This journal is written by Brighid.
Year 3366
4th Moon
Meeting the Crew
21st
22nd
23rd
Another day that Sahiusa was in meetings, there was little I could do so aside from a small stroll I mostly stayed inside.
24th - Feast of Light
Today we attended the Feast hosted by the Church. I got a fair share of odd stares. I did get to meet the rest of the crew during the Feast, it’s an odd bunch, but I think I could enjoy their company.
5th Moon
The Start of a New Adventure
1st
Now that I was officially introduced to the crew as their healer I was allowed to enter the ship. The ship was mostly prepared and all that was left for me to do was to prepare my own cabin and ensure that the medical gear was complete.
2nd
Maya asked me about my eating habits, apparently because she is curious about dragons, which reminded me that I should stack up on nibbles. I won’t be able to find any quartz on the seas and I’m sure to go insane eating only canned food and fish…
3rd - First day of the expedition
Early in the morning we cast off. I had to take the animals onboard but after that I was free of duties for the time being. I was quite excited to be on a ship so I mostly loafed around on the deck.
4th
The day was slow. We’ll be sailing along the coast for the next few days. Hearing the seagulls bicker is quite fun.
6th
I’m starting to get bored. Most of my time is spent singing, watching the sailors of the crew do their thing, tending to the animals, and being questioned by Maya. But I guess it’s a good thing when a healer has little to do.
9th
Sahiusa told me that we’ll be entering the open ocean today.
24th - Feast of Light
A Feast on the open ocean. That means a whole two cans and a fish per person, what a meal. Sahiusa admonished me for being grumpy during dinner.
6th Moon
A Short Respite on Pai’na
6th
Today we arrived on the island of Pai’na. We got to resupply and sleep on solid land tonight. Tomorrow we will resume the journey and we’ll have no more stops until Arcadia itself. I’m just happy to stretch my legs and run around a bit.
7th
Off we go again. The island food was strangely spicy, I kind of liked it. Their fruits however are only slightly better than fish, they’re too sour for my tastes.
24th - Flower Festival
I’m starting to get sick of fish. Honestly looking forward to the Fast since then our meals won’t include fish. Anyhow, the festival itself was fun, even without the flowers. We danced and sang a lot.
7th Moon
Fishes to Peaches
12th - Fast
I managed to convince Murray, our cook, to let me have half a can of pickles and half a can of peaches for dinner under the guise of not feeling well. Somehow I doubt my sister will be happy with this.
24th - Feast of Light
Today is the 70th day of the expedition already. We should arrive at Arcadia tomorrow. Sadly we weren’t able to celebrate the Feast with fresh food today, so more fish was consumed. Captain Kingsley said we’d land at the delta on the north side of the island. Soon we can stop eating fish.
8th Moon - Start of the campaign
Slavers and Sheep
1st
We got caught in a bad storm today. Half of the ship is gone, and what was left was turned into a shelter. We stranded a fair bit west of where we had intended to land. After I recovered from my initial shock I tended to both Maya and Leonid who got wounded while trying to bring the ship back under control.
2nd
Today we left camp and headed west towards the Warmwood as our maps told us there would be a small village there. Strangely enough the sheep here are more lucid than the people. Only a man named Alfred from a previous expedition was still able to communicate with us, and he could barely remember anything from the day before. It seems these people are fed by fey from the woods, almost as if they are cattle. I don’t like it here. We opted not to take any food given by the fey with us and harvested some berries ourselves before heading back to camp. Aside from that, we now eat crab instead of fish, not much of an improvement, but it’s something.
3rd
This day we headed east, towards the town of Rana populated mostly by frogmen and fishfolk. We were almost immediately given an escort and only shown around the good parts of town. A few comments were made here and there and it quickly became clear that there was something they were not telling us. Anyhow, we were here for tools and while they were clearly trying to rip us off, we ended up paying the normal price for them. Our escort really wanted to show us their temple so we went to the destroyed harbour, apparently the goblins down south are pirates and like to play with explosives.
At this point Murray sent Mort to investigate the town, something felt horribly awry. At the temple we met Archpriest Iploosh who accidentally ended up spilling their aim of enslaving people. I got sick and decided to leave quickly. Upon leaving we were given a cart, and once we were no longer visible from town I discovered their goal of tracking us by means of the cart, we sabotaged this plan and took the cart with us.
Dream
Unlike my expectations I slept decently well. No nightmares. However there was this odd dream of being a sleeping dragon in some crystal caverns, and there were a bunch of kobolds trying to awaken me. I still remember finding them cute but ultimately being unable to make the slightest movement.
4th
We discussed our plans and decided to move camp, the fishy assholes would soon come to find us. The scouting party went ahead to the Warmwood to seek a specific tree for Murray. We expect to find it tomorrow.
A Court of Trees and Fungi
5th
We found the tree that Murray was looking for. Apparently his fey patron told him to deliver a letter. It’s clear we should keep this from Captain Kingsley and Amelia. Should not be a big issue, I have my fair share of secrets from the Church too. After talking to the Mother tree we were given safe passage through the woods, and we learned that the people degrading is not the fey’s doing, instead it seems to be an effect the island has on anybody not from the island. It happens in stages, with every stage progressing every new moon, the seventh being the last. I already regret letting Sahiusa go on this expedition, we should have stayed home.
Aside from the depressing news of our serious time limit, we did find some ruins from the Arcadians. Even though it was just a picnic place, it also included a map. We’ll investigate the ruins the map pointed to tomorrow. After heading back to our meetup point in the hamlet we fought with the fishy bastards. I never liked seeing Sahiusa fight, but she can hold her own, even if she did end up rolling in the mud today. Aside from the depressing news of our serious time limit, we did find some ruins from the Arcadians. Even though it was just a picnic place, it also included a map. We’ll investigate the ruins the map pointed to tomorrow. After heading back to our meetup point in the hamlet we fought with the fishy bastards. I never liked seeing Sahiusa fight, but she can hold her own, even if she did end up rolling in the mud today.
6th
Today we decided to investigate the location marked on the map I found. On our way to said ruins we passed by a small town inhabited by fey and people from Lux. The people from Lux either are in a later stage of the curse or just very late in life. Personally I didn’t like to linger here, I’d prefer to get rid of the curse as soon as possible, however the group decided to take a break here and convinced me to play some music together with the fey. During our conversations with an awakened dog by the name of Bjork we did learn that the inhabitants of this island do not dream. I fear that the curse and dream are linked, and I do not like my odds as someone who is ‘Dream Ascended’.
The next village we passed was the place where the dead are processed, as per their agreement with the fey. We did not linger and after asking for directions we headed straight for the ruins. The ruins seemed to be some underground train station, and a map Sahiusa activated showed it is even a whole network. Sadly the network is not active at the moment, but we did find a gem that seemed to have powered a golem clerk, so hopefully we can find a charged one soon. For now however we will travel by foot. We are spending the night in the town we met Bjork, and I must admit that the fey do properly care for the cursed.
A Tale of Goblins and Nobles
7th
Today we left the forest, or at least mostly. We came across two defensive outposts. The first was on the dryad’s side and was manned by Commander Oakleaf who warned us of the goblins and their aggressive nature. The latter belonging to the goblins who, despite their shoddy common, ended up being quite friendly, albeit very wary of us being spies for the dryads. We ended up being escorted to Mosshelm. It’s quite clear that the town used to belong to the dryads, but it has been fully repurposed to suit the needs of the goblins, and as it happens other little folk that they share the town with. They keep harping on about their freedom but I’m not quite sold that’s something given to the Accursed. Anyhow, we bartered with a halfling merchant for some canned food for tents and other supplies, and they even build another cart for us.
We found this inn called ‘The Grilled Gourd’ which seems to be used for new inhabitants before they get a new place, we had to eat our own food though. After dinner we had some drinks with a trader couple who informed us about the plains in the south. There is a trading outpost for the city in the plains which is inhabited by humans and the like, the Forest of Icycles is said to be very hostile with the cold and large animals such as dire bears and winter wolves. The mountains near that fortress we want to go to are inhabited by giants, but lower in the mountains there seem to be caves and tunnels that seem to be our size. Tonight we’ll have to sleep on our bedrolls though, the beds are significantly to small for us.
8th
It’s good to have fully left the forest, but it also means we’ll have a harder time gathering resources. On our way to that trading outpost we heard of yesterday we encountered the halfling trader couple from yesterday again at a walled garden which was clearly of Arcadian build. We decided to travel together with the couple to the outpost, and on our way it seems Murray got a few halfling recipes, I’m curious what they’ll be like.
At the outpost we met a elven trader by the name of Hamon Aeqenmar who carried himself like a noble and was accompanied by four Accursed. Given the way he carried himself I responded in kind and he was happy to learn we are Luxian and still have our wits about us. It seems he is of Luxian descent, however since he grew up here he is spared the curse and doesn’t have dreams. Sahiusa and I know of house Aeqen, who did join several expeditions, however, so it is very likely his parents were Luxian themselves. A small incident occurred due to my sister’s blundering bluntness but he seemed to not be too bothered. After he finished his dealings he invited us into his city, which he claimed himself since he found it abandoned.
Aeqen, as we’ve come to call it, is guarded by several ancient wards, and Hamon can only pass these given his expertise in the arcane arts. The city itself is also clearly Arcadian and very well maintained, and there are quite a few of those automatons around, a lot of them still functional but many also had their power gems either exhausted or broken. After visiting his house we recharged the gem we had found in the golem at Warmwood Station. I also could not contain my curiosity, so I tried my hand at one of these broken gems, given the functioning ones are too valuable. I knew rocks could be bland, but this gem tasted stale, it seems the crystal could not withstand a long life of being used to contain magic. Disgusting and not nutritious, somehow it was worse than fish.
Finally we were led to the central tower that likely powered the wards. Hamon was too scared to go in, but that’s where we will shine. In discussing our plans going forward we came to an understanding and entered some sort of alliance with Hamon. We were also warned that on the nights of the new moon when the curse progresses our dreams will likely be horrendous and debilitating, Sahiusa and I quickly agreed that I’ll sleep in a separate building away from the group that night for obvious reasons, and she’ll stay in a building nearby. I’m trying not to think about it as that night draws ever closer. For now I’m taking care of Molly while I’m waiting for the first group to leave the baths, I’m planning to take a nice long soak and properly clean myself after more than three months of travel.
That bath was amazing! It feels great to be clean again, I have learned to enjoy the glimmering of my wings and the lustre of the fur on my tail. I’ll be sure to go to the bathhouse again while we are still here. For now I’m taking the bunk above my sister.
Mystery and Mythology
9th
Yesterday (the 9th) was one awful day, enough so that I got drunk on some everclear strawberry mixture and almost drowned myself in the baths. And I don’t even like strong alcohol.
Anyway, the start was relatively normal. I was woken up by my sister swatting my tail, we had breakfast, and then set out to the central tower. The tower was surrounded by something of a garden and some constructs were patrolling, seemingly on high alert. So of course we broke into the compound. I found a tree bearing strange fruit, kind of like a huge apple, but a bit mealy and a bit like turnip. We noted the potential source of food and continued on. The constructs patrolled clockwise and there was only one group, so we sneaked around keeping the tower between us and the patrol. When we arrived at the main entrance we found the door was locked, Sahiusa also found that there was a fountain with a statue of Usen holding a sword. While avoiding the patrol, Sahiusa and I managed to get the sword, which flash-banged me, and then broke into the main tower.
Inside the tower we managed to turn off the alarm state and found a staff key. While unlocking a door I got run over by a cleaning construct. Curiosity, and animosity, got the better of me and I took the chance to rid the construct of it’s battery crystal and took a small bite. It was disgusting, while magic can be tasty, the pure concentrated essence of it is a spice I’m not going to play with any further. I put the crystal back into the construct and somehow it still worked. We first explored the basement which was mostly for maintenance and we found a trapdoor that lead outside. Then we went up and found our first Arcadian corpse. I think? It was seemed aware of us, and Murray told us it seemed to be what converted the magic energy into the ward surrounding the city. Not wanting to linger here much longer we went upstairs and accidentally entered the core room, which was filled with pure concentrated magic. It tasted the same as that crystal, so none of us had a good time as we all got singed. Murray found another corpse on the other side of the room and actually went in to investigate. He came back with a small bag that contained a notebook and a weird magic wand. I investigated the wand, took the cleaning construct’s crystal again, and managed to repair the wand. It probably won’t be of much use given its limited range, but it’s a fun thing to play with. Before leaving the tower, Murray warned us that Hamon has skeletons in his basement and that we should be wary. So in the afternoon Sahiusa and I would distract him and Murray would sneak into said basement to uncover Hamon’s secrets.
After lunch I took a quick bath and then Sahiusa, Hamon, and I went to the noble district to see if we missed any information. The noble houses were swiped clean, although we did find more fruits we could use as rations. The Arcadian seem to have preferred edible plants in their spacious gardens. The noble school was also cleaned out but when we asked for any books on culture and Arcadian heroes the Genesis Myth was mentioned, and it seemed like there was a children story concerning the Light. As it turns out, Ashling and Usen probably arrived here to deal with the Nightmare, and together with the Arcadians founded the city of Arcadia underground, where all humanity could flee to should the worst come to pass. And while we can’t say for sure what the exact cause of the curse is, and what the exact role Ashling plays here is, we can be sure that the Nightmare has something to do with it. We have to deal with divinity to stay alive, or rather ourselves.
Dinner was solemn. We told Murray what we found, and after Hamon went to bed Murray told us what he found. Hamon’s diary details how Hamon is actually not of Luxian descent, he is a Luxian that severed himself from the dream, and it cost him his arm and memories, but now he was no longer connected to the dream the Nightmare could no longer affect him. The diary tells of his journey, and also of the ritual to sever ourselves from the dream. At least we can take comfort in the idea that there is something we can do to prevent falling to the curse, even if it comes at a terrible price. At this point I was getting proper drunk, but I went to the crew to deliver the news. I vaguely remember Amelia looking concerned at my drunken state. Then I told her the news, she did some well needed cussing, and I left the storybook with her. Then I went back to the group, got my bathing stuff, and left for the baths. Apparently Sahiusa dragged me out after a while. I really don’t like everclear, why did I think this was a good idea? Thank the Dream for the draconic part of me that prevents hangovers.
A Town of Ghosts and Mussels
10th
My sister has decided to stay in the Aeqen today, given that we wish to spend as little time on this island as possible it would be more efficient to sort out our inventory and prepare our gear before the new moon, so that we can set out soon after. I was kind of scared to go on an investigation without her, but Murray accompanied me and we took Molly along. Today’s goal was to investigate the village to the west of here.
After about an hour of walking we found a small farmer shack. The shack was not Arcadian in design, but it still held some supplies that we could use. We hunted a deer in the fields and found some grains in the cellar. Inside was the corpse of somebody I can only assume to be a farmer, however there was little we could use to identify them.
After another hour of walking we arrived at the village. This town was clearly Arcadian given the similarities to the Aeqen in both architecture and layout, however since the town was not protected by a ward it had weathered quite a bit. A bit further to the sea was a harbour that was bigger that one would expect for a town this size, however it makes sense that both the town and harbour were here to support the city. There was a cacophony of seagull shrieks around something that looked like an automaton tending to a odd fish farm. After we asked an albatross for some information we learned that the birds enjoyed the easy meal of mussels the automaton harvested. We also learned that the storms here occur every week or so, and that sometimes at night there were scary lights around the town. Later we asked the automaton and we also learned that the occurrence of the lights seem tied to the tides, the lights might be ghosts that leave from the houses to the sea, the dock’s last shipment was a really long time ago, probably just before the end of the Arcadian age, and that the townspeople left east to Arcadia. Murray and I decided to set up camp just out of town around noon so we could go for an early rest.
Dinner mostly consisted of the deer we hunted. It was our first true meat based meal and Murray showed his skills even without access to a proper range, we really should start hunting from now on.
Shortly after sundown the ghosts appeared. They talked about some incoming disaster and wanting to flee by sailing away. At first we were careful not to be noticed, but soon we found that they were not aware of our presence, even when talked to. I might have gotten a bit careless and gotten myself hurt in the process, after that we gave the ghosts wide berth. In the harbour the ghosts were preparing a ship that we could not see, it almost was as if we were viewing the memory of their demise but could only see the people. Meanwhile tensions started to rise, we could hear the ghosts talking to or arguing with others that did not want to flee, again we could not see the other party, only those that wished to flee. Eventually we heard gunshots at the town square and once we arrived we saw to ghost bodies lying there, before we got there we saw a horde of ghosts running to the harbour. Not much later the ship seemed to have set of as the ghosts floated away over the sea to the horizon, but it must have capsized as some ghosts sank below the surface. Then we heard a loud explosion from the town center together with a bright flash of light.
11th
The sun rose and we asked the mussel farmer automaton Mr. Mussels about what happened to the ship. Apparently it was struck by lightning, and the incident happened shortly before the townsfolk left for Arcadia. Back at the town square again, Murray found some ectoplasm that we tracked all the way to a hill. We assumed there to ancient graves there that had something to do with the ghosts. It took quite some time digging up the graves, I should have taken along Tasso instead of Molly, he would have been able to help us dig. Anyhow, we found two Arcadian coffins. The first had a rather damning letter that seemed to be the tether that kept these ghosts tied to the town. As soon as we burned it the bones in the the coffin rattled and there was the ethereal sigh of relief. We also burned the letter in the other coffin just in case.
On our way back we harvested whatever fruits were left on the farm we passed earlier. Back in Aeqen Murray and I each took a bath and then slept for a while before telling the group of our findings. Just before dinner we also joined with William and Sahiusa to loot a clothing store for any winter gear that we could use. At dinner we ate whatever was left of the deer and afterwards I took another bath. Tomorrow is the final day before the new moon and everyone is on edge.
Dream
A thin man in fine clothes walked up to me and thanked me before walking away and disappearing. I think he was the one used to tether all the ghosts to that town to keep reliving their death.
A Night of Darkness
12th - The first new moon
Tonight is the new moon, so we’ll get to encounter this curse ourselves for the first time. Naturally I can’t say that I’m looking forward to it, this is going to be a horrible night. In preparation we placed a mattress in a garden shed and Sahiusa is going to sleep in the mansion the garden belongs to. Aside from that I spend most time in the bathhouse, simply to calm my nerves.
Dream
We found ourselves on the top of a mountain, all of us were there. The entire peak was surrounded by a maelstrom of clouds, thunder, and darkness. A bellowing evil laughter reverberated our surroundings as it seemed to come from all around us. Meanwhile the force of the maelstrom tried to pull us into the mountain itself.
“You!” The bellowing voice called out to me. “I tried to banish you, but it seems I have failed.”
A large demonic claw rose from the clouds and slammed down on me. First I saw only darkness, but shortly after I realised I was encased in a very small space. Is struggled to escape, and eventually I managed to break through the shell of what seemed to be a leathery egg. I then saw a young elf, not even 50 years of age. She looked starved, covered in dirt and bruises. Her short and curly brown hair was frayed, her amber eyes were dimmed by fear. The image should have been familiar, but the person in front of me felt like a complete stranger. Around the girl were a lot of strange apparatus, and I could hear a nauseating hum accompanied by foreboding chanting. The elf reached out to me and I reached out to the elf, and then everything was consumed by sudden bright light, the burst of energy vibrating through my entire being.
13th
I woke up with a horrifying screech, mostly fearful, slightly pained, all draconic. I properly woke up when bits of shed shrapnel started to rain down on me. On my chest was a mithril cage that contained a floating ruby. Once I sat up I finally saw that there was noting left of the shed, or the garden for that matter, it had turned into a small crater. Exhausted and still terrified from the nightmare I stumbled to the mansion my sister was in. I met her inside on the stairs, it seems she had taken on of the rooms on the first floor. She said something about a magic deer but I was too tired to really pay any attention. After a very quick bath we both went to sleep.
The day itself was calm, all of us were tired, and we had to prepare for the next day. I collected some oversized apples so that Murray could prepare breakfast and tea for us. Tomorrow Hanford, William, Murray and Mort, Molly, and my sister and I will head out to the frozen forest, and the rest will stay here to start building a new ship. Of course I also spend some time bathing, I won’t be able to so for a while any more after all.
The Forest of Icycles
14th
We travelled back to the walled garden and continued to the mountains from there. After half a day of travel we arrived at an Arcadian building. It was build into the mountain side and was facing north. From there we headed south to survey the village that was supposed to be on the other side of the river. The village turned out to be a seemingly abandoned fishing villager with a few remaining canoes but not much more of note, so we headed back to the Arcadian building.
The building was just as we expected another station. This place had an active automaton cleaning up the entry floor. The stairs down were lit by continual flames. I wonder if I could grind some of my scales to dust and use them as an component for a continual flame, but aside from the materials I don’t know much about how to cast that spell so that would have to wait. All the way downstairs at the actual station we found an active golem clerk that could answer some of our questions. It confirmed the Blue line is in a state of disrepair and should be repaired in approximately 3 weeks, which we doubt, and the Red line is operational. Furthermore the trains should go every hour, with the one to Gelidis West Pass Station going in three quarters of an hour, so we had some time to pass.
The train arrived and we found that Molly barely fit in the cart. What was next was an hour with goat in my face, luckily her coat is nice and fluffy. At the pass we left the cart before it sped off to the next station, struggling a bit to get Molly out. The station was occupied with a lot of races that I remember from home, mostly the ones that tend to do better in the cold, which makes sense now that I think about it. Anyhow, one of the dwarves called Molly a large sheep and I kindly corrected him. Outside was frigid, and people were wearing shirts of all things, I’m glad Sahiusa got us some winter gear. The town is apparently called Leonore. A guard told us they mostly have Yaks and their milk, a type of sturdy grain, winter berries, and root vegetables. He pointed us towards the inn named “The Cream Palace”. The town seems to be half Accursed but we do not know how this town uses them exactly, all we could figure out was that something “eats” them.
The town has a temple which we briefly visited. These folks revere the frost and the forest as it keeps them safe from outside forces. In the temple they also chanted something we could only assume to be infernal as part of a ritual. They explained the ritual keeps the place cold. After leaving the temple we went to “The Cream Palace” to sleep. The bartender was a kind lady that made some really good hot yak milk.
15th
Breakfast was porridge, it tasted a lot better than it looked, not overly sweet and kind of fruity. Next we discussed what to do now that we are here, and how we are going to find Fenlamin. After some roaming around we ended up at the hunter’s cabin. We were advised to join a scouting squad the day after tomorrow if we wanted to go into the forest. We were sent to the Council to sign up. There we also made an appointment with the major for tomorrow. It also became clear that the people here do not leave the forest due to their religion, which is probably due to the major. There’s obviously something shady going on, but we’ve yet to find out what.
16th
We planned what would be our cover story, and the story we would stick to whenever we have to deal with locals of this island henceforth. We are historians researching Ancient Arcadia and its fall. In this particular case we are also interested in the unnatural cold here since we expect it to be due to ancient Arcadian magic. With that story we went to the major.
The major, Corin Greyeyes was surprisingly happy to share what he knew. He confirmed that the Calamity had to do with a fight, and that the Arcadians were very advanced and had automatons to do their labour and that they had access to large climate shaping magic. Furthermore it seems that Arcadia City is currently inhabited by dark elves. Aside from that it seems that the Arcadians did a lot for of things for recreational purposes. They build gazebos for picnics and ski places in the hills and mountains.
The rest of the island is mostly unknown to him. The eastern giants are anything but friendly and the wildlife in the Collar is also very dangerous with rock elementals and bulettes roaming freely. The giants also have a fortress with a metro station, but they do not enter the station for some reason. The should also be smaller tunnels with a smaller people, but it’s unsure what they are. Further east in the Frozen Highlands the land is even more desolate still. The land is frequently ravaged by magical storms and filled to the brim with undead.
Throughout the conversation he let several other things slip. For one that he and his council are Luxian and used to be Accursed and just like Hamon they separated themselves from the dream by means of a ritual. However, unlike Hamon they still remember their past. They also seem to be bound to the Forest of Icycles due to this ritual. He’s also much older that he lets on and we assumed he sacrifices the Accursed in town to stay alive and/or sane. The core of his ritual is likely to be in or near the nexus of the frozen forest. I know this way of slipping information all too well though, he’s trying to have us join his forces so that we won’t become enemies later on.
Afterwards Murray went back to the church to ask how old the church is, and with answering that the village and church are more than a hundred years old they confirmed our suspicions that Corin is much older than he looks and most likely is not human unlike, again, his outward appearance. Finally Murray and I asked some birds about Fenlamin. It took a while but one crow did know something, we were to find a large fir near a big stone and we should follow the nearby creek south.
17th
We joined the hunt early in the morning. The squad consisted of the sergeant Thalia of the Watch and two guards and hunters Devin and Brunhilde who are siblings. Thalia told us the rules, most important of which is to never split since the forest is cold and dangerous. After a while Murray found the fir tree and creek which we followed south to a small makeshift camp. In one of the tree nearby we found a blemish with a poisoned arrow. There were tracks going north, so we started to follow those.
Late in the afternoon we arrived at the northeastern edge of the forest and the tracks lead even further northeast from there. Thalia called off the chase since they could not leave the forest and splitting was not allowed. Murray and I talked to a raven which told us that a group of people, which are probably elves, were seen entering the forest and leaving a day later with a firbolg in tow. That’s our quarry.
Dinner almost was an absolute disaster, those guards do not know how to cook, praise be to Murray for saving our dinner. Currently I’m sitting a bit away from the edge of the forest to ‘let Molly graze’, in reality we’re going to ditch the squad and continue our chase. We’ll leave before first light.
Down into the Mountains Deep
18th
We left as soon as we could, taking about two hours to reach the fisher village that we saw a few days ago. On closer inspection it seems that the village was build upon Arcadian ruins, and like most ruins here it has already been picked clean by scavengers. We did find that the village has been used as a camp, and Sahiusa found really large cobwebs by walking into them, much to her chagrin and my amusement. Anyhow, it seems we are dealing with drow. At the docks there was one canoe remaining. Sister really seemed to have a bad day though, first the cobwebs, then searching for tracks on the water… Murray did find marks of boats being loaded and taking off recently.
It took a while to cross the river using that one canoe and I do not wish to elaborate, it was a pain. We then went to Arcadia West Pass Station and took the train to Arcadia Central expecting the drow to have taken that route, we heard they lived in Arcadia after all.
The first thing we noticed was that the place was eerily quiet. Not that the usual ruins aren’t quiet, but this place felt wrong. Upon leaving the the station hall everything became extremely dark, and somehow even more quiet. When we found some stair going down suddenly a recorded voice broke trough the silence by telling a story about ‘how we “fled” underground’ but most of the recording didn’t play and only gave static. Arcadia itself was fully abandoned though. We couldn’t see far due to the darkness that clouded even my eyes. However what didn’t escape my senses was the rumbling. The rumbling made all of us feel sick, but it shook me to my core. Something there was dangerous, really really dangerous, and some primal draconic instinct was telling me, a dragon, to flee. Murray also wanted to leave as soon as possible, he said he saw the place was full of evocation and transmutation magic like something was warping this entire place.
We left using the the train back to Arcadia West Pass where we continued to search for the boats and since they clearly didn’t go to the city they must have gone elsewhere in the mountains instead, so we followed the river east. Eventually we found a cave from which the river flowed and there were pitons stuck in the wall as a guide. We couldn’t take Molly along any further and we were also going into more dangerous territory, so we opted to return to the West Pass Station once more to sleep. In the morning we would send Molly, Hanford, and Bill back to Aeqen and the remaining three of us would go into the mountains.
Dream
My nightmares seem to be changing. They are a lot more vivid than they were before, and they also show a lot more options than before. I still get the nightmares about killing my sister in a draconic rampage, but I also get the dream of the kobolds trying to awake me, and many more visions I can scarce remember. However all of them have one thing in common, I have fully become a dragon. Even in the dreams where I look like my elven self before my kidnapping, I just feel, no.. I know that I’m a dragon in elven form there. I am unsure whether the change is due to the curse, our supposed proximity to Ashling, or my increasing acceptance of me becoming a dragon. Speaking of, why am I suddenly so okay with the idea of becoming a dragon?
19th
Whose bright idea was it to sleep next to a running train station?
Shortly after breakfast Bill and Hanford left taking Molly back to Aeqen and as the remaining squad we went boating back to the cave entrance. The river slowly flowed from a cave in the mountain and we followed it inside, rowing through the darkness. As the cave was becoming more narrow the river also sped up, making it more difficult to continue, however shortly after the change became noticeable we chanced upon a small beach. The canoe tracks on the beach spoke volumes, our quarry likely passed through here.
The beach had a small tunnel leading deeper into the mountains which was our only way to continue, so we entered. The tunnel seemed well used, there were some water bottles littered here and there. After a while the tunnel opened up into a larger room that was a lot warmer and more humid than the tunnel we had been travelling so far. The room was filled with crop lines of mushrooms and mosses, although the colours were quite odd it would seem at least some of them are edible. Aside from a few more tunnels like the one we just came from, there was also a larger road leading into a large cave. We opted to follow the road which was heavily worn and it had become impossible to follow any individual track. At some point we came across a crossroads with an Arcadian sign. We just came from the farms, to the left and right would be a ring road, and if we continue forwards we would end up in Arcadia. The road to Arcadia City was in the best condition with barely any tracks, the airflow we had felt up to this point seemed to come from the left so an exit into the mountains would likely be over there. Assuming the drow were likely not with the giants we headed to the right. And while walking I got philosophical why the drow would even care about Fenlamin but nothing useful came of that.
We came across multiple similar crossroads until we found one where the road leading to Arcadia City was quite heavily travelled and we were also hearing some muffled city noises coming from that direction. Dimming our lights and handing Murray a covered stone enchanted with light we carefully headed in the direction of the noises. Eventually we started to feel the disturbing buzzing from Arcadia and right about the same moment we found an opening in the tunnel to our right, through the opening we saw a river leading into a large village. All the noise we were hearing also came from this outpost. We also spotted several guards stationed outside. We had a hard time discussing what to do but eventually we settled on our usual guise as travelling historians investigating Ancient Arcadia. After some back and forth with the guards we were received by a captain and received a diplomatic passport which would allow us entry into Dur Ovdal for 2 days, shortly after which we were escorted to the city proper.
The city is located in a large cavern with a pillar supporting the ceiling in the middle, a castle hewn into that very pillar. There are a lot of inhabitants, by far the most we have seen on the island up to this point, it would probably even rival Limani. The people we could see were almost exclusively drow, with some either very handsome or very beautiful Accursed, quite clearly partners for pleasurable purposes only. We are shown the hotel where we’re supposed to stay, aptly named The Hotel before being taken to the Spelunkers Guild.
At the guild we learn several things about both the island and Arcadia city. Apparently the east of the island was hit the hardest by the calamity. In the city itself there are very few corpses, a few of which are animated. There is a large amount of magic that has a corrupting and withering effect in Arcadia City and the people of Dur Ovdal have fashioned lodestones that can protect the bearer for a short while. Deeper into the city there are horrible corrupted and malformed creatures. The city itself is labyrinthine, warped by the magic that fills it. Said magic seems to be coming from deep down. Aside from their knowledge the people of Dur Ovdal have no new knowledge about the calamity, in fact we already have more clues than they do. After our in depth discussion about Arcadia we also learned some more about Dur Ovdal itself.
We got a hearty brunch for dinner, the textures were odd but the taste was quite good. Murray still has them beat though. The hotel is actually rather small. I told the clerk that there was no need for their customer service smile and to be at ease and we were shown into an apartment that we will be allowed to use during our stay here. The beds are hammocks and it seems that they have some sort of baths. Murray made sure that we are not actively being observed using his magic vision. While there is some detection in the hallway there is nothing in the apartment itself. And while the passport is easily scryable, there is no magic observing us. I’ll take a quick bath before heading to bed.
20th
Getting dinner for breakfast is a bit heavy on the stomach, well, not that I’m really complaining but my my sister had a face that suggested otherwise. Anyhow, we split up to look for any clues on Fenlamin. We didn’t find him, not any cognisant Accursed for that matter. I did find Mort who had completely forgotten his task of sniffing out Fenlamin however. He owes me one for keeping quiet how distracted he was by the food some drow gave him. While searching I also wondered whether there were any magic shops, however it seems that magic is only allowed for the Queen, her council, and specific producers such as those that make the lodestones, so no dice.
We came together for lunch and discussed how none of us managed to find any useful information. Annoyed by our lack of progress I figured why not ask a guard where I can get myself a sex slave, so I did, but I did ask for one of those obedient concubines We have occasionally seen instead. Turns out, they are property of the Queen and every Accursed we have seen was gifted to the owner by her. Not a group to sit idle, we immediately tried to get an audience, which, much to my surprise, we almost immediately got. I had expected to be told to make an appointment. We were escorted to the salon and were told about Dur Ovdal’s history and the Queens of Dur Ovdal while waiting.
The meeting itself also went a lot better than expected, although I quickly learned why she has the denomination of the Silvertongued. They have Fenlamin, but they’ll want us to first do something for them. The Queen left to ask her council for advice and returned shortly after together with an adviser. The fish of Rana are digging for some powerful artefact in the Sunken Marshes in order to fuel some sort of ritual. Our job is to find and retrieve the artefact. After the Queen left the adviser filled us in on the details. There are three dig sites where they are digging.
Dinner was actual dinner, with a huge drow style steak and something that resembled mashed vegetables. The portobello with moss wasn’t great, but better than the stuffed rat from this morning.
Frogs in the Marshes
21st
The day was spend travelling through the mountains. A scout guided us to the river exit closest to the marshes. We ended up setting up camp a bit early so we would not have to do so directly after entering the swamps.
22nd
Today was one hell of day, the night was as chaotic as can be. We spend most of the time paddling through the marshes before finding old dilapidated ruins similar to the Walled Garden. The ruins were protected by those frogs. We decided to wait for night time and sneak in, leaving Sahiusa to guard our camp. Murray got spotted, he pretended to be a rock, failed, and ended up mud wrestling a frog guard. I killed the other while he was at it. After the initial fight was done we resumed plan ‘stealth’. I blew up part of the wall as an distraction, killing some hapless frogs in the process. Murray ran into the excavation tent in the middle while the guards were distracted. He took too long and eventually one of the frogs in armour went to check on the excavation tent. More destruction ensued to ensure Murray was able to flee and we returned to camp to rest.6