Fear No Evil, part II
Leonardo de Cefiro’s
personal diary
When
our heroes find and destroy a Shadowmancer (with a
bit of help), and make their way to the Sea of Sands…
Waterday,
Disorderweek, Fireseason,
614 TA
While
we waits for Alejandra to do ‘er Divination (she’s doin’ 2 – one to Demosthenes and one to Shadowjack)
we gets to talkin’ about keepin’
together in the temple so as not to get ambushed from the shadowlands. ‘Owever, the monks ‘ave thought of
that, and have lit virtually every candle they can find in the place – even the
broom cupboards ‘ave no shadows in em! The only exception is the Jack temple – that ‘as to be
kept shadowy for theological reasons, so we goes and guards the temple in case anythin’ gribbly comes through
(though Joaquina and Ramos guard Alejandra in case something ‘appens to ‘er.)
Nothin’ disturbs us thankfully and, a bit later, Alejandra comes out
of ‘er trance lookin’
shocked. She calls a meetin’ in the chapter ‘ouse, so we all troops in to ‘ear what she’ got to say.
‘Er divination was in the form of a dream, from the
perspective of poor Zacarias, the murdered abbot. She
saw ‘im get ambushed in the shadowlands and the
doppelganger transformed into ‘im, but there were
other creatures she saw as well! A giant shadowy miasma! Loads of wights! A creature that strips flesh from its alive victims! She goes on about other ‘orrible
thin’s as well, but it ain’t
‘elpin’ my disposition I can tell you.
Then
she goes on about the monks we were sent to rescue originally. Apparently
they’re alive! And in cages suspended by gibbets in an area correspondin’
to the Demosthenese temple (which is lit, so they
can’t shadowport out…) Finally
she announces that the Doppelganger is also a Shadowmancer!
(a wot?) It can manipulate shadow, control other
shadow creatures and it’s planning an invasion!!
Well
at this point I’m lookin’ for the exit door, and
Esteban voices what we’re all thinkin’, ie, why don’t we report this to the proper authorities with
a bit more muscle power and exit stage left as fast as possible?
‘Owever, that would mean it’s curtains for the missin’ monks, and by the time more people turn up, this shadowmancer might ‘ave gained a foot’old in “the sunlit lands”. (Takes me a minute to
realise they mean ‘ere like.) Alejandra wasn’t born yesterday, and also offers
to ‘onour the original agreement and give us 1500
shillings worth of spell trainin’ if we go in with a
‘pre-emptive strike’, supported by four of the more combat able monks (the
others would stay behind to guard the gate and warn others if necessary.)
So
of course, us bein’ ‘eroes and all (when did that ‘appen?)
we agrees and get ready to go in! We’re given torches, water and ‘eavy grey cloaks, and told to ‘old some monks ‘and as they
cast the appropriate magics. We’re not using the
gate this time in case we comes into a group of
enemies straight off the bat. The monks are all wearin’
miner ‘ats like some dwarves wear an’ all.
Well,
‘idin’ in shadows ain’t
really my strong point, and it takes me a few goes to get it right (I’m not
alone in findin’ it ‘ard
either). ‘Owever, eventually I makes
it and the world goes grey around me as I find myself once more in the
shadowlands.
It
looks like we’ve come out next to a small stream – in fact one of the monks
that’s come with us looks like ‘e came out too close
to the edge, and e’s bein’ attacked by what looks
like a shadow croc! Well you didn’t mention that one Alejandra – thanks very
much. Anyways, ‘e manages to stop fallin’ in so all’s
well.
From
where we’ve come out I can see the 3 cages suspended from gibbets close by. 2
of ‘em are occupied, and one poor sod ‘as climbed up
as far as ‘e can, cos underneath ‘im
is some sort of glutinous gorp-like thing! It
looks to me like them monks are bein’
used as bait to attract more shadow critters to the shadowmancer’s
cause…
We
drive the creature off usin’ fire (its
apparently immune to normal weapons and ‘as acid for blood…) before releasin’ the 2 monks. They’re thankful (as you’d expect)
and confirm they were taken by wights - but there’s
no sign of Mother Teresa…
Well,
we’re either jumpin’ across this ravine full of crocs
or goin’ round, so unsurprisin’ly
we choose the 2nd option. ‘Owever, as we
pass through an old graveyard and sees a bridge up ahead, Esteban spies a spot of
colour comin’ towards us – it’s a beetle, chitterin’ away. Alejandra identifies it as Teresa’s beetle
- she must be alive and close! We back-track to the cages, and as we get
closer, suddenly Mother Teresa appears out of thin air, inside the cage, lookin’ more than a little worse for wear.
After
we let ‘er out, she says she was attacked by a chronophage (I mean, ‘ow many more weird-named critters can
exist in one damn elemental plane for ‘eavens sake?) It
throws you a random amount of time into the future. The first question she
asks is what day is it? Ouch….
So
after collectin’ all the lost monks, we return
through the graveyard towards the bridge over the croc infested stream. But
just as I’m peerin’ towards it, I’m suddenly forced
aside by Maria, our ‘ealer, who’s walkin’
next to me. Next minute out of the grey murkiness floats this giant shadowy
monstrosity. A few monks are swallowed up in it, but so is Ramos!
It’s
easy to outrun though, so we pelt along the path towards the bridge and look
back. The creature ‘as lost interest in us and moved on, and both monks ‘ave returned from the future (is that ‘ow you say it?), but
there’s no sign of Ramos at all. Mother Teresa says forlornly that if ‘es’ very unlucky, ‘e’ll be thrown
years into the future! What a bummer! Poor Ramos…
Well,
there’s nothin’ for it except trudge on and ‘ope Ramos turns up sometime in the not too distant future
(that phrase ‘as new meanin’ to me now…)
We
can only just about make out the bridge in front of us. There’s some sort of
gaseous miasma coverin’ the whole thin’ (well there’s
a surprise…). Xavier casts Det Enemies and there’s nothin’ around to worry about, so we gingerly approach it. Esteban
& Xavier go first, and both make it to the other side
unscathed. Apparently it’s a poisonous cloud of some kind, so your choice
is either to run fast through and risk fallin’ off
the bridge into the crocs or goin’ slow like and ‘opin’ to ‘old your breath long enough.
I
go for the fast route – you gotta be quick chasing
after them sheep after all – and makes it with no problem. ‘Owever,
poor old Maria goes down in a ‘eap
and ‘as to be carried across, as does one of the other monks too. We decide to
wait a bit to see if they recovers, cos no-one wants
to go on without a good ‘ealer alive and well…
As
we’re doin’ that, we all ‘ears a voice in the
greyness say, “It’s time to deal with this rabble – attack! –
oww!” I’m a bit non-plussed
for a second before I clock that Xavier, quick as a flash, as got ‘is crossbow
out and fired it into the mists. ‘E must have sharper
eyes than me (all that work staring at the ‘orizon on
ships I reckon) cos I can’t see nothin’ in this
greyness, but the bolt must ‘ave ‘it ‘ome good and proper.
We
forms a line and waits for the inevitable approach of whatever ‘orde of gribblies old Mr Shadowmancer ‘as put together.
Out
of the mists come a load of skeletons. ‘Owever, they
looks intelligent to me (that just ain’t proper that)
– mostly ‘uman, but I spy a couple of trolls, a dwarf
and even somethin’ with snakes for ‘air – maybe it’s
another whore of a gorgon?
It
looks like we’re seriously outnumbered, which is never a good sign, and I ‘ope that our flanks (guarded by Esteban and Xavier) ‘ave bought their A game, cos otherwise we’re goin’ to get completely swamped. I use me sling a few times
whilst castin’ a couple of spells (the usual Bludgeon
& Prot), and a few well placed
stones takes out the dwarf and the leg of a ‘uman. ‘Opefully
that’s evened up the odds a tad.
But
then, all of sudden like, is this creature in front of me out me worst
nightmare! It’s movin’ real quick on it’s ‘ind legs, but its front
arms are just enormous – it’s usin’ 'em to move as well, like an ‘orse,
but they’ve got ‘uge claws at the end of ‘em. The grotesque ‘ead doesn’t ‘ave any eyes, and it constantly moves it from side to side
as though it’s usin’ some sort of other sense to
detect me. Cripes, I’m in for it now and no mistake.
But
then it slows down as though it’s ‘avin’ second
thoughts, before once again comin’ at me full tilt. I
wacks it in the abdomen (that ‘as to ‘urt) but then it bites and claws me twice! Sweet
Mother of Earth, ‘ows I’m supposed to cope with this?
I parries the bite and the claws both miss, but surely that ain’t
goin’ to last.
I
‘its it a few more times, and Joaquina, who’s fightin’ a ‘uman
skellie on me left, sees my predicament and wacks it too, but it’s still goin’.
It’s still missin’ with all it’s attacks (is it just not very good with usin’ them?) but all it takes is one lucky strike and I’m
gone.
And
then I notice a patch of greyness behind me start to coalesce into darkness –
someone’s summoned a Shade! A quick glance to my right sees that our flank on
that side is bein’ overwhelmed. Xavier is double
teamed, several monks are down, and there’s a skellie
right behind me about to steamroller into our rear. Added to that, sister Quiria on me right suddenly goes stiff as a board. I
recognise the Harmonize spell at once, so she’s out of the fight too. And she
was fightin’ a skellie with
bits of flesh ‘anging off ‘im
– a real nasty bugger and no mistake. Looks like we’re all doomed!
But
then I spies a figure through the mist ahead. It’s got
a really weird pyramid shaped ‘elmet and carries the
biggest meat cleaver I’ve ever seen – must weigh a tonne! It points at Mr Shadowmancer (whose been ‘directin’
things from behind the lines) and sets off to engage. Is ‘e on our side?
I’m
not sure, and this distraction is enough for me to miss me attack and clobber
the paralysed sister Quiria to my right. Sorry
luv! Must be more careful – I could ‘ave taken ‘er ‘ead off there.
‘Owever, Joaquina finally spears the thing in front of me in
its abdomen and it goes down – thank goodness. Esteban ‘as finished off the
danger from the left flank, Joaquina gets the one behind us all and the three
of us pile into their flank. The shade is just sittin’
there doin’ nothin’ –‘as
no-one given it any orders?
It
looks like the tide is turnin’! Mr fleshy skel dude who’s now bein’ triple
teamed thinks so an all, and ‘e does a runner. I try and Harmonise him a few times, but the spell don’t it ‘ome – ‘e’s gone – and good riddance to you.
I
finds out later that the beast I was fightin’ was called an Aural Hunter and that Xavier cast
Demoralise at it, which is why it was missin’ all its
attacks against me. That’s the 2nd time I owes Xavier my life – really
saved me bacon there.
So
we won! That was a real close call, and if it ‘adn’t
been for the timely intervention of Mr Pyramid ‘elmet
‘ead, we’d ‘ave been grey
massed by now if that shade ‘ad covered us all. Talkin’ of ‘im,
‘e salutes us with ‘is meat cleaver and walks off into the mists. Looks
like ‘e finished off old Shadowmancer all by ‘imself in double quick time too. The monks say they’ve
‘eard of ‘im and ‘es a bit of an enigma. Sometimes fights for you, sometimes
against you, but if you kill ‘im and remove ‘is elmet, you find out ‘es actually
you (a shadow version of you?) and you become the new pyramid man! Yikes, never thought lootin’ bodies was
so dangerous.
Talkin’ of which, we ‘oover up all the armour & weapons (gingerly-like, after
that story…) before returnin’ through the Shadowgate.
Looks like we only lost one monk – the others only ‘ave
flesh wounds. We ‘ave to wait a few ‘ours, but
Ramos finally shows up – ‘e managed to find ‘is way back to the gate all on ‘is
own, which was fairly impressive. Could ‘ave been
worse I suppose…
Clayday,
Deathweek, Fireseason, 614
TA
So
after all that excitement, we spend a couple of weeks of R&R with the monks
to collect our thoughts. I reflect on the recent fight and feel I’ve learnt a
thin’ or two about usin’ me quarterstaff (like, not tryin’ to take your friends ‘ead
off….) We also get a free spell each from the monks! I
go through what’s on offer and decide on Strength (as does Ramos), most of the others go for Protection II. But soon it’s
time to move on. Can’t say I’m ever goin’ to come
back ‘ere – and I’m not rushin’ back into them
shadowlands neither. I mean, wot are those monks playin’
at? Delvin’ into thin’s that are not meant to be
delved into, that’s wot. Mark my words, no good will ever come of it.
So
after wavin’ goodbye to the monastery we makes our way towards Port Ocean to find a boat. The
weather’s light and bright, and set to stay fair an all. It’s a busy, bustlin’ port, and a bit ‘ard to
work out wot to do first, so Xavier & Esteban take all our looted gear to
sell in the market, before lookin’ for a suitable
ship. The rest of us look for a decent inn to stay in. I find one called The
Wind in the Sails’ which ‘opefully will suit most of
us. ‘Owever, it’s a bit posh and costs us 20 bob a
night! Them ‘orses are expensive...
Well,
apparently we’re stayin’ ‘ere for 4 days. Somethin’ about
tides, weather and ship availability or whatnot. It gives me a chance to
pray for Shillelagh – I’ve always wanted that Runespell,
and it might come in ‘andy in a tight spot in the
future. The local Mercer priest looks down on me a bit (sure I 'eard the word 'country bumpkin' mentioned) and I 'as to
give the temple a small donation, but I think it's worth it. Oh, and we do
some chaos lore / spirits speech trainin’ an all -
I'm getting’ close to bein’ able to say ‘ello now…
Godsday,
Deathweek, Fireseason, 614
TA
So
it’s time for this boat. Now I’ve been sayin’ all
along that I got these apples that’ll let me fly across the channel till we
reach land that’s dry, as is good and proper. ‘Owever,
Esteban ‘as decided that we’ll go the shortest route possible over water, and
so I’ll be OK and don’t need to waste it. Wot? That means I’ve got to get
on a boat!! I’ve just been prayin’ to Matar for the last 2 days, but I think I better do a bit
more, know what I mean?
I
ask Xavier wot the best thin’ to do is to avoid bein’
ill on a boat, and ‘e puts ‘is arm around me and says I need a good ‘earty breakfast with plenty of beans, sausages and fried
bread. So I stocks up in the mornin’ eatin’ till the cows come ‘ome, feelin’ a bit like the condemned ‘avin’
‘is last supper. As we’ get onto the gang plank (we’ve sold all the ‘orses, except Joaquina's of course, whose comin’ with us) I can see the other sailors all eyein’ me up and down with a smirk, and some money changes
‘ands. Xavier says they’re doing a sweepstake for ‘ow long I last before pukin’ me insides up! Well, put me down for 20 to last the crossin', cos I’m an ’ard nut me.
Well
first of all we ‘as to take part in some sort of leavin’
ceremony, and it involves spittin’ over the side of
the boat! I mean wot? ‘Asn’t the sea got enough
water in it already? Well I does as I’m told and gift
Poseidon 3pts of POW (with a quick apology to Matar). I
mean, wot could possibly go wrong?
We
made it! Sweet Lady of the Earth! That was the roughest, scariest, longest day
of my entire life. ‘Ow does anyone stand it? In fact, ‘ow does anyone stand, full stop? As I staggers
onto dry land I collapse on the jetty and resist the urge to kiss the dock yard,
or even the startled local dock’and. Please will
someone knock me out the next time I’m forced to do that.
‘Owever, Xavier puts another comforting arm round me
(last time I trust that little creep) and says I did really well not to throw
up too much. Well, next time ‘e gives me some advice I’m doin’
the opposite, I’m tellin’ yer.
The
rest of the evenin’ is a bit of a blur. We stay at an
inn called the ‘Sable de La Mer’ (everythin’
‘as strange names in these foreign parts). We also ‘as to do some exchangin’ of money – apparently all our usual cash won’t
cut the mustard ‘ere – Oh, so your general quicksilver coinage ain’t good enough? Foreign folk really are crazy.
I
goes straight to bed and don’t do any gossiping – but the rest of the group
learn a bit about the weather (it’s goin’ to change
apparently & be a bit more blowy) as well as the local lay of the land and
what’s in store on the sands. They tells me about it in the mornin’,
and in some ways I wish they ‘adn’t. Sand sharks, ‘yenas, scorpions, flyin’ dragons
(not a problem, dealt with 3 of ‘em already…), sand
people, undead, the list just goes on and on.
Freezeday,
Fertilityweek, Fireseason,
614 TA
In
the mornin’ we takes the
carriage about 10 miles to the sand port. And that’s where I first gets the hint
of just ‘ow ‘ot it is. I mean it’s like a physical ‘ammer ‘ittin’ you in the face –
and even in the shade it’s swelterin’. No-one even
thinks of wearing armour in this.
So
then we sees our sand ship, ‘moored’ alongside the
quay side. Looks dead strange without any water nearby, but it’s a big ship
with 3 masts (Xavier tells me their names, but it don’t mean anythin’ to me). We’re met at the ship’s side by a
captain Karled, and ‘e and Esteban get talkin’ about which route we’re goin’
to take – apparently ‘es goin’
to hug the coastline a bit as we ‘ead for Sirocco, to
‘opefully avoid pirates and other undesirables. Well,
that gets my vote.
Waterday,
Fertilityweek, Fireseason,
614 TA
As
we set off the next day (we stayed the night at in called the Oasis), the
wind’s from the Northwest, and the captain and Xavier start badgering on about
wind direction, leeward, tackin’, etc,
etc, (yawn). At least I don’t feel seasick no more
and that’s a relief and no mistake. ‘Owever as the
day wears on we sails right into a dust storm and we all goes below decks for
safety.
Clayday,
Fertilityweek, Fireseason,
614 TA
It
takes about ‘alf a day to get to a village called
Fez. As the sailors unload a cargo of metallic goods, it’s explained to us that
this is a village of undead! They worship their own god out ‘ere in the middle
of nowhere, and brew a very strong fermented drink. Well, I might just try
that, especially if I ever ‘as to go near a boat on water again. Sure
enough, a couple of blokes wrapped in white linen clothes (I definitely need to
invest in some) come out and move the crates, and they seem really strong –
guess they’re zombies right there. Not sure what I think about that – it’s just
not natural, but then I guess there not really doin’
any ‘arm like.
Fireday,
Fertilityweek, Fireseason,
614 TA
Well,
we finally arrive in Sirocco. As well as buying some local clothes that’ll keep
us a bit cooler in this ‘eat, we’re gonna stay ‘ere
for about 2 weeks. Joaquina ‘as to wait until ‘er ‘oly day to get ‘er allied spirit,
so we’s got time to kill. I decide to learn another
point of Protection – we’re not wearing armour out ‘ere, so anythin’
that deflects more than a scratch is goin’ to be
useful – I can’t imagine it won’t get violent at some point, cos that always ‘appens when you’re in foreign lands. Anyways, we’ve got to
plot our route through to Carthaginia. We can’t go
too far north otherwise we’ll ‘it Corsa (pirates) but
if we goes too far south, we’re in Mazdan territory,
and they mess with your souls. Either way it’s not a great choice.
Oh,
and I can now sort of ‘old me own in conversation in Spirit Speech about Chaos
Lore. I mean, you just waggle your spiritual gills like a bit, and Chaos? Well,
it’s a bit random isn’t it?
And
did I say the food ‘ere in our pub (it’s called somethin’
weird like Simoom Jellab) is absolutely shite? Dead spicy and sticky and sweet all at the same time. I’m so
gonna look forward to a bit of roast lamb when I gets ‘ome…