This is the first chance I gotten to write and reflect in the last few days. Much afoul has taken place. I lost one group of travelers, was captured and tortured by kobolds, and have been accepted by another band of adventurers. I mourn the loss of my dear friends, but am grateful for this new acceptance. This alliance does come with its own share of loss. We’ve already suffered two deaths in our quest to recover the captured children. All but one child has been rescued and I cannot stop until we find them all.
We recovered Jurin from a horrendous beast. This Forgespurned bashed while its animated chains thrashed. Many in our party were in and out of consciousness, but the noble cleric, Otho, halted death for most. During the fight, a goblin ran in with what appeared to be a giant rat at his side. His control of this beast was lacking, but they attacked the molten menace before we could discern any harmful intent towards us. Together with Bay-winn’s mighty song, we successfully pulled Jurin away from greased golem. Mira and Pint wailed on the creature and in its throws of death, spewed forth a deadly cloud of smoke and embers. This smoke was so thick and harmful, it temporarily blinded Bay-Winn. For a moment, all her elf eyes saw was embers. Despite the lack of vision, I saw the great Godric stand tall, briefly halting death itself. The boisterous Paladin charged the monster with a booming, “SAVE THE CHILDREN!” echoing powerfully throughout the chamber. A mighty swing of his sword caused the beast to fall and dissipate into the cloud. Unfortunately this last breath caused Godric to finally fall. I believe he knew it was the end and heroically sacrificed himself for the party, or rather, for the children. And I mean all children. Everywhere.
Our party was so dismantled that we are taking two days to recover, holed up in that foul beast’s cave. This goblin, Nobbla, is some kind of bounty hunter trying to recover only Jurin, apparently for a larger ransom. The party has been fair to me in the treasure we’ve found and convinced Nobbla to accept their terms, at least for now. Kimi, the half-elf (like myself) child is having to be constantly watched. She desperately wants to escape and find the fifth child. As much I want to help her, it’s obvious we need the whole party healthy into order to get out alive. Bay-winn and I take shifts watching the doors and kids. Luckily Nobbla’s rat gives them something to play with.
The goblin wanted to explore a hole in the corner. I heard him tumble down, but it sounded like he landed on his feet. He was immediately attacked by a large bat. His screams reach up into the cavern. Pint goes down to aid. They then claim that a stone gargoyle approached them in the darkness. Still recovering, I knew that we had no reason to fight this fight. I toss my rope down and with the aid of the others, our friends returned to the light.
We will be continuing on soon, the safety of the last child and others depend on it.
The Journals of Njörd Eissen - Two days since rescue
After we left our temporary home within the cave, our next path was down a well with a lift attached. When I escaped a few days ago, I came up through this way. During Bay-Winn’s thorough inspection, shambling dwarves corpses attack from an attached room and are hastily dealt with.
We had to descend in the lift in small groups. Mira and Pint went first and immediately began fighting frog mounted kobolds. The rest of us followed and joined in the fight. I believe we intended to take one alive, but Pint’s strength proved a hindrance to that effort. Nobbla’s rat sniffed around the room and found a small creature unknown to us. It had tentacles and sharp claws attached and had been impaled by a kobold spear. Pity was taken on it, the weapon removed and the wound healed. The creature scurried up the wall and out of sight.
There are two pathways that we could have taken. Unfortunately, in my haste I did not have time to properly assess my surroundings and therefore cannot remember from which way I had come. One way was a dark cavern and the other a narrow passage with kobolds high on the ledges above. Several of us with were shooting at the beasts, and poor Pint couldn’t stand it. It seems his life depends on him getting in and swinging his axes wildly. I got out of his way and allowed him to charge in. Together with Bay-Winn and Nobbla, those kobolds were taken down.
I rest for the moment writing down these happenings. We urge forward with great purpose. I can only hope for the safety of my new friends, the children, and my captured companion, should their life still be with us.
