ZILLAH
[14 Feb] All going well, we should arrive in Kelsen tomorrow.
All going well…
Gah! Who am I kidding? Nothing ever goes well for us. It’s taken us a week to get this far and it’s cost a lot of gold.
I guess I’m lucky I’m not in this for the money, because this is definitely not the way to get rich.
Enter Nightshade
The outlaws in the forest guided us safely enough to the vicinity of the coast road, and one of them has joined us. She’s a young ranger who goes by the name of Nightshade. It should be good to have someone else in the party who isn’t obsessed with violence and death. At least I hope she proves like-minded. Another ranger should be beneficial for our party when we confront the cursed forests of these lands.
For better or worse (probably worse) we decided to take the road instead of a forest route towards Kelsen. Even though Alix and I (being northerners) kept a low profile, someone must have recognised our party and reported us for the bounty on our heads.
Turns out they don’t much like the fact we killed all those guards in Lhangessa.
So yesterday we were waylaid by men from House Darius Thrun and ended up paying a blood price to stop them from hauling us all the way back to Lhangessa. It was a lot of gold.
Exit Vaantus
This was after we engaged them in battle and managed not to kill anybody (no thanks to some members of our party). In fact, they were so impressed they offered us jobs.
I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised Vaantus took them up on this offer. He’s never fully adjusted to life after his big sleep, and the incident in Lhangessa really affected him. He wasn’t made to run with outlaws, which I must reluctantly concede we have become. Sort of. I hope he finds purpose and contentment serving House Darius Thrun.
The rest of us are going on to Kelsen, where hopefully we’ll be able to take stock, resupply and sell some stuff.
The two mages in our party are going to make things more difficult. Vahdrim are despised, feared and killed on sight around here. Right now, while we sleep in town, poor Squirrel and Abra are hiding in the forest. We’re going to sneak out in the very early hours to try to evade a woman who has been following us…
Gab’s house
[15 Feb] To get into Kelsen, we had to pay coin for a 3-day pass and — once our papers satisfied officials that we were no longer on the wanted list — were then assigned a “guide” who is now responsible for our every move while in the city. What kind of a place IS this?
Gab, our guide, has accommodated us in his house, which he shares with his aunt and her enterprising daughter, Tippa. Squirrel and Abra somehow made it to Kelsen safely too, and they’ve made contact with some dodgy underworld figure who will sell some of our magical items on our behalf and obtain certain ingredients for them — the kind of ingredients that mages need.
Blizzard has been to his temple and come back with promises of free 10-day passes for us all. I’m fairly sure I don’t want to stay here that long, but he seems keen…
Temple of Emrys
[16 Feb] This morning, our first in Kelsen, I visited the Temple of Emrys with Nightshade and Alix. It’s been over two weeks now since Ash was slain, and I needed… I just needed to commune with my god. Pray. Beg forgiveness.
It was my first visit to one of Emrys’ temples… Before the Sunless Citadel I revered Timmeron, god of travellers; but then Emrys, god of the forests, claimed me. His temple was amazing, all treed columns and vibrant with life. Easily my favourite place in this city so far. Probably my favourite place in all these southern lands.
I prayed for half a day until my heart and soul found peace.
And then my god sent me a sign. Our route back to Gab’s house took us past one of the markets. Pens and pens of animals — baying, chirping, howling, hissing, screeching. They caught my attention, poor captive creatures, how could they not? I wish I could free them all.
I don’t know if I’m ready for another companion. Maybe tomorrow I will pray again.
Tippa’s deal
Tonight things are getting out of control. Squirrel is pissed — understandably, because the thieves’ guild has double-crossed us. The bastards have stolen all the gear we wanted to sell. But Squirrel has now agreed to do something I don’t think we should.
On our first night here, Tippa took one look at me and decided I looked exactly like a sword for hire. She wanted me to kill some guy in the thieves’ guild, a guy who killed her father, in return for her aid in navigating the city. (The girl is only 14 years old!)
I refused, of course — although we could certainly have used her aid, given how badly we’ve done so far. (Turns out we could have sold the magic stuff in the markets easily enough, without risking the guild.)
Anyway, Squirrel is pissed — at being ripped off and because he doesn’t have the ingredients he wanted. He wants revenge on the thieves’ guild. So now he’s negotiating with Tippa to do this thing.
And now Tippa’s mother has kicked us out of the house because she thinks we’re trouble. Tippa has told us to meet her outside later this evening and she’ll find us somewhere to stay. Looks like it’s either that or Blizzard’s Temple of Kaltan. Gah!
I wonder if poor Gab will get in trouble for losing track of us?
That was an interesting session, in which one of the characters got unexpectedly role-played out of the game. Poor Vaantus.
Our DM informed us we are now at the halfway point of this game. Yep, 3.5 years to get halfway. Holy firetruck.
I have no idea what lies in store for us this weekend, but I have a feeling Zillah will get a new animal companion — if we don’t get run out of town before she gets the chance.
The D&D Chronicles page lists all the posts — this one is number 51!
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