Vespera Achlys Othalam

Hello Mo Chridhe

A young sorcerer scholar with a penchant for the undead.

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Alignment

Neutral Evil

Age

Children

Gender

Female

Eyes

Light Brown

Hair

Black and red

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Pale

Height

5 ft 6

Weight

140 lbs

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Cleansed by Sunlight

After leaving the very dank and now full of dead bodies cellar, we found a very drunk Percival! He somehow managed to kill a dragon and has been carrying its skull around and telling everyone about it. Percy told us that when they left for the wedding, they went into a portal that brought them not to Draconia, but to a hideout run by a white dragon! They killed the "princess", killed the dragon with the help of some ghosts, and then the others went to Hell in the same fashion as Haanson. Somewhere in there, Aeldred "went poof" and that's what started this apparent holy war with Asmodeus. I asked Decumon what he thinks about this horrible smell that's been stuck to me, the tentacle arm, and the forked tongue. He thinks at least the smell might be a punishment from the 6th level of hell to punish either me or those around me. He thinks my tongue is a punishment from Corellon (the dude who shot Gruumsh's eye out). He offered to help me research it more! Klaus thinks the tongue is a gift (or a curse) from Gruumsh, and Mel thinks its connected to my demonic parenthood. We returned to The Cloistered Retreat and got some additional rooms for the rest of us. I refuse to ever share a room with Zephyr ever again, so I got one for just Dr. Waldorf and I. We spent the night in full sleepover mode, and I learned he's a doctor of medicine and a very good listener. Think of the things he could do for the people of Deastok when we get back! The next morning, we had a big conversation about our goals. Any good team needs to be on the same page about these kinds of things, especially since we have so many new people who have decided to follow us around (who knew I had so much power and influence?!). Klaus wants to help get Gruumsh from beyond the Divine Gate, with the Library's help Decumon wants to return to the Library and is interested in looking at the lens we recovered. Zephyr wants to get home to the Air Plane Mel wants to be a dentist and make friends Antwon wants to get the Library back, change the name of the town, and build an empire Percy wants to get the Library back and find Ignatius I want to get the Library back and get rid of my stank. Klaus then regaled us with the tale of Doya the Exploya, a woman who lives in a bog and teaches kids that size doesn't matter and looks like Yoda and teaches them Orcish. She is also a goblin and she saved a horse named Artax from her bog. She says that size matters not and smell also matters not. We decided to spend the day researching some things before heading back to Deastok, with Klaus heading to a bookshop, Decumon & Zephyr heading to the Cobalt Soul Reserve, and myself and Mel looking for a temple. There were 2 temples to Sarenrae in town, which means she must be the best god so we headed there. I asked a priest for help and they got all afraid of me! They went and got a lot of friends and then sprayed sunlight at me while strapped to a chair! It was very unnecessarily aggressive. While in the sunlight chair, I saw different versions of myself with my various afflictions leaving my body and then getting ZAPPED! It felt very weird and I decided after that happening twice that I was no longer interested in this type of help. I started to fight back, and Mel came to bamf us both out before things could get too messy. It appears that my arm has returned to normal, and the stank has left me! I also have a very bad feeling that Skully was killed at the same time, likely from some sort of connection being severed. I hope Dr. Waldorf is okay! There seems to be something else that has changed within me aside from these curses leaving, but since Mel and I are focused on fleeing a temple right now, I don't have much time to think about it!

New Friends

As we began to explore Rexxentrum, a messenger approached us. He had a letter for me from Amos! It turned out to be his will, leaving me all of his possessions back in Deastok. I do hope I won't need to keep them forever. Shortly after, we had the strangest meeting: Tomas, one of the researchers from The Library, is here! He seems to be a bit different than we remember, but is still Tomas (except now he goes by Decumon because he's an angel or something?). He says he was in The Library when it disappeared, but he ended up somewhere different from the rest - in the realm of Selune. Decumon/Tomas brought us to his inn, The Cloistered Retreat, so that we could talk about what each of us know about what has happened to the Library. He is keen to come with us and help us figure out how to get The Library back. While we were talking, Zephyr and Klaus met a little pixie named Mel and her mouse mount Samuel L. Whiskers. She seems nice enough, though she has a strange interest in teeth, and said she knows where to find The Myriad! Mel took us to what turned out to be the 20-years-ago-destroyed former headquarters of The Myriad. While looking around for any possible modern leads, an old man approached us and gave us directions to a meeting point - the fountain in Vigil's Circle. Late at night, we approached the fountain and were approached by the old man, who we learned is named Waldorf. He informed us that The Myriad is fractured, and that they contacted us in an effort to support the Zadash base with a distraction. He took us to meet the remaining members of The Myriad in a cellar, the guild leader Iris Thesalas and another one who's name I forgot. The 3 of them are the only members left! We showed them the sigil we had taken from the mage in Zadash, and learned that he was a member of the Cerberus Assembly! What a kill! Iris gave Antwon maps of all 5 of the former Myriad strongholds in various parts of Wildemount. These strongholds should contain lots of info, contracts, and contacts within cities. We could probably sell the information we receive to the right buyer. It became clear very quickly that any promise of money was unlikely to be followed through on, unless we put in a lot of effort to attain the information. Zephyr is clearly not a patient person, and I think really likes money?, and so attacked them! Antwon and Klaus helped while the rest of us just watched. Right as Dr. Waldorf went down, I cast cure wounds on him to save him! I asked him if he wanted to come and work for me, because his previous employers were now dead, and he demonstrated some neat abilities in the fight! He sadly refused, and so I had no choice but to slit his throat. I then raised him as a new Minion to join me and Skully. I figure if I had to lose Amos, I could make a new friend to keep me company until he comes back. Just like when I made Skully, this transformation seemed to effect me physically. I felt stronger, but my tongue now appears to be forked!

To Rexxentrum

As we were getting ready to leave camp, ANOTHER strange portal opened up behind us. This time, a 7'7" goliath came through! We were ready to fight, but he seemed to mean us no harm and wasn't trying to take anyone to Hell. He said his name is Mateo Klaus the Pilgrim, a follower of some god named Gruumsh. Klaus had a vision of the "crown of Asmodeus" sitting upon some books and then was guided to us. He seems to think that perhaps we can help him accomplish his goals of making a deal with another betrayer god (like Asmodeus) to help Gruumsh gain a foothold in the material plane. He seemed okay with following along with us, even with just the vague amount of info we provided. He also mentioned that just before he was pulled through this portal, he saw people that may very well have been Amos, Percy and Asmodeus Red, which is very odd because he was no where near Draconia! We set off for Rexxentrum, dealing with rabid racoons, a crazy lady who tried to cook us (we killed her), an angler fish in the woods, a sketchy rope bridge, and a fitful sleep at a brothel. As we got close to town, Klaus's eye (aka his holy symbol) drew us straight to the town gates as if it was leading us somewhere! I am convinced, based on conversations, that Ignatius could in fact be Gruumsh. We did a bit of shopping before setting forth to finally try and make contact with The Myriad.

Let Chaos Reign!

It is time to set chaos upon Zadash! On our approach to the school, with every intention of getting inside and starting the chaos there, we stopped inside a random building in the hopes that we could find some robes inside to better blend in. We were successful, as it was a laundromat, but we were seen on the way out! In our exit, Haansen decided to toss a torch in after us, setting the place ablaze! {chaos begun} Once back on the street, we started hearing alarms and a fire wagon came to put out the fire. Antwon decided to try and sabotage the wagon, but was seen by two women. He tried to silence them with threats with minimal success. A wizard approached and the women told them what they'd seen and he started fighting with us! He shot some flares into the air before teleporting away with the women. {chaos continues} The fire was spreading quickly, and the wizard soon returned with 3 other mages! The fight was quite harrowing, with me almost being killed, Antwon not fairing as well as he'd hoped, and Zephyr needing to split off to track one of them down as they fled (possibly to get further back up). The only reason we survived was because Haansen did...something? All of a sudden he was filled with power, absolutely WRECKING the remaining mages! We killed them all, and took a crest one of them held as evidence. {chaos acquired} We got out of town as fast as possible while fires raged around us. It was easy to exit with people fleeing around us! When Haansen finally reverted back from his wolf form, he had changed! Instead of regular Haansen, he now looked like an Asmodeus Red version of Haansen! We learned that during the fight, he had called upon Asmodeus for help, pledging himself to him. As we camped outside of town, we noticed that the night sky looked darker, with the stars we could see appearing to move around and even explode! Shortly after, a spectral door opened in the camp! A skeleton (named Deef) and a shadowy, red-eyed dude (Simon) came through the door holding a contract between Haansen and Asmodeus. Asmodeus was calling him to hell to fight in some war between Asmodeus and The Entity (yes, Aeldred's entity!!). They said he would be trained in preparation for the coming battle. Haansen went willingly, but none of us chose to follow. His parting words to us were to "get the bags", meaning heaps of money. Hopefully he doesn't die in Hell!

Vespera's Curses

Rotten ~~#7 - Carrion Stench You smell like a decaying body all the time, make all charisma checks with disadvantage, unless the target is undead.~~ #13 - Refused by Graves Your tongue becomes forked. While you have this mark, you can never be buried. The soil will eject you. #18 - Excess Blood You have an excess amount of blood, each day you must release some of it. This deals 1d6 necrotic damage. Maddening ~~#4 - Tentacle Arm One of your limbs is replaced by a tentacle. This can only be replaced by a wish spell.~~

Vespera's Boons

Rotten ~~#5 - Health of UnLife Your HP max goes up 1 for each Hit Dice you have.~~ #14 - Skull Scry You can see through the skull of an animal or humanoid as long as you are within 100 feet of it. It takes 1 hour to prepare the skull and you can only have 1 active at a time. #16 - Tar Blood Your blood gets denser and turns into a boiling, tar-like, black liquid. When a creature within 5 feet of you damages you with a melee attack, it must succeed on a DC 13 DEX saving throw or take 1d4 acid damage from the spilled blood. Maddening ~~#7 - Different Sense You can detect shape changed creatures within 10 feet. (Takes an action to swap eyelids to do so)~~

Wrong Road, Right Idea

Antwon, Haansen and I have left the others and began to head towards Rexxentrum to meet with the Myriad, with the goal of making contact and discussing a working relationship moving forward. While travelling, we saw a statue to Ukatoa (which seemed odd being where it was) that seemed to haunt and follow us through the day. The next day, a storm approached. While determining if we should take shelter or push ahead, a strange purple and blue person (we later learned is an Air Genasi) appeared! He introduced himself as Zephyr and had a map that helped us realize that we were actually on the road to Zadash instead. He seems very odd and only answered questions vaguely but seemed useful enough that Antwon barely hesitated to give him Level 3 Security Clearance. When we realized that we were actually headed to Zadash, Haansen and Antwon informed me that they actually DO want to cause chaos in Zadash, even though they voted against it!! They are so sneaky!! I think they just didn't want to share the money with the town! We found shelter and decided to make camp for the night. The gents went hunting and Antwon brought me back an entire berry bush! Haansen apparently killed an old man and then torched is hovel. The next morning we headed to Zadash, passing a werewolf hunting mob in search of the old man's killer. Arriving in Zadash, Haansen bought us some AMAZING meat pies before trying to visit his uncle's shop. It's located in the Tri-Spires, and just as I remembered from my childhood, it's still a 'resident or invitation only' zone. Without a key to get in, we followed some very old scholars to the nearby pub with the intention of making their pockets a bit lighter. They weren't difficult to distract, as they immediately were interested in Zephyr, and then fully KIDNAPPED him! Teleporting away! I tried to Alter Self for the first time, and found that I could remove the horrid smell that's been latched onto me since the temple, but could not also get rid of my tentacle arm. I made myself appear as a young blonde student, similar to the others in the pub. Haansen also changed to look like student and Antwon was himself. I picked a target at the bar, some fratboy who's probably named Brad or Chad. I flirted with him until I was able to convince him to leave with me (which took almost no time). He took me to a nearby abandoned apothecary that he called his "pad", where I successfully Commanded him to fall asleep. I stole his key super fast and ran out to find the others. We were able to get into the Tri-Spires no problem! Zephyr also seemed to escape the old men very easily and found us quickly. Haansen's uncle is named Pumat Sol and runs a shop called the Invulnerable Vagrant. They make many magical items, including big automaton-like suits of armor for the war! Zephyr bought a magical extending pole and Haansen bought a very versatile cloak! I asked one of the Pumats (because there are multiple doppelgangers) if he knew anything about The Library, and while he had heard of it, didn't know anything beyond the rumor-like stories that parents tell their children. After shopping, we started to scheme. Our current plan is the set a fire within the school, then spread rumors about an experiment gone wrong and that something escaped in the fire. That 'thing' will be a werewolf. Haansen will take on the form of Brad/Chad to act as our fall guy, then very publicly transform and cause chaos! We will lay low as long as needed, and then head to Rexxentrum. Fingers crossed that this goes well, Diary!

Together and Apart Again

Amos, Percy & Haansen have finally returned from the cloud! It was very exciting to get to welcome them to my new home and inform them of their new roles! During another week of working on the town, Haansen received a mysterious note that I helped him read (because surprisingly, Diary, Haansen cannot read!), but he chose not to share it with anyone else. I spent my time soliciting sponsorship through a connection of Grandfather's from the before time - Hugo Godricson of Godric's Farming Co. They agreed to sponsor my new sexual health wagon which will come to town weekly from Zadash to take care of the sexual health needs of primarily the Courtesans, but also the general public as needed. With the whole group together again, we were properly able to vote on the Myriad situation - I voted yes but there were enough no's that it was rejected. Shortly after a mysterious Dragonborn Princess arrived! She claimed that she had been promised to the "King of Deastok" to wed when she turned 19! We determined that this was truthful, and that they could be a useful ally against the rest of the world if needed. We voted yes to move ahead with the marriage, and then had to vote on who would take the role of "King" and actually marry her. Antwon, Amos, and Ignatius (who we haven't seen in weeks) were all nominated. We voted for Amos. I felt strangely jealous... From there we decided that we needed to split into two groups. One group will go with the Princess (who's name we never asked) back to Draconia to hold the wedding (because we definitely can't afford it), and another to head to Rexxentrum to meet with the Myriad and discuss working together in time. I have left Skully behind to get the house in working order and figure out the automatons. Aeldred has asked us to find history books especially covering the last 30+ years to help us fill in some blanks.

New Rulers in Town

We have done it! After that endless and torturous temple, we have returned victorious and have now been installed as the leaders of Deastok! The leadership is as follows:

Minister of Health: Me

Minister of Finance: Percy

Minister of Entertainment: Hansen

Minister of Defense: Antwon

Minister of Faith: Red

Minister of Innovation: Aeldred

Minister of Trade: Amos

In our first two weeks, I:

ensured that Avon's body was properly honoured by Red

took over the Darrington estate

threw a successful party for the aristocracy

drew new workers from Zadash to work in the lumber yard (and provided free housing)

We also received an intriguing offer of work from the Myriad that needs to be figured out! It feels good to be on top again!

Tentacles & Tragedies

Diary, Tragedy has struck this day. My dear Avon has left this world. this time I think for good. I shall tell you how we got to this point. We resume after reuniting with Amos and Haansen and some charred body. I tried to learn something from it, but it was too ruined. It seemed presumable that the person who used the bedroom we found earlier could have made the stitch monster? We continued exploring the rest of this level and found a room filled with HUNDREDS of dolls! When you entered the room, the trap on the doors activated and they made you blind & deaf. If you were brave enough to keep going, however, you would find a secret room through the wall at the back - an alchemy lab! As we explored this room, I got an overwhelming sense that an innocent had died due to my inaction. I can only assume that this sense is related to Taryon Darrington likely being burned as a witch. This feeling was enough to make me MAD with guilt! A wracking headache came over me and my eyes burned. When I opened them, I found a second eyelid had grown that can detect transmutation magic. As that started to sink in, my left arm fell off. YES! IT JUST FELL OFF! CLEANLY! In it's place grew a black to red ombre tentacle (at least it matches my hair). This is absolutely the strangest thing to ever happen to me. I wonder if there's some sort of strange magic happening in this temple that's effecting me? Now that we had finished exploring this floor, we needed to figure out where the lens was. We assumed it was downstairs near the trolls, and so wanted to craft some additional fire power. I offered to stay in the alchemy lab with Big Skully to make some bombs (and come to terms with whatever the heck just happened to my body), while the others went to investigate the jungle we found earlier. When they were done, we would consider resting and then attacking the trolls head on. I was making Menagerie Cocktails when suddenly Echo flew into the room and alerted me to trouble! I ran out and down the hall to find that the boys had said "fuck it" to the jungle exploring and just went to attack the trolls. The fight had just ended, and they found that there was something like a portcullis where we had thought was just a wall. We turned the wheel to lift it, which allowed a stream of water through and down the hole in the floor. The water in the hole seemed to turn some sort of waterwheel which then caused the floor to lower and a dias to raise up. THE LENS WAS ON THE DIAS! Also with the dias, unfortunately, was a meek scientist and a MIND FLAYER! Combat ensued. Through the fight, most of us ended up stuck on the far side of the room behind the scientist's wind wall, while Avon faced the Mind Flayer. We watched as the Mind Flayer restrained Avon, and eventually sucked out his brains. He almost got Antwon next, but we were able to destroy both enemies. We took the lens and Avon's body back to the alchemy lab to rest. Disconnecting the lens appears to have caused the jungle to vanish! I refused to let go of Avon's body. I considered finding a way to raise him, but I know he would appreciate finally being able to be at peace. I would never hear the end of it if I brought him back. I asked the party what had changed between waiting for the morning and attacking without me, and I heard Aeldred say it was his idea. I didn't even listen to the rest of what he had to say before I was slashing at him with Sailor Johnny. Alas, I am in pain that cannot be mended. I've lost my home, my mother and grandfather, and now my best friend. I have Amos back now, of course, but it feels like he is hiding things from me. We have been apart for so long and immediately got thrown into this chaos, I just don't know what's going on with him. For now, I will bury my friend.

A tidbit of an entry.

We really need to get this whole "cloud" thing sorted out. Avon came back, but Percy (and Jed) & Aeldred are now vanished. I was SO excited to tell Avon about how Skully sacrificed himself to the tongue monster, and introduce him to BIG Skully! Big Skully is big into learning and I love this about her. I also love that she can actually speak Common! We gathered up heaps of treasure from the throne room and then tried to explore every inch of this temple in search of a likely location for this relic. In our search we found a bedroom that was full of drawings of various creatures - they appear to have been done within the last year so that combined with the humanoid appearing clothing leads me to believe that someone has been living down here with the bullywugs. No sign of them beyond this. We also found a necklace that appears to repel the bullywugs, including Big Skully (Antwon is wearing it, so Skully won't be able to give him any sort of hugs should he wish for them). We found a large staircase heading down to where the trolls were previously, but before we went down continued exploring this floor. And what did we find?! A BEAUTIFUL JUNGLE! UNDERGROUND! What a wonder! I can only imagine that this kind of discovery would interest the Library. It's a 60 ft drop down into the jungle, but even from here we could see a number of creatures that look similar to the drawings we took earlier. We managed to finally track down Amos and Haansen again - neither is dead, but Haansen was unconscious and Amos was all wolfy and angry. Unclear what led to them being in this state!

Demon Man's Best Friend

Diary! Amos made a new friend! Well...maybe. He at least wouldn't let us kill this strange new firbolg who was apparently following Amos' scent. It seems they are of the same kind! Though it's very strange that this new fellow - Haanson Petalfoot - would have even known about him being a werewolf since *I* didn't even know until a day ago! Regardless of how he found out, Haanson has decided to stick with us through this temple, as we were clearly not in the mood to stop our mission and just talk, and I think Amos wanted the opportunity to feel him out a bit more before deciding how to handle him. As we delved deeper into the temple, we found a nest of VERY cute baby Skully's! I mean baby bullywugs. I grappled with whether or not to take one with me, and eventually decided against it. Percy then came in swiftly afterwards and snatched one up! He has given it a weapon and named it Jed. We found a trophy room with loads of lizardfolk skulls. I took what was clearly the best one. I think I can make a very interesting scrying device out of it! After passing a large pit with two trolls in it, we entered what appeared to be a throne room. I tried to greet the Bullywug King with the dignity any nobel should be afforded, and he immediately sicked his goons on us! During the fight, Amos knocked Haanson over into the troll pit (but followed shortly after to help him - see, real friendship is forming!). I killed the big boss, and then a walking brain came out of his throat! There was also a spooky tongue monster in a hatch in the floor, which Antwon eventually sacrificed Skully to. I mourned the short time I had with dear Skully. He was a very cute graven minion, and my first. He did minimal damage, but put his heart (or where his heart would be) into it! After a moment of silence, I then raised a new graven minion out of a Bullywug Priest I felled! Say hello to Big Skully!

The Bullywog

Upon rising this morning, Avon and I learned that Taryon hadn't returned to us. After some searching, we learned that he and Doty had been taken to Port Demali to be tried as witches! Apparently they said a few too many odd things. We decided that they were too far gone, having left over an hour ago. We headed off to join the others and met Antwon on the way. We saw a troll that was trapped by some vines and dying over and over again! So fascinating! I tried to help it, but it just made him die slower. We made it to the others and learned that Amos' magic has been acting up and he has stored Percy in "the cloud". We opened the hatch to what we think is the temple and began exploring. We quickly learned that another group was approaching! I slid down a water slide into the next room where I found a Bullywog. After screaming at each other, it tried to bite me and run. Thankfully Antwon came down and held it so I could kill it. I then finally got to do something I've been waiting ages to do - raise it as a Graven Minion! I'm calling him Skully.

Into the Bog

The challenge is underway! We have been tasked with finding an ancient relic, a magic lens, that is said to be somewhere underwater. We dug through many tomes to research where it could be, and believe it to be in Othemoor. We bought 2 horses (plus Antwon and Taryon already had one) and headed out. On the way, Amos turned into a WOLF! Apparently this is a new thing and I am very upset that he didn't say anything to me! He also murdered a man and didn't tell me! I could have made him a minion! We came upon another group who was fighting a large tree creature and decided to wait until the tree killed them. Aeldred called lightening and they all died! We looted them for some additional medals (which may or may not be used already) and Avon got a fabulous feathered hat! Me, Avon, Tary and Doty headed to the nearby town of Othe to ask around about the relic and underwater temple. Apparently there is an old man in the big who knows where it is, but no one has seen him for a few years. We also heard rumors of nearby minotaur orgies!

The Final Countdown

The festival is starting to come to an end! I competed in the comedy challenge - one I did not expect to win but it's only natural that I did! People love hearing me talk! The next day Amos and Avon entered a very cute turtle riding contest. Unfortunately Amos, who the only one yet to gain entry into the finals, wasn't successful even though Antwon slashed the majority of the saddles, and he seemed very distraught about it. The next day we all did well at the riddle contest, though Aeldred did jump the gun a bit and ended up growing gills from a strange poison! Amos FINALLY was able to get his own medal and into the finals. Me, Amos and Avon all did well at the maze competition the next day, and the day after that, all of us did terribly at the harvesting challenge. At the end of festival /pre-final challenge party, we learned we would need another person in our group to make a team of 7 for the final event. Conveniently, I have been 'befriending' Taryon Darrington over the course of the last few days, and ensured that he made it through to the final. He appears to be of Noble blood, which Grandfather always said made someone at least worth making a connection with. He is also a complete idiot, which makes him perfect. If I can convince him that our approach, whatever our desires may be, is the best approach (or better yet, make him think it was his idea), then we are set! He would make for a good figurehead to run the city in our stead should we decide we need to leave, as long as I can ensure he will be a good little soldier for us...

The Queen of Deastok (Pending)

We headed into Deastok after the chaos at the lake to hopefully figure out our next steps or get some information. It is both just as I remember it, and also very different! Many different types were about, including Drow and Duergar. Hopefully this means our group (tentatively the PPPPPP Party, but probably not) won't stick out too much. Amos and I were wondering if the church had fully burned down or if it was rebuilt, but before we could look we got distracted by something called the Festival of Merit! We learned from a pub patron named Sadrok that the Festival happens every 5 years and is used to determine the next leaders of the town. We immediately decided that we should make me the Queen of Deastok! (I'm so glad the others have acknowledged my natural born leadership). The Festival includes 7 events that take place over a week. The top 5 of each event enter a final challenge, the winners of which become the leaders! We have all decided to sign up for at least a few of them so we can hopefully win! Maybe being in charge of the town could help us learn more or open up other options of returning the Library to this plane that we haven't even thought of. We also met a quite posh man named Taryon Darrington who apparently enters every contest in every Festival and never wins. Everyone hated him immediately, but I found him intriguing! The night before the first event I schmoozed with the outgoing leaders, include Lord McTavish, and learned that the former leaders must immediately leave town when the events start. They didn't give me anything else useful despite my (close to) best efforts. The first event was the eating competition! A number of us entered it, but I immediately failed on the first round. Thankfully Percy with his bottomless stomach and Avon with his lack of taste were able to win! Next up will be the swimming competition! Additional things of note: Percy is very passionate about the dangers posed by Minotaur Sex Orgies. Did you know they kill 3000 people a year?! Percy is the President of MAMSO (Mom's Against Minotaur Sex Orgies)

The Lake

Finally, we got an audience with Yussa! He was not very pleased with our treatment of his apprentice, but was willing enough to help us. Yussa didn't seem to believe that we were from The Library, as we didn't have our Library Cards on us, and apparently all of the people we mentioned to possibly vouch for us exploded and died 35 years ago! If we weren't certain before, we now know how much time has passed. Apparently he had personally investigated the site of the former Library and found nothing. I tried to tell Yussa about what had happened with us, but Avon kept kicking me! He obviously thought we shouldn't say much more, but surely a man of Yussa's standing can be trusted? Or at least be paid off? I'm certain we could have learned more if we had just talked. Yussa also mentioned that there is a war currently raging (though we didn't ask more so we didn't look like complete idiots), and that the Zolarg word Ignatius kept muttering is actually a reference to a celestial butthole. He also agreed to drop the charges for the alleged boat theft. Yussa agreed to teleport us to wherever we needed to go, which was a huge boon! As much as I was not looking forward to the logistics of making our way on horseback, I was looking forward to a bit of sight-seeing on the way to Deastok. Yussa sent us directly to where the Library previously was, but not before informing us that Deastok has become taken over by rebels and is now a somewhat lawless town. Sounds like great fun! We were transported back to the mountains, where I had lived for so long, to find a lake where the Library (and then a giant crater) was! I was genuinely disappointed that the Library wasn't here. I was CERTAIN that they had just jumped into the future and hidden themselves away as usual, and that when we made our way back everything would be like normal. As we investigated the area, we noticed that the lake had a strange shimmer to it. Aeldred conjured a snake familiar that he named Renouk to go and explore the water, but Renouk was absolute trash and couldn't see anything so in my impatience I jumped in myself. I saw what appeared to be an echo of the Library!!! Almost as if an ethereal fingerprint was left behind when it disappeared. I could see the outlines of everything that previously existed where the water now was (and later we found it was the same above water when we put fog there), but only the basic infrastructure. The only exception was an orb I found at the bottom, which turned out to be the communication rocks that Antwon and his security team used! We rested for the night, and in the morning continued our investigations. I dreamed about finding the Library on the Ethereal Plane, and when I awoke I found I could cast the Blink spell! It worked on my first try (I'll have to tell Mother about that, assuming she's alive) and quickly realized that The Library is not on the Ethereal Plane either. With the clarity of day, Avon also had an idea! He realized he still had one of those locking key stone thingies, and there were now strange floating versions of them around! We found if you touched the actual stone to the spectral stone, it would spit back to you either a different stone or 2 stones! We did it for all six and...........nothing happened. BUT we were able to use the same concept on the spectral communication stone and now we have two of them! Aeldred noticed that the versions that were being spit out had an aura of planar magic and dunamancy to them, meaning they clearly traveled through time as well as planes (???) We tried out the communicator, knowing that a 3rd one was still in the spectral outline of the Library, and we GOT A RESPONSE! THEY'RE ALIVE!!! We heard a chorus of voices saying very spooky things like, they are lost and drifting; there's only darkness; they don't know who they are; madness (repeated). I wonder if they are possibly in the Astral Sea? We have decided to head into Deastok next to see what we can find, and if it's not fruitful then perhaps we will go to Amos's home in Zadash and see if his books on dunamancy can tell us anything (and perhaps we can stop by the Othalam estate as well, assuming it even still exists or belongs to us....).

You Don't Lie to the Library

After dispatching some very intriguing plant-zombies, we decided to take a wee break. Turns out that it was a good idea because Percy and Ignatius soon joined us in the Lighthouse! I am confused considering that Avon said Ignatius didn't want to leave the prison, but at least this saves us from trying to rescue them later tonight when they inevitably failed to convince the court of their innocence. Avon took the rest as an opportunity to open up to the group (I'm shocked he's trying to make new friends). He told us about his people and how they lived underground yet served the moon. Sadly he had to be interrupted by vines beginning to wriggle again, so I've made note to prompt him to continue when we have another moment. We began to climb the VERY long staircase up to the top of the tower, which when the vines grew antsy turned out to be a very bad thing for me and Antwon as I was knocked from the stairs and then attacked by the vines which knocked me right out. I think I need to learn some new spells as nothing I had was particularly effective against these plants. Maybe Amos knows a fire spell? When I came too after Avon had revived me, we realized that Amos and Percy were still up at the top of the tower doing who knows what, so we ran as fast as we could. When we finally reached the top, a big tree monster was dead, Amos had a dagger, and a man claiming to be Yussa had been rescued. I realized very quickly that this was not Yussa, considering the fact that we had seen Yussa the day before outside his tower! He is named Kendal and is Yussa's apprentice. He convinced the guards to let him in as an attempt to prove himself. With just a bit of light torture and the right questions, we learned that goblins wearing the symbol of a sect of Melora followers (a broken shepherd's hook) were the ones who had caused this. They believe that nature should remain untouched and it's effects unchanged (I'm glad Aeldred was tangled up in vines at this point as I'm concerned he would blindly side with these goblins before we learn more). The goblins were talking about the Quaraska Forest and made mention of being paid. We convinced Kendal to take us to Yussa and to let Amos hang on to the dagger for now.

Little Lighthouse of Horrors

Percival and Ignatius might be killed in the morning! At least that is the information we have received when Aeldred, Amos and Antwon, finally returned from what appears to be a ruckus time with some " ladies of the late afternoon". We can also now confirm that we have gone 34 years into the future. Could it be that future us somehow managed to go back in time to steal a boat that we could have it? unknown. After a lovely sleep at the Silk Grove we tried to determine what to do about Percival and Ignatius. We also learned that the lighthouse near the docks was covered in mysterious vines. We finally decided to start with a jailbreak, or at least that's what I thought. I decided to try talking to the guards and using whatever means necessary to draw their attention away while Avon rescued or at least spoke to Percival and Ignatius. Apparently they did not want to leave, and they were not at immediate risk of being hung. I mean hanged. Their trial is set for 6:30pm, so we thought that we may as well go and try to deal with the vines on the lighthouse. maybe that will help give us some clout I could sway the trial in our favor. Upon arriving at the lighthouse there was a slew of guards and townspeople, very very upset about it. We learned the vines are fresh only having appeared within the last 24 hours. We also learned that Yusa had gone inside - a perfect opportunity to finally meet him and get some information. Avon declared us to the guards to be the Librarians of Nature and they let us through. We've learned upon entering these vines are unnatural and poisonous, definitely necromantic in nature. I am intrigued. There are various withered bodies trapped under the vines with lots more inside of the building itself. They don't like fire but they will regrow. It turns out there's also a bunch of zombies hiding in the plants!!!! Very exciting!!!!

Live From Nicodranas, It Might Be Wednesday Night?

After arriving in Nicodranas and heading to shore with Avon and Antwon, we were greeted by Amos and Ignatius! I was starting to believe that seeing Amos again was a dream and he was really dead all along. But apparently, he is in fact real, and I am in fact still sane (for now). Percy swam all the way to shore to let us know there were some officials attempting to do official things with the boat. Ignatius told us that "Jeoffjyyyy (pronounced Jeffrey) is written on Antwon's heart." Is this another clue, like Zolarg?? He also said to not let Yusa "do the thing". Ignatius went back to the ship with Percy to have a nap. We made our way to Yusa's tower, it's the most unfathomably tall building I've ever seen! It has a very sassy door that didn't want to let us in. I left a note for Yusa, declaring us as denizens of the Library, and then we went in search of a healer to remove the rivet from Antwon's lung. Amos had the marvelous idea of trying to heal him with mending, which could have worked except it definitely didn't and in fact made it worse. Antwon's shirt was fused to the rivet and therefore his body, which meant we needed to go SHOPPING! I bought THE BEST dress, mother would love it. We found Antwon a doctor and then went back to the tower to try to speak to Yusa again. He was there (at least I assume from the hoity toity air around him), with a goblin he called Wenceforth, and a bunch of town guards. We overheard the guards informing Yusa that they had recovered the missing ship and arrested the occupants, aka Percy, Ignatius and Aeldred! Quite a pickle. We managed to stop Wenceforth before he went back inside, and he is quite the nervous little fellow! I tried to charm him but it didn't quite work, and he said we would have to wait until Tuesday to speak with him! (which may or may not be a week away, I think it might be Wednesday?). We decided to split up in order to accomplish more. Avon kept vigil at the tower in case Yusa came out, Amos and Antwon went to find the prison so that we could see about getting the others out, and I went to go find us accommodations for the night as it appears we will be here for at least another day. I got us rooms at the Silk Grove from Derek (the youngish man at reception), and went to join Avon in waiting for the others to return.

Setting Sail Without the Sails

We were so very lucky to find this capsized ship after we had to leave the coziness of the giant worm. Antwon was very handy in guiding us to right the boat, but I was a bit clumsy and almost drowned! The water was a lovely shade of blue. Thankfully, I didn't die just yet. The ship is wonderful, though a bit in state. I'm very keen to learn how to actually sail a ship as I haven't been on anything larger than those river boats my grandfather sometimes took me on when schmoozing with business partners. After getting the ship "sea-worthy" (I think that's what they call it), there were suddenly 6 dwarves who had been clinging to life on a bit of wood! Apparently it was there ship, but Antwon says it's ours now. He staked his claim by tarring up one of the dead sheep we found below, and then wielding it's severed leg as a weapon (very strange custom, on might even say insane, I must ask him if that's normal wherever he's from originally). Now this is where things got very strange Diary! Captain Gralmor of the dwarves said that the volcanic eruptions of the now destroyed island had been going on for SIX MONTHS! We were all certain it had been less than a day. After going to bed, I was woken up by Avon who had realized that the dwarves had all suddenly disappeared! It also appears that strange things have been going on with the ship. Here is a list:

0/6 dwarves present

All rations accounted for, though we had given some to the dwarves

The big of the ship that Percy had fixed had the fixed bits on it, but underneath it wasn't broken

The tarred up sheep was gone, but there was a full barrel's worth of tar sloshed about the deck in approximately the location of said tarring.

The masts are in a better shape than they were

Some small details of the ship are different, like the railings

The ship is called The Parakeet (unclear if this is what it was called all along, as I didn't check)

We can't fully understand what's happening (oh how I wish I had all of the books at the library to do some research!), but I am personally under the belief that everything we believed was happening before we went to sleep had only happened in our minds - our bodies had carried out the actions, but the scenes and conversations we were having were outside of our physical being. So either this is some strange residual effect of whatever happened with The Library, or SOMEONE IS FUCKING WITH US. We have made it to the docks of Nicodranas, with the hopes of finding Usa Arenas, a high mage who may be able to help direct us on what may have happened with the Library. From there, we will head back to Diastok!

Snake Guts and Glory

I think all my training has paid off - I solved my first puzzle in a temple! I'm basically a bonafide relic hunter now, if only Grandfather could see! We descended deeper into the temple with the Yuan-ti, finding a strange underground orchard! Some of us ate the fruit and it made us see strange glowing markings and words on the plinths there. Apparently it made me speak an ancient language, which was very frustrating as none of the others could understand me! We determined that a sacrifice was necessary to open the next path, so when the Yuan-ti went back up top, presumably to scheme against us, we schemed as well! After they accidentally revealed their poisonous intentions, we attacked! I managed to turn one snake into a withered husk, and melted the brain of another. It was so fun that I felt faint and Aeldred had to revive me. I'm sad that Amos wasn't there to see how much my powers have grown, but it was exciting to all have to fight as a team! We drained the snake people on the altars and a staircase opened up within the big tree in the middle. After a short rest where we learned more about Aeldred and his people (for future reference, krakow is the word for male minotaur, and Aeldred does NOT like being called Beefy or Surly), we went down to the next room. There were 3 portraits of a bird, a snake, and a worm. I ate some more fruit and saw more pretty words in a language I don't speak but could understand (we should take some samples of this fruit back to the library if we can, maybe we dry some out on the beach for easier transport?). We determined that these portraits symbolized the Wardens of Uko'toa. We shoved a bunch of fruit into some holes, and then Aeldred spoke a command to 2 of them. I have no idea what he said, but he seemed very bewildered after talking to the first one and spoke to the second one VERY quickly. Thetzotheill then returned, and now it looks like we have another fight on our hands. I wonder how many bones a snake/person has?

Character Background

Lord Gideon Othalam originally hailed from Zadash in the Dwendalian Empire. He was a powerful noble in the area who always did what was “best” (by his standards or desires) for those in his lands or in his business pursuits. When his lands were prospering, he found himself bored with the day to day operations and desired to find a way to cement his legacy in the world. He began to seek out ancient knowledge, magical relics, whatever he could to set himself apart. He discovered the Librarians of the Mad Court through his searching and was invited to join. He left his lands under the care of his steward and joined the Library, bringing his daughter Amanita (who had similar goals and desires) with him. After some time there, they learned of a ritual that could summon a demon to produce offspring with Amanita and create a force for ‘good’ in the world - resulting in the birth of Vespera and granting her a shadowy form and sorcerous powers. Vespera doesn’t know anything more about her father beyond this. Vespera was raised within the cult, but split her time as a youngster between the Library and her Grandfather’s estate in Zadash where she spent time with Amos Daloes, the grandson of Sir Simon Daloes, another Lord her Grandfather was friends and business colleagues with. Amos and Vespera had shockingly similar origins and skills, so it made sense to be companions and to practice the arcane arts together. Vespera treasured the times she got to spend with Amos, mainly because he was fun and she didn’t get to see many other children, but also because she worried about him when she wasn’t around. She saw how he was treated differently than her by his family despite their similarities. Her Grandfather and mother raised Vespera with their same morals and values - to always come out on top, to always work for the ‘greater good’, and to not shy from ruthlessness when needed. The values of the Mad Court, to seek knowledge to solve the problems of the world, were also instilled in her. Eventually the family decided to dedicate more time to the cult again and the families lost touch. As a teen, Vespera filled her time outside of being tutored by the Librarians by helping to care for the younglings - typically orphans who made their way to the Library by various means. As she got older, she became a scholar in her own right, with an affinity for studying the undead and how to use them for the betterment of the world. In order to dissuade Vespera from leaving the Library and seeking out her friend, her family told her that he had died in an accident and so they were giving the family some space. As a teen, Vespera spent her time being tutored by the Librarians and learning more about the arcane arts. She became interested in learning more about death and seeing if it was possible to bring back her friend from the beyond. She also occasionally helped to care for the younglings - typically orphans who made their way to the Library by various means. She met Avon, a rather shy person who came to the Library after tragic happenings. He reminded her of Amos in a way and she couldn’t help but take him under her wing. Others seemed to find him off-putting but Vespera thought nothing of it. She found him intriguing, especially the connection he had to the spirit world, which was very different than her own connection with death. As she got older, she became a scholar in her own right, and her affinity for studying the undead shifted from more personal reasons to how to use them for the betterment of the world. Though her actions would be considered evil by folks in the wider world, Vespera genuinely believes that she is good, having never seen anyone behave any differently. She cares about those close to her and would do anything to protect them. When Amos reached out for help via a tavern in Deastok after many years apart, Vespera was extremely surprised to find he had been alive this whole time, and invited him to join her at the Library.

Vespera Achlys Othalam