Entry and Escape of the Darsun Estate

28th Winter’s Dusk
We visited Turrowben this morning after securing enough magic ale for the rest of the trip. Turrowben was surprisingly lush with plants, and only had a store and a butcher. The store itself had the peculiar name “Garbage Pile”, but we managed to buy quite a few provisions: lots of climbing gear, some smoke bombs, and some traps. Most of it went to Percy or Key, they seem to have more experience with this kind of thing. I still can’t believe that I’m traveling with these people.. who knows what they plan on doing after we pass the mountains. I guess we’re all together until Feldenvale, and I’m sure that I wouldn’t make it very far on my own. But still… what a strange group. They all seem decent enough, but I just don’t understand any of their- motivations? backstories? What are they all doing here?
 
Regardless, I guess we’re stuck together. We learned a bit about the history of this village- something about an evil druid that used to live here and eventually died. Clark said it's a long story. Turns out he’s also the butcher here. We also decided to plan a strategy for when we arrive at the Darsun estate: I think it would be better for Key to stay outside for a safer vantage point while we investigate inside, just in case something were to happen. She seems good under pressure, and can move around very quietly- sometimes I forget she’s even there. I practiced using Message on her- I’ve never used it for very long distances but I think it could work for this plan.
 
We continued heading for the estate and passed two dead travelers on the way. Atlas performed a brief ceremony, but the ground was too frozen for a burial. He and Key looted the bodies, which frankly seems barbaric. I guess Atlas is the authority on death though, so maybe it’s ok.
 
Oh! We saw mammoths! We were in the middle of the woods and this giant mammoth came to us, but it seemed friendly so I gave it a tree branch with some berries on it, and it picked me up! Key didn’t want to get up, but we all got on it eventually and it took us to a cave. There were some baby mammoths there too, it was so cute!! They painted some murals using berries and mud and stuff. I honestly didn’t know mammoths had the intellectual capacity to create art…
 
29th Winter’s Dusk
….
We just … fought …. something. It was … I don’t even know.
 
It was getting dark, and we found some sort of mausoleum in a valley. If my guess is correct, this was the site of the Icecapped Crags battle. Above the mausoleum there is a huge statue of an army of dwarves and humans led by a man in a long cloak, Matteus Darsun if memory serves. We decided to camp around there for the night, but we started hearing… strange whispers coming from the crypt.. almost like someone was saying “help me”. Caspian immediately ran in, afraid someone was in danger, and Percy followed suit. They called Atlas down, and I saw a bright light and suddenly Caspian started yelling. That made Key run in, but I felt like it was safer outside of the crypt. I started hearing weird sounds, several whispering voices and weapons being drawn. I knew I had to go help… I just wanted to run away, maybe I should’ve… Inside the crypt there were these…..
 
Monsters?? amalgamations of bodies of tieflings moving as one but clearly not alive… not in the conventional sense at least. One of the creatures was attacking Percy, and Caspian was keeping the other at bay. I shot one of them with Magic Missile but a third … thing crept up behind me and started wrapping me with its horrible fleshy… tendrils? Key tried to stab me out, and I managed to burn my way out. We fought for our lives and with enough force caused the creatures to disintegrate, but one of them leaves behind some sort of orb.
 
I’m keeping it in my bag- it has faint runes of life transference, some sort of arcane focus to hold the bodies of the dead tieflings together. No doubt this is the work of a Necromancer, but the way these creatures were discarded in the crypt makes me believe that whatever they were trying to accomplish was a failure. This orb is extremely complex, and I can’t understand why the caster would simply hide them in a crypt in the middle of the mountains.
 
We decided it’s probably safer to spend the night outside of the mausoleum. Atlas healed our wounds, thank the Raven Queen. With this time to reflect, I find it extremely suspicious that the only accomplished spellcaster in the region is also the nobleman running out of funds due to some mysterious project he keeps hidden from everyone, and is supposedly the most dangerous being in these mountains. I’m not shy about sharing my suspicions with the others, as much as I don’t fully trust these travelers I trust Cicero Darsun much less.
 
1st Blossomtrove
My suspicions prove correct! As if I have not read enough Lady Ascella to know when a reclusive nobleman is hiding a horrible secret, more often than not to do with perverse magic. Following our encounter in the crypt, we continued on our way to the Darsun estate. I am extremely grateful for the ale, it keeps the frigid cold at bay. I attempt a new spell to aid us in locating the estate: with a certain amount of concentration I am able to successfully summon a familiar (white snow owl, name TBD). She is able to scout ahead and lead us to the dark castle nestled in the mountain side. The entire walk there I had the increasing feeling that something was about to go very, very wrong. I asked the group if perhaps we should simply continue on our travels without stopping at the estate, but they all seemed eager to continue with the plan. I still hold that we should’ve simply kept going.
 
The castle seemed to be in disarray, crumbling as if no one had lived in it for centuries. Large spires rise up from the protective walls, and a massive drawbridge is the only access point, as it is surrounded on all sides by either a steep cliff or the mountainside in which it resides. I handed my climbing kit to Key and she stayed behind in the treeline. As we approached, a figure was walking atop the walls between the spires, but vanished quickly. I also recognized several runes in front of the drawbridge in draconic, involving mainly abjuration and divination… a sophisticated alarm system to be sure. I quickly sent a message to Key about it, but the range on my spell was beginning to wean. As expected, the runes began to glow when we crossed the drawbridge. We were greeted by a manservant who looked about as decrepit and old as the castle itself. Clearly he was expecting us, as he led us through an overgrown garden to the great hall. We passed by a crypt reminiscent of the one from last night's… encounter, as well as an enormous leafless tree, which upon closer inspection appeared to be a statue.
 
The great hall was well decorated but not recently updated, and faint music greeted us as we entered. Above the winding stairs looking over the landing stood Cicero and two others, a blonde woman with a stern but beautiful face who he introduced as his daughter Sylvia, and a young boy wearing a too-large cap- his son, Credence. Caspian is a model guest so far, clearly showing his background with nobility, and Percy tries to convince Cicero that Key split from the party. I sensed that he did not believe us, and asked him if I could go call her to join us, but he said it was already handled. Key told us later that while observing the castle, a raven approached her, followed shortly by the manservant (whose name, we found out, was Sebastian). The dining hall was large and covered in paintings and hunting trophies, including a stuffed mammoth head. In the side of the room, floating instruments played the serenade that echoed through the halls. We sat and waited for what felt like hours under Cicero’s careful watch.
 
Key eventually did join us, following Sebastian. Cicero then ordered him to clear one of the spots on the table, telling him that “Matilda wouldn’t be joining us”. I wondered if Matilda was the pregnant woman with Cicero at her side in the large portrait we passed on the way to the dining hall. Now, the pieces start to come together. The reclusive, enigmatic nobleman, the mysteriously dead wife, the abominations of nature under the crypt… Lady Ascella would be scanning the estate for escape routes by this point.
 
Cicero asks us about our trip, and seems intrigued when Percy mentioned the abomination in the crypt that we fought. I ask Percy via Message if I should show him the orb, but he says no. Instead, Percy summons his sword (a large icy greatsword that he handles with ease, signs pointing to warlock...), impressing both Cicero and Sylvia, the latter promptly summons her own rapier. She is clearly a magic user, and explains that she is a knight, much to Caspian’s chagrin.
 
The child, Credence, asks me why I am red, which is odd given how close to Kaldovyc they are. Surely tieflings are not that rare a sight. I explain that I was born this way, and I swear for a brief moment he looked at me with… hunger in his eyes. Cicero quickly reprimands him for asking rude questions, which thankfully turns his attention away from me. Sebastian starts serving the entry course; yeti soup. Key mentions that we fought a few yetis, and found solace in the temple for the Raven Queen. At this, Cicero lets out a brief cough, but quickly changes the subject by asking Percy where he is from (highly suspect). Percy explains that he is from a small village in Kaldovyc, and upon further pressing explains that his sword was made by a blacksmith friend of his- a specialty Kaldovyc sword (yeah. right.). Cicero then turns to me, and asks me the same. I must confess he reminds me in a way of Lilith, I was tempted to just .. confess everything. The past couple of days have been insane, and I want to just…. get it out. But I kept my answers simple, the shiver down my neck from Credence’s look forcing me to keep my mouth shut.
 
Caspian interrupts to ask about the highway, and Cicero gives a reasonable response- it is in the edge of their jurisdiction, and as much as he would like to help, the bureaucracy involved makes it incredibly difficult. He currently has a contractor working on it, someone or something by the name of Mergo. This name elicits a reaction from Key, but she denies knowing them when I ask. He gives us a brief history of the castle and their family, nothing that professor Agiad hasn’t already told me. I ask him about his wife and he confirms that she is dead, and looks with barely hidden disdain at Atlas.
 
The atmosphere is tense as the main course is served, a large meal of roasted potatoes, vegetables, and seared steak. I had truly never seen so much food in one place in all my life, especially for such few people. Despite the food being delicious, only Sylvia seemed to be eating. Cicero took a few scattered bites, but Credence did not touch the food. Cicero explains that he has a “dietary condition”, and appears almost… disgusted at the child.
 
Sylvia and Percy bond over working at the Spire, and he seems to be laying on the charm but is met with only awkward stiffness. Cicero asks us about the mercenaries and Caspian’s crest, and apologizes for the barely kept state of his home. He explains that he is preoccupied with important projects, and when questioned by Percy, he elaborates that he wants to improve the pass and help travelers, and to put an end to senseless death. This is where his similarities to Lilith end, while they are both detached and calculating, he seems to care about the people under his duchy. I felt inclined to trust him, and offered to help in any way we could with clearing the pass. He asks for a personal emblem with which he could contact us in the future, and I hand him professor Agiad’s broach. I’m sure he won’t mind.
 
The others also offer to help, and Atlas points out that he doesn’t abide by people dying before their time. Cicero asks “If they die, doesn’t that mean that it was their time?” And Atlas answers with “Maybe it was your wife’s time, but some people’s lives are cut short”. Bad move, Atlas. The mood immediately sours, and Cicero excuses himself, asking us not to wander the castle. He explains that he will be working through the night, and is accompanied by his two children. Sebastian leads us to a room upstairs, and the further we get from the main hall the more unkempt the castle becomes. Cobwebs cover the walls, and a thick layer of dust seems to be settled over every surface. We arrive at the guest chambers, which have been recently cleaned but still left in the past. Sebastian exits and we hear him locking the door behind him.
 
Key immediately begins pacing, she appears ruffled. I ask if it’s about the Mergo person Cicero mentioned, and she signs [bad person, no go]. Before I can press further, Caspian returns from the bathroom and says there is a hidden latch. Key follows to investigate and is able to unlock it, leading us to a storage room that opens out into a hallway. On the wall is an intricate fresco depicting a large leafless tree (relation to the statue in the yard perhaps...). The canopy reads House Drangleic, the trunk reads House Laerdam-Seitz (who I recall hold power over Cardyl), and the roots read House Darsun (our charming hosts...). Within the roots lie a family tree, with the recent additions being Faustus Darsun, his children Agnes, Cicero, and A- (here the name is scorched out), and Cicero’s own two children.
 
I insist to the group that we should simply stay in our room- we were specifically warned about Cicero’s power and danger, and perhaps if we just wait out the night we will be safe to continue on our way. This was starting to seem out of our paygrade. Key and Percy were already on their way down the hall however, so I convinced them to wait while I sent out my owl to do some scouting. Through her eyes, I saw the path we traveled to reach the room as she traveled back down to the dining hall. Within the hall was a sight that only served to reinforce my concerns- 12 people in white robes and masks made of bark embellished with a symbol of a symmetrical tree that I did not recognise. They sat around the dining table and ate the food that Credence didn’t touch, all moving in unison. I tried to convey this to my traveling companions but they still insisted on exploring to find more evidence… the hallway that we were in housed two doors, both closed, one reinforced. Key walked into the closed room and quickly returned with a set of keys (fitting) to open the reinforced door, which opened out to the top of the wall and bridged two spires. As Key sneaked past to the next spire, we saw the 12 robed figures crossing the courtyard and approaching the crypt. They entered the crypt and two statues in front of the entryway slid into place to block anyone from following them.
 
When the figures disappeared, Key motioned for two people to join her. Percy immediately volunteered and dragged me, unwillingly, along, arguing that I was less conspicuous than the other two and familiar with magic. Indeed, upon the next spire I recognised runes with alarm and transmutation elements. Percy then closed his eyes, and when he reopened them they glowed an icy blue. He described that the runes connected as if through an invisible wire to one of the gargoyles atop the spire, as well as to a power source within a room. There were no stairs heading up however, so Key and Percy decide to go back through the dining hall and find a way up. They leave me alone and exposed! However, I remember a spell that professor Agiad demonstrated once before, and flipping through my spellbook I am able to locate it: Invisibility! Armed now with a degree of stealth, I decide to follow them.
 
We exit the dining hall and pass through the garden looking for an entrance into the spire. Percy explains that his eldritch sight shows transmutation magic in the crypt, and he points out a poem written upon its walls. We were eager to get out of sight, so I only recall something about “only after death can we live free from the threads of fate eternal”. We quietly continued on our way and found the door into the spire, which Key made quick work of. The first room was neat, contained a diploma of knighthood and Sylvia’s rapier. We also found an itinerary which was mainly coded, but included an entree for today labeled “Meeting with Demonstration''. Percy pocketed the itinerary, and we continued into the next room. This room was grander than the previous, it contained a portrait of an older man with three children, one of which was scorched out. Recalling the family tree, we guessed this was likely Faustus Darsun and his children. Key and Percy inspected the painting, finding a lockbox hidden behind it. While Key worked to open it, I looked around the room and found some sort of three dimensional variant of the Dragon Chess game Caspian had taught me. It seemed the player was devising a complex strategy against himself, with the dark pieces in a position that would be essentially unbeatable. Granted, my experience with this game is limited, but I could tell that the setup of the dark pieces would elegantly carve a path to the opposing King within 3 moves. I noticed, however, that if I were to move the white knight to a position between the dark dragon and the ogre, the game plan would cease to function, as the dark King would be placed in a compromised position within 2 moves. (Certainly a larger challenge than Caspian…) As I contemplated this, I heard Key unlock the box. Within it was a black rolled up carpet, which I recognized from one of professor Agiad’s books on arcane instruments- this was a portable hole! I told Key to lay it out on the floor, and reached in to find an old journal, property of someone named Alistair (the missing A in the family tree, perhaps?). The journal was coded, and I put it in my satchel while Key and Percy replaced the lockbox and painting. Despite my urgings, Percy decided to keep the portable hole.
 
We continued our path up the spire, reaching an arcane study of some sort. Percy activates his eldritch sight and, after examining the room, blows on a trail of ash on the floor. He says this should disrupt the warding runes, and I message Caspian to inform him that he and Atlas can join us through the door. As we wait for them to join us, we take stock of the room. It contained large, overflowing bookcases and vials filled with spell components, as well as a powerful divination ritual circle on the ground. The more we spent waiting, the more I felt the urge to just return to our room and get a good night’s rest.
 
When Caspian and Atlas arrive, we begin looking for evidence… whatever that would be. We find a letter about a deed of land ownership addressed to a Black Mergo. The deed exchanged control of the toll line of the main highway for rights to excavate in the land of Baator…. upon reading that the scar on my sternum seemed to pulse with pain. Why is Cicero looking to excavate in Baator? And why does this Black Mergo have the authority to grant that? Key takes the letter and appears shaken herself, but begins forging a copy. Meanwhile, I divert my attention to the large chalkboard upon the wall.
 
It seems to contain passages of a book named “Weaving Fate”, detailing dense necromantic theory that I will admit is slightly beyond the scope of my comprehension. There were, however, two clear sketches- a person with a thread of fate reaching to the heavens and a person without it. I turn to Atlas and notice that he has his eyes shut, and if my interpretation of these notes is correct that is no surprise… This is a direct affront to the realm of the Raven Queen. But what kind of sorcerer believes he has the power to sever the influence of a god?
 
My suspicions about Cicero being responsible for the abominations in the crypt were proven correct as soon as we started investigating the area in the study in a laboratory had been set up. Atop a large desk were several glass vials with mice that seemed to be breaking at the seams, as well as mounds of flesh with mouths and eyes scattered through their …. bodies? Atlas says that these creatures are definitely undead, but are surprisingly intact. Suddenly, the exclusive use of tieflings in the larger abominations make sense- he seems to be taking advantage of the not-quite-undead quality of fiends imbued within tiefling bloodlines. That would also explain the particular interest he took on Percy and I…. I also found a book that I recognised from the Patriarch’s personal collection detailing how to invite possession from the further planes of Baator. I’m sure that if I looked, I would find the exact ceremony he performed a mere 21 days ago on me.
Percy calls us to a different room, which seems to be a child’s room. Among the typical scribbles of family members and castles with dragons are terrible scratches along the walls and messages written in infernal, the words “hungry” and “save us” written over and over. We all were surely wandering the same thing… What have they done to Credence?
 
Back at the study, Atlas found a secret passageway hidden behind a fresco similar to the tree we saw in the castle. Since I was still invisible, the group elected I should go investigate…. It led up a set of stairs to an observatory with a great wheel of cosmology containing the multiverse, a familiar sight to any student of the arcane. It also contained the tree we’ve seen so much in our stay here, with its roots digging into the different planes. However, some of the planes seemed to be… severed? I was also able to get a closer look at the poem from the crypt, as it was copied upon the tree
 
From memory: “puppet masters, divine gate, free slaves, threads of fate, eternal tyranny, with fateless fiends will ascend beyond gods” (definitely concerning, especially ascending beyond gods…. is that even possible? I do wonder if… maybe… that would include the cleansing flame… I thought there was no greater power than that but maybe if it’s possible to ascend past gods…maybe there’s hope)
 
I decided to send the owl to investigate potential escape routes, as this whole situation was steadily getting out of hand. She flew out of the observatory and down to the cliffside, but was soon stopped by some sort of forcefield. Indeed, focusing I was able to see a light shimmer surrounding the castle that only broke through the garden and into the mountain side. It seemed… we were trapped.
 
Suddenly, a loud scream echoed from within the crypt. A few moments later from the observatory window, I saw Key dash out into the courtyard and through the crypt doors. Above her, vultures began circling, probably spies for Cicero… I commanded the owl to distract them as best as possible and ran back downstairs, by which point the rest of the party had already run out to follow Key. Unfortunately the owl was not able to stave off the vultures for long, and as we ran through the courtyard the vultures began to circle our heads. Percy put up his middle finger at them and we all ran into the crypt. Thankfully I was still invisible…
 
We entered what seemed to be the Darsun family crypt, with the final resting place of Matteus Darsun prominently on display. We walked further down the crypt through a secret pass to a hexagonal room with a brass mechanism on the floor. Each of the walls showed an engraved drawing and a title
 
From memory:
1. A large rock in the middle of the sea titled Laerdam Oubliette,
2. the House of Enlightenment building titled Hague,
3. a featureless wall
4. the nine hells titled excavation site
 
I recognised the circle on the ground as a teleportation circle, but I must confess I have never heard of one that was capable of teleporting you to such a variety of locations…
 
We noticed raised metal bars on the hall opposite to that which we entered through, and decided to send the owl through in case it was some sort of trap. She went through to the next room, and reached a large chamber with stained glass windows that faced out to the hedge maze. It was littered in arcane symbols, and at three opposite sides were chained and unconscious tieflings, the youngest couldn’t be older than 13. At the center of the room was a throne, upon which sat Credence who was tied up and blindfolded. Seeing as the room was empty aside from these, we decided to head in.
 
Key returned my dagger, and along with Caspian I began to cut the restraints around Credence while Key began to break the shackles restricting the child tiefling. I also noticed an orb near the child similar to that which was in the abomination, and quickly pocketed it. Suddenly, four figures approached from a viewing platform above the chamber; one wearing a sickly yellow robe adorned with tentacles, another in a long dark robe and a gas mask, and Cicero holding Sylvia. Percy is quick to explain that we heard screams, to which Cicero replied that we shouldn’t be alarmed- they signed forms of consent. Cicero explained that he’s had this batch for a week or so, and that this is a necessary inconvenience. He asked Percy if he had ever lost anyone, asked him why we should suffer by the hand of the Gods, and why they should be allowed to puppeteer when they seized power.
 
This leads Atlas to interject, asking him why he should be allowed to puppeteer instead of the Gods, and if this was about his wife. Cicero replies that he’s not that selfish, and that this is much bigger than her- this is about freedom. He says he’s the only one with this vision, that we wouldn’t understand… or that some of us might….
 
Caspian at this point explodes with anger, calling Cicero a disgrace and stating that he knows not about suffering. He calls him a filthy necromancer, and accuses him of replacing the gods with devils. The figure with the gas mask steps forward and says “Spare us, get on with it”, causing the arcane symbols surrounding the throne to dissipate. Immediately, Credence turns to Caspian and begins yelling, his head snaps and revolves so that the back of his skull faces his front. A horrible face began to grow out of his back, followed by a grotesque monster tearing the child apart and emerging from his body, exploding the throne as he did. Reactively, I seized the orb and smashed it on the ground, causing it to crack but not shatter. The creature- which we later learned is named the Ravenous- lept an absurd distance to Percy and began clawing him, all the while different corpses of tieflings emerged from his shape to attack.
 
Having freed the tiefling child, Key jumped down and began attacking the Ravenous, followed closely by Atlas and Caspian. Still invisible, I yell at them to destroy the orb, certain that it was serving as some sort of focus. As if on cue, the Ravenous roars and the orb begins glowing, unleashing a ray of thorns at one of the chained tieflings. In a moment, the body of the tiefling was flung across the room and absorbed into the creature, allowing it to regain health. Key manages to run to the orb and smash it, and while the creature is distracted by Percy and Caspian, Atlas runs to the stained glass window and smashes a hole through it. In a panic, I summon Maximillian’s Grasp and grab a hold of the tiefling child, dropping him on Atlas’s arms, and I jump out of the window while casting Expeditious Retreat on myself. The rest of the party is able to follow closely behind, and we begin dashing across the estate grounds. We soon reach a three-way split in the path; with the Ravenous closely behind us Atlas and Caspian run right and up a hill above the path, Percy runs to the left into a heavily wooded area, and I follow Key after she picks the lock of a gate in our immediate path. We ran so far and so fast that my chest burned hotter than the flames of Phlegethos. Looking back, I realize to my dismay that the Ravenous elected to chase after Key and I. I grab out my wand and let out a violent stream of fire towards it, channeling Aganazzar’s Scorcher. Stepping through the flames, the creature looked at my eyes and I felt a powerful dread engulf my entire being, and completely overwhelmed with fear I ran as fast as I could in the opposite direction. Key and I eventually reach a graveyard, and I am unable to follow her as she dodges through graves to continue the escape. Around me I see figures emerge, horrible amalgamations of limbs and faces in mounds of flesh. The panic completely takes hold of my body as I let out a scream, the fire from my spell quickly spreading and surrounding me alongside the figures.
 
Suddenly, I see a bright flash of blue energy impact with one of the figures, obliterating it and clearing a path for me. Percy was standing a few feet away, sword brandished and black cloak extremely …. wet? He yells at me to run, and I somehow find the strength to get my legs back in action. Key is waiting for me in front of a mausoleum, much smaller than that which housed the Darsun graves. She grabs my hand and leads me through, and as we emerge I feel hope that we might actually escape, but for a split second a pattern of shifting colors surrounds me and, once again, I can’t move. This time however, it was not out of fear, but no doubt due to magical means. Key later explained that the Ravenous targeted me with some sort of spell, and she had to slap me awake to snap out of it. Thankfully, I regained control over my body in time to see both Atlas and Caspian jumping from a hilltop a few meters away, and was able to protect them with Feather Fall.
 
I turn around to try and locate Percy, only to see the Ravenous has been attacking him mercilessly, and our companion falls unconscious. The Ravenous begins absorbing him, just as he did with the chained up tieflings in the demonstration chamber. I yell at Atlas to bring him back, and Caspian and Key run forward and begin carving him out. Percy jolts awake just as Caspian pulls him from the Ravenous, and Key manages to climb on the creature’s back and stab her knives into him, using them to redirect his rampaging towards the large tree statue. I hurl three magic missiles at his back, and Key uses the momentum to slam him into the sculpture. Taking advantage of this, we manage to run to the final obstacle between the estate and freedom: an intricate and overgrown hedge maze.
 
I try my best to lead the party through it, and we reach the middle of the maze undetected. We hear a guttural roar, and looking up I see the creature has climbed atop the statue and is scanning the maze for our location. It sees us, and sprouts flesh-like wings, jumping and gliding to our location. In a panic, I retrieve my wand once more and burn a hole through the center of the maze, allowing the party to rush through. We exit onto the edge of the estate, and run past a cobbled path to a rickety bridge connecting over the deep chasm that surrounds the castle. The party runs through the bridge, but I begin lagging behind, my legs shaking with the effort to escape. The Ravenous lands mere meters away, but is stopped by Sylvia teleporting in front of it. She says “Credence, it’s time to come back”, and retrieves large magic shackles, but before she can restrain it, it leaps forward and claws me.
 
For a moment, I am dead. That moment is brief, however, as almost as soon as I went down I awakened once more to Atlas engulfing me in purple mushrooms and lichen, and dragging me across the bridge. We make it across, and Sylvia runs to catch up, but out of nowhere a powerful gust of wind pushes her back and knocks her out. Standing at the foot of the bridge is the familiar small-statured Garmili Snilwunk. He leads us up the mountain and away from the estate, onto the side of the mountain wall. With a knock, he makes the wall open up into a small but surprisingly well-furnished grotto.
 
Finally, taking a moment to breath, we look around in shock. Caspian, incredulous, asks how he knew where we were, to which Garmili replies that he always knows where his jelly beans are. Indeed, I now notice a small divination inscription on the bag. We take our bearings and Garmili assures us that we won’t be found. Everyone begins patching up their wounds, and I hand the orb from the original aberration in the crypt we fought not three days ago to Garmili, asking if he recognizes it. He takes it and, curiously, starts rocking on a rocking horse in a corner of the room. After a few moments, he explains that it is an orb of life transference…. sophisticated necromantic magic.
 
Garmili also explains that we will need to pass a toll to reach Feldenvalle, each will have to pay 20 GP. He says that on the way there we will pass a city called Fjanhort, where we can lodge with one of his acquaintances in search for work, a lady by the name of Edith (or was it Ethel?).
 
Atlas sits on one of the few not gnome-sized pieces of furniture with the tiefling child upon his lap. The child is still unconscious, and is running a high fever. As I write this I have looked through both the journal belonging to Alistair Darsun and the itinerary belonging to Sylvia, and both are written in code. However, the former is significantly more sophisticated. I have been able to decipher the instructions for casting Mage Armor on one of the earlier pages, so this may be some sort of spell book… Either way, I’m sure that between these books, the copy of the deed, and the child we have more than enough evidence for Jasmine. The meeting where she contracted us seems months ago, not three days….
 
Everyone is already asleep as I finish this entry. I wanted to make sure to note down everything I could possibly remember, as I’m sure this is not the last we will hear of Cicero Darsun. His disregard for the natural order of things shakes me to my core, and I wholeheartedly believe that if left unchecked, he will bring about the end of the world as we know it. However, perhaps this kind of power is what I need, in order to rid myself of the Cleansing Flame once and for all. It’s mark upon my chest burns to this day, as if the summoning happened only yesterday. All I can hope for tonight, however, is a restful sleep.