Category Archives: Jade Regent

The Jade Regent adventure path.

Character: Qatana

Qatana’s Journal for Pharast 28, 4713

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Oathday, Pharast 28, 4713 afternoon
Beneath the House of Withered Blossoms

Our plan for sneaking up and ambushing the the two guards at the bottom of “the drain” before they could make a noise went almost according to plan. We did sneak up and kill them, but in the process of doing so a blast from a flask of some oily explosive concoction gave us away.

From deeper within the cavern came the sound of heavy movement and a loud gruff voice called out, “Who goes there? None shall pass. Identify yourselves!”

By this time most of my companions had flown off to the far end of the pool, where there was some sort of commotion, and so to delay any attack from another enemy I answered, “It’s Icharou” while infusing my voice with as much oily obsequiousness as possible.

“Not today!” came the response.

“It is too Icharou! Yassu said to come see mother.” I was counting on the voice being familiar with just how craven and stupid Icharou was to aide in my deception.

“Oh, remember what happened to you the last time you saw Yassu? If I were you I’d keep away.”

Joy! You really can’t go wrong assuming everyone else thought Icharou was a worthless fop. “I’m more afraid of mother than Yassu!”

“If I were you I would be afraid of both, but do what you will.”

By now the rest of my companions had gathered near the entrance to the cavern. Most had a grim look about them, and Zos’ giant twins were absent (I later discovered that something had swallowed them whole!), but this was not the time for questions.

We carefully moved in to where we could just make out the owner of the voice. He was a large samurai mounted upon a gorgon. He seemed bored, as did the gorgon, and with little wonder: how many invaders could there have been that had made it this far over the centuries. Not many, I warrant, and so perhaps he was not quite as alert or suspicious as he otherwise would have been.Piles of gorgon dung (some still steaming) gave off a pungent stink of sulfur and rotting flesh.

Kali and I used our usual confuse and confine technique, which had the desired affect of the gorgon and samurai attacking each other. Meanwhile my companions used ranged attacks to wear them down even further. Eventually the samurai fell and the gorgon smashed through Kali’s wall of ice, but it was grievously injured and the combined efforts of Olmas, Zos and Ivan put it out of its misery and cleared the way.

There was a door to the west, which Zos opened and stepped in while I picked through what the samurai had been carrying.

587 large master work katana
588 silver master work wakisashi
589 large composite longbow [+9 STR]
590 large master work tatami-do armor

The room to the west had been the samurai’s bedroom. Zos said that the floor was a carpet of beatles and that the bed was full of over sized lice. I took a peek later, and really, I know I am not the neatest of people, but how could anyone sleep in a room like this?

“That’s just Gross,” Timber squeaked, and the others quickly agreed, except for Beorn who simply cooed, “Mmmm, bugs.”

There were some nice items in the room which are now ours.

591 headband of alluring charisma +2 (Dasi?)
592 offering bowl set with rubies
593 gilded elephant tusks
591 jade and silver rooster funerary figure
595 10 foot panel screen of the House of Withered Blossoms when it was still pristine

We faced a small dilemma. While the panel and treasure could have fit inside a bag of holding the gorgon could not. Yes, we needed the gorgon’s body, or more specifically Zos did. As I had mentioned his giants perished back in the pool and to replace them he wanted a gorgon that he could ride.

I actually had a solution to this problem, and pulled a bolt of fabric from my pack. It unfolded to a ten foot square of silk which we spread onto the floor on top of which we were able to place all of the loot and the body of the gorgon. I then cast Treasure Stitching and the entire pile collapsed into an embroidered image of the same. I rolled up the silk and put it back in my pack.

And moments later we heard voices approaching from the north.

“Oh I can’t believe we’re doing that again. We should let the others…”

A squad of hobgob warriors came into view and started shooting arrows at us. Some of us fired back and the rest closed in and quickly reduced them and their pet giant into piles of gore and bone.

The hallway from which they had come was odd: there was a ramp that led up from a rubble strewn floor — the ramp had clearly at one time been a bridge, but the archway in the far wall to which it would have led was bricked in. The walls were decorated with scenes of oni-centric decadence and depravity, including the scene of a female oni suckling a pair of nagas.

Pools that probably led to the lake outside were to the west, and further north was an eastern door beneath the balcony from which the ramp descended. The door was wooden and swollen shut from moisture, but Radella and Olmas forced it open. The small damp chamber beyond was uninteresting except for the small potted bonsai tree that was withering within.

This must be the tree one of the kami had asked us to rescue. It looked to be in poor shape because of its prolonged exposure to darkness. Just why someone had bothered to steal the tree and bring it down here was a mystery, but we took it in the hope that it would recover once it was back outside.

We picked our way across the remains of a collapsed bridge that led us back east and into the western end of a long pillared hall that stretched east into the darkness.

We had hardly all moved into the hall when we heard the sound of hobgoblins and a giant approaching. A moment later and I was eye to eye with a giant (I was floating some teen feet up) and the brute walloped me.

Kali cast Cloud Kill, which stretched across the full width of the hall engulfing a number of hobgobs before moving eastward. We killed everything on our side of the cloud and then followed it along, swiftly slaying the occasional warrior that stumbled out, gasping and wheezing. Ivan aided us greatly here by entering the cloud (safe with Delay Poison) and luring the attackers on the other side of the cloud in to their deaths.

Nearly ten minutes and six hundred feet later and we finally reached the end of the hall and the cloud began to waft out over a pond to the southeast. We heard a loud “Crap!” from Ivan, who was still before the cloud. He had suddenly come face to face with a large wide mouthed hump backed lizard (his words) sporting a lot of razor sharp teeth, but having no eyes.

Moments later we were blasted with the force of one of these things screeching. Dasi was stunned, but Ivan managed to find his way back through the cloud to join us. Another, lower key shriek pounded us, and we realized that these reptilian frog, lizard like beasts were probably the most dangerous things we’d faced all day.

I placed a zone of Silence in the middle of the cloud to buy us some time to regroup and Kali put up a wall of force. We decided to let the poison cloud do as much damage as possible before pressing our attack.

Presently the cloud drifted out past the lizard things and dissipated. We moved in, but this time Dasi was prepared and matched his singing to counter the sonic attacks.

Even still the creatures were tough and took a lot of punishment before falling. We were all a bit tired by the time the last one dropped, and those of us who use spells were feeling a little depleted.

On the further side of the pond we could see what looked like a pile of hobgoblin bones on the shingles. So the lizard things ate the hobgoblins? Then which way had the group of hobgobs (plus hill giant) come from?

We must have missed a secret door somewhere along the hundreds of feet of hallway we had traversed. Radella seemed upset by this, but even she needs to focus a little more than was possible when we passed through.

We’ve decided to set up camp either at the far end of the pillared hall or maybe the chamber before that. While this seems risky, we do need to rest to regain spells, and it is a far better option than to drop back to some place “more safe” — or I should say “less dangerous.”

Character: Olmas

Annals of the Order of the Dragon

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as told by the cavalier Olmas Lurecia, himself.

Oathday, 28 Pharast

It never ceases to amaze me.

When we first started this journey, I felt like Qatana acted randomly, with total disregard for her own safety (or that of the others) and it made my admittedly self-imposed duty to keep her safe that much harder.  As time has passed, though, either my understanding of her or her understanding of us has changed, and I’d been thinking of her more as medium strength warrior who can also heal.

And then Zos pulls out a tanglefoot bag and Qatana is like an elfling confronting a squirrel for the first time.  She asked Zos if she could have one to take with us as we went after what we suspected were trysting hobgoblins. He shrugged and gave her one even as I prepared to say, it would be a waste if we were about to confront some unarmored and unarmed hobgoblins.  I shook my head and wondered at her thought process.

So imagine my surprise when Kali casts web on the bed on which they were cavorting.  What?  What is this fascination with tying creatures up? er, down? With a web in place, and no ring of free movement, we couldn’t really do much to engage them.  And hobgoblins are strong enough that … yes, there we go.  They’re not really restrained by them very much.  The web is flammable, however, so we did set it on fire.  And there was a flaming sphere.  And flaming Suishen, also setting webs on fire,  It was not the battle I had anticipated.

The male looked different from your standard hobgoblin.  He was certainly treated differently – the women seemed as eager to protect him from harm as … well, as he was in surrendering.

Yes, just as Radella finally got close enough to slay him, he offered to tell us stuff if we’d spare his life.  He made this offer after I’d already challenged him, and since I wasn’t really expecting a surrender but WAS expecting a battle, I got one solid hit in before I reluctantly held back at Radella’s request.  He threw me a look but then got back to the business of surrendering.  The rest of us took care of his female guests (that is, by killing them.)

It turns out he was the son of the oni we were seeking (Munasukaru).  Even though that technically made him an oni too, with a father that was a hobgoblin he was not very powerful.  Perhaps that’s why he so easily surrendered, knowing he couldn’t win an actual fight.  Being an oni, though, we couldn’t let him live either. I was surprised and a little bothered at Radella’s acceptance of his surrender.  I guess we owe no honor to a foe that continually attacks us, but it still bothered me.  I’m not sure why.

He gave us very crude maps of what lay ahead, but I got the impression that cartography was not one of his dominant skills.  In fact, the only dominant skill he seemed to have – or rather the believed he had – was the ability to have sex with every female he encountered.  Well, except Kali, Radella, and Qatana – not that he didn’t suggest he would be willing,

As we were concluding the conversation, another one in our party seemed to feel that he’d been alive long enough. From somewhere behind me, Ivan unleashed his arrows and the Ichirou, the oni gigolo, went to that big bachelor pad in, er, well, probably hell,

Ichirou did tell us there were more guards ahead, but unfortunately either didn’t know or didn’t tell us any specifics.  Since we’d already guessed there’d be more guards, that wasn’t really headline news.  He mentioned that his mother was somewhere down “the drain” which we assume is some sort of description rather than an actual drain.  We checked out the hardware he and his guests had left:

[567] 2 more MW nunchuks for a total of 3
[572] studded leather armor [+2]
[573] MW composite longbow +6ST
[574] MW nodaki (great sword)
[575] ring of protection +1
[576] 3 lacquer screens
[577] silver ring w/Tien
[578] silver brooch
[579] interlocking jade rings
[580] silver hairpin
[581] carved ivory + coral bracelet
[582] 4 silver wedding rings

Ichirou had mentioned that Munasukaru liked fire AND lightning, and can “make you do things”.  She is all-powerful.  He had two sisters that looked more like snakes – apparently Munasukaru also used little discretion in who she mated with.  Yaasu and, what did he say … Daci?  The latter was known to be magical, whatever that meant to him.

Heading towards “the Drain” we put the reconstructed giants in front.  While it would be disappointing if they were destroyed, if something could destroy them it would likely cause us a fair amount of damage too so … better them than us.

It didn’t take long after we encountered what appeared to be a deserted barracks that a giant got thunked by three arrows.  That was the start of our battle against 8 hobgoblins, in which the giants proved very useful. This allowed us to recover 8 MW morningstars and 8 MW longbows, but while we left those behind, we definitely took up

[583] 8 potions of CSW

and distributed them among all of us.  We also picked up

[584] bearskins
[585] bronze daggers
[586] dagger in lapis scabbard

From here it was a short distance until we reached “the Drain”, which really was a hole into which the river fell.  A staircase seemed to encircle the perimeter and head down, but the spray of the water made it treacherous.  We had to go single file, and the giants quickly slipped and fell into the Drain.  A quick feather fall ensured they would probably not splat at the bottom, but they quickly left our range of vision.

With me in the lead now, I was able to spot another female hobgoblin like those from above, getting ready to attack me at a slightly wider area of the stairs.  She was able to get me with an arrow before I closed with her, but I gave her some incisions in trade.  Meanwhile, alerted now, several of our group noticed some trying to climb the wall and come up behind us.  Once spotted, though, they became easy targets for Ivan (arrows) and Qatana (casting hold person, which has predictable effects when you are climbing)

When we did safely reach the bottom, the giants were waiting for us (yay). After some healing (in which some persistent golem wounds finally closed over), we inspected our surroundings. Radella announced there was a trap here somewhere, but couldn’t really identify it or its trigger.  She thought it might have something to do with a major image.

There was a large underground lake here, and of course we were still limited by our magic-provided dark vision.  We estimated we had come 250′ down the Drain, making us pretty far beneath the surface now.  Radella quietly flew around the perimeter of the lake and scouted it, reporting back that there was a shoreline upon which two more of the monk-like sisters seemed to stand watch.  We guessed that was the preferred way to go, although it was pointed out that we rarely enter an area by the obvious entrance.

In this case though, we have decided we will.  We will fly in (or air walk in) and have Qatana, Radella (invisible) and myself drop on them quickly and, hopefully, silently so that they cannot raise an alarm.

Character: Qatana

Qatana’s journal entry for Pharast 28, 4713

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Oathday, Pharast 28, 4713 mid day
Beneath the House of Withered Blossoms

A partition blocked access through the southern archway, but those of us who were flying peeked over the wall and… hmm, yes, well, some things you cannot unsee. Takoda made a rude noise, and really there wasn’t much any of us could add to that.

The room was an elaborate bed chamber and the walls were painted with scenes of hobgoblinesque carnal delights. A massive bed squatted against the far wall, and a pair of the monk-like hobgoblins that had just attacked us outside were in the bed entertaining a pseudo hobgoblin type creature.

“Now we know the difference between male and female hobgoblins,” Pookie added helpfully.

I replied, “Right Pook, but the male doesn’t look fully like a hob-gob, I wonder if it might be an…”

“Oni!” I heard Kali whisper to my right.

The word was passed back to those waiting in the hallway, and Kali filled the room with webs while the rest of us jumped down.

The two female hobgoblins screamed threats at us, like “Begone and trouble not the offspring of our god!” But the, er, proverbial son immediately fell to his knees and began to beg for his life.

He surrendered once we went through the formality of killing his entourage (naked and unarmed they posed only a minor threat).

Ichirou was the spawn of the real oni that we originally came here to find, and was perfectly happy to betray his mother by telling us what he knew of the place and her defenses.

He was in charge of these upper levels, although it seemed obvious that Fuji, the samurai oni we had slayed earlier was the one doing all of the work. Ichirou provided a description the “upper” level where we were now and some rudimentary details of his mother’s stronghold, which was at the bottom of a deep shaft he called “the drain.”

He sketched out a crude map for us and described her defenses as being mostly the hobgoblin monks (the Sisters of the Broken Path) and his mother’s offspring, including his two sisters (his mother’s “true daughters”), who were apparently terribly mean to him and had the bodies of giant snakes. These sounded like nagas, and one of their names was Yassu.

This information was not quite as useful as it might have been in that it lacked pertinent details, or to be more precise the details were for the kind of things that interested Ichirou. What mostly interested Ichirou was getting into the pants of anything female (especially the “sisters”).

Several times during his questioning he leered at me with a squinty eyed stare and made lewd suggestions about how he could be of even more service.

I would have suspected that his previous success with the sisters was mainly do to their fear of reprisals from his mother should they be anything but receptive to his repulsive demeanor, however the sisters seemed to think of his mother as some sort of a god.

Maybe that’s why they are still here. It was obvious any of them could leave if they wanted, but they don’t. I simply do not feel bad for cutting them down like vermin.

I think that the actual Oni of the Five Storms are significantly more powerful than the minions we’ve met thus far, but even so it seems like hobgoblins have a lower standard for deities than we.

Ichirou had told us all he was going to say and I was just about to offer Olmas a toss of a coin to see who killed him when Ivan shot an arrow through his eye, slaying him instantly.

We did our usual job of loot collection.

567 3 master work nunchaku and 3 daggers
568 potion of blur
569 amulet +1 natural armor
570 bracers +2 armor
571 earrings

Perhaps this place is starting to get to me, but lately I have found Beorn’s whisperings to make more sense than usual. He definitely has a think outside the box approach to tactics which I fear we may need once we confront the the head oni.

Ichirou’s lair reminded me a bit too much of the Runeforge area Takkad described as belonging to lust. Only without the decorum. Or restraint. And this place is pretty shabby: sort of like what would happen if you had hired the Runelords of Lust and Sloth as your interior decorators.

We moved on to the barracks when the remaining hobgoblins launched a surprise counter attack. It might have been more effective if we had not placed Zos’ giants in front. They took the brunt of the damage while turning the nearby hob-gobs into goo, and we took out the rest.

Soon thereafter we came to the top of a shaft leading down. A noisy river cascaded over the lip and plunged down the center and a ramp of slippery wet stone pathway cork screwed around and downward.

We sent the giants ahead of us, but they soon toppled off the ramp. Fortunately Dasi was ready with a spell of Feather Fall, and so they slowly drifted down as we walked the long way.

Perhaps halfway down we were confronted by another of the sisters blocking our way. We could make out another pair climbing up the walls to flank us from behind. Olmas took care of the sister in front of us and Ivan shot the surviving sister who menaced Zos (the other having plunged to her death after falling victim of a Hold Person spell courtesy of yours truly).

We finally reached the bottom of “the drain”, and happily our giants were safely waiting there for us. The floor was a pool of water, with stepping stones providing a way forward, but Radella has returned from scouting and has reported a pair of sisters standing guard on a ledge some distance off.

We will make use of the noise of the water falling down the drain to sneak up and swiftly take them out.

Character: Kali

Kali’s Journal, Pharast 28, 4713 (continued)

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Pharast 28, 4713 (late morning, The Penance)

Now I can add “copulating hobgoblins” to the list of things I neither want nor need to ever see again.

Ichirou was one of Munasukaru’s children. The hobgoblin women he was…ahem…entertaining said as much when we descended on them. They avowed that we would never take the great spawn of the even greater Munasukaru from them, and bravely fought to the death, giving their lives to shield him as he even more bravely begged and pleaded to not be killed, and surrendered and bound himself at Radella’s demand. While the battle raged on. Yes, you read that right: he surrendered at the beginning, while his concubine fought and died in his honor. What madness is this?

In the interest of accuracy, only one of them actually fought. The other one was caught up in the web from my spell, and she burned to death in her lover’s bed after we set it ablaze. Incinerating her was more satisfying than watching the aranea roast, though it was probably no less disturbing. I think. Yuka’s memories are pretty clear on what the hobgoblins had done to her so it’s hard for me to look at this objectively.

I overheard the others talking earlier and someone, I am not sure who, said “Kali seems more bloodthirsty than usual”. That is definitely true. It’s hard not to be when you see what I have been shown. And I know I should, but I just can’t feel bad about what I’ve been doing. Or her memories won’t let me.

Ichirou kept referring to himself as the greatest or the chosen spawn of Munasukaru. I have my doubts about that. Not about him being her son, but about that bit where he is “chosen”. Given how quickly and readily he surrendered, how desperate he was to spare his life, and how he was all too eager to sell out his own mother—an Oni of the Five Storms—in return, it’s difficult for me to see what’s so great about him, and why anyone would choose him for anything of any importance.

I didn’t sit in on most of the interrogation because Yuka was more or less urging me to burn him alive, so I had to settle for the executive summary. He was supposedly the “overseer” (those were his words) of this level of what his mother calls “The Penance”, but his official duties seemed limited to bedding hobgoblin women. The answer to every one of our questions apparently got sidetracked into women in general, the Sisters of the Broken Path specifically, and when and where he’d rendezvoused with all of them. Even the map he sketched out for us was more or less referenced in relation to his sexual escapades. Do I need to keep going on here? No? Good, because I have had enough of it, too.

The Sisters of the “Broken Path”. That’s what he said the hobgoblin monks (all of them women, obviously) are called. What does that even mean? The path to where, exactly? And how or why is it broken? The name is as ridiculously arbitrary in Tien as it is when translated to Common, seemingly chosen for its edginess and mysteriousness.

Ichirou wasn’t the only one passing the time here with romantic interludes. His mother has, apparently, been busy herself. Ichirou says he has siblings, and there may even be some he doesn’t know about since he doesn’t get downstairs too often. He talked a lot about his two sisters. They are “mean to him” (gods, it’s like talking to a child), and more helpfully, that they are large, snake-like beings with faces. We put our heads together on that one and concluded they are naga of some sort.

So Munasukaru lays with hobgoblins and gives birth to naga. How does that work, exactly? I mean, sure, oni are demons in the flesh, but the biology just doesn’t make sense and even magic has limits. And, is it a failure or a success, anyway, when an oni mates with a hobgoblin and gives birth to a naga? On the one hand, her daughters are apparently still alive so that points to the latter, but on the other hand, Ichirou was still alive, too, so that’s not much of an argument. Maybe we’ll ask Munasukaru when we see her.

Ivan shot and killed Ichirou after we were done talking to him. While he was still bound. I should probably be feeling bad about that.

(noon)

Why are there so many oni still here? Why is Munasukaru still here? I mean, what is the point? The Kami said they couldn’t enter the House as long as even one oni remained. Well, we are up to our ears in oni here: Fujai, Ichirou, and of course Munasukaru and however many other oni she has spawned over the years. If it only takes one, why do they all stay? They can obviously get out because the rest of the Five Storms did it, so what’s keeping everyone else here? Can’t they take shifts or something? This makes no sense.

The only explanation I can think of is that Munasukaru has gone completely mad. She must want to stay here, and that means she is out of her gourd.

The rest of this place makes no sense, either. There are all these hobgoblins down here, and they are living in filth and squalor like it’s paradise. Why? To be closer to their “living god”? What god chooses a garbage pit for their domain? Who follows their god into a sewer? What could she possibly be giving them that is worth being trapped underground in your own refuse? Maybe we’ll ask her that, too.

Character: Ivan

Ivan’s thoughts (Journal) The Oni Love Cave

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“Hobgoblins having sex is something I am not sure I want to see. Clearly the sexual habits of Hobgoblins does not interest Dasi or Zosimus ether, I guess the three of us will stand watch while the others head into the love cave.”

“Ok is it my imagination or have they just paused to peek over the panels, maybe there is a hidden side to my companions that I never knew about. Well at least everything out here is clear. A wall of fire pointing up the stairs should do the trick if a hoard of Hobgoblins descends upon us from the upper floor.

“Oh I see Kali casting a spell, weren’t they just going to charge in and kill the hobgoblins. Ok now I can see the webs, maybe they decided to keep them alive for questioning. Wait what Oni!”

Ivan glances over at Dasi “can I have fly”

“Let’s see if I can get into the room without getting caught in the web. Ok now which one did they say was the Oni, oh it’s the naked male hobgoblin. Not really a good shot at any of them with the web in the way. “

“Qatana looks to have that one, the other is still stuck in the web so I will help Radella with the Oni.”

Ivan shoots several arrows into the Oni.

“Wait what he’s begging Redella to keep him alive. Since when do Oni try to bargain for their life?  It may be a mistake but if that is what Radella wants. Uh that was a nice hit from Olmas. “

Ivan moves over and shoots an arrow at the Hobgoblin engaged with Qatana.

“Well now that his sex slaves are dead I’ll stay over here and just search through the stuff. “

“Oh my god this guy is so full of himself.  The fact that Qatana and Redella haven’t killed him is amazing, from over here I want to kill him. Oh god there he goes again, he seems to think that every woman wants him.”

“The map he is drawing will be very useful but I think he spent most of the time describing which females he had sex with in each area. Either these women really liked having sex with him or they were really devoted to the goddess. “

“Ok this information on his sisters and what his mother can do gives of something to prepare for. This is not going to be easy. I can see why his sisters do not like him. So knowing what the sisters are and that there are two of them is helpful, although I am not sure if he can count above 2.  ”

“So Manasukaru has a lot of magic.  Sounds like she might be able to control people as well. I wonder if that is what the dreams were warning me about. If kali does get controlled by Manasukaru the only thing I can do is maybe try to dispel the magic. I know that three of my new spells can be cast on other people, and I think one of the spells can be spread across the group. Why do the gods seem to gain enjoyment from showing me how to cast spells and then just giving me a name and only if I am lucky very basic information on the spells? It’s a good thing that I can rely on Qatana to help me understand my spells. “

“Interesting that Manasukaru can also do elemental damage spells. It seems like we already knew this but I can’t think of how we would know that. I seem to remember something about having to protect the group from chain lightening, was that in a dream. Why can’t I remember anything about her using elemental magic or why this sounds so familiar? Since she can use any of the elements I don’t see how we can protect against her elemental magic.“

“Well like the monks he doesn’t have a lot of valuable stuff. Maybe I should go out with Dasi and let them deal with it.”

Ivan attempts the intimates the Oni.

“Oh my god I threaten him and he just acts like its foreplay.  Maybe I should just leave this up to Radella and Qatana. Hopefully I can find a secret stash of stuff like Radella does. “

Ivan spends some time searching the wall of the other side of the room for any hidden compartments but only finds a pair of underwear that was most likely flung aside by one of the sisters.

“That’s a long way for the underwear to be flung. What are the chances that these panties would get stuck on the wall? They really should wash their cloths more often. Maybe the panties were caught on a secret catch.  Darn there is nothing here or maybe I just can’t see it. Maybe if Redella were to take a look.”

Ivan glances over to look at Radella.

“Oh my god is that naked fully aroused Oni really making a pass at Radella?  This takes examining the goods before purchasing to a different level and Redella doesn’t seem to be getting upset, although it is hard to tell only seeing the back of her head. Does he have the ability to control people like his mother? Maybe all of these women are throwing themselves at him because he controls their minds. Are we next to fall under his spell?  If he gets out of here what is to stop him from doing this to my wife and sister just to prove a point. The Radella I know would not put up with this unless she was interested in the offer. The only way the Radella I know would be interested in him at all is if he was beginning to control her. Is there any other reason that Radella hasn’t removed his manhood? Maybe his control over people gets stronger the longer you are around him. Are we soon going to be his guards? Are Radella and Qatana going to be his next lovers?”

Ivan quietly whispers to himself “No I won’t let that happen”

Arrows fly across the room and the mind controlling Oni falls to the ground breathing his last breath of air in this world. Ivan takes the body over to the pit and drops the dead half-oni into the pit. Pausing for a few moments to look down into the pit.

“At least this should make it more difficult for anyone trying to bring him back from the dead. “

“I will truly never really know if he could control their minds but given the situation this had to be done. He admitted his mother can control people so there is a chance that he also has the ability to control people. The followers of Gorum once told me that in battle sometimes you have to make a split-second decision, you can’t hesitate once you make the decision or the battle will be lost. I am beginning to understand what they were trying to tell me.  I’m never going to know if this was necessary but in that split-second it was the right decision so that I could keep them safe. ”

Character: Ivan

From the life of Ivan: A farmers life for me

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The last year has been a burden on the Kilgore family. The heinous acts of Josh Kilgore jr has put a stain on the family that just moved here 5 years ago. Even though Josh jr has already been punished and long since banned from the farming community the family still has to live with the shame. The remaining Kilgore’s are leaving the hinterland farming lands to seek a new life near Korvosa. I don’t blame them as there are many in the community the openly show distrust.

The Kilgore’s are going to harvest the crops and sell them off in Sandpoint before moving on to a new life somewhere else. In conversations with Josh Sr. Ivan begins queries about the farm.

Ivan says “So what happens to the farm when you leave”

Mr. Kilgore says “We received this homestead from Magnimar. I guess it will be up to Magnimar”

Ivan says “Can this be transferred to someone else?”

Mr. Kilgore says “Yes I think so. Do you really want a farm Ivan?”

Ivan says “I want it for Abby and Billy. Can you go with us to Magnimar to get the farm changed to Abby and Billy? I have some money saved up that I can give you to help in your relocate”

Mr. Kilgore says “This farm now means nothing but pain to us. Some extra gold would definitely help us get setup on a new farm”

Ivan and Mr. Kilgore shake hands on the deal and arrange to go to Magnimar and take care of it. Ivan heads over to the newly married Abby and Billy.

Ivan says “Abby/Billy I have arrange a deal with Mr. Kilgore where he will sign over the farm to the two of you. We have to travel to Magnimar tomorrow to get everything official.”

Abby walks over and hugs Ivan pulling Billy into a mini group hug.

Abby says “How much do we need to pay Mr. Kilgore”

Ivan says “Don’t worry about it, it is all covered. Consider this a wedding present”

Abby looks at Billy giving him one of those odd female looks that I have never been able to figure out. Luckily for Billy he seems to know what she wants.

Billy says “Well then it is settled. You are moving in with us”

Ivan, Abby, Billy and Mr. Kilgore had an uneventful trip to Magnimar where the property was transferred from the Kilgore’s over to Abby and Billy. In just a few short weeks Abby and Billy will be able to move into the new farm. The Kilgore’s will remain living in the farm house for a week or so until they sell of crops and pack up.

The early summer harvest brings in some money but nothing compared to the fall harvest. As we agreed Abby and Billy would take over maintenance of the existing crops and the Kilgore’s are going to harvest the early summer crops. Over the next week and a half Abby and Billy spent mornings tending the crops and planting a personal garden. The Kilgore’s had been planning to leave so the garden only contained early vegetables. Abby and Billy were able to get some plants from mom for some things and plants seeds for the quicker growing plants. It is just lucky that the Kilgore’s planted the main crop for fall. The Kilgore’s had thought to stay until after fall harvest but they have to get to the new farm lands before the end of summer.

The early summer crops finally ripen up and are picked.  The Kilgore’s are preparing to take the harvest to Sandpoint. Abby, Billy, and I have been over helping them the last couple of days when our father Noah and eldest brother Mark show up at Abby’s new farm early one morning as we were loading stuff on the wagon for market.

Noah begins to speak “Hi, Josh. Can we speak with you for a minute?”

Mr. Kilgore (Josh) “Sure”

Josh, Noah, and Mark move away from the rest of us to talk about something. The rest of us finished loading the wagon with the stuff for market. A few minutes later Mr. Kilgore returned.

Mrs. Kilgore “What did they want”

Mr. Kilgore “It’s not important. Don’t worry”

Mr. Kilgore and his son climb onto the wagon and head into town. The three of us spent the rest of the day working around the farm helping Mrs. Kilgore get ready for the long trip. Since Mrs. Kilgore was along we decided to stay with her until her husband and Son return from selling the goods in town. I finished up the smoke house so that we had somewhere to smoke game or slaughtered farm animals. With the smoke house finish it was time to go out and kill something. I bagged a big buck on the morning that Mr Kilgore returned from Sandpoint. There was too much meat to carry in one load so I returned to Abby’s farm with the first load. Out of respect for the Kilgore’s Abby decided to wait on using the smoke house until they officially move in. I hung the meat up and then Abby and Billy helped retrieve the rest of the meat. I gave some of the meat to the Kilgore’s and we took the rest over to mom to smoke.

No sooner had we finished hanging the meat when Dad and Mark pulled me aside.

Dad starts heling “What the hell do you think you are doing. I am the head of the household and it is up to me to decide who should get the Kilgore farm”

Mark says “Why would you buy a farm. You don’t even like being a farmer. That was supposed to be my farm. I am the oldest and it is my right.”

Dad says “I want you to give me the signed papers from Josh Sr. and Mark will take the paper to Magnimar and get the farm transferred to him”

Ivan says “NO. I have already taken Mr Kilgore to Magnimar to get the property transfer. This is done deal and the farm officially belongs to Abby and Billy. This is my present to them”

Moments of silence as Dad and Mark glare at Ivan.

Dad says “You are no longer welcome to live in my house”

Dad and Mark walk off and Ivan starts to head away from the farm when his mother approaches Ivan and gives him a big hug.

Mom says “You are always welcome to visit me anytime you want on my farm. I love your dad but sometimes he can be an ass.”

Pause

Mom says “It was a wonderful thing that you have done for your sister.”

Character: Olmas

Annals of the Order of the Dragon

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as told by the cavalier Olmas Lurecia, himself.

Oathday, 28 Pharast

While the water elementals may have thwarted our idea of traipsing across the water without using the drawbridge, the image of Munasukaru was actually accomplishing its purpose.  We entered with the image, who imperiously started ordering hobgoblins around like a child might command a pet.

“Which of you idiots are in charge?” asked the image.  The hobgoblins shuffled and looked at each other nervously.  “Get inside and line up for inspection!” it croaked.

The hobgoblins hustled to do so, and Qatana (to their surprise and discomfort) performed the inspection, taking each morningstar and frowning as they were found subpar and handed to an assistant. She looked at the image and shook her head.  The image then yelled, “Get your idiot commander!” and one hobgoblin (happily?) ran off to do just that.

By this time all 8 of the MW morningstars [550] were lying in a pile on the floor.

Zos and Dasi started checking out other doors in the room.  One led to a foul smelling (and looking) room that had all the ambience you might expect from a latrine.  The door that the errand hobgoblin had left through led to some stairs.  Another one led to a largish storeroom with food and other mundane stores in it. (Hobgoblin food, it should be noted.)

The image ordered all the hobgoblins into the storeroom.  They seemed a bit more surly and suspicious by now, but there was little they could do about it, having given up their melee weapons.

It has been over 20 minutes since the messenger hobgoblin had departed, but now it seemed he had returned, because from outside the north door we heard a commanding voice say in hobgoblin “To arms!  Intruders!”  The commander, looking every bit the samurai, had returned, with the messenger and four others. The battle wasn’t too challenging, having disarmed two thirds of the combatants already.  Well, that wasn’t entirely true – they did have bows yet, and several decided to take shots at us with those.  But those in the other room were somewhat limited in what they could do, trying to hit us through the open door.  The samurai was also a magic user of some sort (we discovered as he shot a cone of cold at most of us and even some of his own). Meanwhile, Kali summoned a dinosaur to deal with the new arrivals.

That seemed like overkill, but it turns out to have been a great idea, because there was an inactive clay golem out near the stairs which sprang to action when the dinosaur started its work.  Although the dinosaur gave as good as it got, the golem laid it down surprisingly quickly – not a good sign.  Radella, Qatana, and I were working through the hobgoblins pretty hard, but they were proving a little more difficult to put down than we’d hoped.

Ivan had done his usual volley of arrows, but I think all of us were surprised when a circle of fire appeared around the samurai. At almost the same time, Qatana brought down a flame strike on the same target, and while the circle of fire hid the samurai from view, we could certainly hear his distress.  A distribution of holy smite by Ivan took the fight out of most of the enemy.  Zos’s giant reanimated constructs were, one by one, de-stressing the hobgoblins in the storage room.

It was about this time, with most hobgoblins down, that we realized the clay golem was still an issue.  When I’d hit it, I’d get the sense that I was not delivering full damage.  The clay seemed to absorb some of the blow, or something, which kind of makes sense if you think about it. And when it hit ME … that was not pleasant.  Then, with a single arrow that must have been dipped in golem poison or something – I mean, after all, I’m beating on it with Suishen which is no slouch (don’t get a big hilt over that Suishen) – and with a single arrow there’s an explosion of clay and the figure topples.

We discovered that wounds from golem resisted magic healing, unfortunately.   But between what was on the hobgoblins and the offerings surrounding the golem, we had

[551] MW Katana
[552] MW silver wakashazi
[553] MW composite long bow [+7 ST]
[554] MW tatami-do armor (large)
]555] lacquer box set with pearls (contains two doses opium)
[556] 12 potions of CMW
[557] 5 alchemical fire
[558] 12 flasks of oil
[559] potion of invisibility
[560] magical feather (forms a flapping fan to increase or decrease wind at sea)
[561] brooch of shielding [13pts]
[562] scroll of spike growth
[563] MW artisan tools
[564] pair of good locks, w/keys
[565] gold plated merchant scale
[566] 11 obsidians
97+91 gp
203 sp

We headed up the stairs, only to find four more hobgoblins manning some arrow slits.  They aren’t, anymore.

From there we went through a doorway and down a corridor only to find .. what appeared to be hobgoblin lepers.  Disgusting.  Zos’s hill giant constructs are immune to leprosy, so several of us flew over them while the giants struck them down.  Eventually a Kali-issued fireball helped secure (and sterilize) the area, with the giants mopping up details.

Beyond this room was an odd looking room.  The “floor” was a series of pipes or narrow supports in a regular pattern, but they were several feet apart and beneath them was a pit with noxious gas and the occasional sound of grunting or bellowing.  Something was alive down there.  Somebody suggested a morgan, or a gorgon, or something.  I’d rather not find out for sure.  We took this opportunity to renew our dark vision and fly, for those who need them, but then 3 figures emerged from a north aperture and decided to taunt us, not knowing most of us could fly or air walk.  They were highly acrobatic and demonstrative, but swords, arrows, some magical chain of Qatana’s, and a little grease on the ground proved their undoing. One fell into the mists below, but from the others, we retrieved from their lifeless bodies:

[567] MW nunchaku
[568] potion of blur
[569] amulet of natural armor +1
[570] bracers of armor +2
[571] jeweled studs in their ears

Their skin seemed heavily tattooed.

We’ve paused to catch our breath and assess our next move. There are sounds of  .. pleasure? … coming from the south aperture which probably will be our first point of business.

Character: Qatana

Qatana’s Journal for Pharast 28, 4713

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Oathday, Pharast 28, 4713 mid day
Beneath the House of Withered Blossoms

Zos’ pair of giant golem-like things finally caught up with us just as the drawbridge to the castle clunked down before us. I say “castle”, but really it was pagoda like in shape — like a tottering shamble of an imitation of the House of Withered Blossoms above.

The giants shambled after us as we crossed the drawbridge and entered the fortress. Kali’s illusion of Munasukaru led the way into a large guard room where a troop of armed hobgoblins had assembled.

One of them stammered out in fear (and bewilderment), “We weren’t expecting you to arrive from this direction.”

“Shut up!” non-Munasukaru snarled, “Which of you idiots is in charge here?”

The hob-gobs looked sheepishly at one another, but nobody volunteered for the coveted position of flunky in command.

Non-Munasukaru growled, “Line up for inspection!”

They complied, and I walked over to the first guard as they lined up and pointed at his weapon. Pookie then demanded that he hand over his morningstar for inspection. Pookie doesn’t speak hobgoblin, but then neither do I, and so her command came out as an angry, “Squeak!”

He just stared at us.

“Insubordination!” Star angrily squeaked, as I grabbed the morningstar and moved to the next soldier. “Squeak!” This one had already caught on and immediately handed me his weapon. And so it went on down the line until I had the complete set.

Pookie was especially pleased with herself, but Huffy only shook his head and wondered, “Why do they submit so easily?”

This was a good question. No doubt these hobgoblins were just as evil as any we had seen, and would sell their own mothers if their was profit in it. But these guards were so terrified that they were effectively slaves. I doubt they cared two goblin turds about Munasukaru and her desires, and they’ve obviously had plenty of chances to escape — hell they are sent out on foraging trips. And still here they are, shivering in their boots and pissing themselves any time Kali had her image so much as look in their direction.

550 12 morning stars

I peaked out the open doorway behind our line of cowed hob-gobs onto a large open area that smelled truly awful. It was the refuse pit and latrine for the fortress.

Dasi and Zos discovered a store room behind a door, and non-Munasukaru ordered all of the guards save one into the room to await further orders. She sent the special chosen one out to bring back his superior.

While he was away we decided to bring out the hobgoblins one at a time and quickly dispatch each to whatever afterlife awaited them. But after the first victim came out we heard the sound of feet running our way from a chamber to the east, and a voice called out, “To arms! Intruders!”

The hobgoblin before me looked at me in surprise, and I looked at him, and after giving a final “Squeak!” I clobbered him with my flail. He did not survive for much longer.

At about that time a blast of frigid air engulfed many of us, alerting us to the presence of an enemy spell caster. Several hobgoblins swarmed in from the east, and looking through the doorway I spotted someone dressed like a samurai, but acting very much like a mage.

Soon combat was fully engaged, and those hob-gobs Zos’ giants did not pulverize were quickly slain by the rest of us. But the samurai met his end much sooner than his hapless followers. Ivan quickly placed a ring of fire around him just before I called a Flamestrike down upon him.

Kali summoned an awesome dinosaur to run around thrashing foes in the chamber next to us, but as it appeared a large statue sprang to life and beat it to death. Let me repeat that: it beat a large dinosaur to death in mere moments.

The giants moved over to the storage room doorway and took turns turning the hobgoblins that came out into pate’.

Soon everything was dead except the statue thing, which someone said was a flesh golem. And it was nasty. Wounds it created would not heal right, and it took a lot of concentration and effort to keep the fighters engaging with it from dropping.

Eventually the battle was over over. I tried to heal the giants with Make Whole as you would mend any golem-like construct. But it turned out they were more like creatures than things, and regular energy channels healed them just as it did the rest of us. Hmm, interesting.

We looted through the bodies for items of interest.

551 master work katana
552 master work silver wakizashi (short sword)
553 master work composite longbow [+9 STR] (and 20 arrows)
554 master work tatami-do armor (large: given to one of the giants)
555 lacquer box set with pearls
556 12 potions of Cure Moderate Wounds
557 5 alchemist fire
558 12 flasks of oil
559 potion of invisibility
560 fan feather token: forms a huge flapping fan to increase or decrease wind at sea
561 broach of shielding [13 hp]
562 scroll of Spike Growth
563 master work tools for crafting armor
564 good quality locks with keys
565 gold plated merchant’s scales
566 11 obsidians
188 gp (97 + 91)
203 sp

A set of stairs led up from the ante-chamber to a large room manned by four hobgoblins stationed near arrow slits looking out. We charged them and they died soon after.

The walls in this room were painted with scenes depicting people being tortured.

Seriously, with reminders like this I find it impossible to feel sorry for the way we’ve been slaughtering the inhabitants down here.

We used six charges from the wand of Cure Light Wounds to put everybody back into the peak of health before the giants opened the large double doors leading further into the fortress.

The room was filled with… hobgoblin lepers. They moaned and made menacing gestures at us as they slowly crawled in our direction. We simply flew over them and Kali put them out of their misery with a Fireball.

We next encountered a long wide hallway with a towering arched ceiling overhead, and open archways along the walls. A pair of closed doors was at the far end and massive pit in the floor blocked the way. Thick bars criss-crossed across the lip of the pit, widely spaced as if whatever the bars were holding in was monstrous in size. From below we could hear something large and menacing moving about and making deep throaty sounds.

While we were looking at the pit a trio of hobgoblins came out from the archway to the north, and they gracefully danced across the bars and made threatening gestures at us.

“How depressingly stupid,” said Timber.

We flew up and out of their reach. I used a Chain of Perdition to knock one of them from the bars, while arrows peppered another. The third tried to flee through the doors on the far side, but I sent the chain his way tripping him, and arrows finished him off.

Voices came out from the southern archway but they sounded distracted and unconcerned with what was going on in the hall.

We’ve taken a moment to plan our next course of action. Dealing with the voices to south seems like a priority, as well as investigating what lies to the north. After that the doors beckon.

Character: Kali

Kali’s Journal, Pharast 28, 4713

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Pharast 28, 4713 (mid morning, beneath the House of Withered Blossoms)

I think I overplayed my hand. In fact, I am pretty sure I did and now I’m concerned that I’ve done the exact thing we were trying to avoid: spread the alarm ahead of us as we go. My intent was to avoid the long slog through this cavern—having to fight our way through ambush after ambush on their terms—to reach the end by having the end come to us, instead. That part certainly worked, but the commander of the garrison here knew something was up when he came. And the whole thing just took too long, so we more or less knew that he knew. But how did he know? That’s the question that has me worried.

Maybe Munasukaru never actually comes up here. That’s certainly possible. No matter how good my illusion, no matter how clear my memories of her, none of it would matter if it was just all wrong on that basic level. It goes back to what Ameiko and Sandru have tried to teach me about bluffing and disguise: the details matter, yes, but you have to get the broad strokes right first. My game with the hobgoblins was fun, and they were certainly too terrified to think too much about what was going on, but their commander may have known better because it just doesn’t happen. Or at least, not in that way, or without his knowledge.

That’s the more benign theory, and to be honest, I don’t give it much weight. The more problematic one—the one that I think is more likely—is that they sent a messenger further…in? down?…wherever, in order to find out if she was really here. Or maybe they sent to her or someone close to her using magic, and learned that, no, she’s exactly where she should be and who is crazy and/or foolish enough to try and imitate her? (A rhetorical question when I ask it, though maybe more of a head-scratcher for them.) In which case, now several people are aware that something is going on, even if they don’t know precisely what that is.

If we’re lucky, they’ll blame the trickery on Akinosa. Though I am not feeling particularly lucky.

But, hey, at least we avoided the slog. Or, part of it, anyway. And, as a bonus, we ended up springing a trap without having to be there for it. So there is that. But, I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve compromised our long-term success for short-term gains.

It was a pretty nasty trap, though. Or would have been, had it come as the surprise that was intended. We learned a little about constructs back at the academy and I’ve picked up some here and there in my own studies, but this was the first time we’ve come face to face with one. They are largely resistant to magic and even physical blows which is probably why they are so coveted as guardians. These clay ones, though, are particularly nasty because the injuries they inflict simply do not heal, resisting even magical intervention (something we learned through personal experience). Imagine having to fight our way through waves of hobgoblins after tangling with that.

(late morning)

While the others searched the store room I took the time to memorize a couple of spells. That seemed more productive than digging through rusty tools, junk-drawer supplies, moldy vegetables and racks of cured mystery meats. Gods, this place is disgusting. It’s like an estate sale for someone who died while I was still living at home.

I remember when I first came here. It was a long time ago. Long before I was born. It wasn’t the hobgoblins but the aranea. There were so many of them back then, more than we normally see around the forest, and they wanted to know why (I don’t remember who “they” were. Give me a break; it’s been half a century.) I stumbled onto the House, only I didn’t know it had a name back then. It was just this improbable pagoda rising out of a depression in the forest.

It looked a lot different. The aranea hadn’t gutted it, and of course we hadn’t burned what was left. Now it’s just a chimney, but when I first saw it? It was beautiful. The pit was there, though. It looked different, too. This was before the front lines of this stupid war were really drawn. I made my way down because I was curious.

Because Yuka was curious, and because it didn’t make any sense. She made her way down and she was captured by the hobgoblins, and eventually brought before Munasukaru.

I don’t remember how long I was down here. How long she was down here. But I She remembers being tortured and killed, personally, by Munasukaru. And no one should have to remember that. I shouldn’t have to remember that. It wasn’t even me, but she remembers, and so I remember.

(later still)

This part of the … whatever this is … is as an even bigger joke than the cavern above. One of the lines of defenses was, of all things, a leper colony. Really? That’s one of your tactics? You’re going to defend this place with a bunch of sickly hobgoblins by transmitting a disease with a one month incubation period? Exactly how does that work? We start the battle, then come back in three to four weeks?

Also, news headline for you: we can fly.

It was so easy that I almost felt guilty. Almost.

Next up was this ridiculous open pit, criss-crossed with bars with mist or fog rising up from below. We were trying to figure out what it was when three hobgoblins stepped out onto the bars and started threatening and taunting us. Something about this scene triggered Yuka’s memories, and I realized I was looking at a sort of bizarre dojo.

Here’s what I’ve learned about taunting your opponent: don’t. Just don’t. Not before the battle’s over, anyway. It may feel good at the time, but it doesn’t really accomplish anything and it’s always possible that they know something you don’t. And then you look stupid. And then you die, looking stupid.

Here’s the thing: We. Can. Fly. Do not taunt your opponents while balancing on metal bars above a steaming pit if they can fly and you can’t. Why do I even need to explain this?

And even if we couldn’t fly, we are quite deadly even from a distance. We knocked two of them to their deaths without breaking a sweat. We never even got close to them. We didn’t have to!

I have to wonder what went through their minds as they fell into the pit. Was it regret, maybe? That feeling you’ve wasted your life training for exactly the wrong moment? Or maybe it was just the sinking sensation in your stomach, when the realization dawns that you were fighting the wrong battle?

Or maybe it was just abject terror. The sounds from below…the noxious, billowing mist…we think it may be a gorgon down there. I wouldn’t want to fall on one of those, either.

(even later still)

We can hear sounds of … well … an intimate moment through one of the arches off the pit. I picked up just enough to make out the words, “I thought I heard something on the lattice,” but another voice said to ignore it, and then they, um, resumed their thing.

Or at least, that’s what it sounds like. It’s a lot louder than…never mind. I guess this explains why they didn’t hear us earlier.

Character: Ivan

Ivan’s Journal for April ( Pharast 28)

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I’m not normally a big fan of summon monster but in this case it triggered the Clay golem. This was not Kali’s intended use for this monster but it did find the trap. It’s the kind of thing I had wanted to do with skeletons but Qatana’s lectures on how she was taught that the animation processes effects the souls of the dead made me realize that normal people just aren’t going to be understanding of someone who creates skeletons. I should probably stop bringing up the subject with her but time to time seeing that determination in her eyes on something not Groetus is refreshing. Activating the golem with the summoned monster may or may not have been a good item, in this case it worked out I guess.

The gods must agree with my thoughts on summon monster as they have never seen fit to grant me any level of summon monster. It’s kind of a flashy spell that does not last very long and is a little boring, except maybe the fire elements.

The illusion of the Munatsukaru worked better than I expected, I guess you can’t under estimate fear. Qatana and Olmas unarming the hobgoblins was quick thinking that made the battle easier. I really enjoyed the look of panic on their faces as Qatana pulled the morningstars out of their hands. We were lucky that sending a hobgoblin to get there leader did not back fire. Things might has been different if we actually been hit with the full might of those between us and Munatsukaru. I don’t like the Oni and I am glad to see that my longbow also does not like Oni.  My aim was true and I seemed to have gotten to get the attention of the Oni as he seemed to do that challenge that Olmas does. In the heat of the moment surrounding him with fire seemed like a good idea. It was quickly apparent that this was a mistake and it put us at a disadvantage. In my haste I had blocked off the others from getting to him and we couldn’t even tell if he was still inside the wall of fire.  This forced me to dispel the wall to provide access for Olmas and Radella, luckily he was dead but I have to remember not to do this in the future unless there are not any other good choices. We are much better when everyone can use their abilities to defeat our opponents.

The hits from clay golems don’t heal correctly. Qatana found it very difficult using healing magic and so I had to try. My healing worked just fine on Radella but not on Olmas. Dasi or was it Kali that said that the damage from clay golems resists magical healing. I may have just been lucky that the spell even worked on one of them. Oh well it was worth using these low level spells on trying to get Olmas and Radella back to full health. It’s also really a good thing they didn’t take even more damage from the clay golem.

Kali requested another one of her breaks to memorize spells. I still can’t figure out how she can cast spells by just reading a book, it just seems so foreign to me. I know she must have spent months or even years learning how to do it but it almost seems impossible. I can’t imagine how long it took to cast even the simplest of spells.  I can only imagine that the same is true for Zosimus as well. There is absolutely no way I could ever be a wizard or alchemist, I think that would be way too hard for me.  She spends a lot of time with that book, it seems like a big commitment her having to write down each spell. I have to wonder who first figured out how to be a wizard. Someone must have figured how to use a spellbook and then taught it to others or maybe it was the gods who taught people how to be wizards.

That reminds me. I have been having the strangest dreams lately or was it just one dream across many nights?  Maybe I am only remembering parts of the dream each night. In all of the dreams or versions of the dream we were fight the Oni down here but it seems like the order is all mixed up. I have been trying to put them in order or understand them but nothing makes since. Maybe they are just separate dreams. In most of the dreams the Oni enhances herself to make it very difficult to hit her with weapons or magic. The Oni seems to be able to move at odd times such as moving at the same time Kali was casting a spell.  In at least one version she gets help fighting the group from Olmas and Zosimus, It was almost like they didn’t know who we were. Other versions had different people helping her. In one of the versions I think I was helping her but to me I was fighting the Oni, I remember Redella knocking me silly. It was only when Redella did not kill me that I was able to see the truth. I remember that in a couple of the versions Redella and I were trapped in one of Kali’s tentacle spell and in the dream I did something to allow her to move freely. Again Redella punched me and threw me from the tentacles before heading to knock Kali silly. I am not sure that I want a spell that compels Radella to punch me, that kind of spell just doesn’t sound very useful. Maybe the gods are trying to warn me that Radella is looking for an excuse to punch me. No that can’t be it, I choose to believe that Redella would just hit me if she thought I deserved it.

Fear and complacency have been our greatest ally thus far today. Hobgoblins staying at their post and assuming that they were protected was their last mistake. Redella was first to kill her hobgoblin but to be fair she started and got help from Kali who looked as if she wanted to kill on her own. When it comes down to it Olmas had to run across the room and didn’t have help. I think Olmas’s kill was the most impressive of the three, but they were just hobgoblins. This structure looks as if it has been here for many years. I am also surprised that we are going back up. For some reason I had thought that we would be going down into a big pit.