We rode for a day and a night, and eventually came to a clearing in the trees. It appeared over the treeline well before we could see it in front of us, a huge masoned tower, destroyed in parts, crawling with moss and vines. It looked like this once great piece of what seemed to be dwarven architecture had been left to rot for centuries. The turrets tumbled down and brickwork strewn over the nearby meadow. As we approached, I felt a worryingly large arcane disturbance originating from deep within, and the ground seemed to be almost... ticking? What I assumed to be the main entrance to the building now lay in ruins, the gnarled oak double doors broken and lying among the rubble where the entire front-half of the building had been razed to the ground. We thought it prudent to seek another way in lest we be the victims of some very fast-falling brickwork. After some careful searching we found small section of the backside of the building had been destroyed by a falling tree, creating an opening that was just small enough for us to squeeze through, one after the other. From here on out we decided, as a group I might add, that Dramir should lead the charge, given his large stature and still baffling ability to not feel pain (I blame the brain damage). Lo we discovered the half-orc's penchant for discovering traps with his face. The place was littered with them, the 'golem master' or so he was known, had filled the place to the brim with deadly traps that would dispatch even the most keen adventurer with one false step. His favourite of these traps being tiny, imperceptible copper wires attached to lightning gems which electrified whatever they touched with 40,000 volts. Myself and Tullius were able to disable most of these using magehand and a bit of elbow grease, annoying though they were. Venturing deeper into the now maze-like scramble of huge brass doors and corridors that would literally try to decapitate you with spring-loaded scythes (thankfully my reflexes leave nothing to be desired), we came to a room with a ruined statue laying in pieces across the stone floor. This statue depicted none other than the golem master himself. I scoffed at this, thinking it absolutely baffling that one would want to have a statue of themselves in their own house. Tullius, however, didn't find it funny at all and reminded me that he had sent a raven to a mason friend of his who was making him a statue for his own house. Ever the bleating narcissist. After what felt like hours of cheating death in various ways, I found what seemed to be a crystal that supplied electrical power to the majority of the building. I destroyed it with fire of course, which seemed to not only deactivate the remaining traps, but also to unlock all of the non-magical doors. Pushing further still, we came to a pitch black room, not all of us are blessed with infernal sight, and Tullius made no hesitation to whip out his lantern and get Jeeves (his spectral servant) to explore the room for any dangers that might befall us if we were to wistfully misplace a foot (or hoof). He wandered around some, and there it was. Standing colossal and menacing, one of the artificer's dreadmachines, a stone golem. After seeing the light from the lantern, it began slowly patrolling the room, one heaving trudge at a time. We decided it would be best to try to avoid this battle altogether. If these golems are anything like Nix told us, it would be wise to not pick a fight with one. As stealthy as we are as a party, the lizard chose this moment to display his two left feet, tripping over a piece of debris and alerting the golemn. Its eyes glowed with a red energy and it began picking up its pace, rushing towards us. We made a run for it, Tullius and myself using all our might to open probably the heaviest door that I have ever come across in my life. We made it, barely, and found ourselves in what I can only assume to be the artificer's workroom. As we frantically closed the door behind us, barring it with whatever objects we could find, we turned around to find a ghostly figure standing before us, imprisoned by hexes and magic that even Cora could not comprehend. It was around 9 feet tall and glowing with a pale pink/blue light, light which I immediately recognised to be the astral plane bleeding in to this one. And then it spoke, "You have done well to come this far, adventurers. For centuries I have remained here, trapped by him. Release me and I shall grant you access to knowledge of all things". Tullius' eyes immediately lit up at the word 'knowledge' and he proceeded to twitch giddily at the mention of 'all things'. I questioned the being's sincerity, in my experience beings that are not of this realm can be decidedly untrustworthy at the best of times, nevermind when they have been magically sealed in a room for hundreds of years. After much debate, we decided to break it free. Destroying the archaic contraptions that had ensnared him all these years, he spoke "For the knowledge you covet, go northeast, seek the seeds". Then he vanished in a flash of raw energy as he returned (I assume) to the astral plane, fulfilling his end of the bargain. And here we sit, strangely comfortable in the tiny hut, with the fire roaring and the smell of roast boar filling the air, all courtesy of Tullius and his never-ending bag of tricks. Its rather pleasant really, other than the constant flute music that seems to be eminating from all directions. I write this in detail as this may well be the last chapter of my life, there seems to only be one way out of here, and there's a stone golem blocking it.

I was enjoying the transient rarity that is a good night's sleep in the guildhouse (I don't know what the beds are made of but I need to make a purchase, its like wearable skooma). Nix burst in with two of his associates, a half elf and a human, ranting and raving about how he had managed to narrow down the potential locations of the cultists. He presented us a map on which he had circled an old abandoned clockwork tower, the apparent home of a talented albeit slightly insane artificer who had grown more and more unstable as he spent time isolated, devoted to his research and inventions. The artificer's current whereabouts is currently unknown. We agreed to go to on a recon mission to find out if the cultists had taken the tower for themselves.

Apparently this armour is going to take a lot longer to make than we originally thought. You can't rush art I guess, especially not when its in such a weird shape as Tullius (but don't tell him I said that). I also spied some rather exquisite robes in the mage's tower that are apparently "priceless" according to the mute wizard, whom I have affectionately named Dennis. He told me that the only way he'd be willing to part with the robes is if I could aquire some ancient knowledge from the Infernal Angel Archipelago, which to be honest might as well be a suicide mission until we get our hands on some better gear... It was a particularly picturesque evening as we were heading back to the guildhouse. I sat by the harbour and took a moment to quietly reflect on the journey so far, the places we had been and people I had met flashed through my mind. Originally I questioned their motives, they almost seemed too... nice? But travelling with the group these past few weeks has shown me that some people are just nice, which certainly isn't normal where I'm from but I have learned to appreciate it nonetheless. My mind reached further and further back until things started to get hazy, as if I were looking at them through swamp water. The memories were blurred, but my emotions were not. Disbelief, betrayal, anger. In rapid sequence these feelings swelled as hellflame writhed behind my eyes, I was abruptly brought back from my oddyssey by what felt like a lighning bolt hitting my chest. As I looked down I noticed the necklace, this blasted necklace, was shimmering with a dark, almost vengeful aura. I immediately ripped from around my neck, breaking the silver chain, and cast it as far as I could into the harbour. "Maybe this time it'll stay gone" I thought, or perhaps I said it aloud, my memory evades me. Maybe if the thing stayed gone, the dreams would stop... It didn't work, however. Nothing works. This is my curse, and I fear that I shall never see its end.

Session 4

Session 4

The CLockwork Tower!

The CLockwork Tower!

The CLockwork Tower!

Level 5!

I cast F I R E B A L L <3

Ok guys. I'm sorry. There, I said it. Although I can't promise it won't happen again...

We've been introduced to Nix, the leader of the Guilded Gamble (adventurer's guild). He's a friendly fellow, strange glyphs all over his body. He pointed us in the direction of the local blacksmith, mage's library and trinketeer. We'll spend a few days here while we gather our supplies. The mages theorise that the beast cult might be holed up in an ancient ruin a few days ride from here.

Well that wasn't one of my best ideas to tell the truth. There were not 1, not 2 but 3 sets of animated armour down there all wielding swords. Luckily I was able to call the others and we vanquished our foes, we also found Dramir a new greathammer and some other bits and pieces in a chest down there. Finders keepers I suppose. We made a speedy getaway this morning and gained entry into the nearby town of Stonestone.

Of Snakes and Trolls

We have returned to the tavern to claim our reward. Alston gave us the promised gold (and some extra for the trolls), he gave us a room for the night too but I'm very suspicious of what he's got in his basement, I've been sensing powerful arcane disturbances from it ever since I first set foot in the place. I'm going down there tonight, I hope to the hells its not some kind of strange mating room, although that wouldn't be the strangest thing I've seen a human do in my time on the material plane.

Cora joins the group

The druid has a daughter named Cora who wants to join us on our travels, she's searching for some ancient druidic temples scattered across Ataria. I'm not sure if they even exist anymore but she seems to be a gifted healer so she's a good addition to our group. The druid has taught her well it seems, she tells me she has the power to shapeshift into animals, some kind of ancient druid secret called "wildshape". Intriguing...

Somehow everybody is still alive, and I'm not even sure how. The last troll did manage to suckerpunch me as I chased him down to finish him off - pathetic. Regardless, the river styx has another passenger now. The druid thinks we're heroes and I'm sure Alston will be even more pleased with us now that we've seen to the snakes AND killed a group of trolls.

As it turns out, the snakes weren't actually the problem. They were under the command of a powerful druid living in the woods, we managed to speak to him and he let us know that the reason he had them keeping watch is a group of forest trolls nearby. This just keeps getting better and better. I cant wait to see how they handle themselves in the shadow of 12 feet of raging troll. Forecast: death.

By the nine hells what have I gotten myself into, the tavern owner Alston says there are some giant snakes that keep tresspassing on the land and scaring the locals and this bumbling bunch of buffoons have offered to "take care of it" for him. In over their heads in you ask me. Apparently if you help someone on the material plane then there's a chance they will help you in return. Seems a bit of a weird concept but lets see what the multiverse makes of it.

I'm Going on an Adventure

Dear diary, I happened across a rather odd band of travellers at the Unfortunate Frog the other day. I can handle myself but in finding my way back to Nessus I think I could use a hand. They seem simple enough, well apart from the lizard, I'm not sure what to make of him, he doesn't seem to talk much and in my experience its always the quiet ones that you need to keep an eye on. Tullius is here too, he tells me he's on 375 now, impressive for a man of his... stature...