Game
02
The
Keep on the Borderlands
The Cast:
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Graywalde, Dwarven Locksmith. "...so rarely have I seen a creature of more determined greed or willingness to wield a battleaxe..." |
Lueryth, Wandering Paladin. "...counterpoint to Graywalde's temper, the paladin is slow to anger and steady with his crossbow..." |
Elisavetta, Crusading Priest. "...hot-blooded, never hesitates to speak her mind or act out against evil, regardless of consequence..." |
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Luscious, Gnome Illusionist. "...singularly annoying fellow, able to see the humor in any situation, so long as no one else is enjoying himself..." |
Eldorn, Ranger of the Eastlands. "...come to us with a mission, to be his allies in a campaign against the creatures of the Eastlands..." |
Cellie, Urnst Pickpocket. "...anything to avoid a confrontation, but quick with her knives to pierce the back of a foe, not a soul to be taken lightly..." |
Chapter Two, The Keep on the Borderlands:
From the Journal of Celindra Dovan of
Urnst
April 21, 731
Last night we stayed at a small inn known
as Daelzun's Rest. It was a quaint little spot on the road away from
Specularum. I believe that the place will be remembered as the last comfortable
bed to keep me warm before I reached the Beastlands. From this point forth it
will be the hard earth and a stuffed bedroll for the night.
April 24, 731
We crossed the Sea Bridge today, the point
where the Eastlands are believed to begin. No sooner did we cross the bridge,
than Eldorn gravitated to the front of our party. Lueryth and Elisavetta seem
to follow him instinctively now that we are beyond the accepted bounds of
civilization.
April 26, 731
After fifteen days we have arrived at the
Keep on the Borderlands. We arrived at the stroke of midnight, but men and
women walked about. Eldorn says it is a mistake to sleep hereabouts...I suppose
he meant ever. The people here are certainly more rugged than any I saw in
Specularum or Urnst; even the trappers and thugs of those places seem relaxed
compared to the wary eyes of the people of the Beastlands.
Our first order of business, after giving
the gate guards our names and stating our business in the Keep, was to find a
place to sleep. We walked past a smithy, a provisioner and a trader on our way
to the inn, the famous Old Heart Inn. Adventurers of all walks of life come
here to begin or continue their quests. In the taproom sat a number of
adventurers, but we sought only a nip of ale and a place to rest.
Still, when a young female mage glanced at
us hopefully and beckoned for us to join her, Lueryth and Eldorn led us to the
table. With exhaustion in her eyes, the mage explained that she, too, had come
from Specularum. She had come expecting to pick up a scroll from the Age of
Glory. Her contact, however, went missing just before her arrival. She had no
gold with which to pay us, but she did offer us anything we found on her
contact's person, excepting only the scroll.
Elisavetta promised that we would keep our
eyes open for the scroll, much to Graywalde's chagrin. I had to agree that
charity work would not help us find the lost treasures of the ancient kingdoms.
Muttering that he needed a drink, Graywalde led us away from the mage's table
to an empty corner table.
The barmaid took our order with a cheerful
smile, and she winked at Eldorn. She took the moment to warn us against
entering into the swamp to the east of the Keep. A tribe of cunning, evil
lizard men dwell there. After eating, we purchased a room key and retired for
the evening.
April 27, 731
We awoke early in the morning. Lueryth and
Elisavetta spent an hour or more in devotions, and Luscious studied his
mystical grimoire. Returning to the common room, we saw most of the same faces
we had seen last night. A bunch of tight-lipped adventurers glared at us as we
passed by, a haughty-looking elf refused to look upon us, and a gruff barbarian
saluted us with his tankard.
We spent the morning browsing through some
of the shops. On our way down the snaking trail from the Keep's gates, Eldorn
warned us that we were about to enter into the deadliest region of The Realm.
Scores of battle-hardened warriors have vanished after traveling too far afield
from the safety of the Keep's walls.
Determined to move carefully, we began our
first expedition into the wilderness. That day we encountered a nest of large
spiders who apparently had made their existence preying upon patrols and small
bands of adventurers.
We also found ourselves in a strange sort
of territory dispute. Orcs attacked us, but as the battle joined we found
allies pouring out of the forests...goblins! Each of the creatures wore a
strange blue arm badge, and the whole lot of them turned on us once the orcs
were dispatched. With a bit of Elisavetta's healing, our wounds were recovered,
and we were able to move deeper into the wilderness.
A bit to the south and east of the spider
lair we came across a bear's den. The starving animal attacked us ravenously,
forcing us to put it down. Moving further north, we ambushed a group of orcs
and fought with another band of the blue-badged goblins. Then, as if by luck,
we stumbled upon a cave mouth just north of a rarely followed trail. Led by
Elisavetta and Graywalde, we stormed through the lair of the goblins until we
found their leader, a gnoll warrior.
Among the gnoll's treasure we came across
a set of stolen perfumes, which I placed carefully in a pouch with bits of
bedding. Even at the Keep on the Borderlands, such novelties should garner a
decent price. Eldorn suggested that we consider our first foray a great success
and return to the Keep, and none of us could disagree.
Twice on our way back to the Keep we were
attacked by kobolds, and the second time they attacked with a stunning
ferocity. Both Graywalde and Luscious fell to the ground, knocked unconscious
until Lueryth and Elisavetta could minister to their wounds. Upon awakening,
Luscious could not resist remarking about Graywalde's weakness in battle with
kobolds. The reminder of the dwarf's twin failure in Specularum earlier in the
month nearly cost Luscious his life, but Eldorn and Elisavetta restrained them.
When I urged them to hurry for the Keep before another band of humanoids came
across us, the five of them consented.
Before we could return to our room,
though, we found ourselves confronted by the elf from the corner. His arrogant
demeanor was gone, and he beseeched us to help him. A dear friend of his had
vanished into the deadly swamps east of the Keep, and he needed help to find
the body. Again, Elisavetta agreed without consulting us, but she clearly had
Lueryth and Eldorn supporting her. Only Graywalde seemed to realize that we
were agreeing to help causes that could not reward us for our efforts.
April 28, 731
After another night at the Old Heart Inn,
we were ready for our next expedition into the wilderness. We breakfasted with
Ahlrath, the elf who would accompany us into the swamp. The smiling barmaid
told us of a band of heroes who were betrayed by one of their own, sold into
slavery to the Slave Lords to the east. She looked meaningfully at Graywalde
before leaving us to dine.
We moved directly to the swamps, following
the path due east away from the Keep. Unfortunately, we timed our expedition
poorly and arrived in the wee hours of the morning. The nocturnal lizard men
descended upon us just as the barmaid had warned, and their sudden attack
nearly left Lueryth dead in the murky waters. Wave after wave of the lizard men
attacked us, but they were not the only foes we faced. Stirges, giant lizards,
and even the undead remains of fallen adventurers sought to drag us down.
Graywalde nearly vanished into a quicksand bog.
A dinosaur scavenged over the remains in
the feeding grounds of the lizard man tribe, but luckily we cut it down as it
rushed us. A short distance to the southeast of the feeding grounds we found a
nest of two more of the reptilian horrors, which nearly spelled the end of our
group. Each of us sporting wounds, our healing abilities mostly expended, we
limped away from the nest.
Not twenty yards west of the nest, though,
we stumbled upon the lizard man lair. With the aid of Luscious' and Ahlrath's
magic, we were able to defeat the tribal defenders. As Graywalde led the way
into the mound, though, we found that the largest of the lizard man warriors
had remained hidden during the battle. His sudden attack left the dwarf
unconscious before we could raise our weapons, but I managed to duck behind him
and end the fight shortly.
As we sorted through the eggs and rubbish
for the stolen loot, Ahlrath found his friend. At that moment he sang the most
mournful, heart-wrenching dirge...Enough to bring tears to the harshest
warrior's eye. When the song finished, we departed for the Keep, carrying both
Ahlrath's companion and Graywalde's incapacitated form.
More stirges attacked us, seeming to come
in limitless waves, and an explosion of marsh gas left Lueryth unconscious. It
was during a battle with stirges that I lost consciousness. I awoke some later
on a high, dry piece of land. After several hours, the healers awoke and nursed
the rest of us back to health. We slept and rested till well after dawn.
April 29, 731
Our exit from the swamp was uneventful
after that point, but a band of kobolds accosted us once we were among drier
surroundings. We dealt with them swiftly and continued to the Keep.
With the Keep in sight, Ahlrath thanked us
and bid us a temporary farewell. Before carrying off the body for burial, he
told us to meet him at his table, where we would regale our adventures
together. I can't say I didn't feel for the elf, but at that point all I truly
wanted was a hot bath, and we had found enough money in the lizard man barrow
to pay for all the hot water a city girl could need.
After washing the swamp off my body, I
returned to the taproom of the Old Heart. Eldorn awaited, and the others
gradually filtered back. The barmaid stared at us in astonishment, remarking on
our victory over the blue badge goblins. She was of the opinion that gnolls are
the most powerful humanoids among the creatures of the Caves of Chaos.
We spent the rest of the day looking about
the Keep, restocking our equipment and the like.
April 30, 731
Today we led a very short expedition into
the borderlands. After discussion last night, we determined to continue our
search of the trail that led to the lair of the blue-badge goblins. The trail
led past the cave opening, and we believed we might find something further
along the way.
The path did indeed lead to something
interesting, though much more exciting for Lueryth and Elisavetta than for
myself. A desiccated corpse lay in the leaves, an arrow piercing its chest. In
its pouches remained thirteen pieces of gold and a scrolltube illuminated with
the blazing sun, a perfect match to the description the mage had given us.
Elisavetta took the scroll and blessed the body.
As we stepped away from the body,
Graywalde stopped us. "Humanoids slew this man," he said, pointing to
the arrow. "But something more powerful chased them away before they could
loot the body. Otherwise, we never would have found the scroll here; keep an
eye out."
Moving with caution, we followed the trail
to its terminus, finding nothing but a single band of raiding kobolds. The
kobolds seem to be everywhere now that the blue badges aren't around to keep
them at bay. On our return, though, we encountered the chitinous creature
responsible for chasing off the humanoids that murdered the mage's friend. We
slew the creature, but the moment was very tense...It towered over even Leuryth
and Eldorn, and its claws were as sharp as a razors.
With the scroll in hand, we returned to
the Keep. The mage met us at her table, and accepted the scroll gratefully.
Then, rather abruptly, she handed us a pouch of eightteen garnets, then ran
outside to plan her return to the Heartlands. It seems I should have more faith
in our religious leaders...
May 7, 731
A week passed by, and we spent the time
training with the Keep's masters. Most of us seem to have impressed the troops
here, and Luscious has done well with his illusionist's tricks. Still, his poor
sense of humor did get us into a brawl at a local tavern, the Empty Cask. A
seedier place I never even saw in Urnst, but the captain of the watch was
there. He kindly helped us out, wielding a flaming longsword against our foes!
Today we returned to our expeditions into
the wilderness. Ahlrath wished us luck. The barmaid, who I am certain is
infatuated with Eldorn, told us a rumor of an old hermit who lives in the
wilderness. He supposedly worships trees. Our hope was that, should we find
this man, we could learn vital clues concerning the humanoids in the forest. My
only hope was that he was not so maniacal in his faith that we would be forced
to injure him; I seem to attract people willing to die for their faith these
days.
Again we encountered a band of kobolds,
but we pressed on, moving east of the lair of the blue-badge goblins. Eldorn
warned us away from a trail that he said was frequented by giants.
Larger creature certainly move freely the
further one travels from the Keep. East of the giants' trail we encountered
orcs, hobgoblins, and more large spiders,
We came to a clearing and took the north
route out of it. Just before nightfall we entered a creepy ruin, where old
stone walls had crumbled with neglect over the years. A nest of giant
centipedes had amassed a collection of shiny baubles, including a gold
necklace, which I noticed Luscious pocketing. The more we moved about the
place, though, the more I was certain we were being watched. When we finally
left, it was to my great relief.
The path forked several times, and we
continued to follow the northmost paths. Eldorn led the way, moving with sure
steadiness, allowing none of us to worry that he would lose us in the trackless
wilderness. And then the trail opened into one of the rare clearings in the
forest. A man dressed in soiled green clothing emerged from within a great oak
to speak with us, or, rather, to babble at us. He quickly became frustrated and
called on a huge panther to attack us! The beast nearly mauled Luscious, who
dropped his idiot's grin for the first time in quite a while. It was Elisavetta
who came through this time, crushing first the panther's skull, and next the
mad hermit's.
We soon realized how the old man had posed
such a threat to the six of us. Not only did he wield a magical dagger, but he
also wore a magical ring! We split the items, and the party decided that I
should keep the dagger, due to my penchant for knives.
Still, that was not all of the old
hermit's treasure. In a chest buried beneath his bedding he kept coins and a
potion, a vial of inky black liquid. Later, we would find out that it contained
a potion of invisibility.
We turned back for the Keep, content that
our expedition had journeyed far and prospered well. Unfortunately, our steps
led us directly into a hobgoblin ambush. They came at us with crossbows and
blades, and we barely cut our way past them. Our trip to safety became much
more harried, as we began to see more foes behind every tree. Numerous orcs and
goblins--those not of the blue-badge tribe--emerged on several occasions.
Eldorn fell, sorely injured, but we carried him. Luckily, we were close enough
to find our way to the Keep without getting lost when the attack came.
May 8, 731
Graywalde was so proud of what he called a
"glorious haul," from the old hermit that he bought us all a round of
drinks in the morning. Lueryth, Elisavetta and Eldorn drank somberly, though,
for their plan of speaking to the old man had gone seriously awry. Still, we
had only fought in self defense, and I now had a magical blade to show for it.
Again, the barmaid gave us direction. This
time she told us a legend of an old ranger who lives even farther east than the
hermit, a man so tough and rugged that even the humanoids of the Caves of Chaos
do not bother him. I harbored doubts that such a man existed, but it gave us an
object to our search. We planned to spend several days recovering from our
previous expedition, and then we would leave to find out whether this old
ranger truly lived.
May 10, 731
We left in the early morning, planning to
cut as far east of the old hermit's home as possible. We did not know what to
expect, and the orcs and hobgoblins posed a serious threat. We moved quickly
but cautiously past the kobolds, the goblins, the other humanoid bands. We
followed the trails beaten by previous adventurers until they were overgrown
and then non-existent. We marched as far east as the Caves of Chaos themselves,
and there we found the cabin of the ranger Tellus. The man truly was real!
Eldorn spoke to him and convinced him of our intentions, and Tellus
reciprocated by offering us a place to rest and food to eat.
May 11, 731
Today we mounted our first expedition into
the infamous Caves of Chaos. We bid Tellus farewell, but he offered his home to
us again if we needed help against the evils of the caves. En route to the
caves we encountered a band of gnoll archers, but we had the better of them
within minutes. That first encounter really emboldened us for the rest of the
day, and within two hours we were there, at the Caves of Chaos, where ravens
perch and only thorns grow. Where the earth is littered with the bones of
countless adventurers and humanoids...and other things the imagination shudders
to comprehend.
The first cave we came to was trapped at
the entrance. When it turned out to be kobolds that responded to the trap,
though, Graywalde went mad. He led the charge into the lair, hacking down
kobold guards with a fury. His war cries echoed in the cramped corridors. He
led us charging into the clanhold of the tribe, where we found ourselved locked
in melee with thrice our number in kobold males and females. Luscious, pierced
by two arrows, fell into a corner for the duration of the battle, where he lay
and shouted insults while laughing wildly.
With the tribal lair devoid of life,
Graywalde muttered about finding the "cowards' chieftain," and he
stalked off down a side passage. There, indeed, we did find the chieftain of
the kobold tribe. He met us with archers and bodyguards and fought until we
took both his life and the treasure he had stolen from dozens of innocent
caravans.
It was nearly midnight by the time we
completed our tour of the kobold cave, and so we had to retreat. Our healing
magicks were depleted, and Luscious was once again unconscious. We determined
to make a dash for Tellus' cabin, then return to the Keep for training.
May 12, 731
We left Tellus early in the morning,
prepared for a dangerous trip back to the Keep. The path was plagued by giant
ants and goblins, including one bunch who offered to let us pass for two
hundred pieces of gold. When we refused, they shrank away from us, but
Graywalde would not let them go without a fight.
Just in the shadow of the Keep, though, we
encountered a camp of bandits. We smelled their campfire and heard their
talking from the trail, and when we moved to investigate we quickly found
ourselves in another fight for our lives. Peaceful conversation is as rare as
platinum in the Beastlands, it seems.
The Old Heart still had a vacancy for us,
and the barmaid spoke to us in awe when she heard that we had been to the Caves
of Chaos themselves during this most recent expedition.
May 15, 731
Several days have gone by. Graywalde and
Eldorn trained at the Keep's barracks, and I spent time at the local Guild
house. Luscious continued his parlor tricks, as far as I know, and he has taken
to wearing the necklace he took during the earlier expedition. He smiles oddly
and pets it when he knows he is being watched. We plan to leave for the Caves
of Chaos once more on the morrow. This time, we hope to find and eradicate at
least one more tribe of evil creatures. Eldorn is excited with our progress,
and he claims that even the castellan will notice soon if we continue in this
vein. I wonder what sort of reward we would receive from the Castellan of the
Keep on the Borderlands?
May 16, 731
On a balmy day, we left the Keep. Summer
is now fully upon us, I believe. Goblins were the chief bother on our journey
eastward. One bunch of the filthy things lurked in ambush along the path, and
others struck in groups with either bows, swords or spears for weapons. We
stopped at Tellus' cabin to rest a bit, but then sought to press on to the
Caves.
Not even off the trail that leads to
Tellus' cabin, though, we were ambushed by a bugbear and a force of goblins.
Their vicious attack sent us limping back to Tellus for the night, so that he
and Elisavetta could minister to our wounds.
May 17, 731
Gnolls met us with halberds, but they
could not slow our approach to the Caves of Chaos today. We determined to stay
with the caverns on the lowest tier of the ravine for now, since the barmaid
back at the Old Heart had warned Eldorn that tougher monsters make their lairs
in the caves higher up the slope. Moving past the kobold lair, we continued
along the north wall until we came to the next cave.
We saw immediately that most of the
humanoids avoided this cave, and the smell from within was awful. Yet Lueryth
sensed an evil presence within, and Elisavetta led the way. Within we found a
pool, and a careful search turned up a jeweled goblet on its shores. The goblet
was protected, though, by amorphous predators that were difficult to see
against the wet earth. Still, Lueryth was not satisfied, and so we continued
our exploration of the cave.
The deeper into the cave we traveled, the
more horrendous the smell became. Following the odor led to a heap of rotting
corpses. Still deeper in the cave, the smell became worse, until we encountered
some voracious creature. A search of the creature's lair turned up only one
object of value: A scrolltube! We emerged from the cave a bit jostled but
otherwise ready to move on to the next cave lair.
Creeping around to the south side of the
bottom tier, we found the next cave, a deep, high-ceilinged abode concealed by
thick bushes. Within laired an ogre. Though massive and mean-spirited, the
brute was slow with his club, and we managed to dispatch with him without
getting another bruise. We looked about in his lair and turned up a cache of
magical items, including a half-dozen arrows, which Eldorn took. In the
furthest corner we also located a concealed door.
Graywalde pushed open the door. On the far
side was a goblin guard room. The sounds of our fight with the guards brought
on more of the creatures, but after the second melee, all fell silent. Until
Luscious snickered and strolled off down the corridor to our right.
We followed the gnome to a hastily
evacuated clanhold. Not a single female or infant goblin remained to be seen,
but the lair was far from empty. As we picked our way through the debris, a
huge goblin chieftain attacked us with his personal guard! Luscious was quick
to drop to the rear as the arrows and bolts began to fly about him. The goblins
held out better than the ogre, and we took our share of nicks and cuts before
the chief fell.
Retracing the goblin chief's steps, we
found our way to his chamber, which was full of valuable loot from raided
caravans. How long did these humanoids manage to live off traders with
impunity? Their loss became our treasure, though, and we moved to explore the
rest of the goblin lair.
We eventually passed by a cave mouth,
which would have allowed us to exit the lair, but we were still feeling well
enough to continue. We paused in the fresh air and ate some rations, or,
rather, the warriors and Luscious ate some rations. The bloodletting left me
with no appetitie.
Deeper into the goblin lair we found a
cavern that led noticeably upward, to a door. We opened it slowly, carefully,
only to find a room full of hobgoblins on the other side! They were shocked to
see us, and fell easily.
Graywalde suspected that we had climbed
far enough along the ramp to have reached a cave on the second tier of the
ravine. Still, we hoped to take more of the hobgoblins by surprise. Not a
hundred feet away from the guard chamber, though, we found a prison. The large,
horrible guard and torturer died swiftly at our blades, and we found ourselves
in the company of some six badly beaten, near-dead slaves of the hobgoblins.
There were four humans, an orc and a gibbering, crazed gnoll.
We freed all six of the prisoners, though
the orc slinked away, and the gnoll, maddened by its time in the dungeons,
forced us to kill it. One of the men turned out to be a warrior, Brenton; he
offered to accompany us for the remainder of our expeditions in the Caves
region. The remaining three were not so able-bodied, though, and needed to be
returned to the Keep immediately.
May 19, 731
It took two days, but we returned to the
Keep without an encounter. The merchant and his wife, both of whom were taken
by the hobgoblins during one of their routine raids, offered us to sleep in
their fine home.
May 20, 731
We awoke to find the merchant and his wife
preparing to leave the Borderlands for an extended vacation in the west. Before
leaving, they rewarded us with a purse of one hundred pieces of gold and a
dagger enchanted to be magical. This blade went to Luscious. We plan to spend
another week in training now that we can afford it. It seems that the death of
the goblin chieftain, as well as the ogre and--as I have recently learned it
was called--the owlbear, have all brought us to the attention of the Keep's
residents. Eldorn was right in his assumption, but we still have not seen a
reward that didn't come from a dead humanoid...
May 23, 731
Luscious returned from the mage's guild
tonight with a particularly troublesome glint in his eye. He evoked a few words
of magic, and then I was looking at four of him...Four exact duplicates of
Luscious. He shook with laughter at my expression, the sound amplified four
times over by his extra mouths. I suspect I shall have nightmares of the sight
when I next sleep.
May 27, 731
Training is complete for all of us, and we
have prepared for our next journey into the Beastlands. We plan to explore the
second tier of the Caves of Chaos during this next expedition, though Eldorn
has come to suspect that we will need to move more quickly to the higher tiers
if we want to survive against the more powerful creatures. Making a name for
yourself among the forces of Chaos is a deadly proposition, and we need to cut
the head from the snake as quickly as possible.
May 28, 731
Our expedition began on a sunny morning,
though the temperature would be stifling by noon. As we breakfasted, Eldorn's
barmaid stopped by to talk again. She passed on that she had heard another
group of adventurers discussing a black altar somewhere in the Caves of Chaos.
She had also heard that the place was particularly dangerous, and she warned us
away.
No sooner was she returned to the kitchens
than Elisavetta began laying plans on how we would find this black altar. I
tried to remind them of the element of danger that had been mentioned in
conjunction with that altar, but the cleric, the paladin, the ranger, even the
dwarf would not listen! Luscious grinned at me and began humming a tune that
can only be described as eerie.
Eldorn leaned across the table, and I
could tell by the look in his eye that he was about to tell me that the most
dangerous place in the Caves of Chaos was bound to hold the greatest treasure,
but he was interrupted by the meek voice of one the Keep's acolytes. Elisavetta
saw the woman to a seat and asked her what was the matter; at least for the
moment, they had forgotten all about the black altar.
The acolyte nervously informed us that she
believed her master, the priest of the Keep, to be an evil man. He conferred
frequently with two of his acolytes in secrecy, and one of the three was always
out late into the night. Elisavetta agreed that she had harbored similar
suspicions, since the priest had always found an excuse to not make himself
available when she visited the temple. He was certainly an odd creature, and we
would be on the look out for proof that he was an agent of...of the black
altar. Gods, some days I cannot seem to escape!
We journeyed through the morning and into
the early afternoon before meeting with Tellus at his cabin. Again, the ranger
welcomed us and cooked us a plate of venison while we rested. Several groups of
goblins and a band of particularly nasty orcs awaited us, and Graywalde needed
the night to lick his wounds.
May 29, 731
Today we traveled north to the second tier
of the Caves of Chaos, though Eldorn warned us that we should be prepared to
climb to a higher tier if the opportunity presented itself. If we have learned
of the black altar, then its priests have certainly learned of us.
Staying to the north wall of the ravine,
we climbed a slope just east of the empty kobold lair, and approached the first
cave opening we encountered. Within, the cave rang with the sounds of humanoids
moving about and talking. A grotesque array of severed heads lay along shelves
before the opening, likely a warning to those who enter unbidden; the races
were as diverse as the population of the Beastlands.
The cave was the lair of a tribe of orcs,
and the lot of them fought furiously, male and female, to the death. We came
across a bit of a surprise as we looked about the chieftain's quarters, though,
for a secret panel in the southwest wall led to a meeting chamber of sorts. The
chamber apparently connected this tribe of orcs to the lair of a neighboring
tribe!
It did not take long for us to encounter
the chief of this second tribe, who injured Luscious with a razor sharp
throwing axe before we could close to melee with him. After that point we
blundered about the lair in an attempt to escape the cave, but the exit eluded
us until we had encountered two common chambers. Twice over this day we have
owed our life to Luscious and his magic. During the second battle I fell
unconscious, hit over the head by the butt of a female orc's spear. I awoke
outside the cave lair to Elisavetta's dour expression.
"We are returning to Tellus as
swiftly as possible," she told me. I saw that her field plate armor was
dinged and cut, and blood had dried on her cheeks.
Eldorn led the way down the slopes of the
second tier, and then guided us out of the ravine. The forces of Chaos seemed
to be searching for us, as gnoll archers and a band of hobgoblin swordsmen both
sprung out at us before we reached the cabin. We limped through the door,
carrying Elisavetta and Brenton, only to find that the horror had only just
begun.
Tellus lay dead on the floor of his cabin,
surrounded by the bodies of a dozen gnolls. His cabin was ransacked, and we
knew we would not be able to rest here. We would have to drag our friends to
the safety of the Keep, and somehow manage to avoid the humanoids looking for
us across all the terrain between.
It was dusk when we crept toward the path
leading up to the Keep. Somehow, we had managed to make our way all that
distance without a single encounter, but we were not safe yet. Between us and
the Keep raged a battle of which we had heard plenty, but never before seen.
Orcs were raiding a caravan, and the defenders would soon be slain. Graywalde
mustered his courage with a harsh cry and rushed out, forcing the rest of us to
follow suit. I left Brenton and Elisavetta concealed in the brush. As we joined
the battle, a force of soldiers from the Keep arrived from the north--Likely
the only reason I lived to pen this entry after my bath tonight.
Once the battle was over, though, our day
was still not yet done. We climbed the hill to the Keep and entered through the
gates, only to find the guards awaiting us!
"Graywalde!" cried the captain
of the guard. "You will come with us."
A number of heavily armed soldiers
escorted us through the Keep, towards the inner bailey, where even more armed
men awaited in the company of a number of armed men and women in formal dress.
There, while priests healed our wounds, an orator regaled us with our deeds and
applauded our activities. A feast had been prepared in our honor!
During the feast we met briefly with the
castellan, and then spent a considerable amount of time with his chief advisor,
a man Eldorn says once commanded the watch at Guidio's Fort. The advisor told
us to consider ourselves heroes, and then commissioned us with an even more
dangerous quest--We have now been commissioned to seek out the black altar and
the evil priest that maintains it! At the sound of the words, I could see
Elisavetta, Lueryth and Eldorn bristling with pride; their chests puffed out
and their chins raised a full inch. This was the sort of reward Eldorn
expected to receive? I shall certainly have to talk to the man.
But, for now, I shall sleep. After all, we
have a perilous journey in the morning.
May 30, 731
It seemed that everyone knew us the next
morning, and everyone wanted to talk to us. When Graywalde bought us a round of
drinks at the bar, the barkeep leaned across and told us directions to a bit of
"easy gold," as he called it. Soon after, the barmaid told us of a
powerful merchant who had been kidnapped and taken to the Caves of Chaos. I
suppose it is possible that another one is up there; I'm sure Lueryth would
home in on him, too.
After breakfast, we determined to make our
path straight to the highest tier of the Caves of Chaos. As we had planned
before, we would sever the head from the snake and then be ready as the body
died. Now, with a commission, we stood in even more likely territory for a
retaliation from the forces of Chaos. We needed to move fast.
As we left, the guards at the gate did not
ask our names, but called them out with pride. As we left the Keep, they
saluted us.
At first the journey went even better than
we could have hoped. The only creatures we spotted were orcs and
goblins...running away from us! But, then, we found ourselves in a
pitched battle, and for the worst reason. The traitorous priest of the Keep on
the Borderlands had been commanded by the black altar to reveal his presence,
and with him came bugbears, hobgoblins, and even an ogre. Luscious found
himself bounced between two hobgoblins until he fell, bloody, to the grass, and
Elisavetta was forced to stand toe-to-toe with the ogre until, inevitably, she
fell, as well. As the battle raged on, Graywalde--the focus of most of the
humanoids' attacks--also fell, but we saw to it that not a single one of the
creatures lived beyond this day. Eldorn cut down the priest and both of the
acolytes who had accompanied him.
In the wake of the battle, Lueryth laid
hands upon Elisavetta, bringing her back to consciousness and knitting her
bones enough for her to walk. In turn, she prayed for healing on the rest of
us, and we turned back for the Keep. With no other safe haven in the
Beastlands, today's expedition certainly ended much less heroically than any of
us aniticipated.
June 2, 731
With time spent recouperating, we left
today for our next foray to the top of the ravine. The barmaid brought us a
steaming breakfast and fawned over us as we ate, repeating herself endlessly
that she could not believe that she was serving the "Heroes of the
Borderlands." Not long ago, I would have thought that title a great achievement,
but now I know a bit more of what it entails.
Today we walked all the way to the path
leading to Tellus' cabin without seeing a single creature. Indeed, the forest
had grown too quiet, and it was at that place that Chaos truly broke loose upon
us. A horde of gnolls, too many to count, exploded from the wood. Wielding
bows, swords, and axes, the things fought to the death! Their archers were
their deadliest asset; we never would have survived if we hadn't rushed the
bowmen at the onset of the battle.
Still, I slipped on a bloody patch of
leaves, and a gnoll took the opportunity to blacken my eyes with the haft of
his halberd. When I awoke, we were back at the Old Heart.
June 3, 731
A rough-clad band of adventurers was
missing from their usual table this morning. I remembered them plotting darkly
yesterday, and Eldorn agreed that we should be wary of them. Before leaving,
Elisavetta prayed over our band, and Luscious remarked that this time would be
different. This time we would reach the Caves of Chaos, and its highest tier.
The look in his eye belied his unspoken addendum, and somehow made it all the
more chilling...We would make it, or we would die in the attempt.
The trip to the mouth of the ravine was
broken only by a foursome of hobgoblins who sought to ambush us, and the
spectacle of six goblins, evacuating the area after we had broken their tribe.
We arrived at the Caves of Chaos just after noon; it seemed that Luscious had
been correct. As we left the forest behind, though, we found ourselves under
attack. Not by humanoids, but by the band of mercenaries from the Old Heart!
Their allies included a wemic, and their talents were nearly as diverse as our
own. Still, the battle was short. They showed none of the skills we possess in
working as a team, and they fell easily before us. I myself killed the halfling
thug who seemed to be in charge of the band.
Wiping our blades clean, we turned our
eyes skyward, to the highest tier of the ravine. The climb was tedious, and we
moved past several other caves, but we paid them no mind. Fortunately, nothing
came out of those lairs to accost us. The rocky slopes led to a place where the
trees were practically lifeless, where no grass grew, and where even the very
rock of the ravine wall appeard unhealthy. Here, we would seek out the black
altar.
The only lair we could find was a small,
inconspicuous cave mouth on the south side of the tier. Carefully, we
investigated, and found ourselves in the lair of a gnoll tribe! We cut our way
through the warriors of the tribe, allowing the females to flee during the
battle. Then, during a search of the chieftain's chambers, we came across a
secret door. Following the passage beyond, we found ourselves in a region of
finished stonework, recessed within the ravine!
Moving through the strange new network of
corridors, we moved through a storage area to encounter a shimmering, cube-like
creature. When we slew it, the thing broken into a gelatinous puddle, the bones
of its previous victims clattering to the floor. Among these bones, Luscious
discovered a magical wand, which he carefully pocketed for later use. Further
into the area we found an ancient burial chamber guarded by the undead. There
were also a guest chamber, a torture chamber, and a prison. In the prison we
very nearly ended our expedition early at the hands of a medusa.
A flight of steps led to a complex of
rooms dedicated to the forces of chaos. There were shrines, chambers for adepts
and acolytes of the dark faith, and, yes, even the black altar we had heard so
much about. The dreadful thing was guarded by dozens of the undead, but we
blasted through them by the combined strength of one of Luscious' scrolls
(which summoned up a great ball of fire to tear through the undead) and
Elisavetta's faith. Beyond lay the Priest of Chaos, the most evil man in the
region of the Keep, wielding a wicked serpent staff. It took our combined might
to get the better of him, but he, too, fell. Our party had succeeded, but now
we needed to escape.
We exited through the main entrance, which
turned out to be on the third tier of the ravine, and then made a dash for the
Keep. The hour was growing late, and we were burdened with scores of injuries.
Only one small group of hobgoblins dared
stand in the way of our return, but we were met at the gate by agents of the
castellan. The battle-hardened warrior wore a grim countenance as he told us we
may have succeeded a bit too well in our quest. Even now, a legion of humanoids
led by priests of Chaos and kept in line by terrible monsters, was on its way
to lay waste to the Keep. We had only a brief time to prepare ourselves for the
attack!
June 4, 731
It was just before dawn that the enemy
force arrived. Wave after wave of them broke across the fields before the Keep,
and we fought valiantly with the Keep's defenders to stave off the invasion.
The corporal's flaming sword flashed in the morning twilight, and Graywalde's
battle cries rang more loudly than the most terrible creature's death knells.
It was over within an hour; hundreds of lives had ended.
June 8, 731
Days passed, and we assisted in the
clean-up after the battle. The bodies of the slain humanoids were burned in
towering, stinking pyres. The Keep priestess has made herself available to heal
all our wounds, and the training halls look to us as the great heroes of the
battle. Now, with the clean-up finished and our wounds reduced to nagging bruises,
we are turning to the old stories. In particular, we are interested in the
innkeeper's "easy gold," west of the trail that Eldorn discovered was
traveled by giants. Graywalde and I have convinced the others that we could use
some extra spending money if we are to continue our careers in the Eastlands,
or anywhere in The Realm.
Following the innkeeper's directions, we
did find the gold, but we also encountered more than our share of trouble. Not
quite "easy," this gold was a little too near to the lairs of some
hill giants, and the lair of a large green dragon. Needless to say, we
steered as clear of the dragon as possible--Nothing would be gained in doing
battle with such a massive thing; even Elisavetta saw the reason in that.
Perhaps we shall return in some ten years, better equipped to do battle with
the titans of evil, but till then the green can roost on its gold.
June 10, 731
Today we left the Keep on the Borderlands,
marching north along the east bank of the River Shrill. The castellan's chief
advisor suggested that we seek adventure in Guidio's Fort, where the humanoids
are just as prevalent as they were at the Keep before our arrival. Again, I
close a chapter of this journal, though I am forced to wonder what remaining
horrors we leave behind in the Caves of Chaos (Hobgoblins? Bugbears? What of
the rumors of a minotaur's labyrinth?). I shall resume in one week, when we
arrive at Guidio's Fort.
