Campaign Log: Chaotic Pioneering

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on January 7th

We rode to the Sulla village today. Olivia trusted me with Mara’s safety and strapped her to my chest. She told me I was the better rider and that I would keep Mara steady and not jostle her more than she could handle. We made good speed and took our breaks when Mara needed feeding or changing.

It was dark when we arrived. The lights from the village beckoned from up ahead. Leopold commented that this was my kind of place, and I frowned and asked why he said so. He pointed to a couple making out among the trees.

We found Karina’s house, and I dismounted and knocked on the door. Karina was the local priestess. She recognized me and said I had been expected for some time. I didn’t understand until she thanked me for the donation I had given via that dwarf in Urdon.

Karina unlocked the next-door barn so we could stable our horses. They had to stand tightly packed, but I assured Karina that Ilzo, Va’lyndra and Leopold would leave in the morning and take their horses with them.

We came inside and Karina introduced us to her family before sending her husband out to borrow some mattresses for our party. They had two children, a boy and a girl of ten and twelve. I presented Olivia as my wife and Marinivova as our daughter. Karina commented that the law doesn’t allow marriage between two women, but I explained that we married in a ceremony before Sulla, and that Sulla blessed our union with Mara. Karina didn’t understand how that was possible, so I showed her Fabian.

After a show of acrobatics for Karina’s family, our party retired to the attic for the night. With Ilzo and the others present, Olivia wasn’t in the mood for any hanky-panky. I didn’t mind waiting, certain we would have ample opportunity to be intimate during our stay.


Thoughts on January 8th

At breakfast, Karina told me she could teach me how this village worshipped Sulla, and she said she wanted me to spread their teaching to the neighboring villages. Karina spoke of Sulla as a goddess and used the female pronoun, but I’ve seen depictions of the three-faced god with both male and female genitalia, so I’m going to continue to assume that the god is of both genders.

Ilzo and the others decided to take ship to Alvheim, which meant they would have to return to Urdon. I was thankful that they had gone out of their way to see Olivia and Mara safely through the Bewitched Forest. We agreed that they should return in around three weeks. That should give Ilzo plenty of time to deal with his Alvheim arena. If construction has finished, I’m sure he’ll want to organize some events there in Gromsh’s honor.

After our friends had left, Karina took Olivia and me for a tour of the village. Seventy people lived here, including thirty children, and ten more were on the way, which meant that half the adult women were expecting. I commented that the village midwife must be very busy, which Karina confirmed, so I offered Olivia’s services.

Karina called herself a conservative, and said that two more families than hers practiced monogamy, but everyone else in the village were polyamorous.

We brought Karina’s husband along as escort when we left the village. Ten minutes’ walk into the forest brought us to a simple wooden building. Karina said this was their temple, and the village gathered here to worship twice a week. The next time would be tomorrow, and I promised eagerly to attend.

Karina asked what I wanted to do with my stay in the village. “Can I be blunt? I want to learn about Sulla, perform acrobatics and have sex with Olivia.” Karina promised that I would have opportunities for all of those. One of the needs of the village was childcare, but since I didn’t have much experience, Karina instead introduced me to a group of men chopping wood. I would work with them when I wasn’t helping Karina with Sulla stuff.

I was tired, but in a good way, when evening came and it was time for me to have a show. I did a slackline act to great applause. I received several suggestions that would have made a less experienced woman blush and which caused Olivia to whisk me away as soon as I set foot on the ground again.


Thoughts on January 9th

After breakfast, the entire village congregated at the temple in the woods. Karina held a sermon about how one should treat one another lovingly. Amorously was more like it. Some of the villagers came forward and spoke of their feelings; the first speaker was working his way through jealousy. Other congregants responded with advice on how they handled similar feelings. I felt right at home, but wasn’t ready to confess my emotions to a whole lot of strangers.

After the service, Karina asked me to accompany her to a nearby village where she would preach for the unbelievers. I kissed my family goodbye and left with Karina. When we had walked in silence for a while, I opened up about my hunger and my dreams. Karina agreed that it was Sulla who spoke to and affected me. The village we were visiting was an hour away, and I asked Karina if we couldn’t ride the next time, to speed up travel. Karina didn’t know how to ride, so I offered to teach her.

When we arrived, the people were busy with their work, and Karina failed to draw a crowd to listen. She asked if I would put on a performance, and also if I would share the story of my love for Olivia. The villagers gathered around when I started performing, of course, and after a few routines I let Karina have the stage. She held a short sermon and then I told the villagers about Olivia. Karina had requested that I focused on our wedding ceremony and the fact that we were going to spend the rest of our lives together.


Thoughts on January 10th

I went out with the loggers again today. In the afternoon, Karina and I discussed Sulla, and then I put on a show. Olivia was quick to steal me away afterwards.


Thoughts on January 11th

Karina and I visited another village today and preached about Sulla. I rode on Marvin, and Karina borrowed Lightfoot. With riding lessons on the way, it didn’t go much faster than on foot.


Thoughts on January 12th

Karina held a service in the temple this morning. She does this twice a week. While the topic of her sermon was slightly different today, the service was very similar to the one a few days ago.


Thoughts on January 13th

With a couple hours of riding practice the day before yesterday, today’s ride out to a neighboring village went much smoother. Karina is still a terrible rider, but she didn’t fall off at least. I’m going to continue teaching her on these trips.


Thoughts on January 14th

Olivia was thrilled to be working again. Mara was too young yet to be left at the communal childcare, so Olivia kept her with her, but if there was one place that recognized the need of a mother to care for her child, it was the Sulla village. I was concerned that Olivia would tire herself out, but she said that midwifing wasn’t hard labor usually. It might be during a difficult delivery, she admitted, but the two women closest to their due date were still at least a week or two away, more likely a month.


Thoughts on January 15th

Today was just another day in the village.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on January 16th

Sulla had a surprise for us today. When Olivia’s hands began to wander, she found something she didn’t expect. Her yelp and her pulling back had me fully awake in an instant. I had been blessed with big, batlike wings and a tail. “Did you drink too many flight potions? We have to hide it!” Olivia whispered. “No, we have to use this gift,” I disagreed. In our small attic room, I couldn’t extend the wings fully. The tail was long, around two meters, but it was flexible. I wrapped it around Olivia’s torso and fondled her breasts. “Look! No hands!” Olivia glanced at our sleeping infant and conceded that we didn’t have to get up yet.

The wings disappeared as suddenly as they had appeared, but the tail remained. I thought it was because I had used it so actively the last hour, so I did some contortion practice while I waited for it to go away. Olivia made excuses to Karina about breakfast and the service at the temple; she didn’t think I would be fit to attend today.

The tail didn’t go away on its own, so I transformed into Fabian because he didn’t have a tail, so it should vanish. However, Fabian did have a tail now, and it seemed more masculine than it had been, somehow. I transformed back, and it was as if something resisted the change, for it was a struggle, although I didn’t get fatigued like I used to. It was more like the transformation built up my hunger. My eyes found Olivia, and not even the sight and smell of Mara’s used diaper turned me off. Olivia proceeded to feed our baby after changing her, and I was literally jumping up and down with impatience until I finally got her attention. I discovered how to retract my tail while I was waiting. I just had to tighten certain muscles, and the tail withdrew into my body. Mara was kind enough to fall asleep again, and I had Olivia to myself for a couple of hours.

I needed to explore my wings, too, and I couldn’t do that in this cramped space. I figured the villagers must be back from the temple by now, so if I went there, I should be alone. I prepared myself with arms and armor and kissed Olivia goodbye.

I made my way inside the temple and faced the altar. After a few minutes, I worked out how to summon my wings but discovered that my clothes and my armor prevented them from growing out, so I took them off. Going around bare-chested was not very comfortable mid-winter, but the temperature was above freezing and there was no snow, so I thought I could muddle through a training session.

The temple wasn’t large enough for my purposes, I quickly discovered. I could spread my wings fully and flap them, but as soon as I took off, I crashed into something. I would have to go outside, where it was even chillier. There was a clearing around the temple, and I had my first real self-powered flight. It was amazing. Since I didn’t know when or if the wings would disappear, I didn’t fly very high. They lasted about an hour, and Sulla was kind enough to give me a warning before taking them away, a feeling that I needed to land soon.

I found that flying wasn’t very tiring, but I built up an appetite for Olivia’s attention. I put on my clothes and went to find her. I got strange looks from the few villagers I passed and checked if my wings or tail had reappeared. They hadn’t, but I found out soon enough what was going on. Olivia’s jaw dropped when she saw me, and she hustled me back to our attic. It was obvious to her I had no clue what was wrong, and she produced a mirror for me to look at myself.

My hair had changed from blonde to black. I would have noticed that myself, had I not done it up in my usual braid. Changing hair color wasn’t enough to draw the kind of looks I had received, but that was far from all. My eyes had turned into purple globes with only the pupils remaining black. That was certainly otherworldly enough, but my skin had also begun to glow. Since I had been almost completely covered up, with gloves and a helmet with face protection, the villagers may not have noticed exactly what was going on, but they must have caught a glimpse of something, or they wouldn’t have reacted as they did.

The glowing skin wasn’t blindingly glaring, but it was very noticeable. Olivia studied the phenomenon and realized that while my skin appeared to give off light, it didn’t actually illuminate anything. She wasn’t even sure the glow would give me away if I was hiding.

While she was talking, I lowered my trousers a little in the back so my tail could come out. Olivia gave a little yelp of surprise when it came up under her skirt, but she smiled when she realized what was happening. Still, she had Mara strapped to her chest, and she said I would only get what I wanted if I could get our little girl into her crib without waking her.

I employed all my dexterity and unwrapped Mara, placing her ever so gently in the crib. I discovered that I could maneuver my tail independently of what I did with my hands, and I caressed Olivia’s legs while I took care of Mara. We were soon tearing at each other’s clothes.

After a while, Olivia pulled back and I asked what was wrong. She grabbed my braid and held it in front of my face. I saw nothing special about it, but that was just it. I wasn’t glowing anymore either. My tail was still looped around Olivia’s waist, but I was certain my eyes had gone back to normal. I pulled Olivia’s lips back to mine; we could talk later.


Thoughts on January 17th

Olivia had been kind enough to modify my shirt, jacket and coat with slits for my wings to sprout out of. When Karina and I rode out to visit another village today, I only had to remove my leather armor in order to show her my new gift. I wisely waited until our return trip, for as I expected, my skin began to glow and my hair and eyes changed colors. Karina wasn’t overly enthusiastic about my display, although the aerobatics performance made her gasp several times. She smuggled me into her house and fetched Olivia to work her magic on me.


Thoughts on January 18th

Since today wasn’t sermon day, I had the temple to myself for another practice session. I discovered that I could expend less “Sulla energy” by producing smaller wings, but flying was more physically demanding. Testing this, I found that after around ten minutes in the air, I needed to stop and breathe. I could have forced myself to continue, but if any monsters had showed up, I wouldn’t have been as fit to fight as I normally am. I also discovered that I don’t take on that demonic appearance unless I’ve spent all my “Sulla energy”. This special power source only recharges when I’m having sex, obviously.


Thoughts on January 19th

After Karina’s sermon, I asked her if anyone in the village was a professional leather worker. It would be convenient to get slits in my leather armor for my wings. Unfortunately, nobody had the skill to modify my swamp wurm leather.


Thoughts on January 20th

Karina and I went out to visit a neighboring village today. Afterwards, I helped the woodcutters again. During a break, one of the others made a pass at me, so we found some privacy behind a bush. Olivia didn’t like it at all, when I told her.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on January 21st

The smaller wings last an hour, just like the bigger ones. I spent that hour practicing aerobatics. One trick I learned was flying at speed towards a target, in this case some branches that made a rough square, and folding in my wings so I could pass through the relatively small target. It was kind of like running towards a window and diving through it, but I discovered I had to aim slightly higher than I first expected. I counted myself lucky that the branches weren’t very thick, and commended myself for wearing a helmet.


Thoughts on January 22nd

Since Karina took me to visit another village today, I practiced aerobatics in the afternoon. Olivia made me promise to be back before it got dark.


Thoughts on January 23rd

It was sermon day at the temple again, so we didn’t go out to preach for our neighbors. There was plenty of tasks in our village for an able-bodied woman. Word must have gotten out that I have a hard time saying no, and I was unfaithful to Olivia again.


Thoughts on January 24th

Olivia didn’t allow me to leave the house today, and she collaborated with Karina to give me babysitting duty all day for Mara and for Karina’s two children. Mara was an angel and didn’t require much attention, but the older children were bundles of energy and wouldn’t sit still. I channeled their activity into an acrobatics lesson. When they tired of that, I had to pull out my tail and entertain them with antics. The tail isn’t nearly as strong as my arms and it doesn’t have digits like my hands to wield a weapon, so it won’t be very useful in combat despite the fact that I’m able to use it independently of my other actions. We’ll see if I can utilize it.


Thoughts on January 25th

Karina and I went out again today. The nearby villages have all learned that I’m coming along on these trips, and I can’t help but feeling used. I had never expected my skills and my fame to be employed in the service of a god, but here we are. I’ve grown devoted to Sulla, so I don’t really mind. I just never envisioned this.


Thoughts on January 26th

Karina’s sermon this morning was about love, as it always is. It has blown my mind how she can talk so eloquently on the same topic, time and time again, without ever repeating herself. Of course, I’ve only listened to her for a couple of weeks.


Thoughts on January 27th

An idea struck me this morning, and I asked Olivia about it. “Would you mind dreadfully if I organized a goodbye orgy before our friends return?” I didn’t think she’d tolerate such a thing, especially not after I had slipped up more than once during our stay. As expected, Olivia said no, but her reason was that she didn’t think it would be wise, considering that some of the relationships here in the village were unstable.


Thoughts on January 28th

Today was probably my last missionary visit to a neighboring village. Karina plans to stay at home tomorrow, and if everything is on schedule, Va’lyndra, Ilzo and Leopold will arrive tomorrow evening.


Thoughts on January 29th

I had a flying session at the temple in the morning, followed by work in the village. I wasn’t worried when our friends didn’t show up; they had said they were taking ship between Urdon and Alvheim, and there might not have been a suitable ship that could drop them off in Urdon yesterday. I hope they haven’t been delayed much, for I’m quite keen to get on with saving the world.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on January 30th

I had a peculiar dream last night. I dreamed that Va’lyndra and I were watching an arena fight with a whole bunch of orcs, of Ilzo fighting a giant horse. Ilzo nearly lost, and when he finally managed to knock the horse unconscious, it fell on top of him and he barely managed to shift it so he could get up.

I didn’t know what to make of the dream. It didn’t seem like one of the dreams that Sulla had sent me before, and I found it strange that Leopold wasn’t there. I wouldn’t have minded dreaming of Olivia either, but she is neither a big fan of Ilzo nor of fighting, so her absence made sense. I told her of the dream when I woke up, but she dismissed it as me missing my friends.

After breakfast, I went out to join the lumberjack crew, but they reminded me that there was a sermon today which we should attend before work.


Thoughts on January 31st

Apparently, Ilzo, Leopold and Va’lyndra arrived last night after Olivia and I had gone to bed. Karina had received them and kept them company while they made camp. When I went outside to see them, I understood why they hadn’t come inside. That huge horse I had dreamed of was with them, and since it was twice the size of a regular horse, it wouldn’t fit in the barn which had been crowded enough the last time we were all here, and Ilzo, Va’lyndra and Leopold stayed outside to keep an eye on it during the night. The horse didn’t look like Ilzo’s old, surly warhorse, but he assured me it was the same; it had suddenly grown when they were leaving the knowledge guild. The big horse had needed new equipment, so they had gone in to Urdon to have it made. That’s why they were delayed.

I told my friends that I had learned what I came here to learn, and that I was ready to leave. I had some errands myself in Urdon, which included fixing my leather armor, but after that I would be ready for another adventure. We still wanted to go after the Seral in Garuk. Leopold asked what had happened to my armor, but I just said I had to get it adjusted.

The big horse looked intriguing. I asked Ilzo if I could try it. He didn’t mind, but the horse did. I had to jump to reach the stirrup and the horse moved aside while I was in midair, making me fly in a smooth arc. I did a roll when I landed, just to show off, and then I did another attempt at mounting the horse. This time, I managed to trick it, and I was seated in the saddle before the horse knew what was happening. It most assuredly didn’t like being duped and did its best to dislodge me, but I held on while the horse bucked and reared wildly. I managed to keep the property damage limited to some buckets and other loose items. The horse kept it up for a couple of minutes, after which it stopped to breathe heavily. After asserting my dominance, I jumped off, for the horse didn’t want me on its back. I tried patting the horse, but it snapped after my hand. I decided to go inside to help Olivia pack.

Karina said they would be glad to have us return, and how much they had appreciated a visit from someone so dedicated to Sulla with both body and soul. Olivia and I said our goodbyes and then we were off. I had Mara on my chest again, and couldn’t help but notice that she had grown in the weeks since we arrived.

Ilzo didn’t ride. Maybe the horse didn’t like having him in its saddle either. He jogged beside the horse instead, and was fit enough that we didn’t have to slow down noticeably on his behalf. We made it to the knowledge guild compound outside Urdon before bedtime, if not before it got dark.

There wasn’t room for Ilzo’s horse in the guild stables, so he decided to park it outside, in an alley beside the stables. A guildsman protested, and I didn’t fault him. The horse doesn’t look any less mean than it actually is. To be fair, the horse hasn’t attacked anyone or anything that I’ve seen, except when I provoked it this morning. I chose to let Ilzo deal with the situation since it was his horse. Olivia, Mara and I found our room.


Thoughts on February 1st

I asked the others if they had any errands I could run while I waited for my armor to be fixed. Va’lyndra, Ilzo and Leopold had been to Urdon several times during the last few days, so they were good, but Olivia wanted to send a shopping list with me.

As we were talking over breakfast, a woman approached our table and said that Wilhelm Surre wanted a word with us. She left immediately after delivering her message, so I turned to Va’lyndra to ask if it was necessary for me to come. She thought so, but I didn’t anticipate him keeping us all day, so I went; Olivia took Mara up to our room. I can’t help but feel that she’s being left out at times, but in this case, I envied her.

Guildmaster Surre was in his office, and the subject for our talk wasn’t as ominous as I had feared. He wanted to know if we had time to meet some of the guild’s sponsors today. He warned us that those who attended the meeting had to behave themselves and he glared at Ilzo and me. I didn’t know why he included me in his glare – I’m usually well-behaved and polite – but I told my friends that if they met with the sponsors before I returned from Urdon, that was all right by me.

Leopold started reporting about Zalek, but I interrupted him to ask if they needed me for this or if I could go and fix my armor. I hadn’t been with them to speak with Zalek, but I had been told already what came out of it. Wilhelm had a peculiar expression while he watched me leave. I don’t think he was keen on me – my senses would have picked up on that – so maybe he disliked the fact that I was going to Urdon.

I went to see Olivia before I left, and she gave me the shopping list and a money pouch along with a warning not to show off. I wasn’t supposed to antagonize the authorities. She allowed me to go, but only if I was careful.

I hadn’t experimented much with my Fabian form, but I had discovered that I now used Sulla energy to transform. Since depleting myself of that gave me a demonic appearance with black hair, purple eyeballs and glowing skin, at least until I recharged, I chose to go as myself. So I wouldn’t bother the guards at the gate, I sneaked up to the wall and climbed over into an alley.

[coronatiger]

I knew where the armorer’s shop was located, and I went straight for it. Even with my helmet on, people on the streets recognized me. It was probably my distinctive gait that did it, the sashaying walk I learned on the tightrope. I smiled and waved, believing this was the least upsetting thing I could do. Trying to hide once I’d been spotted would only seem suspicious. In normal times, I would have done a few tricks to let people know I appreciated their attention, but I had promised Olivia not to do that. Even just stopping to talk might gather an expectant crowd, and it would inevitably draw the guards.

At the shop, I explained what I wanted: Protection for my neck and throat, and holes for my wings and tail. The leather worker seemed to think I was joking about the wings and the tail, but he agreed to make the holes according to my specification. He would even make flaps with hinges to prevent easy strikes through the gaps.

We discussed the neck protection for a while, and it became apparent that I would either have to go for a mail curtain which would be noisy, a stiff collar that would limit my mobility, or a thin layer of soft leather which wouldn’t protect as well as the rest of the armor. I chose the third option. It wasn’t as if I was regularly hit in the neck region.

I left behind the armor in the shop. The work would take several hours but should be done before closing time. Olivia’s shopping didn’t take very long, so I bought something to eat and went to hide in an alley near the armor shop. I practiced contortion in a big, empty rain barrel so nobody should see me.

It was dark when I climbed the city wall again and returned to the knowledge guild. I was wearing my modified armor and demonstrated for Olivia. I used the larger wings so I wouldn’t have to do the test twice. I touched both walls when I stretched out the wings. I couldn’t fly in here, but I could move my wings sufficiently to determine that the armor wouldn’t hamper my movement. I tickled Mara with my tail and she grabbed hold of it and put the tip in her mouth to explore it.

While we were talking, someone knocked on our door. By reflex, I turned to open, but Olivia stopped me. “You can’t show yourself like this!” Leopold’s voice said that it was only them, so Olivia allowed me to open anyway. “They’re going to see you like this sooner or later, and it might as well be in a relaxed situation.” I realized I was glowing.

Ilzo was impressed with my new look. Va’lyndra said it was an improvement, which just goes to show how prejudiced she is against humans; I think her interactions with the elves in Alvheim has ramped up her racism. Leopold agreed with Olivia. Most people shouldn’t see me like this. I don’t think I’m any less attractive in my demonic color scheme, but I can see why some would be deterred.

“Can you fly?” asked Leopold, and I said no. I didn’t want to bang my head against the ceiling, helmet or no. My answer confused them at first, until I explained. I told them I had practiced, both with these wings, and with a smaller pair, and while I wasn’t as adept at aerobatics as I was on the ground, I wasn’t afraid to take to the air in a fight.

Speaking of fights, we had a Seral to attack, the one in Garuk, overseeing the war preparations. My friends had just come from the meeting with the sponsors, who apparently were a race of extradimensional shapeshifters working to preserve Chaos, where they had learned a little more about Serals, including the fact that they didn’t use magic because it was against the law. Serals did pray to their god for divine intervention; their human disguises were one such blessing.

Since it was getting late, we decided to plan the attack tomorrow. My wings went away while I rocked Mara to sleep. Then I turned on Olivia.


Thoughts on February 2nd

Va’lyndra was grouchy all day; it was the insomnia again. Still, she contributed valuably to our attack plans. Wilhelm Surre provided us with a map of the military harbor of Garuk with the Seral’s house included near the left side. This area was heavily guarded with steam cannons and mechanical guards, three-meter-tall metal suits walking around with steam weapons; reportedly operated by soldiers inside them.

Ilzo wanted to throw exploding rocks at the Seral’s house. The walled-off district was quite narrow and at the bottom of a steep incline, so we would be able to bombard the house from above. Apart from the fact that we didn’t know if the Seral would be struck – our report said he seldom left the house, but we couldn’t be sure – it could have worked.

However, Leopold asked Ilzo how big the explosions would be. Ilzo admitted he didn’t know, but Va’lyndra said it was probably described in the letter accompanying the rocks from the auction. Ilzo can’t read and consequently had made up in his own mind how they worked. Leopold asked to see the papers and Ilzo fetched his sack and dug up everything paper-like. He was so careless that Leopold, ever the librarian, decided to take charge of Ilzo’s papers from now on.

As it turned out, the rocks don’t actually explode. They just make a fireball a couple of meters across. I suspected most of the buildings in the military harbor to be made of stone, and flashes of fire won’t do any harm to that. Leopold explained how to use the rocks. Ilzo had to pull out a plug and throw the rock within one minute. They would conflagrate when they hit something hard or if time ran out. Leopold warned Ilzo not to lob the rocks with his sling. He said something incomprehensible about forces, but I understood that the rocks might go off; he made that abundantly clear.

Leopold suggested that we sneaked inside and avoided more fighting than necessary. I agreed, and proposed a diversion at the other end of the harbor, but Leopold and Va’lyndra pointed out that well-trained soldiers wouldn’t run off to check it out. They would only be alerted that something was going on.

I asked if there were sewers in Garuk that we could sneak through. It had worked very well in Surd. Va’lyndra said there weren’t any sewers there the last time we were in Garuk. That was admittedly a long time ago, at the beginning of the Tamburin invasion, but she didn’t think they would prioritize building sewers. Not when they were planning another invasion.

“What about swimming in from the sea side?” I asked. There were ships guarding the harbor, but we could approach under the water. Va’lyndra knew spells that would allow us to breathe water, and we also had potions with the same effect. A quick count showed us we had three such potions among us. Olivia had two and Va’lyndra one, which she said Olivia had given her as thanks for helping out when I wasn’t behaving as I should. I didn’t recall the specific situation that had prompted this gift, but I had to admit, at least to myself, that I haven’t always been the best partner one could hope for.

[coronatiger]

Leopold couldn’t swim, he said. I told him it didn’t matter since he could just walk along the bottom, but Leopold wanted to take swimming lessons. I said Olivia wouldn’t like it if I taught him. The last time I taught someone to swim, it had involved copious amounts of sex. Of course, Olivia had been my student that time, and I don’t think Leopold is interested in sex at all, except possibly in books, but I didn’t want to take any chances. Maybe Va’lyndra could teach him, if Ilzo would let her. I haven’t seen Ilzo and Va’lyndra go off into the woods to “dance” in a long time, so maybe they’ve called it quits, but then again, we have been apart for some lengthy periods lately. Who knows what the two of them got up to on their trips to Zalek and to Alvheim?

Anyway, we agreed the best plan was probably to go in under water, swimming or otherwise, and then Leopold could make a tunnel to the Seral’s house. I outlined a scheme wherein Va’lyndra and I could bring food and water to Leopold every day, but as a gnome he can eat rocks, and while the water of the Silent Lake isn’t fit for drinking that close to Garuk, Va’lyndra said she could just fill up a barrel with water magic. Leopold did some calculations in his head and concluded that he could do all the digging in about half a day. There would be no need for more supplies than he could bring with him when he went in.

Since there might be magical defenses, Va’lyndra has to stay with Leopold to watch for them. Ilzo and I could go too; we could stand waiting for a few hours. Olivia would take the horses and wait for us outside Garuk with Mara. I thought I should suggest that Va’lyndra activate the camp-hiding artifact before we left her, but Va’lyndra was particularly foul-tempered when I had the idea, so I kept my mouth shut. We would have plenty of time to discuss it after her insomnia spell wore off.

We wanted to do research and reconnoitering before our attack. I thought I might just be able to carry Va’lyndra with me if I unfurled my large wings, but she pointed out that we could simply look over the wall from the slope between the harbor and Garuk proper.

The water breathing potions are not available to the lowest-ranking adventurers like Va’lyndra, Ilzo and Leopold, so I have to buy them. We decided we should have two each, so I needed to buy five more. I sneaked in over the city wall and went to the adventurers’ guild to shop. Va’lyndra was tasked with getting food for the trip from the knowledge guild since she has a high rank there.

I handed out the potions when I got back and helped Olivia finish packing. We had to cross the Grand River to begin the trip. Urdon lies nestled along the south bank of the river, and the only bridge anywhere close is just outside the northern city gate. I couldn’t sneak into Urdon if I had my family and friends with me, so I arranged to meet the others a distance north of the bridge, out of view from the city. I asked Olivia to take care of Mara and my horses and ran off. I crossed the river a couple of kilometers downstream from Urdon, using my wings meaningfully for the first time. I chose the smaller wings, since I wasn’t going to fly very far.

We met up where we had agreed and transferred Mara from Olivia’s chest to mine. She’s sturdier now than she was a month ago, but she’s still small. I thought Olivia was capable of riding with Mara now – she had managed just fine going through Urdon – but I felt I was the protector in our family, and that this was my duty.

The last time we took this route between Urdon and Garuk, there hadn’t been a road going all the way, but the one we traveled on now looked well-managed. It was only a simple dirt road and not as wide as the road between Urdon and Surd, but we would take it as far as it went. Perhaps it did go all the way to Garuk?

After a couple of hours, we came to a fence, although the road wasn’t blocked. There was a sign, though, saying “Welcome to Murdok territory. Ring the bell and wait, or go around.” Ilzo pulled the string hanging down from a tree, and a bell rang loudly above us.

We waited for ten minutes without anything happening, so Ilzo smacked the bell a few times with Surkalpi’s haft. Mara didn’t like the loud, discordant sound and began to cry. I cautioned Ilzo to stop the ruckus and tried to calm Mara by walking up and down the road with a spring in my step, and humming softly.

We discussed whether to go around or continue along the road, but decided to give these people ten more minutes. If we continued, we would be trespassing and could potentially ride into an ambush. Olivia reminded me that this was not an option now that Mara was with us.

Fortunately, we didn’t have to make a decision, for as the time we had set was running out, an elf came walking towards us. He and Va’lyndra waved at each other before he approached. Leopold asked if it was all right for us to pass through their land and also if they could spare some fodder for our horses. The knowledge guild hadn’t had much to give, it seemed.

The elf took us up the road to where it branched off to the east. He asked us to wait while he fetched the supplies. It took almost two hours, during which we had eaten and Olivia had fed Mara. The elf brought fodder in a horse-drawn cart. Va’lyndra paid him, and we transferred the fodder to our packs. The elf asked if we had planned to spend the night on their land, seeing as it was nearly dark. It would cost us two gold pieces, he said. Va’lyndra paid gladly, for this was an elf we were dealing with.

We made camp where the elf directed and then he vanished, presumably to find his own bed, wherever that was. We decided to take our usual night watches. That meant Olivia and I could sleep until early morning, at least if Mara let us.

[coronatiger]

Thoughts on February 3rd

As we made breakfast, the elf from yesterday sauntered into view. Va’lyndra commented that he had kept an eye on us during the night. I hadn’t seen him, but that didn’t count for much. A glance at Olivia told me she hadn’t noticed him either, so he couldn’t have stayed all night. Maybe he was sweet on Va’lyndra and went away when her watch was done? The two of them whispered a bit before joining the rest of us, so there could be some merit to that idea.

We made small talk, and I asked about Murdok’s territory. The elf wouldn’t specify how many people were living there, but he spoke willingly of their trades in ore and herbal remedies. He tried to sell vials of anti-blob venom at two gold apiece. I thought that was a very steep price when one could simply walk or ride around the blobs. Leopold apparently disagreed and bought all four. He gave one to Va’lyndra since she was most likely to encounter them on her own, although we decided she shouldn’t go so far ahead that we didn’t see her. Her elven eyes are most perceptive, and I for one was relying on her to warn me of any blobs hanging about.

Ilzo wondered if the blobs tasted good. Va’lyndra said they didn’t, and warned him that they were corrosive and could eat through armor in no time. I reminded everyone that the blobs were afraid of fire and told them about the time one landed on Kine’s head. She stuck her head in the campfire to get the blob off.

The elf showed the way through their territory along a small path. There was still no road between Urdon and Garuk. After two hours, we reached the territory border. I asked the elf if he knew what dangers we might encounter to the north, but he said, “Maybe I know, maybe I don’t.” I took that to mean his pride wouldn’t allow him to show ignorance in this matter. “You aren’t very interested to know, then,” he said. I thought that was very perceptive of him. Interested, yes, but not overly so. Va’lyndra would get us through the forest and to safety. She had proved that time and again.

We said our goodbyes, and Va’lyndra did as I expected in leading us safely past all the blobs and any other dangers that might be lurking in the Bewitched Forest. At one point, she quaffed a potion of beast speech only to discover that the blobs were too primitive to talk back. She spent the remaining juice in conversation with our horses.

We exited the forest in the afternoon. Since both Urdon and Garuk lie on the coast of the Silent Lake, even I could find the way by simply following the coastline. Still, I allowed Va’lyndra to take the lead. She said there was something dangerous nearby, prompting me to ease Scorchmark in its scabbard. We kept going another couple of hours before deciding to make camp. Va’lyndra still had that uneasy feeling, and both she and Leopold had noticed troll tracks, some of which were larger than normal troll tracks. Ilzo wanted to find the trolls and fight them, of course, but Va’lyndra said the tracks were three days old. I voiced the obvious, that we needed to keep watch at night, and that the mages had to set up that protective … thing … which hides our camp from sight.


Thoughts on February 4th

Va’lyndra still had a bad feeling as we proceeded towards Garuk, and she was right to. We soon spotted two troll heads peering at us over a ridgetop a few hundred meters away. I asked if I should shoot them, but Leopold thought there was no reason to, since they hadn’t attacked us. Ilzo bellowed “Hello!” and the trolls disappeared behind the ridge.

Ilzo was about to follow, but Va’lyndra and Leopold asked him to wait. “I’m telling you I won’t go into melee,” I added. Ilzo dug in his heels and galloped towards the trolls. “I can take Mara,” Olivia said, and we began to unfasten her from my chest while Leopold and Va’lyndra followed Ilzo.

When we had attached Mara to Olivia, we followed too. I prepared my bow while we rode. Halfway up the hill, Ilzo stopped and untied his pack horse from his war horse. The horses were wary of the trolls and several of them refused to go into danger. Va’lyndra’s pack horse turned around and panicked. The animal loving elf usually insisted that we didn’t tie the horses together, but now she could see the stupidity of not securing them.

While Ilzo yelled an orcish war cry and charged up the hill on his monstrous mount, Va’lyndra drank a beast speech potion and calmed her riding horse before sending it towards Olivia and me. Unlike her pack horse, it fell in and came back uphill with us. Leopold’s horses had stopped too, but he managed to convince them to proceed to the crest.

Since Ilzo stopped when he reached the top, I saw no need to charge past Va’lyndra and Leopold, and we all met up with Ilzo on the ridge. Ilzo pointed out that the trolls were trying to hide behind slightly too small boulders, about one hundred and fifty meters downslope. I asked Va’lyndra if she was ready to shoot, but she ignored me and danced a spell dance to bestow Surkalpi with a coating of frost.

I shot a few arrows at the revealed troll parts, but while the trolls yelped with surprise and hid better, they seemed to laugh at the feeble attacks. Va’lyndra thought they were planning something. I asked if we knew what these trolls’ weaknesses were, and she reminded me that green trolls were vulnerable to fire, blue trolls to water and ice, and white ones to air and lightning. These trolls were either green or brown. The green ones, I could deal with using Scorchmark, but none of us had no idea how to defeat the brown trolls. Trolls are incredibly hard to kill, if not impossible, if one can’t use their weakness against them. Some of my arrows struck troll skulls, and Va’lyndra warned me that those were especially well-protected, although in the heat of the coming battle, I forgot all about it.

Ilzo charged towards the trolls. “I think I may need to use Scorchmark against these foes,” I told Olivia. She blessed me with a kiss on the cheek and told me to be careful. Va’lyndra called after Ilzo to remember what he bought at the auction; it was in the saddlebags of his unafraid third horse, which followed in the charge unlike the wiser pack animal.

I was not about to bring Marvin into danger, so I leaped off and dashed forward. I suddenly realized I didn’t want to put myself into danger either, not when I had to protect Olivia and Mara, so I slowed down in order to be able to concentrate. I needed to put all my mental effort into unfurling my wings. I chose the big wings, since they use Sulla’s power more than my own. I knew my hair and eyes would change color and that my skin would glow, but there was nobody out here to see except the trolls and us.

The wing growth was slow. Ilzo reached the trolls and began swinging Surkalpi at them while his horse made its own attacks. Va’lyndra and Leopold nearly caught up with me, but when my wings were ready, I took flight, covering ground half again as fast as when I ran. The ground sloped away under me as I flew forward. There were six trolls in total, and the tallest one must have been five meters tall, taller even than the mutated monstrosity we encountered in that temple far to the south. If this troll was as strong a jumper as me, I should still be safe fifteen meters over the ground. Fortunately, none of the trolls wielded weapons.

Ilzo kept moving so the trolls wouldn’t surround him. One of them tried to punch his mount, but Ilzo parried with Surkalpi, nearly chopping off the troll’s arm. After a flurry of blows between Ilzo and his opponents, for the trolls were as fast as Ilzo on horseback when they picked up the pace, Ilzo’s second horse ran off, chased by one of the smaller trolls. One of the trolls grabbed Ilzo, but a quick counterthrust from Surkalpi got it to back off before the orc was torn from the saddle. The biggest troll tried to slam into the mount’s side to topple it, but the giant horse kept its balance.

Gliding forward, I shot at the trolls as fast as I could. My arrows didn’t seem to do much damage, but I focused on whichever troll was the most trouble to Ilzo at the moment, usually the one directly behind his back. Ilzo managed to get cut down most of the trolls, but because of their regeneration, only one stayed down for more than a second or two.

[coronatiger]

The melee moved uphill. Ilzo led the trolls towards Va’lyndra and Leopold, who were running as fast as they could to catch up, but they weren’t very fast. Hovering over the fray, I increased my shooting rate. It’s difficult to shoot every second even at targets as large as these, when one is moving at full speed, so I chose to maximize my hit chance rather than wasting arrows. In retrospect, having a cornucopia quiver makes arrow wastage a moot point, but there is also the chance of a mishap. Even though Ilzo is big and tough, I wouldn’t want to accidentally hit him.

The biggest troll picked up a rock from the ground, and I climbed frantically, only to see the troll lob the rock at Ilzo’s horse. I flew over the melee while keeping an eye on the tosser. Ilzo had put down a green troll, but I didn’t think it would remain on the ground indefinitely. I pulled Scorchmark while landing next to the fallen troll. Four quick cuts with the magic knife inflicted fire damage to the green troll. That should keep it from regenerating. The biggest troll picked up another rock and threw it at me, but the rock went wide.

Ilzo fell off his horse, and he could only blame his bad riding skills, for as far as I could see, neither his horse nor the trolls had made an attempt to unseat him. Va’lyndra and Leopold were still a bit off. One of the trolls tried to run down Ilzo while he was trying to get up, but Ilzo got out of the way and whirled around to stab it in the back as the troll lumbered past him. The troll fell, and Ilzo’s horse stomped hard on it. Ilzo’s second horse, having made a loop around the battlefield, approached its owner with a troll in pursuit.

I let go of Scorchmark and drew another arrow while pumping my wings as the biggest troll picked up another rock. It dodged when I fired at it, but I managed to get it off balance so it missed when it hurled the rock at me.

All the other trolls converged on Ilzo. I continued to climb and readied another arrow. Ilzo’s monster horse slammed into one of the smaller trolls and trampled it when it fell. Ilzo wasn’t in dire need yet, so I shot at the troll that was focusing on me. At relatively close range and when neither of us were moving much, I could go for the vitals. Blood sprayed from the wound, but the huge troll didn’t even flinch. It decided I was too hard to hit and did too little damage, and ran towards Ilzo instead.

Ilzo and his horses gave more than they got from the trolls, but they took some injuries over the next few seconds. The smallest of the two brown trolls, which was still larger than the green ones, had picked up a rock and I shot its hand to make it let go of the improvised weapon, but of course the troll ignored me. Ilzo landed a solid blow in the back of a green troll pestering his horses, and it fell. Leopold realized that he had come dangerously close to the trolls, and he slowed down to draw his knife. Va’lyndra yelled that Ilzo had fire on his horse.

The rock-wielding troll smashed into Ilzo. The biggest troll tried to shoulder-tackle Ilzo’s monster horse, but it reared up and parried with its forelegs. Ilzo skewered the rock-wielder all the way through its chest but it remained standing. Ilzo’s smaller horse wisely ran away from the fray.

Leopold took cover behind the fallen troll, completely ignored by our enemies, who focused on the monster horse. I shot one of the trolls in the back and Ilzo stabbed another with Surkalpi, but the trolls ignored the wounds we inflicted. The monster horse went wild and kicked out at the trolls, but it stumbled and failed to connect. Ilzo shouted “Make it rain!” to Va’lyndra. She was finally coming into range for a rain of ice daggers, but none of the trolls were vulnerable to her spells. It would only harm Ilzo’s horses; Ilzo’s armor would protect him and Leopold and I could stay out of the danger zone.

I shot another arrow at the trolls before landing next to Leopold. He stabbed the fallen troll with his chaos blade, but I told him to use Scorchmark instead. The fire weapon came zipping through the air after me and Leopold snagged it and plunged it into the green troll’s brain before stirring around in there. The smaller brown troll threw its rock at me. I dodged, of course, and blew a relieved breath that the troll chose not to attack Leopold. He might not have dodged, and a rock that size could easily have killed him.

The monster horse had finally had enough and began to limp away. One troll pestered it for a few seconds before returning to fight Ilzo. Va’lyndra ran up to the other horse to fumble with its saddlebags. I kept shooting at the trolls around Ilzo. In the corner of my eye, the monster horse fell to the ground.

The trolls tried to coordinate their attacks. One grabbed Ilzo while the others punched. I shot the troll holding him and asked Leopold if he was done using my knife. Ilzo broke free, only to be grabbed again, but the largest troll, missing Ilzo with a punch, hit its companion instead. I shot that troll in the back and miraculously, it fell! Leopold held out Scorchmark towards me, but I told him just to let go of it and run; the second largest troll had turned towards us. Leopold dropped my weapon and it hovered at my side, but instead of running, Leopold pulled the earth out from under the troll and made a wall in front of us. The troll stumbled and fell.

Va’lyndra had pulled a wooden box from the saddlebags and retrieved something from inside it. The big troll tried to hit Ilzo, but he parried with the sharp side of Surkalpi, cutting the troll grievously. I grabbed Scorchmark from the air. One powerful flap of my wings lifted me over to the melee where I cut deeply into the neck of the fallen green troll and beat my wings once more to get me out of reach of the still-standing trolls before they could react. There were only two trolls left next to Ilzo now, and only one we knew how to kill. Ilzo stabbed it and Va’lyndra threw the thing in her hand at its feet, making a small explosion of fire. The troll succumbed.

Leopold made a sand jet, spraying near the face of the troll that was getting back on its feet. The big troll charged Va’lyndra, but somehow her tiny flying shield stopped it. I put another arrow into the troll threatening Leopold.

Ilzo followed biggest of the two browns as it chased a quickly retreating Va’lyndra. The smallest tried to kick me, but it had no chance of connecting, not when I was prepared and the troll didn’t even try to be deceptive. Leopold’s sand jet, despite having missed its mark, gave me an idea. I drew an arrow as fast as I could and launched it at the eye of the troll in front of me. I hit bone instead, and the arrow glanced off. My opponent realized it wouldn’t hit me, so it went for the nearest other target instead, which was Va’lyndra, since Leopold hid behind his mobile wall. It landed a kick on my elf friend.

I seized Scorchmark again and made an all-out attack flying past the biggest troll. I burned out one of its eyes with a stab, but my maneuver was very risky, for I left myself open to attack. I could only hope my exposed back was out of easy reach and that Ilzo and Va’lyndra kept the two trolls occupied until I could turn around.

[coronatiger]

I heard several attacks being made, but none landed on me, so I whirled around. I let go of Scorchmark with my hand to draw and shoot another arrow, but I grabbed the knife with my tail instead. I had realized that I flew nearly twice as fast as the knife and didn’t want to have to wait for it to arrive like Leopold was forced to, earlier. My arrow flew true and took out the other eye of the biggest troll.

Ilzo followed my example and stabbed the smaller troll in the eye. It dropped its defenses to give Ilzo a good pummeling, so I put an arrow in its good eye. The big troll tried to grab Ilzo or Va’lyndra, but being blind, it missed both of them. Leopold picked up his knife again and ran over to the two fallen green trolls to check if there was still life in them after the fire grenade. Va’lyndra cast a spell at the big troll, but I couldn’t see if it had any effect.

The big troll managed to get hold of Ilzo. I shot it in the back of the head, having forgotten the warning about how thick troll skulls are. The troll was so strong that even Ilzo couldn’t break free from its grip. He did however manage to parry as it tried to bite him. Va’lyndra created an ice dagger missile and began to grow it.

Ilzo punched the troll in the throat, realizing that Surkalpi was too large to use in so close quarters. The troll tried biting again, but Ilzo parried again. I hovered in front of the smaller troll and stabbed at its eye with Scorchmark, hoping to penetrate into its brain, but my attack was foiled. “It can see!” I burst out. The troll dropped its defenses again in an attempt to overpower me with a quick series of blows, but I twisted around the punches and drove Scorchmark through the troll’s good eye. It fell backwards.

Ilzo kept hammering at the last troll’s neck and when Va’lyndra finally launched her giant ice missile, it crashed to the ground. It landed face down, but Ilzo got out of the way and wasn’t squished. The troll still twitched, so I shot it in the head and finally realized I wouldn’t get through. Ilzo drew his pick and rammed it through the troll skull to show how it was done. The troll lay still, finally. Ilzo pulled out the pick and staggered away.

I started cutting off the big troll’s head. Va’lyndra quaffed a healing potion and went to locate her horses, one of which had run off entirely. Ilzo came as far as his fallen horse before passing out himself. Va’lyndra noticed and went back to heal Ilzo’s horse.

Leopold alerted me that the other brown troll wasn’t dead. He watched with fascination as it regenerated. I asked him to inflict as much damage on the troll as possible before I could come over and help him. Leopold took a big stone and shaped it around the regenerating troll’s head. When I had finished decapitating the biggest troll, I did the same for the slightly smaller one, bringing the big head with me so it wouldn’t reattach to the body. Leopold sealed off the stone once the body was cut away. I asked him if he could do the same to the biggest troll, but he said he had to rest first.

I waved for Olivia to approach, but Leopold said the biggest troll was starting to grow a new head, so I waved that Olivia had to stop. I chopped and stabbed at the troll while Leopold dug soil out from under it. He was looking for bedrock so he could encase the troll in that, but even after a meter and a half, there was still only earth. Leopold exhausted himself completely, fetching a boulder and shaping it around the big troll. After a short rest, he filled in the troll’s grave with the earth that he had removed earlier.

I watched the other brown troll while waiting for Olivia to come down. She couldn’t bring the horses all the way because of the troll stench that still frightened them, but she got them to stand still and not run away. I explained the situation about the regenerating trolls to her and asked Leopold to keep an eye on the one that could still come back to life. Since Va’lyndra was busy healing Ilzo and his horse, I took it upon myself to fetch her runaway horse. In the air, I was faster than any horse, and that was a good thing, for it had run really far. It took me nearly half an hour to catch up and return with it. Thank Sulla for the open terrain that made it easy to find the horse.

When I got back, I tried to convince Olivia to come behind some boulders with me, so I could get my own looks back. Olivia balked at the idea. I was had troll goo up to my elbows and blood spatter all over, and the trolls still manifested that aura of fear that made everyone uneasy.

After another half-hour, Ilzo was back on his feet. He chopped off the green troll’s heads and arranged them on boulders since there weren’t big enough trees nearby to make spikes. He looked at the headless brown troll with confusion and we were all amused at how he looked for the biggest troll, which had seemingly vanished. Leopold admitted to burying the troll, which I thought ruined the fun, but I realized Ilzo had to be told before he would accept leaving.

Since we were all filthy, Leopold suggested to go down to the beach to wash. I protested. At this time of year, I would freeze to death, taking a bath outside, as would Va’lyndra. Ilzo was probably sturdy enough to handle the chill, however. I proposed we stopped early and heated up washing water on the campfire in the afternoon, instead.

Olivia ended up doing my laundry, for I would never have gotten all the blood and goo off. I brought hot water into our tent and washed my body while keeping an eye on Mara. Olivia had just fed her and put her to sleep. When Olivia came in after hanging up my laundry to dry, she complained about Ilzo again. He had done an abysmal job at washing and had only smeared the filth around. It was so bad, I thought Olivia was actually considering doing his laundry for him.

[coronatiger]

Last session was wrapped up a little (too) hurriedly, so we rewound a little and replayed the post-battle stuff.

Thoughts on February 4th (continued)

When we got down to the beach, I suggested we made camp so we could heat water and wash and clean properly. Leopold agreed that we should take a longer break, but he thought we should consider moving on after washing. He took off his clothes and went into the lake. Ilzo followed, clothes on.

Olivia and I made a fire and started heating water, but she said I needed to remove as much troll goo as possible in cold water. Most of the filth was on my armor, so I removed it and knelt by the water, dipping the leather into the Silent Lake and rinsing as best I could.

When I returned to Olivia, she complained about Ilzo’s poor washing; he had just rubbed the troll remains into his clothes. I proposed erecting a tent so I could wash privately, but Va’lyndra and Leopold complained. They thought I was planning to stay the rest of the day. Va’lyndra threatened to leave us behind. Completely out of the blue, she then asked if I was born in Fugg. “Maybe,” I responded truthfully and got a frown in return. I was born on the road; my parents were traveling performers, just like me. If they told me where I was born, I have forgotten it long ago. It wasn’t important. I claimed no nationality and was welcome everywhere.

Olivia got Leopold to instruct Ilzo in how to wash himself and his clothes properly, but Ilzo protested that he was clean. Leopold insisted that he tried again and handed him a bar of soap. Ilzo smelled the soap and took a small bite before going back to the water for another attempt. I set up our tent and convinced Olivia to come inside and help me get clean.

After about an hour, our companions started to get impatient, and they nagged that we had to come. I unwrapped my tail from around Olivia and shoved it outside, making a rude gesture with it to those who interfered with our lovemaking. Leopold threatened to take Mara and leave Olivia and me behind, but I convinced Olivia that he wasn’t serious. Mara needed changing, however, and that put a stop to it. Olivia took care of Mara while I disassembled the tent and packed it away.

Ilzo was smelling of flowers, so he must have done a better job on the second try. Va’lyndra had used her water magic to dry everyone’s clothes, so we were ready to go on. We followed the coastline until nightfall, and then we made camp.


Thoughts on February 5th

Olivia saw to the horses while I played with Mara. She came back to report that Snowflake seemed not quite herself. Olivia couldn’t determine exactly what was wrong, but Va’lyndra explained that some of the horses had slept poorly. After talking to the horses, she discovered that a predator had been nearby during the night.

Va’lyndra and Olivia joined forces against Ilzo and got him to relinquish his clothes so they could wash them. Va’lyndra hosed down Ilzo, too, and explained that he hadn’t rid himself of all the troll remains, and the horses had sensed it during the night, frightening them.

I stole a few minutes between Olivia’s legs while the others prepared to leave. Olivia gave me a thank-you kiss afterwards and straightened her clothes before we hurriedly struck camp.

Following the coastline, we saw a few ships on the Silent Lake during the day. The people on board waved at us, so I waved back. Towards the end of the day, those with sharp eyes spotted smog over Garuk, although we couldn’t see the city itself yet, since it was hidden behind a hill. When it got dark, we saw the lights from the city.


Thoughts on February 6th

Wet sleet made for a miserable morning watch, but I was lucky enough to have Olivia’s company. It wasn’t far from our camp to Garuk, and I began thinking about my performances. While I dreamed, Olivia kept watch.

I wanted a grand entrance to the city, so at breakfast, I asked Olivia if she could take Mara today. While a baby harnessed to my chest wouldn’t hamper me much, I knew Olivia would never allow it. Olivia said showing myself was a bad idea, in case someone was out to get me. I knew the authorities in Urdon wanted a word, but I didn’t think their reach went as far as Garuk, not when the city was hostile. Olivia reminded me that the Church was probably after me, too; they’re controlled by the Serals, and they don’t like us very much. Va’lyndra suggested I transformed into Fabian, but I countered that we might not want to enter Garuk at all, at least officially; wouldn’t it be better to sneak inside for scouting and for the attack on the Seral? It might be nice with a proper bed at a decent inn, but if I wasn’t allowed to perform and spread my fame, what was the point? We agreed that Va’lyndra, Ilzo and Leopold should sneak up to the city and find the best way to attack while Olivia and I watched Mara and the horses.

After a few hours of bliss, our companions returned. We moved our camp further inland, where it would be more concealed from city patrols. Va’lyndra and Leopold used plant and earth magic respectively to further camouflage the new campsite. They also set up the magical camp concealer.

We sat down to plan. Since the Seral lived at the harbor, we didn’t have to go through the city to get to him. I proposed we climbed along the cliffs overlooking the lake, but the others didn’t have my skills and considered that route unusable. The only other way was by the water. Swimming or boating, we would soon be spotted by the guards, so we had to go submerged. Since the water was freezing, only Leopold could survive long in it. We needed to have Va’lyndra cast Body of Water on the rest of us, since the cold wouldn’t bother us then. Fortunately, her skill with that spell is so masterful, she can maintain it indefinitely. Leopold had to do without, since we needed someone to bring our weapons and armor.

We didn’t know if it would be possible for Leopold to walk along the bottom of the lake, so Ilzo and Va’lyndra went to scout a route. Va’lyndra provided Body of Water spells for them. Their equipment fell to the ground when they transformed.

I complained to Olivia and Leopold while we waited, on behalf of the poor inhabitants of Garuk who would be robbed of the opportunity to watch me perform. Olivia knew how to get me out of my misery. She turned Mara in her lap so our child could see. “Look, Mara! Maddy’s going to show us how to walk on her hands!” I wasn’t too keen on the nickname Olivia had given me, but I knew it would confuse the poor child if we were both “Mommy”.

Va’lyndra and Ilzo returned after an hour. They had found a usable route. There were soldiers keeping watch both from ships and from shore, but they were easily avoided. We agreed that Va’lyndra and Leopold should go and prepare a tunnel for our incursion. They would need several trips to complete the excavation, but when the tunnel was ready, we would attack. Since it was getting late, Olivia and I retired for the night. I presumed Ilzo would keep watch for a while, and he hopefully had enough wits to wake me before he fell asleep.


Thoughts on February 7th

When Olivia and I rose this morning, everything was quiet. Ilzo had gone to sleep, as had Va’lyndra and Leopold. I entertained my family with acrobatics, and our friends too, when they got up. In the evening, Va’lyndra and Leopold went to continue their digging.


Thoughts on February 8th

We stayed in camp all day today, too. When evening came, there was no wind, and there wasn’t a single ripple on the lake. Va’lyndra and Leopold decided that their activities at the harbor might be discovered, and spent the night resting in camp.


Thoughts on February 9th

Today was another waiting day. Fortunately, the wind came back in the afternoon, enough to camouflage a night of digging.


Thoughts on February 10th

Leopold reported at breakfast that his tunnel had nearly reached the Seral’s house. He just needed one more night of digging. That meant I had one more day of playing with Olivia and Mara.