We camp for the day. We travel another night.
17th Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We head back and talk to Szaszre. We agree to terms and do a little shopping. We board and hunker down. We arrive at a pinion nearby after a brief fly by and quietly discuss plans.
After nightfall we head out. We arrive under the pinion and squeeze up through a tunnel until we get to the kobolds. She introduces us to Gex Cragbuckle. We talk and then, go and take out some guards. We take out enough to get to the supply rooms. We find explosives and blow up the mining tunnels. As we leave we tell Gex they heard something about Samas, and then we leave on our flying carpet. We stop at dawn.
16th Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We find another wreckage. As we pick through and we find a greater invisibility core. We load up and start heading back. We are headed back and an arrow shoots at us. We see a pair of skeletons shooting arrows at us.
We make it back to the Nest, and the shop is closed. We find a place to camp.
15th Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We float around and see a floating volcano. We check it out, and then continue on. We see a boy by a signal fire. He tells us that his uncle fell down a crevasse and broke his leg. We head down into a very obvious trap. They call out and offer to let us leave if we paid them. We called out their claim, after walking up the wall to tell them this, and they invited us up for drinks and chats (with Edward Lightbearer). After we continue on our way.
14th Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We continue the hunt, and run into a hunter ship. They summon a giant mosquitoes and a beholder. We manage to beat them, and continue on to an island to camp for the night.
13th Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We wake up to cannonballs. We manage to defeat them. We strand the crew of the ship on the island and cripple their ship. We then get ready and leave. While we are floating around, Vorest spies some wreckage. So we head over. We land in a clearing. We are attacked by tentacles and a giant mouth and eyeball. We manage to beat it, and stay there the rest of the day.
In the night our "nice" magic items seen to get further enahnced.
11th Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We wander around aimlessly. Vondal finds what he believes is the Dragonfly. We speak with Szazsre Dustmark and she says she needs a greater invisibility core. We'll need to source one for her. We decide that we're going to try and scavange, and use the flying carpet, and head out.
During the night a weird lightning storm approaches. It has ball lightning that aims for us. I don't dream tonight.
10th Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We walk around the east side of town and enter a bar called "The Playful Vixen." Vondal orders an ale, and asks if anyone named Druuk was around. We sit at a table and are soon approached by a hooded person. He asks our business and then announces that he was going to use the back room. We explain how we know Albert. Vondal tells of his goals to "kill" Thay, and Druuk is asking how things would work. He laughs at Vondal's ideas, but does confirm that things are headed to civil war. Druuk explains the different Zulkirs, including Nevron - the Zulkir of conjuration and demons, and head of resources. He continues to talk and explains a bunch of stuff that we need to know. As we prepare to leave, Grimal (the barkeep) runs in announcing that we've found trouble.
There are hunters barricading the road. We turn into flies and hide from the guards. They come in and demand to know where Grimal is hiding Druuk. Very clearly should not have said his name. We fly a way away, and turn back into people and head back to the inn. We head back to the west quarter and find some small airships. The boys negotiate and we prep to leave. We head off. We arrive at the Nest. We wonder around until everyone says we find Mêrxas.
That night, I once again get the nightmare from Dread Polly.
9th Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We get a vague description of the town and then head towards the market. We do some shopping and at the end of the day, head back to the inn.
During the night, while sleeping, I am visited by Dread Polly Twigmouth - she looks purple and black, not like normal. The Thay Mount was also exploding. Dread Polly wanted the "Nevron's Book of Keeping." Then I fell into a nightmare realm, until I woke up screaming.
Nightmare:
You are in desolate wasteland. Rocks float in the air, like the Pinions, and in the distance the Thaymount glows bright violet and spews bilious liquid into the air. Red dusky sunlight bleeds down on you, but it leaves you chilled. Trees wither rapidly in the distance, and next to you, a beast's corpse decomposes at a stilted, exaggerated pace.
Dread Polly Twigmouth steps out from behind... Nothing that you can remember. You are transfixed on her. Her eyes burn into you. You know in your heart it is Dread Polly Twigmouth. You are certain, but you don't know why. Her skin is no longer moldy, moist green; it is now deep purple, like bruised grapes and oily, almost wet. Her once ivory hair is now ebony, and flails around her face like snakes or eels, though no wind touches your skin.
Her voice too, is different, huskier as she speaks. "Thought you could pull the ewe's wool o'er mine eyes, did ye? Thought t'would be a fine jest to show me for an imbecile before Granny did you NOT? Thought you could give me an empty shell of a codex, and I'd just let ye be? DIDN'T YE?"
The last two words are blared out in a wave that flays your skin, causing you to bleed obsidian ichor. Cracks spread like lightning on the ground, from which oozes malevolently glowing cobalt sludge. Floating isles explode in the distance, spraying pebbles in all directions. The Thaymount spews violently and violetly into the night sky.
Polly steps towards you, growing immensely. You want to turn and run, but your feet won't move. You look down, and see that my feet won't move, because they are buried in the rocks.
Bring us Nevron's Book of Keeping. I will be WATCHING!
With that last word, everything vanishes, becomes empty, and I realize that I am being chased, being hunted.
8th Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We land in the Barbs, close to Amruthar. They let us know what way to head to get to Barbsbrink, and then Amruthar. We wish them luck and Vondal pays them. They agree and tell us that we might find them in the Nest. They also warn that they were still training and future hunters may be more difficult to beat.
We arrive in Barbsbrink, and continue on and arrive at Amruthar towards evening.
There is a giant rock pinned in place with giant chains. There are giant barge elevators. Most of the city is up on the rock. We let the horses go, by a nearby forest. We greet a barge gnome to head up. We go up and enter the city. We see a guy whipping himself and claiming that Zolkirs are the rightful rulers of Thay. We continue and find an in "Magically Delicious Farting Ogre." We are greeted by Kour. We eat and head to bed.
7th Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We continue.
Overnight we are awoken during Vorest's watch. There are soldier style people and people in glorious red robes. Demons also appear. We manage to kill them, and one of the soldier guys gave up. Vondal asks questions: We are in the Barbs. The mountain is the Thay Mount. The Barbs are under the Pinions (the floating islands - looking up we see the odd light). Amruthar is very close to where we started just outside the Barbs. Barbsbrink is just on the edge of the Barbs. Fun fact - there are settlements in the Pinions! Some history they tell us: Pinions rose up in the Rending (mage fight) - about 27/28 years ago. No one knows for sure. The red dressed guys were red wizards - they were training, and are often, if not always with the hunting parties. He admits that they are slavers and they would have brought us to Amruthar. Thay Mount is where the wizards study, and it is full of wild magic. We let him, Mêrxas Akrê, go so that he can take us to his ship and drive us around. He says he'll introduce us to Captain Xacê Çiyako.
Vandederp and I go with him to the ship. Mêrxas explains how it would be a good idea to help us instead. The captain agrees and I go get the others. We return and board the air boat. We rest for the night again.6th Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We continue, and we are shot at by a floating ship. They have a flag of Talos. We manage to hurt them enough to scare them off. Unfortunately the horses got hurt, which bothered Vorest.
5th Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We bring the horses down in the portable hole, and Vondal and Vandederp in Vorest's claws (as a giant eagle). Trying out the flying is neat, but it is easy to get lost in these floating islands, and it will be hard to find the portal again. Once on the ground we can tell where these islands come from, and the gravity still feels weird. The islands forms a thick ring around a mountain. We decide to head towards the mountain.
After about a half a day, we see a bunch of moving land chunks (earth elementals). Some are even snake shapes. I speak with them and we continue. They mention there is bad magic at the mountain.
4th Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We continue on and see lights glowing in the wall. We reach a point, and the horses ask us to scout ahead. We reach an open room and see magic crystal elementals. We eventually manage to defeat it, and my wraps get covered in ruby dust. We see the tunnel start healing up. Vorest and Vondal also look a little more at ease. We heal up and continue.After a bit, we reach a circular arch like the entrance was, but there doesn't seem to be an exit, which could be a problem. There seems to be something written on the wall, which Vandederp says he recognizes. He figures out the puzzle and mutters "dead portal opening begin" in draconic. I translate for Vondal and Vorest. A portal opens. We head through.
It is very bright and there appears to be vegetation about the clearing where the portal is. I feel light. The horses are uncomfortable, and Vondal points out the clouds. Vandederp and Vorest and the rest of the horses follow and Vandederp looks at the portal and thinks. He then starts saying what he said inside, and the portal closes. He mutters a few other things, but stops after a pause.
Vorest's sending stone speaks up and she tells us that Albert says we should "head for Amruthar, find Druuk the Orc. Scars on neck, one tusk. May help you but approach cautiously." She answers yes.
Another portal opens and a very magic skeleton comes through. He starts questioning us. We tell him how we got there and demands we open the portal for him. He does confirm that we are in Thay. Then he attacks us because we won't open the portal, and he is interested in my chalices - which I had said was a glass until Vandederp corrected me. Our brains are very confused and things are confusing. And the world seems to tilt. The world balances out. We can't seem to hurt him, but he can certainly hurt us. Vondal grapples him to the ground, and that stops him from casting spells. I try to stun him and I thought I got him a couple times. It seems to be one of the almost useful things in this fight. He vanishes and we went after him after he appears.
He announces that he is leaving and we can join him in Amruthar, and he will be better prepared. He teleports and tries to leave through a portal. Vorest and Vondal try to stop him and he says "we'll meet again" and crumpled to dust. We enter the trees and find the edge of the island. We can see floating islands everywhere. I wonder how we get down. There is land, like a thousand feet below.
3rd Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We wake up to black ghosts - they really don't like when I have my light on. We manage to to beat them, but manage to get the attention of some spell things again. These are a bit harder, but we manage to beat them. We continue on. There are more crystals, growing into trees. They are pretty sparkly. But there are more and more cracks. Continuing on, we notice that the tree shadows aren't moving correctly. When they attack us, we feel like we lose our strength. Out of the cracks, we see mini snow storms. At the end, Vorest heals everyone, and the horses start talking.
We ask permission to ride them.
2nd Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We prepare for day and we see more "spells" these look like black evilness, and emerald liquidy spheres. Once we beat them, more come up behind them. Fire, snow, and some lit butterflies.
Then we heal Vandederp - his eyes started bleeding when we stopped for the night. Vorest also cured us from something that was making it hard to avoid things.
Later we find a rest stop It has gone wild.
There are shadowy forms in the center. This place feels haunted. They offer a story and we agree to listen. He howls and we are stunned. Words pop in our heads, and after we all desperately write them down.
"Blinding lights, in fragile frames
Seven bowls, to mask the flames.
"Neither Celestial Body, nor Beast Abyssal
Can espy these beacons upon dismissal
"Seven vessels, a heptad of schemes,
For the Prince to poach the mortal beams.
"A final Secret, the truth revealed
The essences are cudgels once unsealed"
It's pretty obviously about my goblets, and the affects. Vondal pokes around the pedestal and finds another goblet.
1st Nightal, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We head back, and go to the lab room. We barricade the doors and use the paradise rod to escape and have a long rest. I put on the wraps we found. We return to where we had been exploring. We run into more zombies on the way. We beat them, and I start glowing... Very strange. We continue and run into mummies again. We continue on and reach where we were. We go down the hallway that spits fire at us. Vondederp mentions his cube of force. We try it and it blocks the fire. We get to the end and the fire comes out a snake head. We accidentally included the fire in our cube and Vorest got hurt. We go through the door at the end of the hallway. In the room there are four statues, with symbols on their foreheads. There are also made of the same things that the tiles were. We realize that the tiles were a puzzle for this. We go through the door and are greeted by a crypt with a desiccated yuanti on a throne, Shazshil. She asks if her empire has sprawled or not. There are also a few yuanti mummies. She says she's been guarding since 2250. We ask which calendar she uses. She replies Mulhorand and I realize that I know it roughly, and I think it would be about 3500 now. As I move Murshalk and Sseth forward I see depictions of the gods - Murshalk and Sseth and another. The third one is Prikara - god of trade and avarice. We tell the story of what gods were doing in Selosa. We walk past the throne and I see a red crystal goblet - just like the others. I pause and check it out and Shazshil sees that I stopped and talks about her trophy from Ariman. We talk and she is concerned.
We continue and through the door and we see the portal. Shazshil appears to listen and then enters the portal. After a few minutes she exits again. She says that she feels that their magic has faded - because eons ago she wouldn't have been able to go through the portal. She says she'll let us use the portal for a price. She thinks that it would be a three day trip through the portal. We get our horses, and head into the portal. As I head through, Shazshil tossed the red goblet to me and wished me luck in thwarting Ariman.
Once we enter, we see that the tunnel is crystalline, and we can see outside, where we travel super fast. The crystal looks like it is cracking - we should probably hurry. As we walk, we see more cracks and some crystal branches growing off of it!
We run into skeletons, and electric and poison creatures. We beat them and continue.
The tunnel looks neat - like if it was going wild, but the nature that is taking over is crystal.
Feast of the Moon, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We see a valley full of plants. There is a stepped pyramid within the plants, but it looks like only the top floor. We continue and reach the pyramid. We climb up and enter, and we feel an odd, gnawing, energy. Our water seems to dry up. We head inside. We manage traps and enter a room with yuanti symbolism. I see Sseth and a couple others I recognize. I don't recognize. I don't recognize them all. I also see some odd symbols on a wall. We continue down and we see some statues. They are all a little different. We defeat them quickly. After we look around and find and find some weird triangles and rooms in the corners are themed alter rooms. We enter one, and it has rock soldiers. We grab tiles off the pedestal and get out.
We go to the next room and trap ourselves inside. This one has fire damage. We grab the tiles and run.
The next room is air themed. We beat the air soldiers, and go get the tiles.
The next room is water, and I got beat to a pulp.
After we heal, I go and poke at the "wrong" triangle. Vondal helps, and we move it. We find some interesting things, and stop for a break. After our break, we are attacked by the statues again, and some zombie yuantis.
We continue down into the temple, we are some jaguar statues, and a door. We see a gold tile, and we figure out a puzzle - but we aren't sure where to use it. There's another door and we continue. We are surrounded by zombies and beholder zombies. We kill them and continue. We enter a store room, it's dusty and unused and has a tapestry depicting people fleeing, but it's ripped and you can't see what they run from. We continue, and see a snake headed man statue, a jaguar and a bird headed man. As we continue, there are more yuanti reliefs, holding spears. We reach another long hallway and we are attacked by dead people in bandages. We continue and continue to see snake people. One has a pokey out spear, which Vondal takes. It opens a door and they find some treasure. We continue, triggering traps. A ball trap, more yuanti zombies.
29th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We wake up to Vandederp explaining what happened the night before. The kids kick the corpses. She tells us that they ran away, because of the husband (whom the Oni last night had killed). We agree to return them to the village. As we are walking we ran into cats with weird tentacles. We are joined by hunters after we chased them into the woods. The hunters knew the mom and kids, so they agree to take them back to the village. We continue to the tomb.
28th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We continue on. Come evening, we run into a group of people around a campfire. They invite us to join, and tell us that the mom had been attacked by an ogre (party of tribal hunters and a lady and kids). The lady wants us to join, the hunters, do not. I maintain that we should stay. During the night, the hunters attack us and drop darkness whenever they want. Vandederp needed to get healed twice to make sure that he wouldn't die!
27th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
Albert comes out with a headache. He talks about the tomb again - the tomb of Shazshil. It seems to be a quiet deadly place. He gives us a map and tells us it should take 4 days to get there. Creeper thanks us again. As we prepare to leave, we see a golden jaguar with stars for eyes. The jaguar greets Creeper by butting up against her head. I feel blessed and Vorest confirms it. We leave, and we are greeted by many birds and animals who seem to follow us along.
26th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
The tabaxi shaman thanks us greatly and gifts us a charm.
We head back to Creeper's. We run across a group of malacens, abominations and hobgoblins. They are kinda edgy when they see us. The abomination tells us he'll leave with the hobgoblins, his property. Wrong words! We kill them and the hobgoblins fight with us, and we let them go.
We reach Creeper's. Albert comes up to us and tells us he is happy we are back, because there have been rumours of marauding gnoll war parties. We manage to find them, chasing a bunch of hobgoblins. We manage to kill off the war party. And let the hobgoblins escape.
We return to Creeper's. Albert tells us that there are rumours about a tomb with travel magics. He'll talk more tomorrow. Creeper drags Vorest off. After a bit, they come back and Vorest performs a marriage ceremony. We give them one of the sending stones we got from the snakes. We celebrate into the night.
25th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
Albert comes to us and asks us to hang out, so he can do some research. I look through the scrolls that described the ritual that seems similar to Im's. You send your soul into the chalice, casting a spell and bringing it back. Instead of elements for theirs, they have snake essences. I'm not sure what the snake parts are doing - since both abominations and "normal" yuanti aid the cultists, had their souls hidden. The rise of Zuklasha was detailed as an upstart god that only succeeded by his preaching. Eventually he performed a ritual and sacrificed a bunch of slaves and became anathema. Once he had this power he was able to overcome the other gods and then expand to make the yuanti empire great again.
We agree to hang out and relax.
In the evening, 7 Thundercloud runs in and tells us that his village has been attacked - by some "ghosts." He leads us back and tells us that they found a battlefield and that the ghosts were there and came back and started to take people from their village.
7 Thundercloud leads us to the battlefield. It really stinks and it looks like things have been decomposing for that entire time. In the middle there are two ghost trolls. 7 Thundercloud brings us back after confirming these were the monsters. His village celebrates when we return.
24th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
Albert greets us for pushing this forward. As we prepare to go in, Albert sings an inspirational song. We head in through the basement, following and earth elemental. We cleared out the basement and head upstairs. While we are on the second floor, we find a room that has people being tortured. We entered and the guards managed to shout out. We manage to beat them after Vondal sticks up a fire wall. After we look out and get people get a chance to heal. I head out and catch an arrow and find that Kelen, who had attacked us, and was the reason to have the divided room to start with. We manage to beat him off, nearly killing myself - thankfully Vorest brought me back. Once we were back up again, Motita came through a hidden door and announced that now we could join "his" army. I sunburst him, and run to Vorest's healing space - I am not the only one badly hurt. We manage to kill him and the people that had joined him, including Otlia. It is probably good they weren't on the same side.
We continue on, and free the slaves. Vorest heals the ones that are being transformed into brood guards. Vondal shows them some weapons and armour, and takes them to the kitchen. We continue to explore. We find a red chalice, like the one from my memories of the ritual to become a monk. In the library we also find some scrolls depicting their ritual and some about Zuklasha's rise.
We get out and help finish flattening the city. We return to Creeper's glade.
We celebrate a bit and talk.
23rd of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We watch as we rest and we see more patrols. The hobgoblins seem to be acting up. Hopefully, this is good for us. About halfway through the day, the others arrive.
22nd of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We head back towards the city. We come across an old gnome. He greets us with a riddle and Vandederp guesses correctly. Time seems to slow and we can avoid troops. It seems to take us half the time to arrive. We rest to wait.
We go to the city. Vondal and Vandederp turn invisible and "try" to sneak in. I fly overhead and Vorest turns into a fly. Unfortunately, the guys aren't as stealthy as hoped. We start fighting and Vondal goes in the building, to destroy the tools they used to make the potions. After we killed everyone, we went in the storeroom and destroy the ingredients. Then Vorest changes us into eagles and we fly off.
21st of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We wake, and Vorest is still shackled. She suggests that she could do a greater restoration on herself instead of seeing Jazirian - who was our other possible option. We let her free and she casts the spell and gets better. After that Vondal seeks out the scouts. 7 Thundercloud talks about what they've learned so far. We also let the treants know where we think they would be useful. Vorest goes and talks to some animals to see what is going that they've seen. We continue talking with Creeper and Albert. We let the Sseth people know to get out. Albert let's us know that he's gotten some alchemist fire. Albert and Vondal talk strategies.
20th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We prepare to head out. We find another small patrol. We approach the camp to see what we can see.
Vandederp decides he wants to dual for the sword. He calls Driindar and they meet in the center of a field. He is very angry about Vandederp's mom having left. And that Vandederp is actually challenging him. Driindar shouts to attack us. Vandederp manages to kill Driindar and the other dragonborns back off. Vorest continues to fight until Vondal takes her out. He then drags her out to the forest.
The dragonborn introduced as Jaxi says that they will wait 5 days, and then help the yuanti again. We walk to our previous camp. We take the necklace Vorest recently got off her - maybe that's what's making her so angry? After a bit, she admits to us that she has scales on her belly. We book it back, and Vorest ends up being carried because she is so tired. We get back to Creeper's camp and see Vorest's scales. They remind us of the demon that was in the treants and dryads' spring.
19th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We head towards Creeper's, and on the way we find a row of spears with goblin heads and a sign. We look around and find nothing. We continue and reach Jazirian's Tears. We see the flying snakes. We are told that the mate of Ilhicaxahual has gone to commune with Jazirian. He is not expecting anymore news. He takes a look at Vorest and says that she smells a bit "funny," no reasons given. We continue. We run into a couple of patrols and defeat them. We reach Creeper's again, and we talk about the dragonborn. At camp, a patrol finds us.
18th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We head back to Creeper's. Albert greets us, and tells us that people have been trickling in. We talk a little and then head towards the gorillons. We get some food on our way there. Vorest tries to speak to them, and they seem to respond - though they don't seem very interested. Vorest tells us that they suggest another group that may help us. We head that way and Vondal hunts more animals. We hit a stream and pool, and see the animals we are told are called hippos. Vorest talks to them, and then everything goes quiet. We hear a screech and we see a winged tiger try to attack a hippo. Vorest also convinces them to help us.
17th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We head to the great apes. We approach the area Creeper told us to, and we see the apes attacking yuanti abominations and hobgoblins. We help the apes beat them, and chase down the snakes. The apes drag the snake carcasses and bring them back. Vorest heals the apes, and then her and Vondal speak to them. We're told that they will help us.
16th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We wake up. Vondal is a bit unhappy about being in a tree. Vorest is completely happy. 7 Thundercloud gets us and says Chief White Lily will see us. We get to a gathering and see 20 or so tabaxi. They are looking at us like prey - this definitely don't feel friendly. We explain that we want scouts, people to see what can be seen. 7 Thundercloud speaks up and mentions that we went to get the poor tabaxi shepherd's remains - Bluestream. We shove Vandederp forward, but he refuses. Vorest sighs, and steps up.
They don't look convinced, but 7 Thundercloud and Vermillianleaf. We thank them and continue.
We approach a glade and a dryad, Sûliana, approaches us. She greets Vorest. Vorest explains what we are hoping. The dryad is doubtful but mentions if we help her, she may be convinced. There is a spring that needs cleaning.
We reach the head, and the water looks gross. There's a wastrilith in there and it grabs Vorest and drags her in the water. I dive in, and we fight. Fighting underwater is really hard! Vondal manages to get the monster on the surface and Vandederp kills it. We drag the corpse out and Vondal jumps back down. He comes back up with some treasures. We deal with some corruption, and turn it into dust. We return to the treants.
They are awake. The trees and the dryads are happy. They give us a charm. The treants agree to help us. We stop for the night. During the night we are attacked by malacens and dragonborn. After the fight, Vorest is acting really weird, like she's angry at beyond belief. She expresses anger at them, and says she doesn't know why she's angry.
15th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We head towards the tabaxi, that Albert told us might be willing to help us. Albert and Creeper head back to their glade. We continue, following the directions we were given. Vandederp's sword warns us. We are suddenly attacked by a green dragon. We attack it until it runs off. We get to the place described and notice that their village is in the trees.
They shout at us to leave and Vorest shouts up that Creeper sent us. We are greeted by 7 Thundercloud. They are unsure about the reception to our request about scouting, but also suggests we could give them a hand and maybe they'll be more receptive.
We head to the site that a tabaxi went missing. Vondal sniffs and starts to hurry along the path of footprints. Must be trolls. We find a giant troll, and some smaller ones. We kill them, and find a bit of tabaxi bits - but nothing enough to bring back. We return and they are agog that we defeated the trolls so quickly. We rest in the town.
14th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We wake and Albert thanks us. He comments on how his superiors won't believe that he's Albert. So I ask who his superiors are - and he answers that they are the Harpers. The yuanti are the remains of an ancient, decadent human empire. The more snake-like the more powerful they are. They have a history of choosing the most powerful god, even if they are new. Currently there's Sseth, Dendar and Murrshulk. Rumours of a new snake god - Zuklasha is an abomination that has grown stronger. Normally they keep to themselves, but now they are creating an army. We exchange information. There are also groups of peoples that might help. We decide to talk to the groups and communicate with Sseth's group. They respond, saying that we'll meet near the city after sunset.
We head out and somehow run into Cedric. How does he even travel? We continue to the glade, and we wait for the priest. Into the clearing a group arrive - a black abomination, Otlia and a bunch of malacins. Otlia greets us and introduces us to Motitah. He let's us know about secret entrances around the temple. He asks that we don't destroy the eggs, the rituals or the brood guards, if possible. Motita complains that we are wasting their time. They leave. We talk and Albert is happy about how it went, and I let them know that they thought their time was wasted.
13th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We wake and Vorest says that she is going to try to help Albert. She casts a spell, and nothing happens. Creeper cries even harder. And then another "Creeper" calls out and then we hear Dread Polly, next to a giant frog, with a mouth like a cauldron. Meeshogunjay is being treated like a frog. She greets us, and thanks Vorest for coming right when she was needed. She says that she came here for an item that we would be able to fetch for her. And mentions that she could free Albert from his cage. She wants us to get 4 things:
- Book to the east in a cave, marked by a symbol, a black book in silver writing, The Book of Keeping.
- The tears of Jazirian to the south, in a hidden glade.
- Sap of the rare creeping vine.
- Hydra blood, in a lake to the north - and mentions that the cask shouldn't melt.
She suggests that we wear branch circlets - but we will be less lucky. If we do, we get some bottles that may be useful against the yuanti.
She hands them out and we put them on. Creeper is shocked that we'd try.
We start to the north. We get to the lake at the base of the cliff. We see footprints that are the size of tree trunks. There is a cave off the side. We can see parts of yuanti, some chewed, some, melted. There are insects by the chewed yuanti, but not the melted ones. There is a hatched soft egg, and hissing in the cave. We see a hydra come out of the cave, and start to kill it - but then, another, bigger one, comes out of the lake. After killing them, we gather the blood in the cask.
We continue to the book. We enter the cave, and enter a portal. We enter some sort of library. We fight three demons, grab the book from the vault and leave quickly.
We continue to Jazirian, to the south for the tears. We enter the glade, and it is peaceful and beautiful. There is a flying snake that approaches and accuses me of stinking of Ariman. He introduces himself, Te'oxacanitzal, and invites us to talk with Ilhicaxahual. We converse and catch up them up on Ariman's doings and why we are here, while they tell us a story.
"Eons ago, before Time ticked and space was, there was only Chaos. Primeval and destructive, it roiled and writhed. The Universe could not abide this and so it birthed 2 siblings to champion Pure Law against the Chaos Primordial. These siblings were great snakes: Jazirian and Ahriman; beings of Pure Law, they worked together to oppose Chaos and set their wills to ordering the Universe.
"Being two mighty serpents, they bit each other's tails and formed a great circle. Together they established the fundamental principles of the panes: the Unity of Rings, the Rule of Threes, and the Center of All. Their work created the Great Ring of the Heavens, what you may know as the Outer Planes.
"Now, these siblings, who working together created the heavens, could not agree on which Plane should be the Center of All. Jazirian wished for Celestia to be the center, while Ahriman wanted it to be Baator. They struggled for millenia, tearing each other's tails, until they forcible tore apart.
"Jazirian, ascended on his mighty wings to Celestia, his holy blood dripping and creating the first of my kind.
"Ahriman, having no wings, fell and crashed to Baator, creating a great rift in the Plane called the Serpent's Trench. His blood created the first of the pit fiends. It is said he still lays there, bleeding and hurt, trying to restore his strength.
"Jazirian commands us to watch for Ahriman's plans, and communicate them to her."
The snakes give us the tears, and welcomes us to bath in them as well, as the benefits are often beneficial. I seem to have grown donkey ears - as has Vorest. I am not sure this is beneficial.
We head to our last job and a thick fog descends. We see ruins carved in the cliffs. There are beautiful waterfalls, and a pool at the bottom. There are gorillons everywhere, and we notice the purple vines right in the middle. The gorillons are avoiding the vines. As we walk around, to the other side, they start getting aggressive. We stop, and decide to go hunting. We catch 6 gazelles and Vorest gifts them to the gorillons. We walk around the cenote to the other side, to the cliff ruins. We fight the vines and harvested it's sap. We head out and one of the gorillons hugs Vorest and leads her to an alcove and gifts her a necklace. She takes it and we head out again.
We get back to the clearing and we find Creeper pacing. She asks to see the book. She wounds weird - so I ask why. Eventuall, she sighs and melts into Dread Polly.
She says that a yuanti group grabbed them, and she was uninterested in helping. So we head out to find them, and run into the tiger. He confirms Dread Polly's story. He leads us to them. Albert seems to have changed into the brood guard. We beat them, and wake up Creeper. She's concerned about Albert, so we return. We greet Dread Polly and get her to "cure" Albert. She does, and says she needs an hour. She preps, and we rest.
Dread Polly hands Creeper a knife and tells her to kill him. Vandederp offers to help Creeper. Dread Polly continues on. Over the next hour, a halfling appears, with brilliant green eyes and a blue rose tattoo. Odd. I thought he was a human.
Creeper greets him and Alberts responds to her. He looks very surprised. Creeper explains what has happened. He thanks us.
Dread Polly gifts us our "crown" rewards and buggers off.
We remove the crowns.
12th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
Very early in the morning.
We head to the city. We waited for a gap in the patrols, but the guards came back so we needed to beat them up. After we killed them and hop over the wall and jump onto a roof. We jump off and kill a couple guards. In the first prison house there are just drugged slaves. In the second house, they are changing the slaves to brood slaves - they are growing scales, and transforming. Entering the 3rd prison house, Creeper cries in anguish and points to one of the creatures. He has the rose tattoo that we were told to watch for. Vorest cries out to not kill him - maybe she can save him. We kill the other brood guards and carry off Albert. We hurry back to Creeper's camp. On the way back, we run into a group of gorillons, malacens, and abomination yuanti. We get back to camp and make sure Albert is secure, and rest.
11th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
While we are waiting for night to fall so we can go in to town to save Albert. Vandederp announces that he smells trolls and heads off. We follow because we could still use him. Fool. We get there and we see some diseased looking trolls. After killing them, we return to watch. We heal up and then we rest and wait until night. While we are resting Vorest and Creeper look to have a private conversation, but I can understand them! They are talking about Vorest's history mostly. It is also mentioned that they were adopted! I feel a bit bad about listening in on this, so I move a bit further away.
10th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We wake up. Creeper is feeding baboons. We go towards the city. On the way the tiger's ears perk up. She tells us that there is a patrol coming. We see monkeys with four arms and yuanti. We kill them and continue. We reach the outskirts of Selosah. We climb a tree and look out at it. We also learn that Albert is an old human, blond with green eyes and a blue rose tattoo on his arm.
9th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We travel and we reach a river. The river goes north and then turns along the cliff. As we have been told, we follow the river upriver. After a few hours, we hear whips and a lot of noise. It sounds like a large group. We leave the horses, and creep forward. There is a large group of yuanti, and they are leading a big group of slaves. Vorest points out that there is a tiger pacing the yuanti party. We plot a little and take spots. Unfortunately two get away and bring back reinforcements. Luckily, the tiger helped us fight, and was a bit stronger than I've seen of tigers. And one of the giant snakes in the group turned into an elf. I wonder if that was this sister Vorest has been talking about.
After the fight, Vorest heals everyone. Then the elf tells us to hurry and leave, because more would come. The elf is not happy about our helping. We follow, and the elf keeps eyeballing Vorest. An hour or so later, we reach what looks like a temporary camp. Then, she starts talking to Vorest as "Thornbush" and complains how she's been tailing. She introduces us to herself, Creeper Golden Oak, and the tiger, Hunter, Causing Sudden Scream, In The Night, Abruptly Silenced. Creeper asks what happened and Vorest explains that she remembers living on her own and taking care of herself.
She then continues to explain that she is trying to get to the heart of the yuanti slavers, not just get the hunting parties. Then she mentions that her mentor, Albert Venastrian, has also been caught.
He was taking plans of the city. We are also told that we will need to leave. But when we explain that we will still be fighting, she sighs and says she'll make use of us.
Selosah is about a day away and explains the aggression that we've seen. We also explain what we know. She thanks us and again apologizes to Thornbush, saying that she didn't think Vorest would leave Clementine and Dy'lan.
8th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
When we get up, Vorest has a pet owl. I have no idea how she got it, but it seems to listen to her. She calls it Sylvena.
We continue on and are still following the cliff. Vorest talks to more animals and gets more directions. We go down the cliff.
Then I "hear" something, wanting us to go south, and stop following the cliff.
Vorest announces it and I quickly agree. We find a clearing with a stone circle, with a stone "doorway" in the center. There are 6 statues along the edges.
I really want to go through that doorway.
I go closer, so I can see better, and two of the statues animate. Vondal and Vandederp followed me fairly close and are ready to attack.
Vandederp knocks over one of the statues, and a ghost comes out of it.
After we kill the statue, I go look at the doorway. It's like there is an invisible door. I don't recognize any of the symbols. I ask if anyone recognizes anything. Vandederp and Vorest say that it looks like a long dead god - and it doesn't look like a friendly one. We try the door and it's locked. I look around, and notice one of the statues' hands is closed. I go over and find an obsidian key. I go to try it in the door. The door thrums with energy, and the door fills with purple. I can open the door. There's a lit room and it feels cut off from the gods. There are infernal runes and a unicorn is in the corner. It speaks, asking if we are going to kill it. We try to free it, but it isn't working. I speak the room's runes, Xhith'qalpek, and tell it to open the shackles. The unicorn is free. We lead the unicorn out, and she is agog. She says her name is Lunaria. She's been trapped for a very long time. Once free, she thanks us and asks us the year. She says that she was trapped in 612, but it only felt like a month. She boops us and vanishes.
We lock the door again and continue on.
We see a herd of gazelles.
We head back towards the cliff and follow the edge along.
7th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We are amazed at how big the trees are. They keep it dark and moist. The noises are a bit scary. Vorest gets excited and says that she sees signs of Creeper. She and Vandederp also point out snake prints and hand prints. Vorest scampers up a tree. She tells us that we might have luck heading south. Meanwhile Vandederp tells us him again.
After a while we see a troop of black faced animals. They are walking on their hands and feet, feet that look like hands.
We continue and enter a clearing with some pools. We see a bunch of huge frogs and frog people. They are really bright. They yell "fresh meat!" We manage to beat them. Vondal looks in the pools and comes up with a bunch of gold.
While he is doing that, a group of malisons (yuanti) come up with some giant constrictor snakes. When the yuanti die, the constrictors go away.
We find a place to camp for the night.
6th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
Vanderderp wakens to the stone again. Surprised to see him so far away and tells him he'll enjoy killing him. Vandederp answers Okay.
We see the trees of Amlar. It takes forever to reach them, it's like walking to mountains! We see a flight of hippogriffs.
We keep walking and we see another yuanti troop. We take it on, and we are getting beat pretty good - the groups seem to be getting much bigger closer to the forest.
We continue and the trees loom. It is much darker inside. These trees are huge! It's not as dark as expected. And the sounds are crazy - birds and other, I assume, animal sounds. It is so dense that we need to lead the horses - hopefully they don't have too much trouble.
We manage to walk straight into an ambush! I notice that these yuanti are also "empty" feeling - that feeling of less that I noticed before. We don't start out very strong, but we manage to get it together after we kill the nightmare guy. After we camp for the night.
5th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
Vandederp gets a message saying that it's known that Vandederp has the stone and "Driindar's" sword. Vandederp replied "No"
We continue and the cliff turns south again. The horses get skittish and the sword gives warning. Out of the ground pop out some ankhegs. It's a hard fight, but we manage to beat them.
We continue on, and run into a group of constrictor snakes and yuanti. There are also bunches of little snakes. It's another difficult fight, but again we beat them. I feel like I've been a punching bag.
We continue, and we hear some voices arguing. "What are we going to do?" "It doesn't matter, we have to kill it." We see those arguing - a female half orc and male human. The half orc is protecting a lame horse.
Vorest announces that she can heal their horse. They let her to the horse, and she heals it. The couple are grateful and gift Vorest some loaves of bread.
We continue to camp.
4th of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
Vandederp got a message from Driindar on his message stone asking for a progress update.
We continue on along the cliff, and it veers to the west, and 3 gnomes bound out of the grass. Another gnome drives this thing and shoots out over the cliff. It shoots fire and the wings flap like a bird. Then the thing crashes and everyone looks and then cheers - he got further! Then they start talking very animatedly. The gnome that crashed was okay as well. We greet them and then continue on.
After a while, we see some squat lizards poke their heads out of the grass. As we continue, they start guarding their babies.
We continue.
3rd of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We walk and the grass is getting taller. Sometimes we even see trees. Off the cliff we can see trees. We see a group of yuanti. Vondal swears at them.
We see a weird animal that looks like a brown horse with a really long neck.
A few hours later, we hear grass rustling and Vandederp's sword announces trouble. We can see bows and such being pulled. It appears that they are yuanti and more of the dragonborn. While we are fighting, one of the pureblood yuanti tries to surrender, and then says her master wishes to speak and runs off. I catch up, and knock her out. The fight end. We tie her up, and notice that she doesn't have a snakey tattoo.
She wakes up. She tells us that not all yuanti follow the upstart Ahriman. She introduces herself as Otlia and a worshipper of Sseth (symbol of winged snake) and that they may be able to aid us. For 100 years, they have been worshipping yuanti gods, with various gods rising and falling. Recently a new god has started being worshipped in the last decade. He's gained power very quickly, as well as followers.
Her master is concerned - the yuanti don't want Sseth to fall out of favour.
In the recent months, people have been undergoing dark rituals, and has become more than an abomination (yuanti) and more violent. They want us to take out Zuhklasha.
As she talks, I notice that she feels more than the other yuanti - but still normal - like the others were... less? She offers a stone to speak with her master.
Vondal starts asking why we should help - if her god is any better than the rest? She explained that Zuhklasha is on an expansion plan.
Vandederp asks about all the dragonborn - apparently they've been hired as mercenaries.
Vorest asks where they are. Otlia says follow the cliff, and then the river upriver.
We let her go and continue on.
While we set up camp, we hear a wail, and it's getting closer. The horses do not like it. As it comes closer we can tell that there are 3 voices. These "dogs" come out of the grass. They don't get hurt easily.
2nd of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We continue on and we come across a bunch of wereboars. We manage to beat them without anyone getting bitten. The rest of the day seems peaceful.
Right at campish time, the weather starts turning. We see a path down the cliff, and a cave with a fire. There are a couple people at the fire. There are a couple of horses eating at the top. They appear to be siblings and we ask if we could join them. We have goodberries and stew. They introduce themselves, Patli and Tenoch Quinteiro. The sister has a cleric symbol for Kelemvor. We have idle chit chat. It turns to my history.
She then talks about other places that a soul could go in relation to devils and such.
"The Faithful, the False and the Faithless
"There are 3 destinations for your eternal soul when you should die. Foremost there are the Faithful, those that worshiped their gods, and fed them their belief. Those go on to their patron's realms to eventually become part of those very gods.
"Lord Ao, the One Who is Hidden, decreed it himself, angered at how the gods played and preyed upon the mortals. After the Time of Troubles, the gods were now to be dependent on the very mortals they used to treat as pawns. Our belief and worship feed and sustain them, and they in turn take in our souls in the afterlife. This is why the gods retrieve their followers from the Fugue plain, using their link to their followers to find them and bring them home. Good and Evil, or neither, all worshippers find a place with their gods.
"But I said that there were 3 destinations, and for the other 2 allow me to digress.
"My own lord Kelemvor was once a mortal, just as you and I. 18 years ago, during the Times of Troubles, he was slain by Cyric the Mad, who ascended to become the God of Death, taking over for the recently slain god Myrkul. Kelemvor 's sould however was hidden from Cyric, who hunted unsuccessfully for it for 10 years. Cyric hated Kelemvor and obsessed about his retrieval, driving himself mad. Eventually Cyric crushed his own sword, releasing Kelemvor's soul, who fought Cyric and slew him. By wish of the Denizens of the Gray Wastes, Kelemvor was made the new God of Death.
"Kelemvor reshaped the Bone Castle into the Crystal Spire, to represent that Death should no longer be a frightening mystery. Seeing the fates of the False and the Faithless, he grew angry. Under Myrkul and later Cyric, the Faithless were fashioned into bricks for a Great Wall. The False were tortured endlessly. Kelemvor saw that brave and noble souls were treated with great pain and suffering and he declared that this was the end. Those he judged had led good lives under no Gods would go to heavens and paradise within his realms, and those he judged that had led poor and wicked lives would be punished. He struck down the wall and declared that all Dead would have a fair judgement before him.
"This continued for a few short years, and would be my poor Lord's undoing. The Gods tried Kelemvor and declared him Guilty of incompetence by Humanity. Lord Kelemvor's actions, though compassionate, had led to great upheaval. Wicked souls would continue to worship the Evil gods to escape Lord Kelemvor's Ire, while Good and Noble people turned from the gods, trusting his judgement. Kelemvor realized that he needed to purge himself of his humanity if he was to judge the Dead dispassionately. The Great Wall was recreated, and he judged anew all before him.
"The False were once again subjected to punishment. Good or Evil, Lawful or not, they were all judged. Those worshippers that had committed transgressions against their gods, or rejected them them, were in turn rejected by their Gods; they would not claim their souls. These False were judged and punished by Kelemvor. So now, once again mortals have reason to not reject their patrons.
"The Faithless were subjected to a fate somehow worse. Those that turned from all gods, that had no beings to Claim or Reject them, these were Seen by Kelemvor. He sought them out and added them to the Wall of the Faithless. Ground down, their souls would eventually become part of the very plain the landed on: the Fugue Plain. Faceless, bodiless, Faithless.
"Still, it's a better fate than what happened before Myrkul built the wall!"
I asked what happened what happened pre-Myrkul, and I was told that the Faithless walked the plain. They could be claimed by demons or devils to use as fuel. Patli continues that if the gods couldn't see me, then even Kelemvor couldn't see me, and therefore, judge me. Which could leave me easy pickings for demons and devils.
Patli continues:
"A 4th Destination
"Before I said that there were 3 destinations for your eternal soul when you die, but there is a 4th.
"First, while my Lord Kelemvor judges all faithless soul that come before him, some do bypass that judgement. The evilest, most self serving souls, that reject all gods could find themselves manifesting on Baator, or the Abyss. These souls would mainfest as a Soul Larva, Eventually, should they survive, they might be promoted to the lowest of Demons as Manes or Devils as Lemures. From there, if they should distinguish themselves they might find further promotion to more powerful forms.
"As well, mortals since time immortal have bartered their eternal souls for temporary power and wealth. Always, ALWAYS, these involve an actual contract, which must be freely signed by the petitioner. Once the contract is signed, their soul would be forfeited to the Devil holding that contract. Once they perished, the Devil would claim the soul; wringing it of all energy for fueling the Nine Hells, and then the wretched remains would be reborn as a Lemure.
"Such contracts could be signed on the Fugue Plain, after a mortal had perished, but before Kelemvor found them and judged them.
"Getting out of such a contract is nigh impossible. Each contract is a labyrinthine maze of clauses and sub-clauses, and sages have spent years studying them only to go mad trying to find a way to break it. But that is an easier task than trying to kill the devil itself. It can only be done on its home plane, else it will simply recover. The only other way would be to find the devil's True Name, but good luck with that!"
Vorest asks about the souls of animals. And she is told that they go to the beastlands - to part of the energy that supports the animal gods.
1st of Uktar, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We head out. We feel a warning from Vandederp's sword. Up from the grass leap 6 bronze dragonborns with some yuanti's behind them. We attack the yuanti at Vandederp's advice to not hurt the dragonborn.
The dragonborn go to attack us, yelling at Vandederp "the son of the traitor!" They yell at the guy to the side to tell Driindar that Vandederp and his sword have been found. We manage to knock them all out, and tie them up.
We go to Vandederp and ask what they were talking about. He says he doesn't know - but assumes it must be his mom because she was a bronze dragonborn. He thinks maybe it's because she went with his dad. Assumes the sword was his mom's. She was killed by a troll. Vandederp grew up with bronze dragonborn. Vandederp wakes the one that seems to be in charge. He asks why he is a traitor and claims that he has the chief's sword. Vandederp's mom was a traitor for the "dad thing". Apparently there is a bounty on Vandederp's head - 1000 platinum pieces. Chief Korinn would be interested to know Vandederp is here.
(Driindar is Vandederp's cousin (bronze) and the enforcer that Vandederp stood up to him (because the chief was bullying. Racism re: red dragonborn and wanted the sword). His exile was really an escape. Vandederp is surprised they are here; this is nowhere near home, too far south.Vondal starts asking why they are with the yuanti and they reply "no talk, clan business"
Vandederp also mentions his clan. We kill them as it is clearly not good to leave them alive.
We continue on. After a few hours, we are surrounded by orcs. Vandederp goes to breath fire - but he breathed lightening instead! His cheeks blush bronze too. Very weird.
We finish the fight, and I notice that Vandederp's blush is actually permanent.
We continue. We see a fellow in a green cloak, who greets us. Asks where town is. We tell him and he thanks us and lets us know that he has been dodging yuanti. He also offers us potions.
30th of Marpenoth, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We wake in the morning and the slaves are awake. They ask us to lead them back to Three Swords. The town tries to celebrate us, but we leave right away. We are travelling back, we run into a band of cyclops. Vondal and Vandederp seem to be very excited (and effective at fighting them). We continue on. Afteran hour or so, our horses get a little skittish. All of a sudden, some bulllettes come out of the ground.
We manage to beat them off. The horses were badly hurt, but Vorest managed to save them.
We return to our camp from the previous night and decide to stop.
29th of Marpenoth, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We travel along following the edge of a cliff. We start catching up to a yuanti slave train. We manage to beat them. The slaves are all glassy eyed, so we set up camp so that they can recover. In the evening we are attacked. We take a bit of a beating, but we manage to beat them.
28th of Marpenoth, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
Sadek comes up to us in the morning, telling us that Captain Amon wants to see us. She leads us to an alley across from a temple. Captain is there, as is Ahmosa. He had remembered a "passage to Heaven," and found this temple that declares this. There doesn't seem to be a god. We head in first, telling the guards to follow shortly. We enter and there is a hazy smoke. The people look dazed. A priestess greets us and asks us to join them. She claps and more comes out. Vorest comes out and attacks with cold. We attack, but they manage to convince us not to fight. Terrible. Vorest manages to kill a bunch and wake us. The yuanti run off, and we are convinced to let them go. I let the guards know what has happened. We chose the ones that ran out and then track the one in charge - he turned invisible. We track him to a door, so I run back and get the others. I use my new ring and he is outlined. Vondal kills him with his hammer. I go and get the guards and the rest search the house. They find some foreign coins and ... stuff. We find some of the poison too (at the temple). House just looks like a place to sleep. We were thanked for helping.
We decide to leave the next morning, so we walk through town. And find Cedric.
27th of Marpenoth, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
Still drizzly and rainy. Blah. We come up on a bush, that seems to follow us. Vondal announces "Mr Bush, we can see you." We hear a squeak and see some goblins run away with their bush.
At the end of the day, we reach Three Swords. There are a lot of guards at the gate. We approach and they ask our business. We say that we are spending the night and continuing south. They are fairly concerned when Vorest explains. They explain that there have been war parties and people have been vanishing. We explain what we've seen and they ask us to stay for a moment. Sadek is sent to warn Captain Amon that we would be brought to him. The guard introduces himself as Ahmosa. He sets us up at the Prancing Ibis. The inn keeper, Nedjemmut, greets us. We follow the guard to the guard house. We also see a lot of guards in the street. We meet the Captain, and we tell him what we know. We head back to the inn. We eat and notice that the people are tense and anxious. They speak of lost families and missing caravans. and it sounds like the activity is largely to the south.
26th of Marpenoth, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We wake and it's a kinda crummy day, rainy and damp. We come upon a shrine for Waukeen (goddess of trade). We leave a tribute, reminded of our days in Kelethoen.
25th of Marpenoth, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We continue, but the ... air? ... feels weird. Everything feels a little bit off. It makes me uneasy. Sometimes we see pink sparks. After a bit of trying to figure out the sparks, we realize that it's gotten quiet. We look up and see hobgoblins and yuanti and yuanti abominations. The hobgoblins seem like they are also slaves to these yuanti. Our magic stuff goes dead. Our more basic weapons cackle with magic. I feel like I should be able to cast Ray of Frost. We manage to beat them, but it was a difficult fight. We continue walking, we leave the area that made our magic weird. and after a short bit our magical stuff comes back to life.
24th of Marpenoth, 1376, Year of the Bent Blade
We leave and the guards are concerned about our nonchalance about leaving.
We come across a shrine for Oghma. We leave a little tribute. It feels like we travelled extra far today.
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