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ROLEPLAYING DIARY
Hitegh of the fourteenth year
The adventure begins on the first day of the eighth month of the fourteenth year of the reign of Queen Lisboa of Qandahar
Click on the pictures to enlarge
Hitegh the first
Three strangers find themselves together in a trading post at Rudbar, part of a chain of posts that run along the Helmand river, between the elven forest of Nimruz and the human trading town of Gereshk. They are in the northern borderlands of the human kingdoms, on the borders between the civilised areas and the wastelands of the north. To the West are swamps, and to the north lie the deadly Northern Wastes, home to all manner of foul creatures.
Shylock the Trader, played by my father-in-law, Dave.
Khalid the ranger, played by long-time ropleplying addict, Craig.
Vasaan the half-elven Warrior Mage, played by my wife, Jo
We started playing one rainy day while on holiday in the Marlborough Sounds.
They introduce themselves. Shylock speaks eloquently. He is from the Gereshk Guild of Traders, a nearby local town guild, and is seeking to buy goods to take back to the market town for a small sum. However, he is open to more profitable adventures. He is of average looks, a little rough around the edges, and with wrinkles already forming on his weathered face. He is seeking to improve his wider standing in the world.
Khaild is a ranger, a child of the borderlands, at home under the sun and stars, but familiar with the trading towns. He is living rough and cheap in the trading posts, looking for a few pelts, but his ears prick up at the talk of gold. He understands the value of hard currency in these troubled lands. He is young and brash, and has a disliking of authority, a trait which makes him a potential liability in so-called civilised company.
Vasaan is the least comfortable of the three. She is of half-elven blood, and as been raised with the elves for all her forty plus years. Still considered young by her people, even as a half-blood, she is bewildered by the humans' lack of grace. And overwhelmed by their smell. But she is determined to make her way in the wider world; her calm elven temperament balanced by the fire for adventure inside her human soul. Her late mother’s wish was for her beautiful daughter to know more of the world than the confines of the forest, and reluctantly her elven father has let her go adventuring.
Together they determine to seek adventure and fortune together. Vasaan suggests they go to the fabled Tree of Morella, deep in the Nimruz forest. The tree is part of elven mythology, a place were warrior elves are blooded in combat. Vasaan can give them entrance, but all three will need to work together to overcome the problems within.
The Rudbar Trading Post looking back across the river
They need supplies, and so Shylock negotiates a price. They purchase a weeks rations each (one and a half bronze pieces), sixty arrows (nine bronze), two sheets of paper (one and a half bronze), some cloth (one copper piece), and two waterskins (two more coppers).
They set out on their adventure, crossing the river Helmand at the Rudbar ford.
The role-playing world was a setting I had been preparing for some time, and in which there had been one short lived campaign a couple of years earlier. Playing computer RPGs had made me think about the ways players feel in touch with the world, through rumours, random encounters with other inhabitants, and so on.
Hitegh the second
They meet Terlac, an elf wandering in the forest. They exchange pleasantries. He is hunting animals that do not belong in the forest; pests that have crossed the river. The pelts he trades at Rudbar. They are warned not to hunt the native animals, but wished well in their adventures.
Hitegh the third
Khalid hunts a common rabbit, just the kind of pest that should be killed, and gains one average rabbit skin for later trade. Late in the day they see the mystical tree they are seeking in the distance.
Hitegh the fourth
The group approach the Tree of Morella, and are met by flying faeries.
They arrive at the Tree of Morella. As they approach they are pestered by some Sylphs; playful faeries that dance and play around them until they throw some silver coins in the air to distract and satisfy them. The tree is a huge thing of indeterminate species. There is an entrance inside, and so they go into the darkness. Three Pixies (Pysk) wait inside. The playfully tell the party to;
“Go up or down, each will give you a smile, each a frown. But don’t take fire inside the tree, or snuffed out will you be.”
Going inside the Tree of Morella.
The three companions douse their torches and see that the bark is covered in glowworms, and their eyes become adjusted to this new light source. They go further inside and encounter a leprechaun working on a pair of leather shoes. He asks them a riddle.
“What is more powerful than the Gods? More evil than Demons? The poor have it. The rich do not need it.”
The shoes were Boots of Climbing +15
After some discussion they correctly answer; “Nothing”. The leprechaun smiles and offers them the pair of shoes he has just finished. Vasaan puts them on, and finds she is more sure-footed than ever.
Moving on, the three enter an area inside the tree that contains a pool of clear water. Splashing about, giggling and playful, are eight Undines; beautiful female water faeries. The Undines ask a riddle.
The answer was zero: 10 without an I is 0, 9 without a tail is o, half of 8 is also o or o, and 6 missing heads is o. If they had of guessed it right they would have been given a dead bird, which would probably have confused them even more.
The Twelweth Teg and her court.
Most of the monsters are taken from ICE's Creatures and Treasures I and II. The Chillvines are from CTII, page 49.
“Ten fish I caught without an eye, and nine without a tail. Half of eight, and six missing heads, landed in my pail. Who can tell me, as I ask it, how many fish are in my basket?”
The three companions debated the answer for some time, and ended up saying twenty-nine. The Undines laughed and giggled at the answer, and gave the group a small stone.
Climbing up into the tree they encounter some pixies in a door-less room, who answer another riddle (an easy one this time) and they get it right. The pixies open up a way further into the tree, and the threesome find themselves in a faerie throne room, with flowers and vines, and dancing faeries. On a throne at the far end sits a faerie queen (a Tylweth Teg), and they careful approach. They are suitably deferential, and manage to flatter her without going too far. The faerie queen entrusts them on a quest. They are to go to a pool of water higher up in the tree and bring her what the sign there asks. They are warned that the short journey is quite dangerous, but they boldly continue on.
In the next area they find a cowering gremlin, who warns them that there are some deadly vines impeding their path. They decide to run through the vines, but as the last of them (Shylock) begins to enter the room of vines the gremlin attacks. Shylock fights the creature off. The vines (Chillvines) prove to be more a nuisance than a real threat, but Vasaan and Khalid still smart from their cold touch.
They encounter a small pixie, flying about in distress. She is afraid of the chillvines and the gremlin, and asks if the groups will escort her back through them. They tell her yes, but only after they have completed their mission for the faerie queen.
They climb up inside the tree and discover a opening that leads to the branches outside the tree. The branches are wide and flat to walk on, but there are leaves and small branches everywhere, making it hard to see far ahead. A teasing Sylph attempts to draw them out onto a thin branch, but they ignore its taunts. They find one of the branches laden with fruit; a large pear-like fruit, and pick five of them.
A wrong answer and they would have been directed down a branch that would snap, plunging one of them 30 feet to the ground!
They see two more sylphs flying about above a fork in a branch. They speak in duet;
“I am emeralds and diamonds, lost by the moon, found by the sun, and picked up soon .”
The group answers “Dew”, and the sylphs direct them down one of the branches.
Staff of Lengthening, 73 charges, 5000 hits, -5 quarterstaff. Not a great offensive weapon, but great for parrying with.
On of the major rule changes I have made for our session is parrying. Under ICE's standard rules sheilds and weapon parrying just add a passive bonus to your defense. After playing Runemaster (with Craig) I decided to make parrying an active skill that must be learnt, and to make everything take damage, (so sheilds break often).
A loud crack from above them, and a wooden staff falls from above, lodging itself in front of them. Shylock takes hold of it, and attunes to the magic in the staff. It will grow at his command, doubling or halving.
They are attacked on another branch by more vines, but avoid serious damage. Khalid heals Shylock and himself using a simple magic spell.
They return to the interior of the tree and continue their quest for the faerie queen. Further up inside the tree they discover a large room containing a pool fed by several trickles of water from above. The pond has lily pads, flowers, frogs, and two kinds of fish, as well as being home to some Undines. The Undines tease and taunt the newcomers, but also offer some help when they tell them of their quest. The prankster faeries point to a sign that reads “poFISHnd”, and the group successfully guess that they need to catch on the of the big fish in the little pond.
However, catching the fish proves to be difficult. Khalid splashes about, but the fish are slippery and fast, and the Undines scare the fish away just as he's getting close, and splash him. Then one of the Undines pulls Khalid's legs out from under him,and he is soaked from head to toe. The faeries laugh, and Vasaan and Shylock cannot help but join in the laughter. Even Khalid sees the funny side, but he is determined and persistent. Suddenly diving he snares a fish, and holds it up in triumph.
“Please don't let me drown in the air,” pleads the fish.
Khalid attempts to pool water into his hands, and then holds the fish under the water while the group discuss what to do about the talking fish. When asked the Undines offer a riddle;
“Of no use to one, yet absolute bliss to two. The small boy gets it for nothing. The young man has to lie for it. The old man has to buy it. The baby's right. The lover's privilege. The hypocrite's mask. To the young girl, faith. To the married woman, hope. To the old maid, charity. What am I?”
Khalid utters the answer; "A kiss", and is promptly given a kiss by one of the beautiful water faeries. When the kiss is over he is surprised to see the fish he has caught now contained in a wooden bowl that seems made for the task.
The net. Aside from the laughs it got, ever since the group have eaten fresh fish whenever they are near water. In real life we also tend to eat fish when roleplaying, from our local Fish & Chip shop!
The three companions go back down through the tree's winding passages carrying the fish in a bowl. They also guide the lonely pixie they meet earlier back through the room of chillvines. The pixie is grateful, and presents them with a present; a small magical net that, when cast into a body of water, will catch a single fish. If a type of fish is named that fish will be caught if it resides in the body of water. Khalid, who is still rather damp, mutters a small curse under his breath. When the other two have finished laughing the continue on.
The Tylweth Teg is pleased with the fish, and congratulates then for bringing it to her alive.
“They are so much better when they wriggle,” she tells them.
If the fish had been dead they would have received a lesser gift of a Belt of Balance.
With a practised motion she grabbed the fish and in one gulp swallowed it whole, displaying a set of sharp teeth set in a expanding jaw, and reminding the adventurers that faeries are not all riddles and jokes. Smiling a broad smile, she rewards the party with magic rope that Vasaan manages to attune to. It is a rope of entanglement.
The group now descend and head into the parts of the tree that lie underground. They come to a wide cavern framed by roots. There is a large pool of water with a fountain, and twelve nixies are swimming or sitting at the water's edge. Unlike the Undines the nixies are quiet a serious bunch, but still have a riddle to ask our heroes.
“Creatures of power, creatures of grace. Creatures of beauty, creatures of strength. Naked in the snow, but clothed under the sun. As for their lives, they set every things pace. For all things must come to live, under their emerald embrace. Either in their life, or in their death.”
If they had of guessed the riddle incorrectly then the answer would have been; “Follow the right hand wall as you go, and follow it out. For if you stay within these wooden halls, great ill will befall you all.” And indeed, that path would have led them safely out of the tree. It was a test of their abilities to answer a simple riddle, which if they had failed would have meant the tree below was too dangerous for them.
As the answer is all around them, the group guess “trees” rather quickly. In response to their guess they are told;
“Trust those who hide, for they know fear. But those who stand in the the open, be either fearless, fools or faeries.”
Thanking the nixies for their cryptic advice, they go further down into the tunnels that wind through the roots. They find an area carved from stone, deep inside of which they hear a rhythmic banging. They come to a large cavern carved from the rock, and a quick search reveals a selections of carved stone items: bowls, hammer heads, ornamental pedestals. Some are only half finished, and tools are visible on what appears to be a work bench.
They search the area, and hear some feet scurrying away from them as they examine the nooks and crannies of this strange area. Vasaan attempts to coax out whatever is hiding, and her half-elven charms succeed in bringing out one of the Pechs that dwell here. A strange underground fairy race of carvers and item makers, the Pechs are shy, but keen to show off their wares. The Pechs are stone masons. Stone lanterns adorn the area, stone carvings of Pechs and other fairies, stone bowls and chairs, stone mugs and plates ...
The Pech that emerges from hiding asks them if they would like to purchase some of their wares, but although Shylock would like to get the large stone throne, the group can see no way of transporting the heavy items back to civilization. They do not ask the Pechs about this, so a solution is not forthcoming. As the companions turn to leave the Pech offers them this sage advice;
This is a subtle hint regarding the last puzzle in the tree, which involves a Dryad.
“From death can spring life. And the gift of renewal is one of the greatest nature has to offer.”
They walk out of the stone area and through a grotto of bright glowworms. In this grotto there are a number of bright flowers feeding off the light. Vasaan and Khalid between them identify the flowers as Ansilis, also known as Berserker blossoms, and the three adventures avoid breathing their intoxicating scent, and so avoid the raging consequences.
The creature was an Abraxas, I.C.E.'s, Creature's & Treasures I, p.29. Jo (Vasaan) rolled a high critical strike, and removed what was potentially a dangerous foe with a single strike.
Rounding a corner the group are confronted by a fearsome creature. With the head of a fowl, the body of a man, and two serpent bodies for legs, the creature looks almost comical, but at the same time deadly. It lunges toward the companions, but before it can cause harm Vasaan swings her sword in a flat arc and the beast is killed by a single blow. Khalid examines the dead beast, and the others wait while he removes the head feathers from the rooster head, and then skins the hide from the snake 'legs'.
The party have barely gone on a dozen more steps when a huge spider scuttles towards them, drawn to the noise from their last fight. An epic fight ensures, the spider biting Khalid, and Khalid responding with several strikes of his own. Shylock uses his newly acquired quarterstaff to deliver more sound whacks on the resilient spider. Finally Khalid parries a crucial assault from the spider, and gets in a telling blow, and the doomed creature rolls onto its back and curls up its giant legs.
Khalid examines the deep dent in his shield, and uses his mystical channeling powers to heal himself and Shylock somewhat. The three heroes pause for a breath, before going onward. They come to a room that has no visible exit, in which are arranged six stone carved pedestals lined up in a row across the room. A pixie dances from one pedestal to the other. The pixie chants a riddle, which draws a collective groan from the party, who by this time are becoming heartily sick of having to think about riddles.
“A dragon has none, Morella just one, and a tree has two. Everyone has three. Solve this riddle and speak the answer to me.”
If they had given any other answer then the pixie would topple the first pedestal and a wall of Chillvines would falls across the exit to this room. The pixie would duck down a root tunnel that is just his size, and which quickly grows over, leaving the party having to fight their way through the vicious vines ...
The elf was a Healer’s apprentice adventuring in the tree who was killed by spider poison. The poison preserved the body somewhat. The potion was later identified as a Cold resistance potion.
The Daedhel was an elf killed by the guardians of the Tree for attempting to harm the dryad. Now cursed to remain as a guardian of this passage, protecting the creature it tried to destroy. An Earth Elemental blocked the other passage, but both paths led to the same area, so they never had to deal with it.
They give the answer, which is 'e', and so the pixie moves to the fifth pedestal from the left and topples it over. The roots on the left of the room reform themselves into a stairway leading down.
The find themselves back in the first area they entered on this level of the tree, and so choose a different direction to travel. They enter an alcove and find a newly hatched Faerie Dragon, which Vasaan manages to identify, and tries repeatedly to feed. It follows them, hovering about their heads, and being playful. For some reason it can only say 'meep!', which is what Vasaan decides to call it. It seems drawn to Vasaan.
Down another alcove they find a dead elven body ,but the skin has become shriveled and grayish-green. Near the body are two empty potion flasks, and in the backpack the find a bedroll, an elven cloak, some spoiled food, and a potion.
They go even deeper under the tree, where the roots begin to thin a little. The path ahead branches into two, and after some discussion they go left. The light from the glowworms fades as they progress, and they are in near darkness when a humanoid shape becomes apparent. The faerie dragon hisses at the approaching figure, and despite its pleas of friendship in the elven tongue the party reads the creature's evil intents. It is a Daedhel, an elf demon, an despite its foul skills they quickly overpower it, with Khalid and Shylock delivering fierce hits.
They go down some steps formed out of the roots of the tree, and find themselves in a large cavern of roots and earth. Sitting on a throne of roots that entwined themselves with the occupant is a Dryad. Around her flit a dozen pixie servants. She welcomes the brave a good souls who have made it this far into her realm, and asks them for a token. They remember what the Pech told them, and guess the dryad wants something that can be 'reborn', and so they go and get the Daedhel body and present it to her. With great ceremony the pixies help the dryad bury the body at the base of her root throne, and a rapid compost cycle begins, with the body being absorbed and purified.
The dryad was expecting the dead bird as a gift, but since they had got the puzzle that would have given them that they only had a stone. However, the elf-demon body was an admirable substitute, so they got the best gifts, rather than the poorer substitutes that the rock would have given them; a single Rune of Woodsight.
The dryad then presents the adventurers with a fourth level Earthwall spell inscribed; a Rune of Water Production I; and a ring that allows Limbwalking to be cast twice per day, with a duration 4 minutes. Vasaan identifies the Earthwall rune, but fails to understand how to use it, but can try again later. The faerie dragon is assigned by the dryad to Vasaan as a familiar. With many thanks to the gracious ruler of the tree, the party bow and scrape their way back out of the root throne room.
Going up a little way they stumble across the exit back to the forest, guarded by four pixie doormen. They say they have a parting gift for those that leave by this exit.
“Are you ready to leave?” one asks.
The group replies they are. And so a final riddle is given, for good measure.
“Inside a great blue castle lives a shy young maid. She often blushes in the morning and again at night. But when she comes out she makes the world bright. Who is she?”
If they got it wrong they would just be shown out the door.
They correctly guess, “The Sun”, and are all rewarded with Blankets of Warming. The material the blankets are made of seems to be vegetable in form, with specks of bark and leaves. It always stays dry, and will keep the wearer snug and warm in the coldest natural weather.
Khalid learns a skill in Flora Lore for the region, as does Shylock. Vasaan adds another skill in Faerie Lore
Leaving the Tree of Morella behind them, the companions feel a new appreciation for the flora of the elven forest, and the types of faeries that dwell deep within it.
Hitegh the fifth
Following Khalid’s direction they head west toward the river, and hunt a goat and a rabbit. Khalid skins the rabbit.
Hitegh the sixth
An uneventful day of travel through the forest, as evening draws in they approach the river Helmand. That night they hear a disturbance nearby, and find two experienced and grizzled Rangers at the Rudbar Ford. They both show signs of recent battle, and explain that a party of goblins are attempting to enter the elven forest by crossing the ford. They have beaten them off twice, just the two of them, but fear they cannot hold them a third time. Our heroes immediately offer to help.
Vasaan had some distance running skills she was wanting to try out. She ran and ran and ran, and brought back help just a little too late.
Vasaan offers to run for help, and heads off into the forest at a goodly pace. Meanwhile, the two Rangers, who introduce themselves as Golen and Renault, organise Shylock and Khalid to help them build a makeshift barrier of branches. The goblins attack near midnight, and are fought off by a barrage of accurate arrows and then fierce melee, during which both Khalid and Shylock dispatch a goblin each and wound several more. Shylock and Khalid both take a few minor wounds, which Khalid manages to heal.
Hitegh the seventh
The goblins regroup and attack again before dawn. This time they cause a distraction to draw off the arrows, fire some arrows of their own to keep the heads of our heroes down, then charge across the ford. The melee is much more vicious, and Shylock gets a number of wounds. Khalid is also deeply scratched, but both of them watch in awe as Golen and Renault smite goblins left and right. However, just when the day seems won a goblin gets in a lucky blow and Renault falls to the ground, mortally wounded. Standing over the dying body of his comrade, Golen slays another two goblins, and the survivors flee back across the river.
Khalid attempts to help the stricken ranger, but his healing skills are not up to the task, as the sun rises Renault dies. The three remaining fighters bandage their wounds. The day draws on, and they fear another goblin attack when night approaches. However, help arrives in the form of some elves that have been alerted by the distance running Vasaan. A party of elven archers cross the river and chase after the goblins, while some more elves heal the remaining wounds of the brave defenders of the Rubdar Ford.
Hitegh eighth, ninth & tenth
Caled, an elven leader, suggests they take the dead Renault back to Nimruz to bury him with full honours, so they travel to Nimruz with the funeral party of elevs and rangers. More join them as they travel, as the word spreads through the forest, for Renault was a long serving and well-loved ranger, whose bloodline contained a touch of elvish.
Hitegh the eleventh
Renault is cremated, and there is a big feast to celebrate his life and deeds. The three companions and Golen are presented with gifts for their deeds at the ford. The group manage to sell the Abraxus feathers to an alchemist, with Shylock negotiating a fair price.
Hitegh the twelfth
Khalid starts training with Golen (he will remain here for sixteen days) learning magic and foraging. The others set off to Rudbar, keeping an eye out for Goblins. That night they are attacked by three spiderbats. They kill one and drive the others away.
Hitegh the thirteenth
Shylock and Vasaan encounter a bard, named Eparg, who is on his way to see the elves, but his horse has bolted. They do not find his horse, but offer to walk with him back to Rudbar.
Hitegh the fourteenth
Map of the area around Nimruz and Rudbar. The original maps for the world were parts of Afganistan lifted from an Atlas. At the time we started no-one in the roleplaying group knew much about the area. Then world events made many of the names of cities in the world much more familiar.
Vasaan and Shylock encounter an orge, which they dispatch, but they fail to find its lair. With Eparg the bard in tow they make it to the Rudbar trading post before dark. There they foil a robbery attempt on Vasaan by one Predapio, a handsome rogue. He is tied up and set out of the post in the morning, despite the pleas of some for rougher justice.
Hitegh the fifteenth
The pair stay the day in the trading post, to rest up. They make a friend in Molio, a half-elf ranger that they suspect of sleeping with the trader's wife when he is out on business.
Hitegh the sixteenth
They set out on their travels again. They meet Larat, the trader with the unfaithful wife, on his way from Deh Snu to Rudbar. They make it to the Deh Snu trading post just after dark.
Hitegh the seventeenth
They journey on ...
Hitegh the eighteenth
Vasaan fumbled at a crucial moment and is badly wounded, while Shylock managed to miss all but once, delivering a total of one point of damage to their foes.
... to the Landry trading post, where Eparg becomes the new cook, and sometime bard. They are approached by Sallagriffon about robbing a certain Melso-a, whom he convinces the companions is an evil man who owes him money. However, instead of robbing Melso-a, they are mauled by him and his dogs. Battered and bruised, they leave Landry under a cloud, borrowing Eparg's horse to make a fast getaway.
Hitegh the ninteenth
They sleep out on a farm, hiding out as best they can.
Hitegh the twentieth
The sign of the Goose Girl's Rest Inn.
In Kichnay Darvishan, the first village they have seen for a while, Vasaan is healed by the Druid, Pesaro. They do a little shopping, at the imaginatively named 'The Shop', and 'The Lucky Alchemist'. They stay at The Goose Girl's Rest, a comfortable and cheap inn.
Hitegh the twenty-first
Vasaan rides to deliver the horse back to Landay, sneaking into the village. Eparg greets her, says he is doing well, but that she would not be welcomed by the other villagers, so she starts running back to Kichnay. It gets dark. She makes camp with some religious worshipers off to an annual festival at Lashkar Gah, as there is safety in numbers.
Hitegh the twenty-second
She jogs back to the Goose Girl's Rest, and they stay another night.
Hitegh the twenty-third
They travel slowly on. Camping at night there are many other fires visible from all the religious followers traveling the roads.
Hitegh the twenty-fourth
They buy a couple of fish from a local, and arrive at the Lashkar Gah near the start of the festival. They pass through, avoiding the crowds. They camp outside of Gah.
Hitegh the twenty-fifth
They arrive at Gereshk, the large trading town, where Shylock is a member of the Trader's Guild. Going to the market they get ripped off a little. The open market day is five days from today, and then they can look for bargains. They visit the Trading Guild, Shylock pays a silver in 'fees', and then they go to the Temple of Suez and donate a copper piece. Having done their commercial and religious duties Vasaan decides she is going to try to learn a new spell from a local source.
Hitegh the twenty-sixth
At this point the holiday down in the Marlborough Sounds ended, and Jo (Vasaan) and I (God of all), came back home. We kept playing with just her for a short while, as the others were still on holiday.
Shylock starts to learn in the library of the trading guild. Vasaan, also in the library, learns a ventriloquism spell.
Hitegh the twenty-seventh
While learning her spell Vassan meets Turrach, a brooding Dragon-Hunter, who tells a sad tale of the death of his family at the hands of a fell beast of a Dragon that he has sworn to kill. He has come to the Trading Guild Library in search of a small book on dragon identification, but is disappointed by it when he finds it. He tells Vasaan he is setting out North, and she convinces him to allow her to keep him company. They set out, Vasaan attempting to flirt, Turrach talking about his dead wife..They arrive at Lashkar Gah in the middle of the festival, but stay out of trouble. Later they meet some vigilantes looking for a local who has been rustling.
Hitegh the twenty-eighth
They set out for Kuchnay. Turrach talks about dragons, revenge, and death. That night they are attacked by a small group of six Goblins. Turrach kills two, and the rest flee, but he kills another three with a fireball, showing Vasaan his ruthless, dark side.
Hitegh the twenty-ninth
Once Craig (Khalid) got back from holiday we went back in time and sorted out what he had been doing.
A rainy day. The two of them avoid any trouble. Meanwhile, in Nimruz, Khalid sets out after finishing his training. He meets two elven scouts, who travel with him.
Hitegh the thirtieth
Khalid and his new companions encounter some boar tracks in the elven forest, but they avoid them, deciding there are strong enough of them to risk boar-hunting. Vasaan and Turrach arrive, and stay the night, at the Goose Girl's Rest in Kichnay Darvishan.