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The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith
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<blockquote data-quote="Jubilee" data-source="post: 3395878" data-attributes="member: 36594"><p><strong>Gwaenna Goldenbrow of the Quiet Folk joins the campaign</strong></p><p></p><p>My previous character, Kylara (IR in Artemis's journals), parted ways with the company in Karnath and we introduced my new character last session:</p><p></p><p>… On my way into the Crypt of the Crimson Stars I saw one of the strangest things I have ever witnessed. After I had evaded the halflings who camped on the cliffs above and climbed down the cliff face, I was about to enter the cave when I scanned the area one more time to make sure I was not observed. Much to my surprise, I saw a large warforged, illuminated by the light of three half-moons, riding across the lake on a sturdy, though somewhat nervous-seeming, horse! As I watched, wishing I had the artistic skill to render the scene on canvas (it was so perfectly absurd, and I think it would make even Hunter smile), he began to pull on the reins, steering his horse toward me. I concealed myself behind what little cover there was beside the cave to see what would happen. Unfortunately, in my haste, I chose the side with no avenue of escape save back up the cliff or into the water. I think I will not tell Hunter about that bit of foolishness.</p><p> </p><p>As I watched the warforged approach, I realized with some distress that I could no longer hear the sounds of the night around me, nor the breeze I could feel on my face, or the sound of his horse. I cursed and crouched lower, hoping whatever magical companions this warforged had wouldn’t notice me, but I was not entirely successful. The warforged and his horse stopped about fifteen feet out from the cave mouth, still hovering slightly above the water. My second surprise for the night came in the form of a Valenar jumping out of the air and landing (silently, of course) on the shore in front of the cave. He began moving towards it when another figure and her horse appeared at the shore. She took a moment to tie the horse to some scrub and follow the Valenar. The warforged wheeled his horse and rode ashore before he joined the other two at the cave.</p><p> </p><p>I foolishly assumed these three to be the only adventurers, as the female was dressed somewhat like a wizard or sorcerer and carried only a short spear. I should have known something more was afoot when the warforged did not ride straight forward! However, as soon as the three of them moved into the cave, I peeked around the corner to see what was happening. I couldn’t see past them in the narrow entrance, and thanks to that silence zone, I couldn't hear what was happening either. I crouched low again, and waited for the wizard and her awful silence to go with her, but once I counted several heartbeats, I still couldn’t hear anything. I'll admit here that I began to feel a bit panicked and trapped at this point, so once again I took the risk of peeking into the cave.</p><p> </p><p>A large form, a horse I later learned, though I couldn’t see it at the time, nearly trampled me and knocked me from my feet as I moved. I scrambled upright as quickly as possible and tried to back away from the cave, but didn’t want to risk falling into the water. A moment later, a well-dressed human jumped down from his invisible horse (almost stepping on me himself). As he turned, brushing his coat straight and untangling his gorgon-headed staff from the reins of his horse, he looked straight at me. He was clearly startled, not to mention paranoid, because he gave me a false smile, waved in what I presume he imagined was a friendly manner, and began reaching for a wand. For my own part, I knew I could draw my sword in half a heartbeat, but I didn’t want to fight so many if I could avoid it, so I raised my hands and tried to look friendly. I don’t think I will tell Hunter about that, either. He wouldn’t understand.</p><p> </p><p>A few moments passed while the human tried to decide what to do with me, but some glowing writing appeared on the cliff face beside us – “Artemis, our companions need you inside, I will take care of it.” Without a pause, the human turned and ran inside the cave. I learned two vital pieces of information: This man was Artemis Huew Cannith (Hutch appeared on the other side of the horse and hurried after him another half-heartbeat later, confirming my guess) and there was a spellcaster, of unknown power and disposition, out here with me. I knew I could probably negotiate with Artemis, so I raced in after him. </p><p> </p><p>As I came up behind him, I saw that his other companions had discovered a manticore inside the cave (I counted the blessings that had made the warforged visible at just the right moment and kept me from entering the cave alone to be its next meal), but I was still within that cursed zone of silence, so I continued circling around the chamber, hoping to help them and thus make my benign intentions clear to Artemis and his friends. I didn’t have a chance to fight the beast, curse my luck!, for the woman I had mistake for a wizard struck it a fatal blow between the ribs just as I was about to charge. Instead, I yelled out that I was no enemy and called Artemis a d’Cannith just for good measure. Artemis’s only response was to correct my usage of his name – it must be a sensitive issue.</p><p> </p><p>Before I had the chance to respond, a gnome woman came up beside Artemis and began to spellcast. As I felt her spell settle over me, I found myself not really caring what she had done to me. At the same time, a nasty, tentacled creature popped out of the shadows of a sarcophagus behind me and struck at me. The warforged made a fine shot, right past my ear, which struck and killed the tentacled beast and the Valenar ran past, searching another spot where the warforged claimed another was hiding. </p><p> </p><p>Artemis and the gnome began to argue, and I again tried to explain to them that I wasn’t here to hurt them, when the woman I had mistaken for a wizard picked up her crossbow and pointed it at me! Well, this was when I realized that the gnome had cast a charm over me, and I was quite angry that she should have distracted me so her ally would have the time to hurt me. I demanded to know why she did it, and she exclaimed that she couldn’t be sure what my intentions were, and Artemis cried out that I was from Sharn and knew his name. I thought they were all fools to be arguing about this on the field of combat (perhaps I should have parted ways with them right then, despite what I might find deeper in this vault), and told them their priorities were all out of alignment as I stepped forward to dispatch the tentacled beast that had appeared out of the shadows to attack the Valenar.</p><p> </p><p>The gnome continued to argue with Artemis as the Valenar and I spread out to either side of the chamber to check for more gricks. We each found one and dispatched them with ease. Finally, everyone had quieted down enough for me to explain whom I was and that I was after the knowledge that might be contained in the vault, not here to steal their riches. They didn’t press for details, and I have been laughed at enough for my theories that I didn’t volunteer an explanation.</p><p></p><p>Artemis introduced the rest of his companions: Dalia was the gnome; Sten, the warforged; Caelan, the Valenar; and Xil was the last. Xil turned out to be a changeling with a variety of skills but no particular specialization as near as I can tell. I shall simply call him by his name and not worry about it. I explained to them that I had been exploring ruins like these for most of my life and Artemis invited me to join them. He even promised me an equal part in the treasure if I should do my equal part of the work. I told him that I would protect them with my sword, and asked if they had a trapsmith. He declared that he was a specialist in all things mechanical and that Dalia had some skill as well. </p><p> </p><p>Well, he was competent enough when he put his mind to it, but everyone else did seem to rush around a bit and he was easily hurried, which didn’t do us much good; especially considering they didn’t have a healer with them. I am used to doing things the hard way, though, and am confident I will manage. Hunter would think me a fool for trusting these folk. But I must trust somebody; I am not as strong as Hunter.</p><p> </p><p>There was a broken door at the other end of the chamber, and a body probably three weeks dead was lying there. I knelt beside it to search for anything useful as the others clustered around and peered into the room beyond. Some of it seemed of very fine quality, so I cast a dweomer to look for magic; lo, some of the poor unfortunate’s gear WAS magical. Artemis expressed surprise that I could cast spells; no one else seemed to notice.</p><p> </p><p>We moved into the next room, which was guarded by a statue. Artemis swept the room for magic and declared that there was only something at the far end of the chamber, where another body lay. As we stood contemplating this room, a ghost rose out of the body behind us! I’ll admit here that ghosts frighten me a little – I have no defenses against them, and they can be devistating foes. It had its pick of targets, but didn’t damage any of us before I got a chance to strike at it. I discharged the scorching rays I had stored in my sword when I hit it, and the brilliant flash of fire dissipated the ghost immediately. I breathed a sigh of relief and stepped away from the body, just in case. Dalia assured us that she could see invisibility and that the ghost had not simply disappeared to attack again.</p><p> </p><p>As Xil and Dalia moved into the room, a cacophony of noise and pain assaulted me. In the room was the sound of whirling blades, while the statue itself came oddly to life, swinging the crook it had in a circle, striking Artemis, Sten, and myself. It struck Sten so forcefully that it knocked him against the wall and then to the ground.</p><p> </p><p>I should take a moment to describe the statue, for it is quite remarkable: It stood about twleve feet tall and was definitely humanoid, but of no particularly discernable race. It appeared to be wearing some kind of draping robe over its body and a hawk-head mask over its head. In one hand it seemed to hold a dragonshard and in the other a staff with a hook at the end. This stony staff is what it used to batter us about. It was too weathered by time to discern a gender; however, I am confident it was built not by the Hobgoblins who placed their tombs in the room before, but by those who originally built this place. I believe the traps are also their construction.</p><p> </p><p>I crouched at the base of the statue and looked to Artemis, waiting to see if he had any instruction. He began to search the statue over to see what was causing it to batter us when Caelan rushed past to rescue Dalia from the blades and sent the statue spinning again! We all took quite a beating and Artemis screamed, a bit shrilly (I think I would have been a little shrill if people were making my job harder), that no one was to move! He took a few more minutes searching the thing and I asked, politely I think, if I could move. I had no desire to get hit by it if his trap-working set it going again. He growled at me, so I stayed in place and drank a potion. </p><p> </p><p>He did disable it and he, Xil, and Dalia began a systematic search of the room for more traps. There was a pit in the room beyond the statue, so as soon as the floor was declared safe, I moved up to peer down. It was only about 40 feet deep, with a floor of rusty spikes that had impaled another of the hapless adventurers. As I was contemplating the best way to retrieve the body (there was magic upon it), another ghost rose up from the body! I was thankful I had taken the time to set another scorching ray into my sword, because I was able to dispatch it almost at once. I felt the chill of its touch all the way to the marrow of my bones, but suffered little permanent damage for it.</p><p> </p><p>I am not sure how it came about, but Dalia suddenly fell like a rock to the ground in the middle of a sentence while Sten, Caelan, Artemis and I were discussing whether one of us ought to climb down to the body or if we should try to pull it up to us. Artemis insisted he had the magic to lift it up instead. After some muttering and some examination of Dalia by the others (I have no skill or knowledge of healing myself, so I kept out of the way), Artemis pulled out yet another wand and used it on Dalia. This seemed to revive her immediately and she told us the blades of the trap in the corner had poisoned her. </p><p> </p><p>In short order, we recovered the body and salvaged his useful gear, including a dragonshard. The body didn’t appear to have a dragonmark, or perhaps the body was too far rotted and mangled to see one. The door presented the problem of being guarded by two magical traps that couldn’t be disabled without triggering them. Dalia and Artemis managed to suppress the magic for a time, but couldn’t disable them before they reset. Two shadowy forms appeared in the chamber between us and the two trapsmiths at work, but they seemed to have no great effect. Dalia kept muttering about how ingenious the trap was.</p><p> </p><p>The final body lay crumpled directly in front of the door. Sten and I stayed close; ready to strike if another ghost should appear. Of course, it did while Artemis was standing over the body to examine the door. I was too careful about hitting him and missed the ghost! Once again, we dispatched it without much trouble and Artemis finished picking the lock (a very fine set of lockpicks had been left there by the previous owner). After he was finished, he backed away and Dalia volunteered to open the door. She pulled a mummified hand out of her pack and slipped it around her neck. After a moment's concentration, the door opened ahead of us. Remarkable!</p><p> </p><p>What followed was a couple of long, narrow, winding corridors that seemed not to have been walked on in generations. Like the rest of the complex, the walls were smooth and completely bare – if these people had any form of art or decoration, it was something they took with them. We came across a room that was filled with ranks of stone guards. They looked much like the statue in the first room, with hawk-headed masks and standing about twelve feet tall, but they were dressed and armed as guards. It was rather eerie, and we all moved through it cautiously.</p><p> </p><p>After we got through the guardroom, Artemis began moving faster. I suspect he was not searching as thoroughly as before, having declared that one traps their front door, not their living room. I would trap every room in my house, if I had the knowledge to do so (and a house!). Vignaroth would teach me, I think. I would, of course, know how to move safely about my own house, but an invader wouldn’t.</p><p> </p><p>I heard a loud crash in the corridor, around the corner from where I stood. I called out to know what had happened and Sten yelled that a portcullis had come down and that Artemis was trapped on the other side. I felt a chill; why use a portcullis instead of solid door? Dalia said she would disable the trap and make the portcullis rise, and Artemis declared there was nothing he could do from his side. I waited, counting heartbeats.</p><p> </p><p>A swarm of beetles overtook our party. The swarm was massive, and the creatures were faster and much more vicious than anything I had encountered before. I cast a scorching ray into them, while others began to drop flasks of alchemical fire at their own feet. They dodged around both rays, which struck harmlessly at stone. I backed away, giving them fewer targets to choose from, and Xil clambered up onto a statue. I thought about telling him the creatures could probably climb it better than he, but decided not to demoralize him.</p><p></p><p>Dalia came scrambling out of the swarm, coughing and retching, absolutely covered in the biting creatures. She splashed alchemist fire at herself before she fell writing to the ground. I stepped past her to face the swarm again, readying a shocking grasp and reached out to discharge it at the creatures. Hutch, too, withdrew past me into the guardroom and I heard a soft pop of displaced air. Artemis was standing there and I surmised that Hutch must be back at the other side of the portcullis. Artemis pulled out another wand and knelt by the writing Dalia. He waved it, but nothing happened. He cursed.</p><p> </p><p>I swear to you, I only blinked, but between one look and the next, there was nothing left of Dalia but her clothes and the remaining beetles scattering away. They had consumed her, right down to the bone and I was sure for a minute I was looking down at my own sad fate when the beetles once more swarmed over us. Artemis fell to the ground with a broken curse. I reached out with another shocking grasp and dispersed the rest of them. I cried out to Sten, who was about to throw another alchemist fire at my feet (I had been splashed a number of times, I noticed afterwards. That’s one kimono ruined), that the beetles were gone, as was Dalia, and that Artemis was unconscious.</p><p> </p><p>Xil administered a potion to Artemis, who then used his wands to heal himself and the others a bit more as we all stood, sadly contemplating what little remained of Dalia. We speculated whether there was anything of Dalia left on that blade trap that had shredded her earlier – could we use that to have her brought back? But Artemis reminded us that Dolurrh was too distant for resurrection magics to work for at least another year. Dalia could not be saved by us. I didn’t know her well, and we hadn’t gotten off to the best of starts, but that’s not a fate I’d want for anyone; and besides, I thought we might have gotten on quite well, given enough time. I’d gotten the feeling she’d have understood the kind of life you lead in Blackbones better than any of the others. ...</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Jubilee, post: 3395878, member: 36594"] [b]Gwaenna Goldenbrow of the Quiet Folk joins the campaign[/b] My previous character, Kylara (IR in Artemis's journals), parted ways with the company in Karnath and we introduced my new character last session: … On my way into the Crypt of the Crimson Stars I saw one of the strangest things I have ever witnessed. After I had evaded the halflings who camped on the cliffs above and climbed down the cliff face, I was about to enter the cave when I scanned the area one more time to make sure I was not observed. Much to my surprise, I saw a large warforged, illuminated by the light of three half-moons, riding across the lake on a sturdy, though somewhat nervous-seeming, horse! As I watched, wishing I had the artistic skill to render the scene on canvas (it was so perfectly absurd, and I think it would make even Hunter smile), he began to pull on the reins, steering his horse toward me. I concealed myself behind what little cover there was beside the cave to see what would happen. Unfortunately, in my haste, I chose the side with no avenue of escape save back up the cliff or into the water. I think I will not tell Hunter about that bit of foolishness. As I watched the warforged approach, I realized with some distress that I could no longer hear the sounds of the night around me, nor the breeze I could feel on my face, or the sound of his horse. I cursed and crouched lower, hoping whatever magical companions this warforged had wouldn’t notice me, but I was not entirely successful. The warforged and his horse stopped about fifteen feet out from the cave mouth, still hovering slightly above the water. My second surprise for the night came in the form of a Valenar jumping out of the air and landing (silently, of course) on the shore in front of the cave. He began moving towards it when another figure and her horse appeared at the shore. She took a moment to tie the horse to some scrub and follow the Valenar. The warforged wheeled his horse and rode ashore before he joined the other two at the cave. I foolishly assumed these three to be the only adventurers, as the female was dressed somewhat like a wizard or sorcerer and carried only a short spear. I should have known something more was afoot when the warforged did not ride straight forward! However, as soon as the three of them moved into the cave, I peeked around the corner to see what was happening. I couldn’t see past them in the narrow entrance, and thanks to that silence zone, I couldn't hear what was happening either. I crouched low again, and waited for the wizard and her awful silence to go with her, but once I counted several heartbeats, I still couldn’t hear anything. I'll admit here that I began to feel a bit panicked and trapped at this point, so once again I took the risk of peeking into the cave. A large form, a horse I later learned, though I couldn’t see it at the time, nearly trampled me and knocked me from my feet as I moved. I scrambled upright as quickly as possible and tried to back away from the cave, but didn’t want to risk falling into the water. A moment later, a well-dressed human jumped down from his invisible horse (almost stepping on me himself). As he turned, brushing his coat straight and untangling his gorgon-headed staff from the reins of his horse, he looked straight at me. He was clearly startled, not to mention paranoid, because he gave me a false smile, waved in what I presume he imagined was a friendly manner, and began reaching for a wand. For my own part, I knew I could draw my sword in half a heartbeat, but I didn’t want to fight so many if I could avoid it, so I raised my hands and tried to look friendly. I don’t think I will tell Hunter about that, either. He wouldn’t understand. A few moments passed while the human tried to decide what to do with me, but some glowing writing appeared on the cliff face beside us – “Artemis, our companions need you inside, I will take care of it.” Without a pause, the human turned and ran inside the cave. I learned two vital pieces of information: This man was Artemis Huew Cannith (Hutch appeared on the other side of the horse and hurried after him another half-heartbeat later, confirming my guess) and there was a spellcaster, of unknown power and disposition, out here with me. I knew I could probably negotiate with Artemis, so I raced in after him. As I came up behind him, I saw that his other companions had discovered a manticore inside the cave (I counted the blessings that had made the warforged visible at just the right moment and kept me from entering the cave alone to be its next meal), but I was still within that cursed zone of silence, so I continued circling around the chamber, hoping to help them and thus make my benign intentions clear to Artemis and his friends. I didn’t have a chance to fight the beast, curse my luck!, for the woman I had mistake for a wizard struck it a fatal blow between the ribs just as I was about to charge. Instead, I yelled out that I was no enemy and called Artemis a d’Cannith just for good measure. Artemis’s only response was to correct my usage of his name – it must be a sensitive issue. Before I had the chance to respond, a gnome woman came up beside Artemis and began to spellcast. As I felt her spell settle over me, I found myself not really caring what she had done to me. At the same time, a nasty, tentacled creature popped out of the shadows of a sarcophagus behind me and struck at me. The warforged made a fine shot, right past my ear, which struck and killed the tentacled beast and the Valenar ran past, searching another spot where the warforged claimed another was hiding. Artemis and the gnome began to argue, and I again tried to explain to them that I wasn’t here to hurt them, when the woman I had mistaken for a wizard picked up her crossbow and pointed it at me! Well, this was when I realized that the gnome had cast a charm over me, and I was quite angry that she should have distracted me so her ally would have the time to hurt me. I demanded to know why she did it, and she exclaimed that she couldn’t be sure what my intentions were, and Artemis cried out that I was from Sharn and knew his name. I thought they were all fools to be arguing about this on the field of combat (perhaps I should have parted ways with them right then, despite what I might find deeper in this vault), and told them their priorities were all out of alignment as I stepped forward to dispatch the tentacled beast that had appeared out of the shadows to attack the Valenar. The gnome continued to argue with Artemis as the Valenar and I spread out to either side of the chamber to check for more gricks. We each found one and dispatched them with ease. Finally, everyone had quieted down enough for me to explain whom I was and that I was after the knowledge that might be contained in the vault, not here to steal their riches. They didn’t press for details, and I have been laughed at enough for my theories that I didn’t volunteer an explanation. Artemis introduced the rest of his companions: Dalia was the gnome; Sten, the warforged; Caelan, the Valenar; and Xil was the last. Xil turned out to be a changeling with a variety of skills but no particular specialization as near as I can tell. I shall simply call him by his name and not worry about it. I explained to them that I had been exploring ruins like these for most of my life and Artemis invited me to join them. He even promised me an equal part in the treasure if I should do my equal part of the work. I told him that I would protect them with my sword, and asked if they had a trapsmith. He declared that he was a specialist in all things mechanical and that Dalia had some skill as well. Well, he was competent enough when he put his mind to it, but everyone else did seem to rush around a bit and he was easily hurried, which didn’t do us much good; especially considering they didn’t have a healer with them. I am used to doing things the hard way, though, and am confident I will manage. Hunter would think me a fool for trusting these folk. But I must trust somebody; I am not as strong as Hunter. There was a broken door at the other end of the chamber, and a body probably three weeks dead was lying there. I knelt beside it to search for anything useful as the others clustered around and peered into the room beyond. Some of it seemed of very fine quality, so I cast a dweomer to look for magic; lo, some of the poor unfortunate’s gear WAS magical. Artemis expressed surprise that I could cast spells; no one else seemed to notice. We moved into the next room, which was guarded by a statue. Artemis swept the room for magic and declared that there was only something at the far end of the chamber, where another body lay. As we stood contemplating this room, a ghost rose out of the body behind us! I’ll admit here that ghosts frighten me a little – I have no defenses against them, and they can be devistating foes. It had its pick of targets, but didn’t damage any of us before I got a chance to strike at it. I discharged the scorching rays I had stored in my sword when I hit it, and the brilliant flash of fire dissipated the ghost immediately. I breathed a sigh of relief and stepped away from the body, just in case. Dalia assured us that she could see invisibility and that the ghost had not simply disappeared to attack again. As Xil and Dalia moved into the room, a cacophony of noise and pain assaulted me. In the room was the sound of whirling blades, while the statue itself came oddly to life, swinging the crook it had in a circle, striking Artemis, Sten, and myself. It struck Sten so forcefully that it knocked him against the wall and then to the ground. I should take a moment to describe the statue, for it is quite remarkable: It stood about twleve feet tall and was definitely humanoid, but of no particularly discernable race. It appeared to be wearing some kind of draping robe over its body and a hawk-head mask over its head. In one hand it seemed to hold a dragonshard and in the other a staff with a hook at the end. This stony staff is what it used to batter us about. It was too weathered by time to discern a gender; however, I am confident it was built not by the Hobgoblins who placed their tombs in the room before, but by those who originally built this place. I believe the traps are also their construction. I crouched at the base of the statue and looked to Artemis, waiting to see if he had any instruction. He began to search the statue over to see what was causing it to batter us when Caelan rushed past to rescue Dalia from the blades and sent the statue spinning again! We all took quite a beating and Artemis screamed, a bit shrilly (I think I would have been a little shrill if people were making my job harder), that no one was to move! He took a few more minutes searching the thing and I asked, politely I think, if I could move. I had no desire to get hit by it if his trap-working set it going again. He growled at me, so I stayed in place and drank a potion. He did disable it and he, Xil, and Dalia began a systematic search of the room for more traps. There was a pit in the room beyond the statue, so as soon as the floor was declared safe, I moved up to peer down. It was only about 40 feet deep, with a floor of rusty spikes that had impaled another of the hapless adventurers. As I was contemplating the best way to retrieve the body (there was magic upon it), another ghost rose up from the body! I was thankful I had taken the time to set another scorching ray into my sword, because I was able to dispatch it almost at once. I felt the chill of its touch all the way to the marrow of my bones, but suffered little permanent damage for it. I am not sure how it came about, but Dalia suddenly fell like a rock to the ground in the middle of a sentence while Sten, Caelan, Artemis and I were discussing whether one of us ought to climb down to the body or if we should try to pull it up to us. Artemis insisted he had the magic to lift it up instead. After some muttering and some examination of Dalia by the others (I have no skill or knowledge of healing myself, so I kept out of the way), Artemis pulled out yet another wand and used it on Dalia. This seemed to revive her immediately and she told us the blades of the trap in the corner had poisoned her. In short order, we recovered the body and salvaged his useful gear, including a dragonshard. The body didn’t appear to have a dragonmark, or perhaps the body was too far rotted and mangled to see one. The door presented the problem of being guarded by two magical traps that couldn’t be disabled without triggering them. Dalia and Artemis managed to suppress the magic for a time, but couldn’t disable them before they reset. Two shadowy forms appeared in the chamber between us and the two trapsmiths at work, but they seemed to have no great effect. Dalia kept muttering about how ingenious the trap was. The final body lay crumpled directly in front of the door. Sten and I stayed close; ready to strike if another ghost should appear. Of course, it did while Artemis was standing over the body to examine the door. I was too careful about hitting him and missed the ghost! Once again, we dispatched it without much trouble and Artemis finished picking the lock (a very fine set of lockpicks had been left there by the previous owner). After he was finished, he backed away and Dalia volunteered to open the door. She pulled a mummified hand out of her pack and slipped it around her neck. After a moment's concentration, the door opened ahead of us. Remarkable! What followed was a couple of long, narrow, winding corridors that seemed not to have been walked on in generations. Like the rest of the complex, the walls were smooth and completely bare – if these people had any form of art or decoration, it was something they took with them. We came across a room that was filled with ranks of stone guards. They looked much like the statue in the first room, with hawk-headed masks and standing about twelve feet tall, but they were dressed and armed as guards. It was rather eerie, and we all moved through it cautiously. After we got through the guardroom, Artemis began moving faster. I suspect he was not searching as thoroughly as before, having declared that one traps their front door, not their living room. I would trap every room in my house, if I had the knowledge to do so (and a house!). Vignaroth would teach me, I think. I would, of course, know how to move safely about my own house, but an invader wouldn’t. I heard a loud crash in the corridor, around the corner from where I stood. I called out to know what had happened and Sten yelled that a portcullis had come down and that Artemis was trapped on the other side. I felt a chill; why use a portcullis instead of solid door? Dalia said she would disable the trap and make the portcullis rise, and Artemis declared there was nothing he could do from his side. I waited, counting heartbeats. A swarm of beetles overtook our party. The swarm was massive, and the creatures were faster and much more vicious than anything I had encountered before. I cast a scorching ray into them, while others began to drop flasks of alchemical fire at their own feet. They dodged around both rays, which struck harmlessly at stone. I backed away, giving them fewer targets to choose from, and Xil clambered up onto a statue. I thought about telling him the creatures could probably climb it better than he, but decided not to demoralize him. Dalia came scrambling out of the swarm, coughing and retching, absolutely covered in the biting creatures. She splashed alchemist fire at herself before she fell writing to the ground. I stepped past her to face the swarm again, readying a shocking grasp and reached out to discharge it at the creatures. Hutch, too, withdrew past me into the guardroom and I heard a soft pop of displaced air. Artemis was standing there and I surmised that Hutch must be back at the other side of the portcullis. Artemis pulled out another wand and knelt by the writing Dalia. He waved it, but nothing happened. He cursed. I swear to you, I only blinked, but between one look and the next, there was nothing left of Dalia but her clothes and the remaining beetles scattering away. They had consumed her, right down to the bone and I was sure for a minute I was looking down at my own sad fate when the beetles once more swarmed over us. Artemis fell to the ground with a broken curse. I reached out with another shocking grasp and dispersed the rest of them. I cried out to Sten, who was about to throw another alchemist fire at my feet (I had been splashed a number of times, I noticed afterwards. That’s one kimono ruined), that the beetles were gone, as was Dalia, and that Artemis was unconscious. Xil administered a potion to Artemis, who then used his wands to heal himself and the others a bit more as we all stood, sadly contemplating what little remained of Dalia. We speculated whether there was anything of Dalia left on that blade trap that had shredded her earlier – could we use that to have her brought back? But Artemis reminded us that Dolurrh was too distant for resurrection magics to work for at least another year. Dalia could not be saved by us. I didn’t know her well, and we hadn’t gotten off to the best of starts, but that’s not a fate I’d want for anyone; and besides, I thought we might have gotten on quite well, given enough time. I’d gotten the feeling she’d have understood the kind of life you lead in Blackbones better than any of the others. ... [/QUOTE]
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The Collected Journals of Artemis Heuw Cannith
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