Munin
Be quiet..... stealthy..... no one sees me.... I carefully try to..... OH SHINNY.... Yonk. *CLATTER..... oops.
View Character ProfileWarlock of Rigaash
Children
Raposh: Demons, Turask and Lizards, Oh My
We have made the long journey to Raposh and thank goodness too because I could only take so much of Nak'cue's cooking. The leaders of the elvin city here do not seem overly excited to see us but that was to be expected as the elves are not known for their welcoming nature of strangers, especially a group as ragged as us. I can not wait to have a bath and a preening. Ozzy is very interested in some sort of teleporty circle thing and wants me to use my sneaky sneaky to get in there to check it out. Im not really sure why I would risk it to go look at a circle on the floor. There is not really anything in it for me and I don't really trust Ozzy as he seems shadier than most of the people in the thief's guild. He is probably just trying to get me into trouble. But what if he tries something on his own and bungles it up and gets us all kicked out or imprisoned. They already arrested us when we first arrived. Maybe I should just keep a telepathy line open in case he needs help. I find a nice place to purch in my room and try not to worry about it too much. Ozzy is the least of our worries right now. Soon we will have to get this Scourge of the Damned from whatever sort of beast that guards it. The next morning, I spot Ozzy at the table with a satisfied grin. I guess his operation last night was successful.
I noticed Nak'cue came in from outside. He must sleep out under the stars with Dirzzy his Tree companion. He seems rattled and tells us that the Devil Ozzy seems awfully chummy with, came to him last night and made a demand. We knew this was coming as a while back in our travels Ozzy talked Nak'cue into signing one of his contracts so I could have devils sight. I didn't really intend on anyone else accepting consequences on my behalf but Nak'cue is so kind and he is easy to take advantage of. But despite our warnings Nak'cue went ahead and signed it knowing one day Asmodeus would come and demand something of him and if he refused his soul would be forfeit. I did want to see if the disappearing ink I had slipped into Ozzy's bag would make a difference, but it did not seem to change the commitment once it was written even if it disappeared a few minutes later from the paper. And now the debt is being called. Asmodeus wants Scypher's ashes when he returns tonight.
Peddal and I discussed it and decided now would be a good time to utilize our decoy ashes. We went off to find a place to bury them on the hill side of Raposh and when we returned, we told them we buried Scypher's ashes. Nak'cue could tell Asmodeus that he legitimately had no power to give what he asked for and could only offer to try his hardest to locate them. It is tough to see him in this position. I am interested if Ozzy will go into the night, digging to find the ashes and reveal where his true loyalties lay. One thing is for certain. We cannot let Asmodeus get his claws on the ashes or he will rise and there will be hell on the material plane.
That evening Nak'cue faced Asmoddus without the ashes. Later he appeared in front of us and slammed to the ground. Nak'cue told us Asmodeus raised the stakes by threatening his home village if he did not bring the ashes tonight.
I can tell Pedal seems to be wavering on what she feels is the right course of action now that an entire village is on the line as well as our friend Nak'cue's soul. So I went into the town and purchased an identical bag of holding to the one that Peddal caries, the one with the ashes. Right now, Pedal and I the only two people who know where the ashes are and that might be one too many people. Pedal might feel betrayed by my decision to take the choice away from her but I do not want her to bear the responsibility of having to decide to send our friend's soul to hell. But this about much more than one person's soul. I look around this city of Raposh and all the lives here, and all the lives in the city's we have seen as we traveled through Vavathoth Asharkto, and Estanople. I know that somewhere my sister is still out there. I cannot unleash this demon to destroy them.
So I switch the bags when Pedal was not looking. When Nak'cue begged her to help him, Pedal discovered the ashes were not in the bag of holding. It's ironic because I think Nak'cue would be proud of me for making an unselfish choice and saving all the creatures on the planet that he cares so much for. But still i wonder ... Am I leaving someone behind again to save myself? As the sun begins to set and the light fades my heartbreaks.
Nak'cue decides not to go quietly into the night. He says his goodbyes to us and heads back to his home via tree travel to defend it form whatever may come. Pedal and I tell him we will return to his town when we have vanquished the Lich Queen with the ashes... But I know if he is still there waiting with the devil, we will face this impossible choice again.
In the morning we are invited down to have breakfast at a grand table with lots of weird leafy foods. Elvin cuisine is earthy and crunchy and quite delicious. We have agreed to go down into the ruins and bring back the Scourge of the Damned which we have since learned is some old book. The Elves want it because it is part of their history and on their land which seems fair... But so does the well-known law of ""Finders Keepers." So they are just going to copy it and we can take the book to see if we can kill this Lich Queen. The trouble is the book is guarded by a Baby Turask whatever that is. But it's so deadly that it took out half this city and lives in the sunken rubble. We did do some research on the Turask before leaving and Ozzy was gifted a staff from the elves. Something magical I presume.
Bellies full and ready to rip something's head off after losing Nak'cue, we head to the ruins. After quite a while of digging through this terrain we come across something half buried in the rubble. A green massive lizard thing. He said something about getting caught with his party down here and the rubble trapping them. He looked and smelled like he had been down here quite a while and there was blood all over him. When we didn't see any signs of his friends, he made a joke about having to eat them.... He was joking right? Its hard to tell with that weird way he talks. When we asked him what he was doing down here he said he was looking for a book for a dragon. What a coincidence! We are looking for a book too! More eyes searching could not hurt but we do need to convince this creature to let us take it back to the elves first and then if we need to talk with his dragon friend about the Lich queen we will. As we are helping him out of the rubble he says rather casually that "something over there is moving around" and we all become painfully aware we are not alone down here.
The rubble shifted and rocks fell and through the dust rose a dark beast with a gaping mouth full of razor sharp teeth and slick bulging body and a long whipping tail. Its roar shook the ground, and it looked right at us. Right then Munin of the brave Macusa raised her head drew her weapons aaaaaaand became invisible and hid behind a rock. What? I'm brave, not stupid. Pedal worked her way around to the back of the thing. Good idea. Avoid all the pointy bits at the front. Our new friend Starka (Tooth) grew like 3x bigger than he then he already was. Freya decided to jump on it's face! I question that girl's life choices. And Avery was getting some good shots in with his bow. Lanmin used her celestial weapon, and all seemed to be going well-ish until Pedal got knocked down with a tail attack, Freya and Ozzy's demon were flung off as the Turask rolled on the ground, Teeth just stood there taunting it and Avery... Well the Turask ate Avery. I mean it bent it's head down and swallowed him whole with a gulp. Screw this. I am not going to die here. I pop up and dagger dagger it and move to a better hiding location. Pedal is up and Freya is on its face punching it right in the eyeball. It steps forward and whaps Peadal again with its tail. It nips at Starka and then decides to just swallow him up too. I could see Starka fighting back. Did he just bite it's tongue? I think the Turask is going to have some indigestion with that one. Freya suddenly reaches her arms in and rips its eye out of its head and the great creature fell to the ground. We could tell there was still movement in the belly, so we all hacked at the corpse and pulled our friends out. Avery wasn't moving. Lanmin rushed to his side and did some voodoo with some sparkly dust, and he gasped a deep breath. We did it. And we didn't die. Well Avery did but only for a minute. Uhhh is that lizard guy eating a chunk of trask? Let's find that damn book and get out of here.
Cloud Travel Pit Stop
The next day we went to see our new dragon friend and we told her all we knew about the Lyich queen and her actions. She told us if we ever needed to reach her, to put on a ring she gave us and say her name “Ghrydoros”.
Nacku suggested we travel by clouds, in the air. I liked the sound of that. So we start to Cloud travel to Filijni, the next stop on our way to Raposh. We had heard of some trouble with some dark gnomes coming out of their holes in another direction but honestly we didn’t think that was related to any of our current problems and we weren’t really looking for more trouble. Besides Pedal seemed unexcited to help her own kind, explaining they never really got her. Their loss. I think she is fearless and the good kind of weird. The psychic link only lasted for part of the trip so we would have to entertain ourselves the rest of the way. The last thing I heard anyone say for a few hours was Freya who said “I look like a fart!” She is so peculiar. Oddly one of the Makuza Clouds started drifting down. Then two more. I desperately wanted to say “Hey guys Filijni is that way. Where you going”. But alas there is no choice but to follow and see what’s up.
Oh Tigers eating farmers in the field below. Okay, well I don’t know this is any more our problem then the Dark gnomes but here we are inserting ourselves. I guess it is different when you see it in front of your face. You kind of feel like you are obligated to help. It does look pretty gory down here. Oh, shit was that a guys arm? We are slowly solidifying across the field from the action, and I can still see cloudy whisps coming off Freya as she runs in to the battle with a tiger, no a ware-tiger. “Great. Freaking ware-tigers now” I think as I run as fast as I can over to help the farmers. I got a little closer to a tiger then I wanted to so I threw a dagger up in the air and teleported away. Flying above is a much better vantage point for gauging the battlefield. I noticed Nacku was down and Freya had two on her and the one that was on me was now turning it’s attention to a more accessible target. Freya. She is surrounded by three of them now. I threw my dagger at one and managed to add a little something extra to this psychic dagger. The tiger I hit was scared of me. Good. It moved away from Freya but turned into a ware-tiger. Nacku is back up but having a tough time by the looks of it. My next attack lands two psychic daggers at one slashing at Nacku. Avery is sniping at them with is bow and Ozzy let loose a blazing fire ball in the field. There was one on the run from Freya and I thought for a moment to psychic link with it and tell it to stop running or we would kill it, but I felt the fear creep inside and all I could do was think about Her dark whisper growing like tendrils in my brain. I shook it off and decided to dart after it. I’m an excellent flyer and caught up to it. Let’s just say it didn’t end well for the ware-tiger. When I got back to the field I saw Freya choking one out like a champ and another one running with Nacku and Lamin on its heals. I’m faster in the air and swooped down on it, dagger dagger, death from above! I make my way back to the center of the burning and bloody field where MAKUZA has the last foe kneeling. We ask it what it wants, and to our horror it simply said they wanted to hunt and eat humans. But now with it’s pack gone it wanted to die. It seemed so alone. My companions momentarily looked morally conflicted about killing the subdued animal. I honestly don’t know if it was the look of loss in its eyes that told me death would be mercy, or if it was justice for the farmers whose body parts and organs now litter these fields or just plain fury for at the thought that this murderous fuckin thing could attempt to curry pity after what it and its pack did. But whatever the reason, it was my psychic blade delivered the final blow. I didn’t even feel bad about it.
I much prefer the kind of pit stops on a long journey where you get drinks and snacks. Maybe if I see a nice hot spring on the way to Filijhi I will float down and make everyone land and take a soak. Wouldn’t that be nice. I float on with my thoughts alongside Freya …. Hey Freya, If you have to pee as a cloud, does it come out as yellow precipitation?
Lurking in the Dark Murky Mind Space
We the Makuza find ourselves in a tavern outside Estanople exhausted and in need of respite, and a fucking drink. “Thank you for saving us now piss off!” And Piss off we did. Right down to the bottom of a bottle in a little town just outside of Etanople. So how did the great Beholder slayers end up here? Well let me tell you.
I will admit I was a little dumbfounded to be meeting an Emperatrix and managed to be eloquent and respectful, though I was nervous as hell. And we had been thanked for disposing of the beholder and preventing the fall of Estanople. However, in the same breath we were politely asked to leave town. The Emperatrix, though grateful her city did not fall victim to the same misfortunes of Vvathofh and now possibly Alkthuna, had decided that trouble followed us and she preferred to not have demons popping up in her city. “Its not really fun for us either lady” I think to myself here on this barstool a couple nights after the fact. I will agree her city might not have had demons popping up in it before we came to Estanople, but then again her city did have a beholder and beholder kin in it before we came along, so trouble was sort of already there.
She did offer some pretty valuable magical doodads and a Letter of Commission which should prove helpful if we run into any trouble in surrounding areas with authorities. For me fighting alongside Zubnin was a real revelation. For someone to be a renowned thief and leader of a prolific thieves’ guild is one, thing but to have some one of such importance as an Emperatrix know who he is an accept him and his skills and give him respect, position, and power; is nothing short of inspiring. It really shows me the heights a lowly thief can reach. Perhaps it is not about being a thief at all but just someone who looks for opportunities. Like this bottle of wine I picked up off that drunk dirty man in the corner. You just have to know what you want in life and go get it.
We have struck a blow at the Lyich Queen by denying her control of Estanople and the question is which way do we go now? I reached out to Zubnin one more time via courier to see if we could get an introduction to Alkthuna as I hear Elves are a little bit unwelcoming of those who unexpectedly drop in, but all I got in response was “The Dark One Now Rules”. The Lyich Queen was from Alkthee originally and if we go there we may be walking right into the belly of the beast. Best to wait on that until we are more prepared. Vvavotfh’s government is in ruin, the Pirate King’s blockade is down and we really have no reason to go back there. Where can we go to get more information, to prepare for a fight? We need a plan. Raposh. We will go to Raposh. There was some information I think Ozzy found. A very upset Lyich Queen disappointed in her minions for failing to destroy the “scourge of the Dammed among the elves of Raposh” Raposh I am told is a very, very far distance even as the crow flies. But Nacku said he might have a plan to make the trip a little easier.
Nacku opened a hole in a tree that opened in another hole a tree near a city called Asharckto, which was on the way to Raposh. Upon entering the city there was a shift in the light. Blue and silver banners with dragons on them whipped in the wind of the mostly empty streets. This town changed a lot since the last time we were here. The few people around seemed on edge and afraid of their Adelious, the civic leader. We went to where any alley-lurker goes to get information. A Bar. Upon having a psychic conversation with a bartender, I learned the Adelious was not always such a tyrant had had some sort of personality change recently. She seemed to be residing now on the top of a tower which had weird looking clouds perched on top. This was our next stop. Nacku turned into a flying animal and went up to check it out. He said the could were actually stone and their was some sort of cave or large building with a large arch opening. We decided to sleep on it and headed to the outskirts to make camp. There was a chill on the wind that night. Then suddenly a far-off screech pierced the silence. I don’t know if anyone got much sleep.
Morning came bringing with it a renewed sense of determination. What the heck was it up there? Ozzy opened a gate for us to teleport us up there. Teleporting is so neat. It is one of my top 4 favorite things to do just after finding something shiny, flying, and drinking a sweet wine. Long story short the Adelious was a dragon who was enslaved by you know who with one of those collar things. The lyich queen is starting to seem like a one trick pony. I wonder if she pulls this enslaving a “big-bad” in all the cities. I wonder if there is one in Alkthie and Vvathoth. I tied to fly up to attack it but suddenly there was a thick fog and in a hear beat I was clawed twice, bit and tail attacked. So It was defiantly time to change tactics. I landed, drank a potion, and then tried to mentally connect to the dragon inside. She must be in there somewhere. Maybe if I can just connect, I can free her from her bond. Suddenly the entire dragon came slamming down to the ground in font of me like with such weight and mass it shook the tower. I saw a Nacku the egal soaring above. Nice one Nacku. As the fog begins to clear I can see Avery and Pedal close to me and Freya was trying to get on it’s back. And suddenly Pedal and I are Paralyzed stiff. Freya ended up under the tail and was getting wacked by it. Ozzy a ways a way doing some magic thing. Everything in me wants to run to Ozzy and tell him to open a gate for us to get out of here but then dragon flaps its mighty wings and Pedal tetters and then literally falls over like a statue in a tornado. I can’t move but I am not helpless. Now is my chance to try to psychically link with it. I feel my mind trying to search out for the Dragon inside. Pushing. “Let me in,” I think. Then suddenly a door falls open and I am tumbling into a black murky mind space. From the dark depths, a sinister sort of heavy and smooth voice says low “You will kill your friends. You will stop them.” And it repeats again louder. “No!” I call out. But I realize I am alone with her. In battle alone in here with her and probably going to die. Her whisper rose to a scream and I knew I no longer had control. Just like that, I was no longer paralyzed. My friends had gained the upper hand in the battle with the dragon by cleverly turning it into a tiger and putting it to sleep, and the cleric was even healing ME! Shit. “Get away from me!” I think. Can’t they see. They are just smiling like they think they have won. Can’t they see it’s not me? I feel my body moving forward toward Pedal. Oh no she lay paralyzed on the ground helpless. Wait no I’m walking past her. I’m walking around the tiger as Nacku tries to pull the enslaving collar off the sleeping tiger. “Look up Nacku. Look up.” I plead. “Somebody stop me. I can’t stop her.” He is so focused. He doesn’t see me creep closer. I feel the Psychic blade form in my hand. “No Stop You Bitch!!!” I feel one dagger after another land in Nacku’s side. But he stayed focused on his task and with a quick jerk the collar popped off the Tiger’s neck. And I snapped back into control of myself. I flung myself on Nacku for a hug with tears in my eyes; and though he jerked away at first, he looked down on me with compassion in his eyes and hugged me back. “It was her.” I said over and over in my psychic link to him. “It was her.”
When she woke up from her nap Ms. Dragon gave us some shiny things in gratitude which dragons are not known to do. She did have a lot of shiny things. Such a pile of gold and bobbles I will revisit in my dreams. “Don’t steel from dragons” I reminded myself feeling like I had really grown on this journey. We teleported back down to the bottom of the tower and found quite a gathering. I linked to Pedal and asked her to repeat my words. “Anyone on the side of the Dark One will have to deal with Makuza.” I think Ozzy did some magic to turn the blue banners red once more, and the towns folk rejoiced. Well, most of them did. One person seemed to slip way rather quickly when we made our announcement. We went to the bar to tell the tale and celebrate.
As the night wound down Freya told us more about who she is. She ran away when she was 7 and her parents are some big time people in the imperial senate in Estanople. She is afraid someone might come after her. She had to leave her brothers behind. I have never stopped regretting leaving my sister behind. I wonder if Freya feels the same way about her brothers. Doesn’t seem like it. Her family must have been pretty awful for her to leave them behind. That night I didn’t sleep in the tree like I normally do but down on the ground near Freya just to make her feel better, like I was watching over her. Not at all because I was worried I would have nightmares about that smooth whisper in the dark in my mind.
Into the Dark
We continued to search for the Watcher in a room that seemed empty. But I could tell that there were scraped on the floor near the wall. I know what that means. Nothing. I took a few steps back scratching my head and suddenly I felt the stone beneath my foot depress and the wall opened. A pressure plate! Of course. I hopped up an down on the plate in defiance. Look at how clever I am everyone I thought. But they were too busy looking inside the hall that had just opened up and at the end of the hall was two rotting beholder kin. I better check for traps before these eager beavers run in. Beholders are known for their distrust, secret doors, glyphs, and traps. Nothing. It looks clear but I really don’t feel in the mood to go rushing in. I hate these tunnels. Maybe I will just examine the wall a little longer and let everyone else go in first. Ozy doesn’t seem to be rushing in either. He’s a smart one.
Oh no Pedal just ran in. I hope she remembers to drop the bag of holding if she gets stoned so we can un-stone her with the diamond dust stuff. I fling a dagger of death at the one on the right as it looks like Freya already weakened it. One down and one to go. Freya almost slipped down the giant hole in the ground trying to move over to the one on the right. It really sort of cut the tension and I almost laughed out loud. Maybe she forgot she does not know how to fly. Two of Avery’s arrows zip past me and loge into the second foe. I don’t even see where he is. What a good hiding spot he must have found. Lamin finished it off with a guiding bolt.
Some colorful and soft vines grew out of the walls. There was a nice scent in the air and we all thought it would be nice time to rest. Lamin was rooting around in the vines a bit searching. She found a shiny thing. It was a pretty magic ring. That’s good. We need all the help we can get.
So we decided to go down the hole. We shoved the corpse of the dead beholder kin down just incase we needed a soft yet gross landing. Most of the team used ropes to climb down but Nacku tuned into a big spider and I flew. Suddenly Freya and Lamin slipped and fell into Pedal. Nakcku the spider spit out webs and they just few by Lamin and stuck to the wall. I dived for Pedal and had her hand for a moment but then suddenly she slipped. Pedal and Lamin landed hard at the bottom on top of a squishy Beholder Kin carcass. Pedal didn’t look too happy. It was pretty smelly. Freya bounced from wall to wall so gracefully it looked like she was stepping on air. I wonder if she can fly and just doesn’t to make everyone who can’t fly feel better. That would be nice of her. Maybe I should try pushing her off other ledges just to see.
My mama thought me and Hugin could fly so she pushed us out of a tree once. It was clearly wishful thinking because Kenku’s cant fly. I landed on top of Hugin and she broke her arm. Mom never tried again but she always insisted we were meant for great things and Kenkus would return to the sky one day.
At the bottom of the hole we could hear runt and growling down a hall. We all gathered in the hall ready for a fight. I could see past everyone that there were Ghouls in there but it was too cowered in this hall. So I threw my dagger and teleported. I could tell when I threw it I didn’t give it enough umph and I teleported short of where I meant to. I landed on top of the ghoul and shoved him down to the ground and stabbed him to death. Avery let lose two arrows into two more ghouls. The battle was over very quickly. There was no watcher in this room so we moved on down the hall. I am sill searching for traps just incase. Noting yet. There are some stairs that go up a little. We have been going down but I walk half way up the stairs to see a large empty room. No beholder in in there so I start to head back when Freya Pedal and Lamin go past me into the room. Suddenly they start screaming and since I am psychically linked with Pedal I can hear her screaming in my head and hear a deep voice say something about a “Goat Headed Giant”, It was hard to make out. They ran out of the room holding their heads and downing healing potions. I really hate these tunnels.
We did decide to go down another hole but this time I tied my self to Pedal to make sure she was safe. We all got down to the bottom safely this time. I was working on untying the rope between me and Pedal. I hadn’t even notice how dark it was. I hadn’t noticed the quiet or the way my friends stared across the gap into a dark corner. Lamin starts shooting at something in the dark. Freya jumped across first, and then pedal. Two of my friends disappearing into the dark corner and the rest scattering into the gap below. This is it. It’s over there. The Watcher. And for some reason even with the many eyes on my cloak I cannot see it. I call out to Pedal in my mind. “Pedal, can you hear me? Where are you? Can you hear me?”
I am out in the open here. I have two choices. Hide down in the gap below and attack from a good position like the rogue I am, or like a crazy person I jump across the gap and confront the thing waiting for me in the dark. The choice is clear. I have to save Pedal. I leapt across and rolled to my feet and drew my Rapier in one smooth motion. I swung in the dark a the thing but I can not see. Suddenly a torch skidders across the ground revealing in it’s glow 11 glistening eyes full of fire and doom. Nacku swiftly landed next to me following the torch he tossed. It’s as if he could still read my mind. Thanks Buddy. Pedal is not here. She must have hid. Smart girl. My relief was temporary as I felt the magic in the room let back in like a breeze. The eyes on my cloak fluttered around taking everything in just as a blast shot from one of its eye stalks at me. My arm stiffened and it felt like dried mud stiffening and then a second blast but I rolled out of the way. All of its eyes turn and it starts to fly away. I still cant hear Pedal so she must till be with in it’s anti magic cone. I frantically stab at it as it goes past.
Freya climbed up the walls and was going to pounce on it but slipped and fell. I heard Pedal say out loud “wow Freya that was almost awesome” Suddenly I knew what I had to do. I threw my dagger above the creature and teleported above it. With some luck, I fell with a thud onto it’s back and held on to its eye stalks. There was one with an Obsidian ring on it so I took my dagger and cut the eye stalk off. It did not like that. One eye attempted to blast me and I started to feel sleepy but managed to hang on. It was flying erratically flipping an turning trying to shake me off. The room spun and I saw pedal, and oh hey there is a mage over there. Pedal threw a Javelin at it and the beholder and I fell to the ground. The Lyich Queen Psyon Screamed and disappeared. I picked my self up and dusted off and found the Obsidian ring, the Tasmin of the Tyrant.
We did it. We killed the Watcher.
Air High Fives
I am so glad we came back up for air. We needed to get Nac’ku back to his normal weird self and get supplies for going deeper. I decided we should meet with Zybninn to give him an update because at this rate we might not be alive to give him an update later.
I want to like Zybninn. I feel more at home around people who understand my inclinations and don’t judge me. I just hope there is not backstabbing, on either side. Sometimes thieves can get rather back stabbie. Zybninn seems pleased with what we have done so far. I am going to need a drink before we go back underground. Just a quick one though. Don’t want to leave poor Nac’ku stoned for too long.
Back down in the underground, we got Nac’ku back into fighting form and started to explore some more. We did go down some stairs to the Ziggurat we could see in the beholder hole below. No traps on the stairs. The stairs opened into a cavern, and we were on a ledge at the top of the half-buried ziggurat. On it’s peak was an Idol to a Yuanti God or something. I didn’t much care for the last one. Damn thing jumped to life and tried to kill me, so I gave it a wide birth. So this Ziggurat is what all the hub bub is about huh? Don’t see why. It’s not made of gold or anything…. Though that would be cool. Ssthissass was trying to gain control of the Ziggurat for some reason I wonder if she ran into problems with the Watcher.
Hum what’s that? Sounds like a Kenku mimicking us. We spot, floating of in the distance in the Cavern, a small floating eye with some small eye stalks. It looks like a baby version of the things we have been fighting down here. It’s weird hearing something that is not a Kenku milking like that. I wonder if this is how other people feel when I mimic them? I do it to connect and communicate. This thing doesn’t seem to want to connect with us. It’s annoying and maybe threatening. Then suddenly it zips off to a hole in the side of the Ziggurat a couple levels below.
Maybe we should go down there and see what’s in that hole. I started down the stairs. And … Zap! Hot daggers stabbing my brain. I tried to yell but it came out a jumbled-up mess. I managed to get down to the next level in a convulsing stumble and just crouched there for a moment with my tongue flopped out, shaking my head. “Check for traps stupid!” I said to myself. A moment later I heard a crash as the rest of the team pushed over statue. Yeah fuck that thing. Oh I guess that did the trick to dispel the trap. Good thinking guys. I guess who ever is in here doesn’t want visitors.
I crept around the side to peak in the hole. It was dim in the hall but inside I could see the flicker of torches. It could see the coiled shape of a very defeated looking Yanti in the middle of 4 pillars. She was surrounded by Gazers and Spectators, he jailors keeping an “eye” out. That’s what the others called them, Gazers were the little mimickers and the Spectators looked slightly larger.
I focused on the Yanti and Psychically whispered to her. Maybe we can get some information from her if she is a prisoner. She said her name was Anssathanash and they were caught betraying the Watcher’s Mistress. The Ziggarat is a Focus for power of snake gods which explains why Ssthissass wanted it so badly. Murxaghan is the name of the watcher whose mistress is … get this … the Lyich Queen Lifidith! All I could think of is we burnt her chair and I had to try not to snicker. I tried to see if this Yanti would want to help us defeat the Watcher and or Mistress since that was her original goal. But she seems to have given up on her betrayal scheme now that her friends are gone. I had a since that she might feel a little bit alone and frightened which makes it so hard to want to just walk away buuuuuuut….. I mean really, why would we rescue a Yanti who worked for Ssthissass? If she finds out we killed her leader she could be pissed. We are not going to do that right? Guys? Guys? The Firbolg’s big doe eyes gazed around the group. You didn’t need to be psychically linked to tell what he thought we should do. And so we readied for battle........
Pedal and Nac’ku and Freya went in fighting and were near the opening of the hall into the room. Ozzy and Lamin zapped across the room so we can attack them from both sides which I think is a neat thing to do. Teleporting is so cool. And while I was thinking about it, I chucked my psychic dagger at a gazer in the middle of the room. I felt my feathers flutter for a moment and Boom! Suddenly I was in the air coming down on the gazer. I did not jump or fly. I teleported across the room with my dagger and now I was coming down hard on top of the gazer. I used it’s buoyancy to break my fall and I plunged my second dagger right in the fleshy head of the little Kenku wannabe. Then I did a 3 point hero land on the ground and look up to meet the gaze of a larger foe. I chucked two more daggers at the spectator looking at me. I think I pissed it off. It reared back one eye stalk and fired something. I think it hit me but I still have all my body parts and am not stone. So maybe it missed but … Oh God that thing is terrifying. My little bird heart is racing. My feet feel glued in place. I am too scared to move closer, to attack. Its head rears back again and all I can think is MOVE! I rolled out of the way as a cold blast flies by and smashes on the ground. Everything is swirling, battle cries from my friends, Avery’s arrows, banging on pillars, a giant hand? a snaky slither, the flames from the torches and then moving in and bearing down on me a great shining eye.
Suddenly Lamins flying spectral weapon slammed into the side of the Spectator. Taking it down and saving my skin. I wanted to be cool and act like I totally had it covered but instead I air hi-fived Lamin who was across the room. What a stupid thing to do, but she did it back. We locked eyes for a moment and smirked and shook our heads. There was an acknowledgement of something there. Friendship? Trust?
I started whacking at pillar with everyone else. While Freya was still working on her Spector. Looked like she was letting it chew on her arm. That is a weird fighting style. Just as I thought maybe I should go help it went down.
Okay the pillar is coming down! The Yanti is free. She slithers out and didn’t even say thank you. That one is going to bite us in the butt later.
If Lifidith is down here it means she is in the process of or has already reconstituted herself using her phylactery. Something tells me this Ziggurat is just the tip of the iceberg. There really is only one way to go now. Down we go, deeper into the Underdark.
Time to Sedaddle
The Mission:
Motivated by the promise of reward, the group and I decide to delve into the catacombs under the temple in search of a cuffed beholder.
We helped the Metropoliti by drawing attention to the fact that she was charmed, and she rewarded us by sending us on a suicide mission. But I am sure it will be worth it if we survive. Maybe she will pay us in a chest full of gold coins, or a pile of gold bars, ooo ooo or may be gems. I’ve always wanted a gold inlayed beak.
Pedal told us beholders can be very dangerous, to put it mildly. Man, this crazy. I mean how is this watcher mixed up in all this with Sithass? What does any of it have to do with the Metropoliti? I have so many questions and we should probably get a map of the catacombs and some supplies. I would also like to talk to our fairy friend in the thief’s guild about all this. Surely, we would just go stomping around down there underground unprepared riiiiiiiight?
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There is a time to steal and a time to stealth…. And sometimes there is time for both:
Whelp we just killed a Death Kiss thing whatever that is, and now I’m first to go down the stairs, deeper underground, slowly, no traps yet. These dark places can have traps sometimes especially if there is good stuff laying around…. It is unnatural for a bird to be under ground. The air is weird. At the bottom of the stairs I can see, wow, I can see pretty far in the dark with my creepy eyeball robe! All the eyes are darting around looking, I hope I see it coming before it sees us. No traps. I’m not scared. I’ve done crazier things for gold…. Errrr. … Yeah right! The last time I did anything close to this stupid I lost something very valuable. I don’t know what we are doing here. … No traps. Moving a little further down the hall….
There is a light coming from that hall. I will just peak around the corner, no movement. Is that a sarcophagus? I’m not scared. Avery just walked past me into the room, followed by Lamin. No screams. Guess it’s safe. This is a well-lit room, clean, in use. On the side of the sarcophagus it says Alcopholos 2nd. Hum…. Well nothing else much to see. Better get going back down the hall. Wait, Lamin is pushing on the lid to the sarcophagus. No! Don’t! I think at her but she cant hear my brain. I mean, I am all for some grave robbing, but we have to be stealthy. Getting the drop on an unsuspecting target is always better. I put my finger up to my beak and make a “shhhhh” sound I have heard mothers do to crying children. Lamin stops trying to open the sarcophagus. And Nac’ku did some mumbo jumbo to make everyone not as loud.
The next room Had another sarcophagus in it which Lamin and Avery opened. Nothing inside. Probably grave robbers got to it. But this room did have a beautiful fresco of the construction of the Gand Temple in it which I committed to memory so I could recreate later. Supposedly the only entrance to this place is through the temple but I wonder if whoever constructed it made another secret entrance. I bet some thieves already know another way into this place. With all these dead important people around there is bound to be some shiny things laying around. Nac’ku turned into a bear which is neat because he understands what it is like being viewed as an animal that cant talk. I think that is why I like to help him communicate when he is in this form. And he is fluffy.
In the next room there are some weird scorch marks on the walls and a pile of bones in the middle of the room and an exploded sarcophagus. Creepy. Maybe some grave robbers couldn’t get the sarcophagus open and decided to blow it open with explosives. Amateurs. There was definitely a ring on one of these fingers that isn’t there now. The bear gave me a disappointing snort. He’s so weird. He would give his money to trees. Money should go to people who are smart enough to get it, earned it and keep it. Still… something about his disapproval… makes me feel irritated… or guilty? … maybe I just wont acquire when he is looking.
Around the next corner and Damn. 12 graves and most of them have been pilfered. I hate feeling like someone beat me to the good stuff. There was a copper necklace I managed to swipe before Bearie-mc-judgy- pants came around the corner. Pedal said it looked nice. I don’t mind acquiring when she is around. I think she appreciates my skills. Like that one time I stole that thing from the shop for her after the shop keeper was rude to her. That was so funny. And when she came with me to get my first set of thieves tools. That was a good day. Plus acquiring calms my nerves. Not that I am nervous or scared, at all.
Next room…. Vampire sarcophagus….. nope not scared. Cool as a cucumber this one. Yep. Is the ceiling crushing us? Can we just kill this Watcher thing so we an get back up to where you can see the sky please?
No traps.
Next room empty, Next room empty…… Next room big ol’ creepy hole in the ground that beholders can come out of. I grabbed on to Pedal and opened my mouth near her ear and repeated in Ol’ Reggie’s voice “I’m sorry but some jobs are just too big for us kid, Its time to skedaddle” Then Pedal just patted my head and we left the room with the hole.
Doors. Big reenforced doors…. And what do you know a trap…. Ish. Magic thingies are Ozzies territory. I’m going to step aside and let him do that while I get my lock picks out. What treasures could be behind those doo…. Agh!
Suddenly slammed with force and a ringing in my ears. There is debris in he air and I am regaining my faculties. My eyes focus. I notice I no longer need my lock picks because, well there is no longer a lock or most of the door. Ozzie! Is he okay? Yes. What the hell man?! Then the feathers on the back of my neck stand up as I realize…. there’s movement in the room beyond the blown doors.
The Storm behind the Doors:
Freya runs inside ready to attack and I’m just standing there behind Pedal trying to get my ears to stop ringing. The gang is running inside the room ready to battle, not one, not two, but three of these terrifying floaty eyeball things and they all look like the stuff of nightmares. I duck inside the room but use part of the exploded door for cover. Only one of the monstrous things can see me. It is sickly greenish and looks like the flesh is rotten, dead, no undead. I throw my physic daggers at it, hit, hit. It didn’t like that. Its nasty cataracted eye falls on me and it lets out a beam that I just barely manage to duck under. Shit Shit shit!
Nac’ku (out of bear form now ) is hit and his posture seems to stiffen and he drops his staff. Pedal gets hit hard but is still up. Shit shit shit. Freya is force pushed up against a wall next to me! A storm of Eye balls and magic rays and battle cries! Nac’ku still psychically linked to me tells me I might be able to use his staff to help but what is happening to him? Is he? Is he turning to stone? It’s time to skedaddle. Ringing in my ears. Skedaddle. echoes. I yell and hop out of my hiding spot and throw a homing charged dagger right at the ugliest one. The one with the glowing red eye. Hit! Hit! And it turns to me and out of its gaping mouth lets out a chilling roar. NOPE! I’m out. And I run back through the busted doorway into the hall.
Not Again, The Return of Munin:
I don’t get far before I hear Pedal yell out. Im breathing heavy, shaking my head. I hear an loud explosion like part of the wall was coming down. And then Frey says “Aw shit!” and then on my back I feel warmth and light, fire. It makes my many eyes on the back of my cloak squint in pain. “No. No! Huggin I wont leave you again” I say physically to Pedal and to my sister who I lost when a job got too tough and we ran. He told me to run and I left her. But not today. Not again. I go back into the battle with new determination. I am calm and strategic. I find a position I can be defensive and have cover, but also that I can fight from. I will fight this thing to the death. Its other undead companions already fallen, I focus on the Red Eyed one and fire off my psychic blade. It hits! It’s in pain. It’s movement is off, weird. It saps its maw at Freya who is so close she can probably smell it’s breath but it misses. Oh it’s blind! The fire from earlier. It must have blinded it. And it is hurt and drifting back towards the whole in the ground. We have it on the run now. I watch as Freya and Lamnin’s celestial weapon simultaneously land a final mighty blow. As the creature’s red eye dims and the mass falls into the hole and we hear its skull shatter on the ground below. I turned and hugged Pedal. And then I spit down that hole.
My pal the Statue:
We are exhausted and Nac’ku has now fully turned to stone. I can still hear him. I am really worried about him but I don’t want him to know. I don’t what him to freak out. He says we just need some Dimond dust or something to get him to turn back. He did make a pretty awesome statue with his massive size and middle finger turned up at his attacker. We didn’t want to leave Nac’ku so we lingered in disbelief that we were still mostly alive. And then Freya told us that she thinks she might know more about this town and the matropoliti because she thinks she is from here. She told us about how she ran away when she was little which made me sad because when I was separated from my people at least my sister and I were lost together. She was all alone. I wonder if she will remember more that might help us to make since of what is going on in this town.
Since my buddy was busy being a statue, I went around the corner to check if there were any graves that might have anything useful. I did find a Dimond but wasn’t sure how to make it into dust. So I put a floppy hat on our stone buddy to keep him warm and we went back up to the surface to find someone to help us.
Hugin:
I also told Pedal about my sister Hugin. I haven’t talked about her to anyone, so it was hard. Ol’Reggie found us when we were kids on the street. People were mean to us because we were different, but we learned how to survive. Ol’Reggie had a business opportunity for us to work with him and work the crowds as he sold goods from town to town on his cart. Sometimes he would have me copy artwork to sell as original work. Sometimes we would do odd jobs for thieves guilds. I learned thieves can't from him too. One time there was this big score but we had to rip off some scarry people and … well long story short we had to cut our losses. We were all going to get caught but Hugin distracted them long enough for me and Ol’Reggie to get away. I didn’t want to leave but he said to me voice “I’m sorry but some jobs are just too big for us kid, It's time to skedaddle”
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