–Weeding 19th 213 gp
The next morning, Cece and I dress for the road and head downstairs to meet Adwin. She seems eager to get on the road, and i don’t blame her as I’ve learned that mages are very unwelcome in this town. Fortunately, her face is not well known for she has kept her magic relatively quiet, and we are able to leave town without any trouble.
As we get on the road, I ask her about these things, and she says that a few weeks ago, some demons appeared in the town square and that rumor spread that a cabal of wizards had summoned them. Any mage not under the employee of his lordship or of noble blood was immediately suspected of being part of that cabal. Several were arrested, and a couple were even killed by angry mobs, and their efforts to defend themselves only seemed to prove their guilt. That’s why she had been in hiding.
–Weeding 20th 213 gp
The two day journey back to Farwatch passed uneventfully. As Cece had never been outside of Estkap, she was happy to hear of our journeys and to see what life was like in the villages we passed through. She liked seeing how well fed the children were and how there seemed to be no poverty, and no dilapidated tenements like what she grew up in.
Unfortunately, when we get home, the Traveller’s Inn is full, and there are no extra cots in the cabin where I am lodged. So I offer to share my cot with Cece, but she accepts Adwin’s offer to stay in his apartment instead. There is certainly likely to be more room there anyway. We head over to the Stretched Goat first for a meal, and to catch up on the news.
Wellan tells me that Mavarek had hired him to join a party from the Keep to recover the wishing stone. Mavarek went with them. They followed the same path we had used, and saw signs of fighting between kobolds and some outlanders, and then Mavarek seemed to draw all of the power out of the wishing stone. “Anyway, next time you want to go there or anywhere else, I could use the coin,” Welland concludes. “Giles and the others left with a caravan while I was with Mavarek, so…I’m not sure when they’ll return.” I slide him four coins and tell him to meet me here in two days. I plan on heading out then. He smiles.
There are four off duty guards in the tavern, enjoying a drink, along with the other patrons. I notice that while I was talking to Wellan, Adwin and Cece had fallen into deep conversation, and seemed to be getting along very well. Elsewhere, I see a rather nervous looking but finely dressed man scanning the crowd as if confused. Then his eyes meet mine. He rises from his table to approach.
“Good evening good man,” he says. “My name is Grassence, and I see that you are a man who may possess some skill with the blade, am I correct?”
“You hold the soft leather thing, and swing the sharp shiny part at your target, right?’ I jest.
“Cad!” he exclaims, shocked that I would make light of his question thus. But instead of storming away, he stands there, as though unsure quite what to do next.
“Were you trying to hire a swordsman?” I suggest.
He nods vigorously, and explains that he needs a champion to retrieve his daughter who has apparently run off in the night with Squire Eisenhardt, whom he had forbidden to see her. If they marry, or it comes out that they have eloped together against his command, it will be an embarassment. He wants me to find his daughter and bring her back. And if I can make Eisenhard beg forgiveness, humiliate him or otherwise turn him into a laughingstock, so much the better!
I shake my head and suggest that he find someone else to do his dirty work and help him keep his children in line.
Insulted, the fop storms off.
I then head home for the night.
–Weeding 21st 217 gp
The next morning, I go to the market to pick up some supplies for the next mission and see Adwin and Cece walking arm in arm. She is hanging on him giggling while he certainly seems to enjoy the attention as she rubs her hand across his chest, or strokes his hair. As I approach, he says to me, “The advantage of being cast out of the family, is that I can be with whoever I want, without worrying what my brother might say!”
“Oooh but we could give them some things to talk about!” Cece says playfully, throwing herself up into his arms.
“Enjoy the day,” I say to them, “I’ll meet you in the tavern tomorrow morning and we’ll return to Questquaton” As they walk away, I wonder…will she even survive the next few days?
I look around town asking about other possible help, But while the fronteir draws people seeking their fortunes, a skilled sword is still hard to find.
–Weeding 22nd 216 gp
Arriving at the tavern the next morning, I am surprised to see a woman in armor trying to persuade three men to hire their swords to explore some nearby ruins. Someplace called the Vault of Himero.
I walk over, and eyeing the group, suggest to the four of them, “Wellan and I are returning to the ruins of Quasquaten, to finish plundering it. We could use a few hands.” I then look at the woman, “And perhaps, afterwards, I can help you with your Vault? My name is Berick”
She smiles and holds out her hand, “Well partner, my name is Tarris.”
I quickly come to terms with the sellswords, Helmod, Ralphye, and Fennilor, two gold per day, and I supply arms and gear. Tarris foregoes payment but wants a share of plunder, so I agree that she’ll get a quarter share, as with myself and my other two partners. Wellan and Adwin soon arrive with the rest of the equipment after I tell them what we need, and the company is ready before noon.
By evening we are getting close to Quasquaten, having traveled through the woods all day, swatting away gnats, the weight of our packs heavy with food and supplies bearing us down. When suddenly, we stumble into a band of orcs! The brutish creatures stare at us, dumbfounded, as though they thought they were the only people in these woods!
I yell at the shocked orcs to push off, but after they regain their composure, they raise their weapons and rush at us. “Should a hit first!” Yells Helmod as the fight is joined. It is brutal and fast as the orcs rush at us in a blind rage. I am nearly knocked off my feet by one brute, but then I cut him down and three of his fellows. Ralphye goes down on my left, and we are encircled such that Cece has to use her magic to escape. But with shards of ice from her hands, she kills two more, while my men take another two. Realizing they are outmatched, the remaining orcs flee, and we are able to tend to Ralphye.
I am unable to staunch his bleeding, and Cece can’t do any better. Running out of time, I use one of the helaing potions to revive the man. He’ll ive, but it may take him days to recover. We then tend the rest of our men’s wounds while Fennilor searches our dead foes.
As I survey the scene, I am reminded of viewing the aftermath of battles during the goblins war. Men looting the dead while their companions seek to bandage one another’s wounds. The smell of death in the air and the cries of the injured and dying. Such is war.
As soon as we are rested enough to travel and have rigged up a litter to carry Ralphye with us, we continue to the ruin.
When we arrive, I am surprised to see a squad of men from the Keep guarding the entrance to the place. I greet them.”Hail their Corporal!”
“Who goes there?” He replies as his men watch us warily.
I tell them my name and that I was serving over the winter months. I don’t recognize any of the men, nor they me, but I was not enlisted for very long. I ask what they are doing there, and they say Mevarek left them to watch the place lest new intruders take up residence. They fought a group of orcs that morning, killed the leader and drove off the rest. I tell them we may have met the same group an hour before.
I then tell him that we had explored a portion of the complex for his lordship and were returning to finish the job. They recognize Wellan, and know my name, so they agree to let me enter, and to keep watch over Ralphye alongside their own wounded. When their relief comes, they promise to transport him back to town with them.
I leave Ralphye with ten day’s wages and tell him I’ll see him back at the keep.
–Weeding 23rd 196 gp
We light our torches and go back inside Quasquaton. We use the secret passage to go back to where the gnomes had been. It is much as we left it, but the bodies of the dead are now decayed and rat gnawed. We then head down into the darkness below, and make our way to the locked door. With a few words from Cece, we hear to lock give way, and I push the door, which feels unusually warm, open. There is a flash of light, and a wave of heat washes over us, as four small demons wreathed in flames appear before us!
Tasset rushes forward before the creatures can fly to the ceiling, and slashes at one with her blade. Then she cries out as her armor turns red as steel in a forge! Then gouts of flame wash over us as two of them breathe fire. Fennilor goes down as Adwin and i rush forward. I cut one of the creatures down, but it explodes in flame, burning us all. Cece’s ice shards slay another, and it explodes into flame overhead. Steel blades and crossbow bolts against gouts of flame, smoke and singed steel. At the end of it, Fennilor, Adwin, and Tasset lie on the ground in agony. Cece fumbles with Adwin’s bandages, but I pull scalding armor off and get a burn poultice on him. Helmod does the same for Fennilor while Wellan aids Tassit. It seems that all three will likely survive, but we need to get them out of here now.
After Cece and I treat our own injuries, the two of us look around the rest of the room. The walls are lined with black stone with rather unusual blue streaks. But around the corner, we see a great white arch onto which have been carved arcane runes. I ask Cece if it is a magical arch of some sort and she says that my guess is as good as hers. I ask what the runes say, and she says she has no idea. I look at her, puzzled. She shrugs her shoulders and reminds me that I asked her to come unlock a door. She doesn’t know much more magic than that! If she were a real wizard she’d have conjured up gold and not been stuck working in a brothel for three weeks!
I tell her to lead us back upstairs so we can get our injured men up to the camp. This proves relatively easy, as some of the guards had followed us partway inside and were watching at the secret door we had used to enter. They carry our injured men and woman back out the rest of the way for us.
“Alright, let’s go find some plunder!” I say to my remaining companions. They hesitate, but then follow. After all, that’s why they are getting paid.
We go back down and head north from the cavern where we had fought the fire beetles into the unexplored entrance. The tunnel leads to a large vault like cavern, so big that our torchlight doesn’t even reach the cwiling or the far walls. But a beam of light streaks down from the northern ceiling, illuminating a few stalagtites and motes of dust in the air, and filth on the ground. The ground is thick with bat guano. The stench is strong, but it is the thick layers that our boots sink into, and the crunch of beetles that must feed of the shit that are most disturbing. We hug the wall to the right, intending to survey the perimeter and see what can be seen. I am worried that if we go towards the center, a peircer might fall upon us, or we might sink into a pit of filth and choke on it!
As we work our way along the edge, we come to a set of stairs leading upwards into a small cave. The ceiling is very low and we have to crouch down to enter it. There are bones of small animals, a troglodyte, a couple of kobolds, and humans…and I see something move in the shadows as a burly looking humanoid with dark claws and black fangs lunges at me! I desperately fight it off, trying to fend off its claws while Helmod and Wellan rush to my aid and Cece blasts it with ice. It is difficult to swing my blade in this small cave, but my allies switch over to their short blades and start striking home. Amazingly though, the creatures wounds seem to heal almost as quickly as we can cause them! But eventually, as it leaps upon my shield, desperate for more after a taste of my blood, I am able to throw it down and drive my blade through it’s heart!.
In the meantime, we hear the rising cry of shrieking bats, and as soon as the beast goes down, Cece runs into the small room to get away from the growing swarm in the main vault. There are so many, you cannot even make out the shaft of light we saw before!
I explore this tiny hiding hole, the lair of a beast of unknown origin, while we wait for the bats to settle back down for fly away for the night. Tucked away in one corner is a pile of old rags, torn cloth, and ripped canvas piled up to form a crude bed. I notice that the stone where the creature must have laid its head seems to have been moved a lot. Beneath that stone, I find a hole had been carved out over the years to make space for an ornate silver cup, a pewter belt buckle with a ruby inlaid, and a necklace of finely carved obsidian pieces. There is also some fool’s gold, which I leave behind. As I look at the necklace, I imagine the sort of person who must have worn it. It looks effeminate, but from a distant land, perhaps it belonged to a barbarian princess or something. I shudder to think of how she must have met her fate at the hands of a creature like this, and wonder what might have brought her here. Though truthfully, she could have died hundreds of miles away, or sold this trinket for some greater treasure.
I lead my companions out of the small cave, and we continue our circuit of the large vault. But at as we round the farthest reaches, the bats up above become increasingly agitated, screeching and fluttering about in increasing numbers as we can hear, though it is still daylight outside. We see an area where the ceiling is lower and many stalagmites and tites nearly intertwine like natural pillars, so we take shelter in there, hoping for the bats to die down.
Unfortunately, they seem to be more agitated than ever, and soon the sound of their screeches and fluttering wing is almost deafening. We douse our torches and huddle up tight together close to the ground with our heavy cloaks drawn over us. Cece at the bottom, with Wellan and I, in our heavier armor, forming the outer shell, hoping to protect the others from any harm. I get torn up pretty badly with bites and buffeting, but eventually, the bats start to settle back down. We wait until the screeching stops. Then start crawling, in the dark the rest of the way back to the entrance of the cavern, afraid to light another torch at first. But the muck is too thick, and we have to light a torch after all.
We decide at that point, to make our way to the waterhole, where we rinse as much of the filth from us as possible, and then go up to the surface.
We rejoin the lord’s men, and they stare at us, encrusted in filth as we are. We head down to the creek where the camp is drawing water, and give ourselves thorough baths. Cece bathes separately from the rest of us, showing unusual modesty given my initial encounter with her.
After we get cleaned up, we return to the camp and check on our injured companions. I fill them in on what happened. Adwin asks if Cece is alright, and how the other two men did. I say she holds her own well, and Wellan and Helmod really watched my back against beast in the cave.
Then we lay down our bedrolls and take a nice, long rest.
–Weeding 24th 132 gp
I wake up my team, so that Wellan, Helmod, Cece and I can go back inside and hopefully find some more loot. Unfortunately, Cece says that she prefers to stay at Adwin’s side and help him with his recovery. After all, she’s already done what I recruited her to do, and I can always come fetch her if there is another troublesome door. So the two men and I head inside alone.
We are returning down a familiar upper level corridor when a giant centipede falls from the ceiling on top of me. I instinctively cut it in half and kick part of it down the hall. It lands near the door near Rhogar’s hidden room. We force that door open. Follow a long hallway and run into a pack of giant rats. They swarm Wellan and we cannot get them off of him before he passes out from the bloodloss from numerous rat bites. By the time we kill the remaining rats, he is in bad shape and I use a healing potion to revive him as I realize Helmod’s attempt to bandage the wounds wasn’t doing much good. Frustrated that at the setback, but grateful that my man is still alive, Helmod and I carry our injured companion back outside.
When we get outside, we see that the original squad of men has already headed back to the keep with our other wounded. We’ll have to wait here until Wellan can travel, as we have no horses of our own.
–Weeding 25th 112 gp
We wait at the camp and recover. Wellan, Helmod and I talk about plunder, and they ask if they can be cut in for a share of anything we’ve found. I tell them they are being paid a wage, and that wage comes from the loot we find. Anything left after wages is split among those working for free, Cece, Adwin, Tasset and myself. They suggest that perhaps everyone should get a wage and an even split of loot. I tell them that doesn’t work, because I can’t very well pay myself a wage out of my own money, if I get an even split with everyone I am paying then I come away poorer than anyone I’ve recruited. Makes no sense.
They agree with me, but ask for raise. I tell them two gold per day to sit on their buts right now seems too much. But yeah, maybe we could work out a bonus on days when there is combat. Or a deduction for money I spend on healing magic for you.
They don’t like the deduction idea, and suggest that perhaps caravan work is more suitable. Same wage, lower risk. I guess I’ll soon have to find new men.
Frustrated at the conversation and eager to explore, I head back into the ruins. I follow the path past the dead rats, though few signs of their remains can be found, and push through another door into a large room filled with pools of water. The floor is tiled with brown tiles, but with black and white tiles interspersed. I cautiously observe for a few minutes to get my bearings as to what sort of place this is. Every pool seems to contain a different sort of liquid. I wish i had a spear! There is a pool that seems to be full of gems, which vanish when I poke the water with my blade. But then a column of water springs up and lunges towards me, remembering Atartlan’s warning about the value of a magical blade, I discard my sword and draw the one we pulled from the wall. Seems like the sort of thing one might need right now! The creature grabs me and starts to pull me into the water, but I break free, and retreat to the far end of the room…and wait. It wavers for a bit, then collapses back into its pool. I fear it will reappear from another pool, but it does not. It seems to be bound to one location. Easily avoided!
There is a pool of effervescent water, which I drink from and it grants me some sort of blue glow for a time. There is another pool of colorful fish. A pool of some sort of green slime, which lashes out at me, but I step away and out of reach. There is a pool of boiling water, one of pink liquid and other substances, but I decide not to experiment any further.
I start exploring an unfamiliar hall, which I’ve passe by many times and as I round a corner, I notice that the wall appears to have a secret panel in it. I push it open and see a large sitting room, in the center of which is a nude white marble statue of a very beautiful woman in a very sultry pose. The statue is surely worth a fortune, but there is no way for me to remove it! I search the area a for secret panels as I have heard statues, altars and the like often conceal such things, and have even seen it already among the troglodytes.
There is a door on the north end of room, next to the secret panel. I open that to see a long dining hall. The wooden shelf that lines the entire room, the dining tables and chairs, are all covered in some sort of greenish yellow mold, and the room smells of mildew. I recognize is as a harmless variety of mold, and proceed to search the room, carefully and quietly, checking the shelves for anything of value, but to no luck.
I exit the far end of this room near my original point of entry, before I started using the secret ambush door. Exploring further, I doubleback the bedstand and go through another ancient door. It seems to open up into an old armory that has largely been stripped bare. I see three men wearing hide armor sitting at the far end in conversation. They are covered in blue tattoos and are obviously from a distant land. As they have not noticed me, I back away, and try a different door I had passed by. Three on one do not seem good odds to me!
The new door opens into what appears to be a bedroom, with a massive ornate wall carving spanning the length of the room depicting a wizard casting a spell causing an entire army to flee in panic. There is an ornate looking bed, and nightstands around the corner from the entrance. The fancy bed, with Zelligar’s name etched into the headboard, seems quite valuable. I check the nightstand, but on grabbing the locked handle of one of the drawers, am jabbed by a pin that is coated in some sort of poison. My hand stings so badly I can scarcely grip anything… and then I hear it. The footsteps of four kobolds who have followed me into the room. Outnumbering me four to one, and with my right hand obviously injured, the kobolds rush at me and one even scratches me pretty good along my armor. But I draw my dagger with my left hand, and swiftly dispatch two of my foes. The other two then panic and flee! I hide, and wait, while the feeling starts to return to my hand.
When the feeling returns to my hand, I try to pop the lock, but end up breaking the tip of my dagger off in it.
There are two doors out of this room. The first opens into a closet, cloaks, clothing and bolts of cloth abound. I start inspecting for items of value, hoping to make some profit from this expedition. The cloth is almost all rotting, but one of the cloaks has some ornamentation that could be worth something if salvaged, so I take that, and four books I find in the corner.
Then I check the other door. It appears to open to a short hallway with two chests overflowing with gold and jewels. The whole setup screams “Trap!” I grab the bodies of the two dead kobold and throw them into the room. I want at least as much weight as an armored man hitting the floor, just in case!
Nothign bad happens, but by the time I get the second corpse hauled over and thrown down the hall, the treasure has vanished. Some sort of magical illusion perhaps? I take this loot outside and rest for a bit. I tell the officer about the barbarians. He says he’s happy sitting out here keeping watch.
Mavarek arrives with some men at dusk. He ignores my presence, but also Wellan’s as well. He has a handful of knights with him, so he most likely means to go back inside.
–Weeding 26th 110 gp .
I follow Mavarek and his knight inside. Keeping my distance as I was not asked to join them and Mavarek doesn’t like me much. They go off to the left at the entrance hall, and explore some new areas. While they kill everything they meet, they also take anything they find of value. Mevarak may be searching for somehting.
Yet, the company fails to notice two secret doors, and as they pass out of sight, I investigate the one on the right, which opens up into some sort of work room with a black slate table, workbenches and the sort. There are several jars of various strange substances, insect bodies, dust of various types, vinegar. Things that must be of use to an alchemist but which are so mundane as to not be worth taking. Also a jar with a cat in it! Very strange. There is a door to the north that I also investigate.
That room appears to be another workshop, with urns of muddy water, an old casket that housed a nest of centipedes (which I crushed), a human skeleton suspended from the ceiling, more jars of alchemical ingredients, and a jar filled with smoke which i take with me. I find a gold ring amongst some firewood, but later learn it isn’t really gold and is quite worthless.
So I double back to the other secret door, which opens up into a huge larger containing barrels of dried and preserved foods. If I had wagons, I might take some of it!
Hearing the sounds of a major fight in Mevarak’s direction, I go north, the other way, and circle around and come to a library with three large tables, walls of books and some dusty old chairs. There are some firebeetles in jars, so the room is well lit. I start perusing titles, hoping to find something worth taking. There isn’t.
I then wander a bit and take another passage north, entering a room with a strange blue crystal. When I leave, I see that the outside hallway has changed. I quickly realize I have been magically transported someplace else! I explore a secret room that I stumble across while trying to figure out where I am, but there is nothing inside but ruble. I then start following right! But I come to where a porticilus would drop down behind me, so I double back, and find my way tot he wizard’s workshops.
I then head backwards to a zigzag corridor I found, and follow it around to a series of three bedrooms. In the first room, I find the remains of dead kobolds. In the third room I search, as I pull aside the carpet to find a trap door, the carpet attacks me! I and twice wrapped up inside and forced to fight my way free, but eventually I cut it into enough small pieces that it is no longer any threat and the magic within it fades!
I Continue deeper into the complex, and find a weapon training room, and dead kobolds and smashed eggs litter the ground. This tribe has been wiped out. I guess I have been facing the remnants of a beaten people!
After wandering a bit in a maze, finding only rats, and centipedes, I decide I have explored enough of this place and go back outside. Mavarak can have whatever is left within this place. It is time for me to seek my fortune elsewhere!
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