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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Eccles" data-source="post: 750360" data-attributes="member: 5675">Miles' JournalPart 6------------Nightal 8th - We were informed early this morning that because we had trespassed on these cat people’s lands, one of us had to fight their champion, unarmed. Stedd took this task upon himself (as frankly none of the rest of us would have had a chance), and beat the crap out of him in less time than it takes to tell. Unfortunately, this then meant that the tribe proclaimed him as their Lord of the Morning, and refused to let him leave with the rest of us. To make matters worse, the tribe’s shaman, the only one who can understand our language just happens to be a Rakshasa! We went aside to talk to him, and at that point a strange portal opened up. The Rakshasa fled, and the portal vanished, depositing a dwarf warrior who it seems used an item to find Braddoc. He calls himself Khondar Axewielder. He carries with him a very effective looking pair of large axes. A man who lives up to his name it seems. I paid little attention to his conversation with Braddoc, suffice to say that Khondar is here to help his lord get home and win back their clan hold, or something to that effect. Dwarven matters have never overly interested me, they put too many obstacles in their way towards achieving a goal I find, burdening themselves with honour and grudges and the like. Talking with the Rakshasa (who returned a little while later after he was sure it was safe), I attempted to make a bargain with it as our only other option to leaving and brining Stedd with us, is for him to throw a fight which he is not keen on doing. Seems dwarves are not the only ones who load themselves up with the burden of honour. The Rakshasa said that in return to us getting him back to his home world, a place called Oerth, that he would pose as Stedd while we were gone thus allowing us to head towards the mountain. He also said that the way home could be found at the summit, something about a tree of some sort. Stedd has sworn to do so, making a solemn oath, in effect giving the Rakshasa his word. We set off from the camp without being seen (the Rakshasa caused a distraction over the other side of the camp), and proceeded towards the mountain. Up in the hills around its base, the hills are densely forested, and it took Braddoc and Khondar to hack us a path through the thick undergrowth. Unfortunately this attracted a massive serpent that wrapped me in its coils, and I could only watch as my companions battled to free me, while I was slowly, and very painfully, crushed by its constriction. Khondar slaughtered the creature, and Stedd freed me from its coils. We made camp soon after and during the night the camp was attacked by a pair of tigers. Khondar annihilated both of them. I have never before seen such a brutal display of prowess in all my experience of killing. As I write this I am still splattered in the blood of the cats. Truly Braddoc has himself a very impressive clansman. Nightal 9th - A few hours after dealing with pair of tigers, our campsite was again invaded, this time by a true monster of the species. A tiger nearly thirty feet in length! I never even laid an attack on it, the creature being felled by the combined actions of Rand, Khondar and Stedd, with our monk finally breaking its back. I am worried as many of us are wounded and with no priests we are in trouble. We moved the campsite a short distance away from the corpse in the morning, and then rested for the day, thankfully without any further interruptions. Some of us are still in very grave condition especially Khondar who was badly mauled by the various cats last night. Tonight our camp was harassed by some small strange lizardmen creatures, with bright red crests. I got shot several times with envenomed darts before Braddoc appeased them by throwing food to them. I must now add myself to the list of the party’s severely injured members. Nightal 10th - We decided to continue on our way today, going hell bent for leather to get out of this thick forest as fast as possible. The lizardmen returned again tonight, and again we fed them. Nightal 11th - We continued our exhausting trek through the forest, heading up towards the mountain slope. At one point we came upon a village of the lizardmen, built up in the treetops above us as we passed far beneath it, listening to their chittering talk. We went around most of it though, rather than appear to antagonise them by invading their territory still further. Later on as we travelled through the undergrowth the plants around us came to life, attacking and grabbing at us all. I don't remember what happened next, but I am told that a vine nearly hanged me; certainly my neck aches. I was brought back from the brink of death by Stedd's generosity, donating his last healing potion. I am now the most injured member of this group. The irony of my commenting on our state a few days back is not lost on me. Nightal 12th - We reached the foot of the mountain today and we had very little luck in foraging for food. I am now very thankful that I do not need to eat or drink as my companions now face the very real threat of starvation. Nightal 13th - We spent the day camped at the forest edge, while the others tried to secure a decent amount of food with only marginal success. I spent the day resting as I am still recovering from the venom on the lizardmen’s darts. I have noticed that Pharaxes almost never sleeps and seems a bit... well jittery. His first tactic in our fights thus far has been total self-preservation with spells for invisibility and fast movement being his favourites. I wonder what he is afraid of; he arrived through a portal of some kind, could it be he is fleeing someone? As I was grudgingly on watch this evening the forest seemed to come alive, vines and tendrils lashing out to attack us. Whatever it was it beat the hell out of us, at one point engulfing Khondar, but eventually a combination of melee and Rand's fire spell stopped it in its tracks. Nightal 14th - We spent the day climbing the mountain without any encounters. There was some debate this morning whether or not to go ahead and ascend, but having been attacked almost non-stop in that forest, the argument was short as none of us are in any shape to continue to fight against the creatures that inhabit that place. The climb was tough going, and we ended the day about two-thirds of the way up the slope, camping out on a rocky ledge that is only marginally sheltered from the cold wind up here. I have rarely been so glad I carry a thick blanket with me. Nightal 15th - We finished the climb to the summit of the mountain by approximately midday, from where we could see over all the lands we have travelled through to reach this place. The summit was flat and oddly had a rope bridge leading from it to the summit of another mountain that was invisible to us until we reached this summit. The others supplies are exhausted, and this area appears to be guarded by some skin-winged flying creatures, roughly humanoid in shape. The rope bridge was clearly enchanted, appearing no more than a couple hundred feet in length, and yet stretching a distance of several miles between the two peaks. Needless to say the notion of crossing such a flimsy bridge whilst most likely being attacked by creatures who are very at home at this altitude was daunting. Stedd was the first to attempt to cross and was then swiftly put down by an earth elemental that merged up out of the ground before our end of the bridge, evidently some kind of guardian. Seeing that the way was blocked, I decided to try out my new magical power, casting my spider climbing spell and slipping down around the edge of the summit, and started climbing across the chasm, hanging underneath the bridge, using it to conceal myself from the winged creatures circling above. I made it safely to the other side of the bridge, only to then be ambushed by a hungry wyvern that had already felled Rand who had raced across invisibly, at one point running across the planks above where I was holding on. The damn wyvern took me down with its tail stinger, though its poison had less effect than folklore would credit it with. Still I got to use one of my necklace fireballs on it first, and Pharaxes finished the beast off. I don't know what happened next as I lost consciousness about then.</blockquote>

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