Timlin - Spider Hole

• Traded my contract to a guild for some new recruits. They seem sound. Don't know where the druid and man-at-arms went off to, but their muscle needs replacing ...
  • Badger - A druid with a weird sense of humor.
  • John - A tough guy. Seems like he has anger problems.
  • Nightingale - Some kind of protege of Xanthar's. These guys really like having Alena around.
  • A bard. Sigh.
• Showed up at the spider hole, but found beetles instead. Seemed harmless. Also found some mephits. I'm interested in how these elemental creatures operate. I have obtained some of their remains to either liquidate to fund my research or else glean some clue as to their elemental underpinnings.
• Went into the hole we found before. It descended more than I originally anticipated. We followed this for some time, before we discovered a strange consistency to the walls. We are still yet to encounter any spiders.
• We found some floating pink spheres, floating along slowly. They seem to react to our presence. One of the recruits, an overly-curious druid, touched one of them, and the thing seemed to pop. I analyzed its aura and found it to be magical. I'm very curious about these creatures, their method of locomotion, how they detect and nagivate obstacles, and what is their purpose. Alena finds this place oddly comforting. Perhaps by being so removed from the sun her natural perceptive gifts grant her a sense of superiority.
• As we proceed, I hypthesize, or I should say I fancy, that we are traversing the vessels of a dead creature. The strange give to the walls suggests veins, and the behavior of the globes is like that of blood cells. Our encounter later with the ethros serves to solidify this belief.
• We find a passage with a little girl, who is swiftly yanked away from us. I don't trust any of this, as this is not a suitable place for such a being. We set an alarm here and move on.
• We find a white porous floor with strange glassy spots along the walls. I am deeply suspicious of this and blast one of the spots, preemptively. And sure enough, my suspicions were confirmed. The glass becomes viscous and attacks us. We fight desperately, but begin to be overwhelmed.
• Syrana. This woman came upon us during the encounter and offered us a vial of substance, having the temerity to demand that I drink it, to save us from the blobs. Eventually, we are boxed in, and I have no choice but to drink it. The others have already done so and it has not treated their bodies well, but it seems to halt the attack of the creatures. It appears my elven mettle is stronger than most of the others, and I manage to maintain consciousness.
• Syrana takes us back to her outpost, where she lives with Myconoids or Myconids. I'm still not sure which. Alena has decided she doesn't like it much here after all. I question Syrana about the local surroundings, and it seems the mushroom folk are not the only game in town down here. The rest of my group and I will have to think carefully about who we ally ourselves with, and who we will destroy. Those decisions will ultimately determine how I come to power. Alena needs me.
• The cult of air. These guys sound like they have some skill in the magic arts, or at least their leader does. Syrana says there is a rumour that if any of the cult of air sees you, so does their leader. But nobody knows what that means.
• There's another group called the forsaken or forgotten or some nonsense. Nobody seems to like them much and they have been labeled "exploitative." Seems like no one would miss them.
• Ethros. The creatures that attacked us. They have the ability to stick to their opponents, which creates an elastic connection that makes shaking them difficult. i was hesistant to waste my magic trying to put them to sleep or blind their eyes, since they don't have those, but the druid had a flash of insight and poisoned one of them, and that seemed to wreak havoc on its internal geometry. They also had mild difficulty with my grease spell, so that's something.
• The vial is filled with something called venom, which now courses through our veins. It keeps the ethros at bay, but Syrana says it's addictive and dangerous. It makes sense that this venom repels the ethros, since poison in general seems anathema to them.
• Shrouders, or the shrouded, or some such name, is given to those who succumb to the venom. They become like this place, and attuned to it. Seems a dismal fate, or is it a path to knowledge?
• The myconoids want us to help them get to some kind of market. They don't offer anything in trade for this service, but a market is a place where knowledge can be obtained. Alas, I lack significant coin or valuables.

Timlin : Kindred Caves

• Syranna gave us instructions for finding the Kindred. We follow these, and they take us to a network of caverns, which we begin to explore.
• The entrance to the caverns has a spherical bubble carved out of it. It doesn't appear to be hewn or the result of volcanic activity, and there are some pock marks in it that I can't identify.
• We find some more ethros, and decide not to engage them. We mark the ground where we've been both because we don't want to get lost and because the caverns are known to shift, so any aid we can offer ourselves in navigating them could be useful.
• Darkmantles. We find two stalactites that look different than the others, they're a lighter color. John throws a rock at one of them and they reveal themselves to be creatures lying in wait. We easily dispatch them. After reporting this information back to Syranna, she identifies them for us.
• We discover a corridor that has some carts in it and some ominous scorch marks on the wall. We can't find the source of the scorch marks and nothing of value is in the carts, so we move on.
• We discover some black robes with white fur lining. We take these back to Syranna, and she says the following: "I've seen those before in the Heart of Night. There some religious group there that wears them during their holy days, but it's not a religion that I know anything about."
• We encounter two Myconoids which are clearly in bad shape, and don't attempt to communicate with us before rushing us. We take them down without issue, but examination of the bodies indicates they're suffering from some sort of affliction.
• We find a hole with a crack leading downward that has some fresh air coming out of it. Nightingale investigates it but doesn't find anything useful.
• We find a rickety bridge spanning a chasm, and we use ropes to cross it.
• We discover a stone idol that radiates faint abjuration magic in a squared room. The idol has chunks removed from it. We attempt to pull it off its platform with a rope but don't succeed. I suspect the idol is enchanted with an alarm or other magic ward and we give it a wide berth. It doesn't seem valuable.
• We come back in to the ethro room via a different entrance, and this time we attempt to sneak through the room. The ethros immediately move to engage us. There is a long fight in which we are ambushed by a large lizard-like creature with vestigial wings that bleeds acid. Conventional weaponry doesn't seem to be effective against it, but poison, lightning, and cold damage work well enough. We chip away at it very slowly until it dies.
• Some notes about the behavior of the ethros: They don't acknowldge Alena at all, so it is possible that they only acknowlege sentient beings, but then again they attacked Badger so who knows? The venom which protected us from the previous encounter didn't seem to have an effect on this group. Also, they don't exhibit the ability to coordinate their attacks or strategize on the battlefield. I'm not even sure these creatures are in fact alive.

A worrying dream

Your sleep is wracked with strange dreams and visions. Uncertain portents of death, destruction, and evil are woven around the nation of Ardesh and Southmoore. You see the town burning, it's inhabitants running in terror, fleeing from some unseen horror. Fleeting images of a tall figure, cloaked in black and red, wink in and out. You see the town cheering, a parade, and warriors of steel and magic standing tall. You see the town barren, dead, lifeless. You see the town in rubble, workers slowly toiling to rebuild.

Your dream darts jarringly through hazy events, what is past present, and future blend together in a haze. At one moment you are in ancient Yuffdar watching two shadowy figures exchange gold for a small package, in another a cast of unknown adventures look upon a glowing figure of warm light, smiling. You see the glowing figure in battle, on it's knees, bloodied and beaten. You standing at in barren terrain at the base of a cliff, where a small group of elves, humans, and other share a meal. Finally, you are standing before a withered castle in a forest turned dark by the taint of evil. A dark cloaked figure is near standing over a fawn brutally torn open, blood and entrails spread across the courtyard.

The figure turns towards you, looking directly at you, as if sensing your presence. It's face is obscured to you but eyes burn through with some sort of arcane magic, a glow mirrored by the fangs extending from it's mouth. It screams and reaches out with tendril of dark energy. You feel yourself pulled deeper into the dream, feel your soul being slowly ripped from your frame. As the dark energy digs into you a hand, far too large to be human, rests on your shoulder. It's presence drives back back the tendrils. It's grip slips around your chest and pulls you back, hard. The miles of forest, plains, and mountains become a blur and your eyes snap open.

Timlin - The Kindred Outpost

• We return to the caves; this time Roland, Nightengale, and John are tagging along, and it looks like Xanthar has recovered from whatever plague was affecting him.
• We find a pool. I'm certain this thing is dangerous, but we throw a rock in and nother happens. Sure enough, out come weird undead fish things. We dispatch them with relative ease, then send Roland down and he finds some useful trinkets, including a crossbow that can't be broken. I'm eager to study the magic that gives it such fortitude later.
• We encounter some more mephits and Alena comes in danger due to poor positioning. This was totally unacceptable, she could have been killed, poor thing. I end up getting blinded, just punishment I suppose, but we are able to put the remaining creatures out of their misery.
• We find some ruined structures that don't seem to have anything of value, then manage to circle back and find a chest. Xanthar thinks he can open it, but didn't I see this in my dream? With a sudden click he opens it. The strangest feeling of deja vu ...
• There are some scrolls and gold inside that we take. I'm not able to decipher the scrolls but I think they point to something valuable.
• We make it to the kindred outpost! This is where things don't go very well. I thought Roland was a master negotiator but he seemed to freeze up when we sent him to discuss terms.
• A dragonborn named Kalista is leading the Kindred. We talk to her a little bit and she decides she doesn't have to kill us, which is sporting of her. She tells us a little bit about why the Kindred are here, and it sounds like a "Life's Calling" kind of situation. Unfortunately I already have one of those, and it does not involve spending the rest of my life in the dark. Instead we agree to an exchange of services: She lets us camp at the outpost and I supply her with alarm spells for her perimeter.
• Kalista also tells us about some ruins that seem to match the description on the scrolls we found. I'm interested in investigating this further, as ruins are a great place to find artifacts of power. Alena says this is a good idea. Kalista also tells us about "wyrmlings". We fought one of these earlier, the ones with acid for blood. I'd like to deal with these but don't feel confident in our abilities just yet.
• I've been trying a few advanced techniques from the books back at seminary, the kind of stuff we weren't supposed to look at. Alena was always looking at that stuff. She keeps telling me to try harder, to reach deeper into the well of the arcane. I think I can manage the sphere now. Last time was a complete disaster and I'm very lucky nobody found out about it. This time will be different. Also I was thinking about my talk with Kalista. No one's ever accused me of being the kind of person they'd like to spend time with, but I could almost feel the threads of her desire laid bare to me. Perhaps I could manipulate those desires with a spell. A potent weapon to wield indeed ...

Timlin Ath'shana pt. 1

• We travel in the direction indicated by Kalista and find a steep drop off that we are forced to navigate. We get to the bottom, in front of a gate, and several sets of skeletal remains greet us there. As we approach, they animate and attack. We dispatch them fairly easily.
• The skeletons had a healing salve and a pair of special gems. We experiment with the gems and find that they allow us to transit to a special plane that seems to be a spirit-amplified version of our own plane. The gems only work in areas of strong undead energy, of which Ath'Shana is one. Alena says we should keep the gems, but I feed her some dried mouse and tell her it's better if the barbarian ventures into the unknown. We can trade for the gems later if needed.
• John experiments with the gem a little bit: It works for an hour a day, once per day. Change in the alternate plane is difficult to effect, but sympathetic events can be generated that seem to be localized to specific objects. One of these allows us to open the gate. It's worth noting that coming out of the alternate plane brings you back to where you activated the gem, not your current location, so using the gems to bypass obstacles entirely doesn't work.
• We encounter a spirit acting out a role he seemed to hold in the past as entry clerk. He provides midly useful information and we move on.
• We enter a tavern in which an ongoing brawl is happening among spirits. The brawl continues with no progress being made, and we can't seem to impact the brawl.
• We enter a barracks in which skeletons lay in the military cots. We correctly deduce that these skeletons are the restless dead and execute an ambush against them. It goes well.
• Searching the barracks, we find a special longbow that sheaths the user's motions and actions. No one seems particularly interested in it but Alena reminds me that I trained with the longbow before I went to seminary so I give it a try and it fires true. I've been making a lot of use of these pedestrian weapons of war recently. It's disgusting.
• We also find a potion of sanctuary and a wand of sudden awakening. I'm excited to have a wand, but this doesn't seem of particular value. I admit that combined with the alarm spell it makes me a useful threat deterrent system. Alena says to hold on to it. The party splits a paltry sum of money of which I do not take a share because of my acquisition of magic items. This seems fair. Alena says it is not fair.
• There's a magic school, and some creatures inside that seem crazy and hungry. Their urges feel familiar to me. We set up an elaborate trap that goes very poorly and John and Roland start to get killed/eaten. There's a harrowing fight. I send in Alena. What is happening? Ah! AHHHHHH!
• VICTORY. WE RETRIEVE EROTIC BOOKS. WE GET A SPELL BOOK. WE GET A BOOK ABOUT CRAFTING.

Timlin Ath'Shana pt. 2

• Crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside. I prepare the cutting surface.
• I remember a portal.
• Alena says we go our death. I say we go to our undeath. Alena says we go to our death. I say we go to our undeath.
• BLACK. PUDDING.
• The skull is like the SHELL of an OVUM.
• I remember a brawl.
• Alena will be back soon. No, that's not right. Is this a memory?
• We discover a butcher, who is having a fight with a customer. A guard stands nearby and explains to us that we need to resolve the situation that the "Beast of Ath'Shana" has put them in, and then he will be allowed to accompany us. This is a dubious proposition, as he doesn't seem very competent. We discover a tunnel, and we go down it to a graveyard.
• You crack the shell, and you pour out the yolk. The yolk is the creature, it's the part that you eat.
• I remember a chicken.
• Feathers get plucked. That's what makes the chicken smooth. That's what makes the flesh taste good.
• John gets a key.
• Why do I have this strange juice?
• Disarticulation is an art. When a novice first begins, he is constantly feeling among the tendons and muscles and cartilage for the joint, the area between the bones. He has no conservation of movement. As he spends time learning his craft, his movements become more fluid. He can begin with a cut, and as he does so, the tearing of the flesh will guide him, tactilely, to his target. His output improves. He makes more money. After many years, he develops a preternatural sense of the creature's nature, its physical disposition. It is thus with a simple set of cuts that his work is done, as if unhampered by physical obstruction. He is now a master.
• I remember a binding ritual.
• The beast of Ath'Shana is willing to parley, and it seems we don't know as much as we did about The Kindred. The beast claims that he is kept there by their meddling. This opens up some uncomfortable questions for the group. We elect to regroup at the outpost and decide what to do next.
• I remember a portal.
• The exsanguination is complete, and there is a soft pop as the skull sheafs off of the spinal column. Alena's skull is light, airy. She couldn't have something dense and protective if she wanted to stay aloft. It's only a few bites to down the cranium. Crunchy on the outside but soft on the inside.
• Alena will be back soon ...