Roy Aynsworth

[bytor]

Untitled

by Roy

The snowy crests are glimmering in rays of morning sun, Entwined in wind are whispered songs of the eternal slopes, Rocks' rumbling, and the steps of fleeting mountain antelopes, As with the dawn a new day in the Grey peaks has begun.  Out of the depths the calls emerge, ascending one by one,  Faint rumbling in the air that's sent to those few who can hear; Grazing 'cross the mountains range, they travel far and near,  Returning back to mountain's womb – in moment, they're gone.  And as in dream, on rocky ridge, there stands a maiden fair, No foe nor woe could stop her heart from heeding to the call,  Nor she has faultered as she braved the trials of her soul; On ground she kneels, and to the Mother offers she her prayer.  Calm and harmony upon her, she feels like she's reborn, Her oath's complete now; to the way of Sacred fist she's sworn...

[bytor]

Muir's going to be a mother; the news was a shock to both me and Eghaas, but at least I didn't shout “What?!”, eh? She was sitting on the bench in Hlint with a man named Enzo, who happens to be second-in-command of the Wolfswood rangers, a group that crier decides to shout about once in a blue moon. Seems they're together now, and that he's father of the child.  I have hard time picturing her as a mother, if I'm honest. But then again, people can change, right? And if I think about it again, Muir and I have talked about her chaotic nature once... and maybe, she doesn't really need to change at all. I guess time will tell... She seemed happy about it, and all in all, as much as I consider Ark my friend, she seemed much better than when she was with him...  Ark, however, didn't seem to be taking the news well. He was joking about it in the beginning, but as soon as he learnt of Enzo's position, he started with petty insults. About climbing the ladder, about many partners, and so on... Muir surprised me, though, because she wouldn't let herself sink on his level, and remained calm throughout it. I had to agree with a hooded woman that was at benches at that time, who observed that 'the male' (Ark) was jealous and in his mind just couldn't get over it... even though, it seemed the lady in question was holding some huge grudge against men in general...  Later, after a short stride, Muir and I sat in hills outside Hlint and talked about this and that; eventually she asked if no lady had caught my eye... Heh... love, yeah... one of those things that seem to work for everyone but me... Seriously, every time I find myself falling in love, a) the woman in question disappears b) the woman in question turns out to fancy someone else c) the woman in question turns out to be fancied by someone else, preferably a friend of mine and/or a person I'd consider a better match for her anyway  So, at the bottom line, why even bother, eh? Suppose there are people who are meant to remain alone...

[bytor]

* The following excerpt is written on a page that is not bound in the journal, but rather just put between the rest of the pages. It would seem that while its time of origin is about same as of the rest of the entries, it doesn't necessarily fit their chronological order... *

The New Haven, VII

Port Hampshire... gods, it seems I've aged a century, even though it's been only a bit more than a week since our boat for the island set sails from here. It's not a good time to whine about myself, though... even though we're waiting for the boat's captain to get his crew from the Inn and take us back to the island. But, yeah, first things first...  After getting kicked out of Town hall, we were spending night in front of the Inn; surprisingly enough, nobody came after us, so nobody discovered we had Rana with us. She played a song for us, a daunting and sad piece, yet it was overwhelming... (think it's needless to mention that while she played it perfectly, her expression remained blank). Next song was a happy one, and even though her expression remained blank again, the fiddle she was using began to glow... Seeing that, we got her harp from her room at Inn, and she played another song for us; again, played perfectly, and this time, she accidentally summoned a book...  We figured her magic was resisting the Gift, trying to break free... Lee said she thought she knew why Gift didn't work on Rana at first, or on the Mayor... she believes that the gift of Weave is resistant to certain kinds of 'use' and attempts to being sucked away from one. And in Rana's case, since she's a bard, her magic is tied to her emotions...  All the playing and magic left Rana exhausted, so she left for her room at Inn to get some rest. Just in time, because as soon as she was gone, Cuddles came waddling down the hill, looking for her. Grandpa Huyghes once said that if you don't lie, they can't catch you; so true to that piece of wisdom, we told Cuddles Rana'd left us and we were waiting for the boat to ship us back to mainland. He left us with two of his guards to keep us out of the trouble...  By the time the boat arrived, Cuddles must've turned whole island except the Inn upside down, because we saw him enter... Ami, who was invisible, followed him in to get Rana. Ifion and I decided it was a good time to go to Inn as well and buy some supplies for our voyage... Much to our dismay, the bartender was nowhere to be found, so guess whom we had to pester with out questions about buying some food? Poor old Cuddles looked like he was going to snap any moment... In the end, we caused enough commotion for Ami to get Rana out of the Inn and back to the boat... and we got pie for free.  Once everyone got to the boat, we found that 'everyone' wasn't the right word – Lee was still waiting to talk with Mayor. After some waiting and then some more waiting, Nyya went to get her. She came back alone, though, saying Lee was staying. Heh... „We had a plan. Let's stick with it.“ was what Lee said when we were discussing our course of action and as she handed me the letters she had written for Rofirienite church. Don't think any plan involved her staying, but I figured she knew what she was doing? She asked Nyya to go back with us, to make sure we'd come back for her... or something.  I don't know, I suppose it was her choice. And I'm not to judge, since I've no idea what's on her mind... But others didn't seem to think so – particularly Ami looked like she was going to explode any moment, and after we finally reached Port Hampshire, she let out a scream that would have certainly earned her a leading position among harpies on Dragon isle...  We went for Velensk, to the Rofirienite temple... on the way there, I finally asked Rana why she went to the island in the first place... „I wanted a change... and after I killed that boy, I needed to lie low for a while.“ certainly wasn't the answer I was expecting... She said it was an accident though, that he'd snuck on her... I suppose the upside of the Gift is that people don't need to lie anymore, right?  We delivered the letters and were told we might have to wait a week before getting reply... so we had Rana's health examined by the healer, and we told the story of the island. The healer, Reus, didn't seem to believe us, and I think he was even sneering at us a bit, but the other one, Delida, seemed more understanding. In the end, Reus casted one of those divination spells on Rana, frowned and pulled Delida aside for a short discussion. Of which I managed to get only „... no reaction. As though she had no soul...“. When they came back to us, Delida said she'd like to have Rana stay with them, and that if we were going back to the island, we should make sure we didn't get Gifted... She said it was too early to say anything else, only that she'd kill to avoid getting it herself – that told alot I think... And that she'd get Lee back from the island as soon as possible...  So we asked Rana to stay at temple, and she agreed. We told her we'd come back soon, then rushed back to Port Hampshire, where we managed to catch our boat. So yeah, we're going to sail back. As soon as the captain and his crew show up... (or as soon as we run out of patience and try to sail the boat ourselves)

[bytor]

* The following excerpt is written on a page that is not bound in the journal, but rather just put between the rest of the pages. It would seem that while its time of origin is about same as of the rest of the entries, it doesn't necessarily fit their chronological order... *


 
 

The New Haven, VIII

Right, this is not the way things were supposed to happen... or was it? How can I tell anyway...? Right, try again... I'm sure Ma' and Da', Alan and Nyyn, and perhaps even Grandpa Huyghes would be choking in shock if they could see me now... under arrest... with charges of assault and murder. And you know, deep inside, there's a gnawing voice telling me those aren't completely unfounded...  I can tell myself over and over that if I had been in charge, I would've had things go differently... But do we get to choose? I didn't condemn what we did, so if there's a guilt upon our group everyone is to bear equal portion of it... And if I think about it, there's a line... a line I'd probably cross as well if a friend who's as close to me as Lee is to Nyya would be in Lee's place...  So yeah, as you probably could've gathered by now, we were too late... When our boat returned to this accursed place, we disembarked under the cloak of Ami's invisibility spells. We swept through the Town hall, trying to find Lee, but in vain.  Overheard conversation between Cuddles and Father Ignatious, though, who said they doubted they could've gotten 'them' (us, I would assume) all, but that one is still better than none... With the invisibility spells wearing off, we quickly left the building...  We came across Lee in the village; she was standing by the house, and everyone rushed towards her. First mistake, I'd reckon... why did we bother to keep our presence concealed at the town hall, if they openly walked up to her and talked in raised voices? At this point, it doesn't bear any significance, though. Never underestimate anger and rage... Never seen Nyya like that... snarling, shouting, and when a guard showed up to see what all the commotion was all about, aiming her bow at him, and then simply storming off to the Town hall, swearing she'd kill the Mayor... closely followed by Ami... and the rest of us, together with Lee and the guard who looked puzzled, but otherwise pretty much nonchalant...  We found them upstairs... facing Cuddles and two of his guards. Trying to force a pass through the hallway with threats... and then, as Ami did some movements as if she was about to cast, and Cuddles raised his sword as if to stop her, Cym casted a hold spell at him... and then the guards charged... Nearly cut us down, but after getting through initial shock, we did the only thing that was left to do – we fought back. Father, Mayor and more guards showed up and joined the fight, but we prevailed... They weren't bad people, the guards... just following the orders, one of those people who find themselves at wrong place at wrong time...  We tied up Mayor, Father and Cuddles, and dragged them to the big room with the chair that is used in the Gift giving and the orbs... Lee took a place next to the Mayor, eyeing us with distrust... Ami was trying to make the Mayor talk with some threats, asking how the Gift can be reversed. It shouldn't have come as a surprise that he doesn't know... Why would he ever need to reverse it anyway? He seemed to object to the idea of smashing the orbs, though. And frankly, I agree with him. It's too risky, and who are we to play gods with the lives of the citizens... 'specially in the wake of what just happened...  Then the boat arrived... Rofirienites from Velensk... Reus the Healer among them, and someone named Caighd, who seemed to be in charge... What do you think they saw when we took them upstairs to meet with the mayor, through the hallway with dead guards and blood all over the place? The story through our eyes? Through Mayor's?  They started an investigation; Ami had to recap the whole story, and Mayor and Lee were asked to confirm or deny parts of it. I kinda wish they had sent Deida instead of Reus... when I tried to bring up to their attention the worries they had when they examined Rana at the temple, I was told to shut up and that it's not important... They were focusing more on the storming the Town hall part (understandably) and I'm still under impression that Reus doesn't really believe the whole story about Gift...  Ironically enough, the church we had to contact is the one who's most likely to see things black and white, and to which Mayor's ideals are not that foreign at all... far less than ours, I'd imagine. And yeah, we might've broken the Law (as if -that- is what's important, who cares about morals and one's conscience...), but then again, is there a Law stating you should not steal one's soul? And if not, how come? Because so far there has been no such case so there has been no need for one? And hey, it's all for the 'greater good' in the end, no?   So yeah, we're all under arrest now... Even though the Rofirienites didn't seem to fully appreciate Mayor's means, we're all to be shipped back to Velensk, where a trial will be held. By those who know even less of the whole story than we do... But I guess that's the inherent weakness of the human law... And in the end, it doesn't even matter; I think no sentence they can bestow upon you can beat the one you bestow upon yourself... I hope Rana is alright, at the temple, though, and I hope Deida can find a way to reverse the effects of the Gift on both her and Lee... And I hope those guards can be raised by Cym and Rofirienite clerics...

[bytor]

Revenge of the goblins, I  

 
Advice of the week: Never, ever (ever ever ever...) trust   when it comes to shortcuts and swiftest ways into the heart of goblin territory. Or, if you have to (because he pays good, because it's a she, because someone just has to or becaue the rest of the group does), make sure there aren't snakes around. And if you and luck aren't on the best terms, and if - heaven forbid - your group picks a fight with them, make sure you aren't one of the foobrave sods holding the frontline when the big one shows up... Alternatively, make sure you have a cleric and/or a bunch of skilled healers with you...  Shortcut... the shortest (travelable?) distance between two points, which somehow: a) takes the longest time to travel (except in case when it involves free fall) b) involves the greatest health hazard (even in cases when it doesn't involve free fall)  And what's this all about you might ask? Well, remember the reports of new goblin clan sightings in the hills? Faster, stronger, meaner, better equipped, better trained and an annoyance all the way around? It would seem it has come to Garent's attention that they are causing commotion a tad too close to Hlint for his liking, so he put forth a call for people...  Our mission: get deep into goblin territory, find out what's going on, and try to find out how to put it to an end. Since it was assumed that a new clan was attempting a hostile takeover, it was suggested we use a shortcut to the lowest levels of the Red light cavern, so that we might have a word with goblin chieftain without having to slaughter his minions on our way down (which tends to be an awfully inconvenient starting point for negotiations).  And this is where the funny part starts... it turns out there's a secret passage, leading from an abandoned and locked up well in the middle of Hlint to the Red light caverns. The one goblins don't know about... And hand on my heart, even if they did... I doubt any decently sane goblin would use it... and hopefully the same goes for majority of people, though, considering we went that way, I wouldn't bet my life on it...  Ma' ever told you how all sorts of vermin would start to breed in that pile of junk you were keeping under your bed? Well, it turns out that such is the way with the abandoned wells... Seriously... Green and black jellies, huge leeches, and last but not the least, snakes... There was this particularly huge and nasty one; all I remember was making our stand, then everything went dizzy, and then everything went black... When I opened my eyes again, my arm was bandaged, and I could tell someone has been doing the cutting around the wound to get rid of the poison... I felt weak; it was almost as if a certain someone had thought my time had come and reared her ugly head, not reckoning with the healing skills of Jacee, the woman who was leading us.  And the irony? We were going the wrong way... The place was also full of traps (for which I could but wonder about who had set them...), which significantly slowed our progress. But eventually, we managed to overcome all the perils waiting for us on our shortcut, and found ourselves in the cave with goblin overlord.  After some initial banter, he agreed to cooperate... Told us about the tablets, which make “goblins stronger, but goblins no more”. He said that a shaman and about hundred of goblins had gone to the Grey peaks to retrieve the tablet (which was hidden in the cave behind waterfall by goblins, due to its bad nature), and they had been changed... We were asked to destroy these tablets, and were promised a decent payment for it. Right, I'm no mercenary – but these changed goblins are a threat I'd like to see an end to. So we agreed... We were warned that spending more than a day in tablets' vicinity would change us as well... And then we were given an amulet signifying our temporary alliance, so that we could leave the caverns by the longer (and quicker) way.  Made our report to Garent, who asked us to investigate further... Those of our initial group who are still at strength to undertake another journey have been reinforced by a fresh group of adventurers that has been gathered while we were at the caverns, and now everyone's making last preparations. Should be leaving soon... Let's just hope there are no shortcuts this time.

[bytor]

* this journal entry seems to have been torn out of the journal; judging by the handwriting, it has been written in haste and at points verges on being unreadable, partly also due to stains of mud and blood and apparent exposure to the rain *
 

Revenge of the goblins, II

Right... I'm writing this as we are making 'progress', during the rests we are taking... Why? Because I'm a pessimist and I might not live to the point where I could write everything down... We're at the edge of the Peaks now; on the way here I warned people of ambushes, but most just sneered, 'specially because a badger came charging upon us, and acting upon my reflexes, I shot it... Yeah, keep laughing – we got an ambush waiting for us around next road turn, and we got first casualty there. Fortunately, Garent has supplied us with decent amount of scrolls with raise spells, so we brought him back. But I have a bad feeling about this...  

*

Cavalry... spider and worg riders, but nothing we couldn't have taken care of so far... One of the mages we have with us, Rose (or so others are calling her), keeps going about examining the goblin bodies, and about different magic schools... mage-talk... Seems as far as buffs go, everyone's on their own, mostly. Fair enough, I can live with that. Thank gods we have Godim with us, though...  

*

Ogres... look normal, at least something... imagine ogre being changed the way these goblins are... their mages have death spells, though, and nobody seems to have wards against that. Risky... Right, let's wait 'till everyone's climbed up... Someone has to keep the rear guard in case more ogres show up...  

*

Came across two groups of goblins up here on the ridge; cavalry, elite warriors, and shamans. They have death spells, it would seem. Or those were traps, can't really tell... There were some ice storms upon us, and that death spell... more casualties... wonder how long before we're out of the scrolls? Seems people don't have soul stones with them, so the cleric we have with us is swearing he'll stop raising them... And group tactics... ain't... Gnh, suppose a quick rest would be in order... one of the shamans got me with the spell that drains your strength earlier...  

*

Bloomin' mages! We're still standing on the bloody ridge, with them examining the bodies... Casting random spells at them... Seems they are trying to figure out something with opposing magic schools? Don't think it's safe here, though... it's in the open, and the lights from the spells are bound to be seen well in the twilight... Only a matter of time before we have more goblins upon us...

*

Hey! They managed to turn one of the bodies back to normal! And we also have spider riders gathering at the base of the stairs...  

*

Good gods... we clashed with the spider riders, and more came onto us... we fought them back into the plains, which turned out to be rigged with traps... death spell ones, again... or were those shamans... I still can't tell. After the clash was over, half our group was down. Guess it was my turn to use the scrolls Garent had given us... Now I understand all the fuss our cleric is making over soulstones... When raising the red-armoured warrior who had been shouting battle cries to Vorax as we entered the battle, it felt as if part of my soul was ripped from me... And he wasn't the only one... Uhm, if I raised someone I shouldn't have, forgive me, eh?... Seems we'll be retreating to Lar to regroup and reorganise...  

*

Right... I feel we're just wasting time here. I mean, resting and all was in order, but sitting at the Inn and drinking ale while an army of goblins might be on the move towards Hlint? And don't get me wrong, I'm not in a hurry to get killed... But we're doing nothing, not even discussing tactics... I think the problem with this group is that we've never been together before... As such, group tactics... simply ain't. It seems to me that once the battle starts, everyone's on their own... Godim and the cleric go ahead to meet with the shamans, because they can ward themselves against death magic, and we get the cavalry and infantry. Wouldn't be such a big deal, if we weren't too scattered... So essentially we're doing one on one fights, and in my experience, those are for heavy-armoured or very nimble fighters... And of course, when it becomes three on one fight with odds favouring worg riders... Bah, I'd tell the people to form up, but why should they listen? I'm no pally, I lack the authority and charisma... I'm a ranger – I don't lead, and I don't follow. And if you hear me issuing orders, it usually means situation's really bad... Bah, ranting again... let's see if we're ready to move...  

*

We finally made it to the waterfall... the fight with the last group went a bit better, though the way I see it, it might as well be just good luck. I don't know, everyone seems to think spreading out is a good idea... Sure, it has its merits, especially because if a death spell is cast upon us, only few if not only one person gets hit by it (kinda hard to find solace in that if you happen to be that one person, though). However... if we had taken some sort of spearhead formation, with everyone aiming at the shaman with their bows or spells, we would've taken him down before he could've casted at us. Everyone shooting at him, until the cavalry had hit the frontline, and by then hopefully they'd be the only ones left to worry about... The way I see it, it'd increase the effectiveness of our attacks while reducing the amount of injuries on our side... But hey, listen to the mage, she knows what she's doing...  And the quote of the week, courtesy of our mage, who was complaining all the time about us not leaving a single goblin alive for her to experiment on... so the cleric suggested her to have one of them raised... “No... no, that's too dangerous . The magic will mix... We don't want that...” Yeah, in the wake of all the death spells we've gone through, and all the fighting prowess we've witnessed in these goblins, that's why it'd be dangerous...  Now, short rest before entering the cave... A scary thought here: all the death spells, and I got through all of them unaffected... I have a strong suspicion that if I had been sitting in Hlint instead, I would've met the woman of my dreams, made a fortune, figured out the meaning of life and lived happily ever after. As it is, though, I figure that by now my account at the bank of luck should be finally depleted. So I dearly hope either the cave is empty (yeah, very likely...) or that our tactics improve, because lack of those in the tunnels tends to yield very unpleasant results...

[bytor]

Revenge of the goblins, III

The goblin threat should be over now... Figure I must've had some of that good luck left, because (as can be evident from the fact that I'm writing this) I lived through this adventure. Though there were times when I thought we were done for, like right after I finished writing my previous entry...  We entered the cave, and it immediately became clear we were going to face far more goblins than anticipated... Hundred, said goblin chieftain back at Red light cavern... But from the tracks and the voices coming from below, and from the quick scouting we did, we gathered that we most likely have stumbled upon an enclave hosting around thousand of goblins. So we did the only thing that seemed appropriate – we got out as fast as we could, and sent a bird to Hlint, asking for reinforcements...  As we were waiting, goblin patrols came pouring out of a cave, and we had to fight them... then there came goblin groups from the mountains, the direction where we came from. And suddenly, we found ourselves surrounded. There was no tactical advantage to the position we were forced to hold, because as soon as we took a bit more favorable position, the one that'd allow us to fend off their cavalry attacks more effectively, their shamans began casting at us from across the lake... So as we held our ground as best as we could, we figured that the waves of goblins coming from the mountains might've been due to our reinforcements arriving... the goblin groups might've been retreating to warn the rest, and as we were in their way, the warnings they might've been bearing were in vain...   Eventually, our reinforcements arrived; led by a red-haired woman who introduced herself as Melanna. She said Garent has sent them and told them to look for me; he told them of the tablets and the danger they posed, so there was not much left for me to tell, except that we found the cave and that there were lots of goblins waiting for us. Melanna seemed to have a decent amount of experience leading a group and a decent concept of group tactics, so she was put in charge of the group...  We did well... compared to the way we were fighting our way through the mountains, anyway. I guess it's not just the issued orders and tactics, but you need to have people who are ready to go by those. That's not to say we were in total chaos, but at times, I found the group too stretched, with the front line pushing forth maybe a tad too fast for my taste. 'course, I was in the front line as well, but if you see others pick a fight ahead, you can't really stand still and watch them getting hit... I suppose that's what being a part of group is about – if someone of the group picks a fight, you help them with it... and it's your responsibility to make sure the people you're fighting for are worth of doing so.  There were some nasty traps laid for us, and warded doors... and lots of goblins... and since our advancing was slowed by all that, the vicinity of the table was also taking its toll, causing strife among the group... But in the end, we managed to get past all the perils (unfortunately, with casualties, but such is the way we tread...). We came into the cavern with giant stone, and goblins' leader standing next to it. We dealt with his guards, but when we tried to fight him, we couldn't harm him. Then, as we were keeping the goblin busy, a druid we had in our group called to his Lady (which, surprise surprise, turned out to be Mist) and asked her for  strength, and eventually, he managed to destroy the stone. And with the stone's destruction, the goblin was quickly defeated...  The druid was lying on the ground, exhausted, and the rest of us were not in much better shape; so after making sure no goblins were left lurking around in a cavern, we rested... and we're ready to head out now, to inform Garent and the Red light goblins of our success...  So I guess I owe Mist a prayer of thanks, eh... I'm pretty sure I know some people who'd love the irony of that...

[bytor]

Hmm... It would seem the skies are growing even darker, and the overall impression I get is that things are going to be even worse...
 
There was a meeting at Hurm arena, held by some Bard, with the purpose of shedding some light on the recent events, which have, since I have been mostly spending my time in the remote parts of the forest, slipped my attention. It was a rather large gathering, of people whose skill are far beyond mine and who have probably seen more than I ever will... There were druids and rangers and there were Rofirienites and Toranites, and other prominent figures...  It turns out there are four seeds in existence, also called Seeds of Seasons. As the ranger standing next to Gel and me told us, they could be used to restore the balance in the Broken forest. The Bard asked everyone to share the information on the seeds, and offered a reward for those who would bring the seeds into custody of the Library. Didn't say why Library'd want them, though... Nor could I fully see why Rofirienites and Toranites were interested in them. When Bris, in whose possession is apparently one of the seeds, talked about restoring balance in the Broken, Serissa said the seeds could be used for 'greater purpose'. I had to agree with the ranger who was standing next to us that there were different parties with different interests present...  It turned out that the witch, called Selian, and the one responsible for the current state of the Broken, was also after the seeds... summoned a Balor, who was chasing the brownie outside Hlint... and a party found notes which seemed to be instructions for finding the seeds... or something.  A kind of argument ensued; Drogo was saying that if seeds were to be gathered, they were to remain in the hands of the druids... of course, you can imagine that such claim didn't go that well with Rofirienites... But in the end, it was established that a seed that's located on Firesteep should be recovered before Balors sent by Selian find them. And so two groups were formed; druids and rangers, who were to retrieve the seed, and the rest, who were to clear the way for the nature folk.  At first I thought of joining Bris' group... but then she said that those who wouldn't be able to protect themselves against Selian's power should bow out at that point. It seemed everyone there could have, but I figured I might've just gotten in the way. Ma' once said that not everyone can be heroes all the time, and that knowing one's place is the beginning of wisdom. So I wished them luck... Suppose there are better ways to help the cause than getting myself into clutches of Soul mother due to not knowing (or rather accepting) my limits...  Some time later I came into Daniel and asked him how the trip went; he said that the Balor had beaten the groups to the seeds, but seemed willing to negotiate. So anything could happen... He also said that he feared the strife arising due to conflicting interests. He admitted that his church would like to get the seeds as well, but that he had sworn to help Drogo retrieve them for the druids...  There've been more reports of Balor sightings across Mistone, but luckily, so far I haven't come across any.  Also, there are dire news coming from Hurm... it would seem that since the afore mentioned gathering there, a party of adventurers has poked around black dragons' lair too much, and the beasts have decided to deliver a warning... Reports have it that half the city was destroyed, and that there's plague and sickness taking their toll in the aftermath... There are rumours of ships being turned back, of complete bar on incoming and outgoing traffic... And there are calls for help and donations put up at almost every notice board... Which reminds me, I should be off to brew some potions of cure, antidote and restoration...

[bytor]

* Another of those journal entries that seem to have fallen out of the journal at some point - so it may not fit the chronological order of the entries on the pages it's been put between *  Another of those expeditions that leave me wondering where I have left my sanity and common sense... but then again, are those two really something I could ever claim to have anyway? So as the journey leaves you sitting on one of the highest summits in the Berhagen mountains, freezing and wishing for nothing but a warm, cozy place to sleep and have a decent meal at, you realise that the 'sacrifice in the name of science' is more than a bunch of fancy words... or something along those lines.  This particular story (eeek, 'story' makes it sound like all those bards' tell-tales in which ranger eventually ends up married and lives happily ever after in spite of it...) begins in Hlint, some time back now... by the Hlint benches, there was an odd hissing individual with an even odder way of speaking, being interviewed by some scholarly-looking person, who claimed to be Dean of University in Spellguard... there was lots of mage-talk, so I didn't really pay any heed to it and went my way.  A day or so later, I found Rissa, Mylindra and some others staring at what seemed to have been a gnomish contraption of a sort, accompanied by an angry gnome. Who claimed one of those gathered had tampered with his device (which turned out to have been sabotaged by a bird who must've mistaken it for a place to relieve itself...). As the conversation went on, we learned that he was a master tinker of a man named Arthur of Spellguard University and that they were working on this device which they called SEARCH engine... Standalone Elemental Attraction and Resonance Confinement Heloscope, whatever that's supposed to mean... Essentially, its alleged purpose was to amplify an attraction of a certain element, thus drawing near the elementals of that element... it would also project a binding circle made up of energy of opposing element, so that there'd be no way for the elemental to escape... While it sounded fascinating (in it's own particular way), we thought the whole thing was too dangerous to be performed in the middle of Hlint. But the gnome assured us they'd be taking it somewhere isolated in few months and that help of adventurers would probably be sought for. And then, as the time went on, and with all the things going on, the whole thing slipped out of my mind...  Now, imagine my surprise when, couple of months later, I am on my way to Fort Velensk to pick up corn and come across a device that looks suspiciously like that SEARCH prototype? The people standing next to it – Brielle, Corba, a pale-looking woman called Yu and Galen – apparently heeded a call for help in expanding world's knowledge. And it turned out it was put forth by Arthur, the Dean of Spellguard University and his master tinker, Gimbol (who was generously given a decent stack of alternative names by Arthur...). So we agreed to help, for one reason or another (there was a talk of being accepted to the University, with Arthur being Dean of Admissions there... how does a degree in being a ranger sound, eh?).  Arthur had a map which lead us past the golems' territory, into a valley with hidden entrance. There, right at the beginning of it, I managed to step into a trap - a fair warning to trespassers, I reckon... After some more scouting, Yu and I discovered a campsite, which was inhabited by group of people who bore striking resemblance to isolated ancient tribes Ma' was once talking about...  Brielle said she had heard of them; they had been a tribe of giant hunters, that had been thought to have been wiped out by a rockslide... We were discussing how to proceed (whether to show ourselves or try to remain unnoticed and hope their trackers don't pick up our trail), when Brielle and Yu openly went over to greet them...  And then the commotion ensued (after all, decent amount of that is always about women, no?)... the man who was apparently their chief simply grabbed Brielle and pushed her in his tent, while the male part of our group was being given dirty glances. The tribesfolk didn't appear to be speaking common, but they were grunting and showing teeth in animal-like fashion. So I tried speaking to them using the animals' language, and I think they at least partially understood me. I was thinking of telling them that the women belonged to us, but then figured it would've been presumptuous... so instead I warned them that the women were dangerous, which wasn't really far from truth, considering all the threats Yu making... The whole commotion ended with the women who were pushed inside the tent (first Brielle, then Corba) casting invisibility and getting out, and we simply went on, with Gimbol assuring the tribesfolk that Arthur would send them a harem of women at later point... if only they had understood him... but luckily, we weren't pursued, so we went on. It'd be nice to know the story behind that tribe though, because we hadn't seen any women or children there... no wonder they were all over those of our group, eh?  We went on and reached the base of our mountain; pulling the SEARCH up the slopes had nearly costed old Arthur his back, though... Up in the slope we came across the hermit and tried to get help from him. It was a rather silly approach, if you ask me – I mean, hermits live in remote places to be away from the people and aren't likely to be bribed by things that common folk would be, right? If I were a hermit, I'd make sure I'd be as self-sufficient as possible anyway... But eventually he must've grown tired of us pestering him there, and he agreed to lead us along the mountain trail.  And we walked... and walked... and walked... And the device had to be carried, because the trail had gotten too narrow for the ox... But eventually we reached the summit – boy, what a view! And then it turned out that Arthur hadn't really figured whole logistics out – we had to make huge leaps to reach the other side, and it took Gimbol's magic to put the device to its final destination...  Then the experiment finally began; Gimbol pushed some levers and buttons and the device made some sounds only gnomish contraptions can come up with, and all of a sudden we had to defend ourselves from a group of angry fire elementals. Luckily, we had the foresight to protect ourselves from elements so we managed to fend them off... Same with a group of dazzling smaller elementals that must've been lighting ones... and then the device finally got it right – a -huge- lighting elemental appeared, and it was trapped in there. It was a really awesome sight... up to the point when we figured by the way it was looking at us that it wasn't all that fond of standing in front of an audience. So we asked Gimbol to send it back... to its credit, his device complied, although there was a loud bang and we were swept to the ground, and when we came back to our senses, Gimbol was lying unconscious next to it... but we fixed that using an ancient cure for unconsciousness – worn-out ranger's boots under one's nose...  So here we are now, trying to regain some strength after everything that's happened... and wondering what's coming next. I mean, I'm not sure if the experiment's over or not. And some of us have seen odd sparks appearing around the device... Might be a good idea to dig up that bunch of elemental protection scrolls I've managed to scribe. Note to self: once you're back in the lowlands, make sure you clear your backpack...

[bytor]

* yet another of those misplaced entries... *
 

Revenge of the goblins, IV

Right... you'd think destroying the stone would mean the end of the trouble and that we would be able to go home, eh? But there's some news for you – maybe bards' stories work that way, but the real world doesn't. And if there's one stone that makes goblins strong through necromancy, there's nothing in this world that would prevent two of such stones  from existing... and them being placed in the same cavern complex.  We just recovered from the battle that resulted in destruction of the stone we'd come across in the huge cavern and were considering our next course of action, when more goblins showed up... We dealt with them, and after forcing our way further through the tunnels, we came across second stone. There, for a moment, the stone's influence got to me – luckily I didn't kill anyone... After we destroyed it, we thoroughly swept the tunnels again to make sure there wasn't a third stone hidden somewhere. But it seemed there wasn't, and goblins we came across after destruction of the second stone were much weaker...  Buggers managed to trap us into the cave, though; we were about half the way out when we heard explosions, and when we finally reached the entrance, we found out it was an entrance no more - it was blocked by boulders... At that point, a question has occurred to me for the first time – what if the whole thing has been a ruse? What if Red light cavern goblins were working hand in hand with these goblins, and the whole foray to Grey peaks was but a clever design to get us into a trap? We dug our way out... in as disorganised way as there could've been. Inevitably, people ended up slipping, and dropping boulders they carried on each other... As a result, Hawk had to raise Erik before we made our way through the opening we had dug...  We were greeted by group of goblins outside (stronger ones again), and after defeating them, we had Uilliam look for the tracks. They lead us to a narrow trail, which brought us to the hills on the outskirts of the mountains. We were waiting for Uilliam who was scouting ahead, when suddenly he came running back with two bears pursuing him. Needles to say, they were slaughtered... I tried taming the bigger one, and even succeeded in doing so, but then some of the group kept hitting it... You know, I usually try to stay calm in such situations, telling myself it won't happen next time. But you know what? It always does... There was an awfully similar situation back at the tunnels when I tried to tame a shapeshifted goblin shaman for interrogation (fact of the day: they can be tamed while shapeshifted) and some people just kept hitting it even after being repeatedly told to stop...  It's actually funny how little it takes for one's respect of another to be plummeted... Some of the people in our group I call my friends, and some of them have earned sufficient amount of my respect during the foray... When I complained about bears being killed, I got the usual and expected response – they attacked first. Right, no big surprise there... What bothers me was all the sneering and taunting those of us who follow the path of Nature were receiving every time we came across an animal, though. Only a fool mocks what they can't understand... For some reason, I expected at least our leader, Melanna, to be different... Think I've heard her name mentioned in relation with an allegedly peaceful group of ogres from Haven mines that were seeking new home; so yeah, I probably thought she'd understand better how needless killing out of ignorance and fear should be avoided. Instead, we got provocations and the usual excuse – self-defense. Self-defense and greater good, the two most abused excuses that we hide our actions behind... Sure, you can't see that bears would rise up to force trespassers out of their territory, but you can see why ogres are upset when people invade their home? And I somehow suspect you'd be more willing to give benefit of a doubt to a man or an ogre for that potential of the intellect you deem in them than to an animal whom you clearly deem inferior, yet you expect the latter to act in the accord with our 'common sense'? Bah, ranting again... But seriously, I guess this is just a remainder that maybe Grandpa Huyghes was right when he said that thinking better of people is but a waste of time...  Further ahead we came across two bear cubs – the ones whose parents we'd just slain. They were too young to take care of themselves, so after some thought and ignoring the rest of the party (I told you to go ahead and that we'd catch up with you, but no, you obviously find it more fulfilling to stand there and rant about having more pressing matters to attend to...), I summoned Byt and Talen summoned his bear companion and we left them with the cubs, so that they might've taught them what their parents hadn't had a chance to...  After leaving the hills behind, we found ourselves in High forest... and here, the goblin tracks stopped in front of a rock wall, which seemed way too smooth... So we tried everything, from casting at it to hitting it with a pick... I went to ask the boars that were watching us from the distance if they had seen the goblins, and got a positive answer there. They said that „goblins went into the rock“, after waving their hands... I tried to learn whether waving hands resulted in a secret cave entrance appearing or whether there was a portal, but as I expected, the boar didn't understand my question, and insisted that they went into the rock. However, I suspect that if there had been a hidden cave entrance, boar would've said so – after all, it should be familiar with caves... but its insistence that they went into the rock makes me believe it must've been some sort of portal... But that's just my thoughts... Others seem pretty happy trying to bash the rock, so why spoil it?  Talen went to ask Legodia for counsel, and since it seems the rest of us aren't really making any progress here, I guess this is a good time to tend to my wounds and put down these thoughts...

[bytor]

* And yet another of those misplaced entries... or this one might actually be in its place... *

 
 

The New Haven, IX: The end

 
And so the conflict on New Haven came to the end... with a positive outcome for everyone – well, almost everyone...  After a decent deal of arguing and trying to make Rofirienites see things our way and trying to learn more about Gift and the spheres from the Mayor as a part of Rofirienites' questioning of everyone it seemed that most of our hope had gone away... and then, Lee decided to use the chair again, to show us what'd happen. Caighd and Reus wanted to see it done, and so did the rest of us. Even the mayor, who for some time insisted that he couldn't tell whether the Gift can be reversed, said it could be done. With restoration spell being cast at the person in the chair...  It did work, the emotions did come back to her... unfortunately, predominant one was pain, and it overwhelmed her... There was nothing we could've done as she was screaming in agony, and for a moment I regretted our decision... I guess she knew what she'd been running from when she took the Gift, we didn't. Caighd picked her up, and then we all had to move out of the room and out of the building, as the whole ritual seemed to have caused mass release of the energy; there were lightning bolts jolting all over the room, destroying the chair and breaking the spheres. Just as everyone made it out of the building, its roof collapsed and we felt an odd wave of energy rippling out of it...  Then the screams began echoing throughout the island... suppose everyone's emotions caught up with them, like an avalanche, and they were overwhelmed by the pain, just like Lee... We split and went to check on them... We found people sobbing or blankly staring in front of them; but slowly, they seemed to recover, children the fastest, laughing and playing. Everyone was returning back to the normal...  So, have we done a good deed there? For some, no doubt. But there were people who were really escaping from whatever haunted them, and we brought those back as well... At the bottom line, I suspect only few should've really been Gifted in the first place, and maybe those should be left Gifted now. Alas, there was no choice neither before, nor now... And so we shattered one man's dreams... Granted, Mayor's means were definitely wrong, but the idea was a good and noble one, as far as I can tell. Then again, the road to hell is paved with good intentions, no?  At the docks, Mayor told us he'd been talking with Caighd and that he'd decided not to press charges against us. That he wouldn't bear to have us hanged, because of Lee. Whatever the reason, I'm not the one to argue about it... Reus said that they'd send help to the community, to help them rebuild. We were also asked to spend some time helping and some of us agreed to come back sometime... Then we went for the boat...  After arriving back at Hampshire, and after our group had disbanded, I went to Velensk, to check on Rana whom we had left at the temple there. Gods, was I glad to find her safe and sound... and her old self – she was just like on the day we first met... Her emotions had found her in spite of the distance between the island and the temple, which was one of my concerns... Delida insisted to check on her health once more, and then she was dismissed from the temple's care...   We made a camp outside in the woods, and talked... about the island, about the events that led her there, of her time at the temple and her emotions coming back to her... and most importantly, of her our plans. She said she'd like to travel a bit, then perhaps go back to the edge of Sielwood where she had lived before... She looked at me and gave me the same smile as back at the Inn on the island, and then she fell asleep in my arms...  And now, as I look at her, I cannot help but wonder... Could that even be? A happy ending? The fate being bereft of yet another chance to bring me down and toss me around? Honestly, I can't tell... but Ma' once said that happy endings are the matter of where you end the story anyway. So I'm willing to give it a try. For this one time, I'm letting go of my pessimism and fatalism (good riddance!), and see what happens... I was told that everyone's time comes once – if anything, I think this is it.