998 Barrakas 20th-21st

998 Barrakas 20th morning Aundair

The remainder of our journey to the village of Elton was nearly without incident. The nearly being that Zed was apparently attacked last night by some sort of ghost-like undead while digging a grave for the ill-fated Borin. From what we were told the spirit had no chance against our warforged champion due to his golem-like physiology. It seems Zed is immune to the death touch which many such creatures are able to wield against the living. I count myself blessed to have such a mighty ally.

998 Barrakas 20th late afternoon Aundair

We have arrived in a small village in the Farcry Hills known as Elton. As soon as we arrived the villagers reported that three children had been kidnapped as seemed to be implied in the prophetic dream. One of the three victimized children seemed to be, potentially, the child of the prophetic dream. Though this Airithel is thirteen and the child in the dream was a babe, we can safely assume some level of symbolism in dreams sent by the Host. In any case, we cannot stand by while children are in danger. We must succor them dream or no dream.

998 Barrakas 21st sometime after midnight Elton, Aundair

Though we have won a decisive victory, I count our rescue mission a failure. Our village guide had led us to a tunnel complex in the Farcry Hills. On the journey he told us of the horrible raiders that have plauged the villagers. Our guide told us of these mighty “bug-ogres” and I assumed he referred to the huge abominations known as “umber hulks”. I assumed peasant ignorance of things academic. As it turns out his identification of the threat was far better than my own.

We had only traveled a short distance underground when we came to our first barrier, a stout door of oak. Just prior to entering the cave, I employed my wand to place a protective ward on my three companions and Dorb Grittar. We saw no one at first so Vaegar began utilizing his skills as a locksmith to breach the door. Then suddenly two of these Xoriat warped bug-ogres dropped from the dim recesses of the cavern’s ceiling and assaulted us. “Bug-ogres” was actually a very apt appellation for those monstrosities as the creatures were larger than horses, had six massive limbs, and were armored with chitin-like carapaces. And yet they walked on their back legs like a man and used their top four limbs as a man uses his arms. Wielding long spears and great swords they inflicted grievous wounds on our fellowship. Had it not been for the protective magics cast with my wand, we almost certainly would have lost one of our company. Even then the empathic feedback caused by the wand’s warding power nearly killed me as the creatures beat mercilessly upon my companions. I was able to keep the spell up long enough for my friends to inflict debilitating wounds on the bug-ogres. But in short order the pain did indeed force me to sever my protective connection to my companions. Thanks to Dorb Grittar and his enchanted ice sword, the time I bought with the empathic ward was enough to ensure a victory.

By the by, as noted earlier, I originally thought “bug-ogres” a peasant’s vernacular for the Xoriat spawned creatures know as “umber hulks”. This was not the case. It now seems likely that these creatures were indeed true ogres at some point and that they were warped by Xoriat magic into their current forms, probably by the Cult of the Dragon Below.

Shortly after the battle with the two bug-ogres, we continued on and came upon the library of the ogre-mage known as Brath the lesser. Inside we were greeted with a horrifying sight. The young man, Airithel, the object of our quest, was crucified upon a stone table. We carefully freed him and then I healed his hurts. We supplied Arithel with a bow and arrows so that he would be able to defend himself should the need arise. After this we examined the books in the library. They were all tomes of forbidden knowledge, many dealing with the Cult of the Dragon Below. It was a dilemma of the conscience. The knowledge contained in these books was a great evil and must needs be destroyed. And yet destroying knowledge makes me little better than those I appose. As I set the books ablaze, I ruminated on the bitter irony that a priest of a god of knowledge and the written word would be forced to stoop to book burning.

After the library was a roaring inferno, we continued on until we located the actual study of the ogre-mage Brath the lesser. As we approached Brath bid us enter and treat with him. I used his ploy as a pretense to draw as close as possible to the evil ogre-mage. When we had approached as close as Brath would allow, I cast a silence spell on my warforged compatriot Zed. I was operating under the (as it turns out probably faulty) assumption that Brath was a powerful Xoriat worshipping spellbinder and thus I employed silence to counter his reality bending and mind warping spells. The battle seemed to quickly turn against us as the ogre-mage used illusion magic to turn himself invisible and he thus escaped our trap. Brath’s two Xoriat-spawned pets (originally in the shape of huge hyenas) shape-shifted into tentacled monstrosities and attacked our company. The single bug-ogre guard joined the abominations against us and we were sore pressed. It was the warding power of my wand’s empathic connection that turned a fight for survival quickly into a rout. Protected by the wand my allies laid into the creatures of the madness realm with a vengeance. As the battle was winding down, Brath sought to parley. Of course, keeping to form, he sought to force peace by threatening the life of an innocent child. Because of the silence field I placed on Zed, I was the only one of my company that could hear him. The ogre-mage ordered me to drop my silence field or he would murder the child clasped to his breast. I counter offered that I would drop the spell if he gave me the child. I said this hoping to save the child’s life even if it meant risking my own. I did not trust him to keep his word though I would, certainly, have kept mine. Sadly I had greatly miscalculated his rationality in that he killed the child with little further parley. I shall carry the crushing weight of this failure to my grave. Senseless. We would have spared Brath had he asked for mercy and had he not harmed the child. As it was, I was determined that he not see another sunrise. After rallying my allies, we surrounded him and laid him low. Easily. Apparently he was not the powerful spellbinder we took him to be. Just a cowardly killer of children.

After we defeated Brath, we asked Airthel to take us to the remaining child-hostage. Airithel lead us only a short ways before we surprised a quartet to the massive bug-ogres. Four of the aberrations was almost more than we could handle. After only a few moments of combat I was forced to drop the wand’s protective magic as the pain of my comrades’ wounds was more than I could bear. Even without the protective spell, Zed and Dorb Grittar were able to hold their own against the mighty bug-ogres but Vaegar and Elarin were grievously wounded and fighting for their lives. Only Grittar with his enchanted ice sword was able to quickly defeat his opponent. Had it not been for Dorb Grittar we would likely have lost the battle and perhaps even our lives. After finishing off his bug-ogre Grittar then teamed up with my compatriots to defeat their opponents. While the battle was raging, Airthel was supporting our warriors with archery from the back ranks. Inexperienced though he was, Airthel was still able to strike one telling blow on a bug-ogre that seemed to heading in the direction of the last hostage-child. As Grittar led us in an eleventh hour decisive victory, Arithel began to undergo a transformation. His hair fell out and he turned emerald green. Of course at first we feared he was turning into a monster of Xoriat. But then he grew wings and it became clear that he was a fallen angel from Syrania. When the transformation was complete Airithel helped us rescue the remaining child and return him to the village. Then the most awe inspiring event occurred! Arithel’s angelic father (?) came down from the heavens and spoke with us. I genuflected in humble abasement. Such an honor to speak with one of the mighty servants of the Sovereign Host!

Now back to the grim reality of a village still in mortal danger. We need to rest and strengthen ourselves so that we can return to the tunnels and exterminate those vile abominations once and for all.