Arlanval Rudra
Arlanval Rudra (a.k.a. Student)
A curious young student from the magic academy with eyes that shine like the sun. His outward demeanor shows a kind, outgoing young man. However, his pensive gaze shows there may be more to him than first glance.
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Alignment
Neutral Good
Age
21
Children
Gender
Male
Eyes
Gold
Hair
Gold
Height
5'11"
Weight
165 lbs
24th of Lenzin
24th of Lenzin
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23rd of Lenzin
23rd of Lenzin
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22nd of Lenzin
22nd of Lenzin
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21st of Lenzin
21st of Lenzin
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20th of Lenzin (Interlude)
20th of Lenzin
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19th of Lenzin
19th of Lenzin
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18th of Lenzin (Interlude)
18th of Lenzin
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17th of Lenzin
17th of Lenzin
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16th of Lenzin
16th of Lenzin
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15th of Lenzin
15th of Lenzin
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12th, 13th, & 14th of Lenzin
12th, 13th, & 14th of Lenzin
I've slacked a bit and haven't updated this over the last couple of days when I should have, so I'm updating this now. There was nothing particularly critical, so I'll spare the details I usually provide and give more of the quick version of events.
12th
I came down and the group was talking amongst themselves in idle chat. Ashton and I found that our magical items they acquired from the dungeon turned a different color. My bracer turned bronze instead of green, with a dragon motif. A delightful irony to whatever gods may be watching, I'm sure. The conversation then turned to Chael inquiring about magic and the creatures that I had mentioned before, including angels, devils, blink dogs, and dragons. He inquired about dragons. As usual, I kind of seized up a bit. Never have been comfortable talking about the beasts.
"Dragons... steer clear of them."
I explained as best I could, although Chael got oddly enamored by the idea of dragons and their strength, which I admit was rather annoying. Thankfully, I managed to change the subject to discuss what the group's plans were that day.
Harper, Ashton, and Mara, and I headed to the Temple of Kord later to talk with some contacts there. They met War Cleric Rebald. We inquired about the shadow creature that Louiza was on Harper's behalf, and Rebald didn't have much info, but offered to help. He mentioned that the portal we found may have been the abyss. Harper provided a sketch of Louiza to him to identify her later.
Mara then asked about the strange fruit that we found off of the creature in the dungeon. Rebold didn't know anything about it, but pointed us in the direction of the archivist. Archivist Tully. We headed up a set of stone steps to the second floor of the temple to see the Archivist. The area was lined with bookshelves of various texts and subjects.
The Archivist called Mara "Lady Mara" after hearing that he knew her grandfather. He identified the fruit as a weapon from the old war. They helped create superior soldiers. They take the dormant energies and magical abilities of a creature and bring them forward to the forefront. With a lot of creatures they begin to resemble more of other things further back in their bloodline. IE: Harper might sprout wings or start smelling of brimstone as he's descended from Devils. If a human eats it, you might become a little less human. It's called "Tree of Life Fruit" in the old Elven tongue. It's meant to bring someone back to a more primordial state back when men were bigger and monsters were bigger. Referred to as something of a "heromaker" among the elves. There were a few notable warriors known to have consumed those fruits. The last known recipient was Valeris Windstrike. He was particularly well known on the front lines during the last major war. He was a fearsome person who even drank the blood of some of his stronger victims to take on their power.Some believe he may have been a vampire, though he could walk about in the light. He was Elven. The last war came to a cease fire 150 years ago. He was defeated in one of the last battles as they retreated across the countryside. Once we had inquired about all we could we left.
The group later went to the blacksmith and met up with Chael, Velvet, and Glory. Everyone did some browsing, some did some shopping, etc. Ashton bought some armor and got his sword upgraded and Mara inquired about her sword as well.
Between the 13th and 14th
These two days tended to blend together as we generally went and did our own things. As much enjoyment as I'm getting spending time with my companions (friends?) it's also nice to get some alone time again. I do have things I'd like to look into and I'd rather not bother them with my problems.
One of the things I accomplished was I went to the Prismatic Eye and spoke with the proprietor. I was looking for some magical items to hopefully improve my arsenal, but sadly the only item he seemed to have was a wand that allowed for the detection of magic in the vicinity. Admittedly I did splurge a bit and bought the wand as I felt it would be advantageous to have. He didn't have anything else I was looking for to try to empower my spellcasting, but did mention he may be able to get other stocks in later.
The other thing I of course did was further my research into dragons. I sought information on the two items below, and what I found was limited:
Dragon types associated with fire - Dragons who produce flame exist in 3 varieties: Red, Brass, and Gold. Red dragons are widely considered evil, and Brass and Gold are considered good. Brass and Gold are much more rare and solitary creatures to encounter. Red dragons favor rocky terrain and nests in mountainous regions. Gold dragons prefer to nest closer to society while Brass dragons are more prone to rocky locales, preferring caves and underground terrain. However, Brass and Gold dragons are not known to have lived in these lands, so that does limit my research into those. While it does not offer conclusive proof... based on what else I know I can only surmise my answer.
Noteworthy dragon history of the world in relation to the old war - Dragons were not employed in the war as they are rare in these lands and are thought to not want to get involved much in mortal affairs. However, it's theorized that the elves imprisoned a red dragon and used its essence for weapons creation.
Overall, my findings were minimal, but still fruitful. I'll have to continue to look into this.
11th of Lenzin
11th of Lenzin
Today was thankfully a short day. Very much needed after the events of the days prior.
We returned to Twin River. It seemed bustling and less guard presence. We opted to stay at the nicer inn rather than the Dusky Fawn from before. I didn't catch this one's name though. Velvet and Chael headed off and delivered the plant parts for the quest while Mara headed off to the church of Kord for some business of her own. Chael asked me to take care of Harper who was still in a slump which of course I agreed to. I saw what had occurred prior and was certainly not about to leave him alone. At that Chael smiled called me "Friend Arlanval" at the exchange. It was a first, as he had always called me "Student Arlanval" before.
"Friend Arlanval, huh? Sounds nice."
When everyone got back together we got our rewards for the plant parts and goblin slaying and divvied them up amongst the group. When we finally went to the inn and when Chael and Velvet came back we spoke with Harper who was rapidly becoming drunk, although Chael took away his inebriation using his abilities. Harper started to talk a bit more about what had happened. He said that Louiza was his past love and had died previously. So then how could she be here now? Possibly resurrected through some dark magic? Though with Harper being as surprised as everyone else at seeing her, surely this wasn't how she was before.
Later in the night, Mara, Chael, and I talked briefly about the events and plans for the next couple of days. It seemed like the next quests we would be tackling weren't going to be taking place for a few days, so we had a bit of downtime which is certainly welcome.
10th of Lenzin
10th of Lenzin
Starting off, we went into a side room across from the room we were just in and found a handful of goblins cooking food. We dispatched of them easily, though I do feel remorseful as they were just making food, but the others did note that we were after them on this job anyway. Plus, they would likely not have spared us the same kindness, so I digress.
We then came across another room with a drawbridge that was up. Harper and I both felt strong magical signatures from beyond it, and for some reason Mara's eye began to hurt. She mentioned that she got damaged in a battle but didn't want anyone to mess with or examine the eye at that moment, so we didn't at her request. Thanks to the efforts of Ashton and Velvet we were able to lower the drawbridge and see beyond. It looked to lead further down into the dungeon so we decided to hold off for the time being as there was still more to explore. We headed further into the dungeon and eventually stumbled into a room where we were invited in by a so-called Goblin Warlord. We fought and eventually triumphed, although not without getting significantly beaten up. We decided to rest for a short time after.
We left the room with the goblin warlord and headed into another part of the dungeon and came across a large room with a large set of manacles. On the ceiling there was a large face drawn on similar to what we found in our earliest expedition to the Dwarven ruin. It symbolized the potential of treasure but danger as well. Ashton was able to pry it off and out came a black sludge, also very reminiscent of that first time. We emerged victorious and found some strange metal called Ambersteel.
We entered a few more rooms and found a hobgoblin who was scared and non-aggressive. Chael convinced him to lay down his weapon and to not attack. From there we returned to the room with the drawbridge and headed down into the basement. There was a large portal in the middle surrounded by sarcophogi with what looked like a tall man encased in stone chained to an altar. Members of the group here and there seemed to mess with the chains but we ultimatelydecided not to open it. However, it seems as if multiple members of the party seem almost magically compelled to undo the bindings, including myself and Velvet. I didn't even realize what I was doing before the party pointed out that I was trying to undo the bindings. Eventually though, a compelled Velvet undid the bindings and the man awakened and was restored from his prison.
He called himself Droman Selezan, a fey creature, about 10 ft tall. Very creepy smile and long gangly fingers. Throughout our talks he did seem rather genuine, although he was still extremely creepy. He talked for a while and eventually ended up heading back into the portal which closed behind him which he described as a leyline, citing they were all over the land.
We were shaken up a bit and certainly surprised at that, but I don't think anyone would've seen what was to come next.
A short bit of talking later a hole burned in my robes where I kept the green crystal from the cultists (the planar attunement rod) and it was quickly absorbed into the place where the once gone portal was and it shattered, quickly coalescing into a portal with black ichor. Dark shadows began pouring out of it and the sarcophogi began opening and revealing more of the creatures that gave Chael concern before. They grouped up and attacked the shadows. The monsters were mostly victorious... for a time.
After the initial skirmish a strange shadow woman came out of the darkness that seems to know Harper and vice versa. While everyone was sitting there staring at the obvious threat, I opted for action and sent out a Fire Bolt to attack her and she retaliated with a Magic Missile. It certainly hurt quite a bit but thankfully nothing too terrible. The woman approached Harper and put her hands on him while he stood there, stunned. I called for Chael to try his senses, to which Chael seemed to react with part of his side igniting in white flames.
Mara and Ashton attacked the shadows while Velvet tried to put out Chael. Harper stood there with the shadow woman while I tried to push her off but it didn't work. Eventually she left with some parting words to Harper, and more questions for the rest of us. The woman's name was apparently Louiza Tabot, known to Harper somehow, but he didn't elaborate too much on it while we were there. Since he was in no condition to move himself at the time I opted to help him leave that place and the dungeon.
After this we began heading back to Twin River, taking the time to rest on the way. I worry for Harper and Chael both. Both of my companions seemed troubled by discoveries within the depths and I see their struggle. I hope we can all get answers for them soon.
9th of Lenzin
9th of Lenzin
We went back down into the dungeons and fought a group of goblins. We then looked around a bit and found more hallways and eventually a set of stairs going down to the second floor, but we didn't go down quite yet as there was a bit more to explore.
Before we went down we explored further into a room with a large stone statue of a dwarf. However, upon examining the statue I noticed something moving. It was a ghost, along with a second ghost who joined the fight later. During the battle that ensued one of the ghosts temporarily possessed Ashton who attacked me until Chael knocked some sense into him with his staff which caused the ghost to leave. While the ghost was untrained and Ashton thankfully didn't rough me up too much, it was still a bit shocking to have one of my companions showing active hostility.
After that we went further into the dungeon and found a room with a lone goblin and some additional loot. Not much else to say about it.
Once we'd finished exploring the first floor we went downstairs and fought a group of goblins after making a bit too much noise coming down. Unfortunately it seems like not all of us are as light on our feet as others, so this may become a pattern.
After the battle Chael seemed to lose himself briefly as he ran ahead off into the dungeon ahead of everyone. We came to a room with large, almost ominous double doors. After Chael was acting strangely and almost frantic, we entered. We found a strange corpse with runes carved into it that Chael seemed drawn to, as well as some more flasks with weird colored liquid inside similar to the ones we found before.
However, before we were able to examine much further the skeleton stood up and attacked. During the initial part of the battle Chael seemed dazed and otherwise stunned to inaction. Battle ensued for a bit before Chael came back to his senses and insisted we all leave. Prior to leaving I slung a Magic Missile to destroy the three glass vials that held the strange liquid before leaving the room with everyone else. I didn't know what those were at the time, but I was not about to leave things up to chance that those may be more of those vile concoctions of the cult we've seen before. Eventually after the beast was clearly shown to be out to kill us we slew it. After defeating it we found that there was some kind of black ball that was inside of it almost like it was giving it power. It was later determined to be some kind of fruit that grants strength in exchange for one's humanity. Very troubling.
Chael was inconsolable for a while, and told us that he was banished and was looking for his brother. When he eventually came to he asked that we not destroy the fruit, as it may offer a clue to the whereabouts of his brother. There was some skepticism in the group but we all agreed to honor his wishes. I just hope that he knows what he's doing. I wouldn't want something like that falling into the wrong hands.
Velvet found some pages from what seemed to be a journal with some script in Draconic and some script in Infernal. Chael copied what he could as the pages we found were quickly deteriorating. Meanwhile, I examined the vials more closely and determined they were similar but different from the demonic setup we found before, with the liquid being different and it possibly being some brewing potions. The potions would have been nice to have but oh well. Better safe than sorry.
Eventually we left the room and headed to another room where we found what looks like a jail with a multiple cells and a large cage. We were ambushed by giant spiders. Very unpleasant.
Afterwards we left the room and headed elsewhere in the dungeon, entering into a room with a forge and a pair of Dwarven ghosts going through the motions of smithing. Initially they didn't pay us any mind but as soon as Harper tried picking up one of the bronze swords in a part of the room they immediately took notice and looked to be frustrated, but not yet aggressive. Eventually Harper put it back and the ghosts went back to their business.
We saw a break in the room to the north and headed up where there were a handful of sarcophogi. Harper opened up one and saw a green eye and tried to take it which caused a group of undead to immediately attack us. We won but got beaten up fairly thoroughly. At least I sure did. This was where we decided to shack up for the night after that, a reset I was most grateful for.
During the night Harper tried attuning to the eye and seemingly got possessed and tore out his own eye with one of his crossbow bolts and the magical eye climbed inside. To call it grotesque I think would be doing it an injustice. Harper seemed in pain but not nearly to the excruciating degree I would have expected. It will certainly be difficult falling asleep after a display like that, but as there is more to this dungeon I must surely endeavor to try.
8th of Lenzin
8th of Lenzin
Today was another long, long day.
I slept very well last night and woke up feeling refreshed. The morning came with a breakfast of grits and oatmeal which, while not the best, was at least filling. Velvet also brought a group of her friends along to feed them, too. Harper, Chael, and I spoke about the scroll we found and I found that it wasn't something I could effectively used. Chael, on the other hand, seemed a perfect fit, so we passed it over to him. Though, interestingly, he said he wasn't sure why he could use it.
While we were talking a tiefling in Velvet's group came over and asked about "her friends". Her name is Gloria, going by "Glory", and she claims she's the best treasure hunter in the city. Although as she spoke up Velvet quickly distracted her with a bowl of oatmeal. We all discussed the open job postings and decided we would head in the direction of Hotlake to deal with a goblin threat and to try to deal with and gather some of the ingredients needed from the plant monsters as per one of the postings. Chael also mentioned his desire to go to a tailor's to get an outfit for a tiefling friend. It was decided later that Chael would go with Velvet and Glory who would both stand in for measurements.
Before we headed out though, I had a discussion with Ashton and Chael regarding the Order of the Radiant Shield. He idolized them and is hoping to join them eventually. Chael showed some interest as well. Meanwhile, Velvet was talking to her friends and asking them to keep watch on her "friend" at the guard post. She then described a harrowing tale where the man had murdered her family in front of her while she lay hidden. She mentioned he was a husk of a man with glowing orbs where his eyes should have been. It was awful hearing her describe the events, and she explained that as a result she met Glory and some of her other friends who were orphans. I can absolutely empathize and I hope that we'll be able to help her get some closure.
"It all sounds too familiar..."
Chael asked if I wanted to tag along and I didn't have anything else to do, so I agreed to go with them to the tailor's. Though time got away from me, so I had to rush out to meet them before they got too far. They were mentioning something about instruments and other small talk. Chael said this would be a good chance to learn "the person not the image of who you are" to me.
"The real me, huh?"
From there we continued talking about instruments and where I learned to play. I told them that my interest ultimately came from friends of mine back at College. I remember the old Bardic classes I sat in on when I really shouldn't have. I don't regret it though. Velvet had some questions about the academy and we spoke it briefly by the time we got to the tailor. From there it looks like Velvet and Glory had their measurements taken and Chael and I spoke briefly about Rux.
Later, we decided to go with her to the guard post to inquire further. Velvet wanted to interrogate the man she talked about earlier that had murdered her family. After some coaxing the guard captain agreed and we were all taken back to see him. Ashton and Chael went in with her as support while the rest of us stayed outside. I'm not sure what exactly happened but they spoke briefly and then something happened. He started calling out to Velvet, threatening her. He then tried to attack her and she attacked back, landing a killing blow. They mentioned that in its death throes it seemed to call out to her and threatened to see her later. I ran to get the guard captain while Chael left the room. When he got there he asked about what happened and Ashton explained. Ashton and I tried our best to comfort Velvet as I know she had to have been in shock. To take everyone's minds off of it we decided to head out to the first job to collect the plant parts.
On our way we saw one of the Rasp waystations (I'm not sure what they're technically called) and Chael and Arlan offered up rations. Chael seemed familiar with the customs and seemed to appreciate that I made the gesture. I remember this from back on the way up to Twin River a couple of weeks ago from our first Rasp guide. I guess Chael must be familiar with this from his homeland. Later on towards the evening as we got further out a vine tried to attack the cart. I threw a Fire Bolt at it to drive it away. We gave chase, but it was an ambush. I have to admit, I'm surprised. I didn't think the plant creatures had the intelligence to plan that far ahead. Ultimately it didn't matter as we were able to dispatch them after a brief skirmish. Luckily the others were able to harvest the parts we needed to bring back for the quest.
Shortly after that we came across the goblins that we were looking for via a campfire in the distance. Velvet scouted ahead and when we all went to catch up we did admittedly fail the stealthy approach. That being said, it hardly mattered as we quickly routed the group. Interestingly, there turned out to be some kind of path heading down into a ruin of some sort. Velvet did some scouting and found that there used to be traps but they had all been tripped and were no longer functional. Likely a result of the goblins stumbling in haphazardly. We took a break for an hour or so before heading down.
We were almost immediately attacked by a group of goblins which we dispatched. Afterwards Velvet found a secret passage behind a statue and we followed behind. Velvet took point most of the time down here as she was able to scout ahead and clear the path of traps for the rest of us. Our path led us to one with a chest and a pair of statues, of which one pivoted on its hinge. In hindsight, I probably shouldn't have been leaning on that wall, as once Velvet started to move the statue around it opened up and I fell right through into an identical room. I did a bit of looking around and the statues in this one didn't seem to rotate, although the setup was similar even down to the chest. We decided to open the chests to see what was in them although we suspected a trap. The group on one side and I on the other opened them, using Mage Hand to pry open the one on my side. Velvet and co found silver and other such treasure. What I found was decidedly more... gelatinous.
A gelatinous cube popped out and we dealt with it. Although thankfully I left the room shortly after the fighting started so I didn't get any residue on my robes. That's always very hard to clean out. Poor Chael got really beaten up though and was a bit worse for wear. From there we found a path leading to another room with a valve. She was able to use the valve to open up a door leading to treasure. More silver stuff, including a couple hammers which Mara grabbed and a large hammer that Chael took. The valve, according to Ashton, was made of cold iron, the only known type of metal capable of harming incorporeal undead. The others wanted to open the valve the other way but that seemed like a very bad idea. The way it'd been looking so far is that each of these passages had two things set up, of which one is correct and one was a trap. We'd already gotten the treasure, so logic dictated trying the other way would probably be a trap. For all we know it would sic a ghost on us. The party eventually relented and agreed not to open it and we headed back the way we came.
We eventually made our way forward and into a room with a fountain of some sort with more goblins, this time with a much stronger looking one they called a warlord as well as a mage. After a very hard fought battle we finally emerged victorious. We were significantly beat up, although I think Velvet had it the worst. After this we finally decided to head back outside and rested in shifts, each of us taking watch. Chael and I took shift together.
This is interesting, as this is my first experience with a ruin or dungeon of some sort, and it truly feels like it's an adventure. Although I do wonder about how deep this goes and what else we'll find.
7th of Lenzin
7th of Lenzin
The morning was rather uneventful thankfully. Just a modest meal that, while not the best I've ever had, was certainly enough to fill me for the day ahead. We got started sometime in the morning and headed to the Prismatic Eye first, an alchemy shop. The proprietor's name is Davenport, and apparently Velvet knows him. I was looking around when Velvet pulled me over to the counter. Evidently the two of them were discussing the weird ichor and crystal we found the other day at the cultist encampment. I showed it to him and he identified the likely source of the ichor as being from demons. Definitely unsettling, for sure.
After we were done at the Prismatic Eye the group wanted to head to the Temple of Kord for various reasons. Mara and Ashton wanted to pray so we all tagged along. The place was really interesting, with all sorts of symbolism and work everywhere. I've never been to one of these sorts of places as religion has never been anything I've been concerned about. Still, I can absolutely appreciate the arts and feelings in this area, and I can understand how others may feel inspired or in awe of such a group. Still, being in such an area filled with people made me a little anxious. I definitely felt out of place, because my magic is certainly not of the divine persuasion and... well, it just felt a little awkward.
Evidently I got distracted, because when I had finally made my way around the full temple I saw the full group talking with some people, so I quickly joined up. Apparently they were talking to a man by the name of War Cleric Raybold, seemingly inquiring about work or things that they could use assistance with. Velvet and Ashton seemed to be leading those talks. Ultimately, we were led to speak with Berthold, Raybold's second in command. He took us back into another room with several acolytes and town guards pouring over documents. They said they were investigating cultist activity in town, and we agreed to join the investigation. The town guard were going to be investigating part of the town while we would inquire at an abandoned hovel in another part of the town. He did mention there would be some form of payment, but I figured we'd cross that bridge when we got to it.
When we got there it looked to be a fairly dingy single story wooden shack, clearly in disarray. It's not clear if it's in such disrepair due to age or due to not having had occupants in quite some time. The front door was locked until Velvet picked the lock, letting us in. Quite frankly it was very musty, almost difficult to breathe inside. But we did go about and did some digging around inside. We didn't find much until we entered the kitchen where we found signs of someone having been there recently. Additionally, we found fresh ashes in the fireplace and footprints in the dust that led to a hidden compartment in the corner. There was a ladder leading down, so naturally we descended. Clearly there was more to this place than it seemed.
Well, when we went downstairs we were jumped be a few cultists. We handled them with minor difficulty and managed to capture the captain. He seemed almost fanatical in his desire to escape, even trying to off himself in order to do so. Ultimately we captured and knocked him out and stashed him in a barrel to keep him from hurting himself or even worse, bringing down the house on us later. There was another path leading down, a stairwell behind the storage barrels below. Velvet did some quick reconnaissance to see the path was clear before we all headed down.
It was extremely surprising that there was such a structure here unknown to the town for however long it took to make it. Or perhaps this was already here before they got here, who knows.
Either way, Chael sensed danger in the area, though it wasn't clear where exactly. There was a door ahead that we tried looking through which Velvet indicated something was on the other side. The group tried to sneak through the open door but we wound up making a noise and alerted the room. There were more cultists and more of those weird demon dog things from the encampment before, but more concernedly there were these strange creatures crawling on the ceiling.
After a bit of a skirmish we made it through, although Velvet in particular was a bit worse for wear as she was caught by one of those ceiling crawling monsters. We found the room had a bit of a circular path around the outside, so we went and examined around the length. Eventually we came across a room that had a cultist mage inside. We fought him fairly easily and won, but as he was almost defeated he looked to be charging a powerful spell. Thankfully, Mara stopped him with a well thrown handaxe, impaling him to the wall.
Here we found a couple additional potions on burners, one of which seemingly was a potion of healing, as well as something that seemed to be a murky reddish brown. Ashton found some items with these strange wobbly eyes on them. I'm not sure what the significance is but he seems to be enamored with them and they seem harmless. We also found a scroll which didn't make quite sense to me, but I took it thinking I'll take a look at it and see if it's something I may be able to use.
We eventually came to another set of double doors with a bunch of monsters inside. They were carrying one of the human cultists and threw him into a pool of this rusty, thick goo. Once we had dealt with the monsters Chael tried to save him but it was too late. At least he recovered a bit of the goo in a vial to identify later.
We returned to the last room, examining the final room that we had not yet looked into. Between Harper and Velvet they disarmed some kind of trap and Harper took this strange magical cloth. It allowed Harper to move it almost like it was a hand. After we had finalized our search we left, taking the captured cultist with us. Though as we were leaving Velvet came out with an oddly shiny shirt.
We got back to the Temple of Kord and brought our captive who was hauled away by guards while we reported that we cleared out the area. They made good on their promise to reward us, and even brought out some healers to heal us. Some of us were quite beaten up after the last series of battles.
After we got back we went to the guard outpost to deliver the missive from Duke Stagdew to the guard captain. Unfortunately he wasn't available right away so we decided to wait. In the meantime Velvet and I took a look at the job boards. Well, I say I went to look too, but realistically speaking I got only a quick glance before Velvet snatched up the posted jobs so we could sift through them later. Kind of interesting how that works with a posted job board. I remember back at the academy it was all just assignments, but getting to pick for yourself is kind of nice too.
We waited for a while, and eventually some guards brought in a man covered with a black hood. He was hauled in by a number of guards followed by the guard captain. Since he was back, Velvet passed him the missive, and he didn't seem all that surprised at its contents, likely what he already knew. Probably about the cultists, much like the person he'd just dragged in, probably. Velvet asked to see the captive as she seemed to recognize him. She went back briefly to look at him with the guard captain and when she came back she looked horrified. Whatever she saw clearly shocked her to her core. I wanted to say something but the look on her face said there wasn't anything that could have been said to help. I feel bad. I don't like seeing people in pain.
After that we returned to the Dusky Fawn for dinner. Vegetable stew with rabbit meat which was quite good. The tone was a bit somber at first, so I decided that I would try to play for a bit in hopes to lift everyone's spirits. Turns out Harper had the same idea, so the two of us played for the tavern for a while. I think we did pretty good, as everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. It seemed to go by fairly quickly, but it was fun. Harper's quite good. It might be fun to play with him again sometime.
After we finished though, a small blue rasp with messy black hair came up to me with a box. An admirer? I'm not sure, because after they gave it to me they quickly left. Turns out it was a small music box that plays a nice, calm tune when you turn the key. It was a wonderful and unexpected present and I'm grateful. It wasn't long after that that everyone began to disperse and we all went our separate ways to our rooms.
Another utterly exhausting day. I'll definitely sleep well after tonight. Maybe tomorrow-
-The writing seems to end abruptly. The lower corner of the page looks to have a hastily cleaned up wet stain. Arlan must have fallen asleep on his journal as he was writing.-
6th of Lenzin
6th of Lenzin
Well, we left in the morning and headed back to Maford. When we arrived we spoke with Duke Stagdew. He gave us 200 gold apiece for the work done since we returned a lot of the stolen goods. Unfortunately we still weren't able to save any of the bandits' captives.
Thankfully my mission was accomplished as he agreed to help Vice Headmaster Drakewarden. I still wish I knew what he wanted a favor for but as usual I doubt he would tell me.
Before we left, Duke Stagdew asked Velvet to take a missive to Twin River regarding news of the cult. It was listed as one of the primary targets and they need to be made aware as soon as possible. It was probably a little impulsive of me but I offered to go with her to make sure she got there okay. I'm not exactly expected back any time soon anyway. Eamon probably doesn't care much anyway. Either way the others decided to tag along as well. I'm glad. I still feel a little awkward around them but I guess I'm kind of warming up to them.
As far as the ichor, Duke Stagdew wasn't able to help us. He did direct us to some others in town like the proprietress of the Ten of Eyes who may be able to help identify it.
While we were leaving some strange man who looked a little similar to Duke Stagdew kind of smugly sized us up. Some tall blonde haired tan skinned guy. Not sure what his deal was...
As we left, Velvet was given a token to show the Twin River guards to get the captain's attention. So we're all set. We decided to stick around a little bit to stock back up before we headed out.
I felt eyes on me again. Chael and Harper's companion was eyeing me uncomfortably from the cart. I tried my best to avoid eye contact so as to not bother them. What did I do?! I'm sorry!
As I did owe them buying a potion, I went to the Ten of Eyes. Ashton and I split the cost of the potion I was owed and I asked her about the ichor. By now it had turned almost gelatinous. She poked and prodded and almost looked like she was going to try tasting it at one point, and she wasn't able to find out much. She said the scent was of iron and sulfur. Some sort of thickly coagulated blood. Also there was some sort of green crystal inside, probably what they were talking about in the journal. She noted it was definitely not a normal gemstone. I paid her for her help and we left. She offered some additional magical scrying but thankfully Harper spoke up and said he could help for free.
Harper wasn't able to find out too much more, but come to find out this crystal was some kind of crystallized demon essence. Something you could maybe use to planar shift to a plane you wanted to rather than at random. Some kind of planar attuning rod? Definitely sounding more and more like worse and worse news. And there are definitely more of these out there which is a huge problem.
Out of nowhere Harper and Mara decided to play a bit in town, Harper on his violin and Mara on some big... instrument of some kind I'm not familiar with. Part of me wanted to join them but I guess I just felt too awkward. I'll practice later. Maybe that'll ease my nerves.
Although while they played I was shocked to find that Chael and Harper's friend was actually Wyrmling! Or rather, I guess I should call her Rux as that's her actual name. Still, I was surprised to see her after all this time. I knew she just disappeared about 5 years ago and Eamon kept calling it an escape. I never expected to see her here. I remember we used to be close. I guess it was only natural as we were basically Eamon's pet projects. Although I can figure she was wary of me trying to bring her back to him. But I would never! She found her freedom and I would never take that from her. Still, it seems like she relaxed a bit more around me. She's still pretty awkward compared to before but it's better than the glaring, that's for sure. Hopefully we can make up and be friends again soon.
Later on we left town and headed out to Twin River. We came across a group of goblins who we tested to see if they would attack passersby. If they didn't we'd let them go, but if they did we'd have to stop them. Chael's idea. Sure enough... they did try to attack us with Harper and I up front. It was a refreshingly simple affair, with us absolutely dominating them as the others snuck from the sides and attacked. Mara screamed and leapt on one of the hobgoblins, cleaving it in twain with her sword in a single strike.
Again, reminder to self: Do NOT get on her bad side...
Ultimately we dealt with them in short order, barely taking a hit. Chael told the last one to leave these lands alone and I swear the goblin was going to soil himself as he ran away in terror.
Eventually we made it to Twin River and the guards let us in. They seemed to recognize Velvet. Turns out she's from around here. She recommended we stay at the Dusky Fawn inn. A bit on the older side and not as frequented... probably because it's a bit shabby. But after sleeping in that fort last night I'll take it. Cheap too, which I guess is a plus?
Today was eventful, but thankfully a lot less hazardous than the day before. I'm grateful to get some shut eye in a bed again. Tomorrow we talk to the guards and explain the situation. I hope they're equipped to handle the situation. Here's hoping for the best.
5th of Lenzin
5th of Lenzin
I'm exhausted... Today was a very long day.
At first light we woke up and got ready to head out. Apparently Chael and Harper have a companion they are bringing along with them in their cart. Also apparently they really must not like me because they were staring daggers at me before they ran off. I felt awful. I don't know what I did but I'll try to avoid them in the future.
After we were prepared we met up with Adelaide and we departed for the bandit fort. When we got there we decided to split up. Adelaide's team would head to the rear of the fort and we would enter from the other side. We took out two with ranged attacks before Chael climbed up to them and stabilized and tied then up. Harper joined and opened the door and alerted the guards. Probably a bad idea. We all went up to help and eventually downed 3 more guards. We kept going in and handled 3 more guards, one of them being a captain who was much tougher. Here we started to use more tactics though. Harper and Velvet went around the back, Chael drew attention, and Mara and Ashton rushed them. I supported with magic and crossbow bolts. We won but Ashton got seriously hurt. Thankfully we had those potions. The last guard Chael intimidated into surrendering.
The bandit was still smug and told us none of the captives had been there for days. I guess we were too late. Damn it.
We went further in and found a room where the stolen goods were being kept. We'll bring this back to town and hopefully Duke Stagdew will be appreciative. The opposite door was barred though, which was odd. In hindsight, maybe we shouldn't have opened the door.
On the other side were what I could only describe as demons. These weird dog-like creatures, these smaller creatures and these large bulbous humanoid... monstrosities. It was truly horrifying. We dealt with them in a rather chaotic battle but found what looked like almost a ritual killing. I... couldn't look at it. We found a journal that as soon as Velvet read it she ran off distressed. Harper went off after her. I hope she's okay... I later found out this journal showed this wasn't just any group of bandits we were after. These were cultists of some kind.
We kept moving through the compound and came across an Alchemy lab of some kind. In it we found a journal that mentioned something about green shards that couldn't be good. There was some kind of flask with this disgusting black ichor. We couldn't just leave this there, so I took it with me. Hopefully someone will be able to identify whatever this is.
Eventually we caught back up with Adelaide and together we took down the last of the bandits, though it was a tough fight. It's kind of funny how natural these daggers still feel in my hands. I may not like it but if it's me or them I'm going to defend myself.
Once the fighting was done we decided to stay at the fort first the night and return in the morning as we were all a little worse for wear. Mara hunted us some dinner and she and Ashton helped cut up and cook the food. It was pretty good. Definitely much different from the food at the Academy.
We spoke with Adelaide and caught her up on the situation and she said she would talk with Duke Stagdew as this was important. She made a copy of the important pages of the journal detailing the cultists work and sent a guard ahead to get this into Duke Stagdew's hands as soon as possible.
As I lay down and write this I can't help but feel anxious. This is way bigger than we expected. We definitely need to get this information into the hands of the real heroes. Until then though I'll do what I can.
4th of Lenzin
4th of Lenzin
We arrived in the City of Maford today. It's here that I was to deliver the locked box and missive from Vice Headmaster Drakewarden.
I find it odd with all the subterfuge but I guess I don't have any room to argue.
It seems Geoffrey and the others had their own things to handle so we parted ways, but Ashton and Mara opted to accompany me. Honestly I'm relieved. I don't know either one that we'll yet but I think I'd be too nervous to do this myself.
Ashton seems like the strong stalwart type. He's a farmer who looks to have turned into a warrior, with a big sword. He mentioned he was from the academy so maybe he's a student? He has a strange attitude against tieflings but hey everyone has their own issues. Mara on the other hand also seems the warrior type. She also wields a big, emphasis on big, sword. She can definitely take a beating, and anytime the goblins on the road hit her she just seemed to get mad. Definitely want to stay on her good side. Seems a little aloof to me.
I delivered the goods to Duke Aelthus Stagdew as expected. I'm not sure what I expected but wow. When I hear "Duke" he fits what I'd expect to see almost exactly. Tall, blonde, short curly hair, large mutton chops. Although he did have an eyepatch with his one red eye exposed, so maybe he looked like more like a pirate captain... He did have a rather splendid jacket. Blue and silver.
I'm... getting off track. Well, I delivered the goods and turns out I guess Vice Headmaster Drakewarden is expecting a favor from him. In exchange for the favor, Duke Stagdew requested we help with a bandit problem. They are attacking trade caravans along the road. Mara, Ashton, and I agreed and we went to meet Captain Adelaide Budd who was managing the operation. Another lady was there and will be joining us, Velvet. She's a tiefling. She seems a little quiet. I didn't get much of a good read on her. Seems the nimble, athletic type.
Captain Adelaide definitely inspired confidence standing tall in her chain shirt with a longsword at her side. She said we'd be leaving out the west gate from Sunset Way and heading out at first light tomorrow. They're offering 150g per person to assist, with potentially more if the looted goods can be recovered. It sounds like they have hostages too so it's even more important that we resolve this. The bandits are holed up in a dilapidated old fort.
We met two others who enlisted to assist with the bandit problem. The first is a tiefling by the name of Harper. He seems very loud and boisterous. Most definitely a Bard, given the number of instruments he had with him and the fanciful, almost obnoxiously ostentatious clothing. The other is Chael, a shorter, more quiet man who talks in a bit of a strange, but not unpleasant, accent.
The group of us went shopping at various stores including the Ten of Eyes, the Lovers Fragrances, and the Wobbly Bellow. I bought a potion of healing for Ashton since I figured he would be more likely to be in danger than I would. Turns out I need to buy another potion once we get back. The owner of the Ten of Eyes is a bit temperamental...
Once done we resigned to the Groggy Spirit, the local inn. Chael was very excitable and talked my ear off for a while. That was a little exhausting but kind of nice to see someone show interest. Shortly after all that we went upstairs to turn in.
Tomorrow will be interesting. My first real mission in the field. Not going to lie, I'm a little anxious. Hopefully I'll be writing back with good news of success. I hope.
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