king_pellinor | Kit Hill's Adventures in Sigsland

A couple of weeks ago we finally got to start playing a 5th Edition D&D campaign, that was meant to happen last year but, you know...

Anyway, I spent those 2 years building a character sheet in Excel, and one of the functions that gradually accreted (along with an automated inventory-tracking system, drop-down boxes for prepared spells, and a dynamic system for keeping track of which initiative die to roll) was a journal. The one I kept was a bit rough and ready, but (polished up only slightly) here it is:
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The Journal of Kit Kill's Adventures in Sigsland

After leaving Home, I joined a Caravan that was heading East into Sigsland, which is a dangerous place that means caravans need Guards. Luckily for them I am a good fighter with my own Arms, Armour, and Horse, so they were quite glad to have me along and promised me Twenty Shillings when we reached Phandalin, which is where the Militia from Irilian would take over.

People in the caravan include:

Osric the Caravan Master

Sister Undrilla, a Cleric of the Church

The Chief Guard, whose name I can never remember

Gerda and her daughter Justina, Travellers

Rudolf Schuhmacher, a Gnomish Travelling Cobbler and Wizard

Leafwish Barksong, an Elven Bard who doesn’t like the Church very much at all

Sister Zvesda, an Elven Cleric not of the Church

Martin Bowmanen, an Archer who doesn’t say much but is Guarding the caravan

Vreth and Vyth, Lizardfolk who I think are Sister and Brother (in that order) who are also Guarding the caravan

Kit Hill, a Caravan Guard who is quite pretty and clever and handy with a sword (and is Me!)

It was all quite Quiet and Uneventful until we got quite close to Phandalin, where we found an Evildoer looting a Corpse next to a deserted house. He rode off, but I Galloped after him and shot him with my crossbow. He rallied and fought, then rode off again. I followed and he tried to hide in the woods, but I was too Hot on his Trail and he couldn’t get away, so he killed Glitterfairy!

That made me really Upset and Cross, so I took his horse and chased him up a tree. After a little while Rudolf and Leafwish turned up and got the Brigand out of the tree by magic. I disarmed him and tied him up while he was under their Spells.

Poor Glitterfairy! He was such a Brave Horse, and hit the Brute really hard with his hooves, but he wasn't a warhorse even though he had the Heart of a True Destrier, and was as true a Friend and valorous a Warrior as any Hero could be. I will always remember him.

I went to take care of poor Glitterfairy's body, and took the Brigand's Horse and Arms as prizes of war. I was healed by Sister Undrilla, and moved all my things across to my new horse, that I have called Deodand because of how I got him.

We went back to the cottage to see what was going on. The other people from the caravan (Rudolf, Leafwish, Zvesda, and Vreth and Vyth) had found a Dead Knight and a Secret Room! It was all Very Mysterious!

The Brigand was called Vit Blooden, and he said he was working with someone called Blacktooth to stop two Half-Elven messengers with a locked box. Blacktooth killed this one and rode off, but Blooden stayed to find the message which is when we Apprehended him. They were hired by someone called Brother Stigrun, which is either an Alias or else the Church is mixed up with some Very Murky Business!

We have taken him as a Prisoner, and will hand him over to the Authorities when we get to Phandalin. But as I say I have taken his Horse and Arms and Possessions (which include quite a lot of money).

I am going to list out the Interesting Things we have found, which are:

The Half-Elven messenger. He had a Mysterious Mechanism, which seems to be the Locked Box that Vit Blooden was after, and was wearing a pendant in the shape of a small White Feather.

The Dead Knight, who looked a bit old and threadbare, except for a Silk Cravat with a GS monogram on it, and a rather good-looking Rapier, which I have taken to practice with as Courtesy is a good sword but I have been using her for Years and I probably need a proper Warrior’s Weapon.

A Picture which clearly has some Mystical Significance. A silver-haired lady holds a child. A Grey Hare is nearby, and a plinth with symbols on it (Celestial Glyphs) and the word 'Amelak'. There is also an odd boat on the river, an orange Monkey, a Peacock Feather in a pot, and a Ruined Castle near a mountain with Twin Peaks.

We also found Robes of the Order of St Oren (Arms: Azure, a Winged Sword Argent), another white feather pendant, a Grey Hare book, a book of Heraldry, and some ciphered documents in a drawer.

Oh, and Deodand and three other horses: one that the Messenger was riding and two in a stable, one of which was quite Blown and Lathered.

The Grey Hare book seems to keep falling open at the story of The Grey Hare and the Princess. There was a Beautiful Castle that was always sunny, and very strong. A Beautiful Princess lived there, daughter of the Queen and her Consort; she was Clever but not Wise. She was bored because her Mummy and Daddy were too important to have time to play with her, and no-one else was allowed to. She liked her Mother's Garden, where the Grey Hare nibbled the grass. She asked the Hare how he was so Happy, and he said it was because he Did His Duty: cutting the grass, which makes the Queen happy so she can rule better and make people happy too. So the Princess Did Her Duty and was happy too.

The Ciphered Documents say It is Time', now we have worked out the Cipher.

I got the Strange Mechanism open by putting 'Zariel' in, the name of the Last Empress, because it was a six-letter word that seemed to fit. It had two bits of paper in: one had a grid of Letters, Numbers, and Celestial Glyphs on, and the other had three lots of four-letter groups headed S, H, and V. I think S, H, and V stand for Siddmun, Haddmun, and Vilt, but we haven’t yet worked out what the rest means.

We took the Picture of Significance and other paperwork. I also took a quill pen, some ink, and 10 sheets of parchment that were in there too and have started writing my Diary, because there is so much Exciting Stuff happening. It's like an adventure - in fact, it IS an Adventure!!!

I have named my new sword ‘Swan’s Song’ in honour of the Dead Knight of St Oren.

The Lizard Woman wanted to eat the dead bodies, but I wouldn't let them. I think I will need to be very careful about these Lizardfolk, because they're terribly uncivilised.

We set off towards the next town, but got attacked by Goblins! They started shooting arrows at us from the woods!

I shot at a goblin and missed, but I stopped Gerda dying when she got shot and I shot another goblin and killed it! Gerda's daughter Justina was very upset, but I comforted her and now she seems to be quite clingy, poor thing.

Osric was hurt quite badly too, but didn't die. Gerda and Osric were Healed by clerics and so they're alright now

I suggested that we push on to town instead of stopping to rest. Everyone thought that was a better idea because then we'd get there before dark so we did.

We arrived in Phandalin, a little before Nightfall, and I handed the Miscreant Ne'er Do Well Vit Blooden over to Harbinn Townmanen the Town Master. He looked at Vit's hands and wrists first, which was a bit strange, then locked him in the Cell. I got paid my 20 Shillings for being a Caravan Guard!

We all went to the Inn, except the Lizard Folk who went to a different one. Toblen Stonehillen owns this one, and has had problems with Ruffians called the Redbrand Gang who drink at the Sleeping Giant, a bit of a Rough Pub, which is where the Lizardfolk went.

I had a room with the Zvesda the Elven Cleric. I paid for me and my new friends from Vit's money, and then had a bath before dinner and bed. I didn't cry about Glitterfairy, it's just that the soap got in my eyes.

The Lizardfolk came back from the Sleeping Giant saying they’d won a fight with some of the Ruffians there, but they decided not to stay there even though they’d won.

We found out that the Brandits are based in a Ruined Manor near the town.

The Second Day of My Adventures

We all checked on Vit Blooden to make he was safe and secure and going to be taken off to Irilian by the militia, and then we went shopping. We planned to attack the Red Brand Bandits (or ‘Brandits’, as we now call them!) in the evening.

We swapped two saddles from the horses we’d found for a pack saddle and some saddlebags, and bought Studded Leather armour (for Rudolf), some Healing Kits, some Arrows and Bolts, and a book for me to keep this Journal in.

I looked after the horses, got to know Deodand, and had a look through the various things we've found so far.

The Lizard Folk went to see if they could catch any Brandits before we attack their Lair later tonight. They got two of them.

In the evening Rudolf put some Magic Traps on the Secret Tunnel leading to the Ruined Manor (we knew about it even though it was Secret because Quelline Alderleaf’s son -she’s a farmer who used to be an Adventurer – had told us he’d seen the Brandits coming out of it). I set up an Ambush in the woods, which caught Six Brandits coming from the Manor to the Sleeping Giant. Some of them ran away, but I Sprinted after one and killed him! The rest were all killed anyway. It was a really good Ambush, and I was the one who suggested how to do it.

Then we went to the old Ruined Manor to Beard the Brandits in their Lair. There was a staircase down into a cellar. We went in past a Pit Trap, which I helped everyone else over and then followed really easily (there was a Ledge along the side which was Several Inches wide and so very easy to tiptoe along).

After going through a Crypt we found a Prison with some Guards and some Prisoners. I killed one of the guards, and someone else got the other one. The prisoners were a woman from the town whose husband had been killed by the Brandits, and her two children. We left the freed prisoners in the Prison where they'd be safe while we Dealt With the Brandits. I told them to listen for people saying they were Friends of Robyn Hill, to know they were rescued.

Then we found an Armoury, and a cavern with a big Pit. My shield started glowing, and I could hear a Voice saying it wanted Meat, which was Jolly Odd, as no-one else could hear it. But we could see some sort of Creature in the Shadows on the other side of the Pit.

I went over a Bridge across the Pit, to see what the Creature was, which collapsed. I fell in the Pit, but I fell Really Slowly for some reason and landed on my feet.

I explored the Pit, which had a Dead Body in it! The Voice kept talking about wanting Meat, and Wild Magic. Then Zvesda attacked the Creature, just like that!

I stopped people attacking the Creature, and made friends with them instead (I called them Fido, because they were very Loyal and Faithful about doing their job). They said they came in from outside somewhere, and stopped intruders from coming in because Iarno, the leader of the Brandits, gave them Meat for doing so. I think the Meat is prisoners, but that's not Fido's fault. They said that there's some Wild Magic in the Pit, over near where there seems to be a Chest or something under the other bridge. They also said something about me coming for the Wild Magic, and told me where the different Passages lead to, and that there were Three Furry Things and a ‘Gobbobillion’ down one of them.

I gave Fido some food and healed them a bit. No-one else can hear them talk, but then their mouth doesn't move when they do so it's probably some sort of Magic.

We went to find Iarno, and found a Wizard's Laboratory and Bedroom. We followed through a Secret Door, but he'd gone. We followed but couldn't find him, but we did find four Ruffians. One fled and I chased him down, then some Bugbears attacked. I saved Leafwish's life by deflecting a blow meant for her with my shield, then stepped in and killed a Bugbear. The last one hit me Really Hard, and I nearly fainted, but I told myself to Buck Up and was mostly OK.

We followed Iarno, but he'd avoided Rudolf's trap and we couldn't find him, so some of us followed him to the pub just in case while Leafwish and Vyth came with me to rescue the Prisoners. We also found a goblin called Droop, so we locked him in the prison cell and took the prisoners back to safety then went to join the attack on the pub. The others killed three Brandits and captured the last (Ugly Jack) before we got there.

Unfortunately Iarno seemed to have gotten away, so we went back to the Manor to talk to Fido and Droop and Ugly Jack the Ruffian, and to see what we could find in there.

Ugly Jack said Iarno will just have left town. He was working with a Monk who last came a while ago. He sent the Bugbears and Droop, who arrived today.

Droop said they could take us to the Cave in the Woods where the Goblins are if we promised to let them go. They also said that Brother Stigrun was there a few days ago. He wears creamy Monk Robes and has brown hair and a brown floppy hat and brown shoes. Iarno wears a Red Robe. Klarg the Bugbear is the leader of the goblins at the hideout, and has a pet Wolf called Ripper and some other Wolves.

Fido said that they had come from the Mountains looking for the Wild Magic, and had made a Deal with Iarno to keep people out in return for being given Meat. They said that we didn’t count, because I was their friend and so they wouldn’t do anything to keep me and my friends out. They only really seemed to care about Meat, so apart from being able to Talk Magically in my Head they’re just like a Dog, really.

The Pit felt colder than it should be. There was a Cold Spot in the middle, that Fido was pointing at, and said was Magic. It didn't look odd, but the air over it was really cold over a space about five feet across. It was magic, but didn't seem to do much. Fido was drawn to it, but doesn't seem to care much about it.

There was a chest nearby, though, which contained 300 shillings, 5 Malachite gems worth 15 shillings- each, two bottles, and a scroll. There was also a fancy silver scabbard with a longsword in. According to Rudolf it's Talon, a Magic Longsword with a hilt in the shape of a bird of prey and a silver-chased scabbard. It once belonged to Sir Arneth Tresendar, the Black Hawk, who lived in the Manor about 100 years ago, before it was Ruined.

In the Wizard’s Laboratory Rudolf found a Diary that included lots of information about an old Lost Mine called Phandelver that has all sorts of Magical Things in it, in Wave Echo Cave.

We went back to town and did some shopping and settled things there. We put Ugly Jack in the Town prison, and told the Townman that there were weapons in the old manor that the Populace could use to Arm a Militia if they got attacked.

The people of Phandalin weren’t very happy that the Townman had let the Brandits cause so much trouble, and wanted to get rid of him, but I persuaded thatem that they needed a new Townman and a Clerkman. I suggested that Quelline Alderleaf should be the Townman, doing all the Leading and Deciding and stuff like that, and Harbinn should become the Clerkman, doing all the paperwork. Everyone seemed to be happy with that idea, so I presented Quelline with Talon, as the mark of her New Role as Townman, and introduced her to Fido (the people want to Rebuild the Manor!)

Day Three of My Adventures

We rested overnight (my War Wound is no bother at all now!) and then went off to the caves, following Droop. Droop took us to the end of the stream leading to the cave, so I let them go. Vreth and Vyth were a bit upset about this, but they'll realise it was the right thing to do eventually.

We crept up to the cave, then Vreth and Vyth leapt out and killed the two sentries, who weren't paying much attention. Inside the cave we found two Wolves chained up, so we killed them (I got one!). Then we found a bridge. Rudolf killed a goblin that was creeping away over it, so we were still Unseen

Up a crumbly passage (which nearly fell on us!) we came to a room with some goblins in. I charged in and killed the biggest one, but another hit me, which hurt, so I Slew that one too, and serve them right!

The cavern had two levels. There was a dead half-elf on the lower level, with a white feather pendant. I arranged him decently, and cleaned him up a bit, but we couldn’t really do much for him.

Further in we found a cave with a Huge Waterfall, and three more Goblins. Leafwish shot one Dead, and one ran away. Klarg the Bugbear and Ripper the Wolf were round the corner! Leafwish shot the goblin that ran away and I killed the last one, and we all ran in to fight Klarg and his minions (he had two more goblins with him, too)

Vreth ran in and Wrestled Klarg to the floor (helped by Rudolf making him fall over) while I killed another goblin!

Leafwish killed the last goblin, and Rudolf killed Ripper. I found some rope and threw it over to Vreth to tie Klarg up with.

The boxes and stuff belonged to the Lion Shield Costa. I also found a treasure chest with 200 shillings in it, 2 potions of healing, a jade statuette of a frog with golden eyes. and another mysterious mechanism! It opened to the word 'Amelak'

We interrogated Klarg, but he didn't say much except that he had tortured the messenger to try to get the key to the Strange Mechanism but failed, and that the caravan people had been taken to Cragmore Castle to be sold into Slavery.

When we finished talking to Klarg, Vyth stabbed him! Just like that!!

I saved Klarg's life, and Zvesda healed him. We had a bit of an argument with Vyth, and he finally agreed that if we all tell him to stop doing something then he really shouldn't do it, and especially that killing Helpless People is Wrong. But I’m not sure he really understood - he does seem a bit Slow.

So we went back to Phandalin to tell the Lion Shield Costa that we'd found the Ransacked Caravan, and to hand Klarg over to the Townsman. We were given a Reward of 400 shillings for finding the Caravan, and a 10% discount at the Costa.

We bought a breastplate for Zvesda and studded leather armour for Leafwing with that money, and then I bought myself a breastplate with Treasure we'd already found

Day Four of Adventuring

We went off to Svenflieg Castle, in order to Defeat the Goblins and Rescue the Captives.

Svenflieg Castle used to belong to a Knight called Simon of Thundertree, but he lost it (and Hofspit Castle) in the Triarchist Crusade. It now has Cragmore Goblins in it (the ones that were in the Woods raiding caravans) and is called Cragmore Castle. He said he’d tell us what he knows about the Order of the White Feather if we got his castles back for him, so we decided to do that. Hofspit Castle has a Dragon (!) in it, though, so we decided to leave that one until later.

We crept in by the Postern Gate, then burst in on the first group of Goblins in the Banqueting Hall. I killed one, but the next one Stabbed me - Twice!! Leafwish shot it, and then I ran on through and killed two Goblin Archers that Vyth found in a Guardroom.

We cleared out the second guardroom, then found a storeroom. There was some bloody mail, a longsword, and a heavy crossbow on the floor, plus lots of boxes and barrels.

There were four Hobgoblins in the next room. We killed them, but Zvesda was hurt quite badly.

The next room was a Temple to Asum-Dev (aka Asmodeus!), with Three Goblin Priests in it. Vyth and Vreth ran in to attack the priests and they killed two and we captured the third.

While that was happening Zvesda went through a curtain but got attacked by a Horrible Creature with Tentacles, and was Very Badly Hurt. As Leafwing healed her I ran past and Heroically Slew the Beast!!

The Captured Priest was called Lupo. They told us that the Horrible Creature was the pet of 'King Groll' (a Bugbear who had a pet wolf too) who was in the North East Tower along with a Human Spellcaster called Isidore.

The Goblins have run from the New Horror in Viltland, although they don't know anything about it. It involves Demons (probably) and The Man With Words, who is at the centre of The Horror.

The Golden Knife and the Chalice on the altar looked very valuable, so Zvesda took them.

We left Lupo tied up and moved on through the Castle to find Groll. We found two more goblins and killed them, then found an Owlbear! It was in a room by itself, so we shut the door and left it for later.

The we found Groll and his pet wolf in the North-East tower. Groll threw a javelin at Vreth and would have hit her, but I deflected it with my Shield as she charged in to hit Groll.

Rudolph wanged an old boot at Groll and hit him Really Hard, then Zvesda Struck Him Down with a spell. The Wolf run up and Savaged Rudolf, but Zvesda and Leafwish killed it. I ran in and apprehended a Holy Sister of the Church who was trying to leave through another door.

She said she was called Sister Isidore and has been waylaid by goblins, and the other prisoners from the caravan had gone (which was a shame as we came here to Rescue them), but she was kept here by the Bugbear

We found an ill, unconscious dwarf in a chamber off to one side. Isidore said he was a prospector. Zvesda healed him, and he turned out to be Gundrun Rockseeker, a miner who was prospecting when captured by the goblins. They wanted to know what he was looking for (Wave Echo Caves and the Lost Mine). In fact he had found it and registered the claim at the Miners' Exchange in Phandalin, and was heading back to it when they got him.

I sat and had a chat with Isidore to see what she had to say for herself. She said she was travelling West from Oldbrug in a Lion Shield Costa caravan when it was attacked and she was captured. Although I was pretty sure she was lying (Lupo the Goblin has told us that someone called Isidore was working with Groll, after all!) I couldn't find many holes in her story. Vyth was rather more suspicious, but then Vyth seems to be pretty suspicious of anyone who isn’t Vreth. We tied her up anyway, for being not only guilty but lying about it too.

Groll had mail armour, a morningstar, and a shield, none of which anyone wanted. Leafwish found a leather sack holding 340 shillings and three small bottles of liquid under Groll's mattress, though I don’t know why she was looking under there.

Gundrun said he would take us to Wave Echo Cave if we cleared it out for him. He said that although a whole merchant caravan had been sold off as slaves, Sister Isidore wasn't with them when they arrived - she had been able to come and go as she pleases, not a prisoner.

I persuaded Isidore to Confess. She said she worked as a Messenger for Stigrun, who's probably at Wave Echo Caves. They are in the Ashen Brotherhood, a Sect devoted to hunting down members of the White Feather for wanting to destabilise the Church & the Empire.

The Brotherhood has apparently existed for centuries to hunt out the White Feather and other heretics - it allegedly goes right to the Top of the Church, but she knows only of Stigrun and Iarno(!). She was sure the Brotherhood exists, but only really has Stigrun's word for it so it might all be made up.

She said the White Feather believe in Triarchism & seek to overthrow the Empire and the Church, and that they operate a lot in the Iril Valley and are hiding a Great Secret here.

I spent a lot of time trying to persuade Isidore of her Idiocy, but she persisted in being Very Idiotic.

We went back to Phandalin to rest up. We handed Idiotic Isidore over to the authorities in Phandalin, making sure the Lion Shield Costa know she was involved in the attacks on their Caravans.

We then told Simon of Thundertree that Svenflieg Castle was now free of Goblins (but not of Owlbears). He was Very Pleased and told us a bit about the White Feather.

He said he was never a member but he knew people who were. The Spittler family was involved in the White Feather for many years. The Dead Knight was called Sir Godhart Spittler, and his Father (Sir Avard Spittler) tried to recruit Simon into the organisation. Sir Simon only knew of Sir Godhart as a member of the White Feather, so there may be none left now that he is dead, but as Simon doesn’t seem to know much about it there could very well be lots of them.

He says the White Feather is (probably) all about restoring the Old Empire. It's a Swan Feather, Emblem of Zariel. The Secret is only known to the leaders – actually, there are three of them, and each of the Three Leaders knew one of the Three Secrets.

Day Five of Adventuring

We set off to Wave Echo Cave, following Gundrun (after he re-established his Claim at the Mining Exchange – his original one was stolen by the Goblins).

Before we went we bought 3 tents (for me, Rudolf, and Leafwish – the others didn’t want them), a cooking pot, some tankards, and some rations. Most people didn’t really seem to care about having proper camping equipment, but I was pretty sure that they’d be Jolly Glad of it when they needed it.

It took all day to get to the Cave, and when we arrived there we found a Tombstone made of Celestial Stone (it's Purple), which is what you make Emperors' Memorials (for Births and Deaths and things) from.

The carvings on it match the ones on the Painting! And there are more on the back (two Celestial Glyphs and the word ‘Methulem’, which is on one of the Lists we have found).

But apart from the River, which looks exactly the same, and the Mountain and Castle, we can't see anything else from the Picture there. To be fair the only thing we might expect to find would be the Ruined Pillars, but they weren’t there.

In the Cave we found a Dead Dwarf, with three bedrolls around him. Down a pit there dangled a Rope, leading to a tunnel. Gundrun said that his Brothers had died in the Cave. He didn't find one of them, but he left the other's body (his name was Thardun) in the first chamber. The other was Nundro, and he may still be Alive!

Leafwish very kindly made one of my torches Glow with Arcane Fire, so I could use it as a torch without worrying about burning anything or it going out or anything like that.

Going East from the rope, we found a chamber with the skeletons of dead Dwarves and Orcs. As we went in, we got attacked by a swarm of Big Buzzy Things! They dropped from the ceiling and started biting at us, and when they bit into Vyth and Vreth and Zvesda they started sucking! I kept some off them off Vyth, and killed one.

We had a bit of a rest while the hurt people got their breath back, and suddenly three Bugbears turned up! We killed them, but Vreth got a bit more hurt so we gave her another chance to rest

Off to the East was a cavern full of weird fungus. Zvesda thought some of them gave off poisonous spores, so we were very careful and so didn’t go in.

South of where we rested were a couple of doors, so we tried those instead. The Right-Hand one led to a ruined room with more dead Dwarf and Orc Skeletons in, but these ones started standing up!!! The Long-Dead Bones of the Ancient Dead rose up and attacked us!

Vyth ran away but I stood my ground as they swarmed me, stabbing viciously with their short swords. I Pulled Myself Together and smashed FOUR of them to bits in a Flurry of Blows, while other people helped by Chanting Encouragingly and coming to hit them too, but they were very tentative about it. Then we smashed the ones that were still squirming on the floor.

In the opposite room we found dead Gnomes and Orcs. It looks like it was an Office, but all the paper is Really Old and Crumbly and so we couldn’t read it. There was a locked Iron Strongbox -Vyth couldn't open it, but Rudolf could. It had a lot of coins in - about 240 shillings or so (but they’re not really shillings).

We considered Burning the Fungi, but decided not to, or not Just Yet.

We then found a bunkroom with Ghouls in! Everyone charged in, killing one of them, but one Savaged Vreth so badly that she Fell. I stood over her body and Slew one of the Ghouls.

Rudolf ran in to staunch Vreth's bleeding, and Zvesda revived her. Everyone else backed away, and the Last Ghoul attacked me with a Flurry of Blows, but I Deflected them all Skilfully. Then Vyth stepped in and killed it, just as I was about to Strike It Down.

After that we took a bit of a break for a breather so Vreth could settle herself down.

We walked through some old mine workings, which were a bit boring until we found some more Ghouls! Rudolph made most of them fall over, then I Skewered the first one, but Zvesda was attacked from behind by some Horrible Yellow Oozy thing!!

Vyth ran to help Zvesda, who blew the Oozy Thing up with magic, and it split in two. Vreth joined in, and split it up again - twice! I Skewered the next Ghoul too, but the Gloops kept attacking Zvesda and she Collapsed.

I Leapt Gracefully over the Gloops, grabbed Zvesda, and Carried Her to Safety round a corner. But it wasn't really Safety - the Gloop followed and Hurt me really Quite Nastily.

Vreth stomped on one and squished it. I realised that Chopping the Gloops was a bad idea, so I grabbed the other Torch from my pack (not the one that was Glowing, as I’d dropped that so I could attack the Ghouls better) and Squished the Gloop that had hurt me. It melted away, so I caught my breath and watched out for Zvesda. Leafwish came and healed Zvesda while the others squished the other Gloops.

The two remaining Ghouls stood up and started coming after us again. Rudolf got hurt by one, but otherwise we finished them off pretty easily

We were a bit beaten up, so we went Outside again to camp and rest.

Day Six

We got attacked by Stirges in the night (that’s what the Big Buzzy Things are really called, someone said). They hurt a couple of the horses, but we killed them all. Zvesda, Vyth, Vreth and Leafwish hid in the cave overnight because they were Frightened of the Stirges, while I stayed outside so I could Protect the horses from them. They then insisted on hiding all our shillings in the Office we found, presumably because Money Is More Important Than Horses (!).

We went back into the Caves, and found a chamber with a Pool that smelt of fish. There seemed to be a Human Skeleton in the pool, so Vreth swam down and found two Rings and a Wand. The Wand casts Magic Missiles if you know the trick of it, which is Jolly Useful.

Up some stairs was a door, and some more Stairs leading to another bunkroom, lit and heated by a glowing brazier. There were 5 Bugbears in there!

I charged in and Smote the nearest one Twice. Rudolf made three of them fall over and the survivor tried to hit me, but I Avoided his blow

I hit him back Quite Hard, but he struck me a Mighty Blow and I fell to the ground in a Swoon. It was but brief, however, and I was soon back on my feet.

One of the other Bugbears stood up to Join the Fray, but both of those that were on their feet were slain, followed soon by the two who were still Sprawled on the Ground.

The door on the other side of the room was barricaded. We stayed for a bit of a breather so Vreth could sort herself out (again!). We moved the dead bugbears out first, obviously!

Through the barricaded door we found a glowing green Spectral Skull, with a lot of Living Corpses, in a room with a Water Wheel-powered Blast Furnace (but no water). Zvesda went in and Turned them, and I slew the only one that was UnTurned with my new Wand (after other people had beaten it up a bit). Rudolf Cast a Ball of Fire that Devastated most of the Remainder!! It was Very Impressive.

While people Defeated the last couple of Corpses I ran after the Spectral Skull. I found a cavern with Glittering Crystals in the ceiling, and two Human-Sized buildings built in it, but Alas! no sign of the Skull.

Rudolf started looking at the Bellows and Blast Furnace we found, while the rest of us went off to Reconnoitre the Area. A gang of Ghouls started coming towards us down a corridor, so I Blasted the first one with my Wand and sprang back to cover Vyth with my shield while Vyth and Vreth fought them back.

However, more Ghouls appeared from behind us! I darted over to block the stairs they were coming down, Blasting one as I went and drawing Swan's Song. Rudolf made the Stairs all Slippery, and most of them fell over, including those who tried to climb down to us.

I sprang over and Struck One Down, but another clambered up and Clawed me, and a Chill came over me rendering me Unable to Move. I shook off the effect, but there were too many of them and they Bore me to the Floor. I recovered myself, sprang up, and Dodged Gracefully over to rejoin the party, despite the claws of the Ghouls.

It was a frantic and exhausting battle, but in the end we Prevailed.

We retired to a Safe Room to recover (the one that had had the Bugbears in), while Leafwish and I went to check on the horses. They were all OK, so I brought back some food for people, and the cooking things. We all had something to eat and a bit of a nap, even though it was still quite early.

We went Exploring again, and found an old Store Room. It was a bit dull so we went to the cavern with a Starry Ceiling. The first Building seemed to have been subjected to Extreme Heat. I peered in, and saw a large but Badly Damaged workshop, that seems to have been Burnt.

There was a Green Brazier burning in the middle of the room, with a Strange Globular Thing floating behind it, with one Big Eye and four smaller ones on Stalks.

A Strange Voice in my Head said 'Hello', and I started floating up to the ceiling. Although it was a Quite Odd thing to happen, I decided to float down again, and did so that was alright.

'New Miners?' the Voice asked. I said no, not yet, but Dwarves would be coming soon. I opened the door and went in. The Voice seemed pleased by the idea of Dwarves coming.

The Voice seemed to be coming from the Floating Eye, who was quite friendly. They didn’t seem to have a Name so I called them the Guardian of the Forge, which they seemed quite pleased by.

This is because they said they were brought here by Stephan the Mage to Protect the Mine and the Forge. They said there were miners here, using the Forge, but they seemed to be a little bit Confused about what’s going on and how long they’ve been there.

The Guardian said that Orcs attacked, and Undead, but Stephan and the other mages fought them off. The fire damage was caused ‘very recently’ by Zotaquarn the Wizard, Archmage in Irilian, who was attacked by High Elves but destroyed them (it was close). The Spell Forge was damaged, and no-one else has been round since. The Guardian thinks this all happened a week or so ago, but it’s obviously been years and years.

The Forge is the source of Magic. The Guardian said it was alright to bring the other people in to have a look, so we all came in. The Flame has apparently Decreased in Size, so it can now only have temporary effects, but it’s still magical.

Mormesk was a wizard who brought undead, and hasn't gone away. He's now a Wraith and is a Problem, because the Undead get in the way of the mine.

Looking around the Forge, we found a very shiny Breastplate and Mace on a table

The Mace is called Lightbringer. It has a Brazen Sunburst for a head, and can glow and do extra damage to the Undead. The Breastplate has a Gold Dragon motif and is called Dragonguard, created for Tergul the Human Hero.

The Guardian wasn’t sure we should take them, but then seemed to be happy for us to if we were going to go and Deal With Mormesk. So I took Lightbringer (which can glow, so I don’t need Leafwish to Enchant a torch for me) and Zvesda took Dragonguard (because she was worried about getting hurt again).

There are 12 big Levers set in the floor behind the Guardian, which the Guardian said were part of The Game, which was through the Door in the north. To play The Game you have to Take Your Turn, and can only move one step at a time. The Teammates use the Levers to control the Pieces. There are Prizes!

This all sounded really interesting so I opened the Door and looked inside, but could only see a workspace with some benches. I stepped inside, and appeared in a cavern that Glowed with Unnatural Light. The floor was covered in Hexagonal Tiles and there were Four Objects in Niches: a Wand, a Hat, a Greatsword, and a pair of Bracers. There were also five strange Magical Figures. Although a couple of the figures swung at me, and hurt me slightly, I was able to Outmanoeuvre them and collect a Wand of Bigby's Fist (which I gave to Rudolf), a Greatsword called Thirst (Vreth), some Bracers of Archery (Leafwish), and a Hat of Disguise which I kept for myself

We Immersed our Arms in the Forge of Spells to Enchant them for the fight against Mormesk (and maybe Stigrun, if we could find him) but suddenly I turned Blue! Blue!! All Over!!!

It was Very Strange, so I used my New Hat to disguise myself as someone who isn't Blue All Over.

The other Building looked as if it had been badly damaged by some sort of Fiery Blast. When we went in, a Shadowy Shape rose up and attacked us!.

Vreth fought back with Thirst, and seemed Strangely Enamoured of it, I leapt in at Smote it with Lightbringer, and Zvesda Cast a Guiding Bolt at it, destroying it. It cried 'Ahh, my Treasures!' as it died.

In an unlocked Chest we found a lot of copper coins (worth about a hundred shillings), 3 Diamonds, a Wooden Pipe with Platinum Filigree, and a magical Pestle & Mortar. On the shelves we found some Tomes, one of which had a Map sewn into its cover.

We went back to see The Guardian of the Forge, who told us that Mormesk was very protective of his Treasure, especially his pipe, so we do seem to have killed him.

Vreth had a quick look in the Fungus Cavern, while holding her breath in case of Spores, but didn't find anything. So we went off Exploring again, and found a Huge Surging Lake that seemed to be Tidal (and very noisy!). Vreth went Swimming again to see if she could find anything in the water, but couldn’t.

Moving on round I heard Voices! There were three Bugbears and an Elf clearing rocks in a Chasm. Well, the Bugbears were, but the Elf was supervising.

We separated, and while most people Lay in Ambush I strode out behind them and called on them to Surrender!

They didn't, so we attacked. The sentry Fell, Pierced by Many Arrows. Vreth grappled the Elf, who yielded to my rapier, and the Bugbears moving rocks were baffled by Rudolf's Magicks.

The Bugbears tried to climb up to the Ambushers, but I shot one down with my Wand and the other surrendered. Another Successful Ambush! I'm getting good at this!

The elf was called Valak, and said he'd like to live. He was a mining expert from Brandbrug, employed by a Monk who'd like to open up the Mine again.

He said the Mine was cursed, dating back to when it was taken by Orcs centuries ago (not last week!). They were trying to dig up something that looks magic. There was an old temple to the northwest, and Stigrun was there.

He also told us Stigrun had a couple of Bugbears and some more Monks of Flagu from Irilian. There was also a Dwarf there, injured and being tended to, a fellow prospector. Stigrun was (allegedly!) looking for Precious Metals, and Magical Trace Elements, but hadn't yet made it to the most magical areas because they were full of Undead. Valak didn't know if a claim had been lodged yet.

We escorted Valak and the bugbear prisoner to Gundrun. Valak was prepared to work for Gundrun, so we left them to work things out while we Dealt With Stigrun.

I set up an Ambush on the Temple, which had a big but very Weathered statue of a Seated Person with a Warhammer. Stigrun was there, with 2 Bugbears and 4 Monks

We charged in, but Stigrun refused to surrender even though I asked him nicely. Rudolph Grasped him with Hand of Bigby, so he was Out of Action, but I was fighting a Bugbear - and winning! - when I saw a Monk swing his Flail at me, and suddenly everything Went Black.

I don’t remember what happened after that, until I woke up in Irilian, but people told me afterwards.

We seem to have won the battle and captured Stigrun. He wasn’t very helpful, so we executed him for Conspiring to Murder people, and Bringing Goblins into the Empire, and things like that, and after resting overnight went off to Irilian, leaving Gundrun and Valak to look after the Mines.

It was horribly rainy, and when we got there there was a horrible Black Cloud coming along the Road, with Undead in it. We were invited into the Graveyard by the Chanterman, but got surrounded by the Black Cloud. The Chanterman said something about ‘Deoc Rys’ (The Dark Is Rising!) and an old prophecy about the Dark coming crawling, but non-one seemed to be very clear about what it was.

So we stayed there for the night and in the morning everything seemed to be OK, so we left the Chanterman the Dwarvish Brandy as a thank-you.

We went to an inn and had a day to relax, and the next morning…

Day Nine of my Amazing Adventures!

I woke up and suddenly felt different!

I got my memory back, for one thing, but suddenly I was able to make things happen just by wanting them to! It's really handy for lighting candles, heating up water, and all sorts of things! And I can make my voice Really Loud, and hurl Bolts of Flame, and Shake the Ground, and everything!!

And Best of All, I have this amazing Warm Feeling inside of me that seems to be telling me that this is How Things Are Meant To Be, and that I have all these Powers to Use for Good.

I think I have a Destiny!

And Magic Powers!!

And Blue Skin, which is a Bit Odd.

I don’t think the Blueness is part of my Destiny, but it did happen just before I Blacked Out and Everything Changed, so it might be, but I’m not sure why being Blue should be a Destiny so perhaps it’s just One Of Those Things.

Or maybe my new Hat isn’t working properly, I don’t know.

Anyway, we have a Small Girl hanging around, called Vosta. Apparently she told us that someone was paying her to tell them when we arrived in the city, and if we paid more she'd tell us where they were. I gave her a penny and told her to be on her way, but Rudolf Charmed her into telling us it was Blacktooth, who is staying at the Orc's Head Inn, so we paid her 100 shillings (!) for being helpful.

We’re staying at the Griffin Inn, with 6 rooms and stabling for 4 horses which we have paid for a Week in Advance. It's a music hall as well as a tavern, which Leafwish is quite happy about.