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Qatana’s Journal for Neth 17 – Kuthona 22, 4712

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Starday, Neth 17, 4712 night
On the Ice

We have traveled north from Iqaliat for nearly a fortnight and have reached the “high ice.” We are now high enough that the air is much thinner than to what we and our beasts are accustomed. From here on we must acclimate and move forward slowly. Very slowly. Perhaps a day or two of easy travel each week for a month.

I envisage a tedious thirty days ahead, but like many of life’s unpleasant circumstances it too will be endured. My friends are already chittering to themselves about how to make the time go by more swiftly.

“Find another white dragon to slay!” Star suggested most eagerly, to which Timber countered, “No, play more games!”

“I’ll finally have time to finish my novel.” Pookie said, with a wistful air.

I suspect they will remain well nestled beneath the five layers of shift, shirt, jumper, coat and cloak I’ll be wearing; each ready to cry out in bitter protest if I let so much as a puff of cold air reach them.

Skygni has left us, and I will miss his company. Perhaps we will see him again if we pass this way on our return. If we return.

Sunday, Neth 25, 4712 night
On the Ice

Only a week on the high ice and we’ve already broken an axle. Fortunately with Sandru’s knowledge and a Make Whole spell what could have been a long delay became a short pause.

Most days we do not move: we pull the wagons into a circle and keep the lights shining. It is dark all of the time, except for our little island of magical brightness. We then sit around camp keeping ourselves busy, unless we are on guard duty. The scouts get away for some furtive hunting, but most of us remain close to the comfort of the light.

Many of us do not need to eat, but it is still nice to have a hot meal and feel the warmth spreading out from a full belly. Ameiko and I are busy and doing our best to present a wide variety of meals throughout the week.

Starday, Kuthona 1, 4712 late night
On the Ice

After dinner, while most of the camp was asleep, the sky was lit by streaks of blue green streaks of light. They began to swirl about the caravan high above, and probably attracted by our lights. Kali and I were on watch and being mindful of Skygni’s tale of lizards dropping from such lights, we raised the alarm.

Sure enough lizards were soon swooping down upon us, crying out with sonic bursts that blasted the snow and ice into sharp projectiles. They were ferocious beasts that proved difficult to slay. They were also tenacious and even after we killed most of the… flock? swarm? the survivors continued to dive at us until each was slaughtered in its turn.

The lizards had tiny, almost non functional eyes, which explained why attempting to blind them had little affect. If we encounter them again deafness will be more helpful.

Moonday, Kuthona 3, 4712 night
On the Ice

We have been enshrouded in the howling winds of a blizzard for the past two days, making conditions even less pleasant than usual. It’s a good thing we’re still only traveling once a week.

Moonday, Kuthona 16, 4712 night
On the Ice by the Alabastrine Peaks

Finally we are able to travel each day at a reasonable pace. We can see the Alabastrine Peaks up ahead and off to the right. The look like white hulking crags dimly visible in the perpetual starlight. After so long in the nearly featureless plane of the high ice I think they’re beautiful.

Fireday, Kuthona 21, 4712 night
On the Ice before the Storm Tower

By mid day we saw a bluish glow from the north which grew larger and brighter as we advanced. The ice beneath our feet reflected this eerie blue glow and the Alabastrine Peaks turned from pale white to indigo.

Later we saw it: the Storm Tower, standing tall and thin like a fang rising up from the stone and ice. Its top was obscured by a brilliant blue globe of light, about which whirled a tempest of clouds with violent velocity.

“That’s close enough!” Sandru announced as he brought the caravan to a halt some miles away. He was right. The tower looks more than dangerous. It looks unhealthy. Tomorrow my companions and I will approach the tower on our own.

Starday, Kuthona 22, 4712 late morning
Storm Tower

We could see that the tower was hexagonal in shape and soared several hundred feet up into the blue blaze and swirling clouds. It sat in the midst of a dismal pool of slushy oily ooze, and a tumble down rampart led across this pit to an open gate. The wind, which had increased steadily as we walked the two miles from camp, roared out from the entrance with such ferocity that it was difficult to move or stand while in its path.

We cautiously entered and a trio of wights descended upon us. We quickly destroyed them and looked around. Snow drifts had piled up in the corners, and a central chamber lay directly before us. It was from there that the wind was blowing.

The ceiling of the ground floor was a good hundred feet up. Rooms on either side of the central chamber offered some relief from the arctic blast, and so I moved off to the right. A large network of interlacing roots covered the floor and led up to a large tree creature, which took an unfriendly interest in us.

We engaged the tree-thing in combat, but I was quickly taken out of the action when the thing swallowed me, and then spat me back out encased in a tough woody cocoon. Digestive juices began to burn my skin as the sack began to tighten around me.

My friends cried out in alarm.

“It burns! It burns!”

“We need to break out!”

“I can’t breathe!”

“You don’t need to breathe.”

Fortunately my companions were there and Ivan carved away at the woody sack that held me. I emerged from the trap just in time to watch Olmas beat the living crap out of the tree-thing, which fell to the ground with a loud splintering sound.

After some healing we explored the rest of the ground floor. There was not much more to see. On the opposite side from the tree creature was a room filled with mushrooms. Olmas thought they were edible, and we may harvest some later. But it was the central chamber that held our interest.

It was hexagonal like the tower itself, and some sort of panel was set in one of its walls. I looked up inside the chamber and saw that it was the bottom of a shaft that lead up to the top of the tower. It was through here that the wind whistled down from the giant glowing blue orb.

Radella studied the panel for quite a while before fiddling with it. A platform appeared in the center shaft and climbed about a hundred feet up before it paused, and then moments later vanished.

There was only one way to go, and so with spells of Featherfall at the ready we stood in the shaft and Radella operated the panel. Up we went until the platform stopped and we quickly lept off.

A pair of remorhazes were waiting for us. It really makes you wonder what the hell these creatures do that are simply standing around guarding remote places like this, and who feeds them?

Another brief but fierce skirmish later and the remorhazes were dead. The symbol of Sithude had been etched into both of their scales — not much of a surprise there.

This level was also divided into different rooms, but the doors out from the main chamber shut and locked. Control panels were next to the doors, but even Radella found them too complex to decipher.

Fortunately the tower is built from stone, and so I used Stone Shape to create my own doorway.

Bizarre crystal scorpions scuttled about a room of glowing clear crystals. They began to swarm the opening, and we were prepared to take them out one at a time. Unfortunately they dimension doored out and among us and it soon became a free for all melee. We bashed and blasted the things as they stung and clawed at us, using a surprising and effective combination of spell and force.

We killed them all and looked into the room. A bewildering array of crystals and wires connecting to one another lined the walls. There was a low humming sound and we detected a large number of magic effects from some of the crystals, which we pried out.

[422] 2 cubic crystals of abjuration: activated by pressing a side.

Creates a 10 foot cube is created within which the temperature is 65 degrees. It absorbs damage from cold based attacks, but it can be destroyed with 50 points within a single round or 100 points in 10 rounds.
[423] 2 prism evocation crystals: activated by command word (50 charges).

  • shed light like a hooded lantern (1 charge)
  • 1 foot diameter 50 foot long ray of light to blind a creature for 1d4 rounds (1 charge)
  • a 30d foot cone of light to blind creatures for 1d4 rounds (5 charges)

We also collected the other non-magical crystals and the humming stopped.

What is next? Up obviously. The ceiling here is also a hundred feet high, leaving room for another chamber (if each floor is as tall as the others) before the top of the tower. There is a panel here that will no doubt call a platform to take us up

Questions:

  • We used a some spells to get past the guardians on these lower levels. Are we ready to head up now?
  • Some of my companions were hit by Touch of Idiocy effects from the crystal scorpions. Should we restore them before proceeding? I think we need to.
  • Are there any protective spells we can cast or have on hand before heading up? Not knowing what is up there makes it hard to know.
  • Why didn’t we bring more cheese? Thanks Pookie.

Qatana’s Journal for Lamashan 17 – 26, 4712

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Toilday, Lamashan 17, 4712 evening
Iqaliat

The village shaman, Tunuak, lay dead upon the frozen floor of his secret underground lair. Hundreds of human bones and dozens of skulls, each marked with rune in the shape of a three fingered claw, were strewn about the lower level.

Kali and I conferred over the rune and realized it was the holy symbol of Sithud, a powerful demon lord who was rumored to have at one time been a god. How could a god cease to be divine without actually perishing? My guess is that he did not take this demotion well.

No matter, we searched Tunuak’s body and recovered the following.

[399] 2 potions of Barkskin
[400] +2 cloak of resistance
[401] ring of shielding
[402] staff of journeys [5 charges]
[403] cold weather outfit
[404] unholy symbol of Sithud

Five pictograms had been painted upon the walls around the altar depicting scenes of the frigid waste to the north. Standing stones, blue towers of a frozen city, a single tower beneath alabaster peaks, a storm of clearly supernatural origin with spiral arms devouring towns, and last of all a blue skinned woman.

There was writing beneath the woman, which Kali translated as, “Katiyana, who speaks to me on her winds from the tower in the Storms.”

We made our way up the ramp and arranged ourselves to open the door at the top. There had been a guard, a villager, posted on the other side when Radella passed through (invisibly) earlier, and we did not wish to kill any more villagers.

The guard attacked — almost mindlessly so. Charm spells and Hold Person had no affect on him, but his eyes were those of one who was being controlled. We had no choice but to fight, and Olmas did his best to knock him down after first disarming him.

As the guard fell and small bat like creature leaped from the back of his head. A quasit! Sparna and Olmas wasted no time in slaying it.

The guard came to a short time later, and he looked frightened. “Who are you? What are you doing here? Do you serve the traitor Tunuak?” he demanded.

“Tunuak is dead,” Olmas said. “Good!” spat the guard.

He then told us how Tunuak had been a faithful shaman to the village for many years, but some time ago he went on a vision quest into the frozen wastes. When he returned he seemed different: less helpful and more angry. Not long ago he had asked the guard to accompany him into the tunnel that led up to the village altars on the high ice above, and there Tunuak has summoned the small bat winged beast that had taken over the guard.

Little did he realize that however unpleasant his captivity, it had saved his life. All of the other experienced village guards had perished in the quest to defeat the dragon.

The guard trotted off to inform the village elders of Tunuak’s treachery, and bring back the hearth-mistress and chief.

They were clearly in shock as we led them into Tunuak’s hideout, and had little to offer in the way of explanation of the pictographs or their shaman’s behavior.

We would have to seek answers directly from Tunuak himself.

Wealday, Lamashan 18, 4712 evening
Iqaliat

We had three questions to ask Tunuak, and Kali and I performed out usual pas de deux with Owl’s Wisdom to give us our best chance for answers. I then bent over the body and began.

“Why is the dragon attacking the village?”

“So that Sithud’s will may be done.”

“What is Sithud’s will?”

“Return to his rightful place.”

“Why did you trick the dragon into attacking the village?”

“I did what must be done.”

While not as helpful as they could have been, his answers did confirm that the dragon was tricked into attacking Iqaliat, and that Tunuak was serving Sithud.

The villagers wished to burn Tunuak’s body, but we removed and kept his head for our pending encounter with the dragon.

We spent the rest of the day discussing how to reach the dragon’s cave, which was several days journey north. Ulf would act as our guide and Skygni would accompany us as well, although neither Ulf nor the winter wolf go with us to meet the dragon itself.

Oathday, Lamashan 19, 4712 evening
road north to the white dragon’s lair

We made reasonable progress, but as we were setting up camp we saw streaks of blue green lights racing across the horizon, then curving around and returning. We asked Ulf what they were, but it was Skygni who replied.

“I have seen those lights. Sometimes they are just light, but sometimes lizard birds fall from the sky from the light. The birds do not taste good.”

Sunday, Lamashan 21, 4712 afternoon
road north to the white dragon’s lair

We have been once again waylaid by severe winter weather. But this time we are without the comforts of a caravan. We have gathered together in a snow cave Ulf taught us how to make. But there is no fire and it is still cold, although not nearly as cold as outside. The night will be colder still.

Moonday, Lamashan 22, 4712 evening
the white dragon’s lair

To be honest I had expected a cave set high in the side of a mountain.

There were no mountains: after the road scaled the cliff face leading up to the crown the landscape had flattened away to gently undulating snow covered hills. I kept expecting the hills to lead up to peaks of staggering heights, but instead they levelled out into a stark empty plain of nothingness.

By noon we stood on the edge of an enormous black tear in the white snow. After our eyes adjusted to the gloom we good see ridges and rock spires reaching up from the distant and invisible depths below.

We prepared for the descent with spells that granted us protection from cold, vision in the dark, sending messages among us, and of course the ability to fly. Ulf waved as we jumped over the side and drifted down.

Perhaps sixty feet down was a cave entrance in the vertical wall of rock, but it was sealed by a plug of clear ice.

Further down was another entrance, which with Pookie’s encouragement I followed to a nest of broken dragon eggs. Amidst the egg shell fragments was a hammer and the talisman from the village. I relayed my findings to the others.

At the same time Olmas had gone lower down where the glint of something shiny indicated he had discovered the dragon’s horde.

Across the chasm, halfway between Olmas’ and my tunnels was a much larger cavern that led straight back into the rock. Kali landed here and moved in, while the rest of the group played catch up.

“Oh great and powerful white dragon, we wish to speak with you!” Kali called out.

A moment later there was a tremendous roar as a blast of icy breath engulfed Kali. As the ice cleared the form of a large white dragon appeared mere yards before her.

“Treacherous hairy apes!” it snarled, “You destroyed my eggs, and so I have sworn that all of your kind shall die!”

Kali and I tried to reason with it — even Pookie threw in a clever suggestion or two — and most of our companions stood by without taking any aggressive action against the beast at great personal risk. But the dragon was blinded by rage and beyond all reason.

It continued to attack and threaten not only our deaths, but the deaths of everyone in Iqaliat, and in so doing it brought about its own destruction.

It was truly a mighty and powerful foe, but we were many and not without our own formidable abilities. I did little during combat but aid my friends with special abilities and healing. Presently the dragon became aware of its own mortality, and it created a bank of freezing fog through which it fled deeper into the cavern.

We pursued it and my friends continued to rain blows and spells upon it. Ivan cleverly blocked off its attempt to escape down another fissure in the earth with a well placed illusion of a wall of fire.

You cannot imagine just how fast a dragon can move until you encounter one. The creature took flight and raced back through the cavern and up and into the main rift.

We were only able to follow it to the cavern’s mouth and watch it sail up and away.

It was going to escape.

I sighed as Star grumbled, “Just do it!” I summoned an ally of pure force in the shape of a barbed devil. The devil struck the dragon twice, and the dragon plummeted the full four hundred feet down to the rift floor, hitting it with a loud crack and an explosion of snow and ice fragments.

We flew down and confirmed that it was dead. Another needless death of yet another creature that refused to listen to reason. I am still depressed by this outcome, although there was nothing else we could have done.

We collected the dragon’s body (it made no sense for it to go to waste), and rose up to the treasure chamber and gathered everything from its horde.

[405] arrow of lesser dragon slaying
[406] +2 short sword
[407] 2 potions protection from arrows
[408] ring of featherfall
[409] terracotta horse:

  • once per day the bearer can reroll an attack with a +1 luck bonus
  • once per day the bearer may summon the spirit of a war horse
[410] wand of Ray of Enfeeblement [15 charges]
[411] master-work cold iron shield
[412] master-work spiked gantlet
[413] master-work composite short bow
[414] 11 arrows
[415] master-work spear
[416] climber’s kit
[417] 200 feet of silk rope
[418] 2 pieces of amber (100gp each)
[419] 6 blood stones (50gp each)
[420] 2 sapphires (500gp each)
[421] leather quiver elaborately worked (500gp)
Coins:
8208cp
5642sp
1188gp
404pp

We flew about the rest of the underground complex, and after finding only empty interconnecting passageways we returned to the surface. Ulf had seen the dragon briefly soar up and out from the rift before plunging back down, and was relieved that we had survived our encounter. Skygni seemed impressed with us for having slain the dragon.

We secured a rope to the lip of the crevasse for Ulf, and descended down to the first chamber where we have made camp.

Fireday, Lamashan 26, 4712 evening
Iqaliat

The trip back to the village passed without event. The sameness of the landscape and weather (the only variation on the latter being more snow and cold) made for a tedious trek. The villagers were ecstatic with the news of the dragon’s death, and created an impromptu party to celebrate.

Few of us felt inclined to attend, and the words passed from Kali and I to the chief and hearth mistress that made it perfectly clear that it was one of their own that brought the wrath of the dragon down upon the village, and it was because him that the dragon had to be killed.

Despite this bleak pronouncement of guilt, the villagers were delighted with us and we were welcomed as trusted friends. How fickle are simple folk who so readily let fear and sweet lies sway their reason. Less than a week before these same people wanted us banished or dead.

Idiots. I have no plans to go back inside the village between now and when we leave.

We have much planning to do before we take the caravan onto “the ice,” and more provisions to purchase. Sparna is crafting armor from the dragon’s hide, which will take some time. We have tried to use as much of the dragon’s body as possible, and have even given some of the meat to Skygni as a reward for his companionship.

The hearth-mistress and chief visited us for dinner, but they brought disturbing news. They village elders had visited the pictograms and feared they bode evil for all those who lived near the ice. Worse (for us) what they found indicated that it would be impossible for anyone to travel across the crown until this evil were dealt with.

It came as no surprise that it was Sithud’s doing. As I suspected he was not content being just a demon lord, and was actively working toward becoming a god once again. And “actively working” meant an increase in supernatural storms among other equally unpleasant (and deadly) things.

We have no choice but to find the mysterious lost city at the north pole and stop Sithud’s threat. Either that or abandon Ameiko’s quest and return to Sandpoint. Well, that’s not going to happen.

In appreciation for what we had done (and were about to do) for the village the hearth-mistress gave us a magical Tien silk blanket. Any creature within thirty feet of the blanket would be comfortable in the cold.

Our oxen and horse will appreciate that after the caravan reaches the ice during the heart of winter.

Qatana’s journal entry for Lamashan 9 – 17, 4712

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Toilday, Lamashan 9, 4712 evening
northern caravan route

Thanks to the warning from the silver dragon we had a chance to prepare well before we reached the trolls. Kali sent Nihali out to reconnoiter, and she reported back that there was a camp of about eight large blue skinned creates some distance ahead, and a little off of the main route.

The caravan continued on until we were within a mile or so from the ice trolls, and Sandru arranged the wagons in defensive positions “just in case.”

Our group (minus Anna, who kept to her word of sticking with the caravan) walked off in the direction Nihali reported the troll camp lay. Maybe a mile later we saw a cluster of ice trolls. They had clearly seen us, and one walked towards us, hands out as if in greeting, and said (in very broken common), “Friends! Come to help you. Lost? It be fine. We assist.”

My personal philosophy is to leave other creatures alone if they leave you alone. And as unlikely as a friendly troll (blue skin or not) might seem, I would have been perfectly happy to send a cheery greeting and then after a brief social call been on my way.

Unfortunately several of the other trolls were moving out in an obviously flanking maneuver, and our would be friend then gloated (in giant) to his companions, “My brothers, we don’t have to look for dinner tonight. It comes to us!”

Sigh.

After a short skirmish the ice trolls all lay dead and burning. Somehow I could not feel bad about killing these foes as I did the giant we had encountered a fortnight ago, but I cannot explain the difference. He seemed sad and pathetic, while these creatures seemed vile and calculating. I guess feelings are seldom logical.

We searched their camp and amidst a pile of bodies found some coins and a ring.

80 gp of coins
[385] ring of sustenance

We returned to the caravan. Later that night after dinner we recounted our encounter with the ice trolls. Ulf then told a story of when he came across a chimera composed of a walrus, a polar bear, and a white dragon. He led the creature away from the caravan, and then crept back and his party made good their escape. There was no telling if this tale was true or not, but the fact that it involved sneaking about rather than fighting the beast made me believe him.

Oathday, Lamashan 11, 4712 evening
northern caravan route

It was much colder this morning than it had been, and only seemed to get colder still as the day advanced. Before we had even set out a strong wind had picked up, and snow began to fall, or more precisely it was whipped around by the wind and blown into our faces. It became difficult to see more than a few yards ahead, forcing our scouts to pull in and lead the way. It was slow going, and by late afternoon drifts of snow had piled up deep enough to slow our progress even more.

At dinner everyone crowded closely around our small cooking fires, glad for the orange glow and a hint of warmth.

Fireday, Lamashan 12, 4712 evening
northern caravan route

The snow, wind and intense cold continued and we struggled to cover only a few miles. When asked about it, Ulf shrugged and grumbled about an unseasonable blizzard. It is miserable, but I am lucky that I travel in a wagon. Our scouts and their mounts bear the brunt of the weather.

Starday, Lamashan 13, 4712 evening
northern caravan route

The blizzard intensified and the snow drifts completely blocked our way. Ulf decided we would not even try to move today, and spirits plunged lower than the temperature.

Taking advantage of having a kitchen all day long I decided to make bread. Ameiko looked amusingly on as I made the dough, and then stripped naked and pulled the mixing bowl into my bedroll with me as she piled on extra blankets and furs. There was no way the yeast was going to grow in the cold, and body heat was the only source of warmth we could afford for the hours it would take for the bread to rise. And it worked! We surprised the camp with a hearty stew of salted meat and warm fresh baked bread for dinner.

For desert I splurged and used some of our precious honey along with some butter, nuts and cardamom to make a wonderfully sweet flaky pastry that everyone enjoyed.

“How do you feel about Ameiko being the heir to the royal house of Minkai?” I asked Shalelu.

It was late and we were both on watch. The weather had calmed considerably, and the camp itself was glowing with magical light that extended out a good distance in all directions. The cold was still intense and each of us wandered about with our own private miniature snow storm as our breath froze and fell as ice flurries before us.

Shalelu paused for a moment, and replied, “It’s a lot to take in, isn’t it? Who would have thought? Sometimes I wonder how she’ll adjust to the change, although Minkai would be in good hands with her on the throne. She may shake things up a bit — you know how she likes conforming to rules… I think it’s a good thing, though, and I’m glad to be part of this adventure to get her there in one piece.”

I knew Shalelu had been on numerous journeys in the past. She had gone all of the way to Kaer Maga to rescue me; and although she never brought it up, it was well known that she had accompanied the Sandpoint heroes for part of their quest.

“Have you ever journeyed as far as we plan to go?”

“No, this is a longer journey than I’d ever have imagined myself making.” she said softly, almost to herself.

That was food for thought. Here we were on an epic voyage of enormous scope, and who knew if we would all arrive at our journey’s end, or what we would do once it was all over.

“If we make it to Tien and manage to restore Ameiko to her rightful place, will you remain there with her, or return back to Sandpoint?”

“Hmm,” she pondered, “I will stay for a while, at least. I’d like to see what the forests of Minkai are like. Perhaps I’ll find a new place to roam, or perhaps I’ll feel the call of my old woods again.”

It was hard to imagine Sandpoint without Shalelu, but I could see her point. Why hurry back on another arduous voyage when you have a whole new continent to explore? I thought of my own return trip and who might accompany me. This brought to mind our unexpected companion.

“What do you think of Skygni? Isn’t he great? Have you ever had a wolf for a companion?”

There was a long pause before she answered, “I… yeah, you know winter wolves don’t have the greatest reputation… But I reckon we haven’t been harmed by the creature, and maybe he will turn out to be a worthwhile companion. I do like the thought of a supposedly-evil creature showing his nature to be good, that we need to look at every animal with intelligence as a person and not just say, ”Wolf! Kill it!” So for that I’m glad.”

Yeah, I knew Shalelu would be happy having Skygni around.

We continued our watch in silence, and my mind wandered over our more recent encounters, and about the uneasy truce that stood between between Olmas (and Suishen) and Ameiko concerning her participation in combat.

“So, what do you think about trying to keep Ameiko safe? Olmas (and his sword) seems to hover about and treat her like she is fragile. I could not help but notice that you stayed back guarding the caravan when Ameiko insisted on coming along with us to fight — I guess you trust her ability to take care of herself in combat more than… others.”

Shalelu snorted, “Ameiko is an accomplished adventurer who has survived battle before, and I had a job to do guarding the caravan. Besides, my young friend, you and your companions are getting quite good at this battle stuff by now. I think you don’t need all of us at your side anymore just to stay alive. Who knows,” and here she looked at me with a grin, “maybe I’ll need you to defend me before long!”

I laughed at that. The time was was a long way off indeed for Shalelu to need me to defend her!

Sunday, Lamashan 14, 4712 evening
northern caravan route

While still overcast with heavy grey clouds, the wind and snow had stopped completely, and even the extreme cold seemed to have relented. Skygni stopped by to check on us after the storm, which appeared to have caused him no trouble at all. “Get used to it,” was all he had to say about it, although he did add “Such storms are unusual for this early and this far south.”

We broke camp and the caravan pushed on through the drifts. The clouds thinned as the day wore on, and a breeze picked up toward sunset, shredding the remaining clouds and blowing them away as welcome beams from the setting sun painted the snow pink.

Ulf said that tomorrow we will branch off the caravan route and make for the village of Iqaliat, nestled beneath the plateau upon which perched the Crown of the World.

Wealday, Lamashan 17, 4712 after noon
Iqaliat

The morning broke with a sky of deep cobalt blue and the sun peeking over the horizon to the southeast. Around us were hills and ridges covered in snow, but to the north we could see a dark band that stretched across the horizon, like low storm clouds.

As we made our way north the dark band became a glowering face of rock and ice. This was our first glimpse of the great ice cap over which we would soon be traveling, and it looked every bit as forbidding as Ulf had warned it would.

Half a mile from the cliff we saw a tall stone wall extending out from its base, with a large gate on the left, and a smaller door to the right. Within a hundred yards of the wall Ulf called for a halt.

He summoned the six of us and described what lay in wait for us in Iqaliat. “They are an isolated inward people, and do not expect to make any friends while here. Let me lead and do the talking until we are within the walls.” He then pulled out a talisman and said, “This was given to me by the village hearth-mistress on an earlier visit, and should grant us entry.”

With those encouraging words we came to the small door. We could see guards glaring at us from over the wall, but Ulf called out words of welcome and held up the talisman. The door opened and we entered.

“Unfriendly,” Ulf had said of the townfolk of Iqaliat. Hostile seemed more closer to the mark. The hearth-mistress, Sonavut, arrived and welcomed us to her village, and surprised us with an invitation to accompany her to her lodge where we could talk in comfort.

As we passed through the village Ulf questioned her about our cold reception. Apparently the degree of animosity expressed by the guards and inhabitants had surprised even him.

Iqaliat, it seemed, was going through a difficult time. The winter storms had started early this year and now a white dragon was periodically attacking the town, killing people for no reason.

The village shaman, it seems, had a reason. The bad weather and dragon attacks were the result of the town turning its back on their traditional ways. Specifically there was not enough suffering and sacrifice to the local gods.

We got a look at the shaman on the way to Sonavut’s house. A throng of people surrounded him as he railed against them and their leaders for being unfaithful and bringing the wrath of their former allies against them. And (of course) only he had the answer. Yeah. Sure.

Once inside with Sonavut we discovered that the normal caravan route to the high ice was impassible. Incredibly fierce storms had come down from the Crown, and the only way up onto the ice was the steep pass beyond Iqaliat. But the white dragon lived in the pass, making it unsafe as well.

This seemed like a no brainer, and I suggested that we could take care of the dragon, thus solving the town’s current problem as well as clearing the way for our caravan to travel north. Sonavut agreed to take us to the chief to find out more about the dragon.

We left he house and upon seeing us again the shaman shrieked, “There they are, the cursed outsiders. One of them must be sacrificed to appease the gods!” Angry shouts from the crowd rose up in support of this demand.

That his ravings were turning the villagers violently against us was obvious (and Detect Magic indicated he was using more than just words to do so), but why he was doing so was puzzling.

Olmas tried to reason with the shaman and villagers, and while his arguments would have swayed rational men, this was a mob. Mobs were irrational and driven by fear and anger. And being a servant of Groetus I could do fear and anger.

I stepped in to the verbal fray and flung the shaman’s words back at him. The verbal battle lasted but a few moments, and in the end the shaman stood leaning on his staff, silent for now, but breathing heavily.

“There will be no sacrifice today!” The chief had arrived and ended the debate. The shaman glared at us with such loathing and hatred that I could almost physically feel it. He then stomped off away from the crowd.

Seriously? He could not have made himself more suspicious if he had painted himself purple and danced about the village square naked yelling, “Look at me!” Radella began to casually saunter off after the shaman, and Kali quickly cast Invisibility on her. The rest of us were pulled into the chief’s office to discuss the dragon, but Kali had also cast a Message spell to keep in touch with Radella.

The dragon, we learned, was not exceptionally large, but still big enough to rip a human in half and fly away with the remains. The chief had sent the town’s best warriors up to where the dragon lived, but never returned. We once again offered to take care of the town’s dragon problem, for which the chief was grateful.

But the chief was also mindful of the town’s mood. He warned us that while we could spend the evening here, we had best be gone the next day. We had planned on staying with the caravan anyway.

All of this time Radella had followed the shaman through a secret doorway in the wall, which opened onto a tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was a guard, and another secret door. She followed the shaman through into a vast ice chamber. A large crevice in the ceiling lead up to the sky, and a ramp spiraled around and down to an icy floor below. The shaman had gone down below, but a pale figure stood on the ramp staring at Radella, despite her invisibility.

She wisely decided it was a good time to return back to us with news of what she had found. A few minutes later she had discretely joined us as we made our way back to the caravan.

Ulf listened to Radella’s description of the pale humanoid and declared it was probably a frost spirit — a type of undead creature formed when people died from the cold. Undead? I looked steadily at Kali and she nodded back. I cannot abide undead.

We decided to search for the crevice and confront the shaman in his secret lair that very day. Depending upon what we found, we would then move on to find the white dragon. I would have preferred to have had access to some spells to protect us from the cold, but Ivan was able to provide these and so we prepared to leave.

I found Shalelu and informed her of what had happened and what we were up to.

“We’re off to find out what the local shaman has been up to. Oh, and we might go looking for a white dragon too. What do you think of dragons? Have you ever encountered one before? That silver dragon we saw last week was great. I wonder is Skygni would get along with a white dragon. They both like the cold.”

Shalelu exclaimed, “Dragons! By the gods, there is a world of difference between a white and a silv- yes, I know what I said about the wolf, but this is dragons we’re talking about! If you go after it, be careful as if your very lives hang in the balance of every move you make, because they surely do!”

Thankful for the advice, I rejoined my companions. Nihali had been sent out to find the crevice and had just returned. We would use Fly spells from the wand I had created and follow Nihali to the entrance.

A short while later we were hovering above the shaman’s hideout. Bones littered the floor below. Frost spirits stood on the ramp leading down and on the floor. The shaman stood before an altar made from skulls and more bones.

We dropped down toward the floor and Sparna confronted the shaman. He sputtered and stammered the expected drivel about “survival of the village,”and “you don’t understand… the spirits…” Right. The usual hollow justifications made by petty tyrants everywhere.

Seeing we were unconvinced, the shaman went on the offensive, calling on the wind god’s protection. A powerful river of wind knocked Sparna to the floor, and the undead minions began to clamber towards him.

The shaman vanished, but Kali used Glitter Dust to show he was still there.

We began to carve our way through the horde of undead, but the shaman possessed more power than we had thought, and used spells such as Unholy Blight against us. I lessened his abilities with Touch of Idiocy.

When the last of his undead had fallen, the shaman turned into a gaseous vapor, but before he could flit away, we killed him. He resumed solid form and landed with a soft thud onto the floor.

We were about to sift through his belongings when Radella pointed at the altar and cried out, “Look!”

A broken white dragon egg lay there.

Prick! It looks like he intentionally brought the ire of the dragon against the village.

Starday, Rova 29, 4712

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Starday, Rova 29, 4712 night
northern caravan route (Taraska River)

“And then I told him, ”that’s not a mouse, that’s a rat!””

Qatana’s circle of friends exploded with chittering laughter, and Pookie looked pleased with herself.

This wasn’t the first time they had heard the story, but it was an amusing tale and well told.

Qatana looked up from the dying embers of the caravan camp fire into the velvety blackness of the frigid night sky. As her eyes adjusted a host of stars slowly faded into view, like diamonds glinting in candle light.

Suddenly a near ethereal voice spoke softly to her, “Have arrived in the city. Exploration will begin tomorrow. Afterward, will watch and await further instructions.”

Elias had taken her up on the offer, then. She wasn’t sure if she was surprised, but she was pleased.

The idea had come to her in Kalsgard, and she had sent a letter and payment enough for several months of simple stealth work to an old associate. Perhaps, she thought, “associate” was too informal a word. Tutor. Inspiration. Friend.

But Elias was unfocused, and had a tendency to idle away his hours in brooding contemplation rather than accomplishing much. He needed a mission, she felt, and she had provided one — with pay: the best kind.

She concentrated and thought, “Understood. Carry on as planned. I will send additional payment as funds and opportunities arise.”

Elias knew what she was planning to do, even if he did not believe she would ever pull it off. But he was sympathetic, and willing to do the tedious job of gathering intelligence. Lots of it over a long time.

Her goal still lay far outside her grasp. She must grow first. Grow in power. Grow in influence. Grow in wealth. She cared little for such things, as did most of her sect, but they were a means to an end.

Some years earlier she had thought to enlist people who already possessed what she lacked. The Sandpoint Heroes. Some of them might have assisted her. They were said to be both powerful and wealthy beyond belief.

She had even traveled to Nybor to enlist Takkad, thinking maybe he would ask his friend Sabin, the mad mage, to join them.

Emotionally it was a difficult journey. She had not been on the road from Sandpoint to Nybor since… the dark times. She had some of her friends with her, but they had not yet crossed over. Four tiny bundles of warmth tucked in a pocket of her cloak, offering much needed comfort.

She found Takkad’s residence easily enough: everyone in the city knew him and where he lived. But she couldn’t help but be disappointed with the shack he called home. It was on the edge of town and had a small barn and large grassy pasture out back.

A horse looked up from its grazing and gazed at her with an almost thoughtful expression.

Surely this wasn’t the right place. “Maybe they said the east side of town and not the west,” she thought as she approached the rickety door.

Qatana reached up to knock, but hastily withdrew her hand. She could feel it. Massive amounts of magical power surging along the surface of the door. This place was not what it seemed.

“Can I help you, miss?”

A man with a wheel barrow full of manure was looking at her from the road.

“I came to see Takkad.”

He looked at her blankly for a moment before replying, “Mm, hmm. And was Master Takkad expecting you?”

Qatana felt at a loss. This wasn’t going like she expected.

“No. But I knew he lived here and thought I would take a chance and see if he was in.”

Another pause.

“I see. Does he even know you, honey?”

Honey? That sort of thing would normally send Qatana into a rage, but for the moment she was at a complete loss as to what to do.

“Nnn, no,” she finally stammered.

“Well at least you’re honest. Not everyone who stops by is. But I’m sorry, Takkad is out. His crazy half orc friend showed up about a fortnight ago and it wasn’t an hour later that the master came out to the barn and said, ”Otis, Sabin and I are taking off for a while, and I’m not sure when we’ll be back. Make sure you take proper care of Butters for me.””

Otis gazed out at the horse and then at the manure in the barrow. “And that is what I was doin’ when you came up and stood fidgeting by the front door. I hate to break it to you miss, but you wasted a trip. I hope you had other business in Nybor.”

A week or so later, after she had returned to Sandpoint, she realized that it was fortunate she had missed Takkad afterall. This was a personal issue, and she needed to deal with it herself, or at least she needed to be the one making the plans and calling the shots.

Someone threw a branch on the remains of the camp fire, which made a loud whoomf as sparks shot up in the air and pulled Qatana back to the present. The flames quickly sprang to life, eagerly accepting the offering of dry wood.

In the renewed light she pulled an old creased map out from her pack and traced the route she was sure Elias had followed from Magnimar to Kaer Maga.

Softly at first, but building steadily in intensity, Beorn began to cackle hysterically.

Qatana’s Journal for Arodus 15 – Lamashan 9, 4712

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Wealday, Arodus 15, 4712 evening
Ravenscraeg

The sun has finally set on this seemingly endless day. Ravenscraeg has been secured, and aside from the wasp creatures trapped in the glass case down in the lab, we are the sole occupants of the keep.

After Ameiko and Ulf had been rescued Kali took Etayne and Radella up to find Lute. I turned my attention to the cold door we had skipped earlier.

“Who is there?” I asked through the heavy door.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here?” demanded a gravely voice.

“I am called Qatana, and my friends and I have taken control of this fortress.”

“So, you serve Kimandatsu?” was the angry reply.

“No,” I replied, “Actually we killed her and all of her henchmen. In fact I have her head right here. What are you doing in there?”

“Captured. Kimandatsu thought to make me her pet.” It retorted with a snarl.

“I am a human, what are you?”

“I am a wolf of the north. My name is Skygni, and I long to roam free upon the snows and ice of my home land.” There was a heavy thud as it threw itself at the door.

A winter wolf then, and from the north where we were bound. I realized immediately it could be a valuable ally once we were on the ice. It sounded like such a nice wolf and it was clearly wrong to leave it here to suffer and die from neglect.

“Wait a few minutes, and when the rest of my companions return we will set you free if you promise to leave without attacking anyone.”

Kali returned and reported that Lute had (as one would expect) happily received the news of Kimandatsu’s end.

I announced my intent to release the wolf so we opened all of the doors between the cells and the kitchen.

Radella unlocked the door and out punced a massive silver grey wolf, easily the size of a large bear. White fur fringed his muzzle and ear tips. He stepped forward towards me and sniffed the head I held aloft, and then sniffed me.

“He is so cool,” whispered Takoda (the pun may very well have been intended), while at the same time Star eagerly asked, “Can we keep him?”

“If you are hungry you will find some freshly killed bodies on your way out.” I offered. “We too are heading north, and if you would like company on your way to your home lands, we could travel together.”

Skygni replied, “That might prove interesting. I shall look for you when you travel north.”

And after snacking on a dead ninja, he left.

Surprisingly not everyone was pleased with this outcome. Kali looked like she just eaten a lemon, and Helgarval was positively sputtering with indignity.

“You can’t just let it go, much less ask it to accompany us! It’s evil!”

Timber hissed, Jerk!” but I shushed him.

Ivan and I both made the argument that Skygni would be serving a greater good, but Helgarval was stuck in his way of thinking. “It is evil. It should be killed.”

I then asked, “Is there no chance of redemption for anyone once they have started down an evil path?”

That gave Helgarval pause for thought, and he seemed willing to accept Skygni’s presence on the grounds that we would be saving him from his evil ways. It could happen.

“And monkeys might fly out of my butt,” quipped Pookie (ever the realist).

Oathday, Arodus 16, 4712 night
Kalsgard

We are finally back at the caravan — it is nice to be home. And while the day long ride back from Ravenscraeg was uneventful, leaving the fortress was not as stress free as we had hoped.

Our morning started with Kali and Lute discussing what had happened here, how that affected him, and what it would mean for the guild. Lute surprised us all by stating, “The guild is finished. I am going straight to the king. We will not stand for this!”

That was comforting.

“As for me, well I still have my business, and once the king hears about what I have done here, well I am sure I will be more than fine.”

What he has done? Kali and I looked at each other and grinned. Ivan stifled a snicker. This was perfect. We could let Lute handle the guild and the political fallout of all that had happened here, and we could walk away with the loot we gathered (no strings attached) and the guild would be finished. We also need not pay Lute any share of the treasure.

We encouraged Lute to move forward with his plan, and provided him with the guild documents we had found to prove its wrong doings.

The day was already looking up. Until it wasn’t.

We were making our way down the switch-back ramps that led down from the keep’s front doors (which we had avoided on the way in) when a pair of very large wasp-like creatures clambered out from a crevice in the cliff face and attacked.

We quickly killed them and explored their small cavern in the wall.

I wish we hadn’t, but it was for the best that we did. The thin form of an elf was lying unconscious on the floor. Looking closer we saw he was riddled with small bore holes. Ivan stated that there were grubs living in the holes, and examining the hapless elf I could see that while technically he was alive, he had already been more than half eaten from within.

There was no way we could save him, and no way we could leave him to this horrific suffering. Ivan slit his throat and Etayne set the body on fire, killing the grubs within.

It was a relatively quiet trip back to Kalsgard, interrupted only by an ongoing argument among Suishen, Olmas and Ameiko over her role in the company, which appeared to have ended in an uneasy truce (or stalemate).

Fireday, Arodus 17, 4712 evening
Kalsgard

We spent a full day preparing for our upcoming trip across the Crown of the World. I purchased some useful equipment, including the Boots of the Winterlands we had found in Snorri’s stash.

Near the end of the day we visited Finn and showed him Suishen, which remained mute during the entire visit (a welcome respite, given the bickering between the sword and Ameiko).

But the day’s big news came from Etayne. She announced that she had been having disturbing dreams of late, and she felt forced to investigate what they portended.

She would accompany us to the next outpost and from there return to southern lands.

We were all saddened by this news. Etayne has been a stalwart companion on our adventures, and we have come to rely on her skill with potions and other concoctions (and with icky goos and liquids in general). She was also our primary healer.

More than anything, though, I will miss her curiosity. I felt like we were kindred spirits in our eagerness to explore.

Starday, Arodus 18, 4712 evening
Kalsgard

Early this morning I spoke with Kimandatsu.

Using a combination of Owl’s Wisdom and Speak with Dead I asked the ogre’s head some questions.

“Did you kill Silverscore?”

“Silverscore. A most useful tool. Yes, I killed her.”

“Who are the members of the Five Storms?”

“The five most powerful Oni in Tien Xia.”

“What is the ultimate goal of the Five Storms?”

“We will rule Minkai as is our right.”

Interesting.

Upon Kimandatsu’s final answer, Helgarval flew up and said that we had solved the mystery of the Rimerunner’s Guild and as such, his time with us was at an end. “May Desna bless you,” he said, and flew off.

Also interesting, and combined with Etayne’s announcement from yesterday, also somewhat depressing.

We found Lute and passed on what we had learned from Kimandatsu, noting that the doors on the Rimerunner’s Guild office were already boarded up. Lute had been true to his word, and the king quick to act.

I crafted a wand of Lesser Restoration with the rest of my day.

Oathday, Arodus 23, 4712 evening
Kalsgard

We have worked with Ulf to ensure the caravan has been properly outfitted and provisioned for the upcoming trip. Tomorrow we leave for the outpost town of Turvick, a journey of some three days. I created a couple wands of Cure Light Wounds.

Earlier in the week Kali and I found Yin-po and made contributions toward the reconstruction of the temple to Shelyn. Kali’s gift was far more substantial than my own, but when the new church arises from the ruins the grinning face of Groetus will be among its adornments.

Sunday, Arodus 26, 4712 night
Turvick

Our trek northward has resumed, and as we travel further north the trees become stunted with dark green, almost black needles. They clump together in thickets and forests around the marshy sunken sumps that form between the crests of hills.

With marshy ground comes mosquitos. I really had the damned things.

We had a small farewell gathering for Etayne at the Winsome Troll earlier this evening, but it felt more like a wake than a party. We leave upon our separate ways in the morning.

She left us with an assortment of potions and the wand of Identify.

Fireday, Rova 21, 4712 evening
Urjlik

The colors have been stark and few as we continued northward. An artist with only white, slate grey, and burnt umber on his pallette could easily paint a scene from our journey at any given moment on any given day. No mixing required.

Koya is the only one dressed in bright colors, but they seem brash and out of place here. I think she has felt this too and she has kept inside her wagon.

We crossed the pass in the Rimethirst Mountains and made our way to Urjlik. This was once a giant stronghold and it is said that giants come here to die. A somber legend for a somber land.

Moonday, Rova 24, 4712 evening
northern caravan route

We elected to follow the main caravan route northward, avoiding the “short cut” that led into the hills due north. Apparently the river crossings for the short route were beyond the ability of our caravan to make safely, and the short cut would in all likelihood have led to a long delay.

And so it was surprising when early in the day a voice from the sky challenged us to stop and turn back.

“I am Kjaerulff, spirit guardian of these sacred lands. You have invaded our home, turn around and be off.”

Yes, well his claim seemed dubious and we had no intention of turning around. Detect Magic showed the voice to be a simple illusion spell, and so I challenged it.

“Oh, confound it all!” shouted a gruff voice as a giant stood up from behind a low lying hill. “So be it, interlopers. These are not your lands.” He then began to chant, and an obscuring mist formed around him.

Ivan dispelled it.

“Blast and confound you,” the giant shouted, “At ’em boys!”

With that a pair of winter wolves charged across the snow toward us.

Kali glared at me, but I called out to Skygni, who came running to our aid, engaging with one of the other wolves.

We set to work, and soon there was a dead giant and two dead winter wolves lying in the snow, their blood coloring it a shocking scarlet. All in all I found it rather sad, but the stupid thing would not listen to reason.

Interesting enough during combat Kali was actually wielding a weapon (a glave) which was unusual for her.

We took the useful stuff the giant had been carrying, and then followed his tracks back to a cave. A broken down armored wagon was outside, and we found a scroll tube hidden on a human body. Ulf recognized him as having been another guide.

[381] wand of elemental touch [12 charges]
[382] rusty great ax
[383] gold plated astrolabe
[384] magic map of the high ice:

  • +2 bonus to survival checks for not getting lost
  • +5 bonus to security checks

Fireday, Rova 28, 4712 evening
northern caravan route (Bearleg Lakes)

We are passing through the Bearleg Lakes region. The marshes have grown in size and with them so have the mosquitos. You’d think the cold would kill them off, but you’d think wrong.

Sparna has been busy working on his double headed dwarf weapon. He’s already fairly lethal in combat as it is.

Starday, Rova 29, 4712 evening
northern caravan route (Taraska River)

We crossed the great northern river today. We celebrated at dinner with the Korvosan wine I had rescued from Ravenscraeg, some succulent meat and tubers Ameiko roasted, and an apricot cobbler I made for dessert.

Ameiko and I have been doing the cooking, and we trade off who cooks which meal each day to keep it interesting. Sometimes, like tonight, we join forces for a single meal. Ameiko likes to grill over the fire or roast in the hot coals, while I prefer the dutch oven and saucepan.

Moonday, Lamashan 1, 4712 evening
northern caravan route

Nihali reported that we were being tailed by a pack of dire wolves. Skygni recommended that we just let them be. We did and they eventually moved along to hunt easier prey.

Beorn expressed his disappointment that we couldn’t also have a dire wolf as a companion.

Fireday, Lamashan 5, 4712 evening
northern caravan route

We encountered a neatly stacked pile of frozen human corpses along the trail today. They had been clawed to death, and tracks led off for a few hundred feat before vanishing.

We made several guesses as to what could have killed them, but we could not figure out why anyone would then take the trouble to stack the bodies.

Starday, Lamashan 6, 4712 evening
northern caravan route

A silver dragon swooped over our caravan today before flying off to the east. We all wonder what that means.

Toilday, Lamashan 9, 4712 mid day
northern caravan route

The silver dragon flew low over our caravan a short while ago and called out, “Ho caravan, there are ice trolls up ahead.” It then flew off.

I have never seen a dragon before, and am delighted my first dragon was both friendly and helpful. I joined in with my mouse friends in wishing that the dragon could accompany us on our journey.

But Ulf only grunted, “Humph. Ice trolls. They are smaller than regular trolls, and as you would expect, adapted to the cold. And they’re smart.”

It sounds like more trouble is coming and soon.

Qatana’s journal entry for Arodus 15, 4712 (continued)

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Wealday, Arodus 15, 4712 afternoon
Ravenscraeg

Radella and Ivan led the way down the stairs, and the rest of us followed into the dim light below. Ivan paused and pointed down at the last step where a barely visible wire stretched across, waiting to grab our feet.

We stepped over it. Well, almost all of us did. Olmas stumbled and a bell rang from down the hall.

A score of zombies moved up from some alcove to the left. We began to hack our way through when we heard a shout from the far end of the corridor and a crossbow bolt sunk deep into Sparna’s shoulder.

Some sort of troll… or mini-troll had joined the fray, but it was using magic and ranged attacks in a very un-troll like way.

Kali summoned an archon lantern to keep the troll (trolling? trollete? trunchkin?) occupied as we mopped up the zombie horde and pressed our attack forward.

It didn’t like that, and quickly retreated after magically delving a formidable sized hole between him and us.

We each began to use whatever means at our disposal to cross the gap. Olmas walked across the air carrying Ivan. Etayne flew across and cast Burning Gaze. With Beorn screaming in my ears, “Don’t let it get away,” I flew into the air, grabbing Kali along the way.

The trollkin was both injured and a coward, and so it fled down a flight of stairs. It would not do for the damned thing to escape and heal itself or call in reinforcements, and so I flew after it, clubbing it to death with my flail as it slumped against a closed door.

That’s when I noticed the statues: four of them, each fashioned into the form of a Samurai warrior. Two sprang to life and attacked me, but when I brandished the raven figurine before them they stood down and retreated to their alcoves.

I searched the corpse and took several useful things.

[330] fugitive’s grenade
[331] wand of Command Undead [11 charges]
[332] masterwork heavy crossbow plus 19 bolts
[333] masterwork heavy pick

I rejoined the others up the stairs. The pit had vanished, and there were a pair of doors we had ignored in the heat of battle.

Radella quickly unlocked one, which was for a store room with a wide variety of stores and provisions, ranging from exquisite to disgusting. I took a few bottles of fine wine while Etayne snooped around for the sort of gross goo that appeals to her.

[333] 6 bottles of Korvosian wine

Meanwhile Radella was busy at the other door, muttering to herself as she fiddled with the lock. After nearly half an hour there was a soft snick as the final tumbler fell and the lock was defeated. But Radella raised her hand, holding us back, as she squinted suspiciously at the latch. “Trapped,” she said, and after minute or so of additional fiddling she opened the door.

We had found the treasury, which explained the very complex lock and trap. Coins and bars of precious metals gleamed in the torch light. Counting would have to wait until later, but Detect Magic directed my attention to a wooden chest.

I began to pull items out of the chest as we identified them. Based on what was there, we were confident that we had found Ulf’s possessions.

But there was more.

As I continued to bring items out I could see Kali reacting with alarm, and only some moments later did I realize the cause. We had found Ameiko’s stuff.

But Ameiko was supposed to be back at the caravan, safely guarded by Shalelu and the others. She must have been taken shortly after we left and brought here overnight. I was worried about Shalelu, because there is no way she would have let them take Ameiko while she was still standing.

There was only one place left to find her: down the stairs and through the door.

Helgarval detected a number of evil creatures beyond the door, including one with a much stronger aura than the others. Likewise I detected a primary source of magic on the other side.

We used the Ring of the Ram to blast the the door into splinters and swiftly swarmed in. The large room beyond had a pyramidical ceiling and multiple levels, with a waterfall cascading down a far wall.

Silverscor quickly ducked behind a decorative screen as a squad of ninjas advanced upon us. The ninjas proved no more difficult than before, but now they were supported by a powerful spell caster. Whenever we could we focused our primary attacks on Silverscor, who had a nasty habit of vanishing and appearing elsewhere.

Never the less, we were taking a heavy toll on her, and her ninjas were crumbling like dust. She appeared on a platform, changed into her true form of a purple ogre, and I managed to fly up and cast Touch of Idiocy on her, but it was a feeble attempt. She then flew up to the top of the ceiling.

We followed, and despite some nasty attacks and area effect spells, we were inflicting great damage upon her when she vanished.

Apparently Suishen granted Olmas the ability to see our invisible foe, and with his direction we brought her crashing to the ground with a dull thud.

We made extra sure she would stay down by removing her head, and then pawed through her belongings.

[368] wand of flaming arrow [9 charges]
[369] scale male (large)
[370] +1 te-tsubo — a mace with studs (large)
[371] masterwork composit longbow (plus 18 arrows)
[372] lesser bracers of archery
[373] keyring with 3 keys
[374] pair of silver braziers (from the room)

Radella discovered a secret door by the ogre’s body, which opened onto a passage with a locked door on the immediate left and another further down on the right.

We could feel intense cold radiating out from the first door, and we heard a soft menacing growl. Helgarval said something evil lurked behind the door, but not inherently evil. We left it for later.

A large dark cell lay beyond the next door with a pool of murky water spreading out from a corner. Two figures were slumped on the floor nearby, and one of them was Ameiko!

Helgarval announced that there was evil in the water, and weird, giant frog-like creatures clambered out from the pool.

Olmas ran in with Ivan, the latter quickly and grabbing Ameiko, carrying her out to the corridor, while the former slashed at the frog-beasts. I followed and grabbed the other figure, a man we assumed to be Ulf.

Ameiko cried out, “Don’t look them in the eyes!” and we soon discovered what she meant. Lurid yellow green rays of sprang out from the frog things’ eyes, striking us. We later learned that these had the power to blind, but we killed them quickly before anyone suffered ill effects.

I channeled to lend some much needed healing to Ameiko and Ulf, as Ameiko told of her capture. She had left the safety of the caravan. Alone. Without telling anyone where she was going. And of course she was quickly captured and brought here.

Seriously? That seemed more than a little careless and a lot foolish to me, but I held my tongue. Perhaps she learned a lesson from all of this.

The blindness that the frogs inflicted upon Ameiko and Ulf slowly lifted while we discussed our next steps.

We have found a lot of loot, not even including what was in the treasure room, and this should help us on the long and difficult journey ahead.

But get this, some of the others thought the treasure and loot we found needed to be returned to the Rhyme Runners Guild, because “It was theirs and they legally owned it.”

Others said the same thing about Ravenscraeg when I suggested we sell it to raise cash.

Kali was among the latter group, and she looked pityingly at me as if I did not understand the concept of property, legal rights and the realities of the world.

I am much more familiar with legal “property rights” than she imagines. I was — and in fact still am — the legal property of another. Should I be returned to them because “they have a legal right to me?”

Fortunately Suishen itself spoke up, clearly disgusted with the turn in the conversation. It could not believe we would risk our mission by throwing away the hard earned treasure we found here.

As far as I am concerned the Rhyme Runner’s Guild gets jack shit. It has no moral or ethical claims to what we have recovered from Ravenscraeg or from fortress itself.

In fact I think we should march into their office with Lute and Ulf in tow, and explain to them what we found at Ravenscraeg: all of the illegal and immoral activities we discovered with evidence linking all of it back to the guild itself.

Let them know that this evidence was ready to be sent to the King and Kalsgard’s leaders, along with announcements to be posted on the city walls denouncing the guild if we did not leave their office happy with the outcome of our discussion.

I suspect with their precious leader gone they will not have the will, fortitude, or courage to argue with us.

And speaking of Lute, we need to find him before he tries to head back to Kalsgard on his own.

And there is the not small matter of the treasure we have yet to count or collect. It looks heavy, and I wonder if we currently have the means to haul it away.

And something very cold and very unhappy is locked down here.

Qatana’s journal entry for Arodus 15, 4712 (continued)

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Wealday, Arodus 15, 4712 mid day
Ravenscraeg

We descended the stone steps into a claustrophobic narrow hallway. The mortared stone walls were wet from condensation and fuzzy from green-black mold, and the air was damp and smelled unpleasantly of soggy shoes.

“It smells like Badger’s butt!” quipped Pookie. This set of such a round of snickering from the others that I had a hard time concentrating on anything else for the next few moments.

A pair of iron bound wooden doors, one to our right and one dead ahead, lay before us.

The right door opened onto a short corridor that led to a large cavern — an underground stream crossed the corridor from left to right, effectively blocking access to the chamber beyond. On the far side was a large plank that would span the water, but we had no way to reach it.

Through the door ahead was a smaller chamber with a waterfall erupting from high up on the left wall, and then collecting itself in a pool that covered most of the floor the water flowed out to the right. Across the water was another door, next to which were a small cask and what looked like a hand bell.

We decided to check out the door to the right first, and so Etayne flew across to try and move the plank. It was too heavy for her to lift on her own, but before we could decide what to do next, a troll plodded over.

“What going on here?” it grunted in giant, which Sparna later translated for the rest of us.

“Prisoner transfer,” Sparna replied.

“Uh,” the troll grunted, clearly taxing its vocabulary as its heavy brows knit together in deep thought. “Maybe you leave for trolls to have fun?”, it asked in an almost whimsical tone.

“Orders from Runecaster,” Sparna cleverly replied. He then showed him one of the carved ravens the ninjas had been carrying.

“Uh,” again the troll replied before adding a few moments later, “Trolls not want any trouble. Carry on.”

Indeed, the troll was so confounded by the mention of Runecaster that he placed the plank over the water for us to cross. To the right was a large cavern with a massive furnace set against one wall, and a mountainous pile of coal against another. Three other trolls stood there in the gloom, looking suspiciously at us as we approached a door to our left.

Kali whispered something to Sparna, who turned to the trolls and asked, “Do you need more coal?” To which the troll, thoroughly vexed by now, bellowed, “NO MORE COAL!”

This door was locked, and none of the keys we got from upstairs worked. Fortunately Radella did not need a key, and soon the door was opened. We quickly scuttled into the room beyond and closed the door behind us.

This room was large and paneled from floor to ceiling in rich, dark hardwood. Tien style tapestries draped down over the walls from a twenty foot high ceiling. Seven straw mats lay arranged on the floor, which squeaked beneath our feet as we spread out.

But before we had a chance to discover more there was a loud blast, like a clap of thunder, and ninjas began to drop to the floor or throw spears at us from perches high upon the walls.

Ana called out, “It’s a trap!” as we engaged the enemy. Another thunderclap deafened Kali, Olmas and Lute, although the rest of us did not realize it at the time.

As we discovered before, while the ninjas were deathly quiet and deft with their actions, they were fragile and most of them quickly succumbed to the combined might of our onslaught. One of the survivors called out, “Invaders, help!” and the sound of heavy feet thudding up from behind warned us that the trolls were about to join the fray.

Fortunately the last ninja dropped just as the first troll smashed open the door. A quick Touch of Idiocy spell rendered the lead troll inert, and Kali trapped the second in an Aqueous Orb. One of the trolls in the back banged against the coal shoot and yelled, “Intruders!” but we suspected little help would come from upstairs.

Eventually the combat narrowed down in scope to a handful of fighters up front at the door bashing against the trolls who stupidly approached the narrow passageway one by one. This left the rest of us with nothing to do.

Earlier Kali had checked out the nearest northern door and found it was a simple sleeping cell, and had shoved Lute in and closed the door after him. Radella continued investigating the northern doors, and so I turned my attention to the two doors on the far side of the room.

Listening at the first door revealed nothing, and because Radella was coming this way anyway, I moved to the southern door. Again, no noise from beyond, and so I opened it.

It was an empty cell. “Empty?” I thought. “That’s just what they want you to think,” volunteered Timber.

Closer inspection proved Timber right: there was a secret door hidden in the southwest corner.

But before I had a chance to further explore our discovery, someone called out, “We need a little healing help in here! and I rushed out to see what was afoot.

It turned out that there was a ninja hiding in the cell I left for Radella to explore, but she had Olmas rushing over to help, and Ivan lobbing arrows in support. Over by the trolls I could see that one was left standing, with Sparna looking a little worse for wear.

A few channels later and Sparna had perked up and felled the troll just as one of the trolls we had “killed” earlier stood up. Kali used an acid arrow to put it down and keep it down.

Meanwhile over at the cell Ivan had put an arrow through the ninja’s eye, but not before she had stabbed Olmas with a (can you guess?) poisoned dagger. I used Delay Poison to block the effects, and by the time the spell expired the poison had too. Maybe we need to make this permanent on Olmas.

Anyway, it was time to do the usual and loot the bodies and rooms for anything valuable or useful.

[300] vial of black lotus (the deadliest of poisons)
[301] “The Deadly Kiss”, a +1 dagger forged centuries ago in Tien that allows the wielder holding poison to automatically coat the blade (as a free action), consuming the poison in the process
[302-304] +1 earth-fire shuriken: flaming burst on any creature hit, reflex save (DC12) or target catches fire
[305] blowgun
[306] 10 darts
[307] 5 regular shuriken
[308] black ninja outfit: grants +2 AC and +5 stealth
[309] masterwork thieves tools
[310] 33 gold arm bands
[311] 100 amethysts in a bag
[312] 10 thunderstones
[313] 6 masterwork spears
[314] 6 bone amulets of +1 natural armor
[315] 4 “nice” raven statuettes
[316] lacquered screen
[317] small Tien leather trunk
[318] jade and lapis lazuli blow gun
[319] Tien coins (300 gp)
[320] scroll granting the authority from the king for the bearer to commandeer troops, servants and so forth within 2 miles of Kalsgard
[321] disguise kit
[322] set of washer woman clothes (?)

By now Lute was rethinking his decision to stay with us for safety, and decided to take us up on our offer to place him in the cloak room upstairs until either we returned to him, or he decided to leave on his own. We accompanied him upstairs, and gave him two of the rope-trick grenades plus a vanish potion.

We had just shut the door to the cloak room and I was leading us back to the stairs (anxious to see what lay beyond the secret door) when an arc of lightening zapped between Sparna and I, catching must of the group in between.

“Bastard!” growled Star, “Someone is going to die for that!”

But at that moment there was the twang of a bow string, and a large raven with a red feather fell down from the rafters with a soft thud onto the flagstone floor. Ivan was holding a bow with a very satisfied look on his face. Star cooed an appreciative, “Ooh!” while Beorn cackled.

It was dead. Just like that. Ivan had been carrying the arrow of Greater Magic Beast Slaying since we found it, keeping it in an easy to reach pouch. He had quickly spotted the giant raven hovering near the ceiling above and immediately shot the damned bird, which was now laying dead at our feet.

The raven was wearing a ring of protection around its leg, which we gave to Nihali, Kali’s raven.

[323] +1 ring of protection (bird band)

I grabbed the raven corpse and tossed it into the furnace as we returned to the secret door. This led to a long hallway that stretched off into the darkness. Near at hand a door opened on our left. It looked like it might lead to the other side of the waterfall room, and so I was anxious to see what lay beyond.

It was a bedchamber with lots of odd things inside. There was a bed, the headboard for which was in the shape of a daemon’s mouth, a brazier burning in a corner (and giving off the aroma of burnt flesh), and bits of torn paper and debris collected in the corners.

Radella and I had entered the room when Helgerval announced, “There is something evil beneath the bed.”

A pair of giant hands crawled out, spider-like, and launched themselves at Radella. When I say “giant hands”, I do not mean the hands from a giant, but really gigantic hands!

Radella, Olmas, Anna and I bashed the things to death, leaving the earth elemental that Kali had summoned without a job, and so she asked it to pass through the wall to the south and look for the room beyond the waterfall.

The elemental returned and described a room with a well, but no entrance other than through the door we had already seen.

Radella discovered that the daemon’s mouth head board was a secret storage area holding some scrolls and supplies.

Sparna and Ivan had gone down the hallway a little further and discovered that it bent to the left and plunged down a flight of stairs. We decided to check out the remaining unexplored room on this level before heading down.

[324] 3 scrolls of Magic Circle Against Evil
[325] vial of powdered silver (enough for the three [324] scrolls)
[326] Stuffed sturge (giant mosquito)

With a rope tied around my middle (just in case) I jumped into the water and waded to the far side. I tied my end of the rope fast to the doorknob in case someone else wanted to use the rope to cross.

The item we thought had been a bell from across the water was in actuality an aspergillum — I hadn’t seen one since I left Pharasma’s temple in Magnimar. The door was locked and so I called Radella to join me. Picking up the cask I found that a key had been hidden beneath it, which unlocked the door. Radella had come across and opened the cask to find it full of a quality saki.

I opened the door. It was a circular chamber with a tiny well in the floor and a lot of fungi growing on the ceiling and walls. Upon hearing the latter Etayne flew across and pronounced they were “death hoods,” which dropped onto the heads of the unwary, suffocating them.

I filled the aspergillum with saki and entered the room, swinging it around in broad arcs, causing the death hoods to retract and melt. Then using Detect Magic I found something very magical in the wall far below.

But the well was only about a foot in diameter, and whatever was in it was fifteen feet below. Kali sent an Unseen Servant into the water to retrieve whatever it was.

The well instantly began to glow with a fierce light as a shining katana emerged from beneath the surface.

“I SENSE AMATATSU SCIONS AT LAST,” a voice boomed in our heads.

It was Suishen! Apparently Runecaster had stolen it, but could not figure out what to do with it (because Suishen refused to serve her), and so she tossed it in the well as a “safe” place to dispose of it.

Olmas reluctantly agreed to wield the sword (clearly one of us needed to), and as he grabbed it there was a moment’s pause before I heard a voice say, “You’ll do.” To be honest I wasn’t sure if this was from Suishen or Badger.

Suishen has confirmed that Runecaster is an oni in the form of a purple ogre, and I suspect that her careless discarding of Suishen will prove to be a costly mistake.

The stairs down await us, but we might need to recover spells before descending to face what might prove to be our greatest challenge yet.

[327] key to well room
[328] cask of saki (the good stuff)
[329] Suishen

 

Qatana’s journal entries for Arodus 13 – 15

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Moonday, Arodus 13, 4712 Evening
Kalsgard

With a destination named Ravenscraig it was a safe bet that we would be climbing over sheer rock faces, and (especially given our recent history) probably in the dark, and so we stocked up on things like rope, and potions of Spider Climb and Darkvision and the like.

Uksahka had given us a reasonably detailed description of Ulf that fit the description of about three quarters of the male inhabitants of Kalsgard — I thought it not useful to point this out, and so I remained silent.

Toilday, Arodus 14, 4712 Morning
Kalsgard

Someone shot an arrow into the side of Ameiko’s wagon last night. I had already been on watch and was sleeping when the shot was fired, but seeing as how the arrow hit the solid wooden frame of the wagon we determined that either the hired thug was a bad shot or his employers were trying to send a message.

Etayne was quite excited about the arrow because it was poisoned and the poison was a very deadly and very expensive toxin.

“What a bunch of assholes,” squeaked Star. Typically my friends and I have a benign “Live and let die” outlook on others, but in this case I had to agree with Star, and thought the leaders of the Rimerunners Guild could use a little nudging toward the “die” end of the spectrum. Back to bed.

Toilday, Arodus 14, 4712 Evening
Ravenscraig

We’re here! Darkness is already spreading beneath the trees where we are hiding and peering out toward the cliff wall atop of which is perched the fortress of Ravenscraig.

The ride here from Kalsgard took most of the day, and was mostly uneventful as we rode along well traveled roads, which became rough cart paths, and finally overgrown single track. It was obvious that regular traffic passed this way, but not much and not often.

The first part of the journey was tedious: plodding a long at a walk on the back of a horse through mostly flat and low lying woods and scrub makes for a dull time. Occasionally a hill would poke up on either side, lending some interest to the scenery, but we kept to the lowlands.

Eventually we came upon a boggy area with algae slimed pools on either side of the trail. It smelled bad and we urged our horses to move a little faster. We were well past the first pool when a large blob-thing rose up from the quagmire and struck Etayne and Ivan.

Jellies! I had heard of these before, but had never seen one in person. The horses were somewhat skittish, and so we dismounted and they trotted back up the path and stood huddled together. I think Olmas’ horse actually kept them from just bolting.

After a short battle, where we learned that using blunt weapons worked best on gelatinous creatures because edged weapons caused them to divide into more creatures, we had killed the jellies and discovered a small trinket of some value.

[269] black pearl necklace (1300gp)

A little further along and we saw where a new path joined the main trail: apparently we had missed the turnoff that would have taken us on detour around the bog.

We finally entered the hills as the day was ending, and a shale cliff rose up on our right as we continued on south. Eventually the woods ended and we saw a large clearing at the base of the cliff, up from which a set of wooden stairs climbed back and forth to a dark castle above.

Kali sent Nihali up to scout out Ravenscraig on the wing, and she reported that there was a large flock of ravens roosting in the highest tower.

We decided to wait until it was fully dark, and then using our climbing spells and gear scale the cliff and approach the fortress from behind. We will leave the horses here, and Olmas’ horse will keep them out of sight and waiting for our return. Pretty nifty, that.

Toilday, Arodus 14, 4712 Night
Ravenscraig

We clambered up and over the cliffs into a narrow valley that rises up behind Ravenscraig. A stream descends into the valley and forms a small pond before the fortress walls, and a path follows the stream and, leaping over a foot bridge, it arrives at a back door.

Listening at the door indicated it led to the kitchen, and as if to confirm it the aroma of cooked meats and baking bread wafted out and around us. But seriously, who bakes bread the evening for the next day? Sure, you want to set it out the night before so it will rise, but bread should be baked in the morning! The staff had clearly adopted some evil habits.

With the kitchen occupied by busy servants we made additional use of Spiderclimb and scuttled up the castle walls (just like spiders!). The upper windows were quiet, but also shuttered, using I knife I managed to lift up the securing bar within, and Ivan assisted with an Unseen Servant spell to ensure the beam would not clatter noisily onto the floor.

A dimly lit great hall stretched out before us. This seemed as good an entry point as any, and so we quickly scampered inside, closing the shutters behind.

We had entered on a dias above three sides of the hall, with the main floor of the hall below. Doors led into side passages and the main doors were in the opposite wall. At either end of the dais were doors, and we decided to check those out first.

The northern door was locked, which Radella quickly picked, and we soon found ourselves in the armory. While of reasonably quality, the weapons and armor were non-magical, except for a single arrow.

[270] arrow of Greater Magical Beast Slaying

The southern door opened into a store of furs, blankets, and cold weather gear. I poked around through the pile of and found a stack of scrolls written in the native tongue. Sparna read through them and discovered they were written by Snorri Stoneye in the days before he “died.” He claimed his magical eye gave him “the sight” and the a great conflict was coming, during which the world would be flung into a deep winter.

He also made mention of a store of special items he had hidden in an upstairs flue.

[271] Snorri Stoneye’s journal

The dais also led into the main tower section of the castle, and so we carefully made our way over and looked up and down the central shaft. Stairs ran both up and down, and while views to the upper levels were blocked by the wood ceiling, down below was a large and well stocked alchemical lab.

Etayne wanted to go down right away, but the rest of us thought it better to finish exploring the current level, and maybe the upper tower levels first. There was an unlocked door nearby and so we opened it.

“And that’s where you put your foot in it,” Badger quipped. It turned out to be the bedroom of one of the tower guards… and not just an ordinary guard, but some sort of were-bear. He screamed out, “Intruders in the hall! as he began to change shape.

So much for secrecy and the element of surprise. Radella and I quickly killed him, but we heard a large ruckus, like the flapping of many wings, coming in from the great hall.

Two swarming flocks of Ravens swooped in and attacked, but we managed to disrupt them through overwhelming physical attacks and spell casting. Even Helgarval joined in.

Kali had summoned an air elemental that arrived after the battle was over, but thinking quickly she sent it up the tower where Nihali had reported the ravens roosted. Moments later loud squawks of alarm confirmed that this had been a good tactic, and we moved up the tower stairs.

Waiting for us was a squad of avian ninjas, who used blowguns to shoot darts at us. Worse, some of the darts were coated with the same deadly poison that was on our “warning arrow.” Some of the darts hit their marks, and it seems that Olmas had a very bad reaction to being poisoned. He began to look rather ill, and even in the middle of combat we began to fear that we would win the battle, but then lose Olmas after the fighting was over.

The fighting did not last long. They might be fast and agile and armed with wicked poison, but quite frankly they were no match for us, and all lay dead within a minute.

This freed Etayne and I to look after Olmas. Neither of us had any means to neutralize or even slow the poison, but using a combination of healing and a scroll of Restoration we managed to bring Olmas back to health such that his own system was able to fight off what remained of the toxins in his blood stream.

“Which brings up the question,” added Beorn in a rather sly sort of way, “why is it Olmas that is always almost dying on us?” “Well, at least he always pulls through in the end,” countered Huffy. “Yeah, but sooner or later the only end he’s gonna pull through is his own.” And at this Beorn began to titter uncontrollably.

We sifted through the ex-ninjas’ belongings, taking what looked useful (or at least valuable).

[272] 6 potions of Blur
[273] 6 potions of Disguise Self
[274] 6 vials of Whinnis poison
[275] 6 empty vials (traces of Deathblade)
[276] 6 leather armor
[277] 6 blow guns
[278] 6 masterwork wakasashi (swords)
[279] 18 daggers
[280] 6 climbers kits
[281] 6 50′ silk ropes
[282] 6 +2 ninja outfits
[283] 6 jade raven statuettes set with precious stones
[284] 6 sets of Tien clothing (200 – 300 gp each)
3 poisoned darts (Deathblade)

In the northwest corner was a large, filthy nest spattered with copious quantities of bird droppings. Extra large bird droppings. Hiding in the twigs, rags and bird crap was a collection of human teeth, some gold coins, and a couple of other valuables.

[285] ivory and onyx necklace
[286] kit for making messages for delivery birds
27 gold pieces

There was a narrow door that opened onto a small room with a fireplace that had not been used in some time. Reaching up into the flue I found a a pair of magical boots.

[287] Boots of the Winterlands

A trap door led up into an aviary, with a coop and a small wooden table set next to platform. This was where the ravens roosted, and so we destroyed the coop and made it a generally unpleasant place for the ravens to settle back in.

We went back to the large nest below and carefully set two of our three poison darts in the nest, pointy side up. We thought this was where the large red feathered raven nested, and wanted to give it a special surprise when it returned. We tossed the ninja bodies down the stairs, and followed down ourselves.

Back in the cloak room we have used the magical eggs to generate an extra dimensional space (via Rope Trick) where we can rest undetected (or so it is hoped).

As usual I have the first watch (with Radella), and Helgarval is recounting some of his past adventures to keep us alert (or maybe he just needed to talk). In any event, I realized that Helgarval was not a helmet at all, but one of the lesser angels, and that he is susceptible to the same sorts of spells and attacks as the rest of us.

I’ll need to be careful when I wear him in the future. Too late to do anything about that now. Beorn seems unduly amused by this realization, and I can hear him chuckling softly to himself.

Wealday, Arodus 15, 4712 morning
Ravenscraig

The rope trick worked! During the night our watch saw the door to the cloak room open and close as ninjas searched the fortress for us. The search seemed to have ended, and so we continued with our exploration of Ravenscraig.

Out into the great hall, before we had gone far, ninjas started popping up out from the woodwork. And dropping like flies almost as quickly. A band of Ulfen guards joined in, but they too found themselves out classed and quickly dead.

We systematically went from door to door, exploring each of the rooms beyond. Other than a small trap door in the floor of one room, we found the usual sort of chambers one would expect in a fortress (barracks, guard rooms, supply rooms, and so on).

I opened the trap door and a booming voice from below called out something in giant. I looked over to Sparna, who quickly translated, “Enough coal! No more. All good.”

We did find some useful items in our exploration (and from the bodies of the dead ninjas and guards), plus a set of keys from the were-bear’s room (which we had failed to search the night before).

[288] 8 fugitive grenades
[289] 8 potions
[290] bracelet
[291] ebony fan
[292] Rimerunners Guild cache voucher for 80 gold pieces
[293] 6 jade ravens (lower quality)
[294] 8 jade ravens (higher quality)
[295] 8 master work short bows
[296] ring of keys (from were-bear’s room)
[297] 400 freshly minted Chelish gold pieces
500 gold pieces (offerings at altar)

Descending the tower stairs we finally arrived in the alchemy lab. In addition to the usual tables, benches, chemicals and equipment was a large glass tank. Within the tank was a human body. As we passed by a voice called out, “Help!” and the body began to feebly beat upon the glass.

It was obvious that this was not some poor human trapped in the tank, and we prudently decided to let it be. Sparna and some of the others who were closer to the body saw that something was wriggling and crawling beneath its skin.

While the others were busy with the lab, I was scouting out a small door in an alcove off to one side. The door was locked and it looked like a prison cell might lie beyond. Radella used our newly acquired keys to unlock the door, and opening it we found two bodies within.

One of the bodies was a corpse, but the other was of a living man. He looked half starved, and in need of food, drink and some healing, all of which we provided.

He said his name was Lute, and he had been brought here and locked up for daring to ask questions at a Rimerunners meeting. He warned of Silverscar, whom he said had been threatening him with the “wasps.” He thought Silverscar ran the place, and might be a purple ogre.

I asked, “What do you mean about the wasps?” To which he replied that Silverscar exposed victims to a swarm of wasps that would burrow into their body and turn them into some sort of zombie. The wasps were kept in the glass tank in the lab.

In the mean time the rest of our group had collected a variety of items from the lab (I swear Etayne’s pack and pockets are bulging).

[298] jar of ointment that can be used as stone to flesh, or as stoneskin
[299] ring of counterspells (empty)

The safest place we could think of for Lute to be was with us, and so he has joined our ranks rather timidly. There is a stairwell leading down from the lab into the dark dank depths below, and that is our next destination.

An Act of Mercy

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Qatana woke suddenly. The bedroll lay twisted at her feet, and the tunic she wore most nights was wet with sweat. Despite the cooler northern climate it was just too hot in the caravan wagon for sleep.

She looked around and noticed that Shalelu was not there. “Probably watching the caravan from the shadows,” she thought drowsily.

It was then that she heard the voices, soft whisperings just barely audible outside the covered wagon. She vaguely recognized most of them, but a stranger was doing most of the talking.

“Guys, I think we have company,” she said to her friends, and then realized with a shock that her friends were not with her. This abruptly brought her fully awake and alert.

She quickly pulled on trousers and slipped out the back. There, huddled in the darkness by a wheel were nine small shapes. Eight of them were silvery and translucent like smoke, but the other seemed normal.

“Here she is now,” squeaked Badger, “she’ll help.” The others replied in mutual agreement, but the outsider seemed startled by her arrival and scuttled beneath the wagon.

Star let out a snort of exasperation, but Timber reassured their guest, “You must trust her. She will help, but you need to show the way.”

The mouse, encouraged by her friends, crept out from the greater darkness beneath the wagon and scampered forward to the next shadow. The moon had set some time before, but the canopy of stars cast their own milky light upon the city, and hungry eyes would make short work of careless mice.

Qatana was not particularly stealthy, but it was dark, and most of the quarter’s inhabitants were long in bed. Her guide was virtually invisible, and if it were not for the shimmering figures of her friends she would have lost sight of him right away.

They followed the cobblestone road a short distance toward the gate, where the mouse stopped.

“Here,” her friends cried urgently, “here!”

A tiny black form lay slumped by the side of the road. Qatana carefully picked up a limp mouse and saw that while it had been badly injured, probably crushed beneath the wheels of a hand cart, the animal yet lived.

It had clearly suffered in this state for quite some time and was now in shock.

Qatana hesitated, torn as usual between the two choices before her. A little squeak at her feet brought her back to the dying creature in her hands. “You have a mate and probably young ones back in your nest.”

She concentrated for a moment and her friends glowed brightly. The small mouse stirred in her hands, whiskers twitching in the night air. She put the mouse on the ground net to the other, and they scurried off together.

“Stay off the cobbles, little ones!” she called after them.

Qatana stood there for some time, lost in thought and fighting despair and desperation. Was this the right choice? Surely this was just a temporary reprieve, and the next day would see her patient speared in the talons of an owl or made the play thing of some cruel cat. Weren’t her actions this night just a futile gesture, after all?

Timber sniffed loudly and muttered, “This again?”

“Shush,” Pookie admonished, “She is a servant of Groetus, and she must often choose between life and death for others, and the burden is great.”

Star scoffed, “It wouldn’t be tough for me: I’d chose death!” The others groaned their little mousey noises of disapproval, but off by himself Beorn tittered uncontrollably.

Qatana’s journal for Arodus 12 and 13, 4712

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KalsgardOverHeadS
Sunday, Arodus 12, 4712 morning
Kalsgard

Back when Kali and I were kids we used to stay up all night, scuttling through the dark alleyways of Sandpoint in pursuit of what we used to call “adventure.” It is not nearly as enjoyable as it was back then, and the excitement of pulling an “all-nighter” has been mostly replaced by drudgery, stress, and exhaustion.

After crashing Asvig’s party, watching him die in a fountain of blood, confronting his wife, learning how to kayak, sneaking aboard Snori Stoneye’s funeral barge, battling giant crabs and undead, and fending off an invading squad of ninjas we have had a busy twentyfour hours.

We were not done quite yet, and after updating Fyn on all we had done and seen, we discovered that his friend and our primary source of information, Uksahka was missing.

Okay, there’s another mystery to solve, but it will need to wait until morning… no wait, it already is morning. It’ll need to wait until after we have slept. Of my little friends, only Star still seems keen to go on, and I can hear her constant murmur of vengeance punctuated by an occasional squeak of, “Go for the eyes!”We returned to the caravan and pulled out the more interesting objects we took from Snori’s boat to identify them.

[258] Stoneye’s stone eye: grey sphere ioune stone, which provides immunity to magical aging, and protects against ability penalties caused by aging
[259] winged helm — this item was not identifiable, although it had a faint divination aura and a good alignment
[260] magic eggs: when broken each egg provides 12 seconds (2 rounds) of Fog Cloud, and a single tendril of mist provides access to a Rope Trip sanctuary, but the tendril vanishes after it is used
[261] four potions of Vanish (1 round)

We puzzled over the unidentifiable helmet for a bit, until someone wondered out loud if we ought to wear it to see its effects (or affects). This was a reasonable proposal, but everyone seemed reluctant to put it into practice. A sleepy Badger mumbled, “Oh just put the thing on already so we can go to bed,” and so I did.

The helmet fit nicely, and I felt sure it would offer some much needed protection the next time I was in combat, but my team mates seemed overly worried about me walking about the city with it on.

I hope I can sleep through the bright light of the day and the noise of the city.

Sunday, Arodus 12, 4712 early evening
Kalsgard

Well I needn’t have worried. As soon as my head hit the pillow I was out like a lamp and did not wake up until after the rest of the party.

“Ask for me at the Temple of Shelyn.” This was the last thing Uksaki had said before departing, and so naturally that’s where we needed to start. Along the way Kali spotted the large raven with a red feather, but it flew off before she could react. Soon we had more pressing issues on our minds, because a pair of large earth elementals was demolishing the Temple of Shelyn!

A robed figure was lying face down beside the substantial pile of rubble that was once the temple, and the elementals were pounding the remaining sections of wall that were still standing.

Both Star and Beorn were screaming, “Attack!, and indeed Olmas and Sparna had already moved in. I quickly joined them, although I found myself mostly limited to healing my team mates.

Kali helpfully caught one of the elementals up in a giant blob of water, and pushed it well out of the way, leaving us to face only the one.

Etayne was busy tending to the fallen robed figure, while the rest of us battled the elemental, which gamely fought on until it dropped and seemingly dissolved into the cobblestone street.

Summoned. No big surprise there. We turned our attention to the remaining elemental, and Kali dismissed the water blob spell and then summoned the aid of an archon lantern.

The ensuing fight was fierce, but brief, for the earth elemental vanished in a puff of dust and flinty flakes. No doubt the spell that summoned it had expired.

During the fight Radella had spotted the large red feathered raven perched atop a nearby building. She managed to hit it solidly with an arrow, but it turned to mist and dissolved into the red roof tiles.

The priest, Yin-po, stood near the ruin that was once his temple. He was shaken, but had benefited from the group healing Etayne and I had dispensed during the fight. I thought to ease his distress by pointing out that the temple looked no worse than many of the churches I had seen devoted to Groetus, but Huffy’s fierce whisper of, “Not now!” stopped me.

Most of us already suspected that the earth elementals had been summoned to distract us from finding Uksahka, and with some trepidation we gave Father Yin-po the stone tablet that she had told us to bring to the temple.

“Ah, you seek Uksahka. It is fortunate indeed that she came to us, for we have hidden her in a safe place.” Yin-po led us down a narrow alley to a door which had been smashed open. Yin-po gave a loud gasp and rushed inside, calling out for Uksahka. We joined him, but already knew she had been taken.

Searching the room we found two clues: a large black feather and small poison dart. Yin-po thought the feather was from a Tien daemon, an Oni. Etayne thought the poison on the dart was extracted from plant called blue winnis. “The poison is used to paralyze and not kill,” she said.

We now seemed at have reached a dead end. We had no guide for our trip across the Crown of the World. We had no local local informant. We had nothing.

“Why not go to the Rhimerunners Guild and just hire a guide?” I asked. We suspected the guild was behind or involved in much of what had happened to us since arriving in Kalsgard, but it seemed like a direct approach was all that was left to try.

The others agreed, but before we could leave I heard someone softly calling my name. “Hmm,” I thought, “my little friends are usually not so subtle.” I then realized the voice was coming from my pack.

It was the winged helmet I had tried on earlier! He said his name was Helgarval, and that he was a servant of Desna who had been summoned from her plane to serve a powerful cleric. His master had died, leaving him stranded in our world.

We had obtained it… him from Snori’s boat, where he had gone to investigate an evil organization known as the Frozen Shadows. He suspected that this group of ne’er do wells was working for the Oni of the Five Storms, a powerful band of daemons who in the not too distant past had had become interested in Kalsgard.

Snori Stoneye was a major player in the Frozen Shadows, at least until he became undead, and his home served as their headquarters. Unfortunately some of the city elites were members of either the Rhimerunners or the Frozen Shadows. A man named Silverscore was head of the guild, and a nasty user of magic. His familiar was a large raven with a red feather.

Helgarval was not familiar with Suishen, Ameiko’s family sword for which we were searching, but he had heard talk among the guild members about moving an heirloom to the Frozen Shadows’s headquarters.

He seemed content to work with us, and so I placed him on my head where I imagine he will prove most useful.

KalsgardCityScapeSWe made our way into the Jade Quarter and over to the Rhimerunner’s Guild, but it was closed. We quickly formulated an alternative plan. Radella and Ivan would sneak into the guild and snoop around for whatever interesting and useful information they could find.

Kali and I waited in the shadows nearby while the two snuck up to the rear door, picked the lock, and slipped inside. The rest of our party awaited new of their progress from the comfort of a nearby inn.

Some minutes had passed when the rear door opened again, and Radella and Ivan escorted someone out of the building. It was Uksahka, who had been locked inside the guild hall since she had been kidnapped. I wrapped my cloak around her, and we waited while Ivan and Radella snuck back in to see what else they could find. Kali sent Nihali to the inn with a status update.

Uksahka said that while she was captive she heard a number of people talking, and they had said they were going to take her to their headquarters, a place called Ravenscrag, to be with her friend, whom she guessed must have been Ulf.

Presently Radella and Ivan crept back out from the building and urged us to silently move away. We picked up the rest of the gang at the inn, where they had been having a little adventure of their own (from what I could tell it involved a dog, true love, and a lot of alcohol), and returned to the caravan.

Once we were all gathered safely back at our camp Radella brough out what she and Ivan had found: a large chest that contained no small amount of gold bullion, but more importantly it held important guild documents including an expenses ledger.

It seemed that Snori had sold his home, Ravenscrag, to the guild three years earlier, and they had spent a lot of money since then on “development costs.”

Helgarval volunteered that Ravenscrag was a day’s ride on horseback to the south, and had been so named because only ravens could access it.

Koya looked surprised at the helmet as it spoke, and we introduced the two. She smiled and said, “Hello little angel, it is an honor to meet a servant of Desna.” Helgarval fluttered from my head for a moment and transformed into a small winged humanoid, and bowing replied, “The honor is mine.” Spivey too seemed interested, although unusually shy for having just met a fellow exile from Desna’s home plane.

It is too late in the day to set off for Ravenscrag, and several of us have plans for things to do in the city tomorrow.

Moonday, Arodus 13, 4712 afternoon
Kalsgard

While the others went in search of equipment and supplies, I returned to the Fire Quarter and found an inn in a poorer part of the district. There I ordered lunch from 60 and hired out a table and a serving boy to assist me spread the word of Groetus while handing out soup and bread to the masses. It went well, and some of townsfolk actually appeared to be listening to me as they ate. Or maybe they always have that dull vacant stare..

Soon it was time to meet up back at the caravan and arrange for horses for our trip to Ravenscrag.