The Journal Entry’s title

The session

The session

Solenne - Session 7 - Who knows

Solenne - Session 7 - Who knows

Solenne - Session 6 - Half-Ogre?

Solenne - Session 6 - Half-Ogre?

The session

The session

Session 4: The Keep

Session 4: The Keep

Session 3: Heading to a bigger city

Session 3: Heading to a bigger city

Second Leg: No effects, 10 miles. Third Leg: No effects unless attacked before morning. Campsite: Good campsite. Over dinner, more conversation. Despite his ridiculous appearance, Cleves appears to be genuinely happy working for the kingdom as a sort of roving investigator. Sending him out here was a bit weird, but they didn't have any rangers available. He's more of an in-town investigator, has a lot of stories, mostly about hiding. No disturbance in the night. Day Two: First Leg - nothing 10 mi Second Leg: Notice what looks like a whipping tree, a trap that could be set off by an unwary traveler, releasing a branch that knocks them out. We disarm it from some distance. 10 mi Third Leg: We are walking through farmland when something odd happens... a strange blue glow suffuses the air and we feel suddenly tired. No idea what happened but when we pass through the area we seem unaffected. 10 miles. No good campsites. Settle in where we can. Ardou is outside tent being nervous. We are approached by a bandit in the night. When he clocks that we're aware, retreats and first a crossbow. Initiative. Solenne leaps from her bedroll and and grabs her sling and rapier. She makes some distance and throws a sling bullet, which misses because of the distance. Ardou has closed the space between himself and the Bandit and is attempting to get a bite in. The bandit switches to a scimitar and tries to hit Ardou. Misses, decides to hold his ground. Solenne makes him pay with a solid sling bullet shot. The bandit fends off Ardou, then disengages and runs 30 feet. Solenne's next sling bullet goes wide. Ardou easily catches up and brings this guy down. Day 3 ahead!

It's a short fight. Ardou kills two giant rats with a single bite each. He's a little wounded and we'll see if we short rest or cure wounds. The man comes out of the tree. He introduces himself: "I'm so glad you showed up! They would have had me for sure! My name is Cleves Jourdain." "Glad we could help. I'm Solenne, this is Ardou." [i]Ardou growls[/i] "Oh... yes... indeed. Yes... I... er... (notices both of us wrinkling our noses) I'm afraid I may have overdone it on the cologne these last few days. You see, I've lost my sense of smell somewhere around here." "Excuse me?" "Yes, I... well... you see, there's this altar... um, up there." He points into the rocks. "I was told that to get my sense of smell back I had to come here and leave an offering... I think it's a bit of curse, maybe. The other sommelliers are jealous, of course." "Of course." "I was trying to get up there... if you could help I could maybe... I don't have much with me but..." We go to the shrine. Why not. The shrine is about a mile away from the trail. Cleves checks his map several times but seems quite confident of his bearings. As we turn a corner he says "Ah. I see why no sense of smell." I smell it then, the stench of corpses. There are six of them, the latest still on the altar. Not sure how old the oldest is but it has been quite a while. These are corpses to an obscure god -- Zehir, to be precise. Cleves begins busying himself about the shrine. He is looking at corpses, taking notes, basically... "What are you doing?" "Trying to discover who these people are and how long apart they died. It looks like about a death a month, I would assume on the new moon. I've got 8 days to get someone out here." "To do what?" "Catch the Zehirin's of course. This is an illegal cult, surely you know that?" "Strange work for a Sommellier." "Yes, it is." Eventually we work out what is going on. Cleves is a sommellier part time, the rest of the time he is an investigator for the crown. Human sacrifice is illegal in the kingdom and there are rumors of these sorts of cults out in the hinterlands. This one is so far from the city that it seems like they must have some sort of base nearby, possibly in Mountain Goat Bluffs. I mention the monthly supply wagon run and he perks up. We're several days behind the wagon, it's probably in Wilson's Valley. What do we do? Cleves wants to report back. His bodyguard suffered some severe injuries and had to turn back two days ago. Cleves could use an escort., he is NOT a fighter. He is an expert, though, level 1, so can do some expert things. "Do I get paid for this?" "20 Gold." I'm going that way anyway. First leg is only 5 miles, not 10.

We make it back to town without incident. These gems are burning a hole in my pocket but I don't really know where to spend 'em. What I'm looking for is a big town. Nothing about Zoey's lute in this bar, haven't seen anyone. People are happy for another show, so I make a little change back. The monthly supply wagon makes a trip that takes almost two weeks round trip but might be only three/four days on foot. Road most of the way, some bandits. Name of the new town is Wilson's Valley. No one knows anything about a lost civilization of Drow. I'll head to WV in the morning. Sounds like about a hundred mile walk, but on road most of the way. Heading out in the morning, the day is fine, Ardou is in a good mood. We hear a shout about mid morning from off the road. We go to check it out, and find that there is a man trapped in a tree, desparetly poking down at three giant rats. It looks like they'll get into the tree at any moment!

The altar has a secret compartment in it, which is trapped. I decide to try to disarm that trap without thieves tools. Which fails spectacularly, a rock slams down to damn the river and the room rapidly begins filling with water. No time to get into the altar, we just run, leaving the sealed box behind. After a thankfully uneventful night, we go back into the cavern. The river has receded somehow, so we go in and this time get into the box, picking up several gems, a couple of potions, and a scroll. We still don't know much about this place. My vibe is that it is some kind of hideout, but who were the Drow who lived here? What were they hiding from?

The tunnels wind on. We come to a large cavern with a huge sinkhole in the center. There are wall paintings, some litter. An ancient pendant with a missing piece. The wall paintings are Drow. No idea what is up with that. I avoid the sinkhole and find another exit, to another cavern with a river. Following the river we come to a third room with something of an altar on it. We are ambushed! A troglodyte attacks, swinging its sword, biting and clawing. It almost kills Ardou immediately, he yelps in pain and bares his teeth. A Chitine attacks as well, but the wily pup avoids it's whirling daggers. I circle the creature, looking for an opening. Spotting it I drive the sword home. I hum a few bars of one of Ardou's favorite (I think) tunes to heal him a bit. Ardou attacks the Chitine, tearing at it's legs. The chitine falls to the ground, bleeding out, Ardou seems to rally, but then the same troglodyte who attacked him before attacks again. It slices him with its sword, then bites into his neck, tearing with its claws. Ardou goes still and drops. I notice a second Trogolodyte coming up behind us. I begin to choke on the fumes, but manage to land a blow that staggers the first Trogolodyte. Hastily, I craft another quick spell to get Ardou back on his feet. He get's up and moves behind me for cover. I defend myself furiously, warding off blows from both Trogolodytes while Ardou worries at their feet, throwing them off balance. I see an oppotunity and cleave one Trogolodyte down, sending my last bit of magic into Ardou. He attacks our remaining foe, but the monster doesn't fall. He slices at us both, but without gaining any telling blows. After a moment of this, he turns to bolt. I chase him down and stab him in the kidneys.

Trying hard to remember this dream. I think it's sort of gone from my mind... I head back to the ruins and as I get closer, I can feel a sort of fog over my mind, as if something is making me ill. I search for clues. I also take a sling and forty bullets from the kobolds. Can't find any, but these ruins stretch on a bit. Sort of like an old city or citadel at least used to be here. I'll spend the rest of the morning wandering through, maybe I can learn something. This is a curious thing. I spot a patch of ground that just doesn't look right. When I toss a stone to it, it sort of disappears into the dirt. Quicksand of some sort. Maybe magical. I'm able to avoid it and look in the area. A patch of earth that is solid is a little lumpy and weird. With some work, I'm able to unearth a small chest. It isn't locked, so I look inside. Inside, astonishingly enough, is a nice pearl and three decent gemstones, as well as 4 potions. I spend 40 minutes checking each item to see if they might be enchanted, using my drum and the pearl to ritually cast the spell, while Ardou keeps watch. (I swear I rolled for that pearl) 1. Potion of Growth 2. Potion of Hill Giant Strength 3. Greater Healing Potion (2) Okay, so that will do it for the morning. But there is more to this citadel. I'm going to spend one more night out here and head back in in the morning. Let's explore! Midafternoon... I sense something. Maybe an entrance to something? Yes. It is guarded. By... a giant spider has made it's nest here! We kill the spider. Take moment to breathe and look down this long dark tunnel. We should come back in here after a long rest, it's almost the end of the day. Our dream led us here, but we are low on time. Press on! After a short rest, I'm dying here.

Trying hard to remember this dream. I think it's sort of gone from my mind... I head back to the ruins and as I get closer, I can feel a sort of fog over my mind, as if something is making me ill. I search for clues. I also take a sling and forty bullets from the kobolds. Can't find any, but these ruins stretch on a bit. Sort of like an old city or citadel at least used to be here. I'll spend the rest of the morning wandering through, maybe I can learn something. This is a curious thing. I spot a patch of ground that just doesn't look right. When I toss a stone to it, it sort of disappears into the dirt. Quicksand of some sort. Maybe magical. I'm able to avoid it and look in the area. A patch of earth that is solid is a little lumpy and weird. With some work, I'm able to unearth a small chest. It isn't locked, so I look inside. Inside, astonishingly enough, is a nice pearl and three decent gemstones, as well as 4 potions. I spend 40 minutes checking each item to see if they might be enchanted, using my drum and the pearl to ritually cast the spell, while Ardou keeps watch. (I swear I rolled for that pearl) 1. Potion of Growth 2. Potion of Hill Giant Strength 3. Greater Healing Potion (2) Okay, so that will do it for the morning. But there is more to this citadel. I'm going to spend one more night out here and head back in in the morning. Let's explore! Midafternoon... I sense something. Maybe an entrance to something? Yes. It is guarded. By... a giant spider has made it's nest here! We kill the spider. Take moment to breathe and look down this long dark tunnel. We should come back in here after a long rest, it's almost the end of the day. Our dream led us here, but we are low on time. Press on! After a short rest, I'm dying here.

Dreams

Dreams

Dreams

Session 1: Introduction

So I'm hopelessly lost. The map was no damn good at all, and I've wandered way off the path. Luckily, I think Ardou will be able to help me find my way back, but we may be stuck out here for the night. Attacked by kobolds while walking past some ruins. There are two of them and they are trying to flank me, surprise me by jumping out between two gaps in this ruin wall about 15 feet apart. I run away from one and to the other. I want to kill this guy and have a look through to see if it's just these two? I manage to skewer this guy with my rapier before the other can do anything. 2 more Kobolds behind the way waiting to attack! The kobold I ran away from attacks Ardou with his sling but the wolf springs out of the way and bares his teeth. He charges that Kobold and leaps, crushing the Kobold's windpipe with his powerful claws. A kobold who was directly nearby attempts to stab Ardou with his dagger and succeeds. Ardou gives a pained yelp as the dagger scores his side. He's still doing okay. The second Kobold in the group near me tries the same thing and hits. The blow slips between the joints in my armor and pierces skin but not muscle. Now it's my turn again and I knock the Kobold's hand to the side and riposte! He's hurt, but about as tough as Kobolds come. Ardou attacks the one that stabbed him, trying to rip the dagger from his hand. He must hit something important, there's a spray of blood and that kobold drops to the ground, bleeding out. Ardou moves to a flankng position behind the Kobold I'm engaged with. That guy tries to stab me but misses when Ardou worries at his arm. I attack again, trying to finish this guy off with a rapier strike. This time my strike is true and I run this bastard through. We move away from the bodies quickly, stopping only to take about 15 silver pieces from the corpses. It's late and we're wounded, and I brought my gear with me, although I did leave some silver to hold the room for a couple of days. We sleep, and I have a strange dream that pertains to some sort of quest in this area! Crazy!

So the human woman running the place, or at least running the tall person's part, is kinda cocky for a tavern keeper. Self-confident, anyway. She's tall, close to six feet, and almost startlingly beautiful. Took me aback when I walked in. I think she might be married to the halfling who is running the short side part of the bar. Interesting setup they've got with the drop/ raised floor, keeps the roof at normal height for this town. Cozy and welcoming vibe in this place. Anyway, I'll ask the woman, Medhuil is her name, if maybe she can help me sort of map out the way to the spot Jago was talking about. She can! It's been a long day and the ale is hitting me, so I'm going to grab some meat for Ardou and call it a night.

(There's a whole bit about the tavern that goes here but is in my notebook) Rumors. I overhear someone talking about severe storms, which is odd. The weather has been fine, if overcast. Someone in town is looking for construction help, some kind of new building. One guy swears one of his goats got sucked into some kind of vortex. There's some hope that all these things will straighten out if Hedrek Tremayne gets back from guarding the monthly supply wagon to some other town, otherwise Alefest will be ruined. I'd like to stay here and maybe chase some of this down, but I'll have to make a damn sight more than 1 gold per day, 'cause this place is gonna cost me 5 silver for a bed. I'm ahead, but only by a couple silver once I paid to let Ardou stay. Goat guy is a gnome, I get his attention a bit and he wanders over to the empty stool right next to the tall person's section. Jago Bugelhole is his name. Grizzled hair, hard hands, weathered face. We talk for a minute and I ask where he saw this vortex. He gives me directions but doesn't seem to want to help with a map. I think that's about all I can do for the evening. I'll chat with

I've been walking through the mountains for days. That's a lot of time to think, with no company except Ardou. Sticking to the lowest passes because it is spring, and there are avalanches higher up. I can hear the roar of waterfalls from the snow melt. There's a town up ahead? That's amazing... maybe it will be large enough to have a tavern, or I can find someone with a spare room. Usually there is something even in the smallest of Hamlets. As I get closer to the town, I pass a few shepherds huts, then a small farm, then another. The scale here says gnome or halfling, but it's hard to tell which from the architecture. The houses and barns are built into and out of the hills and ground, with lines the mimic the landscape. (Architectural Note: Cob or Adobe constructions, limewashed, built to appear either like extensions of landscape features or built into small artificial hills or ridges.) That could be either, really, more likely halfling than gnome though. Too small to be dwarven, at least. Saw a couple of kids on the road. They were playing some sort of stick and ball game in front of a cottage, but they took off inside as soon as they saw us. Guess I can't blame 'em, but it's a bit odd. People on their own aren't usually looking for much trouble. By the time I get to town, the path has widened into almost a track. Dusk is falling, and the town itself looks promising. According to a faded wooden sign this place is called "Mountain Goat Bluffs". It's really only a cluster of a dozen or so buildings, a few of them built big enough for medium size folk like myself. If I'm not mistaken, there's a general store, a general church, a school, a few houses, and praise gods, a tavern! All built in that same style.

Session 1: Introduction