Post
by Sharkforce » Sat Sep 05, 2020 4:32 am
From the Journal of Zivilyn, Windling Magician: Just a Little Prick
Well, this was definitely an unusual adventure. I was minding my own business in the Great Library when suddenly Azurea bursts in and announces loudly that she's "Looking for a prick". And people say nothing exciting ever happens there. Anyways, after a bit more discussion (and a lot of giggling from LaShana, who had come with her) it turns out that what she meant is that there was a book about "acupuncture" (apparently it's this thing where people get stabbed with needles to make them feel better... sounds sketchy to me, but I guess it takes all sorts) and it was in the possession of someone by the Name of Enver Pryck. or Renve Pryck. She wasn't super clear which, apparently it was based on something from her Aunt Boogaloo or something. Well, whatever, I suppose it helps to keep the troll who throws pointy things at the stuff that wants to kill me happy, so this is my life now.
Anyways, Reyis and Moe were also in the library and also got roped into this task, and it didn't take long to find out that the book was pre-scourge and had been in the possession of a number of people, most recently including two entirely unrelated people, both of which Azurea's aunt had mentioned. Honestly, if people can't even be bothered to have the extra name mean something, why do they even *bother* with the blasted things in the first place? YOU HAD ONE JOB, EXTRA NAME. Ahem. Where was I? Right, two different people who seemed to have had contact with the "Tome of Delightful Pricking" in the past year. One was an Elf, Renve I think... she had gone off to examine some large purple pillar in the mountains known as Blakthak Muk to the local Trolls, known as a site of Elemental power, while Enver(?) had gone off to find some sap-producing tree in the Servos known as "Serela thil Massurlio", known for producing life-giving sap.
The group decided to head to the pillar first, mostly because it was closer. We made our way without too much difficulty, thanks to Moe's flying carpets doing a lot of the heavy lifting (literally, in some cases) on the trip through the mountains. As we approached the pillar, we could see signs of Namegiver activity in the area (and by "we" I mostly mean Reyis and Moe), although we couldn't see them in the area... at least, not until we got to the pillar, at which point we could see that they were all over the area. One of them (Renve(?)'s assistant, we presume) had died of not having wings. Renve(?) had died from being frozen and burnt. Both looked a little chewed on. At this point someone (Reyis I think?) looked up and noticed some very large birds coming right towards us. Four of them. Well, I wasn't about to get caught with my pants down when there are birds about, so right off the bat I called upon Ferret spirits to grant us their reflexes, and then called upon my feline friends to take care of those pesky oversized cat snacks. I'm not getting (mostly) killed by birds again if I can help it.
Anyways, obviously I wasn't the only one dealing with the birds. Azurea threw a lot of things at a lot of other things, Reyis also threw some cats, and LaShana put a few holes in things too. Howler took a half-hearted bite at the birds, but I think he was unnerved by their size. Moe called up a great big dragon that looked about ready to barbecue some birds when the last of them (which seemed to be charged with lightning) fell to the ground after a solid blow from a Leopard Spirit and splattered so badly we couldn't even find much of it (I was able to find one feather, too badly scuffed up for the alchemists I think). And I think one of them Reyis sent off to go do whatever it is that improbably-heavy iron birds do. And unfortunately, it seems like we came to the wrong place. On the plus side, we got lots of useful alchemical materials from the bird's unusual feathers, and I got to find out what giant fire and snow birds taste like. Maybe one of these days I should get myself a pot of Grumbah so I can bring meat home with me and get it cooked by a proper chef some time, so that I can copy more interesting things with plant feast.
So, that was a bust (sort of. At least we found something). We headed back to Throal, dropped off Renve(?)'s journal at the Library, and went our way to the Servos. Travel in the Servos is always interesting, but most things know better than to pick a fight with dire wolfs and creatures that smell like Wyvern, so we made it to the sappy tree without any major difficulties, to find that Enver(?) was not around, although his journal was. It is usually fairly difficult to hide a Troll, but someone had managed to do just that, as there were signs of a fight in the area. Reyis got right down to tracking as usual (and also as usual Howler sort of sniffed around for a while and gave me a puzzled look... maybe I should ask Reyis for some advice on tracking so that I have a better idea of how to train Howler). He said he had seen signs of large T'Skrang, which means velos probably got their hands on the Troll, and in all likelihood had eaten him too, but you never know, and anyways we were hunting a book so we followed the tracks.
Well, we walked right into an ambush, and I was much surprised to see Ch'onk (the velos that had been recruited by pirates to help raid Moe's brother's wedding) leading it. I was not surprised to see that he had sprung his ambush too early, though. He has been seen a few times by other adepts, and I have to say, a tactical genius he is not. Moe and Reyis started shouting nonsense at him, and he shouted back. LaShana took a pot shot at them, and I called upon the Ferret Spirits again to grant us their reflexes, while Azurea held back for the moment (I imagine she didn't think it was a good idea to charge into the middle of several Velos, no matter how many pointy things she could throw).
With that, the fight was on, and the Velos attacked anyone who seemed to be hitting the hardest. I got surrounded by three of them at one point including Ch'onk (they were more coordinated than a usual creature would be, it was quite distressing, so maybe he's accomplished something after all), and Azurea faced a few of them all at once by herself as well. I asked Howler to help her, but unfortunately she caught a spear right through her rib cage that sent her off on a journey to Death's Sea. Ch'onk got away, but the rest all fell to our attacks before we decided it was best to tend to Azurea's wounds rather than worry about chasing a lone velos. The wounds were quite grievous, but with the application of some of the alchemical supplies we had brought, we were able to restore her to life, if not to consciousness. We had to camp out there, of course; three of us were Windlings, and Moe certainly wasn't going to carry a full-grown Troll by himself, but we did some looking around and came across what looked like a velos camp, with a wooden cage held shut by rope containing Enver(?). I should mention at this point that Ch'onk had been festooned with amber charms, which we found out were blood charms that Enver(?) had crafted in exchange for his life. He was glad to be free, and readily agreed to give Azurea the book as thanks (once she woke up), as well as offering us some further alchemical supplies if we wanted them.
I memorized the book on the way home. It didn't seem all that special to me, but I intend to make a copy for the Great Library so that maybe next time someone needs a copy, I get to stay home and have a nice, relaxing evening.
Oh, and I believe I have uncovered a previously-unknown property of some of the Thread Items I have in my possession. I have come across yet another related to the same Female Dwarf Noble, and I am beginning to suspect that Lady Hadritha Haytrish placed an enchantment that draws them to one another, as I have heard to be the case with some other Thread Items. In this case, a pair of boots that show the same style as my hat and amulet came into my possession when an auction house asked me to research them (along with a few other items), could not find a buyer for them, and offered them to me as payment in lieu of the money I was owed for my services, and now I am wondering what else might be coming my way at some point.
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