Author Archives: Darren

Ivan’s Journal

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The necropolis has lived up to its name thus far.  Lots of dead or should I say undead. We have only just arrive here a few hours ago but we have already taken a heavy toll in our group today.

It all started out fine with two walls of fire blocking the tower doors and giving us some leverage.  It was a good thing that we did this as Olmas, Sparna, and Kali were all shaken by the weird fear effect that these creatures have. I positioned myself in a way to try to keep out of range of their effect while providing support for the others. The effect of freezing people with fear was the most dangerous thing about these creatures. Once the fighters were not frozen the fight ended quickly.

Investigation of the towers uncovered a number of alcoves that looked to at one point house the dead, presumably these are now the undead. Our count showed that there are actually a lot of these undead still unaccounted for and likely wandering somewhere in the necropolis.

Qatana in her normal forge ahead attitude could not cross the bridge.  After some investigation by Kali she proclaimed that it was a anti life shield,  no not shield. She proclaimed that it was an anti-life thingy? Anyway living things cannot pass.

I made an effort to dispel the magic but the magic is just too strong for me at this time. There was a discussion about the difficulty of getting the wagons across but to me the problem seems to be more about getting horses across to the other side. It seems like we could push and pull the wagons across one at a time if needed. But I will leave the planning to the others.

With the really cool spell air walk from Qatana I was able to get across the span. I know that in the wind this spell may not be as good in combat as fly but I really like it anyway. Maybe it goes back to the days on the high ice with getting blown through the air while levitating. I am sure Kali would have had something to say about it but with the darkness “what happens on the high ice stays on the high ice”.

We moved forward to a pool of water with a body on the other side. With deathwatch running it was clear that this was the body of an undead creature. Kali later told us it was a revenant. Nasty creature from what Kali told us can’t be killed until the creature killed it dies. I was ready to light it up with fire, even with Qatana stating not to use fire. It was almost like Gorum was encouraging me to light him up.

One of my companions noticed something by the tree in the middle of the water. Specters appeared and the others moved in to engage them. The others discovered that regular weapons were not as effective on the Specters and there touch was disastrous. Both Olmas and Qatana were touched and as a result were weaken. It was like they were drain of life. These things drain you and now we have to wait a see how many castings of restoration will be required for the two of them. This is the kind of unluckily thing that normally happens to sparna. I guess taking on the Yeti saved him from the drain.

More yeti began to show up but a wall of fire discourage them, I guess those with fir should not play with fire. Between the spiritual weapon from Qatana and the spiritual ally from Sparna they were able to take care of the Specters.  For just a moment when Sparna cast the spell I thought the weapon was a greatsword.

We were feeling good about the situation when Qatana announced that the caravan was under attack. With the power of air walk from the wind spirit through Qatana the gap was not an issue for me.  I took off in a dead run back to the caravan. It turns out that the undead had come up from behind and attacked the caravan. I got there two late as one of the brothers had been killed. I was able to protect the others by putting up a wall of fire. We the advantage we were able to dispatch these undead.

Although we have lost one of our own after some discussion we have decided that once we get back to a town we need to bring him back. I suggested that we use speak with dead to ask him if he wants to come back. His brother insists that he would want to come back. I look forward to a day soon when we can once again enjoy a drink with him as he propositions the barmaid.  I have come to understand that these barmaids are pretty used to drunk men hitting on them.

Kali used magic to scout ahead and it was a good thing as there are a lot of Yeti ahead and from what she said there king is huge. I have to wonder if the Yeti are going to be friendly, although since we killed one of their own that might be highly unlikely.

My plan is to stay awake until the last watch so that I can keep the wall of fire up pretty much all night.

Ivan’s letter to his wife

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Sesi,

I am writing this letter from a tavern in Jaagiin. The ale is not bad but the atmosphere just isn’t the same without you. I found someone that told me that they could get a letter to the other side of the ice, for a price of course.

The gods have favored me with new spells but not with the one that will allow me to communicate with you. I will be asking Qatana to magically contact you in a few days to let you know that we are safe so by the time you get this letter it will be old news. The gods have decided to grant me Desna wrath and fire. I know that you are thinking that any idiot can create a fire but I can make a wall of fire. This has been very useful against the undead and I suspect those with fir to burn. It has also become my go to spell for creating snowmen on the high ice. Oh Yes I have finally found a way to create snowpeople in the extreme cold.

Arriving in Jaagiin I have to admit that my thoughts turned towards letting the others continue on with the quest and heading back over the high ice. I just have to have faith that continuing on is just the right path to follow. If you are reading this to grandmother just let her know that I have not forgotten her words on this matter and that I remember that this is the will of the wind spirits. At times it almost seemed like I can hear a voice in the wind. I wonder if I am going crazy or if the wind spirits are trying to encourage me forward.

Excuse the ale stain on the letter as I had a little tussle as this guy tried to run off with my bag of spending money. My thoughts were of you focused on you and I didn’t notice, the bag only had a couple of gold so we would not have been out that much money. The barmaid was bringing me some stew as he was stealing so she alerted me. I really like magic and weak willed people. Over an Ale that he paid for we reach an agreement. He would give me two gold, never come within sight of me, and I will not force him to cut off his own fingers on his right hand. I don’t have any magic that could force him to do that but he doesn’t know that. I know you are thinking it and yes the two gold was for the barmaid.

So back to the whole quest thing I do worry that something will happen to Ameiko and one of the party would have to take over. I just can’t imagine us being the royal family and it kind of scares me to think of Kali taking on the mantle. I like Kali but my preference is to put someone on the throne that is ready to rule the people and not looking at the next business deal. It just seems like business people going into government is not always a good fit for the people. Before you know it they are taking away the rights of common people just to put a few more gold in the pockets of fellow business people. So I have to continue on this quest and keep Ameiko safe for the common person. I think at least with her the common folk will get a fair shake.

I just realized that the bard is playing an interesting and strange song. The people in the tavern must have heard this before because some of them are getting evolved with the song whistling. It seems that at certain pauses the crowd would start whistling. It seems like the crowd really gets involved after the lines with “Always look on the bright side of life”. Anyway I wrote down as much as I could get or remember. There is more to the song but I just didn’t get it written down. It was a catchy song.

So always look on the bright side of death!
Just before you draw your terminal breath.
Life’s a piece of shit,
When you look at it.

Life’s a laugh and death’s a joke, it’s true,
You’ll see it’s all a show,
Keep ’em laughing as you go.
Just remember that the last laugh is on you!

And always look on the bright side of life

Always look on the bright side of life

Come on guys, cheer up

Always look on the bright side of life

Always look on the bright side of life

Worse things happen at sea you know

Always look on the bright side of life

 

So take care my love

Ivan

Ivan’s journal Kuthona 22nd, 4712

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Kuthona 22nd, 4712

Today we extinguished the storm tower. I just have to hope that these creatures never make their way down to Iqaliat.  I have never seen beasts like this before it was truly an experience to remember.

The wind was howling to the extent that using my longbow was not even possible in parts of this tower. There were times during the assault on the tower where the others didn’t really need my help and I was wondering if they even needed me here at all.

After fighting undead at the entrance of the tower we found a tree that tried to kill us. This was a vicious tree that grabbed Qatana and then kind of spit her out in some type of pod. While the others were working on killing the living tree I ran over and started cutting Qatana out of the pod. I later found out that it was using acid to finish her off.  After the tree was dead I think they said something about the tree being carnivorous. I am not sure if I will every look at trees the same way after this.

We found a control panel and Radella spent some time trying to figure out how to make it work. She was finally able to get it to work well enough to get us to the second floor. The worms on the second floor were vicious. I spent the entire battle running from or trying to escape from the worms. Both worms ended up dead at the hands of the others but I really couldn’t tell who killed which worm from the vantage point of inside one of the worms. Upon the death of the worm holding me I was thrown out and made a perfect landing but I was still invisible so no one witnessed my great feat.

We found another control panel that even Radella couldn’t figure out. Luckily for us Qatana had a spell that could cut holes into stone.  These fascinating crystal creatures inside used some type of teleport magic to move around and attack us. One by one we destroyed these crystal creatures but they also had the ability to cast the spell—

“Qatana what was the spell those crystal creatures used on Olmas and Sparna? It’s for my journal. “

“Tooch of idiocy”

“How do you spell that?

“Oh you said ‘touch’. Thanks”

Touch of idiocy

Qatana, Kali, and Sparna figured that these crystal creatures were somehow have been keeping this

“Qatana what did you call that blue crystal thing in the room? ‘Machine’, right.”

Machine running for hundreds or maybe thousands of years. It only took Qatana and I about 40 minutes to pull all of the crystals out of the walls. 4 of the crystals radiated magic.  Kali seemed most concerned with the two that could cause blindness but there were also two crystals that will protect us from the extreme cold.

In the meantime Radella was working to get the platform to go up to the third floor. I am not exactly sure how she figured this out as it was very complex. Before going up to the third floor Kali sent an elemental up to see what was up on the third floor. With the information that there were undead she sent a fireball up to the third floor that exploded with boom. She next sent up some earth elementals and less than a minute later two of the undead bodies went flying by.

With resist energy from the wand providing electric and cold plus my hide from undead we head up to the third floor on the platform. We all moved off the platform. There was a blue female creature with wings up on a platform 50 feet in the air.

“Qatana what was the name of that blue woman?”

Oh guess since Qatana isn’t here anymore I will have to just refer to her as the ‘blue woman with wings’.

The blue woman with wings looked tough and everyone but Kali and me flew up to engage her. This is the first time I have ever used hide from undead so I did not realize that as soon as someone attacked the blue woman with wings that it would break the spell. I suddenly found myself unable to move after being hit by one of the undead. From my vantage point I watch as Sparna flew down and vanquished one of the undead before he himself was unable to move. Things got worse as I heard a thud to my right. I wanted to turn and look by I was just not able to clearly see what it was, It definitely didn’t look friendly.

I was able to break free from the paralyzing hold this creature had on me and dashed over to Kali and Sparna to recast the hide from undead spell. This provided us with some time. I was able to free up Sparna and watched as Kali headed to the celling and surprisingly blocked the strong winds.

The battle finally turned in our favor as Sparna and Radella converged on the blue woman with wings and ended her reign of terror.  Once all of the undead had been allowed to pass onto the next life those that could fly smashed the blue crystals bring calmness to the tower of storms.  Clearly this is no longer the tower of storms.

We looked over the gear and her headband looked really nice. Qatana, Radella, and I all had interest in the item but in the end both Qatana and I kind of decided that it may not be the right item for us so Radella will be the one buying this from the party.

After some time Radella figured out how to make the platform go down. Seems like we could have saved time by just jumping. On the first floor Radella wanted to check out the control panel more and Olmas wanted to pick mushrooms. As it turns out the mushrooms byte back, well at least the invisible ones do. Olmas was showing off when the sword granted him the ability to see invisible. It must have been funning to anyone watching us swing at nothing. A few minutes after killing a mushroom creature it became visible. Parts were gather and we headed back to the caravan.

Since leaving Iqaliat I keep having the same dream. I am looking down at a group of undead. Right after Kali casts her fireball I cast this mysterious spell. As the spell goes off all of undead are attacked by pastel light pink and blue butterflies with imagines of stars, suns, and moons upon their wings.  In what sounds like Koya’s voice I hear

“Desna’s wrath affects those farthest from her the most while those deemed worthy will be spared her wrath. “

So clearly the spell that I asked the gods for is not the one they chose to give me.  Koya just tells me to trust in Desna’s wisdom and that I should have let her dance at the wedding. Turns out people in a small town can’t keep a secret.

Sesi when you read this I admit that your suggestion that maybe we should wait for my friends to return would have been the correct thing to do.  After watching everyone go through the struggles of adjusting to the high ice I can see where a party would have been good for them.

Ivan’s Iqaliat adventure Part II (family is everything)

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Day 5 evening

Sesi quickly led me through the streets up to the door of her home. Inside an old woman started to dish up what looks like stew.

Sasi said “Ivan this is my Grandma”

I replied “Nice to meet you”

Grandma said “Oh Ivan we met on the night of the party. There were a lot of people there so I am not surprised that you don’t remember.”

Grandma said “come eat while it’s hot and tell me about your family”

For a couple of hours this woman grilled me for every detail about my family. I tried to change the subject a couple of times but she just kept politely bring me back to talking about my family. At one point I looked over at Sesi who was washing the dishes.

Sesi just smiled and said “Grandma won’t stop until you tell her everything”

Grandma in a convincing voice somehow persuaded me to keep talking about my family. Unfortunately she played on the fact I have a close bond with my family so it is too easy for me to ramble on about my family. I haven’t even shared this information with the group of people I am traveling with yet I spilled everything to these two.

Grandma said “Well Ivan I am glad to meet a young man with such deep a connect to his family. Now help an old lady up. I want to move over to my chair.”

Grandma limped over to the chair and sat down.

I said “Are you ok”

Sesi said “she hurt her leg but won’t go see the healer”

Grandma said “I will be alright in a few days”

Before Grandma could refuse I said while casting healing “Here I can help with that”

Grandma said “That does heal better. You hunt and you can heal. That’s interesting”

I said “Well I should be going”

I felt a tug as Sesi pulls on my arm as she said “Nope, Grandma is going to tell a story now”

Sesi guided me over to an oversized chair and sat me down. She went into the kitchen area and returned with a drink for Grandma before climbing into the chair with me. I kept waiting for Grandma to tell me to watch were I put my hands but she just started telling stories about Sesi’s family.

Hours later Grandma finally finished. She got up and proclaimed “I’m off to bed, Ivan you can stay in the first room at the top of the stairs.”

Sesi said “Good night Grandma”

Grandma replied “Good night”

Sesi yawned and said “I’m really tired”

I replied “I should go then”

Sesi cuddled in closer and just said “nope”.

A few minutes later Sesi was asleep. There was nothing for me to but to lay there and enjoy the moment.

 

Day 6

The morning started with the door opening and Atana walking into the house.

Sesi just turns her head towards Atana and said “Good morning Atana”

Atana said “I was going to ask you about Ivan but”

Atana continued to speak “I was hoping to get use of Ivan to help carry fire wood out to the other hunting site. His bag holds a lot of fire wood so we won’t have to make several trips.”

Sesi replied “That will be a lot more fun than helping Anuun move barrels.”

Atana said “meet me at the gate in 30 minutes”

I gathered up my stuff and met Atana and Eska at the gate. The trip to the hut was an easy walk even at the fast pace being set by Atana. Even the weather was nicer than the first trip. We quickly stacked the wood and then sat for a quick break before returning.

Atana said “Ivan the weather is really good maybe we should stay and hunt for a day or two. What do you think?”

Eska interrupted with “I have to get back. We should start heading back”

Atana replied “what if we hunt for the rest of the day and then head back first thing in the morning?”

Eska replied “I guess that would be ok”

Atana replied “Fine then it is settled”

Atana and I spent several hours hunting before returning to the hut. Again I had to wait around while Atana and Eska get enough sleep.

Day 7

Eska has been complaining about having to sleep in the hut since last night. We started to pack up when all of a sudden he yelled “Keep your hands off Atana” while attempting to hit me. I didn’t know what to say.

Eska continued “You can’t take her away from me.” While again trying to hit me.

Atana grabbed Eska and pulled him outside. They were out there for about 5 minutes when Atana return.

Atana said “Eska is worried that once I experience you” while hand signaling the double quote sign for experience.

I replied “That’s crazy. Didn’t you tell him that we don’t have a connection like that?”

Atana replied “yes, but..”

I replied ”but what?”

Atana continued with “I don’t really find you attractive. Basically I think of you as just a friend.”

I replied ”but what?”

Atana replied “just a minute” as she heads outside.

A few minutes later Atana opened the door and walked back into the hut.

Atana in a monotone voice said “I don’t find you attractive but I have this compelling urge to be with you. So let just get this over with so I can get on with my life with Eska”

I was still trying to figure out what she had said when I noticed that Atana was halfway undressed.

I replied “wait no. we are not going to do this”

I picked up my pack and headed out the door. I glanced over at Eska and said “Go take care of your woman”

After a few minutes Atana and Eska emerged from the hut ready to head back to town. For the first several hours none of us said anything. About 45 minutes from town I saw Eska trip and fall breaking the silence with “shit I hurt my ankle”

Without saying a word to either of them I walked over and cast cure wounds on Eska.

I said “Can you walk now””

Eska replied “Yes, that feels better”

We made our way back to town without any further words between us. Eska quickly headed off towards his work and Atana just stopped.

Atana in that same monotone voice said “It’s not too late you can still have me“ as I walked past her.

I headed over and checked on Sparna and he was working on the armor. I started to walk to the defacto meeting place “The tavern” but I decided to try Sesi’s house first. I knocked on the door and a few minutes later her Grandma opened the door.

Gandma said “Ivan you don’t have to knock, just come in side. Sesi is over helping Anuun move some barrels. You should go over and help them”

Following Grandma’s instructions I found my way to Anuun.

I said “hey Anuun how can I help”

Anuun replied “Atana, Eska, Sesi, and Ulva are working over their so let just have you go with Sedna on the wagon to help her unload.”

I said “Hi I’m Ivan”

In a gruff voice Sedna replied “Yes. You are the outsider”

After about 15 minute riding with the quiet Sedna we arrived at the destination.

The man gruffly said “Why is he with you”

Sedna replied “Anuun sent him to help unload. I guess Anuun couldn’t find something useful for him to do so I got stuck with him”

The man replied “Oh. Just make sure he doesn’t drop any of the barrels”

I quietly worked to unload the barrels and then waited on the wagon as the woman finished up talking with the man. Once we finally made it back I tracked down Anuun.

I said “Anuun I don’t think it is a good idea for me to work with Sedna”

Anuun replied “Oh gosh I forgot about her dislike for outsiders. I don’t suppose her husband was any friendlier. Wait here a minute”

Anuun headed off out of site and a few minutes later I see Sesi round the corner.

Sesi in a sassy voice said “I here you have woman troubles”

I said “So does that mean I am in trouble with you?”

Sesi again in the sassy voice said “It depends”

I replied “Depends on what?”

Sesi again in the sassy voice replied “It depends on if I have to sleep in the chair by myself again tonight”

I replied “Is that an offer”

Sesi replied “Of course”

We continued working together for the rest of the day. Once the work was done Sesi and I agreed that this might not be a good day for me to visit the tavern. We headed over to her house and spent a pleasant evening that included stories of grandma’s father. I was surprised to learn that grandma’s father was an outsider before marrying her mother. Once again we fell asleep together in the chair.

Day 8

The door opened and Ulva stepped in out of the cold. Ulva looked over at us still cuddling in the chair and said “Is she awake yet”

Sesi replied “Yes”

Ulva replied “Good we need to talk”

Ulva continued with “My sister is still obsessed so I was thinking that we could take Ivan out for a couple of days of hunting”

Sesi replied “That’s a great idea. I have missed out on the last few hunts so it would be great to get away. I can be ready in an hour so get your stuff and me us back here”

Ulva replied “Ok, be back in just a little while”

A little while later Ulva and Anunn arrive all packed for the hunting trip.

Ulva said “Ivan I stopped by and told Sparna that you will be out hunting for a few days”

I replied “thanks”

We made our way through the streets towards the gate. As we passed by the general store Ulva said “Wait I want to get something”

Sesi replied “I’ll go with you”

From behind us we heard “We don’t like outsiders that treat our women poorly”

I turned around and said “Just relax. We don’t want any trouble”

I figured they were like the others in town that openly don’t like outsiders but I was wrong. The first hit from the clubs they were carrying felt like this guy was channeling Sparna or Redella. I attempted to dodge out of the way but the other two landed solid hits on me as well.

I heard Ulva yell “Hay stopped that. He is not hurting anyone”

Sesi replied “Ivan please don’t hurt them”

I heard footsteps behind me that I was really hoping it was Sesi and Ulva.

The fourth thug was holding a club up to Anuun’s face and said “Stay out of this Anuun. I don’t want to hurt you”

I simply stepped back without any weapons in hand and healed myself. Why did the gods decide at this moment to give me the least amount of healing as possible, there must be a lesson?

I felt the contact of some more maces. Everything started to get fuzzy. Everything was fuzzy but I am pretty sure that at least one of the two Ulva’s must be real. I heard talking but I just could not make out what they were saying or who was talking. There was something just in front of me but I could not clearly make out who it was. Oh it’s the ground and then the world goes completely black.

A strange voice said “Ivan”

I replied “where am I”

The strange voice said “That’s not important right now”

The voice continued “The real question is not where you are but why you are here”

I replied “I don’t understand”

The strange voice replied “Of course you don’t and that is exactly why you find yourself here right now”

I replied “Who are you?

The voice replied “That is the right question. Now don’t make me do this again.”

Day 9

The darkness began to fade being replaced by a view of a blurry room. At first I could hear talking but I wasn’t sure if it was real.  Soon everything becomes clear.

Sesi said “Oh finally you are awake. Grandma wasn’t sure how long it would take for the healing herbs to take affect”

I replied “how long have I been out”

Sesi replied “Since yesterday”

I said “help me up”

Sesi sternly said “No Grandma told me you needed to stay here and rest”

I replied “can you at least let me sit up. It is easier to cast healing while sitting”

With a bit of effort and pain I was able to sit up. The first cast of healing felt so good and after the second healing spell I felt like normal again.

I said “ok I have healed myself can I get up now”

Sesi replied “No. You have to rest until Grandma says that it is ok”

Looking over at Sesi I noticed she was not wearing her normal boots and said “Nice boots”

Sesi replied “I’ll give them back once grandma says you’re ok:”

Sesi said “So just a few minutes ago before you woke up you were talking like someone else was here. At the same time this symbol started to glow”

On que Grandma entered the room and gave me a quick look over. Grandma said “What’s this about glowing symbols”

Sesi replied “That one was glowing and then this area started to glow and as you can see he now has the symbol of the wind spirit”

Grandma replied “That is the symbol of Cayden Cailean. Very interesting. So does this happen often”

I replied “No, as far as I know it has never happened before”

Grandma replied “We should keep this to ourselves for now.”

I said “Can I get out of bed now?”

Grandma replied “I’m not stopping you” as she walked out of the room.

Sesi stood up and said “Today you are going to rest. But I see no reason that we can’t have you rest in the chair downstairs”

We spent the rest of the day and night cuddling in the chair.

Day 10

The door opened and Anuun walked in with Eska in tow. An obvious look of nerviness shown on his fact and be spoke “Ivan I am sorry for going crazy, I just was so jealous.  I didn’t even think they were listening when I was complaining in the tavern”

I replied “I don’t blame you for the actions of those that were just looking for any reason to go after any outsider”

Eska said “I can you guys talk to Ulva for me?”

Sesi jumped in and said “Let’s me later at the tavern. All of us”

Eska responded in a shaky voice “ok but you’re going to talk to Ulva first right?”

Anuun responded with “I’ll talk to Ulva”

On the way to the tavern we stopped in to talk with Sparna.

I said “Sparna I need a special shortsword. Something like this can only be created by someone that I would consider like family. The sword has to have these 4 symbols on the blade and the symbol of Torag on the hilt.”

Down at the tavern everyone seemed happy. I didn’t even hear any stray comments about outsiders. Everyone was friendly and I heard stories and legends about creatures that live on the high ice. It was nice to have all 7 us once again showing each other that we are still friends.

Sesi suddenly stood up and said “It’s time to go dance to the wind spirits. What do you say Ivan are you ready to try it again?“

I replied “You’re very brave while wearing those boots aren’t you”

Sesi replied “Yep”

I casted endure elements on the rest of us and we ran off to the cliffs once more, this time with clothes on. At the cliffs we laughed and danced for hours before everyone headed off home.

Day 11

The door opens and two figures of Anuun and Ulva enter. Sesi just lifts her head slightly to greet the two “Good morning Ulva, Anuun”

Ulva replied “You two are always in that chair. “

Sesi replied “It’s our spot”

Ulva said “So we never got that hunting trip in. How about we head out today. Anuun and I are ready to go.”

Sesi replied “Ivan is always packed. He is always hopeful that we are going hunting. Come on you can help me pack.”

After a few minutes they returned and we headed out. This time we made it past the gate and onto the trail.

I said “Oh wait I didn’t tell Sparna”

Ulva replied “Anuun and I stopped by the forge on the way to the house and told Sparna”

After several uneventful hours we made it back to the ice hut. We split into two group Sesi and me in one group and Aunuun and Ulva in the other. After several hours Sesi and I had all of our traps in place. It took Ulva and Anuun quite a bit longer to get all of their traps set so they return to the hut about an hour after us.

Anuun said “sorry I am not really good at trapping”

Ulva said “I actually asked him along so we could spend some time together”

Sesi said “oh Ivan likely doesn’t know that you guys are now engaged”

I must have had some kind of strange look on my face because all three of them just started laughing.

Anuun said “Ivan relax. Sesi and I both know about your fling with Ulva”

Ulva said “It was fun but my heart as always belong to Anuun. You were my last fling”

I replied “That’s ok. It has always been the story of my life”

Sesi said “What do you say are you ready for her to be your last fling as well?”

I said something like “ah ah ah ah. But grandma said it was important for me to finish helping Ameiko!”

Sesi replied “Yes my husband will have to go off and save the world. But then you will return home to me”

I replied with “ok then I will just stay here and let the others continue on with Ameiko”

Sesi replied “The wind spirit symbol that showed up while you were hurt was a clear sign. The wind spirit was telling me that I have to let my husband go off and save the world unless you really don’t want to be my husband”

I replied “ok but I think it would be better if my companions don’t know about it just yet.”

Ulva said “So just keep your friends out of the tavern and we should be ok. I will let the chief and heartmistress not to say anything. Although there is usually a party when we have weddings so that might be hard to hide.”

Sesi replied “If we hurry back to town so the party is done before his friends return then it might be possible. Most of the people don’t like to talk with outsiders anyway.”

Anuun said “What about Sparna?”

I said “I’ll just ask Sparna to not share this. There is no way we can have a party without Sparna showing up to talk with the people.”

Ulva replied “true. Besides even some of the people who don’t talk with outsiders have been talking with Sparna?

We hurried back to town to arrange the details. We stopped by the house to tell grandma.

Sesi said “Grandma were going to get married right away.”

Grandma replied “Ok, let me go tell everyone that the party is a go for tomorrow”

Sesi and I just stood there looking at each other as we watch grandma head out the door. I clasped Sesi’s hand and gently pulled her over to the chair.

Sesi said “Well we might as well get comfortable”

Day 12

We awoke to grandma handing us each a drink. Grandma excitedly said “drink up its going to be an exciting day”.

As grandma scurried off Sesi said “Maybe we can just run off and get married”

I replied “Nope. Grandma would kill both of us”

We made it through the rest of the day. Luckily Ulva and Anuun decided to get married at the same time so at least we were not the complete focus of everyone.

Day 13

The door open and Ulva entered the room. Looking at the two of us she said “You know that you are married now so you don’t have to sleep in the chair”

Sessi whispered “I think we decided that we were too drunk to make it up the stairs. It’s all kind of fuzzy.”

I began to cast delay poison to help myself but my own loud voice hurt so much that I couldn’t complete the spell.

In a low voice Ulva said “So I think we should skip hunting for today”

Sesi whispered “If either of you make me move I will kill you”

I imagined that Ulva was likely finding this funny but I couldn’t focus my eyes enough to actually see her.

Day 14 Return of the Caravan (Neth 8th)

The others returned today and over a pint at the tavern my new friends were properly introduced to my traveling companions. One of the thugs from a few nights ago walks up and said “here Ivan I didn’t get a chance to buy you a drink Ah the other night.”

Ulva smiled and said “He was stubborn but with the help of Sparna he now has a new respect for outsiders”

 

 

Neth 10 evening

Sesi and I have spent the last couple of days at the ice hut hunting and spending time together. I told the others that she was teaching me how to better hunt on the ice, which is truthful.

Our first argument was over equipment and money.

I said “So I will feel better if you keep the boots so I know that you are protected from the cold”

Sesi replied “Absolutely Not. These boots are going to make sure you get back home to me safely. You can give them to me when you get back home”

I replied “I’m not going to win on this one am I”

Sesi sassily responded “No my love”

I replied “Ok then here is one of my extra bows, and I will get another masterwork shortsword. Since you are not going to take the boots then I insist that you take one of the campfire beads.”

I pulled 50 gold out the small bag and put the rest in the pile of stuff for Sesi.

Anger shown on Sesi face as she said “I am not some helpless woman that needs to be taken care of. I am not asking for your money”

I replied “I just decided to leave most of our money here at home. Is it ok for me leave stuff at home?”

Sesi replied “Oh, I miss you already.”

Sesi handed me a brand new shirt and said “Here I bought you a new shirt”

I replied “But this shirt is fine”

Sesi picks up my perfectly good shirt off the bed puts the shirt on. I guess that shirt is staying here.

Neth 11

I said my goodbyes to Sesi and we headed down the road towards fate.

 

Ivan’s Iqaliat adventure, part 1

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Day 1 it’s time to party in Iqaliat

To Kali’s dismay the town held a big party to celebrate the death of the dragon and their very survival. This community has a strong bond and I heard story after story about the people killed by the dragon. This party was in part to celebrate the life of those killed by the dragon. Walking through the crowd listening and talking with the people I was a little shocked to truly comprehend how many people died at the claws of the dragon? So many people have lost loved ones to the dragon. With the closeness of this community it is hard to understand how the shaman could betray his people and bring so much death. I can’t even begin to imagine the pain these people are going through. It seems like everyone has lost someone to the dragon and a few stories recounted entire families killed by the dragon.

As I was walking between groups a man that looked maybe the age of my companions approached me. He didn’t look as drunk as most of the other people and approached with purpose. I immediately prepared myself to take on a co-conspirator of the shaman. My thoughts jumped to way would he approach me in this crowd instead of waiting for me to be alone. I relaxed when I noticed a drink in one hand and some bread in the other hand. Quickly I decided to keep on guard but see how this plays out. He approached and just started talking.

The man said “Your Ivan right? My name is Anerk. I think that it such as great thing that all of you have done for us. Such bravery is hard to find these days. I myself would have gone but I hurt my knee and that is such a long trip for someone like me with an injured leg. Are you having fun??

I replied “Yea I guess”

Anerk said “Great. So you know Kali really well right? I am sure that her bravery was a shining inspiration to someone as young as yourself. You’re so lucky to have the privilege of traveling with a fantastic woman such as her. The brown eyes of hers are so dreamy and I am sure you would agree that her figure is as dreamy as her eyes. Do the other women get jealous of her beauty? I would love to be traveling the world with Kali.”

Anerk pauses looking like he expects some type of response.

I replied “Yea I guess”

Anerk continues to talk “So you’re her friend, how can I get to know her better. Maybe you could introduce me and tell her what a good guy I am.”

I replied “I think it would give a better impression if you introduced yourself. It is not my place to get involved with Kali’s personal relationships.”

Anerk replied “Ok with your encouragement I think I am ready to talk to her. Do you know where she went?”

I replied “Ah no”

Anerk wandered off looking for Kali. I am not sure what to say when Kali questions me about Anerk. I did try to stay out of it. As I turned to put some distance between Anerk and myself I bumped into someone.

A voice said “Hi my name is Piquana. I saw you talking with Anerk. He is going through a tough time losing all of his family. He is normally a good guy and obsession with your friend is the first thing he has shown any interest in since the dragon killed

his parents and sisters.”

Paquana continued speaking “So are you enjoying the party? I still don’t really understand why after so many years this dragon suddenly decided to start attacking us now. Normally we take care of ourselves but I guess everyone some time in their life needs heroes.”

Paquana paused to take a drink and then continued to talk “Even with you taking care of the dragon there are still some that don’t trust outsiders. “

Paquana paused to finish off her drink and then continued to talk “It looks like I need to get another drink. Winter is coming and soon you won’t be able to see anything. With all of the dragon attacks I just hope that the hunters have gather enough to last through the darkness. Well I really need another drink.”

Paquana stumbled as she walked away pausing a moment to say “Tell Sparna my forge is always open for him to use.”

From behind me a female voice said “Hey Ivan do you want to have a drink with us?”

Turning around a small group of teenagers are sitting at the table. One of the guys motions for me to come over and sit with them. I accepted the invitation.

He started talking “I am Anuun, this is Eska, this is Ikiak, this is Sesi, and twins are Ulva and Atana. Here have a drink, I think you need it after Anerk and Piquana.”

Over the next couple of hours we shared stories. I told them about growing up on a farm in the south and I learned a lot about each of them. The families Anuun and Eski handle brewing and tavern in the town. Ikiak works in the general store with his family. Sesi, Ulva and Atana are hunters, both families have a deep tradition of hunting. Like on the farm people tend to follow the family path but at least here it is up to each person.

After the long evening of getting to know my new friends Ulva stands up and said “I’m ready”

I said “ready for what”

Anuun replied “Just a little run through the town. I hope you don’t get too cold”

On the way over to one of the now empty houses they explained that as part of my initiation into their little group we would be streaking up to the cliff’s and then back to the house.

Anuun said “We normal go up to the cliffs during the warm months and dance in front of the spirits but this time of year it can be dangerous. Once we get up to the cliffs the blowing wind get frightfully cold. “

Sesi speaks “Oh Anuun it won’t be that bad. It’s a warm night and we can all run back and stand in front of the fire.”

We made it to the house and waited around for the fire to get good and warm.

Eski said “Ok the fire is warm enough. Everybody get ready. Ivan we do this only wearing boots and nothing else”

I said “I will switch boot as wearing these boot would be cheating. They are magic and keep the wearer warm.”

Ikiak said “Glad we can trust you not to cheat”

Without the boots the night air was very cold. It must have looked bizarre to anyone watching the seven of us run for the cliffs. As we headed into the tunnel on the way to the cliffs several of us collided and I hit the wall and almost fell down.

Someone I think Eski said “wait Ikiak I think fell down”

We paused and then I heard Ikiak “no I am fine” as he runs past.

We all made up to the cliffs and there was a moment were my brain was telling to stop and cast endure elements. I pushed through and followed the others back to the warm house. With the help of a warm house, hot tea and warm blanks we were able to finally get rid of the chills from our run.

Ikiak said “So now you are one of us. It a brutal run but now we can just sit in front of the fire and get a good night’s sleep.”

I said “I think we should do it again!”

Anuun, Eska, and Ikiak almost at the same time said “What are you crazy?”

Atana speaks up “Spoken like a true hunter but the cold can be very dangerous”

Ulva said “Up here you need to know when to stay out of the cold”

I replied “I’m going and this time I plan to dance to the wind spirits. I have a plan do you trust me?”

Sesi said “Oh sure”

I replied “This time we are going to use magic to stay warm.”

I proceeded to cast endure elements on everyone.

I said “This spell will help keep everyone warm. Let’s go”

At that we headed out the door and back up to the cliffs. The run to the cliffs was a lot more pleasant this time. At the cliffs we began a dance to the wind spirits. It took a little patient instruction from the others before it started to at least look like I was doing the dance correctly. We danced to the wind spirits for hours before returning back to the house to sleep.  I had forgotten what it was like to not act like an adult.

Day 2 Let get some hunting in before the dark night

I awoke surrounded by my new teen age friends. It will be hours before they get enough sleep so I move quietly to not disturb there sleep.  As expected Sparna is over at the forge working on one of his projects. It looks as if he is working to improve his Urgosh, Odd I thought we was not working on the urgosh. I barely convinced Sparna that we should see our companions off as they head to get supplies. After some time helping get everything packed up I watched as the caravan headed out for their 12ish day supply run.

With last night’s party I expected people to be getting going late today but as we walked past the tavern they were opening up for breakfast like any other day. Neither Sparna nor I really needed food so we just walked past. I headed back to the house and quietly investigated the other rooms of the house and discovered damage to the roof likely from the dragon, with a little bit of magic the whole in the roof was fixed. I quietly wandered around the house using magic to repair some of the little things that were in disrepair. Repairing the outside used up a little more time but there were still a few hours before the others would be waking up. Walking through the area checking the other homes for damage took long enough that I could head over to the tavern and get breakfast for the group.

Over at the tavern/inn the woman cheerfully put together the “to go” package of steaming hot food. As she hands me the food she said “Well it looks like your Dwarf friend is finally going to enjoy a good hardy meal.”

I replied “This is not for him this is for the Anuun, Eski and friends”

Woman replied “Well you tell my son Eski that we need help this morning and to get right over here. Anuun’s father was looking for him. The two of them are supposed to be down moving the ale casts. Make sure they eat a good breakfast first”

The smell from the food seemed to bring them out of there slumber. I relayed the message to Eski and Anuun who quickly eat and headed out along with Ikiak. Sesi, Ulva and Atana took more time to eat and make plans for the day.

Ulva said “Sesi are you still coming hunting with Atana and I?”

Sesi replied “I wouldn’t be able to leave until tomorrow. Why don’t you take Ivan?”

Ulva replied “What do you say Ivan you up for some girls showing you up?”

I just responded “Sure. Sesi can you please tell Sparna that I am out hunting”

Atana said “It’s settled. We need to grab our stuff and get moving. Ivan are you packed?”

I replied with “Yep. I am carrying everything I own.”

Less than an hour later the three of us were on our way. Although I wonder if they really wanted me long or if they really wanted the endure elements. We head out along the wall for 3 to 4 hours before they just stopped.

Ulva said “Were here. We just need to chip away the ice around the door. You and

Atana work on the door and I will go set out the traps”

Atana replied “FINE, I CAN DO IT MYSELF I DON’T NEED IVAN’S HELP”

Ulva replied “Ivan why don’t you come with me and I will show you how we set the traps on the ice.”

I followed Ulva and once we were clearly out of earshot Ulva begins to speak “Sorry about that. My sister had way too much to drink and I think it has caught up with her. Normally it is me that she is pissed off at so this is kind of refreshing. Watch out. When she is like this she bites, hits, and kicks. Atana should be fine after she sleeps it off.”

I replied “I could try some healing magic to help”

Ulva replied “Did you forget about the part where she bites, hits, and kicks?

I said “how do you feel? I can try the healing magic on you”

Ulva replied “Like someone hit me in the head with a mace. I won’t bite you for trying”

Casting my spell I said “Here let’s try this and see if it at least makes you feel better. This is not a cure and will only last for 7 hours.”

Ulva replied “Oh that feels better. As promised I didn’t bites, hit or kick you”

We finished setting up the last of the traps and slowly headed back to the cave/ice hut. Ulva and I checked the traps later that evening and to my surprise we were already catching prey. We spent some extra time gathering up some of the worms Skygni had told me about. This is an area rich in the worms and that is what attracts the game here during the winter months. On the way back to the ice hut Ulva reaches over, takes my glove off and bites me.

Ulva said “I didn’t want you to get the impression that I am a domesticated woman that doesn’t bite.”

The rest of the night went ok and luckily today Ulva was the only woman to bite me.

Day 3 Every day is a good day to hunt

I watched as Atana woke from sleep and began to put on her boots. Heading towards the door she looked at me and whispered “Sorry. I am going out to set traps you should get some more sleep”.

I replied “wait should you be going alone? Would you like endure elements?”

Atana replied “My sister will be mad at me for going out on my own and yes Endure elements would be nice”

I replied while casting my spells “Here is endure elements and this is my beacon spell that will allow me to keep track of you. This way you can be alone but we can find you if something goes badly wrong”

As I touched Ulva with the same Beacon spell she groggily said “what is it”.

I whispered “Hush it is just me casting a spell on you”

Ulva groggily replied “Ok Ivan I trust you”

It wasn’t long after Atana left that Ulva fully woke and I explained that I was tracking the both of them with magic. I explained that she is fine and said she would be back in a few hours. Ulva and I waited around in the ice hut until Atana returned. After she had rested the three of us spent the rest of the day and most of the night out hunting.

Day 4 foggy day

We were supposed to head back to town today but thick fog started moving in so we spent the last few hours hunting before it reached us. Once the fog got thick Atana and I made one more trip out to check on the traps. It may not have been smart but with the beacon spell on Atana and Ulva we would at least be able to make it back to Ulva in the ice hut. The fog was so thick that it was hard to see the traps just feet from the ropes. We check about half of the traps when we decided it was just too hard to find the traps. We made our way back to the ice hut.

Atana said “Well it looks like we will just have to stay inside and find some games to entertain ourselves with.”

Ulva said “Ivan why don’t you tell us about all those symbols on your body?

I explained how they just appeared when I first learned about magic. Ulva and Atana examined the symbols and exclaimed that their symbol was missing. After hours of discussing the different symbols on me we called it a night and got some sleep.

Day 5

After a couple of hours I awoke and put a piece of wood on the fire. The only problem with only needing two hours of sleep is having to wait for other people to get enough sleep. I stepped outside to check on the fog and discovered that the fog was gone. I considered going out and collecting the remaining animal traps when the door to the hut suddenly opened.  A groggy Ulva grabbed my arm and pulled me back into the hut.

Ulva said in a groggy voice “No going out and being stupid. Promise me you won’t go out while we sleep.”

I replied “ok”

Moments later Ulva was sound asleep again. I spent the hours working some of the hides to keep busy until Atana and Ulva awoke.

With the fog gone Atana and Ulva easily lead the way back to town. We dropped off the supplies.

Atana said “Ivan, we will be celebrating a successful hunt tonight at the tavern. You should join us.”

I replied “Again with the drinking. Should I be worried tomorrow?”

Atana replied “I am not going to drink that much. And for the record I wasn’t that bad”

Ulva just started walking down the road as she said “See you tonight Ivan”

I headed down the street towards the forge to check in on Sparna. Inside I found Sparna working with Piquana closely watching. She startled when I entered the room.

Sparna approached me and started telling me that his urgosh was somehow different.

Brushing bits off the Urgosh I said “Ok let me take a look. This looks like some enchanting material. Let me check for magic”

After casting detect magic I said “Wow this is magic now. Looks like you put magic on both sides of your weapon. Nicely done Sparna.”

Piquana rushes over bumping against Sparna. She said “Sparna that’s is incredible. The way you use your hands to work the metal is amazing.”

We spent the next several hours discussing the process of creating magic weapons. Unknowingly Sparna followed the same process for creating a magical weapon that I learned. The whole time I kept waiting for Sparna to notice that Piquana was being overly suggestive and using any reason to make contact with him. I decided that anything between Piquana and Sparna was none of my business.

From the doorway I heard the familiar female voice of Sesi say “Piquana do you have Anuun’s new hinge done”

Piquana replied “Ah no I have finish it yet”

Sesi approached me and in a calm voice said “Grandma said that I should fetch you for dinner”.

Before I had any chance to respond Sesi moved forward and started kissing me. She paused long enough to whisper “Grandma insisted that I convience you to have dinner with us”. I tried to respond in agreement with dinner by it is not easy to talk while kissing.

On the way out of the forge I looked back at Sparna and said “later Sparna” but he was already back completely focused on working the armor. Sesi and I headed down the street to meet grandma for dinner.

Ivan’s journal

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I had some doubts about the villagers believing that the shaman was responsible for the dragon attacks but I kept my mouth shut and let the smart people figure it out. By pure luck we were able to free the guard from the creature that was enslaving him. Once the guard started thanking us for saving him from the shaman it seem pretty clear that the best option is to have the guard fetch the chief and hearth mistress.

They spent quite a bit of time talking about the pictures on the walls. I was wondering if Skygni had seen anything like this before. Obviously we can’t bring Skygni into the village as they would freak out. In the end Qatana did her speak with the dead spell and we learned that he was acting on behalf of Sithhud.  It turns out that the Oracle recently went on a vision quest to the nameless spires. Kali kept making comments about Oracles going on vision quests but isn’t our quest with Ameiko kind of turning into a vision quest? When Kali was first showing us about the high ice she specifically said that we wouldn’t be seeing the nameless spires. I kept thinking that someday I wanted to visit the nameless spires.

Stepping onto the high ice was like walking into another world. I don’t think that it is as dramatic as the story Skygni told me about falling through a tree. I stopped to enjoy the moment.  It would have been easier to enjoy the moment if Kali wasn’t still going on about having to actually walk. This landscape is so different and it is easy to see how people can get lost. When the weather kicks up finding your way out would be very difficult.

The others are so impatient that they could not even give me a few minutes to take in the splendor of the high ice.  These people really need to learn how to enjoy the moment. We are 4 days away from the dragon and they can’t wait 5 minutes to let me enjoy the moment.

So we started the trek towards the dragon. Kali was up to her usual planning only this time I think the plan was to reason with the dragon. How do you even reason with a white dragon? I saw Kali talking with Skygni and I have to wonder if she was trying to find out how she could reason with the dragon. Skygni is very practical with his opinion that it is crazy to go after dragons there is plenty of food that is easier to kill. There is a lot of since in what Skygni is saying but the fact is that we need to get the caravan passed the dragon. I think we have a better chance dealing with it on our terms rather than hers.

We witnessed a blue green light streaking in the sky. Skygni said that sometime lizard-birds drop and that they are very nasty.   If I had to guess I would say that this light comes from the nameless spire.  Even I can see that fate is guiding us to the nameless spire. But at least for now we march towards the dragon.

A few days into the trip a storm turned everything white and we were forced to wait for the storm to pass. I was about to head into the storm to test my beacon spell but I did not want to be responsible for something happening to any of the others if they noticed that I was missing and tried to find me. I will have to test it later when they wouldn’t go looking for me.

The dragon luckily was not very old and our resistance, darkvision and fly spells pretty much gave us the upper hand. I was having troubles hitting the dragon so I was wondering if she had something protecting her from arrows. We did find some protection from arrow potions so maybe that is why I couldn’t hit her with any arrows. We decided to take the whole dragon back with us. I promised some dragon meat for Skygni once we get back to the village. Once the villagers saw firsthand that the dragon was dead they through a huge party. Kali was upset and tried to convince them this was not a joyous occasion but I could tell they were not even really listening to her. Kali didn’t seem to understand that they felt that they did not have future as long as the dragon lived. When you have to live off the land life can be hard.

Skygni feasting on the dragon meat almost seemed like something special for him. I am not sure that many winter wolfs get to feed on dragons. He seemed very pleased with himself. To get supplies the caravan decided to head to Unaimo on a supply run, Sparna decided to stay in Iqaliat and work on his weapon. There is something odd but familiar in the way Sparna is working with his weapon, It reminds me of how I enchant weapons.  I have decided to stay in Iqatiat as well so that I could watch over Sparna and spend some time on the high ice. This way I can try out my spell without anyone searching for me.

 

Ivan’s journal entry for for Arodus 15 – Lamashan 9, 4712

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We had saved Ameiko and it was now time to attend to the creature behind the remaining door.   Qatana took the lead and worked out an agreement with the winter wolf named Skygni.  Some of the party including Helgarval were not please with allying with Skygni. We opened the door and then moved into the next room where Skygni fed on the dead minions. Qatana and I spent time with Skygni as he got his fill and then I helped Skygni get past the statues. I really wish that I could shapeshift into a wolf of the winter.

With Sygni freed from prison we were able to pack up the loot and get a good night’s sleep. This morning Qatana put glyphs of warding around the castle, I only wish we could be here to watch the spell go boom. I really miss fireball. I wonder how long it will take to learn how to activate wands like Radella. I am sure that a wand of fireball is expensive but it might just be worth it once my skill is high enough.  It still doesn’t make any since why the gods do not give fireball to their devoted followers.

On the way out of Ravensceag the others wanted to head down the stairs. I suggested that we just float down but they said they need to make sure it is safe for the authorities. The giant wasps provided less entertainment then watching Olmas attempt to keep in front of Ameiko. I am not sure what was funnier the way the sword insulted Olmas or Ameiko telling Olmas to defend her as she stepped into battle. It is a good thing these were not tough as I was laughing too hard to even shoot.

The mood turned sad as we found an elf inside with punctures all over the body. Deathwatch showed that although he was technically still alive his internal organs were failing due to the creatures eating him from the inside. In an instant both Qatana and I both realized he was going to die and it was more about how much he will suffer.  I provided this elf with a merciful end to his suffering.  Radella was upset until we explained that he was going to die today even if we got rid of the creatures inside him.

The trip back to Kalsgard was for the most part uneventful.  The only drama was Olmas trying to convince Ameiko that she is the heir and needs to stay out of danger. This went about as well as me trying to convince my sister to not do something.

Qatana’s obsession with the guild and selling ravenscrag took a big twist with Lute clearly stating that the guild was finished. I didn’t admit this to Kali but she was right to protect Lute.  I am glad to know that the guild is being disbanded and Qatana was visibly satisfied with the knowledge that the guild was going to be disbanded.  I can’t help but feel good about the downfall of the guild, at least we won’t have the guild chasing us.

Helgarval announced that he had uncovered the mystery of the frozen shadows and he feels that Desna has other purposes for him. We all said our goodbyes and then watch as Helgarval flew off.  Eytane also announces that her calling is taking her in a different direction. I will miss the disgusting looks that she gives me and the way she shows that she is just tolerating my presence.  Well I still have Ana to provide the disgusting looks but she just doesn’t have the same flair as Eytane. So we are now down a healer. Qatana, Kali, and I talked about this and we decided that wands of cure light wounds are needed. Healing in combat is going to get interesting.

Desna and Gorum still wanted me to follow this path with Amieko, Koya, and Qatana. It is clear that my path is going to take me to the crown of the world, how exciting. I have a hard time understanding how Eytane would think about missing out on such an exciting adventure.  I have the problems of food, cold, and darkness figured out with Kali working on two items that will solve the cold and darkness problem. I still do not have a way to survive in high altitudes or ensure that I can find my way back to the caravan if I get separated for an extended period of time. Kali and Ulf have been talking about the sickness that can hit people in the darkness, I will just have to rely on Qatana to cure me if I fall victim to this ailment.

Kalsgard was a great city and I enjoyed my time visiting the taverns throughout the city.  Compared to Sandpoint this was a huge city and there were things here that you just can’t find in Sandpoint or Magnimar. I was really tempted by a Mithral scimitar. I loved the weapon but it was just too much money to spend for what would be a rarely used weapon.

We have left the city of Kalsgard. Ahead is the constant darkness, deathly cold, starvation, and places where just breathing is a challenge. Looking back at the city as I move ahead of the caravan to scout I have to wonder if I will ever see Kalsgard again. It may have been a mistake to not send a letter to my sister but why should I disrupt her life with these troubles.  For all I know there still could be agents of the Oni that could get hold of my letter. If I tell her the truth then I am just stressing out my sister with something that she has no control over. If I try to lie to her she is going to know something is up, she always does. So the best thing is to just not send a letter. She knew when I left Sandpoint that it would likely be Months or a couple of years before I return, no reason to worry my sister.

We made our way to Turvick where we parted ways with Etayne. Kali seemed to be the most emotional about Etayne leaving the group.  I have to admit that I will miss the dirty looks that she would give me from time to time, especially when I called her the healer.  The most interesting thing about Turvick is Ulf comment as we entered the city “Can tell it’s summer because no one is drunk”. Who couldn’t love a community that enjoys its drinking? This would be a great place to open a brew pub.

Up in the Urjuk area we have a clash with two winter wolfs and a giant. I was finally able to use the dispel magic spell to dispel the  giants obscuring mist. I think Kali was trying to tell me to not dispel the obscuring mist but I knew that Sparna was already heading to the giant so I figured it is best if he can see the giant. With Skyni’s help the winter wolfs and the giant were defeated.  Our friend Skyni detected some tracks that lead to a broken caravan car. With detect magic we find a magic map that should help prevent us from getting lost on the high ice.  I am still a little worried about people getting lost on the high ice. To me the scouts seem to be at a high risk to getting lost. Since Omlas will likely be staying by Amieko’s side he likely won’t get lost but the others might.

While out scouting I saw a silver dragon fly over the caravan. I later found out that silver dragons normally don’t hurt people and that the dragon was warning us about ice tolls ahead.

Ivan’s Journal for Arodus 15, 4712

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Arodus 15, 4712

Today I have learned firsthand about troll regeneration. We failed to hit one of the trolls with acid or fire and it came back to life. >From what I understand Kali finished the troll off with an acid spell. Oracles really should get a spell like this. A spell that did fire damage instead of acid would be really cool. While we are trying to take down the trolls several of the others are opening doors looking for more trouble. I am really surprise someone hasn’t been kill running off from the rest of the party. Anyway it looked as if Olmas, Sparna, Ana, Etyane, and Kali had the trolls under control so I moved to the back of the room to watch their backs when I suddenly heard Radella call out telling us that someone was attacking her. I stepped over and began to support her from range. She did some type of strange magic that caused duplicates of herself. It appears that these were just illusions. With the Trolls finished off the little room Radella was fighting in started to fill up and I wondered if I should just let the fighters finish her off. When she disappeared and then reappeared after poisoning Olmas I decided to take the shot. The release of the arrow was as near to perfect as I think I am able to achieve. It was one of those shots that you know if good as soon as you release it. The woman dropped.

There was some cool stuff here. The Deadly kiss dagger was fascinating.  Sparna has been talking about how it seemed like metal was somehow talking to him. Looking at the dagger I started to see how they infused the magic into this dagger, this is still beyond my abilities. The magic they weaved into the earthfire shuriken’s was equally complex.  I still don’t know how I did not see the intertwining of magic and metal before now. With the Ninja outfit’s it appears that the process must be different as I could not really identify how the magic was infused into the cloth. I guess this is more of Kali specialty.

There is a part of me that really wanted the deadly kiss dagger but even I have to admit that this could be a dangerous weapon in Radella’s hands. At times when pulling arrows I have the brief thought of grabbing a melee weapon and jumping into the middle of the fray, then I remember that I only have a short sword.  With a weapon like deadly kiss it would be hard to not jump into the fray.

And now it comes down to what to do with Lute. I just don’t know which side he is on. Lead by Kali we have outfitted/loaned Lute with one of these Ninja outfits, vanish potion, and two Fugitive’s Grenades. Kali seems a little obsessive about keeping Lute safe. It did not make a lot of since until I realized that Lute is a business man in Kalsgard. I only hope that she is really helping him because she truly believes that his is innocent and not being of a possible business contact. I really hope Kali is right about Lute, after all the time and equipment invested to keep him alive it would be a shame if we have to cut his throat open and leave his body for the vultures. For now we walked him all the way back to the coat room, Kali was actually talking about taking Lute down to the horses but what is going on here is bigger than Lute.

We got Lute settled and were heading back down stairs when lightning hit most of the group. I heard someone say red feathered raven and I just said “kali is this it?” and she responded “yes”.    I pulled the arrow of greater magic beast slaying and fired it towards the red-feathered raven. It seemed like minutes before the raven fell from the rafters. I really liked that arrow and maybe someday I might be able to create them but for now they are way too complex for me. The raven has been hounding us for a long time and I am sure we all feel relieved to finally get rid of this fowl beast. Qatana took the body with her and burned the body in the furnace just to make sure it was not brought back from the dead. Clearly I am not the only one that has been frustrated by the red-feathered raven.

Behind the secret door we found very strangest creatures. They were just big animated hands. Well maybe they were a little more than just animated hands. They had an interesting effect of engulfing the attacker in some kind of pus when hit with a non- bludgeoning weapon. It turns out that a lot of the group doesn’t have just plane bludgeoning weapons. I really need to get the magic quiver as I had to stop and search my backpack for some bludgeoning arrows. I was able to hit one of the hands with the blunt arrow but it was clear that they really didn’t need my help. Why would a wizard/mage need to have hands under her bed? I am not sure what she uses the hands for.

After some debate we headed back to the water room. I thought that we could go there on the way out but the others insisted. Again it is a good thing that I am not doing the planning for the group. In the well that was guarded by some type of aberration we found the family sword.

The sword is an amazing intelligent sword.  The sword is call Suishen and it expects a commitment to it. At that moment I knew this had to be one of many tests by the gods. Without question I said that I will commit to Suishen.  Olmas finally agreed to commit but he had to think about it for a few moments, I get the feeling that the sword might have preferred Olmas anyway.  For my part I feel as this is one test that I passed.

Ivan’s journal Aug

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We held up for the night in the storage room using the ninja eggs to keep us out of sight. I wasn’t sure that using the eggs were necessary but I was proven wrong when the Ninjas opened the door and looked for us during the night. I assume that they did not detect that we were hidden.

While there is enough room for all of us in this rope trick it feels a little cramped. It is really hard to give the women space when you are packed into a rope trick. I am just not sure if some of the problem is because they are so much older then I am. It could be that big sister thing and I have always hated how my big sister treats me. Anyway changing rope tricks every 3 hours has been tough, It has been work to position myself away from the four of them. Qatana is bat crazy but I view her as a friend in spite of it and I know that I am not going to offend her. I really like Qatana as a friend but being her friend can come with challenges. For me I just have to accept that she gets into her own little world and you can’t force her to do what she does not want to do. The best I can do is provide a strong suggestion. I have come to accept that she will do things that look pretty stupid and I cannot save her from herself. I also like Redella as she maybe the most stable of all of them but no reason to tempt fate. I was trying to figure out if she would make a good big sister but the big sister I have is very judgemental and freely lectures everyone about the right way to live. Luckily none of the women that I travel with are as crazy as my big sister. The also have not shown to be aa devious as my mother and twin sister.

I have to just sit her on watch while the others sleep. Normally we can move around but there just isn’t room. For the record Olmas seems to be unlucky in combat and getting poisoned is just another example of it. He has been talking about keeping people safe and I guess he kind of is making that happen by being the focus for the enemy. I suppose if we actually had a healer he might not have so many near death experiences.

Soon after we left the storage room the Ninja’s appeared out of seemingly nowhere, obviously they are very good at hiding too bad they were not equally good at fighting. Had they been using poison this could have gone really bad for us. I have to wonder why the others had poison but these did not. Although considering that they slept across the main hall from the thugs makes me think that these were less important Ninja’s. The fact that the Ninja’s were spread on both sides of the main hall indicates that they did not figure out our exact location. After searching the area and all of the people we moved on deciding to check out the alchemy lab.

After getting the keys from werewolf’s room we moved down to the alchemy lab. Besides the strange body in the glass boxe we also found Lute. The body in the box seemed alive but we learned that this was just an experiment. For some reason it did not occur to the others that Lute might want to get away from his cell or to provide him some food. I provided Lute some food and had him look at the body in the glass box. He seemed to know what they were doing and told us that the person was already dead. That was good enough for me, still curious how we can kill whatever is in the glass box. If I understood correctly the head of the guild is an Orge mage and a purple one at that. Helgarval said that this is likely an Oni, too back the death arrow in not for Oni. Oh yea Kali said they were outsider native, Well at least the fire arrow should work on her. With Lute in tow we headed down the stairs and into the realm of the trolls. Ok in truth they are just working for the purple Orge mage.

Ivan’s Journal Arodus 14, 4712

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Arodus 13, 4712

Watching Usahkka I realize that not everyone has signed up to ensure that Ameiko takes her rightful place on the throne. I can tell that this burden has already taken a toll on me as I find myself always looking for someone to jump out of the shadows. For some reason I just believed from the beginning that Usahkka was not working with those that would stop us. Thus far that does seem to be the case and I would hate to harm an attractive woman but if she is working with these bastards then I will have her head on a pike.

Usahkka provided us with a description of Ulf so now we will at least know how to recognize him. Tomorrow we head out for Ravenscraeg.

Arodus 14, 4712

Overnight we had a situation where someone shot a poison arrow with a note attached at Ameiko’s wagon. Sparna put some fat on the arrow to make it safer and then Ana put the arrow into her backpack. I just hope she is careful when pulling things out of her pack.

The rest of the night went just fine and we headed out in the morning after getting some scrolls of darkvision and spider climb. Around noon we encountered ochre jellies and it turns out the blunt weapons are what one should use. By the time I could have gotten out the blunt arrows the creatures were dead. Once again picking the ring over the quiver is causing me problems.

We finally made it to Ravenscraeg near dusk. The plan to wait and climb the cliff at night worked out better than we had expected. We reached the fortress when Sparna suggested that we climb the wall and enter through one of the ballista slits that are the size of a window. I was looking over the window when I spotted Qatana using her dagger to lift the small bar locking the window. I quickly cast mage hand to grab and set the bar on the floor to prevent the bar from hitting the floor. I moved in and made sure the area was secure and then waved the others to enter. For my memoirs in the future this “I” is actually working with the talented Radella. Maybe I should make my journal sound more heroic.

“Once the talented Redella opened the armory door we made a profound discovery finding one lone magic arrow mixed in with all of the other arrows. I was of course honored to be offered the use of this splendid arrow. My prowess with the longbow clearly made me the obvious choice. Later we discovered that this was none other than an arrow greater magical beast slaying. This arrow could be the key to defeating some great beast, pulling victory from the jaws of defeat with a single twang from my longbow.“

I may have to burn this page. Oh god I hope that my new clothes do not make me look like a bard. Regardless of how they make me look I still have to wear them during shopping trips in towns and cities as to not offend Koya. If someone is reading my journal you should note that the combat abilities of these people that I travel with are amazing. Yes I have some talents with a bow that the other do not possess but up close these people are dangerous. While I can use the same weapons but my lower strength as compared to the others really means that I would not do as much damage. The front line can get crowded anyway so for this group it just seems like it is best to use ranged weapons and allow the others to get up close and personal. That being said I still need to find a good melee weapon for those times with I just don’t have a choice.

We started out with stealth but that all ended with the search of just one more door before heading up to try to find the head of the guild or the red-feathered raven. With the beast calling out the alarm went up. Dispatching the swarms of ravens expended the last fireball bead. The beads were handy but I just have too many other items to spend my money on.

Giving the assassins time to prepare is a bad idea. Deathblade poison on blowgun darts turns out to be very effective. Olmas and Radella were both hit with blowgun darts coated in Deathblade poison. Radella seemed to not have any issues with the poison, maybe the poison did not make it into her system. Olmas on the other hand almost died again.

Back to the battle I was able to use my tricky spell to run pass the assassins without being attacked. I just figured it would be best to move out of the way. Luckily for me normal arrows work just find on these bird like creatures.

After the battle Kali wanted to use the big scroll of restoration on Olmas while the poison with still running its course and he was only half dead. I suggested that we wait until he on the verge of dead then use the scroll. Kali and Olmas both looked at me as if I was crazy. When I explained that the restoration spell will restore all of the lost constitution I could see the light go on for Kali.

There was a little confusion as Kali thought that I was going to use the scroll, I am not the healer so it never occurred to even use read magic on the scroll. Luckily Qatana had used read magic on the scroll. I could have just cast read magic and been ok with using the scroll but that would have delayed casting restoration on Olmas. Maybe I should always cast read magic on scrolls that we find just in case.

So the use of poison should not have been a surprise. The arrow shot at the caravan should have been a clue that we should watch out for poison. Our lack of the obvious almost cost Olmas his life and it resulted in us using a valuable scroll to do the job of a simple delay poison spell. Etayne was going on about how she should have learn delay poison but she still has to memorize the spell for the day. If the powers to be are going to keep sending assassins with poison after us this could become a big issue.

I am trying to figure out if there is something wrong with me. Kali had another one of her crazy ideas, this time it was to use one of the poison blowgun darts to poison the red-feather ravens nest. The issue is that this makes since, so my thought is that maybe I am going crazy or being controlled in some way. I suddenly realized that the difference is that she was doing these other tricky things during combat and this time we were not in combat. These extra spells given to me by the gods have come in handy as I was able to use mage hand to position the blowgun dart in place so that it will poke the creature the next time it gets into the nest.

I don’t get to carry either of the two blowgun with Deathblade, Radella and Sparna currently each have one. I am thinking that maybe we should start using poison against the assassins to give them a taste of their own poison. That also means that if I am going to start handling poison more often then I should make sure I am not effected by poison. Note to self, check into arrow enchantments that work like poison. Also check into what it takes to make arrows of slay and arrows of greater slaying.

For the record Olmas is still alive.