Our resting has come to an end and it’s time to return Hansy to Otto, so that we may continue on with our original mission. Otto is understandably happy to see his prized animal alive and mostly well. We inform the innkeeper that the wolf threat has been removed. Of course, he demands proof, so we must venture back to the burial mound area to dig up the head of one of the chaotic wolves.
Day 1777 (the next day)
We’ve returned to the town with the requested proof of our good deeds. Ilmarian speaks to the villagers of our most recent adventure, but they aren’t buying any of it and it looks like the crowd could turn ugly. Bruticus steps in and placates them with his charm. The innkeeper offers us a discounted rate on our previous room – 128 Gold for the next 2-1/2 weeks. It’s a fair price, but Growlyn thinks he can negotiate it even lower and tries for an even 100 Gold – he fails and the innkeeper grumbles about adventuring parties taking advantage of poor villagers. I think it’s best to quit while we’re ahead here. Wouldn’t want to have to deal with a mob of angry and ignorant villagers.
Day 1805 (3 weeks/4 days later)
Day 1805 (3 weeks/4 days later)
Ilmarian’s been referring to himself as Felix Jaeger these past few weeks. In fact, he won’t answer to Ilmarian anymore. Completely nutty, that one, I tell you. We start off again on our mission to retrieve that damned book from The Wastelands.
Day 1808 (3 days later)
Reach The Wastelands.
Day 1811 (3 days later)
Mutants attack us today – Nivak slays the leader. These ones are bolder and tougher than the ones we’ve encountered in the past. Travel through swamps of The Wastelands is…well, I suppose MUCKY is the best word to describe it. The going is slow because we must be careful not to sink into murky water.
Battle Records: Jezeg = 7 kills. Caradryan = 3 kills. Arvin = 3 kills. Nivak = 2 kills (including the leader). Growlyn = 2 kills. Nadon = 1 kill. Lillay = 1 kill. Ilmarian = 1 kill. Amber = 1 kill.
Day 1814 (3 days later)
We’ve run into this huge, mutant man-thing. After we begin inflict some damage, it becomes enraged, froths at the mouth, and doubles its attacks!
Battle Records: Growlyn = 1 kill.
Day 1820 (6 days later)
Still trudging through the swamps. Ugh. It’s really awful going here – can’t wait to get back to dry land! The creatures here are even more bizarre than the mutants we’ve encountered before. For instance, a bush attacked us! Yes, that’s right – a bush. It grabbed hold of Growlyn and Bruticus as they were passing by and tried to drag them under water! I took a swing at it and it got burned a bit from the fire damage – it retreated after that into the water. Seems to be “afraid” of fire. Can a bush be afraid? Well, anyways, there wasn’t any point to pursuing it under water, so we let it be and moved on.
Day 1822 (2 days later)
Almost lost Jezeg and Old Beefy today. Fell into a sinkhole (quicksand?) and it was a bit hairy there for a while. A few us managed to struggle our way out, Nivak lassoed his way out, and the rest of us struggled even deeper. In the end, Nivak saved the day with Caradryan’s master plan: Jezeg and Old Beefy had gone down – under the muck – and Nivak jumped back in (with rope tied ‘round his waist, of course) to save both of them. It was quite impressive and heroic, although I suspect Nivak was more concerned that Old Beefy was carrying all of our food than he was about Jezeg. Once everyone was safe on drier and more solid ground, Caradryan inspected Jezeg, who looked near death – he wasn’t able to determine the extent of the injuries, though. We put the unconscious Jezeg on Old Beefy and continue traveling.
Notable Quotes: Nivak to Garth: “Don’t I get an extra spot because I’m magnificent?” Garth to Nivak: “No.”
Day 1823 (the next day)
Caradryan tries working on Jezeg again – this time with successful results! Jezeg’s in a small coma. In other words, he’s unconscious and we really have no idea how long he’ll be out, though we think it won’t be terribly long.
Notable Quotes: Caradryan: “I tap his head, water comes out.” Ilmarian: “I have a little cup.”