Category Archives: Journal Entries

Journal entries for the Jade Regent campaign

February 20th, 2016

Character: Olmas

Annals of the Order of the Dragon

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as written by the cavalier, Olmas Lurecia, himself.

Wealday, 18 Erastus

We consulted briefly and determined there were a few areas on this level we had not yet inspected. Qatana quickly whipped out some paper and a pencil and started taking notes. Looking over her shoulder, I shook my head. When had she had time to take such copious notes? Did one of her mice tell her to do this? How did she focus long enough?

Perhaps that’s not fair, but I must say I’ve learned more about Qatana in the last several weeks than I’d learned about her in total, previously. And I have to hand it to Shalelu – she has much more patience and understanding than I ever gave her credit for.

One area we inspected was what used to be stables in the courtyard. Our first hint that things would not proceed harmlessly was when I heard a voice say, “Oh, they’ve come this far! Get them!” And so began the Battle of the Two Spiders and the Ettercap.

Etayne, of all the people who should know better, took the point on this one using her Burning Hands to good effect but not without getting bitten by a spider. I attacked both spiders and the ettercap, connecting in general, but it was Etayne, Qatana, and Sparna who ultimately moved them all to another plane.

Returning to the room we first encountered the troglodytes, we did a more thorough inspection. While nothing of monetary value was found, we did find scraps of paper that appeared to be from reports the night the castle was overrun. We took away from the reports that the guards in the castle, anyway, thought the violence had started first in the village and didn’t think the castle was in danger until far too late. It’s hard to tell if the attacks were serial or simultaneous, but we do know now with hindsight that the castle guard underestimated the seriousness of what they were seeing.

We did find [231] dice made of bones, which suggested they were pretty firmly entrenched here.

From the trog room, we went down the stairs, where we found 8 more troglodytes. We quickly retreated, expecting to pick them off one at a time as they exited the stairwell. Kali cast grease about three steps down, thinking to make them even more unstable as they emerged, but what it really did was prevent them emerging! Two did stagger to the top, but I’d say twice as many ended up slipping and falling back down the stairs. Finally, they stopped trying. Drat. We’d have to go flush them out anyway.

What started as a rather simple attack plan ultimately evolved into a complicated theatrical presentation. It was effective but at the same time almost comical. It involved a sonic burst, a color spray, obscuring mist, and – this was the kicker – a 7 ft dwarf. Yes, Ivan cast enlarge person on Sparna, who subsequently went in and kicked troglodyte butt. The sonic damage weakened them, the color spray knocked several unconscious, and the fighters (Radella, Sparna, and myself) made short work of the rest. Their leader looked buffer than the rest, but Large Sparna knocked him into next week with one of his powerful blows.

Meanwhile, Ivan and Kali inspected other doors in the hallway outside, finding an armory that had apparently been picked over before.

Nevertheless, between the armroy and the fallen troglodytes, we found

[232] +1 cold iron morningstar
[233] armor (half plate)
[234] masterwork heavy steel shield
[235][236][237] heavy crossbows
40 crossbow bolts
[239] case of 10 flasks of alchemist’s fire

Etayne took two of the flasks. The rest we left behind for now.

The next room we inspected looked to be an old kitchen. There was dust in here but for a couple of detectable paths. One was obvious, and the other was more subtle. We followed the subtle path first, which appeared to be corby-created. After several very complicated locks, Radella unlocked the last to find we’d exited the castle. This was a well-secured bolthole. And it wasn’t well-secured only to hide it from view. The wet walls around the last door suggest that at high tide, this exit is not navigable. Leaving the doors open could actually flood some of these lower levels.

The other trail led to another cavern which ended abruptly before a deep pit. A few black feathers were scattered near the edge. Was this a means of execution? More likely, we realized, is that this is the source of the corbies. This may be the way to their underground world, and also the source of any reinforcements should they decide to do so.

We returned to a room I’d peeked into briefly before we checked out the kitchen. It had a low walled cistern in it, and we now inspected this room more closely.

Radella and Qatana heard snoring from behind one of the doors. They opened the door and found two ogres, one noticeably larger than the other, sleeping next to what was left of a centipede that had to be as big as a horse. The big one woke up at the intrusion.

Sparna and I moved closer at that. Ivan stayed back.

Qatana then had the strangest conversation with the ogre, who was not exactly the sharpest blade in the drawer. She almost had it convinced we were here to take its order for fresh food when an arrow went thwack and stuck in its chest.

Ivan had become impatient.

Ogres may not be bright, but what they lack in intelligence they make up for in sheer strength. Qatana, bless her heart, was able to cast hold person on the big ogre. That allowed us to concentrate on the small ogre. I found out that he apparently has quicker reflexes than I’d thought when I tried to sneak closer to attack him and received a horrendous blow for my efforts. It left me near death, but fortunately my companions were able to finish off the ogre before he could beat on me again. The big ogre was then dispatched easily, since he was unable to move.

Looking around, we noticed what seemed to be a prisoner, probably potential food. We freed her, and allowed her to take her gear from the other side of the room. She carefully introduced herself as Kelda Oxgutter from the north. Her companions had not made it even this far, having lost their lives when their boat in the lagoon had been attacked. She was suspicious of us, but seemed to reluctantly and perhaps temporarily accept us as allies. I suspect there is yet more to her story that she has not shared.

Meanwhile, killing the ogres yielded

77 gp
dead turtles
[240] a masterwork but filthy dagger
[241] a nicely polished rock which, if crushed, struck, or broken would
summon an earth elemental

To the north, a passage led back to the kitchen but to the east it led to a grate over the entrance. The grate looked formidable, but apparently one of the keys we’d picked up was sufficient to unlock it. This appeared to be a crypt.

But, unfortunately, a defiled crypt. Tombs has been previously desecrated and perhaps looted. But quickly what drew our attention was not the destruction. It was the image of what one of our clerics identified as the image of Pharasma at the far end of the chamber.

Kali immediately suspected trickery – how often do gods visit this plane anyway? – and started an intense scrutiny of the apparition to determine if it might be an illusion. Meanwhile, it engaged us in conversation. The image reminded us continually that this place was holy and we should not desecrate it. She told us that we should lay down our weapons before proceeding further – another suspicious statement. Why would a god fear our puny weapons?

Then Kali determined it really was an illusion. This was no god. Now to find what was casting it.

It was Kali again who spotted a creature high up near the ceiling. It seemed to have many arms but it wasn’t clear if it was holding on or floating. Did its voice raise a note when it realized we were ignoring its warnings?

Ameiko’s mumblings returned to me. “The key you seek lies in the grip of the 10-handed one. His fear is your greatest ally.”

Did it fear us?

With that we were all struck by something one of the clerics identified as unholy blight. It hurt most of us substantially, and weakened some of us even more. It seemed easy to hit, but difficult to damage.

“His fear …” Could it be that its own beliefs could hurt it?

“Finally,” I announced loudly. “I have a use for my bolt of Destroy God!” I grabbed an ordinary crossbow bolt and shot it.

It missed miserably. But as it clanged harmlessly into the ceiling above it, the creature shuddered and moved away. Did it fear even being touched by it?

I had no reason to believe my bolt would have harmed it, but perhaps the fear generated by not hitting it was even more important. Using all my skill at bluffing, I stepped forward and sequentially clapped my hand on the shoulder of each of my friends in front of me. “It will take the blessing of Desna to defeat this. Through me may she grant you the accuracy to destroy this beast in a ray of holy light!” A couple of friends looked at me like I was crazy, but it was working. The creature started wailing to Paizuzu to save it. The fact that Kali somehow managed to summon a light archon that really was doing real damage to it only underscored the bluff.

Ivan was firing cold iron arrows and finding they seemed to do lasting damage as well. And suddenly with a loud noise and a disturbing and loud explosion (“save me Paizuzu my father!”) it became messy purple bits as Qatana hit it with one last sonic blast.

And we paused to contemplate what we’d just experienced and learned.

Character: Etayne

Etayne’s Journal Continued

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18 Erastus, Wealday Continued

Olmas and Qatana did recover and the search through the castle continued. I took the rear guard and soon after I heard fighting commence. I went to investigate and it was over before I arrived. Apparently there was a priest in the chapel that seemed to have been a chapel to a God that several of our companions revered. The statue was defaced and converted to the god of the Corbies. This was quickly taken down. We searched a room attached and found a few items we figured may be useful including some scrolls.

From there we continued to explore this level. At some point we ended up on a balcony overlooking a ballroom. We also found an area where the walls ran with blood  and ghostly visages, or so I was told (unfortunately I was not in the room to witness it). This apparently frightened Sparna and Ivan. I was sent to retrieve them: however, they made it clear that they were not going back. It took a little time to calm them down. After they did calm down we found another room that seemed like a study with papers that Kali said were a bad attempt at a play. We then went outside and opened a building that we found housed a mobat. The mobat was dispatched and while others rested, I gathered some of the bat droppings. These are usually useful in many concoctions.

We then found a set of stairs leading up (the only set going up). This lead to the library which was home to a Harpy by the name of Zaiobe. Zaiobe is Mute at least in the sense that she does not speak through her mouth. Apparently she could speak telepathically, at least to Qatana. She informed us of the demon lord who was her lover that she was tired of. She asked us to help her get rid of him. Since one of the riddles suggested she would help, we figured we would work with her.

We set the stage in an abandoned inn, where I was to wait in the Kitchen and move to block his exit. This did not exactly work for he had brought with some extra friends (perhaps to act out a play he had been writing. Well some of the Corbies decided to come in through my door so I greeted them with a smile and the pointy end of my Spear. It was not long before they and there master were dead. I enjoyed this play immensely.

The next part did not please me at all, though not that unexpected. The harpy chose to turn on us relying on the safety of flight. She made some strong hit on my allies and I ran between them to heal them, then got into the cover of the building. Though she had a good strong start, the finish was not to her benefit as she came crashing down. It really was to bad as she could have had a longer happier life. We then sought the sanctuary of the Cemetery to rest up.

I have begun to notice that I am expected to be a healer for our group. Ivan especially calls me the Healer. I do not mind helping and healing, it is one way that I feel I can pay back my sisters kindness. I have told my companions though that there are times where I am lead to be less prepared for the healer role.

19 Erastus, Oathday

I had another dream last night. This time I was fight endless swarms of beetles. As I tired, it look as though the were defeated, but then an unnerving laugh filled my ears. It was him. He was behind me. I felt something sharp stab me in the back. I woke to find Ling watching over me with a sense of concern for me. He really is a great friend. Ling and I sat together meditating. Today it feels as though I could choose my spells that I desired. I took some healing spells and some spells to harm my foes.

Since Zaiobe was not returning to the library we figured we ought to. We found some interesting books and blueprints. After discovering that we had explored everything in the upper levels of the Keep we would explore the ground floor.

On our way down the stairs we noticed a Most unpleasant smell. It made some in the group feel a bit sick. We discovered the source of that smell was troglodytes. Before they were all killed one called into a room for assistance. We spiked the door so that none would come. In the 2 other adjoining rooms were a lizard and sleeping trogs. Both died quickly. The final door opened up into the great hall.

As we continued to explore I stayed near the back to keep an eye on the hallway (feeling a bit weary from last nights dream). Apparently the landlord was found and dispatched. It was a female ogre-kin. I call her the landlord because she had a bag marked rent.

We then enter the ballroom which we discovered was not a perfect circle. This caused much speculation. This was not that important to me so I did not pay much attention.

We ventured forth exploring 2 doors of the sides of the hallway which seemed to be full of rubble and some nice arrows which we dispersed to our archers.

Now it was time to see what was behind the double doors. We opened them to find several disfigured and preserved creatures. This was all thanks to a very small individual that took great pride in their pieces of art. I have to admit that I was intrigued by the art as well. It reminded me of how I felt as a child. But when I heard the creature say that the art was alive till they were done, I knew that would not bode well for it. We moved in to stop the creature but man was it fast. With a few arrows we put an end to is mutilations I grabbed some spider poison that we found. I am sure this will be useful. After examining the body I discovered it was a quickling. Hmm.

Well after this I have to admit, my curiosity got the better of me. Qatana and I wanted to check a pond we saw from when we were dealing with the mobat, so we ventured out to it. I was curious if there was anything in the murky water and how deep it was so I put my spear in to find out. Well, I was not expecting what came out. A giant beetle emerged and so did memories of last nights dream. I encouraged us to fall back to the group. As we came in I could hardly spit out the words to what I saw. Well the party as normal acted quickly and the archers dispatched it from above.

From there we explored the northern chambers where we fought 2 wights. They seemed to be what remained of the guards. After we put them to rest we discovered some papers that added to the history of Brinewall.

Before heading down we chose to explore the outer building which turned out be a stable. Sparna yelled out, “Spiders!” and something else I did not catch as I was so focused on the spiders. I felt I knew what to do. I rushed in and shared my knowledge of fire with them. Well I found out to listen to everything Sparna says, because I was bit a couple times by some spiders. I wasn’t to worried since I know the venom will wear off, but my companions handed me a potion of lesser restoration just in case, Which I ended up using later so I could assist my companions better.

We decided it was time to venture into the lower levels. We chose the door that we blocked off and some proceeded down. We soon discovered there where actually more trogs down there and we pulled back to play some games with them. It is funny what happens when you grease the stairs. well several trogs went crashing down them. They retreated back into a room with more of there kind. A plan was hatched and mists and noises and color were everywhere. Then a Giant Dwarf (I tell the truth) goes running into the room and soon trog guts everywhere.

A close by room seemed to be an armory, wherein I got a set of bone dice and a couple flasks of alchemist fire. We soon entered what looked like a kitchen with several doors. We first checked the less traveled rooms finding cave. In one of the narrower caves was a secret door. This took Radella a bit of time to open, but she did it. It is good to have a lock specialist around. Well that door let to another cave which opened up to the water. I assume this was a smugglers secret.

We went back into the kitchen and discovered another locked door which Radella convinced to open. This also led to a cave that seemed to descend further. We concluded to finish exploring this level before going down. We went into a room where there was a pool in the center. I was curious to discover it actual depth and much to everyone relief nothing came out of it and attacked. The next room was a prison and it had 2 Ogre guard that were asleep at least until we opened the door.

Qatana had convinced the creature that we were there to offer it some food. Kali and I were getting ready to fetch something for it to eat (laced with Alchemist fire) when we hear an arrow fly over head. Well pooh! With a little misfortune the first ogre was held and dropped. The smaller ogre took a little longer but soon fell to our warriors.

Shortly after dispatching the ogres we discovered a women in one of the sells. I began to ask her some very important questions and I got some sour looks from the group. Sparna pulled me aside and let me know that though they were important questions the delivery was not the best. I get it, it is just sometimes they take so long asking their questions and getting to the point. Apparently this person’s name is Kelda and I was surprised at the insults she laid on us, trying to make herself look better. They think I was rude, ha!

We continued on, and I kept an eye on Kelda. We came to a crypt with an image of some god on the door. We entered and was greeted by someone who claimed to be Pharasma. I could tell that something wasn’t right so I began to head down a ramp with my weapon to see what was up. Several others agreed with my assessment and followed. We soon discovered a flying tentacled creature. This thing gave me reason try one of my new favorite spells, “Burning Gaze” It took a while for it to work but eventually I caught it on fire. It didn’t seem to effect it much, but it still gave me pleasure. We eventually defeated it and that is where I am right now, as we figure out what to do next.

Character: Qatana

Qatana’s journal entry for Erastus 19, 4712

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Oathday, Erastus 19, 4712 afternoon
Brinewall Castle

I feel chilled to the bone.

We are under the castle, in some vast natural cavern, and below us, deeper in, lies the gory remains of our foe. Our victory came at a cost, at least for me, and the weakness, or sickness, or whatever it is that the bloated flying thing set to work against me is slow to pass.

Just a few hours before we were out in the bright sunshine, heading toward the wooden structure that leaned against the northern wall inside the castle bailey. By tacit agreement I would open the door, and Sparna would step inside.

“Spiders,” he called out, “and something else… I think it’s an ettercap.”

We mostly held back, waiting for them to come to us, but Etayne was overly enthusiastic and charged past our front line. She received some venomous bites as a reward. Quickly we killed the spiders and their keeper. Back out in the sun Etayne looked a bit sick, and her skin had a greenish pallor. Ivan handed her a portion of Lesser Restoration, which she quaffed.

With all of the above ground parts of the castle explored it was time to descend to the castle basement, and we chose the stairs in the troglodyte room as our point of entry. Once again Sparna led the way down, with me at his back, and after a turn there was a closed door, which Sparna opened.

In the flickering shadows from my light I could see a large dining hall full of troglodytes, who were just finishing up lunch. They advanced, and we backed up the stairs with the intent to lure them singly into the room above where we could set upon each en masse.

Kali whispered, “I have an idea… let me known when Sparna has cleared the steps. This should be good.” A moment later I heard her complete a spell, the result of which was that the first troglodyte slipped on the now greasy stairs and fell back down among his companions. Others attempted the climb, and many of them slipped and fell as well. One made it into the room, and was summarily killed.

We all had a good laugh, but the troglodytes retreated back down the stairs, and in fact fled back into an inner chamber, where they joined with more of their kind, and their leader.

Upon hearing the tactical details of the situation, Kali and I glanced at one another and grinned. This briefly took me back to happier times when we were girls growing up together in Sandpoint, always on the prowl for mischief; hatching silly plans and working together as one to see them out.

Using a combination of Obscuring Mist, Sound Burst, and Color Spray we made a significant dent in the health and morale of our confined opponents.

Suddenly a very large Sparna (a seven foot high dwarf?!) ran past us through the mist and into the room. The rest of us followed and within a minute all of the troglodytes, including the rather largish leader (whom Sparna had hewn in half), were dead.

Kali and Ivan had explored the adjacent room while the fighting was underway, and discovered an armory with useful items, which when combined with the troglodyte leader’s magic morning star provided us with a valuable haul.

[231] bone dice
[232] +1 cold iron morning star (from troglodyte leader)
[233] half plate
[234] master work heavy steel shield
[235-238] heavy crossbows
40 crossbow bolts
[239] case: 10 flasks of Alchemists Fire

We returned to the dining room and after Radella determined the wide double doors were neither locked nor trapped, we opened them and entered the castle’s kitchen complex. The floor was dusty, and a regular trail of prints led to one off to our right. Doors were set in all of the walls.

I sniffed the tracks on the floors and could easily tell that both troglodytes and ogres had passed through. We opened the first door on the right and saw the stairs that led down from the ballroom. A set of double doors next to the stair door led to a large circular room with a cistern in the center, flanked by four columns. Another pair of double doors was east, but they were closed and so we returned to the kitchen.

The door in the eastern wall led to a natural cavern.

The door to the north opened to a small hallway that ended with another door, but it was locked and Radella was called over. After a few moments of fiddling with the mechanism she grunted, took off her pack and pulled out a complex set of tools carefully wrapped in a leather pouch. She quietly worked nearly half an hour before I heard a soft click followed by a snort of triumph from Radella. She opened the door, beyond which was a large natural cavern with stalactites and stalagmites reaching down and up toward one another. Sparna and I wandered through the cavern, where I found what looked like a secret door cleverly hidden in the west wall. Radella once again spent some quality time with the lock, but in the end it yielded to her skillful fingers. She opened the door, which lead to a natural cave.

We followed this tunnel to its entrance on the shore of the northwest corner of the peninsula upon which the castle was built. There were no signs of recent activity here, and so we went back to the kitchen, locking the door behind us.

The western door was also locked, and this too took Radella some time to pick. Beyond this door was a passageway leading down.

Before moving on to another level we thought it prudent to finish exploring this one, and so we returned to the cistern and I listened at the door and heard the sound of large creatures snoring loudly. We arranged ourselves for a quick and quiet entry, and I thrust them open.

The room was a dungeon/cell complex that had been converted into a torture chamber, and two ogres were slumped against one another near the far wall. The larger one opened an eye and grunted, “You not supposed to be here.”

Really? How could it know that? I figured it couldn’t and with a little fast talking managed to bamboozle him into thinking we had been sent down to offer them something to eat. We were getting along famously when an arrow whizzed by my ear and stuck into the ogre’s chest. It looked stupidly at the quivering shaft sticking out from its shirt before yelling loudly at its companion to wake up.

Apparently Ivan was bored by the conversation and decided to initiate the inevitable sooner rather than later.

It was a short fight, made all the more short by a Hold Person cast by yours truly upon the larger ogre, who had just been hexed by Etayne. The smaller ogre lasted a few seconds longer before tottering over on its side and releasing a large volume of gas, and judging by the dark stains on its trousers, it had released the contents of its bladder and bowels as well.

Looking around the chamber we saw a woman’s pale blank face staring out from one of the cells. She was tall and blond and had the physique of a warrior. We asked her a number questions — all at once, which seemed to overwhelm her. I pointed at a nearby pile of rather nice looking adventuring gear and asked if that was hers. She nodded, and as Radella unlocked the cell door (the large ogre had the key) I indicated she should take her equipment.

She seemed to relax some after that, and said her name was Kelda Oxgutter. She and some friends had come down from the north (Kali seemed to know the kingdom from which she came, naturally) to see if there was anything left to plunder in the castle. They got down to the basement level before being overwhelmed. Her friends had been killed, but she had been knocked out and locked up.

She was suffering from some sort of stigma about not falling in battle, but when Ivan and I agreed to accompany her back to her home once we were done with the castle, she perked up a little and agreed to help us. Star in particular was happy to have another fighter on board, and passed on her appreciation to Kelda, who for some reason seemed confused. Maybe she does not like mice — it takes all kinds.

One of the ogres had been carrying a few interesting odds and ends in a sheep stomach pouch, which we took.

[240] master work dagger (Kali)
[241] elemental gem: when crushed, smashed or broken a large earth elemental appears under the control of the breaker
shiny river rocks
77 gp
sheep stomach pouch

The northern door opened onto an east/west natural corridor, which led back to the kitchen to the west, and on to a small chamber hewn from the rock to the east. An intricate iron screen blocked the way east, in the center of which was a door with the painted image of Pharasma upon it. Peering through the screen I could see a crypt, with the ceiling partially collapsed at the far end.

The door was locked, but the iron key from the lighthouse unlocked it, and we walked through. Alcoves lined either side of the crypt, but the sarcophagi had been toppled over and smashed, and the bodies were missing. Where the ceiling had collapsed was an opening to a vast natural cavern, and the missing walls from two of the southern alcoves led down into the space.

I had walked down a short distance when Kali called me back.

There, hovering in the large opening of the crypt was an image of Pharasma — exactly the same as the painting on the door. This seemed too much of a coincidence, but I felt it best to be cautious, and so I bowed and asked, “What may we do for you, my lady?”

“This place is holy to Pharasma. Lay down your weapons and enter the cavern below in peace.”

This seemed an odd request, and when I pressed her for details she responded with some sort of twisted dogma that might fool some people, but it was clear to me this was an imposter.

“This is not Pharasma,”, I stated matter of factly and strode out of the chamber and into the cavern below. The image blustered on with some sort of reply, but I heard Kali say, “Bullshit!” and she came down by my side. Most of the others soon joined us.

It was not dark. There were odd speckled motes of light drifting through the air, like dust lit by a sun beam, and these illuminated the cavern in a dream like haze. The walls were covered in paintings of four winged humanoid shapes. Pazuzu again!

Kali was scanning the ceiling, as if looking for something specific (she later explained how the Illusion spell worked) and grabbing my arm she quietly whispered in my ear, “There, circling that large stalactite, that’s our foe!”

A large, shadowy creature that looked like a ten armed octopus drifted among the shadows of the irregular ceiling.

The thing rippled and we were blasted by an Unholy Blight. I cast Cause Fear upon it, which angered it enough to drop down and touch me, bleeding off some of my health. Star and Beorn snarled with fury, while the rest of my friends offered soothing words.

Kelda was standing near enough to slash it with her long sword, but the creature’s wound immediately healed.

Kali summoned an archon lantern (I didn’t know she could do that!), and it began to shoot shafts of light at the creature, which roared wrathfully in pain.

Others shot arrows or threw weapons at it, but it was difficult to tell if these attacks were doing much, if any damage.

I struck it with Touch of Idiocy, and it was not happy. It sent a Scorching Ray back at me, but Sparna shoved me aside and the rays hit him instead.

It was clear thing did not like light, but it also seemed vulnerable to anything with a divine relationship. Its focused attacks on me also implied this same weakness. I called out, “Use divine magic, or call upon the faith of your diety to aid in your attacks.”

The creature swooped in again, and I bashed it with my flail, the ball of which served as my primary holy symbol to Groetus and was glowing with divine light. The beast screamed in agony as my companions acted similarly, and it retreated to the ceiling, calling out, “Father, help me! Pazuzu!”

I recast Sound Burst centered on the creature, and it exploded in a blast of ichor and pulpy flesh.

Unfortunately the affliction caused by the thing’s touch continued to work its way upon me for a while longer, and my health and resistance to illness felt depleted somewhat. Drinking a Lesser Restoration potion has helped some, but I am not fully recovered. Perhaps when we return to the cemetery tonight Spivey can offer assistance.

BrinewallLower

Character: Kali

Kali’s Journal, Erastus 19, 4712

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Erastus 19 (Noon, Brinewall Castle dungeon)

Radella is meticulously and patiently working the locking mechanism to the hidden passage in the cavern in order to coax it into opening. There is a striking dichotomy in watching her finesse her tools like this: her movements are slow, gentle, and precise, in contrast to the enormous sword laying on the ground at her side which she normally swings with a terrifying strength. I don’t really know how to characterize her. I’ve been exposed to enough grafters, vagabonds, and thieves to recognize the archetypes when I see them—my time spent in Magnimar was all too instructive—but she defies such simple classification. In this way she is a lot like Ana: neither of them fits the mold into which their kind are typically cast.

Where does this door lead? It has been cut from the stone of this hollow and worked in a manner to hide its existence. That, combined with the complexity of the lock, suggests it was intended as an escape passage, a secret entrance, or perhaps both. The Historical Record does mention this network of caverns below the castle, and it would seem that the builders incorporated them into the dungeon’s construction (even if they blew it on the structural planning). Using them in this manner certainly makes sense.

Before descending from the ground floor we explored the outbuildings on the west end of the keep. The wooden structures were almost certainly horse stables in their time, but now they were home to an ettercap and its giant spider companions. At learning this, I completely froze. I am not afraid of spiders so much as their venom; I know what it does, I know what my limitations are, and because of that I did not want to be anywhere near them. Fortunately, my companions were more than up to the task and I was not only not needed, but likely to have gotten in the way had I been part of the battle. So far I don’t think anyone has noticed my reluctance (inability?) to engage with these creatures—this is the second time that it has come up—but I worry that one of them will make the connection if it becomes a recurring theme.

We had our choice of three stairways for coming down here and we opted to follow our noses, which meant starting from the room where we first encountered troglodytes. I couldn’t really find fault with the logic, as we suspected there were more of them down here and we’d have to deal with them eventually, but it did mean beginning in the midst of a foul stench and descending into far worse until we were nearly choking on it.

It also provided an opportunity to correct an oversight from earlier, which was to search the debris in that room for anything of value (in our defense, we were expecting reinforcements to arrive at any moment, so we had more urgent matters demanding our attention). And it’s a good thing we did because we would have missed some valuable clues about Brinewall’s fall: that room appeared to have been a meeting room of some sort, and buried in the trash were tattered and torn reports from the night the castle was attacked.  The remnants were incomplete, but we were able to assemble enough pieces to reconstruct the night’s events. The guards in the castle were preparing to respond to what they thought were riots in the town. The implication here is that the attack on the town came first and was misinterpreted as civil unrest. The guard probably learned the truth only when the invaders were inside the castle walls.

Sparna took the lead in descending the stairs, being perhaps the only one of us who is heavily armed, heavily armored, and capable of seeing in the dark. As we suspected, there were more troglodytes down below, but rather than launch an attack through a narrow doorway we opted to try and bring the fight to us. This almost worked.

I haven’t known many dwarves so I don’t know if this is typical or not but Sparna has a somewhat crass sense of humor that tends towards blue, and while I can appreciate this it seems that the troglodytes did not. I say that the plan almost worked because he succeeded in goading some of them up the stairs, but I was ultimately too clever for my own good and may have been our strategy’s undoing. The grease my spell placed on the landing was effective, and unexpectedly entertaining, but it presented one obstacle too many for the enemy. The remaining troglodytes were smart enough to withdraw, retreating to a fortified position and leaving us with the original problem, only now with them alerted and better prepared.

Still, we are a resourceful group and Qatana and I were able to deliver some unpleasant surprises that softened their ranks, and after a fierce and intense battle, our party was victorious. This was no easy task, as the troglodytes were not only dug in but highly, if not surprisingly, disciplined and remained so even after Sparna had felled their commander.

A small armory near there yielded a surprising find: a case containing several flasks of alchemist’s fire. I glanced over to Etayne and she gave me one of her ominous grins. The witch is downright obsessed with fire.

(Mid-Afternoon)

We are taking a few moments to rest and to heal. Especially Olmas, who took a severe pounding.

With the ogres dead we could finally turn our attention to the Ulfen woman being held prisoner in one of the cells. She was tall and slender, but hardly slight: there was no mistaking the muscular build of a warrior. She had watched the entire fight in stoic silence, and cold, hard eyes glared at us through dirty and matted blond hair after it had ended.

Etayne, ever the diplomat, started the conversation.

“Who are you?! What are you doing here?!”

I suggested that we tone down the interrogation a bit, but too many people had questions they wanted to have answered and they all came out seemingly at once. Eventually, the woman had had enough. “Am I your prisoner now?” she asked, eyes narrowing.

“No.”

We took the keys off the bodies of her former jailers and opened the cell, but she did not step out. Her eyes kept wandering to a pile of armor and equipment on the floor next to the wall.

“Are those your things?” Qatana asked.

She nodded.

“Go ahead.”

And at that, she softened. Just a little. After she had donned her armor and weapons, I asked, “Was that your longboat we saw docked in the lagoon?”

She was reluctant to talk about it at first but confirmed that it was. Kelda Oxgutter—that is her name—came here some days ago with companions from the Linnorm Kingdoms. They had heard the stories of Brinewall and assumed, wrongly, that the abandoned town and keep would be ripe for looting. When they came ashore they were attacked by the sea drake and Kelda was the only survivor. She was captured while exploring the castle on her own.

In turn, she asked why we were here. I explained about Ameiko, her condition, and the connection to her past and her family. Maybe that was more than I should have said, but she had shared quite a bit with us, so it seemed fair to respond in kind.

“It is possible that what we learn here may take us farther north. Perhaps, eventually, across the crown of the world to Tian Xia.”

“If that is the case, I’d be willing to accompany you as far as Kalsgard.”

Honor and reputation matter a great deal to the Ulfen people, in the Kingdoms in general, and the way she spoke of her companions and her capture suggested that it meant a great deal to her, personally. But could we trust her? She seemed as wary of us as we did of her. The story she told did not contradict anything we had seen, and it also answered some questions of our own. So, I believed her. If this was a ruse, it was ridiculously elaborate.

She also looked more than capable in a fight, too. So why not take the chance?

(Late Afternoon)

That may have been the most frightening encounter we’ve had, and among the most difficult. Qatana has been badly hurt; likely poisoned. It is dead, but we threw everything we had at it, and in my case even things that we didn’t.

It began in the crypt. The sarcophagi had been broken open and despoiled. Everything of importance in there had been taken including the bodies of the dead. The entrance to it was in the center of an intricate iron screen: a wooden door adorned with a beautiful painting of Pharasma, goddess of birth, death, fate and prophecy, seated on her throne. To Pharasma, what had happened in here was a terrible crime. Her priests are stewards of the deceased and protectors of graves.

I was immediately suspicious when an image of her manifested at the far end of the tomb where the wall had partially collapsed to reveal a cavern beyond. But being skeptical is not the same as being certain, and though I am knowledgeable in matters of religion Qatana is the expert when it comes to Pharasma. She began her life in that church before…well. Before.

“Qatana…? We need you here.”

I needed time for my spell to work, to confirm my suspicions that this was merely an illusion. The image of Pharasma spoke to us, encouraging us to lay down our arms and approach; this was almost certainly a trap. The brief exchange that followed was enough to confirm for Qatana that this “Pharasma” was a fake, and for me to recognize the source of the image as mortal magic. Radella put an arrow through it, and it was gone.

But who, or what, created it?

We entered the cavern beyond the crypt and found ourselves on a wide ledge a good twenty feet above another passage. And then I saw it floating up near the ceiling. It looked like a deformed octopus, only with a giant maw filled with sharp teeth, and ten tentacles that were writhing in the air. I quietly spread the word, but its senses were keen and it hit us with a powerful spell before we could react.

Tentacled creature in the dungeon of Brinewall Castle

Tentacled creature in the dungeon of Brinewall Castle

One night last year, as we were discussing magic theory, Eudonius told me that it was possible for wizards to perform spells beyond just what we had prepared as part of our morning rituals, only that doing so meant drawing upon the very energy that sustains us. He cautioned that it was not a decision to be made lightly because of the toll it exacts, but I looked up at that thing as it swooped in for an attack, at our weapons bouncing harmlessly off of its hide, and I knew that this was the time. I had memorized a summoning spell—my sole remaining spell for the day—but the creatures I could conjure with it were not up to this task. So I did it. As I worked the spell I reached deep into myself and shaped it into a more powerful form, one that I was not yet able to prepare on my own. I could feel a wave of fatigue wash over me as I did it, but I succeeded in bringing forth a powerful ally to assist us: a lantern archon.1

The glowing ball of light materialized in the air behind the decapod and began searing it with beams of light and energy. In the meantime, my friends had figured out that it was vulnerable to either weapons made from cold iron or enchanted with magic, and the sum total of these attacks exacted a terrible revenge for what it had done to Qatana. It quickly broke off and flew back up to the ceiling where we had first seen it, and cried out to Pazuzu.

“Father! Help me! Pazuzu!” it shrieked, over and over.

It was…almost pitiful. Almost. And then Qatana hit it with a spell, a burst of sound, and it blew apart in the air.

Afterwards, the others told me it seemed to flinch and hesitate during the fight, that it singled out Qatana, and was distracted easily by their taunts. And I recalled the riddle Ameiko had spoken:

The key you seek lies in the grip of the ten-handed one. His fear is your greatest ally.

Another one down. Only two remain.

  1. This is Kali spending a Hero Point ↩
Character: Ivan

Ivan’s journal entry

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The castle plans showed that there are a couple of places that we have not checked on the main level. Back to the court yard we go searching everything just to make sure we are not going to be attacked on two sides. In the stables we found a creature that seems to have spiders as pets or minions. Etayne rushed in past Sparna so that she could cast her burning hands and as a result was poisoned losing strength. Since she is the healer I gave her the lessor restoration potion from my pack and let her decide how to use it. We may need a lot more lessor restoration before this is all said and done. At the moment Qatana shows no interest in memorizing lessor restoration and I don’t even know if Etayne has or can learn the spell. Oh well I will leave it up to the two of them to figure it out.

We decided to make our way down to the next level through the trog room. Down the stairs we went to the next room with Sparna in the lead and in the room Sparna found more trogs. The plan was to go back up the stairs and make them come to us. Things got funny at this point as Kali used a spell to make the stairs slippery and the trogs kept stumbling back down the stairs. I was able to kill the two that made it to the room but the rest of them closed the door and fled. While this was funny tactically this plan was a disaster as they retreated to a room where they would have the advantage. Qatana and Kali came up with another plan where they would get to throw spells in the room. Obscuring mist, sound burst, and color spray kind of seemed like a lot of spells to spend on trogs that I was able to kill with two arrows. Since we still have to storm the room I cast enlarge person on Sparna.  While it did allow him to do more damage the spell is not as useful as I had hoped and I am not exactly sure why the gods gave me this spell. There must be some grand plan that I as yet do not understand. He was able to split the Trog leader in half so that is something. All in all the time required to cast this spell makes it use situational at best.  The Trogs now dead we found yet another magic weapon and in fact a cold iron magic weapon. I have no real use for it as the bow is much better for me. Although for a few minutes there was a thought towards getting a weapon that I could use to beat someone senseless. Looking around at the others I realized that there is sometimes too many people trying to get to the front, well except for Etayne who prefers to have someone buff in front of her and Kali who uses her crossbow or spells. In the end for this group of people it is just best that I continue using the bow.  While the fight with the trogs worked out it would have been better to not impede there path to our melee kill zone and I should have waited to shoot arrows as well. We got lucky that these Trogs were on the weak side, except for their leader.

We continued to Search around and found a dungeon with ogrekin in the room. Qatana began some type of strange dialog with these creatures.  Kali and Etayne suddenly started discussing something about feeding the Quickling to the Ogrekin. They had a plan to put the fire potions in the Quickling and then feed it to the Qgrekin. This just seemed like one of those things that if it backfires then most of the party will get hit with a number of doses of Alchemist’s fire that could get us all killed. After some more time to think about it I can almost hear Abby’s voice in my head telling me that feeding a sentient being to Ogrekin is wrong. Although I would really have to ask her if it is worse then what the Quickling was doing. Well I could be completely wrong about it. No one in the group seemed to have an issue with feeding a sentient being to another creature so maybe I just got it wrong again!

Anyway Etayne and Kali really got miffed at me when I shot the arrows at the Big Ogrekin to end the nonsense. Yes it was tough and Olmas almost died again but we made it through with everyone still alive. It could have happened even if we waited around for the 10 minutes to let them get everything in place.

In one of the cages we found a woman in her early 20’s. She called herself Kelda Oxgutter and comes from the north. It turns out that her party was here to raid for loot and the rest of her party was killed. After the harpy I don’t feel as trusting of new people but the others seemed to trust her quickly. In retrospect I was a little rude to her. She has asked for us to help her back to her town and some of us have agreed to travel with her once we have finished up here in Brinewall. Still not sure if that is going to be a good idea or not but I did want to go somewhere interesting. She has agreed to continue further into this quest with us. Clearly her remarks indicate that she believes that the people of the north are far better at combat then southerners.  I guess she has a chance to prove it to us now.

Searching, searching and more searching. We encountered some ridiculously locked and hidden doors earlier. These even took Radella some amount of time to unlock. After opening the second and last lock we found ourselves overlooking the beach. The water marks clearly show that this is underwater at high tide. Water breathing would be very handy if one were to get caught out here as the tide is coming up and could not open the doors. There also must be some type of magic item that will help with breathing under water. Maybe something that also worked in smoke and other situations as well would be handy. Here I am going on about magic things when I haven’t even purchased the magic bow I am carrying from the party or purchased an efficient quiver.  I wonder if I kept raiding castles, fort, and encampments not being held by civilized people what kind of cool magic items I could get.  How many raids would I need to go on to get good equipment? The people from the land of the Linnorm Kings have been using the southern lands as there raiding grounds for a long time so maybe it is not all that bad of a plan.  Kelda herself also admitted that she was down here to raid. So I guess that makes it somewhat profitable.

If I am heading north then it might be wise to look into things to stay warm. The endure elements spell would do the trick but again this may be better on a wand or some type of item that permanently  protects from the cold or maybe some type of magic item that is usable once a day. Endure elements does last for 24 hours so having a magic item that allowed me to cast the spell once a day would work just fine and then I would not have to actually learn the spell. I am not so sure that comprehend languages was the best spell to learn, a couple of scrolls or even a wand seem like they would be just as effective and I don’t really need to use it in combat. I guess in years to come comprehend languages will remain useful as a spell that I always have available. You never know when you want to listen into a conversation or read material written that you normally could not understand. Watching Qatana utilize sound burst today made me wonder if I should learn that spell. The area affect is nice but it really doesn’t do as much damage as my bow. Against small swarming things this could be a useful spell. I wonder if this could be used to kill weeds and unwanted plants. That could be very useful someday when I return home to visit. It sounds like I might be traveling with Qatana for a while longer after BrineWall I will have to ask her to try to see if it effects plants. I don’t think it will effect plants but it would be cool if it did; No more hours of weeding. Oh and I guess that won’t work for weeding between crops. All of this magic at my disposal and I don’t even have something to kill weeds. That burning hands used by Etayne would at least be something or maybe a minor cantrip that does damage would be nice. Clearly the gods do not feel that it is important to take care of weeds or they would have given their followers the proper magic to deal with the weeds.

I wonder if I could create a skeleton and train it to pull weeds but not crops. I could call it ice.

I – indentured

C – Crop

E – Employment

If I need to create more than I can call them ice1, ice2 and so on. Although I think there may be a couple of problems with creating skeletons. The obvious first problem is I can’t create them yet. Secondly I am not sure how trainable they would be. Next I am not sure that people want to be around someone with skeleton slaves working a farm.  Lastly why would I ever go back to farming?

You know insects were always a harder problem to get rid of on the farm. The information on some of the Oracle spells that I have access to in the future show that there are very few spells to help here but holy smite looks like it will do the trick. The spell only affects creatures so that plants will be save. It just seems appropriate that the spell named holy smite would be useful for getting rid of pesky insects.

After freeing Kelda the other door in the room led to one of the sections that we have already seen but have not explored yet. Here we find an interesting decorated wall and doorway dedicated to Pharasma. I stayed in the back to watch for anything coming from behind and to watch the others position themselves to be as close as possible to the action in the front.  There is a part of me that wants to pick up and big metal weapon and jump into the fray but I really like shooting the bow. With this group it is a big advantage as I don’t need to jockey back and forth with the others to get into position.  Granted in small rooms or when Kali uses obscuring mist that puts me out of the battle but that is just the way it works sometimes.

We entered what looked like a crypt. A woman the others thought looked like Pharasma appeared and was insisting that we put down our weapons and enter the temple to receive her blessing. This was obviously a trap but the others continued to talk with this thing. I needed to do something so I ducked into one of the alcoves to wait. Since they are trying to talk with it I decided it would just be best to let them decide when to attack. If the creature attacks first at least I likely would be spared damage from the first wave, well maybe. Once they finally decided that this was an illusion they attacked it and it disappeared. The party started heading one by one to the main part of the cave. Since I had light cast on my armor I remained until last so the others could see their way. The attack of the creature started before I was able to rejoin the party. Once they pointed out the creature I began shooting arrow after arrow at the creature. I heard Kelda complain about not being able to hurt it but frankly I didn’t seem to have any issues hurting the creature. Qatana and the others kept trying to get everyone to talk about how their divine presence is here to defeat this creature. The creature was visibly scared by divine presence and kept attacking Qatana and the others in its defense. This all worked out great for me as I hit this thing with arrow after arrow and it kept attacking the others. I really wonder if this is one of those creatures where you have to have magic weapons to hurt it.  I was told that there are some creatures that can only be damaged by magic weapons. If the party was having that much trouble with the creature I would have used the fire arrow but this creature just didn’t seem that hard to damage. The flying would be a problem for melee but a lot of the major melee people now have bows. I also wonder if the bane arrows for outsider subtype evil would have worked on this creature. Kali would likely know the answer.