Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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12 Calistril 4710 AR
Know this, on that day, 22 Kuthona 4709, the celebration of the nuptials of my eldest sister was disrupted by an attack ordered by the infidels of Taldor that despise the Dawnflower and her faithful. As Keleshites, we are a natural target for such attacks, although it is not as bad now as it was in the days of Jothan when Keleshites, and Qadirans, and the Dawnflower were so closely associated in the minds of all infidel Taldans. I know not how many escaped the attackers, but I definitely saw my father and middle brother fall at their hands as well as several cousins and my uncle Fasheen.
After my father fell, I went to him and with his last words he directed that I take up the blade of Jothan, and go north to Brevoy, and find my destiny. Many times had he told me of his plans to send me there to establish a northern trade partner, but now I was to go as my own man and write the story of Zahir, rather than just another chapter in the story of Mahmud. If not for the help of my faithful servant, Nolq, I too may have fallen in defense of the caravan, but as my song of battle was fading, he directed me to hide in a pile of rubbish, which I came to discover passed as his preferred resting spot whenever the caravan would came to this particular wadi. I will refrain from passing judgement on the disgusting habits of his people, the Ratfolk, as they have long been allied with the caravans of the Faithful and have demonstrated their disdain of the Rough Beast. This alone is considered enough to gain shade, water, and salt from my people.
Nolq and I were able to escape the wadi under the cover of night, although the light of burning tents and wagons did make for a few harrowing moments along the way. I had but scraps of wealth on me at the time and several of my favorite passages from The Birth of Light and Truth. In time, Nolq and I were able to travel to Isarn and gain passage to this trading post in southern area of Brevoy historically known as Rostland. It was in Isarn that we sold some minor jewels and purchased items we believed would be important to us as we passed through the river Kingdoms to my destiny in Brevoy, for I could feel it was my destiny to come to Brevoy. The wide rivers, cragged peaks, tall forests, and cramped valleys are no match for the majesty and glory of the sunkissed dunes and rolling planes of my youth, but as a boy becomes a man he must sometimes sacrifice in the service of the destiny She has laid out for him, and if my destiny is among the unclean and ungroomed of these barbaric lands, then so shall it be.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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28 Calistril 4710 AR: The Road to Oleg’s
Not even a week ago did I receive my charter, granting me “rights of exploration and travel” within the Greenbelt, and already I have arrived at a frontier keep called “Oleg’s Trading Post.” As I was travelling to Oleg’s, I met several strange and curious personas, whom I added to my retinue alongside Nolq, and that irascible dire rat of his Milq.
The first was a seemingly human woman of surpassing beauty, with a mane of shimmering metallic black hair, shot through with what appeared to my eyes as an oil rubbed bronze. Her violet eyes and lithe figure give her an appearance that is both athletic and otherworldly. I don’t know what to make of her, but her skill with the bow was obvious, and she is not a woman to be discounted. She is a warrior. The shells, (or are they metallic plates?, that are sewn to her jerkin give a light jingle as she walks, and her green cape is held up by a clasp made of antler that looks like a small bow itself. If not for the swish of the shells, one might not hear her walking at all, as her soft knee high boots pad along and make not a sound. She goes by the name Kara Noor
The most impressive was a large human man, who calls himself Stanislaw. When I first saw him, he was atop a great black destrier, a prince among horsekind. Stanislaw told us that his father is a great lord up north, but that unfortunately his mother is a tavern wench. He seemed proud of his bastardy, and the mix of bloods, high and low, has produced a mountain of a man. Not atypical of the journeyman knights of Taldor I remember from my youth, he wears a suit of chain, with a helmet and a lance, but he wields a halberd, and not a sword, and his tabard has a strange moniker of a bird upon it. I believe this bird to be of some significance to the puzzle that is Stanislaw, and I will have to research it when I have time.
My third new friend is a gnome. I have met but few gnomes, and I don’t recall them being at all like this one. Ban-den-mor-root is how he pronounced his name, or that is as near as I can put it into the Kelish script. His violet eyes cause me to wonder if he and Kara have a common ancestor, but his yellow and green hair make it more likely that his father bred with a piñata. He is clad in leather with studding and a reinforced kilt, but his weapon is something I can only describe having never seen the like. With a long haft that connects the two halves of the weapon, it is nearly as tall as he. The one end has an unremarkable hammer, as one might see used by a miner, or a carpenter, but the other end has a curved hook, like a butcher might use to hang meat. In addition, he had bits of junk dangling from his armor: string, bits of wood, and in general silly things, and over his back a crossbow. He expressed that he was from Brevoy, some village near the Sellen River, perhaps there is a piñata factory in that area?
Each of these individuals had a writ similar to my own, and was headed towards Oleg’s, hoping to fight banditry and make a life for themselves.
We arrived at Oleg’s shortly before the evening meal. We found Oleg on the roof of the stable making some repairs, and his wife, Svetlana, was preparing a stew, or porridge, I was never sure quite which. At first taken for bandits ourselves, we explained our purpose, and Oleg told us of his own plight. Monthly raids by a local bandit crew were sapping his resources, and he simply couldn’t pay. In fact, the next day being the first of the new month, it was expected that the extortionists would be coming to lay claim to more of Oleg’s lawful goods. We expressed our own willingness to put down this banditry, and Oleg and Svetlana provided rooms, and some of the stew, or porridge, or whatever it was. We gave the place an inspection, and it seems well enough built, albeit with a bit of disrepair. The fort is of wood, with ten foot tall walls, which Stanislaw calls a “palisade.” On each corner, there are square turrets that are twenty feet tall with an unserviceable catapult, and narrow walkways along the walls between the turrets. With a force of thirty or so, and the catapults in good condition, Stanislaw is certain he could hold the place against an army of hundreds. I certainly hope that won’t be necessary.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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1 Pharast 4710 AR: What Happened At Oleg’s
Shortly before dawn this morning, we awoke and began our preparations. I have not much experience in martial matters, but my compatriots seem well versed in these things, and so a plan was laid out. Not that the plan helped any, but at least we had one.
With Oleg on the roof again, and his wife hiding in a building, we laid our ambush. Bandenmorroot was hidden in the refuse bin in the center of the keep, ready to unleash the fury of his crossbow. Kara was crouched on the walls, also prepared to use her bow, should the need arise. Nolq was hiding behind the open gate, prepared to slam it shut after the bandits had entered. Stanislaw was astride his great warhorse, and hiding behind the bunkhouse. For myself, I was between the outdoor eating area and the bunkhouse, waiting to give the sign that our plan was to be enacted.
As I saw the nose of the first of the bandits come into my view, with white knuckles, I gripped the twin sticks I had rescued from the firebin, and commenced a martial staccato on the wall to my left. I heard the hooves of Stanislaw’s beast begin to rise and fall as he rode around into full view of the bandits. Stanislaw’s voice roared out and demanded that the bandits throw down their arms and renounce banditry. I will admit that the speech seemed better as he practiced it the night before, but still it seemed suitably impressive, and had I been a bandit I would surely have succumbed to the demand, but these ruffians were not dissuaded. Several of the lesser ones looked to their leader for guidance, but he ordered them to attack and ransack the place. With that, I continued providing martial encouragement to my compatriots as I stepped forward and unleashed the full fury of the arcane energies available to me. Unfortunately, the gifts given unto me by the Dawnflower are meager, and despite hoping to incapacitate several of the thugs, I was able to only slightly injure one of their horses. Perhaps fighting bandits is not where my true talents lay?
My companions, however were much more effective. Through the dust and din of battle, I heard Stanislaw give a wild woop of battle, as his charger plowed into the enemy. Kara and Bandanmoreroot both commenced volleys into the mounted throng, which numbered some five bandits, each mounted and two pack horses. What truly amazed me, however was the furious effect made by the flaming spheres hurled by Nolq. In short order, the bandits were unhorsed, except for their leader, who was attempting a hasty retreat out of the keep, but either a well-placed arrow by Kara, or more fire from Nolq dropped the lout in his tracks, and I was able to walk out and retrieve his horse back into the stockade.
The battle wrapped up just a few moments ago, but I wanted to record things while they were fresh in my mind. Kara Nor is providing for the healing needs of man and beast, as it seems both Bandenmorroot and Stanislaw were grievously injured, along with several of the horses. As I write this, the smell of blood, and horse sweat, and the cries of the injured horses assault my senses, but my companions act as if this is what happens after a battle.
What have I gotten myself into?
| Oid |
This is great - keep it up please!
Nolq, curious about what his good friend Zahir was writing in this book, manages to read it that night while Zahir is sleeping. It was easy since Zahir was never very good at protecting his things, but then again most large folk aren't. After a quick perusal, he slip s the journal back where Zahir keeps it.
The next morning, either inspired at this excess of note taking, or because he doesn't really trust these humans to get things right (though the gnome seems educated), Nolq volunteers to be cartographer. Next to his mark that will represent Oleg's, he records the actual important information:
Plentiful (free) food
Good (free) wine
Great exchange rates for used equipment
Low capital reserves
He doesn't bother to record that yet again he was misunderstood by the locals, since leaving his desert home, it has become commonplace.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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2 Pharast 4710 AR: What Happened After Oleg’s
Much has happened since I finished writing yesterday. I will need to recopy yesterday’s notes, as my shaking hand will be illegible for most.
Following the defeat of the brigands, Oleg expressed his pleasure and relief at our success, and I gathered a bit of surprise. Svetlana provided a wonderful lunch, during which our future plans were discussed. Several, including Bondanmorroot and Kara were in favor of immediately setting forth to backtrack the ruffians and determine their origins, whereas Stanislaw was of the opinion that a day of relaxation, drinking and planning would be a better plan. I was personally surprised at the thought that anything else needs be done, as it seemed to me that with this defeat, the bandits of the area were surely not going to trouble Oleg again. I was taken aback when Nolq expressed an opinion, particularly one contrary to my own. He sided with Kara’s faction. Stanislaw reluctantly agreed to follow the majority, and I certainly wasn’t going to dissent once the three of them had decided on a course of action, Nolq’s opinion notwithstanding.
We travelled the day with the Kara and Bondenmoreroot alternating between who was searching for clues of the bandit’s path. I couldn’t tell which side of an acacia is the north side myself, or how deep it grows, so I certainly had no opinions on this tracking business, but the two would occasionally have discussions over how deeply some divet or rut in the road was, and just what that meant regarding the origins of the bandits.
As night approached, a place to camp was decided, and apparently it was decided that there needed to be some sort of watch set in order to keep us safe. As one who enjoys his sleep, I volunteered for the first such watch, so that once I could bed down, I would be enabled to sleep right through the night. Any concerns about the need for such a watch were clearly for naught, as the night passed uneventfully, and we awoke the following morning, and set out again.
I will say that the quality of horseflesh that the bandits were using seems excellent, particularly that of the leader, which I coopted at the end of yesterday’s events and have taken to calling him Mukhtar, as he is my chosen one. It is humorous watching Nolq and the gnome as they climb up on their mounts, perhaps I will suggest rope ladders to make the task easier.
We had been riding for some time, following whatever random path that Kara and Banddenmorot could discern, when after noon, we had a small stream to our left. I believe it to be some minor tributary of the East Sellen River, and will attempt to confirm this at a later time. At this point the stream was somewhat fordable, and discussions were going on as to where to go from here, when an unseen archer up in the trees took fire against Kara, nearly hitting her, but giving us all quite a start. I am unsure of the nature of tracking, but I am sure that they should have been aware of the presence of nearly ten enemies, who set upon us.
As my companions were determining how to respond, Mukhtar and I moved forward and I entreated our assailants to lay down their arms, and to accept the grace of Sarenrae. I briefly explained the fate of those that had attacked Oleg’s, and offered up an amnesty should any decide to leave the side of banditry and embrace Her light and forgiveness. My gracious offers were met with a faceless feminine laugh from the trees and four more arrows in our direction, one of which knocked Nolq clean out and off his horse.
Accepting the volley as their response, Bandonmorroot jumped off his horse, clearly not as smoothly as he would have chosen, and loosed a crossbow bolt up into the trees. A cry of pain let me know that he had met with some success. Recognizing the grievous nature of Nolq’s injury, Kara healed him from afar and moved into some cover behind her horse. Recognizing that diplomacy had failed, I too took cover behind a tree and began reciting Aroden’s Counterattack, to inspire my companions. I fear the enemy was unmoved by my song, as they shot Kara with an arrow. Two bandits emerged from the brush against Stanislaw, but as they approached, he struck a great blow against one with his lance, while the other lightly damaged him. A further bandit struck Stanislaw with an arrow, in what was clearly an effort by the enemy to strike down our mightiest warrior. Other arrows missed their intended targets, but Bundenmooroot fired again against his previous target, and the corpse fell from his perch above. Out of the woods where the two bandits had emerged came a female, most likely the one who taunted my offer of amnesty. She wielded two axes and came at Stanislaw, which was not to her benefit, as he struck her a furious blow and she missed him. I moved into position and sent a shard of notes into two of the ruffians, which struck them both, but dropped neither. My luck ran out, as an arrow from above caught me in the side. One of the bandits that had been hit by my music took a last errant swing at Stanislaw and fell to the ground. Another two bandits approached Stanislaw, with one hitting him, and Stanislaw slumped in his saddle. Nolq, finally recovering from his earlier injuries threw a bomb into the fray, and injured several of our opponents. The fire must have scared Stanislaw’s mount, as the great beast withdrew from the fight, he took our Vizier with him, leaving behind only rooks and bishops. With Stanislaw removed from the battle, the maiden leapt up on a log and took a swing at me, I quickly withdrew, only to be fired upon by another archer who missed. Two attackers then moved in on Kara, with one of them hitting her. In a commanding fashion, Nolq demanded Kara to back up, which she did. He followed her actions with another bomb, followed by a spell of entanglement by Kara that caught three enemies including the female. Ignoring the entanglement, two foes came to flank me, the second of which struck me a blow I shall not soon forget. Bundanmorroot came into melee and dropped one of my flankers, which was much appreciated by me. Again Nolq commanded Kara to retreat, which she did, and again he dropped a bomb, this time on the female who expired immediately. With the grace of Sarenrae guiding my hand, I struck down the other bandit threatening me, and Nolq hurled a bomb from afar that sent the remaining bandit falling from his treestand.
Exhausted and overcome, I dropped to my knees in prayer to thank Her for sparing me; I heard Kara directing the others. The gnome went for the horses, and for Stanislaw. Nolq was gathering equipment and supplies from the bandits. I could barely see him as my servant. Where did he come into his voice and abilities, and why did he not use this to defend our caravan? Perhaps his abilities were latent? After Kara had administered to the wounds of the group, we decided to use their camp for the night. Tomorrow we will head back to Oleg’s and claim the prize for eliminating the bandits.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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3 Pharast 4710 AR: Exploring the Greenbelt
We awoke this morning following another uneventful night. I could really use the sleep that standing watch is denying me. Over breakfast, I was dismayed to learn that we were not heading back to Oleg’s, but rather were going to explore the area around the bandit camp itself. I was unclear what we were looking for, but after witnessing the ferocity of my companions yesterday, I determined to not sway the cart, and just go with their plan.
Naturally, the day was a waste. I was certain we passed the same location three times, although Kara and Bandenmorroot were adamant that our path was true for exploring the area with a minimum of backtracking. All rested and healed, Stanislaw seemed anxious for the opportunity to unleash his fury against more enemies, but nothing was found all day, and here I sit by the fire recording an uneventful day, knowing that once again, I am needlessly losing sleep, “watching” for something that will not come, but this is the final night. In the morning, I am declaring that standing watch is wasted effort, and sleep is more important.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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4 Pharast 4710 AR: What Passed in the Night
I am ashamed to have not trusted my companions more, for they know these matters better than I. Barely had I laid down my pen last night, and taken up my Plog, but I heard a noise in the woods to the south of the camp. Not sure of what it might be approaching, I awoke the group and made ready for the unknown. Immediately upon awakening, Kara brought forth a midnight dawn that illuminated the area. With the grace of Sarenrae washing over me, I could see an abomination of a creature. Half bear, and half owl, it was the stuff of nightmares and legends. I dare not tell the group that I believed it had been called by my music, as it was fascinated by my notes, and held fast listening and watching me play. For half a minute I held it enthralled, while my compatriots girded themselves for battle. Stanislaw mounted his destrier, Nolq sipped some of his brews, and Kara blessed us with the power of her deity. When all were prepared, I switched to a tale of Sarenrae facing off against the Rough Beast, and my companions were bolstered by the moral of this story.
Released from the captivity of my notes, the creature charged against Bandenmoroot, who failed to hit it. Kara loosed an arrow that struck the beast, although it only seemed to enrage it further. The creature struck the gnome and grabbed him up. I tried to cast grease upon the gnome, but in my haste, I cast it under the creature. Nolq hurled his fire at the creature, and Stanislaw charged the creature with a mighty call of war. The gnome freed himself from the creature, and Kara healed him, but the creature followed Bandennmooroot and struck him to the ground. I turned my music to shards and injured the creature. This was followed by Stanislaw’s mount, which reared up and with two hooves delivered thunderous blows against the creature, followed by Stanislaw finishing it off with a final blow of the lance.
With breakfast cooking, Bundenmorroot is skinning the defeated beast, and I believe he intends to make a small tent out of its hide. Thankfully we survived the attack of the creature last night, and I will not again speak ill of standing watch. It seems that the plan for today is another day of simple exploring. No doubt as wasted of a day as yesterday.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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4 Pharast 4710 AR: The Radish Incident
After breakfast, Bondenmoroot and Stanislaw announced a plan to train up the horses to make them more fit for combat. I volunteered Mukhtar for this learning, but insisted that it be Stanislaw who does his training, for obvious reasons. The gnome will be training Kara's horse, which seems more than appropriate.
Later in the morning we commenced to explore the forest, with Kara at the lead. Shortly after the sun had passed its zenith, she came to a stop, and informed us that she had spied activity ahead. The creatures ahead had also spotted her and commenced moving in our direction aggressively. Kara called upon her deity to bless our endeavors, and I stepped forward in an attempt to offer quarter and parley rather than violence. The creatures rebuffed my offers and sent a volley of epithets and curses in our direction, that was so vile that I chose not to translate it for my companions. Kobolds these were, and their tongue is particularly suited to invective. While the gnome tied several of the horses off to a tree, Stanislaw rode forth boldly towards the clearing, the sun glinting off of his armor as he left the shade of the trees. Kara must have seen several of them, as she awoke the floor of the forest in their direction and entangled them all where they stood. With their movement slowed, they still showed no signs of relenting in their desire for our blood, but kept screaming and calling us thieves, and cowards, and worse. I dismounted Mukhtar, and tried to find a spot where I could see the enemy. I heard the twang of a tiny bowstring to my right, and one of the kobolds taunted back out our gnome, saying “not a scratch.” The bold voice of Stanislaw rippled and thundered through the forest warning us of, “two moving towards the left flank.” Kara moved forward, maintaining cover from the enemy. A kobold hurled a spear at her, which missed. She loosed an arrow back at her attacker, which missed wildly. I crept forward and commenced a song of battle to inspire my comrades in the battle that had erupted on what had been a lovely spring morning. I saw Nolq hurl his fiery bombs, and he connected with an enemy. Bandenmurroot came through carrying his silly hook hammer thing and headed towards the battle. I heard another thwang, and I saw a kobold drop. I yelled out to the kobolds that one of their friends had been disabled, and that no more blood needed to be shed, but they responded as one might expect, and so the battle continued. I could hear the battle off to the north, as it sounded like Stanislaw was holding off several, while the rest of us could hardly handle one. Kara moved forward, remaining under cover. I was waiting to see how things might develop. Two kobolds came into view in the passage between trees to the south where Bandemnoorot had been hiding. The both fired at the gnome and missed. Bolstered by my faith, I moved past the gnome, and caused my song to become as glass, shredding the skin of the two kobolds. Stanislaw and Nolq yelled to us from afar that the threat at their end of the field was handled, I would have expected nothing less, but was amazed when Stanislaw also then arrived behind me, his great horse lathered up from effort. The gnome pressed by and made an errant lunge at our enemies who dropped back and fired at me with their slings causing minor damage, but missing my plog. Kara launched an ineffectual arrow at the pair, I suspect she thought she was seeing double and attempted to “shoot the one in the middle.” Girding myself one last time, I stepped up and once again let loose the Voice of Sarenrae into Her enemies, and they both fell to the ground bleeding. Kara and I staunched the flow of blood from the vanquished, as Stanislaw went to check on the status of the foes from the north, who turned out to both have expired from their wounds. However a third enemy was found to still be breathing, and so we stabilized him. All of this could not have taken more than a minute or two, but such blood was let, and it turned out it was all for a patch of radishes. A fruit that I am not too fond of anyways, but apparently the kobolds love them.
While tying up the surviving kobolds, Nolq was hit on the head with a radish, leading me to believe there were more kobolds, possibly children, hiding in the trees. I commenced calling for them, and Kara healed everyone in an effort to demonstrate good faith. The kobolds were still unrelenting in their aggression, and we were forced to gag them and tie them to the “corpse horse” as it has begun to be called.
With no other course of action evident, we continued on our way, and mapped the remainder of the area, while Bandenmouroot continued to be pelted with radishes.
This travelling all day, and standing watches at night is tiring, and so I am finishing my watch as I finish up this entry, and am looking forward to hours of uninterrupted sleep.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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5 Pharast 4710 AR: Rude Awakenings
Last night, during the gnome’s watch, strange events unfolded, strange events indeed. I awoke to find my lungs feeling as if they were afire, and a heavy smoke in the whole area. The smoke caused a dark blackness to cover me, such that I could not even see the fire, and my fit of coughing lead to nausea and an overwhelming sickness. I heard Bundenmooroot’s voice through the darkness, so I crawled towards him, and once out of the smoke, I stood up. There was much confusion from the group, as I heard talk of the radish throwers attacking during our sleep, and other such guesses regarding our predicament. Kara called forth the brilliance of the Dawnflower, allowing me to see once again, and Nolq declared that the smoke effect was caused by a spell of pyrotechnics. Immediately after, we were all entangled. At first I thought Kara had somehow bungled her own spells, but it became clear that was not the case. The voice of reason came to me, sounding much like Stanislaw, as he directed us to “move towards the picket line,” presumably referring to the line of horses. Stanislaw, Kara and myself moved out of the grasping vegetation. The gnome and Stanislaw deduced that there might be fey about causing this mischief, and commenced an attempt to parley with them in their own tongue. I was most surprised to hear Stanislaw able to converse in the melodious sylvan tongue. What other secrets does that man have? I made feeble attempts to support the entreaty, but my breathing was still laborious, and I was mostly unhelpful. Shortly thereafter appeared four creatures such as I might not have believed could exist, if I had not seen them with my own eyes. With the body of a cricket, and the torso and head of a small elven woman, these tiny creatures are apparently known as “grigs.” Stanislaw was able to forge an agreement with the grigs, although his methods for doing so were possibly not of the textbook variety. It was clear also, that they had no love for the kobolds in our possession, so we agreed to carry them with us.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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5 Pharast 4710 AR: More Fey?
While travelling today, we were hit with a magical sleep. It affected Nolq, as well as both his and Kara’s horses, which answers some questions I had about mental fortitude between Nolq and Kara, but not between Nolq and the horses, maybe tomorrow? After much searching, we could find nothing that may have caused this, and so we drove on.
Later in the day, Stanislaw and the gnome continued training the horses. I am quite glad that it is Stanislaw training mine, as earlier today, Bandenmuroot and Kara had an argument over whether a certain sign on a path was indicative of a squirrel or a bear. I could not seriously claim to know how to identify the footprints of either, but I have to believe that the two cannot look remotely similar.
My watch is ending, and I reluctantly am going to try and sleep, before we are awoken in the middle of the night by another interruption by the fey, or worse.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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6 Pharast 4710 AR: A Roof and a Dry Bed
At first light, this morning we got back on the path less travelled, on our way back to Oleg’s. As we approached the post some hours later, Kara waved us off the road into hiding. There were strangers on the walls of the place, dressed in mail, and looking like they owned the place. The gnome went forward and scouted the situation, and reported back that there were “strangers on the walls of the place, dressed in mail, and looking like they owned the place.” Indeed, it would seem he did not provide any new information. Kara offered to tighten her corset and ride forward to check things out, but Stanislaw vetoed the idea and lead us in boldly approaching Oleg’s. As we came into view, there were shouts of “riders approach” and several more came into view. There wasn’t time to send Bandemnoor ahead to make sure he agreed there were several more now in view. Stanislaw engaged them in conversation, and declared that “we are friends of Oleg” and boasted of several deeds to prove our bona fides. Oleg must have heard Stanislaw, as he came forth confirming that we were friends, and invited us in. It seems the newcomers are soldiers from Brevoy, sent in response to Oleg’s needs of protection. There were numerous tents arranged inside the compound, and their leader was a pompous fellow named “Kestin Garass” who claimed they had been detained in their arrival here, and thanked us for accomplishing his job by saving Oleg and dispatching the bandits. Stan showed them his writ, but Kestin seemed unimpressed, claiming to have seen hundreds of such. In retrospect, it does appear as if mine might have been one of many produced via mechanical means, and not handwritten at all.
While there, our gnome overheard discussion of there being some mites in the area. I’m not sure exactly where, but creatures from the underdark could be particularly needful of the Dawnflower’s teachings. We turned over the bandit corpses, and the living kobolds, who once again refused to make arrangements for peace with us. Kestin had them summarily beheaded, which shows both the shortsightedness of the kobolds, and the lack of compassion the soldiers of Brevoy have. Law is fine and good, but it needs to be governed with compassion, or it is not worth having. After a brief reprovisioning, we set out again to explore the areas immediately around the outpost, but naturally we got lost. I’m not sure if it is Kara or Banden’s fault this time, and I’m not sure it matters. We managed to find our way back to Oleg’s by cleverly following the road, which I’m pretty sure Stanislaw found.
I am feeling much better though, with a warm meal in my stomach, and a fire in the hearth. Oleg expects a caravan in tomorrow, with wares for sale, and an opportunity for us to sell some of the loot we have collected. A few days of square meals and comfort, and I will be ready to adventure again.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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7 Pharast 4710 AR: On the Road Again
A few days of comfort my arse. First thing this morning, Stanislaw was getting everyone up, and Nolq was busy making notes on his map of the area and handling the menial tasks of selling items to the traders. We were able to distribute some money to everyone, but apparently the gnome needed even more, so I loaned him some. He claimed it was for “a very nice bow,” but the gleam in his eyes made me think it was more likely to be strong drink or loose women, not that there any of those around, for a human anyways. By midmorning we were out again, and finished mapping the area with no surprises.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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8 Pharast 4710 AR: The Better Part of Valor
We stayed at Oleg’s again last night, and hit the trail first thing this morning. Heading southwest from the outpost we happened into rolling hills, which were the closest thing to home I have seen in this Rov-Forsaken place. With clear view of the Sun, and a breeze in your face, how could any man get lost? Well, fortunately, Kara is no man, and so she lead us in circles for some time, until finally leading us right up to a huge creature. I had heard of shamblers before, but never hoped to see one, and hope never to again. It rose up out of the grass, several horselengths in front of Kara. It seemed startled, as were we all, except Nolq, who declared in his highest pitch of voice that, “that is an exceptionally powerful creature, and we are completely outmatched and must flee.” Certainly had I just been with Nolq, Kara, and the gnome that was true, but with Stanislaw and his faithful destrier, I am positive we could have dispatched the foe, but it was not to be. Kara snapped out of her fugue and mounted her horse quickly, which soon showed us its hind end, as it moved directly away from the beast. What choice did the rest of us have, for without Kara around, who would get us lost? And so we followed suit and fled the solitary creature, in the middle of a grassy field, with unlimited line of sight and even ground upon which the horses were quite steady. I can only imagine the short work Stanislaw would have made of that creature.
The ups and downs of “adventuring” are taking their toll, but I believe I am getting the hang of this, and I look forward to tomorrow, when possibly we will encounter more fun loving fey, who can play tricks on Nolq and Bunden.
| Oid |
Nolq was bored during last watch. As he had no new brews to create that morning, he decided to catch up on what his good friend Zahir was writing in his book. Perhaps it would pass the time. Surely Zahir doesn't mind or he would secure it better. How is one to keep up their sleight of hand skills with so little to practice on?
After reading Zahir's text and slipping it back into his pack, Nolq felt suddenly homesick. Zahir's writing reminded him so strongly of home, and warren-mates left behind, Nolq began to question why he was wandering around the wilderness chasing rumors. His companions apparently don't know east from west, or that Shambling Mounds were resistant to fire! Obviously our group can't handle enemies who are resistant to fire. There are no Shambling Mounds wandering around the desert. Why am I here? These riches that Zahir used to talk about better start showing up.
Bored again, Nolq starts to search the area for anything edible, or even better poisonous. Either way, what he finds will be useful. Buoyed by this pleasurable thought, he contently passes the remainder of his watch in peace.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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I was fortunate enough to secure the services of an excellent artist, and old gaming buddy, Matt Plog, who drew up a portrait of Zahir and his instrument, and I am pleased to share it with you.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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9 Pharast 4710 AR: The Circle of Bones
This morning was uneventful, and the Her radiance was strong and warmed up the day rapidly.
As the sun was approaching its zenith, Kara and Bandunmorroot called a halt and informed us that they had spotted an anomaly on the horizon. After observing for a bit, we approached what was a huge blight on the earth: a dark patch of bones and death several arrow-flights across. From our distance, we could the see bones of boars, deer, bears, and humanoids, some of them very old and some more recent.
It was briefly discussed just who should go in and check out the situation, with the gnome making a strong argument in favor of Nolq going. Nolq, however seemed to have received a leg injury of some sort, and was thus not the best choice for the mission. The gnome then reluctantly agreed to undergo the task. It had been discussed that he should become hidden and sneak his way into the center of the patch, but apparently he decided to be a bit more bold than that. Other than a few furtive movements and vague attempts to hide behind objects smaller than himself, he appeared to make no real effort to obscure his presence, and I watched his approach almost to the center of the blighted zone. As he approached the center, a creature bolted out of a hidden redoubt and struck at the gnome, who was noticeably injured by the creature, who then ran back to its hole. I immediately commenced a song of battle and fortitude to bolster my damaged companion in his endeavors and moved forward. Kara likewise stepped forward and called down the benefits of her god on the group. Our aid being primarily offensive in nature, it did not assist Bunden as the creature again struck forth and injured him. Stanislaw charged forward on his mighty stallion and forced the creature to retire to its lair again. The gnome threw down his bow and pulled out his silly hammer-hook thing.
At that moment a second creature came forth in similar cowardly fashion and again Banden was injured, but not before Stanislaw struck the creature a mighty blow. Nolq drank several of his concoctions, and I yelled at my companions to drop back. Kara dismounted and pulled her bow. One of the creatures came out again, and Kara took an ill-aimed shot at it. The first creature again bit the gnome, and I called forth a field of grease between the holes and the gnome, in hopes of stopping their tactics. The second of the two struck, and both Banden and Stanislaw struck back, with Stanislaw’s crushing the creature into small bits. Nolq moved up, as did Kara, and both fired at the first creature when it emerged again. Both of them appeared to hit it, but not before it again bit the gnome. I called forth more grease onto the field. The gnome grabbed his bow, and moved back, taking cover behind Stanislaw, apparently realizing what I already knew. The creature came forth a final time, as both Kara and Stanislaw struck it.
The gnome immediately pleaded with Kara for the healing power of her god, which seemed at once both sensible and a bit unseemly in an aspiring warrior.
After some discussion, Nolq went into the holes to ensure the enemy was defeated, and shortly after returned with the corpse of a bandit. The bandit had a map that showed which showed a claw shaped tree on a hill, and a big red X. My companions could only conclude it was a treasure map, which seemed more appropriate to the tales of Skull and Shackles told by sailors in bars than something a bandit would have, but I will reserve final judgement on this should we ever find this tree and hill.
More exploring ensued, and now I am about to go on watch. I cannot help but think that tonight will be eventful, and my watch will be important.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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16 Pharast 4710 AR: The Monotony of the Trail
The last several days have been relatively uneventful.
On the 10th, we discovered a small crack that turns out it could conceivably be useful as a source of wealth. I shall say no more on this subject, as even Nolq has left only cribbed messages on the map about it.
On the 12th, we found a rickety bridge across the Thorn River where we camped for the night. The next morning, bridge easily supported the gnome, but when his horse went across, it barely survived as the bridge crumbled and the horse tumbled. It managed to reach the opposite shore with the gnome, but now we were unsure how to continue. We decided to head back upriver to the bandit camp we had cleared out several days ago, as it was fordable there. By the 15th we had arrived back at the broken bridge, just on the other side of the river and continued on our way.
Heading south along the river, we found a fordable location where the river split into two branches, and we are camping here for the night.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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18 Pharast 4710 AR: The Sick-amore
From miles away, we could see a large tree, hundreds of feet in height on a large hill. Alas, this isn’t the bandit’s treasure tree, as this tree bears no resemblance to that on the map.
We’re camping under this huge sycamore, which those knowledgeable on such things insist is somewhat excellent sample of the type, even if it seems to be somewhat under the weather.
One more matter of today was of interest. Late in the day as we were approaching the tree, Stanislaw brought his horse alongside mine and queried me on my knowledge of heraldry. He was very circumspect in his questioning at first. I think he was trying to discern both my level of knowledge, as well as what I might know about his personal history. That this noble warrior respects my opinions pleases me to no end, and I cannot wait until tomorrow to continue this discussion. What wonders has he seen, and what great future is his? I look forward to witnessing his deeds, as well as for a good night’s rest, naturally after my watch, although it has been an uneventful for over a week, and travelling with such a warrior as he makes me feel truly blessed by the Dawnflower.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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Ahh - poor Stanislaw...
The Dawnflower has taken him from you sooner than you wished no doubt...
Here now, who is writing this story? I'll get to it!
Zahir needed to arrive at a place and time when it was "safe" to write in his journal, which has now happened, so give me a day or so, and I'll have it written up.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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20 Pharast 4710 AR: The Felling of a Noble Spirit
It was two nights ago that we camped under the great sycamore tree, and only now have I both the will and the time to write of what happened there.
It was during my watch that the first act of this play came. I heard some talking in the darkness and was suddenly rushed and attacked by small blue creatures, which I recognized as mites. Disgusting inhabitants of the underdark, who are insignificant as individual warriors, but in groups, well, I get ahead of myself. These creatures tend to be most resistant to my magicks, and are wicked in their outlook. Had we met under different circumstances, perhaps redeemable as is the mandate of the Dawnflower, but their vile kind shall receive neither shade nor water from me, they shall ever be as the followers of the Rough Beast in my eyes.
My reaction to the assault was to cry out, and who should arise first and come to my aid, but the stalwart Stanislaw, who took not a moment to measure my need, but came straight to assist me. The next to arise was the gnome, whose reaction was not as the noble warriors, but rather to retrieve his bow and fight from afar. Nolq too chose to throw orders and engage from range, by directing me to withdraw. Kara's action upon arising was to call forth the blessed light of the sun, and She bathed us in her radiance, which was most harmful to the foul undercreatures assaulting us. As song burst forth from my lips, I pulled back as demanded by Nolq who hurled one of his boms that killed an enemy and wounded two others. Expecting furhter attack, I pulled forth my scimitar and waited. Indeed, the maggots moved to surround me, and I struck one of them a fatal blow, with Her name on my lips, and its blood on my blade. Another struck at me, but She kept me safe. One of the creatures turned to run, and brave Stanislaw charged the one that had engaged Kara. Bandun relocated and fired an arrow into the back of the retreating mite, which dropped in its tracks, while Kara backed off and fired at yet another to small effect. My next attack was ineffectual, but the creature retreated, as did the last one on Kara. Stanislaw pressed the attack, and chased the creatures into the dark, as did Nolq.
With none of us truly injured, and the creatures proven to be cowardly and weak, we deemed it appropriate to return to sleep, but with an increased watch.
It was during the watch of Nolq and Kara that Nolq screamed an alarm and bombed the enemies as they poured out of the tree. He warned us of a large creature, which he called a "whip centipede" and declared there were six, no five, indeed, he counted down to three, as his bomb had handled quite a few of the mites. The gnome rose and again chose the bow to fight, while Kara called her deity to entangle the area around the disgusting creatures. Another wave emerged, and was able to reach Kara and struck her. I was able to rise and begin a song of battle, in time to see not one, but two gigantic centipedes emerge from the tree. The lead creature struck Kara and she dropped to the ground, while the other hit me with such force as I have not felt since I burned down a tupik as a child. I was reeling with that blow, but I saw the gnome fire at the lead centipede, followed by Stanislaw, who rushed in and placed his body in peril to protect both Kara and I. As he approached, the creature lashed out with its tail and nearly spitted him, but his halberd cut a gash in the creature which it will not soon forget. Despite having several mites in his face, Nolq hurled a bomb that did damage to both of the centipedes. I could barely keep my song up as I stumbled away from the creatures, but I saw with clarity the look in Stanislaw's eyes as the centipede attacked him again and struck the lifespark from his body. As he fell to the ground, the rattle of death from that brave warrior, who had selflessly placed himself in harm's way to save me and Kara, was its own dirge, and not one I care to hear again. The last I saw was the gnome again hitting the cratures with multiple arrows, and the sound of warriors, which I thought might be the Valkyries of legend come to claim a warrior, but I later found to be but men. I tried to move away again, but was struck by a mite, and can not relay what passed for the next several moments.
My next memories were of a cool liquid being forced down my throat, as I could hear horses and men fighting in the distance. I was instructed by the Brevic warriors I saw to gather my things, and prepare to ride. What could I do, but comply with their request. When the warriors found the body of Stanislaw, I heard their leader direct that they "ensure the rights of noble burial will be done" and they were most gentle with the body of the fallen noble. As we road away under the protection of Kestin Garess, and his men, I swore out loud to return, and make the mites pay for what they had done, and to dedicate the tree itself to the memory of the bravest and most honorable man I have ever met.
It was late the next day, as the Brevic warriors were preparing a camp, that I was able to attend to the body of the fallen Stanislaw. I sponged him clean, and said such prayers over him as She would have said over any who fights for good, even if he does not do it in Her name. During my ministrations, I found in his pocket, a lock of golden hair and a weathered
I can only imagine that the hair is from some startling beauty who Stanislaw held dear, but I do know the significance of the parchment. The lock was from his past, but the parchment was to be his future. A future robbed of him by the foul creatures of the tree, creatures who shun the Dawnflower and her radiance, and who should fear her, for while this humble servant cannot bring them to task on his own, I shall make it my quest to find those who can. This camp was near the field of bones where we fought the monster spiders some days ago, and Kestin said his men would stand the watch while we rested, and that on the dawn we could go on our way.
When I saw the Flower of the Dawn this morning, She filled me with renewed purpose. We shall go on our way, and while it may take time, I believe we will be able to reward the foul creatures of the underdark as they deserve. But for now, my companions are merely a gnome, a rat, and a woman, not the likeliest set of heroes under the sun, but they will have to do.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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20 Pharast 4710 AR: New Beginnings
Today is the last day that I will look upon the countenance of noble Stanislaw. Even in death, his nobility of spirit cannot be denied.
This morning I wrote in my journal of the death and loss of his noble spirit, and since we have returned to Oleg’s. It was hard ride, but a quick passage of 6 hours from our campsite with the brevic warriors back to Oleg’s. When we arrived, there were new faces, and Oleg’s is clearly picking up in activity and prosperity. One of the newcomers was brash enough to try and accost us for conversation when we first arrived, but we brushed him off rather quickly, as there was business to be handled.
Nolq made trade with Oleg to sell various of the items we had acquired, and I arranged with Kestin to ensure that Stanislaw’s body was delivered to his family in a safe state. We also ensured that his possessions, including a payout from our recent endeavors was to accompany the body to his family. Perhaps she of the golden hair can take some measure of solace in the relative fortune that Stanislaw provided with his passing.
Nolq informed us after his dealings with Oleg, that while the silver ring we had found is but a bauble, it at first excited Oleg, because Svetlana’s own ring was taken by the bandits some time ago. We have added a description of the ring to our memories, and if we come across it, we will of course, return it to them. All the more so, since Oleg has offered a substantial bounty for the ring, far beyond the value of the ring, but people do have emotional attachment to items it seems.
After all of our business was handled, we determined to meet some of the newcomers. Only one of them merits any discussion, but that one also bears watching. He bears the name Volg Drohar, which I believe says more of him, for those that know its origins, than any description of mine might. Nonetheless, his trappings seemed to be those of a holy warrior of The Inheritor, although his features put the lie to his attempts at that ruse. Wearing a white cloak, and a white tabard with a sunburst covered by a longsword might fool some, but it seems all too convenient, and I fear he may instead follow one of the more foul lords of the pits, if not the Rough Beast himself. Why do I say this might be asked? The taint of his blood runs strong in him. Half a foot taller than most, his skin is a deep red, so red it is black, like congealed blood. He has a toothy grin about him whether it is natural, or if he has filed his teeth matters not, for it feels surreal. The golden sheen of his eyes, and the odd shape of his pupils do not lend themselves to full description, as the pupils appear to change in shape such that it makes me think of Lamashtu, and as he wields an enormous falchion, the weapon of the Mother of Monsters, I place that information up for careful consideration. Why could it not have been a forked tail and a mace, for the Dawnflower herself stood by the Prince of Darkness in their mutual struggle against Rovagug? Claims of being raised by crusaders can be made by anyone, and worn armor, however dark and lacking a shine can no doubt be found on many battlefields across Golarion. The radiant longsword of Iomedae peeks out from his neckline conveniently enough as well. All in all, this one has large shoes to fill (although literally he fills them fine given his size), but figuratively, only time will tell if he is a beast of heart, while he is clearly a beast of body. I pray the Dawnflower is having a joke at my expense, or that I have the grace to follow her example and ally with this evil to combat a greater evil as She did.
It is surely arguable if adding this one to our number raises or lowers the quality of my travelling companions.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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22 Pharast 4710 AR: A Worg at the Gate
When we awoke at Oleg’s yesterday, we discovered Nolq to be considerably under the weather. Kara diagnosed him to be subject to a disease, the name of which I did not catch, but which she believes he caught from the tick the other night at the sycamore tree. Three times three we are cursed by those mites, but their day will come. Even with the disease upon him, we set off to explore more of the area, and I spent the day explaining much of our travels to the demon, or devil, I will determine which, so that he understood some of his responsibilities within the group. Basically, I made it clear that in a fight, his place was to be forward where I could keep an eye on him. With nightfall, the day was done.
During the woman’s watch, I was awakened by the sound of fighting, as I saw a large creature, called a Worg, fighting Kara and she not getting the better of the exchange. I rose up to see the surroundings, and exhorted my comrades to arms with a rendition of Tysander the Crusader, which seemed unknown to Volg, although he did seem heartened by the song itself. Nolq instructed Kara to back up, which she did after completely failing to hit her opponent, despite its size and proximity. She did, however, touch the creature's nose, afterwhich it glowed with the glory of the dawn, which made it easier to see for all. Nolq’s bomb struck the creature true, and it cursed at us as it turned to run. The gnome, who had arisen earlier, took opportunity to shoot the defeated and retreating enemy in its back and dropped it in its tracks. He then promptly went out and began skinning it. I believe I heard him mutter about “a nice set of slippers” as he was doing so.
A quick look around was warranted, but then I fell back into a restless sleep, as I wondered why Volg had made no positive efforts in the fight against the fell beast.
This morning, Nolq feels much refreshed, and Kara believes he has turned the corner on this disease and will recover his strength in a few days.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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24 Pharast 4710 AR: Of Gnomes and the Company they Keep
Two days ago, after the night fight with the worg, the morning in which Nolq was doing much better, we made effort to back track to the beast’s lair, but alas, it’s tracks were too skillfully hidden for Bandenmurroot to follow, so we were left simply exploring the area in general, and discovered naught.
That next day, yesterday, was a strange day indeed, but perhaps it bodes well for the future, as the gnome displayed a rare bit of competence in his craft. That morning, when I awoke, I noted that the gnome had apparently made a friend during the night. A pig. A warthog? A clearly porcine creature, surpassed in its ugliness solely by our newest addition. It seemed this creature had happened upon us during the night, and the gnome had befriended it, and they kept one another company during the night. I am not one who holds that the meat of pigs is naturally unclean, although many of my kin certainly did, however I would not go so far as to think laying with the creatures to be acceptable, but what can one expect of a gnome? At least he was able demonstrate the proficiency with animals which he has claimed. I made mention to my companions that this could be the beast called Tuskgutter, but it was felt by all that it was not, so it travelled with us while we were in the locale, and stayed behind the following morning, as we moved west into a forest.
The forest itself seemed unimpressive, but we found it somewhat littered with traps of various types, for bears and other creatures. The indiscriminant display of casual trapping alarmed us all, as we had adopted the mindset that we were to protect the forest, given Stanislaw’s agreement with the fey of weeks ago. The gnome made attempt to disable one of the traps, but it was Nolq who demonstrated this particular expertise. By the Dawnflower he surprises me more everyday. What was he trapping in the desert that he should have become an expert in such things? From then on, we just destroyed any other traps we discovered, rather than gently disarm them, I guess we only needed one trap added to our baggage?
All in all, mostly uneventful the last several days, but tomorrow the dawn comes again. The observant will have noticed the lack of mention of Volg again. Maybe tomorrow he will do something worthy of note.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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25 Pharast 4710 AR: The Return of the Fey
This day was mostly uneventful, except we destroyed more traps, and around midday, the gnome was assaulted by the radish thrower again. He was also hit with the effects of grease. Both Kara and I attempted to dissuade the invisible annoyance, but in the end we heard a gasp, and it decried us as “killers” and bothered us not again today.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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26 Pharast 4710 AR: The Ire of the Fey
Today, the wrath of the fey was raised a notch. This morning, both Volg and I had our horses caught in an area of entanglement, and Volg was attacked by the most feeble of breaths possible, as a rainbow colored cone exploded into his face to no effect. Perhaps it was the blood of his ancestor that saved him, or perhaps it was simply a joke of our tormentor, but Nolq and the gnome were near simultaneous in identifying the creature as being a faerie dragon, with its euphoria breath. This I will need to research.
The gnome then made efforts to placate the creature, and offered it up a bribe of alcohol in the form of the potent green bottles we liberated from the she-bandit. It was comical that he demonstrated the liquor to be safe, only to choke uncontrollably due to its potency. Perhaps he should stick to pig milk.
We are camping next to the river, and tomorrow intend to follow it to the bandit camp, to cross over, and come back up to explore the other side.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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28 Pharast 4710 AR: What Goes by Along the River
Yesterday morning, I awoke to find that my blade had clearly been moved during the night. We rode south along the river for much of the day, but the gnome knew a “short cut” which we took, and arrived at the bandit camp. We crossed over and came back north. The radish thrower returned with a vengeance, and while radishes were thrown at Volg, his horse was subjected to grease, and it stumbled into the river briefly, to emerge shortly with the both of them soaked. One truth became apparent to me: when waterlogged, even a devil-blood seems much less fearsome, and almost comical.
Today we finished up some exploring, and there had been more fiddling with my blade during the night. There was also more radish throwing at Volg, but nothing as dramatic as spells, and river diving.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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29 Pharast 4710 AR: The Fae Bring Malice
I write this by the dawn of first light. Volg is performing his morning “ritual,” whereby he kneels facing the sun, his sword raised, so that the hilt rests squarely in his line of sight to the sun and recites a litany inaudibly. Is this a perversion of the morning rituals of Iomedae as witnessed by an infidel, or is it pious observance of the same? Why is the forest so opposed to his presence? Before he joined us, the pranks of the fey were just that, pranks, but against him they have taken on a real hatred. The entanglement and dunking in the river were just the start. Last night I awoke to find four creatures of the forest locked in combat with Volg.
Five of them there were in total, but the fifth seemed afraid to come close to him. The other four had no such reservations, as they crashed their horns and hooves into him. I’m sure his cousins would have attacked back with their own horns and hooves, but Volg brought down his huge falchion against one of the bloodcrazed creatures, and appeared to draw strength and healing through it, as his blade bit into the creature. From the side came a welcome bomb hurled by Nolq which did damage to several of the creatures. The gnome rose and grabbed his bow, presumably waiting for them to retreat, so he could get in some parting shots. In my half awake state, I did no more than rise, and provide encouragement to my fellows. This time, I went with Sympathy for the Baatezu, but again it fell on deaf ears. Bless her heart though, Kara recognized that despite his lineage, her ministrations would be appreciated, and she healed Volg, although in the bad light, I saw that he winced, possibly at the thought of receiving blessings from her deity. One of the animals, I now recognized them as great elks of the forest, struck at her but missed. Again the elks unleashed their fury against our demon compatriot, but this time he was warded against them, and the fifth moved in to assault Nolq. Once again, the crimson warrior brought down his great blade, severing the spine of the elk, and again he was healed by its pain. The elk fell mercifully to the ground, and would feel no more pain, or have its life forced transferred to its attacker.
Another bomb came in from my childhood companion, and while I saw some acid splash against Volg, he took no notice of it, despite it hurting several of the elk. Bandenmorroot launched an arrow at the flank of an elk, but it flew wide. I called forth Her power into my song and unleashed shards of my music against the elk, but only one was damaged. Kara took opportunity to draw her bow, and fired a strike against the elk attacking Nolq. The remaining three elk swung at the demonspawn, with only one hitting, and the fourth failed to hit Nolq. Vorg took another swing at an elk, and must have at least nicked it, for I saw him get healing from the blow.
At this moment, a disembodied voice from the darkness mocked us as “defenders of the forest” and our camp fire belched forth an inky blackness we were only too familiar with. I stepped out of the smoke, and called to my companions that my direction was clear, and I drew my scimitar in expectation of what, I knew not, but I wanted to be ready. As Kara emerged, she cleared her throat and accused the fey, our adversary, of causing this harm to the forest, for it was not we that attacked the elk, but he who had caused the elk to attack us. When Volg emerged from the smoke, his mighty falchion was struck with grease and he dropped it, but he must already have used it again in the darkness to steal life from the elk, as he was even more healed than when the darkness had fallen. Kara continued her ridicule of the fey for some time, until finally it responded calling her a “liar.” The elk retreated into the woods, and we could find no trace of our tormentor. I wonder now, if this forest needs protectors, as I certainly do not need to be protecting that which would cause me harm for doing so, or does the forest recognize the evil of our newest addition and seek to expunge it from our midst?
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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29 Pharast 4710 AR: He Who Lives by the Trap
The pranks of today were not as severe as the attacks of last night, but they do persist.
Early on the road this morning, Volg was forced to dismount, as the meddlesome fey had greased his saddle. Having seen the bribe that the gnome gave the fey several days ago, he determined to buy them off with spirits as well. Naturally, he had no spirits, so he intended to give away that which wasn’t his in the first place. Nolq properly pointed out to redskinned devil that the bottles of spirits had been obtained previous to his having joined our party, and thus he had no claim upon them. However, Nolq opined that he might be permitted to purchase a bottle of said spirits if given mutual consent from the four remaining “owners.” While some of my faith do not partake of spirits, I am not one of those, I am also not one that seeks to horde alcohol and become consumed by it, so I had no concern and gave my consent readily. Kara and the gnome must also have given their consent, as I saw a transaction take place, and Nolq distributed the purchase price to the three of us. Having procured the liquor, the demonspawn doled out a small amount, and left it as an offering to the fey. The results of his parsimonious bribe were apparent almost immediately, as during our next movement, Volg and the rest of us were subjected to another entanglement. Luckily the rest of the day we were not bothered by the invisible miscreants.
Later today, we did make two discoveries of note. We found the source of the river that we have on numerous occasions needed to skirt around, or fallen into. It seemed very unassuming given the width the river later reaches. I’m not sure how such things work, we don’t have such rivers at home. We also apparently discovered the maker of the various traps that we found last week. He was apparently killed when part of his trap activated early and he became pinned under several large trees, with his axe just beyond his reach. Bandnemorrot was able to make discussion with a small grey squirrel that was native to the area, and he learned several things. Apparently the dead trapper came to the area some time ago. He was alone, and had come from what the squirrel called the “metal ground area.” The gnome believes he meant the area where we had found all of the traps. Additionally, he has apparently been declared “not a friend of the forest,” so we made no effort to formally bury him, but we did cover him up and we moved on.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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30 Pharast 4710 AR: Forest Murmurs
It has been a long day. In some ways, the longest of this adventure. Starting this morning, and continuing all day, Bandenmorrood has preached on and on about our obligation to protect the forest, and its creatures, “like elk.” If I hear the phrase “like elk” again, I may have to grease a saddle myself. It got especially bad, when Kara joined in.
On the positive side, we were not molested by the fey this whole day.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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31 Pharast 4710 AR: The Redemption of a Holy Site
This morning, the lectures continued. The subject for today was plant identification, starting with the more noxious plants. I can now tell you the differences between poison ivy and poison sumac. The differences range from visual indicators, growth patterns, treatment of rashes, and even their beneficial horticultural uses. Apparently, the gnomes of Bantenmorroots tribe/village/pride, or whatever they call themselves will actively cultivate both of these plants as physical barriers to keep predators of various sorts away from their hovels, and that the pattern and placement of the plants themselves can relay messages of ownership to other covens of gnomes. It seemed somewhat similar to urinating to mark one’s territory to me, but he insists it is more refined. I fail to see the refinement in actively cultivating such noxious plants.
The relative calm of the day, and lack of interference by the fey had Nolq and Kara discussing the merits of sacrificing more of the liquor to keep the fey mollified. The gnome seemed less enamored with the plan, complaining that “getting the forest drunk” was not hardly the sort of thing that protectors should be doing. I am reminded that it was he that first bribed them with alcohol.
During the conversations of today, I was listening to the speech patterns of our devil, and it occurs to me that his palatal structure must be somewhat deformed from that of normal humans, as his L’s and R’s sometimes become indistinguishable, as well as his D’s and T’s, and several other such pairs. This makes me wonder if his name is actually Volg or Vorg and that I had misinterpreted him from the start. I do not speak the tongues of the evil planes, but perhaps the difference is moot there, where all palates are similarly malformed.
It was before the sun reached its zenith when we happened upon an upthrust ridge of rock in the middle of the forest. It was several bowshots wide, and at least a bowshot in height. Very much out of place it seemed. As we climbed this ridge, we came upon a clearing that contained a pool of water that was thick with algae, multiple broken columns on either side, as if they surrounded a courtyard, and some stairs strewn with rubble that lead up to a large cave opening half a bow wide. The cave could have been natural or completely hewn from the stone, as the opening was surmounted by the face of an elk, with its antlers drooping to surround the entrance. Luckily, we had been well instructed previously how important it was to respect elk, which makes the turn of events hard to understand. It was clear by the covering of moss, and the overall feel of age in the stone, that this place had been here and abandoned for a while, and was dedicated to Old Deadeye. I have had my suspicions about Kara, and today they were confirmed, she is indeed a cleric of Erastil, as she immediately started groveling and swooning over finding such a place in the middle of nowhere. This confused me, as I had pretty much considered “the middle of nowhere” to be where I might expect to find his followers and his shrines, and not in cities. Nonetheless, it was the gnome who called her out for a “gross display of overactive god worship in a manner that was both unseemly and untimely.” I could not have added more to his assessment had I tried. She tried explaining and pointing out nuances of the architecture and placement of items, and their symbolism to her god, and while some of it was new, and maybe interesting, it was a bit much after several days of “protector of the forest” lectures. What surprised me the most was that it seems the gnome does not share her faith, and I was certain he did. Finally, the two tree huggers moved to scout the place and up the stairs, with the gnome going left, and the woman right. He must be practicing, as shortly after he moved in, I lost track of his movements, and did not see him for some minutes. Kara however made no real attempt to hide, and followed a whimsical path through the shrine, attracted by one site after another, like a child at a candy bazaar. Her ohs and ahhs grew louder and softer at times, and I heard her babbling something about “artificially manifested rock formational structures.” When did she become a dwarf? Through all of this, Volg slowly followed her, keeping himself a bit behind her, but apparently prepared to step forward and defend if required. She moved up the stairs, to a point where she could see into the cave, and then started backtracking slowly and moving as quietly as possible.
Under her breath, Kara warned us of a bear in the cave, to which a loud high pitched hidden voice queried, “Erastil what?” Following the source of the voice, I spotted our gnome, no longer hidden, but apparently bears don’t like gnomes, as the one in the cave rushed out and started down the stairs. I do not claim to be a bear expert, but this bear seemed different from the start. Realizing the bear came out of an elk cave, in a temple of Erastil, and having had several days of lectures on the duties of forest protectors, I made an attempt to capture the bear’s attention, but that seemed to only enrage it. Kara followed this with the blessings of her deity, who I now knew, and the bear became even more enraged, to the point that it bounded down the stairs, until it roared a mighty roar right into Kara’s face, its spittle wetting her black and bronze locks, and the force of its breath nearly knocking her over. I took this to be a very stern warning from the bear guardian of the elk temple, as seemingly did Volg who backed up and instructed others to fall behind him. Nolq and I were already well behind him, so we had no trouble complying. Again, seeking a non-violent solution to this situation, I cast a spell of grease upon the steps beneath the bear, hoping to delay it while we made our escape. The bear stumbled and fell to the ground, at which point Bandun dropped his bow, drew his silly hammer thing, and pounced on the prone bear, crying out, “it’s a crazy bear,” as he cut a gash across the bear’s pelt. I’m not positive, but I think he got more spittle on the bear, than the bear had gotten on Kara. I was certain the gnome had lost his mind and was possessed by one of Volg’s brethren, but Kara too seemed taken by the bloodlust. Instead of rebuking the gnome, she swung her Morningstar at the still prone, and seemingly defenseless beast, doing it grievous harm. I cannot entirely blame Nolq for his next action, as despite the devil and I attempting to withdraw following the guardian bears obvious attempts at warning and parley, he had just witnessed our two nature lovers striking down Erastil’s own, and in his temple at that. And so, when my old friend began throwing his bombs at the creature, I could but pray to the Dawnflower for him, and entreat Her to understand his intentions as honorable.
As the twice wounded guardian of the mountain temple arose, I could see sorrow and confusion in its eyes, for despite its warnings to us, and it having taken no actions against us, it had been set upon by those who should defend it, and even while rising, the gnome struck it yet another blow. With truce not an option, the bear reluctantly swiped at the gnome and grabbed him with a bloody paw. Volg then, realizing the futility of his earlier attempts at retreat stepped forward and with a hefty swing, his mighty falchion cleaved into the bear’s hide. Unwilling to harm such a guardian, but also unwilling to watch my companion to get eaten, I cast a grease upon the gnome, in hopes of making him more difficult for the bear to hold. I was wholly successful, as he was able to wriggle free almost immediately. The priestess stepped forward and attempted a strike at the guardian again, but missed. I could hear the acid from Nolq’s previous bomb continuing to burn the bear, and could see the pain in its eyes. Nolq again bombed the bear, whose response was to swing both claws at Kara and snatch her up, while only attempting to bite her with its teeth. Volg made some hasty comments to her, which I didn’t quite hear, but it seemed he expressed his disbelief at what we were doing, as he swung and missed the bear. My moral purpose unwavering, I greased Kara, hoping to diffuse the situation. The gnome again swung his weapon and did massive damage to the bear, who dropped Kara to the ground, and as its final act, it slashed at her and the gnome and bit at Volg. Having struck all three, and knocked Kara into unconsciousness, I believe the bear’s soul concluded that its earthly mission was failed. It reared back, and roared to the heavens, and in a very human fashion it slumped to its knees before us. It gave a shudder, and a very human sigh, as it transformed into the form of an old man with peace in his eyes. The man turned to bones, and dust, and that dust returned to Erastil, for a well-deserved rest, for he did his best to defend the temple under his charge against overwhelming force. The gift of the blessed druid’s sacrifice immediately infused the entire temple with a new life, as the plants and animals become more colorful and active, and even the pool became clear. The blessings of her deity on the soul of the fallen druid were lost on Kara, as she was unconscious through the whole thing. That is my consolation, that she was unable to witness the majesty of her deity, and the grace he bestowed on his fallen champion.
After the druid’s remains infused the temple with new life, Volg bent down and while touching Kara he apparently infused her with infernal healing. This makes me wonder if he has done this to her before, and if his influence is what caused her, and possibly the gnome, to destroy the temple guardian with such impunity.
With the entire party awake and healed, a huge discussion ensued, as the gnome and the priestess attempted to explain away their actions, and explaining the difference between this crazy bear, vs the crazy elks of the other night, and why one needed to be killed, but not the others. I was entirely unconvinced, and I’m not sure that Nolq was either, and as for the devil among us, who knows. Kara was distraught at not having watched the old man die, and I suspect that her anger was due to not being able to describe the event when she returns to Oleg’s for I am reminded that some weeks ago, she was most insistent about needing to find some bear in the woods, and I suspect she has carried out some interfaith assassination, to help her own faction gain prominence in the area. She did try explaining how when they stray from the faith, that Erastil will punish fallen priests by making them insane and trapping them in the bodies of forest animals. I will have to watch her for signs of this transformation. A happy consequence of the guardian druid’s sacrifice is that the water her is very refreshing, and we are camping for the night.
I need to research the interfaith schisms of her church, and determine how to handle this in the future, especially if this is an outside influence she is feeling.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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1 Gozran 4710 AR: Wrath of the Forest
In the shadows of the morning light, as we passed through the forest, several radishes struck forth and into Kara and Volg, after which she attempted to cast some spell, I could not tell what, but the fey voices taunted her saying, “we will not fall subject to your witch’s spells.” So, the fey, it seems, still reject the devil among them, and also those of Erastil’s faithful. I am not sure I can blame them, given the actions taken yesterday.
Later that morning, both Kara and Banden stopped to inform us that they heard something in the forest ahead of us. It was agreed that the gnome would go forward to see what he could find. Not long after I lost sight of him, a frantic, but high pitched voice started screaming, “crazy bear,” and as we moved forward to help, he continued with “this hurts,” and, “ouch,” and finally, “it’s trying to chew on me.” What we found when we arrived was another owlbear, with the gnome in its clutches. Again, it seems the bears of the Greenbelt have it in for one that you should expect is their protector. Kara moved up and provided some healing to the gnome, and Nolq’s bombs I’m sure were a welcome sight for gnome-eyes. As yesterday I had no desire to make war on nature’s creatures, but could not let my companion get eaten, and so I greased him again. This allowed Banden to at least regain some of his freedom in the owlbear’s hands. Again Kara healed, and Volg stepped in and gave the creature a blow for the ages. Nolq hurled more acid at the creature and began drinking his concoctions. I cast grease again under the bear to unsteady it, but to no avail, however the gnome did manage to get out of the creature’s clutches. Unfortunately, the owlbear again mauled him with two claws, but failed to bite him, as it grappled him again. Kara healed him some more, and at this point is where I become unsure of what I heard and saw for an instant. Just as pleasure and pain can be two sides of a Calistrian coin, I wonder too if virtue and vice can reside in the same vessel, and be worshipped together. What I definitely saw, was Volg again rising up with his monstrous falchion, and change overcome his face, although if it was the blessings of Iomedae or the bane of Asmodeus that caused it, I do not know, because I heard him cry to one or the other as he swung his blade. Again though, his devilish palate can twist and turn a word, or perhaps he said both, but the effects were dramatic, as he cleaved the owlbear near in two. As it fell, the gnome naturally dropped to the grass, and went unnaturally berserk! He took his gnome hammerhook, and proceeded to destroy the owlbear’s carcass. I believe now, more than yesterday, and much more than our first time facing an owlbear, that there is some strange bond between this gnome, and ursine kind. A bond of hatred and destruction, which causes the two to war upon one another every time they can. Of course, Kara completely approved of his actions, as she healed him up completely, and he offered to make her a cloak of the skin from the beast. In the Taldane tongue, a joke about the cloak being “holy” would be inserted, after his pick destroyed the pelt, but alas, it does not translate well.
Later today, the gnome was on point, and he called a stop, pointing to some rough stone structures ahead. After backing off, the gnome communicated with a red fox, the vulpine and the ursine having a long and well documented hatred it was an understandable choice by Bandon. Through the fox, he was able to learn about a “slimy man” that lived among the stone buildings. A brief discussion of talk vs flight vs flight lead us to back out and make camp for the night before discovering the nature of this “slimy man.”
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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2 Gozran 4710 AR: What Passed
It was during the gnome’s watch last night, naturally, that we awoke with the inky blackness emitting from our fire. Drawing my blade, and leaving the dark cloud, I found Banden standing crossarmed, and laughing at our predicament. Ass! He claims to have seen the Griggs who did this. I begin to suspect that the fey are aligned with Banden and Kara and some of the forest animals (elk, squirrels, and foxes at least), against Nolq and I, and the bears, but I am unsure which side Volg is on.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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2 Gozran 4710 AR: A Friendly Face
This morning we went back to the stone buildings. Banden determined there were giant slug tracks all over the place. Armed with this invaluable knowledge, we moved in intending to parley if possible, but fight if we must (such as if there is a bear). With Volg in the lead, and I second, we crept forward. Around a corner came a curious humanoid, with bulbous eyes, mucous on his skin, and astride some strange sluglike creature. Searching my memory, I had no recollection of such a creature described to me by Jothan, but guessing that most of my languages would be useless with it, I tried the only one that made sense, boggardese, which of course in its own tongue just means “the language,” but that is true of several languages. The creature indeed understood me, as apparently he is a boggard, who goes by the name of Ghoroum, and the beast it rides is called Ubugub. He (or she?) has a maimed hand, it keeps insisting is neither cursed, nor injured, and Kara confirmed she cannot heal it. He is extremely homesick, having been exiled for doing something terrible, although I did not ask him what. He did say that he should be the ruler of the Hooketongue Slough, a place we have not yet been, but when we go, perhaps we should bring Ghoroum as a guide. He says he just wants to be left alone, although we are welcome to stay with him from time to time. He has informed us of some denizens in the area. A statue of an elkman is to the west, roughly 10 miles from here. He says there is a “bear in a cave” to the northeast, much to my shame, I believe him, and because of this, I believe his other directions to be true as well. A large pig to the east, could this be Tuskgutter? And some “small wormy dragons” to the southwest. There was some posters about tatzylworms back at Oleg’s. I suspect though, upon reflection that the porcine are allied with the vulpine and sciuridae, since Banden got along so well with one in the past, and thus that bounty may not get claimed, although the worms could be worth money, if we’re allowed!
I wrote Ghoroum a note in the common tongue, identifying him as our friend, should he happen across Garess or other humans.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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3 Gozran 4710 AR: Nothing of Consequence
Mahmoud was very fond of the Taldane curse of “may you live in interesting times,” and it seemed odd to me as a boy, but now, having had a very uneventful day today, I understand. Sometimes it is nice, when there isn’t anything going on. No fey, no animals, no temples, or infighting, just the forest and me. Well, and Mukhtar, and the others.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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4 Gozran 4710 AR: Dissent Within the Ranks
Again I am confused as to what nature is “good,” and what nature is “bad,” despite all of the lectures, I am unconvinced that Kara or Bandun know either, or if they are “winging it” as it is said.
At first I was concerned about our progress, when I could hear argument and discussion between the gnome and the women and phrases such as “we’re not lost” and “we’ve never been lost…ever” in one of their voices. I was not sure which, as both of them have a rather high pitched voice, and they were attempting to whisper their disagreement. Nonetheless, they did agree to call a stop, and announce they heard several large animals ahead of us Nolq determines from the sounds that he hears both a bear, and a pig, and promptly announces that we have encountered a “Manbearpig.” I was not surprised that there was pig involved, this is the area where Gharoum had warned us that Tuskgutter was to be found. Some argument ensued about which side we should be on, which seemed self-evident to me. After the gnome’s having slept with a pig some time ago, and our habitual slaughter of all things ursine, I don’t know why a discussion was required, but this was my naivete showing through.
Nolq commenced to drink some of his potions and moved forward. I think that Nolq may be the wisest of us all, because drinking does seem to be the solution to many of our problems. As the others followed, I tied up the horses and came up the rear. Amazingly, I couldn’t spot the gnome in the brush, he is getting better at hiding, now if only he could get better at whispering, and cooking, and shooting a bow, and tracking, and guiding, and well, a dozen other things.
I could not see the action, but I certainly heard a great commotion ahead, so when I finally got forward enough, I wasn’t surprised at what I found. I could see all of my compatriots except Nolq although I was sure he was near, due to the acid burns on the two creatures. I suspect he had bombed the bear, and the pig had gotten splashed a bit.
In recognizing the bear threat, and the gnome’s proximity to it, I decided to take precautionary steps, and I greased the gnome immediately. Almost immediately, the huge pig threw up its tusks and gutted the bear, which fell to the ground. The pig then grunted and moved towards myself and Volg. My old companion hurled in a bomb, which struck the pig rather good. Rather than attempting to make friends, or sleep with the pig, the gnome began to try and climb a tree, which got him roughly ten feet above the ground, before he fell, and landed on his feet like a cat. Raising up his falchion, Volg cried out to Asmodeus?? and struck the pig. Kara’s attempt to scare the pig by shooting near it proved ineffectual. With no desire to harm a potential ally, I backed away and greased the area under the pig, but it ignored my effort and attempted to strike Volg and failed. Further bombs from Nolq ensued burning the pig’s flesh even more. The gnome, taking a page out of the woman’s plan, pulled his bow, and like she, he attempted to scare the boar off, by shooting into the ground near it, but again, this tactic met with no success. Volg apparently caught onto the plan from the two tree huggers, and this time swung menacing at the pig, but did not connect; and was followed immediately by Kara’s similar action with her bow. I commenced a song of inspiration, which apparently was not a pleasing tune for the boar to hear, as it gored our devil immediately and dropped him to the ground. Trusty Nolq dropped a final bomb, and the pig fell over.
Kara came forward then and provided some healing to the injured, but when Volg arose, he reached out a hand and used the pig’s remaining life force to replenish his own. The group then proceeded to sever the boar’s head and carry it to the pack horse, at which point I made sure the bear was dead. We didn’t need to leave behind any angry bears. A disembodied voice screamed from the air, “murderer,” which confused me, because I am now convinced it was upset with me, over the death of the bear, and not against the others for the death of the pig. With the boar’s head loaded up, we mounted and were prepared to move out, but for inexplicable reasons, Kara took several attempts to heal the bear, which of course was done for. She was quite upset when she discovered what I had done, and attempted to blame Nolq, but he being faithful to me, did not report that it was I that had done the deed. Later she concluded it was me, and made her accusations. My conscious is clean still, this is the fourth bear in recent memory, soon enough, they will learn not to mess with us.
Later in the day, my saddle was greased, and the faery dragon breathed his euphoria breath on me. I dismounted and walked for a while, but that was the extent of it.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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6 Gozran 4710 AR: Drink Solves My Problems
For two days, I have suffered pranks from the fey. They attempted to abscond with my sword two nights back, and this morning there is a horrible taste in my drink.
I took two bottles of the spirits we had previously liberated from bandits, and I left a note with them for the fey, and all day I was not harassed by the little invisible buggers.
Another event happened today. We came across a pit, which had trapped a small cat-dog creature apparently called a thylacine. I had heard them described before, but never seen one. My initial thought was that this was an “adventurer trap,” but my companions placed no credence in my theory. The irony that both the Nolq and the demon fell into the trap is not something I will dwell on. The incident bears consideration for two things of note. While in the pit, the creature bit my childhood companion, but he kept his wits, and his humor, yelling out “I believe the dog is hungry for something tastier than rat.” The other fact, is that a voice came to me, instructing me to “free the thylacine.” We did this, with little problem, other than some lost flesh by Nolq, and the creature ran off into the woods. The gnome talked with it a bit, and explained our extrication plan, which worked fine, and the event was over.
The voice in my ear was, I believe, the fey. I suspect they are starting to realize who really is the friend of the forest, and who is not.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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8 Gozran 4710 AR: Spiders in the Bush
Heading East from yesterday’s exploits (which were minimal and not worth noting in print), we happened upon a fangberry bush. For those unfamiliar with fangberries, they grow similar to raspberries and other bramble type fruit, but have a sweet and pleasant fragrance about them when growing, and a more sugary taste to the palate. Personally, I find them almost too sweet, and tend to cut their taste with crushed almonds or something similar, but some eat them straight.
The fangberry was down at the bottom of a draw, and not wanting to climb down near it, I was using a spectral hand to gather the berries and drop them into a pouch. Nolq however has quite a taste for the berries, and he moved in close to them, and was attacked by a swarm of spiders from their midst. The miniscule size of the individual spiders made fighting them a problem, as they attacked my friend. His timely application of some bug repellant, and liberal use of fire eventually destroyed the throng, and I went back to picking berries.
| Oid |
Nolq was quite interested in what Zahir might have to say about the bear incident, so casually borrowed his journal to catch up on how the trip was going according to his friend. While disappointed that Zahir seems to have forgotten all about making his (our) fortune, and surprised that Zahir actually seems to care about this whole "friends of the forest" latrine sewage, it was gratifying to see that Nolq's quiet defense of his friend was noted and appreciated. Zahir's journal was confusing in one respect though, Nolq was sure that Zahir had shouted "murderer" himself as some sort of taunt or practical joke aimed at the fickle members of our party. Nolq had been very proud of this assumed subterfuge on his friend's part, as it's consequence surely showed who could be trusted, and who must be watched. Volq has certainly shown himself to be a trustworthy and reliable companion.
In any event, Nolq muses as he returns Zahir's journal to its place of security, the fact the party is aware that Nolq is the one to turn to when disreputable actions, or a silent tongue, is required may help in the long run. Now, if he can just figure out a way to get this damn cartography mission over with and start earning his fortune, things will start to look up. Nolq ponders the strategy for this as he goes back to his nightly experimentation on making this equipment he carries retain magical properties.
4 Gozran 4710 AR: Dissent Within the Ranks
Again I am confused as to what nature is “good,” and what nature is “bad,” despite all of the lectures, I am unconvinced that Kara or Bandun know either, or if they are “winging it” as it is said.
At first I was concerned about our progress, when I could hear argument and discussion between the gnome and the women and phrases such as “we’re not lost” and “we’ve never been lost…ever” in one of their voices. I was not sure which, as both of them have a rather high pitched voice, and they were attempting to whisper their disagreement. Nonetheless, they did agree to call a stop, and announce they heard several large animals ahead of us Nolq determines from the sounds that he hears both a bear, and a pig, and promptly announces that we have encountered a “Manbearpig.” I was not surprised that there was pig involved, this is the area where Gharoum had warned us that Tuskgutter was to be found. Some argument ensued about which side we should be on, which seemed self-evident to me. After the gnome’s having slept with a pig some time ago, and our habitual slaughter of all things ursine, I don’t know why a discussion was required, but this was my naivete showing through.
Nolq commenced to drink some of his potions and moved forward. I think that Nolq may be the wisest of us all, because drinking does seem to be the solution to many of our problems. As the others followed, I tied up the horses and came up the rear. Amazingly, I couldn’t spot the gnome in the brush, he is getting better at hiding, now if only he could get better at whispering, and cooking, and shooting a bow, and tracking, and guiding, and well, a dozen other things.
I could not see the action, but I certainly heard a great commotion ahead, so when I finally got forward enough, I wasn’t surprised at what I found. I could see all of my compatriots except Nolq although I was sure he was near, due to the acid burns on the two...
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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11 Gozran 4710 AR: A Dry Bed
We arrived back at Oleg’s today, but first I need to recount some of what passed in the night.
Last night I awoke to hearing Bandun talking with some of the fey. In listening to the conversation it became clear that he is conspiring with the fey to “test” the members of our group. There was some agreement made about testing Volg and maybe one other, which turns out to have been Nolq. After their chatter stopped, I fell back to sleep.
Several hours later, Nolq woke us up, and he is speaking in the dragon tongue to something in the woods. The voice, for it was dark, I could not see, made plain that it was hungry, and there was nuance to its discussion that implied it might be hungry for Nolq, which seems a theme with forest creatures given the thylacene’s taste for his flesh. We did offer it some owlbear meat however, and once it realized Nolq was not alone, it seemed to be less interested in eating him. Shortly after it left with the meat, the fey returned (and thus my belief they were behind this encounter). They informed us that the creature was a tatzylwyrm, and of course those are wanted back at Oleg’s, but that is neither here, nor there, as apparently tatzylwyrms are friends of the fey, so Nolq passed his test, even if it means we won’t be collecting on wyrm hides in the near future.
The whimsical nature of the fey is matched by none, and they demanded a performance by Volg which he provided by playing the fool and dancing for their pleasure, and even through, the fire. I struck up a plucky tune on my Plog to provide him so assistance, and I should admit that I kept increasing the tempo a bit to test the devil’s endurance, how better to know a friend’s weakness? Or that of a potential foe? I did note that while he was dancing, one or another, of the fey attempted to magically lift his great falchion, most likely to steal it, but they were unsuccessful.
After the dance, the Faerie Dragon showed itself, and said its name is Perlivash, the etymology of which in the tongue of dragons makes it an ironic name, but what is in a name? Except, of course if it is an impossibly long and difficult to pronounce gnome name, but I digress. In addition to the dragon, who by the way speaks his tongue rather pluckishly, no doubt an influence of his fey blood as well, there were no less than 5 of the small fey crickets, calleg grigs. Their leader calls herself Tig-Titter-Tut which is more of an alliteration, than a name, but for her it suits, and she goes by Tig. There were introductions all around, and discussion of the tatzylwyrms again. The grig did inform Volg that I had expressed concerns about him in our previous conversations. Note to self: don’t trust fey with inner thoughts and secrets. Secondary note to self: gnomes are fey. The fey did provide us several interesting bits of information. There is apparently some interesting hotspring to the west of the temple where we assassinated the rival priest of Erastil. Apparently the mites, how we remember them, stole something from the bandits in the camp we liberated last month. Well, whatever it was, when we settle with the mites, we’ll find it. Apparently there are some “black kobolds” that live outside the forest. I am wondering if these are the Sootscale kobolds, as such naming is common among many races.
After our discussions with the fey last night and this morning, we travelled today and arrived back at Oleg’s an hour ago. We dropped off the head of the great pig, and were informed that some trinkets of archery would be our reward for that endeavor. It was a happy coincidence though, that Svetlana had a great recipe for moon radish soup, and we had a number of the radishes on hand.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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12 Gozran 4710 AR: A Strange Encounter
Last night I had arranged with Jhod Kavken that on the morn he would call upon his deity, Erastil to enhance the quality of both Jothan’s blade, as well as my tattered and worn Plog. And this morning, I provided such reagents as were required, and he performed the ceremonies. While neither of the two appear visibly different, I must say that the balance on the blade has improved markedly, and were I a swordsman, I would surely be more deadly with the blade now. The instrument is likewise unchanged, except for the quality of music it provides. I find the bellows easier to work, and they provide more music with less effort than before. A word about Jhod. He apparently had previously identified to Kara that there was likely to be a bear and a temple of Erastil out in the wilderness to the South. Obviously, this is the temple we discovered, which tells me that Jhod was the instigator of our little sidequest and complicit in the assassination of the priest-protector of that temple glade.
Later this morning, it was observed in the distance that there appeared to be a mud hit, with grasses growing on it. I should state that all day we have been traversing a rather splendid area of plains, and I find this to be a refreshing change from the fey filled forests that had been plaguing us. This sort of land is much more to my liking, and reminds of home, even if it is a little cooler and greener than home. Nolq and the gnome declared an intent to sneakily approach the huts and report back what they found, but of course that isn’t what they did. What they did do, was to sneak up to the hut (I lost track of them both in the tall grasses relatively quickly). Once they got there, apparently they went inside and started conversing with the owner and inhabitant. His name is Bokken and he is a “potion maker,” which apparently doesn’t mean what Nolq hoped it might mean. I don’t know what exactly Bokken does, besides talk to himself incessantly, but he did query if we had any fangberries with us. Of course, I had quite a few, and he wanted them, and was willing to offer us a one quarter reduction on all purchases from him for a month. I’m sure that is an excellent arrangement for most, but as we have a “potion maker” we didn’t see any reason to part with our fangberries, which besides are good, and even Mukhtar enjoys them greatly. We made no arrangement with Bokken.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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16 Gozran 4710 AR: Home on the Range
When I was a boy, Jothan would sing to me a song of being home on the range, where no discouraging words were spoken, with deer and antelope, and buffalo. I have seen none of these here yet, and only a few back at home, but yesterday we did see a pack of elk in the distance. The last several days have been delightful. No talk of forests, no talk of Erastil’s creatures, and in general excellent weather as we have traversed many leagues of rolling plains. Had it not been for the elk today, I might have thought this whole area devoid of life except for birds, prairie dogs, and the occasional
jackalope.
| Craig Frankum |
If you have enjoyed this adventure log, I am in the process of writing one as well.
I will be adding a link to this log on my posting as you are further along than we are.
*Note, I have not read this log as I don't wish to spoil the surprise of our current game.
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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19 Gozran 4710 AR: Bandit Riders
There is a reason that in the draconic tongue, the same sound is used for both “enemy” and “stranger” with nothing but context to clarify the intent.
Today, just a couple hours ago, as Her light waned in the sky, we spotted five strangers on horseback across the plain. Without provocation, they turned towards us and began charging as soon as they spotted us. When they got into range, they pulled out their bows and began firing at us at an extreme range while they closed the distance. I immediately dropped to the ground to protect myself while my companions pulled out their own bows to return fire. I did not see most of what ensued, but a furious archery battle was carried out, with Kara both shooting and healing, while the enemy strove to focus their fire and bring down Volg. Not being an archer myself, I could not contribute much besides reciting The Blind Archer of Minkai, which is not one of my favorites but seemed appropriate for the occasion. While hiding in the grass, I could hear arrows incoming as they would strike the ground, or the devil, and I could hear my companions discussing plans to mount and chase the enemy should they turn tail and run, which apparently they did. It seemed like it had been minutes, but I’m sure my sense of time is wrong, before Kara cheered as apparently Bandon had shot yet another one off his horse, and the survivors were running. Before I knew what had happened, Nolq and I were left behind as the other three had mounted and were chasing the enemy. They were gone for the best part of an hour and returned with exhausted horses and prisoners. While they were gone, Nolq and I had gathered up the fallen bandits nearest to us, including one corpse. All totaled, there were 5, including the corpse. I insisted we separate the survivors, and interrogate them. There was some talk of a “Stag Lord” leading the bandits from a fortress to the south. Volg and I interrogated the first of the prisoners, who seemed not much more than a child, but a child with innocent blood on his hands. Being entirely unrepentant of his crimes, and in accordance with both the teachings of the Dawnflower and the
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Zahir ibn Mahmoud ibn Jothan
RPG Superstar 2014 Top 16
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20 Gozran 4710 AR: A Day out from Oleg’s
After our fight yesterday with the mounted bandits, we have been heading back towards Oleg’s and we expect to arrive there tomorrow, or so our two “guides” claim. Lately, they have been right more often than not, and it has been over a week since I had reason to question if we were lost.
The names of our three prisoners are strange indeed, but not worth placing into script, perhaps if they become useful to our cause through continued demonstration of their repentant nature.