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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nydia" data-source="post: 1490041" data-attributes="member: 18593">3rd of Kythorn, 1376 D.R.We aren’t at the Monastery yet, but at least we’re out of Thar. We had woken up this morning to find that, during the night, Katar had acquired a pet.Tied to a rope that was also tied around Katar’s stomach was the most pathetic looking orc I have ever seen. It kept trying to gnaw itself free whenever it thought that Katar wasn’t looking. Its mouth was bleeding; it must have lost a few teeth in the process. We didn’t take it with us, of course.After we had all eaten and gathered up our things to continue our journey to the portal, Mattathias and Anassa gave it some food and water, and some medicine for its wounds and an infection of sorts. Pity they couldn’t do anything for the smell..Just before we left, Katar broke its shoddy spear and threw it into some tall grass, and then he set the orc free. The orc whimpered a little, obviously afraid that we might kill him (I think it was a him), and then he charged for his broken spear, picked it up, and waved it at Katar. Silly orc.Katar jokingly lunged forward at it, and the orc screamed and ran as fast as it could back into the mountains. We all left after that.Anassa claimed that it was only another few hours to the portal. She said that we should reach it around noon. The morning was without event for the most part, but just short of noon we encountered another caravan. This caravan was much larger than the caravan from Luskan. We counted maybe 50 men, most of them armed and armored and traveling on horseback.Their wagons were stout and well-armored themselves, but the group flew no banners and wore no merchant colors. Anassa urged us to get off the road. She didn’t want to be seen, so she slipped off into the mountains to our left.Katar went ahead to intercept a group of mounted men that were attempting to flank us from the right. The rest of us merely went on ahead to meet the small group that was coming in our direction.They were curt, but not rude or threatening... they wanted to know where such a small group was headed. We told them Glister, and they nodded and went on their way.We followed Anassa off the road when they returned to their caravan, and finally she led us to the portal. It didn’t look like any portal I had ever seen, but then I’ve only really seen arcane gates.The field that Anassa said contained the portal held several large boulders. These Anassa had us align, stating that the portal would only open if the boulders’ shadows were in exact spots or somesuch.When we had them where Anassa stated they should be, she pulled out a holy symbol from her top and attempted to open the portal. Nothing happened.She gave up after a few minutes and said that she’d try again later in the afternoon. The portal only opened at specific times during the day, when the shadows were cast just right, she said.The portal did open the second time, and when we had passed through it, we all found ourselves in an even colder place, somewhere high in the mountains. The snow came up to our knees and it fell so heavily that we could barely see what was a few feet in front of us.Anassa was leading us further up the mountains. We were able to ride the horses for a short while, but soon the ground grew so treacherous that we worried constantly whether they would slip and fall. The higher we ascended, the worse it became, especially when we found ourselves on a narrow walkway, with a steep wall to our left, and a deep chasm to our right.The ground was frozen, slippery in some places, and Anassa advised us that if the horses to were to slip and fall, we should let them, to not try and stop them. It’s better that they fall down the chasm instead of us.It was so bitterly cold. I’ve never been so cold in all my life! I’ve begun to miss Mulhorand, all the sun, the heat, the feel of the warm sand between my toes.Argh I HATE the damn north and the damn mountains and the damn snow!This Monastery had better be worth this! We pressed on the rest of the day. I think we traveled all of 3 miles, if we’re lucky.Right now, we’re camped in a sort of glade. There are trees surrounding us, and they provide a small measure of shelter from the wind, but it’s still dark and miserable. The snow is falling so thickly I can’t even see the sky. Its still cold, how can the others not be freezing as much as I am!? Anassa and Katar are still being icy with one another. I don’t even know where Anassa is. Mattathias and Nym are asleep in their own bedrolls. Mithras is up a tree. I haven’t seen so much as a shiver out of him since we left Phlan….it must be magic. Elves aren’t exactly known for their hardiness.Hmm…Anassa has just come back. She says that we should reach the Monastery tommorrow. That’ll be good. I hate being out here in the snow.4th of Kythorn, 1376 D.R.We continued our journey as early as we could, pushing our way through the snow and the wind for hours. About midday, as we crested a small rise, the Monastery of the Yellow Rose came into view in the distance. It was a gorgeous site. By then we had climbed so high into the mountains that we had risen above the snow. It looked like we were climbing higher than the clouds and the sun was shining so bright... it was beautiful.The monastery was further on, on a distant peak, and the radiant sun glinted like off its surface and the peaks around it. The mountains looked like they were made of solid gold. It reminds me of Skuld, but more ethereal, more serene. It really uplifted the soul to see all that. It felt like I was beholding one of the seven Heavens. I know it made the journey go faster.We encountered another traveler as we progressed, an Ilmatari worshiper who had bound his legs together and was dragging himself to the monastery.He looked so happy to be doing so, he refused when we offered to help him. He’d been dragging himself through that snow for miles, but he looked so ecstatic. I cannot even imagine, but then, many religions don’t make sense to me.We had to leave the horses when we finally reached the long winding stair that would lead us to monastery’s door. Each of the stones in the stairs had a name on it, Anassa told us that there was a stone for every monk of the yellow rose that had died.Anassa agreed to stay with the horses, and Katar agreed to stay behind as well. Anassa gave Mattathias something to give to the monk that met us, and the rest of us continued on up the stairs.We finally reached the door of the monastery about an hour later. We knocked, but no one answered, so we just went on in and found ourselves in a fairly simple courtyard with a water pump in the center. A teenaged boy was pumping water into a bucket.  He instructed us to knock at another door that we saw on the other side of the courtyard.Well, the door was actually inset into the wall just beside an enormous locked stone gate. We sounded the gong on the gate, but nobody answered, so after a while we tried the door. The door opened into a narrow corridor that led to another courtyard on the other side of the towering gate.That’s where we met our first monk. He was a gruff man, but then I suspect most Ilmatari are. He demanded to know why we were there, and Mattathias did most of the talking, as he should have.Things went well until he handed the man the bundle that Anassa had given him. The monk grew very cold after that, demanding to know where we had gotten it and why Anassa “the traitor” had given it to him.Mattathias told him what he knew, and the monk said that Mithras, Nym, and myself could all stay the night because it would be getting dark soon and it would be rude to turn away guests, but he said that Mattathias would have to come with him.Mithras, Nym, and I were escorted into the monastery proper and showed to our rooms. Mattathias went with the monk. I don’t know where he is. Doubtless the monk is testing him, wherever he is, or at least I hope so. I know it would be terrible for Mattathias to come all this way to be turned away for something that isn’t his fault.Anassa had to have known how the bundle would be received when she gave it to him. I hope he’s okay.  It doesn’t seem to me that these people would be likely to kill him, but you never know sometimes. Maybe we’ll find out in the morning.5th of Kythorn, 1376 D.R.We weren’t escorted out of the monastery like I thought we would, which leads me to believe that Mattathias is still here somewhere too. I spent the day roaming around the building I’m in; it really is quite a lovely place.I’ve discovered that the monastery isn’t devoted entirely to suffering at all.They’ve artisans, craftsmen, artists and the like, and scholars. There is even a library, with books on other subjects than Ilmater! The best part is, they have baths!I took a bath this morning. Best bath I’ve had since, well, for a while. I had baths in Phlan, but they were sorely lacking. These baths were wonderful! I feel clean, truly clean now!After my bath, I practiced my harp, and then explored. I found Nym playing with a number of other children. I haven’t seen Mithras. I wonder how Katar is doing?Aside from the monastery itself, there really isn’t much to write about, unless I want to admit that I spent the day “lazing about” as my sister says. The monastery is an old building, not as old as some buildings I’ve seen, but it is ancient by current Phlanian standards (I know that isn’t saying much really). It also looks sturdy enough to ride out a dragon attack. The walls here are thick, well constructed, and everything is very well maintained.The décor is very plain, at least compared to other places I’ve been, but it’s still very cozy. I could get used to staying here. I think I’ll check out that library tomorrow.25th of Kythorn, 1376 D.R.It’s been a while since I lost wrote. Two weeks in fact. I just finished reading Elminster’s A Myth-Drannon Amphigory. It was a little long-winded, and the old man rambled on quite a bit, but it was very interesting nonetheless.My translation of the “scroll” that Razsamar gave me is coming along well. I can already see that there are two different languages written on them. The first language looks very close to the language of old Netheril (thank you Dad for actually taking the time to punish me enough for me to learn that one). The second language looks completely alien to me.I can make out certain words in the first tongue. I think it must be another form of Netherese, maybe a higher caste tongue, or a derivitive, even an ancestor.5th of Flamerule, 1376 D.R.I’ve made considerable progress in my translations of the scroll. As I had guessed, it is most definitely another form of Netherese. In fact, I have determined it to be the language of Lorass, or High Netherese, the language of the Netherese ruling class. This is so exciting! The grammatical structure, the word placement, word meanings, even the spelling of certain words is just different enough from Netherese. This language, Lorass, is so much more intricate, so much more difficult. They must have developed it so only their archwizards would learn it. I can’t wait until I have it fully translated! I have only the very basic nouns, pronouns, and verbs translated now, and it’s still too ambiguous for me to say what I think it might be. I’d best stop thinking about it for now. If I keep myself so worked up about translating the scroll, I’ll never get to sleep tonight!Other news, oh! I found the children that I had seen Nym playing with, but Nym wasn’t among them. It seems that the little blue-haired rascal has taken to spending time with the artisans. When I asked him why, he said it was because he wasn’t getting along with the other children. He wouldn’t say much more than that, but he seemed to be enjoying himself, posing in all sorts of acrobatic positions for the painters and sculptors.There are works of him all over the place, I would imagine they don’t get too many visitors up here, not to mention visitors who would pose so readily for a sitting. I remember having to sit and pose for family portraits, ugh.We still haven’t seen Mattathias. I hear he’s still undergoing his initiation into the monastery. I hope he’s alright. We haven’t seen Mithras for a while either. Nym wants to go out tomorrow to visit him and Katar. Why he couldn’t just have stayed in the monastery I do not know. Why anyone would actually want to be out in that icy cold boggles the mind. Maybe I’ll go out with Nym anyway. For now, I’m going to try and get some sleep.6th of Flamerule, 1376 D.R.Nym and I had gone out to visit Mithras and Katar today. Katar was nowhere to be found, and Mithras made it extremely difficult to find him, but eventually he came down out of the trees.Nym and I had decided to build a snow-elf, and as we were trying to pack on the ears and make them stick, we saw Mithras peering at us from behind a snowdrift. Well, from under the snowdrift to be more precise. He had tried to cover himself in snow, but we saw patches of black hair and two beady purple eyes among the white.When he realized we had seen him, namely when Nym ran up to hug him, he reluctantly stood up and made his presence known. His clothes were caked with snow and ice. He still didn’t look cold. He looked sheepish for a moment, just before that customary arrogant Mithras smirk found its way back to his face, but he certainly did not look cold. Yes, it had to be magic. I’ve never heard of ice elves.When he had disentangled himself from Nym, he came over and critiqued our snow-elf. He said it looked more like a particularly ugly snow-goblin, or a particularly attractive human. I threw one of the ears at him. Never hit him, of course, that jerk can dodge objects better than a Amnian spice merchant can dodge the tax collector. He just stepped nimbly to the side and folded his arms across his chest. I threw the other ear at him just to try and wipe that superior sneer off of his face. As he was side-stepping that one, Nym got him in the back of the head with a snowball.It was a lucky shot, I’m sure, but it still took Mithras by surprise. He wheeled around to glare at Nym, just in time to see the elf-child go bounding off into the forest, shrieking with laughter. I briefly considered the risk of causing an avalanche, but clearly I was the only one worried.Mithras ran after him, stopping momentarily to collect an armload of snow. I, not wanting to be left out of the fun, chased after both of them. I’m not too fast in the snow, suffice it to say, and by the time I caught up with them, Mithras had wrestled Nym to the ground and had buried him in the snow, only Nym’s head was showing.Nym was still giggling, trying to escape from his snowy blanket. Mithras kept packing it on extra tight, threatening to leave him there. While he was busy piling on snow, I nailed him upside his pointy elf head with a nicely packed snowball. Nym erupted in uncontrollable laughter, and for a moment I didn’t know what to do. Mithras just stopped adding snow to Nym, flicked the remnants of the snowball off of his head, and lunged at me! I was so surprised I screamed and tried to run! That’s when I tripped and fell onto my face into a deep snowbank.As I was struggling to free myself, I felt a snowball impact the back of my head and I could hear high-pitched laughter coming from behind me. It was the first time I had ever heard Mithras laugh. I couldn’t believe it was him at first. I turned my head just enough to be sure it was actually him. It was...I squirmed onto my backside, and I guess my mystified expression made him remember himself for a moment, because he abruptly stopped laughing and genuinely looked surprised at his own light-heartedness. That was until Nym managed to free himself and pelted us both with fresh snowballs. Mithras was hit in the side, but I was hit in the chest, and some of the snow found its way down the front of my tunic. Oh it was so cold!!I jumped to my feet to try and shake the snow out as Mithras gathered snow for a counter-attack. Nym hastily erected a low wall out of the snow that Mithras had been using to bury him, and Mithras took pot shots at will, pelting both of us with snowballs even as I was still struggling to get to the swiftly melting slush out of my clothes.When it became clear to Nym that his wall wouldn’t protect him, he climbed up the nearest tree and started to collect snow from the branches. Mithras ducked behind a different tree, and I took the opportunity to find a tree of my own to hide behind.I could hear the battle raging from where I was hidden, the low, meaty thumps and crackles as tightly packed snowballs found the ground, the sides of trees, and snow-covered tree branches.I myself was busy, still trying to get the now watery slush out of my top. I was so busy trying to dry my chilled flesh that I hadn’t even noticed the noises had stopped. I had just gotten all that cold, wet, slushy, icy mess out of my tunic when a huge pile of snow just fell out of the sky and landed right on top of me.For a moment, I just stood there, in shock, but after a second or two I brought myself to look up, into the branches of my tree where Nym was smiling widely down at me. The two branches nearest to him conspicuously absent of snow.“NYM!” I shrieked, and he laughed like a little blue-haired imp and scrambled onto another tree. When I ducked around the tree trunk to gain some cover against Nym, I was met by swift pain, and then white numbing cold as Mithras’s tightly packed snowball caught me directly beneath my right eye.I stumbled about, blind in that eye, and finally slumped back against the tree. The right side of my face, where the snowball had hit, was numbed and was beginning to throb painfully. I was aware that Nym and Mithras had stopped the snowball fight and were watching me as I gingerly wiped the snow off my face and tried, even more carefully, to wipe it from my eye. I could see as soon as I got all the ice and water out, but I knew that my cheek would bruise, probably a lovely shade of purple.I lay my hand over the cheek to warm it, and then climbed back onto my feet. The two elves craned forward to see the damage done. I informed them that I was fine, and the fight was on again!We threw snowballs, dodged around trees, and wrestled in the snow banks for a good while. We finally came to a stop when we were interrupted by three of the monks from the monastery. They had heard our shouts and laughter from miles away, and had come to investigate, warning us that our sounds might draw something hungrier and more dangerous than we were prepared to handle, like a remorhaz.I couldn’t help but notice that they looked disappointed, I’ll bet they were hoping there was a remorhaz. I hear the monks here like to ride them for sport. These monks are insane.At any rate, when we had stopped hurling snowballs and dodging behind trees, Nym and I decided to return to the monastery. Mithras, who had grown strangely moody after having so much fun, did not choose to accompany us back.Nym had offered to stay outside that night with him, to keep him company, but Mithras said that he’d rather be alone. Neither Nym nor I could talk him out of his refusal, so we returned to the monastery alone.We had dinner, and then Nym went off to do something. I have just returned from my evening bath and am about to settle into bed for the night. Maybe we can go out and have more fun tomorrow.7th of Flamerule, 1376 D.R.Nym and I went out looking for Mithras again today, but we couldn’t find him. The expression on his face when Nym and I had returned to the monastery had been so forlorn, so sad, almost wistful. I hope he’s alright, I felt bad leaving him, frustrating bastard that he is.I don’t think he’s dead, maybe he left or really just wanted to be alone, and not just for last night either. The two of us completed our snow-elf and then went back to the monastery. I believe Nym spent the rest of the day with the artisans. I spent the rest of mine here in this room, trying to decipher that scroll. It’s been altogether an uneventful day. I think I’ll turn in.*Below is an image of the Monastery of the Yellow Rose*</blockquote>

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