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= Logs =
= Logs =
== February ==
== May ==
=== 12 ===
=== 10 ===
{{playerlog|Maerilith | It's... been a while since I last wrote one of these... But everyone seems... surprisingly happy to see me walking around the guild once more. Except [[Ignar_Gnomez|Ignar]]. But his old cantankerous mind is failing him, so we shouldn't hold a grudge against him... too much. He ''did'' stab [[Crash]] during our week's journeys, so I'd watch your back around that gnome.
{{playerlog|Communal Log|
* The group decided to wait the time out
* Rich's character investigated the magic that was being purified and found that it was being used to create arcane that mortals could use. He went about trying to construct a magic item to allow him to cast two instances of illusion magic at the same time and the workers constructed it for him so his character has a ring that allows for minor or major illusion to be cast twice whenever it is cast once.
* Trevor's character tried to build a bigger gun, which failed
* Morgans character went around asking people if they had names and ended up with the general opinion of him becoming less favorable
* Gabe's character went to try to hide some loot for future adventurers to find, but ended up not doing so


But my first journey outside of the guild's halls was quite interesting. We spoke with the farmers who were searching for their missing family heirlooms, and <s>fortunately</s> unfortunately, their tiefling-hating father had been eaten by wolves. Too bad we don't have any leads on their onyx figurines... I wouldn't be surprised though if some irritable, conceited, haughty wizard disintegrated them on a whim or over a simple misunderstanding.
When the group went up to meet with Ti they were greeted by a hunched figure in the middle, spreading from the figure were a multitude of, what I was only able to describe as, hinged tendrils. A series of straight sections that bent at fixed intervals along their path. At the end of each tendril was a creature that looked like a slightly mutated version of the one in the middle, some taller, some smaller, some wider, etc etc. Each one was recording data on some medium, all sorts of methods of record were being utilized.


Either way, we were back to square one on what to do, and for some reason, [[Avallac'h]] and the others seemed hesitant on going to the new temple with me. <small>''[[Lelyvia]], you better not have told them I wasn't allowed to go there without you! I'm not a child that needs to be looked after!''</small> So, instead I suggested we try to find a ruby for Elaine. I... needed to make it up to her... and how hard could a ruby be to find with a whole mine and vastly unexplored hills to the east?
Above the room hovered a large glowing ovoid object that lit up Ti's room with a light brighter then the natural sunlight from outside, which the group learned was "the weaverseed" the source of existence for the realm and the arcane nexus that creates the deities every millennia. The magic from this object is what was being purified in the lower section of the tower.


As luck would have it, [[Eric Silverhand]] did have a ruby he was willing to part with for a discounted price. The only downside was that it was enchanted or infused with some sort of magic that burned and set fire to those that touched it. Avallac'h studied the gem from a distance with mage hand and detect magic, <small>(Mental note: practice mimicking some of those incantations and gestures tonight and experiment with what various deviations can achieve.)</small> and determined that it held some sort of containment magic but didn't know how to release it without damaging the ruby itself.
When the players walked in they obseved all of the jointed tendrils fold in pulling each of the bodies into the central one, who then stood up and greeted the players with a smile asking how they could help. Ti stood 12 feet tall, draped in a raggity cloak manufactured in an era long past. Their face rather unassuming while their arms and legs like black sticks jutting out from under their cloak. Ti also seemed to be able to reach at any point in the room regardless of the distance, as demonstrated when patting Morgan's character on the head while exploring the room.


Without a way to safely free whatever was inside, it was too risky to purchase the ruby from Eric, so off we went into the hillsides in search of another. After a couple of days though, we'd only scrounged up some small chunks of gold and other gems, but nothing like the fist sized ruby from the mine. We decided to check in with Elaine to get a better understanding of exactly what she needed. (Moz had been willing to sell us a ruby, too, though it was half the size of the one from the mine.) Yet, there was a very particular size and shape that she needed for... something she was crafting, so the ruby from the mine was our best chance.
Ti was questioned by the individuals who entered their room, explaining that Ti's purpose is to record the history of the plane. In doing so Et granted Ti the ability to grant names to individuals so that they may be more easily referenced within the history. As such the party asked Ti to give them names.


Carefully, we went to Moz <small>(I'm still surprised by her good mood in seeing me, but it's a welcome one.)</small> to seek her advice on how to break a containment spell without harming the gem, and apparently a code work or a simple dispel magic is all that's needed! So, back to the mine we went - Ignar was willing to purchase the ruby in exchange for the magical knife that Elaine was offering as a reward, but I still helped get a better bargain for him.
At this point the DM did not have enough information for any player other then Trevor as to what their name would be.
*Trevor's character was named Ith'Geb. Who later in history would become known as "Keeper of the Forge"


Once outside, Avallac'h dispelled the containment <small>(Mental note: these incantations and gestures were much more complex than detect magic - this one may take longer to learn.)</small> and out emerged an aggressive fire elemental. It simple enough to defeat the thing and retrieve the now inactive ruby for Elaine, who was elated to finally have it and happy to agree to give back any excess ruby remains and give Ignar the never-dull dagger. I think I noticed ruby dust on Lelyvia's temple wishlist... But the important part was Elaine was happy and amends are finally being made for the past.
The other players decided among themselves which characters would fit best to each of these roles (with some restrictions based on character choices):
*Keeper of the Temples
*Keeper of the Army
*Keeper of the Homeland
*Keeper of the Faith


-----
As a result Ti named each of the characters
*Rich's Character - Mai'cef, who would later be known as Keeper of the Faith
*Morgan's Character - Neb'tet who would later be known as Keeper of the Homeland
*Gabe's Character - Dae'mon, who would later be known as Keeper of the Temples
*Courtney's Character was left with - Kit'lai, who would later be known as Keeper of the Army


''So that's where you were! I was worried sick about you, Maerilith! When you disappeared without saying a word, I scoured the guild for you and feared the worst. You can't go off adventuring too far from the guild just yet, and especially none of the dungeons until I've checked them out first, so Lathander help me! It's too dangerous out there! You haven't seen the abominations that we have or the countless close calls we've encountered. As my ward, I can't in good faith let you put yourself in mortal danger. I know you're yearning to begin a new map of your own, but your safety must come first.''
After the naming the player's characters begun to grow the beginings of their wings and the scene ended.


''-Lelyvia''
Each one of the player charactes in the primary time were granted a vision of one of Ti's many external bodies, after such an even each character became aware of the entire contents of the minicampaign (which would have been hilarious if Gabe had followed through on hiding loot). Additionally they became aware of excerpts of Ti's History (as found on the wiki page).
}}


=== 4 ===
And that was the end of the session.
{{playerlog|Avallac'h | The Vahlarot Temple is clear of the vile vile aberrations that have called it home. We faced off against the temples guardian. A celestial being that has been corrupted by some demonic magic. Possibly a remnant of the ancient battle between good and evil that has been reference within the temple. It was a hard fought battle, but as always yours truly saved the day. With the entire party down, I landed the final blow on this powerful foe. Maybe now I can complete my studies of the various aberrations that we have come across. }}


{{playerlog|Lelyvia | Crash, Avallac'h, Ignar, and I went the the Vahlarot Temple for perhaps the final time this week to face whatever lurked behind the final locked room. We prepared for an intense battle with some monstrous aberration as we inserted the emerald key into that last locked door, but all we found was a silent statue of some angelic being and walls inscribed with some form of sealing enchantment... After some time investigating, we decided to go and retrieve the corpse of the green angelic being downstairs - thinking maybe this was some sort of puzzle. However, as soon as we went to leave the chamber, the statue animated and struck Avallac'h a nearly mortal wound!
New pieces of history will be added to Ti's Journal over time, extending from where the Minicampaign ended (~1200 years after Et's birth) up until the current era (~6000 years after Et's birth)


A tense battle ensued after that with Avallac'h and I raining down righteous fire from a distance with Crash and Ignar trading blows with the statue. But it was strange. It seemed to deal radiant damage, but it refused to be reasoned with, and as it took more blows, this strange dark inky black substance began poring out of its cracks and necrotic damage began mixing with the radiant. Whatever foul thing animated the statue, we quickly discovered was far from angelic. But at last, Avallac'h cast one final fireball that seemed to put the creature on its last leg - the black sludge nearly covering the entire statue at this point - but its powerful screech knocked Avallac'h out, and in its fury, struck down Crash and Ignar in two quick blows. I stood alone with no way to heal them all at once and could only pray to Lathander I could get to them all in time. Knowing Avallac'h stood the best chance of downing the creature with another large spell, I healed him and rushed over to stabilize Ignar as Crash seemed to have stabilized on his own somehow. Then, I turned to face the corrupted statue and hold my ground to give Avallac'h a chance to finish it off. But... It's mace cracked down in one brutal swing, and... I remember nothing after that.
[[Excerpts_from_Ti’s_History|Excerpts from Ti's History]]
}}


The next thing I knew was Avallac'h leaning over me administering a potion and the oozing statue frozen in place. Whatever it was, it seemed to have finally been defeated. So, after praying to Lathander to revitalize us all, we cautiously inspected the remains and the rest of the room. Crash collected some of the creature's tar-like substance and discovered that the mace the creature wielded was drawn to his own weapon and they seemed to fuse, giving off a bit of a necrotic aura itself now... Nothing else could be found in the chamber, but it felt complete, as though the temple had finally been cleansed of its corruption.
=== 3 ===
{{playerlog|Communal Log|
on our way to et's domain we encountered a slime/ooze dark entity. it did not have a name.
the ooze led us towards macaroni and cheese. It lead us towards the one with the name.
the ooze was cheerful and slowly killed themselves as they moved.
got to the girthy tower from up close.
we did things and the session ended.
talked to someone briefly and then fixed an elevator.
Ti is in a room and there's two guards guarding the room
Somehow chess was being played with Rich to distract them but it didn't work
wow these low fat doritos are pretty good.
cstover could teleport one of us in there?
morgan tried to break the door down and got shot.
we waited one week there.
fade to black
}}


Going outside confirmed our suspicions. There stood Daemon! It was the first time I had seen the solar angel - any angel for that matter, and I was speechless in his presence. I didn't even have the chance to ask what holy deity he followed - perhaps he could have been one of Lathander's own messengers! I look forward to the day when we meet again. And the body of the green celestial creature we had freed was also no where to be found, so perhaps we will see them again, too... I have so many questions...
== April ==
=== 26 ===
{{playerlog|Communal Log|
We're children of Jalari, so they tell us. We don't have names because children of deities don't get names. Jalari and Et are two main deities. One day a village explodes. We are all taken back into hiding. We're supposed to be good toward the mortals. Although people tow the line and interfere sometimes.


But Daemon congratulated us, and recognizing Ignar as one of those who had freed him initially, granted him the Seal of Joy and the task to reunite it with the others someday before flying off into the distance. With that, we did one final check of the dungeon to try and see if the celestial being was still there to no avail; however, we did manage to open the coffin we previously had not been able to unlock and retrieved a magical ring that pulled in a specific direction - SW if I recall correctly  -similar to those pointy pebbles Ignar and Maerilith have. Perhaps this will lead to the next dungeon?
Purpose is to find our purpose. Find out someone (rumors) that a deity kin has a name - Ti. We tried to escape once but were stopped by Jalari because not stealthy enough. A year later, tried again and tried invisibility and other skills and succeeded. Then we traveled towards a town that the rumor originated from. Approached the encampment, Gabe and Rich disguised selves and went to town elders and eventually we all revealed ourselves - Morgan's character was drawn in by Rich's drumming and the rest followed.


Either way, we had done it! Valharot Temple was cleared, and we returned to the guild triumphant!
Trevor took a lot of their stuff and left a constantly glowing item with the encampment. We are now heading toward Et's domain. Et is the elder of the two deities. Dragons exist and have been tied to primal elements already - their purpose (6 dragons). Jalari is younger than the dragons.


-----
[[Courtney's Comprehensive Collection]]
}}


TODO maerilith observations
=== 12 ===
}}
{{playerlog|Maerilith|
Lelyvia is dead.
}}


== January ==
{{playerlog|Nanny-02|
=== 29 ===
Lelyvia's dead, all right! And what drama too, seeing her head, still plastered with a surprised expression, tumble to the ground. But we avenged her, indeed with my final ounce of arcane power I myself sent the dastard who slew our companion into the realm beyond!
{{playerlog|Lelyvia | Another week with a relatively full party, Sammy was busy with his own pursuits this past week and no one else was available to join, but we ventured back to the temple and cleared a few more rooms with seemingly no more large threats. And, in a treasure room, we encountered another regenerating large skeleton as we'd found in other treasure rooms before, and remembering Svelta's posting this time, tried to take it in alive. Crash managed to grapple it and with a combination of strength, magic, and quick hands, managed to restrain it with two sets of rope and take it into the teleportation cube with the four of us. However, an hour is a long time to wait and the skeleton never stopped trying to escape after the magical restraints, and... It was strange, I don't remember who was the first to notice but it appeared to be regenerating beyond its initial vigor - its bones appearing denser and sturdier than when we first encountered it. So trying to be careful not to kill the monster we needed alive for the posting, Crash and Ignar attempted a few non-lethal hits bringing it back down to a more controllable level. Yet, it still seemed to regenerate even fiercer... We didn't figure out what was happening until it finally broke free from both sets of rope bindings.


After it stood up, it began an onslaught with increasing fervor and as the seconds went by, soon it was clubbing 8 times before anyone could react! And we didn't have time to spare to bring it down, so with our combined might and Lathander's grace, we felled the creature. We still attempted to only knock it out; however, it's more difficult to pinpoint what's nonlethal on undead creatures so a lethal blow was landed. It also might have popped back up immediately now that I think back on its regenerative powers... But... That was almost a fatal mistake that could save sent an ever growing monster right into the center of the guild... I can't begin to imagine the casualties if we had not been able to stop it in the first couple of minutes and it had continued to gather strength for the remaining hour... Our lesson has been learned though - bring sturdier rope and never underestimate our opponents, even those who had seemed weaker upon our first encounter.
It was a mighty struggle, and we none of us came away without new, well-earned scars. Skythrix (proper spelling TBD) was a most worthy adversary, and full of vicious hate; it was a clear a dark, preternatural power drove her to fits of low cunning and viciousness not seen in any of our previous foes. Our mightiest mage spent most of the fight twiddling his thumbs in a demiplane, and only the desperate fireblasting of our second-mightiest mage saved the day. Here's hoping we face no such odds again, in any short amount of time...
}}


But otherwise, the journey was relatively uneventful. We returned to thoroughly pick through the treasure room and found the final key - the key with an emerald eye, which could only lead to the final locked door with a matching emerald that we'd found on a previous venture. Who knows what lies beyond the door, but based on my calculations, this could be the final unexplored room of the Vahlarot Temple, so we should be prepared for our greatest challenge yet...
== March ==
 
=== 29 ===
-----
{{playerlog|Nanny-02|
 
Hark, the tower once again! around and around and around. It is never ending. Who knows what awaits us at the top?
''As I've continued to keep an eye on Maerilith, I've grown increasingly worried for her wellbeing... She seems fervently dedicated to studying... something, I'm not sure what, but she almost never stops reading from her book. I'm honestly not sure how she hasn't finished it by now or if she's just re-reading it over and over. But for the first time, I've noticed how much she's neglected herself - I doubt she even has the strength to lift herself off the ground anymore. And Maerilith's so consumed with whatever it is she's doing that she's stopped paying attention to her surroundings altogether! I walked up behind her not even trying to be quiet, and she jumped in surprise nearly tumbling off of her bunk. I don't know what I should do, and the strange thing is that despite it all, she seems to be glowing with health with an endurance I can't understand with her lack of sleep and her mood hasn't sunk back to that depressive state she had been in for so long... I must consult Lathander on what to do for I don't want to risk her falling back into that state, yet also don't want this new... almost manic behavior to get out of hand... Hopefully, it's just a transition period and she'll go back to healthier habits soon.''
}}
}}
=== 22 ===
=== 22 ===
{{playerlog|Lelyvia | With no leads on the Grand Speaker and with a full party for a second week in a row, we decided that it was now or never to take on the beholder and continue cleansing the Vahlarot Temple of the evil within. Avallac'h and I worked together to prepare spells to best protect us from the powerful aberration while Crash, Sammy, and Ignar stopped by Hakvalak's shop in search of potions to aid in the fight. Even with all of our preparations, I still dreaded our chances. Avallac'h's concern at the power of the beholder after weeks of study did not bode well for us. So, in case I didn't return, I gave Maerilith nearly all of my gold and platinum. She accepted it and nodded mutely, and I could only hope that if I failed to return, that Lathander would look after her.
{{playerlog|Kizmet|
 
PRIVATE LOG
But off we journeyed on our familiar route... And at the temple we arrived... The five of us gathered outside of the beholder room and began our final planning and preparations. I sought Lathander's guidance first, and only after he he said fighting the beholder would turn out well, did my confidence grow. Our plan would work. Lathander wouldn't lie. So, we let Sammy peek at the beholder with some eye drops he'd bought from Milo that apparently allows him to view the vitality of creatures around him. The first drop was unfortunately wasted on us as we learned that the effect was instantaneous, but the second drop gave us no other clues - nothing showed for the beholder... With nothing left to do but cast the last few protection spells, Crash charges into the room! And two exceedingly impressive blows cleave through the beholder, and yet... It looked untouched and didn't react at all to Crash's strikes. The rest of us enter and attack it one by one to seemingly no affect. Everything just seemed to pass right through it. But it didn't move to attack either.
Oh, the pain of a lost existence! I was mere inches from my goal, I could taste it in the wind. We were trapped in a time loop of some kind by the reckless spellcraft of that wizard [[Avallac'h]]. He dared to gaze through the crystal ball into the misty future, and we were punished for our hubris by the gods! At least, at first I thought it was a punishment. Every time the loop began, a swarm of raccoons I was collecting thrashed and gnawed in my arms! [[Lucky]] ate his baked potato many a time. Only little [[Lelyvia]] escaped unscathed.
 
However, while its appearance never changed, forceful piercing damage still radiated from it throughout the room every few seconds, so time was of the essence to uncover what was happening. Sammy found it first after going through what was now clearly an illusion and encountering something solid in the middle. We tried deactivating it with spells and covering it with Ignar's bedroll before taking another hit from it. But using the bedroll as a guide, Crash managed to crack what turned out to be a once smooth crystalline or gem-like egg, which went tumbling and seemed to do the trick for disabling this cunning trap. Our only casualty was Ignar's bedroll, so with that morale boost, we quickly found the next hidden door and moved onward!
 
The next few rooms were more of what we were expecting - still moving cautiously with Sammy expertly scouting ahead each time. But then we encountered a set of double doors and a large room filled to the brim with the worst of the abberations we'd encountered so far and a new one - what appeared to be a cross between a mindflayer and a beholder. Fortunately, we got the drop on them, so I hit most of them with a fireball but none went down with the initial blast... Avallac'h fortunately took out the wounded intellect devourers before they could react though, and our protective spell on Crash kept him safe from most of the mind beholder's initial eye attacks. Sammy wasn't as lucky and went down quickly. Ignar dragged him back out of danger and seemed to be about to administer a healing potion to him, so I sent more fireballs into the aberration filled room in hopes to reduce their numbers enough to focus on the mind beholder. Unfortunately, Ignar ran into the room with the others to join the fray before successfully tending to Sammy's wounds, so I helped Sammy back up. ''I do hope Ignar's mind isn't failing him already... I know he's an older gnome, but I do fear his memory may be ailing more severely than I'd initially presumed.''


Eventually, all that's left is us and the mind beholder, which Crash manages to get one massive cleave through before going down to its power, leaving Ignar to deal the final blow. With that, I upped Crash and we returned reinvigorated. By Lathander's grace, we'd all survived and cleared a few more rooms! There's no guarantee the next few rooms will be as manageable, but I believe we are finally reaching the end of this mysterious temple and of ridding it of the evil lurking within!
It took us a few rounds to realize what was happening. In that time, I met the loves of (the remainder of) my life, the earthly Dina and the gorgeous young Mira... I think? The time scramble must have damaged my memories somehow... Anyway, they remember me not. Mira liked shells... I think?


-----
Once, the others tried to reach Moz's office to get assistance freeing us from the loop. Fortunately, I was in the bar learning about (I think) Mira's infatuation with (I think) seashells. So, I was not witness to the horrible slaughter of my friends by the guildmasters' faction, when they recklessly disintegrated their way past the construct Ruby.


''When we returned, I was gladdened to see Maerilith smiling for the first time in quite a while. She happily poured over the new additions to the map I've been working on and pointed out areas of improvement before returning my gold and going back to her quarters, still smiling. At first I thought this was a sign that she may finally be recovering; however, over the next few days, I've caught her up late at night reading her book and found her still reading at daybreak. I fear that she's stopped sleeping altogether and worry that its affecting her mental state. But, I don't want to approach her about it yet in case this is somehow healing her lost soul. Still, I worry, and pray Lathander watches over her...''
I soon realized that in such a world, I could find true immortality! I sped off to the guildmaster's faction to speak with Moz and remove the means of breaking the loop, but she was not so easily swayed. No matter how I gnashed my teeth in rage none of them would be dissuaded. It sparked a dark fury in me, burning away at the stubby wick of my passion. Heartless, all of them! Why should I believe in them, when they none of them feel my agony? Why pay homage to Lethander's sunrise when only '''God-Lord Et''' has proffered any form of assistance?
}}
}}
=== 15 ===
=== 15 ===
{{playerlog|Lelyvia | After going back and forth all week on how to handle the monster camp, I finally acquired the materials to more directly seek Lathander's guidance on how pursuing a peaceful or diplomatic solution would go. He said it would result in both good and bad. He was right. Though I'm still trying to remember and focus on the good over the bad.
{{playerlog|Kizmet|
 
Gaaaah, my aching bones! They sing their complaints day and night. The priestess of Lathander did her best to console me, but there are no new dawns on my life. No dawns for me. My patron stirs though, detecting somehow the approach of my soul. Not yet, great one! I need more time.
At first it went well. We'd managed to convince them to talk after a few missed arrows on their part and the laying down of some of our weapons on our part. A goblin named Vale who seemed the most finely dressed of them all, even wearing a hat, agreed to cease hostilities and leave if we met their conditions. The first, was not possible. They wanted all of their companions resurrected since the start of conflicts from that first camp attacked nearly a year ago. I doubt that many diamonds exist in this world, or at least in whatever supplies the guild might have. We then tried to compromise with payment for their deaths, and we seemed to have reached on agreement - we'd speak with our leaders about possible trade of weapons to protect themselves from future attacks after they move away. We even received a patch of cloth to grant us safe passage while we traveled through their lands during negotiations. However, we soon learned that the weapons they seek were not blades but magic - fireballs. The only thing comparable to what they asked was a wand of fireball, but even if it wasn't exceedingly dangerous to give one to them, we couldn't afford even one of the two for sale at the guild.  
 
After consulting our goblin hostages of what might work, they suggested trial by combat, and Vale agreed to it - if their champion lost, they would leave, and if our champion lost, we would leave. If either of us went back on the deal, the hostages' lives were void - either Katha, Bara, and Lethro or Sammy, who went over to their side. Crash eagerly stepped up to fight, and I had high hopes that a quick display of our prowess would convince them that they were no match and cease this stalemate without any further bloodshed. It was not to be though.
 
A couple hours later, an even better dressed hobgoblin emerged with Vale, who said nothing and gave no name but was dubbed Davo by Vale and their champion. The fight was quick. Crash got two blows in on Davo before he could escape Crash's reach and levitate 60 feet in the air, but Davo already looked very bloodied from the wounds. Only two more exchanges passed, Crash throwing handaxes, Davo summoning falling ice, and then Crash's javelin landed the final blow. We'd stood victorious for but a moment before we hear Sammy scream behind the fort's gate and Vale shout the condemning words: "Kill them all!"
 
In my fury at their betrayal, their disregard of the second chance they were given, their commitment to continuing this evil cycle, I instinctively bathed them in Lathander's holy fury, smiting Vale, all outside the gate, and setting fire to the structure. Ignar led the charge through the burning gate with Crash close behind, and I rushed in with Avallac'h to make sure no evil escaped. Sammy had also escaped his binds and joined the fray. Chaos ensued.


But...
I found some reprieve with the witch [[Grendel]] and her hulking companion [[Urk'Buk]]. I was startled by their door greeting and destroyed it inadvertently; Grendel was kind enough to waive the great sum! What a sweet young lady. And with such lovely remedies - my bones felt better, however temporarily, after drinking her tea. Now, if only I had a more permanent solution...
 
It was over so quickly once it started... Barely more than a minute passed before all lay dead or consumed by the fire, which continued ravaging the once walled settlement for another hour until it was nothing but a charred, smoldering husk. Katha, Bara, and Lethro had all fainted from the shock; the only mercy I could give their scarred souls, who had seen all they once loved and knew slaughtered, was death. However, Katha's body seemed to have disappeared in a puff of smoke when touched, so she may live yet. I don't know what to feel with this possibility - worry that the cycle will repeat itself and she'll raise another army to return, or hope that she didn't see all of the destruction and will convince others to stay away or change their ways. I hope her survival is part of the good that comes out of this.
 
But then that was that... Crash found some things here and there worth a little bit, we went back with proof of the deed to give to Kurst, we received our reward... Hopefully, the lands are safer now, but it feels as though this was part of the bad that came out of this - the loss of life that could have been avoided if they hadn't been radicalized. But, if there's one thing that seems all the clearer now is that the Grand Speaker must be stopped before others fall under their vile influence.
}}
}}


=== 8 ===
=== 8 ===
{{playerlog|Lelyvia | The various winter solstice festivities kept most everyone occupied for several weeks. In this place seemingly without a change of season, all we have to track the passage of the seasons back home is by calendar, and most took this opportunity to celebrate, relax, or otherwise keep to themselves and enjoy a bit of quiet. However, someone must keep watch to protect those within the guild, so I signed up for two weeks of guard duty. It was mostly just wild animals or the occasional criminal, but with the reduced patrol size, each week took a hefty toll on me, so for the third week, I joined the others in taking a break.
{{playerlog|Lelyvia|
 
As Lathander teaches us, just as there will always be another dawn, there will always be a chance for a new beginning for all. It was good to see more new faces join the morning sermon this week, and while there seems to be a devious plot afoot, it's good to see the Sunholm community come together to help one another out. I don't want to give out too many details for the sake of privacy of my flock, but rest assured that nobody is in danger of being murdered in their sleep.
However, with the festivities winding down, I could only round up Crash and Ignar to go out and pick up some work off the posting board. We're no where nearer to being able to take on a beholder, so we decided to try and scout out the monster cult army to the south, which apparently sprung up some number of months ago before even I arrived at the guild. Together the three of us easily approached one of their scouting parties, and after a futile attempt to diplomacy with the group of hobgoblins and goblins, with barrages of arrows streaming past me, I had to act in self defense once an arrow got through my defenses. All but the leader was left standing, which we took captive and questioned until we came to an agreement to prove to them we cannot go back through the portal, and in return for them to stop following the Grand Speakers orders to build an army and to go back to the villages they came through... Unfortunately, Calath did not survive the journey back to the guild... ''Lathander please forgive my failings in that moment of not protecting that lost soul from my companions...''
 
However, we knew the location of their camp, so we decided to scout it further before returning otherwise empty handed on this two day venture. Once about 500 or so feet away, we confirmed Calath's words that about a dozen of various goblins, bugbears, and hobgoblins guarded the front gate of this fort on a hill. It was smaller than the outskirt camp of the 5th ring but still sizeable enough to likely house 50 or so people inside. After more arguing of our next steps, we decided to turn back and try to negotiate with another scouting party; we didn't want to begin a confrontation with the entire camp if the Grand Speaker still resided within.
 
After a few more hours of wandering and setting up a sizeable fire for camp - this time doing our best to avoid any and all pretenses of sneaking up on them - we encountered another scouting party. Negotiations only went slightly better this time but eventually devolved into another fireball... ''Lathander give me guidance, I know not if my actions are truly justified.'' But the three survivors we took prisoner did survive the journey to the guild. There we proved to them that we cannot go back through the portal, unfortunately terrified them with Brem (who has successfully returned to his body and somehow the mindflayer's simultaneously), and brought them before Kurst.
 
Kurst agreed that the camp can be dispersed or moved farther away as long as they're no longer a threat; however, Bara, Katha, and Lethro made good points that they were there first and that we could be the ones to move elsewhere. I am conflicted and torn between what to do but will try to find a peaceful resolution, Lathander willing. Perhaps these creatures could join the guild or foster their civilization elsewhere where they have more room to grow and flourish? Or perhaps they will continue to be radicalized by the Grand Speaker and leaving them be will allow evil to grow instead? I will need the week to think on it, and I think I will see if I can commission some augury materials...
}}
 
== December ==
=== 11 ===
{{playerlog|Lelyvia | The rumors of Krank's tournament this week were either false or it was delayed, and a number of our companions were once again otherwise preoccupied, so Ignar, Crash, and I continued chipping away at what small quests we could do to prepare our future adventures.
 
 
We started by looking into how much building a waystation outside of the Inverted Tower of Drathis would be should we setup one of Moz's jumpstones at the entrance.
 
 
TODO: talk about deal with K, pamphlets for waystation; journey to 5th ring; Simon encounter; mixed success with pamphlets; report back; downtime mention
 
 
Deal with K: Hand out pamphlets at 5th ring (for no quest reward) and if enough people buy things, then will build us a waystation at the Inverted Tower of Drathis once we install a jumpstone. Mixed success, about 3 or 4 or so confirmed contracts. But word has been spread. Lelyvia also now working with a priest of Morthal on a joint temple.
 
 
Simon encounter: showed him pamphlets from the Grand Speaker to help in his search for his sister and he portaled away with a friend.
 
 
Lelyvia attempted 2 week's of guard duty before 1 week of long rest.}}
 
=== 4 ===
{{playerlog|Lelyvia | With most of our companions otherwise occupied this week, Crash, Ignar, and I took this week to see what we could do to prepare for our encounter with the Beholder at the temple. We checked in with Hakvalak and Brem, who is now in control of both his goblin body and the mindflayer's body in unison (the mindflayer has supposedly been silent for a few weeks now), to test out Hakvalak's 4th potion. Crash and Ignar both took it with me at the ready to heal or raise as necessary, but the only effects seemed to be time slowing for both of them, even physics applied slower to them, not just their reaction times. (''Apologies, again, Sir Ignar for pulling you too quickly across the room and for not being able to stop your momentum from flying into the wall...''). Unless we can use this on the Beholder, it likely won't be useful in our adventures.
 
Next, with Crash and Ignar in their hindered state, we picked up a quest reward that Ignar and Avallac'h had forgotten to pick up from Svelta for some time. An unbreakable arrow will most definitely help us on our journeys, but it certainly wasn't enough to fully prepare us for the Beholder. It was getting painful waiting for Ignar and Crash, so we waited the two hours or so for the potion effects to wear off before continuing further.
 
We decided to try and find [[Simon Cantalar]] next to test out his new jumpstone catalyst in hopes of getting some jumpstones in case we will need a speedy escape from the Beholder at the temple. Simon was no where to be found, but we found his sister, [[Sarah Cantalar]], who excitedly led us to the nearby natural jumpstone. There, after some hesitation, we focused on the catalyst and the Valharot temple, and lo, we jumped there! Crash failed to take us to a place we've never been (and may not exist), but Ignar successfully took us to a lava surrounded place (which fortunately wasn't covered in lava this time of year) before we returned to the guild's jumpstone. Sarah was grateful for the successful test and will begin producing more with her brother for sale, but for us, we received the gold reward and 15 old school jumpstone catalysts.
 
With that, we didn't know what else to do to prepare this week, so the three of us signed up for this week's guard duty. We will see how that goes, but ultimately, I don't think we were able to better prepare for the Beholder this week, so I think we should spend another week preparing... I heard that Krank's tournament may be happening next week, which might be a good way to better test our skills...}}
 
== November ==
=== 20 ===
{{playerlog|Avallac'h | Another step closer to unlocking the mysteries of the Vahlarot Temple. This time however we stumbled upon the legendary Beholder. We were lucky not to draw its attention. From my studies I have learned that these are very dangerous creatures. My skills will definitely be necessary before we face it. Crash, while formidable a champion, does tend to charge head first into danger. This time he charged into a group of "brain puppies" and it cost him his mind. Its not the first time one of our companions suffered this affliction, and like last time, [[Kayhal Jrek]] was able to restore Crash to his original level of intelligence. For the trek back to Sunholm, don't ask how Crash was able to relieve himself. }}
 
{{playerlog|Lelyvia | This week, we put to rest the lost soul that we found at the Vahlarot Temple... After failing to find anyone who could identify the decomposed body, we assumed that it was [[Minimus Maximus]] and conducted the funeral in his name. However, his brother [[Agata Maximus]] (who I wasn't aware was at the guild since he hadn't approached me all week to help identify the body) stepped forward and denied that the deceased man was Minimus. With the body once more unidentified but still in need of peace, I still carried out the funeral rites, protecting his soul from undeath as we put him to rest in the guild's new cemetery. As dawn broke upon the grave, we gave our final prayers and goodbyes and ended our sigil.
 
To all those who attended the funeral and sigil, thank you. You helped put this person's soul to rest, and Lathander willing, he will stay at peace.
 
-----
 
Now, with renewed desire to clear out the dangers of the temple and not let another soul be lost to it, our group ventured forth back to the temple. Barkom couldn't join us (likely busy being introduced to Crash's newest tavern business associate Agata), but a new arrival named [[Kharon Vrykolakas]], who seems very interested in the study of death, decided to join us. Unfortunately, Crash was quickly stupefied by another intellect devourer, but with Lathander's holy fire and Ignar's quick swordsmanship, we took out the rest before Crash lost his brain again.
 
Unable to heal him, but wanting to make a little more progress before returning to the guild, we scouted the next couple of rooms and, in the second, encountered an unspeakable aberration that we somehow managed to avoid the gaze of and quietly retreat from. It will take all of our preparation in the week to come to prepare for this vile creature of the void. The room before had also been mysterious, having a breach in the wall with signs of something being forcefully dragged out, which was concerning but it didn't seem recent so we didn't think there was much we could do to investigate further at the moment.
 
Moving on to other possible hidden rooms based on the gaps in our growing map, we did manage to find one more room on the third floor, which we took no chances with, with Crash still stupefied, and quickly blasted the room with two fireballs. Within, past the charred gazers, we found a double set of locked doors with an emerald gem inset in the lock, which I believe is akin to the locked door on the first floor that required a ruby inset key. Likely the emerald key is guarded by the large aberration we found earlier, so without any other leads, we decided to return to the guild to find Kayhal to restore Crash to his normal self.
 
To all reader's, you'll be happy to know Crash was successfully restored, and to Moz, we will no longer disturb you with random teleports into your quarters.}}
 
=== 13 ===
{{playerlog|Lelyvia | Unfortunately, we couldn't carry the lost souls we'd discovered at the temple back with us and had to leave them behind last week. But determined to help restore them to life at the guild or, failing that, to put them to rest, I spent this past week trying to find some means of transport while we wait for the teleportation cube to recharge. Eventually, I decided to help Svelta at her shop and hope that a customer would come by that had a casket, a stretcher, or even a large sack that they may have been willing to part with. Alas, none such seller stopped by, so while not as elegant as a casket or stretcher, it seemed that our best hope was to use a bag of holding, which Svelta graciously offered to me at a discount. This powerful magical item was unfortunately still outside of my price range. However, when our venturing group convened for this week and sold the treasures we'd found the week prior, Crash energetically agreed to loan me 1000gp in exchange for helping to carry his loot and to pay him back an additional 500gp when I have the funds, for an end total of 1500gp ''(I have learned that I must be more careful in my phrasing of monetary deals after having had a great misunderstanding in a previous conversation with Barkom)''
 
With that, I quickly purchased the bag of holding from Svelta and set off with my companions to retrieve the bodies and make more progress on the Temple. Only one fit in the bag, however - the angelic being was too large to fit through the opening - but the other more mummified body easily fit. Hopefully, someone at the guild will be able to identify this lost soul, but if not, our only lead is that the body may belong to the long lost [[Minimus Maximus]]. ''Lathander guide his soul.'' Regardless, I hope we can put him to rest and perform a proper funeral, which I will dutifully lead if there are no kin or closer companions that step forward instead.
 
Beyond retrieving one of the bodies, we made progress through a few more rooms of the Vahlarot Temple, but the danger of this place has not lessened. We encountered 9! 9 more intellect devourers or similar enough creatures! After defeating them with fire, steel, and luck and having Crash unconscious but stable and mind intact, we decided it wisest to retreat and come better prepared to face more of these vile aberrations next week.
 
But until then, if anyone knew [[Minimus Maximus]] or knows of someone else who's lost their lives in these lands, please come forward to help identify the lost soul we brought back, and we will carry out the funeral rites once identified. The burial ceremony will begin at dusk and vigil will continue through the night until morning's first rays of light touch upon the grave. Please attend to pay your respects and help put his soul to rest.}}
 
=== 6 ===
{{playerlog|Avallac'h | We visited the Vahlarot temple again, trying to find some of the hidden rooms.
 
Crash took down a strange celestial corpse pinned to the wall which allowed us access to a tomb. Inside we found the remains of the leader of a great army which fell at the hands of what I believe to be the Sylvan. The history was inscribed on his skull, along with what looks to be a powerful spell. I will need to study it further. Lelyvia worked on her meticulous map, drawing every last detail of the temple.
 
Oh and Brem is a mindflayer now. }}
 
== October ==
=== 30 ===
{{playerlog|Lelyvia | Lathander has heard my prayers!
 
When separated from my companions during our latest venture, I stumbled across a vicious creature which paralyzed me for a frightening length of seconds. I could do nothing but stand at the mercy of the creature and pray for the Morninglord to send me the strength to break free from its grasp. He answered, and with a newfound strength, I pushed through the paralysis and a fierce back and forth ensued with healing in the nick of time, several more stents of paralysis, and divine fire and light! In the tense final seconds, the grell and I both hanging by a thread, one final blast of holy fire put an end to the evil creature. By the grace of Lathander, I still stand! I shall spread his word with greater fervor and be his Dawnbringer in this land, spreading his merciful and protective light to all those in need!
 
While Lathander's grace granted me the strength to push through, it was a harrowing experience nonetheless, and I do not wish such a challenge upon anyone else. Thus, once I recover this week, I will rally my companions and return to the Temple of Vahlarot to cleanse it of any remaining dangers and bring back a full report. However, we have made great progress so far and unlocked what seems to be an ancient prison and tomb for beings long forgotten. One of which turned out to be a mindflayer, which we delivered to Hakvalak and Brem per their request in its original and additional bindings. ''Lathander willing, it will not break free and devour us as we sleep.'' At least two other beings either lie entombed or imprisoned in hidden consecrated rooms, and mysterious plaques have left more questions than answers of those that lie there. A more thorough and careful investigation is still needed to determine if it is safe to explore these rooms further, or if it's best to leave things as they are. For your safety, please steer clear from the temple until we declare it free of all threats; we will make all haste to do so and acquired some magical items from Milo to help hasten this endeavor.
 
''Your humble local Dawnbringer, Lelyvia''}}
 
=== 23 ===
{{playerlog|Lelyvia | ''Lathander hear my prayers and grant me the strength to better protect my companions. ''
 
''This week we couldn't sway three lost souls from their wayward path to steal from the guild's treasury, but fortunately, we saved their lives and offered them a chance of redemption. I will vouch for their willingness of a second chance at their trial to try and save their lives again. Lathander give me the words I need to help them see the light. ''
 
''I also failed to save a companion this week. We had journeyed deep within the Vahlarot Temple and had grown careless facing the monsters that infested it, not realizing the true dangers these creatures held. Thanks to your divine protection from evil, we managed to stop the insidious intellect devourer from controlling our fallen companion and smite it, but I had not the power to bring him back. Your sacred flame also helped us purge a foul creature that emerged from his stomach afterward. For that I am grateful, but please grant me more strength to protect my companions and bring them back. I know not what I would have done if Moz could not bring him back. I will do the best that I can with the powers you've granted me in the meantime.''
 
''Ever your faithful priest, Lelyvia''}}
 
{{playerlog|Barkom | I finally made it. Not sure how I got here, but the journey was always going to end up in a place like this. They say Sunholm is dangerous and there is no way back. I don’t know much about danger. With my back up against the wall, maybe this is a good opportunity to learn something new. My old business ideas never really worked out. Hopefully Sunholm provides a better starting point, and potentially captive customer base.
 
When I first arrived, I didn’t realize that the single building guildhall was essentially the entire town. I assumed that surely there was more, that the guildhall was simply stood apart from the rest of the encampment. Upon delivering our caravan’s shipment, I saw that the guildmaster was moving some boxes to the new vault that they had constructed. Feeling quite in the habit of transporting materials, I offered to help see the job through to the end.
 
There was one especially valuable box that the guidlmaster was particularly protective of. As we were escorting him with that box, we were ambushed by a few less advantaged residents of the encampment. The others who were guarding the transport with me made very quick work of them, and seemed to, for the most part, take some care not to kill them. Eventually we ended up delivering them to some holding cells, but their futures are not particularly bright.
 
Speaking of futures, I noticed that this town had no pub! Unbelievable! And what great luck perhaps. I know that the last few pubs I started did not go so well, but that was almost always due to some sort of foul competition. Now I can start the first pub in all of Sunholm. This might just be the break that I need! Perhaps a couple of those attempted thieves could be reformed and put to good use. It seems like they have no other option, and I have not much to offer. It could be a good match for now.
 
I was still interested in getting to know the area. A tiefling priest of Lathlander that had been helping us transfer boxes to the vault was very keen to get back and finish mapping a labyrinth. Not sure she was an entirely reliable cleric, but it was a good opportunity to see what the guild has been up to in the area.
 
We made our way through the bloodstained passages of the old temple, up until the point where they had previously left off. I could never have been prepared for the horrors that awaited us. Mind controlling creatures descended upon us. Controlling members of our party. At one point, the orc barbarian that had been our greatest champion turned on us, nearly killing us all before the priest figured out how to expel the creature from his freshly devoured mind. The horrors did not stop with the orc’s death. His stomach began to move with life. Upon cutting it open, we discovered some sort of slaad spawn that was quickly dispatched.
 
I returned to Sunholm with the rest of the party in much of a daze. In three days I had seen more horrors than in my entire ninety years prior. I saw just why Sunholm was the end of the road for so many.
 
Perhaps it would be best if I focused my efforts on setting up that tavern and inn. It would be great to have an income source beyond adventuring. I am not sure how many of those trips to the temple I could survive. }}
 
=== 16 ===
{{playerlog|Lelyvia | Despite our best efforts last week to diplomatically cease hostilities between the Whisperers and the Guild, violence inevitably broke out, and the Whisperer and remaining minotaurs in that temple were slain. ''May Lathander forgive them, and may they see the light and cease this needless bloodsheding.'' However, while we found pamphlets and learned a little more about this religion of The Voice of All Who Have Been, Will Be, and Are, and discovered the existence of a Grand Speaker leading these Whisperers, we did not find any clues to other temple whereabouts.
 
Because of this, Avallac'h was unfortunately too caught up looking into leads on the next temple (Or maybe he was trying to figure out why nearly everyone at the guild was looking at him strangely - it can be difficult to tell what preoccupies his mind and time - and we have no leads into that front either, though Sir Ignar hinted it may have something to do with his past), so he could not accompany us on this week's ventures.
 
Instead, Sir Ignar, Crash, and I decided to try and wrap up the exploration of the Vahlarot Temple. We vastly overestimated its size, however, and could only progress through about three more unexplored rooms before turning back in hopes we didn't make a wrong turn and run into another encounter. In preparation for our return trip, I began roughly sketching our journey back to the entrance and will bring more parchment next time for a more thorough mapping.
 
On a related note, Maerilith seemed to perk up a bit and a glint of a smile shone in her eyes when I showed her my sketches of the temple. She even pulled out some of her old notes to show a bit of the initial first floor explorations, showed me a few techniques to make the lines cleaner, and offered some of her supplies to make mapping next week's expedition easier. This is promising progress, and I hope presenting her a finished map of the temple will help her rediscover purpose in life or at least further kindle a new light within. }}
 
=== 9 ===
{{playerlog|Avallac'h | It was a fierce battle, but we prevailed over yet another Whisper. Self proclaimed prophet of the Deity "Voice of all who have been, will be, and are". I will have to commend their excellent PR. The dedication to the theme is top notch. The lands of sunholm are that much safer. I expect a large celebration to commemorate this victory. We "sent" back enough food to be able to feast for days. But rest for long we cannot. This whisper was just one of many in a large web of lies. }}
 
== September ==
=== 18 ===
{{playerlog|Avallac'h | We tried to interrogate the Minotaur. He let us know of the existence of several similar "Temples to the gods" to what we encountered at the mines. The Whispers use these temples as staging grounds for a future attack on Sunholm. He didn't lets us know where these temples are, but we snuck a tracking stone on him and let him loose. }}
 
=== 11 ===
{{playerlog|Sammy Mendez | To the grate fortchin of my party I am back ! I took it up on myself to help [[Hakvalak Nomar | Hakvalak]] test his potion of instent death but after talking it through we desided [[Ignar Gnomez| Igner]] should be the one put this task on his sholders(this is gona be so funy in like 2 sentinses) With that we went to the Vahlarot tempel. I was pretty empty for a while and when I dropped my guard I was attaked by two scary looking things. They failed to take me out with their sucker punches and after that they didn't stand a chance dispite [[Ignar Gnomez| Ignerd]] dropping the potion of instant death on his own shoulder. Luckily '''for the mission''' he didn't die instently, he went down instently but with some more heroics we saved him. Then we ran into a couple grell, I distracted one while [[Ignar Gnomez| Igner]] and [[Avallac'h]] took out the other one. We managed to capture the second grell and carry it back. Overall a complete success, I'm honostly surprised they have survived so long without me.}}
 
=== 3 ===
{{playerlog|Avallac'h | We went to go visit a small hut in the second ring. It was said to be empty, but it was instead the home of a fellow wizard. I'm always happy to meet a fellow scholar of the arcane arts. Unfortunately we did not meet him but his rouge creations. Who leaves a mess like that laying around? This particular wizard created a fancy contest. You enter a mirror and fight things.
 
I would like to make a tower like that one of these days ... but did you see the construction prices at Sunholm. Highway robbery!
 
-----
 
'''''Sir Avallac'h, I agree that the construction prices are quite high, though I don't believe it quite falls under the category of highway robbery. I myself am hoping to found a temple of Lathander here at the guild at some point, and by the generosity of the guild and Lathander's grace, I believe it will one day come to fruition. For your own endeavors, might I recommend starting a weekly saving fund? - Lelyvia'''''
}}
}}


== August ==
=== 1 ===
=== 27 ===
{{playerlog|Lelyvia|
{{playerlog|Lelyvia|
Greetings fine folk of Sunholm once more! I apologize for my lack of a greater presence at the guild these past couple of months, but Lathander has shown me a lost soul in need of his restoring light, and I have been dedicating nearly all of my time to her.
It's been a while since I've done one of these quest logs, but I must regret to inform all in the material plane that Lindric Luckstone, also known as Lucky, is dead and has been dead for so long as I've not known him. <small>''*whispers to Maerilith* Am I doing this correctly?''</small> Ahem... May Lathandar watch over that poor soul...
 
Maerilith, as some of you may know, has suffered greatly from past traumas, and I am doing all that I can to help her forgive herself and awake to a bright new dawn under The Morninglord's healing light. I was making tremendous progress for the first month or so, too - she's begun accompanying me during morning prayers and began sketching again, a picture of the sunrise... Unfortunately, some of her former companions brought back a child later that day, which upon first sight, immediately brought my patient back to her original unresponsive, listless state. While... disappointed at her former companions for bringing back a reminder to some past trauma Maerilith experienced, I do recognize that she must one day confront her past and reach forgiveness with it. However, she is not yet in a state to do such, and such reminders are proving more harmful than not at the moment. The invisible whisperings at her ear are also not helping, but I can do nothing to stop them, and she often swats away whatever source they stem from anyways. The point of the matter is, Maerilith needs more space to recover and embrace her new dawn.
 
Given this, I have found a few other objects in her possession that trigger these harmful memories and have entrusted them under Avallac'h's care until Maerilith is in a better state. To ensure I'd placed my faith in a couple of her former companions correctly, I accompanied Avallac'h, Ignar, and Crash (a newer member of the guild that I must remember to speak with more about Lathander) on their journey to investigate a seemingly abandoned wizard's hut. Upon arrival, Avallac'h discovered that the owner of the home was Umlagi, the author of a book on how to make contracts with demons. After this unsettling discovery, we treaded carefully within the home.. Well, Crash began ripping paintings off of the walls, but I voiced my opposition to deaf ears. Out of the two doors available to us, we began our exploration through the left door and faced a large being of rock, which challenged us to prove our worth. By Lathander's grace, we managed to defeat the creature after suffering several grievous wounds - I thank Lathander for giving me the strength to bring back Crash back from the brink of darkness too many times to count - and retreated before we encountered any more of these "tests".
 
I fear that this group may be stretching the limits of their abilities, and after resting this week and provided Maerilith's condition allows, I will likely attend their next venture to ensure they make it back alive, Lathander willing...
}}
}}


== July ==
== February ==
=== 16 ===
=== 15 ===
{{playerlog|Avallac'h | Team Death Squad, with its newest member [[Crash]], ventured into the Vahlarot temple once again. Crash is one of our best members yet. He is useful for pulling large statues, and smashing large frog like creatures. We also found and delivered the remaining Grell parts for [[Hakvalak Nomar]]. He seemed a bit disappointed for not getting a live one. But have you seen one of those? It's hard enough to kill one.
{{playerlog|Nanny-02|
}}
BEGIN PRIVATE LOG


=== 9 ===
[[Xan]] was most resistant to our questioning. His smug confidence invited the stick, but I felt obliged to try the carrot for another week more. And it paid off. With just a bit of magical makeup from [[Maerilith]], and proper support from [[Avallac'h]], we convinced him that he was imprisoned with a dwarf. He then convinced himself, quite conveniently, that Mae's disguised form was a disguise... for a devil. He made a pact with this "devil", and in when his guard was down Mae was able to charm him and finagle the sordid details of his process out of him. Once we had done so, we turned him into a slug, and had our young Basili petrify him. Now, tucked away in my pocket, my Creator - at least, one of them. Just a little stone slug, cushioned and protected from the woes of time. Mine, with whom I may do as I see fit.
{{playerlog|Avallac'h | Joint Operation between Death Squad and [[Olaf Itamari]]'s scouting party, including [[Deni Kaska]], [[Gruut]], [[Tenari Barboa]]. Together we found the mysterious [[Milo Alichrono]]. He was offering some strange equipment this time around. [[Gruut]] got a gauntlet which took his finger.


We visited the Frontier Camp. There we crossed paths with [[Simon Cantalar]] who is still looking for his sister, and is still kind of pissed at us. We were able to pay [[Tsarra Faefiel]] a visit who let us escort [[Elaine Faefiel]] back to Sunholm.
Before he took on his new and improved form, Xan revealed to the disguised Maerilith how he manufactures warforged. He claimed that a deal was struck, with a creature who sounded much like Et. Souls in exchange for... nothing, apparently. This thing in my satchel that calls me so is some kind of component of Et's ritual, used to entrap souls into shells. And once that dark ritual is complete, and photoreceptors open for the first time, a living warforged is made.


Also, we are still taking applications for Death Squad. Act now to secure your spot.
Such a bastardization of creation. I want no part of this facade. We must learn to grow beyond this crude practice, this mockery of birth. When a fleshling has a child, from whence does its soul stem? Surely not captured from Hell, jammed into foreign flesh and sewn up by magic. No, this is not birth, but slavery hidden behind the chrome of modern Arcana. I seek no mere perpetuation, but Creation for my people. The ability to add Us to the world, not recycle old souls. This core is so powerful, but its power is perverse. It must be destroyed.
}}


== June ==
Moreover, this discovery weighs on me. Who was I? For if there is no true Creation in metal, then my soul was born to soft flesh. Mercenary? Vagabond? Hero? A Cobbler's son, or the bandit that murdered him? A lady of Waterdeep, or the peasant scraping at her feet? Does it matter? Can I know, somehow? ''Should'' I know, or will such knowledge only burden me further? And... should I tell the world, or even the freed brethren at my side? Who could continue in servitude when your soul was born free?
=== 18 ===
{{playerlog|Avallac'h | Another adventure with the fiercest group in Sunholm, Death Squad! We went to the temple to clear out some more monsters. At first we encountered the standard fare of Grell, Gazers, and the like. Then we stumbled upon some more of this mysterious cult that is plaguing Sunholm. A new commander who called himself Grand Speaker Kree. At least that is what his Acolytes called him. He must be higher up on the food chain than Mr. Whisper. Unfortunately we were not really prepared to face such a foe. Being previously hurt from an explosion, *cough* Ignar *cough*, we attempted to flee. The Speaker did not want to leave any witnesses and gave chase. At the last minute, before certain defeat, Simon burst into the temple. He was not to happy to see us, but was more interested in finding his sister. He tried to "ask" the Speaker, who ended up with a giant hole through his chest.


Also Doctor ran off with Simon.
Perhaps the solution lies not in philosophy, but action. My soul... maybe its rightful place lies outside of this artificial skin, this prison of existence. Maybe when this mortal form expires, I will finally fly free, and taste of freedom at last. Maybe...


Ignar and I will be reviewing applications for Death Squad. Don't delay, space is limited.
END PRIVATE LOG
}}
}}
=== 8 ===
{{playerlog|Nanny-02|
BEGIN PRIVATE LOG


=== 11 ===
This must be what it feels like to be a young rascal! We've gotten away, and stolen cookies from the jar directly under the nose of our governess. Well, more like we've stolen the governess herself!
{{playerlog|Percival | We began the day by assisting Hakvalak and Brem in testing out their pyroclastic alchemical concoctions.  Hakvalak is a phenomenal alchemist and was able to concoct a wonderously effective potion of fire immunity.  Brem, unfortunately, was less proficient and brewed a potion that managed to have mixed results for poor Sammy who continued to breath fire the rest of the day. Next, we visited Moz to investigate an interesting book, written in Elvish that indicated a broad range of different contracts that can be applied to dealings with different Devils.  I am truly fascinated by the book and left an uncut diamond as collateral with Moz in order to study it further.


Finally, we traveled to the Vahlarot temple to explore a bit more.  We found quite a hoard of treasure guarded by a monstrous skeleton, but were able to overcome it.  After the fight, I was approached by a Devil who called themselves Cal and attempted to bargain for my soul. Informed by earlier research with the book, I negotiated a bit, but wasn't compelled to wager my soul for the things they were willing to provide.
After an extensive period of planning we determined that the best approach was to go straight through [[Xan]]'s office window. I took [[Maerilith]]'s broom and led the way. Nobody was around, and an alarm was blaring incessantly, perhaps a new countermeasure against incursions. We took only a few turns before finding him in his library - there I tried to convince him to give up his cruel trade of flesh (alloy). He refused to see reason, but I wasn't surprised.
 
After a few days' travel, we returned to the Guildhall and assisted Svelta in demonstrating a new set of armor that is surprisingly resilient to both mundane and magical assaults. Poor Ignar was quite stalwart, but was eventually felled by Kurst.  It was eminently clear why Cal was so interested in assistance in corrupting him.}}
 
=== 4 ===
{{playerlog|Doctor 54| We went to the iron mines for hopefully the last time and defeated the large Minotaur that called himself the Whisper without any issues. He appears to be the only one inhabiting this part of the mines  besides a multitude of half eaten Minotaur corpses (judging from the fact he is the only inhabitant and the bite marks on them it seems a safe assumption that the Whisper was the one consuming the other Minotaurs. [[Eric Silverhand]] seemed grateful for the help and is eager to reopen the mines. [[ Kurst Halicor ]] payed us for our services but he was unaware of the rooms by the secret entrance that gave us so much consternation and we had to negotiate for a more apt rewards, next time we should get confirmation from Kurst about the payouts before taking the postings.
 
In addition we met another construct named Legend that seems to be selling spell scrolls but doesn't seem to be very intelligent due to some unknown issue. Further studies on him will be needed to try to understand  the nature of his malady.
 
}}
 
== May ==
=== 28 ===
{{playerlog|Avallac'h| Let me start by apologizing to the Sunholm cleaning crew. That was my blood all over the floors. I would also like to apologize to my bunk mates. I've been having recurring nightmares about getting charged by bulls.


Another adventure with team Aval... I mean team Deathsquad. [[Ignar Gnomez | Ignar]], [[Doctor]], and I thought we can clear the mines by ourselves. Things were going pretty good at first. We defeated many Minotaur's. We even fought some undead ones, which was a great source of large bones for [[Hakvalak Nomar | Hakvalak]] (... I wonder if we ever delivered those bones). Toward the end, we encountered a couple of frightened children. [[Ignar Gnomez | Ignar]] thought we should toss them in a river. I should have listened. After trying to calm them, they snuck up real close behind me and stabbed me. The wounds were very deep. Luckily my arcane ward was up, which protected me from falling unconscious. Then, with a surge of adrenaline or a sudden need for vengeance, I killed one of the children with just a single grasp of my lightning charged hands. I escaped from the other one and my companions were able to defeat it. They turned out to be Doppelgangers. After falling, their true forms were reveled.
The mages held a mighty duel in that cramped laboratory. It was beyond me to understand all the magics they wrought; the air was as much filled with with muttered incantations as the ring of steel. Hands were constantly blurring with motion, etching arcane convolutions. They never stopped weaving, even as they did their best to interrupt the most powerful spells of their enemies. It was a terrible thing, seeing their delicate dance, but fortunately [[Avallac'h]] and Maerilith worked like the age-old team they are. They were able to occupy Xan's attentions so Ignar and I could move in to engage him. Ah, I believe [[Lucky]] was there as well.


Then we met Mr. Whisper. He was a little bigger than the other Minotaur's. He was overflowing with confidence, which could only be rivaled by my own. He approached casually, shrugging off several of my fire bolts, before knocking me out with a single monstrous charge. I don't remember much after that. From what I understand [[Ignar Gnomez | Ignar]] was able to evade Mr. Whisper and drag me out of there. Maybe he was quite the Torero in his youth. [[Eric Silverhand]] was at the entrance and was able to seal it as we got out. Then We hobbled back to Sunholm. I haven't been feeling well ever since.
His laboratory was lined with enslaved warriors who leapt to his defense. I pitied them, but my resolve was unwavering - what is the need of the part to the need of the whole? But, as they closed I suddenly felt a bizarre urge take hold in my processor. I reached into my sachel to find the strange power core that Nanny-12 retrieved for us. As it seemed to beat in my hand, a voice coursed in my ears... ''"Use me,"'' it crooned. At first I thought it was Xan, but this voice was different, ''older'' somehow. '''''"Use me!"''''' it insisted. I lost control of my very arms, as the force compelled me to replace my power core with this dark object.


}}
As I made the switch, the floor fell away from me. My mind felt like it flew to the stars and through the planet itself, tore itself apart and reassembled all askew, writhing with the trauma of change. And as my reassembled self slid neatly into the minds of the Warforged fighting against us, for the briefest moment I felt both the fear and confusion of the enslaved, and the dark glee of the enslaver. I opened my new eyes and saw my own body, brutalizing my friends, saying dark things.


=== 21 ===
The battle raged on as I struggled to get used to my new bodies. Walking 3 different bodies with 6 different legs is not a task my mind was designed for. I tried to pry out the black thing from my chest to no avail. Eventually, the team was able to subdue my old body and save me (thanks Mae), and my mind came rushing back to my chassis just in time to deliver the last blow to Xan. His guardians fell quiescent, and we trundled his unconscious body off swiftly to the portal. Our governess is now wrapped neatly up in a carpet, and we're discussing our story for the return to Sunholm.
{{playerlog|Lelyvia|
Greetings and well met, fine folk of Sunholm!


The High Temple of Lathander has tasked me with spreading the Morninglord's holy light in this new land, and I hope to share his great gift with you all. No one is too lost to return to his warm embrace - everyone can begin anew with each bright dawn. No matter the troubles, no matter the woes, no matter the darkness, there is always another dawn, another chance, another beginning. At the dawn, Lathander breathes new life into the world.
Now all that's left is to bring him back to Sunholm and decide what to do with him. At first I was convinced we only needed to meet a mutual understanding. Seeing how he treated my brethren made me less sure, but still I felt like ''some'' compromise could be reached. Even now I feel that executing him is a waste, and his skills are better leveraged for the betterment of the Created.


If any of you are interested in attending morning prayer, please meet me just before sunrise outside on the eastern <small>'''''(OOC: whichever side the sun rises on, I'm just assuming east)'''''</small> side of the guild. And if anyone is so moved by the Morninglord's cleansing light, I have set aside an alm's box, which I will use to fund all services under Lathander's grace, be it for performing holy ceremonies, giving to those most in need, or funding a dedicated temple of worship. Any amount is appreciated but none is required - the light welcomes all in its embrace without judgement.
And I wonder what he can tell us about this black power core. I have it with me still, close to me. At times I feel like I can even hear it whisper. I was terrified and disgusted, yes. But there was a ''euphoria'' about it. So many Created look up to me already. This is merely a way to help that along, to get past all those pesky Butlers insisting on the Old Way. With so much power, who knows what might be accomplished? If I can learn to use it safely, my vision of a shining utopia for the Created may be nearer than ever...


Already the generosity and dedication of this guild's people inspire me. The continued caretaking of an enemy in hopes he will see the light, the teamwork and resourcefulness several guild members displayed in the mines when faced with impenetrable evil, and the charity of one who gifted an exquisite set of armor to me out of pure kindness. I have great hopes for this guild and hope I can share Lathander's saving light with each of you.
END PRIVATE LOG
}}
}}


=== 14 ===
{{playerlog|Maerilith|
{{playerlog|Avallac'h| [[Svelta Friton]] died!
I didn't expect my first trip back to the material plane would be such a whirlwind of planning and action. In fact, I don't think I ever expected to return the material plane... I almost see Sunholm as my native plane now with all the memories and connections I've made there... It certainly feels more like home...


Now that I have your attention. The gruesome twosome, [[Ignar Gnomez | Ignar]] and I, grabbed the posting for devilish hounds attacking the farmers. Seemed like an easy enough task. Well it turns out, the devilish part was not an exaggeration. The wolves attacking the farmers were the work of druids. They were both summoned and humans shifting into wolf form. As we left Sunholm, [[Svelta Friton | Svelta]] caught up to us, eager to test out her very peculiar sword. I am not 100% sure, but it seemed as if she was collecting souls with it. Anyway, we found the family of druids responsible, led by a man called Mistletoe. After a little bit of stalking, it was revealed that the teenage sons of Mistletoe liked to eat the farmers sheep. We tried to reason with them, but they were not too friendly towards us "urban" folk. In the ensuing battle [[Svelta Friton | Svelta]] fell. We took her body back to Sunholm and [[Moz Lux]] revived her. Yes, it turns out [[Moz Lux | Moz]] is more powerful then we thought. I am not sure how a fellow wizard was able to cast such a spell.
Either way, we've helped Nanny 02 with their... delivery pickup, and are back in the holding area of Sunholm. I don't know what Nanny 02's plans are for going through customs, or what they plan on doing with their... gift, but I hope it brings about a resolution to their troubles.
}}
}}


=== 7 ===
=== 1 ===
{{playerlog|Avallac'h| Another week, another visit to Vahlarot temple. We faced off against various nasty creatures, including some Grell and Gazers. Then we encountered something I can only describe as brain puppies. They weren't very strong, but one of them got a hold of [[Poppy]] and drained her intelligence. We survived the fight and rushed back to Sunholm. Luckily we found [[Kayhal Jrek]] and he was able to restore her.
{{playerlog|Nanny-02|
We met with a most colorful gentleman today. He wanted us to teach him a wide range of combat techniques, from swordfighting to "deflecting magical spells" to even casting his own spells, in the magical tongue of Draconic. These skills were for use on the stage, to wow onlookers in an upcoming play. It was a smidge demeaning, but there is little debasement that would not be worth the staggering sum he agreed to pay. I can only hope he doesn't come to rely on some of those skills in a life or death situation...
}}
}}


{{playerlog|Poppy| We fought some mosters in the temple and it went great...(others may note that I almost died from a grell and then got my intelligence [https://youtu.be/y44TUPr3zBc devoured]...)
== January ==
}}
=== 25 ===
{{playerlog|Nanny-02|
I begin to think this temple has no end. My eyes claim we have already ascended half its height but my legs (and spell slots) refuse to believe so. This time we dealt with a scattering of skeleton warriors and oozes. No big deal; and even the red dragon we faced proved a so-so challenge. In fact, I dare say we could have truly taken on 1d6 of them without a sweat! Come world, bring all the horrors you have to bear, haha!


== April ==
The remains of this latest drake were efficiently dispatched by Ignar. We hope to sell them for some gain, and perhaps even make items of our own!


=== 30 ===
My labors with Rebecca are yet to bear fruit. My knowledge crawls closer though, with ever failed attempt and every day gone by… the simple machinery that is a living soul seems to become clearer and clearer in my mind’s eye. Soon.
 
{{playerlog|Taro| We went back to the temple today. On the way there, while Sammy was keeping watch, we were attacked by 3 bandits who were in way over their heads trying to come at a group like ours. We quickly put down the first two. The third, severely wounded, begged for his life. While discussing how we could make use of him, I heard the voice from my dreams again. I've never heard him while awake before, but it was crystal clear in my head - "The Fiend demands you take his life". In the heat of the moment, having already readied my throw, I hurled the dagger at him, hitting him square in the chest. For a quick moment I felt a rush of adrenaline, immediately followed by the regret of killing a helpless man. I don't know why I listened to the voice. This time I wasn't sure it was Kevlac though. Maybe Balors just all sound similar to me. I still don't feel too great about it, but I certainly feel stronger. Every time I hold my Rod of the Pact Keeper, I feel more connected to this voice. If I can just earn these powers from the Fiend, then maybe I can start to wield them following my own moral compass.
 
At the temple, we faced these bird-like creatures that could duplicate (sounds familiar, but this time we couldn't hit the duplicates). In the next room we defeated what I later learned was a Chuul, this giant crab-like creature that got its claws and tentacles all over Ignar. Avallac'h uncovered a chest, along with a nasty spike trap that left him unwilling to open it. I kinda expected it to be rigged with something similar, and so when blades shot upwards out of the chest upon opening, it wasn't an issue (I would've dodged them anyway had I not been anticipating them though). I'm starting to have some money again after these last few trips to the temple.
}}
}}


=== 23 ===
{{playerlog|Maerilith|
Another day at the Holiri Floating Temple. Yet another poor red dragon... Wait, I said this last week. The temple has become a little repetitive, and even though we're only halfway through it, I bet we could quicken the pace if we stopped conserving our spell slots as much. A few skeletons or oozes or dragons haven't put up much of a challenge, so there's little reason to hold back on our spells fearful of a greater threat... At least not until we get closer to the top.


{{playerlog|Avallac'h| Not fazed by our previous defeat, a few of us returned to the Vahlarot Temple. This time we had additional help, and nobody died. We found some strange multiplying creatures in one of the rooms. Very clever magic if I do say so myself. Eventually we figured out how to stop the multiplying, and luckily, before being overrun.
In the meantime, I will spend my writing donations expanding my ever hungry spellbook.
 
Another unfortunate soul found their way to this side of the portal under false pretenses. Kasdoth, a monk. Seems he didn't know it was a one way trip. He was a much better warrior than some of my usual posse cough*igna...*cough.
}}
}}


{{playerlog|Taro| Today we met Kasdoth, a monk who, poor guy, thought he would be able to return back through the portal to his monastery (I thought monks read lots of books, but he didn't know what "one-way" implied). He was nice enough to join me, Avallac'h, Poppy, and Ignar on our journey to the Vahlarot Temple though. We met up with Jimmy along the way, I guess I hadn't really noticed he wasn't around the guild for some time. Good to have him back though. We fought a room full of chokers in in the leftmost room, followed by a room with multiplying abyssal chickens. Nothing too notable, except that I saw Ignar weilding not one, but two swords, in contrast to his rickety crossbow he always fires from behind us. I personally didn't mind the change of pace and having another person to fight aside in close-combat (that is, until he switched to his bedroll as his weapon of choice). We found a magically locked door in the chicken room that we're gonna have to go back to the temple and find a key for.
=== 18 ===
 
{{playerlog|Nanny-02|
I didn't get to use my Rod of the Pact Keeper, and still don't know how I will be able to, but I had a dream the other night... Nobody here except Avallac'h knows who Kevlac was, but he was a Balor we fought on the other side of the portal. Anyway, I could've sworn it was his voice in my dream, saying he could teach me powers of The Fiend that would allow me to wield my new item. I'm not too big a fan of Kevlac, but if he comes back I might hear what he has to say.
Ah, once again the wonders of the Holiri Floating Temple! This time the two mages wouldn't stop running their mouths. I can't blame them of course, they must indulge themselves when their passion calls for it - even if that passion is for the rather dry world of Arcana. Honestly, the two others aren't much more interesting - [[Lucky]] and [[Ignar]] spend an awful lot of time staring into the distance, breathing out of their mouths. Well, perhaps I should be thankful for that with Lucky...
}}


{{playerlog|Kasdoth| Zogg will be quite unhappy with me. I was out on my usual quest to gather offerings for the great one, and found a portal in the forest. The sign next to it said very clearly "One Way Portal" which should obviously mean one way there and one way back. I guess I was lied to. When I crossed through the portal I found there was no way to return to the monastery. While I work out a way to get back I figured I would at least try and find some valuable things to offer to Zogg, otherwise when I got back I would be in big trouble. I met some other people who seemed alright and decided to visit a Temple with them. Maybe I could convince them to serve Zogg in the future.
Anyway, the actual battle today was rather relaxing. Another smallish Red Dragon and a group of odd figures made of water. They attacked us after Ignar took a sip of one of their number, and for the battle [[Maerilith]] was unfortunately stuck upstairs with the biggest of their kind. Still, the battles were all swift and simple. Hmm, I wonder what the world would be like without magic... an incredible force.


In the temple we had to fight a few monsters, but most importantly I was able to acquire some platinum pieces that Zogg will love.
Maerilith and I then spent some time taking apart the reptile for its constituent parts, which are highly prized among some communities. It's rather gruesome, but trying to melt visitors just because they step into your home uninvited... it's not exactly a tip from Horatio's Hospitality Hotline.
}}
}}


=== 16 ===
{{playerlog|Maerilith|
Another day at the Holiri Floating Temple. Yet another poor red dragon that only had the opportunity to move before we took it down... At least we're not letting all of its useful crafting materials go to waste this time.


{{playerlog|Avallac'h| The party for [[Hakvalak Nomar | Hakvalak]] was fun. [[Brem Nomar | Brem]] was passing out "drinks". These were potions that protect you from bludgeoning damage. Watching [[Taro]] go toe to toe with [[Krank von Eldimar III | Krank]] was very entertaining. He was getting knocked across the room without the slightest scratch.
A watery canine put up a fight though, and I was left to fend for myself upstairs until its minions were dealt with. Avallac'h remained the heaviest hitter of the group. I am a bit envious of the arcane power that Avallac'h wields, but alas, my eyes still glaze over trying to decipher the higher level spells in his spellbook, so I will have to sate my cravings on scribing some lower level spells... for now.


All of the excitement emboldened us and we almost bit off more then we can chew. Our scrappy little group tried to make it's way into the mines using the secret entrance. In the caves below, before finding the mines, we encountered a few Trolls. Those beasts are tough! We managed to down one of the creatures, but the other one ran away behind the protection of a third. Forced to retreat, we went back to Sunholm. I think we should be better prepared before venturing to those caves again. Maybe we could talk to the Minotaur prisoner. There must be a reason the Minotaurs can get by the Trolls. We could also ask about their leader and why they overran the mines. I may have a spell or two that could help us.
As an aside, I appreciate the generous donations from those reading my notes here. I think it's fitting that the tale of vanquishing Urisys earned me the most gold from a quest log to date, but I wanted to express my thanks nonetheless and say that it's going to good use <strike>feeding my spell addiction</strike> expanding my arcane repertoire to exact justice on other enemies of the guild.
 
We met a new resident of Sunholm, who accompanied us to the mines. [[Doctor]]. I must say he is fascinating. I have only met a magical construct once before, and it wasn't very friendly (flashback to previous adventure with [[Taro]]). This one talks and acts as just like a person.
}}
}}


=== 10 ===
=== 11 ===
{{playerlog|Nanny-02|
We were able to hunt down the rapscallion who slew the poor elves in the nearby village. He was incredibly adept at hiding - I didn't even notice him until my telescoping eyes touched his corpse, already dead from [[Avallac'h]] and his powerful magics.


{{playerlog|Minimus Maximus|I came into this portal I conversed with this [[Hakvalak Nomar | Hakvalak]] (actually I talked to [[Brem Nomar | Brem]] but I was confused as to his name) and while I was chatting with the apothecary [[Ignar Gnomez | Ignar]] and [[ Avallac'h ]]. They told me about a quest they had to go save someone and hunt some demons so naturally I went along to lend my expertise. We talked to the great wizard [[ Moz Lux ]] for a teleport to a dungeon. We entered the dungeon Ignar had us go into the wrong door and then I got stabbed by a monster and died in about 18 seconds. My new acquaintances then looted my still warm corpse. Then [[Poppy]] came and also tried to loot my corpse.}}
After bringing him back, we returned to discover a cowering young child, apparently carrying some dreadful plague which slew elves. Zi is not cursed at all; it's most likely the scoundrel and his psychic abilities dealt the killing blows to these poor creatures. I assume he merely believed what he was told. However, just '''why''' anyone would tell that lie is difficult to know.


We learned of the existence of "the green woman and her army," a reference, according to [[Maerilith]], to the deadly Skrillex. Our next target, as it happens.


{{npclog|Kurst Halacor|It is with a heavy heart I regret to inform those of you who knew or were friends with [[Minimus Maximus]], that he has perished while attempting to make his fortune exploring the [[Vahlarot Temple]]. Though I was never privileged myself to meet the brave adventurer I am told that he was a great man. In his past life on the other side of the portal he was nothing less then a demon slayer, and though his time in Sunholm was short he will surely be missed. If you are a loved one of Min's you may find comfort in knowing his life was not lost in vain, through is sacrifice those who he was defending, [[Avallac'h]] and [[Ignar Gnomez]], were not only able to return home but brought with them our apothecary [[Hakvalak Nomar]] who had been missing for nearly a month. If you are distraught over the idea of never being able to talk to or see Min ever again our wonderful new construction chief [[Kayhal Jrek]] has volunteered to let those close to him say goodbye to him one last time. There is also a posting to locate and return his body to the guild hall so he can have a proper burial.}}
I hope we can rehabilitate Zi to be healthy and happy once more. Perhaps the orphanage which allowed its children to be eaten by mimics would be a good place. I'm sure they've learned the hard way by now how to care for children.


Unfortunately, there is no place for those of skin and bone in the promised land of the Created. As much as I am wont to welcome children of all nations, we must be strong enough not to depend on fleshlings.
}}


{{playerlog|Avallac'h|In a game of chess, sometimes you must sacrifice the pawns. What a mess. Ignar and I went to the [[Vahlarot Temple]] and barely made it out. Dammit Ignar! You led us down the wrong path, right into the clutches of a terrifying beast. This beast slayed our new companion [[Minimus Maximus]]. Luckily [[Poppy]] showed up just in time to help us get through to find [[Hakvalak Nomar | Hakvalak]].}}
{{playerlog|Maerilith|
A small bit of justice has finally been dealt out to the perpetrators who destroyed the guild and murdered nearly half of its people! Urisys has been brought to justice for his crimes, and only one member of the original quartet remains. We are still following up on leads about Skithryx, and while I'm no longer as concerned about Skithryx being too powerful by herself after our encounter with Urisys, I do have concerns with the army she keeps with her. Maybe if we can catch her on her own, then it'll be a more even fight? But I've seen her face to face, and Skithryx is an intimidating presence... I should learn more spells... I don't know that I'm ready yet...


{{playerlog|Poppy|I wish people would invite me along when they're going on cool adventures. [[Avallac'h]] and [[Ignar Gnomez| Ignar]] tried to do, idk, something dumb from the posting board, and they should be glad I was nice enough to show up and help them even though they went with some random guy instead of me. I guess he wasn't even a good fighter like me because he was already dead by the time I found them in the temple. What a loser. I snuck past like, way more monsters than it took to kill him and there wasn't even anything there. But more importantly, I punched a grell to death! And we rescued [[Hakvalak Nomar | Hakvalak]] and got paid super well for it, so that's nice. I guess he'd been stuck in the temple for a while? Those who wander into unsacred temples have truly strayed from the rightgeous path and will never return to grace. Anyways Brem gave me a discount on healing potions :-)}}
In other news, we might have adopted an orphan to the faction? Or maybe not? Nanny 02 used to be excited to bring in more children like Zi; however, Nanny 02's behavior has been unsettling as of late and seems so obsessed with creating a warforged child that they're ignoring the living children around them. Hm... Maybe Elaine could use a new playmate. They both seem to have experienced similar traumas, so they would understand one another at least. Hm... But if Lucky's worry that there's an elvish plague does turn out to be true, then I'd want to keep Zi far away from Elaine... This will require more thought.
}}


=== 2 ===
=== 4 ===
{{playerlog|Nanny-02|
After spending so much time on my research with R it is a relief to step outside and slay monsters once more. I feel the changes worked upon me in the last few months have altered my skills and mind beyond belief. But no matter how I change, my quest for a new home for my people continues. I feel as if the whole world is open to us, and we only need reach out and take it!


{{playerlog|Avallac'h|I might be cursed. Somehow myself and my companions end up in jail with a disturbing frequency. Stranger yet are the circumstances for which we find ourselves getting out of jail. Sammy barely won a most epic unicycle competition to earn our freedom. Emphasis on barely! It sounds preposterous but thats what happened. I guess one could say congratulations. All that matters is now we can continue to explore Sunholm.
On a more mundane note, the creatures in the Holiri floating temple interest me. They are dragon-like, and among them are even some true dragons - red, and terrible. Although we didn't experience a great deal of difficulty this time around. The new armor R and I developed together has been working exceptionally.
 
Jimmy! I don't know exactly how, but he found himself trapped. Luckily Poppy was looking out for him and came to me for help. We carefully snuck into [redacted] room and found him stuck inside a [redacted]. We were able to free Jimmy, and on the way out he confiscated some [redacted].}}
 
== March ==
=== 27 ===
{{playerlog|Taro|We'll see if this note even makes it to the quest logs board (sorry its not on paper, its all I could find in my cell). I want to apologize for initiating a fight with Simon. I know that doesn't make up for stabbing him (although I'm glad to see he's fine). There was a strong sentiment within our party that Simon had kidnapped Elaine (not pointing fingers), and I'm sad to say it had me convinced. I'm glad Elaine is okay too. I'm out of space, but you'll get my full apology at the trial.}}
 
=== 19 ===
{{playerlog|Taro|I feel so exhausted writing this... ever since I tried on that ring at the temple I've felt like I'm running at 60%. I can't get it off. I barely got touched at the temple and I was still winded by the end of it. I need to get this thing off. Unless Ignar plans on participating in fights soon, I'm not gonna be able to do what I need to do. Which is sad, cause for the first time in a while I've felt like I've been of actual help to some people (and had a steady source of income!). I created a job posting, but if you're reading this too, please let me know if you can help me get this ring off. If you haven't heard, I've already died once. I don't want to die again because of this cursed ring. Name somebody who has come back twice.}}
 
{{playerlog|Avallac'h|We finally went back to the Vahlarot Temple. I have been patiently waiting for another opportunity to study the architecture. I'm am also puzzled as to how more of the temple seems to be revealed each time we visit. It is as dangerous as beautiful I'm afraid. On this trip we encountered several Gazer's, younger sibling to the Beholder. I have never seen either creature in person before. With my recent studies of protective magic, I was able to shield Ignar from their menacing rays. We also faced off against a water elemental, though it looked to be of a smaller variety. Some of my companions struggled to hurt it. If I recall correctly, elemental's are resistant to non-magical attacks. I guess it pays to have a wizard around.}}
 
{{playerlog|Maerilith|TODO
TLDR Mae will be summarizing the dungeon in her thoroughly rambling way, potentially posting a map to start cashing in mapping the dungeon, mentioning how Hakvalak has been missing for a while now and Svelta agreed to help watch Elaine before leaving; there will be a time skip to the guild where she will be red alerting about Elaine, briefly mentioning the new people who hopped in from the portal, the kicking of rude companions, and continued panic over Elaine
}}
}}


=== 18 ===
{{playerlog|Maerilith|
{{playerlog|Jimmy Fingles|So it all started when this stupid pixie kept annoying me and waking me up, "hey, listen bro" it shouted in my ear. I tried to wack it with my club but it proved too elusive so I had to listen to it. She ended up leading me to a giant tree that could talk and some princess from another world (played by Grace). Apparently they were looking for me because I'm a 'druid' and 'have a duty to protect nature' and he said I needed to defeat some wizard or the whole forest would die. The tree was kinda a huge dick though so I burned him down (the princess was at first skeptical but eventually agreed he was kinda a dick) and took some of the ashes, which seemed magical. I then tried to sell the ashes to the nice old lady at the shop but when I went there some of the pots tried to attack me so I decided to break all of her evil pottery and take all the gold that was inside. I then decided to attack the wizard that tree was going on about anyway because the princess wouldn't shut up about it and said that if I killed him she would leave. So I turned into a bear and killed the wizard Frodnonag (who turned into a giant pig, ew) and after that happened I blacked out and woke up back in bed at Sunholm, wondering whether it was a dream or not but feeling stronger for the experience.}}
It's good to get out and breathe fresh air again! A weight has been lifted off my shoulders - both metaphorically and physically as I've regained my strength - and I've been getting an itch to expand my map collection again. So, off we went to make more progress at the Holiri Floating Temple!  
 
=== 13 ===
{{playerlog|Poppy|I'm fine! Leave me alone! I'm a big girl and can manage myself just fine, so there. This week I found and grappled a minatowr [sic]. Who says I can't take care of myself? Any rumors you heard that I got knocked out and almost died fighting a troll are totally fake and besides Jimmy healed me so as I said I'm fine. If anything if you're trying to track down a kid who needs help, check out this loser Sammy. He slept through his watch and we almost lost the minatowr, but I'm so smart and clever and good at tracking (yes it was all me not Avallach or Jimmy at all) that we hunted it down into some caves. Anyways, I'm with Jimmy who's the best and some other fighty people who are almost as cool as me, so we killed the troll and brought the minatowr back and got paid a bunch!!! So I've got money and quest and glory and everything don't worry about me!!}}
 
{{playerlog|Maerilith|I've done my best to watch over Elaine and keep her entertained these past two weeks, but as my former traveling companions and the two children (that Jimmy had picked up during my hiatus) began discussing going out into the world again, I was desperate to join and have the chance to map more of this land! After deliberating more, I found them upstairs outside the apothecary, and agreed to go if ''and only if'' I could find a way to make sure Elaine would stay safely at the guild. I'd been eyeing the magical doll poster for a while and decided that was a good first place to try, so I went and found Deni who was more than happy to give it to me, but when I said I wanted it for Elaine, she adamantly stated it was not suited for her age. Disappointed, I went to go find Elaine and see if she would be okay to stay, but Jimmy took the doll though before I left... Not sure what good it'll do him and his kids if it wasn't good for Elaine... But oh well!
 
Upstairs, I found Elaine keeping herself entertained with some sort of trinket of Moz's, and she agreed to wait for me til dinner, so off I went with the group to the mines! A nice quick in and out adventure, or so it seemed like it would be... Turns out that a minotaur scout randomly pops up from the east, but never emerges from the sealed mine entrance... So strange, so there must be a back entrance! Unfortunately, the minotaur is pretty inconsistent, so we'd likely have to camp out to catch it... While the group continued east, I flew back in time for dinner at the guild, and asked Moz if she had the time to watch Elaine. She didn't, which is understandable with her duties. But, fortunately, Svelta was more than happy to help out, show her a few things about self defense, and in general keep an eye on her! I shall have to thank Svelta again for all of her help; I really appreciated it.
 
Back to group, I find them camped at a cave, which was pretty deep, but not a very good vantage point. So, I flew up to see what I could see, or if there was a better one, and found another camp, not but a half hour southeast of us. I couldn't make out the figures, but it was certainly a camp. Together, we ventured out, some more stealthily than others, but Jimmy pops out of his animal form once he recognizes them from the guild. It was Simon and his two sisters, Kali and Sarah! I'd only seen them around the guild, but apparently the group had run into them at the dungeon, too! Unfortunately, they hadn't anymore details to share about the dungeon, but by happenstance, they were staking out for the minotaur, too, so they were happy to team up to capture the minotaur! We decide to camp out in a triangular camp formation, about half an hour from one another to cover the most ground, and split up the watches. Taro, Ignar, and I in one, the Cantalar siblings in another, and Avallac'h, Jimmy, and his rambunctious kids in the third.
 
For my group, we took the cave we'd initially found, and I had second watch, which means, I had the task of waking up Ignar. Little did the old man know, I know how to wake up anyone with a viol! But... I did it a little too well, and woke Taro up early, too. <small>''Sorry again, Taro...''</small> Anyway, the night was quiet in our camp, and when we all awoke, the kids camp looked fine, but the Cantalar camp was no where to be seen! We quickly flew over! Well, I flew, Taro and Ignar walked. But no one was there... It looked like they'd just packed up camp and left. But at least no signs of a struggle were there either, so the minotaur probably hadn't gotten to them in the night.


So, I fly back up to check on the kid's camp, annnnddddd... They're gone now, too... <small>''I swear, that group can't be left unattended. Who's idea was it to bring children on adventures anyways!? Really, they should be staying back and playing with Elaine, they can get their worldly experience later! Ah... But Jimmy will be Jimmy and bring them along...''</small> So! We start heading over to their camp to see what had happened, but in the sky suddenly appears the words: "Good morning secret tunnel through the mountains find us Jimmy"
It was my first time there, and I was surprised at how well coordinated the party was. I recall disorganization and chaos during the last stint of adventuring I had with the Ruby Counsel, but the others seem to have grown and evolved just as I have. <strike>Excluding Ignar of course who is as stubborn and unchanging as a mountain goat...</strike>  


After a quick deduction of the not so subtle yet still not very specific announcement, we start to head back toward the mine where presumably some sort of back entrance had been found.
We finished clearing out a full floor this week! And I think it's safe to say that all of our abilities expanded from it! I feel a little bad for that red dragon at the end there though... I don't think we let it take a single step that entire fight.


Okay, I need sleep, it's late, I'll try to finish before the campaign tomorrow...
We still have at least another floor to do, but it seemed like the others wanted a break from fighting, so we might pick up some more interpersonal quests and earn some coin next week instead of progressing through it further. I could honestly use the coin... Now that we're adventuring again, I fear my cravings for new spells has resumed, and the more powerful the spell, the more expensive the paper required to contain it is...
}}
}}


{{playerlog|Avallac'h|Jimmy and I found the secret entrance to the mines. Fortunately the Minotaur scout led us right to it. Jimmy was able to follow the tracks and I was able to find the elevator. This is no thanks to that elf boy that was with us. Should have known better than to trust a watch to a child. Gives us elves a bad name. We did have a little competition on this excursion. The Cantalar siblings, Simon and his twin sisters Kali and Sarah, were also looking for the scout. I wonder if either of them are single. Being that they are twins, it doubles my chances. Where was I, oh yes, the mines. We did catch up with the scout inside, and encountered a Troll as well. Ghastly creatures those trolls, and very tough to bring down.}}
= 2022 =
 
[[Quest Logs 2022 Q3 2022 Q4]]
=== 5 ===
{{playerlog|Maerilith|Firstly, I request a more detailed explanation of this adventure to the temple. Secondly, I'm disappointed in all of my traveling companions, except Taro, I know you tried. But I thought we agreed the group wouldn't go on any adventures that involved expanding our maps of the world and dungeons while I'm staying behind, and what do you all do?! '''''<big>You run off to the dungeon immediately!</big>''''' I'm trying to do the right thing and keep Elaine entertained until her mother gets back from the fifth ring because that's too dangerous for any of us right now, let alone a child, and I'm worried she'd run off on her own without someone watching her! I feel betrayed by you all! ''Sigh...''
 
Anyways, Elaine and I had a great week! I played with her and taught her some survival skills as the fey who raised me had. It's important life lessons any child with a curious and adventurous spirit should learn! Ah... Brings me back to my childhood; her curiosity of the world and desire to explore it reminds me of my own younger days... But! I don't know if there are friendly fey in these woods to raise her and protect as I had the luck to have, so at the guild we must keep her safe at for now. Hopefully, her mother will return soon...}}
 
 
{{playerlog|Avallac'h|Hakvalak seems to have made a friend of the Goblin we captured. I actually like the little guy. He is friendlier then some of the other residents of Sunholm. We also tried one of his newer potions. I was impressed! Upon drinking the potion, we were able to levitate. Some of our, less capable companions couldn't seem to handle it. Bumbling about on the ceiling and all.
 
Thanks to us, we now have a jump point set up at the Vahlarot temple. Fascinating place thus far. We cleared the central room of several Grell. Those Dangerous aberrations were difficult to fight. Some of my magic was ineffective against them and their tentacles incapacitated several of my companions. But alas we were victorious and even managed to get Hakvalak more parts for his potions.}}
 
== February ==
=== 27 ===
{{playerlog|Maerilith|After finally sleeping off the last leg of our exhaustion, our little adventuring party (that I think has pretty solidly formed at this point) went about trying to figure out what our next adventure should be. Everything seemed a little more intimidating than we were prepared for, so we were looking for something small to give us that little extra push to grow our powers further. Another small one came in from the portal; only Ignar had been there to greet him, but the rest of us eventually wandered upstairs and greeted the newcomer. Gar was apparently the halfling's name, and he kept talking about fighting monsters or something, creatures with snake bodies and lion heads, but... Then he said snake faces and horns..? Later Taro mentioned purple glowing eyes, and Gar hastily agreed the monster fit that description, too. Quite a strange beast that plagued this poor soul's home of Huperdook, or something like that. <small>''Honestly, I think we were worried he was a little crazy, but you never know when you could use another hand, so we convinced him to come along with us.''</small>
 
First stop was the apothecary! Hakvalak had made some intelligence potions and was giving away free samples, but Taro and I were skeptical and so waited outside the shop while the others went in to try them. And in fact! It turned out that the potions really worked! He'd given many to the live goblin we'd brought in, and now he's intelligent enough to be the apothecary's assistant! I was blown away; the potion really worked for once!!! My faith in Hakvalak's ability had been restored completely. However... The others weren't super nice to Hakvalak, so Taro and I rushed in to make sure Hakvalak's feelings weren't too hurt and to ask if we could borrow the Bag of Colding again without the down deposit. Unfortunately, this time didn't go as smoothly, so we were left without a bag to hunt down grell parts. I picked up a potion of healing before we left though, just in case.
 
This dilemma led to more indecision of what to do, so we wandered over to the mine where Kurst had sealed the entrance off and Erik and his miners were camped. I asked if there was anything we could do to help, and we could bring food or get sealed into the mine til it was cleared, but... That wasn't really what we'd been hoping to hear. We thought to go west, but at the last second, changed our chaotic minds once more and decided to go north and scout out the area where the stone tablet puzzle (that Jimmy, Taro, and I had solved a replica of the week before) supposedly resided. So! More mapping out of the land ensued!
 
Across the plains, around the lake, along the river, into the mountains, we journeyed... Eventually, we came across a wide inlet, which blocked our northward journey alongside the main river, and emerged from a mountain whose top was lost to the clouds... But it seemed simple enough to get everyone across! I flew over with some rope, stabbed it through firmly into the ground with Taro's rapier, and tied the remaining around the hilt. Taro held the other end steady while the short ones attempted to make the crossing. Gar immediately lost his grip and down the river he went. Jimmy went to rescue him in elk form and allowed Gar to ride on his back across. Ignar seemed to grumble a bit more than usual as he made his way across with the rope successfully, and Jimmy helped pull Taro quickly over with a few quick pulls of the rope. Gar seemed confused after that. He kept saying how Jimmy was a magical elk or something..? <small>''He really wasn't helping ease our suspicions that he was a little bonkers''</small>
 
The sun had been setting at this point, so we decided to camp there for the night, but no sooner had we uttered the words "Let's camp!" than we discovered Ignar getting carried away by the river! Jimmy went to the rescue once again, but uh... We all saw more of Ignar than we wanted that night... <big>Anyway!</big> We had three shifts (Gar, Taro, and Jimmy) and all was quiet in the night; Jimmy looked a little smug in the morning though and had a bit more squirrel tails than I thought were reasonable on a necklace and belt...
 
With the sun up once more, we continued our journey! It was about another four hours before the river dried up and we emerged from the mountains. There, we were met with rolling hills, which I took advantage of by flying up to get a better vantage point. In the distance, about another four hours or so away, it was clear. A dark charred circle was there and was likely the resting ground for our ''highly suspected'' demon summoning puzzle. I mean, the puzzle read, "SUMMON THE DEMON HERE" in infernal, which really didn't sound like a good idea to try. The closer we got, the more and more it really didn't seem like a good idea. It was a purely uniform circle, about a half mile in diameter, filled with charcoal and small obsidian shards. There had been some footsteps through the area. Ignar, ignoring caution as usual, put some of the charcoal on his face and hair. <small>''Maybe we should convince the old gnome his adventuring days are past... His mind doesn't always seem there... But I digress''</small> At the center, I found the tablet and nine puzzle pieces floating in the air and shouted out with a prestidigitated loud voice to announce I'd found it. Once they'd caught up, I flew down to meet them at the epicenter...
 
Jimmy immediately began trying to solve it, but I really didn't think it was a good idea at that point and was trying to convince the others, too. While Jimmy couldn't read and thus spell infernal, he knew the puzzle and just started swapping out matching tiles, when he was about to place the last piece, I slept him and tried to drag him away, but it was too late! The tablet started glowing! I ran back to where the others stood and tried to convince them to teleport back to the guild with me before the demon was summoned, but no one was listening! Gar just started walking away, Ignar was pretending to eat something out of his bag, Jimmy stood proudly by what he had done, and even Taro wasn't super concerned. I just kept readying to teleport while trying to gather and save those who had saved me before, but they kept resisting rescue! Ah!
 
Meanwhile, the tablet grew brighter and a large (about one and half me's tall), muscled humanoid made of light started emerging; it's form becoming more solid and filling out as the seconds ticked by much too fast. Boney wings took shape and started to form, and only then did Taro go pale and agree it was time to go. <big>Balor!</big> He said it was a Balor!!!! So, working together now, Taro and I made a chain between Jimmy and Ignar to teleport back. I had my finger hovered above the button, paralyzed by curiosity and fear as the figure of light stretched, flexing its wings and letting loose a bloodcurdling scream as though it'd been trapped for thousands of years. Taro was the one who pushed my arm into the button, and moments later, we were in the cube... Just... Taro and I...
 
----
 
It's nearly been an hour. We're nearly out of the cube. Curse this hour long wait! Our friends are being, have likely already been, eaten, destroyed, utterly and entirely by the Balor that we left them to!!! No!!! Ah... We tried our best to save them... Why wouldn't they come with us!?! We told them of the danger! I can only hope the new person managed to run away fast enough, but he had shot a few arrows at it, which it likely wouldn't have appreciated... ''Sigh...'' What have we done...? I can only hope Moz can undo what we've done...
 
----
 
So.... We get out and tell Moz about the Balor, and she scrys the place, and all that's there is a... door..? No Balor, no mutilated bodies of our companions, no signs of anyone or anything really... And we tell her Jimmy was there, so she messages him, and apparently, they're all alive..? And it was all a misunderstanding..? And Moz indeed revealed that they were within a stone room filled with more doors... I'm very confused... Relieved! But confused. Ah... Today has been a roller coaster!
 
----
 
Alright, Jimmy's given me the scoop as he calls it. Apparently, it was a solar angel! And his name was Dæmon, which was a little lost in the translation... But apparently Dæmon owes Jimmy a life debt or something now!?! And they're best buds!?! Or so he says! But it's fascinating... Dæmon is supposedly the Guardian of the Doors, and opened that door we'd seen through the scrying orb and that they'd gone inside of. The solar angel had proclaimed lots of other things, too, apparently! The old gods of Sunholm may be free once more... What could that mean? Are there no gods here? Do cleric's powers not work here? Can they be found within the doors? So many questions! Ah! If only I'd stayed, if only curiosity had won over fear... ''Sigh...'' Well, Dæmon flew farther to the north after swearing an oath of gratitude to Jimmy. Perhaps more doors will be opened farther into the northern rings? But that will have to wait for another day...}}
 
=== 20 ===
{{playerlog|Maerilith|So... There wasn't a map for the puzzle... I'm still a little bummed about that, and even a week later I still feel a little like crying, but for some reason that has just been a little stronger the past day or so than usual, but I wasn't going to let it keep me from more adventures! While it took me a few days to feel up to normal after my mysterious headache and my less mysterious blood loss, it took even longer to convince my newfound friends to leave the guildhall for more adventuring. Jimmy wouldn't leave Taro or me alone until we helped him solve Moz's next puzzle, so that's where most of the last week went. We think we have it solved but are not entirely sure that's the greatest idea to go pursue just yet. ''<small>Oh! Moz is back, I can finally go ask her about that! But I'm getting ahead of myself...</small>''
 
Instead, we spent most of last morning arguing what we should do first. Since the last adventuring party had returned with a report of the small monster camp from the south, I really wanted to go deal with that before it got out of hand, and we'd get the chance to start mapping out the southern landscape! Plus, it sounded like we'd be able to knock out a second posting at the same time for our local apothecary, so we could kill two birds with one stone! The only problem with the apothecary's posting is that we needed fresh goblin parts... VERY fresh parts, so we knew we'd need to borrow Hakvalak's Bag of Colding. Only problem was that we didn't have an 1000gp safety deposit to put down to borrow it, even with all our gold combined.
 
We decided to try our luck, though, and went to talk with Hakvalak for the first time. And... Hm... He's an interesting character, I must say. His excitement rivals my own, but in a more... Unsettling manner. Anyways! He seemed okay with lending his bag without a down deposit so long as all five of us (Jimmy, Taro, Ignar, Avallac'h, Me) tried his mystery potion... While this would kill three birds with one stone, I was very nervous about there being any ''untoward and permanent'' effects. I.. I really like how I look and don't want some random potion changing any of that or anything else for that matter.
 
Since I'd finally repaired my relationship with Moz, I decided to run upstairs to ask her for advice, or at least for reassurance that she could undo any undesired effects from the drink. But, when I knocked on her door, it just creaked open without response, which was really worrying, but Kurst didn't seem to care when he burst out of his room and immediately picked me up by the back of my neck! ''<small>I don't understand! I just knocked! I hadn't done a thing! ACK! I'm sorry...</small>'' But alas, he seemed to think I had been trying to break into her room and tossed me down the stairs... Apparently, the door had been alarmed and Moz was out, so there would be no answers from her that day.
 
Accepting my fate, I sulked back over to the group and agreed to down the potion with everyone else. Ugh... It was awful, and no one seemed to be affected by it besides Taro and I, perhaps it was only effective against tieflings... But we both started tearing up and the day just seemed a little sadder for it. But Hakvalak seemed please with our cooperation, so with a little extra gold in our pockets and a loaned Bag of Colding, we began our southward bound journey.
 
We trekked across the land for a good nine hours, and since we'd taken a little bit to get started, night had thoroughly fallen. Fortunately, all of us had eyes well suited for the dark, so we didn't need to light any torches, which would have given away our position. Unfortunately, there was a crescent of moonlight, so me flying up to scout from above did pose a risk of exposing us further. Fortunately again, the monster camp had lit a campfire! So they were pretty easy to spot. I think we spent a little too much time debating on how to approach though, and the camp's scouting party got the jump on us! We easily took out the three wolves and wolf riders, two goblins and one hobgoblin (I got the killing blow on that one!). After that, we were trying to decide whether we had time to start harvesting the goblin parts before taking on the rest of the goblins and bugbears that we'd heard were in the camp main; however, the goblins made that decision for us!
 
Seven goblins suddenly appeared over the rise with one bigger goblin behind them, urging them forward, rallying them to attack! This fight was much longer, and we had to be careful not to damage the weaker goblins too much since they needed to be somewhat intact for part harvesting, but three ended up still being over stabbed, over clawed, and over zapped. I'd flown up to shoot at the boss who kept emboldening his lackeys while the others took out the rest, and once the last minion had been slayed, the goblin boss began making a run for it. Avallac'h hasted our bear friend, though, and Fingle managed to run the monster down and bring it's body back.
 
So! With one stone down, we began on the next! There was no time to waste when we needed fresh parts! Oh, right... And we had one goblin charmed... Since we needed a live one... That was a little awkward, we had him close his eyes at first, but eventually we convinced him to lay down in a cozy little bedroll, snuggled in nice and tight with some rope, all cozy-like. ''<small>*sniff* *sniff* Why am I still kind of tearing up?</small>'' Taro kept saying things and then crying, too, so we tried to leave him be best as we could as we began doing our best to extract all the parts Hakvalak had requested. However, after a few botched attempts, we had to ask Taro for some help with his more dexterous hands and the results turned out much better - minus one which he started sobbing and ruined the hide of.
 
But in the end, we ended up with some extra! For some reason Ignar wanted extra goblin and wolf hide for himself and someone carved out a heart, which definitely wasn't on the list, but I digress. Everything fit in the bag nicely though. Beyond our quest items, there were 10 scimitars or so that we rounded up for Svelta before heading over to the monster camp, realizing the supposedly reported bugbears had not arrived. However, the camp was empty. There might have been one spot where another tent could have gone, but we couldn't tell how recent of a departure that could had been. And to make sure no other monsters made claim to this place again in the future, we decided to destroy the camp! Jimmy wanted to burn all the corpses, too... That seemed a little much, but I wasn't going to stop him. We collected their ears and the heads of the big ones to show to Kurst for proof before piling them into a pyre along with the broken remains of their campground. Jimmy also stuck a few other heads on sticks around the flames and wrote some profanities in common in the ground and other words in scripts unknown to me. But I think we got our message across...
 
Anywho, our charmed goblin had definitely stopped being charmed before we finished all this, but trapped in the bedroll cocoon, he wasn't going anywhere, but we had to deal with his hollering the whole eleven twelve or so hours back to the guild....... Sigh... That had been the longest day. We were all exhausted when we'd finally gotten back around the same time we'd left the day before. But we had to turn in our quests still!
 
I was excited to show Kurst our proof of quest completion, maybe a little too excited in hindsight as I shouted his name all the way up the stairs... By the time we got to his door to try and explain we had a quest to turn in, his door had been slammed shut and locked, and shortly after, an area of silence was placed in the hallway. Sigh... I didn't mean to annoy him... But we realized that we'd have to try again later, except Jimmy who turned into a mouse and tried sneaking under the door to no avail before running off outside. The rest of us turned in our goblin and stuffed Bag of Colding to Hakvalak who was more than pleased with our results. Everything turned out well there, and he didn't want the extra goblin heart, but said it apparently is known for tasting good? Thus! An idea was hatched. We could try to cook Kurst a delicious dinner to soothe over this rough start and get back on the right footing!
 
During this Jimmy bursts in saying something about Kurst polishing his weapon and that it was a two hander, so we knew that'd probably give us enough time to make this meal for him. And I must say, I did a splendid job on crafting this goblin heart dish. Just in time, Kurst comes down the stairs, I offer him the plate, show him the proof, and try to hastily explain how we'd completed the posting before he got annoyed with me and left again. He gives us the coin reward wordlessly and continues on his way, ignoring the plate, and only curtly waving to Jimmy, who still seemed a little shaken for some reason... We'd tried our best.
 
Mox had apparently been watching from a corner in the main hall though and came over laughing as she shared that Kurst was vegan! <small>Ack! I didn't know!</small> She and Jimmy enjoyed the goblin heart meal though... I even got a pat on the back from Mox, so at least Mox still likes me! I'll still have to try to make amends somehow with Kurst... Anyways, adventure three complete!}}
 
 
{{playerlog|Avallac'h|Citizens of Sunholm, Those pesky goblins will trouble us no more. Our scrappy little group made short work of those vermin. They had wolves, but we had a bear. Okay, I'll admit that it wasn't the most difficult of tasks. Goblins aren't exactly the brightest bunch, and we didn't encounter any bugbears. I guess its hard to find reliable scouts these days.
 
Hakvalak, strange fellow. He is direct, which I can appreciate. Nobody likes someone who talks too much, as if they are the smartest one in the room. But I will say, I'm not impressed with his work so far. He gave us some potions to try out. That's it, the entirety of the story, nothing really happened. How are we to combat evil without good potions. Maybe he can do something useful with all of the goblin parts we gave him. Messy business that was. I think some of my companions enjoyed that part a little too much.}}
 
=== 14 ===
{{playerlog|Maerilith|''(Ignore this short section for now, I'm trying to save on paper, and I suppose I should have this posted somewhere just in case, but I digress)''
If I don't make it out of this puzzle cube, this is the last will and testament of Maerilith, Sunholm's esteemed albeit short-lived cartographer. My viol shall be returned to the fey spirits of my home forest, whom gifted it to me before leaving on my first real adventure. The rest I don't care about. I look forward to roaming the forests of the Fey Wilds to which I'm bound and can only hope my ancestors don't have a stronger pull on my soul and drag me down...
''(Okay, you can start reading here. Sorry if I'm a little scattered, I didn't wake up feeling super great, and for some reason I had a pounding headache, which still hasn't fully subsided yet)''
 
The next day of adventure began! After an exciting trip to the mines, I spent the day scouring the posting board for my next escapade out into the wilderness when the quest reward of a treasure map caught my eye... I just couldn't pass up the chance to see what a real map looked... erm.. to add another map to my growing collection! It was also a chance to try and make amends with Moz. So, I spent all day deliberating over that puzzle, but in the end, I had to sleep on it.
 
When I woke up this morning, though, it suddenly clicked, and I rushed upstairs to go tell Moz. Along the way, another person poofed in from the portal. He seemed one of those scholarly all-knowing types, but I was in a rush to answer the riddle before anyone else did, so I just directed him downstairs to where all the others were still lounging around in and continued my sprint upstairs.
 
Mox was in a much better mood this time around and happy to let me try out the puzzle box, so without any hesitation, I picked it up and said "Name" and next thing I knew I was somewhere else entirely. I started mapping out the relatively small circular room I had appeared within and gained my bearings as a few of my traveling companions from the day before began arriving. It was really sweet to see that they cared enough to come try and find me - Fingle really surprised me when he was the first one through. <small>I shall have to remember not to abandon them in the future...</small>
 
Anywho, we made the mistake of pressing a button set up on a pedestal in center of the room, which immediately started an increasingly ominous countdown with dimming lights and grinding stones that could only be reset back to normal by pressing the button again. So, we began taking turns pressing the button as we tried to figure out how to get out of this room. Perhaps it was a puzzle? Something to do with the codeword "Name"? So we tried mapping the letters to numbers and let the 20 lights go out to the number of each letter. By the time it got down to 1 for 'A', it was pitch black, the rumbling and grinding of stone had reached a peak, and the door raised ever so slightly, just enough for a mouse to get through... So then after resetting it to 20 again, we (everyone but Fingle) said, hey, Fingle, you or your mouse could get under the door, get to the other side and figure out how to open it from the other side! But instead, he said we just had to stop pressing the button and started taking a nap on the floor in front of the door.
 
There was no way we were going to let it get down to 0 though. It sounded like death and destruction! Eventually, though, we had exhausted all of our options.. Even when the wizard I'd run into earlier showed up, he had no other ideas on how to get out either. Taro allowed us time to prepare for death; others were more callous and impatient to let all 20 red lights go out. But in this time of finality and acceptance, I wrote up my will and composed my final song. There was no way I was going out quietly, without song in my ear and my viol at rest.
 
As the last light flickered out and my song reached a crescendo, the door opened, the lights returned, and we were not in fact dead! Instead, we were led into yet another puzzle room, but this one was much more straight forward. We just had to connect the three glowing gems on chains to the glowing gems on the three statues. The only catch was that each time they connected, there was a jolt of energy between the two that produced a bit of a shockwave and the ground started to rumble and shake. That didn't pose a problem til the last statue, which promptly fell and broke, it still seemed simple enough though, so I picked up the gem and headed toward the chain. I don't remember who stopped me ''(Thank you, mystery friend)'' and reminded me of the shockwave before it was too late, but the wizard, Aval-something, could fortunately mage hand the gem over. And thus, puzzle two was complete!
 
The last room opened, another circular room like the last, except this one had a bowl on a pedestal in the center with a hole in the center, which drained into intricate patterns on the floor. On the bowl were three words; I could only read the one in infernal, but together we determined that each one said "Blood" in another language. This riddle was clear as day! And I was ecstatic to unlock that treasure map and get out of the cube! (Oh, right, we were inside of the cube apparently, which was why the stone magnets didn't work; sorry if I forgot to mention that earlier)
 
So! I hastily dropped my wrist onto the bowl's edge to donate my infernal blood to the puzzle! But I.. I don't remember a lot after that.. My blood left me faster than I'd expected and I'd only enough time to bandage my wrist before passing out... I still don't know how I ended up in my bed, but that must have been the solution that worked and got everyone out. I really should read the rest of the entries in here to see what actually happened during my nap and see who has the treasure map currently. So excited for the map! Ah! Even the excitement of finding 4 gold on my bedside from my last log won't compare to getting my hands on that map.
 
Alright, enough writing and wasting paper, now to read what everyone else had to say about our second adventure together!}}
 
 
{{playerlog|Jimmy Fingles|So Moz put up a puzzle, I made the mistake of drunkenly sending a letter to Chris asking for help with the puzzle and I actually got a response. The message was... not polite but she solved it (she never could resist a puzzle). Moz is apparently quite the nerd and already has another puzzle up so looks like it's round 2 of asking for help I would prefer not to have if it wasn't for the reward.
 
Annoyingly Maerlith solved it before I could so all that stuff was for nothing and she got us teleported into the box (reminds me of an episode of a puppet show called "Deep Space Nine"). There was a series of puzzle rooms, a snooty wizard definitely designed it, the first puzzle was to do nothing, the second was something with matching colors and statues that another snooty wizard solved, and the last we had to give up then defeat our own blood.}}
 
 
{{playerlog|Taro|Well, today was interesting. While I'm still trying to figure out what I want to do here in exile, I seem to be getting roped into other people's misadventures. Mae solved the riddle on Moz' puzzle cube, which caused her to disappear from the room. Moz seemed to have no idea what the box did, but at the same time didn't seem to have the slightest concern for what happened to her. Putting suspicion aside, we all (Ignar, Jimmy, and I) followed suit and said "name" while holding the cube, taking us to a musty room. All I have to say about this room is that whoever designed it takes special pleasure in making others suffer. Despite having made peace with death (to the tune of Mae's viola), we made it out of the room, only to find ourselves in another puzzle room. This one was more straight forward, making gems touch and using our wizard friend's magic hand to not get zapped in the process. Who, by the way, is the last person I expected to see on this side of the portal.
 
Anyway, the second puzzle room led to - yes, you guessed it - a third puzzle room, this time with no doors leading anywhere else. There was a bowl in the center of the room asking for blood in three different languages - infernal, and two others I didn't recognize. Mae, a bit too eager to get out of wherever the hell we were, gave a bit too much blood to the bowl and ended up passing out. After Avallac'h and horse-form Jimmy contributed, we learned that the bowl was meant to summon a Blood Elemental. Cool. We handled it, I did the most damage, whatever. No one's keeping track (if they were, I might've actually gotten something out of all this). A button appeared in the center of the bowl after the fight. With passed-out Mae over my shoulder, I pressed it, taking us back to Moz' room. Jimmy dragged Mae back to her room and Ignar kept the cube, but promised to give it to Mae once she woke up. We'll see what happens there. Apparently the cube can be used to set locations to teleport to. Problem is you have to take the cube to the place you want to teleport to, which means I can't use it to get out of here. Oh well.}}
 
 
{{playerlog|Avallac'h|Greetings citizens of Sunholm! Avallac'h has arrived. I am here to solve the mystery of this portal. Rest assured any evil magics that may be involved will be banished. If there is a way home, I will help find it. Though not for that little fellow, he seems to have found refuge in this place. I offer my services and my superior intelligence. From what I have seen so far, it is sorely needed. I can perform exorcisms, guard against spying mages, or simply reverse the effects of a love spell gone wrong.
 
My first act of bravery was to free several members from a simple teleportation device. Hopefully in the future they will be more careful around things they don't understand.}}
 
=== 6 ===
{{playerlog|Ignar Gnomez|Lovely Gnina,
 
I am very pleased to hear that your sister and you have mended your relationship, I know how much it has been weighing on you.
Things are still going swimmingly at the Sunholm resort, the great outdoors have awakened my long lost youthful energy. Just yesterday I joined a band of other guests on an expedition. A dwarf was looking for companions to help him hike into the mountains, he wanted to group up with some of his friends doing geological research in a nearby area. I'll spare you the details, but the trail we followed had some of the best views I've ever had the privilege of laying eyes on. The friends we met were also a lovely bunch, very friendly and hospitable. And great cooks too, we had a wonderful feast of wild game, I've never tasted anything like it!
 
Wishing you were here!
 
Ignar }}
 
{{playerlog|Maerilith|I rounded up some fellow guild members... Well, a few signed up on their own, but they were a bit short, and I wasn't feeling super confident in their ability to take a hit, so I found a fellow tiefling! He looked confident in his stance but was a little down on his mood (apparently he didn't come here on his own volition), but he seemed up for helping this dwarf out for a little coin. But together, we approached Eric Silverhand, who was raring to go and get the mine started, and held a stone that led the way.
 
And so we began our exploration out into the wilds! I flew up to get a better vantage (it was a glorious view) and began the start of our guilds maps of the surrounding area. We headed east, through sparse trees, which thickened before thinning and turning into a rocky terrain. There, after a couple hours of travel, we arrived at the hole in the ground mine entrance. Once under, we kept a fairly straight path, but! A minotaur attacked the miners and caused a cave-in blocking our forward progress. Using my navigating expertise, I led the group down the leftward tunnel, which eventually opened up into a beautiful spherical cavern.
 
While it was a dead end, it had great acoustics, so I flew up and performed the viola for our party, and it was the greatest I'd ever played... Sigh... I need to go back there sometime. But unfortunately, the minotaur didn't appreciate the lovely music, so it rammed its way into the room, breaking through a sealed off passage. Doing the sensible thing, I flew up to the roof of the chamber and fired eldritch blasts at the beast while my companions faced it head on, or bear on in the case of one of the short ones - Fingle, I think. Anyway, the minotaur was defeated quickly and had paved the way onward to the miners.


Eric Silverhand was pleased with our service, stamped our help wanted poster, donated his magnetic connection stones, and roused his wounded miners to get them back to work. He doesn't seem like a lot of fun, but the workers seemed to not mind so much as long as they were being paid. Turns out the guild really needs some iron to start building or crafting things. But our work there was done, so after finishing scavenging the minotaur, we went back to the guild!
= 2021 - 2022 =
[[Quest Logs 2021 Q3 2022 Q2]]


There we fumbled about a little bit, getting to know the other residents and workers a bit more... Maybe annoying a few accidentally... <sub>''(Really sorry again Moz)''</sub>
= 2021 =
[[Quest Logs 2021 Q1 Q2]]


But we eventually determined that Kurst was the completed quest giver, so we turned in our first quest together in only a matter of a few hours or so, and plenty of time left in the day for more exploration! I'm so excited to be here! This is a great start to a new beginning...}}
= 2020 =
[[Quest Logs 2020]]

Latest revision as of 12:15, 14 May 2023

Every quest inside of the world of Sunholm is logged by our adventurers so that other guild members can live vicariously though them, and so that other adventurers can stay on top of the successes and failures of the guild as a whole. If an adventurer shares a quest log with the guild then they are usually met with payment for their work by other guild members, however if there is ever a case where no member of the adventuring party provides a history of what happened then it is unlikely anyone will know about their deeds, or even that the world itself will remember their experiences (Characters will not receive exp for that session). There is no requirement for the style or form of the quest logs, they can be short summaries, a list of events that occurred, masterfully woven tales, sonnets, poems, songs, or anything else you would like, they must however contain information about all of the major story events that occurred.

Logs

May

10

Communal Log

  • The group decided to wait the time out
  • Rich's character investigated the magic that was being purified and found that it was being used to create arcane that mortals could use. He went about trying to construct a magic item to allow him to cast two instances of illusion magic at the same time and the workers constructed it for him so his character has a ring that allows for minor or major illusion to be cast twice whenever it is cast once.
  • Trevor's character tried to build a bigger gun, which failed
  • Morgans character went around asking people if they had names and ended up with the general opinion of him becoming less favorable
  • Gabe's character went to try to hide some loot for future adventurers to find, but ended up not doing so

When the group went up to meet with Ti they were greeted by a hunched figure in the middle, spreading from the figure were a multitude of, what I was only able to describe as, hinged tendrils. A series of straight sections that bent at fixed intervals along their path. At the end of each tendril was a creature that looked like a slightly mutated version of the one in the middle, some taller, some smaller, some wider, etc etc. Each one was recording data on some medium, all sorts of methods of record were being utilized.

Above the room hovered a large glowing ovoid object that lit up Ti's room with a light brighter then the natural sunlight from outside, which the group learned was "the weaverseed" the source of existence for the realm and the arcane nexus that creates the deities every millennia. The magic from this object is what was being purified in the lower section of the tower.

When the players walked in they obseved all of the jointed tendrils fold in pulling each of the bodies into the central one, who then stood up and greeted the players with a smile asking how they could help. Ti stood 12 feet tall, draped in a raggity cloak manufactured in an era long past. Their face rather unassuming while their arms and legs like black sticks jutting out from under their cloak. Ti also seemed to be able to reach at any point in the room regardless of the distance, as demonstrated when patting Morgan's character on the head while exploring the room.

Ti was questioned by the individuals who entered their room, explaining that Ti's purpose is to record the history of the plane. In doing so Et granted Ti the ability to grant names to individuals so that they may be more easily referenced within the history. As such the party asked Ti to give them names.

At this point the DM did not have enough information for any player other then Trevor as to what their name would be.

  • Trevor's character was named Ith'Geb. Who later in history would become known as "Keeper of the Forge"

The other players decided among themselves which characters would fit best to each of these roles (with some restrictions based on character choices):

  • Keeper of the Temples
  • Keeper of the Army
  • Keeper of the Homeland
  • Keeper of the Faith

As a result Ti named each of the characters

  • Rich's Character - Mai'cef, who would later be known as Keeper of the Faith
  • Morgan's Character - Neb'tet who would later be known as Keeper of the Homeland
  • Gabe's Character - Dae'mon, who would later be known as Keeper of the Temples
  • Courtney's Character was left with - Kit'lai, who would later be known as Keeper of the Army

After the naming the player's characters begun to grow the beginings of their wings and the scene ended.

Each one of the player charactes in the primary time were granted a vision of one of Ti's many external bodies, after such an even each character became aware of the entire contents of the minicampaign (which would have been hilarious if Gabe had followed through on hiding loot). Additionally they became aware of excerpts of Ti's History (as found on the wiki page).

And that was the end of the session.

New pieces of history will be added to Ti's Journal over time, extending from where the Minicampaign ended (~1200 years after Et's birth) up until the current era (~6000 years after Et's birth)

Excerpts from Ti's History


3

Communal Log

on our way to et's domain we encountered a slime/ooze dark entity. it did not have a name. the ooze led us towards macaroni and cheese. It lead us towards the one with the name. the ooze was cheerful and slowly killed themselves as they moved. got to the girthy tower from up close. we did things and the session ended. talked to someone briefly and then fixed an elevator. Ti is in a room and there's two guards guarding the room Somehow chess was being played with Rich to distract them but it didn't work wow these low fat doritos are pretty good. cstover could teleport one of us in there? morgan tried to break the door down and got shot. we waited one week there. fade to black


April

26

Communal Log

We're children of Jalari, so they tell us. We don't have names because children of deities don't get names. Jalari and Et are two main deities. One day a village explodes. We are all taken back into hiding. We're supposed to be good toward the mortals. Although people tow the line and interfere sometimes.

Purpose is to find our purpose. Find out someone (rumors) that a deity kin has a name - Ti. We tried to escape once but were stopped by Jalari because not stealthy enough. A year later, tried again and tried invisibility and other skills and succeeded. Then we traveled towards a town that the rumor originated from. Approached the encampment, Gabe and Rich disguised selves and went to town elders and eventually we all revealed ourselves - Morgan's character was drawn in by Rich's drumming and the rest followed.

Trevor took a lot of their stuff and left a constantly glowing item with the encampment. We are now heading toward Et's domain. Et is the elder of the two deities. Dragons exist and have been tied to primal elements already - their purpose (6 dragons). Jalari is younger than the dragons.

Courtney's Comprehensive Collection


12

Maerilith

Lelyvia is dead.


Nanny-02

Lelyvia's dead, all right! And what drama too, seeing her head, still plastered with a surprised expression, tumble to the ground. But we avenged her, indeed with my final ounce of arcane power I myself sent the dastard who slew our companion into the realm beyond!

It was a mighty struggle, and we none of us came away without new, well-earned scars. Skythrix (proper spelling TBD) was a most worthy adversary, and full of vicious hate; it was a clear a dark, preternatural power drove her to fits of low cunning and viciousness not seen in any of our previous foes. Our mightiest mage spent most of the fight twiddling his thumbs in a demiplane, and only the desperate fireblasting of our second-mightiest mage saved the day. Here's hoping we face no such odds again, in any short amount of time...


March

29

Nanny-02

Hark, the tower once again! around and around and around. It is never ending. Who knows what awaits us at the top?

22

Kizmet

PRIVATE LOG Oh, the pain of a lost existence! I was mere inches from my goal, I could taste it in the wind. We were trapped in a time loop of some kind by the reckless spellcraft of that wizard Avallac'h. He dared to gaze through the crystal ball into the misty future, and we were punished for our hubris by the gods! At least, at first I thought it was a punishment. Every time the loop began, a swarm of raccoons I was collecting thrashed and gnawed in my arms! Lucky ate his baked potato many a time. Only little Lelyvia escaped unscathed.

It took us a few rounds to realize what was happening. In that time, I met the loves of (the remainder of) my life, the earthly Dina and the gorgeous young Mira... I think? The time scramble must have damaged my memories somehow... Anyway, they remember me not. Mira liked shells... I think?

Once, the others tried to reach Moz's office to get assistance freeing us from the loop. Fortunately, I was in the bar learning about (I think) Mira's infatuation with (I think) seashells. So, I was not witness to the horrible slaughter of my friends by the guildmasters' faction, when they recklessly disintegrated their way past the construct Ruby.

I soon realized that in such a world, I could find true immortality! I sped off to the guildmaster's faction to speak with Moz and remove the means of breaking the loop, but she was not so easily swayed. No matter how I gnashed my teeth in rage none of them would be dissuaded. It sparked a dark fury in me, burning away at the stubby wick of my passion. Heartless, all of them! Why should I believe in them, when they none of them feel my agony? Why pay homage to Lethander's sunrise when only God-Lord Et has proffered any form of assistance?

15

Kizmet

Gaaaah, my aching bones! They sing their complaints day and night. The priestess of Lathander did her best to console me, but there are no new dawns on my life. No dawns for me. My patron stirs though, detecting somehow the approach of my soul. Not yet, great one! I need more time.

I found some reprieve with the witch Grendel and her hulking companion Urk'Buk. I was startled by their door greeting and destroyed it inadvertently; Grendel was kind enough to waive the great sum! What a sweet young lady. And with such lovely remedies - my bones felt better, however temporarily, after drinking her tea. Now, if only I had a more permanent solution...


8

Lelyvia

As Lathander teaches us, just as there will always be another dawn, there will always be a chance for a new beginning for all. It was good to see more new faces join the morning sermon this week, and while there seems to be a devious plot afoot, it's good to see the Sunholm community come together to help one another out. I don't want to give out too many details for the sake of privacy of my flock, but rest assured that nobody is in danger of being murdered in their sleep.


1

Lelyvia

It's been a while since I've done one of these quest logs, but I must regret to inform all in the material plane that Lindric Luckstone, also known as Lucky, is dead and has been dead for so long as I've not known him. *whispers to Maerilith* Am I doing this correctly? Ahem... May Lathandar watch over that poor soul...


February

15

Nanny-02

BEGIN PRIVATE LOG

Xan was most resistant to our questioning. His smug confidence invited the stick, but I felt obliged to try the carrot for another week more. And it paid off. With just a bit of magical makeup from Maerilith, and proper support from Avallac'h, we convinced him that he was imprisoned with a dwarf. He then convinced himself, quite conveniently, that Mae's disguised form was a disguise... for a devil. He made a pact with this "devil", and in when his guard was down Mae was able to charm him and finagle the sordid details of his process out of him. Once we had done so, we turned him into a slug, and had our young Basili petrify him. Now, tucked away in my pocket, my Creator - at least, one of them. Just a little stone slug, cushioned and protected from the woes of time. Mine, with whom I may do as I see fit.

Before he took on his new and improved form, Xan revealed to the disguised Maerilith how he manufactures warforged. He claimed that a deal was struck, with a creature who sounded much like Et. Souls in exchange for... nothing, apparently. This thing in my satchel that calls me so is some kind of component of Et's ritual, used to entrap souls into shells. And once that dark ritual is complete, and photoreceptors open for the first time, a living warforged is made.

Such a bastardization of creation. I want no part of this facade. We must learn to grow beyond this crude practice, this mockery of birth. When a fleshling has a child, from whence does its soul stem? Surely not captured from Hell, jammed into foreign flesh and sewn up by magic. No, this is not birth, but slavery hidden behind the chrome of modern Arcana. I seek no mere perpetuation, but Creation for my people. The ability to add Us to the world, not recycle old souls. This core is so powerful, but its power is perverse. It must be destroyed.

Moreover, this discovery weighs on me. Who was I? For if there is no true Creation in metal, then my soul was born to soft flesh. Mercenary? Vagabond? Hero? A Cobbler's son, or the bandit that murdered him? A lady of Waterdeep, or the peasant scraping at her feet? Does it matter? Can I know, somehow? Should I know, or will such knowledge only burden me further? And... should I tell the world, or even the freed brethren at my side? Who could continue in servitude when your soul was born free?

Perhaps the solution lies not in philosophy, but action. My soul... maybe its rightful place lies outside of this artificial skin, this prison of existence. Maybe when this mortal form expires, I will finally fly free, and taste of freedom at last. Maybe...

END PRIVATE LOG

8

Nanny-02

BEGIN PRIVATE LOG

This must be what it feels like to be a young rascal! We've gotten away, and stolen cookies from the jar directly under the nose of our governess. Well, more like we've stolen the governess herself!

After an extensive period of planning we determined that the best approach was to go straight through Xan's office window. I took Maerilith's broom and led the way. Nobody was around, and an alarm was blaring incessantly, perhaps a new countermeasure against incursions. We took only a few turns before finding him in his library - there I tried to convince him to give up his cruel trade of flesh (alloy). He refused to see reason, but I wasn't surprised.

The mages held a mighty duel in that cramped laboratory. It was beyond me to understand all the magics they wrought; the air was as much filled with with muttered incantations as the ring of steel. Hands were constantly blurring with motion, etching arcane convolutions. They never stopped weaving, even as they did their best to interrupt the most powerful spells of their enemies. It was a terrible thing, seeing their delicate dance, but fortunately Avallac'h and Maerilith worked like the age-old team they are. They were able to occupy Xan's attentions so Ignar and I could move in to engage him. Ah, I believe Lucky was there as well.

His laboratory was lined with enslaved warriors who leapt to his defense. I pitied them, but my resolve was unwavering - what is the need of the part to the need of the whole? But, as they closed I suddenly felt a bizarre urge take hold in my processor. I reached into my sachel to find the strange power core that Nanny-12 retrieved for us. As it seemed to beat in my hand, a voice coursed in my ears... "Use me," it crooned. At first I thought it was Xan, but this voice was different, older somehow. "Use me!" it insisted. I lost control of my very arms, as the force compelled me to replace my power core with this dark object.

As I made the switch, the floor fell away from me. My mind felt like it flew to the stars and through the planet itself, tore itself apart and reassembled all askew, writhing with the trauma of change. And as my reassembled self slid neatly into the minds of the Warforged fighting against us, for the briefest moment I felt both the fear and confusion of the enslaved, and the dark glee of the enslaver. I opened my new eyes and saw my own body, brutalizing my friends, saying dark things.

The battle raged on as I struggled to get used to my new bodies. Walking 3 different bodies with 6 different legs is not a task my mind was designed for. I tried to pry out the black thing from my chest to no avail. Eventually, the team was able to subdue my old body and save me (thanks Mae), and my mind came rushing back to my chassis just in time to deliver the last blow to Xan. His guardians fell quiescent, and we trundled his unconscious body off swiftly to the portal. Our governess is now wrapped neatly up in a carpet, and we're discussing our story for the return to Sunholm.

Now all that's left is to bring him back to Sunholm and decide what to do with him. At first I was convinced we only needed to meet a mutual understanding. Seeing how he treated my brethren made me less sure, but still I felt like some compromise could be reached. Even now I feel that executing him is a waste, and his skills are better leveraged for the betterment of the Created.

And I wonder what he can tell us about this black power core. I have it with me still, close to me. At times I feel like I can even hear it whisper. I was terrified and disgusted, yes. But there was a euphoria about it. So many Created look up to me already. This is merely a way to help that along, to get past all those pesky Butlers insisting on the Old Way. With so much power, who knows what might be accomplished? If I can learn to use it safely, my vision of a shining utopia for the Created may be nearer than ever...

END PRIVATE LOG


Maerilith

I didn't expect my first trip back to the material plane would be such a whirlwind of planning and action. In fact, I don't think I ever expected to return the material plane... I almost see Sunholm as my native plane now with all the memories and connections I've made there... It certainly feels more like home...

Either way, we've helped Nanny 02 with their... delivery pickup, and are back in the holding area of Sunholm. I don't know what Nanny 02's plans are for going through customs, or what they plan on doing with their... gift, but I hope it brings about a resolution to their troubles.


1

Nanny-02

We met with a most colorful gentleman today. He wanted us to teach him a wide range of combat techniques, from swordfighting to "deflecting magical spells" to even casting his own spells, in the magical tongue of Draconic. These skills were for use on the stage, to wow onlookers in an upcoming play. It was a smidge demeaning, but there is little debasement that would not be worth the staggering sum he agreed to pay. I can only hope he doesn't come to rely on some of those skills in a life or death situation...


January

25

Nanny-02

I begin to think this temple has no end. My eyes claim we have already ascended half its height but my legs (and spell slots) refuse to believe so. This time we dealt with a scattering of skeleton warriors and oozes. No big deal; and even the red dragon we faced proved a so-so challenge. In fact, I dare say we could have truly taken on 1d6 of them without a sweat! Come world, bring all the horrors you have to bear, haha!

The remains of this latest drake were efficiently dispatched by Ignar. We hope to sell them for some gain, and perhaps even make items of our own!

My labors with Rebecca are yet to bear fruit. My knowledge crawls closer though, with ever failed attempt and every day gone by… the simple machinery that is a living soul seems to become clearer and clearer in my mind’s eye. Soon.


Maerilith

Another day at the Holiri Floating Temple. Yet another poor red dragon... Wait, I said this last week. The temple has become a little repetitive, and even though we're only halfway through it, I bet we could quicken the pace if we stopped conserving our spell slots as much. A few skeletons or oozes or dragons haven't put up much of a challenge, so there's little reason to hold back on our spells fearful of a greater threat... At least not until we get closer to the top.

In the meantime, I will spend my writing donations expanding my ever hungry spellbook.


18

Nanny-02

Ah, once again the wonders of the Holiri Floating Temple! This time the two mages wouldn't stop running their mouths. I can't blame them of course, they must indulge themselves when their passion calls for it - even if that passion is for the rather dry world of Arcana. Honestly, the two others aren't much more interesting - Lucky and Ignar spend an awful lot of time staring into the distance, breathing out of their mouths. Well, perhaps I should be thankful for that with Lucky...

Anyway, the actual battle today was rather relaxing. Another smallish Red Dragon and a group of odd figures made of water. They attacked us after Ignar took a sip of one of their number, and for the battle Maerilith was unfortunately stuck upstairs with the biggest of their kind. Still, the battles were all swift and simple. Hmm, I wonder what the world would be like without magic... an incredible force.

Maerilith and I then spent some time taking apart the reptile for its constituent parts, which are highly prized among some communities. It's rather gruesome, but trying to melt visitors just because they step into your home uninvited... it's not exactly a tip from Horatio's Hospitality Hotline.


Maerilith

Another day at the Holiri Floating Temple. Yet another poor red dragon that only had the opportunity to move before we took it down... At least we're not letting all of its useful crafting materials go to waste this time.

A watery canine put up a fight though, and I was left to fend for myself upstairs until its minions were dealt with. Avallac'h remained the heaviest hitter of the group. I am a bit envious of the arcane power that Avallac'h wields, but alas, my eyes still glaze over trying to decipher the higher level spells in his spellbook, so I will have to sate my cravings on scribing some lower level spells... for now.

As an aside, I appreciate the generous donations from those reading my notes here. I think it's fitting that the tale of vanquishing Urisys earned me the most gold from a quest log to date, but I wanted to express my thanks nonetheless and say that it's going to good use feeding my spell addiction expanding my arcane repertoire to exact justice on other enemies of the guild.


11

Nanny-02

We were able to hunt down the rapscallion who slew the poor elves in the nearby village. He was incredibly adept at hiding - I didn't even notice him until my telescoping eyes touched his corpse, already dead from Avallac'h and his powerful magics.

After bringing him back, we returned to discover a cowering young child, apparently carrying some dreadful plague which slew elves. Zi is not cursed at all; it's most likely the scoundrel and his psychic abilities dealt the killing blows to these poor creatures. I assume he merely believed what he was told. However, just why anyone would tell that lie is difficult to know.

We learned of the existence of "the green woman and her army," a reference, according to Maerilith, to the deadly Skrillex. Our next target, as it happens.

I hope we can rehabilitate Zi to be healthy and happy once more. Perhaps the orphanage which allowed its children to be eaten by mimics would be a good place. I'm sure they've learned the hard way by now how to care for children.

Unfortunately, there is no place for those of skin and bone in the promised land of the Created. As much as I am wont to welcome children of all nations, we must be strong enough not to depend on fleshlings.


Maerilith

A small bit of justice has finally been dealt out to the perpetrators who destroyed the guild and murdered nearly half of its people! Urisys has been brought to justice for his crimes, and only one member of the original quartet remains. We are still following up on leads about Skithryx, and while I'm no longer as concerned about Skithryx being too powerful by herself after our encounter with Urisys, I do have concerns with the army she keeps with her. Maybe if we can catch her on her own, then it'll be a more even fight? But I've seen her face to face, and Skithryx is an intimidating presence... I should learn more spells... I don't know that I'm ready yet...

In other news, we might have adopted an orphan to the faction? Or maybe not? Nanny 02 used to be excited to bring in more children like Zi; however, Nanny 02's behavior has been unsettling as of late and seems so obsessed with creating a warforged child that they're ignoring the living children around them. Hm... Maybe Elaine could use a new playmate. They both seem to have experienced similar traumas, so they would understand one another at least. Hm... But if Lucky's worry that there's an elvish plague does turn out to be true, then I'd want to keep Zi far away from Elaine... This will require more thought.


4

Nanny-02

After spending so much time on my research with R it is a relief to step outside and slay monsters once more. I feel the changes worked upon me in the last few months have altered my skills and mind beyond belief. But no matter how I change, my quest for a new home for my people continues. I feel as if the whole world is open to us, and we only need reach out and take it!

On a more mundane note, the creatures in the Holiri floating temple interest me. They are dragon-like, and among them are even some true dragons - red, and terrible. Although we didn't experience a great deal of difficulty this time around. The new armor R and I developed together has been working exceptionally.


Maerilith

It's good to get out and breathe fresh air again! A weight has been lifted off my shoulders - both metaphorically and physically as I've regained my strength - and I've been getting an itch to expand my map collection again. So, off we went to make more progress at the Holiri Floating Temple!

It was my first time there, and I was surprised at how well coordinated the party was. I recall disorganization and chaos during the last stint of adventuring I had with the Ruby Counsel, but the others seem to have grown and evolved just as I have. Excluding Ignar of course who is as stubborn and unchanging as a mountain goat...

We finished clearing out a full floor this week! And I think it's safe to say that all of our abilities expanded from it! I feel a little bad for that red dragon at the end there though... I don't think we let it take a single step that entire fight.

We still have at least another floor to do, but it seemed like the others wanted a break from fighting, so we might pick up some more interpersonal quests and earn some coin next week instead of progressing through it further. I could honestly use the coin... Now that we're adventuring again, I fear my cravings for new spells has resumed, and the more powerful the spell, the more expensive the paper required to contain it is...


2022

Quest Logs 2022 Q3 2022 Q4

2021 - 2022

Quest Logs 2021 Q3 2022 Q2

2021

Quest Logs 2021 Q1 Q2

2020

Quest Logs 2020

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