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Lady's Night - A Journaled Icewind Dale EE Playthrough

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  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    edited December 2014
    Day 11, Hour 9 (12 Mirtul, 1281)

    Anthium

    That was interesting. After a day or so of hard travel through the snow, we came upon the ruins of the temple Arundel told us about, at the bottom of the canyon. I couldn't help but notice some of the hooded statues looked a lot like the ones in the Vale, though before I could really discern their nature, a verbeeg approached us. All of us were about to draw our weapons when it spoke, demanding that we move out of his way so he could flee.

    This verbeeg, Red Toe, was one of several guards for the "good priests" of the temple, but he and his friends were attacked by what he calls "bad priests." Red Toe would have been killed too if he hadn't played dead, and fled when the enemies had gone. Before we could ask for more details though, Red Toe pushed us out of the way and fled for his life. But if these "bad priests" were enough to frighten Red Toe and kill his friends--and keeping in mind that verbeegs are very, very big--then they must have been formidable. I hope they're not still in there, but we have no choice. We must press on and search for the Heartstone within the temple.
    kcwiselolienJuliusBorisovBelgarathMTH
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    Day 12, Hour 6 (13 Mirtul, 1281)

    Lauren

    Yikes. Okay. Um, soooo... We got to the inner part of the sanctum, and low and behold, the Heartstone's gone. Whoever attacked the place musta took it before we got here. Looks like whoever they were, all the varbeegs and the other acolytes put up quite a fight to protect the stone from them. On one of the dead bodies, we found he'd been killed by some sorta oozing black poison that even Midra couldn't identify--and poison's kinda her schtick, so if she doesn't know what it is, there's no way in the Nine Hells that any of us could figure it out. And inside the chamber, along with all the dead acolytes, we found one guy wearing a priest of Talona uniform. All we found on his body was this glowing vial of green liquid, and judging from its stink, it's no antidote.

    Everyone's kinda at a loss. Who the hey were these guys and what'd they want with the Heartstone? Guess we got no choice but to run back to Kuldahar and tell Arundel what we found, but... Man I am so not looking forward to the long trip back.
    kcwiselolienJuliusBorisov
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    edited December 2014
    Chapter 2

    Day 18, Hour 13 (19 Mirtul, 1281)

    Renanon

    We've arrived at Dragon's Eye within three days of hiking. The mouth of the cavern looks like a dragon's head with its mouth wide open, and the spires and stalagmites all look like pointed teeth! Plus with the warm, volcanic air steaming against the rocks inside, I can see where the caverns got their name. Resting inside this rock dragon will be much more pleasant than the icy cold tombs in the Vale of Shadows.

    Oh, and it appears that we were not the only ones to survive the avalanche after all! Unfortunately though, they... They didn't make it to Kuldahar like us. We found Everain's body, an elf who'd journeyed with us through the pass before the avalanche separated us. He was being nibbled on by some spiders... My skin gets cold just thinking about it. To think, he'd survived the avalanche, only to wander lost in the caverns and get eaten by spiders. According to his journal, the last entry in the pages, he'd been expressing his great disdain for the expedition led by Hrothgar. He must have written it right before the snow fell on top of us. It doesn't feel right, just leaving him there on the ground, but his body would freeze if we took him outside, and we can't make the long trek back to Kuldahar after coming so far out. We've no choice but to leave him... Though Midra's taken a liking to his sword--built for an elf, she says, like her. I intend to carry his journal; perhaps it will make a bard's tale one day, to help keep his memory alive.

    [spoiler=Out of Character]Okay, so I can't remember if Everain actually came with you on the expedition or not, but for all intents and purposes, he did. Even if I'm wrong. *dons sunglasses* Deal with it.

    Also, apparently he's a cousin of Xan's!

    image [/spoiler]
    JuliusBorisovlolienkcwiseBelgarathMTH
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    Day 18, Hour 13 (19 Mirtul, 1281)

    Midra

    Villagers in the caves. Status: malnourished, captured. Scared, upset. These must be the ones who'd gone missing from Kuldahar. They claim that the lizardmen are going to eat them. Considering the state of their health, the intricacies of their cages, and the vast number of lizardmen we've encountered in the caves, I can only assume this analysis is accurate.

    It's not my place to deny an entire race of creatures their well-earned meal, but to say this aloud would likely anger many members of my group. That aside, Kuldahar is a long three day's trip away from Dragon's Eye, and that makes it an inconvenient food source for the large lizardmen tribe. So the question is: why do these monsters seek out food so far from their home? Next logical answer: because their food stashes have begun to run out, and whatever used to feed them in the past has turned unsatisfactory.
    JuliusBorisovlolienkcwiseBelgarathMTH
  • lolienlolien Member, Moderator, Translator (NDA) Posts: 3,108
    Thanks @Nonnahswriter‌ for sharing this with us! The Lady's Night became one of my favourite playthrough in the past few week. The character shifting makes the journal quite amusing, the posts are not too short and not too long (sometimes i get frustrated, when i must deal with walls of text, despite the quality of the writing, and the fact, that i like reading. However I think, that this is my flaw...)

    Very good work!
    JuliusBorisovkcwiseNonnahswriter
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    lolien said:

    Thanks @Nonnahswriter‌ for sharing this with us! The Lady's Night became one of my favourite playthrough in the past few week. The character shifting makes the journal quite amusing, the posts are not too short and not too long (sometimes i get frustrated, when i must deal with walls of text, despite the quality of the writing, and the fact, that i like reading. However I think, that this is my flaw...)

    Very good work!

    Thank you!! :D Since I'm actually writing these within the in-game journal, that helps to restrict me on the length, so they never get too long. A blessing in disguise! ^_^;;
    lolienElrandirkcwiseJuliusBorisov
  • KosonKoson Member Posts: 284
    Very nice and entertaining playthrough. I have to say I really like Midra's entries :smile: .
    NonnahswriterlolienkcwiseJuliusBorisov
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    Day 27, Hour 19 (28 Mirtul, 1281)

    Lauren

    Eugenia, our Ilmater priestess buddy, pointed us in the direction of the Kuldahar villagers. They were prolly gonna get sacrificed to whatever those Talona priests were thinking of doing at the ziggurat. They sure were glad to see us, and once the tunnels get cleared, they should be able to escape. Still, a lot of us were wondering, why the ceremony? The Lizard King was all about just eating these guys, so why go to all that trouble of some cultist sacrifice? What alliance do these Talonites have with the lizardmen, anyway?

    So, after getting some healing from Eugenia, we kept going.

    Aaaaaand that brings us to: now. It's the Vale all over again. Undead. Soooooo much undead. When we first entered the hall, we ran into this skeleton, but it wasn't sentient like the ones in the Vale. This guy was just a puppet, conjured and controlled by a necromancer somewhere deep within the caves. He warned us to back off, so we told him to shove it. We can't just keep letting him and his lizard pals kidnap Kuldahar's people and freeze the pass. Except...he said he wasn't the one freezing the pass. Which means he's also not the evil threatening Kuldahar, or at least the frozen parts of it. Drat!

    He mentioned something about an Old Enemy, but before we could ask more, he went all psycho (like he wasn't already) and let loose his horde of wights at us. SO. MANY. WIGHTS. And their hands and claws were all cold to the touch. I mean, I'm part dragon, but even I can still feel where they'd sunk their teeth into me, even after Anthi and Elona healed us all up. Scary stuff, I tell ya. He's even rigged up some exploding skeletons--ya touch em once, and BOOM! A giant explosion of cold burns your fingers off! We've been picking em off with our ranged weapons, but I dunno how long that's gonna last. All it takes is one to sneak up on us...

    Good news is... I learned a new spell today that should help. The wights like cold? Let's see how they handle the hot blaze of my fireball! Haha! Ha... That was a bad joke, wasn't it?

    [spoiler=Out of Character]For not liking to write, Lauren, you sure do write a lot... >_>;;

    But seriously, HOLY POOP SKILLET, that's a lotta wights! O_O;; Back to the Vale routine: Elona flashes her holy symbol, Rena sings, Lauren and Anthi spam AoE spells, and Midra and Bri do the killing. (Can you kill the dead? Hmmm... Bashing? Shooting? Beating? Eh...)

    Also, Skull Trap is amazing. JUST SAYING.

    Lauren's spellbook, in case anyone's wondering.

    image

    image

    image [/spoiler]

    [spoiler=THE CARNAGE] image [/spoiler]
    lolienkcwiseJuliusBorisovBelgarathMTH
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    edited January 2015
    [spoiler=Out of Character]With the holiday season over, everyone's getting back into their playthroughs. It's about time I get back to mine too! :) It's been a while, so the writing style might be a little rough. Just gotta break back into those voices![/spoiler]

    Day 27, Hour 21 (28 Mirtul, 1281)

    Anthium

    It seems we've finally discovered the necromancer behind this whole floor: a woman named Presio. After a long, well-fought treak through the caverns, we finally found a round tent at the farthest end. We send Midra ahead to scout it first, and when she came back, her eyes were the widest I've ever seen them. The room was filled to the brim with undead, according to Midra, along with a woman in the garbs of a mage. Presio, as we would later learn. No matter her name, we dared not take any chances trying to probe her for answers; we all knew that as soon as she saw us, we'd have one heck of a battle on our hands. After some preparations and strategy discussions, we charged into the tent swords blazing.

    Elona and I would fend off the hordes with her Turning and my Tangles. Bri cut through the wights like a scythe through the grass while Rena sung her most valor of tunes. And Lauren and Midra distracted Presio with a rain of Magic Missiles and crossbow bolts. But even between the two of them, I knew it wouldn't be enough; Midra had too many bodies standing between her and Presio to land consistently clear shots, and while Lauren's missiles never missed, she could only throw so many of them.

    So I put my foot down. I felt the echoes of the spirits reverberate through my body as I called into the mists. I was so far from home, so deep inside this smoldering volcano... But a snake answered me and came to my aid. And boy, he was a tough little fella who pushed on through the whole fight, enduring even mage fire and poisoned zombie claws alike! Even when we were almost overwhelmed by reinforcements in the north, he stuck by us and lashed out at our enemies with his ethereal fangs. It's a comfort of mine, to know that even as the dark cold creeps ever closer to Kuldahar, even in the dank pits of these caves, away from the trees and the soil... Nature still comes when it is called. It brings me a little hope in this vile place.

    After the battle was over, we set up camp to rest inside the tent. We searched Presio's belongings and found a handy crossbow for Midra, along with a few other things. We even found her journal (and that's how we learned her name). It seems she was keeping a head-count on people in the area, even...even people from Easthaven. Lots of people whom we've met are in this journal--Everard, Hrothgar, and even some Kuldahar names like Arundel and Orrick. She has their names and their titles and their relations, as if she were keeping notes. And she also mentions this "Old Enemy," a second time... That it "may remove" Hrothgar. Does this mean that the Old Enemy is responsible for the attack in the pass, and the evil creeping into Kuldahar?

    [spoiler=Out of Character]After several weeks, months away from Icewind Dale, I opened up the game to find my party parked right in front of the dome, ready to fight Presio. I remember walking into that camp and shrinking back against the hordes of undead, but really... It wasn't that tough. I believe it was Alvaeus Malcanter who said to AIM FOR THE MAGE, right? ;) After Presio went down, it was just a matter of taking out the zombies and wights. And there were a lot of them, but they weren't very strong, and all Turnable.

    That spirit snake though. Took out the mage, took a blast of fire to the face, and he was still slithering about like a boss. He even took out a ton of the zombies on top of that! o_o;; I gotta remember to use spirit animals more often, especially now that I can cast two of them a day...[/spoiler]
    lolienJuliusBorisovkcwise
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    [spoiler=Out of Character]...Forgot to upload the accompanying screenshot. Oops.[/spoiler]

    [spoiler=THE CARNAGE] image [/spoiler]
    JuliusBorisovkcwise
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    Day 28, Hour 7 (29 Mirtul, 1281)

    Elona

    Well, we've found the stairs that take us deeper into the caverns, but now that we've arrived on this new level, things are...odd. So very...very odd.

    We came upon a refuge of Eldathyns, worshippers of some nature goddess of peace and tranquility. They've offered us shelter, healing, and we even found a few merchants willing to sell us some goods. In the heart of Dragon's Eye. An active volcano. Filled with man-eating lizards, exploding skeletons, and only Clangeddin knows what else.

    Look, I enjoy a hearty meal and warm bath as much as the next woman, especially when I needn't worry bout any monsters charging in to cleave my head off. But this? This doesn't ease my worries one bit, this is just...bizarre. What are a bunch of peace-worshipping priests doing in the heart of a volcano? They sure as hell ain't sharing the wisdom of Eldath with the kidnapping lizards upstairs! I don't like none of it, no matter how trusting they might look, but Anthi's alignment-finding magic hasn't found anything... They also claim to know nothing about the Heartstone either.

    I'll play along for now... Most of us girls could use the rest anyway. But know this, by the name of Clangeddin, I'll be keeping my hammer close while I sleep.

    [spoiler=Out of Character]Anthium decided that Albion wasn't to be trusted and tried to cast Know Alignment on him. But as with most targets of my Know Alignment spell, he saved. =_= I'm on to you, Albion. On to you...[/spoiler]
    JuliusBorisovlolienkcwise
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    Day 28, Hour 18 (29 Mirtul, 1281)

    Renanon

    Oh my goodness, Elli was right! This isn't an Eldathyn sanctuary at all--these people, these...these monsters worship a snake god, Sseth! They're in league with the yuan-ti who've been kidnapping and eating the Kuldahar villagers. We found Sseth's murals on their walls, strange tomes on the bookshelves, and even adventurers who'd been imprisoned while playing dead. But worst of all... We found yuan-ti dining upon the dead carcasses of innocent people. They hadn't noticed that we'd come into the dining room, but we didn't wait to strategize; Lauren was so furious, she released a giant ball of fire on the horde, and the fighting began.

    They've been summoning trolls, snakes, and performing other rituals. We've found treasures at the feet...tails of statues depicting their god. A monster whose upper torso is a woman's and lower body is a serpent. Good grief... Just when we thought we'd caught a break from the fighting, this madness just falls in our lap! And there was that name again, Yxunomei. A high priestess of Sseth, Albion had called her, before he lost himself in some mad reverie and Bri cut him down. Oh by the gods above and below and everywhere else, this tale just gets stranger and stranger. And still no sign of the Heartstone, either, though now there's little doubt in our minds: these snake-loving cultists must be behind it all.

    [spoiler=THE CARNAGE] image

    Ouch. This fight hurt.[/spoiler]
    JuliusBorisovkcwiselolien
  • ElrandirElrandir Member Posts: 1,664
    Yay! It's back! =D
    NonnahswriterJuliusBorisovkcwiselolien
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    Day 29, Hour 4 (30 Mirtul, 1281)

    Midra

    New floor discovered. Upon entry, a small girl spoke to us and warned us from proceeding forward. Likelihood that this girl is what our eyes tells us she is: miniscule. The girl speaks The girl speaks in a cryptic monotone that no ordinary human girl would use. Not only that, but every time thus far that she has appeared to us, she has disappeared shortly after by means of teleportation magic. The evidence leads me to believe that she is an illusion, perhaps conjured by the Sseth priests that we have found slithering through the halls and gathered in the rooms. There are five of them so far, the rooms. Further theorizing suggests that because this specter has appeared to us and tried to scare us off our course, then whoever sent the girl feels threatened. We must be reaching closer to the end of the caverns, and closer to the Heartstone.

    Once we have retrieved the Heartstone and returned it to Arundel, I will dispose of my target. Presuming that this stone is all Arundel needs to save his town, then he will have no further use for us, and the party will go their separate ways. They will be vulnerable, and that is the time I shall strike.
    kcwiselolienJuliusBorisov
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    Day 31, Hour 1 (2 Kythorn, 1281)

    Bri

    Bri fight lots of monsters in tunnels. Lots of snake guys that stick Bri full of arrows. Bah! Pointy arrows no stop Bri! Bri too strong to let sticks get in her way. Bri cleave through them all to get Heartstone!

    But Bri also fight monsters Bri never seen before. Scrawny bard lady call them histachii, but even she no know why they are there. They fall easy to Bri's giant sword! One swing--gone!

    But there be reason for that after all. Bri and party found a yuan-ti priest in room full of pools and snake serpent statue, along with many villagers. We try helping them, but villagers attack us instead! Bah! Bri was ready to cut through puny human peasants when the druid snake and flashy mage destroy the priest. Squish, boom! Bones and blood go everywhere! Bri a little proud of puny druid then. Never knew she had it in her. Seeing villagers get turned into histachii must have really make her angry!

    Villagers turn normal after priest die. They very grateful! Bah! Bri thinks if villagers were more grateful, they give Bri and party reward. But Bri also thinks they no have much to give anyway. Woulda been easier to just cut through! Ah well, now the histachiis won't be made no more. Take that, snakes!

    [spoiler=Out of Character]You know, Bri acts all confident and all, but seriously, screw those yuan-ti elite archers. =_= How do they hit so consistently? For SO MUCH!? I can't tell you how many times I had to reload because of stupid archers pummeling my people. Next to the yuan-ti barracks, the fight with the baptist was a piece of cake.[/spoiler]

    [spoiler=THE CARNAGE] image [/spoiler]
    kcwiseElrandirlolienJuliusBorisov
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    [spoiler=Out of Character]And with the last of the tunnels cleared out, there's only one room left... The dreaded chamber of Yxunomei. *gulps* This is the room that had stopped me when I was little. This is where my prior Icewind Dale knowledge ends. Let's see how I did...[/spoiler]

    Day 31, Hour 21 (2 Kythorn, 1281)

    Elona

    So, it seems our cryptic little friend is actually Yxunomei herself, a snake demon with giant tits, six arms, and a snake body below her waist. She needn't be evil for me to want to smite her off the face of Faerun. Gods.

    We found her in the last, farthest room of the tunnels. We snuck Midra in through the doors, and when she came back to report, she saw the little girl and a slew of yuan-ti in the room with her. As clear a sign as any that a bloody battle was bout to be had, praise be to Clangeddin.

    Yxunomei was actually surprised to see us, almost impressed that we had thwarted her so-called "recipe" to deal with an old vendetta. Against whom or what, I don't know. She wasn't in much of the mood for answering our questions. Unsurprising, seeing as we'd been stomping around in her lair and killing her minions. I'd be pissed too. Luckily, for me, I'm not an evil, psychotic snake-bitch. It turns out that she'd been using the Heartstone for its divination powers, tending to a personal matter of hers. She claims that even kidnapping the people of Kuldahar were serving in her grand scheme, mere tools to forward her plans. No, I knew then and there, there would be no reasoning with this creature. I give Anthium her credit though; she was much nicer about asking than I ever would have been.

    We threw all we had at the beast... And with Midra's insight, we entered fully prepared, or as prepared as we could be. In the end, we prevailed, and the Heartstone gem now lies nestled in my pack. Arundel will be glad to see us... I can see it now: all of Kuldahar, showering us with a rain of leaves like confetti, all of the people cheering and praising... And there'll be a feast! Oh, what a feast it will be, worthy enough for Clangeddin himself and his holy champions! Ahem... Such as myself, of course.

    Though first, we've got a long sluck of walking to do...

    [spoiler=Out of Character]You know, it actually wasn't that bad. I beat her on the first try. :/ I remember her being a lot harder, but then again, I was young and foolish the last time we fought, and I have learned a lot since.

    Long story short: crowd-control, crowd-control, crowd-control. I spammed Entangle, Grease, Stinking Cloud, and Web, and with a couple of Greater Malisions, even Yxy herself got trapped a little in the grease and vines. By the time she actually got up front and began wailing on my party, she was already severely injured. You can thank Midra and Bri for that, since they were the only ones throwing +2 missiles at her.

    As for the minions, they were already super-stuck in the mass crowd-control, so Lauren was able to pick them off all at once with some Skull Traps and Magic Missiles. Whatever survived Lauren's barrage of spells was promptly eaten by Anthi's spirit bear, or pinned down by my distance characters.

    Which means... The curse is broken! :D I've finally defeated the evil snake-lady! WOOHOO!![/spoiler]

    [spoiler=THE CARNAGE] image

    image [/spoiler]
    ElrandirkcwiselolienJuliusBorisov
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    Day 35, Hour 8 (6 Kythorn, 1281)

    Anthium

    We... We are betrayed... I am betrayed. I...I don't want to write, and yet... As a druid, I feel I may be the only one who can and should.

    Upon returning to Kuldahar, we'd hoped for celebration. With the Heartstone, Arundel could lift the curse on the town and the people could rejoice... But instead, we found monsters killing townsfolk in the roots of the Great Oak. We disposed of them, saved those we could, but... That was not the worst of it. A man, the villagers had told us. A man in a gray cloak had led the monsters into Kuldahar, and walked into Arundel's home. Arundel hadn't been seen since.

    Inside, we found Arundel, but of course, it wasn't really Arundel. A shape-changer of some sort had stolen his face, his voice, his whole form. He thanked us for disposing of Yxonumei, that she and him had been "ancient enemies" for a long time, and that we'd fulfilled his plan perfectly. What plan, and who this monster was, we couldn't find out. He disappeared before we could force the answers out of him, with a chilling smile on Arundel's face that would send a shiver even through an Aurilite.

    We ran upstairs, but... We were too late. Arundel, Archdruid of Kuldahar, and a man I had admired for most of my life...is dead. He died in my arms, and left us with this last bit of guidance: we must take the Heartstone to the Severed Hand, an elven fortress. With Arundel dead, there's only one man left who can use the gem to restore Kuldahar, and we are the only ones who even stand a chance at finding him in the Hand.

    I've taken Arundel's quarterstaff into my hands. Even if he hadn't asked, I... I feel as though he would have wanted me to have it. I will avenge you, Arundel. I will restore the balance that this evil has thrown awry, and save the town that you so loved. I hope, from wherever you are now, you'll be able to watch me do it. Silvanus guide your soul.

    [spoiler=Out of Character]...

    ...

    ...

    Well that happened.

    And elsewhere, in the darkest deepest parts of her heart, Midra cries a little. "Gods damn it, one thing after another! When am I going to find the chance to finish my mission!?" The answer, Midra? Never. >:D Mwahahahaha![/spoiler]
    kcwiselolienJuliusBorisov
  • kcwisekcwise Member Posts: 2,287
    Congrats on slaying that evil snake!
    NonnahswriterlolienJuliusBorisov
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    Dragon's Eye: CLEAR. ^_^ And thank goodness... I wasn't sure how much more of that madness I could take. With another dungeon down, we get a character sheet and inventories update!

    [spoiler=Character Sheets] image

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    image

    image [/spoiler]

    [spoiler=Inventories] image

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    image [/spoiler]

    Anthi and Bri: "So...close...to...leveling...up!!"

    Well, the Severed Hand will fix that for you guys, won't it? Now, onward women! We must follow that trail!
    ElrandirkcwiselolienJuliusBorisov
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    Chapter 3

    Day 40, Hour 18 (11 Kythorn, 1281)

    Lauren

    Five days and many sore feet later... We've arrived at the Severed Hand. Not exactly the kinda name I'd expect from an elf fortress, you know. They're all about forests and trees and magic and stuff, and the best name they could come up with was... The Severed Hand? No trees, no fairy magic, no flowery language, just five towers all next to each other, close enough to--OH. It looks like a hand, but without the rest of the body! Ha! I get it now. Them elves, thinking they're so clever and all.

    So, we walked up to the entrance of the Severed Hand, not really knowing what was gonna happen. Then all of a sudden, this ghostly spirit thing walks out and yells at us. "A DWARF DARES TO SET FOOT HERE?" it asked. Gods, you could hear Elona's bones stiffen as it spoke. We all looked at her, and she just kinda stood there, frozen mid-step, but the specter didn't seem to notice her. He had his ghostly eyes on a squirrel hiding amongst the tree stumps. He kept up his angry rant like he was talking to a dwarf--except to a squirrel--until he shot out a fireball at the poor thing and fried it to cinders! Yeesh! What'd the squirrel ever do to you, huh? But everyone's just glad he didn't throw it at us, what with Elona being here and all. Weird... It was almost like he was speaking from a script. I don't even think he knew we were here at all...

    Still, not the best kinda warm welcome I was hopin' for. We'll have to be careful, going forward, especially if there're any elves in there that don't like dwarves.
    kcwiselolienJuliusBorisov
  • NonnahswriterNonnahswriter Member Posts: 2,520
    Day 41, Hour 6 (12 Kythorn, 1281)

    Renanon

    The Severed Hand... A name as hollow and empty as the insides of the tower itself. Arundel had told us that it was a fortress, and perhaps once upon a time, it was. But now... Now the stairways are molding and creak beneath our feet. Broken pots and collapsed tables are strewn about like an army marched through and pillaged the place. Of course, knowing the Severed Hand's history, I suppose that's more of an accurate description rather than a metaphor. We've seen goblins, orcs, and worgs inhabiting the tower remains, but they're more like...shades of their former selves. They're transparent, not all there, and some even appear out of thin air. Ghosts, more like. I...I don't like ghosts. Or ghost stories. They're just so scary, they create a different kind of mood than a heroic tale!

    Although, we seem to have found a bit of laughter in this broken place. A laughter we've been in sore lack of, ever since the death of Arundel. You see, we found this magic bag on one of the worgs. I'd heard of them, Bags of Holding, that can hold objects larger than itself, and so many at once! This one is already full of items, and its patchwork is colorful and silly, like a jester's hat. It might have even belonged to a jester at one point, with what we found inside. I pulled out a bottle of elven wine, except it was meant to be a healing potion. Someone had diluted it with too much wine! Bri didn't care, not with out banged up she was, so she gobbled it down in one swig. Bri drinks a lot though, not like sweet Anthi, so we didn't get much of a show. Still, who knows what else we might find in this wondrous item? If they're anything like the wind... Maybe this adventure will lighten up after all, if only a little.

    [spoiler=Out of Character]So. The Severed Hand likes ambushes, does it? I'm just walking along, and then BAM! Monsters outta nowhere! I thought Midra's scouting could come in handy, so after a big battle without taking the chance to heal, I sent her forth to see what was up ahead. But even though she was hiding in shadows, she still triggered a scripted event for the goblin to release his pack of worgs on whoever stepped too close...even though he technically couldn't see her.

    Oh poop, I thought. I had an easy dozen worgs coming at me, and Midra was on the whole other side of the map, and the rest of the party was still hurt. o_o;; That was one of those rare moments in this game when I reacted on-the-fly: I had Rena cast Web in the place where I thought all the worgs were gonna gather before they maul us down, and IT WORKED. Almost all of them got stuck in the webbings! Midra was still on the other side, but she got backstab damage on the head goblin and took him out while the rest of the party elsewhere picked off the worgs with Lauren's magic and a ton of missiles. I was quite proud. ^_^[/spoiler]

    [spoiler=THE CARNAGE] image

    Also, I think it's funny how these ghostly monsters, even though they're ghostly, still leave bodies behind.[/spoiler]
    kcwiselolienJuliusBorisov
  • XeroshiXeroshi Member Posts: 182
    edited June 2016
    If you ever plan to revisit this that would be awesome i really enjoyed reading through this more than my favorite ed greenwood books (the shandril saga).
    Post edited by Xeroshi on
    lolienJuliusBorisovNonnahswriter
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