Into the Depths of Noma

After our meeting with Aterfodden, Augustria teleported us to an old lake house of hers on the coast of Lake Sidhe. From there we walked to Noma to try and find the Paracelcan hideout. The guards were less than forthcoming, and it didn’t take long for me to realize that they weren’t going to be helpful (especially as they weren’t always making sense either). We descended into the sewers, given our earlier tip, and we encountered a plethora of creatures in the sewers. I managed to help stave off carrion crawlers and a few other creatures as we made our way through, looking for the entrance to the hideout. We then encountered a large venom troll that managed to put me down for a moment. Luckily we didn’t need to tarry in the sewers long, as we found the entrance to the hideout tucked away in the winding halls. In this deeper recess, we found flowing clean water and encountered a medusa, which we quickly dispatched. We circled back to some stone doors near the medusa’s hiding spot and found that it led to a bridge over a wide chasm. We managed to fight off the gaggle of priests and drow fighters. I will admit, as soon as I saw the unmistakable white robes I saw red. I managed to transform and barrel through the darkness to defeat them. I don’t remember how many I felled; I only remember their blood splashing about as I cut them down.
 
After the bridge we went into a room with a chest and keys strewn about the floor. No matter the poking, prodding, or finessing I tried I couldn’t budge the chest in the normal way. The others found writing on the walls to decipher, but I went ahead and tried using one of the keys. Not even the old skeleton key trick would work, it seemed, so all that was left to do was try. After a few attempts, I lost my vision. I flew into a bit of a panic, but did my best to focus on the keys; at least we knew part of the consequences of trying, and I didn’t think in my newfound state I would be of much use finding the hidden meaning of the Tortle message. That is how we ended the 14th day of Stiriacus.
 
After Silver and the others deciphered the message and found the right key, we unlocked the room’s doors. It seems to have been done without thinking, but Silver opened a door and managed to lose roughly eleven days of her memory, and we were ambushed by Ettercaps, to the best of my knowledge. I managed to help fend them off despite being blinded, poisoned, and restrained in spider webs. Skamos took it upon himself to haul my ass across the room and chide me for my actions regarding the chest. At some point he seems to try and slap me to attention, and I accidentally let slip that I wanted to kill the Paracelcans. The more I thought about why we were here, the more it bothered me that we weren’t making headway because of these stupid tricks.
 
He cautioned me about my behavior, but I wasn’t ready to listen. We took a full rest to recover, and my blindness seemed to dissipate in my sleep. During my watch with Floran I heard some humming and singing from a child-like voice fade around the room and in my head. After resting we pursued the noise, first finding a hallway of traps branching off from the room with Ettercaps, so we tried the southern door in the key room. There we found a dryder and some acolytes, as well as a burrowed-out tunnel with flumphs and a lever in the next room. After, we passed through the northern room from the key room and were attacked by three mimics. Upon ending the fight, Floran checked a chest and found two keys as Silver kept engaging a magical response from the other chest. I used one of the keys and opened a door. Walking down the halls, I found a trap that almost slid me into oblivion. Luckily the team helped to rescue me.
 
Upon returning to them, Skamos again tried to chide me for my actions. He was upset about how I kept hurling myself at the problem, and I tried to convince him that this was for the benefit of the party. He ended up slapping me for my insistence and I seemed to lapse in consciousness as Silver brought me back to a waking state. I felt terrible for causing Skamos such strife, but it was necessary. Lareina's life meant more now than ever, especially as we got closer. Although I'd hate to be a casualty, she doesn't deserve such suffering or pain. I'd gladly transfer her suffering onto the perpetrators or suffer myself so Skamos, Silver and Floran could rescue her. After this encounter, we at least decided to rest again, using the chests and dead mimics to block all entrances we're aware of and to sleep it off. In this time, two days seemed to pass, leading us to the seventeenth of Stiriacus.
 
We went through more of the dungeon. After our long respite Silver asked to speak with me privately. After some questioning she made it clear that she wanted to fuck me, but it didn't seem right, and she didn't seem to listen to reason. I almost had to barter myself away after this rescue mission to get her to drop it. As we delved deeper, we found an ettin statue and opened two doorways by "replacing" the giant's heads. We found a room with spectators after Nakama mysteriously died. We also found a secret passageway and a room with a brazier filled with shadows that only dissipated after the brazier was put out (Silver originally lit it).
 
Throughout this time Silver seemed to keep throwing herself into situations while Skamos was becoming more paranoid. Silver found what we learned was a secret passage, but she wouldn't seem to communicate why she thought it would all explode in fire, and to avoid the blast I ducked into a separate room where I discovered two spectators. When we returned to the secret passage Silver discovered, and upon exploring Skamos became afraid he had stepped on a trap and that the room would crumble if he moved. When I tried to reason with him, he didn't believe me, and I had to trick him to prove to him there was no danger. It concerns me deeply, and I see how my actions are affecting my friends. Especially now after the shadows, I feel much weaker and realize I cannot keep this up as long as I had hoped. Maybe I can reason with them to show them I haven't lost my head.
 
After exploring further we realized that Silver was missing. As the others searched, I tracked her to the main entrance and we encountered a dragon that was also a beholder. Silver looked rightfully scared and we decided to retreat and barricade the door. After that encounter, we made our way through the left ettin door and encountered two gelatinous cubes in one room, and a zombie beholder and two spectators in the next room. Beyond, we found a balcony with a ladder plunging deeper into the depths. We encountered the same eye drake again and barely made it out of that scenario. I had to climb back up the ladder and retrieve Silver, as she seemed to be frozen on the ladder. Upon descent we decided to rest, but were interrupted by a trio of Paracelcans. Skamos and I handled negotiations, myself posing as Brother Lars and the others as initiates. Our lie was that we were going to the bridge to clean up the bodies that were up there and to settle the eye drake. After they left, tentatively satisfied, we finished resting and agreed to keep up the disguise.
 
We continued on deeper after our encounter with the Paracelcans. We found a side passage that led us to what can only be described as a spider's nest, yet we easily dispatched the monsters. We then found a hall entrance and encountered more Paracelcans, but given that I had changed into my Lykantrop form, we were easily found out as a cultist tried to have us "clean up'' one of their "experiments." All hell broke loose; we ended up slaying a whole lot of cultists, two flesh golems, and a Drow spellcaster. Afterwards, Silver revealed why she had barely fought: apparently given her family's backstory she's also hunted by the Cult of the Everlasting. Apparently my response was not completely apropos to the situation, and Skamos forced my hand for an apology. The apology did not go over well either, but at least we all agreed to move together. In the next room we met with the half-tortle woman we had previously encountered, and a short battle ensued. Before I could question her thoroughly, Silver killed her and the body turned to snow. Skamos identified that this was part of a simulacrum and that she had never been here. We continued on to find Lareina and three other children who had been experimented on. Upon trying to retrieve Lareina I saw her fangs and realized she had been turned. I honestly thought my best option was to kill her and transport her body, but as I moved to kill her, I was stopped by the Gods, who stayed my hands. I obeyed and tied her up instead, giving her over to Silver and Nakama. From there, Floran and I dispatched the other three children, as instructed. Our main concern then was escaping, and we narrowly missed a full confrontation with the eye drake as we made our final escape. Into the streets of Noma again, we were not stopped nor questioned as we left, heading for the nearest inn on this dark night. As I write now, I wonder how we will proceed. Tanaka still needs assistance finding intel on the war, and we need to escort the now comatose Lareina back to her father in Ailbhafair. At this point, we will need to be strategic. Maybe I could send Tanaka Iacob's way at worst, or we can escort her there and help her more directly at best. Either way, rest is of the utmost importance now. A new start on a new day.