Thora Greywalker, a character played by Johannes Herrmann, is keeping a diary

1. Part 1
2. Part 2
3. Part 3
4. Part 4
5. Part 5
6. Part 6
7. Part 7
8. Part 8
9. Part 9

Thora's diary

[Disclaimer: This is from my character's point of view, in-accuracies, biases and all. Furthermore, the tales are also modified by faulty memory. -Hannes]

[I haven't modified it either. Much anyway. -DM]

My name is Thora, called Greywalker, and I follow the teachings of Freya, the Lady of the Sky. I have recollections of a time when I inhabited a different body, and used the name of Thorfinn. In the incarnation I followed Frey, although more for my own reasons than for His glory. I thank Freya dayly for a chance to correct that mistake.

Recently, I came as close to the doors of Valhalla as can be in this life. While aiding my companions in fighting off the crew of the sky galley, I cast a spell which was beyond my exhausted powers. Weakened I fell, and thought that I would be serving Freya more directly. Only her aid allowed me to return to aid my friends. For this reason I have decided to tell this tale, that what I learn should not be lost when I finally fall.

Let me tell you first of my companions. The group formed in the town of Whiteheart, the seat of our Jarl. I remember that Thorfinn once thought it a grand place. It is not. But that is another tale.
The only two who remain of the original group are the dwarf Amora and the strange gnome who calls himself Zim Skyfarer. Amora is a brave warrior, and is well protected with armour taken from the body of a defeated Mulder-dwarf. It is made of many plates of metal, and carries a powerful enchantment. Also in our travels she has obtained a hand-axe enchanted against Giantkind to complement the battle-axe that she commonly swings.
Zim is an explorer of the race of Skygnomes; those who make their home in the marvellous flying city called Serraine. He is a pilot and engineer, and owns what he calls a "ship", although it has no keel and flies by pulling itself through the air supported by four stiff wings. Zim is also a dabbler in Illusions, and skilled in stealth.
In our first campaign against the fierce gnolls which often threaten Whiteheart we met the centaur Safranna whose village had been ravaged. We met her in a forest where she was training to be a ranger. When she learned of her tribe's demise beneath Gnoll blades she joined us willingly. In life she was totally inept in the profession that she desired; she was far too clumsy to be a ranger. It shows the humor of the gods that she now has found the abilities linking her to the life of the wilds; gained through her entry into Undeath at the fangs of vampire. Although she must feed off our blood, she is a good and noble friend even now. She has done much in causing me to question some of Thorfinn's teachings; in this case that all creatures of Nyx are evil. She is obviously not evil, despite being Undead.
One of our stranger adventures took us below the surface of our world, to the land of the Shadow Elves. Thorfinn had learned that elves are strange and dangerous creatures (a view which I now believe may have been in error), but these elves were quite friendly. Two of their number left their city with us. The priestess Phoranin left to learn of our world, despite the fact that she cannot contact her deity Raphael without her mystic soul-crystal. She travels with us still, watching and learning.
The other of these elves that accompanied us was, and is, called Tessarael. He died in the same battle in which Thorfinn fell, and was, like me, reincarnated. He has returned as a golden elf, a surface dweller. Neither form seemed particularly trustworthy, the newest incarnation seeming to kill to swiftly for comfort. He is a scout and a warrior, and always someone to watch.
Another dwarf who travelled with us was Or-den, a master of the crossbow. He was quiet before turning to the worship of the warlike Goddess Vanya. I will never know why he made that decision, but I hope she honors him now. Or-den bore a strange crossbow made of some form of crystal and able to re-load itself. Zim assures me that this gnomish creation is mechanical, although it seems like magic to me.
Before our last foray into the gnomish warrens, Zim recruited the Windsinger Lani to aid us. She seems much like an elf, but winged, and her songs cause wondrous effects, much like a wizard's spells. She also wield an enchanted sword, though neither often nor well.

I suppose that I should say more about myself, and my faithful companion, Remus. I am a druid; protector of the wilds which Freya holds dear. I am equally comfortable in the form of a human woman or a grey wolf. Indeed I am not entirely certain whether I am a human who can assume the form of a wolf, or a wolf somehow able to transform into a human. I care not, as long as my form is due to the will of Freya.

I will begin my tale with our last visit to the flying city of the gnomes; Serraine. We lingered there to allow Phoranon to research in the local library. While there, I attempted to inform some of the locals of the glory of Freya, but the temperament of these people, be they gnome, winged elf, or pegataur, is not suited to her worship.
Finally we left, first flying back to Whiteheart to pick up Sefrana, and then walked on the the capital of our lands, a city called Soderfjord. Here I was able to help a young widow by purchasing from her an enchanted broadsword once wielded by her husband, Krang the Killer. I suspect that the blade has merely been enchanted to glow brightly, a feat which I can do myself, but it is well balanced and I had little use for the money anyway. Amora on the other hand, attended an auction in an attempt to purchase a more powerfully enchanted weapon; a shimmering battleaxe named the Shining Axe. The bidding was fierce; a war between us, another group of adventurers, and a mage obviously looking for quick profit. Amora finally won the bidding by offering her enchanted hand-axe as part of the deal at my suggestion. She borrowed money from Or-den, Zim, Sefrana, and myslef to make the purchase. We all believed that the axe would prove its worth when we next entered combat, though.
It seems Lani was thought to be a demon by the locals of Soderfjord. I am not surprised, since Thorfinn would have agreed with these sentiments at the start of his career. Her presence disrupted the auction somewhat, and I almost had to draw my sword on one occasion in her defense. Tessarael dirsupted the auction by various shouts, including the unmasking of the other bidder as a mage. His conduct was deplorable, but few took much notice of him in such a boistrous land. I cnosider him lucky that the wizard did not choose to prove his dipleasure in a direct way.
Also during our stay, I underwent the ceremony of requesting a Rune from Freya. After the weekly ceremony, whose details are secret, She granted me the knowledge of the Rune known as Ihwar, the Hunter. This choice on Freya's behalf again proves my faith in her; it suits my nature perfectly. It is sad to have undergone the ceremony at a temple other than the one in Whiteheart, but the demands of time were on us by this stage. The ceremony has left me weakened, as I remember that his ceremony left Thorfinn weakened. Such is the price of such Divine gifts.
We spent another week walking back to Wrhiteheart, where we had left Zim's flying ship. Arriving without incident we took off for a chain of mountains which mark the border to Denagoth; a chain which hides the tower we seek. This tower should contain one of the parts of the mystic Sundered Man. After much uneventful flying, we found a path leading through the first mountain chain. While exploring the terrain for a likely landing space, we encountered a War Galley; flying just like we were. We attempted to out-run it, but it proved faster. It's captain signalled for us to land. We were debating the merits of sending either Lani or myself as an emmisary when they fired a balista bolt across our bow.
Or-den fired a spike from Zim's ship's Spike Gun into the captain in reply, and the battle was joined; I could no longer prevent it. I used my spells to attempt to make the Galley unable to fly, while the others fired our ship's weapons and Zim attempted to dodge the roiling air caused by their ship's strange hollow air-ram. I had just resorted to clearing a large section of their decks with Freya's fire, when Zim was unable to dodge one such shot. One of our ship's four wings was severed, and we crashed downwards.
Lani flew down safely, and I attempted to use the Wind Collumn spell to lower myself and Remus to the ground. Unfortunately the wind was only strong enough to slow me slightly, and we were both badly wounded by the fall. I believe that Remus would have died had I not cushioned his impact with my body. We limped to join the others barely in time for a hasty defensive plan. Badly wounded and tired, I knew that I would not play a major part in the battle. When I saw the twenty armed warriors charging down the hill, led by their captain who now looked relatively unwounded, I made my fateful decision. Or-den had ambushed the men, and only just managed to stay ahead of the charge long enough to lead them into our ambush.
I do not understand why Amora and Tesserael did not spring upon them when they reached us. I had stopped eight of the men in their tracks in a tangle of vines called to our by aid through the might of Freya, but quickly realised that their captain needed stopping. I called upon Freya to send her fire into the captain's armor, hoping to force him out of the combat. This was too much for me, however, and I would have surely perished if not for Freya's Divine help.
I have been told of the duel that Or-den fought with the captian, cross-bow against greatsword, which resulted in his fall. Had I been conscious I may have been able to save him. I have also heard of Tessarael's trick to lure some men into bushes, where he finished them with a mix of stealth and skill of arms. Phoranin and Zim valiantly defended our ship, in which Sefrana hid helpless from the sun. Remus tells me he guarded my fallen form, and kept the enemy from touching me.
We would have won had the spell of entaglement lasted longer, but as it is my friends were forced to surrender. The enemy captain promised a fair trial; a promised they did not believe but were forced to accept. Lani evaded capture, and Sefrana was left alone after someone cleverly told the enemy that she was cursed. She was guarded by only two men. I pity them. I awoke much later to find that my holy symbol had been taken from me. Luckily I am as helpless as some other priests would be, and Freya quickly granted me another one. When Sefrana rose during the night and, having quickly dispatched her guards, attacked our captors I used a spell to paralyse our guard and we broke out of our prison.
One guard had come down to our corridor, but I subdued him with a simple spell of Command. When further fighting ensued, Tessarael killed him; a fact I am not entirely happy with. We found a group of enemy soldiers, about twenty in all, arming themselves in the hold beneath us. I changed into my wolf form and led Remus into them to cause as much confusion as possible. Zim aided me greatly by casting a spell of Levitation on me. This spell allowed me to rise through the hatch at the other end of the hold. While I fought a pair of guards, Remus and a group of large bats summoned by Lani kept the men in the hold busy. I finished one of my opponents and the other fled, leaving me just enough time to cast a spell of holding on four of the guards; just as Lani stunned a half-dozen of them with some colorful spell she likes.
Seeing the remaining soldier surrender, Remus and I went up our hatch to scout up the upper deck. Coming back down the other hatch, over a deck empty of all but four sailors, I found the captain of the ship holding Phoranin hostage. Tessarael attempted to bargain with him, killing two helpless soldiers in the process. The captain stated that he would sooner we all die than allow us to leave and retreated into a cabin.
When we felt the ship start to rise, I used some hold spells through the door. Unfortunately we were unable to break down the door, but Lani was able to open it with another spell. I must say, Wizards have their uses. We found that captain with his hands on an altar; frozen. Phoranin was down and bleeding, but not dead. Thinking to halt the ship as quickly as possible (we were thousands of feet in the air by this stage) I cut the captain's hands off with a sweep of Krang's sword.
Unfortunately this caused the ship to drop rapidly. Experiments proved futile, and it was only through the guidance of Freya that I learned that only a follower of Vanya could control the Galley, the altar being in her honor. Since Or-den was the only one of use who qualified for this, we questioned the crew. We rushed the one who addmited to this worship to the control room, but he had only just touched the alter when we crashed. He died instantly, as did his helpless comrades in the hold below. I was able to save both Tessarael and Phoranin, and Zim was able to stabilise Remus' condition; a fact which I will eternally thank him for.

We set out to repair Zim's ship, having found Sefrana wounded by some fire spell of the captain's. I healed our group as we worked, and Remus scouted the area for company. Several days later he reported a group of men approaching. When Tessarael volunteered to meet them I chose to accompany him, not trusting his instincts.
The men numbered six, and were dressed simply, although they each caried a sword. Tessareal greeted them, and responded to their challenge with a truly confusing story. When he finally bluntly claimed to be a spy for the Heldanic Knights, the group to whom the Galley belonged, the men attacked. I was able to capture two with vines, and Remus chased down one who fled. Tessarael at first attempted to parry the blows of his opponents, but soon tired of this and cut one down before I could intercede. The others surrendered. We marched our prisoners back to the ship, and gave the fallen man a decent funeral. It turned out he was the brother of one of the men, and all of them were enemies of the Knights. They had come to aid us.
Given the circumstances, only one of them agreed to actually help us. He was a skilled carpenter, and helped us with the repairs of the ship. The others left, but the carpenter told us of their rebellion against the Knights. It appears that the Knights kill anyone who does not profess to worship Vanya. We donated the weapons and armor to the rebellion, since we could not carry it all, and their cause seems worthy. Similarly we gave them a chest of 500 pieces of Heldanic gold, taken from the fallen Galley.

Finally we left, taking off in Zim's mostly repaired ship. Shortly thereafter we safely landed in the hills of Wendar, and hid the ship. We approached the fortress that guards Wendar against the forces of the knights, and were welcomed as guests by one of the elves that lives there. With the help of these elves we hope to pass through Wendar and find the tower in the mountains to the north.

We must find the parts of the Sundered Man before the followers of Nyx do. We do not know their purpose, but it would surely be against the will of Freya.

Part 2, Thora's diary

Felmont 25, 1011: We leave the hermitage and take the only road westwards into Wendar. We have decided to follow the road as far as possible, and then I shall ask Freya for directions.

After three nights of travel we pass a village called Treemettle, skirting it at night. Tessarael waits and talks with some villagers during the day, catching up with us later. Nothing untoward seems to be happening. Another three nights later, we skirt another town, this one called Thistle. Four nights after this we reach the capital of Wendar, which is also called Wendar. We agree to stay in the city for a couple of days to gather information, and to rest in comfort.
I am surprised to find that some of the locals actually worship Freya. I spent time with these, and others. I noticed that Ariah was passing amongst the people, healing them. I definitely do not regret her company; maybe Zim did a good thing, foolish though it was.

Fyrmont 9, 1011: We leave the capital, heading north-west. We meet a partol of guards who warn us of strange creatures called Surtaki - green furballs with a permanent (and poisonous) bad-hair day.
Later that day, Remus smells and elf. Searching, we found a young elven-girl hiding in the bushes. She said that her parents had been attacked by "floating robes which throw balls of light". Almost immediately, a glowing knife appears some distance down the road and hurtles at us.
More and more of these knives appeared as we searched for the mysterious robes and attempted to keep the girl safe. Finally, Tessarael shouted that the girl had magic on her, and ran towards her. Before I could react, he put his sword to the girl's throat. Unable to move, she couldn't dodge a knife which narrowly missed her side, leaving a thin trail of blood.
Unable to trust Tessarael, I used a divine Command to put him to sleep for a little while. The girl, of course, flees. When we finally manage to chase her down she starts swiping at Remus as if her small fingers are claws. Lani manages to know her out, without hurting her, through a spray of colours. Once unconscious, the girl turns into a hag.
We argue about the fate of the witch. Ariah uses a truth spell to question it. It turns out that it eats humans and elves, and will not change its ways. We are forced to dispose of her. Amora does the deed, at my request. Amora remembers encountering such a creature before, and I can vaguely recall the same encounter from Thorfinn's memories. I shall not forget again.
After the party re-unites, Tessarael and I argue about my actions. He admits that his next action would have been to strike the girl with his other sword. Thus I feel justified in my action, since a normal girl would have been slain had he done so, much like that Heldanic rebel. He says that the fact that the girl was magical would have justified his attack. My arguments that it could have been an enchantment or curse fall on deaf ears. Most of the party agrees with Tessarael, and only Ariah argues my case at all. Amora is verbal in her support of Tessareal, as is Zim I leave in disgust. If it were not for our quest, I would leave this group now.
When the rest of the group catches up, Ariah tells me that they have agreed that we should never attempt to hinder each other unless it is absolutely necessary. Likewisse, we should never attempt to harm people when knocking them out will be sufficient. I agree to this, although I have severe doubts as to Tessarael's ability to keep the bargain. I resolve always to have a Command available. Similarly, I believe that he does not further the actions of Freya, thus I will not use my powers to aid him unless it directly benefits the whole group. I will watch Amora, to see if her violent tendencies continue to develop.
Thus we were a party divided when we passed from Wendar into the mountains which form the border into Denegoth, the land of barbarians.

[This continues the write-up of the Viking campaign, held at UniGames. Just a reminder that this account is entirely biased, being from the point-of- view of my character, Thora.]

Fyrmont, 15, 1011:
Our disagreement had faded into the background of the march, as we finally crossed the mountains into the Jungle of Denegoth. Our plan was to cut across the low-lands in order to gain access to the western range, where the tower we sought was supposed to be located. Although we were unsure that this was the right tower, this seemed to have been the indication given by the Divination that I performed.
We made camp, as usual, before sunrise, and I rested beside Remus in my wolf form. Far too short a time thereafter we were woken by Tessarael's shout. A score of so of armed barbarians charged into camp, waving weapons and bent on slaughter. The battle was relatively short, since the men were not as well trained as we. None escape, although many are left alive as prisoners; the result of various spells cast by Lani and myself. The only part of the battle of especial note was the un-armed Ariah confronting a massive barbarian who wass pounding on the covered form of Sefrana. Although obviously unable to understand her scolding, he left Sefrana, and indeed Ariah, alone after that.
The prisoners proved to be a problem. None of us, not even Ariah, spoke their language and the spell which would have allowed communication was beyond both Ariah and myself at the time. Since we did not really wish to just let them go - possibly coming back with other barbarians - and since they had attacked us without warning, we were discussing the sad possibility of perhaps having to kill them when Ariah saved the day. She managed to start communicating with some of the barabrians, picking up their langauge in what seemed like minutes. Although she had told us that she has a knack for such things, I find it frankly miraculous. We sent the barabrians away, carrying their dead, with a stern injunction to leave us alone or we would have to do worse next time.
It seems that they understood Ariah well enough, for we were not bothered for the next two weeks that we spent traversing the low-lands, nor the two days of passing through the mountains it took us to reach the tower.

Ambyrmont 3, 1011:
The season had started to turn to Autumn when we first sighted the broken tower in the distance. The central structure was a massive, square keep, with a small building, only or two stories high, along each face. From the air it must have much resembled a cross. Cautiously, we scouted around the tower from a distance and settled down to watch it's sole exit, a gaping doorway, for a day.

Ambyrmont 4, 1011:
Having seen nothing, we approached the tower and looked in the open doorway. The entrance room takes up the entirety of the building that can be seen on this side of the tower. An open door lead further in to the structure at the other end, and a large metal statue of an armored warrior stood against one wall. Against the opposite wall, a similar statue must have once stood, but now it was broken. Tessarael noticed that the statue was very hot.
Suspicious, we experimented and found that the statue came to life if anyone entered the room. Tessarael managed to dash across and into the main tower, although he could find nothing useful there. Finally, we lured the statue to the doorway and met it on our own terms; that is to say that Amora battled it while we healed her and cast supportive spells. All in all, the metal colussus was not too much trouble, although it's attack seemed to pack a nasty wallop. Not really surprising, given it's size. It was also able to breathe out cones of fire, although that was not as devastating as we at first feared.
The inside of the tower was, as Tessarael had reported, empty. We were able to gain access to the upper floors of the tower through Lani's flight and Amora's rope, and managed to find a secret passage there. This led to a shaft which descended to beneath the tower. At the base of this shaft was a small room with a single door. This door and all of it's walls registered as traps to my spell. The traps turn out to be magical.
I attempted to dispel the traps. This caused some consternation at first since I evidently set one off and was doused in a strange-smelling liquid. On closer examination, this liquid turned out to be some sort of holy water, although from what religion I cannot guess. An affective ward against demons and the Undead. I do not seem to have managed to make the door open, however. It still seems sealed by magic.
We had alsmost given up, when Tessarael started arguing with the door, telling it to open up because we were allied with the forces of goodness. (I found this somewhat strange, coming from Tessarael.) He was as surprised as the rest of us when the door opened in response, revealing a pretty elven girl. After some discussion it turned out that the elf was a construct, created by the formed master of this tower. She was now guarding his treasures, including the part of the sundered man. After some discussion, she agreed to a series of three contests, the third not being required if one side or the other won the first two. I we lose, we promised to leave. She promised to not let us in and not hinder our search if we won.
The first contest was a balance contest. The construct called another construct, this one a featureless gray humanoid, to walk a rope. We were most upset when this creature lenghtened its arms to aid it's balance. Despite this, Tessarael won the constest with ease. The second contest was one of strength, between Amora and the same servant. Amora won this even more easily than Tessarael had won the last. I was relieved not to have to undertake the third contest, which would have pitted the powers which Freya grants me against the elven construct's magic in a spell duel. While my priestly magic is undoubtable more powerful in an absolute sense, I am not very good at channeling it yet. Also, I have no experience with such duels. Keeping to her word, the construct stepped aside and allowed us to enter her master's sanctuary.

Ambyrmont 4, 1011:
The elven construct, who was named Tisaz allowed us into her master Alamir's sanctum. She left us for a while, and returned bearing an urn containing some of the Sundered Man's remains. We discussed whether we should attempt to proceed into this strange place. Although many of us did not feel right in attempting to take the treasures of this (presumably) long-dead mage, we eventually decided that if we didn't take them, then our enemies would. Furthermore, we hoped that taking everything of some value would mean that the others would not enter this place, leaving Tisaz safe.
Tisaz informed us that Alamir left to get aid in finalising the construction of a powerful blade especially enchanted against Undead. Apparently he required the kiss of a Goddess! We rested a while before attempting the recovery of the sword.

Ambyrmont 5:
We enter the complex to find a corridor with five more doors leading off it; two to either side and one on the end. A spell informs me that they are all magically trapped except one. This one turns out to be a bathroom, with water available on command. Tessarael attempted to untrap and open the first door on the right, but manages only to set off the magical runes. These set off a series of strange rapidly-expanding spheres of light which strike all of us and all of the complex. Tisaz is struck and collapses.
The spheres seem to have cancelled most of our magical items, and hurt Tisaz. Many of our party members are extremely unhappy with this ocurance. For myself, Krang's sword has stopped glowing and the various runes on the torch and bracer have disappeared. I can re-enchant the sword and bracer myself, and will do so as soon as I get time. I unfortunately can do nothing about the Dagar rune that was enscribed on the torch.
With the other magical traps now cancelled, we attempt to open the other doors. Tisaz seems to over-estimate our power and is surprised that we actually have problems opening them. I finally use a spell which gives me partial control over air to open the door. This takes me two days to complete on all of them.

Ambyrmont 6:
The end room yielded the partially-finished sword. Other than that, we found three of the grey servants, destroyed by the spheres no doubt. In another room we found an enchanted spear. This is later identified by Tisaz - who can apparently identify items just by studying them fora brief while - as +1. I take it into my possession since no one else uses a spear.
Although I also do not, I have on several occasion though I should learn. None of the others were interested. The room that once was the library had been looted. It seems someone (or something) had dug a tunnel in from the outside. Tisaz never noticed since she was not allowed to enter the library. While checking out this tunnel my link with Remus is broken for a short time. When I arrive (post-haste) I discover that Sefrana tried to communicate "more fully" with him and ended up possessing him instead. She won't do it again (she'd better not!). Poor Remus is quite confused by this incident.
Both Ariah and I cast Diviniations. I asked what Freya wanted me to do witht he unfinished sword, and she told me to complete it. When I asked how, she told me of a gate 100 miles west of the town of Tromso.
Ariah casts a divination to learn of the whereabouts of Alamir. Tisaz donates a powerful ring in an attempt to make the divination work more effectively. She learns that Alamir has partially succeeded in his quest. Debating this answer did not bring us much joy - we decided that it may well mean that he is now meeting a Goddess face-to-face.
We leave the tower, enjoying the wonderful weather. Tisaz has decided to come with us. She claims that the reason is that we now have fairly much everything that she was meant to guard. I think it has more to do with what she calls her "insanity". This turns out to be normal emotions. Poor girl. She is very curious.
We pass back through Denegoth and arrive in Wendar's capital without incident.

Ambyrmont 27:
We stayed the night in the same inn at the capital, and then headed for the library. The autumn weather stayed fine. On the way we were warned by some travellers of strange flying creatures which carry off people. Some sort of demons apparently. The next day we are warned of the same creatures by a patrol.

Sviftmont 7:
We arrived at the monastery and stayed overnight. Well, over-day. We tell the "monks" of our encounter with the witch-creature, but leave out much of the rest of our travels. We hire a carpenter to come with us and look at the ship to see if she can stabilise it.

Sviftmont 8:
At the ship - which is still intact - the carpenter tells us that she can't do any better, given the conditions. We fly her back to the monastery and then head to Tromso.

Sviftmont 25:
While flying the engine suddenly gives out. While Zim is trying to fix the problem we encounter a stampede of buffalo caused by cattle-thieves. We manage to divert most of the around the ship, but the ship is damaged further. As are we. We finally manage to get the ship back into the air, but it goes down again only six hours later.
We decided that Zim should give the ship a complete overhaul. This will take a full day. While he is doing this I re-enchanted the runes on the bracer. The sword was re-enchanted while we flew.

Sviftmont 26:
We set off again for Tromso.

Sviftmont 28:
We finally arrive at Tromso, and turn back to the west.

Eirmont 2:
We arrived at the rough region of the gate and started searching the area from the air. This was fairly close to where we stayed for the overhaul.

Eirmont 4:
We find old stones which might have been standing stones. Digging around, we discovered a skeleton and then a foul-smelling hole. We rested overnight, keeping a close watch on the hole.

Eirmont 5:
Sefrana and Remus stayed outside while we entered.In the hole we discovered a corridor leading to a room filled with treasure and junk. Presiding over this was a spirit who calls himself Tom the Trader. Apparently we can swap items of our for his items. No matter what we take, it will apparently have a similar value to what we give.
We passed through the room into a network of corridors. There we encountered a floating, intelligent ring of fire. While the others fled I talked to it. It is a servant of Law and warned us against other creatures who roam these corridors. Apparently there are many gates to various planes. It advises us to seek the gate at the end of the passage-way.
Further down some coridors we encounter a horrible creature made of stone. The ring of fire finally lures it away.
The next part was strange. There was a series of obstacles, and a button before each obstacle. Each button transformed the one pushing it into a creature. Pushing it again undid the change.
The first was a pit where the gravity changed direction regularly. The first button before this turned people into chickens. The second button turned people into small cats, and the obstacle was a narrow passage which could be easily passed in cat-form. The third button turned us into frogs, allowing us to swim a pair of moats. The ledge at the end presented some problems for a while, but we finally made it to the next moat. Hidden there we found a button to turn us into a fish, allowing us to swim deeply and exit at the other end. A button there allowed us to change back into our own forms.

Eirmont 5, 1011:
Once more in our own forms, we found a ladder leading down into a shaft. Following a corridor that we found at the bottom of the ladder, we soon heard a strange sound ahead of us; whistling. The source of this turned out to be a strange creature; small and skinny with reddish skin and large, floppy ears. We greeted him in a friendly fashion, and he returned in kind. He gave his name as Corat, and claimed to be the builder of the part of the complex we had just traversed. After I complimented him on his ingenuity he became even more friendly, and agreed to help Sefrana and Remus join us. It appears that he was brought in by a grey gate (not visible from the entry side) and now was unable to leave since other grey gates did not function for him. We agreed to meet him a Tom's trading room - they were old friends.
We made it back most of the way, but were confronted with the two pits we had earlier had so much trouble while crossing. Tessarael volunteered to head back and tell Sefrana (I had already informed Remus through our mental link) and I saw no reason to stop him. Imagine my surprise when I found out that Tessarael had not arrived at Tom's. Instead Remus became bored and went for a wander (I scolded him for this) and found the elf at the bottom of the second pit. He was still alive by the time we got to him, and I consented to use a Wind Servant spell to aid in recovering him. I did not heal him, however. Ariah did, and I did not argue. How she uses the powers that her God Morgan grants her is between her and Him.
We entered Tom's chamber as a group, arriving shortly before Corat. I assumed my wolf form and hunted outside with Remus. Although he is faster than me, and quite possibly a better hunter, I managed to bring down more rabbits than him on this occasion. Of course I couldn't have done it without him; two wolves hunt far better than one.
The preparing of the dinner was a team effort, shared by Tisaz, Ariah and myself. After this meal we rested. Tessareal exchanged some more items with Tom, obviously still trying to beat the system.

Eirmont 6:
After a somewhat leisurely breakfast the next day, Corat opened up a passage for us to his room. This even included a set of well-made stairs. We learned that he calls himself a Goblin, but obviously is far more civilised (and powerful) than the Goblins of this world. We left the sword and the urn containing the ashes of the Sundered Man with Corat, and Sefrana agreed to guard them. Tessarael objected, but finally acquiesced when we pointed out that they could easily be damaged if we carried them with us.
After following the another corridor for some distance, we arrived at a large room full of Mants; large ants with human heads - true abominations. Corat had told us that these were Lawful and would probably leave us alone if we did not disturb them. We moved through carefully, and they avoided us as we avoided them. Amongst their number we spotted a naked brain on six clawed legs; truly horrifying. There were three exits and we chose the middle one.
Corat had given us some directions, in specific that the gate we sought would be found by going straight and then taking the third turning to the left. Some of the members of our groups were confused by these simple directions when the next room we came to had six exits; three each on the left and the right. I stopped Tesserael from entering the second one on the left, explaining that we had gone straight at the last room and now should choose the third exit. We were still discussing this when we noticed a red glow from one of the exits to the right. After that, we headed for the proper corridor (the third one) in a hurry.
Not far down this corridor we encounter two creatures whose grey cloaks had helped them to disguise themselves amongst piles of stone. These remarkably ugly beings stood over six feet tall, and had boar-like tusks jutting from their mouths. Both bore crude blades. For once Tessarael did not attack immediately, and I was able to cast a spell of Tongues. This allowed me to negotitate passage with these creatures. They agreed to take us through their territory for seven coins of gold.
There was a small army of these creatures - easily one hundred or more. When Ariah and I stopped to aid some wounded Phoranin attempted to stop us. She claimed that these creatures were evil. Although unsure, we had already offered our aid and could not easily back out now. Also Phoranon had stated that these creatures she called "Orcs" were as evil as the surface elves; the latter being a fact which I have been given much reason to doubt. Although neither Ariah nor I used our magical powers of healing, we were still able to aid many wounded by treating their wounds; their previous bandages having been mere mockeries of proper treatment. Once this was completed, our guide introduced us to what is obviously the "God" of this tribe. A large fire with black eyes. The fire seems to want us to donate to him, but most of use refuse. Lani does offer some coins, however. I have no wish to give goods or pretend worship to such a creature - possibly a spawn of Loki himself.
Despite being obviously angered by our refusal to sacrifice to his flaming Deity, our Orcish guide led us to a branching of two corridors. We were told by the Orc that one led to stone things (which were dangerous) and that the other lead to all sorts of even more dangerous creatures. Indeed the Orcs had blocked off the second passage.There was some discussion as to which corridor would be best, and in the end I cast a Divination spell which indicated that we should take the one past the stone creatures.
Just past Orcish territory we rested. While we did so, a band of twenty Orcish warriors moved past us away from their territory. Tessarael followed them and saw them attack and slay a strange stone creature, and then apparently dig some form of ore out of it's innards. It was with some satisfaction that we saw only fifteen of the Orcs return.

Eirmont 7, 1011:
Now well rested, we moved carefully into the new network of tunnels. Sure enough, we soon encountered one of the strange domes of stone that Tessarael had described. It charged us immediately, although it was moving slowly enough that we could stay out of it's reach. Hoping that it was merely confusing us with Orcs, I cast the Tongues spell. Although this brought me dangerously close to the charging creature, I thought this our best chance for a peaceful solution.
Indeed the creature stopped it's charge and was persuaded to lead us through to the water. In particular, it agreed to lead us to a "water woman". I am glad that we managed to avoid combat.
The "water woman" turned out to be a nymph called Shan. She was quite friendly and informed us of the path we needed to take. Most of the path was under-water, and even worse a giant snake had chased her from that region. We promised to take care of the threat for her.
Not long thereafter Tessarael and I entered the water, aided by a prayer which grants us the ability to breathe the water as if it were air. Again, I agreed to use Freyas powers to aid Tessarael because not doing so would have hindered out quest.
We shortly encountered the snake, and a fearsome beast it was. Tessarael immediately entered into combat with it, but with Freya's aid I was able to speak with it and persuade it not to attack. It was obviously frightened of our big "fangs" (our weapons). It agreed that this area would become our territory, and it would avoid it. This would keep the nymph safe.
Since it was wounded in the fight with Tessarael, I offered to heal it. As I did so, Tessarael attacked it again! Luckily I was able to deflect the treacherous blow he had aimed at the snake. We had quite a talk about that when we got to the surface, I can tell you! That was later, however. First we located the gate, which was on a small beach accessable by a mostly water-filled room some distance on.
Returning to the others, we went back for Safranna and the sword. This was done with minimal hassles, although we had to pay the Orc for passage both ways. Back at Shan's pool our group had quite a heated discussion about the snake incident. Well, Amora was quite heated anyway. She stated that she did not wish to be in a group where healers aided out enemies. Enemies? Hah! Surprisingly enough, Tessarael not only defended my actions but also admitted that his actions where a mistake.
Although my opinion of Amora continues to plummet (I don't know how Thorfinn could have believed that she follows Frey) my opinion of Tessarael imrpoved a notch. He is obviously not entirely set on violence. Perhaps he is possessed in some way, since he generally acts quite reasonably at most times. It bears watching.

Eirmont 8:
After resting beside Shan's pool and more discussion with her we passed through the waters. This was not entirely easy since Safranna has problems with running water and Amora did not wish to get wet. Tisaz cast several spells which helped greatly. The gate on the other side seemed to come and go, so we decided to rest on the beach and prepare for the crossing.
Hours later we were ready. After much discussion and experimentation we moved through as a group. We ended up on a cliff with grasslands below. As we look around, Lani creates a ball of light just by thinking about one. Intrigued, I create a stairway leading down to the grassland just by picturing one in my mind. We seem to be able to create objects by thought alone. Truly a place of the Gods!
While experimenting, Ariah creates a human called Sir Lanthar. He is a paladin, and was apparently a friend of hers. It turns out that he is not the real one, but merely(!) a creation which mirrors Ariah's expectations of him. In particular, he has no knowledge that Ariah does not. He is able to do things that Ariah cannot, however, such as swing a sword.
Much discussion ensued, and we eventually realised that each of us could create only so many "images". We decided to wait some time and then attempt to make a gate to Freya. We saw signs of other inhabitants, such as a flying city (later a flying village) and a mountain range which appeared and was later carved into enormous statues by an unseen hand.

Eirmont 9?:
We experiment with trying to create a gate but fail. Finally, we move towards a distantly visible forest. We hope to find some local inhabitants who can point us in the right direction. We skrit the forest towards the distant mountains.

Eirmont 10?:
Further experimentation with the properties of this strange place showed that we can each make three living and three mineral creations per day. Our creations fade and disappear at around midnight unless we are actually concentrating at the time, in which case they count towards our allotment for the next day. This includes Sir Lanthar, so Ariah is woken at just before midnight every night.

Eirmont 11?:
Experimenting with combining our creative talents we create a wagon and two horses. We now make better time.

Eirmont 15:?
We meet a strange person; an immortal named Loth. He appears to be trying to teach himself how to paint. He was friendly and inormative, telling us that this place is divided into "domains" of various Divinities. In general all Deities with an interest in creation have a domain here - which seems logical. We are currently in the domain of Alphatia, whom he serves. We learned much of immorality, and Loth even pointed us in the direction of Frey's domain. Although there are rules governing the conduct of immortals and Deities here, there are no restrictions (or protections) on their dealings with mortals such as us.

[This continues the tale of Thora Greywalker, as reported to her high ] [priestess Elsa of the Wind. There is a large gap between this report and ] [the last one. I will try to fill in this gap later, but for now I want to ] [write about recent events while they are fresh in my memory. ] [Please keep in mind that this report is biased by bad memory and Thora's ] [opinions. ]

[There are parts to this report that other players will not be aware of. ] [If you read this, please keep it OOC. It may be better if other players ] [in the campaign do not read these episodes. ]

7 / 3 / 1012

We were staying in Sunsvale in Alphatia. Having purchased various minor items of a magical nature (including a pair of rings which would allow us to communicate with Tisaz), we decided to spend a few days here to try to find rumours that would lead to beneficial action. If we could not find information about further parts of the Sundered Man, we would try to imrpove our chances of future success by improving our skills and equipment. Thus we were looking for opportunities to gain money or magic - while helping others if that proved to be possible.

Tessarael pulled one of his normal tricks and disappeared. He had left word with our inkeeper that if he was not back in three days we should leave without him. Naturally this worried me. I did not trust him, and had been especially charged by Freya herself to watch him and Phoranon.

Eventually Ariah and I were persuaded to cast Divinations to see what was happening. Freya did not grant me information - Tessarael's foul deity no doubt had hidden him to some degree - but Morgan informed Ariah that Tessarael was not in physical danger at the moment. This satisfied Phoranon, but did little to ease my mind since I am less worried about his well-being than about what mischief he is getting up to.

9 / 3 / 1012

We were due to leave the next day and Tessarael still had not returned. While discussing our course of action (most people wanted to wait for him!) some guardsmen entered the inn and made an announcement. The favourite of the Empress, General Torenal, had been assassinated, and the city gates were to be closed while investigations were made. Most of us immediately wondered if (or how) Tessarael was connected to this.

I decided to tracte Tessarael through the use of the Ihwar rune that Freya had granted me. Remus was able to follow Tessarael's trail from his door into the city. When his nose lost the trail, a quick blessing on the Rune allowed me to pick it up again. I had not thought that I would need this Rune, and am again impressed by Freya's wisdom and foresight.

Unfortunately this trail did not help us much, as it was actually the trail he made coming in. I checked outside of the gate - the guards at the gate did not think to prohibit a Wolf from being let out at night - but found no trace of him.

11 / 3 / 1012

The gates were opened again. It seems that some Glantri group was found to be guilty of the assassination. We left for Serraine in Zim's ship.

18 / 3 / 1012

We arrived in Serraine and immediately went to see Tisaz. She is doing very well, having made a deal with the Mage's Guild allowing her to use her Identification powers without repercussions.

Tisaz had been busy with research. She had learned that the Isle of Serenity is apprently a place where a deity called Alphaks is worshipped. He appears to desire the destruction of Alphatia. She had also garnered various other rumours, but they were of little interest to me at that time.

We began to search for useful information there. Since I was not able to read or speak the language, my first priority was the learning of Sky Common - the most useful language for Serraine. I hired a tutor for this.

25 / 3 / 1012

Phoranon was very worried about Tessarael, and I eventually cast Reflecting Pool to locate him. Luckily the Pegataur Shamans had a suitable pool in the Singing Gardens. I was granted a vision of Tessarael poling a barge down a river. I reported this to Phoranon, who was both happy and angry.

4 / 4 / 1012

With Phoranon by my side, I cast Reflecting Pool again. Tessarael was talking to some shady-looking people. Later that day a note from him arrived, telling us that he is in Glantri. It also mentioned that a war between the gods is looming in about two years time, and that one side is called the "Blessed Radiance" - apparently led by a deity named Rad.

Shortly afterwards, Zim informed us that a vase such as those that contain the ashes of the Sundered Man has arrived in Serraine. We investigated, and Remus and I staked out the house of the recipient - one necromancer by the name of Hyedrich.

The events that follow are somewhat confused in my memort - so much happened in so little time. It started when Tessarael ran past. Rmus and I quickly gave chase, and caught up with him at the door to Tisaz's house. Disregarding a magical warning, he picked the lock on the front door - right on the main street - and was blasted by fire from a magical trap. The ensuing confusion finally calmed down when Tisaz didn't press charges - although she was far from happy. Tessarael refused to tell us anything, claiming hurry was needed. Phoranon was gone.

Later, when Remus and I were watching Hyedrich's house again, I suddenly realised that I didn't even know what he looked like. Leaving Remus there, I raced to Tisaz. She informed me that he is a Nagpa - a vulture-like humanoid. I looked around for him, including in a tavern known to be frequented by his kind. While I was doing this, Remus spotted him approaching his house.

Remus acted the part of an annoying animal, delaying Hyedrich long enough for me to get there. Pretending to be interested in necromantic lore, I offered him a sizeable fee to clear me up on some matters. An hour or so later I had learned much about necromancy and death. I managed to slip in questions about the Sundered Man, but Hyedrich denied all knowledge. Eventually I left, unsatisfied.

We continued to watch his house, and Tessarael eventually relieved me. He called us later, informing us that a hunchback had attempted to break in by scaling the wall and had been repelled by fire. We all went to talk to Hyedrich more directly, but he denied everything.

While Tessarael continued to watch, I went to confirm his arrival. I talked with the mage who teleported Phoranon to Tessarael, and then left her in Glantri while teleporting himself and Tessarael back.

Matters were further complicated by the involvement (we don't know how or two what extent) of a supposed "concert pianist" named Vasilev. We though it very strange that the leader of the mage's guild, Eric Helsing, should be openly afraid of this man and started to keep a watch on him as well.

5 / 4 / 1012

This was were things got very interesting. That evening, while I was watching the Inn that Vasilev was staying inn I noticed a strange bird (normally not nocturnal but out at night anyway) looking in through a window. The bird was evidently dispelled, because it turned into a person who fell to the ground below. He was evidently a mage, for he disappeared almost immediately. I talked with a friendly cat, and he reached the window-sill easily. I used a spell which allowed me to look through it's eyes. This didn't help overly much, but I did glimpse the Nagpa, Hyedrich in the room.

Since we knew that Hyedrich was not home, we decided to raid his house. The Pegataur Paladin, Roland, arranged for a search warrant. The garden was guarded by some hell-hounds, which we dispatched with minimal difficulties. Entering into the house was accomplished by my Shaping the Stone of the walls by calling upon Freya's power. Interior doors were bypassed similarly, and we eventually found a secret staircase leading downwards.

Below we found a strange Pegataur knight wielding an enchanted lance. We were forced to slay him, and I gave the lance to Roland to use. Shortly thereafter we were attacked by a pair or heavily armoured humaonoids, but Ariah managed to Turn then from us with Morgan's power - evidently they were some form of Undead.

More exploration led us to a large room, in which were several Ogres, as well as Hyedrich and his gnomish servant. The armoured figures returned, and I tried to hold them off. Unforntunately, one of them dropped his sword and touched me - draining some of my life force. Ariah Turned them again, and I joined the main battle.

Shortly thereafter the Ogres were dispached, the gnome was Held and Hyedrich escaped. An Urn was sitting on an altar, although this Urn appeared slightly different to the other ones - having a flame coming out of it's top. Tessarael cut the throat of the Held gnome, but there was no time for recriminations then - they would come later.

We managed to find Hyedrich's escape route, and I tracked him with the aid of Freya's Rune. We eventually tracked him out through a cellar and then onto a street. Hearing sounds of magical battle nearby, we hastened in that direction.

We arrived to find Vasilev (the supposed concert pianist) and Eric Helsing (the leader of the mage's guild) engaged in an all-out spell battle. Tessarael rushed at Vasilev, but then turned to attack Eric, wounding him badly. I managed to knock Tessarael out with the flat of my blade, and Vasileft left magically when he became aware that we planned to aid Eric.

Tessarael was taken to jail, and I accompanied Eric to the Onyx Tower, while some of the others took the Urn to safety. Someone - presumably Tessarael or some minion of Vasilev attempted to gain entry to the tower not much later. (It turned out later that Tessarael had in fact escaped.)

I had to make a hard decision. At this point, I could no longer travel with Tessarael, but had been told to watch him and Phoranon. The only way I could really do this if I continued to travel with Phoranon and managed to get Tessarael taken out of action. For this reason, I stressed to Erik that Tessarael was dangerous, vindictive, and inclined to kill needlessly. He vowed to take proper precauuions.

I was left with the dilemma of decideding whether I wanted Tessarael captured or slain, since I wasn't sure how long they could hold him.

This continues the diary of Thora Greywalker, as told to her High Priestess, Elsa the Wind.

6/4/1012

My fears were confirmed, Tesserael had indeed escaped from the prison. By the combined efforts of Remus and myself (I was using the Hunter rune, Ihwar) we managed to track the fugitive from the prison to an entrance to the Undercity. Apparently this place is something of a sewer - a strange concept - and is the lair of criminals and monsters.
I informed the guards of this. Their opinion was that it would be almost impossible to catch Tesserael down there.

7/4/1012

I again talked with Eric. He has been taking appropriate precautions, which is just as well. We didn't know at that stage whether or not Tesserael would attack again.
Around noon, several party members and many guards entered the undercity at different points. Through the repeated blessing of Ihwar, I managed to lead the hunt in the correct direction.
Many hours later, Tesserael was spotted. It seems that we managed to corner him, because he suddenly leapt from the shadows and struck a gnomish guard. This guard held Tesserael long enough to allow us to close. I attempted to stop him with my spells, but his Deity protected him well. Only Tesserael's uncanny agility allowed him to escape the guards - by literally vaulting over the heads of the short gnomes and running away. Not wishing to lose him again, Remus and I went in pursuit. Remus was only slightly slower than the speedy rogue, and I was able to follow Remus' mental directions with ease. We truly hunt well together. Unfortunately we far outpaced all of our allies - guards and party members both.
I finally caught up with Remus, who informed me that Tesserael was nearby. I continued on in human form now, and it is just as well. Tesserael attacked, and we fought with blades. Knowing that he has always been my superior with weapons, I sent Remus to lead the pursuers to us. Tesserael was already badly wounded by this stage, from his many earlier battles, and I believe that I almost managed to down him. Unfortunately he used an unusual tactic - attacking me and bowling me over.
Not only is he a better warrior, but Tesserael is also stronger than I am. It wasn't long before he had me pinned - although I landed a few blows in the tussle - and bought valuable time. I fully expected him to kill me, and I was vastly relieved to hear the footsteps that meant help was approaching. Tesserael surprised me yet again, indicating that he had no wish to kill me. Although he held a blade at my throat, he told me that this was only to stop the others from approaching. He said that if things went bad he would scratch my throat and I should pretend to die - and he would make his escape. I didn't know whether to believe him or not, but he seemed earnest enough. I only half listened as Tesserael negotiated safe passage. Some time later, we stood and began to move slowly towards the nearest exit.
At this stage, Freya played her hand. Several foul centipede-like creatures with writhing tentacles for mouths attacked Tesserael and me. I was struck and found myself unable to move. Tesserael was forced to leave me, and the guards were delayed by defeating the creatures that blocked out pursuit. Tesserael had escaped, but without me. It could have been far worse.

8/4/1012

Not ready to give up, I returned to plan with Eric Helsing. Later, in the grove of the pegataur shamans, Freya granted me a vision of Tesserael in their pool. Plans were made and re-made.

9/4/1012

I again called upon Freya to show me Tesserael in the pool. This time, however, the rest of the group was also present, as was Eric. Amora was present despite my misgivings. I believed her far too likely to side with Tesserael against us.
Eric used his powers to Teleport us all to where Tesserael was. Surprised, he quickly succumbed to a spell of holding. Obviously his god is not able to protect him as well above ground. Unsurprisingly, Amora attempted to stop us from approaching Tesserael to take him back. She threatened us with her axe, and I was forced to employ a second spell of holding on her. We took them both back with us, and handed them over to the authorities.

10/4/1012

Rather unsurprisingly Amora was released almost immediately. She will be given a chance to speak at Tesserael's trial. Personally, I am glad to be rid of her constant derision. Once again I thanked Freya for giving me a chance to correct Thorfinn's mistakes.

(Player note: Thorfinn, a priest of Frey, died and was Resurrected as Thora. She thinks he was an idiot - to say the least.)

14/4/1012

It turns out that Tesserael had been charmed by Vasilev - although I did not see this as an excuse for any of his actions - except perhaps the attack on Eric. The charm was of course removed by Serrainian mages once it was discovered. I chose not to press charges of Kidnapping against Tesserael, since I am still unsure of his motives for not killing me. I readily admit that he could have done so. I did speak in the trial - as truthfully as I was able. The trial was strange in that Tesserael seems to have bought a lawyer who is much respected. He sure seemed to spout total rubbish at times though, generally following it by some series of numbers. The judge occasionally seemed impressed.

15/4/1012

Tesserael was found guilty on all counts and was senetenced to close to four years in prison. He - through his lawyer - immediately demanded a retrial.

25/4/1012

The judge decided that Tesserael was not guilty of the charge of attacking the gnomish guard - although I don't know why. He increased several other sentences though, giving a longer total prison sentence than before. I was pleased, until it was announced that the case was being put before the Council.

The deliberations took two weeks. As we were required to remain in Serraine (we were occasionally called upon to answer questions pertaining to the case) I spent this time in prayer and meditation. I was uncertain as to whether I had done the right thing. During this time, however, Freya granted me a new spell which would allow me to learn the nature of people. I took this as approval for my actions, and was highly pleased.

The council deliberations were still going on. I believe that some councillors may have been bribed by Tesserael's lawyer. The other councillors no doubt sided with Eric (who is of course one of Serraine's councillors) for their own reasons.

[This continues the (interupted) tales of Thora Greywalker, a druid PC in ] [Glenn's Norse campaign. All parts of this tale are told from her viwepoint ] [which should explain some of the wilder inaccuracies. (The rest being ] [explained by my memory. ]

11th of Klarmont

We left the town early in the morning, having been directed towards a southern river. The journey was pleasant, especially given the state of the woods of Alfheim. Hunting was good and the mood was light.

13th of Klarmont

We reached the river. Quite impressive, it must have been over 100 feet across. Turning Southwest, we followed its banks.

15th of Klarmont

Finally reaching the lake, we had almost reached the goal of your trip. After surveying the lake and the distant town (and the various craft near the other side of the lake) we walked some distance into the woods. I sent out a call to any dryads that might be nearby, having previously found this race to be pleasant and helpful. Almost immediately a young woman of apparently elvish origin stepped from the trees. She had golden hair and was - of course - quite beautiful.
The dryad introduced herself as Xeris. As hoped, she knew of the nearby faerie court and could take us there. Even better though, she knew of a sage nearby who may be able to answer our questions even better. Needless to say, we requested to meet this sage.
We strolled through the woods with Xeris for around three hours before coming to a thicket. Passing inside through an archway, we came across a female centaur instructing a group of elven children - apparently in the ancient history of Alfheim. Unlike Safranna, this centaur was immaculately groomed and sported what passed locally for fine clothes.
Since we were going to wait a while for the centaur to finish, Remus and went hunting. It was a couple of hours after we returned that the class was over and the centaur introduced herself to us as Charastra. She was both pleasant and extremely helpful, answering many of our questions and giving us much useful - even necessary - information without asking anything in exchange. Charastra is a Seer, fathered by a being named Chiron who may well be a power. It appears that she possesses much knowledge that mortals may not gain, and thus has to abide by some of their strictures.
We left more than two hours later, after Charastra had given us a most strange piece of advice. When we queried her about a place for us to gain items that would aid our quest, she told us to go to the Alphatian home system. Apparently this is the group of planets that the Alphatians originated from.
Having just left the thicket, an elf stepped out of the nearby trees and mysteriously told us that he wished to help us, and that Sharastra sometimes gave bad advice. He named himself Allen and advised us to leave Alpha (the capital of Norwald) with a fleet in three months time. It seems that Norwald will be attacked and this fleet will be their answer. Somehow this fleet is going to end up in the Alphatian home system.
Declining to answer our questions as to who he was and why he was helping us - other than to assure us repeatedly that he was a friend of Sharastra - Allen left. We decided to follow his advice. For my part I am concerned that this may be a trap of some sort, but since we are nominally on Alphatia's side for their war helping them defend Norwald would not be wasted time.
That evening, Tessarael attempted to induce visions by having me give him a magic mushroom. He has always been reckless, but at least this time he is probably not endangering anyone else, so I complied. He was insensible for half of one hour, and later recovered enough to tell us that he'd had a vision of rafting on a dark sea, with three heads hovering around him; a helmeted female, a white-haired old man, and an elf who looked suspiciously like Allen.
Tesserael interpreted this to mean that three powers are watching him; the woman being Freya/Athena, the elf most likely being Illsundal, the lord of the elves, and the white-haired man possibly being Raphael. Myself, I'm more likely to put the whole experience down to his paranoia, but given later occurrences would guess the elf is Raphael and the man Alphaks if Tesserael's interpretation is perchance correct.
As evening approached, Tesserael and Lani left us to detour through Darokin City. I cast a spell on both to allow them to walk over the lake, although Lani of course should not need it.

16th of Klarmont

We left for Corunglen in the morning, having invited Xeris to accompany us. We passed her home to allow her to retrieve her things - including a bow and a sword. Having done that we made our way northwards.

23rd of Klarmont

We arrived in Corunglen and filled the others in on what happened.

24th of Klarmont

Tesserael and Lani arrived, and we planned some more. We eventually decided to go directly to Norwald via a Dimensional Folding. Tesserael could describe an innkeeper in Oceansend. We could then make our way from there to the capital, Alpha.
At this point, Ariah surprised us all (apart from Tesserael) by stating that she would not accompany us. It appears that she has something to do in Darokin or Alfheim. She would open the Dimensional Folding and then go her own way. She won't tell us any more details either. She has never really fitted in, but I still feel that this was a betrayal of sorts. Then again, it may be ordered by Morgan - I'd leave the party too if it was Freya's will. We appeared in Oceansend and headed northwards, following the coast.

2nd of Felmont

The days have been uneventful, and the weather mild. I'm afraid to say that many of us were starting to lower our guards when a visitor came calling. In front of our group, a large reptilian head rose from behind a mound of rocks and breathed lightning at us. Xeris keeled over, and many of us were badly blasted. We retaliated immediately with sword and spell, and the creature was dead before it could launch a second strike, mainly due to Roland's prowess with his two-handed sword.
We followed the creature back to its lair but found nothing apart from scales. Some of our group took some scales, hoping that they may be valuable.

6th of Felmont

Although the last few days had been restful, we had not lapsed into laxity again. This meant that we detected faint tremors in the earth scant seconds before a monstrosity burst from it. Worm-like, it reared above us and bit at Roland, severing his arm and shoulder and swallowing the rest of him in one gulp. It did not manage much more before we slew it, but even my dive into it's throat (suitably protected from the acids of it's interior by Freya's blessing) could not save Roland's life. What we recovered was just so much acid-scarred meat.
Safranna was affected the most by his death, so when Turia made a remark about looting Roland's corpse, it is not entirely surprising that she went berserk. Immune to most of the magics that would have allowed us to stop her, we were forced to cut her down to save Turia - knowing that Safranna would regenerate in time.
It was a nervous time, but we eventually managed to get some rest - planning to question Roland's spirit about us question for his life in the evening once the appropriate spells had been prepared. We had been resting for over two hours when Roland's corpse began to glow.
Two glows - a green and a white - were evidently battling for Roland. Lani used a powerful song which drives away Undead (and worked just fine on Safranna) and I used healing magics. Our efforts caused the green glow to fade away. Roland was just as dead as before.
When Safranna returned, she admitted that she'd been asking for help. Zim's familiar told us that the green glow was Alphaks, answering Safranna's request. We warned her to be careful when requesting assistance and to specify who the assistance was sought from. I then led her in a prayer to Freya.
I did not believe that Freya would simply return Roland to life - we had the ways and means to do so ourselves, though it would have cost us dearly - but the importance of our mission was shown when our prayers were answered. Roland awoke - as if from a sleep - and now lives again. He still lacks his arm, but given time even that can be repaired, I'm sure.

Continued on the main diary page.

Glenn Butcher / knight