Friday, November 16, 2007

4.2nd.12.842 A.T.E: Departure from Outpost One

Not much of interest today, though for some reason Asmodean met us under the guise of Tom. I assume this had something to do with the guards and angry looking innkeeper downstairs as we left. What was most interesting to me was that the glasses that I wore, the ones that were able to penetrate magical darkness, allowed me to see though his magical disguise.

Now that I think on it, Asmodean’s constant shift in capabilities is strange. It would be perfectly understandable if his abilities were simply magic, but it seems to be something beyond that. Asmodean somehow seems to change on different days, with minor personality quirks and changes in appearance. It is quite fascinating really, almost like an obscure puzzle or something.

Also something to note, while looking though the glasses, I noticed that Tom didn’t appear human as he normally does, but he appeared to be a dark elf. This means two things; First of all, these glasses appear to be even more powerful than I had first imagined, and the appraisal I had received, a mere 10,000 gold coins, almost seems low now. Secondly, I need to watch Tom more carefully. We were just ambushed by dark elves, and then our guide turns out to possibly be one of them, that is very suspicious. Asmodean had some choice words for Tom as well, but I don’t quite recall what they were over, to be honest, I was lost in my own thoughts at the time and not really paying much attention to the two.

It appears we have nearly another week of travel until we arrive at our next stop.

3.1st.12.842 A.T.E: Arrival at Outpost One

The last time I wrote in this journal was a full month ago; there really wasn’t much to write over the course of those two weeks. Numa’s new Entomber ally hasn’t betrayed us, nor has Tom or Vaan. Something that seemed strange to me is that during our entire trip, Numa had not slept once, or if he had it was very briefly. That evil necromantic energy must empower and sustain him in some way I cannot immediately fathom. We arrived in a small underground outpost, which has no name. The outpost is filled with the people not accepted in cities, or those who wish to disappear. A number of those living here are dark elves, the most untrustworthy and vile of elves (even lower than high elves). Luckily we should be here for just one…

As of the point where I stopped writing, I heard a loud crash in our ‘inn’. When I had opened my door, there were two dark elves ready to greet me with their shortswords. I knew this drow infested outpost was not safe. The fight was difficult since I did not have armor. I was unable to land many hits against these foes because I spend most of my time defending myself with my shield. Eventually, others came to my aid, including some spiders that Numa summoned, which was amusingly ironic. I understand that one poisoned Max with sleep venom of some kind and almost had the opportunity to kill him. We discovered Vaan had been viciously murdered in his sleep, which is not what I would have expected, seeing as he was the one to make accommodations for us at this inn free of charge. However, that was not the most horrifying thing this night. To my displeasure, I learned that Asmodean prefers to sleep in the nude.

We later decided to continue sleeping at the inn, though Asmodean went down to discuss the break in with the innkeeper. Knowing Asmodean’s preferred method of discussion, I think I am grateful I wasn’t a part of it.

Thursday, November 15, 2007

3.1st.11.842 A.T.E: Travel Day One

We began our travels to the first underground outpost this morning. The journey is estimated two take a full two weeks. Tom has joined us, as he was informed by his superiors that he had to leave Ur-Chardros immediately. He seemed unhappy with this revalation, since he found Ur-Chardros to be comfortable. I do not believe that we should be immediately trusting of Tom or Vaan. Then again, I’m not certain we should put our full trust in Numa either. Necromancy is a practice that corrupts even those of the most pure intentions after all.

A few hours into our travels, we came across a pair of creatures feasting on the corpse of something. They were akin to large apes, though they had no skin. According to Numa these were undead creatures called entombers. We tried to sneak past them, but they noticed us and attacked. The most fascinating thing about these creatures was that they managed to bury Max and Asmodean underground with a single hit. Asmodean managed to claw his way out relatively easily. Numa, not surprisingly, was able to befriend one of the creatures through magic and managed to get it to pull Max back out of the ground, then to attack its ‘friend’. Even as I write this, we have this Entomber with us, and I have tried to keep an eye on it. Numa and his allies now outnumber the rest of us.

1.1st.11.842 A.T.E: Preparations

Today, Tom introduced us to our Vampire Hunter, Vaan. The man seemed rather capable, much better than any of us. In our discussions with him, we found that there were some specific items that would help us with the vampire. We retrieved these required items, garlic, mirrors, holy water, and wood. Numa confirmed that these work well on a vampire. Also, Tom was willing to give us some more expensive equipment to assist, and Asmodean, Numa, and I requested enchantments for our weaponry. If the vampire spawn was any indication, enchanted weaponry might be required to hurt the vampire. We also discovered that the best way to get to our vampire was though a tunnel system that headed north.

The day was pretty dull otherwise, I was unable to practice my combat forms tonight due to a lack of a weapon.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

10.2nd.10.842 A.T.E: Meeting Tom

With what Numa had told us about his contact, it sounded as though he was a vampire hunter. This Tom guy would be a perfect addition to help us go and slay a vampire. Unfortunately, after we met Tom, we found that Numa did not know who this guy was. He certainly looked the part of a vampire hunter, with a duster and a wide brimmed hat. Alas, he was not a hunter, or even a combatant, but a man who is good at ‘finding’ things. Luckily for us, he knew of a vampire hunter that could join us, though he appeared to be withholding information. It would be a few days before we got to meet this hunter, not something I wished to hear. I would have preferred to leave as soon as possible.

Asmodean spent the day hunting, and I spent a good portion of the day playing the human game of chess with Numa. The first game we played, I won easily, but Numa demanded we play for best two out of three, so I agreed. Somehow, Numa won the second two games, and I am certain he cheated somehow. After those games, I decided to go see about finding my wanted poster, which was at the sheriff’s office as I suspected. I managed to deftly remove the wanted poster from their bulletin board once I found it, but the town sheriff recognized me nonetheless. I prepared myself to either defend myself or retreat, but the sheriff didn’t even bother with me, because a paltry 15 gold pieces wasn’t worth the effort. How annoying, after I returned to my room at the Blue Colt Inn I checked the wanted poster, and the sheriff was correct, my bounty is only 15 gold. I realize I should be greatly relieved that the Empire’s bounty so low as to prevent people from caring about me, but I don’t find it in the least bit flattering that they think so poorly of my considerable talents to not put more effort in getting me back into service. It is their loss, not mine however. Though, I now have another reason to keep knowledge of my bounty from my companions. Another important note, when I went to find my own wanted poster, I saw one for Tom, offering 1,000 gold pieces in reward for him. He is wanted dead, not alive.

Other than all of that, Asmodean returned from hunting with a deer, and a large wolf with snow-white fur. He also had a black mouth and black teeth again. I am not sure why he would once again eat whatever it is that causes that. I suppose he must not realize that it has that effect, as I guess he does not look in the mirror very often, not that I can blame him.

We should be hearing from Tom’s vampire hunter tomorrow.

9.2nd.10.842 A.T.E: To Ur-Chardros

I seem to have done a poor job keeping this journal current over the past week. I suppose that is because not much worth noting has happened. We have spent most of the week traveling. After we dealt with the ghasts a week ago, we once again discussed what to do about the vampire Gastolf. Yes, apparently the vampire’s name is Gastolf, not Ghasly. After some debate, all of us decided to go to Ur-Chardros, where we arrived today. From here, we plan to talk to a contact of Numa’s, and then decide what we should do afterwards.

Before leaving, Asmodean tried to sell Joseph’s Inn, but after a few days of being unsuccessful, we decided to leave without having sold it. We left Vargas behind to sell the inn, or so I assume. The others tell me he was passed out behind the bar when we left, having gotten into the alcohol, which is strange since Vargas doesn’t drink. Hopefully he will sell Joseph’s Tavern quickly and catch up to us. I think we left enough information for him to find us.

As I mentioned earlier, we arrived in Ur-Chardros just today and checked into the Blue Colt Inn. We asked around about Numa’s contact, Tom. I’m not sure who this Tom is, or how he is related to Numa, since it sounds like they had never met. Hopefully, this will be a quick stop, since the empire has a presence here. Tomorrow, I will have to see if there is any sort of wanted poster for me and remove it so my traveling companions do not come across it.

Saturday, November 3, 2007

Supporting Cast: The other PCs

At least in Xanatos' mind, they are the supporting cast. He's a little narsissistic.

Asmodean: Goliath Binder 4
Max: Human Warmage 5
Vargas: Human Warblade 1 / Wizard 4
Numa: Necropolitan Human Dread Necromancer 4