Campaign Log: Chaotic Pioneering

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on June 29th

We packed up camp and headed south out of the city, for Leopold thought that would most probably lead to somewhere we could cross the river in the west. I told the others I had seen a bridge while climbing the dome. It was an old stone bridge, solid enough for us to cross with horses, but Leopold said we had to go back. We needed to return to the temple to examine it more closely. It should contain an artifact, a holy relic of the kind we’re looking for. Spending the rest of the day in the temple, searching it again, yielded nothing. What a waste of time!


Thoughts on June 30th

We finally crossed the bridge and traveled west. Leopold told us the next temple was devoted to narcissism, and he thought the road would lead there. Ilzo hails from somewhere around here, and I told him I would set up a show for his village if we visited there.


Thoughts on July 1st

Olivia was sitting on a fallen log during our watch, and I had found something to occupy myself with when she screamed. Terror wasn’t what I was aiming for, so I pulled my head out of her skirt, drawing Scorchmark and looking around. Olivia activated Surkalpi, just as a kobold stabbed my hand.

Leopold and Va’lyndra burst out of their tents, and the three of us made short work of the kobolds. Sounds from Ilzo’s tent revealed that he had unwelcome visitors, but we heard he had control over the situation.

Olivia retrieved her first aid kit from our tent, and set about bandaging my hand. I winced with pain when she accidentally ripped at the wound. Guilt-ridden because of her clumsiness, Olivia forced me to take a healing potion before seeing to Leopold, who had been wounded, too.

We packed up camp and continued our journey.


Thoughts on July 2nd

Not much happened, today. We continued west, and I continued practicing for Olivia’s birthday.


Thoughts on July 3rd

We had to be approaching Ilzo’s village, now, for he started recognizing landmarks. It’s one week until Olivia’s birthday, and I think I’ve settled on the choreography.


Thoughts on July 4th

We reached a cave in the evening, that supposedly was the temple of narcissism. We turned around and made camp at the bottom of the hill, planning to enter tomorrow, well rested. Va’lyndra looked at me pointedly and said we had to focus on the night watch, for there were orcs nearby. I replied that I always focused on the night watch, and she sniffed prudishly, realizing that I was talking about Olivia. I saw her point, though.


Thoughts on July 5th

Leopold had placed Walter so he could see the whole camp. When our watch began, I turned the skull around. It made more sense, I thought, for him to watch for approaching orcs. Besides, I try to keep my hands off Olivia’s more delicate parts when someone can see us. Walter made a rude comment when I turned him around, and Leopold berated me in the morning, when he discovered what I had done.

Leopold has been doing some kind of morning ritual, these last few days, and today Va’lyndra joined in. I wondered if Walter was trying to convert them to his faith. Ilzo studied them with curiosity for the ten minutes they spent under Walter’s guidance, and asked if this was some kind of mating ritual for elves and gnomes. Leopold pointed out that he had been doing this alone for days. I mentioned to Olivia that lots of men showered attention on their chosen ones before the women acknowledged them. Maybe there was something to Ilzo’s idea? None of our companions have shown a romantic interest towards me, but I figured they either weren’t interested in an interracial relationship (or same-sex, in the case of Va’lyndra), or they didn’t want to come between Olivia and me. I’m quite aware that sex appeal oozes off me in waves, and I’m grateful that Ilzo, Va’lyndra and Leopold haven’t made it more difficult than it already is, to remain faithful to Olivia. If Va’lyndra and Leopold want to get freaky, I won’t stand in their way, in fact, I wish them joy and happiness.

Ilzo, Leopold, Va’lyndra and I hiked up the short hill to the cave entrance. Va’lyndra looked for tracks, and found large footprints, from bears, probably two. She drank a potion of beast speech, and growled loudly towards the entrance. A bear replied from inside. After a short dialog, two bears came running out, each with a cub in its mouth. We stepped aside to let them pass. My hand hovered above the quiver, but they didn’t run towards Olivia, so I let them go.

We didn’t need Surkalpi’s light inside the temple. The place was riddled with mirrors, and cracks in the ceiling let in daylight. I studied the mirrors with amazement. Some were cracked, some were shattered, but many were intact. They were much larger than the ones I’m used to, and there was no distortion, no bubbles or imperfections. I removed my helmet and shook my hair loose. Am I really this beautiful? No wonder people stare at me. “Come along, Mattea!” Va’lyndra snapped me out of my reveries. I put the helmet back on.

The passage led to a huge cavern with a pool in the middle. We searched the chamber. Bear droppings were scattered across the room, discouraging me from walking on my hands, even with my gloves on. Va’lyndra spotted something shiny at the bottom of the pool, and I asked her if she had checked for magic. She cast her spell while Ilzo removed his armor, preparing for a dive. Whatever lay on the bottom was magical, Va’lyndra informed us, and Ilzo asked if it would be safe to recover it. He decided to use his helmet to scoop it up, so he didn’t have to touch it. Leopold thought we should tie a rope to Ilzo, so we could pull him up if we had to. Recalling that Ilzo can’t swim, I mentioned this to the others and undressed. I tied my rope around my chest, under my arms, and handed the other end to Ilzo, taking his helmet. I dove into the water. Weighed down by the heavy metal helmet, I reached the bottom in no time and scooped up the magic artifact. I yanked on the rope and swam to the surface, aided by Ilzo. Blinking water from my eyes, I saw that I had retrieved a ring. I got out of the pool and dressed, but took a moment to admire myself in a mirror, first.

We searched the cavern again, finding nothing more of value. Ilzo thought that the fishes in the pool indicated that the cave system was larger. An underground stream provided water to the pool, and another let water out. Maybe those were passages to other parts of the temple? Leopold used his rock magic to ascertain that there was another large cave about thirty meters upstream. I remembered that I had purchased potions of water breathing from the guild. Those would come in handy now. I ran down to camp and retrieved them from Olivia. She noticed I was dripping wet, and had me explain what had happened. She was not well pleased that I had undressed in front of Ilzo.

Back in the temple, Va’lyndra had discovered that none of the mirrors were magical. So, I really am that beautiful. I hadn’t thought before now that the mirrors could have “improved” what they reflected. Having only two potions of water breathing, I suggested we look for alternate entrances before expending them.

We found an opening with a brook running down it. We splashed down the passage carefully in case of pond slime making the path treacherous. I went first, since I was the most sure-footed among us. Ilzo had to stoop under the low ceiling. The incline wasn’t very steep, before we reached the chamber Leopold had detected. There, the ground fell away, and we stopped. I traded my backpack for Surkalpi and swam around the underground lake, fully clothed and armored this time. Near the other side, I found another passage, nearly submerged, which probably led to the temple. I spotted the occasional fish, but they scattered before Surkalpi’s light. I returned to the others.

I proposed that Va’lyndra quaffed one of my potions and took a look around, for she’s more observant than me, and she’s able to spot magical objects. I’d swim after her, providing protection. The two of us searched the lake thoroughly, but we found nothing, and finally decided to return to camp.

Olivia prepared dinner while I changed out of my wet clothes and armor. Va’lyndra used a spell to dry herself off, and while I’ve seen her do it many times, I’m still reluctant to have her do it to me. Va’lyndra also analyzed the ring we’d found. She put it on and walked back to the temple with Ilzo and Leopold. I found myself staring at her shapely bottom as she walked off, and got a sharp elbow in my ribs. I turned to face Olivia. “Dessert?” I asked, throwing myself at her hungrily.

The others returned a while later. Va’lyndra and Leopold had combined their magic to make handheld mirrors. Leopold had found shards in the temple and cut them to circles, and Va’lyndra had shaped living wood to make frames and handles. They had made five of them, and handed one to me and one to Olivia. We thanked them for the gifts, and I asked Va’lyndra if she had found out what the ring did. She said she hadn’t, which made me think it was irresponsible of her to wear it.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on July 6th

Ilzo recommended that we stay away from the orcs in this area. I had looked forward to meeting his village and performing for them, but apparently, that would be risky.

A dangerous house was marked on the map near our next goal, the temple of dimensions. The temple lay within goblin territory, so we decided to curve around outside their borders, and then to penetrate directly for the temple along the shortest path possible. That would also keep us away from the dangerous house.

Ilzo and Va’lyndra found orc tracks early, too large to be boogeymen, according to Ilzo. We rode on, and in the evening, we found another set of orc tracks. Ilzo told us about the orcs. They were divided into five tribes: The Troll Tribe, which was Ilzo’s tribe, the Goblin Tribe, the Silver Tribe, the Boar Tribe and the Wolf Tribe. Each tribe had several villages of about one hundred individuals. Relations between tribes are often cordial, but not always. Ilzo hadn’t been in touch with his people for a long while, so he didn’t know how things stood at the moment. Leopold dug for details anyway.


Thoughts on July 7th

We headed north, today, skirting goblin territory. Ilzo found more orc tracks. I asked him if they marked their territory in any way, and he said no. They only strung up goblin and troll corpses along the borders to those creatures as a warning not to encroach on orc land.


Thoughts on July 8th

We continued our journey, turning gradually to the west.


Thoughts on July 9th

We crossed a road in the middle of the day, overgrown and unused, like all the others here in the Bewitched Forest. Soon after, Leopold spotted a guard tower with an orc looking out. We pulled back into cover before discussing how to proceed. Ilzo opined that it would be safer to go through goblin land than through orc land, and he and Leopold argued about it. Leopold pulled out Walter, but the skull didn’t know much about goblins, so he was of little help. Eventually, they agreed that we should head for the orc village, and try diplomacy rather than stealth. Walter wanted to be the one to lead the negotiations, but Leopold pointed out that the last time he brought Walter to strangers, he had made them attack us. Walter corrected that he had made them attack Ilzo; the rest of us had decided to come to Ilzo’s aid, but we hadn’t needed to…

There was some talk about leaving the horses behind, for orcs aren’t used to them, but Leopold mentioned that our party consists of two humans, an elf and a gnome traveling with an orc, so we were going to look odd, no matter what. Va’lyndra added that one of the humans was even standing on her hands on her saddle. I sat down again.

Ilzo and Va’lyndra dismounted, leading their horses, and Leopold put Walter into his backpack again. And so, we approached the guard tower. It stood at the edge of a palisaded village, and about ten orcs were heading out, one of them clad in bone armor, like Ilzo’s. They spotted us, and halted. I asked Ilzo if I could borrow his blur-ring, and promptly handed it to Olivia. Ilzo asked Va’lyndra if she knew any flashy spells. For answer, she created a water jet in each hand. The water made rainbow colors in the bright sunlight.

The bone-clad orc called to us, and Ilzo replied. The orc called again, and Ilzo removed his helmet, explaining to us that he had just introduced himself. He activated Surkalpi. Leopold asked how wise it was to brandish weapons and spells. Ilzo didn’t reply, but fished some coins from his pouch and walked over towards the other orcs. The orc leader and Ilzo continued shouting at each other. I could see Ilzo dig for more coins, and Leopold yelled that he should offer the boogey man ring, too. It seemed that whatever Ilzo handed over was enough, for he returned to us, explaining that we could go on our way, as long as we didn’t bother the orcs. We moved on, putting the village behind us.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on July 9th (continued)

Orcs are nocturnal. Ilzo thought that meeting them during the day, when they’re usually asleep, might not have helped making a good first impression. We hadn’t ridden far before Olivia told me two of them were following. Leopold wanted to speak with them, and I called ahead so Va’lyndra didn’t continue while the rest of us had stopped. Leopold dismounted, retrieved Walter from his backpack and walked towards the orcs. Ilzo followed him. I brought Olivia and the horses after them, but halted once I had them within bowshot range.

The orcs were following us to see that we did as we had promised and behaved ourselves. Leopold invited them to travel with our party instead of trailing after, but they were skeptical about him, the little rocky guy with a talking orc skull.

When we continued, Leopold, Ilzo and Walter discussed orc religions. I envied Va’lyndra who was scouting ahead and didn’t have to listen, and tried to lose myself in acrobatic maneuvers in the saddle.

After a while, Olivia spotted movement ahead of Va’lyndra. Just as she pointed, something struck her head. She touched the wound, her hand coming away red. I prepared my bow hurriedly while looking for the assailant. Olivia said she thought it was a cone that had hit her. Looking up, I saw several large and sharp ones hanging in the trees. Olivia reminded me that she had seen something up ahead, so we moved up to Va’lyndra, who waited for us to arrive. The tracker spotted goblin footprints, but they were heading away from us, and not in our direction of travel. None of the others were keen on going after them, and as they weren’t the ones to hurt Olivia, I decided not to push it. Instead, I asked Ilzo to go and tell the orcs behind us about them, as the goblins had intruded on their territory. I bandaged Olivia’s wound while he conferred with them. One turned back towards their village.

The other orc turned back an hour or two later, and Ilzo pointed to marks on a tree that signified that we were entering the territory of another village. “I thought you said you didn’t mark your territories,” I accused him. Ilzo explained that his tribe, the Troll tribe, don’t. We were on Goblin tribe land now. He suggested that we continued into the evening, pushing ahead a few hours each night so that we eventually followed orc schedules, traveling by night and sleeping by day. Leopold found a shirt that he wrapped around Surkalpi’s blade. Olivia and I needed some light if we were to travel by night, but the glare from the magical weapon would attract unwanted eyes if we didn’t dim it.

We found another orc village some time later. The trees receded from the rocky area around it. We turned off Surkalpi, and Va’lyndra lit an oil lantern instead. Ilzo approached the village on foot, with instructions from Leopold not to introduce us as a traveling circus. I stood on the saddle and pointedly performed a back tuck. Leopold retrieved Walter and ran after Ilzo. The rest of us followed, too. I still stood on the saddle, so I could better see what was going on. Or maybe I was just stubborn. I couldn’t see far without more light.

Orcs watched our approach. Ilzo introduced himself and asked if we could pass. One of the villagers disappeared behind the palisade, and soon an elderly orc woman and two more finely dressed younger men came out. The woman was Korke, the village shaman. She asked what manner of creature Leopold was. Ilzo translated, and Leopold answered, again via Ilzo. The shaman asked what our errand was, and Ilzo explained that we were looking for the relics of the gods.

Korke must have poor eyesight, for Ilzo waved us all forward so she could take a good look at us. According to Ilzo, she called Leopold a rock man, and the rest of us boogeymen who weren’t boogeymen. The shaman revered a god named Vridis, and Ilzo said that Va’lyndra also did. I thought she worshipped someone named Elendus. She must have changed her allegiance. Anyway, Korke invited us to come into the village. Leopold and some of the orcs took the horses to where they could graze.

Korke and Va’lyndra discussed religion and magic, using Ilzo as an interpreter. Va’lyndra demonstrated her magic, summoning a globe of water that splashed onto the ground. Korke wrinkled her nose, and when we arrived at a table with food, she left. Some other orcs ate with us, though. When Leopold arrived, he started talking to them, of course. One of them offered to be our guide, if we paid him, of course, and Ilzo suggested paying with healing potions. The orcs were skeptical, so Ilzo asked if Va’lyndra had a knife so he could demonstrate. He put his hand on the table, palm down. Va’lyndra didn’t have a knife, but I did. I held Scorchmark over Ilzo’s hand, but couldn’t make myself stab him. Va’lyndra realized the danger, and warned me not to use a knife that could set the table on fire. Leopold provided a non-magical blade, and Va’lyndra skewered Ilzo’s hand. Ilzo ignored the pain as usual, and held up his hand while he drank a healing potion, so the other orcs could see its effect. The wound shrank, but didn’t heal all the way. Olivia whispered “Idiot!” so faintly that only I heard it. Va’lyndra produced another healing potion, but Ilzo handed it back. Ilzo agreed with the young orc that he could have three healing potions as payment.

Another orc asked if we had more such wonder-brews for sale. He offered clothes, food and weapons, and materials for traps. Ilzo bought a pile of snares, paying one healing potion after Leopold and Walter helped him haggle.

Our guide told us that the goblin capital was said to contain an artifact, but he wasn’t willing to take us all the way there. That was too dangerous. Leopold showed him our map, and while this was a new concept to the barbarian, Leopold managed to ascertain that the temple we sought was not in the capital. The guide was glad to hear it. Leopold suspected that the goblins had found the artifact in the temple and moved it to the capital. According to the guide, the area around the temple should be abandoned, so we could check it out relatively safely. At least, there was no goblin buildings there.

The guide wanted to know how skilled we were at fighting goblins, as we could run into groups as large as one hundred. That seemed a few too many. I thought that Ilzo could take ten and that I could take five. Va’lyndra and Leopold could probably take five between them. Olivia wouldn’t fight, of course. We decided we would try to avoid confrontations with the goblins. The goblins were also cunning trap makers, so that would also be something to look out for.

We explained that we had traveled long today, and the orcs let us have a stone building to ourselves. There was only one room there, so Olivia and I pitched our tent in a corner. I asked her if we thought Walter would suffice for a night guard, but she said we didn’t. Thus, I insisted on regular night watch routines to the others.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on July 10th

Va’lyndra didn’t wake us this morning for our stint at the watch, which I thought was considerate of her. I didn’t wake Olivia, either. I lay still beside her, my head on her shoulder, one leg across both of hers, one arm resting on her sleek belly. Her bosom moved up and down, slowly, hypnotically. I was glad for the privacy our tent provided, for in the summer heat, our blanket only covered us from the hips down. In Olivia, I thought our maker had perfected the combination of firm and soft. I forced down my hunger, that bestial desire. She doesn’t mind me waking her up for a pre-breakfast snack – her words – but today, I wanted to let her sleep.

Olivia soon started stirring, and twisted towards me so she could wrap both arms around me; she was waking up. “Mmh! Good morning, Mattea!” she murmured groggily a minute or two later. “Good evening, birthday girl!” I corrected, shifting and tilting my head so I could kiss her. I lost myself for a minute in her lush, ripe lips before pulling away. Olivia, dissatisfied, seized my head with both hands, but I dove for her neck and moved down, kissing and licking. I kicked the blanket away. It was about to get steamy in here.

“I have a birthday present for you, sweetie,” I told Olivia when I was done. “That … wasn’t it?” she asked, gasping for air as if I hadn’t been the one to do most of the work, just now. “No,” I said, rummaging through my luggage, “I have something special planned.” Olivia watched with a hint of disdain while I scattered clothes all over the floor, so I tidied up after I’d found what I was looking for: My fancy performance outfit, a tight-fitting suit of stretchy, white-and-silver fabric, gleaming with sequins.

We dressed and did each other’s hair. Olivia combed my hair and retied it in a tight braid; it’s a practical style, keeping my hair out of my face so I’m ready for battle on short notice. Coincidentally, it’s also how I like to wear it while performing. Or maybe not so coincidentally: Combat is just another way of showing off, after all, admittedly more dangerous than my usual routines. I considered it while brushing Olivia’s beautiful, brown tresses. Olivia mumbled ambiguously. “How do you want it?” I asked, putting down the brush. Olivia usually wears her hair loose or in a simple pony tail, but today she let me do as I pleased. I made a slim braid in a circle, giving the impression of a crown or a wreath, and arrayed the rest of her hair around her shoulders.

On an open space in the middle of the village, I gave Olivia my birthday performance, the one I had been planning the last several days. Music might have added a little extra to the dance routine, but Olivia was delighted nonetheless. Most of the villagers watched, too. The children tried to mimic my moves, without much luck, while the adults watched and smiled. I had to change back into my traveling outfit and leather armor, and Olivia came with me. She thanked me for the birthday gift, and this time it was I who was gasping for air.

---

I was glad to get Mattea out of her performing outfit. The suit showed off her bulging arm muscles wonderfully, sequins sparkling when she flexed, but while it covered her from her neck to her ankles, it was clinging indecently close to the rest of her, too. I love her perfect curves, and even daydream about them when we are apart, but I don’t want to share them with the rest of the world. I haven’t told Mattea I dislike her wearing that outfit in public; she loves it so much. It’s as flexible as she is, never hampering her moves like other clothes might.

I strapped Mattea into her armor, and we discussed traveling light. Ilzo had said that he was leaving all three of his horses here; he could carry what food we needed for the quick jaunt into goblin land. Our food was distributed among the packs carried by Marvin, Lightfoot, Bluebell and Snowflake, as well as Ilzo’s three horses, Stubborn, Fearless and Dot. Without the food, our horses would be able to move faster. I had made the necessary arrangements so that our horses would all be only lightly encumbered. That meant Lightfoot and Snowflake had to carry larger saddlebags, since Mattea rode Marvin and I rode Bluebell. It also meant that we could bring all our personal belongings with us.

Va’lyndra was leaving a horse behind as well, and I spotted her giving the shaman a departing gift of two potions and some food. Va’lyndra doesn’t eat meat, so she decided long ago to maintain her own store of traveling rations. Since she became rich, she has chosen to indulge herself with luxury rations, and I looked longingly at the delicious meals she handed over to Korke.

As we walked outside the village to fetch our horses, Mattea asked if I wanted to stay behind in the village while the others visited the temple in the goblin-infested region. I told her I didn’t want to be left alone in a village full of Ilzos. Mattea nodded. She clearly expected me to want to come along. There was more to it, of course. I was terrified by the thought of being cornered by one of the males, which would certainly happen as soon as I stepped away from my protector. I hooked arms with Mattea and rested my hand on hers. She lifted it up and kissed it. “I love you, Mattea,” I declared. “I know,” she replied, “I love you, too!”

Ilzo, Va’lyndra, and Leopold were walking just ahead of us. They were used to Mattea and me sharing endearments, which was fine, but Mattea knows that I’m uncomfortable going beyond words when others can see. She also knows I find it exciting when she plays with me, just out of sight, like if we stand side by side, talking to someone, and she fondles my bottom, or if we’re seated across from each other at an inn, and she kicks off a shoe and slips her foot up my skirt. Or like now, when she put her delightfully strong arms around me, swept me off my feet, and teased my lips with her tongue. I cast a glance behind, making sure the trees hid us from the village, before I reciprocated. She put me down before we reached the horses.

There was another reason why I didn’t want to be left behind: That awful combination of Mattea’s hunger and my jealousy. I hate it when she gives herself away to others. It hurts, worse than if Ilzo had skewered me with Surkalpi. The only reason I can stand it, is because I know she can’t help it, and that it’s not a sign that she doesn’t love me. Our love burns as fiercely today as it did back in Duke Leonard’s mansion. We agreed, long ago, that Mattea shouldn’t hide it from me when she’d dallied with someone else. Her confessions are hurtful to both of us, but I’ll know I don’t have to suspect her of deceiving me. Suspicion would destroy us both. I do my best to keep her hunger at bay, or at least to keep it focused on me. Sometimes, it’s fun to be swept up in that torrent of raw lust. Mattea is so much stronger than me, so much faster, I couldn’t escape even if I wanted to. Ordinarily, that thought would horrify me, but when it’s Mattea, it’s all right. Even when she loses herself to the hunger, she never hurts me. The only conscious thought she retains is the knowledge of what I’m comfortable with and not. I recall the time she accidentally rammed my head against the headboard of the bed, my yelp of pain quenched the hungry flare in her eyes. She had leapt from the bed and returned with a cold, damp cloth to hold against the bump. As the pain slowly receded, the hunger returned, of course, but she never again put me at risk of banging against a headboard.

And so, I go with Mattea on her wild expeditions, searching for a way to restore balance in the world. I don’t follow into dangerous ruins where there may be traps or ambushes, but I make sure she knows that I’m nearby. If her hunger rears its ugly head, she can return to camp and be confident that I will take care of it. Inspired by our agreement of not keeping secrets, I’ve made a few additional rules for our relationship, to lessen the risk of Mattea straying. She’s not quite as scatterbrained as she sometimes purports to be, but I repeat the rules for her periodically, so she knows I still mean them: “One: No sex in public. Modest and discreet hugs, kisses and caresses are fine, but if you want more, I’ll go with you to somewhere we can be private. Two: Sex is more important than sleep. If I’m asleep and you want to play, you can kiss and caress me to your heart’s content. I love when you wake me that way. Three: I may not always be in the mood. I know you can sense when I’m not feeling romantic, and automatically back off, but you will not seek relief elsewhere. I will still get you off, even if I’m not in the mood for it myself. You will lie there, take it and be satisfied.” I could have added more rules, like not discussing our private encounters with others, but I don’t think it’s necessary. We agree on most things; these rules are in place to ensure that I’m the one she turns to, when she’s feeling the urge to get physical, and so she’ll know I won’t turn her down.

[coronatiger]

I reminded Mattea of the rules in a low voice as we brought the horses back to the village. We loaded up, gathered up our guide, and took off. Leopold and Walter talked to the guide, learning about goblins. Who knew they didn’t procreate like normal people, or animals for that matter? They just popped up. Mattea joked about finding their spawning ground, where she could pick them off as they appeared, but if it was that easy, why hadn’t the orcs done so, long ago?

Va’lyndra shared her good food with the rest of us at lunch, her birthday present to me. I thanked her with a hug after the meal. I imagined she was looking at Mattea with concern, but there was no reason for it. Mattea doesn’t have a jealous bone in her body. She knows I’m hers, completely. She’s protective, though. The others might think she’s overdoing it, but I don’t. I’m not very brave, but she makes me feel safe.

We had dinner when we reached the border between orc and goblin territory. Mattea had delighted me with acrobatic antics in her saddle this far, but now the guide suggested that those of us who had horses dismounted and led them on foot, in case of traps. He also warned us that if we spotted goblin scouts, they had to be killed, so they couldn’t run and prepare an ambush with more of their kind. Va’lyndra and the guide scouted ahead, bringing Walter to translate. The rest of us followed at a safe distance.

Mattea brought up the rear, as she always does. She’s the fastest of our party on foot, and has the quickest horse. She’s also the one with the best bow, so if something happens up ahead, she can easily help out. On foot, she wouldn’t have much chance to see what happened in front, her line of sight being blocked by the herd of horses, so I made sure she was kept abreast of what was going on. I smiled whenever I turned my head to her. She was practicing her acrobatics, of course. Wolf jumps, front tucks and aerial cartwheels were long-mastered skills for her, of course, but she was wearing a backpack and twenty pounds of hardened leather as well as leading Marvin at a steady pace, making it all the more impressive. The quiver on her hip was empty-looking, magically producing arrows when she reached for one, but she had managed her tricks even with a regular quiver, never losing an arrow that I could see. Mattea obsesses with becoming the world’s greatest acrobat. As far as I’m concerned, she’s reached her goal already, and regularly tell her so. That’s the only thing I tell her that she won’t believe. Dear, sweet, gullible Mattea!

Ahead, the guide nearly stepped into a pit trap, but Va’lyndra spotted it in time to stop him. They waited for the rest of us, showing where the trap was so we didn’t step on it. A short while later, our scouts triggered an arrow trap. When we caught up with them, Va’lyndra was trying to pull the arrow out from the guide’s arm, but without success. As I’m the party’s official healer, Va’lyndra asked me to make an attempt. I immediately noticed the barbs preventing us from pulling the arrow out. Va’lyndra asked Leopold if he could use his rock magic to blunt the barbs, but he couldn’t. The arrow head was metal, he explained, not stone or earth. I did my best wrapping the arm in bandages, and borrowed Scorchmark from Mattea so I could cut the arrow shaft. The slight discoloration of the orc’s skin near the wound made me suspect poison was at play as well. The guide wanted to return to his village. They had someone there who could remove the arrow, as well as antidotes for the poison.

We turned around, and the guide weakened as we traveled. Leopold gave him a healing potion, and I checked on his wound. It was definitely poisoned. I rewrapped the wound, explaining to Mattea that even if it had stopped bleeding, the bandages prevented him from getting dirt in the wound. I mentioned that a way to rid the poor fellow of the poison was to drain his blood away, but I didn’t want to try. It was risky, and there would be an antidote waiting in the village. Much safer to wait.

We reached the village in the morning and handed the guide over to his friends so they could take care of him. We put the horses to pasture, and returned to our stone building where Mattea and I erected our tent again. She had a final birthday gift for me, even though it was technically no longer my birthday. I recognized the grandiose moves Mattea had displayed earlier, in my birthday performance, but in the confinement of our tent, those moves became intimate, sensual, and she used them to shed off her armor, and then the rest of her clothes. I was kneeling in the back of the tent, giving her room to dance, but she swayed closer and closer, until I couldn’t resist anymore. I tackled her to the floor and dove on top of her, giving in to temptation.


Thoughts on July 11th

We only got a short rest, for our new plan for the incursion had us moving by day. Ilzo would go in front, wearing plate armor, with Va’lyndra just behind, her elven eyes looking for traps. We got another guide to take us past the orcs’ traps, and said goodbye to him on the border. I think Olivia preferred our new plan. She would have fewer qualms with ripping a barbed arrow from Ilzo’s flesh than from a stranger’s. For one, Ilzo doesn’t feel pain the way the rest of us do, and for another, Olivia doesn’t like Ilzo very much.

Soon after we crossed the border, Leopold started voicing a concern that we might not be traveling in the same direction as we had, yesterday. Va’lyndra seemed certain, at least in the beginning, but she realized after a while that she was leading us astray. We returned to where we had said goodbye to our new guide, and Va’lyndra made another attempt. We found the place we had turned around, yesterday, and continued ahead.

Ilzo and Va’lyndra discovered another trap not much later, this one a pit trap. Ilzo triggered it with Surkalpi, revealing a four-meter drop with sharp stakes at the bottom.

Leopold found a trap too, that Ilzo and Va’lyndra had missed. They had walked on one side of a tree where we couldn’t see, while the rest of us took the other side. That prompted us to move closer to them, so we could walk in their tracks.

Va’lyndra and Ilzo found more traps while we traveled, and we managed to avoid them all. We decided to take double watches when we camped. Va’lyndra made an effort to cover our tracks while Olivia camouflaged the campsite.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on July 12th

We resumed our incursion today, and the first thing that happened after we left the campsite, was that Ilzo stumbled into a trap. He triggered a tripwire, which caused a sharpened log to swing out of the trees and strike him with a loud crash. Luckily, he was wearing plate armor, but I saw he needed first aid. I was about to ask Olivia to do it, but changed it to Va’lyndra. There was no need to force Olivia to attend to Ilzo when someone else could do it. We took a short break while Ilzo got his treatment. He drank a healing potion, but still looked pretty beat up, so Va’lyndra told him to take one more; I suggested two.

After a while, we saw a hillside in the distance with ruined buildings. Leopold thought the temple would be there, somewhere. As we came closer, we spotted a palisade, a little to the left of our path. For safety’s sake, we took a small detour, circling around the palisade.

At the bottom of the hill, Ilzo noticed an avalanche trap and talked about triggering it, but I saw at once that the noise would have every goblin within miles converging on our location, so he disarmed the trap instead by cutting the tripwire that would trigger the landslide.

In the ruined city, we found the temple easily. It was shaped like a giant whale, with the entrance at the mouth. Ilzo, Leopold and I helped Olivia make a camouflaged camp nearby, while Va’lyndra blurred our tracks. Walter told us this city was called Nopel.

Entering the whale’s mouth, we saw that the building had one large room. In the middle was a smaller whale with a metal frame for a mouth, but there was rock behind it, so it wasn’t a doorway to a smaller version of the room we were in. Four meter-high pillars stood in a square in front of the smaller whale’s mouth. Behind the inner whale was a pulpit on top of a boxlike construction.

Va’lyndra looked for magic, and identified the four pillars and the metal frame on the whale. The metal frame had an inscription, which Walter read for us: “A true worshiper of Varna can enter her domain and achieve her blessing.” A metal door was on the side of the box behind the whale, presumably leading to a small room under the pulpit.

Ilzo climbed the stairs to the pulpit while I climbed the box. There were more inscriptions up there, so I called for Leopold to bring Walter. Ilzo can’t read Orcish, which I find strange, for he can read normal text, even if he, like me, must sound out the words as he reads them. Walter read the inscription for us: “Praise Varna in eternal time and space.” Not interested.

Ilzo kicked in the metal door. Behind it, we could see that there was a magic circle approximately below the pulpit, and a glass box with levers stood at the far end of the rectangular space. Va’lyndra entered the room and disappeared. I called after her, but got no reply. She hadn’t come near the magic circle, had she? Ilzo asked for a rope, and tossed the end of it inside the room, but nothing happened to it that I could see. I pulled the rope back out, tied it under my arms, and entered, bow at the ready. I felt the rope snap, and found myself in a pitch-black room.

Va’lyndra’s voice asked who was there, and I replied, “It’s Mattea. Do you have your lantern? I have flint and steel.” Unfortunately, Va’lyndra hadn’t brought the lantern. I discovered quickly that we were inside a small room, two meters long, and only a half meter wide. Va’lyndra warned me of the low ceiling, so I reached up. I had plenty of room. Va’lyndra was the one who had to bend her neck. That’s what she gets for being so tall. I’m one hundred and sixty centimeters tall, according to my tailor. Poor Va’lyndra is near one hundred and ninety. Olivia says I’m just the right size, but I’ve often wished I was just a little taller, so I didn’t have to tilt up my head or stand on my toes to kiss her.

Va’lyndra had cast a few spells even before entering this room, and sat down to rest. I felt along all the walls, as well as the floor and ceiling, and found a hole in the wall. It was too small to wriggle through, even if we managed to remove the bars. It even had a metal plate covering it on the other side of the bars. Va’lyndra got up to help me shift the bars, but they wouldn’t budge. She suggested we try calling for the others. Instinctively, I called Olivia’s name. Va’lyndra called for Ilzo. It didn’t help, so the elf sat down to rest again.

To pass the time, I drew an arrow from my cornucopia quiver and shot it at the wall. I tried a few times before feeling the wall, and I found where I had hit, but it was barely noticeable. Suddenly, Va’lyndra told me that the walls were magical. I stopped shooting immediately, squeezing myself into a corner to give Va’lyndra as much space as possible to do her spell analysis dance.

It took her an hour to finish her spell, and then she explained that the walls were strengthened, and that there were more spells. Getting restless, I started an acrobatics routine. Va’lyndra asked me to stop; the whooshing near her face made her nervous when we couldn’t see each other. I quickly realized that standing still made me tremble. I didn’t want to be here anymore, and said as much to Va’lyndra. She suggested that I take up my shooting again. That soothed me. An endless stream of arrows struck the wall, and gradually started making a real dent in the masonry.

Va’lyndra cast a spell now and again to refresh the air in our small compartment, and eventually felt rested enough to continue analyzing the walls. I moved back to give her room, and tried contorting myself into a knot in the corner. That gave me something to occupy my mind.

When she finished this time, she informed me that the walls were protected from magic. While dancing, she had also heard a faint hammering. She summoned an ice dagger and fired it at the metal plate to make noise. It wasn’t that loud, but she blew a hole in the plate. She made a stream of water and shot it out through the hole, and we heard it splash onto the floor outside. We still couldn’t see anything, though. Va’lyndra had to rest again, so she asked me to shout, and to destroy the plate. I had to lie down on the floor so I could draw my bow while pointing at the metal. It was difficult shooting in the dark. I had to listen to the arrows connecting to hear if I struck metal or masonry, but as soon as I struck metal, I just had to keep the bow steady.

Once the metal plate was destroyed, I went back to shooting at the end wall. Not the one Va’lyndra was leaning against, of course! I eventually dug my way through ten centimeters of bricks, only to discover that there was sandy soil on the other side. I lay down again with a sigh, and started shooting my way through the wall where the hole was. These arrows did less damage on the wall, since I was shooting at an angle, but after a while, we heard hammering again in the distance. Va’lyndra shouted for Ilzo. The hammering continued for some time, but then it stopped, and soon I could hear splashing of feet in the pond Va’lyndra had made outside our prison. It was Ilzo and Leopold. Va’lyndra instructed Ilzo to break through the wall. Leopold told us he would go and tell Olivia that they had found us. She hadn’t taken it well when they told her they’d lost me.

Ilzo with his pick was much more effective than me with my arrows, but it still took him the better part of two hours to make a hole large enough for Va’lyndra. I could have squeezed out sooner, especially if I removed my armor and hip quiver, but I sympathized with Va’lyndra, so I waited. When we finally got out of the small cell, and the others started blabbering, I ran out of patience and dashed off to find Olivia.

I had expected her to put on a brave face in front of the others, but it was clear that she’d been crying. She greeted me with a slap and a hug. “Don’t ever scare me like that again, Mattea!” Then she started crying again. I carried her back to our tent. “I thought I had lost you forever,” she sobbed. I put her down on the blankets carefully. I couldn’t wait to hold her again, but took the time to remove my armor. A layer of hardened leather between us would make the embrace so impersonal and distant. “Can you just hold me, Mattea?” Olivia begged. I lay down, and we clung to each other. We both cried a little, tears of relief that we had found each other again. I squeezed Olivia against me, as hard as I dared. I drank in her scent and thrilled in her presence. Uncharacteristically, I didn’t even think of sex, at least not until Olivia started clawing at my clothes. Then I became a beast.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on July 13th

Saying goodbye to Olivia today took longer than usual. I had to promise not to do something as stupid as I had done yesterday. Olivia held me for a long time, silently, before letting me go.

Leopold and Ilzo had broken through the back and side wall under the pulpit to access the contraption with the levers. It held a large diamond which they hadn’t figured out how to retrieve.

Va’lyndra started by analyzing the magic we knew about already. I used the time to splice my snapped rope. Va’lyndra declared that there was divine magic on the metal frame at the whale’s mouth, as well as ordinary magic that could transport those who fed it with energy from movement magic. She begged Ilzo never to strike the whale mouth, because nothing good would come of it. She shouldn’t have said that, for Ilzo got curious. He drew his pickaxe back to strike, but fortunately, I was close enough to grab the weapon before he could swing. Ilzo decided he couldn’t swing the pickaxe while I hung from it, so he dropped it, instead grabbing the metal frame with his hands. I took a step forward as a run-up, and bounced into the air and wrapped myself around Ilzo’s head, my legs around his neck and my arms in front of his eyes. Ilzo grabbed me and tried to pull me off, but I managed to hold on, barely. Va’lyndra told him that it was possible to activate the portal by doing a lot of movement between the four pillars. Since Ilzo relaxed and moved away from the whale’s mouth, I jumped down.

I took Ilzo’s pickaxe, and went to study the contraption with Leopold and Va’lyndra. The diamond was affixed to a rod inside the glass box. It seemed like one should be able to move the diamond around by manipulating the levers. Leopold theorized that this might be a control mechanism for the portal that Ilzo was so fascinated with. I glanced back at him. The orc was doing jumping jacks between the pillars, but nothing happened. I assumed the amount of energy he had to expend to activate the portal, had to be too large for him to do it on his own, and that was why Va’lyndra allowed him to try. Va’lyndra thought maybe the contraption was instead connected to the magic circle on the floor here. She did her analysis dance, and discovered that it was in fact so. The diamond passed information to the circle of its exact location inside the box.

Va’lyndra had to rest, unlike Ilzo, who was still going strong after more than one hour. He was sweating profusely, though, and looking more tired than I had ever seen him. With those two occupied, Leopold and I left to search other buildings nearby, and Leopold found a treasure chamber. I suggested we get Va’lyndra to check for magic before entering.

Back at the temple, Va’lyndra had rested and resumed her analysis. She discovered that the magic circle could store energy, and that it had a password that one has to speak to activate the teleportation circle. Leopold mentioned that in the city, the grazing opportunities were poor for the horses, and suggested that since we seemed to be staying put for some time, we should take them outside so they could eat. I volunteered to do that, as it would let me do something useful to our quest while being in Olivia’s company. I decided to bring Ilzo along. We had to remain alert for goblins, so I thought it wise to bring a deterrent; Olivia and I wouldn’t get too amorous with him there.

Va’lyndra and Leopold raided the treasure chamber. It held large amounts of coins and precious stones. We discussed whether we wanted to remove the diamond from the teleportation contraption. It was a large specimen and flawless, at least to the naked eye, but we would have to damage the contraption to remove it. Va’lyndra warned that removing the diamond would deplete it of divine power. I argued that by leaving it behind, the goblins would have a great way to invade their enemies. They apparently hadn’t figured out how it worked, yet, but I thought it was only a matter of time, but Va’lyndra didn’t think the goblins were clever enough to work the necessary magic. I also raised the issue of whoever lived in the dangerous house not far from here. Leopold stated that I couldn’t know for a fact that they were magic-wielders, but I asserted that we shouldn’t take that risk. Leopold declared that I was grasping for a reason to take the diamond. I said that was silly. We were all filthy rich already. But it was a very nice diamond, and it would do very well on Olivia.


Thoughts on July 14th

I found myself glancing up at the temple regularly while Olivia and I kept watch this morning, but I managed to restrain myself from going up there to steal the diamond. At breakfast, we discussed whether we dared try activating the metal frame portal. I was skeptical, but Ilzo and Va’lyndra were eager to try.

We returned to the temple, and approached the metal frame at the inner whale’s mouth. I held my bow ready with an arrow on the string. Ilzo quaffed Va’lyndra’s potion of flight while standing between the four pillars in front of the mouth.

The portal opened, and behind it was a glass bridge. Ilzo and Va’lyndra ran through. I could see the glass bridge branch off, and my companions disappeared from view, taking the path to the right. They reappeared a minute later, carrying a whale statuette, five potions and what looked to be three scribe’s kits. Exiting the portal, they fell to the floor, unconscious, breaking one of the potion bottles. I pulled them away from the portal and the pillars, then dashed off to fetch Olivia, but Ilzo and Va’lyndra came around almost as soon as I returned with the medic. Va’lyndra explained that a powerful voice in hear head told her they were in debt, and she thought it was Varna’s voice she had heard. Ilzo nodded agreement.

I decided to go and take the diamond, but the others realized my intentions and called after me to stop. Va’lyndra was particularly articulate; she definitely didn’t want to offend Varna any further. Leopold ran after me and tried to push me away, and I let myself be convinced not to touch the tantalizing jewel.

We returned to camp and packed up. Leaving the city, we took another way back towards orc territory, in case goblins had spotted our tracks and waited in ambush. Ilzo and Va’lyndra walked in front, looking for traps. Olivia noticed a group of goblins, far ahead. I told her to pass word to Va’lyndra so she could find a way around them.

When evening was approaching, Ilzo triggered a trap, and was struck by a shower of rocks from above, burying him. Leopold shifted the rocks with magic, and we discovered that Ilzo had broken his left hand. He was still conscious, and started drinking healing potions. Va’lyndra bandaged his hand. It would take some time before he could use it again. Leopold and Va’lyndra believed this to be an orc-made trap, as we had crossed the border a little while ago.

The others discussed how to find the orc village, and decided to find our tracks from before, and follow them. An orc scout met us outside the village and wished us welcome back. He thought we were lucky to bring back everyone alive. We dined and socialized for a while with the villagers before Olivia and I went to bed.


Thought on July 15th

When we got up, most of the villagers were turning in. We discussed whether we should leave immediately, or if we should stay for a while. The orcs planned an expedition to go thrash the goblins in two weeks, and wanted us to join them. Leopold thought that was a little too far into the future. He would like for us to stay for a couple of days, so Ilzo’s hand could get some rest in a safe environment. Two weeks seemed too long, though. We do have other things we need to do.

We had the village mostly to ourselves during the day. I spent the time with Olivia until the orcs started stirring again. Leopold took Walter to talk to the orcs. Va’lyndra joined a hunting party, and Ilzo practiced with Surkalpi one-handed. I practiced running and acrobatics. The orcs largely ignored me, but Olivia watched delightedly.


Thoughts on July 16th

All this flipping the day around has me confused. Changing back to the orcs’ nocturnal rhythm makes sense when we’re with them, but it’s just not natural! Ilzo and I continued practicing, and Leopold continued talking to the orcs. Va’lyndra joined another hunting trip.

We talked to the leaders of the village, and got official permission to travel through the territory of the Goblin tribe. Va’lyndra also received directions for the next lap of our journey.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on July 17th

Va’lyndra revealed that she, while we were resting up in the orc village, had had time to start analyzing what she and Ilzo stole from beyond the portal in Varna’s temple. She explained that what looked like scribe’s kits were in fact teleportation rituals. From her description, I thought they weren’t very useful, for there were so many limitations on their uses. One, for instance, could only be used to travel to the temple. When were we ever going to need that? I asked Va’lyndra about the potion bottles, but she hadn’t had time to study them yet. She’d do that while we traveled.

We headed north. Leopold said there was one temple left that Lady Karita had marked on the map, which was the temple of violent chaos, situated in troll territory. He suggested that we do like we did last time, and travel through relatively friendly orc land so we could make a short trip as possible through troll-infested terrain. Ilzo added that if you want to fight trolls, you need more orcs than there are trolls. Trolls have very keen noses, and are extremely sadistic, maybe even more so than boogeymen. Ilzo believed that if we meet more than one, it might be difficult to defeat them.

Ilzo also told us about the orcs we’d likely meet. We had to go through the land of the Silver Tribe in order to reach the Troll Tribe, Ilzo’s tribe. Ilzo thought we could use his village as a base camp when we turn west to find the next temple. There was some talk about the Silver Tribe; why were they called that? Were they hunting silver, or perhaps hoarding it? Ilzo explained that it was their silver-colored war paint that gave them their name.

Va’lyndra was worried because she had run out of potions of flight. She had managed well enough without them before, but I promised to buy more for her when we returned to the guild. I’m currently the only one in our party with sufficient rank to acquire such powerful potions, but I expect that to change as soon as Va’lyndra can get someone to recommend her for Veteran rank. She doesn’t want to be dependent on me. I think she finds me unreliable at times.

After a couple of hours of travel, Leopold noticed a group of silvery orcs in the distance, who appeared to have an argument. Once they spotted us, they stopped bickering and drew weapons, so I prepared my bow. Leopold asked Ilzo if he thought these Silver orcs were friendly. As far as Ilzo knew, there was no hostility between his tribe and the Silver Tribe, but he had been away from home for a long time, and much could have happened in between.

We moved towards where Leopold had spotted the orcs. They had moved out of sight, and reappeared on our flanks, a hundred meters away. Va’lyndra pointed them out and asked Ilzo to let them know we had seen them. There was some bellowing back and forth, as Ilzo informed the other orcs that we were explorers going out to battle trolls. The Silver orcs conferred in a low voice among themselves, then asked if we came in peace.

Leopold and Ilzo approached them, and they negotiated the price of passage. Ilzo offered a performance from the world-famous acrobat traveling with them, but the Silver orcs wanted something more tangible, so Ilzo dumped a pile of dried fruit on them. Not literally, of course. The war-painted orcs let us pass. We followed a well-worn path, but encountered neither villages nor travelers for the rest of the night.


Thoughts on July 18th

While Olivia and I were busy with other things last morning before going to sleep, Va’lyndra discovered that one of the potions contained “distilled movement mana of the highest quality”. It had to do with magic, so I refrained from asking questions. It’s fine to have a knife that burns what it cuts and which comes back to my hand if I drop it, or a quiver that never runs out of arrows. Those are reasonable, natural concepts that I can understand, even if they are powered with magic. But when Va’lyndra or Leopold gets all sciency and theorizing about magic, I keep a safe distance. If I can’t tell the difference between them using difficult words, or them pronouncing a magic formula, it’s best to err on the cautious side.

We continued along the path, and after two hours, a couple of orcs approached. These weren’t covered in silver war paint, and stopped when they spotted us, calling out a challenge. Ilzo said they asked who we were, and raised his voice to present himself. The orcs conferred, and vanished into the forest. Leopold asked Ilzo if he had told them that we’d paid off their kin yesterday, but Ilzo had only given his name and tribe. We rode on.

After two more hours, we reached a palisaded village. A guard in a log tower and some on the ground held bows, but they didn’t point them at us. Ilzo called out to introduce himself again, and the guards commanded us to approach. Ilzo and Leopold rode forth. The guard leader asked what strange creatures Ilzo had brought. He was also curious about the skull with the red-glowing eyes. I heard from Ilzo later that he had told the guards that the skull was his personal chamber pot.

As the orcs clearly wondered who we were, I thought it best to introduce myself, so I did a one-handed handstand on the saddle pommel. I held my strung bow in the other hand, ready in case things turned ugly. I didn’t think it would, but the gesture reassured Olivia, who was glancing about nervously.

The orcs nudged one another and pointed at me, so I felt I had to put on a little show for them. Ilzo and Leopold came back and told us that we were welcome in the village for the price of a performance. I grinned from ear to ear. Finally, an appreciative audience! Not that there’s something wrong performing for Olivia alone, but I like having a crowd. The Goblin Tribe village where we stayed before hadn’t truly understood my art. These people, on the other hand, could recognize a world-class acrobat when they saw one.

I unstrung the bow and shoved it under the saddle girth, and removed the quiver from my belt. I left Scorchmark at my side, just as a precaution. I tumbled into the village, and the orcs gathered around me to watch. I had the time of my life, for they were an awesome crowd. For some reason, a few of them began fighting, and Olivia convinced Va’lyndra that we needed to leave as soon as the show was over. Va’lyndra brought Olivia’s plea to Leopold and Ilzo, and they agreed.

As soon as I finished my routine, the audience swarmed around me. A man with a black eye and a bleeding nose tried to tell me something, but of course, I didn’t understand his language. He knelt down in front of me and tried to grab my hand, but I pulled back, as much as the throng allowed. I felt a hand stroking my back, and someone pushed the kneeling orc so he fell. Everyone was talking on top of one another; had I known Orcish, I still couldn’t have picked out what they were trying to say. Another fight broke out, and then Ilzo forced his way into the crowd. I was completely taken aback, but when Ilzo got there and asked if I was ready to leave, I climbed up and stood on his shoulders while he made his way out of the mass. That wasn’t easy, for the orcs followed me. A young one tried to hand me a ring with a colored stone, but I stood too high up. Leopold shouted that they all wanted to marry me, and that I mustn’t accept any gifts from them.

Ilzo and I got out of the throng eventually, and I stepped directly onto Marvin’s saddle. Three of the orcs were more persistent than their fellows, and followed us along the path into the forest for a few minutes. They shouted after us, and I asked what they were saying, but neither Ilzo nor Walter translated. Ilzo shouted back at them, and they turned around downheartedly. One of them made a gesture towards Ilzo, and I don’t believe it was very polite.

Leopold informed me that the orcs of this village were devoted to the god of narcissism. He had told them where to find the temple that we had visited, the one with all the mirrors. They had seemed eager to send an expedition there to check it out. Maybe that was why they allowed me to leave at all. Leopold had also found out that the village was sending a delegation to join the upcoming goblin raid.

[coronatiger]

After a while, Ilzo declared that we had crossed into Troll Tribe land, and that his village was nearby. Not much later, four orcs sauntered towards us. Ilzo introduced himself, and one of the orcs replied, so Ilzo dismounted and approached them. They talked for a minute, then Ilzo and two of the others removed their armor. Va’lyndra asked Ilzo what was going on, and he explained that he had to knock them unconscious before we could pass. The other orcs shouted that we couldn’t come closer.

Ilzo rushed up to one of the combatants and smacked him in the face, making him collapse onto the path. The other one howled a battle cry and made a swipe at Ilzo’s head, but missed. Ilzo drew his fist back and showed him how it was done. The second orc crumbled to the ground, bleeding profusely from a broken nose. We all rode up to the brawlers while their friends stared at Ilzo, jaws on chests. Va’lyndra gave first aid to the fallen orcs, and then we continued on our way.

A half-hour later, we arrived at Ilzo’s village, Derevni. A couple of orcs were sitting outside the palisade watching us approach. Big and strong, they looked more like Ilzo than the four we had just met. One of them greeted Ilzo while the other went inside to fetch more of Ilzo’s friends. Ilzo told us of a good place for the horses to graze, so we went and left them there.

Inside the village, an older man gave Ilzo a bear hug and tried to grapple him to the ground. It turned out this was Ilzo’s father, Fark, and last time they grappled, Fark had gotten the better of his son. Not so, this time. After the friendly brawl, Fark invited us all to come and stay with him. He served us fruit and meat, and told stories of when Ilzo was younger. Ilzo let Walter do the translations, for he thought the stories were embarrassing. Ilzo made introductions, and Fark asked what gods we worshipped. I told him Olivia and I revered the main deity of our race, Solus, the goddess of sun and harvest. Va’lyndra said she venerated Vridis, but that she had also received instructions about Carnus from Walter.

Then Fark asked if any of us took pleasure in fighting. I was a little confused, but then Va’lyndra mentioned the Summer Games, and that she had beaten Ilzo in a duel. Fark thought this was a shame, someone half Ilzo’s size beating him in single combat?! Fark explained that if we wanted to get on good terms with the orcs of this village, we should fight them.

Fark asked Ilzo if he had returned home for good, but Ilzo informed him that we were just passing through. We were going into troll territory to beat up some trolls. Fark challenged Va’lyndra and me to fight him. He was nearly as big as his son, probably outweighing the pair of us together, and likely more cunning than Ilzo. Still, I didn’t think it seemed fair with two against one, so I asked if he was sure he wanted to do this. He was, if Ilzo would judge the bout.

In the middle of the village was a ten-meter-across circle of sand, marked off by short poles with rope between them. Fark commented my leather armor and asked if I was a coward, so I removed it. Va’lyndra took off her armor, too. Fark’s bare chest and arms bulged with muscles. I wouldn’t want to take a punch from that. I did a few warmup exercises until he harrumphed. It was time to see if he was skilled enough to make a connection.

Fark started on one side of the arena, opposite Va’lyndra and me. I took a couple of steps forward, but Va’lyndra ran along the rope. Fark came running towards me and tried to kick up sand in my face, but it only struck my legs. I stepped up to him and tried a deceptive punch, but I missed. Va’lyndra completed her circle around Fark and attempted a kick, but she missed as well. Fark made a swing at me, stepping aside so he could see the both of us. I dodged back and forth and tried a kick which he evaded. Va’lyndra kicked again, but Fark was able to dodge that, too. He feinted, and I feinted back, using acrobatics to confuse him. Va’lyndra kicked him in the side, without doing much damage. Fark could see that his feint had me off-balance, so he tried a double attack, but my acrobatic dodge was so perfectly executed that Fark stumbled, which allowed me to give him a solid smack right between the eyes. Va’lyndra gave him a punch in the back of the head, and he surrendered, hands up and retreating. I suddenly felt bad for hitting the elderly orc.

Fark leaned on the rope around the arena to catch his breath, and Va’lyndra got him a healing potion. He still looked a little woozy, so she gave him another. That hit the spot, and he stood up straight again. “What manner of witchery is this?” he asked, translated by Ilzo. It seemed to work wonders, he added.

Quite a few spectators had gathered around for the fight, so I jumped up on one of the poles and started doing acrobatics. Ilzo warned me that his villagers might take my showing off as an invitation to challenge me to combat. Not if they couldn’t catch me! I took a few steps along the poles to pick up speed, and then I twisted around, flipping and tumbling as I circled the arena from pole to pole at a breakneck speed.

After a few rounds, Olivia asked if I wouldn’t come back to Fark’s house with her. I ended my routine with a triple somersault, made a flourished bow to the spectators, and put an arm around Olivia’s waist. She was holding all my gear, and I saw it was a little heavy for her, so I picked her up and carried her back to Fark’s place where we pitched our tent and tried not to disturb the neighbors.


Thoughts on July 19th

Night fell, and we rose. Leopold and Va’lyndra wandered off to check on the horses while Olivia and I prepared breakfast. Vul, the village’s shaman, visited us during the meal to talk with Ilzo. Walter was the only one who could understand what they were saying, and he relayed to the rest of us that Ilzo had done something stupid and offended his god. It appeared we shouldn’t have sold the statue that Ilzo acquired for us in the temple of his god, Animamea. We need to get it back, but we might just be in the position do trade for it, now that we’ve gathered more holy relics.

Vul, knowing that we were going into troll territory, gave us some information about our enemies. Trolls are cunning, and would rather call for backup than try to fight when the odds were against them. I hoped they would underestimate our capabilities. Ilzo’s the only one who looks like he can stand up to a troll. The rest of us are either too small or too skinny. That’s how I would think, if I were a troll. The shaman let us know that several of the orcs in the village were willing to come with us to hunt for trolls. However, chasing after trolls was not our goal. Vul would inform the villagers, so we’d be going alone.

Ilzo reminded us of the weaknesses of trolls. Green trolls are vulnerable to fire, blue ones to water and ice, white trolls to lightning, and brown ones to earth magic. With spells and magic items, we could deal with any of those troll types.

I snapped up a word from Vul, via Walter, and commented to Va’lyndra that she seemed to have been upgraded from boogeyman to human. She slapped the table and burst out angrily that she was no mere human. Ilzo said something to Vul, which Walter translated as “ugly, long-eared boogeyman”. Va’lyndra did a spell dance, put a hand on Ilzo’s shoulder, and told him she didn’t like the way he described her. She turned to Olivia and me and apologized. There was nothing wrong with being human, but she was proud to be an elf.

We traveled west during the night, and made camp when the sun had risen.


Thoughts on July 20th

We continued west, passing two orc villages. As the sun was coming up when we reached the second village, we tried to get lodgings there, but the orcs were skeptical about our horses. Olivia was just fine with that. She thought Fark was nice enough, but the rest of the orcs gave her the heebie-jeebies. I believed she would have lumped Fark in with Ilzo and the rest, had he been able to strike me during our mock combat. I suggested we ride a bit further before making camp.

Far ahead, I could see a mountain that simply had to be the right one. It loomed ominously above the rest of the range. It definitely looked like the place where one would build a temple. Leopold thought it wouldn’t be feasible to bring the horses up that steepness. Ilzo voiced agreement, and the rest of us nodded. Only flying horses could get up there.

Olivia and I rearranged our gear, as we would only be able to bring what we could carry ourselves. Va’lyndra suggested to Leopold that he should use his rock magic to hollow out one of the boulders nearby, so we could store the rest of our equipment there. He could close it up afterwards, so no one would be the wiser. We had to take a chance with the horses, though. We had to leave them somewhere they could graze, and hope that neither troll, goblin nor boogeyman discovered them.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on July 21st

We decided to stay in camp during the night, so we could travel by day again. Va’lyndra warned us to try to get some more sleep; otherwise, we’d be really tired tomorrow night. After the evening meal, breakfast, Olivia and I returned to our tent. We fooled around for a while, and Olivia dozed off afterwards, but I couldn’t sleep. I was too excited about the challenge of the mountain. Long ago, I had bought climbing gear, but I hadn’t actually tried it out, since I hadn’t come across anything I couldn’t scale barehanded. It’s difficult to compare the skills of climbing and acrobatics, but I think climbing comes even more easily to me than acrobatics does.

I closed my eyes, not that I could see much in the dark tent, and imagined I was out climbing. I had been walking along soft, white plains, when suddenly a hill stood before me. I nodded to myself, and started climbing. This felt good and right. The hill was made of the same substance as the plains, and gave way under my touch, but slowly and surely, I made my way towards the top. Just as I was about to declare triumph, a rocky peak rose out of the soft ground ahead of me. I considered this new challenge, circling it with one hand against the rock. I looked away. Across the valley rose a similar hill. In the way of dreams, I jumped, and found myself on that second hill. This hilltop was flat, but it had a darker circle near the center. I approached with caution, but as I made my way towards it, the ground trembled and gave way to a rising peak. I touched the rock carefully. Was it magic? I could feel its pull, dragging on my soul. No. That was not it. Something else was responsible for the pull, a treasure beyond imagination, hidden away in darkness. The treasure was tempting, it just might be within reach.

Suddenly, an earthquake shook the world. I fell on my back. The hills fell away from me, up into the air, and I grasped for them in desperation. Somehow, I knew that if those hills disappeared, I would die. As if my gesture broke a spell, the hills plummeted towards me and trapped my hands. The hills were as soft as I remembered from my climb, but the rocky peaks pierced my palms, although I felt no pain. My face was wet, though; I must have landed in a puddle. No. It was raining. A warm wind caressed my face and deposited wetness, mostly on my mouth. The wind whispered in my ear, “Are you dreaming, Mattea?” I woke up.

Olivia managed to find sleep again after a while. I didn’t.


Thoughts on July 22nd

Even though Olivia had fallen asleep again, I felt bad for disturbing her last night with my restless hands. We were supposed to store up some extra sleep for the long day ahead, and I had been selfish and impatient. She woke early in the morning, before our turn at the watch, and saw my sad face. She listened patiently to my apology and declared in a sultry voice that she’d forgive me if I could give her another taste of heaven before Va’lyndra finished her watch. When Va’lyndra scraped at the tent flap and asked if we were quite done, we were both panting heavily, but happily relaxing on our backs.

We got an early start today. Leopold removed his armor and put it in his backpack. His bare skin blended in against the rocky landscape we had to cross. Leopold even took over scouting for Va’lyndra. The elf is more accustomed to forests, so when we entered mountainous terrain, it was natural that the gnome should lead us.

We discovered quickly that we traveled far slower without the horses. My equipment wasn’t really that heavy, and Va’lyndra and Leopold watched my speed and stamina with envy for a short while, before transferring some of their gear to my pack.

In the early afternoon, we arrived at the foot of the temple mountain. I suggested that we take an early night. I was approaching a full twenty-four hours since I really slept, and because of it, the heavy load I had carried through the day had me more exhausted than I would have been under normal circumstances. Olivia and I put up our tent, and I went inside and undressed, waiting for her to finish camouflaging the camp.


Thoughts on July 23rd

I didn’t have the heart to wake Mattea when I found her sleeping last night. She looked so serene where she lay. I had been as quiet as a mouse taking off my dress, for I knew that the rustle of clothing could trigger her. I had lain down next to her, covering us carefully with a blanket, for it was chilly in the mountains. Subconsciously sensing my presence, Mattea had instinctively turned and wrapped her arms and legs around me. It’s strange how she can make me feel so safe, even without conscious thought.

My choice not to wake her came back to haunt me, though. I wouldn’t usually have minded her attention, but we were supposed to keep watch, and she couldn’t focus on our duty. By itself, her not paying attention to our surroundings didn’t matter much, as I was usually the one who noticed when monsters were sneaking up on our camp, but the way she acted was distracting me, too.

Mattea suggested that we take a walk around the campsite, to patrol, she said, and see if there was someone hiding in the bushes. I pretended to fall for her ruse, figuring that a few minutes of total inattention would be preferable to an entire watch being distracted. Also, I didn’t want her hungry and unfulfilled when Ilzo got up. So, we went “on patrol”. For ten whole meters. As I was actually paying attention to the surroundings, I failed to spot Mattea as she slipped behind me, put a hand over my mouth, and tackled me to the ground. She can be quite stealthy when she wants to. It was astonishing how quickly she managed to undress the two of us, all the while keeping my mouth covered, not that I was struggling against her. She must have used every contortionist’s trick she knew to bear upon the task. It certainly wasn’t her hand that covered my mouth when she started feeding.

Mattea wanted to cuddle afterwards, and it was tempting, but with a great heave of effort, I managed to say no, that we had to return to watch the camp. She agreed reluctantly, but the hunger was gone, at least for the moment.

We packed up camp and moved on after breakfast. Going along the foot of the mountain, we soon discovered a carved path that led up. Leopold walked in front, but the rest of us followed not far behind. Several times, we had to cross ancient stone bridges, which Leopold said were good craftsmanship, for they were still solid. I took his word for it, but didn’t waste any time crossing. Mattea had to show off, of course, doing acrobatics on the edge. I knew she was in complete control, but my heart had jumped up into my throat. The drop was terrifyingly high.

After five hours of climbing the steep path, we reached a plateau above the clouds. There were spires stretching even further into the sky, but the area between them was almost flat. Boulders were scattered randomly around the plateau. We started looking for the temple.

Va’lyndra discovered troll tracks. They were a whole week old, luckily, but it meant trolls frequented this place. Leopold pointed out some rocks that had been melted, and Va’lyndra told a story about lizard-like creatures able to breathe fire. We also found four rotting, green-skinned troll corpses, that Leopold thought might be the ones who had made the tracks, based on the degree of decay. Two of the trolls were ripped to pieces, one had a broken skull, and one had a hole through the torso. What monster could do such a thing? I wanted to run and hide, but I also wanted to cling to Mattea. She noticed my discomfort and pulled me close, still looking around, alert.

I noticed we were standing on cobblestones, and looked around. If I hadn’t been so scared, I would have seen the pedestal in the center of the area, with a statuette on top, much sooner. It was shaped like a humanoid, and Ilzo called it “the boiling orc” which according to legend was made of fire and water. When Va’lyndra exclaimed that the statuette was filled with divine magic, I decided I had been brave enough for today. I told Mattea I wanted to go somewhere safe and walked away, hoping that the others wouldn’t do anything dangerous before I was gone. Mattea ran after me, and we sat down half-way back to the steep path. I didn’t want to be near the statuette, but neither did I want to be too close to the path, in case trolls started popping up.

The others followed us, and we waited in silence for a minute. Then Ilzo hefted Surkalpi, and they were off again. Va’lyndra said she feared there might be a battle, or that this place was trapped. “Mattea?” She returned. “This place seems dangerous. Do we really need the relic from this place?” I asked. Leopold must have heard me, for he created a stone wall with his magic. The wall blocked my view of the pedestal and the statuette, but I could see the troll corpses, off to the side. “It’ll be fine,” Mattea assured me, “Va’lyndra will figure out the magic so we can bring back the statuette safely.”

Leopold needed to rest for a bit after creating the wall, and Va’lyndra had expended some energy, too. Mattea pointed to a boulder. “Why don’t we go sit down behind that rock?” she proposed, then raised her voice so Leopold and Va’lyndra would hear. “Let us know when you’re done resting. Don’t send Ilzo!”