Khalo's Journal: Night's Reach

Night's Reach is a curious place. Grimlocks on the bottom, along with some kind of malevolent commanding entity to lead them. On the upper-middle levels, one finds all manner of undead Giant-kind. And at the top, our goal - the Cowl. He was dispatched - I won't say easily, but the entity he summoned, which he referred to as the Emissary, caused most of the trouble. Depleted of significant spells, Mome Rath and I were mostly bystanders to the battle. And yet, we were victorious against this Emissary, which did not qualify for Orenthal's dismissal magics, but was still alien in nature. I am not wise to the nuance of it all. Osbert and Soromir brought the creature down through sheer determination. 

The living dead had to be dealt with, then. This was a foregone conclusion. The overwhelming majority of us cannot tolerate their existence, so in violation are they with the various codes and credos we adhere to. That they are of the Giant variety is an unexpected bonus. I had not fought such creatures before, but something (probably in my baser nature) takes great satisfaction in taking them on. I was particularly proud of the way I immobilized a mummy, severely limiting its ability to spread the foul disease it carries. 

In my opinion, I'm willing to leave the Grimlocks be. Our retinue seems anxious to return to Bornos with some of the information and lore we have gathered here, and while we can't abide the living dead, a Night's Reach infested with Grimlocks is something with which I could be perfectly content. They are basically confined to subterranean spaces as a result of their physiology, and the fact is, Night's Reach is such an ideal lair / hideout, I'm sure the people of Bornos would be happy to have a manageable threat to occupy it if they themselves don't see fit to turn it into an outpost for the Condor's military or the Black Sticks, which seems distasteful to me anyway. 

And then there's Ellicor. I'm not one to carry books around with me, and so I've read the adventures of the Knights of Mist Valley more than once now. I wish he had been game to accept my bargain for information. As it is, he wasn't, and now I find myself wondering if I shouldn't have given it to him, anyway. It's not every day you meet an important character from a legendary tale, and even though we played a significant part by freeing him from his centuries-long imprisonment, I could have done more. Next time, I will endeavor to think beyond what benefits merely me and my compatriots, and try to make the decision that is best for this realm. And if I ever see Ellicor again, I will make sure he knows that Osgood Hawthorn yet lives.

Entry concluded.

Soromir's Journal Entry #24

How's this for anti-climactic: The Cowl's name was Trevor. That's a name you give a little dog or a mouse, not a high-level necromancer. Jeebus. I think we killed him rather easily. We hit him hard but before we could confirm the kill, he fell off Night's Reach and into the sea. Orrenthal sent his familiar, Icarus, to investigate Trevor's death. More on that later.

We knew that there was some magic and shennanigans tied to the full moon and the tower, that something was supposed to arrive with the full moon. In Trevor's abyssal-driven madness, he was screaming something about an "ambassador" or "emissary" or something like that, arriving. What arrived was something we identified as a "Moon Calf." And when it arrived, it at first didn't seem interested in us, only wanting to complete its mission which I guess had something to do with shooting a light beam from the Night's Reach into the sea below. I'm no expert in these things, but that's probably not good.

The Moon Calf came from The Dark Side of the Moon; no, not the head shop in the Scholar's District. The literal dark side of the moon. Interestingly, while the creature certainly had the appearance of something extraplannar, one of the Os (Orrenthal or Osbert) was able to identify it as something from this plane. In other words, it's not related (at least I don't think so) to the creatures from the Void (i.e., the Dominion of the Beholder). It's all tied together though, I'm sure.

The Moon Calf was smart. I tried repeatedly to get it to wrestle with me, but it didn't take the bait. The thing was hard to bring down and as it kept flying around and attacking. Missle attacks did the most damage. Finally Osbert was able to grab it with his grappling hook and rope. However, that twenty foot through of a three pound object proved too much for Osbert and he was unable to hold on. So I grabbed the rope and did my thing. We killed it.

Moving back to Trevor, here are some key facts and assumptions to remember, based upon the notes we found in what appeared to be his quarters in the Night's Reach (8th Floor I believe):

1. He was working in the Black Sticks - Icarus retrieved a Black Stick's patch from the sea and the notes seem to indicate as much.
2. He was working in the Black Sticks as a Cook.
3. He was working in the Black Sticks as a Cook and he was skilled in poisons.
4. He was working in the Black Sticks as s Cook and he was using his skills in poisons to poison the Black Sticks.
5. He was poisoning the Black Sticks during cooking for the Black Sticks
6. The poison he was using on the Black Sticks was a poison that caused fear. (this may explain their ineptitude and general reticence to enforce the law. This might explain that.)
7. He was searching the Graveyard (where we met/fought Bill)(The Spectre Bill told us that someone was using 'necromantic rays' to raise undead in the Graveyard and the rays were coming from the palace)(As an aside, Jerricho has the hand of Vecna and has requested us to locate the eye)
8. He was searching the Graveyard looking for powerful necromantic object(s).
9. He was working with Horace, whom we interviewed before hiring Tamlin
10. Horace cleared out the poisons from the Apothecary at the direction or in partnership with Trevor
11. Trevor was going to raise an undead army to defeat the Topaz Syndicate

This last bit is interesting and where I start making assumptions: We know that the Topaz Syndicate is running this city. We know the Black Sticks are having a very difficult time with the Topaz Syndicate. Why would a powerful necromancer work in the Black Sticks and concern himself with something as seemingly mundane as the Topaz Syndicate; the necromantic interests seem to lie with larger concerns. My hunch is someone knew what Trevor was doing and implicitly sanctioned it. In other words a deal was made something along these lines: you raise me an army to defeat the Topaz Syndicate and I'll ignore the rest of your business. This is an assumption, I have nothing firm to base this on.

Moving on from Trevor and the Moon Calf, after resting from the fight we moved to the 7th Floor. The 7th floor contained another tomb, but this tomb was sealed by an ornate door with Giant script written on it basically warning us not to open the door. We opened the door. Because, why not. Standing in the tomb was a massive figure wearing gold armor. The figure was mechanical in nature but it was intelligent. One of the Os identified the figure as an "Inevitable" called Marute. He was summoned by the people that retook the tower 800 years ago, roughly the time of the Godslayer Wars. We decided it best not to involve ourselves with the Inevitable. He was guarding something in the room beyond the antechamber we were standing in. We asked him if anyone else had opened the doors to the antechamber before us and he said no one else had. I'm not sure we will keep this to ourselves. Probably not.

Khalo's Journal: Dwarves and Their Hangups

I have not yet recorded it within these pages, but the member of our retinue known as Jace is now known as Zayn. I was not involved, or at least not engaged with the reasoning behind his updated monniker, but I think it had something to do with the state-sanctioned sport fights he was promoting and organizing. The event has now occurred, but not to the fulfillment of our friend's dreams. The proverbial weed in the garden preventing the event from flourishing is the Topaz Syndicate, a local organized crime group that has been holding sport fights outside of the legal boundaries of the city's purview. Their corruption of the event left many in Bornos with a poor opinion of the whole enterprise. The Topaz Syndicate has shown itself to be a parasite within this city, and while some parasites can have a symbiotic relationship with their host, this one seems to be more of the one-way variety, like that tapeworm Elmo the Loon acquired during his lycanthropic period. Those types of parasites must be purged, and the host must be sanitized of them entirely.

This, however, is but one of many things on our team to-do list. After a quarrel between Osbert and Orenthal, the rest of us decided to give them some space to work out their troubles, and we went to an inn and tavern that Tamlin knew of called The Earth's Embrace. It's a wonderful place, by and large. The owner is a noble sort, and his animal companion is mightily impressive. Plus, he had a bottle of Ice Draught, and I was finally able to taste the famous beverage. It's quite good. While enjoying The Earth's Embrace, we were recruited to investigate eerie transpirations at Darmoor Manor, just on the edge of town. Based on the description of the place by Claire, a manor resident who sought us out for the job, I had some idea of what to expect, and those expectations were met almost exactly. There was a good deal of evil within those walls, and we purged most of it - a little unfortunately got away due to Claire's aunt's dastardly use of animals as vessels for her wicked soul.

After we concluded our work, we returned to the inn, bringing along the bodies of previous adventurers who had failed in the effort before us. I gave those bodies over to a still-living member of their party, and even offered to reincarnate them if they so wished - a new ability of mine that I am eager to practice before it becomes necessary for me to try it on someone close to me. Osbert and Orenthal joined us, and the party complete returned to Darmor Manor the next day to conduct further investigation of the grounds, which turned out to be fruitful, and in relation somewhat to our next agenda item, a visit to Night's Reach in the hopes of turning out The Cowl from what is believed to be his hideout.

The night before we left, I drank heartily, which is not my usual custom, but for the mood I was in after discovering that Kenneth, the dwarven armorer, now bears cold feelings towards our group thanks to the fallout of the sport fight. To make matters worse, The Earth's Embrace's door was darkened by a band of musical dwarves who not only insisted on playing music poorly, but then they wanted to talk to me. I did not behave with great dignity, but I did not embarrass myself overtly, either.

I look forward to crawling around in a cave and feeling less complicated emotions.

Entry concluded.

Soromir's Journal Entry #23

So my hunch about the Tin Man was a bust. It's still some creepy shit though. Compounding the creepiness was the identification of these four porcelain dolls as effigy/icon of some really evil gods. One is an icon of Ne'Rul, one is an icon of Agroth, one is an icon of Set, and one is an icon of Tinmet (not to sure about this one but the gist is evil dragons).

So, on top of everything else we're dealing with in this town, there will be dragons most likely. The Darmor family had stained glass windows depicting dragons. So yeah, this bullshit is coming our way too.

Zane and I took time to peruse the family library, looking for any sort of history on this family. Turns out Auntie has been around multiple generations. The eccentric biddy was straight evil. And now it looks like her soul might have transferred to that crow that escaped. The cages holding the animals in her tower were some kind of magical soul transferrence mechanisms. On paper, that seems pretty cool. But whatever. Fuck this fucked up family. And now we have some damn dragons coming up in our business.

We are about to head out to Nights Reach tomorrow morning. Guess what - there is a connection between Nights Reach and Darmor Manor. The two keeps seem to have a way of communicating with each other via their respective patios/landings. There is some bone chair on Darmor Manor. And some moon rocks or something on Nights Reach. Something appears in the light of the full moon. We'll likely be at Nights Reach with the next full moon.

Party, party, party.

Soromir's Journal Entry #22

To make things worse in this city, there is likely an undead genocidal maniac residing in Darmor Manor. Granted, he's encased in tin but that probably just means he's harder to really kill.

Darmor Manor is cursed. After being approached by the niece of the matriarch of Darmor Manor, we determined that it was best to investigate. We did this without the "assistance" of Osbert or Orrenthal. It was a smart decision. 

We weren't sure what to expect when we went into Darmor Manor. But here is what we knew going in: 

1. There were sciency/occulty experiments going on in the tombs of the house.

2. There are TOMBS in the house.

3. The girl's uncle hadn't been seen coming from this lab in the TOMBS (see the "sciency/occulty" comment above)

4. The auntie lived in a turret built off the side of the house and never left that room

5. A couple of Black Sticks investigated the tombs and lab at the request of the girl but fled the mansion in terror

6. An adventuring party had also investigated the manor and tombs but never returned (we found their bodies and returned them to their lone surviving member Laren)

Here is what we know coming out of Darmor Manor:

1. Auntie burns and burns well.

2. Uncle is dead and in his place were two demon-ish/arachnid-ish/hellhounds. They were dispatched quickly and the Dark Blade did well against them.

3. There are TOMBS in a house.

4. Auntie was communicating with the Void via her bed, which we identified as "Outer Darkness' Rest"

5. In the lab area, there were arcane symbols written that we recognized and sketched for Leito to investigate. Along with the arcane symbols was a picture of a large head with four tentacles attached to it. 

6. Auntie was missing an eye and didn't seem to care.

7. We are returning to Darmor Manor.

There is still a lot to do in Darmor Manor. We're going to have to really kill the genocidal Tin-Man. Also, there is something strange with the girl - she told us she "start(s) to fade" if she stays away from the manor for too long.

Khalo's Journal: Dinner, Death, and Disagreement

The group consensus was to bring Tamlin aboard as our new trapfinder. This result is most pleasing to me, and unless the halfling turns out to be the most gifted of liars, I do not expect to regret our choice. 

We attended a state dinner that thankfully turned into an opportunity for combat. Those sorts of formal gatherings are decidedly not my forte. Osbert's boss alerted us to the problem - more of the living dead. I am most certainly against the sort, but have not yet translated my gut instinct for this into articulated reason. Fundamentally, I suppose I do not object to the continued animation of decomposing flesh. It does not seem all that different from what we are, frankly. But the method by which the flesh is animated leads to them being exclusively (in my experience) evil, which puts them out of balance. 

Under the direction of a being known as The Cowl, they were involved in an assassination attempt on the life of Jehrico the tutor. We defeated the creatures with as minimal a fuss as can be expected, but the mastermind behind these attacks escaped. We were pleased by this development for the most part, excepting the time Jace lost in pursuit of promoting his fighting enterprise. The aftermath of the fight, however, was a series of discoveries which led to the troubling revelation of Jehrico's wickedness. In fact, there was even a question that The Cowl may have been righteous in his efforts, or that the entire affair was an orchestrated event to engender sympathy for, or at least insulate Jehrico from suspicion. Much of the credit for sleuthing out Jehrico's true nature goes to Orenthal. His skill set is enviable, and he is a valuable contributor to our group, which mitigates his physical weakness and his deficiencies of self-reflection. 

Following our success in defeating the minions of The Cowl, we accepted an offer to stay in a room in the Condor's palace. While this affords us an opportunity to get closer to the mysteries and intrigues in which we find ourselves currently embroiled, I am concerned that it separates us further from the various storylines in the city, where there is still much to be concerned about. Furthermore, this raises our profile, which may not be for the best. It could also be viewed as a means by which Inspector Murphy can keep a closer eye on us. This could be a good thing or a bad thing - perhaps the inspector will finally realize that we are not directly responsible for the crimes he currently suspects of us, or his careful tracking of our comings and goings will circumstantially connect us to a crime he is investigating. I am not familiar enough with the laws of Bornos to know what constitutes proof, and it will not be a pretty thing if I am informed that I must subjugate myself or submit to incarceration should the law's version of justice conflict with my own. 

Entry concluded. 

Soromir - Stream of Conscience

I can't write but I can think. I can't write because I'm blind. I'm pretty sure it was Leito that blinded me. I hit him though. Connected pretty good, actually. And then I connected again and again with the hulking undead mass(es). I was lucky tonight.

I'm not sure what happened to Leito. I was told that he disappeared into the shadows.

Now, I'm not certain that it was Leito but he wasn't there with us tonight and I've seen him do some really powerful magic. It seems like walking through shadows would be pretty powerful magic. Just a guess.

I hope our gear is okay. If the Dark Blade is missing, Imma be hella pissed.

Pretty sure I was exploited by Jace tonight. Not sure how I feel about that but whatever. I was blind and couldn't do much about it. I hope I can get rid of this blindness soon.

Jerricho is really sick. I didn't/couldn't see him because I'M FUCKING BLIND. But I could tell. He mentioned something about someone being "consumed." Orrenthal, from what I could hear, was really interested in that.

I think we did the Commandant's work for him tonight. But we know that the Cowl isn't Jerricho. I'm pretty sure it's Leito.

I don't regret not eating dinner. But I could use something now. Also, I'm gonna kill Horace at the first chance I get. If I can see him. He might kill me using some candy-ass poison. What a bitch.

I haven't seen any dogs in this town. Or cats. That's weird. They are probably around but I sure as shit can't see them now.

Soromir's Journal Entry #21

Lots of things to unpack here. The most important is this - my hatred of all things Giant is well founded. Bajol also hates the giants and the giants hate him. This is fine. I will kill as many of them as I can before I leave this world.

I am not sure if the death of the Bajol Priest and Accolytes are on my account. Orrenthal's familiar was able to retrieve my note and while it was covered in blood, it otherwise handn't been disturbed. I have no doubt about the intent of the murders, I just doubt I am somehow accountable for their deaths. Either way, they are one more notch in my vengence tabulation.

It seems like the big bads in this realm are competing against eachother. Tainted Ones do not cotton Beholders and visa versa. Giants do not cotton Tainted Ones and visa versa (this was more or less gleaned from The Knights of Mist Valley). I'm not sure if the Giants and Beholders party.

We are about to get ready for this state dinner. It's going to suck and something bad is going to happen most likely. We can't take our weapons or armor. I'm not drinking and I'm staying close to the exit.

S.T. J.E. #21

Since the release of the being in the water caverns, the being that most likely destroyed the Sahaguin, things in Bornos have taken a turn.

We defeated the cultists. Their undead army is symbiotically linked to the casting cultist. Kill the cultists first. And run like hell from the elithids.

After that encounter, things in Bornos have become a lot more "open". By that I mean there is no open combat in the streets along with aggressive magic use. The city feels ripe with tension and something is about to give. We need to get out of here soon and make our way to the Domelands. Winter be damned.

We're in the process of interviewing candidates to fill Ostart's roll.

We've met three so far - Horash, Tomlin, and Hamlin. Horash seems the most honest albeit nefarious. So he's likely a no. Hamilin seems like a townie ya-hoo. So he's likely a no. Tomlin seems boring and predictable. He's likely the one to be selected by the group. I think Horash may be more skilled in what we need him for but lets not forget how far that self-rightgeous stick is up the ass of some of the group members.

Khalo's Journal: Busy Days at the Bent Elm

By Ozgander's account and my own admission, I was not an exemplary student, particularly when it came to the written word. However, by virtue of being alive for over four decades, I learned how to write with clarity and purpose, so that anyone who reads my written words can comprehend their meaning and my intent. At least I hope so - the candidates for our team's new trap finder hinge somewhat on these skills. More on that in a bit.

The creature known as Blackbriar has wandered this realm much longer than I have. One would assume, therefore, that he has learned the art of writing a letter that the intended reader can understand. I will note that it is possible that Blackbriar did not write the note that sent us into the Black Lotus and into the waiting arm of Yallathune's cultists - but he is the most likely candidate. Once we had seen the situation for what it was, it became apparent that the writer of the note had wanted us to know about the location of this coven, but the specifics of the syntax had initially led us to believe we were being requested for a meeting.

Whether or not this had been Blackbriar's intent, he certainly cannot be any more pleased with the result than we are, and perhaps considerably less so, seeing as how we handily defeated several of Yallathune's cultist minions. Of particular importance is the knowledge that by killing the living cultist, we destroy their undead servants by proxy. But now they have the very note we received, and any subterfuge the ancient redcap hoped to employ by keeping us in the know or them in the dark about his allegiances has gone belly up faster than the Sauhagin in Bornos Bay. These events are likely to have far-reaching ramifications, both in terms of future encounters with this cultist sect, and in potential future dealings with Blackbriar.

In the meantime, some rest and study period required by Orenthal allowed me to pursue the goal of recruiting a replacement of sorts for Ostar - or, more accurately, a replacement of the skills Ostar possessed. I had hoped to involve Jace more in the search process, but his focus has been rather single-minded towards this fighting for entertainment enterprise. Hence, I prepared an advertisement, and with Ozbert's assistance, distributed it to appropriate venues around the city. We are now considering three candidates for the position:

Horash - I don't think Horash is anyone's first choice. Although we should be able to overlook his physical infirmity, some in our group can not do so. But more troubling is his thoughts on what his value can be to the group, which is not in line with what we perceive to be our moral compass. Even if somehow we do not choose one of the other two, I doubt we will be employing Horash.

Tamlin - I get the feeling that Tamlin would be the pick by popular vote. He is forthright, eager to be part of a team dynamic, and possesses the minimum skill to get the job done. My only concern is that he is not the MOST skilled candidate we have interviewed. However, I could overlook this if he is willing to devote himself to the development of his trap finding and scouting to the exclusion of other talents going forward.

Hoechlin - Hoechlin is likely the most skilled of the trio, but there are some questions about his character. I could see potential conflict with some of the others. In addition, he was born in Bornos, and does not seem to be particularly driven to explore or adventure. That could prove incompatible somewhere down the line. However, it's plausible that ongoing adventure would provide him with enough material wealth to keep him motivated.

When I next record my thoughts, I will report on our choice, and expound upon the reasoning.

Entry concluded.