Yuria's Log: Day 4, Part II

12/05/2011
Day 4, Part II
     As we were about to leave the cave, an undead dark skinned female with elfin features appeared. She floated, her dress ragged and swaying, as she made her way towards Lament. Staring directly into his eyes, she spoke with a deep raspy voice, "Hello Lament." Lament began making odd sounds as if someone was trying to make him say something. His mouth moved, but he was able to contain and control most of the sounds that were trying to escape.
     She continued to speak to him, "I see that you are trying to find the home of the dwarves." The room dims. In between Lament and the wall of the cave, I notice a shimmer. An illusion of some sort materializes on the cave wall. It appears to be the other side of the cave about five stone walls deep.

     "What do I owe you?" Says Lament to the undead dark elf.
     "All you need do is say my name once more."
     "I...I don't recall your name. Odd, I feel as though I know it," a confused look stumbles across his face. I know who this must be or at least, I'm fairly certain. 'Alspeth'...Yes, It must be! Was she whom he had summoned just a few days ago? I had erased their memory of the event, but would I be able to protect them from her? She appeared to be a bit too powerful for us to take on, but I would try if it came to that. Only a wizard beyond six seasons could perform such a spell as she had just done - allowing travel between one wall to another for so many creatures.
      "Interesting. Perhaps, another time then," she says. The wild elves begin backing up out of the cave, wearily.
     "And the wild elves, you'll let them pass through as well?" He asks.
     "I don't see why not," she says in response without lifting her gaze from Lament. The wild elves rush away from the cave, until I cannot see them through the entrance. I want to stop them, but I can't leave my party alone with her.
      "No. I refuse. We mustn't go," I say to them. Looking at them all and lowering my voice, "I don't trust her. This doesn't feel right." I raise my voice to normal levels again, "I can't stop you from doing what you will, but I will not follow you to your deaths." I pause a moment and face her, "Why would you help us? What's in this for you?"
     "We have mutual enemies."
     "How so?"
     "You seek to destroy the duergar. I too seek this for they have killed many of my people."
     "Your people?"
     "Yes. Undead, like me. There are many of us here in the forest." I believe her, no doubt, but who doesn't find the duergar their enemy these days? There's something about this all that doesn't sit well with me.
      "Who isn't enemies with the duergar as of late?" I question, looking at Lament as I stubbornly press on, "I will not be joining you. You have to realize this. If you must go Lament, at least take this. It will return you, so long as you stay as close as you can to the wall on the other side." I hand him a piece of my armor.
      As Lament turns around to enter the opening, it disappears and the undead dark elf is no more. After a moment passes, Lament doubles over, dry heaving. He feels terribly sick and begins vomiting. I kneel beside him, comforting him. This is nothing new to me.
     "I've seen a sickness such as this before. When people spend too much time in the Shadowfell. Certain things and light sources react differently, but many get sick to their stomachs," I explain. The Shadowfell, a dark reflection of the world, is the gateway the dead must pass through to meet their final destination; a purgatory of some sorts. Although it is not necessarily an evil place, it is certainly a place where evil's presence is strong; most of it's population dead and undead.
     "If you can, please tell me what you're feeling," I say concernedly to Lament. He tries to explain his symptoms to us, but nothing he's saying makes sense. It's just a bunch of gibberish, similar to that of the dwarf in the journal I had secretly burned. I knew the journal would bring nothing good, nor would it really aid me in a cure for Lament, but for a moment, I did regret destroying it.
     Loogan jumps! "What is he saying? Is that demonic?" Loogan tries to calm down, but he's a bit freaked out. Lament is looking at Loogan confusedly. Probably wondering why Loogan is edgy. Rightfully so. You don't hear someone speak like that just any day. "You can cure him right, Yuria?" Loogan looks at me, hoping for my answer to be optimistic.
     "I'm not certain I can. Lament, can I take your hand for a moment?" Without thought, he places his hand on mine. I am known by many as Yuria 'The Seer' Thorak. I have foreseen so many stories in my life time thanks to the power Pelor has instilled in me. I just hope that it will not fail me. I must have faith.
     Taking his hand, I close my eyes and slowly drift. I see a coin flipping. As it spins towards me, it begins to enlarge. On one side, I see Lament. He's vanquishing something, a grin of triumph plastered across his face. His Blade of Annihilation poised for a killing blow. The other side shows Lament holding his head with a wall of flames behind him. He's shrieking loudly. As his screams grow louder, the vision fades. When I am fully aware of my surroundings, I explain to them what I envisioned. I do a small prayer for Lament and thank Pelor for the vision.
     "Thank you, Yuria. I'm feeling better," said Lament, slowly standing up.
     "We should continue traveling," said Drogo. "If Lament still feels sick at nightfall, we'll change our plans-"
      "Yes, and head back to town if necessary. I'm sure I can find a cure if it comes to that," I say, cutting him off.
     We all agree and follow Drogo's lead. We walk for hours, keeping our ears and eyes nimble and dusk begins to set in as we continue on.
     "Hark, I hear the rushing fall of water," says Drogo. His elfin ears moving like radar dishes. He jumps about quickly, yet so gently and agilely that you can't hear even the crunch of a leaf beneath his feet. Listening for more sounds, he tries to decipher where the water is coming from.
"Hey, look!" Loogan points up. Where the lava flow, mountain side and river meet, there's a small glint. Leave it to Loogan to find something shiny.
     "Nice find, Loogan," said Drogo, patting the halfling on the head. "That looks as though it could be an entrance. Very likely too. Erosion and lava can cause many openings. Hopefully, we'll find an entrance there. It's getting dark. We should setup camp." Drogo begins grabbing rocks, lining them up to face where the glint is. We often used fixed features in the area to allow us to find locations after a rest. This will be most helpful with the location Loogan pointed since the glint probably won't be visible when the sun starts coming up.
     Before we rest, I examine Lament. He looks better, but I ask anyway, "Are you feeling okay?"
"Yes, I am," he says while resting his head and slowly zoning out.
     At the end of my watch, I hear something. I'm not sure where it's coming from. It sounds as though something is moving. When I wake Drogo and Sir Thoran for their watch, I tell them what I've heard and Drogo goes off to investigate. I attempt to sleep, knowing he'll wake me if it's urgent.
After a few hours, Drogo returns and awakens everyone. "The sounds are coming from the north," he says certainly. Sir Thoran decides to move ahead of everyone. Looking around after every few meters, swaying his hammer anxiously, until he stops. I have this feeling he's found something and make my way towards him. I'm confronted by a maw who tries to bite me, stopping me in my tracks. I Command him to move away from me, pointing my finger at him. He moves quickly towards Sir Thoran, dazed and uncertain how he got there.
     I can now see another maw in front of Sir Thoran. It moves quickly, flanking him and screams. It's so loud that all of us try to cover our ears, blood draining from our ear drums. The pain slowly fading. Drogo casts Entangling Roots and vines begin consuming the area around the maws, but just as he ends his spell, another maw appears beside him.
      Loogan swiftly makes his way up to the maw that's flanking Sir Thoran, using his Steel Wind Attack Technique. Thoran turns around facing the same maw, swinging his hammer and bashing the maw. The other maw, now behind Sir Thoran, whispers something and four zombies appear around him. One of which runs straight towards me and doesn't stop till he collides with me.
Lament, using Hellfire Blast, finishes off the maw Loogan and Sir Thoran were attacking, but catches Sir Thoran in his spell, lighting him on fire. I whisper my Healing Word, soothing Sir Thoran and mending his body and spirit. Meanwhile, Drogo runs towards the rest of us, getting hit by the maw next to him and shooting his arrow. It splits into two and hits both a zombie and a maw, knocking them prone.
      Four more zombies come out of the forest, surrounding Loogan. Loogan swings his Anathema Spear and yells, "Steel Avalanche!" They all fall to the ground with one swoop of his spear. After wiping his brow, he runs towards me.
      Sir Thoran charges towards the maw to the far west, swinging his hammer wildly, but hitting nothing. The zombie in front of me tries to bite me again, but it is unable to penetrate my armor. Lament shoots an Eldrich Bolt of Arcane Forest at the maw who is now in front of Sir Thoran, and then uses his Spectral Fade to disappear almost as though he is invisible. My Lance of Faith sears through the zombie in front of me and he falls to the ground, transferring some of its health to Loogan and aiding Sir Thoran in his next attack.
      My ears hurt! All of our heads pound as the final maw screams. It stands up and attacks Sir Thoran with its tongue, jaw hinging and cracking. Loogan throws a shuriken at it and Sir Thoran swings his hammer violently, again missing. His head aching from the screams. Lament's blade infuses with flames. His eyes burning a fiery red. With one slash, his Blazing Doom of Void defeats the maw.
      We all look around to make sure everyone is okay. I bandage and mend whoever is in need. After a thorough search, it seems we're alone for now. Among the bodies we discover some gems, a bracer and miscellaneous loot that we estimate to be worth around two hundred and fifty gold.

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I'm still waiting on the description for the bracers (all I know is that they are 4th level). I will add that in when I get more details. We also leveled up tonight. Ding! So you'll be seeing some new feats and abilities being used in the future, depending on people's classes. I'll try to tie them in with neat stories of some sort.