Entry 6

With Jolinar still sick from the poison, we decided to continue to rest in the safe room. Since I had been uninjured, I spent most of the day writing my perceptions on this group and carving jade figurines. Before we slept that day, we decided to leave Jolinar in the safe room with Gieram to protect him while we went back to the area where we found the Wyvern and explore some more. There was some talk over the Gold Coffer in the Wyvern room still. Will these people not learn from their mistakes! Their greed is likely to get them killed and I'll have no part in it. We searched the cooridor and decided to check the north passage first where we found more Wyverns in cages. A lot of them. We also found an empty room which seemed to be a large hole. The shadow lover, Lucian, had called yet another shadow to our mists and sent the now 2 down the hole to see what, if anything, was in there. It turned out to be a lot of bones, which we assumed were of a long dead Wyvern. We found another door which contained a lone Wyvern but no golden coffer with him. We attempted to call out to him in hopes to converse but he roared and we all found ourselves paralyzed. The two shadows disappeared as a result, destroyed for several weeks and damaging our Lucian friend.

Once the paralysis wore off, we headed back to the room, content to end exploration. With a little self convincing, we each decided to check out the southern hall first before heading back, leaving the western hall unexplored. We reached the end of the southern hall and found a door there. Tuggs peeked in and saw some creatures talking around a fire. At least a dozen from his count, I believe. They were speaking in common and were talking about something about "raids" and "giants". We decided to leave them be and head back to the safe room. We informed Gieram of what we saw and believed the creatures to be Trolls, who are afraid of fire (since it hurts them), so it was odd to see them around a fire. I have decided that we should not just assume these creatures are unfriendly and try to speak with them. This is what I do. I am, after all, a diplomat of the Katashi Family.

The next day, Deathscar wanted to go out to the Rast territory and take a look around. Tuggs and Lucian decided to go with him. They asked if I would go and I said I would but would not provoke any battle with Rasts, only defend myself. I had the nagging feeling that Deathscar was out to provoke them to practice some spellcasting and I would have no part in that. But, he convinced me that it was not his intention. I'm still a little weary of that, even now. Tuggs disarmed a trap and I convinced the group that we shoudl try to explore the northern way thay we have not gone, There, Tuggs disarmed more traps and we proceeded to a room where we heard a voice, who said something I do not recall. Between what i heard and what the group informed me of their last encounter with a mystical spirit like entity, I decided to help her, if I could. She could be in danger. In the room, there was an empty alcove and an alcove with a statue in it. Deathscar and I worked together to lift the statue out of the alcove and place it in the empty one which sparked a reaction. On the statue, we could see an Azer (fire dwarf) working at something. Deathscar said he recognized the Azer and had magically spied on him before. This is where I learned of Deathscar's ability to find objects and/or spy on them through magic. He even offered to use said powers to help me find Asami. My respect toward him, needless to say, grew a bit. It will grow even more if he proves successful.

After the statue moving, we continued down a hall where Tuggs discovered a trap and sprung it while attempting to disarm it. Deathscar healed him up and he tried again, this time successful. he saw two doors to the north and moved to open one. As he opened one, he and I both noticd two huge Rasts coming out of the ceiling above to attack. We fought them hard. Deathscar cast a cold spell on one and hurt it bad and, with aid of my Daisho, the creature died. Lucian was scooped up by one and two more showed up. I fought the one holding Lucian hard but I was scooped up myself by a Rast and paralyzed. Eventually, we had all fallen into the clutches of these beasts and were having our blood sucked away. Miraculously, Tuggs got free of one and ran back to get Gieram and Jolinar for assistance. They eventually made it back to help and took the one I fought down. The others were taking damage and everyone, save me, made it away from the Rasts. I was still paralyzed and was certain this group was going to leave me. Not that I could blame them. We had suffered much and it would be suicide to come for me. I found myself believing I was dead for sure when the Rast flew through Jolinars wall of lightning and off into one of the ceiling holes. He took me into a room and began sucking away my blood. Thankfully, Jolinar, Tuggs, and Deathscar came to my aid before I was to die and killed the wretched creature. Before leaving the room, Deathscar detected magic in the room and found several bags of gems. There was also a metal helm found which they did not claim so I took it myself.

We made it back to the safe room with no further complications and slept for 2 days. Deathscar and Tuggs only slept one, leaving on the second day to enact a new plan to steal the gold coffer from the Wyvern. Feelign rather weak still, I just turned over and slept and hoped they did not get killed this day. Deathscar healed me of what sleep did not and, with one more night sleep, I felt I would be fine. The next day was spent enacting the final stage for Deathscar and Tuggs to steal the coffer, although even Jolinar agreed with me that it was foolish to continue this. Tehy encountered a problem with the magic deathscar used to stone shape a tunnel and decided we would have to finish tomorrow. So, here we sit in the safe room. I polished up the helm I found and found, to my surprise, that it was masterfully crafted and made of Mithral. It matches my armor! So, I am to don it in the future, instead of my demon bone one. I have begun carving a tiny statue of Deathscar out of jade in thanks for coming to my rescue and offering to use magic to find Asami. I'll also be making one of Jolinar and Tuggs as thanks to them.

*edit: I need to add, on this night, as we slept, we heard someone trying to open our western door. the group remained quiet and I pleaded that we should at least call out, as the one at the door may require assitance. They would have nothing of it. Lucian used his abilities and jumped through shadows to the other side of the door where he encountered an Azer. He tried to speak with the Azer who appearred initially afraid and only became more so with Lucian. He ran away and went north where he hit a trap that both paralyzed him and hit him repeatedly with fire. According to Lucian, the fire did not seem to harm him and he eventually came out of his paralysis and ran west. Lucian did not follow. So, we slept the remainder of the night. Hopefully, the encounter will provoke the group to explore that section of the dungeon now, as well, although I still would like to attempt to speak with the Trolls and even finish exploration of the Rast area where we were attacked. They appeared to be protecting something....

With all this downtime I have, I’ll take the opportunity to give an account of my current companions. Admittedly, my current perceptions of this group could be wrong, as I have not been with them long. The Celestials displayed a much different view on them than I have but they were with the Celestials longer than I have been with them.

I’ll start with Deathscar. His species is unknown to me. He is humanoid with rocky looking skin. He wears chainmail with a golden sheen to it and carries a maul that looks like it may be a tad too big for him but he wields it with precision. Deathscar is a Cleric of unknown deity. He doesn’t seem to talk about his religion or god much. He seems to, more or less, be the leader of this group, as his opinions seem highly regarded. I think that it is merely because of his ability to use divine magic to keep the others alive that they rely on him. He has yet to display promising leadership skills in my eyes. Although, he seems like a somewhat trustworthy fellow. The only fault I would give him is his proclamation of being “good”. His attitude and demeanor do not reflect what I would define as good. He seems to act out of greed and self-gain. He claims his goodness comes from a desire to rid the world of evil and he enjoys destroying said evil. Although that sounds good, in theory, it strikes me more as a rationalization for thirst for death.

Then there is Gieram, a human ranger of sorts. Other than proving himself a capable combatant, this man strikes me as odd, at best. He travels the dungeon, riding on the back of a dire wolf that he calls Giblets. He also uses the dire wolf to pull a cart of what I am guessing is supplies. The group seems to rely on Gieram and Giblets for being the pack animal as well as the survivalist. He frequently is sketching on parchment the details of this dungeon in map form for easy navigation. This leads me to believe this group backtracks often. Gieram is devoted to his canine companion. He feeds him before he feeds himself and he sleeps with him in the night (interesting sidenote: he reeks like a wet dog as a result. I am unsure if he knows or cares about that). Gieram was the first of this group that I met and he has yet to be friendly towards me. He’s mostly been hostile or, at best, ignores my presence. I didn’t even get so much as a “thank you” for guarding him against Rasts while he was paralyzed from their gaze. Not that I need it. I’d do it again.

There is also Jolinar, a Drow wizard. I have had my reservations on Jolinar since we met. I first encountered him in the Elven plains, fleeing from the chaos of the land splitting. I offered my assistance to get him across a chasm but he ignored my offer and ducked into a passage to the south. Somehow, he managed to get across anyway, likely with help from Tuggs or Deathscar. Jolinar, although not build to take damage in battle, seems to be a worthy adversary with his arsenal or seemingly electricity based spells. He also has displayed the ability to morph into other things such as a Drider and has mentioned the possibility to transform into other spiders, as well. He repeatedly claims that he is not evil and the rest of the group backs that notion, stating that they have determined magically that he is not. Although that makes my reservations on him easier, I still will not turn my back to him yet. Magic has ways to cloak one’s alignment. I’ll not take the risk. I gather that Jolinar is a recent addition to this group, as he was not mentioned by the Celestials and he speaks as if he were camped with the elves for a while.

Lucian is an enigma. He doesn’t speak much but, when he does, it’s straight and to the point. I like that. He seems to be an elf but his deformities make it difficult to look at him for long without feeling ill so I am unsure. He also seems quite partial to ShadowS, as he has one that follows him around that he claims is his friend. If it were not for the Celestials, I would be weary of the shadow, as well as Jolinar but, the Celestials informed me that the are certain that is not evil, however that works. I haven’t gotten a chance to see how well he can perform in battle and am beginning to wonder if he even can battle well.

Lastly, there is Tuggs. Tuggs is a young human male who, to me, seems to think of no one but himself. He seems to have respect for Deathscar for his magical abilites but doesn’t seem to have any loyalty to anyone in the group. To me, Tuggs seems to be the most reckless of the group. He faces traps that he knows can obliterate him with confidence that he can disarm it. His confidence is inspiring, I’ll give him that. He also has more bravery for a boy his size than I would have given him credit for when I first met him. But his confidence and bravery will get him nothing without refinement. His recklessness is likely to get himself or, Lastai forbid, one of us killed.

There has been no sight nor mention of the Dragon-like lady the Celestials called Darla. I had assumed that she may have fallen during the commotion at the elven area, or perhaps even within the undead territory, but no one has laid any mention of her name. I have not brought her up myself just yet. With Jolinars morphing ability, I am wondering if perhaps he is Darla. I have heard that dragons can assume the form of others so perhaps Darla just doesn’t like to show her true form. Why she would choose to disguise herself as Drow though is beyond me.

And that is the team as I know it. If my opinion on any of them change, I’ll be sure to document it here. As for now, I think I’ll spend the afternoon carving out some jade. There really isn’t much else to do. Other than Jolinar, we don’t really need any rest. Gieram seems intent on further exploration. Perhaps I will see if he is willing to venture forth a bit. It might give us a chance to get to know one another better.

Entry 5

We made it through the night in the room of the swinging axe but progress has yet to be made. Instead of pressing forward, Deathscar and Tuggs elected to use magic to become mist and go back to the Elven area. I agreed to accompany as I was concerned about the injured and if any survived. The trip was more or less fruitless. We discovered about a dozen sentients that made it. I counted 9 elves and 1 dwarf. Their plan was to either head south and meet up with the Celestials or start burrowing up in hopes to get out in the way they came in.

We returned to the others, whom we left in the swinging axe room, and moved on. But no, not forward. They decided to backtrack to magically trapped statues and try to loot them. Have they no dignity? These statues are celestial. Leading anyone of even average intelligence to believe this is, or at least was, sacred ground. To be thieving from them…blasphemous. Not that these fellows seem to disturbed by that notion. I would perhaps think that they have been here too long and have lost faith in Divine Power but they rely on Deathscar’s divine magic too heavily for that to be the case.

After determining one statue was beyond his expertise, Tuggs finally agreed to move on…to another statue. I have to admire his determination. I just hope it doesn’t get him killed. I must hand it to him though, he did at least find a new passage while fooling around with this one. I am unsure of what he did but he tinkered with the statue and caused it to rotate into a large hallway where we pressed through. Progression, at last.

Not really.

There were two doors directly inside the hallway with a lit brazier about 100ft away. The hallway seemed to continue beyond that. We checked both doors. Inside the north door appeared to be a prison cell that held a Wyvern that looked a little out of sorts. With Deathscar’s magic, it was determined that the creature was overwhelmingly evil. The south door seemed vacant but used to be a similar prison cell. However, this cell showed signs of escape as some bars were destroyed. The only thing of note noticed was a lever in the back of the room.

Instead of pressing on or even checking out the lever, the group decided that greed was much more important than their life and sought to attack the caged Wyvern. I voiced that I would have no part in the attack but that I would not allow any to die. If one fell, I would pull him to safety. If he died anyway, I offered to bury him and perform a sending ritual. They did not seem to dispute my decision, only my motives. I explained that, although very evil, the creature has been contained, likely by the forces of good and we should not tamper with it. At the moment, he was no immediate threat to us so we should leave him be. But, the creature seemed infatuated with a golden coffer that this group seems intent on getting. So, greed prevailed.

But how glad I am of my righteous frame of mind. Both Deathscar and Jolinar (the Drow) attacked it with magic with no success. The creature roared and, apparently, cast a poison spell on Joninar that rendered him weakened. It was determined that, without aid, he would likely die. So, we retreated back to the swinging axe room…and here we sit. Jolinar, in an effort to save himself, morphed into a Drider to make himself more hearty to withstand the poison for longer. With the aid of Deathscar’s magic in the morning, it is believed he will survive. But, we lose yet another day of exploration to ignorance. This group has definitely provided me with the aid the Celestials thought they would in finding Asami. Note sarcasm.

*edit: At least I, personally, advanced today. Along with becoming more advanced in my battle tactics with my daisho set, I also learned that Shishi-O possibly has more power behind him by studying his markings and recalling teachings passed on to me by Master Jiro Kitashi. I am unsure what new powers I may learn but I do know that I'll not be able to possess them until I free someone from coercion or threats from a demon or other evil outsider permanently. Providing I find someone in such a need, this will not be a task I would have a problem doing. I would do it even if it did not reward new abilities to Shishi-O.

Entry 4

There is nothing to report on my search for Asami, as much exploration has not been had. I can’t help but wonder if my search would be more productive if I did not continue my journey with the new companions that Labras suggested. Although, as warriors, they have proven themselves to me. Even the small, young human that calls himself, Tuggs, showed me that, although his stealthy attacks are questionable in honor, they are quite effective and I can’t fault him for his methods, as may have very well saved my life from a Rast that attached itself to me and attempted to drain me of my blood. I think I also proved my worthiness to them when I destroyed several of the Rasts on my own and offered to protect one of their own from attacks while he was paralyzed. They seem discontent with Shishi-O’s roar as I draw him from his scabbard and I have agreed to keep him quiet to the best of my ability. I do not think they understand that the sword possesses a mind of it’s own, I think.

The Drow still concerns me. Like most Drow, he isn’t very personable. However, he did cast a spell that caused a wall of lightning to form over our heads, preventing us from being attacked from Rasts above us and it proved to be quite useful. My stance at this point is to never turn my back to him but to keep attempting to establish a connection in hopes of understanding why he differs from most within his race.
The stone man, Deathscar, in an attempt to disarm a trap, destroyed a statue of a celestial and robbed it of its gem. I do not know what kind of place this is but, it is my theory, that if one were to build statues of divine creatures and place them somewhere, it is likely that the site holds some sort of holiness or sanctity. Or, at least it may have at one time. This place is not striking me as hallowed ground though. Either way, I could not help but pray to Lastai for these infidels and hope that she can convince the deity(ies) that would be angered by such defiling to have mercy on these souls.

We now sit in a room where there is an invisible axe sweeping back and forth in the middle of the room. Several have already begun to bed down here for the evening. They seem to have faith in their magic rod and dog to keep the doors barred from intruders. I plan to keep one eye open myself, just in case. I’m not quite tired enough yet to sleep.

Entry 3

Still waiting to speak with the council. I saw what appeared to be Naga fly off in the distance today. I tried, yet again, to question passing elves about the council, my Asami, and even the flying Naga but have been asked to wait patiently. They have been acting more pleasing toward me as of late but still will not carry conversation or answer my questions. The paranoia and fear in this place seem to be growing.

Entry 3.1

What they had to fear apparently has come to pass this day. In the distance, I hear many muffled voices yelling. The sounds of battle are all too familiar to me and I can hear them in this area. I have tried to ask passing elves again but they still tell me to wait here patiently and that this is their matter to attend to. I even offered my assistance as a warrior but it seems unwanted.

I have waited for several hours now and the earth has begun to rumble. A shake more fierce than the quakes I have felt since entering this place. Moments ago, I heard a voice ring through the plains that said “The Vigil has ended.” I am unsure what that means but the quake started right after. I can feel what the elves had to fear.

But there, Hope! A human male is riding toward me on the back of what appears to be a large dog. Could this be the Gieram Labras told me of? I have been shouting for the past hour down to the elves, asking to explain to me what is going on but none would answer. As the human on the dog came near, I tried to call to him but he did not answer. My patience had reached its end and I needed to gain the attention of someone so I could at least know if my life was in danger. I drew my katana and the roar of the lion resounded through the plain. This gained the attention of a few and I finally got an answer more than just to be patient. This time it was…we’re all going to die.

That was enough of this. I climbed down from my spot on the rocks. As I descended, I noticed the earth was splitting and the human male was rushing the split. His dog leaped the chasm, pulling a cart of some sort, and made it to the other side. The chasm looked too wide for me to jump so I looked about and discovered a deer that I believed could carry me and make the jump across the gap. With my katana still drawn, I pointed it at the deer and charmed its mind to carry me to the human and his dog. Hopefully, this will not be my last entry.

Entry 3.2

The leap wasn’t too bad. I thought the deer was going to fail but, thanks to the grace of Lastai, we made it. The human then commanded me to dismount the deer. Commanded!!! The audacity! But, considering the mayhem afoot, I let it slide. The human and his dog were working on pulling a tree down to cover the chasm, obviously awaiting more to come along. I had stayed to help, offering to have the deer jump more across but none would accept my aid, not even the Drow I saw. Why I offered to help such a being is beyond me.

Eventually, the chasm was too wide for the deer to make the jump so I released him. I then retreated with the human and his dog along with an elf that jumped through shadows to the other side. Given these two being in the same place, I think I have found the group Labras mentioned.

Entry 3.3

Fine work we’ve done. I can feel heat behind me and it is obvious the way we now have to go is much hotter. Descending into the very depths of hell, I’m sure we are. The entrance that we came through has now collapsed with little hope of getting back into the plain to aid any survivors. The group I now sit with seems to have no interest in such anyway. I fear I may have fallen into the wrong group and am surprised that Labras would suggest such. These folk seem to have no compassion for anyone other than themselves and I don’t get the feeling that there is much honor amongst them. But, it is obvious that this is the group that Labras referred to as there is now a male that appears to be made of rock and wearing gold chainmail. I have not seen the dragon lady and I assume she must have fallen during the chaos. What kind of comrades are these that they would leave one of their own behind? It doesn’t inspire much trust in them for me.

There is also a Drow amongst their ranks, which makes me uncomfortable, as they are notoriously evil to the core. The others seem to know him but I don’t feel they trust him yet. To be perfectly honest, they all make me feel uneasy. The young human male that keeps insisting that we search for a dwarven crafter seems to only care about himself. The human male with the dog has been very confrontational with me. He has yet to be friendly. The scarred elf with the shadow seems a bit shy and quiet. His shadow looming nearby and his horrid appearance is really the only thing making me uneasy around him. Then there is the stone man with the golden armor (and nice armor, it appears to be). I really don’t have a whole lot of feelings about him yet. He hasn’t really voiced much except his fear of rasts (whatever that is). He doesn’t actually strike me as fearful of them, just cautious of them. He did mention the notion of being “good” only because he enjoys destroying evil. Not quite what I would define “good” as but, to each his own.

I would say that we exchanged pleasantries for a bit before continuing but we didn’t. They brashly asked who I was and tested me (poorly) when I told them of the Celestials sent me to them. At least they were straight about having not seen Asami, after I described her. And alas, I believe them when they say it. I do hope she has not perished.

We’re thinking of continuing on now to find a safe place. I do not anticipate staying with this group for long, as their lack of compassion for others is likely to get us all killed. But, there is strength in numbers. I’ll help keep them alive, and hopefully they’ll do the same for me, until we come to a safer area. Then I’ll go my separate way. Hold steady, my dear Asami. I’ll find you soon enough.

Entry 2

It has been 3 days now and I still have not gotten any word from the council. I have been praying and meditating on the highest point of the rock formation I have been allowed to rest at but have not encountered a friendly face yet. I have tried several times to stop an elf and ask how long I have to wait but they usually shrug me off and go about their business. I have also tried to ask passing elves about a female Catfolk passing through here but have not gotten any answers confirming or denying. I have decided to give them 1 standard week before I move on. I don’t have the time for this.

Prologue

This will be my second attempt at keeping a journal of my journey through this evil prison of sorts. My first journal was lost about a week ago when a Celestial named Labras had me flown up a river flowing with liquid hot magma. As I was being flown up the river, Labras and I came under attack by some demons known as Dretches and my book fell from my pack into the lava. The Celestials have been waging a war with a nest of demons to the north, where they were stationed. Recently, they had accomplished a huge victory over the demons with the aid of some traveling adventurers that were mistakenly trapped within this place, much like myself. I encountered the Celestials chasing some fleeing demons and aided them in eradicating them, thus gaining their trust.

I told Labras and the other Celestials how I came to be trapped here. They empathized with my need to restore honor to myself and reclaim my mate who was kidnapped and offered what help they could. This is where the Celestials told me of the traveling adventurers that had aided them and recommended I seek them out, as they had traveled much more of the prison than they had and would run a better chance of having seen my dear Asami. If not, they felt that the group would at least aid me, as they had aided the Celestials, in finding my mate and my way out of this seemingly place of hell.

Labras had me flown to their base and provided me with another weeks worth of food and water along with a helmet made of a demon skull that they had crafted in appreciation for my help. I did not feel comfortable wearing the skull of a demon on my head, even one as exquisitely crafted as this one, but I donned it anyway as to honor its maker and his Celestial brethren. Labras allowed me to rest and had me flown across to a territory to the north and told me that he believed this was the way the adventurers had gone. He gave me a quick description of the more stand out-ish fellows within the group so I could more easily recognize them. He described a near large sized male that appeared to be made of stone and wore golden chainmail. This warrior also had the power to call upon his deity to cast spells. Most useful, indeed. Labras called this one, Deathscar. He also described a human male that trained a Dire Wolf as a mount and another human, this one female, who was becoming a dragon. The man who owned the Dire Wolf was named Gieram and the female dragon lady was known as Darla. He also mentioned an elf that had a Shadow Mastif follow him around that was not evil. This group was sounding like quite the eclectic mix.

Entry 1

I bid Labras and the other Celestials farewell and ventured forth though this northern territory I was pointed toward, said to be inhabited by undead creatures. I ventured my way through, killing the few undead I encountered, until I reached a room with carvings on the floor of undead creatures. A trap. I suffered much trying to cross this room and felt quite weak by the time I made it through but I endured. I eventually found myself in an open field with several mountain ranges and forest. I attempted to scout the area but was intercepted by elves. Brandishing my symbol of Lastai and repeating that I meant them no harm, they lead me to a small rock formation and granted me permission to wait there until the council was ready to speak with me. The air around these people struck me as paranoid and fearful. I could not help but wonder what they had faced here, especially in this area, as it was hands down the most beautiful place I had encountered in this prison.