WARNING: This journal, at times, may delve into Danni’s background which involves 500 years of living with Nymphs, i.e. Wine, Sex, Drugs, Sex, and some Sex. While I expect a rating similar to a PG-13 rating for this journal, if you may be offended by this type of story, this is your advanced warning.
3.5 Pathfinder: The Path of Light and Lovers; Danni’s Journal.
Date: 25 Rova 4707 AR (Game 1, 06.07.08)
Notes: A side campaign that runs along the Deivo Winterwalker storyline, taking place after Deivo and company kill Nulia. Due to 1 PC dying and 1 PC switching to a new character, we decided to start fresh players until we could level them up to level 4 and match Deivo Winterwalkers level before we start AP 2 “The Skinsaw Murders.”
Characters:
I stepped through the planar rift back into the land of mortals. The air was not as colored with the scents of the forest, but it had an ancient familiarity I was not expecting.
After five hundred years of living, love making, and being with my sisters, there was only so much of the same thing a Fey could experience and not grow stale. I left for adventure, I crave new experiences, and new women to feel against my skin.
I followed a natural path to a town called Sandpoint and spent a few minutes deciding if i wanted to enter this large human settlement. I decided to avoid the men at the front gate, and entered the town through the south where there where no men watching.
The buildings and domiciles all had square edges, how peculiar. I walked the streets and received more than enough uncomfortable stares from men that set me on the defense. I had an innate sense Fey were not unwelcome here, but I just felt very uncomfortable with the men’s eyes on me.
I approached an older woman, who seemed to be taken aback when I tapped her shoulder and smiled. I asked her if she was available to give me a tour of the city and she said she could gladly walk me around the sights.
She showed me around some of the more visited sights, the Opera House held my attention as i would love to visit the play. I was told the show playing was called the ‘Harpy's Curse’ and I longed to see it, I would make that a priority to attend once I had a few moment.
She mentioned that she didn’t really have time to visit, and said:
“The owner was rumored to be a little-well you know.” She said as she gave me a peculiar look.
It must not have registered on my face, as she explained further.
“You know, he likes to bed with other men.” She said in a hushed tone.
I paused for a second and simply said:
“Some of the best lovers I have laid with were women, I don’t see anything wrong with a man finding comfort with another man.”
She shot me a look that asked if I was in jest, but I just looked back with a serious face and said I was truthful. With that she snapped her head forward and continued to walk with me. I could tell she did not want to discuss it further by her suddenly stiff posture.
What made me more curious than the play however was the fortune teller Madam Mvashti. The old woman pointed out her shop, and said she has been a resident of Sandpoint when she was a child, and that the last few mayors hadn’t expected her to live so long to tell the truth. I had to leave my guide, the chance to meet with a powerful woman of the city was overpowering. I wonder how beautiful she is? I can only imagine her in my minds eye as a radiant being having had so much time to gather wisdom and power.
Well-she may be powerful but she is by no means pretty. It seems that age her wrecks havoc on mortals as opposed to my Fey sisters who perfect their craft in Fey Glamour. I was certainly not attracted to her beauty, but she had a sense of power in her aura I could easily respect. She eyed me with a second of awe and welcomed me in, asking what she could do for me.
“I wished to meet you madam, I heard you are a powerful fortune teller and have come to get a glimpse into my future.”
“You have crossed the veil haven’t you child of the Fey. Why have you come here if you do not mind the question asked?” She asked while drawing a deck of cards and shuffling them. Her hands were wrinkled and spotted, yet agile and articulate. I could tell she was a weaver of spells.
“I have left the Sanos Forest in search of adventure, I have spent many years there, and while it is a pleasant life, I crave more.”
“Ahh child, you got a touch of the wanderlust.” She said while smirking at me and nodding her head.
“Your eyes show an age your body does not child, how old are you?” She raised an eyebrow and asked.
“In my forest I have seen over 500 seasons pass by, as you can imagine, I crave something new. Lovers can get stale after such a long time.”
That answer gave her a visible pause, though I do not know why. She then nodded again and spread the cards down and asked me to choose.
I drew a card with the image of a white horned horse, the unicorn.
Madam Mvashti spoke then and said she sees my path starting at the Great Iron Dragon in town, there I will need to go to begin my journey to defeat the fears I hold in my heart, and to start my new life here among the mortals.
She then told me about the Druids that frequent her home on visits.
“Every Sunday-“ she began. “Every Sunday I have a few Druids that come to my home and meet, not every Druid mind you but every Sunday they show up. You are welcome to come too.”
I made no mention I walk the green path, but smiled, this human held power indeed and I was confident in her ability to see the unseen.
“Thank you Madam, that would be a great honor, as you can already tell I do walk that path of harmony and would enjoy accepting your invitation. I will endeavor to attend this coming Sunday.”
With that I thanked her and headed to the Iron Dragon. The Iron Dragon was more rust than Iron, but that seemed to coincide with the name of the inn, that of the Rusty Dragon.
I was approached by two men after a few minutes of just standing outside the Rusty Dragon, I had not the nerve to go inside alone yet. The first male offered a greeting I didn’t bother to listen too, he was a Dwarf and I kept a spell of entanglement poised in my minds eye in case he tried to get any closer. The other man with him was one I have not seen before, darker hair than most in the city, with eyes on a slant.
Only the Dwarf approached me further, I did not run away as the Madam said this is where my journey would start, I did not expect to have to trust a man however to lead me through it.
After a few minutes I battled the fear in my head and grew a little more comfortable with the two men, it seemed they were not here to hurt me or try anything uncommon. The dwarf also had a wolf with him, I took this as a good sign, I was comfortable with wolves. They were warm at night when I shifted, and swift hunters that never minded another runner in the pack that made them stronger.
I gave him my pack name, Ghostclaw, for I don’t remember owning any other name since my rebirth. That was one of the reasons to step out of Sanos Forest and experience the human world, I had strong ties here and I think I used to live among the humans.
The Dwarf told me his name. “Caerid Strong-Oak.” And his friend was “Sumadar of the West.” Together they were traveling to the North acting as couriers for a missive and invited me to come along. I hesitantly agreed, were it not for my visit to Madam Mvashti I never would of even considered it. I detected no evil intent from these two, and would go with them, if only to get away from all the other men here that may not be as kind.
“So Ghostclaw do you have a horse for travel? We will be leaving town soon to keep the deadline attainable.” Caerid inquired.
“My legs are as swift as a steed, I shall have no trouble keeping pace.” I retorted with resolve. I walk the path of the Green Man and he bestows upon me one of his many forms. That brought Caerid’s eyebrow higher, and he spoke in the secret language of the Druids to me, letting me know he too followed that path.
We spoke briefly in our secret language, as Sumadar did not share our path and we did not wish him to learn this secret we keep. He seemed surprised someone just starting on the path could change forms so soon, as he was still unable to shift forms. It also seems he is unable to channel raw divine magic into rapid healing like I could. How different we truly are, yet the same.
Outside of town I shifted to my wolf form. With my nose to the wind I kept pace with Caerid’s wolf. Had I memorized Speak With Animals today I would of asked his name. He was getting a little fat for a hunter, I would have to coax him to run with me at night and burn off some of that city living off his bones.
During our journey we came upon a corpse of a hobgoblin in the middle of the road, it’s death still fresh and pungent. It was being picked apart by a trio of canines. I was able to shoo them away long enough to get a better look at it, but they took to aggression when we tried to search the body. My companions killed one of the dogs, and the other two were mortally wounded, I wouldn’t let them bleed to death so I converted my entangle spell to a Rejuvenation effect for them and myself. Wounds closing and blood ceasing to flow, they would live, but they remained lying down.
The corpse had nothing of note save an empty dagger scabbard. Caerid found the dagger that fit the holster on luck in some bushes not far from where the corpse was. It was a dagger of obvious magical properties. The blade seemed to hold within it liquid fire, it’s orange glow pulsed and danced as he held it aloft. Caerid simply could not leave a magical dagger lying nearby, so he took the dagger’s scabbard from the Hobgoblin and belted the dagger to his waist.
We then continued through the day into night and stopped off at an inn along the road. I flowed back into my two legged self and walked behind them as they entered the bar. There was a wonderful smell coming from the kitchen so I tried to wander in and see what it was first hand. The bartender yelled at me as I tried to walk into the kitchen and scared me back outside. He was an awful man, I wanted nothing to do with him. So I stayed outside until I heard some commotion inside.
I shifted into my wolf form again as I heard a fight break out, I came in to several men dressed in black that had backed Caerid and Sumadar behind the bar in a stand off. There was a lawman from Magnimar there yelling at Caerid to drop the weapon he pulled, the fiery dagger, and when he didn’t gave him a swipe of the flat side of the sword. I pawed into the room behind the black dressed men growling, but no further fighting was done. Caerid dropped the knife point first into the bar.
The lawman asked the two groups if they were done, both sides said yes. Caerid with his arms folding grumbling about the fact he started it. The other men dressed in black holding back the one that claimed the dagger was his by right. I slinked back outside as the lawman told the barkeep to make up two rooms for his prisoners as they would be spending the night there.
I would rather sleep outside anyway, no way was I sleeping in a room full of men, not in this lifetime. Now if it was a room full of women, you’d probably have a hard time keeping me out.
[ooc]End Game 1