Addendum: Of Infinite Pools of Living Liquid, Dark Visions, And a Growing Fog of Evil

In the rush of daily violent activity, it is time to take a quick pause to share my increasingly difficult internal battles with darkness. As you all know, when fighting the oozes (oozi?) in the evil Dwarven Temple, one dropped on me in an especially drippy way and not only did I get some of that shit in my eyes, I managed to aspirate some as well. Baric managed to heal my external wounds, and later attempted a ritual to free me from the ensuing symptoms, but I feel the connection to a dark plane growing stronger. I have described the occasional bouts of searing pain followed by gaps in time for which I have no reckoning. You all have seen me during this time so I am confident I'm not doing anything externally, but it may be that I am engaged in battle in some other internal space. It penetrates my consciousness, then recedes back. I cannot say if it recedes because of my attempts to force it away or because it decides to pull back on its own.
 
I have also previously shared that my nightly meditations -- which roughly equate to what you all would call sleep -- have been troubled over the last month or so. What has changed recently is the increasing clarity of the visions that force themselves on me, which I will now do my best to explain: I find myself looking out over a dark, bubbling, infinite pool of living liquid. There are no landmarks. No trees, no mountains, no buildings, no horizon. Just a dark, misty fog that licks its tongue into every corner of this world and lingers upon the pools of evil that spread in every direction. It is a place devoid of all but the bubbling, dark pool, the malingering mist, and the evil that penetrates all.
 
The pools harbor intelligence, though maybe not in the way we would typically define it. Its specific intent is undefined; but I know in my bones that it is evil. I have been growing in my ability to reclaim my meditation space from it, but that is countered by the increasing clarity of the visions that haunt me, and a sinking feeling that it is choosing not to battle back for the moment as I learn push it away.
 
I spoke with Oz, who had the most interaction with Norbus And Dweedle-Dum, to see if there was any connection to the Dwarven temple -- overall the sense is that it is distinct and separate from the ancient Dwarven Evil, but perhaps the slimes reclaimed that space for an even darker, more ancient evil.
 
I have no outward reason to suspect it is (as yet) looking to claim space in my waking consciousness. I have not felt myself to be changed, nor have I felt any actions I have taken are incongruent with who I am. But should the moment arise where it attempts to penetrate my thoughts and my will while awake, I will alert you all, and you will need to take whatever action you deem fit at that time. At the very least, I will separate myself from the party to seek advice in a city. But should you conclude that it has wrested control over me, and that there is no hope to separate it from me, you will have to dispatch me lest I become an abomination. (Noting that some already find my abominable.) Also, if that occurs, I must remember to tell Baric that my religion forbids the burial of bodies because that would be funny.
 
Meanwhile, I remain hell-bent upon clearing this stronghold and giving it to a band of dwarves to maintain -- with the only request in return that they safely harbor the townsfolk should the dragon attacks precipitate an evacuation. It would be a quadruple-win:
1) Dwarves return fortress to former glory and reclaim the rights of their heritage
2) The townsfolk have a safe place to which they can retreat
3) The dwarven presence would provide the townsfolk with significant defensive aid, which I suspect they would need
4) Fuck Harbin Wester.
 
In between now and then we will be clearing the remaining fortress, rescuing the erstwhile rescuers from capture, flying like the wind to meet with Dwarven leaders, and finally collecting payment on this job.
 
Darkness may blanket my horizon, but there are blue skies above right now and swift action has never been more called for.