Session 19 map
Huh. Grunty’s back.
Last I saw him, he disappeared while I was looking into one o them crystals in the grotto for just a moment. (Still a silly name for a silly place). I searched for tracks and eventually headed back to town without seeing any sign of him, then went back with Stria. And then today he shows up wanting to try again.
I spent the off season profitably poisoning farmers who had mistreated their wives. Bern said he had a lead to possible profit, so I tagged along with him after we decided there was no emergency requiring us to look into acquaintances missing behind a mysterious door in the library. We hired a naive fighter named Bran for the trip. He got off on the wrong foot with me by insisting on 3 gold a day as his fee, just because he didn’t like the look of us.
Nolly's Kingdom
Well.
Well, well, well.
My lady of liabilities and legalities continues to watch over me, despite my unfortunate blunder in the matter of the theft of her holy symbol.
I was filling out the proper form for such a thing while making idle chatter with the odd sheep-man Ramius. He was offering everyone tea And crumpets, so very hospitable. Gurg the dwarf accepted, as did Davos the mercenary. I turned it down, not wanting to stain the holy form. u-Heury had wondered off deeper into the roots. I had lost track of where OhYeah was and one of the guards from the caravan, Dalmanes, had joined us.
Met a new feller today. Short and stocky, grunted a lot. Asked his name, he grunted. Asked how he got ’ere, he grunted. Ask where he wanted to go, he grunted. Asked if he wanted ya pay me ta guide him into the forest and find treasure and kill monsters. You guessed it, he grunted, so off we went.
First stop was Jiles. Padawan of Ygg’s Stick he said. Knows about the outlaw band in the forest. Said he hadn’t heard nothing bout them in some time,but did want to know about Imperax cultists. I don’t know nuttin about imperax. Somethin about a raven and an eyeball. Anyways, good money if we can link the outlaws to this Imperax cult.
So we decided to stop sniffing around doors and start opening them.
The ornate snake door led to a staircase leading down. That’s a nope, at least for now. Maybe when we’re done here.
The room without a door led to a small hallway filled with clay snake statues. They all had real metal swords with visible rust, meaning likely they animate if disturbed or somehow activated. We carefully slipped past without touching the statues and checked the far end; nothing noticeable.
After my brief foray into the world of the adventurer, the rest of the year seemed to just fly by. I had much to learn from the near death experience at the fangs of a two-headed snake, and indeed spent many days and nights in contemplation, filing form after form with the goddess Denara seeking a boon of her wisdom. Eventually I received her insight; I must work on a series of stretching exercises every day, to improve the flexibility and strength of my lame leg; it will likely always be a weakness, but even a little improvement could save my life. I was diligent and meticulous, every day filing form 47a (“Report of Daily Exercise For Physical Therapy”). The goddess approved, and blessed me with improved range of motion by 15 degrees in the knee and ankle. I shall be better able to duck in the future. Praise be to the lady of letters!
After spending the night camped in a secret room, we took stock of our gains and losses and decided it was time to return to town and reprovision. Having scouted the ruins (and more importantly the path to and from) we could plan more effectively for our next expedition, and with more funds to boot. Buying a mule to carry provisions for example. Though I hear rumors of a mule thief in town lately..
Born on a battlefield from a prior union between her camp follower mother and a soldier. Not the soldier her lovesick mother originally followed. He died early on. Just a random soldier, because her mother stayed on following the army, having nowhere else to go. Her childhood was spent observing what went on in the camp follower tents, and observing what goes on with an army in between battles. From her mother and her ilk, Stria learned what to do to and with a man. From the soldiers who treated her as a pet, she learned to knife fight and some dirty hand to hand skills in case a man tried to get rough with her.
Session 12 map
I came to Eastdale looking for guide work, leading people through the wilderness. Don’t really like people much. Animals are much simpler, I know where I stand out in the wilds. Difference between a dog and a wolf and a cat you can see and smell and taste. Humans, well, some of us will lie to ya and cheat ya and kill ya and we all look the same. But sometimes ya need stuff only humans can really do. Talk, even if it’s just listening in a corner at a bar. Metal tools. Alcohol. Can’t do everything yourself and then you have to do something else to pay for it.
North of the portcullis were two doors, both closed. We listened and they were both silent as well. Opening the one to the north revealed a closet full of skeletons; someone’s family has a lot of dark secrets. Well, actually zombies. But I couldn’t resist the turn of phrase. There were about 6 of them but they didn’t move when we opened the door. Huh.
Punchman worked up his courage, threw a torch at one, and we slammed the door and took off. The things started moving then! But they didn’t know how to open the door, so we were safe for the moment. After a few minutes we returned, ignoring the zombies scratching, and opened the other door.