ASH
We have arrived at the mysterious monastery. It’s surrounded by a dilapidated stone wall covered in vines. We’re crouched behind the wall, staring at the large building on the far side of the enclosure.
It’s terrifying. Even in broad daylight.
This might be because our party isn’t in very good shape. We managed to survive a skirmish with a minotaur, but then a swarm of blood-sucking stirges attacked us in a forest clearing. Intan nearly died again (technically he was dead) and none of my four companions have fully recovered. I managed to evade the stirges’ sting, but a couple of hours ago we were attacked by snakes, and I am still suffering from their poison…
But here we are at the monastery nonetheless, getting ready to go in. We have yet to decide our strategy, but whatever we do it’s going to be big.
And our objective has changed. First we struck a dodgy bargain with “the people of the eye”, a clan of humanoids who may or may not be trying to find the Eye of Varrien.
But then, not long after we’d left their domain and crossed the river, we encountered a rival company of humanoids who called themselves the “three-fanged clan”. They were instantly suspicious of us, since we’d come through the lands of the people of the eye.
We killed several hobgoblins before their leader — a northern plainswoman, no less — called a truce and threatened to return with a vast force if we didn’t switch sides and retrieve two objects from the monastery for them.
I fear we are playing both sides at present. Promises have been made to both the people of the eye and the three-fanged clan. I have no idea which humanoids can be trusted, which clan is less evil… It will surely end in disaster.
***
Yes, it’s a dangerous game Ash and her companions are playing…
There is some good news for Ash, though. She has survived to be a level four ranger and is now eligible for an animal companion and a daily spell. Oooh, fun. Ash now needs to decide what kind of animal she’s going to seek.
So long as she doesn’t get killed in the next session…
What animal companion would you choose — wolf or hawk or something else — and why?
E V Gregory 
Gosh, Ellen. I hope you make it to your next blog. You play around with dangerous beings! Be careful.
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Heh – I really hope Ash survives to enjoy level 4 and her animal companion! Thanks, Janice. 🙂
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I would choose an octopus, because octopus 🙂
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Haha – yeah, but not so good in the forest… 😉
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Or a ferret. Ferrets are good – they’re sneaky, and you can bend them in half. They’re also determined as hell, judging by the number of times my daughter’s ferret has escaped her cage.
😉
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I could get a ferret, actually… I believe they are on the list. But I’m leaning towards a hawk at present. I think a hawk would be quite useful for scouting and able to wing it away from danger!
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Hah! Technically dead. It is more, dear Ash, that Phanator has more use of me in the mortal world than by his side at present. One day, however, he shall call me, and I shall stand by him, bathed in his luminous glory! Death holds no fear for me, but neither am I in any hurry to court its permanence.
And, in the meantime, I bow down before the ingenious Cal for his service to Phanator in bringing me back. All I remember is that almighty draining feeling, feeling weak and woozy with those disgusting things stuck all over me, sucking my blood, and then I struck one off and then another and then whack! And then Cal’s face, all blurry and going in and out of focus. And feeling worse than when that crocodile savaged me, worse than that moment when I had my eye sucked out of my head — and, believe me, that was bad enough, worse than when I went through that resurrection, and I felt like my insides were acid and fire.
You know, Ash, war horses are mighty beasts! We could sally forth into battles together if only we had horses! And a war horse has great teeth and hooves. A war horse can fight!
Intan
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You, my dear Intan, are fair obsessed with the idea of having a war horse. It is all very well for you, blessed scion of Phanator, to be granted a magical war horse once you have been judged worthy… I must take more earthly concerns into consideration — like what in the fair plains I’m supposed to do with a war horse when we creep into the caverns of the deep?!
Besides, my animal companion is not to be relegated to the role of mere fighting companion. He or she will be far more than that — including my second eyes and ears in the battle for survival in these troubled lands.
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