From the Adventure Journal of Krel Tor
Posted: Sun Sep 24, 2017 4:06 am
I am often told that spending so much time in my grimoire will drive me mad or, worse, summon something terrible. While neither of these are true, the sentiment is not without merit; I will need practical experience to advance my studies at this point. So it is, then, that I offer my services to the human settlers needing guards for their caravan. I am joined by Ceadda, a steadfast human Warrior; Gronk, a silent ork Archer; and Heartscry, a whimsical windling Illusionist.
I spend much of the first day watching and listening (mostly to Heartscry as she talks to everyone). Trouble comes soon, in the form of Zote and Vah, two brothers who act like anything but, constantly fighting. Their fighting becomes violent, and Ceadda breaks them apart; good thing, too, for I was considering attempting to scare them straight, something I am certain the headman Lareth would not have appreciated. Later that night, just before I take my watch, Heartscry informs me that she saw someone clandestinely leaving one of the wagons. By now, I start to become convinced that we were hired to protect them from themselves as much as the outside.
The next morning proves my theory. A woman named Rosario, whose wagon Heartscry watched the figure leave, seems distressed over her father's heirloom sword being missing. Heartscry follows the tracks, leading us to Zote's tent, and now the trouble truly beigns. Heartscry is convinced that Zote is innocent, based on the theory that only a half-wit thief would steal something and bring it back to his own dwelling to be found. I suspect something more sinister at work, and look into the Astral; I find nothing, much to my surprise, though as will be seen, something more sinister is at work. Lareth, unconvinced by Heartscry's vigorous defense of Zote, banishes him from the caravan. Determined to right this wrong, Heartscry follows Zote as he leaves (without gathering his tent, I might add; does he enjoy sleeping under open sky?) and I follow Heartscry, in the event that Zote turns on her in his rage. I simply keep watch as they speak.
We return to the caravan, and I find myself being much more careful, as it is clear that this community is not so tightly-knit as mine own kin might be. Heartscry informs us that one of the many caravaners she has spoken with, a fisherman named Kirtar, is hiding something from her, and concocts a plan to scare the truth from him. While I appreciate the boldness of the plan (which would have involved convincing Kirtar that I was some sort of monster in his nightmares), I counsel patience; I feel, especially at this point, that an opportunity will come.
As it turns out, I am right.
During the first watch, I awake to the sound of screaming. Vah has an arrow in his foot, and Kirtar is marked with a sigil I have not before seen; standing on the roof of one of the wagons is Gronk, bow drawn and arrow nocked. He overheard Vah and Kirtar speaking of their plans to get rid of Zote, that Vah might be his father's sole heir, and Kirtar, poor as he was, might be able to pursue his dream of becoming a fisherman. (Apparently, Vah's father was not well-loved by the town, and Vah seems to cleave closely to his father.) Lareth, dismayed by the situation, demands to know why Vah was attacked. The plot is revealed, and with the sack of money lying at their feet, the evidence is all too clear. Both are banished, without their things, and Zote returns. Zote and Lareth reconcile their differences, and, at least for the moment, all is well within the caravan.
The next two days pass uneventfully.
As we draw near to our destination, it appears that the scouts' markers have disappeared. We go to investigate, following tracks the scouts have left behind. We find a creature Ceadda calls a Dappled Brithan, a bear-like thing with horns and claws and a very bad attitude. It roars a challenge to which Ceadda responds. I consider attempting to scare the creature, but Ceadda warns us that it does not like outside interference, and is confident that he can defeat it. Heartscry, though, displays her skill in making Ceadda even more formidable than he at first seemed. The battle goes back and forth, with Ceadda and the Brithan pounding on each other, two titans on the battlefield trading blows. Ceadda is wounded badly, but in the end, he defeats the Brithan, but does not slay it.
With the Brithan defeated, we return our attention to the missing scouts. We hear a cry near the river, and when we approach, we find one of the missing scouts, who urges us to help his companion, who was attacked by a bog gob - another creature I had not heard of before now. Ceadda tells us that they do not normally kill, that they fight and wound - but this one clearly had killed, as a blood-raven was feasting upon the corpse of the scout we had been sent to help. I suspect Horror involvement, but with no further proof and no time to investigate further, I simply begin weaving an Astral Spear, as this bog gob is anything but friendly. I feel a sudden pain on my leg as a pair of snakes appear from the grass. I unleash my Astral Spear upon the snake as Heartscry weaves her own illusions around us to make us appear as monsters. Gronk, too, is bitten. The blood-raven takes to the sky, chasing Heartscry. For agonizing moments that feel like an eternity, the snake's poison burns in my blood, and from the look on Gronk's face, he suffers similarly. The remaining snake is dispatched as I spear the blood-raven from the sky, though not before it tears into Heartscry. A second blood-raven joins them as the bog gob approaches angrily. I fix my unwavering gaze upon the bog gob, and the wicked creature does not like what it finds, suddenly fleeing for its life. Ceadda clips the wings of the second blood-raven, and we run down the bog gob and slay it.
With that done, I collect the body of the fallen scout and return it to the settlers. Apparently, the scout's name was Borgan, and in his honor, the humans name their new town Borgan's Rest. With our task complete, we are paid.
I still remain convinced that something very sinister resides all too close to Borgan's Rest, based on what Ceadda tells me about bog gobs. Normally, we might have been able to bargain with the creature, but it seemed intent on killing. I am certain that we will be called upon again to assist the folk of Borgan's Rest, and soon.
I spend much of the first day watching and listening (mostly to Heartscry as she talks to everyone). Trouble comes soon, in the form of Zote and Vah, two brothers who act like anything but, constantly fighting. Their fighting becomes violent, and Ceadda breaks them apart; good thing, too, for I was considering attempting to scare them straight, something I am certain the headman Lareth would not have appreciated. Later that night, just before I take my watch, Heartscry informs me that she saw someone clandestinely leaving one of the wagons. By now, I start to become convinced that we were hired to protect them from themselves as much as the outside.
The next morning proves my theory. A woman named Rosario, whose wagon Heartscry watched the figure leave, seems distressed over her father's heirloom sword being missing. Heartscry follows the tracks, leading us to Zote's tent, and now the trouble truly beigns. Heartscry is convinced that Zote is innocent, based on the theory that only a half-wit thief would steal something and bring it back to his own dwelling to be found. I suspect something more sinister at work, and look into the Astral; I find nothing, much to my surprise, though as will be seen, something more sinister is at work. Lareth, unconvinced by Heartscry's vigorous defense of Zote, banishes him from the caravan. Determined to right this wrong, Heartscry follows Zote as he leaves (without gathering his tent, I might add; does he enjoy sleeping under open sky?) and I follow Heartscry, in the event that Zote turns on her in his rage. I simply keep watch as they speak.
We return to the caravan, and I find myself being much more careful, as it is clear that this community is not so tightly-knit as mine own kin might be. Heartscry informs us that one of the many caravaners she has spoken with, a fisherman named Kirtar, is hiding something from her, and concocts a plan to scare the truth from him. While I appreciate the boldness of the plan (which would have involved convincing Kirtar that I was some sort of monster in his nightmares), I counsel patience; I feel, especially at this point, that an opportunity will come.
As it turns out, I am right.
During the first watch, I awake to the sound of screaming. Vah has an arrow in his foot, and Kirtar is marked with a sigil I have not before seen; standing on the roof of one of the wagons is Gronk, bow drawn and arrow nocked. He overheard Vah and Kirtar speaking of their plans to get rid of Zote, that Vah might be his father's sole heir, and Kirtar, poor as he was, might be able to pursue his dream of becoming a fisherman. (Apparently, Vah's father was not well-loved by the town, and Vah seems to cleave closely to his father.) Lareth, dismayed by the situation, demands to know why Vah was attacked. The plot is revealed, and with the sack of money lying at their feet, the evidence is all too clear. Both are banished, without their things, and Zote returns. Zote and Lareth reconcile their differences, and, at least for the moment, all is well within the caravan.
The next two days pass uneventfully.
As we draw near to our destination, it appears that the scouts' markers have disappeared. We go to investigate, following tracks the scouts have left behind. We find a creature Ceadda calls a Dappled Brithan, a bear-like thing with horns and claws and a very bad attitude. It roars a challenge to which Ceadda responds. I consider attempting to scare the creature, but Ceadda warns us that it does not like outside interference, and is confident that he can defeat it. Heartscry, though, displays her skill in making Ceadda even more formidable than he at first seemed. The battle goes back and forth, with Ceadda and the Brithan pounding on each other, two titans on the battlefield trading blows. Ceadda is wounded badly, but in the end, he defeats the Brithan, but does not slay it.
With the Brithan defeated, we return our attention to the missing scouts. We hear a cry near the river, and when we approach, we find one of the missing scouts, who urges us to help his companion, who was attacked by a bog gob - another creature I had not heard of before now. Ceadda tells us that they do not normally kill, that they fight and wound - but this one clearly had killed, as a blood-raven was feasting upon the corpse of the scout we had been sent to help. I suspect Horror involvement, but with no further proof and no time to investigate further, I simply begin weaving an Astral Spear, as this bog gob is anything but friendly. I feel a sudden pain on my leg as a pair of snakes appear from the grass. I unleash my Astral Spear upon the snake as Heartscry weaves her own illusions around us to make us appear as monsters. Gronk, too, is bitten. The blood-raven takes to the sky, chasing Heartscry. For agonizing moments that feel like an eternity, the snake's poison burns in my blood, and from the look on Gronk's face, he suffers similarly. The remaining snake is dispatched as I spear the blood-raven from the sky, though not before it tears into Heartscry. A second blood-raven joins them as the bog gob approaches angrily. I fix my unwavering gaze upon the bog gob, and the wicked creature does not like what it finds, suddenly fleeing for its life. Ceadda clips the wings of the second blood-raven, and we run down the bog gob and slay it.
With that done, I collect the body of the fallen scout and return it to the settlers. Apparently, the scout's name was Borgan, and in his honor, the humans name their new town Borgan's Rest. With our task complete, we are paid.
I still remain convinced that something very sinister resides all too close to Borgan's Rest, based on what Ceadda tells me about bog gobs. Normally, we might have been able to bargain with the creature, but it seemed intent on killing. I am certain that we will be called upon again to assist the folk of Borgan's Rest, and soon.