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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ancalagon" data-source="post: 7198621" data-attributes="member: 23">Author's note:  I posted this earlier as a link to the log, but I don't think anyone read it, so I'll start posting the actual log here, divided into game sessions. Any corrections for spelling and grammar are greatly appreciated. This game took place in the original campaign setting of Ermoon. It starts out in Ailech, which is a country with Celtic/Irish culture. The writer of the log is Patrick Logopolis, a priest of Prometheus, who is from Ionia, a continent with Greek and Roman culture. SESSION 1 May 7th, the year MC Dearest Brethren, Praise to the light-bringer! I trust that all is well at the temple. Hopefully my last missive reached you safely--the courier service was expensive, but had an excellent reputation for speed and reliability. My travels through Alcyone and Connaught have improved my Cimbrian somewhat, and I have decided to begin writing this log in that language. I hope that our linguists at the Academy find this interesting to translate. I believe that Prometheus must truly be watching over me; recent events lead me to have great confidence in the success of my mission. After sending off my last bundle of notes from the town of Caer Dorben, I've traveled several days closer to Duma Faifni. The rumors I hear of the fair grow more wondrous as I get closer. To give you some idea of what the fair must be like, consider my most recent adventure. Although it is a great pleasure to add to our faith's knowledge of the world, recording local foods and small cultural variations begins to get dull. Today, however, was a departure from the routine. It has been raining for a week now, and last night I stopped at a small town--although town may be too grand a word to describe it--called Mag Tara. I rented a room at the inn--although the leaky rooms offered little more protection from the weather than standing under a tree. Nonetheless, today's breakfast was hot and satisfying. In the common room, I met several other travelers who were also going to the fair. There were two dwarves, Blades Trueblood and Torin. I was surprised; I had heard that dwarves were gruff and rude. These two were quite civil. There was also an Elf, Taelsyn. He was a little less friendly--not rude, just quiet. He seems to enjoy placing little cylinders of paper in his mouth and setting them alight, breathing in the noxious fumes. De gustibus non est disputandum! I gather that the dwarves are warriors, and the elf is a, shall we say, "sleight of hand expert". We all agreed that traveling together was safer and less dull than traveling alone, so we decided to set out for the fair together. We were just finishing our meal when a man, his fine clothes covered in mud, burst into the inn, and asked us for help. Of course, I volunteered to help. He told us that he was Ith, and offered us the very fair wage of 15 bp if we would help him capture some animals that had escaped when a carriage ran off the road. I was quite happy to help him for free, but the others insisted on haggling. He agreed to 22 bp each, and we set off after the first animal, a large frog (his "wee froggy"). I only have so much paper and ink, so I'll have to make my descriptions of events brief. The frog turned out to be a "blightening", a bipedal frog-like creature that emits bright flashes of light from its eyes. We chased after it with a rope, attempting to trip it. It temporarily blinded one of the dwarves and me, but we nonetheless succeeded in tying it up and placing it in a large sack. We were assisted by one of those mysterious nature worshippers, a druid named Finis Conwell, who seems to be both a late sleeper and a mumbler--he is sometimes difficult to understand. I was careful to make sure the blightening had no signs of ill treatment. Apparently the little beasts terrorize small towns, so I was not sad to see it locked up. All of us except for Blades went after the second creature, a large "mauve" worm. It turned out to be a small purple worm--which means that it was more than six feet long, with a terrifying maw and a deadly sting. The worm had burrowed through several hills, leaving entry and exit holes, and we used these to track it. Finally, we came to a hill with no exit hole. Torin walked up to the top of it, which turned out to be a mistake, but good fortune was on his side. Just as he began to walk down, the purple worm burst through the ground, its maw tearing at the space Torin had just occupied. It then retreated back into the hill. Through remarkable cooperation, we managed to trick the worm into burrowing up through a snare. We gently lay a rope with a circular snare (tied by Taelsyn) across the top of the hill, then threw stones into the middle of the snare. The worm seemed to sense the vibrations caused by movement, and it quickly attacked the stones, jumping straight up into the snare's loop. We tightened the snare around it, forced it out of the ground, and dragged it into its cage. We were shocked when the hill in which it had been hiding collapsed, revealing the ruins of some Klegoth Imperium structure. We decided to come back later to investigate. Meanwhile, Blades had located the third animal, a giant turtle. I swear, never have I heard of such a huge reptile, save dragons! The merchant told us it took ten people to move! There were only five of us, but fortunately Taelsyn came up with the clever idea of luring it into its cage with some fruit and vegetables. It seemed to have a fondness for apples. The turtle had been hiding in the moat of a small fort (called a Kronog), designed to protect a herd of cattle. The keepers of the fort assisted us by providing a ramp, to get the turtle up into its cage. Apparently they were impressed, because their leader, Sedga Etair, offered to hire us to recover some stolen cattle. We told him we would think about it, and returned to the ruins. An antechamber held a door made of metal and sturdy wood, bearing both the symbol of a broken thigh bone and an inscription. Horrible (and poorly drawn) frescoes of orcs covered the walls, and an old brazier stood beside the door. None of us can read Orcish, so we ignored the inscription and continued inside, using the brazier to push the door open. We entered what seemed to be a shrine or temple. This room was guarded by a magical statue with glowing red eyes, which caused the skeletons of eight long-dead orcs to rise up against us, and cursed anyone that entered the room with magical silence (making me unable to turn them). The sound of distant drumming and shouting could be heard as we fought against the undead, but it seemed like a memory of a battle long ended--doubtless another effect of the magical statue. To make matters worse, as soon as we cut the undead down, they rose up again! Taelsyn cleverly defeated the undead by pushing the statue forward onto its face, ending its magic spells. From another room we heard the sound of insane murmurs and screams, and with great trepidation, we opened the door using the brazier. Inside was a glistening, two-legged creature, seemingly made of slime! It charged us and attacked savagely, but we managed to dispatch it. The dwarves seem to be fearless warriors! The room was empty and covered with slime, except for a two-foot tall copper statue depicting a very powerful orc. It has an inscription on it which, of course, we cannot read. We carry it hoping to sell it, but it makes me uncomfortable. The orc it is modeled after must have been terrible; it seems to glower at me. I will be happy when we are rid of it. Prometheus answered my prayers several times in the ruins, and I trust that He will continue to protect me. I was careful to destroy the shrine of the hideous orc god on our way out of the ruins. We recovered several items of value, including two bloodstones, a moonstone, a necklace, rare coins, a clay jar, an iron flask filled with a metallic, earthy liquid, an elven bow, and a dwarven warhammer. Prometheus revealed that the flask and the warhammer were enchanted! We placed these items in a very sturdy chest (which required the strength of two men to open) we found in a robing room. A treasure map was hidden in a desk in an office, but it turned it out to be all but useless--there was no way to know where the places on the map were, and the place names had almost certainly changed since the map was made so long ago. We retired to the inn in the afternoon for rest and dinner. I expect that we will return to the road again tomorrow, although I am not sure what the others will want to do. I think that I would prefer to get back on the road to Duma Faifni, but I will go along with what the others decide. Imagine what the fair must be like; this merchant was only one among thousands! I wonder what other strange creatures and sights will be there. I have used much paper today. I will have to be more conservative in the future. Still, a day like this deserves extra attention, does it not? Aside from the today's excitement, there is little to report on. Apple trees are common here, and there is a slightly different accent to the speech, but it is much like the other parts of this land, of which I have already told you. The people are hardy but good-natured. I feel comfortable, despite the weather. I hope the rest of the journey goes as well. It is an auspicious beginning to a new chapter in my journey!</blockquote>

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