Caravan Tales

I use the future to shape my present, and my past shapes the future. Madame Niska and Koya once suggested writing down the present. Something to keep me focused on the way things are actually progressing and how to focus on how things 'actually' happen. Only the choices that I actually make are the ones that the future will build off of. Find a way to separate what has happened, with what could have happened.

All the better to realize the future when it is upon me.

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9th Erastus 4713

Today began similar to many others, though there have been rumors on the wind. Koya left her business in my capable hands and we had some steady business. Nothing fantastic or worth writing about.

I've seen better days, but I've also seen worse days. And that only refers to today. (little oracle joke there...)

As I said, rumors have been floating around. Typical things. Something may come of it, but these rumors have floated around for some time. Tales of the Sandpoint Devil. Strange tracks on the roofs of homes, The ghosts of the Chopper... These have persisted ever since the actual chopper.

I personally have seen or heard nothing to lend them credence.

Goblins on the other hand... Goblins have often been a nuisance. If nuisance describes the creatures that shattered my family. However, they have become emboldened. They have found fireworks and now attack caravans coming through town.

That has the mayor and the sheriff in a fit. They took to offering a bounty of 10g for the creatures ears.

Normally I would think nothing of it... but as I was explaining to Koya the day's earnings, I received another vision. For a moment I was confused. The past is not unheard of... Madame Niska told me that as I grew, my vision would grow faster and farther in every direction. Past, Present, Future, and other...

I still don't know what 'other' means...

This vision seemed of the past. Goblins were attacking the Cathedral to the north and people screamed and ran... It took me a moment to realize, this was NOT the swallowtail festival 3 years back... this was the people I knew now... this was the future. Some time at night.

I wasn't sure what I could do... but a group was heading out to stop the creatures before they could reach the town and I wished to be a part of it. Koya claimed to want to join as well, but wandering the swamp wouldn't look good on the older woman, and despite her comments, I don't think she really wanted to go.

The meeting took place at the Rusty Dragon. There I met the others. I can usually tell something when I meet a person, but this group was very... murky. I only know that they have an interesting future ahead of them. Some I had seen before, some I had not.

Nerizza was there. I had... sort of seen her in the past. Usually wrapped in a cloak and assisting Shalelu. I believe that she was born around town here, but this was the first time I had heard a name to the mysterious girl that the ranger had taken under her wing.

Kuroda Lien or perhaps Lien Kuroda... She seems to go by Lien regardless. A new comer to Sandpoint. Tien by heritage and a friend of Amieko, the owner of the Rusty Dragon. All I knew of her was that she often rode the blue horse.

Kromyar was the name that the dwarf introduced himself as. I had seen him in passing with Sandru's caravan. I believe he is one of the guards.

Finally, Takion. Another stranger to me, though I sense many possibilities in his future. It will be interesting to see what path he takes...

It was decided that we must try to stop them between Brinestump swamp and Sandpoint. I voted for camping to the north, but I was outvoted. Despite my knowledge that the north would be attacked... Kromyar made a compelling counterpoint. While I knew there would be trouble there... I did not how much of the town had burned before they GOT to the north.

Facts remain, the Licktoads were from the south, and they had to come north to attack. Stopping them on the road they had been attacking, seemed a viable plan.

So that night we slept near the trees. Not IN the trees mind you... I had thought that was a good idea, till I looked at it. EVERY single version of me that tried this... fell to either embarrassment or incredible pain. I took the lesser of evils and slept on the ground.

Actually Lien loaned me a spare bedroll. I will actually have to look into some of this equipment stuff if I am going to make a habit of going out into the wild.

And I am...

Thankfully the night passed uneventfully. There was still time to stop the goblins.

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10th Erastus

We seem to be bombarded by urban myths right now. While wandering the woods we found a dead hare. It was quite killed... but not eaten. Nerizza found tracks that she believed to be from the Soggy River Monster. Another local legend that I doubt existed... though that track looked like nothing I had ever seen before either.

We dismissed the monster and continued to hunt the goblins.

One thing that Amieko had told her friend was that there was a snake wrangler out here. A Halfling named Walthus Proudstump who could be an ally.

That was why Lien did as she did on the bridge...

I admit... out of all the possibilities I had imagined when that snake attacked her on the rickety old bridge, seeing her use her bedroll (actually the one she had let me use... and I didn't see another now,) as some kind of crude net on the vile creature was NOT the one I expected to actually happen.

Quickly followed by her forcing the bedroll into the river.

And then her trying to fish the bedroll out.

It was surreal, and after all that there was no Halfling there to thank us.

We crossed a few more bridges, and in time we found a run down old house that we assumed to be the Proudstump residence.

When nobody answered our calls, we started snooping. There were indeed snakes in the house, and when the door finally opened. Walthus showed his face. He was gruff and unfriendly, though I expected nothing less then the hermity snake wrangler of the swamp.

When I noticed he was injured, I offered to help heal him. It's a trick I recently learned, though I'm not sure exactly how it works. My current theory, is that I am either... speeding up the natural healing ability and watching the bone and muscle knit... or perhaps I'm rewinding the time of the wound... taking the body back to before it was wounded. Or at least 'less' wounded. When he claimed he was bitten, I grew concerned. If I was speeding up the wound, then it would have no effect on the poison. For that matter if I was regressing the leg wound... It wouldn't do anything for the poison in the veins. It seems very.... focused on JUST the wounds...

I did what I could and he became a little nicer. Still evasive though. He pointed us toward the goblins and tried to shoo us away as fast as possible. Even claiming that the goblins would attack tonight.

What I couldn't tell was if it was standard hermit paranoia... or something more sinister.

Then it changed into a monster and tried to rip my throat out.

I... don't remember much about that. It died, while I did everything I could to stop myself bleeding to death. That... was unpleasant and I nearly didn't make it.

The real Walthus revealed himself and did what he could to aid us and we did the same for him.

He pointed us in the right direction, and gave me a new cloak that will help with my resistances.

We were not the first ones to have found the goblins however. Their village... fort seemed empty save for a dozen corpses and the tracks of a large pig... It took some exploring to draw out the survivors of... whatever killed so many.

The first few we found included a particularly bitey gnome that tried to eat Lien... and while all goblins are smelly little things, another was especially rank and kept trying to blind us with his... filth.

They died

After that... we heard a chant of 'not skully' and a swarm wielding fireworks attacked.  The others were very effiecent in killing these too, though a particularly annoying singer does seem to have escaped in the chaos.

In time we found our way to the king, and a couple of guards... who also died. Though not before Lien fell in battle. She didn't die. I was able to prevent that at least... but I don't think I can heal anymore till the morning.

There was some unique looking treasure in a fancy chest in the kings chamber. I'm sure some will fetch a nice price, added of course to the goblin ears we collected. A little distasteful, but my rudimentary healing training has had me cutting and lancing things for so long that a little post-mortem slicing really didn't bother me much. After all... they were goblins

11th Erastus

After the goblin battle, we used one of our newfound potions to get Lien back on her feet, though she was still wounded.

We were all in a bad place. Half of us thought we should go back to Sandpoint and report what we'd found. The other half wished to explore the swamp and search out the shipwrecks marked on the goblin map. At least in the morning.

A compromise was met.

Lien would take the goblin ears and return north with Takion backing her up. Myself, Nerizza and Kromyar would see what we could find.

The swamp was difficult traveling. of the three of us, I was the only one with a mount, such as Frank was... I still didn't feel comfortable leaving the donkey at the Goblin fortress.

We traveled for some time, until we saw an old decrepit ship. None of us could determine how long it had been there, but a good portion was burned, and the rest would never support a persons weight. The name on it was the 'Kaijitsu Blossom'.

The name was familiar to me. Kaijitsu were once a major force in Sandpoint. A few years back the family had unpleasantness. The wife fell from the cliffs, the father and son died in the glassworks that they was a source of their fortune. The only surviving member in town is Ameiko herself.

Interestingly enough, neither Ameiko nor the rest of the Kaijitsu ever had a strong shipping presence. A mystery to discuss with her later I suppose.

The tracks around the ship showed a good 4-6 goblins... but they weren't what attacked us. We were attacked by Skeletons in old rusted armor and carrying short curved Tian swords.

The battle was fierce and taxed my ability to heal wounds... but we all destroyed a skeleton (even myself with my trusty sling!)

We continued on to the next ship. It was a more difficult trip as there was no easy route to get to it. We ended up having to string a rope across the river and work our way across. As Nerizza waded across the river, I tried to warn her again about the Soggy River Monster.

The look she gave me at the time... informed me that my timing was... not appreciated.

I had to leave Frank tied on the side of the river.  It wasn't an easy decision. I couldn't take him with me. If I left him tied, he could be an easy meal for Soggy, or even another predator. If I set him free... he'd wander away till something did eat him. In the end, I hoped for the best and left him tied up.

The 2nd ship was also one of the Kaijitsu ships. Two ships from a people, not known for shipping... This time the 'Kaijitsu Star.'

We found less there than we did at the first one. This treasure hunt was turning less interesting by the moment and I had ruined a perfectly good pair of shoes... and possibly a donkey.

We had one last place marked on the map. A cave not far from the ship. Our searching was going easier and it took little trouble to find it.

Which brought me to another problem. Caves are dark. Kromyar naturally had no issue with the darkness, but for some reason Nerizza didn't either. I suppose it could have been pride on her part or more likely training with an elf in the wilderness gives her better than average night vision... I don't know. Fortunately she still carries torch stuff.

There were... many skeletons in the cave. Half a dozen of them seemed to be lying in a large dark clearing.

We formed a fantastic plan... that went, so very poorly. We found a beautiful little bottle neck that would work to our advantage. Nerizza was able to lead some of them back to us... however, the other half snuck around the side and somehow our bottleneck turned into a pincher movie.

All I remember is fear and chaos. weapons and bones everywhere.  In mere moments, my allies had fallen, and I was fighting alone. Then... darkness.

Then... Shalelu.

Personally I've had no experience with the elf that guards our fair city, but I've heard good things. Those can be confirmed now. She apparently had followed her protégé and brought a wand of curing.

She saved all three of our lives there. Nerizza was terribly embarrassed, but we were all grateful.

Determined to finish this cave, we followed our last tunnel to the end. One more mistake...

There was only one more Skeleton, but he was a big one. He carried another of those short curved blade and a matching Tian armor. Nerizza and Kromyar put some stock in the idea of sneaking up on it... I was less confident. Mostly because it was a very dark cave, and I was standing there with a torch. Still sometimes I could have been bait and provided an opening.

This was not one of those times...

As she got near to the undead warrior, It seemed to challenge Nerizza and leaped to attack. Kromyar and I both charged in, but our friend was down with a wicked slash before we could get there.

Shalelu fired arrows at the monster, but the piercing bolts did little, and soon Kromyar was down again too.

I am not a fighter. I like to help, but my place is never the front line. Bad things happen for me whenever I am there.

This was no different...

Shalelu ran to help, and told me to grab her the potion on her belt. While dodging blows from the creature, I was able to pour the potion down the dwarfs gullet.

Then I did my best to drag him to safety.

Safety was of course an illusion. I merely got him far enough to stand safely and then he charged back in to help Shalelu. The elf is a demon with a bow, but she seemed nearly as uncomfortable in melee as I do.

After some questioning, I was able to get another potion from her for Nerizza, (I really wanted the wand... but she seemed reluctant to give that up.)

Oddly Nerizza was more difficult to drag than the dwarf twice her weight. I was a little shocked to see something that she'd worked hard to hide.

A slim tail seemed to stick out from her cloak and create some extra drag. My curiosity was peaked something fierce. I didn't know why she would have a tail.... but it would explain why she was so rarely seen about town and only draped in secretive cloaks.

I chose to respect her privacy and covered it back up as I fed her the potion that woke her up. She can tell us about that in her own time.

From there we were faced with a dilemma. The dwarf was a better combatant then I was. However my weapon was the more effective one.

Sometimes I things... move around me. I don't know for certain why... It could be haunted, it could be other timelines encroaching... Perhaps it's a combination. Perhaps, I'm haunted by less fortunate versions of me...

Regardless, things move on me, but sometimes... sometimes I can make things move where I want them to.

Such was the case here. Nerizza scored more hits then the rest of us, but her spear... thing wasn't very useful. Her club on the other hand.. was out of reach.

I was able to help with that

Her club flew from where she had fallen back to her hand and between the four of us, we eventually destroyed the monstrosity.

Weak, tired, and scared we commenced to search for whatever we could. The creature had a large ornate chest, The skeleton's equipment was old and ragged, but I've been working on a trick to repair such things. If I focus on something, I can make it like new.

Well.. I can make it new. Nothing 'like' about it... return things back to when they were shiny and perfect. Good for parlor tricks to at this point, but we'll get a better price for this if it isn't covered  in rust.

Inside the handle, we discovered a note in a strange language I had never seen. Nor had anyone else.  The chest had a few things of interest, some more money, I have more money now than I would have after six months of fortune telling... I see now why Adventuring is considered such an economic boon and valid life choice.

Shalelu wished to leave immediately, I was less then certain. We had cleared the cave of threats, and needed rest... and the swamp wasn't considered safe by any stretch of the imagination.

I consulted the cards.

They were vague.

I believe it was no more dangerous in one place then another, so we left. Fortunately Frank was still where we left and we headed back to Sandpoint after camping near the side of the road.

Shalelu was more generous with the wand that night, and come morning when I had my spells back, they were not needed. Regardless I felt more comfortable having them.

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12th Erastus.

We arrive back before lunch and meet up with Lien at the rusty dragon. The reward for the ears and such was divided up and Lien was able to translate the note we found.

My son, my heir, You know now that I have kept secrets from you . You were always a perceptive son, and while you may not understand my reasons for secrecy, I hope that you realize it was necessary. Know that I was not angry with you for opening the warding box.  I was angry with myself for withholding the truth from you and forcing you to seek out what I should have given to you. the words I spoke to you were from anger with myself, and it shames me to think of them now. I write this note as an apology, and to beg you to leave these secrets to history.

The next few days will be the most important I have faced in many years. If our family's enemies have as I hoped forgotten us, I shall reunite with you and your wife, and your mother and I shall reveal the truth to you. But if they still seek the contents of the warding box, I fear that I may not speak to you again. The box holds our family's greatest treasure, so I have returned it to Kortun's care, and it shall remain hidden in the secret third vault under the Brinewall Castle-- obscured from our enemies, I hope and pray I will not grant our foes the satisfaction of killing me themselves-- if it comes to it. Let my death, by my own hand, be my final act to protect you, so that our enemies believe our line ended.

I have instructed Tsutamu to keep this letter from you, delivering it to you only should I fail to return as I hope to. If I can, I will reveal all to you myself. If I cannot, this final missive from a father to a son must suffice as an apology in place of an explanation, and you must destroy this letter, flee to the south and never return to Brinewall. If our enemies find what I have hidden, there will be nothing here for you. If they do not they will lie in wait forever for your return.

I hope to see you again soon, my son. But my my heart tells me I will not. I am sorry to have failed you. But I am proud of you, and I know you will survive this old man's shame. You are strong, and you must remain so. For if you are reading this and I ma gone, know that our enemies will never stop searching for us, and that is why I cannot reveal the truth to you until I know there is no chance of them finding us again.

Rokuro Kaijitsu

Sunday, 29 Desnus 4687

A most mysterious letter to say the least. Nearly 30 years old and assumedly addressed to Amieko's father. Out of curtesy we give the letter to the innkeeper that night when the place was quieter. She was very silent as she read it and dismissed herself to think...

While this was going on, Kromyar sold off nearly all we had found and managed an excellent price for us. As who left and who stayed was the luck of the draw, we split the profits from the added adventure with our other two comrades evenly.

And that was the end. Or at least so it seemed. We said our farewells, Lien arranged for us to have rooms available if we needed them, but few of us didn't already have other arrangements.

It had been an interesting few days, and I hope I made a few friends in the process. Perhaps I shall see them around town later.

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13th Erastus.

I recounted the adventures with Koya who seemed somewhat wistful and concerned. I suspect that like Nerizza, it may be some time before I am judged competent enough to go out on my own.

Or will it... Even as I write that, it doesn't feel... right.

One thing that Koya did explain was that skeletons were sometimes formed from a particularly bad death, or if they felt overwhelmed with a strong sense of duty...

That made me even more curious about the letter, the warding box, all of it.



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A few days later, I saw my new acquaintances again. We were all summoned to the Rusty Dragon where Amieko informed us that she was hiring Sandru's caravan to head north to Brinewall. All were welcome, but she asked for secrecy regarding the note.

Myself I felt it a foolish quest. Whatever was there has probably already been taken. and if it's not... then the grandfather warned against searching for it. Too few of clues to truly make this an ideal direction.

Koya however immediately agreed to join. Apparently it is time. I knew this day would come just as Madame Niska predicted. With a heavy heart I agreed to follow her just as I had sworn to do. However, Koya is very old... I do not have a good feeling about this journey and her. I suspect that IF I ever make it back to my home here, I will be doing so without the only family I have left.

The next few days were spent on shopping and preparation. My sojourn into the swamp showed just exactly how ill equipped I was for this new 'adventuring' lifestyle.

27th Erastus 4713

Well, I've done all the damage I can in this town... time to move on.

Actually, I think I was quite a boon to the economy. Ever since Koya decided to go with Sandru northward... I have been doing everything I could to be prepared for every contingency.

Here in Sandpoint, there really aren't as many... possibilities in a day. Out there? Beyond the safety of the village... The possibilities are endless. I want to be ready for them all. I went to nearly every store Sandpoint had to offer and bought everything I could.

Everything from Waffle Irons to leeching kits up to and including some standard cards and board games...

When not shopping I was scribing scrolls. I needed every advantage I could get and that included delving back into some of Mother's magic. It took some digging but I was able to find her old wand and book. These were coming with me too...

How I will transport this, that is the better question. My backpack is overflowing and sad to say, most of this will have to stay at the wagon. Unfortunately that leaves a dangerous window in my 'be prepared' plan... I'll bring a lot of the healing stuff... but for the bigger problems... we may need to get whoever is hurt back to the caravan before I can help them.

While this was going on, my new club arrived. The shaft was made of a polished dark oak, where the head was shaped like a hawk and made from an alchemical silver.

This one... was luck. pure and simple. It had to be ordered from Magnimar, and had I waited till the caravan was actually announced there may not have been time.

However, I just really wanted something special as a souvenir for my first adventure and all that treasure burned a hole in my pocket. The quality is amazing and I am very pleased with the purchase.

Come the morning of the 27th, we finally departed on this new adventure.

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29th Erastus

I'll admit I was pretty excited to actually do this. I've spent most my life in Sandpoint, and the open road had a certain appeal. By the second day of just riding... it was getting a little dull. We finally arrived at our first stop Vod's... something or other. What... a dump. I was eager to roam the town for some new sights... but there wasn't much here. It was... disappointing.

We didn't stay long and before too long, we spotted something up in the distance. It was an ambush.

I don't know if these were more Licktoad goblins after revenge, or a whole different clan. We are pretty far from their swamp... but it doesn't matter they were just as vicious and smelly as any other goblins.

I did my best, but the new club will take some getting used to. That's my story and I'll stick with it.

We were surrounded, we were out numbered... they set our wagons on fire. Half of them seemed to try and draw our warriors away... much to their error. While the rest set fire to the wagons.

It took some work, but eventually they either died or scattered and Koya and I were able to put the flames out.

All it really meant was when we got to Grubsville we had to do some hefty repairs. It... doesn't bode well for our journey.

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Arodus 1st,

Grubsville. I went with Sandru into town again, and this one was better. Found some new rope... lighter stuff. That was nice.

The rest of the day we worked on the wagons. Apparently we also picked up a passenger for Gulderia. A gnome that Nerizza found messing with our stuff in the middle of night.

That caused a bit of excitement the next day when the guards came looking, but he had already left and joined another caravan.

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Arodus 2nd.

More bandits. Humans this time. They broke our wagons right back to where they were after the goblins.

Very frustrating.

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Arodus 3rd

Arrived in Gulderia... did some business, fixed some wagons, fairly uneventful.

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Arodus 6th,

Arrived in Wolves Ear. Interesting town with a history of Lycanthropy. Apparently all fixed now, but we ran into a local outside of town giving us a fantastic deal on some trade goods because he didn't want to bother with the town.

Seems the sheriff is in charge of a gem that glows around the 'cursed' and uses it to cheat the people that he doesn't like. This didn't sit well with me or many of the others. Providing he was telling the truth. I consulted the cards before I made a decision to help or not.

The cards told me nothing.

We decided to trust him for what it's worth. Hortes the farmer seemed honest enough... Given the choice of screwing up to help some folk or screwing up to leave them get oppressed... it seemed the best choice.

We had already decided not to involve the caravan in any way, but Sandru was quick to drive that point home. They would be parked outside a mile or so... this was on us.

Nerizza seems the sneakiest of us all. She was quite confident she could track the gem and lift it without being noticed. Then we just had to get it to Hortes and he could disprove the whole scam.

It was decided it'd be best to get it from the safe in the guard house after the day was over. Nerizza did a scout-a-bout and reported back that she thought it was possible.

I was a bit concerned... While waiting for her to return I had again consulted the cards. Sometimes I can feel the divine flow through them... sometimes Fate speaks softer.

The Dexterity suit seemed appropriate for this reading. Her card, or perhaps all of our card for this was the Cricket. A creature who's mind is as quick as it's body with it's treasure close at hand... That bode well.

Her card landed in the past, in a neutral spot. I read this as representing our journey, and this stop had no bearing upon.

The present had the Juggler misaligned. Fate and the gods eager to keep the rhythm, but misaligned meant faltering and tragedy for those involved. It was dark reading. I would have tried to call the whole thing off were it not for the last card.

The future held the Demon's Lantern. The will o wisps represented traps and tricks and impossible situations. However... misaligned as this one was, it translated to Opportunity and/or a guide arriving at just the right time.

If I read them correctly, This was something that we didn't have to do, would prove incredibly dangerous with high chance of fail, but success just when it was needed.

An interesting reading to say the least. I tried to warn Nerizza, who seemed quite concerned. Takion however was quick to shoot down the reading as vague. I've had customers like him before. If one has no respect for the cards, then there is little that I can do to convince him. Fate is often disguised as coincidence.

If you see the coincidence coming, is it still coincidence?

Somehow it was decided that she may need help on the inside. It was also decided the best way to end up in jail... and not have to STAY in jail would be public intoxication.

Lien agreed to do this for the group. Unfortunately, she didn't strike me as that great of an actress. Perhaps with some training... but as it stands...

I mean, I've never seen her behave dishonorably... or drink anything but tea. It was the specter of the Juggler I felt. I immediately volunteered to go in her place. I have a much better chance of convincing people of things they want to believe.

It took very little time and much fewer drinks then normal to start stumbling and walking into things. That did little. Speaking in loud belligerent terms did nothing more... Finally I decided I should pass out in the doorway.

I was there MUCH longer than I felt I should have been, but it did the trick. A couple guards came and tossed me into a cell with a couple of others. At least one of which was twice as drunk as I pretended to be.

They did not disarm me, which I found... surprising. but it meant I still had my wand if I needed to help.

Downside... I was sitting in a cage and not sure I would actually be able to help.

The others slowly started to pass out by the time Nerizza showed up. She was extremely sneaking but seemed to trigger something. A giant Axe thing came right down for her head!!!!

The noise woke some people up, so I started singing again to distract them... The results were mixed, and Nerizza and the gem weren't sticking around to find out.

Had she come only a LITTLE closer, I may have been able to heal the damage the axe did... but she did not, and I couldn't.

I ended up staying till dawn when they let me go... It was a horrible night sleep and I'm sure there were fleas in the cot.

The morning brought a headache and chaos. The gates were sealed and since they were still looking for the jewel then I assume Nerizza made it out of the city. The rest of us were searched and questioned and allowed to pass.

As soon as I saw her, I quickly tended that nasty wound, and then we all went to see Hortes.

He was very glad to see get the gem, and swore that he'd never tell anyone who got it for him. I believe him. That morning we left again.

The days are blur... Even amongst the guards there is a running debate as to how long we've been on the road. That... doesn't bode well as near to Sandpoint as we are on the map... and the time we still have to travel.

Churlwood, Rodrick's Cove, Victown, All these villages and towns I'd barely heard of... and for good reason. The time in the town was uneventful, though Sandru is teaching some of selling our non-descript trade goods to people who may or may not have any use for them. Hopefully for more then we paid for them in the first place...

Honestly it's not that different then the fortune telling I'm already used to.

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17th Arodus (I think)

Today something interesting broke up the monotony.

Bandits seem to be a way of life out here. Some we fight, some we scared away... We take damage, we repair damage... so far no one has been seriously injured.

Today in the distance we saw a fire... Some of us left the caravan to scout it out, and found a wagon that was burning. There were signs of a battle all around, at least one guard was dead and burning in the wagon. That is a smell I'll remember for months...

Our more experienced scouts were able to recreate the scene. Apparently some ogre-sized bandits attacked the wagons. The horses ran off in one direction, while the ogres seemed to drag the other people a different one.

We debated for some time as to what we should do. Our first priority is to our own caravan. We can't lead it into danger. Most were of the opinion that we should go around the fire and continue on... That didn't set right with me.

When I asked if we assumed that the ones drug away were dead already it changed the attitudes greatly. Thinking that it was a rescue mission rather then a salvage/vengeance changed everything.

The wagons were to skirt the edges and keep going, and we would meet up with them as soon as we could.

One set of human prints stumbled off on their own and we tracked them some way. They seemed to be connected to a young lady who was seriously injured. I immediately tried to assess her injuries.

As soon as I was sure she would NOT stab at me like that changeling in the swamp... I did what I could to reverse her injuries. I'm pleased to say the powers worked again.

Alyssia Valani filled in the gaps of the story that Nerizza and Kromyar had already determined. Two ogres attacked, killed their guard and drug away her parents.

We went on the rescue...

It didn't take too long to see where they went.  A small cave with a cook pot and a few cages out front made it look like the ogres had been here a while.

Nerizza snuck around the back of them, while Kromyar, Lien and I distracted from the front.

The battle was fast and furious. Moves and counter moves, Lien caught on fire.. Options and possibilities all around. It was difficult to know what I could affect and what I could not... I did do some damage with my sling, and my healing abilities came in handy afterward, but the others did the lion share of the fighting that day.

We were soon victorious and Alyssia's father offered us half his wagon's stuff as salvage, but none of us really wanted it. They left with their stuff, we left with ours.

A strange meeting, in hindsight. Alyssia was rather cute for a stranger and only a few younger then myself. Near as I can tell, about 10% of the time I go with her family and not my own caravan... most of that 10% ends happily... but I break my vow to protect Koya...  Some decisions are tougher to make than others, but this time, in this life... I stay here.


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27th Arodus

Key's Landing and Lynndale weren't of much more interest than the other towns. but now... we have reached the Brinewall. We left the caravan a mile or so out.

Amieko was the most the most excited of us all and insisted she was accompanying us to the keep. That sounded legit to me, as she funded the caravan. However something disagreed...

As we headed into the deserted town, she started feeling ill. Then she passed out. It took all my medical knowledge, and I still don't know exactly what is wrong with her. My instinct says poison, but I couldn't detect anything.

My magic didn't help her, and the potion of Remove Curse? I have yet to try that... The symptoms don't coincide with any curses I'm aware of... If it becomes necessary then I'll use it.

Lien was especially concerned and we took her back to the wagons and left her in Koya's capable care. Perhaps the leeches can do her some good... I'm not sure. Hopefully they'll pull their weight, I'd hate to think I've been feeding them for nothing....

After some debate, we decided to continue into the city...

The place was deserted, though perhaps not as long as the letter would have indicated... There was a long ship that was ruined, but newer... It's riders may still be around.

Especially after we found the thing that probably broke the boat... Some kind of sea creature, but when I got close enough to inspect it... something that was feeding on it decided it would rather eat ME!!!! Reefclaws I belief... but I can attest to the 'claw' part...

Nerizza and Kromyar saved my life and I barely got enough healing to fix the gaping wounds...

Finally we found our way to the keep... It was of course locked up and fully walled, making it all but inaccessible. With some diligence Nerizza was able climb the outer wall.

I expected sailors or hardy raiders from the Land of the Linnorn kings... but giant bird things?? That was a surprise! Nerizza was in a tight spot. She was alone on the wall fighting the dire corbies...  Climbing wasn't a valid option, and the rest of us was trying terribly to either climb the rope to help, or get a clear shot at the enemies. We were able to get at least one of them... but we believe a few others escaped. Possibly to collect reinforcements.

Once we were all inside, Lien decided this was no place for her mighty steed. She sent it back to the caravan with a few stern words and a slap. The horse must be very docile... Frank would never have responded with such obedience.

I would have been kicked. Possibly bit.

continued....

This place is a mess. Every room we enter is a ramshackled mess... often with creatures inhabiting them

The next room we entered was a stable of sorts. Mostly empty though Kromyar found a half-spider/man/thing that was pretty vicious. Once again healing was necessary.

The next building offered us a few options, but again, more combat. Lots of lizard like monsters with a horrible... horrible stench. Worst of all, no real treasure. they seemed to value little but food. And perhaps us... but same difference.

Still, compared to the next room. I prefer the lizard monsters.

Kromyar was able to find a secret door hidden in one of the side rooms and we were able to avoid the front door... but what we saw was... confusing.

Four of those giant bird things were doing... something in the middle of a large open room. Meanwhile... some OTHER bird-like thing was on a throne screaming that they were doing it wrong...

Near as I can tell, it 'thought' itself some grand director who was putting on a play. Lien knew what it was immediately.

Yami Bushi.... tengu shape... Oni

Honestly, NONE of those words meant anything to me... but they meant something to her.

Apparently some kind of demonic influence from her land. That concerned me some as I wasn't sure if we had the weapons to fight it... She wasn't certain either. She knew what it was... but the details of this particular oni escaped her.

The battle .... was weird.

I tried to stay in the rear and heal, while Lien and Takion fought the Corbies. Kromyar took the fight to the oni... and chaos reigned.

Monsters fell, allies fell, and when the dust settled more healing was needed and the Oni had escaped.

The 'actors' however were quite dead... so a partial win.

We found another door behind the throne and followed it down into hell....

Or at least I assume it was.

Halfway through the hall, the walls started dripping blood. Lien and I were frightened by it... the others I have to assume didn't even notice it.

They wouldn't go farther forward... so I fled back the way I came. Admittedly I thought Lien was right behind me, but when I got to the top, I was alone. I figured there was a 35% chance that I was the only one left.

A voice behind me informed me that this was not the case... A bit red from embarrassment I returned to the group. Someone informed me the hall was haunted... or was a haunt... or something that was scary but I needn't flee from....

Whatever.

Continuing on, we found an office and a bedroom... one of which was filled with a samurai skeleton thing.

For the life of me, I do not know why the others didn't spring into action. It was as if they had decided that this undead was related to Amieko and therefore our friend... as opposed to all the others that simply wanted to eat our faces....

Which while they waited for it to attack... it promptly tried to do.

It seemed to want to get in the hall with me... but the others were able to push it off and destroy it. I vote that from now on when we see something with no face... we kill it.

Choosing to bypass the stairs in the office we went back to the 'theater' and tried to move forward.

Two more side rooms showed us some Ogrekin... One of which dropped Takion, but Lien and Kromyar were able to fight over him...

We found another three story circular room with the Oni in it... It was flying and we were getting very low on resources at this point.

Takion and I tried to go up the stairs for a better shot at it... Kromyar and Lien raced across the room to distract it and get it lower...

Mixed results.

I got one good hit on it with some magic... but then it attacked me. Then I tried to get out of its way so the other could get to it.

It was a disaster and it disappeared again.

We decided to explore this room and then hole up somewhere to rest up a bit.

At the top of the room we found a flesh eating Harpy... Well, a harpy at least. Takion went up and shook hands with it....

I... don't understand, but it does appear that if we had attacked it, there was only a 1in 14 chance of survival....

We only heard one side of the conversation. Apparently it could only talk in his head when it was holding him...

Long story short... Zaiobe (the harpy) did not like Kikonu the Oni... or perhaps it's Pazuzu... this language is not my favorite....

Regardless, they had a relationship.... the thought of which still disturbs me greatly... Apparently she can get him anywhere she wants him to be... and he will definitely go to her. Where we can attack.

He will NOT flee then, because of the 'betrayal'... Downside.... we have to trust a Harpy.

In return she wants to be left alone in the castle... The others seem to think that is fair.

However, maybe that will change in the morning.

The room with the wight/skeleton thing was the most defensible room we'd come across. One way in, stone all around... We decided to set up camp there.

In the middle of the night, we were awoken by the sound of a large number of marchers in the hall... I don't know, but that may be part of the haunted hallway... or this place has many more enemies to deal with... I'm hoping for ghosts.

Which I never thought I'd actually say.

29th, I think....

We awoke and prepared the spells and discussed what to do with the day. The intent still seems to be to trust the harpy... and not simply find the treasure and get back to the caravan.

Ahhh well... the life of an adventurer I guess.

Kromyar suggested that we research everywhere we already did yesterday in the hopes that we don't get ambushed. It was unanimous agreed on. And its a good thing too....

The lizard rooms and the stables were still clear, though some bodies had been moved.... and slightly eaten.

The roof however?? Takion spotted some more of the giant birds back where we originally fought them, and a few more just above us working what we eventually realized was a catapult....

That... was an ugly fight. We were outnumbered and beat on pretty badly. By the time it was over, Nerizza, Takion and Kromyar had all fallen and I was doing everything I could to keep them (and myself) alive. Somehow we were successful, though one did escape

I'm sure that will come back to us later. The situation... not the bird. Actually, probably the bird too...

Once we had finished with everything we had already done.... we made some progress forward. We searched the rest of the ground floor and found the 'fast creature' that the harpy warned about. A little fey thing called a Quickling. Very fast... but the room was very small... Some people felt a bit ill when we left the battle, but no one was affected too badly by its poison. Which is good since I left the leeches at the wagons.

Having explored the ground level, I was hoping we would fight the Oni now. At least while we still had some magic to us and hopefully before the wand burnt itself out... However I was outnumbered so we decided on exploring the basement.

That... was extremely ugly... First... Screaming walls. Very weird, but not as scary this time... though Kromyar and Nerizza didn't handle it as well.

Next.... Somehow we ended up in a crossfire between Corbie birdmen and Lizard guys... It was a bloodbath. None of us died... but again, I was doing everything I could to keep them alive. The wand is almost done... It won't last this keep.

People were dropping and rising so fast, I couldn't keep track of it... Thought the chief birdman noticed me... I... was a little concerned when he started skipping past Lien and Kromyar for a chance to get at me!!

Smoking wand in one hand, silver cane in the other, I waited for the perfect moment as he leapt in and with skill and... luck... so much luck... He leapt, I swung wildly and got the killing blow in.

It still felt good though.

At this point the spells and wand were nearly gone, and the wounds were everywhere... so we holed up in another small room and did what we could to hide from death for a few more hours... I did what I could without magic... I really don't know WHY everyone gives me that look when I pull out the surgeon tools... I haven't lost a patient yet.

Maybe Amieko... I can't help but wonder how she's doing back at the camp. It's been two days now... I didn't plan to be gone this long...

Next morning we surveyed some of the destruction in the room and searched the side rooms... we found a small child crying... because it had no skin or flesh... and a dogs head... and was dead.

I'm not sure what it was... but the others had a terrible time killing it. Everytime it hit someone... it seemed to steal their voice. They surrounded it and swung for the fence... but it took a LONG time to crumple to bones... I stayed back because A) I need my voice. B) We'll need my spells later... and C) there wasn't anywhere to get close anyway...

We continued to search the second floor. This was obviously where the giant bird monsters rested... most of the rooms were full of nothing but discarded feathers and... waste. Takion and Lien still searched for clues or treasure... Kromyar and I however, felt we would be more of use NOT diving through feces.

We were right, and there was nothing of value in any of the rooms. Well, one appeared to be the room of the oni... it had nice silk sheets on a clean bed. We took those.

Soon we came across a room where the door seemed to be stuck... At least according to Kromyar. Takion decided to add a little force to situation... and it popped right open and dropped him into some dirty mushrooms.

It was a little funny... but he seemed to overreact. Then the others did too. Next thing I know, I'm standing in the doorway, while everyone is trying to bash the mushrooms off him with weapons as he attacks from the ground. In under six seconds he was back on his feet and we were leaving... still not sure what happened there...

We found another room with something identified as a 'mobat'. It was a giant bat monster that took a beating before it finally died. As it died, I received another vision... They seem to be happening much more often now. This one however... seemed more annoying then anything.

It hurt a little to see what they did to the chapel to Desna here. Everything was desecrated and fouled in unspeakable ways. I didn't even recognize it for what it was...

I saw two ships sailing in horrible storm... They were separated in the storm and one was crashed near a cave only to face a great evil. I didn't see the evil itself, but I saw the captain. The captain was a grizzled man in familiar exotic, but familiar armor. I believe it to have been Tsutamu, the undead we fought in the cave.

Apparently I was seeing the events of how the 'Kaijitsu Blossom' met its fate. A little late I suppose... but maybe there will be an important clue there.  Once again, I kept silent. Until I see the importance, no sense muddying the waters.

After that, we took a vote. The upstairs was cleared out, but we were taking a beating too. It was decided to go back and talk to the Harpy Zaoibe. Our magic was getting used on minor battles, and our healing was nearly spent. If we were going to set a trap and fight the Oni.... then we really needed to do it as close to full strength as possible.

The others agreed and we went to 'speak' to her.

Lien took the lead this time, but we hit a bit of a snag. Apparently the harpy now wished that we not only leave the castle to her... but tell nobody what had happened here.

As I have been writing this down, and I'm fairly certain that Ameiko will want to know what happened out here... SOME of us had a problem with this new development.

It took a lot of negotiating but the harpy claimed that the oni had allies that would come looking for anyone involved with killing him thus putting our friends in more danger if we told... that sounds inaccurate to me.

As she was an evil flesh eating monster and while she claimed the that Corby cleric was responsible for the desecration (knowing I already killed him made me feel a little better ) she still approved of this change to a 'better god'.

Honestly, I have zero issue with lying to her. Say we'll keep the secret, then act with our own discretion. I didn't say this out loud of course. Lien however seems to be a bit more of a straight arrow.

Eventually they came to an agreement. She used a bow, so Kromyar gave her the arrows of evil outsider killing.  We scattered around the circular room and pounced when she called him.

I almost felt bad for him showing up so quickly with a handful of flowers... only to realize he'd been betrayed. It passed quickly.

The battle started fast and furious. We did what we could against him, his wounds were quick to heal, though my fire and acid helped to slow it down. Eventually he did fall down... just as the harpy turned her arrows on us.

It's... frustrating to advise against trusting evil flesh eaters.... and be right.

This... got interesting fast. Healing was  non-existent and any moment the oni could be back on his feet. Meanwhile she kept targeting Kromyar.

The battle was a blur, and I may have lost consciousness a bit... By the end the oni was dead, and the harpy escaped. We did however find the 'sun key' that would open half the basement door on the oni...

We patched up the best we could, and headed outside looking for the harpy.  It found us.... There were arrows fired and it had us an extreme disadvantage. We tried to use the heavy crossbows... but our aim wasn't very good. I took another hit and started back toward cover. By that time it had only the two arrows we had given it, and apparently we weren't worth the treasure... It flew off past the city wall...

I believe at this point we finished off whatever healing we still had. Well, there's still a potion or two floating around for the extreme cases.

Takion and Lien claimed to have seen a rainbow burst of color near a building... It was kind of a strange comment. Perhaps it is a sign from Desna? I am not the most devout of the Desnanites... but I still remember some of mother's lessons. Regardless the idea gives me a little hope.

We took another set of stairs down to a place without the locked door... It led us to a mostly deserted basement, which was a nice change. We opened one door and my blood ran cold.

A dark cavern with stalactites and stalacmites all over it. I immediately called a halt. Now was time...

I cautioned against that 'room' as best I could, but my words weren't so convincing. I can't say I blame them. I told them what I had seen yesterday when the cleric fell.

I had seen us walking in a dark cavern covered in webs... and a giant man-sized spider thing pouncing on Takion and the rest of us getting attacked by more trying to trap us in webs...

There's not a lot of detail there. It wasn't the past. Inside the fortress... it wasn't the present. If we died fighting birdmen, then it wouldn't be the future... Takion didn't seem pleased that I had held the info... but without more 'time markers' there wasn't enough to share...

The visions added something new to the conversation as it was... They knew I had some skill with predicting the future... the visions gained me some odd looks, but odd looks I'm used to.

Any discussions of changing it were also pointless. The idea of keeping Takion out of the room, or something similar... wouldn't change the situation. This MAY not even be the right place or time... but someday... sometime... something was going to attack from the ceiling in a place with stalactites. Caution is all I could recommend.

Hopefully they'll respect the warnings at least....

All in vain it appears. There were no webs or spider-monsters in here.

Soon we came across something I did NOT forsee.

Soon we came across a room with a woman in a cage and an ogre named Slugwort with what had to be a tree. A small tree.. but when it slammed into Kromyar, and the with the second hit, he went down HARD. and now we had ogre separating us from our fallen comrade. Takion was the next hit, and he was staggering around. All of us were in a bad spot and I didn't see anyway to get out of this...

It wanted us to get in the cages, and I was more then prepared to do just that... we had a better chance of escape then we did in battle.

That's when the Oni walked into the room and chased off the ogre with a few well placed orders.

Now... I KNOW that the Oni was dead... yet suddenly there wasn't any ogre between us and our fallen dwarf friend. However, there was something else there now... A small butterfly winged person....

She seemed to be on our side, but I was digging out the last of the potions when she set loose a burst of holy energy that woke Kromyar. Then a few more times just for good measure.

She introduced herself as Spivey. She seemed to be a cleric of Desna, and was looking for a way to redeem the town. She hadn't actually been in the castle before, but knew some of what was going on...

Where she went, a burst of rainbow color seemed to go... So in a way, the lights that Takion saw 'WAS' a sign of Desna's favor.

I'm marking that in a win column for my predictions.

Our next goal was to try and free the Ulfen woman in the cage the ogre was guarding. Spivey tried the illusion trick again. The goal was to convince him to wander the town on some special mission Kikonu the Oni and give us time to rescue her.

THIS time he didn't buy it... He charged out the door and chased us into a back room. It was... scary. Spivey took a hit from the tree and went smashing into the wall. I considered trying to buy us a few moments by removing the ogre from time... but that is tricky at best and quite frankly, the others didn't want me within arms reach of it.

Neither did I exactly... but our abilities were severly getting taxed.

With some work, the monster finally went down. We found the keys on him, and Kromyar had an intense discussion with the captive woman.

I suppose I can understand. She does seem to have arrived on the raiding vessel... but her crew is dead and I can only imagine she was going to be eaten... so why bother us?

We seem to be trusting of the scary dangerous sorts and suspicious of the more innocent ones... it's a strange philosophy.

Kromyar got oaths from her that she wouldn't attack us or turn on us or anything else to us... and that she was free to go.

She considered herself in our debt and wanted to help us. Some think she was interested in Amieko's treasure... myself I think she just saw her group killed, and didn't want to head out alone...

I suppose it could be a combination of the two.

We took turns watching that night, and things seemed to be peaceful enough. Not counting Spivey.... The new ones doubled up with the caravaners and I stayed up with Spivey.

Aparrently she is not fey as I had imagined... but Azata. Lyrakien to be specific... I had not heard of them before, but she was an outsider and chatted all shift long.

It was entertaining and informative. Mother was a devout Desnan, and I dabbled a bit... Many fortune tellers do, but the truly faithful aren't allowed to give bad news. Nothing that would dampen the spirit... It's one of my weaknesses. If I can help I do... I rather tell what people need to hear rather then what they want to hear...

31 Arodus.

I worry about the caravan. We've been here too long. Three... four.. Five days maybe?!?

I came along to protect Koya and she's been on her own for too long... While we've taken the best of the caravan's warriors with us.

Worse yet, I have had no visions or information on Amieko. We should have stayed when she went ill. For all I know she could have died days ago and this whole mission is irrelevant.  

As it is, Spivey talked my ear off during our whole watch, but I recall only the most interesting snippets. Such is the way with distractions I suppose.

As it turns out, there wasn't as much left to the keep as I'd feared. We checked a few more rooms on this floor with little interest. Then we checked the door that the Ogre had us backed up to.

That it turns out was a burial crypt that Spivey identified as dedicated to Desna. The alcoves were all smashed and looted... which since these were probably Ameiko's family... it was good to remove THAT temptation.

That's when an image of Desna herself appeared before us. She told us to lower our weapons and she would bestow a boon upon us. The others were skeptical, but it's not every day that I have my goddess appear before me... I immediately dropped my crossbow.

On closer inspection (and disappointment) I then recognized that it was an illusion of some sort. With some embarrassment I picked the crossbow back up.

The crypt was dark... Really dark. Our torches didn't seem to do much at all.. but the others that could see... got very concerned very quickly...

Apparently there was something else in there with us!! Something... Bad.

Kromyar identified it as a Decapus. A FIENDISH Decapus... The term sounded familiar, but neither of knew much about what it was... or what it could do. Though... Fiendish means demonic... and that always throws a hitch in things.

This... was an ugly fight. Ugly in many ways... HOWEVER... we did find the 'ten-handed' one.... One of which used a wand of scorching ray.... sooooo intelligent of some kind. I also REALLY wanted it.

I had my crossbow... but I can't hit anything with it. My best use was to heal when I could and help those who were falling. Well... not literally falling. Takion was grappled and thrown off the ravine...  Spivey was able to sneak her way over there and save his life... Then he had to deal with the long climb back up to the fight.

The others were a blaze of steel and magic. The Decapus was resistant to the few spells I could throw at it... If it wasn't for Amieko's rambling about the key being in its grasp... We would have fled.

She also gave us a hint about its fear being our asset... So I yelled at it. It seemed to get nervous and back up... We all started taking turns yelling at it and apparently threw it of its game a bit... With as many people as could surrounding it, it eventually died.

Spivey and I did what we could to heal everyone up, but considering we had just started our day... it did not bode well for the afternoon....

Spivey flew around the cavern with a light and searched for 'the key'.

She did find a nest of sorts down two cliffs soooo then we started to 'climb'... I've never been much of a 'climber' before...

Took some doing, but we found a way.

Apparently this thing was quite the hoarder. There were potions and rings and pearls and all sorts of things all stored back here... along with its 'egg'.

now... the idea that was a baby... terrifies me. But not as much as thinking there may be ANOTHER one here... so we got what we could INCLUDING the mysterious key.... and got back up the ropes.

One of the items was a weird winged statue, presumably of the god they all seemed to worship here. It had power but nobody knew how much. I didn't feel comfortable just leaving It out to do, who knows what kind of evil.... so I took it with me. I figure we can leave it in the unopenable vault... then Take the only keys with us.

That should be safe enough.

From there we headed to the vault that stopped us before. Without issue the keys worked and the doors swung open.  

Inside was the ghost of a man dressed in Tien fashion. He looked a bit like Amieko and we all had the conclusion that we were looking at her grandfather.

If that's true... then we may be able to avoid this fight. He may be a guardian... but we were agents of his family... I reminded Lien that she may be the only one who could talk to him.

She introduced us as Amieko's friends... he did not seem impressed, though he did seem to be able to talk in Common...

One of us reminded her that the letter was to her father... he MAY not have even known about Ameiko. She quickly amended her speech to the ghost's approval.  

The vaults were empty... apparently the Oni had made use of the keys before us... but the ghost showed us a hidden door.

Inside were a series of chests... with money.

Also... a box that contained a carved Tien statue. Once we opened it, I received a massive vision. I saw the Grandfather as a young man in royal robes. A Jade suit of armor... He was deep in political strife...

The man had to leave his home... traveling to the land of the Ulfens... He sold his family sword fund the starting of this keep...

it was all very confusing and amazing at the same time. But this... this was the most stunning.

Ameiko was the last heir to the Jade Throne... A princess of sorts. Well... almost the last....

This 'Amatatsu Seal' that her grandfather wanted hidden for all time was a special thing... it could heal, even raise the dead as long as it was a 'Scion of Amatatsu'... someone in line for the throne. And the seven of us that opened it... were now included in that number.

I... did NOT see that coming...

The downside... if it came out of the box.... the Oni would know. They were hunting it, and as long as we had it we would be a target.

On the plus side... It did NOT need to be taken out of the box to use.

Unfortunately we didn't know that until we opened it...

Soooooo it's been hidden for decades... but it's back in the world, and they knew it.

THIS vision had immediate importance to all of us... So I immediately tried to tell everyone what I saw. This time... it wasn't just me. We had all seen the same thing... Soooo a bit anticlimactic there.

Now... I SUSPECTED that touching that statue thing would be a bad decision... and I was right. I couldn't seem to let it go. Fortunately the Seal could do a dispel curse on me...  stronger then my potion apparently.

We left the ugly thing in the vault as planned and headed back to the caravan where.....

AMEIKO Came to meet us!!! Apparently she also had the same vision. The 'spirit' of the Seal was trying to reach out to her... and could only knock her out. It wasn't till we opened the box that she woke up.

When we got back decisions had already been made to head north... I had mixed feelings about that. Admittedly I'm tied into this quest now, the possibilities are staggering... but Koya? She had only planned for a short caravan up here and back. If she wanted to go back... I would do so.

She does not want to go back.

Apparently this the quest she's dreamed of her whole life...

I wonder if that is merely figurative this time. Sometimes with her its hard to tell.

12th of Rova

Things are settling into a rhythm. We're heading northward, which means heavier clothes, and we know we have colder to come.

As we pass the villages, the pickings seem to get less and less. We've sold off most of the stuff we found at Brinewall, and most of us have found a way to improve our fighting gear.

I found a way to carry most of my gear. It's difficult for me to leave anything behind... but a vendor suggested something called 'muleback' cords. Not sure I appreciate the comparison... but I admit I kind of like the way it makes my arms bulge. After that I was only able to afford to have my silver cane enchanted a bit as opposed to the magical armor and weapons the others bought.

I was uneasy this night. I'm not sure what it was, but it afforded a chance to chance to talk with Nerizza during her watch. A most enlightening conversation. It would be best if I get to know all my companions a bit better I think.


13th Rova

We're getting closer to Kalsgard. And we're being noticed.

Nerizza noticed a raven that's seemed to follow us for days now. I'm not sure how accurate that is, it doesn't look that different from another bird to me. I will be seriously jealous if I find out her eyes are better then mine during the night AND the day...

Still, she's concerned, so we all are. And were wise to be.

Tonight while I tried to rest, a fight broke out in the wagons. Mighty Ulfen warriors seemed to leap from silent boats and attack in the dead of night during Nerizza's shift.

Had this happened last night, I would have been awake! Was it a coincidence, or just poorly timed intuition? No way to tell...

Chaos was all around me. I raced around to side of the wagons and was charged by a warrior with a battle ax! I used m wand and my new pearl of power to blast him in the face with magic... This slowed him down... but did not stop him.

He cut me hard with his ax and I used my cane the best I could. After another gash, I was starting to get concerned. I tried swinging and backpedaling to the center of the wagons, hoping for a little aid... or at least a breather to heal my wounds. He stayed with me though.

Then he was suddenly plunged into darkness. It didn't seem natural, and I swung where he had been. Somehow I connected and he fell to the ground dead.

The darkness was suddnely lifted and Nerizza was standing there, covered in blood and gore. I was about to help... but then realized she wasn't hurt.

At all.

That was a bit creepy. But considering they tried to kill us.... I'll get over it.

The others were ok too. Most of the Ulfens were killed, some were able to escape. Everyone did their part, and nobody on our side was lost. Though Shalelu and Kelda had taken some damage, and Koya had used up her healing on the other side of camp.

Word has it that the bird was back and somehow was tied into the attack. Apparently it was watching the camp just before the attack but was gone in the commotion.


14th Rova

Well, today we had to deal with the bodies. They were all dressed in the same chain shirt and had identifying armbands that seemed of value. We weren't far from a watchtower, so as opposed to just riding on with a score or more of corpses in our wake... it was agreed we should make a statement to the authorities.

That is something I regret now.

Kelda knows the land, so she went with me and its generally agreed on that we were robbed. All that chain mail and weapons had to be logged as 'evidence' and they may possibly be able to track down who sent them.

They weren't very convincing.

I'm sure we were able to keep some of it without a fuss, but most of the valuables off the villains were taken by the guards and we were sent on our way.

Though... Kromyar did 'accidentally' drop some off the ravine. If they want it that bad, they'll have to work for it.


When we finally arrived to Karlsgard we reached another obstacle. Amieko wished to enter the town and track down the family sword.

What we'll do then... I don't know. That really hasn't been discussed to my satisfaction. I doubt we'll be able to BUY the magical intelligent sword... Best scenario seems to be to 'interogate' the sword and hope it didn't hold a grudge for being sold off.

As it is, the group was divided on what to do with the princess. The best arguments stated that we didn't have enough information, and with people looking for her, she should stay behind. She didn't like that at all.

I consulted the cards.

The cards were vague.

With no clear interpretation, and therefore no serious warning, I chose an interpretation that leaned toward caution. Koya seemed to agree with me and between the two of us, we were able to convince her to stay.

Now... we need to figure out what WE are going to do....

Sandru has decided that we should split up, even so much as entering the city from different gates. Apparently Varisian caravans are not looked on too kindly here, so it's probably for the best.

Kelda knew an innkeeper that was a family friend named Krogda. Apparently he was discrete and wouldn't talk.

Admittedly, I hope that we will have no NEED of discretion. This place is much bigger then I expected... and the idea of a riot here would be problematic.

Kelda informed us she had no intention of going any farther north with us, but as she owed us her life, she was at our disposal while in Karlsgard.

It was a relatively quiet night, this inn is not overly busy, which is probably best for us. We asked Krogda about Fynn Snaevald or anyone in his family.

He wasn't very helpful. Given that it had been 60 years, this wasn't very surprising. The trail is long cold.

The next day, we started the hunt. It appears that many TIen artifacts pass through the jade quarter, so that's where we start. The trail led us to Madame K's perfumery.

An unassuming place to say the least. A simple nondescript place housed under a butcher's shop. Unsurprisingly she deals in many perfumes. Our senses were quite assaulted as we walked inside.

We got some information when we arrived in. The others seemed content to let me do the talking. Apparently I 'Get along well with Old women'... Not sure what I feel about that reputation.

However, I did get along ok with Madame K. I informed her we were looking for Tien artifacts. Specifically one held by the Snaevald family at one time.

She seemed somewhat suspicious of why we came to her, but I was forthright and told her that we had heard she dealt in Tien stuff, so it seemed a good place to start.

She claimed she may have a record of the Snaevald residence, but it would require a price... naturally.

As a businessman I can understand that. The price was 50 gold, which was a little high just for an address... but not something we didn't have. We paid her and she hurried into the back and began rummaging around.

All of that was an act of course. She knew well enough exactly what we wanted, and knew it off the top of her head. I tolerate her games though. We both won here.

We got the address and went to visit the Snaevalds.

And found what had to be a 90 year old man answer the door. We had found Fynn himself!!

Fynn was EXTREMELY suspicious when we started asking him about the sword.

It turns out we were about a week late. The sword which seemed to be ignored for 60 years and hanging on a mantelpiece was stolen and some servants were murdered.

This... did not look good for us, except that if we were guilty, then we wouldn't be standing here. As it is, the sword was stolen on or near the night we were attacked on the road... A disturbing coincidence.

He had little interest in the sword itself. It never felt 'right' to him. As it was a sentient sword, to us that meant it was rejecting him in some way. What he did care about was his servants and being robbed for that matter. Honor was a tricky thing there, and he REALLY wanted those guilty to pay...

He was distrustful of arcane magic, so hadn't tried to scry for the sword. We tried to hire a priest of Desna to do it for us... but that didnt' work either. He hadn't seen the sword himself, and the description was too vague.

Nor could we speak to the dead. The bodies had been burned and scattered by now.

There were no traces that we could find around the house, but somehow we got the information that one of them was a very tall person, though they were all robed and concealed.

Asveg Longthewes fit that description, and also seemed to belong to the armbands marking our attackers. It was definitely a direction to look. If he wasn't guilty of THIS... we at least knew he had attacked US...

When we checked in with the caravan we had other news. Sandru was not having much luck finding us a guide. Most were gone already, and the only one left by the name of Ulf Gormunder was recently enlisted by Longthewes...

That only seemed to confirm our suspicions.

Next stop Longthewes place.

Our plan was sketchy at best. It was about 2 miles out of the city and when we started to get close, we noticed there was something going on. Nerizza scouted ahead and saw a banquet being prepared.

Some wanted to go up and knock on the door. Others wanted to wait till night and strike. While not overly fond of the striking part... I really did NOT want to give away our sense of surprise. Again... These people ATTACKED us in the dead of night. If they had nothing to do with the sword at all... they still did not have our best interests at heart.

So after some debate, we agreed to sneak in later.

After dark, Nerizza tried to get closer, and set off a trap of some sort. Summoning some kind of guardian that she dispatched with minimal noise. After that we found a way to disarm the runes, and moved closer as a group.

We snuck into a back a storage unit and found... distastefulness goings on... The hall was in the middle of an Funeral feast, and apparently that means food, drink and debauchery to these people.

We took out two guards fairly quickly and questioned a serving girl about what was going on. She seemed equal parts grateful for the interference and fearful of strangers... but she was able to explain that this was a funeral for Asveg's Lord Snorey.

Yeah... I think that sounds right...

She helped us clear the kitchen of the other staff, and explained some of the lay out. Apparently the Lord Asveg kept his valuables in his room off the main hall... He had... Many men in there reveling, and his wife was some kind of witch.

The bird MAY have been hers, but this girl knew nothing about it.

The best bet we had, was for Nerizza to try to sneak in, find the sword, and get out... but that was REALLY dangerous. Kromyar was able to cast a short-term invisibility on her, and something to make her even quicker.

I took some of the armor from the guards and tried to provide some backup. It was a bit more awkward then I'm used to, but workable.

I grabbed a plate of food and a mug of ale and hoped everyone was drunk enough not to recognize I wasn't belonging. As I opened the door wide enough, Nerizza slipped through too.

There was a wooden gate separating the hall from the sleeping quarters and I thought for sure when she moved it, she'd be caught. But she's stealthier then I suspected.

I stood watch near enough to help (I hoped) and waited for her to return.

Apparently the room wasn't deserted as we'd hoped, and she had to sneak around the four revelers into a secret vault. She did not find the sword in there. There were plenty of valuable, but not what we sought.

A few minutes went by and I was getting concerned. Suddenly a commotion started in the room and chaos broke out. She did her best to get out of that room, while the soldiers were trying to get in, and I was mostly hoping I wasn't shot by an ally. Kromyar fired off lightning blasting many still at the tables. Takion took the other row of enemies and started laying into them. I used my ghost hand to flip a burning log into a set of tables as a distraction. Though, a serving girl may have been too close and got a touch burned... I feel really bad about that.

My disguise was better then I had hoped. The other guards didn't attack me at all, and I did my best to demoralize them, while trying to heal the wounds my allies were taking.

The lord of the estate was huge! He towered over everyone there, but Kromyar was quick to take him down. The Witch was more trouble, but in time she died as well... As did the soldiers. None ran... none survived.

It was a blood bath.

Afterwards we scoured the place high and low collecting anything that looked remotely of value... but still no sword.

One of our lookouts informed us that a large party was coming down the road to the feast... and would be here shortly.

We took the bodies of the lord and lady of the house. Hopefully to interrogate their spirits... but then we had to run.

This... was a long day.

We could hear the signs of people behind us. I was carrying the witch's body, while Kromyar was carrying Longthewes'. Takion carried the unconscious panicked servant girl which... since I'll probably never get this witch's blood out of my coat... Really isn't fair. Maybe we should have drawn straws or something...

Weighed down by corpses we were never going to outrun the dogs and the chasers. Nerizza offered to cover our trail and lead them off. Without us to slow her down, she was able to drag them off to nowhere pretty easily.

We found a quiet area outside of town to stash the bodies. Kromyar kept watch while Takion and I took the traumatized girl into town. We expected some trouble with the guards... but surprisingly, no.

Takion took her back to the caravan, while I went to the shrine of Desna for help... but there wasn't anyone there. Next stop... temple of Gorrum.

I was fairly honest with them. I didn't go into many details.... but 'proxy of vengeance' and talking to dead didn't REALLY raise many flags. Which... disturbs me quite a bit.

Some gold later and we were able to talk to Asveg. We didn't get the answers that we wanted. Apparently he turned the sword over to the head of a local guild hall named Thorborg.

As for Ulf... he didn't seem to have any answers that we wanted.

Unfortunately, the answers were definitive enough that it was decided that talking to the witch wasn't worth the gold we'd be charged.

Takion and Lien had come back with other news. Apparently Ulf has a friend who is looking for him. Ushaka believes that he may well be on the funeral barge of Lord Snorey...

Apparently there were rumors that Ulf would be going where Snorey goes... and some took that very literally.

We investigated the possibility, but the many, many guards kept us far from the boat itself. Ushaka seemed convinced that there would be fog that would delay the dawn ceremony.

Very... convinced. It was suspicious... even I am leery about predicting the weather.

Sure enough, she was correct. When the fog arrived, she informed us there were three Kayaks, which left one seat available for Ulf when we rescued him... but not her. She wasn't going.

Another red flag...

The trip, wasn't uneventful.... Somewhere between the dock and ship, were were attacked by a gigantic Sharkeating SpiderCrab thing.... As is the case in extremely foggy dawns, I couldn't really see it. The sounds of battle were obvious, and I got a few crossbow shots off at it. I really don't know if I hit or not.

Kromyar was with me, and we didn't get close enough to kill it, but Takion and Lien's two kayaks did. I'm not sure exactly WHAT the battle looked liked... but based on the injuries my friends paddled away with... it was vicious all around.

With some work we boarded the funeral boat that was floating out to open water.

By now I had a theory. Perhaps Snorey wasn't actually dead. Perhaps it was Ulf that was being sent out here in an elaborate way to dispose of a body.... AND create an alibi for Snorey as he traveled north to the Tian Xi....

The ship deck was empty save a wrapped body and a lantern trap above it. We quickly went to work to disarm it... to keep the boat from burning around us. Then I checked the body.... Which was not a body. Mostly empty but full of burnable stuff.... It was a ploy. But it was not Ulf....

When we went below deck it was cramped and crowded. There were some material goods down there, but not the treasure horde I was hoping. Also there was an ugly nasty undead thing.

Took some work to kill it, but it had a magical stone for an eye... Apparently this may have been Snorey Stone-eye.

Which opens even more questions then it answers...

Answers that had to wait.

Nerizza and Lien found their way above deck again, just as the place was attacked by the black robed men that were drawn all over the history of Brinewall.

Apparently the term ninjas has been tossed about now... and they were extremely intent on burning the ship down around us. Sadly the ship was designed to burn and it did it REALLY well. I did what I could to keep it manageable, but it didn't help. Flames were everywhere and

We weren't able to save the ship or any ninjas, but we did get away mostly intact. We were bloody and scorched, but they were all dead and cremated... so we win.

By the time we got back... we'd been up over 24 hours. Some of us were more tired then others.... I was one of them, and immediately passed out.

Apparently while we were out someone came looking for us. That seemed ominous. With some trouble we tracked our searchers to the Rusty Crowbar.

Seems the place doesn't pick up until night. One of the guys there offered us some info for 50 gold. He claimed that some people wanted something that we had. Probably to steal it...

Soooooo wasted gold. I tried to hide my disappointment and apprehension. I mean... we DO have something very valuable, but I don't like it being so well known....

Next on our stop this afternoon was to visit Thorborg. That... was a disaster.

Apparently this is one of the worst guildhalls ever. They claim to be involved in expeditions across the crown of the world... which sucks. It means to me that her having the sword isn't a coincidence.

The others wished for a direct approach. To walk in and ask for it back. The guards at the door didn't agree. We were able to avoid violence, though just barely.

The guards wouldn't let us in. Kromyar was fairly insist, and things got loud. They called the town authorities, and we outnumbered. Eventually there was a compromise. They would send a clerk out to meet us.

That was a waste of time. We weren't REALLY looking to book a caravan north with them. We didn't have the authority to make the arrangements regardless... and Thorborg apparently meets nobody ever. Even throwing out the term 'proxy of vengeance' didn't help.

We tried going back to Fynn to get more authorities involved. Possession of stolen property and all that. However with the thief dead, he saw the matter closed. In true old man stubbornness, we couldn't convince him to keep it going. Any authority we had was now finished.

The only lead we had left was to try to figure who was looking for us... Granted since we told Thorborg's people what we were after... we may have even more after us now. Maybe she'll just run... but that doesn't seem likely.

As we walked through town things suddenly very familiar. The way people were walking.. the conversation... It was the same as my vision. I yelled for Kromyar to duck, but he spun instead. Odds are it wouldn't have mattered, but this time the arrow sunk deep in his chest instead of his back.

Nerizza and Takion immediately charged the building where the assassin was shooting from. The archer wasn't content with just that though... she dropped two more arrows right in the dwarf one of which exploded. Kromyar perished in the streets before I could even heal the first damage.

Then I became a target. She fired an arrow into me, and it really really hurt.

Afraid it would explode I yanked it out. Then I passed out. I'm not sure what I missed, but I woke up to Lien feeding me a potion. The other two chased the archer while we drug Kromyar into the nearest house... despite the protests of the servants.

The archer got away, from magic or trickery... and we all hid in the house while used the box to bring Kromyar back to life...

He has the tidiest backpack I've ever seen.

We returned back to our inn and all stayed in the same room that night. I had a rough night sleep with constant fear of ninjas popping through the window or under the bed... Kromyar didn't take kindly to adjusting his schedule. He had insisted on cleaning up when we got back... which to be fair, he was fairly bloody.

The next morning he wanted to bathe again. It was agreed we wouldn't split up... so all the guys hit the bathhouse that morning.

Apparently his rune magic is something that he picked up along the road... something he just learned. I had expected a better story, but I don't really have one much better myself other then 'I just can'. Still his rune magic is 'different' and I'm still curious about it in general

The helmet we found is an Angel











Frozen Shadows...................ninja cult of Oni.......





Five Storms- One







Kragda







Broke into guildhall, hoped to find the poison that framed Kragda... but no such luck...



The place was dark, and the guards came to attack. Unfortunately we had to kill them all... then search quickly before the guards came.



I felt a little bad about it... I mean, this place has been infilitrated by our enemies... but I don't know if they were all evil themselves. Infiltration implies sneakiness... they may have never known what they were involved with.





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30th Rova

We climbed the staircase to the door. It was... unpleasant. Obviously designed to keep enemies from amassing at the gate, I can see how it would do it's job.

When we entered the keep, the first thing we noticed were birds... lots of birds... just 'watching' us.

It was very creepy.

I didn't notice any red ones... but there... were sooooo many.....

We checked the first room we came to, and found arrow slits looking out at the stairside. Next to the slits were good fist sized throwing stones. That... seemed odd. Bows I could see... crossbows maybe? But a place like this defending itself with rocks?

Hopefully all the resistance we meet will be so.... sad.

Second door we came to... the birds attacked... They went for my eyes.. talons and beaks and feathers were everywhere and I swung wildly with my cane hitting a few... I think....

As I stumbled backward out of the swarm I realized I couldn't see. My face was covered in cuts and blood... I didn't know how bad the damage was... but I had sickening feeling it was bad...

Screams of pain and violence were all around me as I heard Kromyar directing us back to the rock room... When I got there I learned some very bad news.... The birds got us all... we were ALL blind!!

Between the three of us, we were able to find my medical bag and try to assess the damage. Physician heal thyself I've heard tell... so I tried. It took some work, and I had to go by touch... and I certainly left the scalpels in the bag... but before long, I was able to see again.

Blurry... poor vision, but at that point I was giddy. Then I went to work on the others. Kromyar was the worst of us all, but now that I had my tools, and could see the wounds, I was able to patch him up.

Lien... was also bad, and her eyes don't really 'match' anymore... I'm hopeful that will heal with time...

Now that we could see... we continued on.

With no further birds, we entered the room beyond... inside were four ninjas. Human ones at least... but ninjas just the same. WE caught them flat footed... (again... NINJAs.... ) and dispatched them quickly.

Apparently they were low ranking in the grand scheme of Frozen Shadows.... I was able to kill one, and received another vision.

Apparently Amieko will make it to some foreign land and perform that weird instrument she has for them... they will clap approvingly and then she'll hand it to me.... I however, have NO idea how to play that... Something to wonder about later I suppose.

Lien must have noticed something and questioned me... However I told her there was nothing pertaining to our problems now... and I'd discuss it with her later.

They had a shrine to Yaezhing... A lesser known god of Assassins... and apparently ninjas..

The noise from that battle woke some thugs from the other side of the main hall and a horde of thugs came pouring out. The battle was hectic, and we were all sore and wounded again... (This wand is starting to feel a bit worn...) but we prevailed. Nothing else of interest was on that floor.

The next floor held a trap door in the ceiling. With a LOT of work... Lien was able to.... climb me and take a peek up there. Nothing of note. There was a rope ladder for escape... but nothing of interest really.

We found a storage section with a lot of supplies for the road. Obviously they are planning a trip north... so they have supplies for the trip.

We also are planning a trip, and they have REMARKABLY fewer mouths to feed now... hopefully with more whittling down to go... so I suggested we bring Shandru here and we can continue the looting with some wagons... It seemed a favorable reaction.

Admittedly I am a glutton when it comes to mundane supplies... and Sugar Moss. Can never have too much....

Then things got... unpleasant.

We entered the next room and saw a man in a glass case looking all emaciated. The room was a lab of some sort though I didn't recognize what the experiments were. He started pounding on the door begging to get out, though in a language we couldn't understand.

I went closer to investigate with Lien offering backup. He looked in bad shape and Kromyar smashed the case for us. Then the body dropped. Wasps started pouring out of every orifice. It... will haunt my dreams for weeks...

Soooo yeah. Apparently these were 'Hellswarm wasps.' I didn't know much about them... but we were able to deduce that they were too small to hit with weapons... used dead bodies as puppets PUPPETS!!!! and with some experimenting from the other two... fire didn't hurt them. We fled.

Not fast enough... The stings were poisonous and Lien and Kromyar both were hit. Kromyar weathered it well, but Lien died in my arms as I was applying the leeches and doing what I could.

It was the first patient I've actually lost like this... Well... not just hell wasps of course... but through violence. There was a few old age ones like Madame Niska... but I've been a fairly successful medicine man...

Thankfully Kromyar agreed to leave the keep now. We eached grabbed Lien and made for the stairs. We arrived back at her horse and Koya and headed back to the caravan. It was depressing trip to say the least.





2nd of Lamashan



When we got back to the city, we pooled every last gold piece we could, sold as much as we could spare and scraped up enough to bring her back to life. Also we got a new wand of healing... and a couple more healing kits... Half of us must look like mummies at this point...

Lien didn't think it wise to discuss the finer details of the trip with Ameiko, even though she pressed... I am half certain that she'll sneak out of the caravan and follow after us....





3rd of Lamashan

Dead of night... we were attacked. A lone ninja (the scariest kind...) attacked with flaming shurikens and poisoned daggers.

POISON...

AGAIN....

The battle was... bad. All of us were targeted, Lien first, who got to her horse and started to charge back and forth... but once I started healing again, I became a popular target.

3 against 1 was interesting... I did what I could to provide flanking for my friends, but I wasn't too useful in the battle.

Though I was able to disarm her.... that Poisoned blade she kept stabbing with... I was able to super-heat it from a distance and she chose to drop it. Then she just tried to bash our faces in with punches and kicks....but... no new POISON!

I'll take my wins where I can...

4th of Lamashan


Kromyar and Lien are suffering from the poisons from last night, but they seem intent on completing our quest at Raven's Crag.

When we returned there were a couple bodies at the bottom of the stairs. That... was ominous. First thing that went through our mind was the wasps... Nerizza was able to sneak past them, then thanks to Kromyar the rest of us were invisible and quickened enough that we were able to get past without difficulty. No time for a real examination but they did seem to have been killed by massive stinging... much Lien had.

At the top of the stairs we found another difference. All those peculiar rocks inside... were now outside. No particular reason I could tell.

Inside... more crows. I am sooooo tired of crows I can't even describe it. As it was they once again attacked and went for our eyes... Lien was blinded again. Stubburn woman that she is, she insisted on helping the others fight instead of letting me help her.

After the birds yet before the healing... there was yet another wave of ninjas... this time with a werebear. With some directions, Lien is able to contribute to the following battle... I tried to stay close, and got a few good hits in, but then made myself a target.

When it was all finished, I'm finally able to help with her eyes.

With little more difficulty were able to explore some more of this place. Upstairs we found some living chambers with a table marked "Time is the coin of fools, render due unto the gods." Ominous...

Apparently this was old "Stone-eyes" old room and we found a journal. Krom was able to decipher it. Generally a horrible person it seems but he was also concerned about a coming apocalypse... he hoped Raven's Crag would be prepared to ride through it and gain power... He mentioned hiding something in an upstairs flew.

We found a man locked in the wasp room... His name was Lute Hagarsly. Apparently amazed at our success so far as Thorborg has a pet troll... He also said Thorborg was an ogre... Lien believes that she is actually an Oni that can appear as an ogre... or something.

We hid Lute in the armory and locked him in. He wanted to lead immediately, but the potential of wasps... I don't like his odds.

Upstairs, we found a pair of Boots of the WInterland shoved up the chimney... and tengu ninjas... and birds... and elementals summoned by the redwinged raven...

Downstairs.... There was a section of floor with a small stream passing through. It seemed an easy jump... but while it was small, it was very deep...

I fell in, nearly drowned. Lien fished me out like a trout. In hindsight... I wish we hadn't even crossed. On the other side there two trolls.. they nearly killed us. Multiple times over. It took everything we had to keep everyone alive... conscious and on our feet, seemed to be asking too much. Nerriza seems to use her tail a bit more openly... that could be a good sign.

After Nerriza beat the last one to death with a flaming shovel... we moved back to the armory to rest with Lute for a while.

After more healing and spell retrieval.... we continued on. More streams... more swimming.. at least Lien fell this time too...

When we found the source of the stream, we also found a few barrels of 'something.' Lien identified a few casks of rice wine... which we could all probably use right now.

In the back, through a door there was a well with a strange light. With a little caution and peering over the edge of the well, we finally found the sword we've searched for wedged in the side like someone had simply tossed it away.

That was when things fell on everyone heads... I recognized them as 'executioner hoods' Something that I had only heard about... Their main goal was to strangle us to death.

Nerriza figured out their weakness. She splashed some of the barrel juice on them and they started to sizzle.

Sadly this did not make the battle easier... Takion was constantly gasping as he yanked the hood off only to have it regrapple him. He then dropped his whole head into a barrel and that helped kill it.

After the battle... we go back to the well. It is too narrow to climb down, to far to reach... It took a VERY long time to figure out how to get it without sending it even farther down.

Eventually I came up with the idea of lowering a rope down... and using my power over small, light, inanimate objects to tie a knot around the sword.

I'd never tried that kind of precision before... I was a little giddy to see that it worked. The sword greeted us eagerly upon its release and eager to be used!

Lien didn't want to use it, claiming unworthiness... Personally I think we'll need its help, and that she is the best suited for it... That... was disheartening.

The sword agreed. Since the seal said we were Scions, we worthy to use it. Seemed weak to me, but I think it really just wanted to be used. How many years has it been sheathed now?!?

There were a few other little annoyances... some monks, a skittering hand... but they were taken care of easily.

As we went down the final stairs, we trigger a tripwire alarm. Finally we found some monsters that were not ninjas... they were zombies. Led by a troll... thing.

At closer examination, it appeared to be a cross between a Spriggen gnome and a troll... which... is a baffling combination. I can only assume that alcohol we found in the well room is stronger then I could imagine.

Anyway... it can cast spells. Lien runs screaming in terror... Which seems to happen to us a lot. Kromyar, Takion and Nerriza attack the monster... It opened a pit between them... nobody fell thankfully.

I tried to stop Lien but she brushed me off like I was nothing and kept going. Thankfully we've killed... everything here, so she should be ok on her own. This troll doesn't seem affected by fire... and it kept healing.

Cold seemed to have some effect, and Kromyar and Nerizza were able to prevail.

Then we found treasure, glorious amounts of treasure...

Once again, we needed to rest... I'm not sure what day it is anymore. We do NOT seem to instilling Lute with confidence. He'll give us till an hour past dawn, then he leaves without us.

We decided to sleep closer to the stairs and were attacked in the night. Ninjas... trolls.... some thugs... The Troll ripped into Kromyar so bad... I could have sworn he was dead. A ninja dropped me... Lien used my wand to bring me back.. and somehow we were able to bring Kromyar back from the brink.

6th of Lamashan (I think)

Lute leaves in an hour... We have to do this fast.

Past the room with all the glorious treasure we find yet more stairs... the bottom of which. Samuraii looking things with demon faces... According to Lien this is not an uncommon look in Tian Xi. She claims it inspires fear... Sounds legit to me.

We can see they are enchanted, so the common belief is that they will animate and try to kill us... Nerriza has been carrying around a gem with an earth elemental in it for a while... and now seems a good time to use it. She tosses it down there and sure enough, they come to life... and between us and the gem... they fall apart quickly

Then Thorborg. She turned into an Ogre right way and flew to the upper level and attacked us with a bow. She... is an excellent shot.

I had hoped to use a spell to help one of our fighters get up there but she dropped me fast. Kromyar fed me a potion, and pushed me behind a wall. It was an amazing battle. Apparently Lien's new sword lets her walk on air, Kromyar can throw his magical axe... and the elemental does... what elementals do... Righteous fury all around and she died bloody and burnt.

I had hoped we were finished... but not quite. There was still more to see in Raven's Crag.  With a little more searching we found a secret hallway. Personally, I was hoping for a lot of treasure.. but as we'd already found the treasury, that didn't seem likely.

We did not find treasure... we found a giant wolf in a small room. Big as a horse, and completely white, we stared at it for some time. Then it spoke.

That... I hadn't seen coming... Frankly, it didn't want ot fight us, and we didn't want to fight it... so we let it pass it and ran out.  Best case scenario!

We continued down the hall and found another cell. This one held the guide we were looking for. Ulf!  When we told him Thorborg was dispatched, he warned us about his guards... Two monsters leapt out of the small pool and started attacking us. Some of us were still wounded from the oni fight and it got a little scary, but we survived.

Then we freed Ulf, located Lute and got out of there!!


We arranged and sorted everything for Sandru to come by and pick up... and then we headed back to Karlsgard. It was good to get back. Amiekowas overjoyed to see the sword. Lien and her went to talk on top of the wagons, while I made waffles.

It was decided that half the group would go to Raven's Crag and collect the supplies we... liberated from the evil ninja people. The other half... stay here and see about clearing our little gnome friend for the murders of the people.

That... went weirdly.

Apparently here, regardless of the crime... a well placed bribe works wonders. He was freed, but he was banished. Looks like we have a new member of the caravan.