My first week in this foreign land has been interested to say the least. Unremarkable as I spent the first several days getting my bearings in White Moon Cove. I can’t say this place is remarkable but at least I am free and away from my past. It was a chance for me to make a name for myself so I jumped at the first job that was offered to me. Our goal overall appeared to be to help the centaurs get to safety so they could get assistance and supplies to help defend against the oncoming gnoll threat.
I headed out of White Moon Cove with an odd assortment of folks:
- Griters, a gnome who seemed to be an arcane caster possibly a wizard.
- Belanor, a half-elf with powerful blood (much like me) but I was unsure of his heritage.
- Tuzok, I am unsure what he is…human I think but I could not figure out much about him.
- Twiks, a human I believe who was most likely a druid from mannerism and affinity to nature.
- Saoch, a halfling of arcane origin although I think the power came from strong blood.
- Gaven, a sneaky little halfling. Seemed to excel at being a sneak.
Our travel initially was uneventful but prior to reaching the Spider’s Reach Outpost, our scout noticed a couple of figures hiding in foliage near to the road. Not thinking they were hostile, we called out to them; they cried out in return and launched into an attack on us. Besides the two half-elves, there appeared to be a menagerie of unusual creatures working with them from rock creatures of sorts to a couple of viscous, monkey-like creatures. Also it appeared that the noise attracted the local wildlife as two crocodiles and two rather large snakes decided to join the fight seeking food or defending their home perhaps.
I can’t say much of the combat as I fell early on; taking an arrow to the neck. With a bit of work we were able to put an end to the ambushers and the one named Twiks was able to talk down the remaining beast to just leave us alone in exchange for the bodies of the slain. I will say, I thank my Mistress that Twiks was able to revive me and that I did not fall in battle for good or I may have ended up in the belly of one of those beasts.
We did not find much on the bodies of our ambushers except for a note that read:
Mrykle, The ship is departing early than expected, in only three days hence, but the shipment is even larger than predicted. Move to intercept them off the point and then return once you’ve acquired the goods. We’ll sort out the cut for you and your crew when you get her. Darvus.
We were not sure what this meant but we made sure to keep it to return to town and pass on the note.
After we arrived at Spider’s Reach Outpost, we met a group of centaurs and quickly discerned that it was the White Hoof Clan. We were in luck as that meant we did not need to travel out into the wild….except we discovered that three members of their clan, a family, was still missing. So to continue positive relations with the centaurs, we volunteered to locate this family after we rested for the night.
So the next day, we made our way out to the west to look for this family and had an uneventful day of travel. Toward the afternoon as we were close to camp, we spotted a small structure, a lone mausoleum out in the middle of nowhere. My mind screamed that this was dangerous but others insisted that we investigate up to open the sealed building. Some worried that we were crossing the line becoming grave robbers but I cared little what they did and stayed my distance hoping nothing bad would happen. The inside of the mausoleum contained a single stone sarcophagus and nothing else of real note. After a bit of investigation, it was determined that opening the sarcophagus in the dark may be the key since it reacted to the light presented to it. So after that, we were able to open the sarcophagus with not much effort and crowbar. Inside were the remains of a skeletal warrior of sorts that had almost completely decayed from age. There was not much to recover except that in one of its skeletal hands was a scroll of some sort.
Once we retrieved the scroll and placed the lid on the sarcophagus, we closed the mausoleum once again ready to find those missing centaurs. As luck would have it, the three centaurs saw us nearby and revealed their presence to us. After some conversation the family agreed to be escorted by us back to the Spider’s Reach Outpost. The scroll was determined to be some sort of cantrip that could protect open flame which I suppose has its uses out in the wilderness. Despite it being late we pushed ourselves to get this family back to the outpost that evening and received a much deserved rest. The family was returned to the rest of the centaurs already gathered and decided it would head back to White Moon Cove in the morning.
The next morning, prior to our journey, a couple of our party discovered several small marks in a V shape that were tender to the touch and unsure of the origin of this ailment. After some investigation and testing, it was determined that they were succumbing to the effects of a curse. It also seemed the rest of us were cursed as well but had not succumbed to the effects yet. So we decided to make our journey back in haste in hope to find someone to lift the curse. With little fanfare or problems, the centaurs were escorted safely back to civilization.
So in one week I have been nearly shot to death and have succumbed to an ancient curse. I can only hope things get easier…and that I can find aid to lift this curse soon or this may be my last entry.
Addendum: I was able to find someone in White Moon Cove at the “Axe and Thistle” by one named Hillval and have delivered the note with one of my travel companions named Griters to some Kenku leader in Port Mirandia named Chemist.