Who Watches the Watcher – Velania Kalugina – 29/04/2021
May 3, 2021 22:28:33 GMT
Jamie J, Queen Merla, the Sun-Blessed, and 5 more like this
Post by Velania Kalugina on May 3, 2021 22:28:33 GMT
Seyen,
I have heard it said that I can be serious sometimes. Me! Just imagine! How could an acolyte of Selûne ever be anything but jovial, whimsical, and vivacious, right? You, as my guardian angel, must surely have seen how relaxed I can be. I’m totally chilled out all the time, for which I regularly thank Selûne… usually in my third hour of morning prayers, once I have properly warmed up those celestial Aasimar vocal cords. I’m so relaxed I never judge my fellow adventurers for their foul table manners, their rumpled hair, their bad language, their terrible hangovers.
But there is one thing even I cannot abide, and that’s lying. And that is why this careful diplomatic mission would prove to be particularly difficult for me…
Fort Ettin
It all started with a social disaster yesterday morning, when I presented Coll with a gift. When I first met him some weeks ago, he was proudly sporting some trinkets gifted to him by adventurers of the realm. I remember feeling very alone when I arrived in Kantas, but he got me my first assignment here, so I decided to show him my gratitude by adding to his collection. I kept aside one of the small gems I earned in my first adventure here. It was not expensive, but a very pretty blue colour. I buffed it up, gift-wrapped it, and presented it to him in the common room. I may have added a little silvery Light to its presentation. But less is more. I am not show-off.
Unfortunately, the room was silently watching through their hangovers, and I heard people whispering. You could have heard a pin drop. Had I made a mistake? Perhaps gift-giving is not a thing here! Coll blushed and stammered awkwardly, and this in turn caused me to blush. It is not like me to blush, Seyen! I am stronger than that.
Thankfully, he saved us both from dying of embarrassment further by directing me over to Faust’s table. Faust, the kindly tiefling gentlemen I have enjoyed working with before, had an assignment, and needed the wisdom of Selûne watching over him. Who better than I to preside over this expedition? He then introduced me to the rest of his team. Of course I heard Felix the friendly dwarven bard well before I saw him… in fact my ears have just about stopped ringing from that time he Thunderwaved me! We were joined by the halfling Kelne, who loves flowers and magic and had a mischievous twinkle in her eye, Dwirhian, a tall, silvery bard with a surprisingly quick and light step, and a mighty half-orc barbarian called Varga, who I was certain was ready to tear apart any foe we encountered with her bare teeth… or one of her extensive collection of axes.
A mighty and extraordinary group, and none better suited for solving one of the pervading hazards of the adventuring life… greed.
Faust presented the problem. Students of the Daring Heights Academy have excitedly added the location “Treasure Cave” to the official map of Kantas without verifying what is actually there. Faust was rightly concerned that this act of rash bureaucracy would cause hordes of greedy adventurers to head there to loot and pillage the area. There could be innocents living there… or deadly terrors. So our mission was to visit the location, and verify the facts.
Varga grinned widely – she was clearly keen to chop some things in half. But Faust expressed concern – to him, this was a diplomatic mission, first and foremost. He requested that the more hot-headed members temper their impulses and permit dialogue first. “Use your mouth words,” he counselled. Varga frowned at this, but agreed, concluding that any place with the word “Treasure” in the name had to be worth a look.
A Wholesome Expedition
It was a beautiful spring day as we walked south through the hills. We passed through glorious patches of snowdrops and crocuses, and Kelne’s eyes lit up. She was up to something, and started sneaking flowers about everybody’s person as we walked. We all knew what she was up to, but it was such a sweet gesture. Perhaps this group were more than suitable for a diplomatic mission than I had anticipated.
At a safe distance from the site of Granny’s cottage, we reached the edge of the Feythorn Forest, where we pitched camp for the night. Felix whipped out a lute and as you can imagine, with three musicians in tow, our night soon became a merry one of singing and dancing. I watched the elegance of Dwirhian and Faust and Kelne whirling with such grace, that I could only watch in envy. Then Faust offered me his hand to dance. Me… dance? Imagine my horror! But he bowed so elegantly that I could not refuse. He patiently allowed me to trip over him for one waltz, at which point I felt myself blushing again. When Varga told us to pipe down and get some rest, I admit I felt a surge of relief, though I was secretly sorry to have the music stop.
On our watches, we heard some uncanny screaming sounds in the forest, and stayed alert, but fortunately Selûne was watching over us, for nothing approached. Yet the screaming continued at intervals through the night…
Feythorn Forest
In the morning, we headed into the dark and dense Feythorn. It was close and heavy with undergrowth, and we soon noticed an uncanny resistance within the forest. It sounds strange, but it was almost as if the place was unhappy with our presence. There was no clear path to follow, so we had to pool our skills. We used a combination of tree climbing, inspirational poetry, animal watching, trying to trick and then intimidate the forest into showing us the way, and eventually after many hours, a breeze began to blow and we found our way to… a signpost.
“THERE IS NO TREASURE CAVE,” it said. Well, Seyen, you can imagine what questions one might ask about seeing such a sign. Were we being lied to, warned off by some innocents, or lured into a trap by our own curiosity and greed? We were not deterred by this sign, and proceeded on our way, to be met by another more insistent sign: “NO FOR REAL. NO TREASURE.” And then another… of increasing anger and indecent manner, I might add: “FAERÛN OFF BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM.”
I’m sure you can speak enough Common to decode that one yourself, Seyen.
We advanced with more caution, Kelne taking point, but she soon stumbled upon some hideous screeching mushrooms… the source of all the noise last night! The alarm had been raised! It was an ambush! As we rushed to help Kelne, Varga drew an axe and Felix loaded his crossbow. Stones flew at us from the bushes, hitting them both. I saw Faust’s dismay – this had not been his plan. Were his pleas for a peaceful approach falling on deaf ears? Were we going to find ourselves in deadly combat?
Soon enough, a very angry young gnome child burst out of the bushes, threatening us with an axe. “You can’t go in the cave!” she shouted. We had not come here to pick a fight with a child, but she had clearly not come here to give ground! The stand-off was tense, and she was most unimpressed by our claims of good intent, but eventually agreed to take us to her grandfather once we promised not to go in this cave. I vowed not to – and I never lie.
The Treasure Cave
She took us to her grandfather and several other gnomes who lived by the entrance to a deep cave, and there the tense standoff continued. They were angry to see us there. They did not even want to know our names. They only wanted us gone! But if we left without reporting back about this Treasure Cave, what good would our expedition have been? What would it have accomplished?
Varga stepped up and addressed the elderly gnome. We tensed up, fearing her battle-thirst was going to lead to insults or challenges. But instead, she went down on one knee and congratulated the gnome on his parenting skills. A lone child challenging a group of heavily armed strangers in the forest? Varga had nothing but respect for such bravery!
It was an amazing breakthrough.The grandgnome was stunned by her compliments, and his tone immediately changed to one of understanding. He bade us sit down and discuss the problem. He told us that greedy adventurers came all the time, searching for loot within the Treasure Cave. Some certainly did return with riches, while others died and were transformed by the evils of the land itself into foul undead. The gnomes fought a constant battle to stop the undead emerging. And more adventurers inevitably meant more undead.
It’s no surprise why they were sick of adventurers going into their cave. But now the Daring Heights Academy knew it was here, there would be no way to stop more arriving! We would only be able to deter new adventurers from coming here by somehow tricking them. And that was a big problem for me. I did not wish to lie to anyone. How in the heavens could we resolve this without lying?
The REAL Treasure Cave
Fortunately, after much group discussion, we came upon a solution. We could trick the Academy but still tell the truth! The gnomes knew of another small cave a mile away, barely more than a hollow in a cliffside. We decided to divert their signs toward this smaller cave, and fill its walls with religious inscriptions. We carved and scratched for the better part of the afternoon, and at my suggestion, we dedicated our writings to Selûne. The grandgnome, himself a druidic follower of Selûne, was touched by the gesture, and I was thrilled to have met a kindred spirit out in this unwelcoming forest!
Our three bards Kelne, Faust, and Felix provided many great poems, including “Moon River,” “Dancing in the Moonlight,” and “When the Moon hits your eye, that’s Selûne.” I forgave the irreverence, for I understood the noble intentions of my companions. My own contribution was a profound lesson I learned when I was very young: “When you realise nothing is lacking, the treasure of the world belongs to you.”
So now, this cave can honestly claim to hold great treasure, but the wealth comes in the form of wisdom, and all travellers who come to this area shall enter this cave and become truly rich indeed!
We slept under the gracious watch of the Moon herself, and awoke to find the gnomes had showered us with flowers, nibbled our food, and gifted Varga with a child-sized axe (little more than a back-scratcher for the mighty Varga, of course). I crept off secretly at dawn to enter the cave one last time. There I performed a Ceremony in order to Bless Water in a natural font in the cave floor. It’s rough and ready, but I believe I’ve created my first temple of Selûne, and I’ve only been in Kantas a few weeks! Perhaps the venerable grandgnome will care for the place in my absence.
On our journey back, the Feythorn seemed somewhat gentler. Kinder. It must have been linked to the grandgnome’s raised spirits, and this connection lifted my heart. I hope the gnomes now feel that some of us Kantas adventurers do mean well. We only wish for them to live their days in the forest in peace.
Conclusion
We returned to the Daring Heights Academy to report our findings, and I told the students at length all about the riches to be found in the Treasure Cave. As expected, over the hours, I saw their enthusiasm drain to tiredness and disappointment, and knew our plan had worked. As we suspected, the foolish Academy believe there is no treasure to be found there, and have updated their maps to warn adventurers not to waste their time there.
The joke is on them, of course, for there is no greater treasure than the wisdom of Selûne! The best part is that we deceived them without having to lie. And now, any curious traveller who passes by that way will never find the gnomes and their deadly cave, but they are likely to stumble across the Real Treasure Cave and there they will find great gifts that we left for them.
Faust thanked us profusely for our efforts, and insisted upon gifting us with a 10gp purse each. I did not seek payment, but you should never refuse a gift from an elder, of course, so I do need to find a way to pay him back – in a way he will happily accept.
I completely fell for those brave, strong gnomes, and I hope to visit them again and return to the Treasure Cave soon. In the meantime, there is work to be done in this great land, and many weak and foolish people surround me who need my guidance and protection more than ever. For starters, the disappointment in those Academy students’ eyes has vexed me. I’m pretty sure if I give them another one of my lectures, they’ll soon start understanding what I see in Selûne. After all, I’m totally chilled out and easy to talk to, right?
… right?
I have heard it said that I can be serious sometimes. Me! Just imagine! How could an acolyte of Selûne ever be anything but jovial, whimsical, and vivacious, right? You, as my guardian angel, must surely have seen how relaxed I can be. I’m totally chilled out all the time, for which I regularly thank Selûne… usually in my third hour of morning prayers, once I have properly warmed up those celestial Aasimar vocal cords. I’m so relaxed I never judge my fellow adventurers for their foul table manners, their rumpled hair, their bad language, their terrible hangovers.
But there is one thing even I cannot abide, and that’s lying. And that is why this careful diplomatic mission would prove to be particularly difficult for me…
Fort Ettin
It all started with a social disaster yesterday morning, when I presented Coll with a gift. When I first met him some weeks ago, he was proudly sporting some trinkets gifted to him by adventurers of the realm. I remember feeling very alone when I arrived in Kantas, but he got me my first assignment here, so I decided to show him my gratitude by adding to his collection. I kept aside one of the small gems I earned in my first adventure here. It was not expensive, but a very pretty blue colour. I buffed it up, gift-wrapped it, and presented it to him in the common room. I may have added a little silvery Light to its presentation. But less is more. I am not show-off.
Unfortunately, the room was silently watching through their hangovers, and I heard people whispering. You could have heard a pin drop. Had I made a mistake? Perhaps gift-giving is not a thing here! Coll blushed and stammered awkwardly, and this in turn caused me to blush. It is not like me to blush, Seyen! I am stronger than that.
Thankfully, he saved us both from dying of embarrassment further by directing me over to Faust’s table. Faust, the kindly tiefling gentlemen I have enjoyed working with before, had an assignment, and needed the wisdom of Selûne watching over him. Who better than I to preside over this expedition? He then introduced me to the rest of his team. Of course I heard Felix the friendly dwarven bard well before I saw him… in fact my ears have just about stopped ringing from that time he Thunderwaved me! We were joined by the halfling Kelne, who loves flowers and magic and had a mischievous twinkle in her eye, Dwirhian, a tall, silvery bard with a surprisingly quick and light step, and a mighty half-orc barbarian called Varga, who I was certain was ready to tear apart any foe we encountered with her bare teeth… or one of her extensive collection of axes.
A mighty and extraordinary group, and none better suited for solving one of the pervading hazards of the adventuring life… greed.
Faust presented the problem. Students of the Daring Heights Academy have excitedly added the location “Treasure Cave” to the official map of Kantas without verifying what is actually there. Faust was rightly concerned that this act of rash bureaucracy would cause hordes of greedy adventurers to head there to loot and pillage the area. There could be innocents living there… or deadly terrors. So our mission was to visit the location, and verify the facts.
Varga grinned widely – she was clearly keen to chop some things in half. But Faust expressed concern – to him, this was a diplomatic mission, first and foremost. He requested that the more hot-headed members temper their impulses and permit dialogue first. “Use your mouth words,” he counselled. Varga frowned at this, but agreed, concluding that any place with the word “Treasure” in the name had to be worth a look.
A Wholesome Expedition
It was a beautiful spring day as we walked south through the hills. We passed through glorious patches of snowdrops and crocuses, and Kelne’s eyes lit up. She was up to something, and started sneaking flowers about everybody’s person as we walked. We all knew what she was up to, but it was such a sweet gesture. Perhaps this group were more than suitable for a diplomatic mission than I had anticipated.
At a safe distance from the site of Granny’s cottage, we reached the edge of the Feythorn Forest, where we pitched camp for the night. Felix whipped out a lute and as you can imagine, with three musicians in tow, our night soon became a merry one of singing and dancing. I watched the elegance of Dwirhian and Faust and Kelne whirling with such grace, that I could only watch in envy. Then Faust offered me his hand to dance. Me… dance? Imagine my horror! But he bowed so elegantly that I could not refuse. He patiently allowed me to trip over him for one waltz, at which point I felt myself blushing again. When Varga told us to pipe down and get some rest, I admit I felt a surge of relief, though I was secretly sorry to have the music stop.
On our watches, we heard some uncanny screaming sounds in the forest, and stayed alert, but fortunately Selûne was watching over us, for nothing approached. Yet the screaming continued at intervals through the night…
Feythorn Forest
In the morning, we headed into the dark and dense Feythorn. It was close and heavy with undergrowth, and we soon noticed an uncanny resistance within the forest. It sounds strange, but it was almost as if the place was unhappy with our presence. There was no clear path to follow, so we had to pool our skills. We used a combination of tree climbing, inspirational poetry, animal watching, trying to trick and then intimidate the forest into showing us the way, and eventually after many hours, a breeze began to blow and we found our way to… a signpost.
“THERE IS NO TREASURE CAVE,” it said. Well, Seyen, you can imagine what questions one might ask about seeing such a sign. Were we being lied to, warned off by some innocents, or lured into a trap by our own curiosity and greed? We were not deterred by this sign, and proceeded on our way, to be met by another more insistent sign: “NO FOR REAL. NO TREASURE.” And then another… of increasing anger and indecent manner, I might add: “FAERÛN OFF BACK TO WHERE YOU CAME FROM.”
I’m sure you can speak enough Common to decode that one yourself, Seyen.
We advanced with more caution, Kelne taking point, but she soon stumbled upon some hideous screeching mushrooms… the source of all the noise last night! The alarm had been raised! It was an ambush! As we rushed to help Kelne, Varga drew an axe and Felix loaded his crossbow. Stones flew at us from the bushes, hitting them both. I saw Faust’s dismay – this had not been his plan. Were his pleas for a peaceful approach falling on deaf ears? Were we going to find ourselves in deadly combat?
Soon enough, a very angry young gnome child burst out of the bushes, threatening us with an axe. “You can’t go in the cave!” she shouted. We had not come here to pick a fight with a child, but she had clearly not come here to give ground! The stand-off was tense, and she was most unimpressed by our claims of good intent, but eventually agreed to take us to her grandfather once we promised not to go in this cave. I vowed not to – and I never lie.
The Treasure Cave
She took us to her grandfather and several other gnomes who lived by the entrance to a deep cave, and there the tense standoff continued. They were angry to see us there. They did not even want to know our names. They only wanted us gone! But if we left without reporting back about this Treasure Cave, what good would our expedition have been? What would it have accomplished?
Varga stepped up and addressed the elderly gnome. We tensed up, fearing her battle-thirst was going to lead to insults or challenges. But instead, she went down on one knee and congratulated the gnome on his parenting skills. A lone child challenging a group of heavily armed strangers in the forest? Varga had nothing but respect for such bravery!
It was an amazing breakthrough.The grandgnome was stunned by her compliments, and his tone immediately changed to one of understanding. He bade us sit down and discuss the problem. He told us that greedy adventurers came all the time, searching for loot within the Treasure Cave. Some certainly did return with riches, while others died and were transformed by the evils of the land itself into foul undead. The gnomes fought a constant battle to stop the undead emerging. And more adventurers inevitably meant more undead.
It’s no surprise why they were sick of adventurers going into their cave. But now the Daring Heights Academy knew it was here, there would be no way to stop more arriving! We would only be able to deter new adventurers from coming here by somehow tricking them. And that was a big problem for me. I did not wish to lie to anyone. How in the heavens could we resolve this without lying?
The REAL Treasure Cave
Fortunately, after much group discussion, we came upon a solution. We could trick the Academy but still tell the truth! The gnomes knew of another small cave a mile away, barely more than a hollow in a cliffside. We decided to divert their signs toward this smaller cave, and fill its walls with religious inscriptions. We carved and scratched for the better part of the afternoon, and at my suggestion, we dedicated our writings to Selûne. The grandgnome, himself a druidic follower of Selûne, was touched by the gesture, and I was thrilled to have met a kindred spirit out in this unwelcoming forest!
Our three bards Kelne, Faust, and Felix provided many great poems, including “Moon River,” “Dancing in the Moonlight,” and “When the Moon hits your eye, that’s Selûne.” I forgave the irreverence, for I understood the noble intentions of my companions. My own contribution was a profound lesson I learned when I was very young: “When you realise nothing is lacking, the treasure of the world belongs to you.”
So now, this cave can honestly claim to hold great treasure, but the wealth comes in the form of wisdom, and all travellers who come to this area shall enter this cave and become truly rich indeed!
We slept under the gracious watch of the Moon herself, and awoke to find the gnomes had showered us with flowers, nibbled our food, and gifted Varga with a child-sized axe (little more than a back-scratcher for the mighty Varga, of course). I crept off secretly at dawn to enter the cave one last time. There I performed a Ceremony in order to Bless Water in a natural font in the cave floor. It’s rough and ready, but I believe I’ve created my first temple of Selûne, and I’ve only been in Kantas a few weeks! Perhaps the venerable grandgnome will care for the place in my absence.
On our journey back, the Feythorn seemed somewhat gentler. Kinder. It must have been linked to the grandgnome’s raised spirits, and this connection lifted my heart. I hope the gnomes now feel that some of us Kantas adventurers do mean well. We only wish for them to live their days in the forest in peace.
Conclusion
We returned to the Daring Heights Academy to report our findings, and I told the students at length all about the riches to be found in the Treasure Cave. As expected, over the hours, I saw their enthusiasm drain to tiredness and disappointment, and knew our plan had worked. As we suspected, the foolish Academy believe there is no treasure to be found there, and have updated their maps to warn adventurers not to waste their time there.
The joke is on them, of course, for there is no greater treasure than the wisdom of Selûne! The best part is that we deceived them without having to lie. And now, any curious traveller who passes by that way will never find the gnomes and their deadly cave, but they are likely to stumble across the Real Treasure Cave and there they will find great gifts that we left for them.
Faust thanked us profusely for our efforts, and insisted upon gifting us with a 10gp purse each. I did not seek payment, but you should never refuse a gift from an elder, of course, so I do need to find a way to pay him back – in a way he will happily accept.
I completely fell for those brave, strong gnomes, and I hope to visit them again and return to the Treasure Cave soon. In the meantime, there is work to be done in this great land, and many weak and foolish people surround me who need my guidance and protection more than ever. For starters, the disappointment in those Academy students’ eyes has vexed me. I’m pretty sure if I give them another one of my lectures, they’ll soon start understanding what I see in Selûne. After all, I’m totally chilled out and easy to talk to, right?
… right?
