Kaylo’s Journal
As scribed (and edited for language and literary aesthetic) by Devin Firaz,
resident penman of the Thirsty Throat Tavern
Devin’s Note: This journal has been compiled by myself, based on dictation
taken from Kaylo himself (under a rather intimidating and strict oath of
secrecy) as well as from primary documents bearing the rough writings of some
country bumpkin innkeep. Those
documents constitute Kaylo’s “journal” during his extended stay in Stonnerin. I have taken the liberty of cleaning up the
grammar and poise of the prose when I consolidated it into the main journal
herein. I must say it’s a relief to
work on something other than fake City passes, and I hope the reader find that
I have made the most of my humble talents to turn the crass ramblings of the
minotaur into something a little more palatable…
Early-August: It seems I may have found my first mercenary job. It will be a relief to leave behind the
menial dock work that I have been forced to take since my release from the pits
some two months ago. I am in the employ
of the mysterious “Brothers,” and though I have not yet seen them in action,
they seem a capable enough bunch. My
first impressions of my employers and co-workers are:
Rhyss: Though not the spokesman of the Brothers, he seems in some ways
to be the leader. He is elven, though
of an unfamiliar stock. Strange ritual
tattoos cover his face and presumably the rest of his body (though I haven’t
had the dubious privilege of confirming this).
He and his brother are apparently from an exotic and distant land. Rhyss seems clever and competent, though
rather taciturn. I think he has a
personal agenda to follow, I hope he doesn’t drag the rest of us down a bloody
road to complete his own ends…
Emjod: The second Brother is more social than the other is. Apparently, he is a woodsman of some
skill. Though he talks freely of
trivial matters, his true nature and purpose remain as impenetrable as that of
his sibling.
Drake: He appears to be a man-servant or indebted somehow to the
Brothers. He appears half-elven, though
the red cast of his eyes makes me suspect a more sinister heritage. He seems to be a free spirit at heart, but
just the same, I keep a tighter grip on my coin purse when he is about.
Etrigan: A quiet but deadly warrior.
His stoic exterior seems a mask that covers something else. His secrets, if any, remain a mystery to
me. I think I can trust him about as
far as any human, but that’s not saying a lot.
Much of the party is non-human, which is just as well as far as I am concerned. They treat me better than most humans do. This mercenary group appears to be a perfect place to gain a foothold in Dragonfall.
Mid-August: Etrigan seems to have found us our first job. He encountered a foppish dwarf named
Dessarin, who seeks our help in a matter for his Mistress. Emjod and Etrigan met with him later in a
high-class tavern to discuss the details.
Apparently we are to stop traffic at an intersection near the
construction site of the Rah-Ven temple.
Mid-August: Last night we saw a pillar of light shooting up to the heavens
from the Rah-Ven temple. We then set
about causing the distraction. I played
the part of a laborer bearing a heavy granite block. I made it appear that I had smashed a wagon wheel by
accident. Emjod used this opportunity
to shout prophecy and throw his coins around.
The ensuing chaos stopped traffic as plan, though a rash of excessive
violence broke out. This was not as we
planned, and I wish we had been able to do a bit more to stop the
bloodshed. Oh well, at least the
carnage will divert attention from the early part we played in the incident.
Mid-August: The dwarf, Dessarin, who now appears to not be the fop that he
was previously pretending, told us that sinister forces were responsible for
the deaths at the temple, not us. Now,
he and his mistress have another task for us.
We are to gather four alchemical components in large quantities from the
western hamlet of Stonnerin. The job
promises to pay well.
Mid-August: We departed by wagon for Stonnerin yestermorn. The day was uneventful, but last night we
were attacked by large wolves who seemed to obey a mystic flute. We defeated the animals, who seemed intent
on eating Dessarin (who slept through the whole ordeal).
Mid-August: We finally arrived in Stonnerin, despite an all
night dash by foot, horse, and wagon.
We passed by the opportunity to camp at the ruins of a tower and instead
decided to travel after sundown to Stonnerin.
Again the call of the flute and again the wolf attacks. Though many seemed to lurk in the woods,
thankfully they only attacked in manageable numbers. At the cost of a couple horses and a fairly pitched battle, we
drove the animals back. Drake noticed a
strange rune on the hindquarters of the fallen wolves. We made it into Stonnerin before the dawn
broke.
Mid-August: Today we set about exploring the town and scouting out the
locations of the magical components that we need. Three people seem to be of interest. Jack, the ranger, is a rather stupid but apparently good-hearted
warden of the woods and townsfolk. The
town illusionist is eccentric and lazy, but competent enough considering the
backwater burg he’s working in. The
herbalist is a wise woman, and seems to be warming to me despite me being a
minotaur. She is not bad, for a human,
and I hope to learn something from her over our stay here.
Our search for ingredients has met
with some success, we have located the peat bog where we can harvest the
tar. Also, we found some sort of henge
and fairy-ring nearby.
Mid-Late-August: Yesterday and last night found us adventuring near an abandoned
manor house. The old family plot seems
a suitable cemetery from which to harvest the nightshade that we require. There are several peculiarities about the
place. First, we saw a figure crouching
in the cemetery as we approached, but it fled before we could even get a good
look at it. It seemed to be crouching
near a gravestone marked “Lord Rhivas.”
Of somewhat more interest is the
interior of the manor house. While
exploring the ruins, we found evidence of orc tracks and repeated looting. We also stumbled upon a secret door beneath
the kitchen which lead into a region of catacombs. This consists of a long passage ending in a door with a shield
emblem on it. There were several
embalmed skeletons lining the walls and the star and moon coat of arms that we
had noticed earlier in the manor.
Apparently this is the crest of the “Knights of the Dark Tower.” As we began examining the area, I guarded
the rear in case the graveyard visitor attacked from that direction. Apparently, someone disturbed the rest of
the corpses and several began to animate.
I am not certain how this was precipitated, but I suspect Drake was
responsible for some grave looting. Not
that I blame him, normally I would say that the living have much more use for
equipment than do the dead. I was soon
proved wrong, however, when the dead man showed me just how well he could wield
his rusted sword.
A pitched battle followed. We fought the animated skeletons while black
shadows twisted around us whispering darkness.
It was then that I was seized by the worst coughing fit that I have yet
experienced. I fear the damage is
permanent, I can feel the Mythalim dust eroding my lungs. After I recovered, it became apparent that
we should flee, so we returned to below the kitchen. Above us we heard two voices, voices that we have yet to
identify. Apparently they were
performing some mystic ritual. One was
the master, while the other a servant of some kind.
After we felt it safe and that the
source of the voices had departed, we ventured upstairs. There was a circle of earth and ash in the
library, apparently this was the location of the ritual. Outside the manor we discovered that the
grave of lord Rhivas had been disinterred.
Also of interest, the footprints of the mysterious nocturnal visitors
vanished mid-step outside the manor. We
suspect one may have wings, but perhaps there was a magic portal involved.
While searching around we again
encountered Jack the suspicious ranger as well as a Justicar of
Dragonfall. Naturally, they flaunted
their typical human distrust of my humanoid companions and myself. I hope they don’t try to pin any nasty
business on us.
We returned to town to
reconnoiter.
Mid-late-August: We purchased some scrolls from the illusionist to help in our
collection of the alchemical components: A scroll of darkness with which to
gather the deadly nightshade, and a scroll of silence to protect us from the
shriek of the mandrake root.
We set out this afternoon to gather
some of the ingredients for our employer.
Our first stop is to gather the baneberries from the millpond. Tonight being the full moon, we will also
harvest the peat moss tar as per the instructions of our enigmatic
employer.
The natural plants surrounding the
baneberries proved to be rather hostile.
We managed to deal with them without much difficulty, however. The collection of the peat tar proved more
interesting. I stepped into the fetid
bog and set up a wooden barricade to hold open a hole from which to extract the
peat tar. A rumbling began to ensue as
the first of three barrels was filled.
As the work progressed, the source of the rumbling made itself
known: a giant beetle. The creature’s attack knocked me to the
ground, but fortunately my comrades were able to subdue it. Having fought alongside them several times
now, I must say that I am impressed with their combat abilities. Also of interest, apparently Drake is a
spellcaster of some sort along with his burglary skills. I should have guessed from his red
demon-like eyes… There is something
strange about that one. I hope he
doesn’t eat us in our sleep. I think I
will be safe, though, as I hear that elven flesh is the tastiest, but that is
just a rumor after all…
We saw a winged bat-like creature
emerge from the ring of mushrooms and henges.
Perhaps I am jumping to conclusions, but it is my guess that this being
belongs to one of the voices we heard while in the basement of the manor
house. The creature did not harass us
in any way and quickly fled the scene.
The mushroom ring is now even more intriguing, I think Rhyss and Emjod
have it in mind to investigate once we have all had a chance to recover from
our wounds.
Mid-late-August: Back at the inn, Dessarin has just reappeared and told us that
our herb gathering mission was naught but a ruse. Speaking of herbs, my efforts to collect seemingly rare or interesting
plants while journeying in the woods has met mostly with failure. The herbalist seems to appreciate my
attempts, but not too impressed with the specimens I have collected. In any case, it seems gathering plants is no
longer our purpose, as the dwarf has just explained. Our true purpose is to solve a series of bizarre murders of
interest to Dessarin’s mistress. These
same crimes as were being investigated by the Justicar. But the Justicar has gone missing and the
dwarf fears the worst. We are to locate
him (or more likely his corpse), gather clues and pick up where he left
off. Not the sort of mercenary work I
expected when I signed on with the Brothers, but then again, playing grocery
boy for sorceresses is not exactly typical either. Working with this crew is never dull, that is certain. In any case, we have been paid a large sum
in advance, and that is all I can ask.
We arrived later today at the manor
house with the dual purpose of harvesting the nightshade and searching for the
Justicar, as this was the last place that we saw him alive. Upon arrival, we saw evidence of a
mysterious visitor again. A blonde
figure was lurking in the graveyard, and apparently, as we soon discovered, had
slept in one of the mausoleums. Emjod
gave chase to the cloaked blonde figure, but even with his woodsmanship, he
could not gain any ground on her (or him?) and had to return. The figure (I believe this is the second
sighting) reminds me of the tales of this manor house that a drunk at the inn
told us. Something about Lord Rhivas,
his wife and his daughter, and some tragic death. I wish I could remember the details, but I dismissed the story as
hogwash at the time… I suspect that
this blonde figure is somehow connected to these two missing women (or at least
their graves are missing…)
A cursory investigation of the
cemetery revealed another shocking discovery.
We found the body of the Justicar, drained of all his blood, half buried
in Lord Rhivas’ previously vacant grave.
His notes were on the body, and told of a string of killing involving
bleeding most of the victims by the neck or wrists. There seems to be some themes of toys and children that run
through the details of the crimes. The
murders follow a string of villages progressing northward, and include ever
increasing bloodlust. One would assume
that the villains responsible for the described atrocities are also the ones
that brought an abrupt end to the Justicar’s investigation. I hope that we are more successful.
We harvested the nightshade using
the darkness scroll and left.
Late
August: We made an early start this
morning and reached the mysterious henge and mushroom circle near the peat
bog. We began our investigation just as
the sun was rising. As the first rays
of dawn fell upon the circle, one of the arches began to shimmer. Etrigan stepped through and appears to have
vanished. We now await his return.
Etrigan came back as full daylight
broke. He tells us that this is a
portal to another realm, and a sprite there told him that the door was open
every sunset and sunrise for the next few days. We have decided to make camp here and attempt to enter the portal
at the next opportunity.
We have just returned from the other
realm. It is an interesting place, I
suppose a sort of alternate plane of existence. The lay of the land is similar to the real world, though it
appears to be from a more primeval time.
There are more forests, and the town of Stonnerin is but a tent in this
other world. A woodland being riding a
wolf was our guide through the strange land.
He told us something of the nature of this place and the portals that
pass between them. As far as I can
tell, his realm is a shadow of the past of the real world. He took us to the manor house, or the rather
the shadow equivalent. There, we were
told about the history of the place a little and how there was another Dark
Tower some days journey from there.
Apparently it is a very dangerous place, but that is where the bat
person and the other are trying to break in.
I am lead to believe that those two are the ones responsible for the
wave of bloodletting that the Justicar was investigating. If that is the case, then I fear it is
beyond the abilities of our group to handle.
Ryhss and I think that we might be able to get some clues about how to
proceed in the real world manor if we could gain entrance into the shadow
one. Despite all our efforts, we could
not budge the door or sneak in through the roof. The top room of the tower appears to be a library and
observatory. I don’t know if that
information will be of any help to us when we attempt to penetrate the real
tower. In any case, after some wasted
effort we returned to the portal.
Etrigan was waiting there, for some reason he didn’t want to break into
the tower. I am not sure why. Was it out of nobility? I always thought that humans would jump at a
chance at pillage. He may have an
ulterior motive. Or perhaps he knew
somehow the efforts to enter would be in vain.
Any way you look at it, it’s interesting…
Late August: Today we met a friend of Jack’s by the name of Kren. He wants to
join us and seek his fortune. I would
wager that he is in fact a spy on behalf of the suspicious villagers. If that is the case, I am happy to have him
join since our current work is unobtrusive if not beneficial to Stonnerin. Not to mention an extra hand could be
useful. Even if his skills turn out to
be less than extraordinary, he is at least one more target besides me for the
skeletons to aim for.
Kren appears to be a quiet, reserved
and practical fellow. He is at home in
the woodlands, moving with a grace usually seen only in elves. Carpentry is his profession, apparently he
hopes to start up his trade in Dragonfall.
I hope his other skills, if any, prove to be useful.
We are setting out for the manor
house again, this time we will try hard to get past the hall where we battled
the skeletons.
Upon arriving in the crypt hall,
certain elements of our party restrained themselves from looting the remaining
corpses. Without the distraction of
mortal combat, Rhyss was able to discover a hidden latch on the door at the end
of the hall. We went through and
immediately fell into battle with some corpulent undead. With the aid of torchlight, we kept them at
bay and sent them back to the depths of hell which spawned them. After this we opened a door which lead us
deeper.
Our journey carried us into a series
of priest and warrior barracks as well as a large natural cavern and pool. We found evidence of an Order of the Dark
Tower which apparently resided here as an outpost against monstrous or demonic
invasion. There were priests as well as
warriors. Apparently their last foray
was against a serpent cult. It would
appear that this serpent god (or perhaps a less divine sort of madness) got the
better of the Order some time ago, and left the place deserted and crawling
with restless dead. We found some
useful items amongst the decaying stronghold, among them a short sword of
particular interest to Etrigan. Does he
have something to do with this place?
Perhaps. And if so, I hope his
relation is to the tower of the early days before the snake worship…
Now we are in trouble. Rhyss, while exploring a catacomb section got himself teleported to the coffin of a mummy-like creature. After a terrifying pitched battle (we were all badly injured from encounters with minor undead and some stone gargoyle like creatures) we found ourselves at the mercy of the fiend. We agreed to serve him if he would spare our lives. I lifted the heavy stone slab of his tomb to allow him out. He left the unconscious Rhyss and Drake locked inside. Drake can keep him alive, at least for now.
The mummy has now made known his plans for us. We are to serve him and be rewarded when his grim rein falls upon the world. I personally want no part of this, but my comrades’ lives are at stake. We shall do as he asks, at least for the moment. Our first task is to gather some relics of power for him: cobra eggs and such. Apparently, in life, the mummy was a priest of the serpent god.
After a search of the deep catacombs, we found the items we were looking for. Also of interest, Emjod and I noticed two barrels of fermented brandy in a store room not far from the hall where the mummy has set up camp. Quite flammable, though the wood of the casks is dry and very fragile. This could be a useful discovery…
Upon returning from our errand, we presented the mummy with the spoils of our search. He was pleased with our efforts, but unfortunately for him, several items had become useless with age. Now he makes some talk about how powerful he is. He is starting to remind me of a card player I once knew who always bluffed. I am fairly convinced that he is not nearly as deadly as he makes himself out, but with the state the party is in now, we couldn’t do much anyway. He may be holding naught but a jack o’ coins, but it still beats our seven of cups… Though the next hand that we are dealt may turn things the other way.
The mummy has agreed to free Drake and Rhyss if we perform a new service for him. He needs six children from the village for a barbaric blood rite to restore his power. We all made a show of being quite impressed with him and very greedy for the magic powers and items that he might grant us. Naturally, we cannot serve such a fiend. Working for questionable masters and being well rewarded is one thing, but I think our party will not stoop to the slaughter of innocents. I have done a number of things in past that I am not proud of, but the blood if six children is not something I want staining my soul. As a side note, Drake seemed to be less reluctant than one would expect regarding the mission…
Late August: After we decided to return to the village for rest, Emjod and I ran a side tour to finish filling up the requisite amount of peat tar. We are beginning to feel like it is beyond our abilities to complete the Justicar’s work, but perhaps collecting the ingredients will appease Dessarin’s mistress, somewhat. Upon nearing Stonnerin with our cargo, we were stopped by a band of Dragonfall soldiers. They wanted us to come with them, and to stow our weapons. I was not sure what this is about, but Emjod put on a fierce stance, refusing at first to surrender. I am not sure if this was wise, but I can’t blame him. I for one do not relish the idea of being at the tender mercies of human soldiers. I backed Emjod’s play, but perhaps got a bit too overzealous. I tried to back out of an all out battle by passing off my aggression as a natural state of gladiator past. It seems one or two soldiers remembered me, and we agreed to follow them back to the inn. For better or worse, no blood was shed.
Upon returning to the inn, we discovered that we had been apprehended on suspicion of the Justicar’s death. They had found his signet ring and notes among Rhyss’ possessions. The priest of Rah-ven put both Drake and Ryhss to the ‘test’. In typical human discrimination, the ‘lower’ race half-elf Drake was subjected too much more severe abuse than was Rhyss. They branded Drake, but not Rhyss, and there was apparently a lot more screaming when they were working on the half-elf. Under pain of torture, we revealed the whole story. This apparently satisfied the captain of the Dragonfall contingent, and they sent us away on the conditions that we would behave and leave the town of Stonnerin. We were all too willing.
Early September: After some discussion, we have decided to abandon Dessarin’s quest, possibly risking the wrath of his mistress. Hopefully she will understand our situation. It appears beyond our abilities to stop or even locate the beings responsible for the string of murders. I do not like to give up a mission, though. I feel a strong pull, even now, to see it through to the end. It is not work risking the lives of my comrades to fulfill my peculiar sense of duty, but I shall see what I can do independently to solve this mystery. Perhaps I can find a few clues in Dragonfall…
We are now at a camp we have set up near the manor house. The question now is what to do about the mummy. By now he must have realized that we betrayed him. We have made a decision to go into the manor and battle our nemesis. It may be foolish, but I don’t like to leave loose ends…
The assault went wrong from the very start. At the ground level of the manor, Jack, that misguided ranger, had riled up some townsfolk and mercenaries and set them to ambush us. The battle was over quick enough, and we were able to treat the wound of our opponents to keep them from bleeding to death. We sent all but Jack packing back home. They were happy to be alive, and I don’t think they will bother us again. Unfortunately, we were injured somewhat in the fray. Jack remained unconscious, and we carried him with us.
We descended down near the mummy’s lair with little incident. The only thing odd was that the catacomb passage leading into the basement complex was now empty of all the skeletons that had been there previously… After we detected a magical trap blocking our way, we unceremoniously tossed Jack’s limp body across the threshold to set it off. Then we charged in. We decided to enter the storeroom first to get the barrels of brandy to use as incendiary weapons. That was a mistake. The skeletons that served the mummy were waiting there in ambush. A deadly melee ensued, and we were soundly defeated before we even laid eyes on the mummy himself. Luckily we were able to save the party members that had been stricken unconscious (including myself) and make an escape. Jack is alive, and I think he will not be bothering us again.
Early September: After healing and resting a couple days, we were again faced with the decision of whether to fight the mummy again or not. Some members who were reluctant before are now adamant about defeating the mummy. On the other hand, some members are cowed by our defeat and no longer want to face him. In the end, we decided that it was payback time. This time, it’s personal!
Krell was too cowardly to join our expedition. I suppose its good to have a cautious level- headed member of our party, but I can’t respect his lack of valor.
We descend again. We have come prepared for the worst. We knew it was likely that all the skeletons that we had vanquished have now been risen by their master. I brought along some of the peat tar to use as fire bombs against the undead hordes. The battle turned fierce early on, as flying spiders attacked us in the natural cavern that led to the mummy’s main hall. After subduing them, we proceeded to secure the brandy casks. We found no sign of the skeletons, however. While we were searching, a horde of spiders charged us from the passage leading to the cavern. We fought back, the fire from the peat and brandy being somewhat effective. Soon, the mummy and the skeletons began marching in. They had been hiding in a pool in the cavern. Quite a crafty fellow, but we had a few surprises for them. First, I managed to launch some fiery missiles with considerable effect. The most important trick, though, was using a scroll of silence (which we had purchased earlier for use in harvesting the mandrake) on Etrigan. With a globe of silence around him, Etrigan charged into melee with the archfiend. Unable to speak the proper incantations, the mummy found it impossible to make use of his powerful magics. He and his minions, did not go down easily, however, and we were all sorely injured by the time we had won the day.
We recovered some treasures, including several gems. A great tragedy befell our group as Drake tried to open a trapped chest. He was unsuccessful in disarming the device, and the spray of darts hit the sorely wounded Etrigan. The blow was too much for the warrior, and he died within seconds.
We gathered up our fallen and our belongings and made the trek back toward Dragonfall. The return journey proved mostly uneventful. Our hearts were heavy, though, with the burden of our fallen comrade. Though I thought there would be no question about it, there was some debate about whether to use our funds to raise Etrigan. Soon, however, all were convinced that it was in the best interest of all concerned to bring him back. Tomorrow we began looking for temples that might perform the service.
Early September: We have considered the possibilities of either the Pholtus, Rah-ven, Tyr, or Bast temples. For the little coin we have, the temple of Rah-Ven seems to the best place. Though I do not relish the idea of what rites they may perform… We will bring the body to them tomorrow.
In the meantime, I must begin my training soon. I think I have found a way to begin. Tonight I will an appearance.
Mid September: Etrigan has survived the raising process, though I think it may have been quite an ordeal. He keeps to the sewers and is even more taciturn than usual. I hope he will return to his former self soon, we will have need of his combat skills on our next mission.
These past two weeks were spent selling off some loot and attending to personal affairs. I sold the deadly nightshade to the reclusive mages who live in the tower near the Thirsty Throat for a gold piece. The baneberries brought considerably less profit. I handed the proceeds over to Emjod.
I have spent a good deal of time down in the dockside slums. I am learning some skills of the trade, and trying to broaden my smuggler contacts. It never hurts to have good relations with some folks in low places. I have not yet met anyone directly in the business, but by running a few small errands I think I am getting my name known.
My studies are progressing nicely. I shall complete my training very soon.
I talked to one of the officers at the gladiator pit. He often serves as an agent for lords wishing to hire ex-gladiators as mercenaries. I told him that my company and I were interested in a certain expedition of questionable motive that Rhyss and Emjod told me about. He said he did not know much about it, but if he found anyone looking for help on that mission he would send them our way.
Mid September: Emjod has managed to meet with the creature who is organizing this expedition. We have found work again. I suspect this job will be much more dangerous and operate a bit more outside the law than our last employment. As long as there are profits to be had, I am game. At least as long as we aren’t ask to participate in the slaughter of innocents or something…