25th of Frostbringer

Here I thought I wouldn't write too much more beyond the fort plan. Well universe, you've proved me wrong. Fuck you, and fuck destiny.
 
After falling asleep in Reina's office I once again found myself at the place we've since decided to call the manse. That building with the fountain and murals that everyone other than Jenel ended up in. Talariic was there and he helped guide me through a specific chapter of the Talariic codex, the one about the chain of personal superiority. It took a while, especially with the ruckus the others were making, but I eventually got through it and felt much stronger after doing so. It discussed the idea of everyone starting off the same (in terms of war) but differentiating themselves via the methods they choose to fight with. Because we all start the same, the "winner" so to speak is the one who betters themselves. It's definitely an interesting concept, one that I have no idea about when it comes to myself. I fought like mom at first, and I still use some of the things that she taught me, but after Arlian's change I fight more like him now. Even more so with the powers I'm getting from this training with Talariic. It's something I can develop overtime, but unless it's pivotal to reaching the next step of my training I don't know when it will happen. With recent events, I don't know if I want to think on myself at all.
 
We each filled our water flasks with some water from the fountain and left. I drank the water first and was expecting to be the first one up, but instead Arvenna was shaking me awake because Jenel was missing. Her pack was gone, there was no note, no sign of Jenel. And thus, my day of panicking started. I told her not to wake the others and I'd be able to search best on my own. I disguised myself as Marten just in case the beholders found me and set out.
 
Reina was the first person I ran into. She was just outside of where we first found Marten, searching frantically. I spoke to her telepathically and she noticed me. Clearly pissed that I looked like him, but she was worried because he was missing. We walked around the fort together trying to find him and Jenel and eventually we did. They were captured, enthralled by the enemy, and about to enter the fort. We had to act quickly so we returned to my friends and immediately ran to the fort entrance after waking the others up. I figured if we didn't care about stealth I could run in there and grab the two of them and run out. Not the best plan, but the first thing that came to mind and we had to act quickly. But of course, because things couldn't get any worse at the time, Silken Spite took over Reina and nearly attacked us. We were able to snap her out of it, but seeing as the blade didn't want her to help us she was no ally to us and had to leave. It was at this point that I decided to try and talk our way out of this whole situation. Me, try to talk some sense into mind flayers. Hah. At least Arlian wasn't around to force me to attack on sight.
 
So before today I've obviously never fought a mind flayer. I only know of them because of the journals and I still have no idea what makes them tick other than wanting to eat people. So, how do you talk some sense into those monstrous creatures in my situation? You try to use the power of a name that they will hopefully all recognize: Praetorian. Arlian would have been an option but the sword no longer looks like his. Dad was also an option, but I couldn't bring myself to pose as him. So I chose the title that both him and grandfather had, one that I haven't earned yet. I put on my best intimidation act and marched my way into the fort demanding our friends back. Unfortunately, the first mind flayer we encountered didn't recognize the name. But what I said worked enough to get us through the first floor at least. We were brought to the second floor to talk with some other mind flayers. They spat insults and threats at us, I did the same. It felt... barbaric. But this was the plan I thought of last second while panicking and it almost worked. Almost. Lets just say I botched the line that would determine how everything went, but at least my group knows how to fight.
 
It didn't take long to clear the room. The mind flayers were clearly trying to capture us so they were at a disadvantage, but even so we cleared the room quickly. Jenel and Marten came to their senses and we started acting quickly. While the others were snapping the soldiers on the floor out of their charmed state, Jenel and I ran to the window to look for Reina. BUT OF COURSE THINGS GOT WORSE. No Reina in sight. But who did we see? Denise. She was fighting a couple of the beholder patrols. I acted quickly, starting to tell everyone what to do. We made our way downstairs towards the basement. I figured if the mind flayer worms were in the basement like Reina had said we could take those as a bargaining chip to work our way through the rest of the fort with. I asked Arvenna to cast detect evil and good so we could sense nearby enemies and had Jenel start casting a magic circle. I knew it would take a minute to cast, but if she got it off then we could buy a bit more time. I wasn't sure how smart a revenant is, but hopefully it would keep trying to break through the circle as we made our way down. But while she did that, the rest of us entered the basement.
 
The first floor of the basement was simple. We took out the enemies there, freed the guards, and disabled the traps that they had. The second floor though... Arvenna peeked down there and saw a damn elder brain. We might have been able to fight it, but only with our full force. So we went back to check on Jenel and of course she was gone. The door was forced open, the front gate had a massive hole in it, and Marten was in the corner crying because a "mean lady" started chasing after Jenel. Arvenna was able to use magic to find Jenel and we took off running.
 
Pretty bad day so far right? Well it gets worse, much worse.
 
Upon catching up to Jenel we did see that Denise had chased her down, but next to both of them was a VERY injured Iri. Yes, our Iri. They were desperately trying to fend off Denise and had we not gotten there in time I can only imagine what would have happened, but it was because of us that they survived. I'm not sure how Iri was so injured but it clearly wasn't from Denise. Puncture wounds were all over her body and she was in terrible shape. But as I said we got there in time and Denise was slain once more. The ring was removed from her body and then Hem took care of the rest. Iri almost ran after we tried healing her but Skolvar is a monster and caught up to her. Soon enough, they both came back and Iri told her story. Well I'm writing this for you mom and dad. You both know the story I guess.
 
To wrap up what happened today: Arvenna is mega pissed. I'm not the best at reading people but I would say I'm half decent at talking to them when they have problems. I just don't know if I should be the one to do that. In the end, Jenel and her should talk through it rather than having someone else try to smooth things over. Maybe a conversation between the two of them with a mediator is in order. But anyways, we returned Marten to Reina. We had taken him with us this entire time to keep him safe and he needed to be returned. Reina gave us some valuable information. She said the mind flayers seemed to teleport in from underneath the fort and tunneled their way up. That leads me to believe that there's a teleportation circle in the basement since the mind flayers were actually using plane shift. They're probably traveling between a pocket dimension and that circle. Reina also gave us a book bound in skin. Classic necromancer's tome vibe. Finally, she gave us the key to the Miller residence and said that she would be staying at Mayor Thorne's place. After that we left the fort and setup camp near the river.
 
Why is it that each time I see someone from my previous life they're taken away within a day? I got no more than 5 minutes with dad, saw mom beat up Arlian (which was great, but she disappeared after), and now Iri is gone. And this time, she's gone gone. She performed the ritual that the gods of Prism underwent and transferred some of her power to Jenel. She said she would never actually be gone since a part of her would live on inside of Jenel, but I know that is just going to make me grasp at straws. I want nothing more than to find some sort of connection to her, actually her and not just her power. Because if I can't... well that's just another person that I've lost despite the sacrifices I've made. After her transformation, Jenel certainly has some draconic features. Wings, talons, horns. She even has a small little prismatic dragon familiar. I tried talking to it, hoping that it was just Iri. But of course it's not. She's gone.
 
All of these events leave me with a huge pit in my stomach. I understand where Jenel and Iri are coming from. They made huge sacrifices in order to protect the people they care about. I did the same thing when I accepted Arlian's deal. But this also gives me perspective from the other side. The biggest difference between my decision and Jenel's is that mine had to be made in the moment and even then Arlian didn't really give me a choice. I wouldn't really say that Jenel was offered a choice, but she did have the opportunity to speak to us about it. I don't think any of us would have stopped her, but I'm certainly mad that I didn't know about any of this. Perhaps it was best that way, because I know I would have thought day and night of a way to avoid this situation. It's going to be incredibly difficult to not think about that even after the fact. But right now, the biggest reason I'm pissed isn't because they didn't tell us. It's not because Iri sacrificed herself, I know I wouldn't have been able to stop her. I'm pissed because I barely got to speak to my friend before she died. She was here, in Mystvale. She was watching us. She interacted with the others. But I couldn't talk to her until the very end. And of course I didn't want to ruin the moment by asking a bunch of questions, but I should have at least asked the important ones. Yet once again, I was blinded by my emotions just like with dad. I sent him home without asking him to apologize to mom for me. Iri died and thinking back on her story there's so many key details I should have asked about. But instead I just showed my support. Not that it was bad of me to do that, but fuck. I doubt I'll ever get to speak with her again and that hits hard, but I can't let it hit too hard yet. That's what's nice about these journals. I can somewhat talk these things out and then suppress these feelings until I'm ready to deal with them. Unhealthy, I know. But at least Jenel would understand. Both of us sacrifice things for the sake of others and I'm not about to stop now just because I'm feeling terrible.
 
But thank you Iri, you've given us so much in your final moments. Jenel is stronger now. I hope that made her feel like she has bridged the gap in terms of power. You also gave me hope. You said you lost your godhood yet you were still able to communicate with Prism after the portal was shut. I really should have asked how you did that, but at least it gives me hope that one day I can apologize to mom. Maybe I can even see her and dad together. I'm sure that would hurt all of us since I'm stuck here, but it would be worth it to know that some of my sacrifice have paid off. And Iri, you also gave me so many extra reasons to beat the absolute shit out of Arlian. I hope he's watching. If you are, Arlian, I'm coming for you. You need to live and I'm sure you know that. But that doesn't mean I can't beat you within an inch if your life for what you've done. You'd walk it off and come back anyways like you always do.
 
Alright, that's enough venting for now. This group needs a leader and I'll take up that position. I know the most about this fight and I've got more beef with these monsters than the others. I don't know if I have the power to make this sort of promise, but I will not lose anyone else that I care about. I'll make the tough choices and see to it that the others live to see the next day. No. More. Loss.
 
Goodbye Iri. Until we meet again.