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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eccles" data-source="post: 678826" data-attributes="member: 5675">Miles' JournalPart 2-------------Uktar 1st - We took Rand to the Lathander temple at dawn where he was fully restored to health having been left on death's door by the attacks of a shadow in the estate last night, and also a poison bolt from a trap he sprung. Some of the others got spells cast on them in return for donations. I did not require healing. After lunch at the Inn, we packed up our things and set out on the road south. This month is popularly known as The Rotting. It is aptly named so, as leaves, which had fallen from the trees in the past month, have turned into thick squelchy mulch underfoot. Night fell; we lit our torches and carried on... And then we found ourselves in a forested valley, surrounded by a thick bank of mist. Furthermore it appeared to be spring or summer here, the trees are in bloom, but stranger still is that the sun is up, it appeared to be mid afternoon. We proceeded towards a dilapidated village we could see, across fields of cabbages. We found there the body of a man which makes no sense, as it appears he killed himself within the last day, yet his robes are encrusted in old blood. As we explored the village we came upon a trio of feral humans feasting on a fresh dog corpse, we fled at the sight of us shouting "Fresh Sacrifice". Very unnerving. We made our way to the only decent looking building, and were let inside to find about a dozen people hiding within. They informed us that we were in the village of Holborn in Merrydale! This cannot be! Daggerdale was called Merrydale many years ago, we must somehow have travelled backwards through time, though that does not explain the ring of mist around this place, or the monk from Stedd's order who has been waiting for us for 37 years here. He says that the dead walk in Clearwater and that he was sent to fetch us... about a month ago. Apparently anything that dies here is reborn the next morning. The old monk tried to hit me, and I ran him through. He'll be back tomorrow anyway. It seems some creature plagues this place, the villagers call it the Bringer of Veils and that is comes in the mist, as at night the mist rolls in to engulf the whole village, retreating at dawn. We tried collapsing the well, figuring that this creature came from down there (there certainly wasn’t anywhere else it could have been hiding), but night came quickly and with it the mists! We holed up in the Inn and after what seemed like an eternity the Bringer arrived, breaking into the Inn and battling us. In appearance it looked like a cloud of mist itself, save for dozen or so writhing white tentacles that lashed out from wherever its body was amidst all the whiteness. It overpowered nearly all of us; killing Rand in the process but Taeghan slew the strange beast and revived those of us not yet dead. The rest of the night passed quickly. Uktar 2nd (Holborn) - Personal Note: I am continuing to date days as if we were still on Faerun, though I am certain we are not. Such helps me to remain calm and think my way through things, rather than abandon hope as these pathetic villagers have done. Woke up this morning and the beast's body was gone, meaning it too is again alive and not the cause of this malady as we had thought. Something else is at the root of this problem it seems. Rand rejoined us, and we can now look forward to another battle with the creature tonight. We decided to investigate the well, lowering Stedd down it. He fell, but survived... for a while anyway. He shouted up that there was a chamber down there and that he was going to investigate it. Then we heard screaming, and then silence. Rand was the next to go down, and again we heard screaming from the bottom of the well as he landed there. Tanus was halfway down at the time and quickly scrambled back up the rope and out. We decided to try and kill the Bringer tonight and then go down the well afterwards, reasoning that it is probably what is down there that killed Rand and Stedd. Sure enough come nightfall it came for us (I love predictable opponents), and we again slew it using a plan I devised. While Taeghan and Braddoc charged it and kept it busy, Tanus and myself shot it from range. I then went down into the well and found Rand & Stedd's bodies floating in the shallow grimy water of the chamber. In the centre of the chamber was a crystal on a pedestal, with an inscription carved into the pedestal that read: "To all Holborn,Life eternal, but be warned.Live forever, all you yearn,Break the crystal, time returns.Age aplenty, life turns not,People crumble, bodies rot." I realised that if I broke the crystal then, both Rand and Stedd would remain dead. So we waited until dawn, and in the meantime hauled their bodies and stuff up out of the well. When they returned to life, my companions shouted down to me and before the thing could return to life I broke the crystal. Unfortunately this then triggered a minor earthquake. I fled the cave as it collapsed around me, and was hailed up out of the well in time to watch hundreds of years of age affect the village folk who decayed to dust, except a few who remained standing and began to move towards us with hunger in their eyes. Ghouls! They surged towards us and I moved to protect Taeghan, to no avail as he swiftly went down under their claws and one of the foul creatures scored a hit on me, scratching my flesh and inflicting me with paralysis. I could only watch as my companions battled on against these undead monsters, which they did superbly. We decided to collapse a few of the remaining village buildings into the well shaft to seal that chamber forever. Quite who or what put the crystal (and its curse) there in the first place and why is a mystery we will likely never solve. We made camp and exhausted dropped to sleep. Uktar 2nd (Daggerdale) - We woke up this morning on the trail south of Dagger Falls, the past day or so's events seemingly taken place in the space of one night. Very bizarre. When the others went to eat breakfast they discovered that during our time in Holborn, the crazed villagers had eaten their rations (well after several hundred years of eating cabbages, the village dog and each other I imagine they wanted a change), with only Taeghan and myself having any remaining in our packs. After foraging for food without much success we headed on our way. I spotted shapes stalking us in the woods to either side of the road, and as we rounded a bend we saw a hobgoblin in the middle of the road ahead. Taeghan recognised him and charged, the rest of the group did likewise and our target fled into the forest leaving a message behind that read: "Giv uz da dwarf barbariun and yoo ovvers can liv" Needless to say we discarded it. We then decided to head back to Dagger Falls to reprovision before again setting out to Clearwater tomorrow. We half ran, half walked back to Dagger Falls where the others stuffed their packs to bursting with food. We spent the night in our usual Inn. Uktar 3rd - Headed out of Dagger Falls early today, once more heading south towards Clearwater to see what has become of this groups hometown. No doubt the werewolves are waiting for us to attempt the journey again. The day went by without incident though, and we made camp soon after dark. Since I have little need for sleep, I took second and third watches with Taeghan. The werewolves played with us some during the night, one stealing Braddoc’s backpack away. Uktar 4th - We headed further towards Clearwater and were no doubt trailed the whole way by the werewolves, but we saw no sign of them. At dusk we made camp and readied ourselves for another night of their cat and mouse games. Sure enough they didn't disappoint and we found ourselves in a pitched battle with five of them before long. Braddoc managed to kill one of their number, who turned out to be the female bandit who escaped this group on their journey to Dagger Falls from Clearwater. The rest of the lycanthropes fled with her death, retreating into the night.</blockquote>

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