Gates and Guardians

Date: 03/04/2016 Time: 5 hours

Description

Month 12, Day 27

After the terrible centipede dragon tunneled away we climbed a nearby hill hoping to spot a farmstead or other settlement where we might warn them of the danger of the creature. There was a small home not too far away and we made haste to reach it.

Once there we met a kind farmer and his family who invited us in for a delicious blueberry pie and also replenished some of our stocks. They had not seen anything resembling the centipede creature but did mention there was a cave known as the Centipede Cave a few hours to the east. The farmer also mentioned a small temple where the local clergyman might be able to give us more information.

After the pie we visited the small church but they were not able to tell us anything different than the farmer. It was a pleasant enough little temple and the people seem to largely lead a quiet life.

We then headed east as it was our intended direction but also in the hopes of stumbling across the lair of the centipede thing and exacting our revenge. Sadly, we found nothing.

Month 12, Day 28

The next day we continued east and did find a series of caves in the hilly region. After a couple of fruitless attempts, we came across a large cavern where a group of skeletal knights, in full armor using well-made swords attacked us. We killed them with our Radiant spell arsenal. Then we encountered a room filled with tens of thousands of centipedes although we left them alone.

After that we encountered more skeletons but this time led by a nasty unlife creature that had the ability to dominate the minds of its foes. Luckily we killed it before it could influence anyone too much. Later there were more skeletons and more of the strange mind controlling unlife and they spoke of a great master!

We finally reached the last room where a pale woman led a number of other unlife beasts. She tried her mind tricks on us but we were able to shake them off and ganging up with our radiant spells we dispatched her which also sent some of her minions to their graves.

After finishing off the last of our foes we searched the room and found a pair of dragon eggs which apparently had been penetrated by centipedes. The woman had either done it herself or stumbled across the region and was waiting for them to hatch. It is clear she planned to tame the beasts that emerged from the eggs and use them to further her evil ends. We smashed the eggs and also took a black dagger from her corpse.

While the one dragon-thing is still out there, I think we averted a far greater disaster by stopping the woman from whatever her goals might have been.

Month 13, Day 1

We left the foothills and entered some rather pleasant grasslands. We spent the day traveling and foraging but found nothing of great interest.

Month 13, Day 2

Like the previous day we traveled across the grasslands encounter no one and doing nothing in particular.

Month 13, Day 3

The next day proved much the same although finding game or forage proved difficult.

Month 13, Day 4

We spent much time gathering forage and in doing so came across an awful burrowing creature with a mouth wide enough to swallow a man. It nearly tore off Mud’s arm and chewed a hunk out of Guff but eventually we drove the thing back underground and it fled.

Just after that we came across a strange dark entrance guarded by an ominous looking unlife creature. It warned us that the way was barred except to those in need. We told it of our curse and it let us pass. I’m not sure if that is a good thing or not.

Once inside the cave we were ambushed by a pair of wall-dwelling creatures but thankfully the sharp eyes of Loeb spotted one of them and we were able to kill them both without too much trouble.