The Following is the journal of Kaushal Avan Spellfire, a Vudrani Pathfinder from the Grand Lodge in Absalom. In his journey to uncover the truth of Thassilon, he was accompanied by Urgrosh, a dwarven fighter, Zeliana, a Varisian cleric of Desna, Aerodus, a Chelish sorcerer, and Dorin, a Varisian rogue.
I apologize if there are any errors (I proof read it twice, but I can't catch all of them).
Sunday, Calistril 17, 4078- Happy birthday to me... what a lonely night it is. I wonder what Aula is up to?
Fireday, Aerodus 1, 4078- I set out by ship for Riddleport today from Absalom. My goal is to chart and catalogue the land of Varisia. Looking at the map, it would seem that there is a small town by the name of "Sandpoint" near the city of Magnimar. Perhaps I shall start there; towns tend to be more traditional than larger cities. I also hear the town is famous for a ritual ceremony in the name of Desna- the Swallowtail Festival. By my reckoning it should be on Rova 22 (would that be a Moonday)? At any rate I hope I reach the town in time to attend the festival. I should take care to keep better notes during my travels. That may prove expensive though, given the price of ink what it is.
Fireday, Rova 12, 4708- Damned Pirates and their outrages wharf fares! Granted, my throat would probably have been cut if I didn't pay up, but still. At this rate I'll have spent all my money before getting to Sandpoint, and then how will I actually stay there long enough to explore its surroundings? Or hire a guide? Or do anything?
Starday, Rova 20, 4708- Too tired to write anything meaningful, tried to double up on the hike. Didn't really work out. At this point I doubt I can reach Sandpoint by the coming Fireday. How frustrating.
Moonday, Rova 22, 4708- No. Instead I'm stuck in some farm house listening to some old fool gibber on about ankhegs. I don't give a damn about your a ankheg! If it is so worrisome go ask your farmhands to kill it! So many able-bodied men in one place and yet they can't seem to muster the courage or the wit to overcome a simple carnivore. And all it does is eat an occasional cow. Hells, I've heard they're actually beneficial to farmland as long as you keep them fed. Irori help me...
Wealday, Rova 24, 4708- Heard some interesting rumors from the locals as I draw near Sandpoint. Not many details, only that goblins attacked the festival. Suddenly I'm glad that I wasn't there. I'll be in Sandpoint by tomorrow night. I hear there is a great inn that offers discounts if you can tell a good adventure story, the Rusty something, Wyvern perhaps? Rusty Dragon! I shall inquire tomorrow.
Oathday, Rova 25, 4708- Arrived at Sandpoint late tonight. I can't help but notice that the down is abuzz about the doings of some group of individuals, the "Heroes of Sandpoint," so to speak. Inquiry reveals that the group apparently helped defend the town against a goblin attack that occurred three days ago, during the Swallowtail Festival of Desna. As far as I've heard, there are four "heroes" in total:
• Urgrosh, a dwarf. He is a mighty warrior and the townsfolk say he fought forty goblins all by himself. I have heard of such acts of heroism before, but why would such a valiant warrior be in this little town?
• Aerodus, a magician of some sort. It is said that he rendered an entire group of goblins unconscious with a single spell. Hopefully he is a wizard and scholar like I, so that I may learn from him.
• Zeliana, a native Varisian and cleric of Desna. From what the townspeople say, she is quite a beauty and lethal as well. "Femme Fatale," is that the word for it?
• Dorin, another Varisian. He is said to be a medium but little is known other than that. Mayhaps he is a diviner of some sort?
Notes on Sandpoint: Population- approximately 1400 citizens. The town is a small port town surrounded by craggy torrs, hills, and woodland. There is a small flatland to the East of the town. The surrounding wilderness has no shortage of Thassilonian ruins and large creatures.
Fireday, Rova 26, 4708- I awoke early this morning and had a light breakfast. I had intended to investigate the nearby Thassilonian ruins but it would seem that Irori had other plans for me. As I enjoyed my breakfast I was approached by a friendly, if not obnoxious company of strangers- two Varisians and a Chelaxian. Greeting me happily they inquired as to why I was here. I merely replied that I was a scholar studying the ruins, which seemed to perk-up the Chelaxian at once. Damn.
The group also seemed to be friends with a dwarf sitting at the bar drinking milk and eating sausage. He was even generous enough to "share" his sausage with the Chelaxian in a rather dwarven way- throwing it at him. I soon realized that these people must be the "heroes of Sandpoint." Granted, they failed to meet the expectations set upon them by the rumors, but this is usually the case of local heroes. I at once became friendlier toward them as I find it is never unwise to try and curry a hero's favor. You may just gain yourself a travelling companion or even a partner.
At any rate, I was able to identify each in turn but what I learned of the Chelaxian dismayed me. He was not a fellow student but one of those adepts to who magic is but a simple mental exercise- a sorcerer. I despise those sorts of people, not in the least because of how they take for granted what is so hard to learn for many others. And they are often braggarts and narrow-minded besides (not unlike her).
Anyway, they invited me on a walk, so I accepted. Little did I know that the walk would shortly turn into a very interesting experience. It would seem that one of the village girls had been lusting after Dorin and desired to have sex with him. Entwining herself in his arms, she invited him back to her father's store to help catch a rat "the size of a goblin." I assured the girl that if she had in fact seen a rat that size that it was a dire rat, not just an ordinary rat. However, something in the way I said it caused my companions to stifle fits of laughter.
Dorin departed alone with her and we followed shortly behind. He must have noticed us following him judging from the gesture he made toward us, but the girl did not. She led him to the basement of the general store while I and the others waited outside. Shortly after she disappeared though, we saw her father, a bear of a man named Vic Vinder, coming toward the store. It was clear that if Vic caught Dorin and his daughter together, there would be hell to pay. Not knowing what to do, I made a hasty decision.
I asked him if he had any ink. Trying to stall the conversation on the subject of ink, I learned of a local scholar named Broddard Quink. Vinder soon became cross with me for attempting be friendly and then departed for the basement for the ink. Dorin must have been very quick or somehow sidestepped the situation because all that the heroes received from Vic was a stern warning about sneaking around in people's basements.
Having avoided the whole situation, we departed for the "Old Light," a Thassilonian ruin where Broddard lives. His theory is that it used to throw fire at Thassilon's enemies. Not a bad hypothesis, actually, I have heard similar theories in my time from the Arcanamirium. Perhaps Broddard has read some of the books that I have? Or maybe he is even a fellow Pathfinder (but I doubt it).
As we passed by the town hall we were hailed by Sheriff Hemlock who asked the heroes come inside to discuss some matters with them. I was invited too. The people of Sandpoint are certainly friendly enough.
The subject had to deal with goblins. News from an Elf Ranger named Shelalu bode ill: the five local goblin tribes were working together to raid Sandpoint. After that exchange we proceeded to gather information on Sandpoint, trying to deduce what a non-goblin individual (because it was clear that something more intelligent than them was organizing the tribes) would want from Sandpoint. While our search bore nothing wholly fruitful about Sandpoint's dark past, we did manage to learn a little more about the mysterious fire that destroyed the old Sandpoint Cathedral. However as we discussed our discoveries a woman appeared, breathless and worried, clutching a small child to her. There was a goblin in her house!
We quickly rushed to the scene while the mother informed us that the child had been having night terrors- or what they thought were night terrors. In truth, a goblin had been hiding in his closet, kept at bay by the family dog. However, tonight that goblin had decided to make an escape, killing the dog and attempting to chew the child's arm off. The father had confronted the goblin while the wife ran for help.
When we arrived at the house it was eerily quiet. We approached the child's room cautiously, sending the dwarf in first to take a look. The husband was laying face down part-way into the closet. Urgrosh pulled him out, only to enrage a goblin hiding in a hole just inside the closet.
We were easily able to subdue the goblin with a sleep spell and then gain some information out of him with a charm spell. Dorin translated for me, goblin being one of the few languages I do not know. The goblin didn't really provide any pertinent information, other than the name of his chief, Ripnugget (honestly, what kind of name is that) and the fact that the goblins were being coordinated by a group of taller humanoids who lived at Thistletop (he called them "longshanks," which is a goblin insult for elves, half-elves, humans, etc.)
After that entertaining affair we retired for the night.
Starday, Rova 27, 4708- Awoke today to a rapping on my door. It was a frightful halfling maid clutching a note in her hand, written in a language I could not comprehend (granted, had I had a bit of time to analyze the note its mysteries would surely have been known to me). The note seemed to be a correspondence between the proprietor of the Inn I was staying it, Amako, and her brother Tsuto. He accused their father, Manchiko, of having a hand in the goblin raids and promised revenge for his "transgressions."
The letter arranged for the estranged siblings to meet at the glassworks just outside of town. Following the letter's instructions (and most likely retracing Amako's footsteps) we went to the delivery entrance of the glassworks. Knocking the prescribed times we received no response, so we permitted Dorin to try his hand at the lock. Apparently Dorin was a sneak. This information would prove useful to me shortly thereafter.
Within the glasswork we soon heard the rambunctious song of goblins, chittering away in their ugly language while breaking glass in the foundry. Knowing our situation (and the likelihood that Tsuto or Amako brought them in here) I quickly drew up a plan to prevent the alarm from being raised.
Dorin did his job admirably, eliminating his target to prevent early warning for Urgrosh's charge. Furthermore, I was capable of slipping the goblins up for a short time while Zeliana was able to get into position and summon a dog to keep the goblins in my conjured grease at bay.
After a short battle the two surviving goblins attempted to escape; one was cut down while trying to flee through a thicket of blades, the other shot dead by Dorin's bolt.
Unfortunately, we found a peculiar murder victim in the foundry among the other works- Manchiko. He had been smothered in liquid glass and allowed to cool, creating a horrifying piece of artwork. This certainly did not fit the goblin's modus operandi, suggesting that either Tsuto or Amako was behind it.
It didn't take us long to find out who. While exploring the basement, Dorin was attacked by Tsuto after listening in at a nearby door. We were able to subdue Tsuto with all but the bravest of efforts, my enchantments failing perhaps due to his elven blood.
Tsuto was rather tight-lipped on Thistletop's defenses, but he was more than willing to admit Nualia's hand in the raid and her desire to destroy Sandpoint. While our interrogation turned up nothing, his journal told almost everything. Tsuto's lust for Nualia is perhaps one-sided, as I doubt an aasmiar-turned-demon has much interest in anything but her elaborate revenge scheme.
She seems to have made a pact with a Quasit dwelling in the caves below the Glassworks; we shall investigate those tomorrow and possibly try to flush-out this otherworldly ally. Additionally, she plans to free a demon by the name of "Malfeshnacor," an imposing creature I'm sure. Nualia has been toiling endlessly to free the creature, in the meanwhile furthering her transformation into a demon by burning her father's remains at the shrine.
Sunday, Rova 28, 4708- Explored the smuggler's caves below the Glassworks today. The tunnel complex is rather extensive and seems to stretch in all directions.
Much to our horror, creatures of nightmare seem to dwell down here. I've seen depictions of such fiends in Thassilonian ruins...
Using my magic to facilitate communication, Dorin scouted out the ruins before us, affording us some level of early warning about its enclosed horrors.
We discovered a statue of a monsterously enraged yet beautiful woman wielding a ranseur and a book. The book had a Thassilonian rune on it- one of magical value. It was a seven-pointed star, each point home to a Thassilonian rune corresponding to one of the seven deadly sins. The ranseur looked separate from the rest of the statue and with a little effort Dorin managed to pry it free and made a gift of the weapon to Urgrosh.
Beyond the statue, a strange room played home to a nightmarish horror- a flying head with a terrifying screech (later contemplation allows me to identify it as a vargouille).
Down another hall in the complex was small shrine. The altar, a small black thing with a concavity filled with filthy water, was a shrine to Lamashtu, or so Zeliana tells me.
The room beyond the shrine was an immense underground cathedral, the walls covered with Thassilonian runes. The wrath rune, as well as prayers to Lamashtu was a recurring theme. As we entered, a quasit appeared and shrieked in Thassilonian "you shall not disturb the mother's sanctum!" Pricking her thumb with a dagger she summoned a foul creature out of the bubbling triangular pool she defended.
The quasit put up quite a fight but eventually we subdued the demon and drowned her in a pool of water. I almost felt bad for the creature, but then again she did try to kill us…
Inspecting the triangular pool, I discovered it radiated a powerful evocation magic and was in fact a Runewell, a pool that drew its power from the ancient Runelord's magic (this pool drew from the rune of Wrath). As to exactly how we access the pool's power is unknown, but the Runewell definitely draws its energy from the wrath rune and from evocation magic (it is very possible that the wrath rune is some marking for evocation magic, given the correlation).
Of what the runewell does, all I know is that it is capable of summoning those Nightmarish creatures. Up to this point in my log I have failed to find a proper name for them, but given the circumstances of their appearance (and their depiction in previous Thassilonian ruins) I have decided to name these creatures "Wrathbeasts," after their origins from the Runewell of Wrath.
One thing I did notice was that the Runewell's glow seemed to diminish somewhat when the Quasit used its power to summon the wrathbeast. This means the Runewell's power is not infinite, but rather something like an energy reservoir that can be tapped or filled. Although the methods of tapping and filling the Runewell's energy reservoir elude me, I am not about to experiment with summoning wrathbeasts or tapping into the Runewell's power, nor will I tolerate the experimentations of others. I prevented Dorin from using the Runewell shortly after I announced my discovery to my companions; apparently the skulk was over-eager to experiment with its power. I did not think I would need to remind the "Heroes of Sandpoint" that experimenting with Thassilonian magic on a whim is a poor choice indeed.
This is truly a marvelous discovery, I can bearly contain my excitement: an ancient Thassilonian artifact under such an inconspicuous town, who would have thought? Considering the situation, it occurs to me that the statue of the woman with the runes on her book may be related to the presence of this Runewell. The wrath rune on her book was the dominant rune on the seven-pointed star, suggesting that this ruined facility was dedicated to the rune of Wrath, somehow.
We have decided to rest in the Cathedral for a while and regain our strength. I find we shall need it for the road ahead. If I am to be given the liberty of exploring the area around Sandpoint at all, Nualia's threat must be dealt with. For now, I shall be content to investigate this Cathedral a little longer. I am unsure of what time of day it will be after our eight-hour rest, so I will continue my notes under a heading to indicate my confusion as to what day it is.
Discovery Notes:
Wrathbeast- A nightmarish creature about the size of a human with a arm-like mandibles around a gapping maw that leads into an open gullet. Spawned from the Runewell of Wrath through methods currently unknown. Further investigation is in order. WIth my current equipment I have no manner by which to measure their weight or study their anatomies. Somehow related to ancient Thassilon and the Runelords.
[sketch of wrathbeast]
Runewell of Wrath- a Triangular-shaped pool filled with a glowing, boiling liquid that exudes an aura of cold. Connected to the Runelords, the Wrath Rune, and the Evocation school of magic. The exact details escape me. It seems to be capable of spawning Wrathbeasts when activated using the appropriate ritual. One cannot summon wrathbeasts indefinitely, however, doing so taps the Runewell's power stores, causing it to glow less vigorously.
Day X, Rova XX, 4708- Good morning (afternoon, evening)? Although it has been a very short time since I have slept in a bedroll I already seem to have forgotten how damned uncomfortable it is. I already miss civilization, even if that civilization is being menaced by a psychotic half-demon, half-aasimar witch hell-bent on exacting her bloody and violent vengeance on an entire town.
Hmm...this angle suddenly gives me a thought. Nualia is particularly wrathful (vengeance is the sin of wrath, after all), so perhaps she discovered a way to activate the Runewell? If we ever capture the witch I shall inquire.
Our "morning" preparations were interrupted shortly, however, by the intrusion of a horribly mutated goblin-creature I later identified as the goblin hero Korvus from the magical sword he possessed. I have no idea what exactly happened to Korvus, but I can bet that it has something to do with the nature of the Runewell of Wrath (the aberrant quality of its summoned guardians can more than attest to that).
The remaining time spent in the tunnels was mostly exploring the rest of the facility. Deeper in, we discovered strange Thassilonian artifacts (such as a red sphere in a metal room that occasionally generated electricity) and strange undead creatures. The zombies and skeletons of the facility were horribly warped, no doubt through magical experimentation. The zombie specimens were, however, destroyed after Zeliana used her influence over life and death to turn them to dust (I must admit I found her attempt a tad bit overzealous, but fascinating to watch none-the-less). Within a ruined study I discovered a Thassalonian scroll containing instructions for a fire spell of some sort, "burning hands," I believe it is called. I was also able to retrieve a wand from the electrical sphere, along with a couple other items (including a new bottle of wine Dorin immediately guzzled).
Near the study we were ambushed by two wrathbeasts that almost killed Dorin if not for a handily placed grease spell on my part that allowed Dorin to gain the upper hand on one of the wrathbeasts while the other attacked Urgrosh for some unknown reason (I would certainly like to study their behavior patterns, if only they were not so hostile).
Deep within the facility still I discovered a small prayer book to Lamashtu written in a tongue I cannot read. I have begun working to decipher it and will record its contents as I make headway. The page I first deciphered seemed to be a (if not a little flowery) description of some monster. What monster the passage describes, I am not sure, but it is most likely a creature whose creation/existence is attributed to the Mother of Monsters. This book may prove useful in the future; I should probably keep it safe from Zeliana who would probably insist on its destruction.
The other tunnels we had previously discovered were merely smuggler's tunnels and an entry point for the goblins. We alerted the guard to the presence of these tunnels as well as the runewell.
Toilday, Rova 30, 4708- We departed for Thistletop in the company of Shelalu today after resting in Sandpoint. I'm told the goblin's base of operations is a large ruin off the coast of Thistlewood itself, no doubt of Thassalonian make.
On our way through the wood we discovered a network of tunnels that ran below the forest floor, the "Thistle tunnels" if you would. The tunnels seemed to be a hedge maze of briars that surrounded the Thistletop fort. Dwelling within this labyrinth was a goblin druid and his cougar companion.
The details of the fight are a blur to me, all I remember was swinging frivolously away at the cougar which had attached itself to Urgrosh and was proceeding to maul him while Dorin took the druid head on. In the end, we managed to slay the cat but the druid escaped through the bramble. I had no idea that goblins could even develop a connection with nature!
In a panic, we fled the tunnels for the fort, fearing that the druid would raise the alarm and return with a host of goblins at his back. Using a well-placed sleep spell we managed to dispatch four goblin dogs that guarded a rickety rope bridge that lead to the Thistletop fort's island.
However, the bridge was almost the death of us. Perhaps we were blinded by our panic, perhaps by our desire to close as much distance on the fort as possible. No matter the reason, we made a fatal miscalculation and it almost cost us our lives. The bridge was rigged to collapse if anyone tried to cross it, which meant that we tripped the trap in our rush toward the fort. Most of us managed to jump back in time but Zeliana was not as fortunate (or perhaps I should say she was the most fortunate?). Just as it seemed that Zeliana would plunge to her death into the gorge below, by some trick of Desna she was able to grasp the edge just in time to avoid a watery demise.
After this fortunate turn of events, we reconstructed the bridge and rushed across, entering the keep and fighting our way to the throne room doors no doubt to find the goblin chieftan "Ripnugget" inside (his name still leaves a bad taste in my mouth).
Ripnugget proved to be crafty, for a goblin. He was a proud warrior who wore a dented crown and rode a giant gecko, but he was still a goblin- still a coward at heart. After flattering Zeliana on her appreciation of the power of words, he beckoned her forward, saying that she alone could approach to parlay with him. Aerodus and Dorin readily saw the flaw in this logic and quickly pointed it out to Urgrosh, Zeliana, and myself. We decided to spread out throughout the room while still having Zeliana approach. Ripnugget, however, would have none of this and called for his guard to attack.
At first we were taken by surprise by goblin archers stationed on spike-studded pillars that supported the throne room (note to self: remember to look up). While Aerodus used his impressive magical power to knock the archers off of their perches, I became aware of the marching of feet from the corridor through which we had entered. It was then I used the first of my new powers, producing a sticky web that filled the entire hallway. This spell was far more mentally draining to prepare than my other spells, but I can see how it could be useful.
As Ripnugget continued to be a nuisance to Urgrosh I became aware of an awful goblin's song, spotting a leather-clad goblin standing by the throne wailing at the top of its voice. I quickly produced my metal wand and moved to subdue it through electrocution.
We soon had Ripnugget subdued and captured. Urgrosh and Dorin were quite insistent on interrogating him. This got us nowhere- or rather, I should say it got us nowhere fast. Ripnugget refused to betray Nualia's location to us, insisting that she had left despite the fact that he was clearly lying.
In a last ditch effort to frighten him into talking I told someone to cut off his finger. Unfortunately, the next thing I heard was a shrill scream as Urgrosh had apparently taken my bluff seriously and bitten Ripnugget's finger clean off. He then proceeded to curse us and question our civilized ways. Because he would not tell us what we wanted I felt his time was at an end. Acting in the best interest of the People of Sandpoint, I declared that the King of Thistletop, Ripnugget, would be sentenced to death for his part in the deaths of countless innocent. His screeches about "having a trial" were taxing to me, so I replied "trials are for men who commit crimes, this is what murderers receive for killing the innocent." Ripnugget was then silenced forever by the fall of Urgrosh's halberd.
I never thought I could be so cold-blooded, but nothing gave me more satisfaction then watching that goblin die. He had been the instrument in the deaths of countless others and he would have continued to lead his people down the path of violence and war, such is the way of goblins. Like the orcs, those creatures revel in butchery and slaughter. I am sure we did the right thing, but I grow suspicious of Urgrosh- he seems too primitive to me, too wild.
Our exploration of the remaining upstairs of the complex revealed little else, aside from an entrapped horse. Luckily, Dorin was able to calm it with offers of trail rations and a soothing voice. The horse was truly a magnificent specimen and we shall most certainly return for it once we deal with Nualia's threat.
The only other event of note was Dorin's near impalement on a rusted blade that sprung from a trapped chest. The chest could be unlocked with a key found hidden under the seat of a chair in Ripnugget's bedchambers. The chest had numerous valuables in it, no doubt the remains of some unlucky adventurer. To my relief, there was no wayfinder in the box, so it was not a fellow Pathfinder.
We followed a flight of stairs down into the lower level of Thistletop Keep. There we found a map room filled with diagrams and charts written in common. It would seem that this is where the humanoids coordinating the goblins held their meetings. We did not go long before encountering one of them. In a room just beyond the map room we encountered a dusky-skinned wizard who ambushed us with a ruby-tipped wand that produced magic missiles. Acting quickly I decided to prove my dueling prowess and promptly made an ass of myself as I slipped on a piece of paper and sent my acid arrow spell wide into the table. Luckily Urgrosh dropped her in one quick chop.
Searching the room I discovered numerous magical items, including a truly fantastic pair of spectacles. The spectacles allow me to not only sense the number of "charges" remaining in wands, but also to identify the properties of magical items (of which the wizard had a few). I was also able to identify a wand I had acquired from the warchanter that accompanied Ripnugget.
We decided to deprive her of her equipment before claiming her as our prisoner, leaving her bound and declaring that we would return for her later. A brief exploration of the complex led us through a confusing and confounding maze of passages that eventually had us face off against what I believe was a "tentamort." At any rate, it died quickly on Urgrosh's weapon (first he struck with his ranseur, and then again with his halberd). We then claimed the tentamort's lair as our own and decided to rest, our power depleted.
Interesting features about lower Thistletop of note: Nualia seeks to awaken something called "the whispering beast." I can only imagine that this creature is none other than Malfeshnecor. Additionally, crude illustrations on a wall in lower Thistletop depict this "whispering beast" as a towering mostrosity, no less than thirty feet tall (if the scale in the drawing is accurate) clutching a crude goblin weapon in each taloned hand. I certainly hope that this depiction is an accurate representation of Malfeshnecor becuase if it is, then we must truly hurry and stop Nualia from awakening that thing.
Additionally, it would seem that Nualia's band too has a name for Wrathbeasts- "Sinspawn,” an interesting title and certainly bearing broader implications than my own name. For one, this title would imply that wrathbeasts are not just produced from the Runewell of Wrath, but potentially other sources linked to the seven deadly sins as well. Does this mean that sinspawn are monsters the Runelords used as soldiers? Or perhaps more like guards? This is certainly a perplexing mystery. I must meditate on the subject to gain any further insight.
One final thought: the Thistletop Keep seems to go much further than anticipated. Additionally, the presence of worked stone this far down is definitely not something the goblins could have done in their short occupancy. Thistletop is indeed a ruin from a much older time, but whether or not the ruin is Thassilonian or simply Chelaxian has yet to be determined.
Wealday, Lamashan 1, 4708- Following my rest I am feeling rejuvenated and even a little more able.
My efforts to translate the prayer book have seemed to given me a better comprehension of its poisonous language and I can now read it almost fluently. However, I am almost certain my pronunciations are incorrect and that in the event I ever encounter a demon (Irori forbid) I would be laughed away for my inability to communicate in the beast's native tongue. I must still be careful not to reveal to Zeliana that I have the prayer book, heavens only know what she would do to it. She almost destroyed a symbol of Lamashtu yesterday if we had not convinced her it could be melted down and sold its worth in silver. That silver is worth good money- money I shall need if I am to ever copy these scrolls I discovered into my grimoire.
After the morning preparations, we decided to interrogate the wizard that we had captured. At first she was reluctant to talk to us, insisting that she be untied and her equipment returned. We explained that we would not untie her until our questions had been answered to our satisfaction and only then would we restore her possessions. She informed us that she had been hired to translate Thassilonian runes on the lower levels of Thistletop. She declined initially to brief us on the full meanings of the runes, but we eventually pried it from her.
Thistletop was, in the time of the Thassilonians, an outpost of some entity referred to as "Sha’last." What exactly Sha’last is, I am uncertain, it could be a providence of Thassilon or a separate entity that seceded from the empire proper. At any rate, Thistletop stood on the marches of Shalast and Bakrakhan, perhaps another providence of Thassilon or maybe a separate Kingdom. Thistletop also served as a prison for an agent of Bakrakhan, no doubt this "whispering beast," Malfeshnecor that we have heard spoken of time and time again. So it would seem that my theory that Thistletop was a Thassilonian rune was head-on. However, as to the significance of its face-like visage, its meaning still eludes me.
The wizard, Lyri Akenja was her name, stated that she would have no objections to us killing Nualia, using the word "b#&%@" to refer to her. I decided to pursue her business relationship with Lyri further, producing the pouch of scrying aids I had found on her person, among them an earring belonging to that obnoxious bastard Tsuto. Showing her the earring I informed her that this belonged to a pissy half-elf that we had already dealt with to which she sharply chided me to not refer to him like that.
So, that's what it was. Lyri wanted Tsuto, but Tsuto wanted Nualia and paid absolutely no attention to her. So, we would be ending this little love triangle by doing-in Nualia. I must admit, I first thought these possessions to be a means of observing Nualia's agents, but in reality it was just some petty fascination with a vengeful murderer.
Having our questions answered to our satisfaction we returned most of Lyri's equipment to her. I did not want to give her the scroll of sleep, nor the wand of magic missile and there was no way in the nine hells I would be returning those glasses. I did return her spell book to her, as well as gifting her with Tsuto's journal. If she can read Tian, I would be greatly amused by her reaction. However, she was satisfied enough with what we returned to leave us and we continued to do a final sweep of the upper levels of Thistletop to prevent Nualia from gaining any reinforcements when we finally confronted her.
We decided to investigate a large pair of double doors next, which opened into (surprise) yet another Cathedral to Lamashtu. I'm really beginning to tire of these. However, instead of an angry Quasit this time, we were assaulted by two yeth hounds, other-worldly monsters that resemble dogs, but can fly and have a terrifying howl.
Unfortunately I was scared witless by that awful sound and forced to hide while my companions stood their ground against the monster's onslaught. By the time I conquered my fears and returned they had been set upon by an archer and a bugbear, having already managed to best one of the beasts. Aerodus bravely faced one down and slew the other yeth hound with an onslaught of magic missiles. Meanwhile, I turned myself invisible and moved to a more advantageous position in which to deal with the archer and place him in a magical sleep.
Between the beginning of my spell and its end, the bugbear fell, dying in a spray of blood as he tried to rise, caught between Dorin and Urgrosh. The archer managed to avoid my empowered spell and was quick enough to dodge the next spell I slung at him- a flaming sphere. However, between one bounce of my flaming sphere he was tripped and decapitated by my compatriots.
The battle was truly taxing, but we had managed to clear out the rest of Nualia's companions. The bugbear that was slain was most certainly the elf-hunting bugbear ranger that Shelalu mentioned, and the warrior and wizard brought the total of "longshanks" in Thistletop to around four (including Nualia and the now-incarcerated Tsuto). This made Nualia the only "longshanks" left at Thistletop, unless the reckonings of our goblin friend in Sandpoint were mistaken. The open door led to a passageway with five separate rooms, the rooms where Nualia's companions had stayed. We were able to discover much in Nualia's room, a journal containing her tragic story and etchings of the lower regions of Thistletop.
Nualia's past seems to be dominated by the authoritative Father Toben. He wanted his adopted daughter to enter the Windsong Abby near Sandpoint. However, the girl became romantically involved with Delek Viskanta, a local Varisian. They met in the Smuggler's tunnels below the glassworks. In the end, he left her with child and fled. Embarrassed and pregnant, she came to term with her child in the underground tunnels, near the Cathedral to Lamashtu. The girl gave birth to a horrifying, deformed monster and, believing that she had been chosen by Lamashtu, turned to madness.
She burned down the old Cathedral to kill Toben and fake her own death. From this point out, her writings seem to become more obsessed with freeing "the Whispering Beast," and burning Sandpoint to the ground in a terrible raid that would consume the lives of both goblins and the people of Sandpoint. According to Nualia's journal, the resulting anger and anguish would power the Runewell and complete her transformation into a demon. It seems that not even Nualia knows how to awaken the runewell, only to fill it further.
I am beginning to see the constructions of Nualia's plan involving the Whispering Beast, Malfeshnecor. The goblins revere Malfeshnecor as a god when in truth it was an agent of Bakrakhan imprisoned by Sha'last. No doubt the creature would be willing to strike some deal with Nualia and rally the goblin tribes together under its banner, resulting in the massive raid Nualia's companions had originally scraped.
But I digress. We wandered deeper into Thistletop after exploring the upper level to our heart's content. There were a few unpleasant moments which I care not to discuss, sufficed to say that goblin women and nudity were involved. Gah! I become nauseous even just thinking about it.
The lowest level of Thistletop was very different from the upper levels. The entire level was canted toward the West, suggesting that the upper levels had been dug-in. We also began observing different architecture than before- stone doors and statues of a towering man clutching a book and wielding a glaive. The seven-pointed star was once again upon the book, only this time its dominant rune was Greed. This is consistent with my findings back in Nualia's chambers, where the greed rune was common among her etchings of the lower chambers.
Dorin was clever enough to discover and disable a pressure plate trap further into this room. Needless to say we moved past it rather quickly. Exploring further we soon walked headlong into our quarry.
We encountered Nualia in a red circular room illuminated by burning skulls. The woman was clearly mad at this point, babbling something about "Lamashtu sending more sacrifices" before setting upon us with her yeth hound ally. Once again, I was too weak-willed to resist the horrifying bay of the hound and spent precious seconds hiding in a corner instead of standing my ground like a true student of the Arcanamurium. I am truly disgusted with myself.
By the time I returned, Nualia had fallen. Her body had been warped from its original form, one of her hands mutated into a hideous claw. On her belly, she bore several claw marks- a scar pattern popular among Lamashtu's faithful, representing their chosen status under the Mother of Monsters. While my compatriots picked over her corpse, I inspected the study where we had encountered her. There, numerous books abounded on Nualia's focus of study, as well as many others. I was left to inspect the books myself while the rest of my companions explored the lower region of Thistletop. When they returned a short time later, Dorin looking pale and weak, I jokingly inquired if he had seen a ghost.
I was met with nothing but a harsh glare. What? We decided to exit Thistletop, but met with some... complications on our way out. First collecting the horse from where we left him in the stable yard, we strode out of Thistletop triumphantly to encounter a host of ten goblins led by the druid who had accosted us in the Thistle Tunnels. He leveled his spear at us and told us that we had caused much damage here. It was true, but it was in retribution of the raid and to prevent future raids. I explained to him as such, informing him that we had killed Nualia and that his Chieftain had to die in his refusal to surrender Nualia to us. The goblin said that he should kill us for killing his chieftain, but he would allow us to leave and never return instead.
I scoffed at the suggestion. He was in no place to be making demands, one and two, he was in no place to exile us. I explained that I would not allow the goblins to continue their work of freeing the Whispering Beast. The goblin demanded we leave again and, after we talked in circles, decided that we should just be killed.
Then Urgrosh promptly bull rushed the druid off the cliff, into the water eighty feet below. The remaining ten goblins quickly fled in terror, the druid being their only standard under which to rally.
Heading unopposed through the Thistle Tunnels, we encountered Shelalu at the end, cooking a small rabbit. She was pleased to see us and agreed to take care of the horse we recovered while we made for Thistletop (and the Rusty Dragon). Once there, we were treated to a light meal before going off to bed.
Oathday, Lamashan 2, 4708- We rested in Sandpoint today, preparing to return to Thistletop tomorrow, but not after a brief escapade into town to restock on provisions and get Dorin recovered from his weakness. Apparently he had been attacked by shadows, vile and incorporeal undead creatures that drain their victims’ strength until there is nothing left but a hollow husk. In preparation for this obvious obstacle to our further exploration of Thistletop, Zeliana procured reagents she claimed would weaken the creatures. Divine magic never ceases to amaze me.
While my companions were tying up their loose ends, I decided to pay Sheriff Hemlock a visit. I was directed into his office by a green-looking guard, an obvious newbie. Hemlock seemed flustered, pouring over maps, charts, and other documents. I greeted him cheerfully and inquired as to how Tsuto was doing. He explained that the lad had been quiet, but there was somewhat of a big to-do with a woman yesterday (probably Lyri) insisting that she see him. Hemlock turned her away and she eventually left mumbling threats. I explained the situation to him involving Nualia, Tsuto, and Lyri, and explained that Nualia was dead, producing a lock of her silver hair I had clipped as evidence of this. Hemlock looked relieved, but melancholy, saying how he still could not believe that Nualia was behind all this. He shared with me his complaint that he had gone to Magnimar to try and gather reinforcements against future raids and only returned with five recruits, none of whom knew the proper way to hold a sword. I joked that an hour’s training with Urgrosh would be sufficient and took my leave but not before assuring Hemlock that I had taken both a liking to this town and its Heroes. I also asked him to keep the presence of the Runewell a secret.
Of importance today, I discovered the significance of that seven-pointed star. It is called a Sihedron Rune, a Thassilonian rune of power. Among Nualia's possessions was an amulet with such an icon and it was truly a marvelous item. The amulet allows the wearer to fill himself with necromantic energy, gaining additional vitality. It also preserves corpses, causing them to decay at a significantly reduced rate. The rest of my identifications were mere housekeeping, although Urgrosh seems rather pleased with his new enchanted bastard sword and Zeliana with Nualia's breastplate. Additionally, Urgrosh seems to have claimed a suit of enchanted armor as his own, the armor that once belonged to the swordsman we killed in the tunnels.
One other item of note: We were contacted by a pair of ratty-looking merchants in the evening as we dined at the Rusty Dragon. Apparently they were the owners of the horse we recovered, Shadowmist was its name. They offered us 250 gold coins for his recovery, a handsome sum indeed. I must say that I was pleased the two gentlemen were able to recover their prized horse. He was certainly a magnificent specimen.
Fireday, Lamashan 3, 4708- We returned to Thistletop and began exploring the lower level. We managed to defeat the shadow menace without difficulty, probably due to the fact that they had been injured the previous day and that we were prepared for them.
Exploring further into the ruins, we discovered a secret passageway that led to an abandoned treasury. In the treasury we fought a rather...unique monster, a gigantic hermit crab dwelling in a coral-encrusted great helm sized for a giant and made of solid gold. Although Urgrosh sustained injury while fighting the beast, two lucky strikes from Dorin were enough to slay it. The first severed one of its eye stocks, the second caused a deep wound in its claw.
The helm certainly seems its weight in gold, although Dorin and I have yet to devise a way to liberate it from its captivity in Thistletop. However, given then helm's weight, I doubt it will be going anywhere for a while either.
Further exploration discovered a secret passage beyond a statue of a coin pile, each coin's rim carved with the greed symbol over and over again. Beyond this place we found three chambers. One chamber was filled with skeleton parts and tools, while the other contained some combination of powerful illusory and sending magicks to create a speaking image of a man, the same man in the statues of this place, addressing his followers.
"- is upon us, but do not fear. Azalanist's pitiful wrath is nothing compared to a flash of my might. Take my work with you to your graves, for -"
The message seemed to loop, but the dweomer was decaying, so the message was truncating. This image left many questions in my mind. What was upon them? War, perhaps Sha'last was going to be overrun by Bakrakhan. And Azalanist, was that... the Runelord of Wrath? So, this man, this Runelord of Greed, the ruler of Sha'last, was at war with Azalanist, the Runelord of Wrath and ruler of Bakrakhan.
What exactly was the Thassilonian Empire's state before the Earthfall? It was clear that these ancient Thassilonian rulers weren't playing nice with each other, but to think that they would be at war. Perhaps Bakrakhan or Sha'last was attempting to secede from the Empire? Perhaps there was a civil war? The answer is unknown, but I pray that it becomes clearer with time.
The final door was a complicated stone door, locked by an intricate mechanism. Powerful magic radiated from beyond, so powerful that I could not tell what it was. While Dorin and I argued the logistics of opening the door, Aerodus suggested that perhaps we simply check the room with the tools again. In the room, we discovered a seven-pointed star that was not actually a tool at all. Rather, it was a key; a key that fit perfectly into the locked stone doors (I still smolder at the fact that my keen powers of observation were outdone by the simpleton suggestions of a Chelaxian).
Beyond there were naught but a smoldering fire pit that smelled of burnt hair and glowing candles on wooden risers that did not melt, even while burning. It did not take long for the room's occupant to make itself known to us. A voice materialized from thin air, speaking in a rasping common. It seemed to believe that we could liberate it from its captivity if we possessed the key to its cell. We decided against liberating it and promptly shut the door.
Urgrosh held on to the key. While the rest made ready to return to Sandpoint, Dorin and I decided to remove the books from Nualia's study so that some fool wouldn't chance upon this place and decide to take it upon himself to liberate this "Whispering Beast," Malfeshnecor, the beast sealed in that strange, magical room. As we were transporting the books, I noticed Urgrosh was behaving rather strangely. I instructed Dorin to keep an eye on him while I carried the final load back to the surface.
When I returned to the lower level, I found Urgrosh standing before the stone door. It was closed, as it had been, but Dorin informed me that he had spoken again to the beast, learning of the methods by which to liberate it. He also mentioned in his conversation with it, the Hungry Mountains and a band of giants that dwelled there. He told me that his motivations had been only to learn how easy it was to liberate the creature, as to judge the security of the place.
When Dorin pursued the mountain angle, Urgrosh replied that he did not care to tell him. However, once Dorin was out of ear shot the dwarf proceeded to explain everything to me. I am glad to know that I have his trust at the very least. He has no last name, his clansmen dwelled in the Hungry Mountains until a band of giants took their mountain hold and killed his clan to the last man. Urgrosh then abandoned his clan name and his given name as well, adopting for himself the name of a common weapon as a symbol of his missing identity, the identity that these giants stole from him. He told me that one day he would drive out these invaders and found a new clan in ruins of his home.
I felt that this exchange merited something from me as well, something only the dwarf could know. So I told him that I was a Pathfinder. I told him of my society's aims, that I sought the liberation of knowledge worldwide. I also told him of my Wayfinder, a magical company I purchased from my Venture Captain in Absalom that always points north. However, when you place an ioun stone in the wayfinder it points somewhere. I want to find out where that somewhere is, what that somewhere is. As such, I plan to keep adventuring with these heroes of Sandpoint.
We returned to Sandpoint to count out our loot and think about the future. Now that this whole mess is done I think I shall take a tour of the surrounding ruins and make notes. However, I doubt that my findings will be as significant as those at Thistletop or below Sandpoint. On a more serious note, I should also devote myself to finding a way to deactivate the Runewell. Its power brings nothing but misfortune and evil, so it should be stopped. However, it is ancient Thassilonian magic and very powerful. I should like to study its arrangement before I deactivate it. Nualia failed to identify how to turn it on, but where she failed perhaps I will succeed. I have her notes to go on, as well as my own observations.
As to the mystery of Thassilon, I know now that there was most definitely a conflict between Bakrakhan, the dominion of the Azalanist, the Runelord of Wrath, and Sha'last, the dominion of Karzoug, the Runelord of Greed. The wrath rune represents the school of evocation, and greed transmutation. With these clues perhaps I can discern what the other sins of the Sihedron rune mean. Gluttony, Lust, Vanity, Sloth, and Envy. However, I do notice that there is one possible school missing. Additionally, the arrangements of each rune suggest that the sin is opposed by two additional sins, much like how a specialist in a school of magic forsakes two other schools (with the exquisite exception of diviners). As such, I would need to find a school with no enemies and deduce the remaining five. I can tell this is going to be a headache. Best not to think about it tonight but get some sleep, it has proven to be a long day, nay, a long week and now is the time for some well deserved rest.
I wonder what Aula is up to?
END OF PART I
Coming next time: the Skinsaw Murders.
Wealday, Lamashan 8, 4708- Damned be the gods! Today I found the familiar and solitary company of my studies interrupted by a bombastic rapping at my door as though a jittery Halfling were trying to bash it down. Thinking it may be the maid who awoke me from my slumber once before with terrible news, I hastened to the door only to discover a simpleton child awaiting my answer (a relief, but also a disappointment, I suppose).
The idiot boy introduced himself as “Eric,” and asked if I could train him as my apprentice. I patiently explained to the child that magic is no simple thing to teach and, although a practiced wizard I may be, there are certain components of this power that I could not hope to instruct him in, the first being actual intelligence.
I have neither the patience nor the time to spend with children, especially ones that demand I instruct them in my art. The boy cannot even read, and yet he believes I could teach him to decipher and scribe the magical text written in a grimoire? Nay, my time is better spent on more pressing matters, such as deciphering the Sihedron Rune and discovering a way to deactivate the Runewell (mayhaps deciphering the rune may even assist my efforts to deactivate the Runewell)! Five days and I have not made any significant progress at all, even with Nualia’s notes and my own acquired knowledge, despite the countless trips to and from the runewell and Thistletop, and the numerous sketches and rubbings I’ve accumulated! Perhaps Dorin’s theory may be right and the only way to deactivate the runewell would be to deplete its power. However, I hesitate to even consider this option, as I find it unwise to experiment with such ancient magics.
I shall continue my studies tomorrow. Hopefully my research will not be interrupted by troublesome visits from villagers or complaints from my companions. Irori willing, I shall find a solution to this problem.
Oathday, Lamashan 9, 4708- Again I seem to find myself plagued by prattling idiots. That damned child, Eric, once again came bashing on my door, requesting that I instruct him in the ways of my art. And that was only the start. While I was fetching my breakfast from the start, I was alerted to an intrusion into my study by the dweomer I had cast before leaving.
It would seem that Dorin had broken into my room and was going through my notes and sketches on the runewell. I admonished him, patted him down, and had him turn out all of his pockets to ensure that he had not swiped any documents while I was not looking. I may also have used a charm spell on him, but that is neither here nor there. I thank Desna that he did not discover my wayfinder.
Today Aerodus also came to apply as a research assistant, but I turned him away thinking that Dorin had convinced the simpleton to merely assist him in swiping my notes on the runewell. Honestly, I would prefer not to act on Dorin’s method, because although it is most certainly a straightforward and simple solution to the problem in theory, I fear that unpredictable complications may arise as the runewell grows or wanes in power. Also, it is unknown how many sinspawn must be summoned in order to exhaust the runewell’s power. I feel that the plan is ill-advised, through-and-through.
Starday, Lamashan 11, 4708- I feel that I need not have to report that Eric came to visit me again today. His constant intrusions upon the solitude of my study have begun to tire me more than usual. I find it frustrating to deal with the boy because he is incapable of grasping the sheer scope of the situation that I am trying to prevent.
I believe I am making headway on the Sihedron rune. In a rare epiphany, Irori made fit to show me a simple correlation between the runes representing the sins and the schools of magic. More specifically, each school was associated with a sin that could be heavily implied from it. Transmutation allows one to transform materials into other materials. The greedy and selfish may seek fit to use this power to transform base metals into gold or plain rocks to sparkling gems. Evocation would allow the user to wreak havoc and destruction, slaking the thirst for vengeance.
From these correlations, I was able to draw the following: Sloth is conjuration, for the lazy may simply summon servants and minions to do their work for them (indeed, some of my professors never left their seat, calling their invisible fetches to collect papers or bring them some item). Lust is enchantment, as the lustful may capture the hearts of those they crave through charms, or hold captive the minds of their desired. Pride is illusion, as the proud may make themselves seem grander with falsehoods enforced by cunning deceptions. The last two were somewhat larger intuitive leaps, but I believe they are correct. Necromancy is gluttony, for the gluttonous may slack their everlasting hunger on a new source of energy: life energy. Abjuration is envy, for the envious may use this school to restrain the powers of others, making even the mighty seem meek as a kitten.
Of course, my genius is not alone responsible for this epiphany. I finally relented to Aerodus’ requests, and allowed him to aid me in my research. It was Aerodus who suggested that I conjure up an invisible servant to fetch my dinner instead of walking down to the tavern to get it myself. This simple observation connected, in my mind, the schools of Conjuration and the sin of Sloth.
I must admit, hard-pressed though I am to trust the Chelaxian, Aerodus has begun to grow on me as an intellectual counterpart. He is not unintelligent, although I still feel that I cannot fully trust him. Chelaxian sorcerers are manipulative creatures, after all, if my experiences with her have shown me anything.
Sunday, Lamashan 12, 4708- I came to a realization today. While studying my sketches of the Sihedron rune, and my notes, I came to discover that the seven sins of the rune are always in the same location, and always one rune is opposed by two. This led me to believe that the ancient magicians of Thassilon believed that for each school of magic, two schools of magic opposed it. Greed (transmutation) is always opposed by Pride (illusion) and Lust (enchantment). Furthermore, Sloth (conjuration) is always opposed by Wrath (evocation) and Pride, Envy (abjuration) by Glutton (necromancy) and Wrath, Lust by Greed and Gluttony, Pride by Greed and Sloth, and Gluttony by Envy and Lust!
The implications of this discovery are staggering. This elaborate system of schools may even provide a doorway into how to diffuse the Runewell’s power without having to resort to Dorin’s dangerous method. I decided to share a celebratory drink with Aerodus, but my merrymaking was interrupted by Dorin, who once again attempted to break into my room and steal my now evolved notes on the Runewell. That boy is seriously beginning to annoy me and is living up to the reputation of his people more than he would like to think. Perhaps it is true that all Varisians are thieves, although Zeliana has yet to show any tendency towards kleptomania.
Moonday, Lamashan 13, 4708- Today Aerodus was able to tear me from my studies to assist him and Dorin on a project at Thistletop with a rather convincing argument. I should make a note that Chelaxian sorcerers seem to be rather gifted orators, although this silver-tongued quality gives me even less reason to trust them.
Simply put, Aerodus suggested I take a break from my studies to pursue this side project that he and Dorin had started. The project, of course, was the retrieval of the giant golden helm from the Thistletop treasury. Having recently added a few new spells to my book, Aerodus thought it would be appropriate to use one of them- levitation, to float the helm out of the treasury.
We were able to extract the helm through clever work and a liberal use of magic. The levitation was primarily used to transporting the helm up and down steps, while my grease spell was used to help drag it along corridors after we discovered that the levitate spell was depressingly short-lived.
I left Aerodus and Dorin to marvel at their new prize and returned to my work. Aerodus was correct, that side project was a nice break from being isolated in my stuffy room and our success on this project has me feeling invigorated and ready to continue my studies.
Now, where did I put that rubbing from the runewell?
Toilday, Lamashan 21, 4708- Unfortunately it would seem that I am unable to destroy the runewell at my current level of power. My theory on the matter happens to be that the runewell may be deactivated by channeling powerful abjuration and conjuration magic into the well. More powerful than the magic I currently possess, as my acid arrow and shield spells had no effect on the runewell.
For the moment, I must put the mystery of de-activating the runewell on hold, at least long enough to study and acquire more powerful dweomers. Dorin’s plan is too dangerous to put in place as it does not take into account the unforeseeable (or hitherto unknown) consequences that accompany the use of this runewell. Perhaps it is time for me to move on, travel deeper into Varisia and return only after I have grown into a more competent wizard. Although I am hard-pressed to leave this quaint town behind, I feel that it may be necessary for its continued safety. I trust my compatriots well enough to keep the secret of the Runewell safe for the time being.
I shall linger but one day longer. After that, I shall say my goodbyes and depart from Sandpoint, until a time in the future where I can adequately accomplish my goals of protecting the town.
Wealday, Lamashan 22, 4708- I would refrain from writing this entry on the account of weariness, but I feel it would be bad bookkeeping if I did not. This day proved itself to be a long one, full of excitement and surprises. Indeed, perhaps there was too much excitement today.
My morning began with myself sequestered away in my study, preparing to leave for other parts of Varisia until I found myself a more practiced wizard. However, just as my preparations neared completion, I was disturbed by a hurried knocking at my door. Thinking that Eric had come once again to pester me I raised my voice is disapproval, opening the door to find not Eric, but instead Zeliana, Dorin, Urgrosh, and Aerodus. They explained to me that Sherriff Hemlock had requested our presence at once. However, he specifically requested that we try not to raise any sort of alarm or worry.
Upon reaching Hemlock’s office he explained to us that the matter he wished to discuss was of great importance. I left Kajara outside, instructed him to keep watch, and requested that Hemlock continue his explanation. We were informed that there had been a recent string of murders, five victims in the past two days. Hemlock suspected the murders were committed by the same murderer, as there was a definite pattern between the bodies.
1.They were mangled beyond recognition, with their jaws and tongues cut out
2.With the first three and one of the second, the seven-pointed Sihedron rune was carved on their chest
Hemlock was able to describe the symbol only because I was wearing my Sihedron amulet. I quickly rushed down to the basement to examine the bodies, fearing that the rune may have been used on these bodies as a component in a ritual.
However, the rune on the bodies was only the basic star, devoid of the seven runes of sin. My fears subdued, for the moment, I explained to Hemlock that the rune was a Thassilonian icon of power and magic. This seemed to ring a bell with Hemlock and he explained that there was a Thassilonian scholar in the town by the name of Broddard Quink (the same scholar the shop keeper mentioned so long ago) who might be able to tell us more about this rune.
Additionally, we learned that a note had been left at the site of the most recent killings with a hand-written note addressed to Zeliana. The note read “you will learn to love me as she did, give yourself to the pack and it will all be over,” signed His Lordship. It is quite apparent that the killer is familiar with us (or at least, familiar with Zeliana).
First, however, we decided to investigate the crime scene at the mill, where the two bodies had been discovered. One of those bodies was Katrine Vinder, the older sister of the girl that had tried to seduce Dorin. Like any event, the guard at the mill had drawn quite a crowd of onlookers craning their necks to get a look at what had happened. Our presence did little to calm them, although Dorin was able to turn them away with a few reassuring words.
Inside the mill was a mess. Blood covered pretty much everything and whatever was not coated in blood was instead coated in saw dust. Katrine had been pushed into the log splitters that cut the firewood up to be shipped down the river and Banny Harker, the other victim, had been carved in a method similar to the first three. Katrine did not bear the Sihedron mark, which made me suspect that she was just an unfortunate bystander who was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
While Zeliana inspected Harker’s body and Dorin looked around for footprints, I noticed an axe imbedded in the floor with gobbets of flesh clinging to it. Holding it close to inspect it I caught a whiff of something foul and reeking, and promptly doubled over in a fit of nausea. I must say that most of my breakfast was tossed into the river from that smell. It had a particular quality to it that I just could not place, but I swore it was distinct in some way.
At any rate, it was quite obvious that flesh does not typically cling to an ax, which lent itself to the suggestion that the tool had been employed as a weapon against the killer, who was either of the walking dead, or an alien entity of some sort. As best I could tell, Katrine saw the murderer and attempted to kill him with the wood-splitting ax. The attack struck true, but did not kill the murderer and prompted it to shove her into the wood splitters.
Meanwhile, Dorin found evidence of footprints that suggested the killer swam from the far bank of the river to the lumber mill to kill his victim. Dorin also observed that the killer was barefoot, which might lend itself more strongly to the undead theory than the aberration theory.
Returning to town, we decided to split our resources and gather as much information as we could. Zeliana went to speak with Ibor Thorn, a friend of Harker who had discovered the bodies at the mill. Dorin and Urgrosh went to speak with Vic Vinder, who had been detained in the guardhouse as a possible suspect in the murder (the connection was weak, but Hemlock felt it was necessary to keep the net drawn as tight as possible). Aerodus and I went to speak with Broddard Quink and ask him more about the rune. Vulcan had been left in the care of Dorin and Urgrosh and was to deliver us their report when they had concluded their business with Vic Vinder.
Our trip to Broddard Quink’s proved more educational than I had expected. Quink was an aged gentleman, clearly a scholar since an early age. His home was covered with notes and documents. He was more than happy to receive visitors, especially the likes of myself and Aerodus who he knew as Thassilonian scholars. He treated us to tea and was fetching various documents on the Sihedron rune when I mentioned that the rune had been carved into the chests of murder victims.
At this, Quink paused. He explained that the rune did indeed bear great magical significance and that for someone to know of it would require some knowledge of ancient Thassilon. As expected, he quickly claimed innocence for fear of indicting himself in this gruesome business.
From my conversation with Quink the meaning of the rune, I learned that the Sihedron Rune was the very essence of the Thassilonian Empire. He explained that once the seven points of the rune stood for the seven virtues of rule: wealth, fertility, abundance, eager striving, honest pride, righteous anger, and rest. However, these virtues became corrupted and the Thassilonian empire split after the death of its first King, causing his seven advisors, the seven Runelords, to each carve out a piece of the empire for themselves.
The seven virtues of rule that once ruled the Thassilonian rune were transformed into the seven deadly sins, wealth to greed, fertility to lust, abundance to gluttony, eager striving to envy, honest pride to vanity, righteous anger to wrath, and rest to sloth. This explained the existence of the Runewell, as well as the war between Bakra’khan and Shalast.
Varisia stands upon the Marches of the domains of Karzoug, the Runelord of Greed and Azalanist, the Runelord of Wrath. I was shocked at the implications of all of this. The Thassilonian Empire, an empire I once revered as a source of wisdom and magic, was in fact, corrupted at its very core and shook itself to ruin.
However, I had little time to take this all in, as Vulcan soon arrived and informed us that Dorin and Urgrosh had finished their interview with Vic. We took our leave of Quink and met back at my room in the Rusty Dragon. There we learned that Vic knew practically nothing, but that he was undoubtedly innocent of any killing. Zeliana had a bit more to share, revealing that Banny Harker had been skimming profits from the Scarnettis, the owners of the lumber mill, for months. When we put this information together with the first set of victims- a trio of con-men, we discovered that the victims all had one sin in common: the sin of greed. I initially feared that the killer had been aiming to fuel the runewell with the souls of the wrathful, but in this they seemed to be targeting greedy souls. I shudder to think that somewhere near Sandpoint, another runewell might exist- a runewell of Greed. Unfortunately, the possibility cannot be ruled out, especially because of the Sihedron rune’s role in these killings.
Eventually, we decided to pay a visit to Grayst Sevilla, a thug who had probably been hired to guard the meeting between the con-men and the killer. Grayst had been found by a patrol of guards on the 20th of Lamashan and was taken to Habe’s Sanatorium, or “The Saintly Haven of Respite.”
The Saintly Haven stood a good walk from Sandpoint and was a tall, stone building protected by a small number of guards. The proprietor of the sanatorium was initially resistant to allowing us entry, however Zeliana was able to convince him to permit us entry and speak with Grayst.
Grayst was a muscular Varisian, but was obviously very sick. When we arrived he was babbling incoherently. However, as soon as the doctor opened the door Grayst recognized Zeliana and began to spout some message he had been told to deliver. The message was from His Lordship (that name again) and it was directed solely at Zeliana. His Lordship had said that if Zeliana came to “the Misgivings” and joined “the pack,” then he would “end his harvest in her honor.”
Clearly his Lordship has some form of emotional attachment to Zeliana. However, we did not have much time to ponder the message as Grayst sunk to the floor succumbing to his illness. He then rose a minute later, breaking his fetters with unholy strength. I was able to trip him up by summoning grease and quickly shut the door.
The doctor was mortified and apologized profusely for the unexpected behavior. However, I thought that something had been off. He was acting like a wild animal, he had been ill before this burst of strength, and given the fact that His Lordship was clearly an undead there was only one answer to all of this, yet I still could not quite put my finger on it.
It was not until we returned to Sandpoint and were told that a farmer had come in from the outlying regions stark-raving-mad, screaming about walking scarecrows that the mystery revealed itself. The man told us that there had been trouble at one of the neighboring farmsteads, and that walking scarecrows had been attacking dogs and people in the region. We were told that he was part of a group who had gathered to see what was up and travelled to the farmstead to see. The group was then attacked by walking scarecrows that tore into them like feral animals, “they even ate the dogs” he screamed.
Feral animals, attacking in packs, coming from the direction of the Misgivings (the Varisian name for Foxglove manor, a supposedly ‘haunted’ house), I could think of no other conclusion. We were dealing with ghouls.
This was a very dire threat indeed. We departed (weary as we were) for the farmstead to end the ghoul infestation before striking for Misgivings the next day. If ghouls are allowed to run rampant, they will only increase their numbers by spreading a strange illness known as ghoul fever.
The farmstead was eerily quiet and tall rows of corn hampered our movement. After a point we could no longer travel on horseback and had to go by foot into the cornfields. It was there we met the enemy, many of them disguised as scarecrows. They had even put up survivors of their savage attack on poles, forcing them to assume the roles of scarecrows as they died of thirst, starvation, and ghoul fever.
We soon discovered the source of the ghoul infestation: a dread ghoul had taken up residence in the old farmhouse and had transformed the barn into a charnel house, filled with the half-eaten corpses of farmers who had come to investigate. Dread ghouls, as Zeliana tells me, are a rare breed of ghoul, more powerful than an average ghoul, that can control other ghouls with but a thought. It would seem that “His Lordship” is one such ghoul, and most certainly made a dread ghoul lieutenant to aid in his nefarious plot.
It would seem the farmstead had been attacked because its tenant, one Mr. Crade Hambley, was a particularly greedy soul and it is rumored that his harvest is always exceedingly large despite the poor condition of his farm. If further proof was not needed, “His Lordship” had left yet another love note for Zeliana pinned to the victim. Dorin seemed displeased when we took a large coffer filled with silver coins from the house, despite my strong argument that it could help fund research and would ultimately serve the greater good through our actions by paying for our necessities.
The good news of the night is that we were able to save at least one poor soul who had been lashed to a post and left to die. Through the swiftness of our actions, we were able to get him to father Zantis in time for the priest to cleanse the affliction holding him.
It seems tomorrow we set out for the “Misgivings,” to confront “His Lordship.” Seeing as the mansion is rumored by the Varisians to be haunted, some manner of preparations must be made to counter the undead or other such malevolent spirits. Perhaps I shall scribe new spells into my book tomorrow that may assist me in warding off evil- if I recall Mistress Nijashu’s words correctly, such a simple spell is deceptively powerful, hedging out evil, keeping conjured beasts at bay, and even shielding the mind from danger.
Oathday, Lamashan 23, 4708- Even now my hand quakes as I write this account. The horrors I have witnessed on this day will forever be etched into my mind. But, I must start at the beginning.
The day began with Zeliana informing us that she had seen Aldern Foxglove, a noble from Magnimar, in her window last night. His face was rotted and he resembled a ghoul, but she was almost certain it was him. Now, I had no idea who Aldern Foxglove was, but I was tersely informed that he had been in a very short relationship with Zeliana and had left for Magnimar after taking her and her party boar hunting.
As an unrelated aside, I must confess that this morning the secret of imbuing items with dweomers became known to me as I have been studying the construction of my Sihedron amulet and nez pince glasses daily to try and discern their function.
But back to the story at hand; in the morning we travelled to Foxglove Manor known to the locals as “the Misgivings,” an abandoned manor house that sat on a cliff overlooking the Varisian Gulf. The building itself seemed to be poised for a suicide leap, its rotting and dilapidated timbers leaning precariously over the cliff as if it could fall at any minute.
As always, it was soon suggested that we actually enter the mansion and investigate the interior for ourselves. This, perhaps, was both a great and terrible idea. In retrospect, I would have never chosen to go in there learning what I have learned.
The Manor was indeed haunted, possessed by the anguished spirits of the dead in collections Zeliana referred to as “haunts.” Haunts are very much like ghosts and poltergeists in many ways, except that they manifest in events, rather than ethereal souls. Haunts still have the ability to manipulate the physical world around them, but usually through the possession of living mortals. They are also able to affect the minds of mortals, showing them fragments of the past and revealing to them clues of what had transpired there.
To make matters worse, the original founder of the manor, Vorel Foxglove, seemed to be quite the student of necromancy. I first came to this conclusion by connecting the presence of a diseased rat we found trying to escape from a washtub, covered in boils and tumors, to various images on the manor’s windows that depicted necromantic spell components (such as vampire’s breath, or the heart of a young maiden slain by poison) and various creatures being drawn into a necromantic box (a roc, a kraken, a sphinx, and a treant). The others would not believe me at first, thinking necromancy only fitting for raising ghouls or various other monstrosities. However, I quickly corrected this error by explaining that necromancy can also conjure plagues and poisons, and, in the words of my master of necromancy at the Arcanamirium, Master Wintrish, “sap your foes’ strength and you shall also sap his spirit!”
And then there were the undead inhabitants of this forsaken dwelling! In the attic, we discovered Aldern’s first wife, a Varisian he had strangled to death with her own scarf, animated as a revenant- a horrible monster that seeks nothing but revenge on its former killer. Upon seeing Urgrosh wearing its scarf, the monster was upon him. Only after a bloody struggle were we able to give the creature its scarf and send it tearing down to where Aldern was “hiding.” Although perhaps “hiding” is not the right word, “waiting” would be more suited to his behavior.
The revenant was able to open new ways hitherto unopened to us, simply through her shear strength. We did little but follow her wanton path of destruction to the basement, where we discovered a terrible study of sorts. The windows in this room made clear to me what I had feared. Vorel Foxglove was a necromancer of great skill; skill enough to transform his flesh and transfer his soul into a magically prepared puzzle box, to become a lich.
We pursued the revenant into truly ancient caverns below manor where all sorts of terrible monsters awaited us. The most notable was a beghouled dire bat that set upon our party with frightening agility and strength until I successfully snared it in magical webbing. The beast seemed to have claimed many victims in the past, including the notorious bandit Shaz “Redshiv” Bilger. When we travel to Magnimar I shall be sure to collect the bounty on his head.
What came next was perhaps the worst of everything. We followed the revenant, and fought our way through the last of Aldern’s ghouls. Finally, we confronted the cursed lordling in a chamber deep below the manner. He was quite clearly unhinged, however thanks to my dweomers of alacrity and Zeliana’s cleansing power of Desna we managed (rather handily) to bring the dread creature low. But it was not the fight that made this the most unpleasant part, no. Rather, it was his manner- his obsession with Zeliana and how he almost needed her to replace the wife he had killed.
Furthermore, the wickedness of the manner soon fell upon me as well. As we investigated the room where Aldern had holed up, I noticed various broken pieces of glass and boxes on a table begin to rattle. Investigating, I spied a patch of fungus growing on the wall, with a shadow almost like that of a man. As I stared at it more, the shape began to resemble my own shadow. Luckily, I was able to tear myself away from it before some unpleasantness could befall me.
With Aldern’s death came the discovery of something far more sinister. In his pocket was a handwritten letter in elegant script, linked Aldern to some organization called “the Brothers,” and commanded him to kill greedy souls and mark them in some process called the “Sihedron ritual.” The author of the letter, the self-proclaimed “Wanton of Nature’s Pagan Forms” seemed to serve someone who needed these souls harvested by this ritual.
Aldern had been delivering something to the Brothers and was transformed into a dread ghast during one such delivery. It also seems that he was indebted to them and that his deliveries were to pay off this debt. Judging from Aldern’s excavation of the area below the manor, it must have been the necromantic fungus that grows here. The malevolent spirit that pervaded the manor was the source of both a strong necromantic aura, and the fungus that grew there.
Perhaps the one good thing I may record is our success in lifting the curse from the manor. Through a combination of arcane and divine thaumaturgy, Zeliana and I managed to destroy some form of moldering spirit that was responsible for everything that happened in the house.
As best as I could tell, the presence of the puzzle box at the “fungus man’s” feet suggested that it was Vorel who had been the spirit haunting the manor. Something happened in the middle of his transformation, probably something caused by his wife, who had decided to stop him (or so the spirits showed us). Whatever had happened, we were able to set it right and remove the taint from this place.
Still, I cannot shake the feeling that we have only seen the beginning of some terrible saga. It is true, “His Lordship” Aldern Foxglove, “the Skinsaw Man,” is dead and his murder-spree is over. But the presence of the Sihedron rune and its connection to some ritual to harvest greedy souls suggests a far more powerful entity has a hand in all of this. But who, or what? I pray Irori preserve us and reveal to me the truth of this mystery soon. Although perhaps it is a truth I would be better off not knowing.
We must make for Magnimar soon, unless our trail grows cold like the now inanimate corpse of Aldern Foxglove.
Fireday, Lamashan 24, 4708- Although I am not fully (mentally) recovered from the events of yesterday, I awoke this morning feeling refreshed and empowered.
For the past month I have found my reliance on Irori to assist me through these troubled times growing. As a result, I have taken up practicing the grace of movement Irori instructs his followers in as a sort of meditative exercise, as well as perhaps an attempt to connect with my Vudrani blood. Recently, I have grown rather proficient at fighting unarmed and I believe I am now nimble enough to strike so without leaving myself open to counterattack. I have yet to test this fully, as I fear that sparring with Urgrosh may result in a far too real injury for my liking.
Today was consumed mostly be overland travel. I seem to have quickly forgotten the irritations that accompany sleeping in a bedroll. When I am a more practiced wizard, I shall be sure to learn dweomers that allow me to rest properly (and comfortably!)
Starday, Lamashan 25, 4708- We arrived in Magnimar today. There was much to do and little time to do it in. First, we collected the bounty on Shaz “Redshiv” Bilger and what a handsome reward it was! 500 gold pieces and we only had to slay a massive, beghouled bat! I must admit though, I did not like the look of the Justice who awarded us the bounty. He had some strange presence about him which belayed his grim demeanor.
At any rate, we decided to split up and search for Aldern’s dwellings in our own separate ways. I made use of the Pathfinder Lodge located in Magnimar to look up information on Aldern’s previous address. Needless to say I was successful- it was a simple matter of checking the library for a census record. I also met a rather alluring Chelaxian pathfinder, Almya Gorangal. Her ambition and her cold countenance remind me in many ways of Aula. Bah!
I shake my head even now as I write this, for on my way to the Pathfinder Lodge I actually passed the townhouse I was looking for. As I hurried to the location I became aware that my companions were approaching from the opposite direction. How…annoying, it seems that their unorthodox method of intelligence gathering seems to work just as well as my organized, reasoned method.
Gaining entry to the townhouse was simple. We had the key; we merely had to find which key it was. However, the occupants of the townhouse were what were most surprising for, as we searched the den we came face to face with Aldern Foxglove and his deceased wife, both very much alive. Of course, it does not take a wizard to spot this obvious deception and I am certain that even the simpleton Aerodus was able to take notice of these suspicious circumstances.
At any rate, the doppelgangers demanded an explanation as to how we got into their house, so I attempted to distract them with a long and rambling story. Half way through my story I feigned thirst and requested a glass of water from the pitcher. Our false hosts proceeded to invite me into the kitchen where they would acquire my beverage. Knowing this to be a trap, I quickly cast an invisibility spell on Dorin and bid he follow close behind me.
As expected, as I reached the kitchen the murderous, murdered pair flanked me and drew weapons, revealing their true forms to be some sort of faceless monstrosity. I believe these beasts are called “faceless stalkers,” but my knowledge of aberrations fails me at the moment. At any rate, the battle was pitched by short. However, one stalker managed to score a gash on my arm. I had forgotten how much injury hurt, as I have not been injured since my days on the practice grounds of the Arcanamirium. Zeliana was still willing to repair the minor damage to my arm, which was kind of her.
Searching the townhouse fully we discovered a hidden compartment that contained very interesting documents, including Aldern’s payments to some organization called “The Brothers.” It would seem that he had used this organization to cover the murder of his wife and in return, they demanded he deliver them something below Foxglove manor. Even more interestingly, the repairs to Foxglove manor seem to have been financed one-third in part by the Brothers, and after one-hundred years the Manor and everything in a mile around it would be transferred to the Brothers. Whatever was below that place must have been worth a fortune. A new clue in place, we figured that Aldern’s connection with the murders must be through this Brotherhood.
Once again, we split up, Dorin, Zeliana, and Aerodus to the streets and myself and Urgrosh (as protection) to the Pathfinder Lodge. In the library I was able to learn a bit about the “Brothers of Seven,” obviously the organization we were pursuing. The Brothers of Seven was involved mostly in land prospecting, as well as other mercantile ventures composed of seven anonymous members. It even seemed that they owned a sawmill on Kyver’s Islet. In addition, the venture-captain of the lodge, Canayven Heidmarch, gave me an interesting piece of information- the serial killer was active in Magnimar for several months before our arrival and his targets were the same- bankers, merchants, gambling hall owners, in short, the greedy. This means whatever Aldern was doing for “the Wanton” it has been going on for some time, and he was not her only pawn. I feel it is unnecessary I elaborate on the implications of this discovery.
Reconvening with my compatriots at Kyver’s Islet, we decided to stake-out the sawmill, breaking in and waiting. Much to our surprise, there was no one there. However, soon we were alerted by Vulcan that someone was indeed coming; however they were entering the upper levels of the mill rather than the machinery level.
Quietly we snuck up to the top level of the mill and observed something terrible- a gathering of bizarre cultists worshiping Norgorber and preparing to sacrifice an unconscious man! Without a second to lose we sprang into action, cutting throw wave after wave of surprised cultists in a manner I can only describe as “shock and awe.” Needless to say, it was a combination of Aerodus and my thaumaturgical might, Zeliana’s prayers, and Dorin and Urgrosh’s skill in combat that we were able to take the cultists while sustaining minimal damage. As an added bonus, we even captured their leader without a fight.
Zeliana had fortunately prepared a spell that made interrogating their leader quite easy. Simply put, it forbade him from speaking lies. We proceeded to discover the face of our cult leader and, much to my surprise, found ourselves faced with none other than the Justice who had granted us our reward.
When we attempted to interrogate him about his devotion to his murder cult we were met by a strange string of babble about his “mistress.” Soon, I discovered that he was under some form of enchantment and I was able to break it with the proper counter magic. Upon his liberation, the justice informed us that he had been deceived by some monster called “the Wanton” that dwelled atop the Shadow Clock- a failed attempt to raise the Shadows, a Magnimar slum in the shadow of the Irespan, out of destitution. We also learned that she was guarded by a “sentient” flesh golem and a band of faceless stalkers.
We assured the justice that we would put an end to the lamia and her murderous ways. Before releasing him, I asked the justice about the Sihedron ritual. Apparently, all that is required to harvest the soul is carving the rune on the body before it is dead, then mutilating it. A strange, but simple ritual, that is for sure. This is not to say that the ritual lacks power, some of the most powerful spells a wizard may perform require the simple utterance of one word.
From Justice Ironbriar’s description I was able to conclude that the Wanton was in fact a Lamia Matriarch, a particularly vile breed of lamia that is both a potent spellcaster and a talented warrior. On top of that, Lamia Matriarchs are naturally resistant to magic and are able to drain a man’s wit and will with but a touch. This will promise to be a truly difficult fight.
We recovered a few Spartan possessions from the mill beyond the cultists’ masks, a painting of a strange and fantastic city, and a ledger and diary written in a strange cipher. I will have to spend all of tomorrow attempting to break the code and discover the third language in the cipher.
Sunday, Lamashan 26, 4708- Damned be the gods! It would seem that Ironbriar had deceived us into believing he was innocent of any killings. According to his journal, he was the leader of this Norgorber murder cult and now we have a very narrow window of opportunity in which to deliver justice to our beloved judge. First, we must deal with the Lamia Matriarch, who is the greater threat.
It would also seem that the Brothers of Seven had been selling something called “Vorel’s legacy” to the Red Mantis assassins. Twice damn! Whatever it was below Foxglove manor must be what the brothers were extracting from Aldern, and now this plague is in the hands of a mysterious and ruthless organization of assassins.
Well, in good news we were able to collect a rather hefty bounty on the cultist’s masks from the temple of Iomedae. With new resources available to us, I began to strategize an attempt to fight the Lamia Matriarch at our greatest strength. Needless to say, I found it! The plot is complex, but it should work. We will scale the Shadow Clock while invisible and surprise the Lamia Matriarch in her own nest!
Moonday, Lamashan 27, 4708- The battle with the Lamia was a pitched affair. She put up quite a struggle, inflicting numerous grievous wounds upon Urgrosh and providing to be a seriously frustrating foe for Dorin. Even Aerodus’ impressive power was rendered useless against her natural magic resistance as wave after wave of searing blasts rolled off her scales. However, we were able to defeat the monster with a mighty thrust from Urgrosh’ ranseur.
The faceless stalker minions and “intelligent” golem were but child’s play compared to that beast. In truth, the golem was “intelligent,” but it possessed the intelligence of an idiot- little more sentient than a dog or cat.
Interestingly, we discovered that the Lamia Matriarch had been planning to assassinate the Lord Mayor of Magnimar using the Brothers of Seven. Well, it would seem that we might be able to use this plan in order to strike back at the Justice. Now that the matriarch is out of the way it is only a matter of time before he is aware of our success. We must act quickly if we are to bring this killer to justice.
My mind swims with plans but it is difficult to tell which one is best to implement.
Toilday, Lamashan 28, 4708- Today was marked mostly by quiet study and a lack of excitement. I had Dorin hand over the Justice’s journal, along with my annotations, to the Order of Hellknights present in Magnimar.
END OF PART 2
Next Time: Hook Mountain Massacre