A land of beauty and death

I write this now in a wholly different place than I have ever experienced, to the point that it is as if I am living in a different world. But I begin at our current point not where I last wrote.
 
The Hafla was…interesting…to say the least.
 
Dekar got to have a drinking contest so he was quite pleased. To my surprise and somewhat entertainment, Rowan attempted to join in as well, although I am not at all surprised by her lack of success against my love. He is dragon blooded after all.
I was afraid for a few moments that Bakir the wine merchant would have died from his escapades but Grimmauldus was his dependable self and revived him.
 
After that Grimmauldus and his friend Yahiro set their plan into motion with compelling the local priests to stop them and turning it instead into a brawl.
I won’t lie I was a bit…distracted shall we say. Hasim had managed to convince Dekar to forgo a shirt and he had covered himself in oil.
 
That pleasantness was interrupted when a sorcerer attempted to cast a spell which Inara intercepted. The sorcerer than attempted to cast a spell while pointing at Inara, which was not going to happen on my watch.
 
What then happened was a magic duel that was basically Inara and I taking turns telling the sorcerer to “eat shit and die” as Dekar would put it. I’m fairly certain that at one point a time stop was counterspelled by Inara, which I will admit filled me with some vindictive glee.
 
The men were not so pleased. There normal methods of hit the thing until it dies would have excelled against such a being, if it were not for the fact that he was nearly 200 feet into the air by the time they reached us.
 
Unfortunately for the sorcerer, once he decided to retreat Euriel destroyed him. I saw Dekar sprint off and considering his later enthusiastic cries of “I got it!” I assume that the creature had one of the artifacts that the being told him of in his dream.
Oh joy.
 
But of course with our group things are never so simple. Hassim got to get his first kill to avenge the betrayal and murder of his wife, we got to destroy a sorcerer who was meddling, and then the hydra came battering on the gates a full day or so early.
 
It was all a bit of a blur after that. We fought our way to the tower to join Rowan, Yahiro, and Secilia – Hassim conspicuously absent. We were met by a group of priests who all appeared to have some sort of physical ailment or infirmity. It was implied by their remarks that this Kazan – the priest who Grimmauldus had challenged earlier today and was now dead at Hassim’s hand – had given them refuge and purpose in his service. It made me pity them all a bit, but in the end it did not deter me from my goal.
 
We needed to get as many of the people into the tower to save them from the hydra and no priests – sympathetic or no – would prevent me from my purpose.
 
I aimed hard and fast at the casters. Chain lightning is such a boon, though I wish I could cast it with less of a price. The fallen priests would be gratified to know I would hope that in their deaths they still served a purpose in aiding the people of this land.
I said a quiet word of thanks to the first round of priests who became mine and then fell, yet I was not hesitant in raising a second round of priests. Needs must and all that.
 
In the end those followers of Kazan were no match for us and about halfway through our fight the body of a snake woman plummeted from the top of the tower, nearly crushing the last spellcaster. I suppose we now know where Hassim had been.
 
At one point I was forced to sleep during the fight and was awoken by a vivid memory of my elderly grandmother, whose face until now I could not recall, bathing in the early morning hours. It was…vivid…
 
We triumphed – although I was nearly spell-less and severely wounded by this point – and then split our interests with Inara, Rowan and Hassim remaining at the tower to get answers from the one priest who escaped and myself, Grimmauldus, Dekar, Yahiro, and Secilia leaving to deal with the hydra.
 
As we approached we could see that the priests were goading the pitiful creature with jars of pitch. The hydra itself writhed with pain and moss and greenery appeared to pour from it’s wounds as well as ichor and blood. The caretaker appeared to have some sort of presence still within it and the creature looked all the worse for it. Its bones protruded and sores oozed vines.
Dekar, Grimauldus, Secilia, and Yahiro began to engage the creature while I began to evacuate the citizens. My guards were good deterrents for speedy movement. I did end up using some of the last dregs of my magic to cast one more chain lightning on the creature.
 
Dekar and Yahiro worked together to get inside? I think they were trying to get inside the hydra. Given Dekar’s new found knowledge about artifacts it wouldn’t surprise me if that was his first thought upon seeing the creature.
Surprisingly my first thought was to evacuate the civilians, with my second thought being to put the pitiful pained creature out of its misery.
 
Regardless, Dekar somehow got the grafted on rib of the hydra as everyone helped him, while I evacuated civilians. Then we were suddenly joined by Yahiro’s wife.
 
Between Yahiro and his wife they both managed to cast a series of illusions that caused the Hydra to be distracted. We took this as an opportunity to run.
 
We began heading back to the tower where Hasim, Inara, and Rowan still were. While we had been gone they had interrogated the remaining priest. In exchange for information he begged us to kill him. So Grimmauldus did so. Very matter of factly. I think he and I both are done with this day.
 
Some important information was gained from the priest before his passing though.
This tower that these charlatans were using to further their plans is built on a layline and this circle is trying to wake something, something deep beneath the earth…
Furthermore, this tower is one of a chain with the priest naming three others – one in the cursed city, one at the great pyramid, and one in the sands.
 
And just to top it off we had even more cryptic ramblings of mad men.
A great bridge maker in the mountains almost done. attempting to wake the children of the mother – the children of Murshock. Trying to make Murshock whole. Lots of other cryptic and disturbing ramblings. More pieces to a puzzle of which no end seems to be in sight.
 
At least we got the sequence of the teleportation circle.
 
We sent people through to the City of Wei Jang. We were the last to go through.
And as we stepped into the portal, Secilia’s amulet began to heat up and glow. Then the black dog – or rather the black dogs face on a persons body – came into sight.
We left near instantly after but even recalling that memory fills me with a sense of disgust and horror.
 
Wei Jang is unlike anywhere I’ve every been before.
 
Latria is where I was born and lived out my days. A land of forests and mountains, small villages and ports, with a few larger fortifications and cities. Nothing truly fancy.
Runestone was the largest place I had ever been besides Ironkeep. And it smelled. And was honestly more overwhelming than impressive.
 
This however is…different.
 
The air is still warm but not as arid as it was by the tower. Everything shimmers, not from heat but from the gilding of gold everywhere. Gold pillars, gold leaf, silver work, gems cover everything in sight. The air is thick with the scent of incense and spices and there is a musical quality to the air as though I’m hearing distant music.
It’s…ostentatious…
 
I’d even call it gaudy if it weren’t for the greenery and fountains and waterfalls everywhere.
 
And the magic! I’ve never been in a place so rich with it, that it sits on my tongue like a fine wine. The darkness inside me stirs slightly, but I ignore it too entranced with this new place different from any other I’ve seen. The glyphs! The knowledge that must be here! I am quite ravenous – in a different way than usual – to discover new types of learning and knowledge of power here.
 
What’s odder is the mummies – automatons I heard them called – walking back and forth giving the refugees fruit. I have never been in a place before now that accepted the undead so…neutrally. Apparently as long as my guards remain covered and perfumed they can remain with me. Odd.
 
A sphinx met with us and directed us to meet with Vignir – the gravekeeper in the grave court – who could help us. Which is not surprising somehow although not exactly what I wanted to hear. Vignir is unstable at best, insane at worst, and altogether too much for my patience in the end. He also seems to have an odd relation with death and undeath, especially odd given his status as a lich.
 
We were interrupted by a dragon blooded man named Carcadon who deeply unsettled Dekar. Given Dekar’s recent dream I am not inclined to let him go alone to meet with this man or any other dragon blooded person any time soon. Especially given Hassim and Grimmauldus telling us that this Carcadon is known as a great deceiver although not necessarily evil.
Regardless I have no intention of letting him have first crack at my beloved.
 
We are now staying in the quarter of opulence – of which it well deserves the name as it appears to be floating on the sea itself – specifically in the Palace of Earthly Delights. A very nice name for a beautiful brothel.
 
We ended up with three rooms – one for Dekar and myself, one for Grimmauldus and Inara, and one for Hassim and Secilia. At least I think she shared his room or perhaps she got her own and I was mistaken.
 
After bathing and rest – and taking advantage of an actual bed for once – Dekar began to read the book we got to me.
We have always been more action oriented together so it was nice – nice and different – to rest together. And as I cannot read draconic I am glad he could.
 
Loeic: City of Hope is an interesting read. It begins with an odd dedication. I feel it has greater meaning than I can understand.
There is information about the histories of the 3 gods and runestone and the Grievous Miracle but what intrigued me most was the timeline on the next page.
It showed the cycles between awakenings of those creatures beneath.
And it showed that the time between cycles is getting shorter.
This could explain much about our current situation…
 
I grow tired of these endless riddles and fights and trials.
 
My life has not exactly turned out as I expected – I am not after all the mistress of a powerful political figure who directs him from the shadows and encourages worship of the Blood Lord. Instead I am Inira, a worshipper of the Blood Lord who uses necromancy, healing, and lightning to aid others and make the world better. Beloved of a dragon-blooded warrior and friend of an elf, a worshipper of a dead god, a simulacrum lord, a gnome druid, a snake assassin, and a half-elf who hates her patron.
 
I can’t hate who I am, but I still wonder at what I will become next.
Never have I truly been a friend or a lover or a helper before all this.
 
Time will tell what will happen next although I fear that a deeper choice comes before me soon.
 
What will I learn from this book? What will I learn in this city?