[coronatiger]

Thoughts on June 22nd

There was divine magic in the skull-staff, according to Va’lyndra. She had danced her spell dance last night, but I hadn’t had enough patience to wait to hear the results. Olivia and I did another dance instead.

Va’lyndra and Leopold agreed that it might not be smart to store all the divine magic in one place. Uncharacteristically, I tried to remain in the background; I didn’t want to carry any of those things. Leopold decided he would take the scepter we had just found, because Walter could maybe tell him about it. “Walter who?” I asked. It turned out it was the door keeper skull who answered to that name. Walter kept reminding us that he was mightily displeased about Ilzo using him for a chamber pot.

We left the boogeyman city behind, and traveled westward. After consulting our map, Leopold informed the rest of us that we would be going in a more southerly direction than we did earlier, so we wouldn’t be going near the bountiful fruit grove. I don’t think that will be a problem. According to Olivia, we have enough food now for two months, and I certainly hope we’re back in civilization before then. We’ve been gone for a month now, and I’m beginning to crave a proper audience.

Leopold realized while we traveled that with his other possessions, the skull scepter was too heavy for his pony. I don’t care who carries it, so long as it’s not Olivia or me. I assumed that Va’lyndra took it back, but I didn’t pay attention to where she put it.


Thoughts on June 23rd

We continued toward the temple of the realm of the dead. Leopold had a conversation with Walter about it and discovered that Walter’s faith was strongly opposed to that temple’s creed. Dead and undead don’t mix, apparently.

I started thinking about a birthday gift for Olivia. Out here in the wilderness, I wasn’t likely to find anything that would suit her, so I decided to make a birthday performance for her. I spent the day thinking about it, occasionally trying out a bit of choreography. In between rain showers, I did some of it in the saddle, and some one the ground. The horses are so heavily laden that I can run faster than we travel on horseback. Lately, I’ve discovered a technique for running fast, spurred on by the need to reach Olivia before the monsters that inhabit the Bewitched Forest. I think I’ve nearly reached the limit, but I’m going to practice until I get there.


Thoughts on June 24th

Luckily, we had an overgrown road to follow. The rain grew so dense over the course of the day that it was practically impossible to see clearly more than a few meters ahead. The ground turned to mud under the horses’ hooves, slowing them down. Ilzo, having grown up around here, knew that it would only get worse tomorrow, and suggested we find some kind of shelter.

Va’lyndra found a nice place in the afternoon, where some large trees had bent towards each other, entangling their branches. Shaping the trees with her plant magic, Va’lyndra nearly made the canopy dense enough to keep off all the rain. The horses could tolerate a few drops coming through, and the rest of us have tents. Olivia and I pitched our tent as far away from the others as possible, while remaining under the canopy; Va’lyndra didn’t want to listen to what would undoubtedly happen once Olivia and I got out of our drenched clothes.


Thoughts on June 25th

We stayed in camp all day, and I seized the opportunity to play with Olivia. All of her.


Thoughts on June 26th

The rain stopped during the night, and by the time we struck camp and continued west, the sky was clear above us, although we could still see dark clouds in the south. Thunder rumbled in the distance, but the bad weather was moving away from us.

I practiced in the saddle, and Olivia beamed at me, outdoing the midsummer sun. Suddenly, Va’lyndra whistled from up ahead. “Danger, come quick!” We picked up the pace and I strung my bow. Va’lyndra whistled again, and Hungover came galloping towards us, riderless. I could see Va’lyndra hiding behind a tree, watching carefully in the other direction. Leopold and Ilzo dismounted; I pulled Marvin up short and somersaulted over his head. I slipped on the soggy ground and fell, but bounced to my feet so quickly that only my flushed face revealed that I hadn’t intended to hit the ground the way I did. Thankfully, nobody commented my embarrassment. I drew an arrow and took off along the road, towards Va’lyndra. Leopold and Ilzo took to the forest, so I soon overtook them. Ilzo bellowed an orcish war cry.

As I reached Va’lyndra, I spotted three boogeymen with bow and arrow, aiming at us. I aimed back. Arrows struck Va’lyndra’s tree, and we returned fire. These boogeymen were adept at dropping below our arrows, but my fourth shot struck true, taking one of the boogeymen down permanently.

Casting a sideways glance, I noticed that Leopold was shooting lightning bolts at one of the boogeymen. One bolt struck our foe, and he fell to the ground shivering. The third boogeyman turned and fled, but Va’lyndra and I shot him down. In the distance, we could hear the familiar sounds of Ilzo trouncing an opponent. “Ah, that would be the last of them,” Va’lyndra commented.

Leopold took some time to finish his opponent, closing with him in melee. The gnome didn’t need our help, but took a couple of shallow cuts. We called to Olivia to bring up the horses, and she bandaged Leopold’s wounds. Va’lyndra had run out of arrows, and scavenged some from the fallen boogeymen.

I finally noticed what had made Va’lyndra signal in the first place: Six goblins were tied up in trees, and the boogeymen had been in the process of torturing them when we arrived. I went over to investigate. Three of them were still alive, so I yelled for Leopold, asking if he wanted to talk to them. Leopold came over and took Walter out of his backpack. He asked if the skull knew the goblin tongue, but Walter replied a disdainful “Pah!” Ilzo had also heard my call, and his arrival may have been the source of Walter’s bad mood. Leopold asked Ilzo to search the boogeymen for valuables.

“Now that I’ve sent Ilzo on a meaningless task, will you talk with me?” Leopold asked Walter. Walter replied that talking to such worthless creatures as goblins was beneath his dignity. Va’lyndra appeared and tried to convince him, but he retorted with insults. Va’lyndra told him that if he insulted her again, she would give him to Ilzo as a chamber pot, permanently. Eye sockets glowing, Walter replied that he was spitting in her eye, which prompted Va’lyndra to spit at him instead. Leopold moved the skull out of the way of the glob. “I spit on your mother, too,” Walter added. Va’lyndra summoned a water jet, knocking Walter out of Leopold’s grip and blowing both of them to the already drenched ground. Va’lyndra kept haranguing Walter, and Leopold asked him to be polite towards his friends, before stuffing him back inside the backpack. I barely kept a straight face. My friends arguing shouldn’t be funny, but there’s just something about Walter that makes me want to crack up.

I cut the ropes holding the goblins to the trees. One of them staggered away, but the two other live ones fell to the ground, writhing in pain. I tried offering them healing potions, but they refused.

We moved on, and Olivia complained that Ilzo had dragged boogeyman corpses over to her and the horses. Not so loud that he heard her, of course. Once she stopped fuming, she pointed out that Ilzo had found a pretty ring on one of the corpses, and it now adorned his finger.