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
Saturday, November 3, 2007
9.1st.10.842 A.T.E: Assault on Joseph’s Inn
Well, our indecision has cost us; a number of ghasts attacked the inn. They arrived late at night, all of them appearing to be identical to the butlers from Count Crisco’s house. At first they attempted to infiltrate their way in posing as customers, but when Asmodean refused them entry, and a noise was heard up stairs, they attacked.
Vargas and I had a very easy time with the undead downstairs. Numa’s presence was able to force two of the three to cower, a welcome advantage but also a cause for concern. Max and Asmodean dealt with the ones upstairs, and I understand that Asmodean succumbed to the paralyzation this time. I was able to utilize some of my new tactical insight, getting Vargas to fight more efficiently than before. Numa managed to create a wave of spiders from his person, which swarmed one of the cowering ghasts. After the last ghast fell, we had a brief discussion of what to do next, and none of us were quite willing to change our views. We will have to see if anyone changes their mind by tomorrow. I really do not enjoy being hunted down, I have enough of that in my life.
Vargas and I had a very easy time with the undead downstairs. Numa’s presence was able to force two of the three to cower, a welcome advantage but also a cause for concern. Max and Asmodean dealt with the ones upstairs, and I understand that Asmodean succumbed to the paralyzation this time. I was able to utilize some of my new tactical insight, getting Vargas to fight more efficiently than before. Numa managed to create a wave of spiders from his person, which swarmed one of the cowering ghasts. After the last ghast fell, we had a brief discussion of what to do next, and none of us were quite willing to change our views. We will have to see if anyone changes their mind by tomorrow. I really do not enjoy being hunted down, I have enough of that in my life.
7.1st.10.842 A.T.E: Week of Rest
The week has been pretty calm so far, except for the town riot near the manor when news of the cure was released. The town of Ragnarok has finally started recovering from its ordeal. I figured that a quick recap of the week's events would be plenty, since there was not much to write about. We still are at Joseph’s Inn, since Asmodean chose to reopen it. The cure worked on Max, with no ill side effects except for a discoloration of bodily fluids, which was a bit more information than I wished to know. Asmodean’s voice cleared up as well, I guess that ‘black fruit’ finally ran its course.
I went shopping around town looking to restock on arrows and see if there was any other equipment that could be of some use. I also got the glasses we found appraised, and found that the enchantment is quite valuable. I will be holding onto these for the time being, since they are quite handy, and who knows when we will need them again.
The mayor chose to tell the town that he slew the beast, the one that took our combined group effort, single handedly. I don’t really care for the fame at the moment since drawing the attention of too many people could be problematic, and the town is quite happy with their heroic mayor, so good has come from his declaration. However, the imperial army will likely be returning to the town soon, especially after hearing word of a man who slew one of the beasts. I doubt the mayor thought this all the way though. I am not surprised though, as he didn’t appear to be a very intelligent man in the first place.
I found that the warrior-mage, Vargas, and I have similar intellects and interests. Finally, an ally with whom I can communicate with. He follows a similar combat tradition to my own, though he is much less trained than I. The man's only problem is that he lacks focus, he is trying to split his training between two different paths, paths that serve better when you devote all of your time and effort towards one. Numa, on the other hand, is an enigma. He remains quiet and alone most of the time, and I have yet to see his face, since he keeps himself covered in robes. Also, his choice of magic concerns me; Necromancy is a foul practice, and the man seems to focus on it almost entirely.
We received a threatening letter from Ghasley this week as well, saying that we will pay for ruining his plans. When asking around town, I found he was a traveler though the town 3 months ago, the same time the disease started and Count Crisco’s wife died. He apparently lives somewhere in the mountains to the north. We discussed what to do, with Vargas and I deciding that it would be best to take the fight to him, leaving the town as soon as possible. Max also agreed, though more out of a thirst for destruction than for tactical reasons I am sure. Numa and Asmodean believed that it would be best to leave town as well, but not to face the vampire. Rather, they wished to run as far away as possible. Hopefully we can come to some sort of agreement soon, as it is imperative that we are on our way before the empire’s forces return to Ragnarok.
I went shopping around town looking to restock on arrows and see if there was any other equipment that could be of some use. I also got the glasses we found appraised, and found that the enchantment is quite valuable. I will be holding onto these for the time being, since they are quite handy, and who knows when we will need them again.
The mayor chose to tell the town that he slew the beast, the one that took our combined group effort, single handedly. I don’t really care for the fame at the moment since drawing the attention of too many people could be problematic, and the town is quite happy with their heroic mayor, so good has come from his declaration. However, the imperial army will likely be returning to the town soon, especially after hearing word of a man who slew one of the beasts. I doubt the mayor thought this all the way though. I am not surprised though, as he didn’t appear to be a very intelligent man in the first place.
I found that the warrior-mage, Vargas, and I have similar intellects and interests. Finally, an ally with whom I can communicate with. He follows a similar combat tradition to my own, though he is much less trained than I. The man's only problem is that he lacks focus, he is trying to split his training between two different paths, paths that serve better when you devote all of your time and effort towards one. Numa, on the other hand, is an enigma. He remains quiet and alone most of the time, and I have yet to see his face, since he keeps himself covered in robes. Also, his choice of magic concerns me; Necromancy is a foul practice, and the man seems to focus on it almost entirely.
We received a threatening letter from Ghasley this week as well, saying that we will pay for ruining his plans. When asking around town, I found he was a traveler though the town 3 months ago, the same time the disease started and Count Crisco’s wife died. He apparently lives somewhere in the mountains to the north. We discussed what to do, with Vargas and I deciding that it would be best to take the fight to him, leaving the town as soon as possible. Max also agreed, though more out of a thirst for destruction than for tactical reasons I am sure. Numa and Asmodean believed that it would be best to leave town as well, but not to face the vampire. Rather, they wished to run as far away as possible. Hopefully we can come to some sort of agreement soon, as it is imperative that we are on our way before the empire’s forces return to Ragnarok.
9.2nd.9.842 A.T.E: House of Horror
Yesterday, nothing was worth mentioning, we just traveled back to town. We got back here this morning. It was quite an eventful and tiring day filled with combat. Finally, I had a chance to really show my combat prowess.
To begin with, we made a return visit to the current mayor of Ragnarok. Through some ‘persuasive’ conversation by the goliath, the mayor admitted that Count Crisco retired because his wife had died, and became obsessed with her death and bringing her back.
So, we returned to the Count’s Manor with Asmodean disguised as the captain of the guard, and were greeted with a familiar face, the butler. After brief accusations of who was at fault for killing and attacking whom, we broke our way in and fought the creature again. This time, he had the help of some ghouls, lesser versions of a ghast. On his corpse we found a pair of glasses, which allowed us to penetrate the magical darkness permeating the room. I was the one to wear them, since I was the one leading the pack though this place. Upstairs we found some lanterns, which we first assumed were magical since they penetrated the darkness upstairs, but when we took the lanterns downstairs, they were unable to brighten the room.
Off to a side room, we found a room full of skeletons chained to a wall, and what appeared to be a torture room. Asmodean also broke a hole in a wall that led outside, thinking there might be some sort of secret chamber. In the torture room, we saw a man chained up and gagged. I went to go and cut him loose, but was ambushed by three of the ghasts. I was clawed by one of them and my muscles froze stiff, but the group managed to come to my rescue, including the chained up man. He is apparently some sort of warrior mage, and was also apparently a visitor at Joseph’s Tavern a few days ago. Each of these ghasts also had a pair of magical glasses, allowing each of us to see in this darkness.
While exploring around the mansion, we managed to find a trap door underneath a carpet in the main room, leading down to a room with several zombies on tables. We quickly dispatched the lumbering beasts, and turned our attention to the side rooms. One was the resting chamber of Count Crisco’s dead wife, contained in a glass coffin, the other was a bedroom. During our search of the bedroom, a couple of us made out two forms dashing toward the stairs up, and we caught up with them. Apparently, these were vampire spawn, created when a vampire kills a weak individual or something. One of the spawn Max recognized as the corpse dragged out of the pile of diseased bodies. During our fight, which took place in the doorway, limiting our maneuverability, we spied a man concealed within white robes wielding a scythe coming down the stairs. Asmodean leveled his ‘crossbow’ at the man, who froze, while we finished off the creatures.
Apparently, the robed man’s name is Numa, and he was from our caravan. He wasn’t there as part of the guards or merchants, but simply tagging along for the protection. Well, we decided we should enter the final room, figuring that Count Crisco, who was likely a vampire, would be behind it. I prepared myself to the best of my abilities, and we opened the door to find Count Crisco slaving over an alchemy lab. Much more impressive, however, was the large creature chained to the center of the room. The creature was one of the beasts that attacked our caravan, and somehow it had been captured. The beast was obviously very upset with its condition, and slightly injured with blood seeping into a drain in the floor. Count Crisco saw us and shouted for Ghasley, or something like that, saying he promised to keep him safe. The Count tried to escape, but a pair of skeletal arms rose from the ground to grab his ankles. A cloud of vapor floated near the large beast for a moment, and the chains restraining the beast came undone. With a single bite, the beast ripped Count Crisco in half and then turned to us. With no better option, we made a hasty retreat towards the staircase that lead out of the basement.
Numa cast a spell at the beast, but it was completely ineffective. While he did that, I made a quick assessment of the beast’s combat prowess. I informed my companions that if we all worked together, and managed to get an adequate tactical advantage, it was probable that we could slay the monster. With renewed determination, we made our way to the top of the stairs, occasionally taking shots at the thing with our ranged weapons, and then made our stand. We surrounded the stairs and used the height to our advantage. For much of the fight, the creature focused its attention towards me, until Asmodean connected with a solid blow to the creature’s flank. This serious injury convinced the thing that Asmodean was more of a threat than I, and shifted his focus appropriately. My inspiring words were barely enough to keep the goliath from succumbing to his injuries. Fortunately, both Numa and the warrior-mage hit the thing with rays of dark energy that sapped its strength, while Max hit it with a ray of ice, which while not injuring the beast managed to slow its movements. We even had a skeleton come up the stairs behind us to aid us. After a grueling combat, we managed to kill the monstrosity, my sword striking true and piercing its black heart.
With a quick search though the premises, we discovered a cure to the plague, and returned to the town with both a couple of vials of the cure, and the large beast. The mayor thanked us for what we had done, and purchased the corpse of the monster from us.
To begin with, we made a return visit to the current mayor of Ragnarok. Through some ‘persuasive’ conversation by the goliath, the mayor admitted that Count Crisco retired because his wife had died, and became obsessed with her death and bringing her back.
So, we returned to the Count’s Manor with Asmodean disguised as the captain of the guard, and were greeted with a familiar face, the butler. After brief accusations of who was at fault for killing and attacking whom, we broke our way in and fought the creature again. This time, he had the help of some ghouls, lesser versions of a ghast. On his corpse we found a pair of glasses, which allowed us to penetrate the magical darkness permeating the room. I was the one to wear them, since I was the one leading the pack though this place. Upstairs we found some lanterns, which we first assumed were magical since they penetrated the darkness upstairs, but when we took the lanterns downstairs, they were unable to brighten the room.
Off to a side room, we found a room full of skeletons chained to a wall, and what appeared to be a torture room. Asmodean also broke a hole in a wall that led outside, thinking there might be some sort of secret chamber. In the torture room, we saw a man chained up and gagged. I went to go and cut him loose, but was ambushed by three of the ghasts. I was clawed by one of them and my muscles froze stiff, but the group managed to come to my rescue, including the chained up man. He is apparently some sort of warrior mage, and was also apparently a visitor at Joseph’s Tavern a few days ago. Each of these ghasts also had a pair of magical glasses, allowing each of us to see in this darkness.
While exploring around the mansion, we managed to find a trap door underneath a carpet in the main room, leading down to a room with several zombies on tables. We quickly dispatched the lumbering beasts, and turned our attention to the side rooms. One was the resting chamber of Count Crisco’s dead wife, contained in a glass coffin, the other was a bedroom. During our search of the bedroom, a couple of us made out two forms dashing toward the stairs up, and we caught up with them. Apparently, these were vampire spawn, created when a vampire kills a weak individual or something. One of the spawn Max recognized as the corpse dragged out of the pile of diseased bodies. During our fight, which took place in the doorway, limiting our maneuverability, we spied a man concealed within white robes wielding a scythe coming down the stairs. Asmodean leveled his ‘crossbow’ at the man, who froze, while we finished off the creatures.
Apparently, the robed man’s name is Numa, and he was from our caravan. He wasn’t there as part of the guards or merchants, but simply tagging along for the protection. Well, we decided we should enter the final room, figuring that Count Crisco, who was likely a vampire, would be behind it. I prepared myself to the best of my abilities, and we opened the door to find Count Crisco slaving over an alchemy lab. Much more impressive, however, was the large creature chained to the center of the room. The creature was one of the beasts that attacked our caravan, and somehow it had been captured. The beast was obviously very upset with its condition, and slightly injured with blood seeping into a drain in the floor. Count Crisco saw us and shouted for Ghasley, or something like that, saying he promised to keep him safe. The Count tried to escape, but a pair of skeletal arms rose from the ground to grab his ankles. A cloud of vapor floated near the large beast for a moment, and the chains restraining the beast came undone. With a single bite, the beast ripped Count Crisco in half and then turned to us. With no better option, we made a hasty retreat towards the staircase that lead out of the basement.
Numa cast a spell at the beast, but it was completely ineffective. While he did that, I made a quick assessment of the beast’s combat prowess. I informed my companions that if we all worked together, and managed to get an adequate tactical advantage, it was probable that we could slay the monster. With renewed determination, we made our way to the top of the stairs, occasionally taking shots at the thing with our ranged weapons, and then made our stand. We surrounded the stairs and used the height to our advantage. For much of the fight, the creature focused its attention towards me, until Asmodean connected with a solid blow to the creature’s flank. This serious injury convinced the thing that Asmodean was more of a threat than I, and shifted his focus appropriately. My inspiring words were barely enough to keep the goliath from succumbing to his injuries. Fortunately, both Numa and the warrior-mage hit the thing with rays of dark energy that sapped its strength, while Max hit it with a ray of ice, which while not injuring the beast managed to slow its movements. We even had a skeleton come up the stairs behind us to aid us. After a grueling combat, we managed to kill the monstrosity, my sword striking true and piercing its black heart.
With a quick search though the premises, we discovered a cure to the plague, and returned to the town with both a couple of vials of the cure, and the large beast. The mayor thanked us for what we had done, and purchased the corpse of the monster from us.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
7.2nd.9.842 A.T.E: Flesh Eater
Unfortunately, Asmodean did not choose to turn around of his own volition. Though, now that we have told him of today's events, he will be returning with us. We had to ride out to catch up to Asmodean, which was fortunately pretty easy because he was forced to travel by foot the whole way. His riding animal died from the town's disease before he set out. Unfortunately the same fate befell Max’s horse, so we both had to ride Vadania here.
Well, our encounter with the butler went worse than expected. After the door opened, Max hit the thing in the face with an orb made of fire. Apparently, Max is some type of wizard. I was not aware of this, since he dresses and looks a lot like a cheap warrior of some type. Back to the battle, we fought the butler, who we found was a lot more challenging then we had expected. He jumped us after we entered the dark house and was horribly mutated. He now had long teeth and claws, and smelled pretty bad. This thing is apparently a Ghast, according to Asmodean based on our descriptions. Anyway, the creature somehow paralyzed Max, but I managed to finish it off. This was when we realized we were on to something big and might actually need Asmodean’s help, since he appears to be strong warrior.
I’m sure it will take a day or two to get back to town because we do not all have mounts. Hopefully, Count Crisco will not have run away by then.
Well, our encounter with the butler went worse than expected. After the door opened, Max hit the thing in the face with an orb made of fire. Apparently, Max is some type of wizard. I was not aware of this, since he dresses and looks a lot like a cheap warrior of some type. Back to the battle, we fought the butler, who we found was a lot more challenging then we had expected. He jumped us after we entered the dark house and was horribly mutated. He now had long teeth and claws, and smelled pretty bad. This thing is apparently a Ghast, according to Asmodean based on our descriptions. Anyway, the creature somehow paralyzed Max, but I managed to finish it off. This was when we realized we were on to something big and might actually need Asmodean’s help, since he appears to be strong warrior.
I’m sure it will take a day or two to get back to town because we do not all have mounts. Hopefully, Count Crisco will not have run away by then.
6.2nd.9.842 A.T.E: Corpse Pile
Well, I’m writing this journal entry while watching a pile of corpses. To be more precise, I’m watching the building that the corpses are in; Max is inside watching the actual pile. To explain things, Max had somehow contracted the disease, and it was obvious. His skin became much paler, and he was coughing significantly. Asmodean had decided that skipping town this morning would be the best idea, because getting away from the source of the disease would be best. He tried to get Max to go along, but I convinced Max that it would be best to stick around and see if we could find a cure. I was suspicious that Count Crisco had something to do with this disease, but had no proof.
So, Max and I had gone back to Count Crisco’s house, and we left on bad terms with the butler. Max took it upon himself to accuse and threaten the butler, who ended up slamming the door in our faces. With no other recourse, we chose to examine the pile of diseased corpses just outside of town. For some reason, many of them had vanished, so the town militia had put the corpse pile in an abandoned building and posted some obviously diseased guards just outside. So, Max chose to go inside and wait around with the pile of corpses and I am out here waiting. It has been an uneventful night, since…
Well, something happened at least, Count Crisco came by and offered to take the two guards to get something to drink. While he was gone, his butler snuck up and entered the building, leaving with a corpse. Max informed me that the butler also ate part of another corpse’s leg. I didn’t expect cannibalism in a small town like this. Tomorrow we will confront Count Crisco at his mansion again, and hopefully Asmodean will have decided to come back.
So, Max and I had gone back to Count Crisco’s house, and we left on bad terms with the butler. Max took it upon himself to accuse and threaten the butler, who ended up slamming the door in our faces. With no other recourse, we chose to examine the pile of diseased corpses just outside of town. For some reason, many of them had vanished, so the town militia had put the corpse pile in an abandoned building and posted some obviously diseased guards just outside. So, Max chose to go inside and wait around with the pile of corpses and I am out here waiting. It has been an uneventful night, since…
Well, something happened at least, Count Crisco came by and offered to take the two guards to get something to drink. While he was gone, his butler snuck up and entered the building, leaving with a corpse. Max informed me that the butler also ate part of another corpse’s leg. I didn’t expect cannibalism in a small town like this. Tomorrow we will confront Count Crisco at his mansion again, and hopefully Asmodean will have decided to come back.
5.2nd.9.842 A.T.E: Count Crisco
Today started off rather bland. I started by walking around town with little direction, not knowing what to do or where to go. While wandering, I ran across Max and Asmodean in the street, it is a miracle that they are still alive. Asmodean was carrying around two kegs of alcohol, I can only assume to replace the tainted beer that the previous owner had. Luckily for the goliath, whatever he had eaten apparently ran its course, and his mouth was no longer black. His voice had slightly changed though, and I’m not sure if that is the black fruit wearing off or getting worse and destroying his throat. As we talked, a man in all white, obviously much wealthier and seemingly untouched by the death of the town walked towards us. The nearby shopkeepers were obviously quite unhappy with the man, who had introduced himself as Count Crisco, and shunned him. When Count Crisco inquired about our new tavern, much to my surprise Asmodean informed him it was closed, so the Count asked that they come by his place when it opens so he can visit.
Asmodean and Max continued on to do whatever it was they were doing, and I was once again left to my own devices. So, I chose to investigate this Count Crisco who, judging by the townsfolk’s reaction, was not well liked. Asking around the town and talking to the current mayor, I discovered that Count Crisco use to be the mayor of Ragnarok, but retired around three months ago, the same time as the plague started. The current mayor knew why he retired, but told me it was confidential so I did not press the matter. I did return to Joseph’s Inn to talk with Asmodean and Max. I convinced Max to tag along with me to the Count’s manor, but Asmodean was uninterested. I tried to persuade him that helping the town and removing the disease would mean more customers, but to no avail.
The Count’s butler was a unique person; he didn’t arrive to greet us until we began to walk in the door. We informed him that Joseph’s Tavern was open, and asked about a few things, nothing special stood out. When the Count arrived at the tavern, however, he just stood around and looked, focusing too much on myself for my liking. He also focused on Asmodean quite a lot, until the goliath had enough and kicked him out. Tonight I am staying at Joseph’s Tavern, though I do not know why, since Asmodean overcharged me. Tomorrow I suppose I will go back to talk with the ex-mayor.
Asmodean and Max continued on to do whatever it was they were doing, and I was once again left to my own devices. So, I chose to investigate this Count Crisco who, judging by the townsfolk’s reaction, was not well liked. Asking around the town and talking to the current mayor, I discovered that Count Crisco use to be the mayor of Ragnarok, but retired around three months ago, the same time as the plague started. The current mayor knew why he retired, but told me it was confidential so I did not press the matter. I did return to Joseph’s Inn to talk with Asmodean and Max. I convinced Max to tag along with me to the Count’s manor, but Asmodean was uninterested. I tried to persuade him that helping the town and removing the disease would mean more customers, but to no avail.
The Count’s butler was a unique person; he didn’t arrive to greet us until we began to walk in the door. We informed him that Joseph’s Tavern was open, and asked about a few things, nothing special stood out. When the Count arrived at the tavern, however, he just stood around and looked, focusing too much on myself for my liking. He also focused on Asmodean quite a lot, until the goliath had enough and kicked him out. Tonight I am staying at Joseph’s Tavern, though I do not know why, since Asmodean overcharged me. Tomorrow I suppose I will go back to talk with the ex-mayor.
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