Grohin Silveraxe

[Black Cat]

*Grohin is seen writing in a small red notebook with silver lock and hinges smiling broadly as he do so*

I saved a whole tribe of Faeries today. Well me and several kin and one or two others. Jacrum, Argali and Hilda where there too, oh and the pink haired girl Abi, the daughter of Barion.

Anyway we were having a drink at the Shack when this Pixie flew in and collapsed to the ground. I rushed to help her of course and we healed her. Then she started talking but what she said did not make much sense at first.
'They have taken my branch and chased me' she said.

We managed to understand that she flew away from her own tribe for some reason and kept saying they took her branch... oh she was called Leaf. So despite some of the others opinion we set out to help Leaf get her branch back.

She hid in my beard during the travel.

We followed her direction in the Battlehelm swamp where we met two guards of her tribe... Leaf said they would attack us if we try to continue, so we tried to talk. But as we mentioned the name 'Leaf' they wanted to have her... they said she was wanted by the Queen, but did not say why or did not allow us to bring her.

So one of them attacked us while the other flew back to warn the rest of the tribe or the Queen.

We had to kill the guard as much as it pained me, but we couldn't do otherwise. After that we went deeper into the swamp and past it into the pixie grove where we had to fight to other guards. But Leaf still had friends in the tribe and we met two of them. Another pixie was with them but it was not friendly and the two others set on him and killed him. We were a bit shocked but that too had to be done. The two friend stayed back to turn off the others who were looking for Leaf so we could go into the Queen grove without having to fight too many guards.

We entered the grove and we found the Queen and the branch... who was another pixie... well not any pixie either... it was The Branch and Leaf was The Leaf. They hugged and started to spin and when the Queen want to stop them she was killed.

After a while the pixie spinning started to glow brightly and suddenly they were not there anymore... but there stand a taller pixie... the real Queen.

She thanked us for her help and she even bow to me in thanks... I gave her a bit of my beard as a 'souvenir' and we left her gather her tribe again.

It was quite an adventure. I feel like I repaid some of my debt to them pixies and faeries. Anytime one need my help she would gladly get it.

[Black Cat]

I went with Kobal, Varka, Lala, Tobby and one strange lad called Steel up to the Thunder Peaks and down into it bowels... where Kobal said there was old Dwarven ruins. Fighting alongside Kobal and Varka felt good... and we did very good. Nay Giants, nay Two-headed biggies... nay Yetis or Werewolf could stand in our way.

Not even the deader that inhabits the dwarven ruins now. And some powerful ones too. Kobal said something about them sacrificing themselves to protect something or guard something... a big Evil it seemed. I will have to search a bit on this... yes. Especially after who we met down there.

I'm not too sure it was true or not... but... we defeated a powerful deader that looked like some demons to me. It was a very tough fight and Varka almost died too... but I called for Vorax help and I believed he heard me... even this deep and in a place where his blessings didn't work. But the deader vanish... or so we thought but he came back... weaker and I managed to land the killing blow this time.

After that we went into a small defendable chamber to calm down and get ourselves back in shape. Lala told us she had a strange feeling back there where we fought the deader, like something to do with the shadows and maybe the Lumbral... she looked a bit down too as she said she hadn't heard of them since we brought them... and then...

There was like a flash of light and a pink shadow flew past Varka... we had just about the time to recognize it... Milara !

Kobal went after him and we followed but by the time we got out of the chamber he had vanished in the maze... leaving nothing but on footstep track in the dust. Kobal was furious... I had said we were lucky he did not attacked us but then Kobal make me see it... we could maybe have fought him there... his magick was like ours... NOT working... he was a drow without his powers... I reckon he would still have posed quite a threat and a epic fight it would have been but still...

Anyway he was gone and we missed our chance to know if we could have defeated him, but now the question is... What was he doing down there? Was he following us? Trying to get something back from us? Trying to or retrieving something from that place?

We don't know.. and just like with the Lumbral we are somewhat left with more questions than answers... And Lala didn't seem too happy either, and she also seem paler and not really that well.

Anyway... after recovering from the shock, we went deeper down and reached the bottom of the place... thank to Tobby who proved to be a very good guide... never once taking the wrong turn in the Maze.

That last plast.. gosh it was strange... magick was wild there and my blessings seem to work but also not really... sometimes it did the right thing and sometimes something unexpected like changing Kobal into a penguin... or casting strange things... not always nice either (I'm not saying turning Kobal into a penguin was nice thought... I'm not even sure it was one of my blessing or one of our enemies.

Tough fight down there too... several spirit, and other wretched things and a big guarding... but we defeated them all, even if some of us couldn't see a thing. Lucky for me the Sight worked as intended when I tried it.

Several pieces of ore we got from there... very nice. And several interesting items we recovered from the deader too. But not really anything useful to me as I had already some of them or couldn't really use them. But I took the ruby we found... first time I see one... nice gem. It's going to make a nice amulet I think.

Tobby took us out through the maze again without getting it wrong. And after that, the way out of the ruins and down the mountain went rather smoothly.

[Black Cat]

Find a new axe... mithril. Well not really found but bought. Not sure about the price.. good or bad but I'm still short 1 box of raw diamond, 1 box of raw saphirre, 4 or so box of Bodak... gosh got almost one out of the 5. And my account is down to next to nil. But hey... it's a mithril weapon.

Today I went again to the Thunderpeaks. With Goldwyn and Fenrir... and Stormy. We did rather good... as always when Fenrir is around. But we didn't go into the tunnels and the dwarven halls. We went up to the Arcs tower and fought them... On one of them I found a nice armor made out of Dragon scales.. copper one. It does make a good armor... So all I need to find now is a new shield... but first I'll need to pay for the axe I think.

[Black Cat]

'A Tale of Form'

Strange adventures in the Blackfeather Mountains, following a bard's tale.

What was found and done there remains a mistery.

//as part of what was done, Grohin cannot tell anything from what happen. If a GM need to know... contact Ananke or Pyro

[Black Cat]

I went to a meeting in Wayfare with Sallaron and few others. He apparently found something about a place under the Fort and wanted to retrieve something from there.

An entrance has been dug and we climb down the well. Lots of mechanical stuff both broken and working. Some... well.. most attacking us. We managed to get to some kind of smithy or crafting hall, where we put down a big Mithril golem... even manage to scrap bits of it.

A little bit further, we found a room that looks like it had been blasted badly. Sall picked up some kind of toy.. a glass orb with a tiny golden dragon and snow falling into it when you turn it  upside down. A very... very old book has also been retrieved and some papers and scrolls... historical stuff mostly... and some sketches.

But before long, the ground started to shake and the already cracked ceiling started to falls down chunk by chunk on us, so we made a quick escape through a trap door and managed to get out just in time.

What we found, I'm not really sure what it is all about, but Sall talk about a man called Pardaigh.. it was him who apparently wanted someting retrieved from down there.

I'll try to poke Sall into saying more.. if I can

[Black Cat]

The hunt for Mechidil artefact went well... if you don't count the fact we've been trapped down in the dungeon for several weeks... I was lucky to get rescued by Kobal after only a few... the others who did not listen to me got trapped for more than seven weeks and weren't looking well when they were finally rescued.

But the Bowl of Nature has been retrieved and given to the druids, and a spear, a holy items of Kitharien return to the temple of the Hunter.

[Black Cat]

*placeholder 'The Dead walk again' - timebubbled*

[Black Cat]

*Grohin scribbles a few things, apparently not really meaning anything - the sayings of an old man, a scholar apparently, although a bit senile. He was found in a cave, hiding along others*

Birds and damsels in the spring.
Ofen together, but the grover does not knock twice.
Massacre is the butcher's second name.
Although his sausages sway the minds of weak men.

Dwarves are the hardiest of people. Forged from stone and ore,
they are the result of a poor brew that was tossed down from the heavens
and fell into a deep chasm. There the hated enemies were born as one. Dwarves and snakes alike.

In the days of darkness and greed there came to be the vilest of afflictions
wrought from the minds of those whom would unleash pestilence upon their own blood.
The screams of torment filled the air as blood congealed to a rancorous purulent sap from which life ebbed.
Wings fell from the skies and the rot polluted the soil and air.
Blood against blood.

[Black Cat]

These words I heard whil investigating an attack near Hampton on Vanavar.
Half digested horse, dead guards and dogs. The place of the massacre was quite horrible. The corpses already starting to decay, worms and flies.

It seems the attack either came from the sky or the attackers somehow were able to leave no tracks. But it must have come from the south... some of the dogs looked like they were fleeing from that direction. One of the horse seems to have been half-digested or burnt with acid. Also some wounds were made by slashing, others by a blunt weapon and there were bite marks too. That and the absence of tracks made us think the attack was made by a dragon.. although not by a big one if any, the bites weren't big enough. I know I fought two before and the marks they left on my armor were much bigger.

So we went to investigate and discovered that some people entered a cave not far. They were still there... after a bad starts (we killed the guards, though they did foolishly attacked us. But Alleina raised them afterwards) we met with Lady Thea Sanktini, who told us what happened to her and her followers.

She was a Lady of some importance in Phal, on the coast of Belinara, not too far to the north of Westgate in the Kuhl kingdom. Apparently, some trouble brewed there when the lord of the place, Lord Kolban Lastyn disappeared. His advisor, a former merchant with good looks and apparently a quick tongue was put in charge in his stead by the Queen of Kuhl kingdom.

That man, Arbos Nevsonger sounds suspicious to say the least. Some questions from us led us to to think he might be with the Dragon Cult as he is wearing a scarf all the time (hiding Green Dragon Tattoos?). Soon after the nomination of Arbos, people started to disappear, and those sent to look went missing too. New guards were hired, none of whom Thea knew.
Besides Thea told us they were pursued when they came to that cave, fleeing from whatever was happening in Phal. We found a dead dwarf, which was wearing, according to Sasha, the garbs of those serving the cult.

And we were attacked. A huge half-dragon entered the cave and attacked us. We managed to repel it, though with great difficulties and not without loss (The Orc that was with us fell in the first assault). But we weren't ready. After that, we decided to escort Thea's people to a safer place, towards Lor or maybe Stort. As we exited the cave, the beast attacked us again, but this time we were ready. And we hurt it badly before it fled... but again the fight wasn't without loss (This time, Steel went down). We managed to get them all safely to Hampton, were Alleina hired a ship and escorted them to Lor where we would meet later. As for us, we went after the beast to kill it this time, not wanting it to roam free or attack others, including the town.

We found the beast. It again attacked us, jumping on us from a ledge... the fight was hard and long and again it tried to flee when it was hurt too badly. But this time, we managed to catch it when it tried to climb a small cliff, trying to escape. And I dealt him the final blow. But we lost Bjorn in the fight. We rested a bit while Jacchri went scouting ahead along the small path the beast wanted to take and reported back there was a path leading to the beach. So we went on and met with the masters of the beast or at least its guardian. We managed to kill most of them, but unfortunately weren't able to take any prisonner, and at least one of them escaped with a longboat. I tried to set fire to it using my flaming arrows, but the one who escaped was a magicker and was able to protect the boat from the fire.

All was left for us to do, was to catch up with Alleina in Lor. That we did and then we sent the refugee to Stort, where they could start anew with the help of the Ravens.

[Black Cat]

VARKA IS GONE.

The king asked him and us to retrieve an artefact, a symbol of the gate, a symbol to remind the kings of their duty and devotion to the Gate. It was apparently taken away by the first king's nephew and not seen again since.
It was made by a battlefather from the first keys of the gate and mithril and blessed with Vorax power and the power of the rocks beneath the gates.

Fighting through hordes of huges bats and rats and ants, we made it to where the nephew.. turned to stone.

A curse was set upon the symbol, the 'Triqueta'. And there was only one way it could be retrieve. Varka sacrified himself for the Gate... forever standing in stone... I cannot really write much.. nor well to honor Varka's sacrifice.

No words will ever be good enough to describe what he has done. He will be missed, sorely... but I will honor his memory for as long as myself keep standing.

[Black Cat]

I've been traveling the mountain some lately... things are brewing up there. The dwarven king of old is stirring and the giants are gathering forces. Soon there will be a clash.

Tobias have been marked by the king and is bound? to help free the elves.
Fenrir seems bounds to side with the giants against the elves... where will I stand? Most certainly with the dead king.

[Black Cat]

Sasha gathered a group of friends to go and have a look in Phal... there we found that the town seem to be protected by a Dragon, Bastion. He does not seem to be too well... most certainly one of the enslaved and outgrown ones from the cult.

It was presented to the population and much accalaimed.. though, I wonder how much good it would be... he seemed blind and not too well. I believe he is used as much as protection from the outside as a way to control the local population.

[Black Cat]

Things are brewing in Hempstead too... shadows are roaming free, people are getting mad... a curfew set and ships searched.
I worst of all, I'm wanted in the town for something I'm not sure of. Seems all this is linked with Tobias' family and a curse set upon it.

[Black Cat]

Pirates were reported to attack merchants ship between Saudiria and Belinara... a group went to investigate but couldn' find much. I met them in Saudiria and tried to put a plan into action. The Navy sub-commander agreed to let me a ship and a crew... we disguised the ship into a merchant one and waited... not for long. Soon we were attacked by 2 pirates vessel. We managed to sink on and board the other and subdue the captain. Then we managed  (Lin'da did) to coax him into believing we were his crew and we sailed back to the pirates safeharbor...

En route we met with some Navy vessel and I managed to talk to their captains... soon a small fleet were following us.

Upon arrival, we disembarked some way away from the harbor, to scout the land while the Navy set itself ready for an attack in the morn.

Resistance was greater than expected and much more organised than simple pirates... most of those we faced were battle hardened veteran. Upon reaching the heighs over their main camp, we were surprised to found a whole army of soldiers, well trained and well armed, camping on the beaches. It was too late to delay the attack and soon 6-700 Hundreds of Navymen landed on the beaches and started the attack... while we did what could be done on the rear of the enemy.

Fierce fighting ensued, but suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, a big Dragon of tarnished gold attacked the pirates and killed most of them to the great relief of the Navy.. and the utter puzzlement of our little group. It seems the dragon was sick, like Bastion. But was it a pawn of the green cult or something else. We'll probably never know.

But soon after that battle, a treaty was signed between Sedera and Kuhl kingdom (Phal is in Kuhl).... and that is most troubling.... was these attacks of 'pirates' just a way to push the Sederan? Maybe...

[Black Cat]

A war or maybe just several battles in a war have been fought. Several groups were sent forth at the request of the Boyer Kingdom in order to stop the expansion of the Arcs under the leadership of Essrantor Aldtorskel, the witch king giants of the Thunder Peaks.

A first battle was fought near Dalanthar, before each group went their separate ways to do their task. I went with Kobal, Fenrir and many others to the halls of the Runic Anvil to search for clues on the Runes and the old Losthammer clan, the lost Dwarven clan that used to leave in the Peaks.

We did nay found much, but only confirmed a few things we knew already... three pillars are to be cast down if we are to end Essrantor reign. But we also found a ritual to learn parts of the past of the Losthammers.

So we climb to the Peaks and went down into the lost tunnels of the dwarves were me, Kobal and Fenrir performed the ritual... which showed us visions from the past...
How Essrantor acquired the first dwarven runes - a petty theft.
How a Losthammer escaped the final battle against the Arcs, carrying a baby.
How Cairnforge and nineteen of his faithfull dwarves chose undeath to protect their Runic tome forever.

As the last vision dissipated we found ourselves in front of the Dwarven King, Cairnforge Losthammer... and it is little to say he was not too happy to see us... and that we performed the ritual in his hall. He looked for the ones that did it... and me and Kobal were thrown back with tremendous force... but Fenrir... Fenrir, who would have guess... he, of all dwarves still holds Losthammer blood in his vein... he is a son of the Losthammers.

The King wasn't too pleased to see him though.. calling him a traitor to his blood. But Fenrir earn a bit of trust... and Cairnforge gave him a stone and his hammer, with the task to find the lost Elves.

That we did... though on our way out from the tunnels, we met a Giant's necromancer... the one responsible for the disease that - honorlessly - brought down the Losthammer, a disease or a curse, carried by rats, that turn those infected into soulless undeads. It is needless to say we killed that Arc... but I and another got killed by the rats he brought along... and many got wounds that started to turn black.

But we still reached the Elven crypt.. were we managed to get some rest and cure ourselves... thanks to Vorax blessing and a rune that Acacea copied from the dead Arc.

Fenrir used the stone to die... for only a form without blood could be allowed to speak with the Elven King. He gained access and we followed him.. battling the cursed undead elves... until we reached the king. Not much he could tell us, nor really help us... but he followed us out to the Lake where he called Cairnforge. But the barrier, the curse that prevented them to enter the tower was still there... and no news from the others that might have learn how to dipell it.

But something happened still.. a dragon, a ghostly dragon, much like the elve and dwarf appeared, bearing a hammer, three runes and a poem. He also told us of the last stand of our friends and allies in the fort down below, holding the army of the Arcs to get back to the tower.

They managed to revive the Dragon and the old Ethers.. both would be fighting alongside them, while the Cairnforge and the elven king would make their stand by the bridge leading to the tower.

While we push forward, into the tower to meet with Essrantor and bring down those cursed pillars.

But we got trapped in the entry hall, water slowly filling it. And as we tried the side openings, suddenly emptying and separating us as we struggle against the current. But we all finally rejoin and thought those Arcs left to defend the tower... finally reaching Essrantor throneroom.

He tried to bargain with us, offering his helm if we would leave... but that was not acceptable so we attacked... and killed him, while Fenrir used a rune and Kobal strike the middle pillar with the Hammer brought by the Dragon... thus destroying it... but they did not managed to destroy the other two, the hammer shattering against the second pillar.

But as the first pillar collapsed and Essrantor died, he mocked us and TWO Essrantors appeared from the remaining pillars. Fearing what would come, we attacked and did not let them speak again. That was one terrible fight, but the King of the old Ether managed to reach us and help us in the fight... and we finally brought down both clone of Essrantor.

But the tower started to collapse too, and we had no time nor any means to destroy the remaining pillars, so we left... at a run. The giant carrying us through the drowned hall out in the open...

The tower collapsed in parts... lots of dust rose into the air and lots of things happened then that I'm not yet sure what they are... or what the consequences will be. But our war against Essrantor is for now over... his power diminished and his expansion stopped. But he is not vanquished.

[Black Cat]

I couldn't believe my eyes. Ruben is alive. The Path as been reopened. Apparently, The Cult stole Turhan journal and reopened it. What doesn't surprise me is I'm once again in the thick of it. Seems like this journal and me are best buddies. Old friend Ruben... and to think I saw him died at the hands of Milara and it's minions.