On their way to the Firewine Bridge Ruins, the Troupe found a cave haunted by the ghost of Torqion. Aegon promised to obtain a “Vampiric Sword” to free the ghost from its curse. They now continue on their way to the Ruins, seeking treasures and curses alike.
1 Eleasias 1368
We leave Torqion’s cave and continue to the east along the rocky plains. We have no idea where to start looking for the Vampiric Sword that it wants. I told it I would help, but it sits in the back of my mind that Torqion may never be at peace, and Beregost will remain haunted. We may have to destroy Torqion after all, though I don’t want to resort to that if I can help it.
My thoughts about the specter are interrupted near a milestone pointing back to Beregost, and are ambushed by a pack of wolves. Wild beasts have a way of distracting you from what matters.
We kill a couple of them and that’s enough to scare the rest of the pack away. We chase them down but they are too fast for us.
After the remaining wolves vanish into the plains, I notice Verr’Sza’s arm dripping blood onto the dry soil. His stoicism belies the pain, but I can’t let him endure it long. I use my dream-given abilities to close his wounds.
Almost as soon as he is healed we are waylaid by hobgoblins accompanied by their pet worg. They are quick to violence. They have no love for elves, and there are too many elvenkin in our troupe.
A couple of the tattooed bandits fall to our arrows, and Rose impales their worg on her Chesley Crusher. There is something in her eyes today. Is it anger, or excitement?
The bandits joined by a large wolf with an overwhelming stink of rotten flesh. It’s dead eyes almost disappear into their sockets. It is a dread wolf, the reanimated body of a wolf.
Rose pulls her halberd from the worg and, with a shout, throws it over her head and into the charging wolf. Its skull shatters under the force of the blow.
The way she moves her halberd is like a precise dance, surgically removing the orange-skinned goblinoids from the fight one by one. She sings as she kills each one by one, the song of a warrior. For a moment, I wonder if Rose finds her peace in the chaos of combat, her halberd an extension of her fury and grace.
It’s not long before she’s standing amongst a pile of corpses. She seems to calm down as she wipes her blade once again.
Verr’Sza is the first to hear a howling close by, and he moves closer to investigate. He is attacked by two worgs, another dread wolf, and two larger wolf with blood-red fur. Their piercing fangs and the flickering of their glowing eyes give away the vampiric wolves lust for blood.
The rakshasa is hurt and falls back, calling to Cat and Rose to hold the wolves off. I would mistake this for cowardice, but I know Verr’Sza to be a cold and calculated killer. This is just a cautious strategy: he knows that Rose is deadlier in the thick of battle than he.
Rose begins another song to accompany her dance. Hearing her voice somehow encourages us to win this fight.
Rose is bitten by one of the vampiric wolves. As the fangs sink into her arm, the wolf’s eyes glow bright red, and she feels her strength sapping from her body.
She manages to shake the wolf off her long enough to slice off its head. It starts to disintegrate into a cloud of dust.
She turns to the other vampiric wolf and forces it to defend itself against her strikes, but she is bitten from behind by one of the wargs.
She consumes another Potion while Verr’Sza manages to get a crossbow bolt through its heart.
Rose turns to face the worgs. Without the help of the undead wolves they fall to the barrage of missiles we send their way.
Khalid tells us that this experience has taught him to be a better fighter.
His Breath and Spells saves improve by 1, and his THAC0 is also improved. He gains 4 Hit Points and 1 point of Lore.
We wonder if these hobgoblins were Chill. This is the first time we’ve encountered them with worgs and wolves, something we haven’t seen bandits use before. With the undead wolves, they must have a necromancer or shaman among them somewhere…
After taking a moment to recover from the fight with the hobgoblins and their wolves, we press on toward the east. We find a strange group of noblemen standing around, doing very little. Rose attempts to talk to them.
Before we have a chance to ponder which is the butler, we hear the growling of a group of wild dogs. The animals charge toward us, snarling and baring their teeth.
Like the last time we were attacked by a pack of wild animals, we kill a couple and the rest of them run away.
Edwin mutters that he can use magic better in the future thanks to secrets we would never understand.
His Death and Breath saves improve by 1, his THAC0 is reduced by 1. He gains 1 more spell slot for bothe level 1 and level 2 spells. His Hit Points increase by 6, and his Lore increases by 4.
We are quick to go back to the group of men who decided not to help us when the dogs attacked. Not that we needed their help. Rose is having a tough time getting through to them.
Rose looks around. There is no man wearing a grey and violet doublet. Are they playing some kind of trick?
Rose takes a deep breath. I can see she is getting annoyed. I can see why. What butler do they mean?
Even my patience is faltering by now. I catch Edwin smirking, which only fans the flames. What is with these people? Rose clenches her fists and asks Spike who the butler is.
Rose almost lets out a scream, but manages to hold herself back. She asks where the butler is.
She can’t help screaming after that insult. She takes another breath and starts to ask about the butler again. She is slow and methodical as she talks.
She turns around exasperated. Maybe she missed someone. She can’t see anyone else, and neither can the rest of us. She closes her eyes and slowly opens them again. One last time…
Crusher’s grating voice is the last straw. Rose throws up her hands in frustration, muttering curses that echo across the plains. She seems so upset that I’m surprised she didn’t take her halberd to them. Behind her, Edwin smirks, threatening to ignite a new conflict entirely.
I actually kept trying to talk to them but they just kept repeating the same dialogue. I’ve cut that out here to avoid a lot of repetition.
The horizon stretches before us endless and barren, the myriad rocks and cliffs casting shadows that seemed to ripple with unseen threats. Each step eastward brings us closer to the Ruins, and closer to the dangers of the wild.
After nearly 8 hours travel to the east we find ourselves in a small canyon infested with zombies. They lurch toward us, claws poking out from their rotten flesh.
Verr’Sza, Cat, and Rose cut most of them down, while Edwin and Khalid destroy a couple of their brains.
Verr’Sza likes to use his blades, but he is wounded once again. I use my last healing spell to make sure he can last next time he uses his swords.
These zombies were heavily decayed, leaving several body parts scattered around.
We feel a sense of dread. We can handle a few zombies, but where there are undead, there’s usually some greater evil not far away.
We continue down the canyon only to find more of the undead creaking. There is no flesh on these animated skeletons, and they wield warhammers and bucklers. Jaheira destroys one as they charge our position.
They are no match for us, we quickly reduce them to piles of inanimate bones.
But the sound of the fight has drawn the attention of yipping lizards. Kobolds launch flaming arrows at Rose, one striking her in the shoulder. She doesn’t pat out the flames, but she swings the Chesley Crusher so fast they go out on their own.
“Finally, a real fight”, says Edwin under his breath. He’s right. What they lack in strength, they make up for in numbers. But I remember what worked well in the Nashkel Mines, and I take away their advantage by putting most of them to Sleep.
Arrows and bolts fly into the bodies of the remaining kobolds, while Rose and Cat chase down their last commando.
A skeleton flanks us and hurls daggers, but Edwin hits it with an acid-laced arrow that starts to burn through its bindings.
Jaheira destroys what’s left of the skeleton, and Khalid puts an arrow through the only kobold left awake.
As they slumber we kill the remaining kobolds one by one.
We leave the dead kobolds and skeletons for the vultures. Jaheira curses the remains of the undead. She calls them affronts to nature.
The crunch of small feet on loose gravel alerts us to an approaching figure. It’s a halfling with a gleam of eagerness in his eyes. We doubt he’s a bandit but we keep our guard up nonetheless.
Rose: Yes, we’re adventurers, why should you care?
Furret: That’s good then! You see, I am an adventurer of sorts, of course, I’m not very fond of battle. I like to pilfer objects from ruins and monstrous lairs, and try my best to avoid getting hurt. Anyway, I have something that might interest you. I have a gem in my possession, a magical gem. I have no use for it, and I can’t get the price I’m looking for from anyone I’ve met. Would you perhaps be interested?
Rose: Perhaps you can tell us what the gem does?
Furret: Of course! It’s a gem of true seeing. It allows you to see the truth in all things. So, do you want it? I’m selling it for 1,000 gold, no less.
Rose: How ’bout selling it for less than 1,000 gold?
Furret: I can’t sell such a gem for less than 1,000 gold!#
I step into the conversation. This gem sounds like it will be useful, and it’s time I started showing some real leadership.
Aegon: Okay, we’ll take it for 1,000 gold.
Furret: Good, good! Here’s the gem, now I’ll be on my way.
As he rushes off Jaheira sighs.
Jaheira: For all our sakes, I shall hold onto the party’s funds from now on. You… you can have your *gem*, Aegon.
Furret shouts back as he leaves.
Furret: You… you will see the true value of this gem yet!
I take a look at the gem, and I see the truth in it that Jaheira also noticed. It isn’t magical, and while valuable, it isn’t worth what we paid for it.
Damn my foolishness! I hand over what little gold we have left to Jaheira. I make a promise that I’ll let Rose handle any bargaining from now on. Leadership is not just about book-learning. It is knowing when to trust others to take the reigns. If I am to continue leading others, I need to accept this as a lesson learned.
Our next assailants want our valuables, but they choose to take it with violence rather than confidence. At least I won’t fall for any tricks this time. I’ll prove myself once again with my sling.
The Hobgoblin bandits focus their yellow eyes on us, and their leader hits Rose square in the chest with an arrow. She starts to feel weak, as poison starts rushing through her veins.
She drinks a Potion of Extra Healing and I use my divine energy to Slow the Poison. Khalid strikes true and one of the bandits falls dead.
We chase down the other two so they can’t rely on their bows anymore. As they try to maintain distance, Verr’Sza and I take them out at range.
They are unlikely to be bandits. We are far off the Trade Way now. The Sword Coast must have other hobgoblin tribes wandering the wilderness. The last time we encountered hobgoblins they had undead wolves fighting among them. Could they be behind the undead that plague this area too?
As if in answer to my last thought, we encounter more skeletons, this time armed with darts. A dart glances off Rose as she runs them down.
They are easily destroyed, just like the other skeletons we have encountered so far. If there is a necromancer in the area, they aren’t as powerful as the ones we have fought before.
Edwin mutters something about things being “too easy.” Perhaps they are, but I still fear what may lay beyond.
Atop a nearby plateau we spot a small congregation of people wearing robes. They appear to be in some sort of meditation. Could they be the source of the undead? We go up to investigate. They aren’t too happy to be disturbed.
Rose seeks out their leader to find out what they’re doing here.
Rose: We’re just travelling. What are you doing here?
Pilgrim Leader: We are looking for enlightenment, and we came to this place with the hope to find it here. I can tell you the story…
Many centuries ago, long before the walls of the magic school were destroyed, a great conflict took place in this place. And as always the reason for it was human stupidity.
Edwin rolls his eyes. He doesn’t like the implication that he is a stupid as the rest of his kind.
An ambitious wizard opened a portal to the Lower Planes and the All-destroyer with his army invaded the Prime, destroying everything in their path. Rescue came from the gods in the form of a celestial who entered the fray with the vile forces of darkness.
The fierce battle lasted seven days and seven nights, until finally the majestic celestial defeated the creatures of the Abyss. After the battle was over, the wizard’s magic weakened, the portal closed and the invasion was stopped.
But before the battle came to its end, the celestial came face to face with the leader of the infernal creatures, whose name shall be forever buried in the darkness of time. The forces were approximately equal and luck could not lean in any direction for a long time.
Finally, with the last of his strength, the celestial defeated his opponent. The claws of the defeated demon lord slashed the celestial’s tender flesh for the last time and burned bloody paths to the very heart. In terrible agony, he began to ascend, away from the evil and hatred of the ancient enemy of the human race.
Life was rapidly leaving the winner, and bitter, burning tears streamed down his face. But even at this moment, every tear sought to strike the remnants of evil that managed to hide still.
The battle was won, but its price was high. This land was watered with the blood and tears of a celestial being due to human stupidity. This sacrifice must never be forgotten.
I notice Verr’Sza leaning forward, his ears twitching at the mention of “sacrifice”. What could a celestial’s sacrifice mean to a rakshasa?
And so our ancestors came here, they had children, and those, in turn, had their children… And so it went on from generation to generation, until we met with you today. We are here to honour and respect the soul of the martyr, in the hope that the day will come and he will return from his plane to us, and bring us enlightenment and salvation.
Now that you know everything, leave. You are not worthy of the tears of a celestial being.
Edwin releases a frustrated sigh and says something about “religious nonsense.” He’s probably just insulted at the idea he isn’t worthy. Jaheira comments that it’s a nice story, in a way that says that’s all she thinks it is: a story.
There might be some truth to it, however. It’s a story of humanity’s stupidity causing a war that almost destroyed the land. If you look at the history of war, it’s almost always a result of someone’s stupidity. We are close to a war with Amn now, and that’s down to either the stupidity of one man’s conspiracy or the wilful ignorance of the masses.
As we walk away, their serene chants fading into the winds, I couldn’t help but feel the weight of their story and a bitter thought creeps in: how much of my own leadership falters because of my ignorance? Perhaps the true war isn’t with Amn but within ourselves, our emotions leading us astray.
