Into the Depths

After weeks of discussing our travels from Stronghold, we finally took the first steps on the road to wherever in the Feywild the cleric was going to lead us. But all of this took place after surviving the depths of the Starlit Tower and everything that came with that. Being the leader, I was the one required to step into the Headmaster's zone of truth to get our pay. That did not stop the group from being rather greedy with attempting to get their money, mostly by ignoring the help of the druid that had mysteriously disappeared in the middle of our battle. If this is the way they choose to act when something as simple as paying someone their due is to be done, I worry what will become of them when other things pique the greed that seems so ingrained in some of their ways.
 
The morning after, we decided to leave Stronghold, finally moving on to see where the cryptic map the cleric had would lead us. Another tabaxi joined our table, making herself quite comfortable and joining in without a care. At this point, I was used to the way we picked up people like honey for flies, so I figured the best way to deal with everything was to move forward and add her name to the roster anyway, even if it was to be for a short time. After a quick breakfast, we set out, moving quickly on our way to Lake Idryl.
 
We stopped briefly in the small town of Ashborne, the others talking to the blacksmith while I watched over Squall's pets as she attempted the ludicrous idea of breaking a velociraptor. To each their own I guess. From there we continued on with our journey, with more creatures and pets than we had started with. The ranger led us while Yldris and I kept watch at the back. I quickly realized just how inexperienced many of the group were with traveling. Yldris would nip at the heels of the creatures in front of us to keep them moving down the path, but I was wary of the path that the ranger had chosen.
 
They had chosen to cut through the Depths, the deep sea of grass that could only be found in the Great Plains. I questioned this path when it seemed like so many of them were not ready to fight or to travel through such a hazardous place. This line of thinking was solidified as we stopped to look at some odd mounds of dirt in the middle of our path. All of them walked away from their mounts to stare into the holes that were under the mounds. Yldris and I kept our distance, knowing full well that this could end up getting us injured. We were very right as creatures that were essentially giant ants attacked us and attempted to drag us into their holes. We survived through the brief skirmish before running away as fast as we could.
 
After that, no one wanted to press on much further. We chose to stop for the night, finding a campsite amongst large rocks. It was almost comical watching the way they created defenses with literally anything they could. Those of us that did not need sleep were to keep watch, something that I knew from the beginning of our journey would be one of my duties. I did not mind it much, but I still questioned the line of thinking that the others had.
 
While I had never left my home for long, Father and my brothers made sure that I could survive whatever nature had to harm me. After seeing the plans that the others had laid so far, I questioned how they made it to Stronghold unscathed since it seemed to take an army for them to do anything. I hope that maybe they will learn something from this trip. It seems that I am only the leader when there is paperwork or if something official needs to be done. Otherwise, they scattered like scared sheep, following whichever one can run the farthest. I hope this will change soon, otherwise, our travels will end in no other way but injury.