I can’t seem to figure out if I am an active adventurer or if I am retired. I retired from adventuring a year or so ago, and then I returned to adventuring to help defeat McLearus. I can’t seem to make up my mind as to whether to stay in or out, and so I am calling myself semi-retired for the time being. It seems to fit my state of mind these days.
This state of being semi-retired is what led me to attend the gathering in Blackstone this past weekend, the third of January in the new year 609. I had heard that the adventurers have now moved to Port Jaskara to help rid it of the undead that McLearus had deposited there, and I hoped that I could help.
I arrived in town on Saturday morning to find the town mostly empty. The only person in the entire town who seemed to be awake was the tavern keeper, a gentleman named Hild, short for Hildebrand. I made his acquaintance, and I asked him what he could tell me about the area.
He told me that Port Jaskara had been freed from the undead menace at the previous gathering, back in November, and now the adventurers were helping to clean up the last few pockets of resistance. One of the most severe pockets of resistance left was an underwater area, which naturally made the undead hard to get to, since we have to breathe and the undead don’t. There were also some undead down in the sewers, and of course a variety of other monsters around, notably goblins, orcs, and trolls that were active in the grasslands around the city.
For Hild personally, the coming of the adventurers was a great blessing, as it brought money and supplies back to his tavern. An accomplished earth caster, Hild had kept his tavern mostly safe from the undead during the occupation by McLearus’s forces, but he had done it by exhausting his supplies, and so the influx of cash from the adventurers was helping him get back on his feet, and maybe even turn a little profit.
Hild also told me that there were two other people in town I should meet, a local warehouse guard named Granby and a sailing captain named Captain Timmons. I made a mental note to seek them out and speak to them when I got a chance.
Before I got the chance, though, my old friend Algorian came into the tavern. We got caught up on things, and I got to meet some of Algorian’s new friends, adventurers named Malek (different from Malak and Malik), John, and William. I was appreciative at the names John and William, as even with my poor memory, I could remember that name.
Algorian also told me of a disturbing vision he had while he was scrying. He told me that he saw a vision of a creature of death trying to force its way onto Tyrra from the death plane. Typically, when extra-planar creatures force their way onto Tyrra, it isn’t to deliver candy and gifts to children’s birthday parties, and so I figured we would have to deal with this death creature sooner or later.
I also got a chance to see Squire Juniper, a good friend, when she came into the tavern. I hadn’t seen her since the battle with McLearus, and so it was good to see that she was doing well. I felt bad for her that she was the only member of her team that was around, and so she had very little backup, but I figured that anyone as useful as her wouldn’t have a hard time finding things to do.
As luck would have it, one of the men I was looking for eventually wandered into the tavern. He was Granby the guardsman, and my conversation with him was quite productive. He told me that he would be able to lead me to the entrance to the sewers, and hopefully give me and a substantial group of friends a chance to wipe out some undead. I agreed at once to this mission, and he told me that he would come back to get me later in the day once he had located where the undead were hiding.
The first real action of the morning occurred after I had been hanging around the tavern for a couple of hours. The town was attacked by a combination of sea trolls and water elementals. I thought it was a little convenient that both groups would attack at the same time, and so I asked Glenn Stormwolf if he thought that the two groups were working together. He told me that he thought they were too well coordinated to be doing anything else.
The attack was tough, mostly because the trolls could regenerate very quickly. If a troll was not killed with fire within twenty seconds of them hitting the floor, they popped back up again at full strength. As one might imagine, this made fire in high demand. Thankfully, Trivanus had a fire sword, and so he was kept busy running around the battlefield killing monsters.
Sometime during the battle, I noticed that Baron Zug De’kiernan and his Court had shown up. The Baron, his two knights, Kaiya and Cormyn, and his court healer, Auriana, made an effective fighting force, and so I fought alongside them for much of the battle.
When the trolls and ice elementals were defeated, I went back to the tavern and saw three people I had not seen in a long time – Shoshoto, Drake, and Omi. Back when I knew him, Shoshoto had been a dark elf, but that was a long time ago. He is an elf today. Drake, for as long as I have known him, has always been a weasel scavenger. The two of them told me tales of Ravenholt, and the things that have occurred there since I have been gone. Based on their tales, I am glad to be in Blackstone. Ravenholt doesn’t seem to have improved much since I left there years ago.
To see Shoshoto and Drake was surprising, but to see Omi was downright shocking. I hadn’t seen her since the days when we were both members of the team called Glyph in Ravenholt at the very beginning of my adventuring career. Glyph didn’t last long, but I am glad to see that Omi’s adventuring career did. She is now apparently the Earth Guildmistress in Ravenholt, and I am very proud of her for achieving that. In what little chance I got to see her in action this weekend, she always seemed highly skilled and very aware of her surroundings, which is the most important thing for an earth caster. I hope that it isn’t years before the next time I get a chance to see her.
I also got another shock when I saw my old friend Rillien. She had race changed to a stone elf, apparently to combat some sort of illness. When I first saw her, I was so surprised that I didn’t even know how to approach her. I hope that she did not interpret that as being standoffish, but at least I did get a chance to speak to her later on.
Another friend I got a chance to see at this gathering was my good friend Logenn Marr. I guarantee you that if I were to make a list of my closest friends, the ones that I have been through the most with, then Logenn would be on it. Over his adventuring career, Logenn has gone through many phases, but for the time being he seems to have settled on earth casting, and he appears to be doing well with it. He is very effective, with a nine column and twenty five formal circles, which is better than what I had at the height of my earth casting power. My measly earth casting ability now doesn’t even compare to Logenn’s abilities.
Not much occurred over the course of the day. I mostly sat in the tavern chatting with people, occasionally venturing outside to go see if anything was going on. Squire Tovolia held a highland games competition, a tradition apparently popular in the highlands of Volta. There was also a cake contest, though I have no idea if this was related to the highland games or not.
Finally, as the sky began to darken, Granby came back to me and told me that he had located the undead in the sewers. I gathered a group of twenty-two people together. We had a number of native Blackstone adventurers, plus some from Stonegate, a large contingent from Elysia, and a couple from Greyhelm. We divided ourselves into two groups so as not to put too much strain on the old sewer tunnels. For my part, I was very comfortable with the group I was working with, which consisted of Lady Kaiya, Sir Roc Solud, Squire Juniper, Meloria, and six adventurers from Elysia whose names I unfortunately do not recall.
Meloria and Squire Juniper did an excellent job of backpacking Sir Solud, Lady Kaiya, and I on the front line as we rotated in and out. The Elysians guarded the back line, and did an admirable job of it. They let nothing slip by, and I was impressed with their prowess in battle.
We fought our way down a steep sewer tunnel, with undead hitting us from all sides, but when we got to the bottom the undead eased up. We started a long trek up another sewer tunnel, equally steep, and thankfully in this section there were very few undead. If there had been many undead in there, I think it would have created a large problem for us, as the fighting ground was unstable, and we might well have created a cave-in.
When we got up the steep uphill tunnel, we were assaulted by a steady barrage of undead at the top. Here, the two groups were able to recombine, and the extra power of adventurers like Travador and Logenn proved decisive. With their help, we finally broke through and destroyed the last of the undead.
We found no treasure on the adventure, which was honestly okay with me. The destroying of the undead had been my purpose – not the acquisition of treasure. However, it turned out that we had simply missed the treasure box, and so Granby was nice enough to bring it to us at the tavern. Unfortunately, he also brought something else with him.
Granby labored under the weight of a large skeleton. He told me that he was hoping that something in the treasure box would hold the key to the skeleton’s identity. I held the skeleton while Sir Cormyn and Granby went through the box. What they found was a medallion. Fortunately, Granby immediately recognized the medallion. Unfortunately, he recognized it as belonging to a fellow guardsman, a man named Richard who must have died fighting undead in the sewers, or who perhaps was dragged down there after being killed.
This news saddened me, and I resolved to do what I could to honor Richard’s memory. I asked Sir Solud and Lady Kaiya if they would accompany me to the town graveyard and help me bury the body, and they both accepted. After much hard work digging a six foot deep grave, we were able to lay Richard in with his sword and his medallion, and then cover the grave over again with dirt. I said a few words, though at this point I do not really recall what they were. I also asked Granby if he remembered where Richard’s family lived, so that I could go pay my respects.
Granby told me where Richard’s family lived, and so I went with Lady Kaiya to share the grim news with Richard’s wife and son. I must be honest, in all of my time adventuring, these occasions are the ones I find the most difficult. Fighting monsters, casting great magicks, narrowly escaping death, these are all par for the course in the adventuring life. Dealing with loss, though, never gets easier.
We walked up to the house, and knocked on the door. I asked Lady Kaiya if she would like to speak or if she thought that I should, and she told me that I should begin. I introduced us without much formality, and Richard’s wife and son invited us into their home. When they heard that we had news of Richard they were overjoyed, as he had been missing for many months. However, when they heard our news, that joy quickly turned to sorrow.
Lady Kaiya and I did what we could to provide comfort, and I think finally having some closure about what happened to Richard was good for his family. I was sad that we could not tell them how he died or why he was in the sewers, but I was glad we were at least able to give them some information, and free them from constant wondering. I can certainly tell you this – as we walked away from the house, both Lady Kaiya and I were in somber moods, reflecting upon the horrors that sometimes befall ordinary people, especially in towns as beset by misfortune as Port Jaskara.
Not long after arriving back, Lady Kaiya and I joined High Lord Tao, his companions Boo and Shaiith, Keno, Travador, Thane, Thane’s Mystic Wood Elf friend whose name I cannot recall, Khel, and perhaps a few others on a trip to the underwater hideout of the undead. For me, this was a great opportunity. I had already helped to clear out the undead in the sewers; now, I would also get a chance to wipe their foul presence from their underwater base.
We would be escorted on this mission by an air elemental who was working with Count Huntington. The air elemental told me his name, but for the life of me I cannot now recall it. Our group was a little light on healing, so for most of the fight I joined Boo in helping to backpack the group instead of taking part in much active fighting.
It was a very strange world underwater. It reminded me a bit of when I took on the kraken in Fengate back in May of 607. Of course, that time I was assisted by an herb that let me breathe underwater, and not an air elemental, but the effect was similar. We were assaulted by giant squids, some sort of eel-like creatures, and circling sharks. None of the monsters were particularly fierce, but they could wallop a blow right through your shield on occasion, so one had to do their best to stay aware.
The trip was made extra-complicated by a need to stay close to the air elemental in order to stay inside his protection. Keno took a wallop a couple times by moving outside the air elemental’s protection, but for the most part we did a good job. Keno’s ability to cast celestial magic was key, as he was able to heal the air elemental using lightning spells whenever the air elemental was under too much strain from trying to maintain the air bubble.
After we fought our way through the sea creatures, we found the undead hideout. The ordered fight we had been fighting against the sea creatures broke down into a total free for all against the undead. Often, this spells doom for adventurers, but not in this case. The undead were fewer in number than us, and by freewheeling, we were able to surround them and get the most advantageous attacking positions.
We were able to eliminate all the undead pretty easily, but there was a treasure box. This put us in a race with time. Thane tried to disarm the treasure box, while the rest of us tried to keep the air elemental from passing out. We were losing our race with time, and if Thane couldn’t get the trap on the treasure box disarmed, we might just have to leave it. With every second that passed, the air elemental’s pain became worse and worse, and the situation was getting critical. High Lord Tao recommended to Lady Kaiya that she order Thane to leave, and she did so. However, just at that moment, Thane finally got the trap disarmed, and he came running with the box. I firmly believe that if he had taken just five seconds more, we might not have made it home. Thankfully, though, we did.
We gated in near the tavern, and as we walked inside Sir Cormyn called Lady Kaiya and I over to sit with him. He was speaking with one of the new adventurers, Big John, and he was explaining to him about barbarian culture. Sir Cormyn asked if we wanted to sit in, and we were both eager to do so. I cannot speak for Lady Kaiya, but I know for myself that I was eager to hear Sir Cormyn’s stories because I do not know as much about barbarian culture as I wish to, and of course there are few better people to learn it from than Sir Cormyn.
The next few hours were filled with story-telling of all types. Sir Cormyn told stories of barbarian history, as well as why barbarians hate celestial magic. I told of the history of the Amani culture, and Lady Kaiya told a little bit of wild elf culture. My old friend Malcolm, a stone elf, told stories of his people’s history and culture. There are many false beliefs out there about stone elf culture, and I would encourage anyone who wishes to know the truth to seek out either Malcolm or Adrafae to find how things really are. Baron De’kiernan even stopped by to tell stories, delighting all present with the story of the lich in the cave, a favorite of all who have journeyed with Baron De’kiernan in the past.
At one point the festivities were broken up as Baron De’kiernan was asked to escort a local messenger, and he asked Sir Cormyn, Lady Kaiya, Auriana, Big John, and myself to come along for the trip. I expected it to be fairly non-eventful, but I was soon proved wrong as our force came under assault by some undead Lord and his undead companions. I don’t know details of the encounter, but we dealt with them pretty easily and they eventually retreated. We did not pursue, and when we looked for them again they were gone. This prompted us to head back to the tavern.
As the night grew later, it became clear that we would eventually be attacked by the giant death creature from Algorian’s dreams, as he was trying to get the pieces of Death’s Scythe or something like that. It sounded pretty much like a standard big bad guy that needed stomping to me, and so I tried to remain vigilant throughout the evening, ready for his attack to come.
When it did come, I chased down a couple of the death elementals with Lady Kaiya and Logenn, and we defeated them soundly. However, there were more coming, and I realized I was going to need my armor, which was still in the tavern.
I went back to the tavern and strapped on my armor, but when I got done there was no one else in the tavern. That’s about when I noticed that there were two death elementals in the tavern with me. One attacked me, and I threw up a circle of power to protect myself. The two death elementals wandered off, and I went out the front door of the tavern. There, I found Squire Juniper and Cid Timmons in two circles of power, and after chatting briefly with them, I proceeded to try to find the main town.
Not long after, I was assaulted by another death elemental, and again forced to throw up a circle of power. Finally, I found Thane, and managed to follow him to a group of adventurers that included Lady Kaiya, Logenn, and Sathen Gor, fairly near the tavern.
We put up a spirited fight against the monsters, although I have to admit that I made it a bit tougher on myself than it had to be because my belt kept falling down. Still, with Lady Kaiya and I dishing out damage and Logenn backpacking, we were a pretty formidable force. When we finished fighting the death elementals near the tavern, I adjusted my belt and we moved back to find the rest of the town.
When we found the town, they were fighting in a defensive circle, surrounded by death elementals, and we were on the outside of the circle. I told everyone to hit the death elementals hard and fast, and then join the town line. We were successful in doing this, and we got back to the town line with relative ease.
Unfortunately, High Lord Tao and his two companions attempted the same trick from the other side, and were not so lucky. Shaiith and Boo got dropped right in front of where Lady Kaiya, Logenn, and I were. I managed to get a healing spell into Shaiith and he made it back to the town lines, but Boo was still down.
This was where Lady Kaiya pulled one of the more dynamic maneuvers I have seen in my adventuring career. I will try to describe it here, but my words will not do it justice. She moved out from our line and did a half-twist, surprising the death elementals and causing them to split apart and open up a gap leading directly to Boo.
I took the opportunity to move up through the gap and heal Boo before the death elementals realized what was going on. Then, with Boo healed, Lady Kaiya and I folded into each other’s positions as we re-joined the town lines. We managed to pull off the rescue without even taking a single hit. I was very impressed, as that is not the type of maneuver that normally works amongst adventurers.
I finally found the death creature that Algorian had spoken of just as Baron De’kiernan and Trivanus were pummeling it into submission. Once it fell down, twenty life spells were pumped into it, and its essence dissipated. There were a few leftover death elementals to take care of, but nothing major. The battle was over, and we were victorious.
I must say that I enjoyed my time in Port Jaskara, and I hope to come back soon. The locals and the adventurers both showed me an enjoyable time, and I hope that I helped make a significant dent in wiping out the undead in the city. I am sure there is always more work to be done, but at this moment I think I will end this journal entry and take a hard-earned rest.