Journey Up River

We left in the early morning, heading northeast up the eastward side of the Nottoscale River. Our adventuring party consisted of five people, myself, Roton, Kirth, Jonah and Orion. We traveled about a day before we came across an old broken white stone bridge that stretched across the 40-foot wide river. Roton went on the bridge to determine how safe it was, but he had to return before he could get halfway across. The bridge seemed like it was crumbling in the middle. Underneath the bridge, there was the remnants of a campsite, unknown foot tracks marked the ground. Around the campsite were burned bodies of unknown race displayed on pikes. Orion thought it best to head back to Last Hope upon seeing these bodies. We named this bridge Bad Bridge. The rest of us kept trekking forward.
 
As the sun set, we found a tree to sleep under near the river. Our sleep was short-lived as two giant wolf spiders came to attack the camp. I was severely injured by one. For some reason, I could not hit either of them with my bow. Roton and the wizards did most of the fighting. They killed the spiders. Kirth took some of the spiders' venom. He did not have any vials for the venom, so he used his waterskin. I hope that he bought a new one. I would hate for him to accidentally poison himself.
 
After the spiders were defeated, we were able to get our rest. The next morning we set off again to map the area. About 4 hours into our hike, we came across a white stone outpost that looked to be a guard tower. In front of it stood a white stone statue holding a spear. Having encountered a creature like this before, I took to arms. I readied my bow to attack. Luckily so, because shortly after, it came to life to attack us. I took a shot at it with my bow then put a lot of distance between us. Roton tried to play hero by flying towards it and attacking. He was slightly injured. I had hoped that my companions would realize that ranged attacks would be most useful due to the statue only being able to attack when close to you. One of the wizards set a trap of grease for the creature which knocked it on its behind. It was now stuck, vulnerable to all attacks. We all attack it with vigor, but it was Roton who blew the fatal blow, exploding the stone with his staff. An obsidian skull fell from it and I rushed over to grab it. As I examined it, I noticed a strange magic feeling coming off of it. Not good with understanding and identifying magic, I gave it to Jonah. I believe he still has it. I then went to take the spear that the statue had dropped when it came to attack us. There was nothing special about the spear, but now I have a new weapon.
 
The wizards then decided to check out the guard. I named this post: Naemles Outpost. Roton and I stayed outside. I examined the exterior of the building but found nothing there. Inside, the wizards said they found a dead body. They left the building with a bag of silver-colored coins with a dragon on them. The dragon looked like the one you would see when you follow the Yellow Brick Road. There were 50 coins in the bag. We split it between the four of us. Kirth and I got 13 coins and Jonah and Roton had gotten 12.
 
We then walked a half-day to the edge of the forest. There we saw tree stumps. This must have been where the loggers worked. There were dead carcasses of animals and one logger. The wounds were feline, creature unknown. After some discussion about whether we should turn back now or not, we decide to stay the night and head back in the morning. Kirth made a raft that he believed was the best raft he ever made. It was trash.
 
Kirth then made a barrier out of dirt around us to protect us from the elements. The barrier was a 10-foot trench on all sides except for a spot for us to exit along with a three-foot wall in front of the trench. Jonah made spikes out of sticks and stuck them in the trench.
 
I was the last one on watch duty. It was raining at that time. I left the barrier to go get some sticks and leaves to provide shelter for my friends. As I was gathering the supplies for the last part of the shelter, a blue light appeared. I could not make out what it was from where I was standing, so believing it may be a fairy, I moved closer to get a better look. It was not a fairy. It was a ghost-like creature with lighting abilities. It injured me and I ran. The others woke to my squabble and came to attack the creature. It was difficult to hit. A very smart creature. Roton made it glow with purple flames so when it tried to become invisible, we could still see it. It hid among the spikes in our trench, making it more difficult to hit, but we were able to kill it. It disappeared as if it never existed. Strange creature. I wish I could know what it was.
 
I did not get much sleep that night. I was still injured when the morning came. Kirth pushed his raft into the river, it tore apart almost instantly. Roton made a better raft, big enough for all of us to fit on. We rode it downriver, back to town. The barrier we left, we named Fort Eusless. It was pretty useless to the ghosts.
 
We all were able to come back with our lives this time, though the journey was rough. I plan to venture further into the forest the next time I quest.