Captain's Log Two; Holes, Gnolls, and capital goals.

I'm losing track of these days, upwards of 16 to 20 I believe.
 
Finally, some kindred spirits. Stefn Powerlimb seems to understand what it means to fight for oneself. On ones own terms. With ones own strength. He understands the profitable opportunities presented by all the ... wonders, of this land. If we could capture them.... why, I dare to dream. We follow our own paths, but I'd be pleased if ours crossed again.
 
We decided some extra meat couldn't hurt so Aurelia The Bard and Theodora The Sorcerer tagged along. Both ... born half elves. The Bard has a dark stench about her, I like her.
 
And a rogue, a gnome from the under dark, Cobb, attached itself to us as we departed. I wonder what it would think of Adrion. Seems only interested in gold. I doubt he'd appreciate an...independent thinker and business person.
 
Following the wind of unknowns and the flat lands to the north west we encountered more lizard monsters, this time ground based, a pack of three velociraptors I believe. Me and Stefan, calls himself a Senator, were tempted to attempt a capture of these beasts. We decided they were close at hand and could be retrieved at any time. Aurelia scared them away with a mighty wave of thunder, not bad, for a Bard. They were preying on a herd of Roth, great wooly, bovine monstrosities, I think someone said they could be found in the under dark. Must be a veritable menagerie down there. I must take a trip sometime. We butchered one of the dead Roth and got a day of rations for the lot of us.
 
Then we marched until, in a nice formation, The Senator in the front, followed by Aurelia, then Theodora, Cobb and then myself on the flank. Very... brave of them all, to trust their backs to my guard. Night fell.
 
Whilst on the march through the grass lands, a pit opened in the earth and tried to swallow the sorcerer. The gnome tried to grab them, then it tried to swallow the gnome, as hilarious and tempting as it was to let them fall, I need my...crew. So with one hand I dangled them both and hurled them back up to the rest of the crew. We then ...investigated the pit. The Senator, being a Goliath, practically stepped into it. My rope came in handy, as always.
 
The cave cracked open with some stress over the earth...apparently, I'm not entirely convinced it wasn't the will of the ...thing(s)? down there, that we should...enter. The pit was only about 2 fathoms deep, the cracks descended down North and South. The Senator flipped a coin, North it was. The passages closed in to less than a fathom. The gnome was right at home. Down and down we descended.
 
A beautifully blanching stench came out of a cavernous chamber ahead. Still, stinking, trapped water. Rotting. Unnatural. Wherever that pool was, quite glad I didn't take a dip. A glimmer could be glimpsed from beyond the waves of darkness. We approached, about 60 feet away, a skeleton. A damp, barren skeleton. With a helm with a face and a ruined leather bag. Picked clean of flesh, its armour was skewered through from one side to the other in a dozen places. Aurelia took the helm from the ol boy, and I leaned into the leather bag. A trove, of gold, four spell scrolls, 3 red vials and a monstrous, suckling black sludge. With teeth.
 
It came out of the bag, it came off of the walls, it came up from the ground and it came down from the ceiling. A roar with no tongue, a shout with no voice, a cry with no tears. A hunger with no satisfaction. At once it seized the sorcerer and sapped the life from her bones. I was prepared to drag her back from the peace of death to this abyss, but The Bard did the job just as cruelly. It began to amass together. I brought down my axe and smote the curiosity upon the cavern floor. It's darkness fleeing before mine. It tried to strike back at me, dinging off my iron. The Senator tried the same, it only disrupted the wave, like a stone into water with no magic, before it snapped back. It did no more to his bare chest but a scuff. And The Bard and The Sorcerer made the wise decision to raise sail out of there. Casting my spell of retreat, I did the same, followed by the senator and the gnome.
 
As we escaped it struck me hard between the plate, leaving a suckling red circle of teeth marks. Almost as bad as drowning. I tried to run with all my might and inspire the others, but I'd skipped leg day. The Bard scared us into showing it the meaning of haste. And so we ran and ran and ran. Hunted by some great mass that had gathered together to flow through the cracks and swallow us. A darkness casting its shadow, swallowing darkness itself.
 
Up and up and up we ran. Grasping for the surface, the depths coming up to keep that beyond dreams. We made it. And the rope behind me was bitten and torn with long, piercing teeth as I reigned it up.
 
We rested and then pushed on, away from it. The thought of investigating the southern passage, unthinkable, for now. Someday.
 
Exhausted, we came upon more Roth. Looking over our spoils, we'd lost most of the gold to the black. The helm, as the bard put it on, it opened its eyes, and she could see whatever it saw. Perhaps she can see when we've been led into a trap in the future, oh yes. I know a trap when I see one.
 
The vials, I took a look at them. I know when someone has tried to pawn off bad merchandise to me. Two were lovely, pure, flowed easily, bright, Stefn took a lick, it tasted amazing he said. A healing potion by all reckonings. The sorcerer took the bad vial, a bloodlike, black streaked, viscus, clumping, sludge. She seemed well acquainted. Then we heard a sound beyond The Roth. A war band, arguing. A band of Gnolls by a fire. Monstrous hyena demons. Arguing about some tribal dominance. Most were pitiful creatures, 5 feet at most. The biggest and the second stood above even me. The greatest among them had a great cloak and glaive. The second sharped his knives on the other end of the fire. Embodiments of hunger I've heard.
 
A stroke of collective genius befell all of us. Sensing we could not sneak away, we took some of our Roth meat and The Bard cooked it up, sautéd with a healing potion. I ...guided her. I'm used to making do with whatever I find on the high seas. So it was cooked up, and we approached.
 
Once we were spotted, the disagreement stopped. The big one approached, grasping his glaive. We had discussed how to appeal to the apparent power struggle. Saying we had come with the blessing of Lord Yeenoghu to reward the strongest, the only one deserving of a feast. We kneeled. He sniffed us and eyed up The Bard. He took the steak, and ate it down in one bite. Questioned if we had any more for the rest, questioned why we didn't serve ourselves up, and questioned if we would partake in the feast. He spoke of their Rothe hunt, the great herds had killed several of their warriors. We said only the strongest deserve to eat, said we live to feast and said we would surely. We were careful to not imply that he needed us, for the Gnolls know the strongest eat the most. We were honouring his strength. The second demanded he feast on us. He stabbed the big one in the guts, undisturbed, the big one bit his head off. He told us to partake, as so we did. The Gnome and The Sorcerer couldn't keep it down, The Senator, The Bard and I did without hesitation. He laughed. And threw the rest on the fire. He looked to the others, called them weak meat, unworthy to even be eaten. The others of his band grinned with hunger. His hot, heavy, bloody breath blew over us with his every word and every sniff. His cloak opened its' dozens of eyes, as they looked us up and down. He spoke of a wizard they'd killed and took his trinkets, they care mostly only for meat. The big one, now secure in his rule, threw us a wicker basket of these magic toys and told us to be gone. Before we could, he leaned down to The Bard, smirking, eyes piercing hers. He took his glaive, and scarred her face with a long, thin, deep, cold cut into her cheeks. We thought it would be something much worse. Something that might have made another sorcerer. Oh well. And so we were off.
 
I want that cloak. He made us kneel to him? I'll have his knees nailed to the mast of my ship. Bastard. We tried out our new toys, once well away. The basket included some wholloping arrows, that blew holes through some trees. The rogue and sorcerer took those. A silver walking stick with a ruby button that turned it into a great sword. The senator took that. Might have been some other things. I took up a rusty javelin. Always there is intrigue to be found in the unassuming. I threw it to its farthest reach and it did not stir. Hit it's mark well, and when I pulled my hand down, it came like lightning back to my hand. Wonderful. I lost a javelin off the side of a cliff while fighting those Pteradons. Never again. We divided up the gold and the scrolls, I received the one for invisibility...
 
We decided that we'd had enough of these unknown lands for now and headed back to base camp.
 
That all took place over the course of two days. My Gods! This land is bursting at the brim with wonders to be found!