rescue, and travelling north

[cellio]

March 11 (Wednesday)

Today, with much help from the priest-general of Kord, we rescued Turok and Prolix. I had no idea that dispelling possession-magic was such a physical activity! It was exciting.

We gathered in a large chamber in the temple. The priest-general was dressed for a wrestling match, in a loin cloth and little else. Many other priests were gathered there to cheer him on. I used Turok's bracelet to summon them both to us; the priest-general then wrestled with Turok for quite some time until he finally prevailed, banishing Garrett's possession in the process. (I stood over Prolix, who was not putting up a fight.) The clapping and cheering for Kord from all the other priests was quite impressive, and seemed to boost the priest-general's strength.

Turok was in pretty good shape when he appeared, and he even had Kotara-nar (though none of his other possessions, aside from the clothing he was wearing). Fortunately for us, he seemed to realize very quickly that the priest wrestling with him was on his side, so he didn't draw the sword. Eventually the priest got him in a hold and threw him to the ground, and I think I actually saw a black cloud rise from Turok's body and dissipate. The crowd cheered and the priest raised his arms in victory. Turok, wisely, waited for the priest to offer him a hand before getting up.

Prolix was much worse for wear. It looks like he had been beaten up pretty badly, and he was pretty bleary-eyed. He was also stark naked; fortunately, I had been holding a cloak against that possibility and dropped it on top of him quickly.

Even in that state, Prolix was defiant. It only took an hour for him to start talking about going back to Garrett's lair to rescue his spellbooks. Perhaps they damaged his head while he was there. Priest-General Brand said that Prolix was not enchanted like Turok was, so I guess Prolix is no more dangerous to us than usual.

I am so glad to have Turok back! He warned us that Garrett had compelled him to tell all our secrets, so if Garrett is vindictive as I fear he is, I expect him to attack us and to do so effectively. I really wish sanity had prevailed when we talked about attacking him; that idea was doomed from the start. But now we at least have Turok and Prolix back, and I think Turok at least has learned from this.

Tomorrow we are going to return to Oakhame to consult further with Seamus and Mairead.

March 12 (Thursday)

We are in Oakhame now. We told Seamus and Mairead all about the rescue. Prolix seems to be healing.

Seamus asked us what we plan to do next. Prolix said "attack Garrett", but we shushed him. Well, if he wants to do that, that's his problem. The rest of us aren't going. He's completely delusional if he thinks that he can beat Garrett alone. But... not my problem.

The rest of us would like to head for the Caverns of Laryn to see if we can find and wake Therion safely. Seamus is excited by the legends of the crystalized sound on the walls there, and he offered us a fair bit of money to retrieve some of this crystal for him (if it can be gotten). We discussed what provisions we would need, and he will help us get some items to produce silent zones and a few other items. He will also give us some airtight containers in which to place the crystals. (And velvet and other padding, since we don't know what we'll be dealing with. Better safe than sorry.) This sounds like a good plan to me -- and maybe if we end up with more crystals than he needs, I can take a piece with which to make some sort of sound-based magic item. I'm not sure what yet, of course; first we need to find the stuff, and then Seamus and I need to study it to understand its nature.

The Caverns of Laryn are in Lescap. We might have some difficulties crossing the border, given the war and that we are not from Lescap. We've got some time to come up with a plan, though; it'll take more than a week to get there.

We allowed Prolix to take half of the money from Seamus to buy scrolls so he can start some new spellbooks. So tomorrow we'll go to Kozel'sk long enough for him to shop and then head north.

March 13 (Friday)

Today we headed to Kozel'sk. Prolix had some scrolls to procure, and I stopped in briefly at the temple of Pelor to make an offering and pray for a safe journey. Tomorrow we head north.

We will be travelling at a slower pace than usual, so that Prolix can spend some time each day copying spells into his new spellbooks. Hrolf and I are going to take advantage of this to go flying from time to time; it seems like forever since we've done that, and now that the plants are sprouting and the trees are budding, it's time to return to that. Spending time alone together seems to help both our moods.

March 15 (Sunday)

We are making progress. Today was bright and sunny, a perfect morning for flying. So while Prolix copied spells, Hrolf and I did some exploring. He is curious about other bird forms, so I turned both of us into eagles. He reports that eagle wings are hard to get used to for an owl, but he is impressed by the higher speed he can achieve once he got used to it. But I think he still considers the owl to be the superior form, and it certainly is during twilight. Tomorrow maybe we'll examine the intricacies of hawks.

At one point we landed in a tree to rest a bit, and I had my first close look at the spring growth. The trees are budding, but the buds don't look right. They're smaller than they should be, and less lush and supple -- almost as if they are half-dead even before opening. It is a reminder that the malaise in the land remains; I wish I knew how we could stop it before it does even more damage. In addition to the monsters that are being spewed up by the earth, there is the problem of the famine that will surely come if the spring crops do not get a healthy start. I don't know if even Liandra's magic can help, though I hope that the blessings she made over Shepford in the fall will provide some help for the people who live there.

March 16 (Monday)

Tonight we are staying in an inn. There are not many people around, and those who are here are fairly glum. Most of them are older men and younger women; the able-bodied men are all off fighting in Cardior. What a pointless war! It's not even clear what they're fighting over. I thought it was the succession, but with all the dukes falling ill, I'm not so sure. And wouldn't the winner be surprised when he finds out what being emperor entails! I wish there were some way I could call the warring dukes together and tell them "look, stop being stupid and send your people home!". But I can't.

March 18 (Wednesday)

I think I saw a scry sensor today while we were travelling. That's not good. It's got to be Melisande -- who else would it be? So she presumably knows that we have Prolix and Turok now.

Today it's raining. Hrolf and I decided to find out if it's true what they say about water off of ducks' backs. Conclusion: somewhat, but it's still not pleasant. A nice roaring fire and some magical drying helped.

I've been thinking about magical flight that doesn't require growing wings, like what Prolix does. I have some ideas.

March 19 (Thursday)

We're in another dreary, shabby tavern tonight. The people here are talking about attacks they've heard about by vicious monsters. None seem to have been very recent, but the people are frightened nonetheless.

Prolix continues to work on his spellbooks. He says he's not trying to learn anything that's already in his real spellbooks, because he's going to get those back.

Turok lost his armor to Garrett. I hope we're able to eventually get enough money for him to replace that. Yes, he's got some natural protection, but I still worry that if something does attack us on the road, he'll be too vulnerable. I'm doing what I can to support the party with magical armor, but I can't protect everyone around the clock.

March 21 (Saturday)

Today we crossed the border into Lescap. This involved dealing with two border outposts, Tergia's and Lescap's. We let Liandra do the talking with the former, as she actually lives in Tergia. I talked us through the Lescap guards without lying or giving anything away. I'll get the hang of this diplomacy stuff yet!

The landscape is getting somewhat desolate. It seems as if things just got a little colder and a little creepier when we crossed the border. It's probably my imagination. But right about now I miss the home-cooked meals of the Gastreyr. Too bad Prolix can't teleport us to the Crock Pot for a tasty meal and a pleasant evening among friends. Maybe I should try to figure out how teleportation works myself, else we'll be waiting for him to take on Garrett.

March 23 (Monday)

I haven't figured out yet if teleportation is about very fast movement, collapsing the fabric of space, or disassembling and reassembling a person. Having experiencd it, I think it's the third or perhaps the second, but definitely not the first. I mean, you'd get wind-burn or something, and that hasn't happened. On the other hand, disassembling and reassembling people, while it seems like shape-shifting, is pretty different. This will take some thought.

Prolix is no help in explaining it, but that's a wizard for you. Eventually I'll work it out from first principles myself. Meanwhile, I have more productive magical matters to contemplate: I've almost figured out how to turn a fire into an explosive cloud. That could be handy! And I'm making progress on flight without wings.

March 25 (Wednesday)

Another inn. Another batch of forlorn, frightened people with tales of monsters but no helpful information about where to find them. So we can't raise morale by clearing the area of these menaces.

I hope we are able to find Therion and wake him. He could tell us so much about what happened 500 years ago! If he could tell us what we need to do once we get the dagger, that would really help -- we still need to get the dagger, but at least we could put it to immediate use in restoring the land. Ok, we also need an emperor, but if all else fails I myself will stand in and take the damage until one can be found. I owe it to Agondre to do all I can to heal him, after all.

April 1 (Sunday)

Today is the first day of the year with more day than night. This means they're beginning to plant the wheat crop back home. I wonder how it's going. I wonder if crops will grow. I wonder what they will eat if they don't.

I said the appropriate prayers, as best I remember them, at sunrise to proclaim the growing strength of Pelor. I should have asked Boniface for a prayer book. Next time we are near a temple of Pelor I will do that.

Tonight's tavern has a weathered sign out front that says "last tavern before the barbarian lands". The innkeeper says it's an old sign, and when I pressed him on it he admitted that he had never actually seen a barbarian. However, he and the few patrons who were there talked of monsters, and also said that a trapper who comes to the inn every few weeks has gone missing without a trace. I tried to encourage the people and suggested that the trapper is just delayed, but they clearly did not believe me.

I have some thoughts on using fire defensively rather than offensively, and have been experimenting with this for the last few nights. I won't do so tonight, however; this inn is made of wood.

April 2 (Monday)

The terrain has gotten progressively hillier as we've headed north, and today we had to go through a pass. There were mountains to either side and a stream in the middle. Perfect place for an ambush.

So, naturally, we were attacked -- by several huge lions, which Prolix distracted with an illusion, and one manticore, which we had to fight. Manticores burn fairly well, but the spikes they throw are nasty. We found the manticore's cave and in it a large magical shield that Turok is now using. It has a lion head on it; we don't know if that's just decoration.

We made camp in a relatively flat spot that is at least somewhat protected from the elements. Fortunately the weather has been warm, as Prolix is no longer building magical structures for us to sleep in.

April 3 (Tuesday)

Last night we were attacked by foul undead things. I still don't know what they were, but they seemed to be hunting us. Prolix spotted a scry sensor right before they appeared. Oh joy.

One of the creatures announced that it had been sent to destroy us, and then said nothing more. They are shadowy creatures, and they spit globs of searing blood. They seem to have some immunity to fire and complete immunity to lightning, but we were able to prevail, particularly once Liandra called down sunlight on them. My sword was quite effective against them; I could feel it pushing the foulness right out of their bodies.

I think we are getting close to the caverns of Laryn. Things are starting to sound different.