This past gather I had the good fortune to get the chance to visit the Kingdom of Neridia. I had not been there before, and I had heard that Neridia was generally a fairly peaceful area. I have been adventuring often in recent weeks and I thought that my going there I might be able to see some of the friends I have met in my adventures in a relatively peaceful and quiet situation. Unfortunately, I was wrong.
You see, the Kingdom of Neridia is at war with the Varykites, an evil people who enslave others and make war without provocation. Because there were many adventurers in town, the Adventurer's Guildmistress thought that it would be a good idea to send missions into Varykite territority to rescue Neridians that had been captured and enslaved. Of course, I am never one to pass up an opportunity to help out those who have been enslaved, so I signed up to participate in one of the raids.
With me on my mission were several people who I had heard of but had never met, such as Rohan Valar, Jabril al-Basra, Vaki the Rat Catcher, and Vashta Olfsong, as well as some people who I had met before briefly but did not know well, such as Casandra Diego and Cyan the wolf scavenger. There was also my good friend Kabaka, who I have adventured with many times before.
Well, the Adventurer's Guildmistress gated us into Varykite territory, warning us that we could come back through the gate if we needed help. Almost immediately after crossing through the gate, we were confronted with a wave of Varykites. They told us to go back, but we refused and engaged them in combat. Our losses were great, and we went through a large amount of healing spells, but we managed to hold off that wave. Before we could even properly prepare ourselves, though, another wave was upon us, and they were none too pleased that we had killed their comrades.
They hit us hard, and Casandra and I could not heal our comrades as fast as they were going down. The Varykites, being far more experienced soldiers than we were, managed to draw us away from each other and completely break our ranks. If one of them split off from the group, three of us would go chasing that one, leaving the rest of us badly outnumbered. I went through most of my spells, and then tossed aside the bow I was using and drew my sword, as I realized that archery was useless against this insidious foe, and that carrying around a bow would reduce my speed on the battlefield.
I was aiding Kabaka in a fight he was having against one of the Varykites, when the Varykite managed to land a lucky blow and take down Kabaka. I surveyed the battlefield, and realized I was the only adventurer still standing. I swore silently to myself, and took off running. Two of the Varykites pursued me, but I was faster than they and managed to get away. I ran into the woods, figuring that fighting animals was safer than fighting Varykites. Knowing that my companions did not have much time, I began to try to devise a way to save them.
I established a small lookout point not far from the battlefield, and surveyed my enemy, looking for a moment when I might get back to the gate. Unfortunately, none arose, and so I was forced to find my way back to the gate myself. By moving silently through the woods, I was able to sneak back through the gate without the foul Varykites noticing.
Once back on the other side of the gate, I found the Adventurer's Guildmistress, and explained to her what had happened. She told me to run back to town and grab the next group that was supposed to come, a group being led by a man named Squire Jokarius. I sprinted back to town at full speed, and explained what had occurred. Jokarius quickly assembled his group, and I led them back to the gate. They informed me that they were going to go in and try to rescue my companions, and that my job was to go back and get more help if they needed it.
We worked our way inside the gate, and things went well at first. We found our way to several of my downed companions, and managed to bring them back up. Unfortunately, some of those that were healed did not follow orders to go immediately back through the gate, and insisted on staying to fight. This quickly led to disorder and chaos, and we began to be routed. One of Jokarius' group told me to go back and get more help, and off I sped.
When I got back to town, I begged for more help, but people were slow to respond to my call. That was when Baron Algorian took the lead. He began to run off towards the direction I had come from, and everyone else began to follow him. I led them back to the gate again, and the Adventurer's Guildmistress quickly explained the situation to the new arrivals.
Now fully informed, we charged through the gate, only to find that the previous group was having a tough time of it. Many were down, and those that were still up were beaten badly. We managed to defeat some of the Varykites, but more arrived to take their place. Realizing that we had no chance in this battle, Baron Algorian ordered us to heal the wounded and get back out through the gate.
We heeded the Baron's order, but unfortunately not all of us were able to make it back. Dale, a member of Jokarius' group, ended up being left behind, and Bling, a celestial casting Sarr, ended up having to resurrect. These losses were terribly unfortunate, but in the end I believe they were unpreventable. Essentially, it was from the beginning simply an ill-fated adventure.
Scribed by Seronia on the 29th day of April in the year 602.