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CotWSimonThoughtsWeek1

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Simon's Thoughts - Week 1

Day One

Started out late because one of the civilians was late. Our representative from the Planar Cartographic Society seems to be a bit of a disorganised fellow. Constantly talking, constantly writing, he does not seem to appreciate the beauty of the plane he is now on, but sees it merely as an entry in his book. Then he invites a savage local to ride (well, the savage walked besides us... kept up a good time, which I must admit to being impressed with) with us. That's all we need on this mission, more civilians, more unknown quantites. As for the rest of our travelling party, I have to seriously question the leaders of the Iron Gard... sending that Barbarian woman on a diplomatic mission? I am sure all they were doing was just getting rid of her presence from town. Lucky me, now I get stuck with her. The other Iron Gard personnel seem to be competent. The Diplomats are, well, diplomatic... which basically means irritating, quiet... and totally useless in a fight. We also seem to have attracted the attention of an Elven Monk. I have no idea why he is travelling with us, but the diplomats seem to know him. I will have to monitor him closely, he is another unknown quantity (as are all Elves, it seems).

When we arrived at the Squatish caves (our intended destination) we were met by a few of the Squattish locals. They seemed to take a distinct disliking to our Elvish Monk. What do they know that I should know? I wish I could communicate with them, properly. We then escorted the Diplomats to a meeting with the Squattish Chieftain. We were offered some foul liquid to drink. Now, I know the drinking of alcohol is not disallowed by my religion, but this stuff should be against EVERYone?'s religion. Instead of drinking the liquid, I saved my portion... it will make a good weapon, once alight.

During the meeting, we heard a commotion from further in the cave system. It seems that the Squats are having trouble with the Mellinath, with the Mellinath stealing some of the Squats. And it seemed that they were attacking while we were there. We went to investigate (and that damn barbarian went in, sword swinging, with no regard for procedure or chain of command; she will get people killed if she continues to act in this manner). We managed to scare off the attack, but some Squats were still killed or taken. Our barbarian killed one of the attackers, and our Iron Gard crossbowman accounted for another. It appears that the attackers were not Mellinath. They are Dark Elves (which would explain why the Squats did not take kindly to our monk). The Diplomats started talking to the Squats. All I wanted to do was to give the fallen Elves a decent burial. They died on the field of battle, and The Light instructs that they deserved a warrior's sending off. But there was a a problem with the Squats. Not sure what it was all about, but eventually I was given the all clear to commence with the burial. I praise The Light that let me survive to carry on my mission.

Then, as we were getting ready to head back to town, the Diplomats asked us to extend our contract. It seemes that the Squats want proof that the Mellinath are not responsible for the missing members of their tribe, and the Diplomats want us to go get them that proof. I made the deal for 2000 Gold pieces per Iron Gard. Hopefully, the other civilians would not want to go with us, as they would not be getting paid. Unfortunately, they all seemed to want to join us on this reconnaissance mission. We were given a Squattish guide to take us through the cave system to the other side. We will leave in the morning. I have a bad feeling about this.

Day Two

Spent the day going through the tunnels. How the Squat knew where to go I will never know. It is dark and all the tunnels look the same. We will be in big trouble if we lose our guide, as he is our only way back. We made it to the other side close to sundown, and we made camp at the back of the cave at the opening. We will investigate further tomorrow.

Day Three

Walked through a forest following the local we picked up on day one, as he followed what seemed to be a path. A most amazing fellow, the forest seemed to step aside to let him through, and then close up again when we followed. Finally, we came to a clearing with a huge mound in the middle. The local "cave man" (for want of a better term) scouted for a bit, and eventually found an opening where there did not seem to be one. I asked him if he would scout down in the mound, where we could hear some chanting. He scouted for a few minutes and then we descended into the mound. I tried to get the attention of the Dark Elves to start a dialogue. However, we were attacked by the Elves without provocation. We lost our Iron Gard crossbowman. He was a good man, and will be eagerly accepted into The Light. I will make sure his share of the contract payment goes to his next of kin. We did manage to knock one of the Dark Elves out. We will take her back to town, and try and get information out of her. Perhaps the Mellinath can help us work out who they are, and what they want.

We were attacked again, soon after the initial attack. We retreated back out of the mound. I would not want to go back into that mound without a large contingent of well armoured mercenaries. We returned to the cave system, and camped an hour into it. We could hear noises of a pursuit, but when we went to go investigate, we could feel they were drawing us further and further into the cave system, and I felt it would be safer to return to the main group, and setup a strong watch system. I pray that The Light will see us safely back to the other side of the mountain, and out of these damn tunnels.

Day Four

We walked for a few hours and were once again attacked by the Dark Elves. These Elves fight without honour. I have been taught that all creatures are creatures of The Light. However, I am beginning to believe that these Dark Elves (I have heard the Cartographer call them "Drow") are not of The Light, but from the Dark. We managed to defeat the ambushing party, but our Squattish guide was killed. This is disasterous. If we can not find out way to either side of the mountain, we could very easily die in these tunnels. Thanks to our Cartographer, we were able to make our way back to the other side of the tunnel system. We will have to go over the mountain to the coast, and make our way back to town that way. It will not be easy, but it is the only thing we can do, without a Squattish guide to get us through the tunnel system. To be honest, I prefer this way. It may be longer, but at least we will be in The Light, and not in the Dark.

I buried our dead comrade. The trip back to town over the mountain will be long and treacherous. I had to give him his peace and let him start his journey into The Light. I pray that his soul will find peace. Just as I was finishing, the Cartographer called for help. It seems the civilians (and some of my Iron Gard comrades) are feeling very uneasy in this part of the world. It is a pity they do not have the clarity that believing in The Light has given me. I do not fear death. I only fear dying before I am able to rid my world of the Tyranny of Judas Basilisk, and restore the true king. I must redouble my efforts to find him. I am losing my way in this new plane. The Cartographer was talking with our captured Drow. I do not know what they were talking about, but the cartographer seemed to fear the woman. Whatever she was saying, he wanted to let her go. Before I could think to stop myself, I had hit her and knocked her out. Her evil is beginning to spread to even the most devout of The Light's Emissaries, namely myself. Their evil needs to be extinguished before it spreads and shuts out The Light from this plane. I would love to come back here with a invasion force, and cleanse this land of their blight.

We setup a camp in the cave, and trapped the area outside to help us determine if we were being attacked. The night passed peacefully. The Light be praised.

Day Five

I woke up early, and got ready quickly... today was going to be a long and dangerous journey over the mountain. Before we could get ready to leave, we heard some noise coming from inside the cave system. We waited to see who (or what) would emerge, and were surprised to see two of the Dark Drow carrying a Squat. We attacked the Drow, but they were more concerned with getting away then staying to fight. I managed to stop one of the Drow (and took her prisoner as well), and our Barbarian simply dropped her sword and chased after the other. I really do not understand that woman. Her temper makes her do stupid things. She needs to find some control, or her anger will consume her. She claims she killed the other Drow. I have no doubt that she did.

While she was chasing after the remaining Drow, the cartographer and I healed the Squat. Luckily, he seems to know the way back through the caves. As much as I dislike the idea, it will be quicker to go back through the tunnels. I am happy to report that we managed to get through without incident. Surely, the Light is shining strongly upon us. I am sure we are meant to to go back to the mound, and remove this people from this plane. Their evil needs to be snuffed out. The Light demands it.

Day Six

We are finally through the caves. I feel a lot better being on this side of the mountain. We camped a half an hour away from the Squat caves, as I did not trust the Squats not to kill our two prisoners. I am going to leave one with the Iron Gard to interrogate, and take the other to the Mellinath to see what they say about these Dark Drow. I must also go see the widow of our fallen comrade. It is not a task I relish, but he fell at my side, and it is my duty to be the messenger of bad tidings.

Day Seven

We arrived in town, and headed directly to the Iron Gard offices. I debriefed my Captain, and was rudely interrupted by that damned Elf. Why is he following us? Since we have no need for the diplomats, I see no reason to take him, or any of the other civilians on this mission with us. Well, maybe the caveman. While he is difficult to talk to, and to understand, his contribution has been valuable... and crossbow bolts seem to bounce off his skin. He is definitely made of tougher stuff then your average townsfolk.

I met with the widow of Kallen. It is strange. I fought by his side and trusted him with my life, and yet I did not know his family name. It was a tough meeting, but she is a strong woman, and the 2000 gold that will be coming to her at the completion of our mission will help her get through this tough period. I can only pray to the Light that we do not lose any more good men.

I left my armour to get cleaned, polished and beaten back into shape.

From my debrief with the Captain, he has asked us to go investigate the Dark Drow Mound. We must learn more about these creatures and we have only got 10 days left before the next season (which is the Squats idea of "next Sun"). I have requested a fully armoured squad of 10 men to accompany us (us being the four remaining Iron Gard from the original contract). I have no problem with the caveman accompaning us. He can provide valuable intel without being a liability when the crossbow bolts start flying. I am also hoping Jeremaih, the Planar Cartographic Society agent will come too, as we will need a map of the cave system, so we are not totally reliant on Squattish guides. I have no desire or need for the Elf to join us. Besides being mysterious as all elves are, he is an unknown quantity in battle. One moment he is flipping a Drow over his head and killing it, the next he is falling over his own feet. I do not relish being responsible for keeping him safe... or relying on him to keep me safe.

Day Seven

We headed out today for the Squattish camp, with Elf in tow... bah! The consortiums sent a Diplomat with the regular compliment of Gards as protection with the second Dark Drow capitve off to the Mellinath. It will be interesting to see what they discover. I also wonder how successful our interrogator will be getting information out of the Drow we have left with the Iron Gard.

The Squats were definitely happier to see us without our Drow captives. They proved a feast again, and we slept there for the night.

During the night the Light gave me another vision. I am sure that my King is near, and on the other side of this damn mountain. He may also be in danger. I wish I had Jude here to interpret my dreams. Some of the images were disturbing to the say the least, and seeing him getting attacked does not bode well for my own quest. I need to quickly finish this errand I am on, and get back to what is important.

Day Eight and Nine

We travelled slowly through the caves, letting Jeremiah map our progress. I have also set about marking the cave tunnels that we go through with the symbol of the Iron Gard, and a numbering system to correspond to points on the map. I thank John for coming up with this system, for when he mapped the Caves of Arthorn. It was so simple, even a man such as myself could understand it, and recreate it when needed.

We camped at the cave mouth, and will go into the mound tomorrow. May the Light have mercy on our Souls.

Day Ten

Searched the mound, and found it empty except for a particularly evil statue. Oh, and some unholy religious texts, and a journal. Gave the journal and texts to Jeremiah to translate. It worries me how easy he was able to do it. How is it that he is able to read that evil text so easily? Worrying! The journal mentioned two other temples, roughly a day apart. We will go seek them out and eradicate the Evil Elf menace, once and for all. I tried to destroy the statue, but I did not have the right materials, so I had to make do with caving in the entrance.

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