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Message: <blockquote data-quote="William Ronald" data-source="post: 1542119" data-attributes="member: 426">(Sorry for not updating this sooner.)Journal Entry: New Allies and a Harrowing Journey It did not take long to divide the wealth after our trip to Dartham.  I received Duncan's masterwork chain hauberk and sword along with some gold.  Arronn claimed a well-made jerkin of studded leather, while Mookesh and Grizz claimed most of the gold from our reward.  I made some more gold from the Temple by selling off my old armor, hoping that the priests of Darien the Just would find a good use for it.  The priestess' amulet was to be melted down and made into something useful to the Temple -- which would unnerve the amulet's former owner.Arronn's superior told us that it would likely be a few weeks before our next mission, and advised us to celebrate.  We walked to a nearby tavern run by two dwarves.  Among the customers, were two dwarves -- with the smell of the Moors on them and several wounds on their arms and legs.  They were enjoying their mugs of ale, after what seemed to be a hard journey.I greeted them, and one seemed annoyed to be disturbed from his drink.  I mended this by ordering whiskey for both, which the dwarven innkeeper offered on the house.The two dwarves introduced themselves as Spatz and Raskilinov Odipherus, brothers and members of a wandering band of hill dwarves.   They were part of a war band led by a warrior known as Stonebeard who had decided to raid the kobolds of the moors.  Five of the band fell to the kobolds, and Stonebeard ordered the brothers to seek help in Jalston as he stood locked in combat with several kobolds.  They had made their way by raft from the village of Vinebank, and had only arrived that afternoon.Spatz, the older of the brothers, told most of the story while his brother Ras -- who had disliked being disturbed from his drink but was now pleased with the whiskey -- nodded and added a few supporting comments.  Spatz asked for help in either aiding Stonebeard in defeating the kobolds or returning his bodies and those of their five clan members back to their people for burial. They would claim possession of all property belonging to their clan, but we were welcome to what we could find -- and what reward the clan bestowed upon us.I told the dwarves that I saw the mission as honorable, and I was interested in assisting them.  Arronn said he would like to learn more, sounding a cautious note, and recommended that they seek healing at the Temple.  The dwarves seemed reluctant until Arronn pointed out that the Temple was near the tavern.The next day we found the ferryman who had brought the dwarves to Jalston, and bought passage to the Moors just across from Vinebank.  The day was uneventful, and we camped on a cairn as night fell.During Spatz's watch, several slingstones landed in  our camp and the yells of kobolds rang out in the night.  Arronn whispered a prayer, and touched a rock which glowed like the noonday sun.  I hurled the rock some 60 feet where it landed in a band of kobolds.  I saw the dwarven beards woven into their clothing, and saw hateful looks flash across the faces of Spatz and Ras.With a roar, both dwarves charged the kobolds who fell before Spatz's sword and Ras' axe.  I yelled, "Remember to take a prisoner." as I charged down.  Kobolds were being cleaved in two as I found myself beset by a kobold warrior.  To my disgust, I saw bones woven in among the dwarven beards.  My sword pierced his heart, even as one of his fellows charged at me.While neither the dwarves or myself had captured a prisoner, a mistake which I regretted, the kobolds were slain.  The dwarves quickly retrieved the dwarven beards and any bones which might have been dwarven from the dead.when I reached the top of the cairn, Arronn was shocked and spoke of an ogre ridding a bug.  Spatz mentioned that the bugs were no problem once you hacked off their legs, appearing not noticing the mace that the priest carried.  He informed him the ogre was a Mogre, a denizen of the moors known to ride giant beetles.  The priest and the dwarf argued on the right way to fight such a threat, until Arronn and Grizz left to return to Vinebank for the night.Spatz, Ras and myself moved to a nearby hilltop, and resumed our watch.  In the night, our rest was interrupted during Ras watch by bloodcurdling howls.  I awoke to the sound, and was urged by the brothers to fire an arrow at a Moorhound.  Even as they spoke, a spectral hound ran at us with an unnatural speed.  My arrow fell short of its mark, and the noise unnerved me.  In terror, I sped from the hill -- and heard other footsteps.As I ran, I felt something pierce my side and heard shouts in the distance.  I paid them no heed as I felt an unnatural terror seize my heart.  All I could think of was running, to find some place free of the horrid howls filling my ears.Writers note:  I failed three consecutive Will saves against fear, and Rath was running at a fast clip for a man in chain mail.  The character was wounded, and outran the hounds.  It hought adding a bit of uncertainty about what happened  from Rath's perspective emphasized the sheer terror the character experienced in game.  I guess the failed saves made up for my critical hits against the kobolds. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f641.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":(" title="Frown    :("  data-smilie="3"data-shortname=":(" /> /I] Later, both Spatz and Ras approached me.  Ras said that he had tackled his brother and that both slew the moor hounds.  I cannot recall whether I fought any or if I had merely outdistanced them.  Blood dripped from a gash near my ribs, and I quaffed a healing potion to shake away the unnatural chill in my bones.  I felt the warmth returning to my flesh, and the strange sensation of wounds healing in a heartbeat.We went back to our camp, and resolved to go to Vinebank. Clearly we needed Grizz and Arronn to continue our journey in the Moors.  As the night ended, I saw Spatz writing in a journal as Ras casually walked past him.</blockquote>

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