The Sickening

Once we got off the boat I tried to hold a funeral for our captain and Jim. Turns out a lot of people found Jim annoying or hated him. Poor creature. Well, he isn't going to be forgotten by me.
 
We arrived back to the goblin city and spoke with the general store manager. I offered the shop keep a deal to get an actual store in the kingdom but my party disagreed. Borris wanted to hold on to the white bow for a friend but provided her with the maps of the dungeon as promised. I hope she doesn't actually pursue the treasure and sells the map to the next group of adventurers to take on the challenge. Back outside the shop we noticed the town seemed empty. After speaking with a goblin, we learned the goblins have started to travel to the festival the prince invited them to.
 
We decided to rest at the tavern before traveling. The wait staff mentioned Jim's absence and I felt sick. Fortunately I kept his wand and was able to return it to them. Ugh, wish I could just return the employee though. I feel a little better I was able to bring one piece back to him. It feels good to be a good person I think to myself and drift off to sleep. I think I heard some noises from Sam's room overnight but I mostly slept well.
 
In the morning we purchased some rations and headed to the entrance. When we were outside of the mountain we heard a loud noise and saw the clouds move I had hoped we wouldn't have to handle that. There was a long debate on whether or not we should sell our cart. We decided to sell it. A bidding war began among goblins. A few priests from the temple got involved. One of our party members offered some of the magic water to whoever bought the cart. The priests were immediately alarmed and went to confiscate our water. I managed to deceive them and kept my water skin full of the magic substance. Everyone else lost theirs. What can I say? I'm pretty good at being charming when I want to be!
 
They had us return to the temple with them where they promised to explain everything. I felt like they didn't offer a lot of answers. They knew the water was magic. They haven't experimented with it much because it doesn't feel safe. Terrible things have happened to all goblins who drink it. There was a lot of back and forth and the gist was the same. Looking back on this, Borris was quiet. Too quiet.
 
He volunteered to drink the water. The party, the priests, and I all begged him not to. After what happened to Jim who know what will happen to a gnome? He was insistent and eventually the priests relented to give him a small glass. They guided into a small chapel and shut the door behind us. I was terrified we were going to witness a gruesome death. I took Borris's backpack and asked him not to do this one more time. That didn't seem to phase him.
 
Borris took a drink and seemed fine for a moment. All hell broke loose. Borris's third arm shriveled up and black ooze began to spurt out of the hole the previous limb occupied. His color paled and he began to vomit. The smell came over us all like a tsunami of sewage. I believe everyone vomited, including me. Every time I thought I would gain my composure another wave of stench would flood my senses. I'm pretty sure any food I ate in the last month is out of my system. Borris ran around the room and I thankfully dodged him. I tried to shield the goblin priests and open the door. Unfortunately the door was too slick with vomit and ooze. Borris managed to get the door open and we all piled out. We realized in the chaos Neolani had gotten ill and fainted. We worked to rescue her and I bought myself a new pair of shoes.
 
My new shoes need to be broken in. They are made of a comfortable leather but you can tell they were made with a cheaper material. I think I've finally removed the stink from myself. As long as I stay away from Borris. Ugh! Borris you fool. We headed out of town. I was concerned that Borris's smell would cause the town to hate us. I'd rather be on their side considering they built statues of us in their town center. Don't want to be a recognizable face if I can't fit in. Got enough experience with that for life, thanks.
 
We left the mountain on foot. We kept Borris at a distance we could tolerate. Poor guy threw up every 15 minutes or so. I think he might not be long for this world but I'm going to try to remain optimistic for his sake. That loud noise from earlier kept repeating and the clouds kept moving. I wanted to move faster to avoid it but wasn't able to convince the others. We reached an open field that seemed empty. It was not.
 
Tiny shrubs leaped out and surrounded us. These were handled with no problem. The large shambling heap, however, was rough. I realized it was in the clearing the moment it stepped on me. I thought I was dead for sure. The sensation of the vines tightening around my neck was haunting. I managed to avoid the vines getting tighter. Neolani was going to blast its foot with fire damage but I managed to escape before that was necessary. Once I was free it was easy to take down the shambling heap.
 
Borris's attacks were critical for taking that creature on. I hope he survives but I got another whiff of him a few minutes ago and wished for him to go away for now. Is that a bad thing?