Why do Men Always want Boats?

20 Dravago, 994 YK

We finally make it to the temple grounds in search of the boat we need in order to get to the Island of Misfit Dragons. Once there we can submit our offering and hopefully secure some dragon blood. Maybe I can stick its tail while the others distract it and get a small sample. While making it through the maze of a path to the temple proper we are surprised by a hobgoblin ranger with a panther companion. I remember Portia talking about hobgoblin rangers, so the idea doesn't strike me as strange. I just hate getting surprised! He offers to accompany us to the temple as he is seeking out a cult that has taken over the area and is doing bad things. Donaar decides to allow him to join us and we continue towards the temple and the boat.

We turn a bend in the road and there is a group of creatures not a few yards ahead of us. They look super creepy and I just want to kill them and move on. Miles, poor city boy that he is, decides to go and greet them, thinking that they would like to join our cause as well. He finds out that they are members of The cult of Everlasting Life that has just overtaken the temple. Why do these people remind me of the crazies in the Blood of Vol? Miles seems to like the idea of immortality but I prefer to live my life and then enter the sweet embrace of death eventually. Each generation that comes up is worse than the last, and who wants to stick around and see all the laziness first hand? Not me. No thanks. I'll check out before then—and even sooner if Miles keeps this up!

Donaar realizes that the cultists that fail to achieve everlasting life descend to undeath as a booby prize. This gets his dander up and we enter into a war over the temple. We fight the cultists and in one of the battles, they try to steal our kobold right out from under my nose. I fail to see it happen during the battle—I mean three manticores are rather distracting—but I see the drag marks from under the wagon. I rush to follow them and wound the cultist that was dragging him away. Luckily he drops the kobold and heads for the water. I untie the kobold and dust him off. He seems a little upset about the whole kidnapping thing. Pfft, he lived, didn't he?

After the battle, we send the remaining cultists to the four winds. We find the boat and it is too large to remove from the cellar it is in! We are the only ones getting a boat too big to move into the water! Why do I hang out with this crew? The kobold laughs, pushes a button and the boat magically transforms into a large briefcase. Now isn't that clever. I let one of the tallfolk horse that thing around.

We make camp in the temple with the idea of a long restful night so the casters can relearn their spells. I talk a bit with Swim and he seems to be satisfied with his tour of the world so far.