Kavi's page

1d6 ⇒ 4

Whew, we were running low on potions

1d6 ⇒ 6

1d6 ⇒ 4

Kavi is level 10

Level 9 Kavi.

What a twist

Kavi is now level 8 and suddenly speaks 8 new languages as her INT goes from 21 to 22

Egzimora!!!!

I think my father is going to be camping but if he's home I could be a bit late but our game is pretty late in the afternoon so I shouldn't have too much trouble.

Kavi is going to buy the following scrolls with her scroll money fund:

Threefold Aspect
Phantasmal Killer
Lightning bolt
Solid Fog
secure shelter
Tongues
See Invisibility x2

that adds up to 3855gp (including the 5gp ring Kavi needs as a focus for her Threefold aspect spell) leaving 32.5 to be divided up amongst the three of us :)

All but one scroll of See Invisibility are going to be added to Colonel Mathers. Kavi automatically succeeds on a take 10 BTW.

"Ahoy me harties," the battle scared old witch says, "I be Kavi and this happy fellow be Colonel Mathers, and you be joining us in da plunder and pillaging of this grand place? Well me hopes you be made out a sturdy stuff, no lubbers amongst ye two, cause this city be ripe with death and danger, and while me gnomish friends watch out for old Kavi they can't babysit the likes of you."

Kavi is updated

Kavi’s journal: The Red Mantis

How Lini was contacted by the mantis remains unknown to me, I suspect they’ve been keeping fairly close tabs on us, but aside from poor Sasha I doubt that anyone close to us has been compromised. It was probably some mysterious note, assassins like to do that sort of thing, but if they used a contact to deliver the message directly I’d think Lini would see the danger signs in that and warn us. You only use contacts with people you’re planning to recruit or dispose of.

I was in the midst of my brewing when Lini called. I do love this cauldron. I can’t even imagine how much time and effort this would have saved Chilton and me in Alkenstar. I should make a note that if I die I want this cauldron given to a local apothecary or alchemist. I’d hate for such a fine item to be wasted by being buried with me.
The meeting with the mantis was across town. The city was completely unknown to us so they couldn’t have been hoping to drag us out of our comfort zone, more likely they were going to use a more established and secure meeting area, somewhere in territory they controlled, and well away from the docks and shackle ears. I was comforted by the fact that it didn’t fit with their motif to lure us into a trap. Killing people that agree to meet with them is no way for a group of assassins to behave. There always needs to be trust.

To my knowledge I’ve never dealt with the Mantis before, but there are still large chunks that are missing, I don’t think I’ve ever met with them before, but I’m pretty sure that I was once the sort of person that might have used them. If they have knowledge of me I’ll be at a serious disadvantage, thankfully I’m willing to bet that most people believe that Bergljot Kawilvi is dead, and the rest are too young to have known her. Chilton was connected with this Egzimora though, and this was a name from my past, but was she striking at me or was she also known to Chilton? I wish I remembered more.

The meeting took place in some hidden room at the back of a bar. Lini asked for someone at the bar named Ginger and we were sent to a private room. The lady had red hair, like Sasha, which is quite rare in this part of the world. What are the chances that two girls with red hair mixed up with the same organization weren’t related? There’s a good possibility actually, but I suspect that an organization like the Red Mantis is probably at its core made up of clans, speaking from personal experience it was the best way to ensure people who hated one another kept working together. Mother might not like Elvana but against the low born the Jadwiga will stick together.

The one named Ginger led us to a concealed door which led down a flight of stairs . . . straight into a mantid of Mantis. I counted 12. So this was how it was going to be: intimidation.

In the centre of their ring stood a lone female. The other Mantis kept their masks but she alone showed us her face. She was an elf. Her eyes and hair were dark, but her skin was pale, and in the torchlight it almost had a red glow to it.

“Welcome, please come in,” said the apparent leader, “I trust that Ginger wasn’t rude to you.”

“Not that I noticed,” Lini said.

“Before we get started I think we should set up terms,” I said, but Lini and the mantis leader were talking about something else.

“Damn I was wrong?” Lini was saying, “I thought he was working for someone else.”

“Well he does specialize in information as I’m sure he told you.”
Who were they talking about I wondered.

“Linarran is most useful in keeping us informed,” The mantis woman was saying, “Not that he would be so foolish as to not include us in his endeavours.”

‘Well,’ I though, ‘He will have to be dealt with.’

"First,” I said aloud, “I think need to be upfront with our dealings."

"Indeed,” Remi was saying, “It seemed unlikely that he would only be working for one employer at a time. Can you trust him not to sell the information to others as well?”

I knew of a way to ensure the treacherous mouth was sealed permanently. Spilling our secrets, endangering the lives of millions, all for some baubles in some forgotten Azanti city? The other laughed at the treachery but the snake, the serpent I mean, she hadn’t risked her life crashing the boat into the smuggler’s shiv for treasure. There was something powerful and evil buried or hidden at Saventh-Yhi, I’d bet my soul on it, and I couldn’t let that fall into the wrong hands. It was a shame that I couldn’t make the others understand that.

"We have already made arrangements with the shackles," I said.
"Yes, I've heard you are direct, Kavi,” The Mantis lady finally said, “Snooping around town. You are far from subtle."

‘I’m done with being subtle,’ I wanted to say, but instead I told her that we had no intentions of going back on our deal, but I added: “However we are open to further arrangements."

"As we are no doubt aware,” The Mantis lady said, “You do realize those pirates have no interest in keeping deals with outsiders."

"Not my concern," I said, which was true, the pirates were just a means to an end, and if they kept their end of the bargain it would be a bonus, “I only look into my end of the deal.”

"If they don't,” Lini said, “It'd be their last mistake really."
That was a rather blood thirsty statement I thought. Perhaps Lini was only talking tough in front of the assassins, but she had to know that we were using the money and manpower of the shackles to get us to Saventh-Yhi, and our promises of riches and valuable Azanti artefacts was not the real prize. If the shackles discovered our real goal, stopping some unknown serpentfolk plot they’d probably realize that my hopes for any actual treasure in the city were really just slim to none. The city has been lost to the outside world for thousands of years . . . but likely not to the inhabitants of the jungle. If the city hasn’t been picked over by locals already I’d eat my hat.

"A shame,” the Mantis lady said, “One can benefit from mutual understandings."

"We still can make arrangements," I said trying to walk the line between deference and defiance, I wanted to show that I could be amenable, but I needed to stress that I wasn’t going to be intimidated, “Believe me I have no desire to work against you, but if you don't wish to work with us I will do my best to destroy you.”

I kept my eyes on the Assassin leader, around me I heard the sounds of swords leaving their sheathes, and perhaps there was a moment of understanding between us as she held up her hand to halt her murderers.

"Second,” I said pretending to ignore the immediate threats to my person, “if we do work together I don't want you "fixing things" on our behalf"

The last thing I needed was a group of assassins killing indiscriminately. I’m sure they could take out our opponents for us, but the problem with our current situation was that there was one true enemy, and then there was merely competition. Supposing my worst fears are realized and there is some great and terrible thing in that jungle that the serpent folk are after, well the wealth and knowledge of Saventh-Yhi will likely be secondary concern, and former rivals could become potential allies. I didn’t need the waters muddied with a few murders between us.

"Kavi, do not make enemies of us,” The lady assassin was saying, “Truly. If it is your dying wish to cause the Mantis harm, we can make that a reality. But little would be gained."

Perhaps she hadn’t understood what I was saying? Perhaps she was now just posturing for the benefit of her people? I shrugged.

“I just said I don't want to be enemies,” I said, “But the ball will be in your court"

"Then I suggest you choose your words wisely."

"I did," I said, "I suggest that you listen to what I'm actually saying instead of looking for threats"

Perhaps with all her talk of subtly she wasn’t as quick to pick up undercurrents and stresses as she thought she was. Perhaps she didn’t understand what she represented? The Mantis were assassins, not spies, not information brokers: assassins. The organization had gone to great lengths to establish this fact. The only thing they could bring to the table was death. The only threat they held over us was murder. Their choices in dealing with us were ignore, deal, or destroy. I had no illusions that I could defeat the organization if they decided to turn against us. All I’d promised was that I’d do my best.

"As for our interests in Saventh-Yhi,” the assassin said, “There may be other information there of benefit to us, and I will leave it at that. Naturally our first goal is to get there, and to do that, we need to know where Tazion is."

"Now as I was saying, no killing folks without our say so,” I said, trying to continue the negotiations, though secretly my mind was working over what I could remember about the Mantis and their deity Achaekek, I knew it was an ancient god, but could he be that old? What else would draw a religious cult of assassins to an ancient city?

"I have no qualms about putting down folk that need to be put down,” I continued, “But we have to make that call."

"Kavi,” the woman said, “The Mantis operates by its own needs and purposes. It will not acquiesce to any of your demands when it comes to our purposes."

"And last condition,” I said ignoring her failure to communicate, “You let Sasha go, she's a good kid, but she doesn't need to be messed up with the lot of you. I think you know that. Let her live her life away from you."

At the mention of her name the lady assassin waved her hand and Sasha was brought forth. She looked terrified. Like on the island she’d gone quiet, withdrawing into herself from the world, and I felt that pang of sorrow and regret that I had for my own daughter. I couldn’t help but wonder where she was and what had happened to her. Somewhere in the dark recesses of my mind I knew the answer, but the intense need I felt to save Sasha (my proxy daughter) made me terrified to look harder.

"Those are my conditions," I said, forcing myself to look away from Sasha, "I don't see how they could be unreasonable to you"

"Sasha has been somewhat helpful to us,” the assassin said, “She was quite easy to find once we had need for her. However, she tends to be a bit... timid, and didn't have a great deal of information to provide. As for 'letting her go', as you say, she was sent her by her mother, as directed by the Mantis. I do not make that decision, and it is not up to me."

I couldn’t help but feel a pang of annoyance. Sasha was of no value to them, she would never be a member of their ranks, what would be the harm in giving her to us?

“Perhaps I'm not dealing with the correct person then," I said, "I'd assumed that the one who was sent to make the deals was capable of making a simple deal as this."

“Kavi,” Lini was saying to me, “I think you're getting sidetracked here . . ."

Lini was correct, I had gotten side tracked, and I had to wonder if the Mantis knew what showing me the girl would do to me? Probably not. I struggled to regain my composure, to negotiate a deal, but I remained fixated on Sasha. I felt white hot anger boiling through me. They were trying to bully us, intimidate us, they flaunted the fact that they’d taken the information that we’d nearly died for on the shiv, and now they were even refusing to give us the child?

"I have offered you no deal,” The assassin finally said, revealing her true intentions, “When I determine the value of what your friend has proposed, you will hear from me."

Lini had agreed to give the assassins the information they sought (likely the location of some holy relic) in exchange for nothing, and as a result the assassins now thought they had a stake in our expedition. If I was right it wouldn’t matter. It was the principal of the thing. They were going to take what they wanted from us and they expected us to be thankful.

"See to it our guests find their way out,” the assassin said as a dismissal.

“No, we're not leaving yet,” I said, “Sasha come here.”

“Kavi . . .” the assassin whispered in a dangerous tone, “Do mind your manners. Not all Mantis are as patient as I am."

"I'm not leaving her with you thieves," I said, tired of being diplopic. Sasha giggled. For a moment I saw the girl that had once shined on the island. The tarnished pearl that had come out of its shell. The sprit the mantis sought to crush for no other reason then she’d been born into their sect. Sasha was no angel but she deserved a chance at life, how else could she ever hope to change like I had? She was being killed from the inside by these mantis. It wasn’t fair.

"Do not waste your time Kavi,” the assassin said, “It is the Mantis' will that she be here, and there is nothing you can do to change that. Perhaps temporarily, the Mantis will always have who and what they want."

"Please... go," Sasha whispered with a shake of her head. She was trying to save me I realized. Something snapped inside of me.

“I think you're forgetting one thing . . ." I whispered to the assassin, my eyes met hers, and I knew she was looking into the black pit of my soul. One merciless killer looking into the eye of another. In those years I’d lived before I’d met Chilton I’d done some horrible things, I probably had more blood on my hands then this entire squad of bugs, but I was eternally thankful that he’d given me the chance to learn a better way. I felt his pistol on my belt. He’d been a lawman. Taught me right from wrong. He’d used his pistol to help people rather then harm them. The gun suddenly felt so heavy on my hip.

“. . . and what is that?" the assassin asked.

One shot, I could end it all with one shot. It would end my quest. It might even end the world if I was right about the serpentfolk, but what good was the world or revenge if I couldn’t even save one little girl? Let the monsters have it. There was no point in living in a world were cruelty and evil go unchecked. I felt my body tensing. I knew what I had to do. I was ready to meet my maker.

“kavi,” Lini was saying, “Its time to go. Sasha is fine, and will be fine."

I looked down at my gnomish friend. She was standing between us, like her tiny physical form could intercede and stop the violence, like she was ready to pull me off of the assassin. It seemed so absurd. Comical even. I felt myself laughing. If I’d drawn my gun, pulled the trigger, I knew my life would be forfeit, that was the price I’d have willingly paid, but I’d not considered Lini or her sister. My actions would likely have cost them their lives as well. Here I was obsessing about justice and right and wrong and I’d almost taken away their lives as well. I wondered what Chilton would have said about that? Blind justice?

"Very well assassin," I said, "You win. No one dies today"

"Not today,” she said, I realized that she’d also tensed up, preparing for violence, “And Kavi, who you are looking for is not among us. So end your search at our doors."

I said nothing. It was a small gift but a gift none the less. Something that she hadn’t needed to offer but had anyways. Perhaps she was bound as tightly by her assassin cult as Sasha was.

“Wait,” Lini said, “If you know who that is, we wish to learn of that also. Information exchange in future. Also on the table for consideration."

"I do not know this person she seeks,” The assassin said, “She is not a Mantis. That is all."

With that we made our way to the surface. I was beginning to feel regret for my actions. It was possible that the assassin had been lying to me but it didn’t feel like she was.

"What a waste of our time," I said trying hard to keep laughing, because I knew the raw emotions that were lurking underneath, “I can't believe that sad bunch of cut throats and thieves are the dread Red Mantis."

"I'm not sure why you are saying such Kavi,” Lini said, “But you clearly weren’t seeing the same things."

"I didn't want to leave Sasha behind . . ." I whispered as I felt the humour die inside of me, “I was going to kill her Lini, They'd have killed me, but I was going to take her life."

"...yeah. Because?" Lini asked.

"How could we leave her?" I asked as I felt the emotions finially catch up to me. Tears were steaming down my face.

"...at a place she chose to be and wasn't a prisoner in?" Lini asked, seemingly oblivious to the reality of the matter.

“She didn't deserve that," I cried.

"You should go save gelik from the pathfinders next," Lini snapped, clearly angry at me. She was wise but clearly she didn’t understand people.

"So, you felt it worth it to trade your life, and ours, without consulting us?” Remi asked, “To save this Sasha person?"

“My life?” I asked, “Yes, I'd have given it gladly"

My life wasn’t worth a damn now that Chilton was gone. There was nothing for me now. Death would have been a small price to pay of I could end Sasha’s suffering.

"I have no qualms about you trading your life in a futile gesture, Kavi,” Remi spat, he was clearly furious, not the usual serine, leaf on a pond, calm inner peace that’s you’d expect from a monk, “Your life is your own coin to spend. You do not get to spend mine. Is that clear? Do you honestly think that had you made your grand gesture of stupidity, that they'd have let any of the rest of us live? Or did your desire to die a martyr outweigh your consideration of the rest of us?”
"Remi,” I said as honestly as I could, “I don’t know you, and honestly I don't care about you. But I couldn't risk Lini's life as well. So that's why you live"

"Kavi, just stop threatening people okay?” Lini seemed to be begging me, “Rameej especially. I know you get confused about stuff, but you have to stop doing this"

She was right, I did get confused. On this island I’d briefly thought Sasha was my daughter. I knew that wasn’t the case. I’d been wrong, confused, but not about this.

"I didn't threaten anyone Lini,” I said, “I just wanted Sasha safe."

"No,” she snapped, “You are wrong. You DID threaten. A lot."

"Or I wanted to be sure that no one else could hurt her," I said, trying to explain.

"No,” Remi said,” You threatened the head of the Red Mantis with murder at a later date.”

I blinked. Where had he gotten that from?

“Why do you assume that I want her dead?" I asked, "I never promised her any such thing"

A thought occurred to me:

"I promised that I'd do my best to destroy her,” I said, surely they knew that there were ways of dealing with people without killing? There was magic that would ruin her, cripple her, destroy her mind. There were far worse things then death as well, “What else could we do if she comes at us?"

"You do realise that you just said a minute ago you were going to kill her?” Lini asked, “That pretty much says it."

"You said, and I quote..."no one dies...today",” Remi said, “That is a threat to most sensible and sane persons."

I looked between the two of them. Anger and confusion was written on their faces. How could they have completely misunderstood my words? They thought that I’d intended to kill the assassin.

“Sasha,” I cried, “I was going to kill Sasha.”

Sounds like it's time to launch plan "Off the Rails!"

Someone is out to kill us and my companions don't seem concerned with finding out who that is. Lini is keeping secrets from me. I'm beginning to wonder who I can trust.

Kavi's enemies list:

Kavi's enemies list:

It wouldn't be difficult for someone to sneak a peek at Kavi's list. The first name is underlined.

Why won't these idiots listen to reason? Stupid faction leaders.

It’s been too long since I’ve put pen to paper. A long time ago I decided that there were memories I didn’t want and dark thoughts I didn’t want to share. I loved my husband; though I can’t imagine what he saw in me, and I couldn’t bare thinking of him reading my diary. I remember thinking that I couldn’t live with him seeing those things. Forgetting the past seemed easy. Making sure there was no written evidence was even easier. Large gaps already existed and it was a simple matter of ignoring those wounds rather then pick at them. Let the bones set rather then trying to re-break them to set them right. The choice was easy I thought. I hoped. Some of those things dissolved. The hate and anger just wasn’t there any more. What had caused me such anger? Like phantom limbs long lopped off these things still itched but I found it easier and easier to put those emotions aside.

I thought that I’d live the rest of my days with my prince. I thought that I’d never use my powers again. I was wrong.

Now I must write what I can remember. I must right those I’ve wronged. I must find out who killed my prince and see justice done.

I start with a troubling question: was my Chilton killed because of who I once was, who I’d once known, or something I’d once done? I needed to remember. I found a name somewhere in those tangled thoughts; it matched what I found scrawled on a shred of paper. It was a bloody fragment left inadvertently by the assassin. The name . . . somehow fit into the half-remembered pieces of my former life, but try as I may, I can’t remember how. Now I have to figure out if these are memories I lost before my dead husband found me and nursed me back to health or if these are the things that I forced myself to forget.

My journey started in a port in Nex. And when I say journey I speak of the internal self discovery kind. Travel from Alkenstar to Nex told me little except this old body remains strong. I can’t remember when exactly the Colonel started talking to me. Sometime after I’d left that desert I’m sure. He’d always been able to talk, often asking for pineapples or some other nonsense, but it wasn’t until I reached Nex that I heard his voice inside my head. Had he spoken to me years before? I can’t remember. Nor do I remember acquiring him. Chilton said he’d been with me when he found me and so the bird had stayed with me as a favourite pet. Colonel Mathers was the name my husband had given him. I couldn’t remember what (if anything) I’d named him. He’d proven to be an exceptionally smart pet, very easy to train, and he would do almost anything I asked him to (as if he knew exactly what I was saying Chilton would say). I always felt rather close to the silly bird but now I could hear his thoughts inside my head.

The bothersome thing was that I knew somehow that this thing was possible. Animals could gain the power of speech through magic. I also knew that this was something I’d experienced before. He was not the same animal I remember. I had a cat once. At first I fought to ignore the voice, insanity starts this way I believe, but on the ship to Absalom I understood that this voice was not a figment or fragment of my own intellect but rather a completely alien mind.

While these revelations might seem strange to me now I realize that Alkenstar had a profound effect on me. Years of repression may have caused seldom used skills and memories to whither.

Absalom gave me shivers. Had I been here before? Something told me I hadn’t but still the nervousness prevailed. I took what I knew to a sage. The city at the centre of the world is nothing if not a marvel of research and knowledge. With enough cash and patience you could probably learn anything but something told me that I couldn’t do the research directly . . . perhaps I had enemies inside this city? I paid good money and waited to see what could be found. My sage finally came back with the information I needed: a place to go with the name. I quickly arranged for passage to Magnimar in Varisia. I couldn’t be sure but this time I thought that this indeed had been a place I’d visited. Nothing came to me. But I was certain I had.

I decided to play the part of a currier. I hadn’t been idol those few weeks in Absalom, I’d made a few concoctions and I packed them up into a parcel. I still didn’t know who this person was and so I brewed up this cleaver cover story along with those potions so I could get close to my target. I didn’t know much about Magnimar, try as I might to remember something, but I knew there would be commerce. Perhaps the locals would be less suspicious of a currier? Magnimar was an emerging economy one of the locals told me. Much of the city’s population was transient based on the season. It seems far less suspicious asking about someone if you’re making that person a delivery. With the directions given to me by my “employer” being “water damaged” most people might even try to be helpful.

My trip from Absalom to Magnimar was uneventful. I remembered bits and pieces from my past, like the smell of salt water, but nothing substantial. I remembered sailing before. The rolling deck of a ship is not something you forget. I recall the weather being cooler though. I also remembered a face or two, more names, but there wasn’t anything connected. They might all be ghosts now. There was nothing related to the woman I sought. I found myself isolated from the rest of the passengers and crew. My rambling likely left most of them thinking I was mad or something but the Colonel proved to be good company. He wasn’t the best conversationalist but he did enjoy entertaining and his understanding of magic was surprisingly advanced. In fact he seemed to know much of what I did, not that these skills were as sharp without the analytical mind to go with them, but he did have a different perspective and it was refreshing to talk to someone about alchemy and history. Even if that creature’s understanding was limited.

Strange that I could remember obscure history and technical jargon but couldn’t remember where I was born.

The city of Magnimar itself was useless. Not only didn’t it spark any new memories but my target had left years ago, perhaps never to return (seems the sages of Absalom aren’t as cleaver as they think they are), but on a whim I found another ship going to another port. I’d never been to Eleder in Sargava but the name seemed to call me. My coin was starting to run low but I booked passage anyways. Was I being guided by fate or faith? Perhaps there was some memory or knowledge subconsciously at work here? Maybe it was nothing at all. I’m surprised that I’ve thrown caution to the wind like this but at my age you learn to jump when something tells you to jump. Working with black powder does that as well.

I decided to keep using my currier guise. It had served me well up till this point but I decided to modify it a bit. Sailing through the disreputable waters of The Shackles would be dangerous. Better to appear a bit disreputable myself. The accent I lifted from a sailor or captain I’d crossed paths with and with a wardrobe change suddenly I look like someone who’d been at sea her entire life.

The ship I found was called the Jenivere. It had a small crew and a captain with an excellent reputation. The thing that that sold me though was the fact that it had reputedly made this trip over a dozen times before. The trip from Magnimar to Eleder was extremely dangerous and I wouldn’t have entrusted my life (so much as its worth) to just anyone. Thankfully they were taking passengers. Finding a ship that was going directly to such a distant and dangerous port was probably quite rare.

There were far more passengers then I expected on such a small ship. I was equally surprised to find that most were also heading to Eleder. How could such a remote port be so popular? Then again perhaps we made up the extent of travelers in all of Varisia interested in Sargava. There were five of us leaving from Magnimar, three gnomes, a Varisian, and myself. There were six of us if you count the gnome’s cat. For the most part we got along, two of the gnomes were sisters and kept to themselves, one was a pathfinder (who I chose to avoid), and the scholar stayed in her room.

Amazingly we picked up more passengers as we traveled. At Corentyn a prisoner was added to the ship. At Ilizmagorti we added a young crimson haired lady. At Port Peril we took on a likely lady buccaneer, and at Blood Cove we picked up one last traveler – a grey haired man that looked almost as withered as I felt. Had we made landfall in Eleder as expected I suspect that I’d never have talked with these people again, but this was not the case.

About one day’s travel from our destination we ran into trouble . . . in the form of an island. No one remembers the events that left the ten of us on the beach of The Smuggler’s Shiv, certainly more then one of us recalled the unease that permeated on that ship the days before, but no one recalled how we got on the island. Missing memories were nothing new to me but this felt different. Normally my missing memories felt like a scar, like something was there but they were cut out of my head or had healed over, but these memories were just lost, like they dripped out of my brain leaving only a faint stain. I concluded that I’d been drugged, we all had, but we had little time to dwell on that as the moment we regained consciousness we were fighting for our lives.

Two of the gnomes, Lini and her sister Trini, proved more then capable, and the three of us managed to fend off monstrous shell fish that crawled up from the ocean to attack us. The others seemed far less helpful, they were still shocked by the experience, and they were too numb to react. Still, the two gnomes and I proved to be more then capable of handling much of what the island presented us. Lini, the eldest I assumed, was a bossy little thing, and so I let her take the lead. I’d once been in command of a small troupe of adventures or mercenaries I thought, and though I didn’t remember much of that experience, I seem to get the idea that I wasn’t a very good leader. Perhaps I’d been too cruel; perhaps I’d been careless or callous with those in my care, whatever the reason I decided to let someone else lead. Both Lini and Trini were spell casters: the former being a druid, the later being a summoner, and the three of us made a potent combination.

Our first order of business was survival. We needed food and shelter. In the distance we spotted the remains of the Jenivere. After we built a camp the three of us decided to investigate. We hoped that we’d find what we needed to live on this island until we could be rescued. Unfortunately much of the underside of the ship had been torn away, and the ships stores were gone, but we found enough food for a couple of days and some tools that would make camping easier. We also found the beginnings of a mystery. The ship’s cook had been bitten and poisoned by a large snake. Probably before the shipwreck. This skewed our timeline. We also found the body of the first mate, he’d been killed by a particularly large shell fish, but after we dealt with the monster and examined his body, we saw signs that the creature wasn’t responsible for the extent of his injuries. It seems the first mate had been in a duel. Also before the shipwreck.

Something clicked in my mind. The chef had been dead before he served us our last meal. This was before the crash. I immediately thought of a shape shifter. Someone or something had killed the cook and then served us poisoned soup. I think I might have shared my theory with my small companions, but my conclusions were flawed, and I’d neglected the most obvious. Colonel Mathers shared what he’d seen aboard the ship, the ill fated meal, the fight between the captain and the first mate, the shipwreck, and then our rescue by the wounded first mate. The man’s name was Alton, and I likely owe him my life.

We returned to the others and explained what we’d found. I also remembered something of the island, the terrible hauntings, the undead, the cannibals, but strangely this information didn’t interest them as much as it did me. I did recall that years earlier there had been a failed attempt at building a lighthouse, and I speculated that it would be our best hope for signalling a passing vessel, but I also assumed that it would be one of the most likely locations for the cannibals to settle. We knew that we weren’t going to salvage our old ship, and most sea vessels gave the island wide berth, so we knew that staying put and waiting for rescue wasn’t an option. We knew we had to be masters of our own destiny and explore the island. With our new found equipment we improved our camp and it was from this base that we started to slowly investigate the island.

Lini, Trini, and I were at first the only ones interested. The rest couldn’t cope for whatever reasons. Some where sick, the lady buccaneer, named Aerys was an alcoholic and without the booze she began to get the shakes. Ishirou, the weathered looking gentleman, was suffering from mindfire. Jask, the former prisoner, was plagued by minor ailments like boot soup. Others like Sasha, the young red haired lady, where virtually crippled by some unknown fear. Some, like the gnome Gelik, were just jerks and refused to help. Still, the three of us proved more then capable to handle almost everything the island could throw at us.

We were quite an effective little team; Lini’s pet and Trini’s eidolon would form our front line, which gave us room behind to cast spells, and with Lini and I both able to heal we were never forced out of the action for more then an afternoon. Colonel Mathers also did a little scouting. At first we explored the other wreaks but we discovered quite quickly that the vast majority were infested with undead. Besides with our fellow castaways seeming to loose sanity and their health at an alarming rate we were forced to focus on finding a way off of the island.

In those early days I began to wonder about probability and fate. The island seemed to hold something for each of us. We found berries to help heal Areys. We discovered proof of Jask’s innocence. We found Sasha a small pet which amazingly seemed to calm her. We found a lost treasure for Ishirou. Somewhere on the coast there was likely a ship holding what Gelik was seeking. As for myself . . . I started to remember.

It was the fifth night on the island. We’d just discovered the old journals and logs on an smashed up wreak that proved Jask’s innocence, as well as a few other odds and ends, and we returned to camp late. Suddenly the fire flared blue and a ghost stepped out of the flames. He was attached to a locket we’d picked up and when Lini presented it to him he disappeared, but in the moments before we could banish him, the apparition mistook Sasha as some long lost love. The terror on her face sparked something within me and suddenly I found myself between the haunt and the terrified girl. For a moment I thought Sasha was another woman . . . I thought she was my daughter. Till that horrifying moment I didn’t even know I had a daughter but suddenly I remembered her clear as day.

Realizing that Sasha wasn’t my daughter was painful. What had happened to that child? I’d lived a lifetime in Alkenstar without my girl. My memories were of a young woman. Did she have a family of her own now? Was she happy?

Remembering is painful. I understand why I tried to forget.

I also began piecing together who I was, as we moved closer and closer to the cannibal and we witnessed some of their atrocities, I began seeing shades and reflections of who I once was. Some of these things were extremely horrible. I wasn’t always a good person. I’d once done unspeakable things. I think I hid these dark images well. I joked with Gelik, I forced myself to talk about whatever was at hand, and filled the uncomfortable silences with theory and speculation.

As we approached the cannibal village (to put an end to their evil once and for all) I suddenly knew that I was what was known as a Jadwiga. I was literally the blood of Baba Yaga. I was once a member of the ruling elite of Irrisen. I say “was” because I doubt I’ll ever return, even though I might be able to answer many riddles. As we fought our way into the village, and as I squared off against another witch, I was forced to remember something else when the old crone blasted me into unconsciousness: I had once died.

This was both horrifying and fascinating at the same time. I often wondered when I got my scars, not all of my wounds were fresh when my husband found me. Was this when I lost my eye? I remember fragments of the afterlife, being pulled back into a broken body, and most unsettling: the icy grip of Pharasma. I didn’t fear death, there was nothing too it, but there was a dreadful decisiveness about it. I was then, as I am now, far too focused and goal oriented to die. Death puts an end to plans. I suspect though that should I be allowed to rejoin my Chilton in the afterlife I wouldn’t begrudge not avenging his death. It was the only thing I’d been living for. Thinking about my husband, the light of my life, put me into a depression. I was lucky to have my two traveling companions and Areys there to cheer me up. Seeing them survive the island was my new goal.

Eventually we reclaimed the lighthouse and put an end to the cannibals once and for all. They’d lived for several generations terrorizing the island and below the lighthouse we discovered that the matriarch of this horrible clan was still very much active, if not technically alive. If nothing else we’d made the island slightly safer for those shipwrecked. However the undead status of the diabolical mother Thrune Fang was hardly the most interesting thing we discovered in those shadowy caves. Nor was it the discovery of the late captain amongst those ghouls. It seems the smuggler’s Shiv sat upon ancient ruins. How ancient? This was Azlanti for certain, though the ruins we discovered under the light house might have been older still. More unsettling for me was the fact that I understood the language printed on these ancient ruins. This was a language I learned from hags. That fact alone should have been unsettling.

We eventually moved east to track down the creature pretending to be the Varisian scholar, and there we discovered what could have been the archaeological find of the century. What I think we discovered was an Azlanti compound built using an even older serpent folk compound. The Azlanti temple we discovered was devoted to some obscure vampire goddess, and although this in of itself was a major discovery, there was more! We found references (in the late serpent folk’s notes) about the legendary lost Azlanti city of Saventh-Yhi. Should we track down the fabled City of Seven Spears I don’t doubt everyone in the inner sea would take notice.

I should note that we did kill the serpent folk so she will no longer be available for questioning. Which was a bit of a shame, I had questions for her, and although her notes are in a language I understand, her phraseology is unusual and complex. I held no great animosity towards her. She was undoubtedly evil, she’d murdered the cook, used and abandoned the captain to ghouls, and almost killed all of us when she steered the ship towards the Smuggler’s Shiv, but I can’t begrudge her for being overly focused. I saw a bit of my old myself in that cold cruel heart. She was of course the shape shifter I’d detected earlier, but I’d overlooked simple spells rather then some supernatural ability, and I felt quite foolish when I realized we were dealing with a sorcerer rather then a Rakshasae rather then some other monstrosity. Despite almost killing us I think that thanks to this murderous reptile I leave the island a stronger person.

Perhaps I’ll share more later.
If I can remember.

If everyone is available for Easter evening, I have no problem playing.

I will likely be free

but #1 made a fight easier :)

Kavi is leveled to 3

Yar, level 2!

Yar!