Klaus' Legacy - 04/07
Jul 10, 2019 13:23:26 GMT
Nuno (Rholor), Milo Brightmane, and 3 more like this
Post by Markas Virnala on Jul 10, 2019 13:23:26 GMT
"Acid bath"
13th Entry in the journal of Markas Virnala
Today was… not a great day.
I took a break from my training to meet up with Baine, Ghesh, Pieni, Doddil and someone new; a Half-Orc fighter called Kalta. She's not like not like the other fighters I've met though, who are all about getting up close and hitting things as hard as you can. She seems able to use some level of magic as well.
We met up to set about going to see that Dragon we were talking about before but just as we were about to leave the Hook (I had to insist we met there for a change. Still don't feel the Sank is the safest place for me just yet.), there was a noise outside as a horse bolted up and a woman entered in fluster. Baine recognised her as Sweet, from the Crimson Fist, the military organisation he has fallen into. She basically had a request for Baine from Varis, a sort of shopping list of dragon materials he wants, as well as promise to pay us for the parts and for sealing a possible entrance to the Underdark. Seems those tunnels near Daring spread quite far…
We had a chat while Sweet passed out from exhaustion in a booth in the Hook about what we knew of where we were going. Baine had heard from Jacinta (Who was apparently part of the original group who went), there was something about digging into a tunnel system, meeting some Dark Elves on the way and finding a Black dragon guarding the item they were looking for. The issues where that no-one thought to bring a shovel and this Klaus guy decided to try and lie to a dragon and got himself eaten for his troubles!
So we set about getting ready, people filed off to get different materials equipment ready for the trek, including some bags to carry the dragon material back in. Ghesh seemed to ONLY NOW realise he had been carrying around a chest on his back and said we could use as well! Baine ran in Karlessa who was asking for me and had some info for us… Turns out the item the last group stole from this dragon was one of the artefacts we helped her collect with Paw. She never knew anything else about it but whoever had put them there was likely not to be happy about it being taken and she warned us there might be someone or something else involved somewhere. I warned the others but without much more to go on we could only go as prepared as we could anyway. Karlessa looked VERY tired though. She has been working on these artefacts almost non-stop and is running herself ragged. I did suggest she takes a rest but she seems set in her work regardless. I offered to help is she needs it but somehow I don't think she will call until she needs something else collected from somewhere.
We set off, north into Angel Bark woods. A pretty uneventful journey until we reached a large clearing where the entrance was reported to be. In the midst of all the trees, we stepped out into a large opening of grass… it took us a little bit of time to find anything but eventually found what looked like it might be the way in; a straight line in the grass that seemed at odds to what was around it, so we started digging…. Only to realise we ALSO forgot to bring a shovel! So much for preparing for this trip!
Ghesh ended up spitting acid on the ground and taking shifts using a shovel to dig down… took us hours but we eventually found some wooden beams forming the roof on a tunnel. We made enough room to slip in and then started our trek in. We were managing to keep ourselves quiet but I guess we focused too much on being quiet instead of actually looking where we were going, it wasn’t until we were basically on top of it and Ghesh pointed it out that we realised we had reached a fence…. And on the other side was a mass of tents and among them was a lot people, elves with dark skin, Drow. They were all giving us odd looks…. As they began arming themselves and heading straight for us!
We did the only sensible thing we could and immediately surrendered!
We managed to calm them down and convince them not to just kill us. They were quite interested in what we were up to, especially as the one talking to us, Laurellia I think, was one of the Drow who went with the last group who came in. We asked if they would come with us but they didn’t seem too keen to help, asking how they knew we would be worthy to help. I asked if there was anything we could do and she asked if I wanted to spar.
It was an interesting match, it's not often I get to test my skills one-on-one like this, except against Paw and that never goes well for me. I guess I have gotten slack still though as the fight didn’t last long. She drew 2x swords and rushed me, catching me off guard. I managed to get a hit back and stunned her for a second, opening her up for a follow up assault. This is where I got cocky though, as she managed to recover and quickly finish me off,. The last thing I remember was being cut with one sword and looking up to see the butt of her second connect with my temple, then everything went black.
I woke up a little while later. Ghesh had dragged me off to a corner where we had a temporary camp setup. Turns out Baine took a swing at fighting her after me and won. They agreed to help us as a result. Everyone in the camp seemed to want to keep their distance still though.
As we prepped to head further in, Laurellia approached with another Drow, one much more important by the look of how she carried herself. She neglected to give us a name but she was referred to as 'Priestess'. Laurellia explained she was coming to look after her in this trip. Baine asked if she would 'help' us as well if we needed it and we were told maybe, if we behave ourselves…. Still not sure what that is meant to mean exactly. The Drow seem a very secretive people. We had a chat with them about what we were doing before we left. Baine nearly give up the part about sealing off an entry into the underdark, the place the Drow call home. Laurellia did ask what was meant by 'sealing' but we managed to play it off luckily. They did say they were having some trouble with this dragon as well. Since the last group came through there has been a lot of rumbling and noise, as if something has been tunnelling deeper down.
So we ventured deeper in the tunnels, winding down and somehow the whole place seemed to get even darker. The tunnel wound back and forth, narrowing at points then opening up again. After a little while, we reached an opening with some ruined tents and mounds of mushroom like spores everywhere. This was apparently a Kobold village that was encountered last time. The Drow had come in and taken them out sometime ago but not been back since. The mounds that were around turned out to be the corpses that had been left behind. We started to get concerned when we spotted the Drow with us putting on masks, so the rest of us did too, Doddil opting to use a bag over his head…. We were starting to worry about what he was doing in all honesty. It was going well until a few of us accidentally nudged one of the spore mounds as we passed, setting off a chain reaction of mushrooms exploding in a cloud of spores that filled the cave. Luckily we all were prepared and managed to wait it out without being infected in anyway, until the spores all settled back down to the floor.
The further we went a pervading smell of rot and decay grew stronger and stronger, until we eventually reached a large opening with a lake in. A small island lay in the middle and to the back of the cave like space, we could see the wall and been tunnelled through making another opening. To one side of the lake, a large dragon-like skeleton lay out of the water…. It looked like someone beat us to it.
Pieni transformed into a frog and went ahead to scout while we waited. It wasn’t long before they were back in a fluster. They said some sort of huge eyes opened up to watch them under the water…. Likely the thing that killed off the dragon on the shore. We weren't getting anywhere debating about what to do and Laurellia was getting antsy about us not doing anything so we decided to sneak over and check out the remains. Maybe we could get what we need without hassle? But as soon as Baine touched a claw on the skeleton, a loud booming voice echoed around us saying it was part of their hoard…. Kalta said we didn’t know and would leave when it said we cant because now we are too… Then the water of the lake erupted as a huge black dragon head surfaced, glaring at us full of malice…. And it began.
The massive Black Dragon climbed out of the water, unfurling it's wings, one of which we could already see was part broken, and began to take to the air, but not before Doddil and Kalta manage to get off a few attacks. Doddil smashed this small crystal and seemed to smear it on his lips before unleashing a lightening breath attack like he was a dragon himself! Kalta fired a few arrows then dropped the Bow and flung a colourful magic orb at the dragon that went wide at the last minute.
As the Dragon began to rise, it blasted the area around it with a huge gust of wind that sent me flying back. As I stood up, I could see ghesh managed to stay on his feet and Baine was chugging a potion and began to start growing himself to try match the size of the dragon as he starts swinging the sword formerly known as Phil. In between his attacks though, the dragons tail lashed out and struck him across the chest. Thankfully his size difference seemed to help him withstand the impact though.
A black energy started to encircle the dragon and almost seemed to be trying to claw its way under its scales as the priestess with us began chanting in elvish behind us, just as Pieni conjured a water elemental in the lake beneath the dragon as well as cast some spell that filled us with a weird kind of energy. As I stood up, I decided to finally try out that Displacer Ring, and saw my own hands begin to blur in front of me. Before I could do anything though, I looked up to see Ghesh hurling his spears at the dragon, just as it was opening its mouth wide and sprayed us both with a huge wave of acid! The burning was intense as I was covered and before I knew it, the world went black.
Thank whatever Gods were looking over us down in those caves that Pieni decided to cast that spell. Without out, I don't think there would have been any coming back for me… I don't think I was out for long. I only remember hearing a word spoken from the priestess from the darkness and suddenly I was only the floor, gasping for Breath again… The third time I have been brought back from the brink of death like this. I was sure I was completely covered by that acid but when I got up, only my neck and shoulder felt burned now.
It can't have been long but a lot seemed to have happened while I was out. The dragon was circling round and unleashing another blast of Acid at Baine and Ghesh, who was now riding on Baine!? There looked like a crater in the roof where a Stalactite seemed to have been broken off, which was actually stuck into the Dragons Back! (Doddil's handiwork from what I heard afterwards). Pieni cast another spell healing a bunch of us but the Water elemental they summoned was struggling to reach the flying dragon still.
I managed to get up onto my feet and moved away from the 'acid splash zone' since I couldn't reach it with my swords either up there. I looked back in time to see the Dragon dive down into the lake again, disappearing from sight, just as Doddil cast a sleep spell. The water crashed on the shores of the lake from waves it created as it descended…. And everything went quiet. The water calmed and there was no sign of the dragon resurfacing…. After a few moments, we decided to gather what we could and leave before it decided to either wake up or comeback.
There was a few odd gold coins lying around, and Baine managed to collect the scales and claws he needed from the skeleton on the shore. There was a nice carved wooden chest filled with scrolls that was divided out but I took the chest for Hoop's collection. They have their own Hoard developing in the room so seemed fitting. Maybe Hoop was a Dragon at one point? Otherwise, we found a scimitar in the collection as well that had a dragon head carved into the handle... It's very similar to the Falchions I already use so the others agreed to let me take it. I didn’t take much time to look it over in the cave but now we've come back, it really is something special. Not sure where the Dragon got hold of it but then, Where do they get any of their hoards I guess?
Looking back on this trip, I'm lucky to still be here. With the way things fell, I wasn't much use against the dragon at all… This new sword should help if I end up facing another one or if I even go back for the same one in the future, since it's no doubt still down there somewhere. I feel bad about not helping the Drow down there too. They offered to help us and I feel like they didn’t really get much back for their trouble. The dragon is still down there and will likely continue tunnelling, especially after this trip. There's also the fact we were hired to essentially seal them down there by Varis. I understand the Underdark is dangerous but the Drow didn't strike me as all bad… the more time goes by, the more I find myself at odds with these situations.
Baine has some trip planned he wants to go on to check out a beach resort or something. Seems like a nice change of pace for a change so I think I'll tag along. I'm sure Hoop is keen to have a break from the training as well… Speaking of which, Paw has gone off on some errand in Daring Heights so I think I'll focus on training myself until we go… I need to try and find some balance still. I spent some time in the mirror this morning and thought about everything up until now and I'm not sure I recognise myself anymore. I'm still not fully used to the Grey hair and I have a lot of scars I never used to have. I need to be more careful...
I should probably buy a shovel now too.
13th Entry in the journal of Markas Virnala
Today was… not a great day.
I took a break from my training to meet up with Baine, Ghesh, Pieni, Doddil and someone new; a Half-Orc fighter called Kalta. She's not like not like the other fighters I've met though, who are all about getting up close and hitting things as hard as you can. She seems able to use some level of magic as well.
We met up to set about going to see that Dragon we were talking about before but just as we were about to leave the Hook (I had to insist we met there for a change. Still don't feel the Sank is the safest place for me just yet.), there was a noise outside as a horse bolted up and a woman entered in fluster. Baine recognised her as Sweet, from the Crimson Fist, the military organisation he has fallen into. She basically had a request for Baine from Varis, a sort of shopping list of dragon materials he wants, as well as promise to pay us for the parts and for sealing a possible entrance to the Underdark. Seems those tunnels near Daring spread quite far…
We had a chat while Sweet passed out from exhaustion in a booth in the Hook about what we knew of where we were going. Baine had heard from Jacinta (Who was apparently part of the original group who went), there was something about digging into a tunnel system, meeting some Dark Elves on the way and finding a Black dragon guarding the item they were looking for. The issues where that no-one thought to bring a shovel and this Klaus guy decided to try and lie to a dragon and got himself eaten for his troubles!
So we set about getting ready, people filed off to get different materials equipment ready for the trek, including some bags to carry the dragon material back in. Ghesh seemed to ONLY NOW realise he had been carrying around a chest on his back and said we could use as well! Baine ran in Karlessa who was asking for me and had some info for us… Turns out the item the last group stole from this dragon was one of the artefacts we helped her collect with Paw. She never knew anything else about it but whoever had put them there was likely not to be happy about it being taken and she warned us there might be someone or something else involved somewhere. I warned the others but without much more to go on we could only go as prepared as we could anyway. Karlessa looked VERY tired though. She has been working on these artefacts almost non-stop and is running herself ragged. I did suggest she takes a rest but she seems set in her work regardless. I offered to help is she needs it but somehow I don't think she will call until she needs something else collected from somewhere.
We set off, north into Angel Bark woods. A pretty uneventful journey until we reached a large clearing where the entrance was reported to be. In the midst of all the trees, we stepped out into a large opening of grass… it took us a little bit of time to find anything but eventually found what looked like it might be the way in; a straight line in the grass that seemed at odds to what was around it, so we started digging…. Only to realise we ALSO forgot to bring a shovel! So much for preparing for this trip!
Ghesh ended up spitting acid on the ground and taking shifts using a shovel to dig down… took us hours but we eventually found some wooden beams forming the roof on a tunnel. We made enough room to slip in and then started our trek in. We were managing to keep ourselves quiet but I guess we focused too much on being quiet instead of actually looking where we were going, it wasn’t until we were basically on top of it and Ghesh pointed it out that we realised we had reached a fence…. And on the other side was a mass of tents and among them was a lot people, elves with dark skin, Drow. They were all giving us odd looks…. As they began arming themselves and heading straight for us!
We did the only sensible thing we could and immediately surrendered!
We managed to calm them down and convince them not to just kill us. They were quite interested in what we were up to, especially as the one talking to us, Laurellia I think, was one of the Drow who went with the last group who came in. We asked if they would come with us but they didn’t seem too keen to help, asking how they knew we would be worthy to help. I asked if there was anything we could do and she asked if I wanted to spar.
It was an interesting match, it's not often I get to test my skills one-on-one like this, except against Paw and that never goes well for me. I guess I have gotten slack still though as the fight didn’t last long. She drew 2x swords and rushed me, catching me off guard. I managed to get a hit back and stunned her for a second, opening her up for a follow up assault. This is where I got cocky though, as she managed to recover and quickly finish me off,. The last thing I remember was being cut with one sword and looking up to see the butt of her second connect with my temple, then everything went black.
I woke up a little while later. Ghesh had dragged me off to a corner where we had a temporary camp setup. Turns out Baine took a swing at fighting her after me and won. They agreed to help us as a result. Everyone in the camp seemed to want to keep their distance still though.
As we prepped to head further in, Laurellia approached with another Drow, one much more important by the look of how she carried herself. She neglected to give us a name but she was referred to as 'Priestess'. Laurellia explained she was coming to look after her in this trip. Baine asked if she would 'help' us as well if we needed it and we were told maybe, if we behave ourselves…. Still not sure what that is meant to mean exactly. The Drow seem a very secretive people. We had a chat with them about what we were doing before we left. Baine nearly give up the part about sealing off an entry into the underdark, the place the Drow call home. Laurellia did ask what was meant by 'sealing' but we managed to play it off luckily. They did say they were having some trouble with this dragon as well. Since the last group came through there has been a lot of rumbling and noise, as if something has been tunnelling deeper down.
So we ventured deeper in the tunnels, winding down and somehow the whole place seemed to get even darker. The tunnel wound back and forth, narrowing at points then opening up again. After a little while, we reached an opening with some ruined tents and mounds of mushroom like spores everywhere. This was apparently a Kobold village that was encountered last time. The Drow had come in and taken them out sometime ago but not been back since. The mounds that were around turned out to be the corpses that had been left behind. We started to get concerned when we spotted the Drow with us putting on masks, so the rest of us did too, Doddil opting to use a bag over his head…. We were starting to worry about what he was doing in all honesty. It was going well until a few of us accidentally nudged one of the spore mounds as we passed, setting off a chain reaction of mushrooms exploding in a cloud of spores that filled the cave. Luckily we all were prepared and managed to wait it out without being infected in anyway, until the spores all settled back down to the floor.
The further we went a pervading smell of rot and decay grew stronger and stronger, until we eventually reached a large opening with a lake in. A small island lay in the middle and to the back of the cave like space, we could see the wall and been tunnelled through making another opening. To one side of the lake, a large dragon-like skeleton lay out of the water…. It looked like someone beat us to it.
Pieni transformed into a frog and went ahead to scout while we waited. It wasn’t long before they were back in a fluster. They said some sort of huge eyes opened up to watch them under the water…. Likely the thing that killed off the dragon on the shore. We weren't getting anywhere debating about what to do and Laurellia was getting antsy about us not doing anything so we decided to sneak over and check out the remains. Maybe we could get what we need without hassle? But as soon as Baine touched a claw on the skeleton, a loud booming voice echoed around us saying it was part of their hoard…. Kalta said we didn’t know and would leave when it said we cant because now we are too… Then the water of the lake erupted as a huge black dragon head surfaced, glaring at us full of malice…. And it began.
The massive Black Dragon climbed out of the water, unfurling it's wings, one of which we could already see was part broken, and began to take to the air, but not before Doddil and Kalta manage to get off a few attacks. Doddil smashed this small crystal and seemed to smear it on his lips before unleashing a lightening breath attack like he was a dragon himself! Kalta fired a few arrows then dropped the Bow and flung a colourful magic orb at the dragon that went wide at the last minute.
As the Dragon began to rise, it blasted the area around it with a huge gust of wind that sent me flying back. As I stood up, I could see ghesh managed to stay on his feet and Baine was chugging a potion and began to start growing himself to try match the size of the dragon as he starts swinging the sword formerly known as Phil. In between his attacks though, the dragons tail lashed out and struck him across the chest. Thankfully his size difference seemed to help him withstand the impact though.
A black energy started to encircle the dragon and almost seemed to be trying to claw its way under its scales as the priestess with us began chanting in elvish behind us, just as Pieni conjured a water elemental in the lake beneath the dragon as well as cast some spell that filled us with a weird kind of energy. As I stood up, I decided to finally try out that Displacer Ring, and saw my own hands begin to blur in front of me. Before I could do anything though, I looked up to see Ghesh hurling his spears at the dragon, just as it was opening its mouth wide and sprayed us both with a huge wave of acid! The burning was intense as I was covered and before I knew it, the world went black.
Thank whatever Gods were looking over us down in those caves that Pieni decided to cast that spell. Without out, I don't think there would have been any coming back for me… I don't think I was out for long. I only remember hearing a word spoken from the priestess from the darkness and suddenly I was only the floor, gasping for Breath again… The third time I have been brought back from the brink of death like this. I was sure I was completely covered by that acid but when I got up, only my neck and shoulder felt burned now.
It can't have been long but a lot seemed to have happened while I was out. The dragon was circling round and unleashing another blast of Acid at Baine and Ghesh, who was now riding on Baine!? There looked like a crater in the roof where a Stalactite seemed to have been broken off, which was actually stuck into the Dragons Back! (Doddil's handiwork from what I heard afterwards). Pieni cast another spell healing a bunch of us but the Water elemental they summoned was struggling to reach the flying dragon still.
I managed to get up onto my feet and moved away from the 'acid splash zone' since I couldn't reach it with my swords either up there. I looked back in time to see the Dragon dive down into the lake again, disappearing from sight, just as Doddil cast a sleep spell. The water crashed on the shores of the lake from waves it created as it descended…. And everything went quiet. The water calmed and there was no sign of the dragon resurfacing…. After a few moments, we decided to gather what we could and leave before it decided to either wake up or comeback.
There was a few odd gold coins lying around, and Baine managed to collect the scales and claws he needed from the skeleton on the shore. There was a nice carved wooden chest filled with scrolls that was divided out but I took the chest for Hoop's collection. They have their own Hoard developing in the room so seemed fitting. Maybe Hoop was a Dragon at one point? Otherwise, we found a scimitar in the collection as well that had a dragon head carved into the handle... It's very similar to the Falchions I already use so the others agreed to let me take it. I didn’t take much time to look it over in the cave but now we've come back, it really is something special. Not sure where the Dragon got hold of it but then, Where do they get any of their hoards I guess?
Looking back on this trip, I'm lucky to still be here. With the way things fell, I wasn't much use against the dragon at all… This new sword should help if I end up facing another one or if I even go back for the same one in the future, since it's no doubt still down there somewhere. I feel bad about not helping the Drow down there too. They offered to help us and I feel like they didn’t really get much back for their trouble. The dragon is still down there and will likely continue tunnelling, especially after this trip. There's also the fact we were hired to essentially seal them down there by Varis. I understand the Underdark is dangerous but the Drow didn't strike me as all bad… the more time goes by, the more I find myself at odds with these situations.
Baine has some trip planned he wants to go on to check out a beach resort or something. Seems like a nice change of pace for a change so I think I'll tag along. I'm sure Hoop is keen to have a break from the training as well… Speaking of which, Paw has gone off on some errand in Daring Heights so I think I'll focus on training myself until we go… I need to try and find some balance still. I spent some time in the mirror this morning and thought about everything up until now and I'm not sure I recognise myself anymore. I'm still not fully used to the Grey hair and I have a lot of scars I never used to have. I need to be more careful...
I should probably buy a shovel now too.
