Journal Entry 4

Not All Is What It Seems

My companions come back into the common room and share what they learned about the current situation with the rib and the state of the town. I am less than enthused about that crazy, obsessive wizard trying to find out what to do with the rib and our other contact skipping out at his first opportunity to figure out what to do. Make no mistake. We are on our own. To make matters worse, Lodi was desperately needed by his tribe so we'd be without his bow in the near future. Who said this hero stuff would be easy anyway?

Sleep would be the next stop and would have been most welcome if not for the pounding on the door. The ranger woman Ninaran came to us spouting off about knowing where the folks in the caravan are being kept. Taking a moment to ascertain what is happening, I gathered up my gear and prepared to head out. Fortunately, there was a meal ready for us before we left. Another traveller practiced in the magical arts had also been woken and decided to join up with our cause. After a bit of chatting we learned our new Eladrin companion Amanda was adept with spells of a more violent nature. That should be useful and will hopefully take the place of Lodi without too much interuption.

After a bit of travel up into the woods, Ninaran stopped the group and tells us of what she has seen of the attackers. She then decides it would be best for her to find some higher ground where her bow is more accurate. As she wanders off I catch Zar'za watching her leave. Once the ranger was out of earshot, she shared with us that something was not right here. I am much more apt to trust Zar'za on this than the excitable ranger who I hardly know. Granted I don't know Zar'za that well yet but my gut tells me she is worthy of my trust. With that, Shade decides to set out and do some sleuthing to acquire some intel of our own.

Now I know elves are supposed to be "one with the woods" while moving through them but Shade was not at the top of his game. Must have been the lack of sleep we were all feeling. I heard a branch snap, a rock move and something about a damn four. I acted quickly with Krova and distracted the would be ambushers away from his direction; me with my spells and Krova with himself. That was enough to make all hell break loose.

The Blood Flows

Goblinesque creatures came storming out of the woods shouting their battle cries. They poured from the woods and closed the distance with Krova. I truly hoped that armor and thick hide of his is resilient enough to withstand this onslaught. I turned my attention to the nearby hill which seemed to also bring life to two forms. Arrows began to rain down upon our position. One of the archers seemed to have a bow that looked remarkably like that of the ranger who led us here. She would be dealt with severely should we make it out of this trap.

Krova was becoming bogged down by shear numbers, Shade was trying to come out of the woods, Zar'za ran into the woods to assist Shade, Amanda began chanting behind me and I worked up my magic as well. This was getting ugly in a hurry so my tactical sense told me to bring up the serious magic. Krova summoned up that awful breath of his and let loose with his lightning attack. A few fell as the rest began to arc and smolder. I saw a slight smirk from Krova before the remaining beasts charged. A furious exchange of blows began as I shifted my concentration.

As the archers on the hillside were taking too many shots of opportunity, it was time to let them feel the heat of battle. I summoned forth my flaming sphere and let it dance along the hilltop. It did the job and sent them running. This provided some bit of relief to Krova who was holding his own. I did see him falter a few times only to be brought back to life by the hand of Zar'za. Shade appeared out of the woods and began to draw blood. Unfortunately my flaming sphere brought about undo attention as the archers paid me back. Damn those arrows do hurt but nothing to do except grit my teeth and keep my composure.

The last blow was felled upon the remaining hobgoblin. We wandered over to the what was the ranger and took note that it was a dust hag. Strange creature who was surely working for the evil that is encroaching on the land. It looks like we are attracting some attention for the resistance provided. We found the caravan survivors and released them. They were of course quite thankful to have their necks sparred. We took them back to Winterhaven where we attempted to get some rest once again. This time we were more successful. After feeling refreshed, it was time to root out the remaining evil in this town as this sort of thing was becoming quite annoying. Suspect number one is the flower girl.

Journal Entry 3

To Arms

We set back into town and spent the night at the inn, only having a rough idea of what we'd face the next day. There must be quite a sizable nest of nasty in the hills given the state of my new compatriots. While I'm not new to combat given my previous, albeit brief assignment of guarding the lightning rail, I had my own doubts. Those doubts were quelled given the large and scary stature of the dragonborn paladin. A holy warrior on our side certainly can only help, not to mention I've seen dragonborn breathe death upon their foes.

The next morning came and we set out to the encampment. The elf, being a cautious sort, wanted to go out first for a cursory glance. This sounded like a good idea...unless he becomes cut off and struck down. Fortunately our newest adventuring companion Lodi has some stealthy skills and joined the elf. Staying back with the paladin and cleric sat just fine with me. The stealthy pair returned shortly after their scouting trip although Lodi had a few more holes than he ought to have and was partially covered in dung. Those bastards fight dirty. Zar'za went to work using her divine healing powers to put Lodi right again. No one craps on us and gets away with it. So off we went to put an end to this foulness.

The waterfall looked quite pleasant. Possibly a nice place for a picnic although a site had been cleared and had some magical marking on it. That couldn't be good but further examination would have to wait. Danger was most certainly afoot. We noticed a few patches of grass that didn't seem to match the surrounding blades. The stealthy duo went about their forward recon once again but with danger this close, we wanted to make sure they didn't get into trouble. We crept up to keep an eye on them and bring down the pain upon those that foul the serenity of this place should the opportunity become available. Zar'za was clever enough to snap a few twigs and branches. One of the brigands opened up the hatch to his ambush hole which offered a wonderful opportunity for Shade to give him an eyeful of his blade. Wow, can those bastards squeal when poked. Shade was later upset by Zar'za's noise although I thought it was a wonderful plan.

His friends came out of the remaining holes and a fight was on. As I didn't want a repeat of the last battle, I moved around to prevent any of them escaping. I was able to score several hits with my magic missile spell while blades and arrows piled into these beasts to bring a swift end to their pitiful existence. More shouts could be heard after the last was slain meaning this wasn't over. We quickly decided to take the fight to them before large, concentrated numbers could be brought against us. A small door nearby offered the closest entrance and we took it. Knock, knock.

Inside, the shouts grew louder and we were spotted. We struck a defensive posture waiting for the enemy to close. Krova took the lead spot to blunt any attack, followed by myself and Zar'za. Shade and Lodi provided shuriken and bow coverage. Bring it on. They did as movement came from the shadows in a number of different directions. I summoned up a flaming sphere to give them something more to think about in their charge against us. The pawns closed the distance and began to fall to our fierce weapons. Then came a huge bellow from the depths of the tunnels. Some ugly beast with two sets of mouths came up shouting about how painful our deaths were going to be. Fortunately for us he decided to deliver his soliloquy next to the flaming sphere. Once he came to realize that he was getting too warm he charged straight in aiming for me and calling for my death. This was something I'd have to deal with although my companions wouldn't really like being next to the flaming sphere.

Fortunately Lodi and Zar'za were able to hold this monstrosity off supported by Shade. At one point in the battle he unleashed this flurry of shurikens that I could hear buzzing by like a swarm of bees. They found their marks on most of the smaller skirmishers but the larger creatures came through the storm unharmed. Their luck would end as Korva unleashed that breath of his thinning out the attack. The two mouthed beast managed to hit Zar'za and knock her to the ground. Korva heroically stepped through the attackers and gave life back to Zar'za. She came to her feet as attacks were now concentrated on bringing an end to this hellspawn. His end came about quickly but not before landing a blow on me. Fortunately it wasn't too severe but that hurt.

With the falling of their leader, the remaining forces fell without too much more trouble. The fight had left them and thanks to us so did their miserable lives. The surrounding area would not be troubled by these miscreants. It feels good to be a hero. It felt even better finding more than enough coin to live comfortably for at least a short while. A note was found making mention of a camp further away. It mentioned a third dragon rib which we were seeking. Our task was not over yet as we'd need to head out and claim this artifact before it fell into the hands of more evil.

Pursuit of the Rib

We set off to find the camp. After a fair journey we came to a mountain. The stealthy duo of Lodi and Shade set off once again to get some intel on the area. I have to admit I didn't much care for the idea of having them set off once again on their own but they were gone before much of a protest could be made. We sat back waiting for their return. Shouts rose out of the mountain's center which only meant trouble for our scouts. We set out to offer our help in what would be an ensuing battle, only to be met by our companions. They looked at us smugly as if to say we meant for that to happen.

The recon did prove to be fruitful as we know knew what we were dealing with. One irritating gnome was in charge of a labor camp. They seemed to be digging for something. We set up an ambush taking advantage of some rubble and loose rock that the sentry dogs would have to cross before closing with us. At just the right point we hit the dogs with our ranged weapons. One fell before any reaction could be made. A second gnome set into position and began pelting Lodi and Shade with sling stones. Wow but that guy had some skill with the stones. Zar'za put a halt to that by putting the fear of whatever gods he prayed to into his heart. This stalwart gnome lead a yellow trail away from us with his feet barely touching the ground. I had to chuckle to myself and then set about casting more magic missiles.

The lead gnome swore our heads would be his at the end of the day. We made sure that didn't happen as Korva slid down into the mining camp and closed with the defenders. The leader and his remaining dog fell to our massed firepower along with most of the conscripted humans. The gnome with the sling found some courage to continue the battle but it was too late for him to bring about any serious offense. We ended his life quickly. The remaining human was all to happy to be done with the gnomes and gladly took up our offer of a goldpiece to help search the camp and head back into town.

Checking out the camp, we came across the rib we coveted along with another cryptic note. Knowing the power this rib possessed we quickly set out for town. We came back into Winterhaven where my friends brought the rib to Valthrun to see what could be done to ensure the rib is not used for evil. I did not attend this meeting as my leaving was quite sudden and his clothes were still in the street on our return. I await the next part of our journey as this hero stuff is quite addicting and much more exhilarating than laundry.