Gwabins Log #2: March 28, 2022 - On board the airship, The Chaparral, we concluded our terms of travel with Angus Harraford set set our route to travel with their crew South, riding the trade winds, passing near Khandals keep and then north again on the east side of the Vagabond Mountains all the way up towards southern Cryopathia and then west to Elsedar to our destination. The new route does set up back some days but the travel should be far easier than our previous caravan. During our first day traveling south we witnessed the Gruhls capturing Sek-jehns and performing some ritual on them to convert them into Gruhls. This conversion did not look voluntary or friendly, to put it lightly. Day two of travel was relatively uneventful. Near Khandals Keep (where I began this adventure) we witnessed roughly 30 horse cavalry riding and gathering ears. Day three we flew near the edge of Snowlynns lands. Angus told us that Snowlynn put out a call to aid to assist them against the Redsails. I've never heard of Redsails but asking around, the crew did not seem to be fond of them. On day 5, I came around Stamps Pass. This was the highest point of the Vagabond Mountains. As we reached the crest, I was able to catch a glimpse of The Maelstom, a hurricane of lightning and could be 70 miles across, to the west. I could see a faint green glowing in the center. During this time we spent some time getting to know the crew of the vessel. I made time to talk to Everine Danger, a vulpine Jubileethen, who was carrying a fascinating weapon. I asked her to teach me how to wield this weapon, which i found was called a Naginata. She agreed and it only cost an eye and come TP playtime. She told me of her travels and her tragic beginnings of being cast over the edge of a ship as a child since she was 'Different'. She too took a monastic order but abandoned it some time ago. We spent that day training and on the next we landed in a small town of Worm Sweat (or so i think i heard them say, maybe wyrmsweat?). The town was a small settlement but turned out to be a little more interesting than the initial impression. Our first stop was the library. A pair of sekjehn Rhinos were standing guard but I found it peculiar that they were guarding anything from coming out.. I traveled with Drath, Barnaby and Mary Anne thinking there was some threat inside the library. Inside the library we found nothing out of the ordinary and each took some time to study. We spoke to the Librarian Jen, who pointed us in whichever direction the information we were looking for was. She told us of Valair who removed the seven curses from the north. I pretended I knew what she was talking about but quickly became disinterested and we left the library. Next we happened upon an amusing little park... or fountain? It was a little place called Didntheland, I took no interest in this trap for tourists but Merryanne seemed to be excited and bought tickets (which ultimately disappointed her, but at least they got a nice cup and a hat...). At this point, my curiosity got the best of me and I wandered to the Common well. As I peered down to look at the wonder algae growing on the top layer of the water, I noticed a door at the bottom of the three foot deep water. Naturally, I decided to open it. The water drained from the reservoir and I found stairs leading down as my excitement grew. I called back to my companions (Forgoth, Drath, and Barnaby) and ventured forward into the darkness. Teasing Barnaby, I yelled that there were snakes. This must have scared him off since he didn't follow, nor did Drath. Luckily Forgoth decided to join.The stairs down opened into a large causeway 30some feet across and had another tunnel leading up into the mountain at an incline. Forgoth and I trudged forward into the darkness, and found an interesting plant formation of moss and eyeballs. They eyes seemed to follow and mimic Forgoths movements. A little farther in, we saw fleshy sacs suspended in a vine/bed. Forgoth poked at them as i burned away some moss. Moments later, the pod opened a dropped a yellowish yolk the began to take the form of Forgoth and Mimic his movement. For some reason Forgoth was delighted and began raving about minions... I decided one Forgoth was enough and burned the imposter. It let out a guttural scream that turned into a high pitched cackle of a woman. I convinced Forgot to burn the rest of the moss and sacs with me and we spent some time clearing the area so we could press forward. After the controlled burn, I looked around for shinies and found the most beautiful carapaces of some unknown insect. i began to attach them to my body and they seemed to tingle and form fit structure, although a little tight at the waist. I notices Forgoth remove an eye from the skull of the bug. As he did the gem-eye turned to dust. I thought that i would very much like those gems on my body so i attempted to affix the bug skull to my shoulder. That was the last thing I remember for a while... As I came to, my vision was blurring and I noticed the small green dot in my peripheral had become a green bar and at the top right of my vision the word "Optimal" had appeared. I also noticed I have 2 new appendages. I felt I was moving so I looked around and found Forgoth dragging me up the stairs and mumbling curses at me. I believe he attempted to throw me up through the hatch but somehow my body reacted in a manner not under my control and used its extra appendages to balance myself and somehow toss Forgoth out first.. He was not too happy about that but we made our way back to the town and found a place called the Outside Inn where we inquired about our friends. Luckily we found their names in their book... Not so lucky was that the book said Drath was in the 3rd iteration and Merry was in the 5th. Also there was no sign of Barnaby... Gwabins log complete Gwabins log addendum: As we finished reading the logbook, Drath sauntered into the Inn spelling like sap and what looked like a branch and leaves stuck in his armor. He pulled outside quickly and told us of his adventures in the BAFF (Beings of Alien or Foreign Foundation) room. and his travels through a party for Paddy and time travel. Apparently he became the Skye to poor crying Eartha. He travels to the 3rd iteration and hands the Tears to a warlord and finds his way back to the Outside Inn but arriving in the morning before The Chaparral had landed. He decided to hide in a tree and watch the events of the day play out until he saw Forgoth and myself (looking entirely different than he left me) wander into the Inn and speak to Mrs Construed. He explained how he watched Barnaby follow him (Future him? past him? other him?) to the trader after he purchased a Dowsing Rod and Whether Manual form Handoverfist, the merchant. He then watched as he went through the invisible walls of the Outside Inn which started his Journey. From his tree he could see Barnaby, the nervous little fighter that he is, freak out and collect Merry and attempt to follow Drath in. That's when he lost them and hadn't seen them since... He assumes they are lost in time as he was. We told him we found Merry's name in the book and she was in the 5th iteration but no sign of Barnaby… Not long after Draths dialogue, lil old Merry popped her head into our huddle and said hello. Astounded, we asked where Barnaby was. She replied she lost him in the BAFFroom (which made Drath visibly uncomfortable). Merry told us of their encounters and how they ended up in a tavern for Adventurers and how Barnaby yelled DRAGON which did not go over well. She told us of how she was mistaken for another Halfling bard and was set to perform when she got a not from the sky, which she quickly found out that it was Skye the person not the thing above your head. They spoke to Skye who was heartbroken over them not being Eartha and how he wasn't good enough for his father, the warlord. Barnaby made the mistake of running to the BAFFroom. She told us as she followed and entered, Barnaby was gone and she spoke to the desk clerk and he returned her back to the Outside Inn. So for now our party is down a member who is out of time, or out in time... or in the out time? Either way, we have roughly seven hours before our airship is scheduled to leave so we must work fast in finding our companion or, as Forgoth suggested, cut our losses.   Gwabins Log #3: April 04, 2022 - After hours of searing for Barnaby, we came up empty. With the time constraint of the airship departing we made the decision to come back for him another time, since he has all the time in the world... We packed up and set sail to our next destinations of waypoints that the pilot, Blue, had made arrangements to restock. Shortly after liftoff, we happened upon a Jen Sek with the features of a white owl. He has been delivering messages to the ship and he said he had heard of our group. Of course, I assumed he was speaking of Angus and his crew, but he was not mistaken that it was our group. It seems we have been making a name for ourselves around the region and this feathered friend, who named himself Theseus, was eager to join our adventures, which he would quickly regret... Also, we noticed the shadowy figure from the wagon train made himself known to us and introduced himself as Olaf, a hill dwarf. As introductions finished, we all clearly caught a clattering in the cabin's closet. Forgoth, suggesting it was dangerous, proposed we send our "New Barnaby" Theseus to check it out. Of course I had enough of our new members writhing in death so I decided to open the closet myself. To our surprise, out tumbled Barnaby. And even more surprising, Barnaby's new fashion choice. He donned a nice helm made of various tropical fruits and a sparkling sarong that accentuated his hips... Bewildered and confused, he spoke of small lights in the sky he called Stars. During his incoherent mutterings, I caught the shouts from the upper deck and could hear a word that sounded like "Dragon". Immediately our party sprung into action and met the crew on deck. We could see a small draconic figure looking as if it was prepping an attack run on our vessel. We joined the crew in prepping for battle. Forgoth, Theseus and I took Shots at the beast while Drath cast spells, Merry sang her sounds to inspire and Barnaby and Olaf manned the cannons. As the battle progressed, we noticed it was not one but three winged lizards attempting to disable our ship. Luckily Forgoth was able to stagger the immediate threat diving for us, but we were not out of danger because another had managed to latch onto our underside and begin chewing our hull. Theseus, in a act of heroics, leaped off the side of the vessel and shot down a flier with a Ray of Frost, effectively disabling the drake. Not entirely thinking it through, he was left flapping to catch up as the ships speed outmatched his poor little wings. He was now caught between multiple Wyverns and could now see the Mother Wyvern attempting to take flight to protect its babies. Back on deck, Drath had the brilliant idea of setting the ship on fire. Actually, I believe was attempting to burn the Wyvern on the Hull off but somehow the rear rudder caught fire. Shortly after, Forgoth barreled through us near the rear, leaped off and over the rails and disappeared from sight. AS we peered over we heard a SNAP and Forgoths whip caught the rail and he swung into the Wyvern with his scimitar. Just then the ship jolted forward and winds filled that sails and Forgoth was left dangling off the rear of the ship, attached by a whip. I quickly, not carefully, yanked him on deck. Drath, trying to mend his mistake, cast a spell to create water to put out the flaming sails, that now spread since the gust of wind. Luckily enough, the water and fire created a nice cloud to allow Thesus to evade the beasts and dash to the ship, exhausted. We took a moment to repair the ship's sails and noticed that the Mothers Wyverns primary concern were its children, rounded them up and took them back to the nest. With the threat averted, we made our way to the first waypoint. The crew of the Chaparral did their business and I overheard a couple waypoint folk mention to the crew about IXIL roaming and beware as they eyed me. We departed shortly after and halfway to the next waypoint we noticed peculiar orbs floating over Glisteners pond, a beautiful lake with a mirrored surface. The orbs looked to float a few feet above the water and were red with white speckled dots. Since it was none of our concern, we continued our journey. At the next waypoint, the crew traded and I overheard a conversation of complaints that a Yarlem patrol from Tychul was supposed to be around here but they have not seen them in quite some time. We concluded our business and journeyed onward. During travel we noticed a river with water pushing northwest up the river. The crew mentioned that a Morkoth lives in the pool and to beware. Forgoth mentioned something about Loreli and Angus became fully alert and commanded we ascend posthaste. The ship pitched upward and the sudden change in pressure caused me to lose consciousness. Even though I felt I had no control, my body moved as if to save itself. Later they told me that as it happened my eyes were glowing red and I can remember the display in my sight flashed an override warning. Somehow I crawled on all six appendages and latched myself to the deck. As I became more aware of my surroundings, I noticed Drath and Barnaby stareing with looks of disgust and astonishment. We made it to the third waypoint and found Urglick selling some sweets called Kotton Kandy. I purchased a bit and fed it to TP to belched loudly after inhaling the treat. The Urglick warned of coldbloods capturing Urglick and the coldbloods were associated with Callisto who called herself the chosen of the Dragons, to which Drath scoffed. About then, Drath told me earlier he was visited by a dwarf names Frather Bombast and that he tasked him in destroying the Black Book of Ah-Dom. Since it was part of the end, I agreed to keep an eye out for it. On our way back to the ship, I was stopped by a man who was marveling at my carapace and asked how an Ixil fit into a Yarlam. I replied "Very Careful" and continued to board this ship. On the trip to the next waypoint, we could see a giant ziggurat. We were told that it was the Ziggurat of Manshoon which marks the 100 mile point from the eye wall of Manshoon, a great storm relating to the 3rd iteration and creations of the Sek Jens. There was a legend that one of the six machines that moved the world lay under the structure. Theseus seemed very interested in that, being an Atrifixer and all. At the 4th waypoint we learned more about the ziggurat and its history of the Blinn and the Blinn war. All very fascinating but of no interest to me. I was also called a Pilgrim by a guard. Merry took offense to that and told the guard to buzz off. She told me of the Ixil and how they would fold their arms in their body and use their wings to look good , similar to a pilgrim. She also told me their songs would cause listeners to become stunned or paralyzed. I decided not to take singing lessons. I then noticed that I could indeed tuck my arms into my body and that it would be safer since at the end of those arms looked to be stingers... We concluded business and we are now preparing to set sail to the east of the Vagabond mountains to the land of the Threen. Until next time. Gwabin Log complete.   Gwabins Log #4: April 11, 2022 - On the frist day of travel, we touched down a the first waypoint that was inhabited by a group of Paltroons. These humans travel in groups of 100 exactly. Tehy were building a palisade using a liquid that would harden like a rock once set. The area was lively with music and we met Flean Shard who was a walker (Half-eldrin). He told us f the liquid called Kreet that they were using to build. I asked about the Threen and he said farther north the city of Tiktikanaki would know more. Barnaby spoke to a Paltorron Seer and found that he had no Paltroon blood in his veins. Drath took this time to harvest Kingsfoil which he heard had healing properties. Once business was concluded, we set sail and saw a horsefly (a fly the size of a horse) fly by with what looked like a harness or message attached. We paid it little mind as it seemed to not want to bother us. On day two we landed in Tiktikanaki and could see an agrarian culture of Threen (bug like creatures) tending hex shaped fields using Bulletes to plow their fields. In the middle of the village was a hex shaped ziggurat. Which we landed near. Our party departed the airship and was greeted by a Threen who offered us bread. As I came closer to the Threen, my vision became hazy with static and the words “RED ALERT” flashed in my sight. My body reacted violently and jumped away, pushing Barnaby and the Threen. As I landed I reversed time with my crown and found myself shortly before exiting the airship. I asked Drath and Barnaby to retrain me and take me to the Threen. They complied and I could not resist. The Threen offered to Debrief me. The process sounded treacherous but I obliged. The Threen took us down into the Ziggurat and we passed various chambers. We noticed three separate types of Threen, the worker, the drone and the Monitors. We walked through an egg chamber then into a zoo/museum. The third chamber was a room of tunneling hulking insects, The fourth chamber was full of gems with Rust Monsters eating metals. The final room was a room of what seemed like flowering formations made of crystals. As I entered the debriefing chamber, I was subjected to 9 tests. Each associated with color and each excruciatingly painful. I endured all the tests and as they progressed, I felt the secondary programming fade away and my chrome seems to harden and form my body. Near the point of exhaustion and overwhelming pain, the final test was completed. I emerged from the chamber feeling more in tune with my new carapace and I acquired a few new senses. First I could detect life and detect if the organism had been Enjoined. Second, I had gained a new mode of vision similar to thermal blindsight. And lastly, I could understand and communicate nonverbally with Threen within 60 feet. We made our way out of the chamber and were told something very important. The Yarlem will soon swarm. The Threen had been taking provisions to the Yarlem to prevent the swarm but it seemed that the time was upon us. As we exited I noticed I picked up new followers. A one and a half foot fly named Buzz who could communicate in 4 word sentences who seemed to enjoy my off gassing suit… AS we were about to depart, Drath told the Threen of the BAFFroom and its interdimensional properties. Forgotten told them about the Yarlem stasis pods underground in Wyrmsweat. Both of which I thought was information they should not know. We left the bug city and made our way to the next waypoint. Flying towards it we saw a party of 50 or so Poltroons fighting 3 knights. Forgoth said it seemed like a ceremonial battle and we should not interfere. We watched as the knights fended off attacks but ultimately sustaining a grievous wound and one had died. As soon as there was a death, there was an uprorius cheer. We landed and found that the battle was celebrating a new birth in the Paltroon. We talked briefly and celebrated and were offered a Treatise of Sign Language to help up communicate non verbally. We set sail shortly after. Gwabins log complete.   Gwabins Log #5: April 18, 2022 - Back on the Ship, I entered a Cocoon state. During this time, Drath cataloged the events as follows:   Drath's journal: The ship sails between the mountains and with the magic avoids collision with the nearby peaks. The ship rocks back and forth as though rocking on waves with only clouds in our view. Barnaby gazes pass the bow only to see tall peaks stretching towards the sky itself... I see a large billboard size runic symbol, carved into the side of the mountain itself. Thankfully I learned about dwarfish. "Grimm Tide Encampment (Runic symbol of Danger)" carved into the mountain itself. I would've asked what Gwabin thought about this situation but last I saw he was down in the hold with Olaf. Olaf is watching over him while Gwabin goes into a cocoon state. We noticed an encampment at the bottom of a ravine, with small dark figures milling about. Captain Agnes advised that we pull the ship up to higher altitudes due to the possible enemies on the ground. Unfortunately, a large storm cloud began to appear making any possible ascent impossible now. Agnes brought the ship to the ground to park it. He found a crevasse to settle in while the crew pulled rope to the side to keep it tied down. I suggested we place a tarp over part of the ship since a "rain" storm was coming towards us. Rain turned out to be blackish pellets, sounding like sand hitting the rooftop. As Maryanne was hurrying over when she tripped and hurt herself, I ran out of cover, shield up, and grabbed her and ran into a nearby forest across the way. Forgoth and Barnaby remained on the ship… Maryanne wasn't badly hurt so I threw some salve on her to heal her a bit. Will have to make more from the later, don't need the team dying on me HAHAHA After a moment, Maryanne and I hear a bear growl in the forest, along with what appears to be the encampment itself. However, we noticed the cloud itself descended upon the ship now we are worried about the crew and our allies. We heard some voices behind us as we saw mini dwarves, Grimmm Dwarves, come to meet us. One of them is a female dwarf, a Hamargrim, walks up to me, asking about a key and if we completed the mission. I found out her name is Gara and I told her that I have to go back to the ship to check on the item she asked for and she leaves me two Ground Gnomes that melt into the earth itself. As Mary and I headed back to the ship, we noted the rain had stopped but now there were three Eldritchs on the ship itself. Not attacking but searching for a way to loosen the ship. I have Mary climb onto my back and we run back to the ship to distract the Eldtrichs from our allies! Maryanne sneaks onto the ship while I provided a distraction I cast light onto my spear and ran back towards the forest, seeing all three of the pirates running after me as well. I make it to the forest where I then turn back to face the enemy, shield up. One the Eldtrichs cast or shot something at me, hurt like a bugger! I voiced a Command Spell to attack his friend instead HAHAHA The third Eldtrich begins to ululate to the ship itself and gives chase to me. I ran back to the two stone dwarves where they then tripped the Eldtrich... and absorbed him into the ground! Seeing this happen, I ran back to the other two Elds who are now running back towards the ship, scared! Laughing and yelling at them, I attempted to cast a spell but they kept getting dispelled. Unworried, I continue to run after the enemy. One of them actually trips, getting swallowed into the earth as well! By the time I make it back to the ship I see the other Eld was shot by a bolt from Forgoths crossbow. Mary was attempting to heal him and instead cured him wounds and all. Forgoth precedes to interrogate the prisoner but instead knocks him out! Maryanne was not pleased and walked away from him. Forgoth asks Barnaby for help in taking off the Elds armor. Mary assists Barnaby for it required musical talent to remove the armor. Forgoth and I in the meantime go about tying up the prisoner on the ship. I finally noticed that none of the crew was on the ship. I asked Forgoth and later Barnaby, what happened while I was off the ship. After I got off the ship, Barnaby and Forgoth remained on the ship to be with the crew. The captain and crew apparently had an escape route for they used a magical gateway and all disappeared from the ship. Now they were alone with the whole ship to themselves that when the Eldtriches were landing on the deck, they didn't know how there were... Until they heard me screaming at them and distracting them away from the ship. While I had them away from the ship, they found three ropes hanging down from the sky, leading up to the cloud itself, connecting to a large ship that is ten times our ship size! They had cut the rope for themselves, after they tried to light on fire. The large cloud form began to move off on its own leaving us alone... Until the ground shook The crevasse began to widen... and swallow the ship!!! We ended up having to get Olaf, Gwabin, and our supplies (horse as well) off the ship. We moved into the forest and found a clearing to set up. The prisoner we set off to one side... Maryanne wouldn't leave him to die. Gara greeted us and thanked us for the sacrifices given to their God. She asked if we plan to sacrifice one more... Three sacrifices were needed to pass through safely... the elds were the sacrifices... We were unsure of this predicament because Maryanne didn't want to sacrifice the Eld. Lourdgr, the leader of the encampment informs me he works for the Queen... and was willing to work a deal about our ship if we complete a small quest for him. The team and I had to converse "privately" (the ground dwarves were eavesdropping). We had to ask some questions about this mission... he wanted us to Banish the Gnome King for he is in charge of the Rock Brothers (they are citizens of the Gnome King and might protect him). We needed information on the Gruell, our ship, and I personally needed the location of the Queen herself (for the Black book of Adam). Our questions were as follows: 1. What is the objective that you wish for us to complete? Parameters? Location? Lourdgr says it is to dispatch the Gnome King, how so is up to us but he isn't that far from the encampment; 2. Will he be able to get us our ship out of the ground and if not, if we can acquire a wagon as a replacement? He will be able to get us the ship... as for the wagon... well there are some near the Gnome King and we keep the spoils 3. Info on the Gruell near Eldersar? Gruell has gathered all the masks, they have not gathered them together yet, thankfully, and rumors of Gruell dying... Eldsars not favored, forces of Almara are favored, and they revealed Neverender; 4. Where can we meet up with the Queen in the future to join our forces? He says how the Queen is at the End and how we can talk to the sisters to invite them to the coven. He also said the Gnome Kid has a Riddle of Steal... he had already lost 8 people trying to get through his riddle. "Shrine in time, will save Nine" Another hint was "All is not as it seems, listen to the words and not your dreams"... the enshrined Gnome King is our next goal and final for our trip. We walk up to the Shire of the Gnome King (looks like a cave mouth with tentacles) and as we walk up to it... it speaks! saying it is the Gnome King who was trapped into the Shrine... We asked how we can release him... and he gives his riddle," They have what I've stolen, I want it back and I can't get it until you steal it from me." The shrine itself was set up on what looked like a clock face, a blue cloud, puffy behind him near a statue of a Dragon, hung back there with a couple of broken wagons! I observed the blue cloud and noted an orange light coming out of it... we avoid it... for now... Forgoth goes to the 9 o'clock position of the dias and finds a mound of dirt. He digs into it and finds a treasure chest that when he attempts to open it... he turns into a statue! Barnaby attempts to solve the riddle saying Time was what was stolen, referring to how the Gnome King was a statue himself. I look back at the Blue cloud and walk up to... and into it! The blue cloud is referenced to the plain of dreams of Asamata who is now going to get involved witht the War on Nycos! As I wander into this dreamscape I find the Dragon statue is nowhere nearby... instead I find a mechanical automata with three wind up keys Speak, Memory, and Motion. I find out his name is Tock and he points to a Golden Scale that might resolve the riddle... as... I.. walk... tow..wards....the...Sc.a...le...I..r.ea..ch...ouu...t...for...it....(Statue)   I had learned later that these events seemed to take place in the realm of Asamata and were dreams.   Gwabins Log #6: April 25, 2022 - During my stasis, I had a visit from Baern Ironhead who was able to communicate with me through the crown we received from the Kells. Baern was able to reach out through the Plane of Asamata, where we are in contact with thanks to the blue puffy clouds my companions flew into. Bearn told me of his adventures and return to Khandals keep and ther murder of Mirriam. Her death has caused a dimensional tear of sorts and heralded the end of the world. Soon after she was found, “Karl” the ghost handed the party the following list:   Baern explained that these riddles were quests and had to be completed in a special order. As he spoke of each, I made notes as to the plane of existence they relate to and which quests their group were already in the midst of. I made a mental copy of the list so I could transcribe it when I woke up to share with my companions. He also suggested i grab a jar of the blue puffy clouds and we could set up a date and time to report our progress to each other (He also mentioned to not place the cloud in a container of shadow magic or it was create a catastrophic black hole implosion, don't tell Forgoth) He also mentioned there was a Grey Queen in another plane that is working on taking power just like the Black Queen. As the vision faded, I began to emerge from my cocoon, careful to preserve the viscous liquid inside now that I know the fluid is nutrient rich and has healing properties while I slumber in it. As I gathered my wits, I realized what had awoken me was a buffet of wind that jostled the ship, as if a large object shot by at a high speed. I noticed immediately that the entire crew was missing. I quickly located Barnaby, Merry, Drath and Forgoth. They told me that the crew had vanished into a wall after lighting a candle. Back on deck we could see destruction below up in the form of a giant crater and detritus blown outward from the point of impact. We also spotted what looked like a small child wandering aimlessly about the charred remnants of other humanoids. With our limited knowledge of the ship, we were able to recollect what we had seen the crew do and we were able to bring the ship down and tie off east of the blast. Our party disembarked and made our way towards the small wounded figure. From what we could tell, it looked like a child who had suffered major burns to his body and was muttering unintelligibly something about “I told you to get down” and “why didn't they listen ''. I used my monastic teaching to heal his wounds and as the healing took hold and the wounds receded, I could see that this was no child. The small person's gray hair began to regrow and distinguish that this was a full grown adult. As I healed the small one, Drath was able to find another body clinging to life and cast Spare the Dying to stabilize him. As we performed triage, ghostly apparitions began to materialize above the other bodies strewn about. We began a hasty retreat with the survivors back to the ship as Forgoth provide covering fire downing the the apparitions. As he felled one, it seemed to reappear in its location of death. Merry began to sing her song so summon Bor and his wagon to collect the dead Wretches. The party made it aboard the ship and continued to aid the wounded and keep the undead at bay. From the north a party of Urglick marched towards the crater. I noticed their weaponry and recognized it as the same make as the Bone Club of Xothar, signaling that these Urglick were no friends. I fired my Quake Cannon to scare them off and noticed to the south an Automaton with an Eldrin in tow was wandering into the battlefield. “RUN” I yelled to them as Forgot took care of the two Wretched nearest to them. The two new companions (With my new sense I recognized these two as Enjoined) made it to our ship and introduced themselves as Boundinic the Drun and Daroh the Eldrin. WE also took time to question and stabilize the survivors. The taller human was named Kelvin the Reaver. He made a point to tell us to not trust the small one. As he recovered, we turned our attention to the small one, who was named Wilberforce Thidwiggin. He told us that he was on his way to Penza and was a follower of the All-Frather. He thanked us for saving his life and that he hailed from the Northern part of Trundlespin near the city of Nod which was close to the Hushabye mountains. Barnaby introduced himself as onse tasked by Felicity Kump, which piques the small one's interest. He asked if he knew where to find Felicity and if we would see her to tell her that the “Coven is meeting at the Precipice of the Vagabond Mountains'' When i asked which coven, he said THE coven (the coven of the Black Queen) At that point, i sent him on his way with rations and a squirrel suit and he jumped overboard and continued his journey south. With Wilberforce gone, Kelvin seems to loosen up a little. Kelvin told us he knew where to find the Black Book of A-dahm. It was in the hands of the Black Gruhl at the precipice. We knew about the express tunnel near Wyrmsweat so we changed our heading and made our way back to Wyrmsweat. Kelvin also told us of Kith and Kin. Kith being mortals and Kin being the Kindred (the others). This information may prove useful in uncovering the riddle of “Bare the Shackles you have Hidden”. On our way back to Wyrmsweat, Barnaby relit the candle and the Crew poured out of the wall. In a clamor, they asked who blew out the candle. We brought them up to speed on our current events and Angus agreed to take us to Wyrmsweat and he would go to Penza to make his trades and pick us up one week after drop off, which should give us enough time to get to the top of the Vagabond mountains, steal the black book, and make it back. Upon arrival in Wyrmsweat, the crew noticed an Eldrin Warship docked. This was particularly peculiar because Eldrin generally do not bring their finest ships to areas like these and Drath and Barnaby also had dreams of this ship… We decided to stay clear and be dropped east of town and sneak to the fountain. Our party made it to the Fountain with ease and was able to unplug and open the secret door without being noticed. As I was closing the door, I could hear Eldrin yelling “What's going on over there” and I quickly shut the door and let the basin fill with water again. We traveled down the familiar path and came across the inert cocoons of the yarlem. I advised the party to not touch anything. Seemedly distracted by shiny weapons, Barnaby and then Drun each tried to pick up a chitin sword. As Barnaby touched the weapon, I could feel the tendril attempt to take hold on him. I instinctively activated my Crown of Namestra to reverse their actions and signaled Forgoth, who drew a bead on the Drun, and I placed my hand on Barnaby and simply said “Don't do that”. They got the hint and we pressed forward. Further down, the smell of musty water filled the narrowing tunnel. Soon we found ourselves on the edge of what seemed to be a water storage area about 20 ft wide, 60 ft across and at an unknown depth. Merry took a measurement and found that the depth was roughly 24 ft. We could see iron rings placed 4 ft apart that looked like a way across. Forgoth made quick work of crossing. I went next with a rope in tow to guide Barnaby through the darkness as he traveled on his hoverboard, carrying Merry. The Eldrin made some trouble and missed the last rind but luckily I grabbed him just as he hit the water and pulled him to dry land. With his brief dip, Daroh informed us the reservoir was full of Quippers. The Drun clumsily attempted to cross, falling in and sinking to the bottom. Lucily, quippers are not fond of eating metal, so he climbed out and attempted again, narrowly making it across. Now that our party has traversed the small water obstacle, we are ready to press on. Gwabins log complete.