Isen's journal

Isen's journal contains a running record of the adventures experienced by himself, Xaín, Atticus, Thea, and Gell. Xaín will often pilfer the journal from Isen's kit to read to the rest of the group in a mocking tone.

## Journal entries

### [Minutes] Isen's journal, partial decryption, entry #000-0842

[decoded from Isen's research logs]

-Xaín and I arrive at Lightblade's FOB. Six hours until rendezvous with Farguard. I scope out camp:

* dozens of tents
* approximately 5C (500) soldiers of varying utility.
* Weapons to outfit an army twice this size.
* Mounts and carriages.

-Evening. Xaín and I escorted to Farguard's tent. Inside are (1) Farguard, (1) dwarf bodyguard, (1) elf bodyguard, (1) half-orc combatant, (1) elf priestess, (1) halfling ascetic. All armed.

-Farguard briefs:

* Opposing forces have swelled and emboldened over the past year (obvious).
* Needs to contract out escort for supplies to Garrethome, fort to the SW.
* needs to contract out exploration of Sword mountains through Garrethome to finance war effort.

-Gathered group agrees to loose terms, but sounds of ingress to camp become evident. Explosions heard, all arm. (1) Woman bursts through mouth of tent, clearly associate of Farguard. Wounded, carrying ornate box. Mentions pursuit, the box, Rakshasas.1

-Immediately, (1) drow and (2) orcs burst in, kill woman with arrow. Elf priestess spattered with gore, in shock. Drow challenges Farguard, clearly magically enhanced. Suspect ties to Cult of the Dragon.

-Farguard gives Xaín box, demands egress to Garrethome. Xaín drops, I grab; conduct emergency withdrawl. Drow kills dwarf, cut clean in two. Elf bodyguard and Farguard engage. Priestess, Xaín, ascetic, combatant follow me.

-Make way to weapons shipment. Camp in chaos. Reach shipment. (4) orcs attacking (4) Lightblades. Half-orc, Xaín, halfing, and I dispatch. All five of us jump on wagon, (1) Lightblade named Warren drives. (3) other Lightblades follow on horseback.

-See through Handsaw, check our exit. Clear. Lightblade camp in ruins. Several wyverns attacking on ground. Watch our escape through Handsaw - pursued by (4) orc wolfriders.

-Wolfriders assault horseback Lightbringers. Half-elf rider fends off orcs, catches up. Other Lightbringers dispatched. Half-orc, Xaín, elf, and I employ ranged solutions. Orcs and wargs resolve, but demolitions specialists introduced. Hacksaw dispatched.2

-Cart damaged. Carriage boarded. Halfling attempts to resolve. Warg boarded by halfling. Riding orcs dispatched. Warren incinerated, lose steering. Half-elf boards, takes reins. Warg sedated, negatively affecting well-being of its riders. Last boarders resolved by collaterals from demolitions, swordplay.

-Elf, I inspect box; Eye of Dazuur.3 Multiple wards. Draconic script. Incomplete.

-Cartwheel destroyed from explosions, carriage noticeably aflame. Hear, see (4) wyverns with boarders in pursuit. Treeline, cover in distance, but wyverns closing too fast.

-Wyverns deploy (4) Hobgoblins onto roof of carriage. Xaín, halfing, half-orc dispatch, but (1) hobgoblin relocates half-orc. Hobgoblin, half-orc knocked off carriage in open view of wyverns. Elf4,5 jumps off, dispatches hobgoblin.

-Xaín slows carriage after we pass treeline. Half-orc, elf exposed. Half-orc wounded, poisoned(?) as wyverns pass. Employ diversion from treeline in an attempt to increase survival odds of elf and half-orc. Xaín sprints to assist.6

-Xaín, elf, half-orc retreat to carriage before wyverns complete second pass.

-Stabilize flaming carriage, proceed to unknown coordinates. Half-elf female leads us to farmhouse, reported friendly.

1:Research Rakshasas and possible motives on this plane.

2:Resummon Hacksaw at earliest available opportunity; before bed?

3:Research history of Dazuur; possible uses for Eye; possible interested parties [*Rakshasas*?]; language spells?

4:Clear affinity between elf and half-orc. Unusual, curious. Maintain surveillance on both.

5:Elf has potential for use/harm, stay on good side, investigate.

6:In future, attempt to dissuade Xaín from taking unnecessary risks for unknown variables.

Immediate suggestions:

* Prepare Alarm at major points of ingress.
* Take first watch.
* Resummon Hacksaw. Feline?
* Apologize to Hacksaw.
* Have Xaín take over watch.
* Sleep.

### [Minutes] Isen's journal, partial decryption, entry #000-0843

Arrive at clearing - small farm, with farmhouse; barn. Half-elf stops, attempts reconnoiter. Attempts multiple times. Fifth try, response from farmhouse.

Older human male. Clearly dissatisfied with our arrival. Half-elf bargains with him, parts with flagon. Allowed passage to barn. Human clearly uncomfortable with half-orc combatant.

Take first watch; deploy countermeasures. Resummon Handsaw; owl. Deploy Handsaw outside as guard.

Xain to guard. Sleep.

Predawn, wrong. Silence spell.

Telecommune with Handsaw. Prepare assets quickly. Handsaw detects struggle in farmhouse; multiple figures. Large.

Half-orc, elf, Xain press towards farmhouse. Investigate alternative routes.

Elf, ascetic press forward. Cart unguarded.1

Upon closer inspection, numerous orcs. Recognize arcane implementation. Ingress from flank. Xain or half-orc fires arrow, alerts orcs. Eyes on farmhouse room - multiple hostiles, hostages. No sign of arcanists.

Ascetic, Half-Orc engage. In confusion, identify arcanist; orc shaman2. Employ ranged solution. Retaliates -- unavoidable.3.

Melee ensues; Elf protects hostages. Half-Orc endangers hostages. Orcs dispatched in regular fashion. Shaman attempts to engage close quarters; employ emergency displacement. Dispatched.

Chieftan disengages, is run down. Acquire gains, then flee. Human incinerates farm for cover. Avoid, compensate, or eliminate if encountered in future.

Cart headed west. Halfling detects signs of pursuit - invisibility?4. Handsaw identifies aerial interloper. Soon, multiple opponents engage - fiends5. Recognized; advise allies use silver, magic.

Fiends clearly interested in Eye of Dazuur; imps swarm and attempt theft. Elf, Half-Orc, I protect interior. Imps assault Xain, ascetic, Half-Elf. Aerial interloper descends -- gargoyle.

Fend off fiends. Employ

Xain engages gargoyle - employs trinket. Silver.

Send off Handsaw. Gargoyle follows.

Gargoyle reconciled.

Navigate through canyon, clear sounds of pursuit. Secure Eye of Dazuur.

Approach fortification - Garretome.

1: Endeavor to secure assets in future.

2: Research Orc hierarchies, social structure, arcane tendencies.

3: Research additional countermeasures.

4: Reevaluate solutions in future -- current methods inadequate.

5: Acquire equipment to overcome otherworldly resistances.

Possible courses of action:

* Identify gains.
* Search for alternative employment opportunities.
* Research demons, fiends, possible ties to Cult of the Dragon.
* Scout fort, chain of command, resources, possible uses.

### [Minutes] Isen's journal, partial decryption, entry #000-0844; -0845.

Approach Garatome. Warband trailing, hour behind. Arrive. Elohwyn secures passage into fort. Deliver supplies, taken to command.

Xain reconnects with priors,1 (2) dwarves. Fighters.

Commander steps in, Maertin Opal. Human, fighter. Signs of age, stress, but appears in good health. Visibly dismayed by news of Orc warband. Begins preparation for defense.

Inquire about catacombs beneath fort. All attendants questioned are clearly afraid, claim supernatural forces. Investigate.

Xain, half-orc, ascetic assist in fortifications.

Investigate catacombs. Find abandoned alchemical laboratory - clearly long abandoned. (1) wall has collapsed, signs of explosion. Find notes, scrolls, potion. 2

Retreat, investigate further. Catacombs lead to large subterranean opening -- appears to be a Dwarven temple to Gorm Golthan, god of protection, etc. Strong abjuration aura. Dispatch Handsaw to request help from Xain, party members.

Party regroups shortly, minus elf. Significant orc threat; Opal informs of possible deployable arcane ward. Investigate.3

Temple has simian guardian -- sentient, but base. Demands amusement; is satisfied, after a fashion. Grants sudden ingress for half-orc, ascetic. Xain follows; I follow.

Enter underwater river. Swim to shore -- Statue of Gorm Golthan, large pedestal with stone hammer are nearby. Pedestal surrounded by swarm of stone. Orc, ascetic, I retrieve hammer. Xain injures himself via swarm.

Walk down nearby hallway. Door, locked; hammer-shaped alcove. Reintroduce stone hammer. Door unlocked, proceed. Following room filled with deceased, begin to animate. Animates hostile. Ascetic, Xain, half-orc engage in close quarters; I prioritize self-preservation and secondary target elimination.

Dispatch hostiles. Unlock chest, acquire Dwarven lorebook4, magical items, sundries for liquidation. Briefly review book, press on.

Reach a swift, wide river. At bank, three Dwarven runed stones. After some time, deduce connection to old Dwarven parable; cross river in small boat. Hallway before us.

Before continuing, elf rejoins; was researching Eye of Dazuur. Indicates several failed attempts to force open artifact prior to our acquisition. Group & I press on.

Hallway lined with murder holes, pressure plates. Retrieve boat, use as cover. Half-orc wounded, but no casualties.

Enter large amphitheater with access to open air. Large bas-relief of Gorm Golthan in far wall and in floor. Room seemingly ceremonial in design. Flanked by two large statues. Approach raised dais in center - statues animate. Quick resolve needed.

Refer back to lorebook. Trigger pressure plate runes around carved floor, reveal sacrificial access. Party, I deliver appropriate sacrifices. Half-orc finalizes the ritual on the dais.

Abjuration ward deploys, statues return to inactivity. Clear that ward is temporary -- allows approximately 240 hours protection.

Continue through to small recess. Recover sacrifices, obtain unexpected fiduciary gains. Acquire map of unknown terrain. Return to temple entrance through convenient self-elevating shaft.

Before returning to main Garaome battlements, retread to abandoned alchemist's laboratory. Check through improvised opening, reveal extensive caverns. Recognize as part of terrain mapped in temple.5

Debrief Opal, warn him of abjuration's decay rate. In addition, remind him of party's, my conscription to payment by Farguard. He obliges, asks for continued aid with orc threat.

Second-in-command, Yurlich, Dwarf Wizard, informs of neutral barbarian tribe that could assist. Suggest contacting Gahlandra, human druid in mountain pass defended by Garatome.

We rest, press towards druid. Arrive and enscript her help with barbarians, on condition that party, I exorcise shrine up hill - supposedly haunted.

Investigate shrine. Clear signs of spiritual residence. Xain possessed by neutral phantasm, bound to shrine, promise to friend, Utungu. Find Utungu in well - pygmy troll. Apparent that they were to drink together before spirit's mortal shuffle. Spirit possesses ascetic; he, Utungu drink. Spirit passes on, leaves Utungu in disarray. Ascetic vows to hoist, befriend Utungu.6

With shrine exorcised, return to Gahlandra; she is pleased. Continue towards barbarian tribe.

1: Research Xain's contacts: professions, uses, dispositions, liabilities, resources, etc.

2: At nearest opportunity, acquire resources for study.

3: Research abjuration, scrying for more reliable unit cohension and personal defense.

4: Research arcane or otherwise unorthodox solutions to avoid future linguistic and communicative impasses.

5: Acquire reinforcements for exploration. Investigate alternative motivations for the hesitant.

6: Utungu appears talented in divination. Observe and, if necessary, converse.