Post by Bandgoat on Oct 28, 2013 12:50:33 GMT -6
Kuthona 16, 4707 – Late Evening
My Dearest Husband Illya,
This afternoon, after our fight with the stone giant general, we went back underground to tell of our victory to Conna, the former stone giant elder. She took the news well and offered to speak with the remaining tribes of stone giants. To aid her in this task, we collected the heads of Mokmurian and Galenmir as proof of their deaths. She invited us along to witness her speech and we graciously accepted. We pulled open the gates of Jorgenfist and walked out. To the right camped the Redshield and Nightshade tribes of ogres, now sparsely populated. To the left, a group of hill giants called the Black Fists had camped. Once the news reached them that Mokmurian was killed, the two camps went to war – now most of them are dead. Conna walked forward onto a knoll and called all the stone giants to gather. She said she was the former elder of the Kavarvatti Tribe. Showing the heads of the dead giants, she shouted, “Behold the wages of war: This is the price the stone giants have paid for going down this wicked path.” She then began to recount the story of Mokmurian and his betrayal of stone giant beliefs, treading the paths of the ancient oppressors. She then ordered the remaining stone giants to disband and disperse. After some consideration, they did. Some of the other groups who were not stone giants warred amongst themselves, but they should eventually wander off and pose no concentrated threat against the lowlands of Varisia. We seemed to have completed our mission at last.
We then discussed our next steps. We quickly decided that we would return to the level below ground and finish clearing the area. Our first stop was a cylindrical cavern, the walls of which were covered with black soot and scorch marks. In a dark corner, we found the corpses of two young red dragons. The sihedron rune had been carved into their scales and they were apparently kept as prisoners, before being killed recently. Continuing, we reached a makeshift chapel to Lamashtu. There, we battled a pair of lamia priestesses. We did not take the fight too seriously at first though we should have. After a few traded hits, I was hit with a fast series of attacks, knocking me down, though I was quickly brought back up by Tolgun to continue the fight. I got in a quick hit and a spell before being hit again, dropping me unconscious for the rest of the fight. I woke later to the sight of two dead lamias and a Lamashtan chapel to search. After desecrating the religious site, we discovered a small hidden chamber under the altar. It contained a few religious books (that we subsequently burned) on Lamashtan rites and a few magical scrolls that the dwarf could use. Tolgun healed us as best he could and then we decided it was time to rest and recover from our battles. So, we are now resting again in an extra-dimensional space provided magically by Soril. I think we will continue our exploration on the morrow.
- Yours, E
Kuthona 17, 4707 – Late Afternoon
Dearest Husband,
Today we continued mopping up the denizens of Jorgenfist. The last place below ground to clear was a long hallway leading to a set of large stone doors carved with a sihedron rune. It opened to a large rectangular room filled with many tree trunks driven into the ground like stakes, sets of manacles attached to each. Not seeing anything living in the room, we began a detailed search. As we spread throughout the room, we were set upon by a hulky behemoth of a hill giant who somehow managed to hide below the dirt on the floor. It matched the description of a runeforge slave, with glowing figures on his muscular form. The giant proceeded to pummel Soril, yelling, “You killed Mokmurian!” Nala replied, “Yeah? So what?” We proceeded to battle, but Soril could not get out of the way in time. He went down rather quickly. Tolgun came up with a series of lucky hits against the giant and Ryll blinded him with a slash across its brow, which turned the tide of the skirmish. The rest of us were able to take down the behemoth and rescue Soril. At that point, we thought we had cleared all of Jorgenfist below ground. All that remained was what we could find on the surface.
Our first stop was the feast hall. This was a fairly large building with no windows and three doors. We entered the main doors to well-stocked and completely abandoned food stores. We can easily live on that food for the foreseeable future. Next, we went to the Mammoth stables. We found only a single mammoth. Lai’Ki was able to calm it and we agreed to let it go free to roam the wilds of the Iron Peaks or find its way back to northern climes. The third place on the surface we explored was the guest house. There was nothing of any interest there. We next went to the tall spire, presumably occupied by rocs. The nests contained little of interest – it appears we had killed its occupants.
The final part of Jorgenfist to explore was the aptly named Black Tower. The tower is not like the others that compose the fort. Its architectural style is far more intricate and ancient in appearance, bearing similarities to many of the other monuments that dot the Varisian landscape. Made of black stone and decorated with gargoyles, the tower’s walls are streaked with thick lichens and moss. It soars twice as high as the other towers – its façade effectively dominating the view. We entered the large stone doors, which were remarkably easy to open and cold to the touch. As we entered, the room seemed to be split into two levels with alcoves fixed to the chamber walls. The air was unusually cold. There did not seem to be any way to climb the tower – it appeared to be completely hollow on the inside. In the middle of the room, we found a somewhat well-hidden trap door in the floor. Upon opening it, we got a blast of even colder air. We decided to continue our exploration. Lowering ourselves on a rope, Ryll, Lai’Ki, Tolgun, and I descended into the dark depths below. In the lower chamber, several humanoid corpses lined the walls. Among them, one wrapped in linen and clutching an ornate scroll case reached out to attack us. It kept repeating the same mantra in Thassalonian: “The Green Light.” Not knowing what that phrase could mean, we fought it and prevailed. Though it was a rather lengthy fight, no real harm was done. We found nothing of any interest in the room, except what the mummy was carrying. In particular, he held a scroll case that contained something of great power. It is locked with a series of spinning discs that function like a combination lock or puzzle box. We will have to study this device more closely. However, at this point, we are quite certain that Jorgenfist has been secured. I imagine we will be doing much research in its magnificent library in the days to come. Rest easy, My Beloved.
- Yours, E
My Dearest Husband Illya,
This afternoon, after our fight with the stone giant general, we went back underground to tell of our victory to Conna, the former stone giant elder. She took the news well and offered to speak with the remaining tribes of stone giants. To aid her in this task, we collected the heads of Mokmurian and Galenmir as proof of their deaths. She invited us along to witness her speech and we graciously accepted. We pulled open the gates of Jorgenfist and walked out. To the right camped the Redshield and Nightshade tribes of ogres, now sparsely populated. To the left, a group of hill giants called the Black Fists had camped. Once the news reached them that Mokmurian was killed, the two camps went to war – now most of them are dead. Conna walked forward onto a knoll and called all the stone giants to gather. She said she was the former elder of the Kavarvatti Tribe. Showing the heads of the dead giants, she shouted, “Behold the wages of war: This is the price the stone giants have paid for going down this wicked path.” She then began to recount the story of Mokmurian and his betrayal of stone giant beliefs, treading the paths of the ancient oppressors. She then ordered the remaining stone giants to disband and disperse. After some consideration, they did. Some of the other groups who were not stone giants warred amongst themselves, but they should eventually wander off and pose no concentrated threat against the lowlands of Varisia. We seemed to have completed our mission at last.
We then discussed our next steps. We quickly decided that we would return to the level below ground and finish clearing the area. Our first stop was a cylindrical cavern, the walls of which were covered with black soot and scorch marks. In a dark corner, we found the corpses of two young red dragons. The sihedron rune had been carved into their scales and they were apparently kept as prisoners, before being killed recently. Continuing, we reached a makeshift chapel to Lamashtu. There, we battled a pair of lamia priestesses. We did not take the fight too seriously at first though we should have. After a few traded hits, I was hit with a fast series of attacks, knocking me down, though I was quickly brought back up by Tolgun to continue the fight. I got in a quick hit and a spell before being hit again, dropping me unconscious for the rest of the fight. I woke later to the sight of two dead lamias and a Lamashtan chapel to search. After desecrating the religious site, we discovered a small hidden chamber under the altar. It contained a few religious books (that we subsequently burned) on Lamashtan rites and a few magical scrolls that the dwarf could use. Tolgun healed us as best he could and then we decided it was time to rest and recover from our battles. So, we are now resting again in an extra-dimensional space provided magically by Soril. I think we will continue our exploration on the morrow.
- Yours, E
Kuthona 17, 4707 – Late Afternoon
Dearest Husband,
Today we continued mopping up the denizens of Jorgenfist. The last place below ground to clear was a long hallway leading to a set of large stone doors carved with a sihedron rune. It opened to a large rectangular room filled with many tree trunks driven into the ground like stakes, sets of manacles attached to each. Not seeing anything living in the room, we began a detailed search. As we spread throughout the room, we were set upon by a hulky behemoth of a hill giant who somehow managed to hide below the dirt on the floor. It matched the description of a runeforge slave, with glowing figures on his muscular form. The giant proceeded to pummel Soril, yelling, “You killed Mokmurian!” Nala replied, “Yeah? So what?” We proceeded to battle, but Soril could not get out of the way in time. He went down rather quickly. Tolgun came up with a series of lucky hits against the giant and Ryll blinded him with a slash across its brow, which turned the tide of the skirmish. The rest of us were able to take down the behemoth and rescue Soril. At that point, we thought we had cleared all of Jorgenfist below ground. All that remained was what we could find on the surface.
Our first stop was the feast hall. This was a fairly large building with no windows and three doors. We entered the main doors to well-stocked and completely abandoned food stores. We can easily live on that food for the foreseeable future. Next, we went to the Mammoth stables. We found only a single mammoth. Lai’Ki was able to calm it and we agreed to let it go free to roam the wilds of the Iron Peaks or find its way back to northern climes. The third place on the surface we explored was the guest house. There was nothing of any interest there. We next went to the tall spire, presumably occupied by rocs. The nests contained little of interest – it appears we had killed its occupants.
The final part of Jorgenfist to explore was the aptly named Black Tower. The tower is not like the others that compose the fort. Its architectural style is far more intricate and ancient in appearance, bearing similarities to many of the other monuments that dot the Varisian landscape. Made of black stone and decorated with gargoyles, the tower’s walls are streaked with thick lichens and moss. It soars twice as high as the other towers – its façade effectively dominating the view. We entered the large stone doors, which were remarkably easy to open and cold to the touch. As we entered, the room seemed to be split into two levels with alcoves fixed to the chamber walls. The air was unusually cold. There did not seem to be any way to climb the tower – it appeared to be completely hollow on the inside. In the middle of the room, we found a somewhat well-hidden trap door in the floor. Upon opening it, we got a blast of even colder air. We decided to continue our exploration. Lowering ourselves on a rope, Ryll, Lai’Ki, Tolgun, and I descended into the dark depths below. In the lower chamber, several humanoid corpses lined the walls. Among them, one wrapped in linen and clutching an ornate scroll case reached out to attack us. It kept repeating the same mantra in Thassalonian: “The Green Light.” Not knowing what that phrase could mean, we fought it and prevailed. Though it was a rather lengthy fight, no real harm was done. We found nothing of any interest in the room, except what the mummy was carrying. In particular, he held a scroll case that contained something of great power. It is locked with a series of spinning discs that function like a combination lock or puzzle box. We will have to study this device more closely. However, at this point, we are quite certain that Jorgenfist has been secured. I imagine we will be doing much research in its magnificent library in the days to come. Rest easy, My Beloved.
- Yours, E