undead army that he was using for protection. Not a good idea. Afterwards they went to the black dragon and asked him if there was anything that would entice the shadow to join the alliance. He told them that he wanted the Orn’s Tear. It was scrying orb that would pierce the veil of darkness that the shadow hid behind.
The orb was retrieved but instead of giving it to the shadow, it was given to the red, Fisterion. I am not sure why this was done and I leave it up to the group to determine if it was the best decision. Unfortunately, the only bargaining tool we had was now gone. The plan then was to get as much equipment as we could and offer it to the dragon as compensation and to convince it to join. I thought it was a bad plan, but I had just joined the conversation so I let the rest of the group decide. I did voice my opinion that we needed more information before making a decision. There was one who really was not enthusiastic about this mission. Actually she was quite mad about the orb being given to Fisterion. I didn’t catch her full name but people were calling her Rev. She was gorgeous but a feisty one! Of course the fiery red hair should have been a clue. There was talk of letting the shadow dragon know that Fisterion leveled a threat that he was watching the shadow and it should obey his command. This was met with apprehension among some. The thought was that the dragon would become quite irate and take it out on our party. It was finally decided to just go talk to the dragon. The equipment offer was still brought but in my opinion, it was pointless. I was just intrigued that I was going to see another dragon!
So we headed off. We left the inn and went to a house by the pond in Hlint. I guess it was Rev’s house and there was a portal there! I stepped onto the portal and after a momentary flash of light, I was in another city! I don’t recall where it was though. I can tell you this, though. The creatures that we ran into on the way to the dragon’s lair were formidable. Several people were killed and had to be summoned back from the bindstone by some powerful members of the group. I for one thought that some of them should have been let go to the bindstone. They got themselves killed by jumping into a fight they were not ready for. I stayed behind and added my voice to the battle. It has been improving with practice and is quite a useful boon to the fight. My bow was of less use but I employed as best I could. I had to do my part.
We arrived at the dragon’s cave and there we sat for hours. There was an acid cloud steaming from the cave. Several of the group tried to venture near but were burnt. Again, they should have known. The people that were here before laid out warnings. We nominated Remiel to speak to the dragon. I made the suggestion to at least announce ourselves rather than barge in and make the same mistake made before. So, Remiel yelled down the cave to the dragon. There was no response. So we sat and waited. And waited. Finally it was decided to just make our way to the dragon but try to avoid any more confrontations with his undead.
Here is the part where I probably should make something up to cover myself. But then that would not be a true retelling of the story then would it? We climbed down into the Underdark. I was excited and full of curiosity. I had never been in the Underdark, contrary to most opinions out there. I was curious to see if there were other Drow in here. Of course, they would as likely kill me than talk to me. I am a surface Drow, as strange as that sounds. I was also very excited about the chance to see another dragon. A shadow dragon on top of that! Unfortunately, in my excitement I lost track of my group. I lost myself in the cavern and wandered for hours. I finally found my way to the exit and ran out. The acid steam burned me pretty badly but I survived. I had to use every bit of my skill at stealth to make it back alive. I traveled the route we took and made it back to the city and hired a boat to take me back to Mistone. I am so embarrassed! I am also even more intent on finding more information on the dragons. I missed my chance this time but it will not happen again.
It makes me wonder though. If we are working to get the chromatics involved, are the metallics already on board for the fight? I am curious because I have not heard a thing about metallic dragons since I arrived in Hlint.
Interesting…
-
I saw Remiel today. He let me know that the mission was a success even without me! He said that the shadow dragon was willing to accept Ausir’s Tear. It is an object similar to Orn’s Tear. Duh. We should have known there were two. Orn is the name of one of the moons so, obviously there is another. Oh well. I was lost anyway, right?
I noticed that Plenarius and Talan were sitting and telling tales so I sat down to listen. Ozymandius came and was watching as well. The conversation turned to dragons by no action of my own. It must have been meant to happen though. I mentioned that we had been talking about chromatics but no one seems to be talking about metallics.
The only response I could get from Plenarius was that he was bound by a promise to never speak of the metallics. Strange. Talan chimed in that he would not speak of them either. Again, this makes me even more curious as to why this is. Ozymandius made it seem as if he was under oath as well.
Iradril arrived then and we were talking about where we were going to explore when I thought of something that they would be able to answer. I turned to Ozy and asked him who I could talk to or where I could go to get the information on metallic dragons. He told me to talk to Aeridin’s strongest. Surely this has to be the head the order. If I could get to the temple of Aeridin I may get some answers. Iradril mentioned that Tha’Azail Neverborn was a follower of Aeridin. I must speak to him. Perhaps he is willing to take me to the temple.
I dont know why I am so intent on finding this information regarding dragons. It is like something inside of me is pushing me forward. Pushing me to ask these questions. Driving me to find answers.
What scares me is what happens if I don't find them?
What happens if I do?
-
Toran has been attacked! I did not see it but the constellations were dancing tonight. Tha'Azail and I were travelling to Blackford castle and ran into Bidwick and several others. They had seen the constellations do their battle and had travelled to the temple of Toran. The priest there had told them that Toran had been attacked and that they should spread the word. We returned to Hlint with them and found Remiel. He told us that Toran had indeed been attacked and it was thought to have been perpetrated by the Scorpion and the Viper. Bidwick asked the question that was on everyone's lips. Who are the Scorpion and the Viper? The Scorpion is thought to be Milara and the Viper is rumored to be an old god that has returned. Apparently Milara has set his sights on the gods before. He has been focusing on Rofirein but now has attacked Toran.
This is troubling. If the gods themselves are in danger from Blood then what can we do? I have been putting it off because I thought I didnt need it, but perhaps it is time to actually get some faith. I know the tenets of Rofirein but it always seemed like a joke to me. Then again perhaps this is a sign that I am finally on the right path. I say finally because there is something inside the back of my head that has always been there. Call it a conscience or what ever you will. It is a voice that I have ignored until now. Perhaps it is time to stop putting it off and return to the temple and ask for some guidance. Is this the reason that I have this desire to know everything I can about dragons? Is it Rofirein guiding me or someone, something else?
-
My personal issues must wait. As much as I feel compelled to push onward with my quest for knowledge, I must make sacrifices for this little town that I have come to call home, Hlint. As usual, I was with Iradril and Tha'Azail Neverborn. We had decided to go to the Grey Peak mountains to search for Juanita the Horse Trader's lost horse. I suggested we look in the doorway carved into the mountain. So, we journeyed into the mountains. What we found was not expected. As we rounded the corner of the mountain, we stumbled into a....man? I am not sure. I was behind Iradril and Tha and saw them come to an abrupt halt. I sensed from their stance that they were surprised by something and I nocked an arrow. He was wearing blue robes and carried a staff-like weapon that seemed to be glowing. I dont know if it is from fear or maybe a sense of self preservation, but I let loose the arrow. It flew true but simply bounced off of the man. The funny thing is...or rather the scary thing is, he did not even seem to notive that I had shot him! Actually, thinking back on it, he didnt seem to notice the three of us there either. He just studied the mountains around the doorway and the rest of the surrounding area. I apporached him to at least offer my apologies. Now, he noticed us! He turned to the three of us and it said: "Leave or Die." It was so cold and emotionless that it seemed like he was just stating a simple fact. If we dont leave here, we will die. It was like he was only acknowledging us as if we were bugs and he was giving us a head start before he swatted us down. We all ran away but my curiosity got the better of me. It always does. I crept up to the top of a hill and peered over it back to the doorway. Iradril followed me up as well. We just sat there watching him for a while. He seemed intent on the mountain and kept looking up and studying it. Then he was gone. I wont say that he disappeared in front of our eyes, but one second he was there and another he was gone. I cant say that he was evil, but I did not get a good feeling about him. Obviously he was someone powerful. I had to know who this was.
We ran back to Hlint to see if anyone there had ever seen anyone matching his description. Curiously enough, Hlint was empty. How is that for a strange occurrence! We went into the Wild Surge Inn to see if anyone was there. No one again. I figured I would try my luck talking to Ragrian. She actually stopped what she was doing and talked to me! How fortuitous. I asked her if she could answer a question for me and her subtle nature shone through. She waved a coin purse in front of my nose. I consulted with Iradril and Tha and they agreed that it was worth the cost for the information. We pooled our gold and I waved a bag of gold in front of her. She agreed ot answer my question about this person we encountered.
Unfortunately, she had no information about the man, but I did find out what the doorway in the mountain leads to. It is Storan's Crypt. Ragrian suggested that the person was Storan, but I dont think so. I feel something more sinister is going on here.
After a night's rest I went back to the Inn and posted a message regarding the incident and asked if anyone had seen this person as well. After a few hours I returned to the Inn and noticed someone had wrote a note attached to mine. It was from someone named Zemik. He described an encounter almost identical to my own. He claims it was Milara himself that threatened him!
So now you know why I must sacrifice my own quest to help Hlint. If this truly was Milara then I must do what I can to thwart any plans he has. I dont know what I can do, but I have to try. I have posted another note calling on adventurers to aid me in investigating this person and the GreyPeak Mountains. There must be some clue as to why he was there. We just have to find it.
Owen Lo'Kiar
Resident of Hlint
Bard Extraordinaire
-
Iradril and Tha'Azail and I were standing in Hlint by the bank when something happened that I have never seen. A horse came galloping down the road! Yes you are reading that correctly. A horse! Apparently there was a package delivery for Garent. We all stood there and watched him look over the package. The captain looked us over and then told us that the package was meant for Lieutenant Stirmore in Fort Valensk. We all chimed in that we would deliver it for the captain. Of course, Garent didnt choose me to bear the package but a paladin named Tobin. He was a paladin of Rofirein so I shouldnt complain. He would be the most trustworthy of the bunch of us.
We left for Fort Velensk. Along the way there were several packs of dogs that attacked us and targeted Tobin. I thought this was quite strange. What was in this package? We made our way through several attacks by these animals and finally reached Fort Velensk. Lieutenant Stirmore was outside and we handed him the package.
As we were talking to him, a raggedy man ran out and spoke some gibberish. I say gibberish because it sounded like no language at all. Then he ran. The guards made chase and the party did as well. The guards fell back though. We finally cornered the man and forced him to talk. He claimed he was a prisoner and that the guards were beating him and starving him! I repeatedly asked him what his crime was, but he dodged the question. Several of the group offered food to the poor man as well. When he finished eating though, instead of thanking us, he ran away!
Brisbane suggested that we investigate his claims about the prison. So back to the fort we went. Inside the prison we were confronted by more rats than live in the sewers of Hlint. I know that is hard to believe but if you were there, you would agree. They seem to come from all angles at once. The floor disappeared in the onslaught. Brisbane however must be a powerful mage of some fashion. She called down lightning from the sky and it fried the rats instantly! The smell was almost too much to bear.
The guards arrive then and the ensuing conversation revealed much. The guards were using the prison to store meat. I guess there was some market for the meat and money to be made. However, it was illegal. We asked where the prisoners were since they were not in the prison. The guards were keeping them in the citizens' housing! This was unacceptable! After unsuccessfully trying to find more information, we ran into an old man. He was the only one willing to talk to us. He asked us to inform Garent of the goings on here at Fort Velensk.
On the way to Hlint, Plenarius joins us. Well. He joined Bris. We just happened to be there. I had many questions for Plenarius and said as much. Thankfully, he agreed to try to answer some if he had time. So, we headed back to Hlint. Once there we informed Garent of the situation. He let us know that he was going to start an investigation. Let's hope they are brought to justice. Who lets prisoners out of prison and then lets them stay in their house?
Finally, I could talk to Plenarius. I asked him about Blood's generals. Both he and Bris described them to us, but while useful, the information did not solve my dilemma. I still did not know who we saw in the mountains. Plenarius and Bris were obviously curious now why we were asking of the generals. I relayed our encounter with the man in the Grey Peaks to them. They were skeptical that it was a general until I told them on Zemik's run in with Milara and how it was so similar to ours. Now, they were very interested.
We went over the details of the incident again and after some discussion, it was decided that it must have been Milara or Eon. Plenarius seemed to think it was Eon and after finding out that Milara was drow, we agreed. I would hope that Iradril and I would know if we saw a drow! So, it was decided that Eon was snooping around the GreyPeaks. We now turned to the reason why.
I informed them that I had called together a team to investigate the area to search for clues. We all agreed it was dangerous, but the risk to gain information was more than worth it. If we could avert an attack on Hlint or another on Fort Llast? That would make some people stand up and take notice. Maybe then they would see that I am not just another drow.
We thanked Plenarius and Bris for their time and headed of for some rest. Tomorrow was a big day.
-
I stood outside of the Wild Surge and waited for my group to arrive. There were more than I expected and I was beginning to contemplate if I was going to have to ask some to leave. This investigation required a small and quiet group. Once everyone arrived, there were 6 of us including myself. Tha'Azail was still meditating but I knew he would find us when he was able. So there were seven of us in total. This was going to be interesting. We moved to the Inn and headed to a table in the back. Once we sat down I told our story of meeting Eon and how we needed to find clues to why he was there. Some were quite impatient during my telling. What can I say? I have a talent at weaving a tale. Some just did not appreciate it. A few left. That was just as well. If they had stayed it may have landed us in trouble. Not that we didn't land there anyway.
Once Tha'Azail joined us we ventured to the GreyPeaks. We scouted the area and dispatched of some ogres so we could safely investigate. It was slow going. I really was not sure what we were looking for to be honest and I had let the group know that we may not find anything. Unfortunately, Zemik grew very impatient and decided to leave. I posed the idea of venturing into Storan's crypt to the rest of the group. We all decided to look into the crypt.
We should have stayed out. Let's just leave this part of the story out. Suffice it to say that we were overwhelmed by the creatures that inhabit the crypt and quickly left. Some by other means than walking, myself included.
At this point, we were standing near the hills that lead to the GreyPeaks. The group was very discouraged by the turn of events. I tried to boost their spirits by singing a song with my newly crafted tamborine. They must have felt that the tamborine is not exactly my style because they were still in a sour mood. After some discussion, most of the group left for other tasks. Iradril, Tha'Azail, a man named Peto, and myself were the only ones that remained. We decided to continue searching but further into the GreyPeaks this time. Peto seemed to be a good scout and could warn us of the ogres that stood in our way. Unfortunately, the number and ferocity of some were too much for us.
I was in such a sour mood now that I said as much to Iradril and Tha'Azail. They must have sensed it as well. I dont know if they felt as storngly about this as I did, but I was quite upset. This was my chance to really do some good for the town of Hlint and Fort Llast. It was something that would perhaps convince the peoples there that I meant no harm. Unfortunately, it must not have been meant to be.
Or was it? We made our way back out of the mountains. We were on the road between Fort Llast and Hlint when we saw him. Eon. He was making his way into the mountains again. We must really seem insignificant to him. He did not even acknowledge us again. He simply walked by as if we did not exist. My curiosity grabbed hold of me once more. That or maybe my desire to prove myself. I dont know. I followed him into the mountains. I tried to stay far behind him and just try to see what he was doing without being seen. He must have recognized me from the last time we met. It must be the hat. He looked right at me and said "Do you want to Die?"
Well you know, I really didnt know what to say. I know it is hard to believe from me of course, but what do you say to someone like that? A lich! I stammered out a "No sir." He stared at me a minute and said "Then leave." Well, I must be foolhardy. I turned to leave and then circled around again. The others must have accepted the terms and did not follow me. I crept up a hill and peeked over the top. Eon was still scanning the mountains and looking for something. What could it be?
I must have made a noise or maybe he saw the hat again. I dont know, but he turned and looked right at where I was hiding again! He chased me back to the foothills leading out of the mountains. My party was there waiting for me. I yelled "RUN!" but Peto must have decided to try to hold him off for us. I think it was Peto. I was running so fast that I was not sure. Why did Peto stay? I had told them all to run. I looked back in time to see Eon sending some magical circle of death or something towards Peto. He was killed instantly. Why didnt he run?
The rest of us ran as fast as we could to Hlint. I had to find Plenarius or Bris. They would know what to do. I couldnt find them though. No one seemed to know where to look either. Ragrian was busy with her show at the Inn. Then, fate smiled upon me. Talan arrived in Hlint. I pulled him aside and the three of us described what happened. We were joined by Gulnyr, a dwarf that apparently Talan annoys all the time. He cast some sort of spell on him that made him "sparkly." Gulnyr was quite mad at this! We were discussing Eon's purpose when Talan saw someone he thought would help us. He introduced us to Rhizome.
Rhizome agreed to tell us about Eon and why he was here on Mistone. There is a Bloodpool here on Mistone! Or at least there will be. Eon's purpose is to build one here. However, there is a glimmer of hope in all of this. Katia apparently thinks that Eon is still able to be saved. Or so Rhizome says. I must consult with Plenarius and Bris on this. If we could save Eon then we could deal two significant and damaging blows to Blood. He would have no new bloodpool and he would lose a general.
My personal goals must be put on hold while this matter is dealt with. Although...Rhizome seems to be very knowledgeable. Perhaps he knows who Aeridin's strongest is. I must remember to ask him later. Dealing with Eon is much more important than my quest for Draconic knowledge. Although if I can get a little bit of information it wouldnt hurt.
-
Questions....
Answers....
And the answers bring more questions....
For that matter, are the answers really answering my questions?
Divine riddles and demons haunt my dreams...
But they are nothing to the dreams of Dragons.
I met Iradril and Gulnyr the dwarf in the goblin wastelands. Soon Tha'Azail joined us. I met someone named Pang as well. She was a dancer and thought my music was wonderful. I must remember that. Perhaps we could put on some dance and music show. Wouldnt that be grand!
I received word from Rhizome that he would meet us to listen to my questions. He seemed to be full of wisdom the other night when he spoke to us about Eon. We met him in Hlint and journeyed to the Ranger's Vale in the Sielwood. We sat in the woods and rested ourselves before we spoke. Rhizome took a deep breath and began. I guess he had overheard me speaking about my questions the other night. He took it upon himself to investigate them further. Was this a stroke of luck or some divine gift? I was thinking this to myself when I was shocked by what Rhizome said next. He was meditating on who the strongest of Aeridin could be when Aeridin himself appeared to him in a vision. Tha'Azail nearly fainted when he heard this! Truly Rhizome is Aeridin's strongest. Aeridin gave Rhizome a message regarding the dragons:
"To gather life around oneself there must be balance, to preserve life one must have goodness, to recycle life one must have a solid cycle and often that includes evil. Those that are lost destroy this process."
A riddle. From what I hear though, divine messages are always in riddles. Something lost in the translation I suppose. Once Tha'Azail recovered, we discussed what this riddle might mean.
The goodness must refer to the metallics and Rofirein. The evil then refers to the chromatics and Pyrtechon. So the real question was what or who are 'those that are lost?' We pondered this question for a time. The metallics seem to be lost or hiding. That is why I began this quest for answers. Tha'Azail chimed in about undead being lost. I ignored him since he always seems to guide conversation to undead.
As we sat in thought, Rhizome mentioned that there are rumors that the Green was slain by Blood's forces and the body carried away. It must have jarred something loose in my brain. I connected what Tha'Azail was saying and what Rhizome was saying. What if Blood is killing the dragons and then by some dark and corrupted ritual, turning them into undead dragons under his control? As Tha'Azail had said, the undead are lost to the cycle of life. Rhizome seemed to think it was plausible but it required more investigation. It is the only theory I have to explain the riddle. I must contemplate more on this later.
I was saying something about secrets when Rhizome told us that he thinks he remembers when all of the secret keepers went on a quest and gained that knowledge. He was also willing to tell us! Apparently, they went to the Great Forest to speak to someone that lives there. A powerful wizard by the name of, Ozlo. He is apparently Katia's first follower.
I was more than excited now. Perhaps this is a chance to get to the bottom of this secret and help the metallics! Rhizome must have seen how anxious I was and to my utter disbelief, he offered to guide us there. I wanted to leave that instant. Then I heard that the Great Forest was on Xantril, home of the demon general. Not a nice place. So, I pushed my excitement down and we all made the decision to wait until a party of hardy and skilled adventurers could aid us in the cause. I must post a note in the Wild Surge.
We thanked Rhizome and all headed to the campfire in the vale. It was peaceful there and it seemed like a good place to sit and think. Lost ones. What else could it be? I hope Ozlo has more answers for me. But then my answers always seem to bring more questions. I must push forward though. I am closer to my goal. I can feel it.
-
"To gather life around oneself there must be balance, to preserve life one must have goodness, to recycle life one must have a solid cycle and often that includes evil. Those that are lost destroy this process."
I say it countless times in my mind. Turning it over again and again. I have tried to look at it from every angle but I keep coming back to the undead dragon theory. I suppose if every other angle doesnt produce a more credible theory then the only thing left to do is go with the one that feels right. But it just feels incomplete.
Or maybe that is just me. There is something inside of me that feels empty or rather... I dont know how to put it into words. Hard to believe, eh?
I think I have reached a point where I dont know where to go. What I mean here I guess is I am trying to find that something missing inside of me. The Dragons, and more specifically, the Metallics, are part of it I have no doubt. When I talk about them and in anything I do that involves them I feel...alive. It is like nothing I have ever felt before. But there is something more. Something else calling me. It is like when I leave a dark place and come into the light. I am blinded. I know something is out there, just beyond my reach. It dances just on the outside of my vision, tempting me. I reach out my hand out to touch it, to find what it is. But I never reach it. My hand grasps at nothing. It drives me mad at times. What is this force that pushes me forward just to hold me back!?
I am going on a trip to the Great Forest with several others that answered my note at the Wild Surge. I hope to find some answers there. At least to my questions on the Metallics. I dont feel that this will answer the questions I have inside though. I have thought about it and I think my only avenue from here is to do something that I swore I would never do. I must pray to Rofirein. I told myself after I left the temple, that Rofirein and his followers were nothing but fools. I think I may have even offended the high priest on my way out. I don't think I have much choice anymore though.
I dont know why, but I feel like something bigger is afoot here. Something beyond me, but .... through me perhaps?
-
I was pleasantly surprised today! Again I have to wonder. Is it luck...or something more. I walked into Hlint and who was talking around the well but Rhizome, Plenarius, Brisbane, Iradril, Tha'Azail, and several others. They were discussing Eon and other happenings. Blood's troops are on the move. I asked Rhizome if there was any evidence to confirm the rumor of the Green's death. It took most by surprise I think. Rhizome simply brushed it off and said that he had not heard any more on it. It caused a commotion though within the group. It was then decided that we should investigate the lair and confirm for ourselves if the Dragon had been killed. Iradril had to stay behind to attend to his studies. He is improving with his magic. I can see it every day. I guess the studying is doing him good.
So we all set off to find the Green's lair. It took us to Port Hampshire and onto a boat! We sailed to Point Harbor and from there we walked. We ran into a group of something that I never did get a good look at. Our scouts found them and came back to warn us. I was listening to the group argue over whether we should have walked around them or confront them. I thought it better to avoid conflict and go around. I believe Brisbane said the same thing. The rest of the group wanted to fight. I should say here that Plenarius did not want to fight them just to fight. He wanted to guage how we were in a fight and how we were as a party. Sound thinking but unfortunately, it did not quite work out. It seemed like a big confusing mess with everyone running everywhere and it looked like our group would get overwhelmed. At the last minute, the hostile group met their end and our party prevailed! It must have been my song that pushed them on to victory.
Afterwards, we walked to Karthy. A big city but not nearly a match for the splendor of Port Hampshire. We waited there because some of our group went missing. Plenarius, Brisbane, Gulnyr, and some others. In the end, it was Rhizome, Talan, Path, Dyness, Tha'Azail, and myself who made the boat trip. I am not sure where we sailed to since Rhizome talked to the captain. We had not sailed far, as the dock was still well within view, when Tha'Azail fell overboard! He must have been trying to get a better look at the large fish that were swimming next to the boat and jumping out of the water. Luckily, he was not wearing any armor. His head bobbed above the water and I saw him swimming back to the docks. I was glad to see that he was ok.
The city that we docked at was like nothing I had ever seen. The structure of their houses and buildings was so different that I do not know how to describe it. Probably because I was distracted so by the message posted around town. The post said that the Green Dragon was slain by Blood's forces and the body was carried away by magical means.
Well if that was not proof then I dont know what is. Talan seemed convinced as well but wanted to see what the Dragon's lair looked like and if there was anything left behind. Rhizome mentioned traps and monks and extreme danger. Dyness made it very clear that she wanted to go. Path seemed as if he would be happy either way. I mentioned that I thought we should get a bigger group and be more prepared. Rhizome said that this was wise thinking. Who would have ever thought Rhizome would have called me wise? Well...at least in a roundabout way he did. Anyway, we decided to at least scout around the area to see if we could make it into the lair.
There were monks as everyone thought, but their encampment was burning and destroyed. Clearly more proof that Blood's forces had made their way through here. We climbed the steps to the lair and were confronted by giants! Several of the group attempted to cast spells, but the magic went crazy. It almost seemed as if it was bouncing back on us instead of the giants. Talan called it wild magic or something. I tried to help by adding my voice to the effort. My arrows were hitting them, but they seemed to just make the giants angry. Finally, the final giant was felled and we were all in need of a rest. Since the ground in a forest is much softer than the hard stone ground of the lair, we were going outside to rest and attempt to make our way back in.
Well, at least that was the plan. I thought I was following the party out the lair, when I looked around and saw no one. I turned around to retrace my steps. I didnt see anything familiar though. Where was I and how did I get so far from the entrance of the lair? It was nowhere to be seen. I couldnt be lost again could I? I was getting frantic. I looked around and still found nothing that I could recognize. Lost again. After hours of wandering I collapsed from exhaustion.
When I awoke, I was in Hlint of all places. How can this be? I was far from here when I last closed my eyes. I was in a weakened state as well. The same feeling as when the bindstone grabs my very soul and doesnt let go until I find myself in Hlint. This is very curious.
Iradril and Tha'Azail found me standing there and wondered what had happened on our mission. I explained what had happened all the way up to and including my getting lost. I also began to explain some of my thoughts on what had happend recently. I was really wondering why Aeridin had appeared to Rhizome. Was it because he was asking for guidance about Dragons or was it to answer my questions? I am not saying that I am so important to warrant the God's attention, but I just was trying to piece it all together. Tha'Azail mentioned that even though Rofirein and Aeridin are not allies, perhaps they have a common purpose regarding Dragons and the fight against Blood. Perhaps Rofirein asked Aeridin to speak to Rhizome so that I could get the message. I suppose anything is possible.
We turned to the fact that both times I went out to find a Dragon, I got lost. Tha'Azail in his faith, surmised that I was not lost at all but in the hands of Rofirein. I wondered aloud why something would push me to find the Dragons but then hold me back when the opportunity presents itself. Tha'Azail and Iradril both believe that Rofirein wants me to find the Dragons and to continue in my quest, but I am not ready to stand before them. Tha'Azail went a step further to say that perhaps Rofirein wants me to find the Metallics and that the reason I have not made it to a Dragon thus far is because each time I was going to see a Chromatic Dragon.
This is beginning to perhaps make a little sense. If that is the case at least. I hope it is. It would take a weight from my mind that at least there is some purpose behind this hunger. This need to immerse myself in the quest for knowledge.
Tha'Azail asked me how my prayer went the other night. I was ashamed that I did not pray. I just could not see how or why Rofirein would answer me. I turned my back on him and his followers. I made fun of them. If anything, I would probably be struck down for even trying to pray to him.
I must say here that if nothing else, my friend Tha'Azail is a devout and faithful follower of Aeridin. His faith and love for his god reflects in everything he does. He explained to me that even though I had turned my back on him, Rofirein did not necessarily return the favor. If our thoughts on what has been happening to me are correct, then I guess it is safe to assume that that is true.
I am determined to go through with it now. I will offer a prayer to Rofirein and see what comes of it. I dont expect an answer. I just have to do something. Something to guide me in this quest. If I cannot look to the Great Golden Wyrm for guidance on Dragons then who can I turn to?
-
"Rofirein. I dont believe that I have ever really prayed to you. I mean I've said the words, went through the motions, but never had my heart in it. Well, hear my heart now. Some things have been happening to me lately. I dream of Dragons. My thoughts turn to Dragons. My life lately is consumed with them. Yet, it seems like every time I get close to my goal by meeting one, I am turned away. I become lost and when I wake I am somewhere else. Is this your doing? Are your wings sheltering me and protecting me from something? Do you have a plan for me? Is it your hand that is pushing me, guiding me? I feel compelled to push onward by someone or something. I am journeying into great danger soon in my search for answers. To the demon lands of Xantril, into the Great Forest to speak to Katia's first follower. I know you have no reason to, but I am asking you...no begging you to send me your aid. Guide my steps through to safety and to the answers I seek. I..."
I really dont know why I wrote this here. I suppose I did it just to be accurate in the chronicles of my life and journeys. He wont answer me anyway. Why would he? I dont know why I even tried. I am no good at praying anyway.
-
*Owen stumbles to the campfire outside of Hlint and falls to his knees. He looks haggard and exhausted. A far cry from his normal self. He slowly looks around to see if anyone is around. Tha'Azail Neverborn is praying to Aeridin across the campfire from Owen. No one else is around. Owen removes his hat, lowers his head and closes his eyes. He speaks under his breath...*
"Rofirein
I am sorry to have doubted you. *His eyes close tight here* I should have known you were guiding my step. I should have known that you were sheltering me from harm. I should have known that you have a plan for me. *His eyes Reveal it to me. I feel it inside me but I do not know what it is or where it is leading me. I am doing what I feel you have placed me here to do. I have seen your sign and I accept this task you have placed before me. Show me the path and I will...."
*As he speaks these last words, Owen falls face down onto the ground and passes out.*
*Later, the next day, Owen sits down at the fire and pulls out his journal. A serious look comes over his face as he stares into the fire. After several minutes, he nods his head and begins to write.*
I have had an awakening. I doubted Rofirein and he has chosen to forgive me. Not only that, he has chosen to smack this foolish, former unbeliever over the head with a sign. A sign I am not allowed to discuss at this point. I am honorbound to not speak of it and I will not break that covenant. Suffice it to say it was a sign that could not be ignored. Rofirein is guiding my steps. Of this I am sure.
Several days ago, I met with Iradril, Tha'Azail, Rhizome, Talan, and his sister, Lalaith. Let me say here before I continue that Lalaith was easy on my eyes. I think Talan did not appreciate it though. We were out at the campfire in the Ranger Vale discussing the trip to the Great Forest when Plenarius and Brisbane approached and told a story of their wedding. Apparently, Blood himself had made a comment that they would suffer his wrath. Plen and Bris went to see the Seilwood witch to ask her what this meant. I am not sure what was said by the witch, but when they had heard that we were going to the Great Forest and going to talk to Ozlo, they decided to come along. Being a follower of Katia as well as who Ozlo is, Plenarius took the lead. We travelled to Leilon to try to procure a ship.
Brisbane attempted to beguile a captain using her...um...womanly charm. Once the captain heard that we were trying to travel to Xantril, he backed away and would not be bribed. Talan and Lalaith were going to steal the ship, but I interceded. I would not be part of the theft of a ship. In the midst of our discussion, Rhizome and Brisbane had walked to the water. They were trying to decide if they could change their shape to become whales and pull us to Xantril! This would be a very long trip and I would not want to see harm come to Rhizome or Brisbane. Plenarius must have had the same thoughts. He decided to try one of the other captains. This one was much more receptive, but was still not willing to take us to Xantril. But after much persuasion...and money, he was willing to take us.
We sailed for what must have been forever. We finally got sight of Xantril. I was brimming with excitement. I was so excited that I missed the attack. We were attacked by these fishlike humanoids. They were everywhere. We fought countless of these creatures. They seemed to keep climbing over the rails of the ship. Endless numbers of them. Lightning appeared from the sky and scorched the creatures where they stood. Unfortunately, the boat was damaged as well. We began taking on water and still the creatures were coming. Always more coming over the rails. They deck was littered with the bodies of the dead and they still came on. The boat was sinking closer to the water. Closer to our ineveitable death. Was there no end to these creatures? Would we die here...in the ocean...where no one would know or remember us?
Rhizome moved quickly at this point. He ran to the railing and jumped overboard. He called to us to abondon the ship. Then he changed in front of our eyes into a giant whale. Brisbane joined Rhizome in the water and she changed as well. We all jumped on Rhizome and Brisbane and they carried us to Xantril. It was a long trip. The group was beginning to get discouraged when I began to sing. I let everyone know that we needed to no give in. We were going to make it!
We eventually made it to the shore and every one collapsed. I was quite worried about Rhizome and Brisbane. They were unconscious and not responding. Tha'Azail attempted healing Rhizome and Plen seemed to be trying to help Brisane. It was a trying time those first few hours. I continued to try to sing to the two unconscious and give them the strength. After a time, they did finally revive. We gathered ourselves and headed out. Rhizome lead the way since he had a connection to the forest.
After several hours of trekking through the forest, we saw many sights. It was truly spectacular. It was nothing compared to the GReat Oak though. There are no words to describe the feelings I had when I saw the tree. I am no follower of Katia and nature has never really meant much to me other than to offer a nice setting in which to woo the ladies. With that being said, I can understand Plenarius, Brisbane, and Rhizome's devotion. It was impressive. To know that Ozlo lives in the Great Oak only solidifies my belief that this is an important moment for me. Although at the time, I did not know it.
We climbed the tree and... climbed...and climbed. To the top of the tree we went and walked in. We met a curious fellow who had us all sign our names three times in one book. Then we had to sign again in another. Little did I know at the time that it would bind me to the covenant of silence. I didnt care at the time and I do not care now. The promise made was well worth it. I was then and I am now on the path set before me.
I cannot reveal at this time what happened beyond this. All I can say is that change is coming. A welcome change. A change in the world and a change to the war. A change that can turn the tide of Blood and his relentless pursuit of revenge.
I can only hope that further entries from this point will be of good news. Perhaps at that point I can elaborate.
*Owen closes the book and closes his eyes again.*
-
Today I was in Hlint and decided to walk through the Seilwood to Talan's house to see if there were any developments in the task that was set before us. As I walked up to the house, I noticed Lalaith sitting outside. She seemed a little distracted and as if something was wrong. I asked her if she was well and her response troubled me. She said she was 'well enough.' As we walked into the house and sat down, I pressed her a bit for what was wrong. She tried to pass it off as nothing but I could see something was bothering her. She started into a story then about what had transpired after our meeting with Ozlo.
The party had been sent to Voltrex to speak with the one who apparently has the items that we need. They were given four tasks to perform. Tests Lalaith had called them. The first one, they had to go to the coral dungeon and obtain the dream from the dreamer. It made little sense to me and she said that the group was puzzled as well. They had to go though. This task must be completed. So they get to the dungeon and make the trek to the bottom. There, behind a massive door, are demons. But there is a child as well with wings. After that, the entire party fell unconscious and found themselves in Arabel in the pouring down rain. They had all had the same dream though. Lalaith recounted the dream for me. It is chilling...
There was a great darkness. Not like the shadows or the night, but a magical darkness that cannot be pierced.
Then the sounds of something coming closer. Closer. Closer. The sound of bone scraping over stone. The sound of worn cloth crumbling from age.
And then it appears. This undead...mummy of sorts. It peers at her and falls upon her. She is dead and yet she can still see what is happening. She is aware of everything but is frozen. She can do nothing to stop this creature from falling on her.
Until she becomes the creature...she shambled among the others in the party as this creature. This...mummy and began to change the party as well. She took their bodies and made them mummies as well.
After that it got blurry and she woke up.
A frightening tale to be sure. The scariest part of it all is that the nightmare returns every time Lalaith closes her eyes. We can only hope that this is the task and that this is what was meant by obtaining the dream.
Lalaith was clearly tired and beaten from the ordeal and its after effects. I tried to offer her my help but she was holding back. As we talked, she began to open up a bit. I learned some things about her that I will keep from you, the reader right now. We spoke of some things that I feel were very private to Lalaith and I do not want to betray any confidences that I may have gained with her.
So, I sat and listened to her story. It was a sad one and full of tragedy. There is more here that needs told but she is not ready to tell it I think. I think she may not know if she can trust me enough yet. I can only offer my ear and my friendship. In time she may come around. My heart aches at the pain she has endured. It seems that pain is the way of the world of late. Perhaps I can do a little something to lessen it a bit for Lalaith though.
She was very tired after talking. I am not sure, but I think she was even a little surprised by how much she told me. She got out of her chair to retire when I offered to help her. She looked skeptical and I think a little off guard. I was very embarrassed. My foot apparently wanted in my mouth. What I had in mind was a little lullaby to perhaps make her dreams a little safer. I guess maybe guard her sleep from the nightmares.
We went to her bedroom and I turned my back as she changed to her bedclothes. If nothing else, I would not be known as a scoundrel. She slipped into the bed and closed her eyes. I sat at the head of the bed and began to sing softly to her. She must have been exhausted because she immediately fell asleep. Not the deepest sleep right away, but she was asleep. As I continued to sing, it seemed that she was falling into a more restful sleep. A peaceful sleep. I finished my lullaby and watched for a little while. Her sleep seemed to be free of nightmares. At least for the moment. Adter several minutes I decided that it was time to leave. I reached down and brushed her hair from her face. As I turned to leave I kissed my fingertips and laid them on her forehead. "Sleep well Lalaith. Dream good dreams" I said a silent prayer to Rofirein to watch over her in her slumber and quietly left the room and continued outside to the ranger vale.
I do hope that Lalaith begins to trust me. There is more to her story. Not that it is simply a story to me. It felt...right to listen to her and help her. I am not saying that fate had me here at this time and in this place, but it felt good to ease her pain a bit.
-
I have finally seen why Iradril and Tha'Azail were so apprehensive when I mentioned the Haven mines. They tried to explain it to me but it really didnt mean much to me until I experienced it. The Haven mines are flooded with ogres. Some of them would go into a rage when they saw us. Their effectiveness in melee was amplified several times over. They are a gruesome foe that continue to bash away at you even as they are cut and stabbed. Luckily, there were several of us there that had been in a battle before and could keep a cool head. Too many times we get into these groups that rush into battle with no thought on how to win. They get struck down before we can even catch up to help. This group was quite smart though. Connor went with us so I was comfortable with anything we faced. He seemed to take command as we went to Haven. He had been there before and knew what we would face. We ventured down and encountered a few stray ogres. Then we entered a large room. There were several ogres guarding the entrance we engaged them and then all hell broke loose. Ogre after ogre came down on us. The frontline fighters hacked and slashed again and again. My arrows were flying as fast as I could draw them. From behind me the mages let loose the weave upon their foes. Arrows of light shot forth over my head and pounded the ogres as they continued to bash away at my companions. Finally, after what seemed to be forever, it was over. Bodies were piled high and blocking our way. We literally had to climb over them to continue on. One of the mages went through the clothing of the ogres looking for gold. I cant say I will refuse my share, but I am glad it was not me that had to rifle through their clothes. Filthy creatures. We encountered several other strays before we came to another larger room. Again there were many ogres. The ones that went into a frenzy were all over here. they seemed to have a slightly different shade of skin than the normal ogre. I will have to remember that for the future. Again we unleashed our own type of fury and smote our enemies down where they stood. It was a refreshing sight to see a cohesive group and how effective we could be. We stopped to catch our breath. Some of the mages tried to get some rest but they were unable to concentrate on their spell books. Connor noticed this and let everyone know that the mines were cursed. No one would be able to get any rest while they were there. It affected everyone. Knowing this, we made the decision to return to the surface. We should have left earlier. As we turned to leave we were set upon by more ogres. They streamed into the room and came down upon us. We had a disciplined group though as I said. We lined back up in our formation and dealt death to the ogres as quickly as they came. When we finished, we ran through the mines to the surface. In the room that we had already battled, there were more ogres. They had moved the bodies of the dead and were gathered together in the room. One of the mages, I dont remember who, took advantage of their closeness. I felt the heat gathering behind me at first. I was startled and turned to see what was making the heat. As I turned I saw a ball about the size of my fist floating in the air in front of the mage. It was a ball of fire. It was spinning and fire was dripping from it and sizzling on the floor. I moved to the side and put my back to the wall. The ball was still spinning but it began to grow. It kept growing and growing until it was bigger than I could get my arms around. The mage acted as if he was picking the ball up then and then he literally threw it at the ogres. It spun and flew through the air until it hit the middle of the pack of ogres. I had to turn aside and shield my eyes a bit as the fireball exploded in the room. The smell of burnt flesh filled the room. The stench was overwhelming. We all made our way out of the room and we ran out of the mines. We finally had a chance to get some rest. We split the loot and everyone was making their way back to Hlint. I pulled Connor aside and asked about the dreams. He knew what I was asking and said that he was not with the original group so he did not have the nightmares. However, he did go with the group to return the dream to the Speaker. Connor did not know though if Lalaith was free of it. I will have to speak to Talan. Surely he was there as well. I hope that the nightmares are gone. There is no need for her to have that to suffer through as well as the rest.
-
I have been spending more and more time in the Great Library. Researching several things. For one, I have been doing the readings I should have done in the temple in my youth. I have no designs of becoming a priest but I believe that I should at least try to follow the teachings and tenets of Rofirein. He has me here for a purpose and I should do what I can to live up to him. On that note, I have to speak to Plenarius. I would rather speak to Ozlo but Plenarius is as close as I can get. Who knows, Ozlo would most likely not even see me. Regardless, I must speak to him about what I can do to do my part. Ozlo has laid this task on us but I am not able to help. I feel useless and as if I am letting both Rofirein as well as Ozlo down in this. Surely there is something I can do to prove myself and aid in this endeavor.
Which brings me to the second subject I research. I have long heard rumors of a drow city somewhere where they dont constantly battle each other for power. It is not full of baby killing, murderous, betrayers but of those who have escaped that life. It is a hidden city. I want to find it. I am slowly starting to fit in here in Hlint. At least I think I am. It is hard sometimes to know. I have friends of course, but I want a place to call home. A place where there are no people who look at you as if you just slit their mother's throat. There has to be something here in the Great Library that will lead me to it.
All of this research has given me much to ponder. An idea is hatching in my mind regarding Ozlo's task. Or rather once the task is completed. I dare not write it here lest it fall into the wrong hands. I will speak of it once I speak to Plenarius. He will be able to tell me if this idea has merit. I hope it does. I will finally be able to contribute to this cause.
-
I ventured out from the Great Library today. I was glad that I did. I ran into a group led by Ragrian of all people to Palden Lake. I followed them and ended up at the overlook point where we could see the little island down in the water. We sat down and Ragrian began telling several tales. It was interesting. All of the tales concerned Brownies. Or rather the origin of Brownies. The first tale concerned Deliar and a pixie. It was apparently quite a torrid affair. But, Deliar moved on to other pursuits. The pixie was of course devastated but realized that she was with child. So, with the help of the other pixies, she carried the child to term and gave birth. It turned out to be children. She gave birth to a boy and a girl. They grew to be larger than pixies, but still smaller than halflings. They called them Brownies.
The second tale was a darker sort. It concerned a half-elf wizard consumed with magical breeding. He was breeding several races together. He encountered a halfing then. She was a perfect halfing. The wizard enticed the halfling back to his laboratory by talking about his many experiments and playing on the poor girl's curiosity. Once he got her in the laboratory though, he confined her and he brought out a male pixie. He tied them down and began an evil ritual breeding. There, from the magical forces swirling around formed a pod. It pulsed and pulsed until it opened. Out climbed two creatures. The Brownies.
The third tale is what the Brownies consider to be their origin. Back in the past, when the dragons flew the skies, the Fey walked the land. The Fey intermingled. Many of the ancient races came from these unions. One of these races were the Brownies.
Then, the last tale that Ragrian told was that of a particular Brownie named Trink. He was out with some friends gathering some berries. When they had harvested enough berries, they returned to their home to find it under attack by someone or something. Fire and acid rained from the sky. Their home was being utterly destroyed. They turned and fled. Balls of fire came crashing down. The poor Brownies ran for their lives. They ran until they could not run anymore. They found a ship and hid themselves aboard. To pay for their way, they did jobs on the ship during the night, unseen. Once they reached Mistone, the Brownies seperated. Trink made his way to a small farm. He found a nice hiding spot and settled in. Again he did the odd job during the night to pay for what little food he used and the space he used. Until one day the farmer got curious and snuck out in the early morning and waited to see what was happening. He found Trink but meant no harm.
Trink was too afraid though. He ran again. This time he stopped in Hlint. In an inn called the Wild Surge Inn he found a small area in the kitchen to hide. Until Ragrian discovered him. She convinced him to trust her. And in turn convinced him to trust us.
At that, Trink appeared before us. He confirmed the last tale as truth. He was an interesting little guy. I dare say he could almost be called...cute. There really is no other way to describe him. He was a cute little guy. He asked us to look out for any other Brownies and to treat them as we treated him. Then he left. I hope he finds a safe place to be and stops running.
After he left, I went back to the Library. There is so much to read. I have not found all of the answers yet, but it has to be here somewhere...
-
This library is amazing. It is such a vast collection of knowledge that I fear I could spend my entire life searching and still never find what I seek. I have spent several weeks here now and I have not found a single reference to the city of Drow. Could it truly be just a rumor? Yet...even if it was only a rumor, I should find some mention of it here. I must keep searching.
But I am beginning to think that maybe these things that I am looking for are hidden from me. I have not seen anything about the Metallic dragons here either.
My search continues...
-
I met Plenarius in Hlint today. He received my note that I left for him. We talked a bit and it seems that part of Ozlo's task has been completed. They are here again. When I voiced my frustration about not being able to help, Plenarius gave me a task. There was a great Silver Dragon that was met during the task. Plenarius wants me to find anything I can about him.
It is said that before Katia ascended, she was in love with what some say was a Silver dragon. The dragon never revealed himself to her in his true form however and always appeared as a humanoid. The story also says that this Silver dragon somehow helped or was responsible for her ascension. Plenarius belives that the Silver Dragon that he met is this same dragon.
He even referred to him as the Father of Layonara.
I am adding this to my list of things to search for in the Great Library. It is going to the top of the list as a matter of fact. Although I am not sure what I will find. I am only one person and the Library is massive. But if nothing else, I am tenacious...
-
Hlint continues to amaze me. People must have a subconscious connection to it since the Dragon called them here. There are many other places and cities that are far more beautiful and elaborate than Hlint. Yet, people continue to come here. I guess it says something about the charm of a small town. I must confess, even with all of its problems, Hlint is special to me. I have met so many great people and started too many adventures to remember from here.
So, I happened to be sitting in Hlint talking to Lalaith, Tha'Azail, Talan, Connor, and Path. We were really just talking about nothing when Talan started showing off various armors and weapons that he had. It was quite funny. It was short lived. Garent came up to us and what happened next shocked me...
He removed his helmet!
He is a man. Here I thought he was some sort of gnomish construct of cranks and gears that was encased in a suit of armor. I always thought I would round a corner in Hlint and see a little gnome winding him up. I half thought that if the breast plate was ever removed you would see a little gnome sitting in the armor somehow controlling it with some levers and foot pedals. Garent just seems so impersonal.
But I was wrong. He removed his helmet and asked us if we knew anything about an attack on a ship captain in Leilon. I guess a ship captain refused a blessing from Mist and was assaulted for it! Now he obvously wasnt the smartest man out there since Leilon is pretty much a city of Mist but attacking him for refusing a blessing is a little extreme. Talan spoke up and asked Garent if the incident had anything to do with the recent attack by pirates. When Garent asked what this was about, he explained what had happened a few days earlier...
A band of pirates had banded together and found themselves near the Forsaken Islands. They made their way past the islands and towards Mistone. Unfortunately, the curse of the Forsaken Isles descended upon them. One by one they begans to fall. Only to rise again as mindless zombies. One of the pirate ships had a seer that they had kept imprisoned on the ship. The remaining pirates who had not yet fallen turned to the seer in hopes of finding a way to escape their fate. She offered them the blessing of Mist and said that they must give themselves to her to be saved. Not wanting to become zombies, the pirates agreed on the spot.
It did not work. They continued to fall. Confronting the seer, the pirates demanded to know how to save themselves. The seer told them that they were obviously not true believers. To prove themselves they must go to Leilon and profess their faith to Mist at her temple. So, they set sail for Leilon. When they arrived they headed straight to the temple.
Here is where the story takes on a darker tone. The seer must have had other motives and some goal in mind from the start. When they got to the temple, she whipped them into a frezy. The pirates were desperate at this point already. They had watched the men around them fall from life into undeath. They could hear their fate reaching out to grab them. They were ready to do anything to escape it.
The seer capitalized on their situation and told the pirates that the only way to free themselves of the curse was to take the town in the name of Mist. And that is what they set about doing. Talan was among those who freed the town from their grip, but there were lives lost and much damage done. What was interesting to me was that the seer was not taken and punished for her deeds. Talan claimed that she was an old woman and did not feel that he should punish her. I would think that justice had to be done here but I was not there. She was free to stay in the sanctuary of Mist's temple.
Garent was not pleased by this news. Two incidents in Leilon involving Mist now. He asked us to report any information we found regarding these two incidents. Of course we had to organize an investigation. Squee had arrived at some point in Talan's story as well as Yashilla. Yashilla was not pleased in the least by Talan's story and I think she actually took offence to it. I cant blame her since she is a follower of Mist, but surely this is something that she would want to sort out. I do not know much of Mist, but would she want to be known for these actions against the people of Leilon?
We set out for Leilon and it was actually quite a pleasant trip. Talan and Yashilla were bickering still, but it really was a peaceful walk. We arrived in Leilon and it did not seem to be too damaged to me...at first. Then we reached the dock area. The damage was still pretty extensive. There were scorch marks littering the ground and buildings. Blood stains covered the pavement stones. A battle was clearly fought here and the evidence showed that it was not a small one.
Talan tried to get infromation from the dockmaster, but he was noticeably nervous and tight lipped about any incidents that may or may not have happened here. He kept eyeing Mist's temple behind us though and acted like he wasnt. We turned then and saw what he was so nervous about. There were several Mistone soldiers guarding the temple door. We confronted them about what had happened. They stated that Queen Allurial had posted them there and they barred the door. It was for everyone's safety until the situation there had been resolved.
We heard something moving on the docks then and went to investigate. It was the temple healer. Roim I think Yashilla said her name was. A halfing woman. She was staring out into the sea. She was in some sort of trance it appeared. Yashilla tried to talk to her but she would not respond.
A storm came from out over the sea suddenly. It was unnatural and more powerfull than a storm usually is, even so close to the sea. Rain pounded down on us. Lightning came down in streaks all around us. Talan moved towards Roim. I am not sure what he intended to do but he never got the chance. A flash of light was so close that it blinded me. When my eyes finally adjusted, I saw a being of electricity moving down the docks away from us and towards the temple door.
It moved with deliberateness to the temple and reached out to the guards. They planted themselves in front of the temple door and drew their weapons. A grand show of courage and conviction, it would make the Queen proud. Unfortunately, the being simply grabbed each one in turn and in flashes of light, they were reduced to dust. Black, smoking remains were all that was left of them on the stones in front of the door. I saw Roim there as well behind the being of electricity. I cant really say she was controlling it though. It appeared more like she was following it. But then, they were both gone. One minute they were there and the next they were gone.
We ran to the door of the temple to see if Roim was inside, but the door was locked. Lalaith unlocked it for us but no one went inside. I made the suggestion that Yashilla go first since she was the priestess of Mist. Talan began to cast spells though. He seemed to be readying himself for battle. Squee did the same. Lalaith mentioned something about always investigating behind dorrs she unlocks. I sat back with Yashilla and Tha'Azail. It was not right to barge in there before the priestess of Mist had a chance to secure her own temple.
They ran in the door and I listened outside. I heard no screams of pain coming from the room. Yashilla sighed and followed then. She was obviously upset. We all went into the temple then. What a mistake. After the last of us entered, the door slammed shut. Lalaith tried to unlock the door again but it was no ordinary lock that held the door. It was some magical barrier preventing us from leaving. We were trapped!
As we looked for an exit, it began to rain. Yes you read that correctly. It began to rain inside the temple. Yashilla seemed amused at that point. She seemed almost satisfied with the turn of events. Is this how Mist is with her followers? I am glad I do not follow Mist if this is the case. Talan tried to reason then with Yashilla and explain what he was doing, but Yashilla was having none of it.
She began to berate Talan and the rest of us for stomping around in a temple of Mist when we held no reverence for her. She seemed most perturbed that they had come into the temple with weapons drawn and ready for battle. Then once it was clear that there was no danger, they still had weapons drawn. We tried to explain, but Yashilla was not listening.
The entire time the water continued to rise...
Some tried the door again...Lalaith still could not unlock it. Others tried to bash it down...It was not moving.
The water rose...it was up to our chest now.
Lalaith tried to reason with Yashilla and asked her why Mist would do this to her own. Talan apparently seemed unaffected by the whole thing. He swam around the temple with no care. He claimed that if Mist wanted to do this to us then there really is nothing we can do about it. I suppose he was right, but I could not sit by and give up.
And still the water rose... we were treading water now. The water semed to be coming in faster. We were running out of time.
Lalaith pleaded with Yashilla to do something. She was the only one that could save us.
Yashilla began to pray to Mist then. She asked Mist to look past this incident and let us go free.
The water rose to the ceiling. We were all gasping for our last breath in a rapidly closing pocket of air. To her credit, Yashilla never lost focus and still continued to ask for Mist to release us.
The water finally closed in around us. We sank down holding the last bit of precious air in our lungs.
Mist must have heard Yashilla. She flung open the door of the temple and the water rushed out to the docks outside. We were unceremoniously flushed out as well. My poor mandolin is probably ruined from it, but my hat has survived. At least there is that.
We dried ourselves out and decided to head to Blackford and report what had happened to the Queen. She should know that her guards were killed so that their families can be notified. Not a job would want to have but will do since I witnessed it. At least they can know that they died in the service of their Queen and did so honorably.
It was not to happen though. The guards at the gate at Blackford informed us that the Queen was not taking visitors that day and we should come back later. They would not listen to us that it was important either. So, we were left to report it to Garent. At some point we must inform the Queen though. She needs to know what happens in her lands.
I learned a good lesson though. I will add it to my list of rules to follow. Never follow Talan into a temple. I am not sure I will survive another event like that.
-
I do not follow my own rules. It hasnt been more than a few days since our near drowning at Leilon. The memory is still very fresh in my mind.
Iradril, Tha and myself joined Lalaith and Talan again. It was for an exploration of Dregar this time. Iradril was wanting to know where he could find some ingredients for his alchemy studies. Lalaith offered to take us around and show us the way. The trip was uneventful, but nice. Lalaith was a good guide. Iradril was collecting quite a few things to help his studies out as well. It was actualy pretty productive. Then we reached a serene lake that had cranberries all around it. I sat down by the lake and played my mandolin a bit. It is not the same since it was immersed in the divine waters of Mist's rage, but it is playable until I can get it replaced.
After a time reflecting here, Lalaith mentioned that there were almonds near but they were guarded by giants. These must be some very good almonds. She said that we should make ourselves invisible and get the almonds and then leave. Talan ran ahead and wanted to fight them. So, like a person with no sense, I followed him. Lalaith continued to tell us not to but we confronted the giants. They are very accurate with their bows I must say. I saw Talan get pummeled by arrow after arrow. He turned and yelled to us to run.
It would do no good. Tha fell while trying to heal Talan and Iradril. I ran to help him and I was struck down. I felt my life slipping...
I awoke at the stone. I began the long trip back to the group. It was nice to know that I remembered the way, but I was so weakened by the turn of events that I had to stop and rest quite a bit. I finally made it back to the lake and saw that everyone was still there except for Talan. I guess he went of to do his own thing.
We traveled a bit more before returning to Mistone. Lalaith seemed a bit agitated. A couple of times she seemed on the verge of saying something to me but then she would turn away and act as if nothing happened. We made our way to Fort Llast and Iradril and Tha took their leave. Iradril was going to shw the Great Library to Tha. He will be impressed I am sure. I continued on to Hlint with Lalaith.
With only the two of us, I asked her if she was ok. We had a little talk outside of Hlint about things. I think she has become so used to hiding from everything that she doesnt know when to stop. I can see on her face that she is bothered by something but she tries to hide it.
I let her know that I am always there as a friend for her. I hope for her sake that this does not consume her.
-
Much has happened lately. I have not had time to commit my legend to literary immortality until now.
Milara has been active...
It is not known exactly if he fought the Shifter or what happened, but Plenarius, Brisbane, Rhizome, and some others tracked down a disturbance caused by Milara the other night. They traveled nearly to his doorstep when he appeared and talked to them. He taunted them and looked into their souls. Then he simply walked away. I am curious about the haughtiness of these generals of Blood. I realize that they are very powerful. There is no doubt about that. But maybe at some point we can use their arrogance against them. Lure them into a trap that we can spring upon them to smite them down. I am getting off track...
After he left, the group made the mistake of pressing on. They were met by Milara's pet. A Dragon completely made of bone! Rhizome fought valiantly. It would have been a sight to see! Not that the rest of the group did nothing, but Plenarius seemed to make it sound as if Rhizome was actually pressing the Dragon. In a moment that hope was rising and they believed that a major blow would be struck against Milara, hope was squashed completely. Milara appeared to heal the Dragon of its wounds. Completely. It came crashing down on the group with a vengeance and tore them apart. Meteors dropped from the sky as rain and scorched the earth upon which the party battled. They had no chance....
Plenarius escaped through a sanctuary spell. Triba fled. Brisbane stepped to another plane to saftey. The rest of the group fell.
But Brisbane, being in another plane and safe from Milara, could see what happened. Milara stood there with his Dragon and...something else. A wraith. Brisbane is sure that it was not the Shifter. Who was it though? Yet another foe to stand in our way? Is there no end to the evil set upon this land?
I look to Rofirein for guidance but I do not know what he wants of me. I must seek help from the Temple soon. I am getting no where in the Library. I have found many intgeresting things to read but nothing that will help me. I must leave a note for Triba. Surely she will know where to look since she is the caretaker.
-
A minor setback in quest for knowledge has been placed before me. Or is it another helping hand from Rofirein?
I sent my letter to Triba Gues. She politely answered me that she would investigate the matter further and let me know where I can find the information I need. I was rather pleased with myself for this development. It was shortlived. A short time later I received another letter from Triba. My hands were shaking in anticiapation. Could this letter lead me to the books on the Metallics and more specifically the Silver that Plenarius seeks?
I tore open the letter in haste and let the envelope drop to the floor. The librarian that delivered it to me looked at me in near shock. I didnt care. This could be a the key to my quest. I unfolded the letter and read it as fast as my eyes would allow me. The further that I read, the more my heart sank. It felt as if it had dropped into my stomach. The letter fell from my hands. I heard it hit the floor and the sound crashed in my ears. I sat down and stared at it for several minutes before I moved again.
I had put too much hope into the letter. I should have known the answer before I even wrote the letter. If the information was in the library then I would have found it by now. I reached down and grabbed the letter of of the floor and folded it back up. I will leave it in this book for all to read.
So it appears that the Tower of Nature considered the information volitile enough that it should remove it and other books from the Great Library. I must let Plenarius know and see what he wants to do. I would assume that a trip to the Tower is in order though I do not know where it is. I hope he considers me a friend enough to allow me to accompany him there. I would love to see it and if possible, the books there as well.
I am left wondering...Did Rofirein know I was seeking and has led me to the answer or is this a simple happenstance.
-
One door closes (or at least starts to anyway), and another opens...
A good friend has asked me for help. I really only wanted to make sure that I did not upset her, but yet she found it in her to trust me enough to discuss some things very important to her. I am honored and will live up to the trust she has given me. I will also do what I can to help. I do not know how successful I am, but I cannot sit idle and watch her do this alone.
That's what friends are for right?
-
There are many new faces in Hlint. I sometimes find it hard to recognize anyone that I see. It makes me wonder if the Dragon knows something and is calling more potential heroes to Hlint. Are we headed toward a climactic battle with Blood or one of his generals and the numbers are not looking good for us? Or maybe he is just seeing more people who have it in them to make a difference. Either way, it has made life in Hlint even more interesting...if that is possible.
With all the new faces here, I have had the opportunity to help some people lately and listen to their concerns, fears, and aspirations. I have guided some around Mistone and helped them collect some things for various people around Hlint. I think it is rather ironic that some have actually sought me out for help when I am not exactly that far removed from my first days in Hlint. I find it rather rewarding though to help out fellow travellers and adventurers. I am not sure if this is what I am here for, but it feels right when I can help someone.
It is also a good opportunity to keep my ears open. You never know what you may hear if you stop for a moment and listen.
-
All of the new people here are making me reminisce today.
I remember coming into Hlint, wide-eyed and amazed at the Dragon who called me here. What I remember thinking the most is, why. Why did the Dragon call me? I certainly didnt fit the typical hero archetype. I can tell you right now that I had no intention of helping anyone defeat Blood either. My only concern was amusing myself and finding a pretty face to stroll around town with. Not that that is a bad thing mind you, but I guess it left me a little empty. I guess I just couldnt be satisfied with something as simple as that.
Of course, being who I am, I was shunned and feared by most people anyway. I had thought that since the Dragon had called me here that the people would at least accept who I was. Unfortunately, there had been too many past transgressions by the Drow for them to accept me right away. I still remember the day that Garent threw Iradril and me out of Hlint. I was afraid to go into Hlint for days until he cooled off.
Now though I think I have been accepted for the most part. There are still a few people who dont trust me and some who absolutely hate me. The way I see it, if I were to do anything against the people of Hlint, I would have no chance of getting away with it. Too many people know the hat...
As for the people that have accepted me, I have made friends with many of them. Some are better friends than others, but I generally try to be friendly with everyone. There are a select few to whom I am fiercely loyal though. This circle of friends I would do anything for, including lay down my life. Whether they realize it or not.
I have also come to look to the teachings I once thought were nothing but idle words as something perhaps a little more. I am still working these things out for myself, but I feel like there is something more out there for me to do. Or maybe something more inside of me that has yet to manifest itself. I think about it all the time and look to Rofirein for guidance. I never thought I would write or say anything like that, but people change and I can either embrace it or get crushed by it. One thing is for certiain, I am still no priest. I leave that work to Tha'Azail.
I spend days at a time in the Great Library doing research. I read mostly about Dragons, but lately I have been helping others in their endeavors. The Metallics have returned...somewhat. I am glad that has happened, but I am still left with many questions...
-
Things are still changing...
Tha'Azail Neverborn, the half elven priest of Aeridin, has changed. I arrived in Hlint after a long walk from Port Hampshire. I was quite surprised to see a stand set up near the courthouse. Gulnyr was sitting there selling his pies! I knew he had been making a lot of pies, but his inventory was quite extensive. I ran into Tha and Iradril there as well. I was going to talk to Gulnyr about buying a pie but Tha stopped me. He pulled both Iradril and me aside and said that he had the strongest feeling to travel to Aeridin's temple in the Sielwood. He asked the two of us if we minded accompanying him there. I let him know that there was no need to even ask. I would help him.
Astonishingly enough, we were able to leave Hlint without so much as a word from anyone on the way out of town. Now, I am not saying that there was anything more to it than coincidence, but sometimes I feel like the only way to get out of Hlint is by divine intervention. If I am not stopped by someone, I see someone that I have to speak to. It is amazing that we ever get anything done anymore. Anyway, whether it was Aeridin's will or not, we made it to the Sielwood. The woods themselves seemed to be hushed as we walked through. Not the hush like someone is watching you and waiting to strike. It just felt like our way was clear and nothing would interfere. We arrived at the Ranger's Vale and let Tha lead the way to the temple.
Tha knelt down and was saying a prayer when he noticed the priest making his way over. He finished his prayer and stood up to meet the priest. The priest looked Tha up and down and nodded. Tha was intrigued by this as were Iradril and myself. When Tha asked him what was going on, he explained that a heavily armored man had stopped at the temple and had left a letter for Tha. He had decribed him to the priest and told him to not release the letter to anyone but Tha.
Tha opened the letter slowly. He seemed to nod as he was reading it. He folded the letter and placed it in his pack. He explained to us that the letter was enchanted so that it could only be read by him. It spoke of Tha's connection to Aeridin but also of something else that some may not want him to gain. It instructed him to go to the lake in Fort Hope and it was signed only with the letter M. Iradril and I were quite puzzled by this but Tha was quite exhilirated. Maybe it was because he knew we would pass through the Broken Forest on our way to Fort Hope and he could lay the undead to rest. Or maybe it was something else. He seemed different already.
But I am getting ahead of myself.
We set off for Fort Hope. When we arrived we searched around the entire lake but found no one. The lake inlet that was up on a hill overlooking the lake is where we stopped. Surely if there was anyone waiting for Tha we would see him from that vantage point. Quite some time had passed though before we saw a man walk up the hill towards us. He was heavily armored and wore a helmet. He must have been watching us to make sure that we were alone. We were not sure that he was who Tha was supposed to meet until he stopped directly in front of Tha. Then of course, as people always seem to do, he questioned my presence as well as Iradril's. I have to say though that Tha stuck up for us and it made me feel proud to be his friend. The man didn't seem to like us any better but he was there to talk to Tha and not us.
He introduced himself as Marcus Ashak Drebesh. He asked Tha what he knew about his parents. I guess he only knew that his mother was elven and his father was a human druid. He also knew that his mother had died while she was still carrying Tha in her womb. Marcus explained that because of this, Tha carried something inside of him. It is the very essence of undeath. You see his mother, while out on a mission for the temple of Aeridin, had encountered a number of undead. It is unknown exactly what happened, but she used the last bit of energy that she had to get to the temple to save her unborn child, Tha'Azail. During the battle though, she was touched by one of the undead and it withered her. She arrived at the temple covered in blood and grime from her ordeal. Once inside, she fell to the ground and her life faded. It must have been when the undead touched her and drained her life force that something happened to her child. This is the moment that Tha'Azail was infused with the undead.
However, Marcus also explained that there was a secretive group who's goal it is to slay the undead and bring light to the dark places of Layonara. They are the Lightbringers. Tha'Azail had a choice to make though. He could continue on as a priest of Aeridin and follow the bringer of Life to the end of his days. Or he could embrace that extra something inside of him that implanted upon him before his birth. He could become a Lightbringer, a slayer of the undead.
Tha has always felt a certain zeal in confronting the undead. I still get a bit worried at times when we go through the Broken Forest with him. I think he sometimes feels he can cleanse it himself. It was clear though what choice he would make. So, Marcus pulled a gem from his pack and handed it to Tha. It was like a soul gem, but it opened a part of the soul. Apparently, in order to embrace what was inside of him, Tha had to make a sacrifice. Marcus told him to take the gem to the Krandor crypts. Deep in the heart of the crypt, he was to bathe the darkness in the light.
It was a task of extreme peril to Tha and ourselves. We approached the crypts and I was a little apprehensive. All three of us had fallen in these crypts and I was not eager to do so again. It was important to Tha'Azail though so we cast our protection spells and stepped into the darkness. We were set upon by a host of the undead. Tha balled upon Aeridin to set their souls to rest. It worked sometimes. Other times it took Iradril's sword and my bow. My throat was so dry from trying to rally my friends to victory. The undead in the Krandor crypt are quite a bit more powerful than in Hlint. This was not like Storan's, but we had always had more help there. This time we were on our own.
We perservered though. We entered a room that looked like a massive hall of the dead. Mounds that looked like giant tombs or burial plots were all around. We thought that this might be the heart of the crypt. It looked like a place that could spawn the lost souls that we had fought. Then Iradril found some stairs going down. There really was no other way, but further into the darkness was no a pleasant thought. Tha looked pleased about it though. I do not understand his need to rid the world of undead, but he has a burning desire that never seems to diminish.
We climbed the stairs slowly and peered down the hallway. We entered a room with many undead. It was a hard battle that we barely won. We looked around the room and there seemed to be a faint shaft of light coming from somewhere. It shone down on the floor that seemed to beckon Tha. He pulled out the gem that Marcus had given to him and approached the light. The gem seemed to become alive in his hands. It transformed the sliver of light into a dazzling display of colors. It was so bright that it hurt my eyes but I watched it anyway. My friend was in the middle of it.
I dont know if he said or did anything, but suddenly a scorching beam of light shone down on him. I had to turn away at that point. My eyes could take no more. When my eyes adjusted and I could see him again, he had fallen to the ground. The single ray of light had returned. It seemed to illuminate Tha's body where he had fallen. I started to move to Tha to see if he was ok when I saw him stir. He pushed himself up. Scarred, wounded, and bloodied, Tha'Azail Neverborn, Priest of Aeridin stood in the only light that could be found in the Krandor crypts. The light washed over him as he stood and it changed him. It made him into something more. He was no longer just a Priest of Aeridin. He had become a Lightbringer, a slayer of the undead. He would carry the light unto the darkness and cleanse it of the abomination of life that is the undeath.
-
Dregar. The home of Pranzis. Also the home of the Citadel of Rofirein. I am afraid to enter there yet I know that that is where I must go. I came here once with Lalaith and I thought it would
be easy. It was not. I am ashamed at who I used to be. So much has changed. I was a foolish child when I lived here. I was foolish and naive when the Dragon brought me to Hlint. I need to go
back to the Citadel and at least try to make amends. I owe them my life for taking me in and raising me when by all rights they should have left me to die. My people certainly would have.
I would like to know more about my mother as well and they are the only link I have to my past. I know what they told me, but is that everything? Is it even the truth? What of my father? Am I
drawn to Dragons simply from my exposure to the Rofirein order or is it something more? So many questions and so few answers.
I am getting sidetracked again. I was going to tell you about Dregar. A place of wondrous beauty. A place filled with danger. The land is crawling with all manner of beasts and ruffians that
will kill you before you can even blink. Tha and I travelled here with Aralin, Talan, Bidwick and several others. It was a tour almost that Aralin had suggested. I had been there one time a
long time ago when we visited Ozlo. We were lucky enough to have Lalaith lead us back along a relatively safe route. We did not follow the same route this time.
Talan and Aralin lead the way. I should have known with Talan leading the way that we would be in mortal danger. I was too busy marveling at the sights though. Mountain ranges that go as far as
the eye can see. The sunset from that high up was amazing! Rolling hills of lush green grass that beckoned me to lie down with my mandolin and get lost in the music. If it werent for the
pirates, that might be possible. I knew pirates were a rotten bunch, but these pirates on Dregar are not to be fooled with. They are very resourceful in a fight and more than once had me
concerned that I would not survive. But the pirates were only one of the surprises in store for us.
We ended up making a wrong turn I think. I am not sure since this place is completely new to me. We entered the desert and Talan thought he knew the way but I think he was lost. Regardless how
we got there, we were there. So we pushed on. It was hot and the sun was not forgiving. My eyes burned and so did my skin. I thought I saw something moving along the sand ahead, but I
convinced myself that the heat was getting to me. There was no way that there was something that big coming at us. I was wrong.
Scorpions. Huge scoprions. They circled around us and came at us all at once. They were the biggest thing I had ever seen. There is not a building in Hlint that can match them. Talan and
Bidwick launched themselves at them. Aralin's sword I could see hacking into them again and again. One by one the scorpions fell. They just kept coming though. They were everywhere. Finally,
after what seemed like forever in the desert sun, the last of the scorpions fell to the sand in a resounding thump. Everyone stopped for a bit to catch their breath and then we moved on as fast
as we could. It is not easy to run on sand.
We emerged from the desert and after some time, we came to an area of green hills. It was here that our journey would take a turn for the worse. We had a run in with some madmen. They didnt
seem to be too tough from a distance. They seemed a bit distracted to me. But Cole Etinfall proved that they were not to be trifled with. He attacked one and was nearly killed before we could
get to him. There were several more madmen and we made our way through them with a little more planning. However, we came around a hill and found several madmen grouped together. They seemed to
be bickering over something they had found. At least it looked that way to me. They didnt see us at any rate. We made a strategic plan to take these madmen out. I thought it was a sound plan.
I was wrong. We started attacking them and it was going well. Then the madmen got the upper hand. My companions began to fall. Bidwick, Tha'Azail, Aralin, Cole, and the others. Talan and I
were the only ones left. Talan yelled for retreat but it was too late. As I turned to run I saw Talan fall. I ran as fast as I could. I thought I had escaped. The madmen did not appear to be
following me. I ran around a hill and was elated until they saw me.
Tigers. Four of them turned to me and bared their fangs. They were several inches long and gleamed in the sunlight. I could see in their eyes that I had become nothing but another prey. These
cold, efficient killers had their attention on me and I had no choice but to run again. I ran again. Unfortunately, I was now running back to the madmen. I had nowhere else to run. I spun
around then and pulled my rapier. I was no match for the tigers though. Their claws sliced through my skin with ease. I was in the void instantly.
I found myself at the bindstone of some village in the mountains that Aralin had recommended that we bind to. We gathered ourselves and made our way back to our graves. There were still several
madmen about and the tigers too. Most were still bleeding from wounds we had given them. After covering ourselves with invisibility, we retrieved our graves from right under the madmen's noses.
We climbed a hill overlooking the madmen and tigers. It was clear that if we could drop a fireball or something on them that the battle would be won. Talan must have seen it too. He drew an
arrow and it started to burn with flame. The arrow was loosed and it hit directly in the middle of the madmen. I had to turn away it was so bright. The arrow erupted in flame and an explosion.
When I looked back, they were all dead. We grabbed what we could find on them and headed back to Lorindar.
Dregar. Not a place to get lost for sure, but then again it can be a very beautiful place to lose yourself.
-
We visited the area near Bone Hill again. Lalaith and I discussed some things we had seen near the bridges and thought that a trip to Bone Hill would be prudent. I had never paid much attention to the symbols in front of each mirror before but to both Lal and I, they seemed to correspond to the symbols found on the bridges. We could not be sure though since neither of us had wrote them down. I really should try to take more notes when I run across something important like that. We realized that the glowing aura around some of the mirrors had changed as well.
Moving on though we investigated several of the statues. It all made no sense. There is more to this place then we realize I think. The problem, I believe, is that everyone has their own ideas and who knows who is right? Perhaps each one of us has a small piece that is correct. We should all come together and voice these opinions. It may bring us to a consensus as to what is happening. It may also give us a chance to proactively do something in this war.
Iradril and Tha must have had the same idea that night. They joined us as we were going to see the chessboard. Lal and I explained that we were there to see if the idea that the statues represented the gods and goddesses was correct. We wanted to see if there were statues for each deity in the pantheon. The chessboard always brings out a multitude of theories and speculation as well.
So we began by the tree. We could name what we thought each statue represented, but there were so few statues. Not nearly enough to match each deity. So, we moved to the chessboard. We were looking at the smaller versions of the board at the side when Rhizome showed up. We were explaining to him what we were doing when Plenarius and Brisbane arrived as well. Now the theories began to fly.
"Who's move is it?"
"If I were White then I would move this piece to here"
"Well If I were white then I would move here"
"But Black can move here and have Check"
"Yes but White can easily counter that with this move here"
And the most chilling theory in my opinion was this: "What if the pieces dont follow the specific rules of chess and move under a different set of rules"
Now, at first I dismissed this theory. Even the Gods have to follow some semblance of Order right? There would only be Chaos if there were no hard rules that could not be broken. But, if this is the case, that the pieces can move freely at will, what does that say about the game? Or more importantly, for the war?
If this chessboard represents the actions of each side, then there could be an unexpected and unorthodox move by Blood that can catch us all completely offguard. If that happens I am not sure what we would do. I wonder if there is anything we could do?
Rhizome apparently considered it all idle speculation at best. There was no proof either way and we should not get excited about it until we could prove anything. He was interested in the statue of a man holding a globe on his shoulders. We all had theories on this as well but Iradril had one that made the most sense to me. He said it looked like a trophy to him. It was held above the game and was on display. To the victor go the spoils. It represented Layonara. The winner of this contest held the fate of the world in their hands.
We moved back out to the tree after that distrubing thought and we began to discuss our ideas of which statue represented who. Rhizome brought up a very interesting theory of his own here. He thinks that the statues do not represent the gods and goddesses. They are representations of the peoples of Layonara. This theory has some merit because of the lack of statues for each deity. I will have to think on this more.
We took our leave of Rhizome, Brisbane, and Plenarius. My mind was whirling with all of the information and speculation. I had to take the time to sift through it in my head. We travelled back to Fort Himlad and I camped out under the stars. There must be some meaning in all of this...
-
I love Rilara. I know who controls it and I realize the coincidence of my heritage in this fact. I do not think that it has anything to do with this though. It is just a peaceful place to me. I know that sounds strange with Milara being here, and I realize that things may be going on right under my nose, but I feel at home here. The Lake Rillon is by far my favorite place to go. I could sit here by the lake for hours on end. It helps to clear my head and get me thinking clearly.
It was on one of my jaunts here on Rilara that I ran into Iradril and Connor. I had had a long talk the night before with Lalaith at the lake and was making my way to Point Harbor to empty my pack of the pelts that I had gathered. I really hope that I can find some buyers of my tailored goods. The gold would be very welcome.
But as I was saying, I was sitting at the campfire and resting when Iradril and Connor arrived. We began chatting about what we were going to do when Lalaith arrived. Or for all I know she was there the whole time and was just laughing at us from the shadows. So the four of us sat around the fire and determined our next course of action. Lal made the suggestion that we go see what the Kenku were up to. I remember the kenku that are north of Hlint and from what I remember they were more annoying than anything else. Connor said that these kenku were from a different clan and were quite a bit tougher. So, we set off to see how tough they really were.
On the way, I could tell that Lal was really excited. Thinking back to my meeting with the Kenku on Mistone, they like to hide and surprise you with an attack. I wonder if it is an ego thing for Lal here. She likes to prove she is better at staying in the shadows.
We arrived at a span of hills that the kenku held and sat back and watched. Lal went to the shadows and scouted the area for us. They were spread out over the hills and would be a little difficult to battle. We were discussing strategy when one of them saw us and disappeared. Suddenly he appeared right in the middle of us! We drew our weapons and set upon the kenku. Some of them must have heard the clash and came to investigate. Soon we were fighting a desperate battle. We would take down one kenku only to have it replaced. They kept hiding and attacking. Hiding and attacking.
Iradril went down and was bleeding to death. I ran up to him and healed him. He could barely stand though. Connor and Lal held the front while Iradil and I backed up. Then a pesky kenku appeared and cut down Iradril again. Lal turned as I did and we came down on the kenku. I poured a potion down Iradril's throat and got him on his feet.
He must have irritated these kenku though. Another vanished and reappeared in front of him. He was cut down again. connor, Lal, and I took this one out and then turned to Iradril again. I didnt see but Lal must have given him a potion to get him stabilized. I came in and gave him another potion as well. He got up on shaky feet and moved to get out of there. Connor pushed us out as we got to safety.
These kenku are not really annoying like the ones I met on Mistone. These ones are deadly.
Poor Iradril though. Earlier that day we had fallen and the soul mother came to take her due. You could see the fear in his eyes as he fell to the kenku again and again. We retreated to Fort Himlad where Lal took her leave. She just vanished again on us.
We had talked earlier about visiting the area near Bone Hill. Connor had some other theories. Since it was so close, we made our way there. There is a fire burning on a hill across from the dragon statue. There is a large fire burning in the middle. Around the fire stand four pillars. Around the pillars are eight runic symbols.
Connor reasoned that the runes, pillars, and the fire add up to thirteen. Thirteen bloodpools. There are four pillars. Blood has four generals. The fire burning in the middle could be Blood himself.
It makes sense. There have been two bloodpools destroyed if my memory serves. Smoke rose from two of the runes...
What would really seal it to me would be the reaction of the runes if another bloodpool is destroyed. Or if a pillar crumbles after a general is taken down. It will happen. I am sure of it. the only questions are when and what result it will have on the runes and pillars.
-
I need money. As usual, I am without gold. I had two cougar bags that I was trying desperately to sell, but no one in Hlint needed one. As I was standing there by the well attempting to hawk the bags, Lal stepped out of the Wild Surge. She was twirling a single gold coin through her fingers. It was the last gold coin to her name. This was no good. We decided to take a trip to Rilara to get into trouble.
"But what about the cost of the ticket?" I asked.
Lal flashed a devious grin and her eyes lit up. "I'm sure we will find something along the way. Besides, I have two tickets for us already."
So we started our way out of town and stopped at the campfire. As I was resting, Iradril arrived and the three of us left for Port Hampshire. When we arrived at the Zhainge river, we stopped and looked over the bridge. There were quite a few ogres stomping around on the other side. Lal made a comment about ogres and the gold they carry and that was enough for us. We waited on the bridge while she disappeared to scout the area out and let us know how many ogres there were.
She came back to us on the bridge and told us that she had placed some traps on the ground near the end of the bridge. This should be interesting. We prepared ourselves and then lured as many ogres as we could to the bridge. Lal's traps blasted several of them as they stomped to the bridge. When it was clear, Lal and Iradril ran down the bridge while I fired arrow after arrow at them.
With the traps hitting them first, they fell pretty quick. We looted them and found a good bit of gold. Enough to get Iradril to Rilara and back at least. We left the area and ventured near Krandor. We stopeed there for a minute as we considered looking for ogres there as well when Lal pointed to the bridge.
Standing on the top of the bridge was a dark figure that was just standing there watching us. He was completely covered in black. He held what looked like a glowing skull in front of him. He was not exactly the friendliest looking person, but then again he just stood there watching. Then he turned around and walked back towards the river. I ran after him. My curiosity is going to get me killed again.
We ran after this hooded stranger, myself leading with Lal and Iradril following me. I tried to talk to him but he would not speak. He didnt even acknowledge me really. He just stood there. Lal whispered to me to back up. It seemed prudent really with a glowing skull pointed at me and all. As I backed away from him, the stranger spoke.
"She will feed upon you all..."
Then he walked to Fort Llast. We stood there trying to decide we were going to follow him or not. I couldn't not follow him though so I ran after him. As we came into Fort Llast, we walked around the fort and found Pathfinder, Lia and some others standing outside the gate. They had seen the man and told us he went towards Hlint. This was not looking good.
So we followed again. He was not going towards Hlint though. He went towards the GreyPeaks. There was a path just outside the GreyPeaks though that he followed. Around a corner there was a large open area. He walked over to what looked like a hole in the ground and knelt down. We were all just standing there watching him and trying to figure out what he was doing.
We approached and heard him chanting something. No one really could understand or determine what it was he was saying though. I looked him over carefully this time and something triggered a memory of a cult or something but I couldn't put my finger on exactly what it was. He just ignored us and continued chanting.
Iradril moved over to the hole and looked down. He said he felt some sort of containment magics emanating from the hole. Great. If something has containment magic around it then it most likely means there is something nasty being contained.
The man stood up and looked over all of us. Then, pointing at all of us, he said: "You...will all feed her hunger."
He slowly just walked off after that leaving us to wonder what was going on. Iradril looked at the hole again and said that the containment magics were gone. So, we just sat there and let this man or whatever he is release something into the world. This was surely not good.
We moved to follow him as he left. Lalaith found some tracks around the hole that we could follow. There was a trail of bodies leading away from the hole too. Wolves were dead and drained of their life. It was grotesque. Back through to Fort Llast we went. Lal had to periodically stop and look for the tracks but she always found them again and we continued on. I dont know what she was looking at. I didnt see a thing. There was clearly a trail that she was following though. The bodies that turned up proved that. Near the castle, one of the guards was drained as well. It was a horrific sight seeing a body drained like that. I was like all form of life was sucked from them. A horrible way to go.
We looked past the castle while some of the others took the guard to the castle to inform the Queen of what had happened. All the way to Leilon we looked but after Blackford Castle, the trail went cold. It left us all uneasy that some creature was loose and draining people and animals of their life. There wasnt much left to do but leave Leilon. I hope this doesnt turn out as bad as I think it will.
-
Some people had found something in Krandor that demanded our attention. A cow had been drained like the other animals we had seen several nights before. So we went to
investigate. The cow had definitely been drained. It was grotesque. As we were looking around, an old woman came out to see us. She explained that she knew what had happened
but demanded a favor before she would tell us. It was a little strange really, but we had no other choice.
She had been traveling through the high forest and been ambushed by men in black armor with a red dot on their shields. What ruffian would attack a defenseless old woman? During
the attack, they stole a necklace from her. It was a family heirloom of sorts and meant a great deal to her. So we went to investigate and promised that we would return with the necklace.
*The next paragraph is written off the the side and in a scribble like it was written after the rest of the entry*
Before we left, someone mentioned something about who was in charge. The call went out for anyone willing to lead us. To my amazement, Lal put her hand up. I was a little
surprised to say the least. It just didnt make much sense why she wanted to lead. I am going to have to ask her about this once we get a chance.
So we got to the High Forest and Lal and Path scouted the area. Lal found some tracks and we followed them to a broken cart. Clearly this was the old woman's cart. There were
several tracks here that both Path and Lal could find. These tracks led into the High Forest and took us to the druid camp. We met with a man who claimed that we were taken advantage of and fooled! The old woman was not who she said she was. We were very skeptical of course but he said that he could prove it.
Only to two of us though. Since Lal was leading she chose who would be the second. She took Lia. I am not sure I would have done the same. Lal seemed to think Lia's
magical abilities and knowledge may be useful. I am not so sure. I dont know if I would trust what she said.
Either way, the two of them walked to a tent that the man led them to and didnt emerge for quite some time. I was getting a little uncomfortable with them in there so long but I
didnt hear any sounds of trouble. Then the tent flap opened and they emerged and the three of them walked back to us.
The man explained that a creature was released by a cult that the shadowy figure we followed belonged to. The creature's name was Xithiiraa. It is a shapechanging, life draining
creature that was imprisoned until the cult released her. The cage that she was held in had five pieces. We needed to get these pieces and put Xithiiraa back in a new cage.
The man then pointed to Lal and said that she had bound herself to the task. Before I could ask what that meant, Lia explained that Lal had been geased. This was not good. I
was very upset that Lia let this happen. She was supposed to go in there and help Lal, not get her geased!
*beside the last paragraph and clearly a time after the original entry was written*
Why did she let that happen I wonder? It certainly is not like her to let someone chain her like this*
The man also showed the necklace that the old woman was asking about. It was an amulet actually and the first and most important piece of the cage. It looked like a ruby but it
was a diamond. The caged heart it was called. When someone asked about the old woman, the man told us that her name was Estelle and the true Estelle was recovering in the tent.
Lal confirmed everything that the man had said thus far.
The amulet was given to Lal and I can only assume that the geas is tied to it as well. The man told us that an old elf lives in the Wolfswood and could help us. His name is
Erdissar. I hope he can help us. I am not comfortable with this geas. I remember the last time I had a run in with someone who was geased and I do not wish to repeat that trip.
-
We met in Leilon. The group of us who had seen the man with the glowing skull and met Xithiiraa desguised as Estelle. Lalaith approached slowly and I could tell that something
was wrong with her. But as usual, she acted as if she was fine. She just said she was tired. As the group all arrived, we learned why she was so tired. She explained that she
had had a dream. A dream that was incredibly real to her.
Talan appeared to her and spoke. "You will not succeed"
As the last words left his mouth, the life was sucked out of him. His lifeless body faded and then Connor appeared.
"She will find them all"
His body is drained of life and begins to fade only to be replaced me!
"She will feed"
I was drained as well and faded into Katrien.
"She will claim the Cage"
Then Iradril.
"You will watch us fall"
Then of all people, Lia.
"It's all your fault!"
Then the vision changed to Lal standing among the bodies of all of us. Our bodies were drained and lifeless. Bodies of the fallen and those that were taken by Xithiiraa were
everywhere. The sun beat down on Lalaith and blinded her. Then it turned red and darkened until the darkness became two hands that reached out and grabbed her head.
After that she woke up and heard a faint whisper..."I will save you for last."
The most concerning of all of this to me is the fact that Lal found a strange handprint on her window. Xithiiraa knows where Lal is.
I can tell you right now, this makes me feel *there is a dark spot where it looks like the pen sat on the page for some time before anything else was written. Then it is crossed out*
I am very concerned for Lal's safety right now. This Xithiiraa is toying with her. We need to find the pieces of this cage and put his creature back in it.
I went to the docks and by some grace, I convinced the ship captain to take us to Point Harbor and at a discount. I am surprised that it actually worked. I think it had more to
do with my appealing to his ego than any persuasive skill that I had. Either way, we made it to Rilara and Point Harbor. The man we talked to at the druid's encampment in the
High Forest led the way.
As we approached the gates, we could see him watching us, the hooded stranger. He had his glowing skull with him and held it like a totem or some unholy
symbol to mock us. He just stood there watching but after we noticed him, he turned and left. He didnt act like we were even a concern of his. As if the outcome of our task was
already decided. I do not like this feeling.
We made haste to the house of Erdissar. Along the way we were hounded by several figures dressed in black. Members of this sick cult of Xithiiraa. A pity they will have to be
put down once we trap her in her cage again. They were disposed of each time and we finally arrived at Erdissar's home. We were told that he was an old elf, but I was not
expecting him to be that old.
He hushed us as we all began asking questions. Then he started into a story. A story that began many years ago. A story of six young wizards barely above apprentices but
extremely talented. Ambitious as well. Johdas, Dravin, Valdar, Nockwaddle, Loren, and Erdissar himself. They had hatched a plan to show everyone just how powerful they were.
They wanted to summon a planar creature that they could make their servant. But the leader of this group, Johdas was impatient. In his rush, the group failed to prepare and
research everything that was needed. Johdas performed the ritual but got the True Name wrong and he released Xithiiraa. He payed for his impatience with his life when Xithiiraa
drained his life.
Erdissar looked very tired and spent. As if a weight that he carried had gotten heavier by the day and he was losing the strength to keep hold. Brief glimpses of the elf he once
was shined through. The rest of them fled after Johdas was killed. They regrouped and began hunting Xithiiraa and trying to find a way to banish her back to where she came from.
Loren devised a cage to keep Xithiiraa imprisoned.
It worked as expected, but the cult that had risen around Xithiiraa did not fall away at her imprisonment. They waited, and watched. When the time was right, they capitalized on
the Crimson Moon and brought the Cage up from where it was built. It allowed Xithiiraa to break herself from her prison.
Now as the druids had told us several days ago, we need to obtain the pieces of this cage and seal this Xithiiraa back in it. The descendants of the original wizards each hold a
piece of the cage. Erdissar knew of Barton, who lived in Karthy. Barton would know another. And so on through each descendant. To ensure that each one would believe us and
recognize the dire circumstances, Erdissar gave his runestone to Lalaith.
Now, we learned some things about the amulet that Lal carried and it is quite upsetting. It seems this is how Xithiiraa found Lal and tormented her dream. There was a discussion
amongst us that we should leave the amulet in Erdissar's care so he could keep her eyes from our task. This was clearly a mistake since the Lal could not have the amulet leave
her possession. Path kept insisting that Lal hand the amulet off to someone. I think he had the idea that Lal would not be able to give it up when it was time. He kept at it
over and over. I tried to talk him out of it but he would not listen.
I was getting upset. Why wouldn't he listen? I was thinking to myself that if he kept it up and tried to force her to hand it over ... well I don't know exactly what I was
thinking. I found myself thinking that I was going to have to step in front of Lal and let Path know exactly what I was going to do if he kept it up. Luckily, I let it be known
that Lal should keep that amulet and we were wasting time when we should be heading to Karthy. Everyone agreed finally and we took our leave.
*to the side of the the last paragraph there is some scribbled writing* Why did I get so aggravated with Path? Lal can take care of herself. She doesn't need me to stand for
her. So...why?
We traveled to Karthy and met with Barton. He was a little surprised that after so many years he was finally being sought out for his piece of the cage. He handed it over after
seeing the runestone though. Lal took the piece from him and showed it to me. It was a crystalline rod that fit into the palm of her hand. It was eerie though. It had a
piece of Xithiiraa's flesh encased in it.
My persuasive skills are improving it seems. I convinced Barton to provide passage for us to Dregar. He gave us some travel tickets that he had. We need to get to Dregar and find Bentmuddle. He has the next piece...
-
I saw the notice Karthy about Barton and was shocked. He was murdered. I feel so ashamed to admit this here, but the description sounded like a perfect match to Lal. I know she
wouldn't do it but ...No it could not have been her. There must be an explanation. I considered ripping it down before anyone else saw it but there were too many people around
and it would have on aroused more suspicion. This cannot turn out well.
-
I went back to Karthy to see if I could find any clues to what had happened with Barton. I didnt care if I was caught and questioned. I needed answers myself. I walked into
Karthy and ran into Lal. I pulled her aside and we sat where no one would see us. She asked me what I was doing there in Karthy and I couldnt bring myself to tell her. I just
kept dancing around the truth. How could I tell her that I was trying to see if she was a murderer?
She knew though. She could see it in my eyes. She was hurt and could not believe that I believed the notice. I tried to explain that I was just there to investigate and prove
that it was not her but I could tell she was hurt.
After a time, she took a deep breath and started to explain what had happened. She had thought it was only a dream until she read the notice. Then she knew. It was like
the other dream. A dream, but real.
She saw Xithiiraa watching us as we went into Barton's house. She was on the roof and hidden from sight. She waited there as we exited and left for Lorindar. Then, she jumped
down and turned herself into Lal as she walked into Barton's house. She took him by surprise and had her hands around his throat. Lal had to watch helplessly through Xithiiraa's
eyes as the life left Barton's. It was horrible and I could see the effect it was having on Lal. She blames herself.
Curse Xithiiraa! She will be put back into her cage if it is the last thing I do.
And while I am at it, curse Lia as well for letting Lal get geased. When I see her again she will get a piece of my mind whether she wants to hear from the 'filthy drow' or not!
-
I cant believe what has happened. It was just so fast. I am still trying to figure out how this happened.
We had gone to Storan's. Aralin, Lal, Iradril, Tha, and myself. We had done rather well all things considered. Tha and Iradril had fallen but only once we entered Storan's lair. His launched some bolts or arrows or something from his hands that were wreathed in fire. It struck all of us and I had to back away and heal myself. Iradril fell straight away. I think he was hit by several. Tha attempted to heal him but was cut down. I tried to get to them but it was too late. I think Tha had a piece of himself taken by the Soul Mother. Did I say it went well? Maybe I was wrong.
We left Storan's and divided the loot. Iradril and Aralin had to leave so we all headed to Hlint. We were all pleasantly surprised to find Talan there! He mentioned that he had been very busy crafting some things for people but would be back to adventuring very soon. I cant wait.
Then it happened. Talan left and Tha, Lalaith, and myself decided to harass the silly ogres on the way to the Broken Forest. Tha left to rest up at the campfire while Lalaith and I refilled our canteens. At the western gate Lalaith was stopped. It all went downhill from there.
*the writing gets more deliberate here. The ink is darker as if the pen were pushing against the paper very hard*
Some drow stopped Lalaith and accused her of tearing down the notice. I was standing there and for a moment I was numb. I could see the situation transpiring before me and getting messy.
So I told the drow that we have been traveling together for a long time and we saw no notices. He didnt believe me. Of course it didnt help that Lalaith pipes up and says
"And if I did?"
It was bad enough that we were stopped there but she added fuel to the fire. This prompted the drow to say something about keeping her blade out of people's backs.
I lost it. I dont know why and even now I question my thinking. I stepped up to him and asked rather roughly if he was threatening her. I was very angry by now and had had enough of this. I should have let it drop though. Lalaith hid from us and when the drow was looking around she appeared behind him. Looking back now, it was silly. We could have walked out of Hlint and let it drop.
So now she is standing there behind him, I am right in his face, and it couldnt get worse right? Well, Remiel showed up. Being the good paladin he is, he demanded to know what was going on. After everyone was talking to him he decided to pull Lalaith aside and talk to her privately first. I dont know what was said, but it must have really made her mad or maybe Remiel figured it out.
When Remiel walked over to us and told us that she left, I figured she had just disappeared and was waiting on us. So I told Remiel that we hadnt seen any notices. I lied. Why why why? I have no idea. He knew I was lying but luckily didnt hold it against me. He actually was rather lenient and said that he will give Lalaith time to come talk to him.
I took him aside and tried to explain but he was adamant. He wanted to talk to her. I didnt press the issue since I figured she was around and waiting on us. I left Hlint and fully expected to have her just appear out of thin air.
*the paper is almost torn from the pen here*
But she didnt.
She left me there. Luckily Tha had to rest and left otherwise he would have been disappointed too. I cant believe she just left me there to clean up after her. After I confronted that drow and lied to him...and Remiel! Why in the nine hells did I ever do that?
And she says to trust her? After she left me like that?
*there is more here that is scratched out. The ink of the whole entry is blotted from where it looks like the book was slammed shut before the ink had dried*
-
I went to Lorindar with Iradril and rested the night before we were to go see Bentmuddle for the next piece of the cage. I figured I could sleep this mood off. I had bought some new armor
the night before and a hood. I was getting tired of people coming up to me talking in their good moods. I needed some peace to figure some things out. It also wouldnt hurt to look a little
different to try and throw Xithiiraa off our trail.
Not that we could with Lalaith carrying around the amulet.
Anyway, the next day I was feeling a little better actually. It was a new day and we were on Dregar. Away from Mistone, Rilara, and the problems that were there. It only lasted a few
minutes though. Iradril went off to feed the chickens again and I walked the town. The breeze coming off the water had a bite but it was good. It could tear away my problems and carry them
far from here. I rounded the corner by the docks though and there she was.
My mood darkened immediately and my fists clenched at my sides. So many things went through my head to say to her. Unfortunately, looking back now, I may have said the wrong things. It
doesnt matter anymore though. She deserved everything I said to her and more. So why do I feel so horrible for saying them?
I stewed in the corner and waited for everyone else to arrive. We had to get the other pieces of the cage to finally be rid of Xithiiraa. And remove the geas from Lalaith.
We traveled to Pranzis to find Bentmuddle, a gnome who was supposed to be at the Hotel Layonara. The trip to Pranzis was uneventful but uncomfortable. I wanted to be done with this. In the
hotel we got directions to Bentmuddle's room while Lalaith waited outside. We couldn't have her hearing where Bentmuddle was and leading Xithiiraa to him. Part of the group went with me and
we knocked on his door.
I am really starting to dislike gnomes. He talked so fast that I had to keep asking him to slow down. He knew what was needed after I showed him the rune stone. But there was a catch.
These gnomes...
He needed a key. Without the key he wouldn't give me his piece of the cage. The key was in some lookout tower behind an enchanting bowl. He handed me his rune stone that apparently was the
key to a chest. So we left Pranzis with Jasra leading the way. I had no idea where this tower was. It was uneventful as well thankfully. Although Bentmuddle said that cult members would try to stop us, the tower was empty. There was a trap door behind the enchanting bowl just like Bentmuddle had said. Under the trap door there was a small room with a chest in it. The rune stone opened it, but
there was no key. Only a note that was addressed to the banker in Lorindar.
So, I was a little confused at first. Was this the key? We were halfway back to Pranzis before I decided to turn back around and head towards Lorindar. Maybe this note would lead to the
key. We got to the bank and the banker was more than helpful. But there was still no key. Gnomes are such a pain.
There was a bag of gold addressed to Braggo WishWangel at Orc's Watch. Jasra had to lead again since we didnt know the way. Along the way though we stopped at Vale. Someone here had another
piece. Victor remembered something Erdissar said about Valerie living in or around Vale.
So we searched around and found her house. She was very cooperative and was actually in a very good mood. I guess her only reason for living there was to hide the piece away. She handed it
to Lalaith and we left. We had moved one step ahead of Xithiiraa finally. We had lost her on the way to Orc Watch and this piece in Vale needed to be kept secret.
We pressed on to Orc Watch. Braggo was in the inn and as drunk as I have ever seen anyone be. I was going to try to get the key from him while he was drunk. Everyone knows that drunks are
easily fooled into doing what you want them to do. Unfortunately, Lalaith tricked him into drinking a potion that cleared his mind. He was not very pleased. Luckily though he was willing to
take his gold but ... no key AGAIN!
This time we got a map. I was ready to head back to Bentmuddle if this wasnt the key, but now we have a map and an X. We decided to follow the map to Saudiria and find the spot on the map
marked by the X. We searched around and from reading the map I found where I thought it was and we started digging. Jasra summoned a wolf that tore into the sand and made things a lot
easier.
Finally as the hole got bigger and bigger, we hid something solid. Clearing the sand away we found a massive chest. It had a dial on it. The map had the number 574309 on it in the corner.
I turned the number to 5 first but nothing happened. So I tried 57 and heard a click. Turning the dial to 43 got another click. Finally turning to 09 unlocked the chest.
I opened it slowly thinking that I had had enough of gnomes and wasnt quite sure if this thing was trapped with some gnomish device that would blow up in my face. It didnt though. It only
had the key. Finally!
We made it back to Pranzis as fast as we could. Outside the Hotel Layonara we split up. Lalaith left by herself to draw Xithiiraa away while I grabbed the last piece. I ran to Bentmuddle
and handed over the key. He gave me his piece of the cage. Before I left though I got the information about Valerie. I figured better to be safe in case anyone was listening or if
Bentmuddle got attacked by Xithiiraa.
Back to Erdissar's now. Although once we got there something strange happened. He was asleep but his daughter walked over to him and slapped him on the back of his head. It woke him up but
it was a little strange. She was such a loving daughter before and now this. She was not the same girl we met the other day.
Erdissar approached us and asked if we had all the pieces. Lalaith wasnt there yet. Or maybe she was hiding. Still. It would be fitting. But she came in the door then. The daughter was
very curious at this point. She was watching Lalaith and Erdissar. I told her that I didnt trust the daughter but it was her life and her geas. I handed the piece that I had and let her
decide.
That was when it all exploded. The daughter screamed "NO!" and a bright flash of light burst in the room. When my eyes recovered, she was there. A demonlike creature with wings and an air
of evil. She wanted the cage. Lalaith screamed for Erdissar to finish the cage while we all threw ourselves at Xithiiraa. We had to give Erdissar time to work his magic.
Again and again we attacked her but she held us back. Victor fell and looked like he had broken something. She hit me with a spell of some sort and things went black...
Until I felt myself being pulled back. I staggered to my feet and retreated a ways to heal myself. It was almost a standoff until Erdissar apparently finished the cage. He looked at
Xithiiraa and let loose his magic. Bolts shot from his hands and pummeled Xithiiraa. Spell after spell he threw as the rest of us did what we could.
Finally, she must have been weakened enough from our efforts. She disappeared in a flash of light. Erdissar told us that it was not complete until he followed her to the plane where she
resides and destroyed her there. He began chanting and a portal appeared. We said our goodbyes and he stepped through.
We thought we were finished. We were wrong. The portal remained. Jasra attempted to close it but it still remained. Iradril was very curious about this portal now. He said something about
having the arcane alliance look at it or something. I am not sure. He was stepping awfully close to the portal. Too close for my taste. I warned him to step back but he of course did not
listen.
I said something again and he looked like he wanted to move away but then he was pulled right in! I told him to get back! I even told him how I didn't want to jump in here after him! But
that's what I did. I didn't even think twice about it really. I jumped in after my friend. Funny how I seem to get in these situations a lot lately.
Anyway, down into some pit of hell we went. I saw Erdissar there and he looked as if he was looking for something. Xithiiraa would be my guess. We were on her ground now. Not exactly the
odds I would have liked. Iradril will hear about this when we get out of here. I was trying to talk to Erdissar when who came through the portal but Lalaith.
Now to say I was shocked would be an understatement. I never really expected anyone to follow me let alone Lalaith after the recent events. I suppose it was a good thing though. Jasra
followed after and then Zerpa.
Erdissar looked to his right and a confident and determined look crossed his face. Although a slightly sad look was there for a brief moment. He walked to a chasm and began chanting again.
Spells began to fly over the chasm and as each spell landed it lit up the other side.
There she was. Xithiiraa. She stood there and did not appear to even notice the spells slamming into her. This was her home after all. Erdissar kept the spells firing but Xithiiraa
continued to just stare at us. When she had had enough she leapt into the air and glided over to us as if she had all the time in the world. She looked at us as if we were nothing but bugs
to be stomped on. It was more than a little disconcerting.
Erdissar called on us to attack. So we started this dance again. She was so elusive that we all had a hard time even getting close enough to hit her. One second she was there and the next
she wasnt. Yet she never completely disappeared. Wave after wave of steel and spell until I could no longer keep track of how long the battle had lasted.
Finally, Xithiiraa fell to the ground, defeated. It was too late though. Erdissar crashed to the ground and wasnt moving. He was alive I guess but not for long. I hated to say it, but this
was the price to pay for what he had done and he had already said he was willing to pay it. I didnt want to leave him there but if we lingered too long then we would all be trapped there
forever.
Jasra did what she could to keep him alive while Iradril dragged him to the portal. We all jumped through and Iradril pulled Erdissar through. The portal snapped shut the second he made it
through. Erdissar stirred for a brief instant and faded away with his final breath. He had a satisfied smile on his face and looked like a weight had finally been taken from him.
Lalaith sighed as well. The geas was gone and she was free. I know I am mad at her but I am happy that she is no longer under the pressure and threat of the geas. We looked around the house for the daughter but she was nowhere to be found until we went outside. Unfortunately Erdissar not only paid the price with his life but his daughter's as well. We gave her a proper burial behind the house. It was only right.
Afterwards we all just went our seperate ways. I walked off by myself to clear my head. These past few days have left me feeling...empty I guess. Maybe some time by Lake Rillon will help.
-
I have been spending time around the Lake lately. The air here seems cleaner and it clears my head. I feel like a fog is hanging over my head and clouding my eyes. I used to think I knew what I was doing. I wasnt sure where the path was leading, but I knew I was on it. Lately though, I am not sure. I think I may have been distracted and stepped off that path. Time to find my way back.
I was sitting in Hlint with Iradril, Tha, and others when a man came barging into town and was screaming at the top of his lungs at the Real Estate office. The sales lady came out to see what the commotion was about and the man screamed in her face. He claimed she sold a house to him with rats! He said he could hear them burrowing around under the floor boards.
He threw the key at her and stormed off. Rhizome offered to investigate the home for the sales lady and make sure that there were no rats. She agreed and handed him the key. She said that the address was 666 Spellguard. So the group of us made our way to Spellgard.
Once there we found the address easily enough. The door was opened and everyone started to walk in. Luckily, a few of us were a little slow at entering. As we were outside getting ready to walk in, a constellation lit up the sky in brilliance. I shuddered as I realized what constellation I was looking at. The Viper.
When we got inside, we warned everyone. Then we heard it. The floorboards were creaking and it felt like someone was watching us. It was an eerie feeling that reached out and grabbed me. We continued on through the house searching. A trap door was found and we all ventured deeper into the house.
There were rats. Not just rats though. Larger and nastier rats than I have seen before. That feeling kept on too. It was like the hair on the back of my neck was standing. Like I knew something was not right here but we had to press on. Downward.
Rats and spiders and snakes. Always the snakes. It was clear that we had uncovered something evil. The further we moved the more that feeling kept weighing down on us. We rounded a corner and saw what looked like an apparition. It stood there and watched us for several moments and then came at us.
It fell easily, but before it disappeared, it was a shock to see that it appeared to be that of a child! We rested there before moving onward. It was then that we had the vision. All of us saw the same thing. It was terrible.
Children gathered in a circle with a pillar of light in the center. They were chanting I think as well. They were certainly performing some sort of ritual. Then each child in turn walked into the center of the circle and then out of the ritual chamber.
It was a horrible feeling to watch that play over in my head. But the worst was to come. We entered a hallway that had several doors leading off of it. Behind each door was a bedroom of sorts. And waiting in each one was what appeared to be the children in our vision. I watched as they attacked and were cut down. It was really no contest. They had no chance.
I know that they were not really children. I believe Ozy said that they were remnants or impressions of something from ages past. It made me sick to watch it happen though. Seven bedrooms in all were visited. The last room had something of interest but at this point there was bickering going on and I missed what was said.
There was a door at the end of the hallway that we paused at. The evil feeling seemed to emanate from behind it. I could feel it rolling over me. Pulsing. It made perfect sense when we opened the door. A statue of a viper greeted us. Shadison.
Behind the statue was another doorway. As we stepped into this room, we were surrounded by darkness and stared at a portal. It was like no other portal I had seen before. Our road led through there. I believe at this point we decided to take a step back and discern some things regarding the children and the evil and the portal. We are to return here and step through the portal to parts unknown.
-
There was a meeting to discuss the events in Hlint earlier. I guess Blood and his generals paraded through town and brought down an unnatural darkness. As usual, I missed it. I am not sure what I could have done really. I most likely would have fallen. But regardless, I wanted to be at this meeting to decide what needed to be done.
I was mistaken though. This meeting was a farce. Ozy put out a call to everyone to spread the word of what happened, what is happening, and what will happen if we fail. Information is our greatest weapon if we would just use it. At this, I thought we were going somewhere. Unfortunately, the meeting then turned to forming a council to consolidate the information.
Now, I understand the reasoning here, but this meeting soon became pointless. It was nothing more than people bickering over who is in the council and who is not. Other were arguing over who gets to vote and who gets to nominate. The point of this meeting was to get people to talk not appoint a council!
I appreciate Ozy calling the meeting and I understand where he is coming from, but this council business makes me think that nothing will get done. Since when is the spread of information a formalized process? I get the uneasy feeling that this council could very easily sit on information it gleans rather than get it to the people.
I will ask Ozy, but I dont think that this was his idea. Who knows though? Ozy is a unique individual and this may have been his plan all along.
After the meeting, I stormed out of the courthouse and stood outside waiting for Tha. Lalaith followed him out and to my surprise she joined Tha and myself. I let Tha know how I felt about the council idea. Both he and Lalaith somewhat agreed with me but had hopes I guess that it would succeed.
As we were discussing it, Chanda walked by. Lalaith disappeared and I can only assume she followed Chanda. Then Tha left as well. I sat there outside of the courthouse and just watched the people stroll by going about their business. My mind was still whirling over this council and some other things.
After some time, Lalaith reappeared. I guess Chanda was not as exciting as Lalaith thought she was going to be.
The conversation then turned to what has been eating at me for some time now. Yet she still claims to not know why I am so angry. It is as if nothing ever happened. I suppose I should be so unaware but I am not.
*beside this there is written* I must remember to never begin a serious conversation in Hlint. There are far too many distractions. I suppose it comes from being so famous.
After several interruptions and some heated words, it was all worked out. Although she is hiding something from me still. But yet it is almost like she is teasing me with it. Like she wants me to find it. I suppose in time.
Now I have to rest. I ran a long way to hear what was said in the meeting and I am tired. Then I have to go find my hat...
-
Where to begin...
I can only assume that she is either avoiding me or she just isn't coming back. I suppose, when I think about it, I don't care either way. Either option leads to all sorts of questions that will never get answered. I have asked around and no one seems to know where she went. Then again how could they when she can disappear like that.
It has been months. Enough is enough.
I am sure Tha will be mad at me. He always seemed to know something about myself that not even I knew. Or rather maybe I was refusing to see it. Would things have been different if I admitted it before? At this point does it really matter? I can go through all the what ifs that I want, but the end result is the same.
I am left sitting here by the campfire writing in this blasted book.
*Owen slams the book shut and throws it in his pack. He pokes at the campfire a bit with a nearby stick. Lightly at first, then with a little more aggression. The light of the fire reflects off of his eyes as he stares into the flames.*
*The stick finally breaks. Owen looks at the broken stick in his hand and shakes his head and sighs. Then he tosses the stick in the fire and stands.*
"I think I need a drink. I wonder what Yastin has on hand?"
*As Owen turns to head into Hlint he sees Acacea skipping down the road and enter Hlint. His face cracks a smile that hasn't been seen in some time*
"Yes, I think a drink is the perfect end to this day"
-
*Owen wakes in his room and looks around confused. He looks like he is trying to get his bearings. He sits up in the bed and holds his head in his hands. He grimaces in pain as he stands up and puts his clothes on. He walks to the door and before opening it, he glances back at the bed and sighs in relief* "At least I wasn't a complete idiot"
*He strolls out to the Wild Surge common room and finds a small table in a dark corner. He pulls out his journal and begins to write...*
The night of drinking has taken a toll. I have no memory of the events of the last night. I remember finding Acacea in the Wild Surge and sharing a drink. Beyond that is a blur. I suppose the upside to that is if I was acting like a fool, I dont remember. The downside is my other memories are still there. Perhaps I need to find another distraction.
Actually, I think the downside is this pounding in my head. It feels as if a dwarven miner is using my head as a pick. How does Acacea drink so much and survive to walk the next day?
I think I heard her talking about the Leilon Arms having a big celebration tomorrow. Perhaps I will go and see what trouble I can get into. Surely I can find a distraction there.
-
I ran into Tha tonight. Of course it was in the Broken Forest. I swear his zealousness is going to be the death of him. What was rather interesting was that he mentioned the Leilon Arms after we had dispatched with the undead. I was curious as to why he would want to go there. He mentioned that the place was interesting and he was becoming fond of it. I think he just likes to watch the people there. It can be quite amusing.
So we headed off to Leilon. I was still wondering about the coincidence of Tha's suggestion and my desire to go to Leilon already. I could only think that something was going to happen tonight.
When we arrived, I saw one of the couches around a table was available and I sat down. There was a good sized crowd there, laughing and drinking. Tha had seated himself on the couch across from me. We hadn't been seated for more than a moment when Kali came over and asked us what we would like. Tha ordered his customary wine. I passed. I was still recovering from the last time. It must have been funny to Kali though. She smiled at me that almost seemed like she was laughing at me. Or maybe it was something else.
As she walked away I watched her walk back to the bar. There were several people seated there. I saw Acacea of course. I also saw Connor. Another coincidence? I hadn't seen him in quite some time. It made me think about ... other things. I almost stood up and walked out, but he saw me and made his way over.
Connor exchanged pleasantries with us and sat down. He looked tired. He asked about Iradril and then as if by magic, or maybe coincidence again, Iradril arrived and sat down with Tha.
I wanted to leave. This conversation could lead to all sorts of things that I was trying to avoid. Blasted coincidences! I came here to forget, not get pulled back in. But Connor is a friend. I couldn't just leave when he had only come over to say hello.
So I asked him what he had been up to. His answer was sort of strange.
"Hmmm...well...quite a bit, really."
It felt like he had answered me with a question. Like he was waiting for me to ask him something. Maybe it was all in my mind. I was sitting there and it felt like I had a choice to make. In one hand I held the choice to ask him about her. I can only think of one or two others that would know something of where she was.
In the other hand, I could just sit and listen to him explain where he had been. Remain silent and continue to forget.
He was looking at me like he was waiting on my answer. Staring at me even. As if he was going to judge me if I chose the wrong path. I supposed I could ask him about her. It couldn't hurt and it could answer a lot of questions that I had.
I was just about to ask him about her when I caught a scent. It was a slightly floral scent that seemed to come from behind me. I turned back and Kali was standing there leaning over the back of the couch.
"Mind if I sit here?" and she pointed to the seat on the couch next to me.
Her green eyes sparkled in the light as she waited on my answer. It seemed to be a night of decisions. I looked at her for a few moments and then let her sit. I cant help but think that a bigger decision was made there that I was unaware of. My mind wasn't very clear though.
The perfume that Kali was wearing was confusing me. I couldn't stop thinking about her. I kept turning and looking at her. She kept asking me questions and I couldn't answer. I was distracted by her eyes. Those green eyes that entranced me every time she turned to me.
Someone mentioned Arindor. I can't remember who it was but Kali made the comment that she planned to return to that dungeon and pay him a visit. I told her that if she did, I could not follow. An oath was an oath. She apparently had no problem with breaking that oath. She tried to convince me to accompany her there but an oath IS an oath. To change the subject, I offered to take her to some other dark and nasty dungeon some time. She looked at me again with those eyes and scooted closer and leaned into me and whispered: "Is that a promise?" How could I say no to that?
She stayed there a moment and then some fools came in to advertise some brothel in Fort Llast. They didn'y call it a brothel of course, but we all know what they meant. It was comical to listen to them try to rationalize what they were doing, but it soon became annoying. We all moved to the bar. Unfortunately, so did the idiots advertising their 'club'.
It was time to leave unfortunately. I said goodbye to Kali, who I now refer to as, Giggles. That woman giggles more than anyone I have ever seen.
I am going to have to find some dark place to visit with her to keep my promise.
-
Tha and I went on a trip to Rilara after we left the Arms the other night. We investigated Bone Hill. So many changes. There is only one mirror or whatever it is that is unlit. Could this be the end game? Is there only one more turn left in this conflict? I wish I knew who was winning.
Bah! Enough of that. Another StoryTeller night was taking place. As I approached the stage in Fort Hope I was discouraged. The crowd was slim. I wonder if the trip through the Broken Forest might have scared most of the people away. I talked with Geir before the show started and got more bad news. Kali and Acacea were not present either. But as they say, the show must go on.
In the end, it was a good show. Some new faces and some old. The tales were entertaining and informative. The crowd seemed to really enjoy themselves as well. I talked to Geir afterwards and I believe we are going to move the show back to Hlint.
I headed to Leilon after the show. I was going to see if the bar was open. I could use a good brew. Not to mention the other perks of a visit to the Arms. I walked in and the bar room was empty. I heard someone on the piano though and I was pleasantly surprised to see Kali.
She smiled at me and those eyes. I could get into a lot of trouble with those eyes.
We shared a few drinks as we sat on the couch. After each bottle was finished she got another from behind the bar. I swear that she sat closer to me each time she returned.
*in the margin there is some scribbling* I need to remember to speak to Derrick about putting a window in the Arms or leaving the door open. It became very warm in the Arms while I was speaking to Kali*
I am not sure how many drinks I had when it was all said and done. I remember Kali trying to get up for another and she fell into my arms. I can't say that that was a bad thing. Her perfume was intoxicating.
I didn't think that it would be smart for me to venture out in the condition I was in. I asked Kali to find me a room for the night. I remember her getting this grin on her face. Her eyes almost glowing...
I cant remember much else. I think I do but I cant be sure. I will have to ask her when I see her again. As I sit here in the common room of the Arms, I wonder where she is this morning.
-
*As Owen walks into the Leilon Arms common room, there are a few people sitting at the tables, eating their meals. The morning is nearly over now that he strolls into the room. He takes a seat at a table in the corner and after a few minutes, pulls out a somewhat worn journal. Flipping through the pages, he finally stops at a blank page and begins writing.*
As I sit here and write these words I can tell you that I have found something and lost something at the same time.
I have found a distraction. I haven't really thought of much else lately so I guess it is a good distraction. The fact that the past is past can only be a good thing. The future is ahead and I have to say that it looks really good from where I sit right now.
And what have I lost? Well, my hat is gone. I think I know where to find it. I think I know exactly where it is. But what it really comes down to is the thrill of the hunt.
*He closes the book and replaces it in his pack. With a slight grin he stands and makes his way to the bar*
-
Kali read my cards tonight. It was just a tad bit unsettling to be honest with you. Some of the meanings behind these cards struck close to reality. I have never had any faith in these types of
things but I suppose there might be some truth them. Either that or maybe I am just reading into them what I want to hear. Either way it made for an interesting evening.
It started with the past. A reflection of the past, she said. I pulled a card and handed it to her. As she laid it down I saw the Great Gold, Rofirein in all his splendor. It was right side up
to me and upside down to Kali. I am not sure what the difference is but it appeared to her to be very important. I was excited when I saw the card until she told me what it meant.
"Injustice and inequality. A Seperation or imbalance."
This wasnt really what I was expecting but I went along and pulled the next card.
The Present Times
I handed her the card and again she flipped it over between us. It was the Queen. She said that she was a striking resemblance to Allurial. I had to trust her on that as I have never met the
Queen. It was again right side up to me and upside down to Kali.
"Possible domestic problems, a lack of affection and achievement. This could possibly lead to or be caused by promiscuity."
And then we came to a glimpse of the Future. She claimed that the future the cards would see would be if I remained on my present course.
The card I picked this time was upside down to me and rightside up to Kali. It was a picture of a man surrounded by books. She called it the Lost Librarian. I had to laugh at that. I would
hope that my life would be more exciting than that of a librarian!
But the card meant nothing of the sort.
"Caution and discretion. A need to reach into one's inner resources. A time to take a step back and reflect on the current circumstances. Counsel sought and taken."
I was a little apprehensive after the reading. Could there be more to this or was it just a coincidence? I would have asked Kali more about it but she just stared at me with those eyes. I cannot think straight when she looks at me like that. It's like they bore into my head and make all my thoughts on everything else disappear.
Not that I am complaining.
It's just..
-
*as Owen leaves the Arms he is met by a smallish wind elemental. The elemental bows and lays a scroll at Owens feet, then it disperses into a gust of wind. The scroll is bound with ribbons of white and gold and it is sealed with a Golden Leaf.*
*Owen carefully unwraps the scroll and begins to read it. He is standing on the doorstep of the Arms and as he continues to read, his fingers slowly begin to grip the paper more forcefully. As he finishes reading the scroll his hands crush it between them. He crumples it into a ball and squeezes it in a tightly clenched fist.*
She wants me to know she's around? After all this time and that's it? She's around?
*He chuckles in disbelief and shakes his head. Then he looks at his hand which is still clenched so tight that his fingers have streaks of white running through them. He takes a few steps into the street and throws the paper as far as he can and turns before it lands*
A gracious invitation indeed. I suppose maybe if I have the time I will make it. Who knows? I may just have to be distracted at the time.
*He turns and walks back into the Arms. Patrons exiting the Arms hear him mumbling something about finding a drink and someone named Cae.*
-
*Owen sits down at the desk in his home and pushes aside the notes that he was using to detail the truly epic nature of his life. He sets down another notebook and brushes off the dust that has accumulated on it. Opening it, he peruses the entries that he had made long ago. He shakes his head and sets the book down, open to a blank page.*
*He stares at the page for some time before picking up the quill and puts it to the paper.*
Change.
It is inevitable. That is an understood and accepted fact. Yet, when change arrives, we rail against it with all of our might. In the end, change always wins.
Always...
-
*Owen sits in the grass so familiar to him now. Even though the memories here are still painful, he still sits and lets out a long sigh as he opens his journal and begins to write*
At one time I felt as if there was a direction in my life. It was not without some trepidation that I actually started to follow it mind you. I had been just 'being' for so long that I knew nothing more. The truth be told, I think I enjoyed just 'being'.
It was fun.
It was easy.
Little did I know that I would get some guidance from the last place I would have ever believed possible. A Dragon.
But as with all things, I pretty much laughed it off. Why should I care?
Until the signs pretty much slapped me in the face. So I followed what I thought I was supposed to be doing. It made sense. As strange as it may seem, it felt right. And let me tell you, even though it felt right, it was still a little strange to me.
But somewhere along the way I got distracted. What had felt so right before was totally pushed aside.
Forgotten.
Until now.
I sit here and reflect on the past and I really dont see how it happened. It was as if the path was pulled out from under my feet without my knowledge and replaced by some twisted path where no matter how far I tread, I end up in the same place I started.
I talked to Tha'Azail the other night about all of this. Well, not all of this. I think he knows how I am feeling but he wouldnt pry.
I did ask him about faith and how he knew that Aeridin had called him. It was an interesting conversation. He had grown up in much the same situation that I had. Maybe not to the extreme as I was, but he felt the resentment among those he was raised with. It got me thinking though. If he can find the perserverance to join the priesthood among the those who did not want him, then why cant I go back?
Now I should stop here and put any of your fears to rest. I am not under any circumstances going to go to the Citadel and become a priest. I can imagine all sorts of hells in which I would be tormented for all eternity. Becoming a priest would top them all.
However, I feel a certain need to return to the Citadel and make some sort of effort to make up for the ...problems that I caused while living there. I never really appreciated the fact that they took me in. I realize now that they took quite a risk by allowing me to stay there.
After talking with Tha, I decided that I should seek out Kobal and seek his advice. He is a no nonsense person and I think that even through his hatred for Drow, he would give me a straight and honest answer. I also need him to make a sword and armor for me. I can think of no better person to make it for me than another who follows the Dragon.
-
I have spoken to Kobal! More importantly, he didn't try to kill me!
I had heard of his dislike for drow before and I even experienced it once when we worked together to remove that vampire creature that was terrorizing people in Hurm. Nasty business that was.
Anyway, I talked to Kobal. I really should clarify that. I sent him a letter....but he answered so that can be considered talking. Really!
So as I said, we talked. He agreed to meet with me and discuss my concerns over returning to Pranzis and the temple. And of course the forging of my rapier and chain shirt. I only hope that I can meet with him soon. Something is coming. I can see it all around. I can feel the tension in the air. Everyone is preparing for the worst.
I wonder if the time is drawing near when we will be asked to step forward and become what the Dragon saw in us all those years ago...