Ivy
Ivy
Ivy stems from a nomad tribe of Firbolgs. Having lived her whole life in the forests, wandering around as she followed the never-ending quest of tending to nature, she thought she knew of everything the woods had to offer. But when she one day returns to her tribe's camp to see her tribesmen vanished without a trace, she had to realize: There were many things she did not know about her world.
As she ventures outside of the forest, Ivy had to learn that there was, in fact, a whole world she knew very little about.
Now, as she travels into new territories, she still keeps out an eye for a sign of her tribesmen, hopes of finding them receeding into the back of her mind with each adventure she experiences.
Physical Description
Identifying Characteristics
Her love for ivy may or may not have been.... misguided when she was younger. She may or may not have some poison ivy scarring on the palms of her hands that still remains, as she never bothered to let it rest and heal properly.
Physical quirks
Upon entering or nearing new terrain, Ivy's nose will subconsciously twitch as she takes in the changing smells of nature
Apparel & Accessories
Ivy loves to collect trinkets in her thick hair. They get lost on occasion, so she's always happy to rediscover a "lost" item when combing or washing her hair.
Having lived in the forest for most her life, she is not much of a fashionista and prefers loose, comfortable and flowy clothes in earthy colors.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
As Ivy's tribe is nomadic for most of the month, she is unfamiliar with the concept of "settling down" for good. Additionally, she has made it a habit to talk to animals, plants and herself most of the time, as her tribesmen were wont to venture out by themselves or in very small groups.
This has caused her to be a bit of a drifter for most of her life, just doing what made sense in the moment without thinking too much about her own future.
Within her tribe, this sometimes caused problems since there was a push for Ivy to take on more responsibilities in their community; which failed at her lack of a deep sense of community. She much prefered to venture out by herself and tend to nature. Her free-spritit occasionally got her into hot water, as she had a tendency to lose track of time and not return to the agreed upon meeting point of her tribe.
The last time this happened, her tribe apparently did not wait for her. Knowing their pathways, she did try to find them but found barely a trace of them - and if she did, it was far too old to be of relevance. After the rest of her tribe failed to show up at a yearly meeting between the tribes of the region, Ivy realized two things:
1. She was not abandoned over tardiness after all.
2. Her tribe had disappeared and no one knew of their fate.
After spending many more months in the forest by herself, watching as more and more strangers invaded her tribe's territory without her having the ability to stop all of them, Ivy figured it was time to leave, too. Once outside the territory, she explored many new bioms and found a whole new, unfamiliar world at her feet. To top it all off, she joined a group of mercenaries going to a strange outpost. There was really no reason to, she just happened to be in the area and had no other plans.
Ivy continues her habit of drifting wherever the winds may take her, but quickly learned that sometimes, that might just lead her into the eye of a storm.
Sexuality
Ivy loves beautiful things but has yet to find a person beautiful enough to take her attention off of everything else.
Education
Ivy was educated by the tribe elders in everything a druid might need to know. Her value as someone with a knack for the druidc crafts was especially high in a firbolg tribe, so no resources were spared in her education. Ivy took her classes in stride, but still much prefered to learn directly from the source - nature, the stars, animals and the occasional mistake.
Employment
Ivy joined in the activites of her tribe from a young age and began her solo ventures before coming of age.
Personality Characteristics
Motivation
Not becoming stative. Ivy has no particular goal aside from not wanting to grow roots that trap her.
Likes & Dislikes
Enjoys nature with an equal love for the dainty and unruly plants one may encounter. May or may not enjoy playing tricks on creatures that pass through familiar forests.
Strong dislike for "unnecessary killing". Also doesn't like stinky machinery.
Hygiene
Does not shy away from dirt, as it is quite unavoidable for her to get dirty. Ivy puts most of her efforts into taming her hair and has adapted her habits to the "civilized" ways outside of the forest. Likes the scent of flowers and occasionally uses the essence of them for cosmetics/perfume.
A Firbolg who has freshly reached adulthood, Ivy now finds herself on her own as the rest of her tribe seems to have vanished. But it's okay - she's a survivalist.
View Character Profile
Alignment
Chaotic Good
Age
33
Children
Gender
Female
Eyes
Green
Hair
Scarlet
Skin Tone/Pigmentation
Brown
Height
7'4"
Weight
250lb
Riddle me this... Existential questions about good and evil
XX/XX
I've finally done it. That trip to Sodom paid off! As we were looting the place, I found a spectral whistle — aka Berry's safe playpen. Now, I can always bring him with me and call for him when there is no danger around! I can't abuse this endlessly as there are limitations to it, but as long as I can take a rest with him at the end of a day, I am happy as can be. Of course I much prefer our outings around the outpost, as there is a certain sense of safety there now. But I will now be able to spare myself the heartache of saying my goodbyes before I leave my best Berry behind.
It's certainly given me the confidence to venture out again. I honestly don't know why I'm doing this, but something is pulling me in that direction. The direction where we suspect the shadowy deer. I've been hunched over the scriptures that I managed to get translated for days at this point. There is something about it that simply doesn't add up. A great tree people pray to — yeah, sounds very familiar, been there, done that. But the way they speak about the deer? Something must have happened to the poor thing. If it is a corrupted guardian of the forest, I fear the area will be in horrible shape. I can't quite imagine what else it might be and my curiosity won't let me forget about it.
Medyr, the one who translated the text for me, as well as two others are joining me on this expedition. I hope we learn more about this place and manage to help whatever unfortunate creature we find in that swamp...
XX/XX
Our commissioner sent us past the boundaries of the border the fey magic had created around the swamp. Once again, I find myself surrounded by fey magic — who knows in which ways it will mess with me this time?
Anyways. Swamp land. The switch from the salt plains to here has been pretty intense, not gonna lie. The biggest difference, however, is the knowledge that we definitely are not alone. While the place certainly looks desolate, I caught sight of a humanoid creature almost as soon as we stepped in. It didn't take us long to see just what exactly had been watching us and it's honestly impressive how I just keep coming across worse and worse things.
Runak looked terrible due to the experiments that had been done to him. The hovering guy we saw at Sodom had horrible vibes about him. But this guy?
Undead. Bright red eyes just stalking us, his body like a walking corpse — all of it is just wrong. What's the worst about it is...he's not attacking us. He certainly looks like something we should fight, judging by how things have been going here, but I still believe an attack on another creature (?) should not be handed out when not provoked.
I just wonder what his deal is.
We're resting in a stone house now. The walls are painted with murals, telling a story. It seems to be his story, judging by the big sword he carries on his back.
Oh right, we also found a pond. Apparently I was the only one who could see her, but there was a mermaid clutching a great sword in it. She unfortunately did not want to talk to me and was terribly wary of me...
However, judging by the empty scabbard on our Stalker's back, it must be his sword.
Anyways. The mural showed our cloaked acquaintance hovering about, folks cowering away from him. After that, the mural shows some folks praying to a great tree before the pick up torches and approach the cloaked figure. The thing is... It might be meant to be read in the other direction, too?
This day has been very very confusing. The illusion runes on the wooden poles in the swamp, the mermaid in the pond, this undead reverent... I can't make sense of it.
What concerns me the most is that nothing has tried to attack us so far. Even in all her anger, I could see a tinge of guilt in the mermaid's eyes. The reverent, too, has not attacked us, even when we provoked him by trying our hands at the six candles ritual. They seem as confused by our presence as we are by theirs.
I just wish I had an inkling of who the "bad" guy is in all of this... But such are the complexities of life. It is silly how an undead offers me the first opportunity to brood over such matters — my previous apprehensions in that regard were quite literally squashed by Runak.
I will continue my shift of the night watch, but I have a feeling that little more will happen. There definitely has been enough already.
XX/XX
Fey magic is not to be questioned, it should simply be accepted. As we headed out this morning, we were promptly teleported back to just about where we had started. Not lingering on it any longer, we changed our route and went deeper into the settlement. These stone buildings were preserved far better than the wooden ones we encountered first when we entered, but this area gives off a slight sense of religious fanatism. Images of the great tree were etched and scribbled onto every surface that offered enough space for it. The text had claimed it to be protective, but just what did they fear so badly to put them in every nook and cranny?
Some more murals in (what seemed to be) a house of worship gave us some more...suggestions, yet still no definite answer. Instead, a new character was introduced into this mix and thinking of her just makes my hair stand on end. Her name, Kaina, was written into the mural in sylvan. Her looming presence, however, spelled out danger to me.
The first mural once again showed people praying to the tree, yet this time there was a young fowl resting under the tree as well. It also showed our stalker, standing over the deer as he strikes it down with his great sword.
This alone made me nauseated enough, since it looked like a horrible ritual killing of an innocent creature, but the next mural only grew worse.
The thought of it makes me want to spit venom in agony.
They artfully displayed how they ripped out the deer's antlers over and over and over again! Each time, the deer grew bigger, regrowing a mightier set of antlers, just to have it ripped out yet again! These savages even proudly painted the deer's suffering expression onto their walls!
Just writing this down makes bile rush to my throat. I don't remember ever feeling such anger bubble up inside of me — I truly feel ready to burst but I just don't know who I ought to beat to a pulp!
The thing is: the other murals showed our stalker as a great hero, protecting this village — until it turned into a tale of betrayal. The hero's murals have suffered a great deal of destruction, while the traitor's murals were left intact and seemed much newer than the rest. Had the stalker been led into his cruel actions, only to be shunned for them later on? Did that alleviate any of his guilt?
Before I even had a chance to ponder over these matters properly, everything started to happen so fast. My memory fails me on the details here, as things became a mess. But the deer finally appeared. Hues of spectral green and blue coated its huge, altered body, a trail of twilight dragging behind as it passed between the trees in the distance. It's face...outright melted, falling to the floor and seemingly dissipating upon impact. It held all the majesty and horror one would expect from such a tortured soul that persisted despite all odds. My heart ached, yet I have no way to know how I should feel about this deer.
It simply stood and watched us as we chased after our stalker, who had rushed off the find the poles with the illusion runes.
He failed horribly at it, digging just a few steps away from the poles as if he vaguely knew where they are but couldn't see the three pieces obviously sticking out of the bog.
Dessik had approached him and went down within seconds, only to inform us that he had received insight into a memory. That lady, Kaina, had been standing behind our stalker who was gently stroking the fawn. Suddenly, she reached out and the stalker's fingers grew thorns, shredding into the poor deer. It apparently seemed like he couldn't stop, as if he felt guilt and pain over all of this.
At this point, I am almost inclined to believe him...even just a little.
See, when we did end up helping him by destroying one of the illusion runes, a pile of burning candles appeared. He destroyed them. Curiously enough, the deer shrunk as he did this and seemed rather happy about it, too.
And just when I think things get easier, the guy turns into a darned Werwolf.
I won't lie, I felt my stomach drop for a bit because the boy was BIG and alongside his transformation, a bunch of specters appeared and started to attack us.
But they also attacked HIM.
As we dealt with a few of them, our wolfish acquaintance ran off. The deer just kept watching all of this...
We re-encountered our stalker at the mermaid's pond, he seemed to be searching for her. I remember that the others saw her as a statue with illusion runes on her arms, so maybe he was aiming to destroy those runes... Still, she has the great sword and until we determine whether he's friend or foe, I have no intention to give him an opportunity to get that sword.
I really ought to try and talk to the mermaid again, though. She rose out of the pond and our eyes met. Outside of the water, she looks undead, too. Her ghastly body bent over the surface, pointing us in a direction we hadn't gone to before.
I didn't even question it as I relayed this information and guided my party in that direction. Really, our other options were to either stay with an undead mermaid and a werwolf or to run back to a humongous spectral deer.
We found a cottage, which I am currently writing from. It looks cozy. There's soup bubbling over the fire, the house is in good shape...the comfort of it all almost made me drowsy. Buuuut there is a set of clothes in here, which are topped by a belt which seems to be made of human skin.
Suddenly this does NOT feel very cozy anymore.
Apparently, a belt like that may be able to de-transform a werwolf. I assume we'll be taking it back to our big friend after we take a rest here. I just hope he takes it as a peace offering and stops being a creep.
I'm still so confused. The deer, the reverent, the mermaid — they're all suffering in their own way but there definitely is a connection between all of them. The reverent betrayed the deer, even if it wasn't his intention. The mermaid must have gotten the sword from the reverent somehow — but she seemed scared of the settlement. And the deer... It hasn't attacked any of us. Not us, not the reverent, not the things that attacked us. I don't think any of them are... Truly evil. There is a missing piece in all of this. I have a feeling it's connected to the owner of this cottage, the person who created the illusion runes and Kaina.
And you know what? Thinking about finding this missing link makes my hair stand on end. I have a feeling I don't want to know, but need to know what happened here. I just hope we can salvage as many souls here as we can. May we at least be able to deliver them to wherever they move on to beyond this plane of existence.
I shall not call for Berry while we are in this environment. Still... Clutching his whistle close to myself soothes me enough to alleviate the headache that's been plaguing me. I hope my warmth reaches him...
Well marinated and humiliated
Xx/xx
My good Berry, ah. He waited so patiently for my return, our shared happiness to be reunited moved me to tears. But what suffering to see him so dejected as I was packing up to leave yet again. I wish I could bring him with me — I thought I'd be able to now that I acquired treasures I could exchange for some armor for him. But one of the mercenaries burnt down the general goods store and all the traders have gone into hiding.
I refuse to bring Berry without at least some armor and I fear he is starting to hold it against me. He's free-spirited and loves to run and roam, I truly wish I could bring him with me and show him more of this world.
But what I've seen so far is nothing but hostile environment — without proper protection, no beautiful sight is worth venturing out for.
Still, there must be something out there that will help me in keeping him safe.
After visiting the collector's Folly and finding no small amount of magical items, I had been thinking. I've come across a few structures and buildings within the forests and especially for towers, it appears they fall into two categories:
Either they are built to hide something and hinder access to it.
Or they are built as means of communication between long distances.
Quite often, they are built to fill both purposes.
The Collector's Folly was certainly not hidden, so I would have assumed it a part of a defense system. Runak's presence there, however, made it seem more like the tower itself was being protected, as there absolutely was enough loot that needed protection. So I figured it was, once again, a combination of both purposes.
With this vague guess, I gathered a party to charter south east into unexplored territory, which roughly mirrored the Collector's Folly. As we were preparing, we heard other mercenaries speak of a shadowy deer figure they had seen and I managed to coordinate a translation of texts someone had found relating to this. The deer...sounds incredibly interesting. As do the people who wrote the texts. I wonder if their settlement is, in any way, similar to what my tribe was. People in tune with nature. I also wonder what the nature of that "beast" they write about is. To respect and to fear... To fall if he falls... I wonder if it is a patron or a guardian and if so, whether he is a merciful one.
While I'd hate to walk myself into danger, I can't deny that I'm curious. I hope to catch a glimpse of the figure — maybe I will know more when I see it.
Either way, our first day of travel remained blissfully unspectacular. Aside from the drunken bees I encountered while collecting food for everyone. I really ought to make some mead soon...
Xx/xx
The unexplored territory turned out to be a nightmare for gathering. The Rocky hills we encountered slowed us down, but steadily led us to quite a beautiful valley not far off the coast. The forest, however, presented a large open space with a curious circle of stones placed in the middle. One of the small rocks was clearly missing, so we made it our quest to find the missing stone.
Using my detect magic and Coleopatra's psychic skills, we managed to find the rock somewhere in the water some way off.
Once placed in its original spot, friendly sprites popped out their heads.
They were very excited about being reunited and took a liking to Cole, blessing him as a small gesture of gratitude.
Solving the mystery of the missing stone did take up a decent amount of time, but at least there was food I could gather here. And, most importantly, it was incredibly refreshing to help the little sprites and encounter creatures in this place that do not want to see us dead.
The rest we take tonight is the first that did not leave me restless since we ventured out. I hope that won't turn into a problem.
Xx/xx
Cursed. Absolutely cursed. There's salt everywhere. Nothing else. Truly, salt is invaluable and one of the most precious treasures nature has to offer. But though one needs salt to live, water is needed to survive. Even just trying to draw up water here exerts so much energy. There definitely is water somewhere very deep down, but I'd spend days filling my waterskin if I tried to use this as a source.
There is, however, a white tower in the distance.
I don't know if I should feel good about my theory proving itself correct. Looking at the huge salt plains we have yet to cross to reach it, I am tempted to call it quits and go back.
But that would be embarrassing, especially after I was the one who caused people to go here. So we shall carry on.
XX/XX
I have salt in places where salt should not be — but I'm still in one piece so the burn in my injuries might as well be a reassuring hand, telling me that I did okay.
To be quite honest, I think this has to be my worst performance yet.
Here's the thing: we got to the tower and as Tarfu's familiar tried to check it out, some hovering asshat appeared and squashed the poor bird into nothingness.
Wouldn't be the last time the guy appeared to make our day worse.
We made our way into and up the salt tower, picking up valuable trinkets along the way. At some point, my rusty language skills came in handy enough to make out the inscription "Sodom". Took like five minutes for a "celestial fiend" to appear, almost made me puke my guts out with the shite magic. Devil guy vanished and left us a gem-y golem to fight and this is where things turn into a cursed comedy.
Coleopatra, bless him and his little hat, immediately drank one of the mystery potions we found and VANISHED. Just noped out immediately — even though he was one of the few of us who would have had a good chance of dealing some damage to the golem AND the one who had been blessed by the little sprites.
I can't even be too mad cause I didn't gather any renown for myself either.
Turned into my archer starry form because hey, we need to get rid of this guy before he gets rid of us! I shoot one guiding bolt at him and miss — I've never been so grateful to miss my shot. As my bolt shoots past him, I can see some light reflecting from the gem bits on his body.
Had that landed, I'd have dealt some serious radiant damage — which he would have reflected. And hurt us big bad.
Nobody back home ever taught me about stuff like this but who would have expected me to be fighting something like that anyways?
I learned a valuable lesson that day, that's for sure.
My embarrassment did not stop with that, though. The devil re-appeared with a sandstorm and obliterated the tower. I got stuck in sand. I was just flailing about, trying to drag my butt out of it, as we slid down the salt mountain with that devil just watching for a bit as Stefn and the golem pushed each other's faces into the salt.
Amongst the chaos, Tarfu went down too. Phuntom got to watch the show from the air and seemed to be at quite a loss.
Anyways. Somehow we all managed to survive. The thing is.... Now we found ourselves in front of an entrance of sorts. Underneath the tower, a seemingly huge dungeon complex was hidden. I assume that's where I felt some of the water....
After how chaotic everything was here, I don't plan to be the first one to step into that.
We gathered our loot, filled our bags with as much salt as we could carry and started to drag our well-marinated bodies back to the outpost.
While the tower confirmed that my brain is somewhat up to par, it also magnified just how lacking I still am.
I wish I had taken my training back in the tribe a little more seriously. Maybe I could have learned more and done a better job.
I can feel the elders nag me in the back of my mind.
Curses, this place keeps making my life more and more difficult.
Once I'm back in the outpost, I'm taking a long mud bath to sooth my skin from all this salt. Might just stay in there for a week. I wonder if Berry will want to join in...
The folly of it all
23/04
I've come to a realization. Finding Berry may be the best thing that's ever happened to me — but it is making me incredibly anxious. Having this responsibility for another creature, I mean. Since we've made our return to the outpost, I've been spending every day with him. We go out together to graze — well, he grazes, I just play around with my pan flute and keep a look out for any danger. Berry is an absolute sweetheart and quite cuddly, though that might just be because he has a separate stomach for berries and is always trying to tempt me to feed him more. It's become a habit to settle down with him for the night, just leaning against him while I take a rest.
It's...unfamiliar. The warmth, the routine, the not being alone — all of it, really. I might be liking it a bit too much.
I'm set to leave with another group of adventurers. We're planning to go to an old lighthouse in hopes of finding treasures and some kind of information. I've never really cared about money or treasures or knowing more than I need to.... But now? One look at the price tag of some decent barding for Berry forces me head first into danger. And even when I wonder if it is worth it to risk my life, just to procure means that hopefully secure his... My mind is set. I need to find ways to steel him for this hostile environment.
I hope he will forgive my absence of a few days, I've made sure to tell him where I'm going. Just in case... I also made sure to tell him to look for the familiar faces from my last party, should I not return.
24/04
We've a pretty big group this time around. Six in total. They seem, once again, very motivated. Our paladin Olra is an Owlin, she carries a beautiful coat of feathers and flies through the air like it's nothing. It's made me a bit jealous, to be honest. I'm still not skilled enough to take flight, I ought to put in more work into my training. Maybe I'm also jealous of the way Olra just seems to be knowing what she's doing. I used to feel confident in myself, too, but so much has changed since I came here...
25/04
Another day, another fight that randomly erupted. We had noticed some creatures hiding behind a hill and separated into two groups to have a closer look at them and — at least that's what I thought — decide if they were any danger to us. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but the other group quickly ended up engaged in battle. Olra, Stare-y and I continued to make our way along the coast, somewhat keeping an eye on everything and not engaging. Well, I guess Stare-y somewhat tried. He talked to some birds and got himself cheated out of a ration. It was a bit funny and very harmless, but I tried not to laugh about it. Not like the situation allowed it anyways.
The other three seem to have picked a fight with a pretty strong opponent. It took them a while to hurt the bandit enough to make their companions nervous.
I wouldn't say I'm proud of it, but as soon as I saw their knees shaking, I couldn't stop myself from stepping up and demanding the bandits' possessions. I have a horse to care for, I truly needed the money.
Their leader was just as pissed (figuratively) as his companions (literally) when they saw them waddle away. They surrendered themselves, only to fool Grunk with a smoke bomb. The poor bastard took the chance to run as fast as their bloodied body could take them (their speed was commendable), yet Olra and Stare-y tried to intercept them and give them a finishing blow.
They both missed, yet it left me to wonder....
Why were they so set on killing the person when there was no longer a reason to, as they had started to run away? It's not that I'm a pacifist who refuses to kill — I just believe there should be some kind of reason for it. As soon as a hostile enemy runs away, doesn't the reason disappear? It's concerning how quickly they choose to aim their weapons and, like bloodhounds, refuse to let their prey off the hook. As I did reverse-rob the bandits, I can't fully wash myself clean of this mess. However, judging by the glint in the bandit's eye as they ran away, this battle is not yet over. I wonder who drew more of their wrath — my party members who almost killed them, or their party members who abandoned them in almost lethal combat?
I do not plan to be around to find out, yet I surely would resent my party much more.
Anyways. After venturing out with a party of passionate fighters for the second time, I wonder what would have happened had they come across ME doing what I always do. My tribe is always wandering and usually separated to cover more ground as we tend to nature. Would my party members have raised their weapons against me, too, had they encountered me hiding between the trees — as I was taught to do?
It leaves an uncomfortable sensation in my stomach. Maybe I am the odd one here, but I just can't help feeling...discomfort about the apparent rules of this place.
02/05
Questions keep piling up and have been weighing me down far too heavily. I cannot wait to return to the outpost and see Berry again — I hope he will receive me happily and not hold my prolonged absence against me too much. I truly do need the comfort of being alone, away from busy parties, but I am even more grateful to know that I will not be lonely. I never understood what "lonely" meant until today, I think. There really is a difference between alone and lonely, it turns out.
Anyways. Much has happened and little of it was enjoyable.
After more travel, we finally made it to "The collector's Folly", a lighthouse that once belonged to someone known as "the collector". The Monk in our group, Narmer, had been here a few weeks ago with a different party. Narmer had told us that they defeated the collector and the giant under his control, Runak. It seems their last battle shook up the lighthouse and whatever fey magic was within it. The tower was in weathered ruins, just a short time after the party had left. As Olra flew around what was left of the tower, time seemed to slow and quicken around her. Something had messed up the flow of time (probably the fey magic), which had us stuck in the tower longer than I had anticipated.
I had a bad feeling as soon as we stepped in. The floor looked...brittle and for the first time in a long time, I felt very conscious of my strong build. I remained at the entrance, where the stone was still more solid, as Stare-y and Grunk ventured into the circular room to have a look at a desk. They had found some magical stones and notes that hinted towards the stones having some kind of elemental magic. The drawings in the notes also showed an exceptionally large hand holding them. Since we already knew about the giant, this wasn't much of a surprise.
What was a surprise, however, was when said giant suddenly dropped from the ceiling and crashed through the floor, taking Stare-y along with him.
Out of instinct, I called out to the both of them, asking whether they were okay. I know that as a half-giant, giants might not be particularly fond of me, but... I do speak their language and how could I have been sure that Runak hadn't just fallen down instead of attacking on purpose? I still struggle to figure out what creatures are enemies and which ones aren't — especially since quite a lot of the mercenaries in the outpost are of races I have not encountered before or behave in a "rough" way, even when friendly. I've felt inclined to give everyone the benefit of the doubt to try and avoid getting myself in hot water due to my lack of social skills. Still, as it turned out, Runak's lips had been sewn shut so he couldn't really answer but I took his roar as an "I am not okay and I am very angry."
That left us with Stare-y down in a hole with an angry giant.
Of course, leaving Stare-y behind was not an option so we would have to fight Runak. I did not think this was something to debate over, as the other party members were pretty keen on fighting for treasure while we were on our way here.
Yet it was Narmer, the one who was the most excited and pushing for a fight the most, who tried to take off and make a run for it.
Suddenly, I could understand the glint in the bandit's eye and I am very sure the fate of the other three bandits has been sealed by now and did not look pretty.
To even think of abandoning a companion who had simply gotten incredibly unlucky — it was a painful reminder that this was a rag-tag team of strangers who would move on to other groups for the next expedition and likely not mourn my death should I fall here.
But especially because it was the monk who had been so keen for a fight that was trying to run, I felt angry. He, too, noticed our anger and went down the hole after all, already scared of death.
He had no reason to, really. Even as he and Stare-y got beaten unconscious and could have died, I was there to make sure they'd live. That was my goal in all of this — zero deaths. I was prepared, too. Healing spells, coupled with the support of the chalice constellation brought them right back. Yet as soon as he was up again, Narmer was once again fearful of death.
I wonder if he ever thought about how Stare-y had felt in the split second it seemed like his party was abandoning him?
While all of this was going on, Olra was dealing a steady influx of damage onto Runak. She truly was amazing. Brave, strong and smart. Runak, with his dying breath, returned the favor and mashed her up badly. Once Runak had died, his head no longer attached to his body, we found Olra, who had smashed through a wall.
The room she had accidentally discovered was filled with gold and treasures, yet I couldn't help but to fixate on the red dripping down all those luxuries. The image of Olra unconscious and close to death on that pile of gold burnt itself into my brain. It stunned me for far too long until I gathered myself and hurried to heal her.
We are taking a break before making our way back to the outpost. I have my loot with me, yet I can't bring myself to have a look at it. It's heavy, so I hope to have gathered enough to afford some barding for Berry. But I still wonder... Is this worth it?
Risking lives for material value goes against everything I've been taught and have lived by until now. All these changes have me reeling. I used to like change — to watch how the world around me slowly shifts and flows between seasons and stages of life. But now I feel like I'm still caught in that tower's time rift.
I ventured here for no particular reason, as I had no particular reason to stay where I was before either. But it seems like I was too naive. This place is like a different world where nothing is as I knew it.
The one thing I finally do understand: There was a reason why we remained hidden in the forest. The world outside of the forest is chaotic and savage.
There is no going back now, so I will adapt to it. I will not, however, transform myself to fit into it.
I will wash my loot and gather some berries as we make our way back. Maybe thinking of Berry will let me shake off this unsavory feeling by the time I return to the outpost.
The Start of a Journey
16/4 to 18/4
16/4
Arriving at this desolate place was connected to an annoying amount of yelling. "Go fast! Go fight!" But no real explanation of where we're going or what we're fighting. Not that I mind - it's not like I'm here to do anything in particular. The others in my rag-tag team of cast aways seemed much more...determined. Looking for people or wanting to gain knowledge, though I wonder what made them believe they'd find it here out of all places. They were really motivated to do so, too. Almost a bit too much...
Cass, the Warlock of our party, set out without rations. They seem like a quick acter when it comes to solving their problems but ah, they surely pulled their weapon fast. At the first sight of an innocent doe, Cass had aimed at it to secure rations - missing how the doe had frozen up as it was looking BEYOND us. It seemed like a matter of seconds, we truly had no time to react as a Manticore swooped down and nabbed the doe right under Cass's aim. What an unfortunate little creature. I will make sure to plant a seed in its name, to thank it for unwillingly saving us from becoming prey. Cass didn't have to go hungry in the end either. Nothing some Goodberries wouldn't be able to fix!
We got away with our lives for now, well fed and well exhausted. Maybe they have gotten a bit closer to their goals already after making this first step into unfamiliar lands....
17/4
I believe I, too, have found a goal now. I'm resting against it right now - feeling it's warmth and steady heartbeat against my back. How lovely it is to hear Berry's gentle breath as the poor boy finally gets to take a rest. We dragged him out of a lake - took five of us, three octopi and my trusty hempen rope to get him back on land. Who knows how he ended up there all by himself... A Goodberry later and some careful inquiry had him join our party, as he no longer had anyone else and apparently took a liking to me. May my companions' future adventures be blessed with kind encounters for letting me take this treasure with me. I will cherish him and protect him so that their efforts may not go to waste.
For now, that is my ultimate goal. He's not just a good Berry. He's the BEST Berry, so I will do my best for him.
18/4
Truly too much has happened and with Aurelia still unconscious, I do not believe I have the leisure time to write it all down. I shall jot it down regardless, as the events were to monumentous to not be written down.
1. Cass' Owl "Rat" had found two places of interest; some kind of grove and an abandoned camp. We decided to go to the grove for the magic of it all.
2. The stone constellation turned out to be a piece of beautiful craftsmenship, inscribed with Druidic that I could not fully read. Still, from it's crescent shape and orientation towards the moon, I could tell that some celestial magic might do something. A shift into starry form later, we all recieved a light blessing that invigorated us enough to explore the camp, too.
3. The camp was a mess. Most of the rations were stale or moldy. Absolutely useless. But there was one box that held another treasure: Wilson, an awakened ball. Theadora found and freed the ball (?). Apparently his friend had placed him in the box in an attempt to save him, before he disappeared. We do not know of his fate, but he might have been a bit crazy, judging by the journal Cass found. Grateful for Theadora's assistance, he decided to join her and our party.
Now, at this point, enough had happened for a day. But as we were trudging through the forest, a "Displacer" appeared in front of us. Actually, it appeared behind us and got Wog really bad. The battle was damn near a nightmare. I can only thank the stars that the grove invigorated us enough to get through it. While Aurelia was badly battered, we all lived.
For a few minutes, however, I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Before we had managed to fully gather ourselves and get Aurelia back on her feet, a HUGE meteor slammed into the ground in the distance. We're still out in the wilderness, taking a rest to lick our wounds as we make our way back to the outpost. Nobody knows what the meteor is, hopefully we will learn more once we reconnect with other adventurers.
Day goes down as the biggest "Let's not do that again" in history. Berry is doing great though, so I shall be fine, too.
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