The Ambush

It was difficult at first. Eval was using some other language that I don't know and trying to translate at the same time, but the gist of it was that we were trespassing on their land. They wanted payment for passage and for the used resources. The fey from the forest wanted to claim the road used for years as theirs... I do not think so. I am not spending a copper of what I've worked on I very much wanted the caravan to be left alone so that I could be paid for the entirety of my work. Well, a creature in the back of the group lit up and looked weird. I'd guess it cast mage armor or something of the like. From what I saw, it looked to be a Caster of the Deep. A Wizard of druids and dryads so to say but this wasn't what his body originally looked like. I'd rather much like to not have had to fight, so I reasoned with it. I said that even if we are to come to blows that we should at least attempt to be civil about this. It agreed and teleported beside me and gave me a spook. Then the damn thing put poor Bessy to sleep! She deserves some rest but still. I asked Kniana about sharing more food with it as it had said that they were tired and hungry from patrolling "their" land and offered some plum liquor. It declined and then the Lt. sad something about a tankard of ale instead of blood? I don't understand him sometimes. Either way I offered my hand to the Caster to lead it to our little clearing after he took it though....
As it took my hand I was flashed with cold and I can feel myself leaving my body. I hated it, all feeling of warmth drained from me. It looked like I was above our camp looking down at what was happening. I looked over to see a fey wild elf like the others in the grass at the time holding my hand in the stead of the warped figure. Then HE was there. The Masked man from before. He had his hand on the elf's shoulder watching us. Then suddenly I was back on the ground with the feeling of a cold liquid in my hand. It was some of the black ichor from the rat things from the library. Later Kniana said that she saw the same when she touched him but the elf was being pulled into a brambles and holding strangling him to grow into the figure we were talking to... At the time though I led him to our little clearing we had setup and he seemed to be s bit sensitive to the firelight much like myself. He picked from our remnants of our meal, choosing mostly fruits and vegies. Surprisingly none of his other companions came in to partake. After his snack Kniana open an map for him to trace out the boundary dispute, but that is were it stared going south. Black tears rolled down his face as he let out a whimper? He very suddenly turned to Kniana and said "You are a good soul, but he wills it." as his staff on his back started to light up. With more black Tears rolling down his face Kniana grabbed him and told him to fight the corruption. I was to shaken from my experience to do anything more than squeeze his hand more. He lifted his hands to clap so I decided to not get caught again and used my belt to cast Ironskin and Shield. The elf dude then vanished in a swirl of purple energy with Kniana only for her to reappear next to me. Then a whistle rang out as the sound of blade being drawn came across the quiet field. They had decided to fight after all.
I checked on Bessy quickly only to see her still passed out so I had to get started without her. I swapped out my normal gloves for the Corpl.'s and pulled a Staff of Daylight from the storage. I then used it on a nearby rock. I don't think everyone here can see in the dark as well as me so it did help even if it did more or less blind me. Some kind of plant looking dire wolves with leaf fur came from the far side of camp. The Corpl. managed to pull ANOTHER Staff of Magic Missile to use and after a few times it started to smoke. Really gotta talk to her about her items... From all the commotion I lost sight on the wolf I was going to sling the bright rock at, but after a glance behind me I quickly saw a bigger threat. I ended up using Telekinetic Projectile from my sword to try to hit a Fey Centaur. I missed from how damn bright it was, but it did light up the area even better for my team. I need to start wearing my goggles on my head at night now... Anywho, after some more clashing one of them cast entangle on my poor sleeping beetle, so I responded by whistling her up. She heard me and was ready to do her job! I used her Dire Collar to enlarge her and whistled to wreck strangers. I also used my ring temporary imbued with Mad Moneys to go after the Centaur that was hitting Eval pretty hard. I had to summon them in the entangled plants, but they got themselves out quickly. What a sight to behold, Bessy and monkeys both converging on the poor fool. She absolutely scooped him up and threw him on the ground and the sweet sound of breaking bones ~mmmm~ While they were dealing with that, I spotted a figure using what I had to guess was Blur. No good for conventional fighters, but I am not one of those. I used a cast of Magic Missile from my cave whistle before I remembered the other staff in the glove that the Corpl. lent me. In all the excitement I dropped her first staff of which I swapped out for the missile one. I got one cast off of the staff before the winds shifted some. The last cast from the staff produced an extra 3 purplish missiles that went wide. Two hit my poor beetle and one hit Lilly that was just sitting on the stump in the field for some reason. I get cats doing weird things, but in the middle of a fight?? It seemed to snap her back to reality so I guess it was for the better. After that mishap the rod was smoking and I decided it was probably better to let it cool off.
By the time that all happened we fell most the group and the one that "got away" Kniana said that the Deep Caster stole his soul or lifeforce or something. I called Bessy back, she had a few marks from the stray magic but was in good health otherwise. My timer had started ticking already so I ran into my cart and pulled out quite a few tankards and dropped an applewood log for a very good beetle. I gathered some... supplies from the aftermath and ask as to who's was... useful later. Ended up only getting one from a cleric since I think the other potential... donors survived and were mended by the time I was collecting. I did see one of the lizardfolk who was helping out in the fight rip out one of the elves' fingernails and pull an arrow from it's chest. I guess it is a collection or trophy afterall. The elf wasn't dead before the arrow as I saw it grimace at the nail pull, but it certainty was after the arrow was retrieved. I would feel bad if they had decided on the peaceful approach, but they didn't so now their resources are redistributed for the betterment of the group. Kniana and the rest of the group seemed to be packing up already by the time I had finished, but Eval approached me. He requested a pair of clay pots of which I found in my wagon. When I handed them to him he showed me a strange flower that looked like a component of that curse I researched in the library. I recommended him to keep it under lock and key so he decided to let me lock it in my cart. Oh, the experiments I can run! It is certainly used to curse, but I wonder what other properties I can gleam from it. I suppose it could help me develop a counter to whatever the corruption seems to be using these creatures. Only time will tell. But now that I think about it and with what Eval was saying I think that these were either converted or spawned on the teleports of the Deep Caster. It would make sense with the corruption and whatnot. I almost wonder if these are the result of abyssal corruption combining with fey magics to grow even more of the corruption... I should try to find more research on abysal magics to confirm. I think that it might have something to do with the book from the library, The Alchemists' Guide to the Abyss. At least that is what shady Skrel seemed to think that the flower is related to. He surprises me with some of his knowledge. Apparently he too is an alchemist. I might have to pick his brain sometime... As for now we continued for a chunk of the night to put distance down to make Kniana and the rest of the group feel better. I have work to do and a letter to write to the Brotherhood.
 
~raw~
we're are on their land? we gotta pay for passage? na son, the back creature light up weird looking, seems to cast mage armor or something, shamble caster of the deep, forest caster everything is nature, that isn't his true body. wizard of dryads/druids, I reason to try to talk it out before fighting to relax before any needed conflict. he plant strides next to me, spooks me, puts bessy to sleep?! talk to kniana about more food? offer plum liquor, na from him, tankard of ale from Lt. instead of blood.
offer hand to lead to fire, am touched am flashed with cold, have out of body expierence, feel strange and uncomfortable, feel like all warmpth gone, feel cold liquid in hand, looks like black blood from creatures in library, see elf like others, he holding my hand looking down on self and others, etheral about 20ft up, see white mashed figure with the 2 of us. he has hand on shoulder of elf. open eyes and am back. kinana sees same but dude being sucked into bramble.
seemed sensitive to light when passed by fire. eats from mostly vegies and fruits from buffet. he wimpers from behind mask, lets out a black tear. "you are a good soul, I'm sorry but he wills it." at kniana, staff light up. black tears streem down face after kniana says to fight corruption, and i squeeze hand. he lifts hand to clap, i activate belt, kniana and figure disappear in a swirl of purple energy. then reappears next to me, hear wistle and the sounds of drawn blades, I check bessy still out cold, I swap out gloves for corpl lent one and summon a staff of daylight. wolves come out of the grass, dire plant wolf things with leaf fur, corpl uses ANOUTHER STAFF OF MMisstle, her staff starts to smoke, try to sling daylight rock at centar as now 2 ppl between me and wolf, miss due to brightness, whistle to wake bessy, she wakes, time to wreck shit. use her dire collar and cast mad monkeys at a centaur. monkeys disarm centar, bessy picks him up and slams him down. magic misstled blurred target almost completely behind rock, mokeys wail on centaur and bessy aboutly gores him on ground and hear bones snapping, swap staffs to 9th level mmisstle and pelt blurred caster. hit again with mMistle from staff, staff then another 3 wild misstles comes out purpleish color instead of normal, bessy gets hit by two, and the last hits lilly, rod starts to smoke, after the last one runs, i call bessy back and give her a log, deserves it, little hurt from rougue mmistle, grab tankards and gather blood from all bleeding with labels and keeps only casters determined after asking others later. lizardfolk took fingernail as trophy, guy griminances takes arrow out of guys chest and guy stops breathing, I can only get enough blood frome one caster, a cleric, Eval asks me for a pair of clay pots, shows me flower I recognize as a piece of fey curse spell, recogmend keeping in under lock and key or letting me keep it in cart to mess with. sounds like we're going to continue for a chunk of the night. Eval gives me the flowers to keep safe, going to expirement with possably, skrel talks about something related to flower might be related to alc.guide to abys. connected dots to where masked husk used teleports.