Alexandria's Journal : Abandoned Castle

*19 The Fading*

Artemis is petrified, as good as dead. Skrit is just dead. My heart is close to breaking…

If there is hope, I suppose it is in the generosity of some of the people in town. Some of them have already offered too much to help with Lathander cleric’s services. It’s truly a blessing of Bahamut to see some of the town’s citizens looking beyond their own selfish desires. Maybe there is truly good here after all. The “jester” Adalius tried to hand over a damp sack full of coin but I won’t take people’s money until we have enough to pay for the whole cure. It is not right to deny them what they need just to try and aid my heart. Father Cadfael assures me Artemis is not in pain, or any immediate danger, a fact that is seemingly backed by Elphim, who suffered a similar fate for a while. Instead, I find myself accepting **Teres**’ offer of a quest to try and find treasure. She’s a good friend (despite the reputation) and has a nose for money where I am sorely lacking the skills!

And so, here I sit on Valiant, patiently waiting for the rest of the party to ready for our journey. **Teres** seems to have relinquished “leadership” for the moment. No doubt a sensible decision, the girl’s head is screwed on right! **Sairina** certainly looks capable enough. Her armour is not just for show, a quick look shows it is expertly crafted and certainly worth every copper Artemis told me it cost. I don’t know if I fully forgive her yet… but she has clearly been affected by the loss of my brother. The others in the party seem to be more focussed on the prospect of treasure and titles. The two trollkins couldn’t be more different in their approach as far as I can see. **Lippy** is studiously checking equipment and muttering to himself, while **Ghargh** is seemingly totally distracted by a “pet” rabbit he is carrying… I presume it’s his dinner for later? **Icarus** looks ready to announce his title already, although he looks a little malnourished and out of practice compared to the brash figure I travelled with all those days ago! **Burglekutt** is difficult to fathom, he seems eager to head out but other than that, he keeps his cards close to his chest.

A quick look at my companions concerns me. We have no real healer. Dear Uklah is seemingly tied up with the ceremony for Drago. It’s been a while since I travelled without her… I hope we don’t all regret her absence!

*20 The Fading*

I ache all over! Ambushed in the night by a Marsh Troll and it’s two Troll Hounds, we almost lost **Burglekutt** immediately! The plucky gnome standing up to the charge of the thing! We managed to hack away until a gap opened up for me to get to his body and I was able to get him back on his feet. However, with fire not stopping their regenerative power, we were forced to hack, and hack, and hack, and hack to finish them off. **Lippy**’s investigations showing that they must be exposed to acid or necrotic damage to stop the regeneration… I must remember to advise people, although I fear it may be a while before I can afford acid. Everything goes towards restoring Artemis!

The early assault notwithstanding, we functioned well as a group. **Ghargh** and **Teres** dealing with one of the Troll Hounds, while **Icarus** and **Lippy** handled the other. **Sairina** and I managed to handle the Marsh Troll eventually. If we can work so effectively out here, we may not regret the lack of a healer too much!

Beware of gift horses! Or more accurately, beware corpses and abandoned carts… spying a scene ahead of us, I was soon overcome by a swarm of centipedes! Paralysed, I could only watch in horror as a giant beast reared out of the swamp to ambush poor **Lippy**! He managed to survive the initial assault somehow and that allowed others to rush to his aid. With **Sairina** handling one of the swarms, **Burglekutt** and **Icarus** helped attack some of them swarming over me, **Teres**’ vicious looking knife slashed a huge amount of them (and almost my nose!) before I managed to shake off their effect. Meanwhile, **Ghargh** and **Lippy** were engaging the huge monster. I charged in and took numerous stabs from the bristling spikes all over it’s body - I tried to shout a warning to try from range but everyone piled in to take the beast down. Bloodied but triumphant, I called down the healing power of Bahamut on the group before we rested briefly and examined the spoils in the cart.

Slightly rested, we pushed on and found the “abandoned” castle was not quite as advertised… seems a band of goblins, bugbears, and even an ogre are holed up inside. Scouting the exterior revealed no obvious weak spots so we figure a frontal assault might be able to gain an element of surprise, while also allowing us a decent chance to retreat if needed.

That wasn’t terrible… the plan worked to a degree but there are more enemies than we can handle for now! **Teres** started the plan, moving forward silently and striking at one of the guards before disappearing under the drawbridge. **Icarus** followed suit before the bridge broke underneath him! He managed to escape into the muddy quagmire and covered the entrance in fog to aid the rest of our approach. Unfortunately, they had a spellcaster themselves who dispersed the fog. **Sairina** showed great courage to dash and leap into the guards and I had no qualms about joining her! As the guard forces rushed to meet us, **Burgglekutt** rained fire and ice down on them while **Ghargh** hurled javelins. Soon, **Lippy** joined the throng of bodies swiping at each other. That’s when the Ogre came round the corner with goblins riding it! One of them hit me right in the heart with an arrow… gods it hurt. Out of nowhere, **Teres** appeared and with **Sairina** opened a gap in the guard’s flank which allowed me to throw myself into their backline to go toe to toe with their wizard. As I landed blow after blow, **Lippy** threw himself bravely at the Ogre to distract it. With **Ghargh** now joining the combat on the bridge, **Burglekutt** and **Icarus** could target the Ogre and it’s riders. Just as **Teres** and I hacked down the wizard, the others took down the Ogre. With **Sairina** and **Ghargh** cutting down the last of the bugbear guards, we ran the gauntlet of goblin explosives to cut down the rest in the courtyard! The remaining enemies retreated further into the castle.

With several serious injuries, we decided that a return to Hope might be the best option. A restock and rest and we’ll head back here as soon as we can. They’ll regroup but we’ve already shown them we are a force to be reckoned with!

(Note: “**Fluffy Bob**” was not food and **Ghargh**’s pet is probably the only one of us to escape unscathed!)

(Further Note: I should never have doubted any of this group. They have all proven to be excellent travelling companions and I beseech Bahumut to watch over them all)