To Norak's Rest
From
the personal journal of Roderic Fallstaff
9th
day of Quaternary Regress
Spent the day at the inn again. I can
never recall the name of this dank drinking hole. 'The Something
Goblin'? All I know is that its typically packed full of drunken,
staggering loggers. Thankfully the innkeeper has a small stock of wines
from Devinshire and, while not pleasing as Morendi grape, it is far
superiour to the blindness-inducing swill the dwarves concot or the
alcoholic fruit-juice those halfling moles imbibe.
After a
moment where
my better senses left me I agreed to acompany a small mercanary band
north. Hopefully they can act as escort out of Covington Dale:
bodyguards after a fashion.
The
leader of the montley crew is a
curiously attired mixed-blood of the name Baltuun Chagi. He was
travelling with a a woodswoman called Thia of similar race (sister?).
In addition to myself, they also hired some martial types including an
archer called Edwurd and a green-skinned savant mapper who goes by the
alias "Serve". The final member of our group is Lilly, who seems to be
some kind of cleric (local hedge god?). As far as I can tell we are
hired to track down an elven bard for purposes of minor revenge,
although there was also talk of a mountain called "Dimuran".
We were
hired for the paltry sum of thirty gold coins and promises of
shared loot and "elf pudding" whatever the latter might be.
Of
course,
I shouldn't forget to mention our team's last-minute addition, the
stoic mule Geoffrey, named after my beloved elder brother. He
was purchased out of my own pocket and I expect eventual
reinbursment.
10th
day of Quaternary Regress
We
left this morning at an ungodly hour before treking to some squalid mud
farm to the North. They seemed to be friends of Edwurd. From there we
marched around the elven woods to some small dwarven mound. There I met
with the dwarf, Dwaim who handed Baltuun some large, ungainly metal
key. Dwaim also told us of Norax the Oath-Breaker, whose tomb is by
"three ice-teeth beneath Dimuran." I assume the key is for the tomb but
Baltuun, as ever, is a fountain of ignorance.
11th
day of Quaternary Regress
Another
fun day of hiking. A fairly uneventful day with the most excitement
being a large clearing with a saw imbedded in a tree. Serve proceeded
to remove it and attempt to "play" the tool. Lummox.
The day ended with horror as we bedded down in the wilderness like
derilicts or stray dogs. I will be picking pine needles out of my
clothing for the next week! The low-hanging branches of the tree Edwurd
found proved to be warm, but Serve kept rolling over forcing me to move
until I spent the night on a large, jutting rock.
12th
day of Quaternary Regress
I was right, as always.
After mere hours of travel we found a
large two-story watchtower that
would have been a passable shelter for the previous night. If we had
continued on we would have slept under a sturdy roof instead of a
sap-oozing tree. Its sole inhabitant, some feral beast akin to a
badger, proved easily bribed with meat from the deer our woodsmen
(woodspeople) managed to fell this morning.
Serve promptly claimed the tower and
marked it on his map. I'll have to
remember its location as well. When I become a powerful wizard and earn
my hat I'll have need of a tower of my own.
13th
day of Quaternary Regress
Just
after midday we found a sacked camp with signs of struggle. I quickly
found a bloodtrail and, at the urgings of Thia, we followed it. The
trail, marked with human footprints (bare feet), was paired with clawed
pawprints urging us to keep ready.
The path
led to an injured individual, his garb identifying him as a
scout in the Dale's militia. Before we could tend to him we were
attacked by a bear! The beast mauled Baltuun before Thia, Edwurd, Serve
and my badger Teg (faithful as always, he at least knows his place)
managed to drop the monster. It proved to be tasty.
The scout
was quickly healed by Lilly, and named himself as Colton
Bowyer. He spoke of encountering an elven bard that bewitched his
scouting party, who then assaulted him. We would have escorted him back
to town, but it was in the opposite direction. I was half-tempted to
take the opportunity to return, but the (very) subtle charms of
Covington Dale proved less strong then even the possibility of
venturing elsewhere. Colton reluctently agreed to accompany us and
hopefully recover his own gear. I quickly assigned him the task of
looking after the mule. Like his namesake, Geoffrey cannot be left
unsupervised for long.
Meanwhile,
Baltuun is proving infuriating, refusing to budge from his
contracted rate despite my additional expenses. I simply requested
additional funds at the standard rates, hardly an unreasonable expense.
14th
day of Quaternary Regress
Today
we entered mountains, a rough and hard day of walking. Colton spent
much of his time riding Geoffrey as he still lacks boots. I expect
another horrifying night under the stars, this time spent on a bed of
rocks and stones.
Serve is
already running low on food. I'm guessing he is not smart
enough to know he needs to eat every day (although he did surprise me
with his mercantile savy yesterday when bartering for parchment). I
might have to sell him some at a similarly increased rate...
15th
day of Quaternary Regress
Thia
caught sight of hiding goblins today, our first sighting of life in
these hills. Thia attempted to talk peacefully, but it quickly fled. We
also caught sight of a giant eagle but opted to hide, rather than draw
attention to ourselves. The bovine clutched in its claws like a field
mouse encouraged caution.
I also
have developed a fairly large blister on my heel. My boots (and
feet) were not designed for six days of continual overland hiking!
16th
day of Quaternary Regress
I
was right again, as always. Today I found a large pine needle in my
waistcoat, a remnant of that night last week. I was picking needles
from my clothes for a full week!
Today was
marred by a savage snowstorm that battered the mountain
trails and valleys. Through planning we avoided the coldsnap but Colton
was almost felled. I selflessly donated my spare set of clothing and we
shared blankets with the youth, barely fending off the frost. We made
camp early while Lilly magically tended his wounds.
17th
day of Quaternary Regress
Today was another long journey. More
goblin sightings although we were unable to communicate.
This
night proved to be exciting as, without warning, there was a
goblin attack! Thankfully it was early in the evening, so I was on
watch and able to provide magical cover. After a fierce battle with a
half-dozen of the small beasties and their massive wolf-mount we proved
triumphant. Colton was savaged by the furred beast and I expended most
of my spells (even loyal Teg was mauled by the creature! I shall have
to let the poor badger rest before I call for his aid again).
In a
moment of poor judgement I charged into the fray myself, striking
with my trusty walking stick. This proved fruitless as my cane promptly
broke and required magical fixing.
18th
day of Quaternary Regress
One more day of hiking, although we
are still weary from the previous night's battle. We spent much time
interrogating the leader of the hunting party, but gained little useful
information. Colton is still a bit shaky and my clothes might require
extra tending before they are wearable again, but we persist. It has
almost been a week and a half since we set off, much longer than our
employers claimed. We pooled our remaining food as some of us had the
foresight to pack more than others. Even combined and with the added
goblin supplies, we barely having enough to last five days, half the
needed amount to return to Covington Dale!
If this persists I will have to insist Baltuun renegotiate our
contract! This will likely prove futile as the savage is already
proposing cannibalism.
However, things might be improving as today we caught sight of the
triple peaks. At last, Dimuran is in sight!